Complete Confused Newbie Sorcerer

[Khurse]

Hi all
Purchased this game when back when it came out, just have finally got a chance to actually fire it up and try it out. (Has nothing to do with the wife being away for a month)
Anyway- back (in the old days) when I played D&D it was second edition, didn't have all these ..well most of anything that this game seems to entail.

From browsing through the descriptions, I think a sorcerer is what I'd like to try, but a few questions
-What is the best way to start one out (I of course have nothing for any of these "just add a +6 item and you'll do great" builds )
Not asking for a complete step by step layout (I don't mind learning from my own mistakes) but maybe a few do's and don'ts of how to build the class if anyone has time.

- CAn Sorcerer's solo at all? Don't mind dying alot while I'm learning how to play, but wouldn't mind actually accomplishing a bit while I'm at it.

Anyway thanks for any advie or direction you can provide, tried looking for some newbie guides, but looks like you may have had a forum wipe a while back? (If it's thre and I missed it, feel free of course to point it out in the moust humiliating way possible)
Thanks!

[Dariun]

For a sorcerer, Charisma is your most important stat (max this), followed by Constitution.

For skills, Concentration is a must have, Jump, Balance, and Use Magic Device are helpful if you have points to spare.

For feats, the following are generally good depending on what spells you use: maximize, empower, heighten, or extend. Spell focus can be good if you are focusing on a specific type of spell (e.g., Enchantment). Mental toughness and improved mental toughness are fine if you are not sure what else to take.

If you can't make a Drow, Humans make good sorcerers.

Read this post for a lot of good info.

Something like this would be fine:

Human
cha -- 18
con -- 14 or 16
int -- 10 or 12
dex, str, wis -- 8, 10, or 12, depending on your preference and what points you have left (I'd put extra points into dex, but up to you).

Put maximum skills points into Concentration, UMD, Jump, and then balance and spot if you have any left over.

It is very difficult for a low level sorcerer to solo quests. Paladin or cleric are much better at soloing in the early levels. Once you get to higher levels (e.g., 6+), it becomes easier to solo with a sorcerer.

[WolfSpirit]

Maybe the best advice you can get about playing a caster is to start with a Wizard. Then you will get lots of spells to play with and be a HUGE help with any party you join. Sorcerers get to cast more spells between resting, but have VERY few actual spells to cast. So its much better to play one that you can use lots of different spells so you can figure out what spells are best for you.

But, if you are certain that a sorcerer is what you want to play... Max your Charisma and either put the rest of your points into Dex for the AC or Con for the Hit points. Myself, I go for AC, but there is about an equal number of reasons to go with the HPs. (Many will argue for each side, it is up to you which way is for your play style) But I'd max the CHA unless you have a specific build (multi-class) in mind.

BUT, the sorcerer isn't a very good solo artist at all. In fact, without knowing all the adventures VERY well, you may not even be able to complete any of them. If you want a solo artist, make a Cleric/Fighter hybrid or somesuch. There are lots of builds on the forum that may interest you for the soloest, but you have to filter out all the " + this & Uber that" Junk to find what works for you. Very few post bare bones builds.

Want a great Sorcerer or Wizard or Bardic type? Get Drow unlocked with 400 Favor. They make the best of the above classes due to Cha/Dex bonuses. Its best to dig for more information about favor...

Welcome, good luck, and its about time! You've been missing a super great game!

[Varis]

if you want to solo, max your charisma, get the spell niac (you'll need components to cast that one) and 1 shot your way through the dungeons. Fascinate is also a great spell at early levels.

[Aspenor]

if you want to solo, max your charisma, get the spell niac (you'll need components to cast that one) and 1 shot your way through the dungeons. Fascinate is also a great spell at early levels.

You mean hypnotize, right Varis??

Yeah niacs is great for low levels, definitely. Charm person is also wonderful. An experienced player can solo pretty much all content to level 4 or 5, but that's knowing the ins and outs of dungeons. I recommend playing with a group, and taking advice from them as you play.

On my soloing comment, the only viable way I have seen to solo content like this is using combinations of charm person and diplomacy. Most mobs do not need to be killed, you can charm one or two monsters and use diplomacy on the rest, and just walk past them as they fight each other.

Don't underestimate the usefulness of diplomacy.

[Dariun]

Don't underestimate the usefulness of diplomacy.

Good point. I should have listed that with skills: concentration, umd, diplomacy, jump (then balance and spot if you somehow have skills left).

