The Sorcerer's Handbook: A Guide to Building and Playing Sorcerers

[Aspenor]

added "on the selection of spells."

feel free to PM me your sorc builds and i will link them in one of the reserved posts, especially if your sorc is built in a drastically different way than outlined here.

Thanks.

[sisterjinx]

I have to say that i have never made a sorc that lived past 10th lvl. I always delete them. But today I wanted to build one to try again as opposed to my usual wizzys and i was looking for someplace that would help me know how many feats I got and at what lvls. This post has been extremely helpful as far as figuring out when I get feats and how many I would get with which races. Thanks.

[Baskill]

Thanks for the well written guide. I too was interested in making a sorc, and was interested in what spells and skills are important. Will come in handy for sure!

[Khurse]

Might (or might not) want to point out that the "new" low level baddies Saughin, aren't affected by charm person.

[Aspenor]

Might (or might not) want to point out that the "new" low level baddies Saughin, aren't affected by charm person.

ah, thanks for the input. IIRC Charm Person SHOULD work on them as per the MM. I can make a change to the spells section to reflect this difference. thanks for the feedback. I haven't leveld a sorc through Korthos.

[muffinlad]

Interestingly enough, I play wizards and sorcerers (Fighter-Wizard, WF wizard, Arcane Trapsmith, Glass Cannon Sorc and Crowd Controll sorc) and enjoy each and every one of them.

That being said, I enjoy the guide, and think you are off to a good start.

I think you are under-estimating drow a bit at the beginning, as early to mid game content gives them some advantages (SR), they start as effectivly a 30 build with high charisma max that at end game, combined with available items makes their spells a bit better. But I see that as a quibble, as I see good things for Humans and WF as well.

Regarding hit points...I am not seeing much trouble at all at being 260 hp on my drow sorc (no rage, GH counted here), and I can heal from scrolls 90% of the time with my Char. GS rapier/Tripple Air Goggles. (I tend to be Scale poor, having so many toons, so I have to go the cheap route).

I am curious on how you will address the Wand/Scroll/Potion need for the average sorc. I have my own "scheme" regarding this, carrying 100 heal scrolls, and hot bar'd wands etc. have let me fill in for the cleric if needed.

Looking forward to more!

muffinsorc.

[tinyelvis]

This is a blind leading the blind guide.

There is a lot of nonsense here ranging from the OP's opinions vs facts (ie. comments concerning race and stats), to just dumb suggestions (like potentially not taking maximize as a feat and taking mental toughness). The spell selection is average to poor especially if you plan to power level. The OP does not really seem to have anything other than rookish mundane knowledge of the sorcerer class. Follow this guide and build an emasculated version of a good DPS sorc whose position in the party would better be replaced by a DPS melee.

I would not recommend taking much of this serious.

EDIT: April 2010: This guide has changed quite a bit since it was first created. Initially it wasn't just worthless ****, but **** that was crapped by ****. There currently is quite a lot of useful info here now. I believe this is due in part to the OP editing his remarks with more current ideas either gained thru play experience or community suggestion. Hope to see even more edits in a positive direction in the future.

[boldarblood]

This is a blind leading the blind guide.

There is a lot of nonsense here ranging from the OP's opinions vs facts (ie. comments concerning race and stats), to just dumb suggestions (like potentially not taking maximize as a feat and taking mental toughness). .

You should read a little closer before commenting. The op stated this.

"At the highest levels having mental toughness is a complete waste of a feat for a sorcerer. Taking the mental toughness feats for an end-game sorcerer is like dumping a gallon jug into a swimming pool"


Which is true, mental toughness is ok to have at lower levels, but once you start leveling up its benifits decrease.

[Aspenor]

This is a blind leading the blind guide.

There is a lot of nonsense here ranging from the OP's opinions vs facts (ie. comments concerning race and stats), to just dumb suggestions (like potentially not taking maximize as a feat and taking mental toughness). The spell selection is average to poor especially if you plan to power level. The OP does not really seem to have anything other than rookish mundane knowledge of the sorcerer class. Follow this guide and build an emasculated version of a good DPS sorc whose position in the party would better be replaced by a DPS melee.

I would not recommend taking much of this serious.

LOL you can't be serious.....who the hell are you anyway?

Nowhere, ANYWHERE, did I suggest not taking Maximize Spell. It is an absolute requirement to have AT END-GAME. What you obviously fail to realize is that this is not only a guide to building an end-game sorc, but a step-by-step guide to leveling said sorcerer.

Your post is not only indicates that you didn't take the time to read the whole thread, but is also an epic failure of an attempt to troll a constructive thread. If you don't have the patience to actually READ the words that I typed, do yourself a favor and just don't comment.

Additionally, since you fail so badly at reading, I'll add an "End Game" section to the feats selection post.

[Hobgoblin]

This is a blind leading the blind guide.

There is a lot of nonsense here ranging from the OP's opinions vs facts (ie. comments concerning race and stats), to just dumb suggestions (like potentially not taking maximize as a feat and taking mental toughness). The spell selection is average to poor especially if you plan to power level. The OP does not really seem to have anything other than rookish mundane knowledge of the sorcerer class. Follow this guide and build an emasculated version of a good DPS sorc whose position in the party would better be replaced by a DPS melee.

I would not recommend taking much of this serious.

so only you can recommend sorc builds? And according to you only drow are good sorcs? wow just wow

me mama always said if ya dont have something nice to say dont say anything at all. anyone have a flaming of acid burst for this person?

sorry asp didnt mean to fead the trolls

[Borror0]

sorry asp didnt mean to fead the trolls

If no one fed the trolls, Asp would die of starvation.

