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

[zooble]

This is only a loose guide for spell choices. You may want other spells depending on what you want your sorc to do.

Spell choices: 1st level
Hypnotism, Niacs
Will save spell, useful for making groups of mobs stand still. A sorceror can spam cast 2-3 hypnotisms and render entire crowds immobile. I recommend taking this at 2nd level to help control crowds. Niacs is for damage output. It is the highest damage spell for first level available, and it works well on early mobs, especially casters. A sorceror should remember melee mobs have low will, and caster mobs have low dex, so charm the fighting types and kill the caster types.

Spell Choice: 2nd level
Charm Person
At early levels you will want to be able to short-man quests, and you will want to be able to take control of the baddies to fight for you. Charm Person works on kobolds and hobgoblins, the common enemies in the early game.
Alternative: Burning hands
Burning hands is a good low level damage spell for groups of monsters, and taking burning hands at second level also allows the sorceror to be more effective against undead, since ice does not work on skeletons.

Spell Choice: 3rd Level
Burning Hands
See above, alternative spell is hypnotism.

Spell Choice: 4th level
Web or Resist Energy
Web is the fundamental crowd control spell in the game. Learn it, use it, and master it. Being able to use this spell effectively will help you use others later down the line. Resist energy is a MUST HAVE for a sorceror. Taking this spell early also makes your sorceror more able to short-man quests for quicker experience. You can make due with your first level spells for CC and damage.

Spell Choice: 5th Level
Web or Resist Energy
Whichever one is not chosen at 4th, take it at 5th.

Spell Chice: 6th Level
Haste
Everybody loves haste. You know you can't live without it. At low levels there is nothing like hasting a fighter.

Now's when it gets hairy. Around 6th level, you no longer need some early spells, and you are in need of different spells for the quests you are in.
For example, Stormcleave is a common 6-8 experience quest, and the giant at the end canot be harmed by Niac's. However, crowd control is necessary for this quest, and it would be awful tough to give up one of your CC spells. At 6th level I recommend dropping burning hands for magic missle, simply for use in killing the giant. If you feel you can count on your fighters to do this, this change may not be necessary.
Spell Swap- Burning Hands for Magic Missile

Spell Choice: 7th Level
2nd Level - Blur
3rd Level - Fireball
Blur will be your first defensive buff. KEEP YOURSELF BLURRED. You have no AC. Damage avoidance is your only way to survive. Fireball replaces burning hands as your AoE killer.

Recommended spell swap at 7th level:
Niac's for Jump
Niacs is no longer your primary killing spell. Fireball is a reflex save, and performs just as well as Niacs. Jump is necessary for evasive maneuvering.
Jump is a must-have for a 14th level caster.

Spell Choice: 8th level
8th level spell selection is very subjective. It depends on your build. Are you an instant-death build? You want PK. Are you a direct damage build? You want firewall. Are you a charm build? Charm monster.
My chosen spell at this level is PK. It generates very little aggro, and is a useful for a quick-kill on a threatening mob.

Spell Choices: 9th level
W00T!! We get 3 spells this level!
2nd Level - Scorching Ray
3rd Level - Displacement
4th Level - Wall of Fire
Displacement is a MUST HAVE for a sorceror. 50% miss chance will save your tail ALOT. Use this spell, and use it often when you get aggro.
Scorching ray - staple high level damage spell. At low levels it is less useful, due to 1 ray only. It now has 2.
Wall of Fire - Staple damage spell. Learn to love it. You'll be jumping around in it like a jackrabbit on crack.

Spell Choices: 10th level
5th level - Hold Monster
Hold Monster is your new Melee destruction spell. Being attacked by a fighter type mob? HOLD THEM. Will save spell.

Recommended spell swap:
Hypnotism for Nightshield
With your casting speed on hold monster, hypnotism is not necessary. Use web for group control, if necessary. Magic missles are unavoidable damage, and this simple spell lasts for 1min/level, and absorbs all missile effects. It also gives resistance bonus to saves.

