What spells do *YOU* like best?

Tal · 01-31-2002, 05:35 PM

I've compiled an informal list by reading SEVERAL spell/magic threads on this board. Here's what I've got so far...

Leading the group off...
7 - Insanity
5 - Terror
5 - Enchanted Blade
4 - Magic Missle
4 - Fireball
4 - Summon Elemental
4 - Paralyze
4 - Sleep
3 - Haste
3 - Armorplate
3 - Missle Shield
3 - Web

And if that wasn't enough, the list of how many I counted once or twice, was twice this list if not more. Now I play a Bishop and Specialize in 3 spellbooks, so when I took notes I didn't pay attention to schools/spellbooks. I also didn't take notes on ones that are better early game vs. late game (like magic missle vs. summon elemental).

Anyway, I thought I would start a new thread, specifically around just the actual spells (the best thread I read was one on offensive vs. status effect spells).

So... For your own playing style, party mix, what spells work best for you? If you have to list "early game" vs. "late game" that's fine. But I'd rather get just an overall impression.

- Tal

Jem · 01-31-2002, 06:22 PM

Well, there are the protection/assistance spells, of course - Enchanted Blade, Armorplate, Magic Screen, Missile Shield, Light and X-Ray. (I had my 2 bishops cast EB and Mis. Shd, my bard did the Mgc Scn with an instrument, my Gadgeteer did the same for Armorplate and my Ranger cast Light - this saved me SP on my bishops and gave me skill points for 5 of my 6 characters)

In battles against magic-wielding opponents Soul Shield, Element Shield, Silence and Eye for an Eye were very helpful.

Against undead I used Banish and Holy Water (Both are also excellent spells to use when an opponent has cast Eye For an Eye because your characters can't take any damage from either, unlike all conjured, undead or demonic creatures).

Against multiple groups, I found Pandemonium quite effective, as was Rest All to get my stamina back up in long battles.

Others that I used on a semi-regular basis were Whipping Rocks/Quicksand/Crush, Blizzard/Freeze All/Acid Bomb, Fireball/Firestorm/Hypnotic Lure, Shrill Sound/Toxic Cloud/Noxious Fumes, Draining Cloud/Magic Missiles/Guardian Angel, and Turncoat/Psionic Blast/Ego Whip.

I should mention that I didn't get any of my spellcasters up to the point they could choose 7th level spells but I did get the effects of some of those through my Bard and Gadgeteer - my favorites there were Tsunami, Asphixiation and Earthquake, though I had others.

Gee...looking back through this, I'd say I used about 1/2 the spells on a pretty regular basis and cast all of them at least a few times depending on the combat situation I was in. While none of the offensive spells is quite as awesomely powerful as they were in 6 or 7, they are far from being as useless as some people think. I think the problem is that we got used to the way-overpowered versions in the other games and now that they've toned it down to make it more realistic and balanced some people are disappointed.

01-31-2002, 06:24 PM

Firestorm, Armormelt and Insanity...nothing like seeing a bunch of insane enemies easily carve each other up while they are all on fire!!

[ 01-31-2002: Message edited by: Moni ]

Erydian · 01-31-2002, 06:59 PM

In no particular order, and these include bard instrument effects:

Eye for an Eye (great for reflecting Death spells)
Insanity
Death Cloud
Draining Cloud
Elemental Shield
Soul Shield
Freeze All
Asphyxiation
Death Wish
Haste
X-Ray
Armorplate
Razor Cloak
Tsunami
Firestorm
Whipping Rocks
Cerebral Hemorrhage
Mind Flay
Heal All
Rest All

These are the spells I found myself casting most often with the following party:

-Dracon Fighter
-Elven Bishop (who finished the game with level 7 spells in all books except Divinity)
-Hobbit Bard
-Mook Ranger
-Rawulf Priest
-Human Valkyrie
-* Vi (most of the time)
-* RSF-81 (for the majority of the game after I found him)

I feel that psionic spells are especially effective towards the beginning of the game, where the majority of the creatures you encounter seem to have little to no mental resistance. This doesn't necessarily hold true for the end of the game (where I tend to favor the alchemist spells), but I still found myself using them from time to time.

Rolla ZE · 01-31-2002, 10:13 PM

In my party my psionist loves thinking psionic blast,
my bard loves playing heal all,
and my mage loves casting blizzard.

Nightowl2 · 01-31-2002, 10:44 PM

Promise me anything, but give me insanity

If that's not available, I'll settle for Pandemonium. Or Quicksand.

Nightowl2

DraconisRex · 02-01-2002, 08:00 AM

Depends on the situation.

Bunches of time wasting critters: Whipping Rocks
Bunches of Undead: Holy Water
Bunches of those critters in the North Swamp: Soul Shield
Singular Giant Monsters (like Hogar): Heal!
Cultists & related: Silence
T'Rang: Big swords... Oh, that's not a spell. Ummm. Resurrection
for the insta-killed characters.

