tough spell choices

[Averroes]

When i hit lvl 11 I plan on taking either fireball or ray of exhaustion (lvl 3), enervation (lvl 4), and then my next lvl 5 spell will probably be cloudkill or hold monster (or symbol of pain).. HOW THE HECK DO I GET STONESKIN??

Coc ftw! There are quests where that's the only non-buff spell I cast...

And you can buy stoneskin wands in the 12... Or there's always scrolls. Evervate is also available on scrolls, and has no save, so other than things with SR it works just as well.

My sorc currently carries haste/fireball/pro energy/displacement at level 3, firewall/stoneskin/fireshield/ddoor at 4, and coc/dominate person/teleport at 5.

[sirgog]

Cone of Cold is IMO the best level 5 spell (and I've never played a nuker build).

Cloudkill once was, but now it is only really useful in one quest, Running with the Devils.

[Merkinsal]

I have found enervation to be a great spell. The scroll did not work well for me for two reasons. First, spell penetration. Second, the time to load the scroll and cast is too long. There are drawbacks to the spell. It can be a waste of mana if you use it all the time and its takes up a valuable lvl 4 spell slot. As you have already found, there are not enough lvl 4 spell slots.