Spell Choices: 11th Level
3rd Level - Protection from energy
4th Level - Stoneskin
5th Level - Cone of Cold
I R SQUISSHEEEE
Displacement and stoneskin is the BEST armor class in the game. Use it, love it. Live it.
Protection from energy may seem like it is unnecessary, but you won't think so when you get hit with 100 damage lightning and 180 damage polar rays. Damage mitigation is your friend. Cone of Cold is your new burning hands, except much better. Especially useful on fire monsters (14th level crits up to 2000-ish).

niac's is a useless spell (save = 0 damage). should be replaced(kept in your book for now for fire based mobs) with scorching ray (no save) at level 4 (earliest) not level 9.
you will not be able to kill any dex based mob till level 7 (fireball: save = 1/2 damage) by this guide (if you do you will expend 10x sp trying to get it to hit).

fireball should be replaced with acid blast. if you come across a fire/cold immune mob like blackbone skeles you can't do any damage till your listed level 15 selection spell acid fog. it does the same damage and has the same save... the only difference is the enhancement which you should be able to have points for anyway.

also force of personality feat (significant advantage over wizard) should be taken earliest possible if you ever want to increase your survival ability in hard/elite significantly... due to increased CC... priority is even higher if you are a soloist as debuffs will always target you as there are no other party members around

edit: wall of fire at 8 will dismiss any acid immune mobs you want to aoe.

edit 2: fireball is a horrible boss nuker thus more reason for scorching ray... targeting a mob (or simply aiming at it) and casting that spell will just ask for it to bug out and do 0 damage. it must be cast at the ground.

[winsom]

My non-twinked human sorceror has had great success with Niac's Cold Ray at levels 2 to 6th. It works very well, even on hard difficulty. I do not have to re-cast it very often due to a successful save. When I do have to recast it, it is very worth it the cost due to the high damage amount. I started Maximizing it at 6th.

I took Spell Focus feat in Conjuration because this raises the DC of Web, Niac's and Acid Blast.

I will probably retrain Focus feat from Conjuration to Illusion at 8th-9th level when I pick-up Phantasmal Killer and Heighten. At that level I will be using Scorching Ray and Magic Missile (replacing Niacs) for my single-target damage.

I soloed Red Willow Ruins at level 6 using Expeditious Retreat, Web, Hypnotism and maximized Niac's and Acid Blast. Non-twinked 28 point character that has not bought anything from auction house or broker. My experience with playing the game makes this easier, along with the 100s of spell points and quick refresh on sorceror spells.

[drachine]

This will be post +4 Charisma Tome so I will free up some action points to use toward the following. Of note, I do not carry empower nor extend. Also, I am of the school of thought that I spend more time casting non-damaging spells such as Finger of Death and Flesh to Stone then damaging spells so I took the Improved Heighten II and Improved Maximize III to get as many points as I can saved. You do notice a difference and with those points you can use more non-damaging spells

[sorcerer] - Charisma I (2)
[sorcerer] - Charisma II (4)
[sorcerer] - Concentration I (1)
[sorcerer] - Elemental Manipulation I (1)
[sorcerer] - Elemental Manipulation II (2)
[sorcerer] - Elemental Manipulation III (3)
[sorcerer] - Energy Manipulation I (1)
[sorcerer] - Energy Manipulation II (2)
[sorcerer] - Energy Manipulation III (3)
[sorcerer] - Force Manipulation I (1)
[sorcerer] - Force Manipulation II (2)
[sorcerer] - Force Manipulation III (3)
[sorcerer] - Improved Heightening I (4)
[sorcerer] - Improved Heightening II (6)
[sorcerer] - Improved Maximizing I (2)
[sorcerer] - Improved Maximizing II (4)
[sorcerer] - Improved Maximizing III (6)
[sorcerer] - Improved Spell Penetration I (2)
[sorcerer] - Improved Spell Penetration II (4)
[sorcerer] - Improved Spell Penetration III (6)
[sorcerer] - Lineage of Elements I (1)
[sorcerer] - Lineage of Elements II (2)
[sorcerer] - Lineage of Elements III (3)
[sorcerer] - Lineage of Energy I (1)
[sorcerer] - Lineage of Energy II (2)
[sorcerer] - Lineage of Energy III (3)
[sorcerer] - Lineage of Force I (1)
[sorcerer] - Lineage of Force II (2)
[sorcerer] - Lineage of Force III (3)
[sorcerer] - Wand Mastery I (1)
[sorcerer] - Wand Mastery II (2)

Lastly, the Wand Mastery was picked up for the fact that it helps your Repair Scrolls as well as Wands which helps a lot and they upped the amound of damage that it does. I guess I could trade 3 for an improved critical damage multiplier but it doesn't seem worth it to me. When it works I may trade for Sorcerer Capstone, but my attitude is the same that since I cast mostly non-damaging spells I may not need it.

