Advice sought on evoker spell use

I would like some advice on spell use for an evoker fvs. I'm currently level 16 and don't have a good feel for using my spells beyond a few patterns that I'll list below. Part of my problem is that I've been playing a pure melee (barb) up until now so no experience playing a divine or arcane. I also 'cheated' on this toon by using veteran status 2 and the stone of experience. Pretty much all the content I've run solo has been for favor and was never a challenge. I've resisted dropping back into melee mode as I'm trying to play a caster. With that background let me tell you how I play.

I use the bb kiting most. I've been pulling out cometfall if enemies aren't chasing me or entering the bb. I also use searing light for sniping. For healing I typically use heal or cure serious mass if I'm in a group. I run a bunch of buffs before getting started (magical circle, nightshield, fom, dw mass, mass aid).

For unused offensive spells I have divine punishment, destruction, greater command, holy smite and soundburst. How and when should I use these? What about lvl 8 and 9 spells once I get them (I'm looking at holy aura and summon 7 at 8th, mass heal, implosion and energy drain for 9 in that order).

What is your pattern when encountering different mob types solo?

When grouped with arcanes and melees how should I vary my casting approach? My assumption is I'll keep an eye out for anyone dropping really low on HPs but will look to help carry the weight of CC/dps as appropriate. Thanks!

Cheers,
Sylvan

It's late here, so only a couple points. I rarely use greater command or sound burst. Not sure I have them. Energy drain and other debuffs, the destruction, especially on casters and, because I hate them, air ellies. BB is your genteral AoE and kiter. Divine Punishment is a must. Great for bosses and an occasional ranged mob. Symbol of death is an interesting debuff.

I'm sure someone who will tell me you must have 9 caster past lives to play an Evoker will be along soon to disagree with me. My method works just fine on EH.

Blade Barrier - Good for trash mobs and soloing, just run, jump, and kite, but you knew that.

Soundburst - Useful in the lower levels (esp on the hordes of kobolds), but once past level 6-8, it's a waste of a spell slot.

Divine Punishment - Not useful on trash mobs, but this is your primary weapon against bosses. A must have.

Greater Command - Useful in the middle-levels, like gianthold. You don't have the enchantment DC's to make this workable at end-game.

Destruction - Best used against mobs that are difficult to kill or annoying, such as enemy casters/clerics, who usually have low fortitude saves.

Holy Smite - I've always been on the fence with 'Holy' or 'alignment' spells. They're situational at best, but other than that, your spell slots are better used on more useful, long-term things. It's also not 'light' damage, so the FVS Angel of Vengeance doesn't give Holy Smite a boost like they do on actual light and alignment-based spells.

Implosion - AoE instant kill. A must have for any divine caster. It's just awesome, because unlike Wail of the Banshee for arcane classes, Implosion works on the undead.

Energy Drain - If you want to instant-kill late-game enemies, this is a must have. Just cast it on your target, then use destruction.

Also look at; Cometfall, Flamestrike, and Firestorm. All useful spells, but Cometfall is a very useful CC/Damage spell.

For what is worth, here is my current spell list at cap, it can help you as a reference at least :).

Spell Selection:

Spell (1): Command
Spell (1): Nightshield
Spell (1): Divine Favor
Spell (1): Remove Fear
Spell (2): Cure Moderate Wounds
Spell (2): Resist Energy
Spell (2): Lesser Restoration
Spell (2): Soundburst
Spell (3): Searing Light
Spell (3): Magic Circle Against Evil
Spell (3): Remove Curse
Spell (3): Remove Disease
Spell (4): Divine Power
Spell (4): Panacea
Spell (4): Death Ward
Spell (4): Freedom of Movement
Spell (5): Divine Punishment
Spell (5): Slay Living
Spell (5): Greater Command
Spell (5): Cure Light Wounds, Mass (Scrolls of True Seeing / Break Enchantment)
Spell (6): Blade Barrier
Spell (6): Heal
Spell (6): Cometfall / Banishment
Spell (7): Destruction
Spell (7): Greater Restoration
Spell (7): Resurrection
Spell (8): Summon Monster VIII
Spell (8): Mass Death Ward
Spell (8): Holy Aura
Spell (9): Implosion
Spell (9): Energy Drain
Spell (9): Mass Heal

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bromuro

For what is worth, here is my current spell list at cap, it can help you as a reference at least :).