[Hobgoblin]

If no one fed the trolls, Asp would die of starvation.

yes but asp is a troll i actually like about half the time

[Aspenor]

so only you can recommend sorc builds? And according to you only drow are good sorcs? wow just wow

me mama always said if ya dont have something nice to say dont say anything at all. anyone have a flaming of acid burst for this person?

sorry asp didnt mean to fead the trolls

It's not your fault, this guy obviously is so far ahead of all of us that he must be right.

What he fails to realize is that this thread is intended for people that haven't played a sorcerer before, not for people that have played them for a long time.

Not only did he post nothing that resembled anything I suggested, but his use of extreme language indicates that he is a rookie at posting on the forums.

I am known across 2 servers for being one of the best players of arcane casters either server has ever seen. Not necessarily THE best, but **** good.

My assessments are spot-on, whether he wants to believe it or not. It's not my fault that he's upset that his sorc isn't optimized.

[Borror0]

Not necessarily THE best, but **** good..

Really? That's not what I heard. "Aspenor, the Beholder Slain", right?

[muffinlad]

Typically it is best, when you get that kind of non-constructive feedback (I am right, you are wrong, I am smart, you are stupid), it is better to just point out that they are not being helpful, and ask them to contribute more positivly.

If they follow up with a "You are so dumb, you are not worth my time"...they are, in fact, wasting your time and theirs. State your piece, and put them on ignore. You gave them a chance. Life is too short.

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tinyelvis, here is some feedback. All views are welcome, but all manner of commenting is not. We are all doing this for fun. Your manner of address, and feedback is critical, without giving anything back, other than demeaning comments---and this is not adding to the fun.

If you want to continue to be a part of this discussion, you need to treat everyone here as your friend. Not your brother, not your close ally, not your parrents, but you need to act in a friendly, constructive way in this discussion where no one insulted you.

If you can't do that, I, and I am guessing others, are going to ignore you. Perhaps you had a bad day. Perhaps you did not post exactly what you wanted to. However, this kind of start is not really going to get anyone to engage with you in a manner that helps anyone.

My advice is to try again, and give constructive feedback on what you think, would, and would not be helpful. If you disagree with the guide in it's final form, write your own. No one is going to lose their life over this guide...but loss of FUN from reading non-constructive feedback is a quality of life issue that we are all concerned with.

This kind of resource can really help new players, and that is where our heads should be on this issue.

muffinfrank

[sephiroth1084]

I really think that you lessen the value of this thread by not discussing enough choices and their relative merits/downsides at each level. I admit that I've played a wizard only, but some of your choices seem really questionable:

-Resist Energy is basically just as effective off of a wand, and Scorching Ray is much better than Niac's since it doesn't allow for a save (let alone a save for 0), and improves dramatically 3 levels after you take it. Oh, and it doesn't eat up SP/time by getting Heigtened.
-Solid Fog +Firewall is better than PK in most situations. And the toughest situations for most casters are against mobs of enemies, where individual-target spells are too inefficient.
-Acid Fog is better than Hold Monster in the majority of situations and combos with your other spells, like Web and Firewall
-Dancing Ball is very effective and is a strong contender for the Waves slot

You also don't do much separation of build types in selection of spells and feats. A charmer would probably want Suggestion some time early in the game. A CC'er would probably want Glitterdust as well.

Stoneskin is also basically just as good off of a wand, while Fire Shield is a fairly useful spell to have.

[Moonblood]

This may be a stupid question.. But why is it a Must to Max your charisma? Will a sorc be just as effective with a starting Char at 16, and further and all future points go into charisma? I've only capped one sorc, was a drow w/max charisma, so i'm curious if my next human sorc would be better served dumping more into con and some into itel? What would I lose besides SP with a starting char of 16 from level 1 to end game?

[Osharan_Tregarth]

This may be a stupid question.. But why is it a Must to Max your charisma? Will a sorc be just as effective with a starting Char at 16, and further and all future points go into charisma? I've only capped one sorc, was a drow w/max charisma, so i'm curious if my next human sorc would be better served dumping more into con and some into itel? What would I lose besides SP with a starting char of 16 from level 1 to end game?

I'd say it's a must. In the case of a fighter or other melee, you can get different buffs and gear to help you hit things better. In addition, if you miss, you just swing again without losing anything.

In the case of a caster, the available gear is a lot more limited, and if you miss you just wasted some spellpoints.

[Junts]

I will confess a bias of wizards over sorcerers, but don't want to argue this in general. I would like to point out that how you approach the game may make a huge difference in if you want to go sorc or wiz. If you are end-game focused, I think everything you say about the advantages of sorcs is correct. The endgame is so narrowly focused, that once you tailor your sorc spells/feats to the new content, they are superior for that content.

However, if you short-man/solo a lot and continually play all the content; having more spells and feats in addition to the flexibility of the wizard is much more important.

I would buy into this argument more if 'firewall' and, sometimes 'flesh to stone' and 'disintegrate' weren't basically the only spells a caster needs to do all the level 14 and under content.


firewall is why sorcerors are so good on ddo; it is 85% of the offensive spells they cast prior to devil-laden content.
if firewall werent insanely overpowered, sorcerors would be far harder to pick spells for.

you can be a dps sorc on ddo and only know 5 damage spells..or 3

[Aspenor]

This may be a stupid question.. But why is it a Must to Max your charisma? Will a sorc be just as effective with a starting Char at 16, and further and all future points go into charisma? I've only capped one sorc, was a drow w/max charisma, so i'm curious if my next human sorc would be better served dumping more into con and some into itel? What would I lose besides SP with a starting char of 16 from level 1 to end game?

You'd lose 1 DC, making you probably better off being a warforged so you can use arcane magic to self-heal. The extra skill points humans gain offset the need to invest much in intelligence.

The only time I might see this making sense is on a Drow, taking charisma to 18 or 19 and investing the saved build points in constitution to offset the penalty.