[zooble]

My non-twinked human sorceror has had great success with Niac's Cold Ray at levels 2 to 6th. It works very well, even on hard difficulty. I do not have to re-cast it very often due to a successful save. When I do have to recast it, it is very worth it the cost due to the high damage amount. I started Maximizing it at 6th.

I took Spell Focus feat in Conjuration because this raises the DC of Web, Niac's and Acid Blast.

I will probably retrain Focus feat from Conjuration to Illusion at 8th-9th level when I pick-up Phantasmal Killer and Heighten. At that level I will be using Scorching Ray and Magic Missile (replacing Niacs) for my single-target damage.

I soloed Red Willow Ruins at level 6 using Expeditious Retreat, Web, Hypnotism and maximized Niac's and Acid Blast. Non-twinked 28 point character that has not bought anything from auction house or broker. My experience with playing the game makes this easier, along with the 100s of spell points and quick refresh on sorceror spells.

why you just wouldn't use scorching at your level is beyond me. why you're promoting niacs is unfounded. the fact that you say you're experienced is clearly false as you would know that a save vs no save is one of the most important aspects of the game for a caster.

the fact that there is even a chance you have to recast niacs is cause to not use it over SR. any soloing you do should be killed with aoe or in 1 shot of a single cast (at low levels excl boss... still true at high levels but in the form of fod... if you know fod will save then ed-fod) otherwise its inefficient whether you are able to do it or not. web isn't required and will simply be a waste of sp once you get firewall. its useful later in the game so i would pick it up later with resist energy being the 2nd level 2 spell taken

red willow is full of high str, low to avg dex mobs so of course they wouldn't save much (if at all)

i guarantee you that you will not hit the fire ele in ruined halls more than 1 out of 5 casts if you haven't out leveled it yet (im not saying SR will do damage but this will illustrate how ineffective niacs is against dex mobs)

if you can kill it in 10 casts on any diff but solo then grats you're lucky

contrast how many shots it takes to the low dex fire mephits next to him



if you really want a cold single target spell then frost lance is what you want when it is available

[ddoer]

why you just wouldn't use scorching at your level is beyond me. why you're promoting niacs is unfounded. the fact that you say you're experienced is clearly false as you would know that a save vs no save is one of the most important aspects of the game for a caster.

the fact that there is even a chance you have to recast niacs is cause to not use it over SR. any soloing you do should be killed with aoe or in 1 shot of a single cast (at low levels excl boss... still true at high levels but in the form of fod... if you know fod will save then ed-fod) otherwise its inefficient whether you are able to do it or not. web isn't required and will simply be a waste of sp once you get firewall. its useful later in the game so i would pick it up later with resist energy being the 2nd level 2 spell taken

red willow is full of high str, low to avg dex mobs so of course they wouldn't save much (if at all)

i guarantee you that you will not hit the fire ele in ruined halls more than 1 out of 5 casts if you haven't out leveled it yet (im not saying SR will do damage but this will illustrate how ineffective niacs is against dex mobs)

if you can kill it in 10 casts on any diff but solo then grats you're lucky

contrast how many shots it takes to the low dex fire mephits next to him



if you really want a cold single target spell then frost lance is what you want when it is available

i think your arguments are unfounded.

• why don't you assume he keep shooting Niac against a cold immune mob instead? it could better demonstrate his noobness.
• he talked about lv 1-6 and I don't know how Finger of Death could come into the picture, and indeed, i have difficulty in understanding your words
• I have absolutely no idea why you mention SR. are you playing PnP or DDO? In DDO, SR doesn't affect any damage spell.
• frost lance is a level 3 spell that is available only from level 6. And there are many other good spells in L3. what about L1-5?

With experience, or more exactly knowledge in game mechanic and nature of mobs, one can easily choose the right target to use the high damage Niac spell. I suppose no one will assume the player won't use another damage spell. Niac is 1d10 per caster level up to 5, with double focus and a Conjuration item, and perhaps heighten, it got pretty good chance of landing when a correct mob is chosen, and with potency/equivalent and fire/cold enhancement, it deals serious damage with just 10sp.