Spell Selection:

Spell (1): Command
Spell (1): Nightshield
Spell (1): Divine Favor
Spell (1): Remove Fear
Spell (2): Cure Moderate Wounds
Spell (2): Resist Energy
Spell (2): Lesser Restoration
Spell (2): Soundburst
Spell (3): Searing Light
Spell (3): Magic Circle Against Evil
Spell (3): Remove Curse
Spell (3): Remove Disease
Spell (4): Divine Power
Spell (4): Panacea
Spell (4): Death Ward
Spell (4): Freedom of Movement
Spell (5): Divine Punishment
Spell (5): Slay Living
Spell (5): Greater Command
Spell (5): Cure Light Wounds, Mass (Scrolls of True Seeing / Break Enchantment)
Spell (6): Blade Barrier
Spell (6): Heal
Spell (6): Cometfall / Banishment
Spell (7): Destruction
Spell (7): Greater Restoration
Spell (7): Resurrection
Spell (8): Summon Monster VIII
Spell (8): Mass Death Ward
Spell (8): Holy Aura
Spell (9): Implosion
Spell (9): Energy Drain
Spell (9): Mass Heal

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What, no death pact? I find it useful, even if it only works when you die. It's like insurance, especially useful on epic elite quests.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HastyPudding

What, no death pact? I find it useful, even if it only works when you die. It's like insurance, especially useful on epic elite quests.

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Well is up to you of course. The way i see it is that when you die, you will be rised in the middle of the "stuff" that killed you, and since you just get rised with a little % of your hp total, it's almost granted that you are gona die again. Besides, you shouldn't die in first place xD, so better to analyze why you died, learn, retry and get better ;). But that is me, so for others... whatever it works :).

For me I like all the aoe's, unfortunatly you have to learn when to cast what

When soloing I do a ton of bb kiting ... and if they don't chase me I pretty much ignore then ... run like crazy drop BB's in your wake keep moving ... dot the boss with DP .... loot and do it again

When in a party use command/greater or sound burst ... heightened of course or sometimes both ...if you have good melees the mobs will be deand before they start moving again (if not see above)... dp the boss and do it again. If you want drop a BB to grab aggro to releive the damage from others.

The hard part is going slow and using disabling tactics ... cause I like being the divne wrath leaving a path of death and destruction somewhere far behind before anyone notices

Also I just sprinkle in implosion / destruction / death cirlcle as needed to help clean up the mess or just to intantly clean out a room of annoyance alone with a aoe droppin

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HastyPudding

What, no death pact? I find it useful, even if it only works when you die. It's like insurance, especially useful on epic elite quests.

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/agree

You don't have to accept the raise in the middle of the mess...

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bromuro

Well is up to you of course. The way i see it is that when you die, you will be rised in the middle of the "stuff" that killed you, and since you just get rised with a little % of your hp total, it's almost granted that you are gona die again. Besides, you shouldn't die in first place xD, so better to analyze why you died, learn, retry and get better ;). But that is me, so for others... whatever it works :).

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by DanteEnFuego

/agree

You don't have to accept the raise in the middle of the mess...

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^what he said.

It's the same as any other raise. It's used on you and you can accept it wherever you want. There have been a few times where the party has nearly wiped, I went down and my death pact went off. I ran away from the fight, raised myself, then helped the party out by raising them one at a time to go on and complete the quest.

Shouldn't die in the first place? People 'shouldn't do' A LOT of things, and yet they still happen to the best of players. Some things just happen and they're beyond your control. All it takes is one disintegrate, one hold person, one dancing sphere, and things can spiral downhill. Like I said above, death pact is insurance. It's something you hope you never need, but when you do need it, it's a life saver.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by HastyPudding

^what he said.

It's the same as any other raise. It's used on you and you can accept it wherever you want. There have been a few times where the party has nearly wiped, I went down and my death pact went off. I ran away from the fight, raised myself, then helped the party out by raising them one at a time to go on and complete the quest.

Shouldn't die in the first place? People 'shouldn't do' A LOT of things, and yet they still happen to the best of players. Some things just happen and they're beyond your control. All it takes is one disintegrate, one hold person, one dancing sphere, and things can spiral downhill. Like I said above, death pact is insurance. It's something you hope you never need, but when you do need it, it's a life saver.

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Maybe i wasn't clear enough so i'll try to explain better. First, i mostly solo stuff with my Fvs that's why i made it, as a challenge to myself in soloing stuff. On my first life i've run with that spell and i've found that for me isn't needed at all, and most of the time is a waste of sp. But that is just my way of doing things, that's why i've said earlier "whatever it works for you" ;).