warlock's ignore the pyre - needs tweaking

[Ahku]

Hello all,

i've been trying my hand at a warlock of late and have noticed that the following invocation is lacking:

Ignore the pyre - this is limited to just he last effect cast? (fire, acid, etc...) and it only protects for 1 point / level...really?

At the very least it would prove more useful if it were for 1 point / level plus the charisma modifier, this would make the spell somewhat useful and the afffect should stack with different energy forms (fire, acid, etc...) like the spell energy immunity does.

I can only imagine how useless this spell would be at epic levels...

my 2 cents,

a squishy warlock.

[Ahku]

Just curious,

A quick question for the warlocks out there...

What spells (invocations) do you avoid at epic levels due to them being not very useful?

`A Squishy Warlock

[chad878262]

Why is your Warlock squishy? You don't really need much DEX for a Ranged Touch Attack to hit and the benefits of pumping CON are many...

Wall of Perilous Flames does 2d6 (~7) plus CHA modifier damage per round so with ignore the pyre you can happily draw mobs in to your wall of fire that you are completely immune to once you hit level ~10 or so (depending on CHA modifier, but regardless, by the time you get ignore the pyre you have enough resistance to ignore your wall).

At Invoker 30 have resistance 30 to an element is relatively strong. Most areas you only need to have this for one element, but Warlocks also have UMD as a class skill so you could of course just use scrolls of energy immunity and skip this invocation all together.

[Nemni]

Ignore the Pyre isn't great no, but it's not such a terrible pick either since you can recast it whenever you need to be effective for whatever element is relevant in the area.

What spells (invocations) do you avoid at epic levels due to them being not very useful?

Most of them unfortunately, since several are just about must picks. Such as retributive invisibility and (usually) dark premonition to not be squishy.

[wangxiuming]

Personally, I think Ignore the Pyre is great. At caster level (CL) 30, it gives 30/- elemental resistance of your choice. That's a big chunk of damage resistance that doesn't go away unless you choose a new element to cast or you get dispelled. For a Lesser Invocation, it's definitely worth it.

Your invocation selection really depends on what kind of character build you have. Are you a ranged blaster, focusing on high damage? A melee warlock using hideous blow? A crowd control warlock?

Some options you can't really go wrong with if you're just trying to avoid squishiness (All last 24 hrs IG unless I note otherwise):

Least

• Dark One's Own Luck - + Universal saving throws by your CHA ability modifier. Only useful if you plan on having a high CHA score.

• Leaps and Bounds - increases your DEX by 4. There are tons of DEX items available, but it can potentially free up an equipment slot for you.

Lesser

• Flee The Scene - Haste-like effect that increases your Dodge AC by 1 and movement speed by 50%. It only lasts 1 round per 2 caster levels, unless you take the associated feat (Dark Transient), which will increase the duration to 1 round per caster level.

• Ignore the Pyre - As I describe above.

Greater

• Noxious Blast - An Eldritch Blast Essence that makes your blasts force a Fortitude Save or cause the target to be dazed for 10 rounds. Combined with some eldritch shapes, you could potentially be dazing a lot of enemies. Dazed enemies can't attack you. Really needs High CHA to be effective, or your DC will be low.

Dark

• Dark Foresight - Increases your Dodge AC by 2 and makes you immune to sneak attacks. Lasts 10 min/CL

• Dark Premonition - gives you DR 15/Alchemical Silver. Ends after absorbing 150 damage. Lasts 1 min/CL

• Retributive Invisibility - Same as Greater Invisibility, (50% Concealment even after attacking), plus some bonus effects if dispelled. Lasts 1 round/CL

Again, not all of these options may be ideal for you depending on your build. But, they all can help with squishiness. Here's the full list of invocations for your reference: https://wiki.bgtscc.net/index.php?title=Invocation

[Ahku]

All - thanks for the feedback!

I was trying to create a non ranged blaster warlock, just t o be different.

yes, ignore the pyre would be okay at 30th, but until then - scrolls?

It seems that everyone would pick the list of invocations mentioned above, though i would pick repelling blast (acid) to tear up mobs...

that, and have you ever noticed how SLOW a warlocks casting time is?

foes where getting 3 spells off to my one...

once again, thanks for the input.

`not so squishy warlock

[Darkwind]

I'm a warlock / rogue hybrid (27th combined levels) and I can solo nearly anything that exists excepting Speartop, Netherese, etc. which are really NOT meant to be solo'd. (though some geared classes still can). Caveat: Epic levels sort of helps because 20+ dmg mitigation is worthwhile, below that you are right you probably need to heavily supplement that.

Anyhow, I use Ignore the Pyre are a primary part of my kit and when you stack it with some other elemental dmg mitigation I become effectively immune to whatever elemental attack. So you can go bopping through Graypeaks (for example) without a care in the world, ItP is a big part of that in my build at least. I had trouble in Graypeaks just facerolling solo w/o ItP excepting my wizard, but my damage output was considerably slower on my wizard by comparison to the Lock/Rog hybrid.

I did a massive amount of experimentation changing out at will abilities and as for as 'bang for your buck' I've not found something more useful for epic level content. Anyone can feel free to correct me if I'm wrong but it seems pretty good to me as is.

[Ahku]

and there is another spell that needs to be tweaked:

dark premonition i think it's called?

it adds 15/silver DR...silver? really? why not cold iron so that it stacks with the natural cold iron dr warlocks get?

just seems that locks were gimped on purpose in this regard.

my 2 cents

~a not so squishy warlock

[Steve]

So, imagine the Dark Premonition being Cold Iron and stacking. Then imagine a foe with a Cold Iron Weapon. You'd have ZERO DR then.

With innate Cold Iron and evocation of 15/Silver, your doubling your odds of RETAINING a single form of DR, which is fantastic and hardly matched by any other Class.

Then, just to make the Class that more badass, it grants 2 types of Energy Resistance!!

[Ahku]

oh splat, i never thought of that...