[amysrevenge]

If you combine Charm Person with Command Undead (which I currently have but will swap out at later levels I think), then oozes and iron defenders are about all you have to worry about killing up to about level 6 quests. You can solo almost all of the low level quests with some patience, but it is a lot faster and safer to do it in a group - especially if you are new. That will give you a chance to practice.

Actually, one thing to think about is doing some of the level 1 solo only quests a few times each, not so much for the XP as for the practice.

Mike

[yawgmoth]

Another thing to consider if you plan on soloing as an arcane is going warforged. They may not get as much max cha as a human or drow, but take a few repair spells, some fortification, and lots of hp/sp...nothing will kill you as long as you're not interrupted/run out of sp. Reconstruct (level 6 spell) can heal for 140hp base, add in items and enhancements and you're over 200, critting for 600, every few seconds for 35sp.

[Blind_Skwerl]

I run a capped drow sorc and several other casters. Start with a drow if you can, human if you can't do drow. Max your charisma. Put all your remaining stat points into constitution. Put skill points into concentration & UMD. Feats are variable, depending on personal prefferences/playstyle. Most common choices are: Metamagics:heighten, extend, empower, maximize; Skill focus/Greater Skill focus: Illusion, Necromancy, Enchantment; mental toughness/improved mental toughness; spell penetration. You can manipulate these as you go along to try out different styles of play (DPS nuker, Insta-killer, or crowd controller/"pink hat army general") You can always make a visit to Fred if you don't like what you have, and swap those spells out every three days.

Some say that you should run a wizard for your first arcane character, but I disagree. Wizards can cast all spells, but you gotta know what ones to bring. You have alot more descisions to make with a wizard and a slower cast time and smaller spell point pool. Sorcerers are more straight forward. Focused power. Easier to learn with. Now go out there and kick some a$$!!!

[CSFurious]

after my first bard, my first arcane caster was a wizard that i took to level 8

i would suggest doing that & then rolling a drow sorceror with chr 20

Maybe the best advice you can get about playing a caster is to start with a Wizard. Then you will get lots of spells to play with and be a HUGE help with any party you join. Sorcerers get to cast more spells between resting, but have VERY few actual spells to cast. So its much better to play one that you can use lots of different spells so you can figure out what spells are best for you.

But, if you are certain that a sorcerer is what you want to play... Max your Charisma and either put the rest of your points into Dex for the AC or Con for the Hit points. Myself, I go for AC, but there is about an equal number of reasons to go with the HPs. (Many will argue for each side, it is up to you which way is for your play style) But I'd max the CHA unless you have a specific build (multi-class) in mind.

BUT, the sorcerer isn't a very good solo artist at all. In fact, without knowing all the adventures VERY well, you may not even be able to complete any of them. If you want a solo artist, make a Cleric/Fighter hybrid or somesuch. There are lots of builds on the forum that may interest you for the soloest, but you have to filter out all the " + this & Uber that" Junk to find what works for you. Very few post bare bones builds.

Want a great Sorcerer or Wizard or Bardic type? Get Drow unlocked with 400 Favor. They make the best of the above classes due to Cha/Dex bonuses. Its best to dig for more information about favor...

Welcome, good luck, and its about time! You've been missing a super great game!

[MrWizard]

I gotta agree with some of the guys here, simple fact is DnD and DDO are different...as far as spell use in pen and paper versus online, it is so different, I would try a wiz first.

In fact...I would try a wiz til about 3rd level and then start my sorc. Levling each as I go.

The spells are what make your sorc what he/she is. And although there are many ways to make a sorc spell list, it is a real pain when you have to wait three days to switch out a spell. This is extremely hard if you level quick.

By using the wiz, you will have a second spell caster to use and you can test different spells out as you level. Use your experience and others suggestions to pick the right spell for your sorc.

In the end, no matter your build or itmes, it really depends on your spell choice and how you use them...enhancements can be changed, feats can be switched, and monty hall +6 items drop all the time....but it takes three days to change 'one spell'...so if you wanted to drop a 2nd level and add that cool 4th level spell in a swtichout, it will take 6 real days to do so....

And above else, enjoy it.

[Khurse]

Thanks All, actually ran him up to level 2 (the power...the power!)
I tried the Niacs/Charm- but found that for the solo (for me anywy)
shield worked better than charm. Seeemd to make a huge difference in how often they hit me)

-Is there any way to break charm btw? Had a mission or two when I had to "kill all xxxx" and (being a dummy) I charmed one of them (with extend) and had to wait forver for it to wear off.


Also- are there any enhancements that are preferred or tha will turn out to be useless and should be avoided?

