Ranger - Spells, wisdom level requirement?

[Takamii]

I know that to be able to cast spells as a ranger you need your wisdom to be 10+level of spell. But like, is that wisdom base or modified? So say can you roll a ranger with 10 wisdom, wear +4 wisdom item. Then will you be able to cast a level 4 spell? or to cast a level 4 spell, you have to roll with 14 wisdom at beginning.

-early thanks for response in advance

[Lewcipher]

Correct, you can start a Ranger with an 8 wis, equip a +6 item for a total of 14 Wisdom. Enough to cast 4th level spells.

[Aerendil]

Modified works fine.

So, for example, a 10 WIS + Owl's Wisdom spell (+4 Wis) is enough for you to cast all Ranger spells.
Or, alternatively, an 8 WIS + 6 item will also do the trick.

Best reasons to up WIS are:
- if you can't be arsed to wear a +WIS item or get a spell all the time just so you can cast your spells; and
- if you splash monk, a good WIS score = more AC for you.

It also ups your Will save, which is always worthwhile as it's the Ranger's worst save.
For example, a 12 WIS and /1 Monk splash Ranger will have a will save 5 points higher than a pure Ranger who started with 8 WIS. Something to chew on...

[imcrazylikethat]

Currently I have a 6 ranger/6 fighter, an 11 wis and can cast level 1 spells. I want to be able to cast level 2 spells for barkskin. If I equip an item to get additional Wis, do I have to take an additional level of ranger to first learn the spells or will I automatically gain access to them as soon as I equip the item?

[Visty]

rangers get access to lvl2 spell at lvl8. so you need 2 mroe levels to get them and 12+ wis to cast them

[Arlathen]

Currently I have a 6 ranger/6 fighter, an 11 wis and can cast level 1 spells. I want to be able to cast level 2 spells for barkskin. If I equip an item to get additional Wis, do I have to take an additional level of ranger to first learn the spells or will I automatically gain access to them as soon as I equip the item?

Don't forget as well, that Barkskin improves with Caster level as well. I believe Ranger lvl 12 is required for the full +5 bonus from Barskin. So carefully consider how many levels of other class you are implementing into your build.

[JOTMON]

Currently I have a 6 ranger/6 fighter, an 11 wis and can cast level 1 spells. I want to be able to cast level 2 spells for barkskin. If I equip an item to get additional Wis, do I have to take an additional level of ranger to first learn the spells or will I automatically gain access to them as soon as I equip the item?

It is already available to you, just have to add it to your spell list*see note1 , you just cant cast it until you get the 12 wisdom, get yourself a +wisdom item and allways have it equipped especially when you shrine (More wisdom=more mana). Should have no problem finding a +5 wisdom item. for level 11.

Edit.. note to self read post fully before replying....

Note 1...
Level 2 spell for barksin is not available until Ranger level 8....

[imcrazylikethat]

It is already available to you, just have to add it to your spell list, you just cant cast it until you get the 12 wisdom, get yourself a +wisdom item and allways have it equipped especially when you shrine (More wisdom=more mana). Should have no problem finding a +5 wisdom item. for level 11.

ok, now i'm confused. How is it already available to me if I won't learn level 2 ranger spells until ranger level 8? How can I add it to my spell list as a level 6 ranger? I am ranger 6/fighter6 and plan to go another 6 levels of fighter to get the Kensei II. Then maybe do a splash of rogue or monk.

[Visty]

because jotmon is wrong and they aarent available yet
to see when you get spells, check the compendium

[TekkenDevil]

I find maxing out Wisdom at creation better than using mods if you're not an elf.

You'll still have enough to max out Strength and Dexterity, and you'll never have to worry about occupying a clothing slot with Wisdom Modifiers.

[rjedi]

I find maxing out Wisdom at creation better than using mods if you're not an elf.

You'll still have enough to max out Strength and Dexterity, and you'll never have to worry about occupying a clothing slot with Wisdom Modifiers.

umm... why?! yeah it might be convenience but you can put those points into other places con or cha for a UMD character
you can easily pick up a +1 item in the harbor before you ever have to worry bout having spells. thats with a base of 10 though. If you have a higher level character you can farm for a +1 wis tome and get a +2 wis item that is RR: (whatever race you are) and there you go 11 wis for the level spells. And by the time you reach level 8 for the level 2 spells you pick up a +3 wis item and so on.