[Arctigis]

i think your arguments are unfounded.

• why don't you assume he keep shooting Niac against a cold immune mob instead? it could better demonstrate his noobness.
• he talked about lv 1-6 and I don't know how Finger of Death could come into the picture, and indeed, i have difficulty in understanding your words
• I have absolutely no idea why you mention SR. are you playing PnP or DDO? In DDO, SR doesn't affect any damage spell.
• frost lance is a level 3 spell that is available only from level 6. And there are many other good spells in L3. what about L1-5?

With experience, or more exactly knowledge in game mechanic and nature of mobs, one can easily choose the right target to use the high damage Niac spell. I suppose no one will assume the player won't use another damage spell. Niac is 1d10 per caster level up to 5, with double focus and a Conjuration item, and perhaps heighten, it got pretty good chance of landing when a correct mob is chosen, and with potency/equivalent and fire/cold enhancement, it deals serious damage with just 10sp.

Agreed. The SR I think was an abbreviation for scorching ray rather than spell resistance. IMO, scorching ray
only becomes viable (because of the slow cast time and awkward targeting) at L7 when you get two rays.
I prefer shocking grasp to Niac's simply because less mobs are immune i.e. it works on undead.

[winsom]

Agreed. Scorching Ray only becomes viable (because of the slow cast time and awkward targeting) at L7 when you get two rays..

This is the correct reasoning that is should be passed on to newer players, at sorceror levels 4 to 6th.

Scorching Ray is a poor choice before 7th level because:

4d6 fire damage, no save, does not compare well to 5d10 cold damage save for none.

If you took scorching ray at levels 4 to 6th that means you did not take a more useful spell such as Web, Blur or Resist Energy

At these levels you may encounter a creature that will take extra extra damage from cold: hell hound, fire elemental, fire mephit. These creatures will take no damage from Scorching Ray and your Magic Missile spell (if you have it) is going to do pitiful damage compared to Niacs.

Scorching Ray is very useful for a few levels, starting at 11th, when it fires 3 rays. It is still good to have at 7th+ when it has 2 rays although its damage is not significantly better than Niacs. (5d10 vs 8d6).

When many monsters begin to resist Niac's Cold Ray it becomes a good time to swap your spells to pick up Scorching Ray. This is not yet a problem for a typical 22+ Charisma sorceror at levels 4 to 6.

[Aspenor]

Niac's is about choosing your targets. You don't necessarily Niac's a dex-based monster, you use it on lower reflex ones like casters. Hobgoblins have pitiful reflex saves in general it seems, as well.

Don't expect every spell to work against every monster. I thought I made that clear.

[Junts]

So much bad advice, all arguing with Asp in the same thread.

[Aspenor]

So much bad advice, all arguing with Asp in the same thread.

Generally, arguing with me = bad advice.

[Xeriphim]

but the real question ... why is this thread not stickied yet ? ....

Usefull information presented int a logical methodical format that does actually work . Is it for everyone ? well the trolls have argued the boo hoos an said there bit . The OP's presentation is sound and worth following .

+1 rep for the OP .

[zooble]

but the real question ... why is this thread not stickied yet ? ....

Usefull information presented int a logical methodical format that does actually work . Is it for everyone ? well the trolls have argued the boo hoos an said there bit . The OP's presentation is sound and worth following .

+1 rep for the OP .

you don't sticky something that is opinion and not fact as it will lead to misinformation. just like ddowiki... theres so much old info that may have been correct at one stage that simply isn't true right now. yet people keep directing everyone there for information.... guess what happens when they read something thats plainly wrong?

[Xeriphim]

you don't sticky something that is opinion and not fact as it will lead to misinformation. just like ddowiki... theres so much old info that may have been correct at one stage that simply isn't true right now. yet people keep directing everyone there for information.... guess what happens when they read something thats plainly wrong?

your opinion an your entitled to it . Just as the OP is entitled to his opinion . I have my own opinion . News flash everyone has there own opinions and conjectures about how to play something . No one is going to have the most correct way ... That's the wonders of diversity . I'll leave it at that.