MaskedFrog · 02-01-2002, 11:33 AM

Early Game to Mid Game
Insanity, Paralyze, Enchanted Blade, Armor Plate, Magic Screen, Missile Shield, X-ray, Freeze Flesh, Psionic Fire, Web.

Late Game
Pandemonium, Mind Flay, Heal All, Rest All, Endure Elements, Soul Shield, Earthquake, Freeze All.

I really cannot say I have a favorite spell as I use whatever is necessary at the time. I do always have up X-Ray(Gadgeteer), Armorplate(Gadgeteer), Enchanted Blade (Bishop), Missile Shield (Bishop), Magic Screen (Vi). If the battle involves any non melee groups I always cast Endure Elements, Sould Shield, and maybe Eye for an Eye.

Knarfling · 02-01-2002, 02:22 PM

My all time favorite spell has to be x-ray. Durring the demo, when I got strong enough to learn it, I was in heaven. At first I thought it was a tired retread of a Wiz 7 spell and didn't use it. Then one time I learned it just to see what it would do. I was in heaven after that.

Now I use it as often as I can. At first my Bishop would cast it to get his mental skills up, but now my gadgeteer keeps it up for us. The ability to see that monsters are waiting around the corner, and the ability to to see items nearby that need to be picked up is priceless. If I had to loose all my spells but one, I would hang on to x-ray. Armorplate may protect me, but x-ray lets me avoid battles I don't want.

Knarfling

Father Francis · 02-01-2002, 07:05 PM

I am only at lvl 10 but find myself relying on
Insanity
Psionic Fire
Armor Plate
Enchanted Blade
Silence
Paralyze
Web

01-31-2002, 06:22 PM	#2
Jem Zhentarim Guard Join Date: January 28, 2002 Location: Dallas, Texas Posts: 347	Well, there are the protection/assistance spells, of course - Enchanted Blade, Armorplate, Magic Screen, Missile Shield, Light and X-Ray. (I had my 2 bishops cast EB and Mis. Shd, my bard did the Mgc Scn with an instrument, my Gadgeteer did the same for Armorplate and my Ranger cast Light - this saved me SP on my bishops and gave me skill points for 5 of my 6 characters) In battles against magic-wielding opponents Soul Shield, Element Shield, Silence and Eye for an Eye were very helpful. Against undead I used Banish and Holy Water (Both are also excellent spells to use when an opponent has cast Eye For an Eye because your characters can't take any damage from either, unlike all conjured, undead or demonic creatures). Against multiple groups, I found Pandemonium quite effective, as was Rest All to get my stamina back up in long battles. Others that I used on a semi-regular basis were Whipping Rocks/Quicksand/Crush, Blizzard/Freeze All/Acid Bomb, Fireball/Firestorm/Hypnotic Lure, Shrill Sound/Toxic Cloud/Noxious Fumes, Draining Cloud/Magic Missiles/Guardian Angel, and Turncoat/Psionic Blast/Ego Whip. I should mention that I didn't get any of my spellcasters up to the point they could choose 7th level spells but I did get the effects of some of those through my Bard and Gadgeteer - my favorites there were Tsunami, Asphixiation and Earthquake, though I had others. Gee...looking back through this, I'd say I used about 1/2 the spells on a pretty regular basis and cast all of them at least a few times depending on the combat situation I was in. While none of the offensive spells is quite as awesomely powerful as they were in 6 or 7, they are far from being as useless as some people think. I think the problem is that we got used to the way-overpowered versions in the other games and now that they've toned it down to make it more realistic and balanced some people are disappointed. __________________ Jem :kitty1:

01-31-2002, 06:59 PM	#4
Erydian Manshoon Join Date: December 14, 2001 Location: the great beyond Posts: 172	In no particular order, and these include bard instrument effects: Eye for an Eye (great for reflecting Death spells) Insanity Death Cloud Draining Cloud Elemental Shield Soul Shield Freeze All Asphyxiation Death Wish Haste X-Ray Armorplate Razor Cloak Tsunami Firestorm Whipping Rocks Cerebral Hemorrhage Mind Flay Heal All Rest All These are the spells I found myself casting most often with the following party: -Dracon Fighter -Elven Bishop (who finished the game with level 7 spells in all books except Divinity) -Hobbit Bard -Mook Ranger -Rawulf Priest -Human Valkyrie -* Vi (most of the time) -* RSF-81 (for the majority of the game after I found him) I feel that psionic spells are especially effective towards the beginning of the game, where the majority of the creatures you encounter seem to have little to no mental resistance. This doesn't necessarily hold true for the end of the game (where I tend to favor the alchemist spells), but I still found myself using them from time to time. __________________ Erydian<br />