Hope this helps

[Captain_Wizbang]

Correct, you can start a Ranger with an 8 wis, equip a +6 item for a total of 14 Wisdom. Enough to cast 4th level spells.

OR...
start wisdom at 11 and get a Kneezers bauble, and always put a point in when leveling

[Visty]

OR...
start wisdom at 11 and get a Kneezers bauble, and always put a point in when leveling

worst advice ever

[Talon_Moonshadow]

I find maxing out Wisdom at creation better than using mods if you're not an elf.

You'll still have enough to max out Strength and Dexterity, and you'll never have to worry about occupying a clothing slot with Wisdom Modifiers.

Maxing?

Or 6 pts for 14?

[ScottyBones]

There are several ways you can go. I have a 32 pt. build and went with con. 12, wis. 12 and int. 10. Getting a +2 wisdom tome is relatively easy and thus I won't take up an item space by having to equip a +wis. item. I also get 1 skill point extra per level and 4 more at start (int 10 instead of 8). The other option is to go con 14. wis. 10 and int 8. This gives you and extra h.p. per level and 1h.p as well as +1 fortitude save at start. The above assumes I go str. 16, dex.18 and cha. 8. If you have a 28 pt build then it would be better to put the points into con. and not raise wis. as much.

[TheDjinnFor]

I thought it was agreed by nearly all of the community that most ranger spells suck besides barkskin, and that 8 wis is the most you'll ever want to throw in Wisdom for rangers? If I'm wrong about that, fine, but I was just under that impression. From what I understand, the only reason you want wisdom is for increasing spell DCs and more mana; but if all but, say, 2 ranger spells suck, why do you want higher DCs and more mana?

Looking at the rangers spell list, I can see only a handful of spells anyone would ever bother casting:

-L1: Longstrider (base landspeed +15%)
-L1: Ram's Might (+2 Strength, +2 Damage), self buff?
-L1: Resist Energy (DR 10/20/30 to specific energy type)
-L2: Barkskin (+2/3/4/5 natural armor)
-L2: Protection from Energy (Like stoneskin, but for specific energy type)
-L3: Neutralize Poison (immunity to poison + removes poison)
-L3: Remove Disease (removes disease)
-L4: Freedom of Movement (immunity to movement-impeding magic)
-L4: Mass Longstrider (+15% base landspeed, mass)
-Also, maybe some "Summon Natures Ally" if soloing

Rangers don't need high DCs for any of those spells, and they'll have enough mana to throw barkskin and mass longstrider on the party (since neutralize poison and remove disease can be wanded, and clerics can cast FoM and resists/protection).

From the impression I got from the ranger spell list and the general community, if anyone tells you to have a wisdom higher than 8 for spellcasting, they need to learn how to play the game. Just grab a +6 wis item and you're set to go. I could be wrong about this, of course; I don't play rangers.

But to me, the following just smacks of "never ever do this ever":

I find maxing out Wisdom at creation better than using mods if you're not an elf.

Max wisdom? 18 wisdom? Really? Or, do you mean 14 Wisdom? That's still bad advice for most builds... If you have Str/Dex 16 and Con 14 and you drop them both by two, you get -1 damage, -1 fort save, and -20 hp in exchange for one saved item slot. I don't know about you, but any ranger build I've ever seen can't get all that back in one item slot, assuming they've already got the essential +9 Str/Dex, +9 Con (+6 enhancement and +3 exceptional), plus a GFL item, which ANY ranger build can fit. I mean, sure, an item slot is great, but when you've got manyshot on that +1 to damage is going to turn into some sort of crazy +100 DPS (just throwing out a random number here...); even a TWF will see a big change. No generic ranger build is so stretched as to desperately need an extra item slot.

I might see justification in a 18->16 Str for an 8->14 Wis, but still, thats a lot of DPS you're giving up and you'll have a tough time getting it back with an item slot unless you're multiclassing or dual-roling and need said slot.

