Baldur's Gate : The Sword Coast Chronicles : NWN2 Persistent World

Basically supporting everything here.

I find my wizard more enjoyable in an RP role, and not mass murdering pve and loot mongering. Much more efficient builds available for that

As for a caster monster masher, yep, Conlocks and to an extent Chalocks do awesome job on the server , solo and group fun.

If you want to be a blaster then make a Sorcerer/Arcane Scholar/Archmage. This is the build which takes arcane flexibility on another level.

Steve wrote:Don't discount a Sorcerer/Arch Mage with Arcane Fire!

While I agree with Archmage being a fantastic Sorcerer PrC, and that combining it with ASoC is a great idea, I don’t believe Arcane Fire makes sense for a spontaneus caster. I would not recommend that specific Arcana, while MoE is a must imho.

For the record, wizard/Archmage is incredibly strong in PvE. It‘s just far more difficult to play than the other options listed, requiring experience and a deep knowledge of spells and enemies to work.

Warlock is far more direct.

A Sorcerer has 6 level 9 spells per day (not calculating ability bonus, if applicable). So for sacrificing 1/6 to Arcane Fire, you got 6 castings Level 1-8 and 5 level 9 castings with a full, rested spellbook.

If one is looking to pew pew cast like blastmaster Bob, then one gets a lot out of Arcane Fire.

But still, Arcane Fire is limited damage though magical and cannot be resisted. I mean, what else is the point of Arcane Fire if not this?

Steve wrote:A Sorcerer has 6 level 9 spells per day (not calculating ability bonus, if applicable). So for sacrificing 1/6 to Arcane Fire, you got 6 castings Level 1-8 and 5 level 9 castings with a full, rested spellbook.

If one is looking to pew pew cast like blastmaster Bob, then one gets a lot out of Arcane Fire.

But still, Arcane Fire is limited damage though magical and cannot be resisted. I mean, what else is the point of Arcane Fire if not this?

You are mistaken. Arcane Fire can be resisted. I tested this on the Balor 2 weeks ago: his DR applies as normal. Even the visual has changed.

A Sorcerer has much better spells to cast than Arcane Fire blasts, excluding converted cantrips and 1st Circle spells. This is mainly due to Metamagic feats.

The point of Arcane Fire is to let the Wizard memorize countless utility spells that can be converted to damage if and when needed.

Magic getting resisted?!? Mystra is gonna be pissed when she hears that!

Well, if it ain't a winner Feat for Sorcerer, then fuggetaboutit!

Yeh, Seem to remember the balor res'n the repelling blast dmg recently. Wasn't much. Still got melted.

Remember when only certain builds could handle the balor? I think it needs a buff.

Something about naked bards? *shudders in thought of some over weight comedians*

Wizards are in general, best used for events (to a lesser extent) and PvP (they are probably the superior class for PvP). You won't be very effective in PvE as a blaster or DC wizard. Even for boss runs, there are better options with actual sustain.

Summoning and Transmutation are both ok, but you won't be able to solo with either unless you devote your build to it.

That is the hard truth. As a blaster or DC wizard, that is something you'll have to accept.

That isn't to say you can't pull it off. It'll just take a bit of finesse and the end result won't be nearly as efficient as the alternative.

I disagree, DC Wizard can solo PvE, they are simply different than soloing with some other build. You just have to understand what you want to do. If you are XP grinding your best bet is to grab as many mobs as you can while you are buffed to the 9's and then drop cloud spells on them, maybe some blasting stuff like Greater Fireburst. High DC's can make empowered/extended cloud spells great for killing large numbers of mobs.

Your DC spells are saved for high priority targets like bosses, like dropping Empowered Enervation or Energy Drain followed by Wail of the Banshee on the Frost Giant King and his retinue.

It's kind of like a Great Smiter type build. PvE is a bit more time consuming, but still doable. That's the price of having a "boss killer"

I really appreciate this thread and all the comments. It has been interesting hearing the various takes on things and it is -really- useful for people who don't have tons of NWN experience but understand D&D very well. The translation between the two is not totally clear as you know.

Anyhow, that being said, I took extreme advantage of the 100% RCR in the past few days. It was tedious and time consuming but I went through a bit more than half a dozen builds and 'test drove' the character out in the very same area around Serp. Hills.

My own results, YMMV, was that in the end I was broken up the rack of the Meta.

The reality is pretty close to what metaquad4 stated. You -can- run a blaster caster or 'save or die' type build but it is by any yardstick you measure by "Hard Mode". I mean, -really- hard compared to some of the other stuff I built. I did a couple of multiclass builds that performed admirably especially w/ heavy fighter type focus to keep AB high enough to even hit.

In the end though, I basically rolled a gish. Like I said, I was crushed upon the wheel by the meta. I think another more experienced player can certainly run other builds. But this is my first trip towards 30th so the gishy build I came up with gets the job done far faster and more efficiently than my 'Arch Mage' ever did.

I'm basically running a Wiz / EK / Fighter / Tempest and all those high BAB levels have turned frustration into sustainability. I'm simply wholly more efficient in every regard. The only negative I have thus far is, those Yuan-Tis --really-- like to throw dispel magic. I didn't notice it as much as a pure caster because I was able to shrug off most of them with insanely high caster DCs. Now with just a 'half' wizard I get all my spells stripped off straight away within the first few encounters. So that is annoying, but otherwise it is still a net positive.

Is there a way to counter that besides just having a higher DC to prevent it? I'm almost to the point of not even bothering to buff because every single YuanTi Pureblood out there fires off Dispel right out of the gate.

If you want to play a Gish, you really shouldn't drop below 25 CL. You'll still get a lot of dispels, but it's playable. I personally don't go below CL 26 on a gish/caster. I try for CL 28 so I can maximize high BAB classes, but maintain the spells during play.

It's possible, but limited.

But I'll add that your main problem you're experiencing with a pure(ish) caster is that you SHOULD be using your Caster in combo with a straight melee PC, or a whole group. Your "job" as the pure caster is to buff the group, and sit back and watch them gain your PC some XP.

But if you are talking about soloing content, then yes...pure Caster is definitely much more difficult and patience/skill is needed. If you want to solo, then you need a gish or gish-like build.

Steve wrote:If you want to play a Gish, you really shouldn't drop below 25 CL. You'll still get a lot of dispels, but it's playable. I personally don't go below CL 26 on a gish/caster. I try for CL 28 so I can maximize high BAB classes, but maintain the spells during play.

It's possible, but limited.

Hrmm, what I'm running now will never achieve that. What would be a good compromise? The main issue is My BAB is hovering around 30 which seems to be the sweet spot to actually land a hit. If I were to dial back some of my Fighter / Temp levels I'm guessing my AB would suffer too much but yeah, I'd be CL 25. I don't want to get back into a place where I'm 'ok at everything but excel at nothing'.

Is there another class w/ spell progression may be I should sub in for the Tempest 5? Right now I'm spec'd for 10EK / Wiz 11 so I'd only be at 20CL (first level of EK I don't think counts towards CL?) How can I change this to still be able to land a hit but have 25--> CL.

Thanks again for all the advice, this would have been incredibly frustrating to puzzle out unassisted especially with RCR being quite limited. (Except for right now)

This build I've played up to Level 22:

http://nwn2db.com/build/?265217

I never had an issue with soloing content. 1/7 times I'd get dispelled, usually EXACTLY when I didn't need that to happen, lol, but I managed by having potions at the ready.

You can adjust that build or choose other PrCs and get to CL 26+ easy.