[Aspenor]

you don't sticky something that is opinion and not fact as it will lead to misinformation. just like ddowiki... theres so much old info that may have been correct at one stage that simply isn't true right now. yet people keep directing everyone there for information.... guess what happens when they read something thats plainly wrong?

hate to break it to you but you were objectively wrong with your advice, so i wouldn't throw stones when you live in a brick house.

[Aspenor]

objectively wrong in your subjective view?

lol even if i were incorrect, i'm not the one asking for stickers or gold stars.

no offense pal but why do you hang around these forums... its clear over 95% of this sorc forum hates you and your pitiful advice, on this thread and others...

-----------------

so i happened upon your post in this other discussion...


source http://forums.ddo.com/showpost.php?p...4&postcount=60

lets play spot the difference

http://www.urbandictionary.com/defin...%20tough%20guy

i'm sure all you viewers want advice from someone like that

ill leave you with that as i'm out of this meaningless thread so i don't keep bumping it for people to be misguided

i'm also done with reasoning with 12yo's or at least people who acts like that age

Actually, 95% of the people that matter agree with me on...everything. Only a small portion of players disagree with me, they happen to be very vocal (and wrong).

Skilled players that know the game agree. Players that overestimate their skill and knowledge disagree. That's what really matters, not the number of people on an internet forum that agree. Anybody that's any good knows I'm right. If you actually read the thread, there are 2 maybe 3 people that disagree with me. Of course, counting might be beyond your skill set.

Nice join date by the way, ever made it out of Tangleroot?

[shinmade]

Actually, 95% of the people that matter agree with me on...everything. Only a small portion of players disagree with me, they happen to be very vocal (and wrong).

Skilled players that know the game agree. Players that overestimate their skill and knowledge disagree. That's what really matters, not the number of people on an internet forum that agree. Anybody that's any good knows I'm right.

Hi welcome Asp. Wrong.

[Aspenor]

Hi welcome Asp. Wrong.

lol says the guy that links this thread to every poorly built sorc he plays with.

hi buddy

[ddoer]

but the real question ... why is this thread not stickied yet ? ....

Usefull information presented int a logical methodical format that does actually work . Is it for everyone ? well the trolls have argued the boo hoos an said there bit . The OP's presentation is sound and worth following .

+1 rep for the OP .

i think a thread is not suitable to be sticked when:

• when the content is controversial or generally disagreed
• the poster is close-minded and insist on his extreme way of thinking
• when the poster is too subjective

and presentation style shouldn't count.

you could do things in a particular way that works, and tell everyone it works; but it is not a good idea to say when people not following your way, they are broken.

imho, sorc build is simple but the combination for spell choice and playing style could vary too much. I think the OP gave some good introductory reading, but it is far from qualify as a "The Sorcerer's Handbook: A Guide to Building and Playing Sorcerers". Anyway, readers should think independently instead of just relying on other people's opinion.

[Aspenor]

you could do things in a particular way that works, and tell everyone it works; but it is not a good idea to say when people not following your way, they are broken.

imho, sorc build is simple but the combination for spell choice and playing style could vary too much. I think the OP gave some good introductory reading, but it is far from qualify as a "The Sorcerer's Handbook: A Guide to Building and Playing Sorcerers". Anyway, readers should think independently instead of just relying on other people's opinion.

While I do agree this thread is quite subjective, I don't necessarily agree with your non-qualification statement. I called it "A Guide" I did not call it "The Definitive Guide."

Also, I will say that people that choose to diverge from my suggestions have not "broken" their character. But I do feel that they could have made a better, more powerful character. I have played many, many, many stat point, race, feat, and enhancement variations of arcane spell casters. No less than 8 to be exact. Most have been deleted. My opinions posted here come from my experiences with these many characters. I have found my conclusions in this thread to be concretely and objectively true for my playstyle. While others may choose to do other things and consider their characters powerful, it is my belief that they could be more powerful.

My conclusions here do not only come from my experiences, either. The many, many highly skilled players that I call friends tend to agree with nearly every point made here, with a few deviations (relative racial power level being the most common). That being said, these players always say the same thing when they reroll their spellcasters: I wish I had more hit points.

[blumsborres]

hi there...

i'm a supernoob...

i'm allocating stats for my human sorcerer so far i have this...

STR 8
DEX 10
CON 16
INT 12
WIS 8
CHA 16

Where should i put the 2 extra points? more DEX? WIS? STR? Or can someone recomend an alternate stats allocation? Thanks