OR...
start wisdom at 11 and get a Kneezers bauble, and always put a point in when leveling

Wait, so have 17 end wisdom? I assume you means base Wis of 8 for 14 end wisdom... In which case, putting your level ups in wisdom makes no sense at all. Suppose you have the following scores, because you really really don't want to use a +6 wis item (despite my earlier comments):

Str 16/Dex 14/Con 12/Int 10/Wis 14/Cha 8. Then you add in a +6 Str item, +6 Con Item, and 5 level points to Strength, to make it Str 27/Dex 17/Con 18/Int 10/Wis 14/Cha 8. Throw in a +1 Strength tome and you're set for even-numbered Str.

Compare that to the above plan; you might have Str 18/Dex 14/Con 12/Int 10/Wis 8/Cha 8, and you'll use a +6 Str and Con item, a Dex tome, a +1 Wis trinket, and 5 level points into Wisdom: end scores are Str 24/Dex 17/Con 18/Int 10/Wis 14/Cha 8. The thing is, you used an extra item slot (wis trinket) and you have 3 less strength...

Moral of the story is, never put level ups in a <14 (before racial adjustments) stat if you have a stat with >14 points in it, since to get it higher than 14 you need to pay extra points at character creation (that is, you can drop your strength from 18 to 16 and increase wisdom from 8 to 14). Adjust it so that the stat, or stats, you're paying extra for, are getting the level up points, or get the stat where you want it during creation (after factoring in tome usage).

This might sound contradictory to my earlier comments (in the first one I said don't drop Str and Con for Wisdom, and in the second one I said do) but the first one assumes you'll do the sensible choice of pumping your damage stat as high as it can go and spending extra slots and your level points to do so. If you really can't afford to have a wis item for some reason, don't waste level up points in wis, but rather keep it at 14 to start.

---

Here's another post I want to talk about.

There are several ways you can go. I have a 32 pt. build and went with con. 12, wis. 12 and int. 10. Getting a +2 wisdom tome is relatively easy and thus I won't take up an item space by having to equip a +wis. item. I also get 1 skill point extra per level and 4 more at start (int 10 instead of 8). The other option is to go con 14. wis. 10 and int 8. This gives you and extra h.p. per level and 1h.p as well as +1 fortitude save at start. The above assumes I go str. 16, dex.18 and cha. 8. If you have a 28 pt build then it would be better to put the points into con. and not raise wis. as much.

Wis 10 isn't bad if you can afford it, for no other reason that to boost your will save, but I would never say sacrifice Con for a few skill points and a will save unless you were paying triple for Con, because you get +20 hp and +1 fort for 14 con, and +1 will and +1 skill for int 10/wis 12. The skill points are pretty much worthless on a 6-skills class, and although the will saves are better than fort saves, the +20 hp makes up for it IMO.

Of course, ranger experts, feel free to tell me I'm wrong, since I haven't really played one.

[JOTMON]

because jotmon is wrong and they aarent available yet
to see when you get spells, check the compendium

Doh, you are correct thats what I get for not paying attention, and reading the whole thing, I was looking at Visty's post about a level 8 ranger not yours being level 6. Level 8 ranger gets first level 2 spell.

Good catch Visty.

[Anbu_Leo]

can you cast level 2 spells for rangers at 10 wisdom or do you need a item that + your wisdom?

[cardmj1]

can you cast level 2 spells for rangers at 10 wisdom or do you need a item that + your wisdom?

you will need a wisdom item.

Illustration:

You start with 10 wisdom at creation.
to cast lvl 1 spells you will need a +1 wisdom item (or owl's buff) 10+1=11 wisdom needed
to cast lvl 2 spells you will need a +2 wisdom item (or owl's buff) 10+2=12 wisdom needed
to cast lvl 3 spells you will need a +3 wisdom item (or owl's buff) 10+3=13 wisdom needed

You start with 8 wisdom at creation.
to cast lvl 1 spells you will need a +3 wisdom item (or owl's buff) 8+3=11 wisdom needed
to cast lvl 2 spells you will need a +4 wisdom item (or owl's buff) 8+4=12 wisdom needed
to cast lvl 3 spells you will need a +5 wisdom item (or owl's buff) 8+5=13 wisdom needed