02-01-2002, 08:00 AM	#7
DraconisRex Avatar Join Date: January 4, 2002 Location: On my rear-end. Posts: 563	Depends on the situation. Bunches of time wasting critters: Whipping Rocks Bunches of Undead: Holy Water Bunches of those critters in the North Swamp: Soul Shield Singular Giant Monsters (like Hogar): Heal! Cultists & related: Silence T'Rang: Big swords... Oh, that's not a spell. Ummm. Resurrection for the insta-killed characters. __________________ Quantum materiae materietur marmota monax si marmota monax materiam possit materiari?<br /><br />Vah! Denuone Latine loquebar? Me ineptum. Interdum modo elabitur.<br /><br />Di! Ecce hora! Uxor mea me necabit!

02-01-2002, 02:22 PM	#9
Knarfling Drow Warrior Join Date: March 6, 2001 Location: Mesa, AZ, USA Posts: 295	My all time favorite spell has to be x-ray. Durring the demo, when I got strong enough to learn it, I was in heaven. At first I thought it was a tired retread of a Wiz 7 spell and didn't use it. Then one time I learned it just to see what it would do. I was in heaven after that. Now I use it as often as I can. At first my Bishop would cast it to get his mental skills up, but now my gadgeteer keeps it up for us. The ability to see that monsters are waiting around the corner, and the ability to to see items nearby that need to be picked up is priceless. If I had to loose all my spells but one, I would hang on to x-ray. Armorplate may protect me, but x-ray lets me avoid battles I don't want. Knarfling __________________ Only two of my personalites have delusions, but one of them is paranoid and the other is out to get him.

02-01-2002, 07:05 PM	#10
Father Francis Elite Waterdeep Guard Join Date: November 24, 2001 Location: Cerritos, CA Posts: 17	I am only at lvl 10 but find myself relying on Insanity Psionic Fire Armor Plate Enchanted Blade Silence Paralyze Web __________________ \"Love divorced from truth is the worst form of hate.\"

01-31-2002, 05:35 PM	#1
Tal Elite Waterdeep Guard Join Date: January 31, 2002 Location: Arizona Posts: 8	I've compiled an informal list by reading SEVERAL spell/magic threads on this board. Here's what I've got so far... Leading the group off... 7 - Insanity 5 - Terror 5 - Enchanted Blade 4 - Magic Missle 4 - Fireball 4 - Summon Elemental 4 - Paralyze 4 - Sleep 3 - Haste 3 - Armorplate 3 - Missle Shield 3 - Web And if that wasn't enough, the list of how many I counted once or twice, was twice this list if not more. Now I play a Bishop and Specialize in 3 spellbooks, so when I took notes I didn't pay attention to schools/spellbooks. I also didn't take notes on ones that are better early game vs. late game (like magic missle vs. summon elemental). Anyway, I thought I would start a new thread, specifically around just the actual spells (the best thread I read was one on offensive vs. status effect spells). So... For your own playing style, party mix, what spells work best for you? If you have to list "early game" vs. "late game" that's fine. But I'd rather get just an overall impression. - Tal

01-31-2002, 06:24 PM	#3
Moni Guest Posts: n/a	Firestorm, Armormelt and Insanity...nothing like seeing a bunch of insane enemies easily carve each other up while they are all on fire!! [ 01-31-2002: Message edited by: Moni ]

01-31-2002, 10:13 PM	#5
Rolla ZE Elite Waterdeep Guard Join Date: January 25, 2002 Location: Sydney, Aus Posts: 49	In my party my psionist loves thinking psionic blast, my bard loves playing heal all, and my mage loves casting blizzard.

01-31-2002, 10:44 PM	#6
Nightowl2 Galvatron Join Date: December 11, 2001 Location: Plateau of Leng Age: 46 Posts: 2,190	Promise me anything, but give me insanity If that's not available, I'll settle for Pandemonium. Or Quicksand. Nightowl2

02-01-2002, 11:33 AM	#8
MaskedFrog Drow Warrior Join Date: November 28, 2001 Location: Madison, CT Posts: 292	Early Game to Mid Game Insanity, Paralyze, Enchanted Blade, Armor Plate, Magic Screen, Missile Shield, X-ray, Freeze Flesh, Psionic Fire, Web. Late Game Pandemonium, Mind Flay, Heal All, Rest All, Endure Elements, Soul Shield, Earthquake, Freeze All. I really cannot say I have a favorite spell as I use whatever is necessary at the time. I do always have up X-Ray(Gadgeteer), Armorplate(Gadgeteer), Enchanted Blade (Bishop), Missile Shield (Bishop), Magic Screen (Vi). If the battle involves any non melee groups I always cast Endure Elements, Sould Shield, and maybe Eye for an Eye.

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