[DemonMage]

You can dispel it, but that's a level 3 spell (level... 8? for sorcerers) so not really something you can do anytime soon. Just don't charm quest objective mobs and you'll be fine =-p

[Dariun]

Also- are there any enhancements that are preferred or tha will turn out to be useless and should be avoided?

Enhacements that increase your spell points or charisma are good. There are several good fire/ice spells, so the enhancements that increase the damage of these spells are also good (assuming you are going to use niacs, scorching ray, fireball, firewall, cone of cold, etc.).

Depending on your race, you could have some good racial enhancements to choose from.

Generally the enhancements for +1 to a skill (e.g., repair or concentration) are not particularly valuable for a sorcerer.

The "improved empowering" etc. enhancements do not seem so great to me, but I think they will be improved with the next update.

I think the "subtle spellcasting" enhancements are probably useless for a sorcerer as you will do so much damage that they won't help anyway.

[jkm]

the improved empower and max are currently worthless as they are based on the base spell point total, not the metamagic'd total.

[Jakylpops]

Charm is a very frustrating spell to recommend for a new player that doesn't know the dungeons very well. You will end up generating an awful lot of "party agro" from people who get sick of waiting for the charm to wear off. There are an awful lot of doors that won't open until everything is dead in the low level quests.

Shield is a terrible choice for a starting spell, if you're getting hit that much then you're spending way too much time standing still, try Hypnotize instead, just spam it over and over if things start to get too hot and you'll hardly take any damage.

[Khurse]

Thanks all, few more questions though..

1) Why the preference for Niacs? Does more damage but doesn't magic missle auto hit? Just noticing I seem to miss a bunch with Niacs (of course when it hits..)

2) What's the differnce (if there is one) between the Instakill build and a DPS build? I'm kinda used to EQ where they were about the same thing (just hit wit ice comet etc) Is one a better build to help gorups at higher levels?

3) Does alignment matter at all? Chose neutral,and while looking at the marketplace. noticed a few things (well weapons) that were for Lawful or good only..is neutral gimped?

Thanks (again) for any further answers you can provide..

[DemonMage]

1) It's elemental, it can exploit the weakness of fire mobs doing double damage against them. If you pick targets with low reflex saves, it also lands more often than not.

2) Instakill focuses on just that, it instantly kills the target. Save or die. DPS builds focus on damaging spells to eventually kill the target. Damage spells however are not subject to Spell Resistance. They both have their advantages, but as levels go up, and mob hp skyrockets, it gets more annoying to damage things. The metamagic changes with Mod 5 may help even this out a bit.

3) It matters, but it's more about what you want out of the character. Whether that's a feel/roleplaying, or a specific item or type of item, or the protection of not taking damage from unholy weapons that are becoming more and more frequently used.

[blaten22]

Thanks all, few more questions though..

1) Why the preference for Niacs? Does more damage but doesn't magic missle auto hit? Just noticing I seem to miss a bunch with Niacs (of course when it hits..)

2) What's the differnce (if there is one) between the Instakill build and a DPS build? I'm kinda used to EQ where they were about the same thing (just hit wit ice comet etc) Is one a better build to help gorups at higher levels?

3) Does alignment matter at all? Chose neutral,and while looking at the marketplace. noticed a few things (well weapons) that were for Lawful or good only..is neutral gimped?

Thanks (again) for any further answers you can provide..

1) Niac is a awesome combo with charm. I used it to solo threw the lower lvl's. The key is to know what niacs will land on the most. Charm your fighters...Niacs your casters and up till bout 7ish give or take? niacs is awesome.

2) I came from EQ as well of 8 yrs so this is indeed different :P. DPS is the same. class that you make that is a dps specialist rather it be melee or a caster. Instakill's will be new for you. Wizard, or Sorc, that is spec'ed for 2 spells...Pk or FoD. Phantasmal Killer and Finger of Death. Both of these spells if a mob fails the saving throw will die instantly.

3) If your a caster, most go True Nuetral i believe now a days. There's alot of nice Chaotic aligned weapons now a days and i belive you take no hit to stats for using them. this part am a little fuzzy on as i picked lawful :P.

here is a link for good information on spells and such.

http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=116560

Hope it helps

Glindor Spellslinger
Danthien Oceanheart

[Fourtwenty]

This maybe off topic..but im trien to build an oober character..got sum real good idea ..but cant be profected till i can figure out each difference in alignment..seems that what i found on google is that true law gets a plus 2 to ac..and i think resistance..but im not too sure of all the con"s and pro's of each alignment..if anyone could provide a link or some information..I would be right Greatfull