Melee/Wizard?

[Phidius]

Isn't Tenser's Transformation a requirement in a wizard melee build, simply from a BAB perspective?

If I was pursuing this playstyle, I'd go THF Warforged for the melee enhancements.

Samius would argue that it is, but I can't stand it personally. You get the same benefit (BaB boost) from Divine Power clickies, except Divine Power clickies doesn't neuter you.

Besides, Divine Power clickies aren't needed as much as you might think.

Precious will definitely be taking THF/ITHF.

[Carpone]

Samius would argue that it is, but I can't stand it personally. You get the same benefit (BaB boost) from Divine Power clickies, except Divine Power clickies doesn't neuter you.

Besides, Divine Power clickies aren't needed as much as you might think.

Precious will definitely be taking THF/ITHF.

I wasn't aware there were CL20 Divine Power clickies.

[Gol]

I wasn't aware there were CL20 Divine Power clickies.

There aren't. Caster Level is completely irrelevant to DP / Tenser's.

But hey, if you want to go without reconstruct for 2 or 4 minutes, have at it. I'll save an inventory spot for your stone.

[Samiusbot]

Samius would argue that it is, but I can't stand it personally. You get the same benefit (BaB boost) from Divine Power clickies, except Divine Power clickies doesn't neuter you.

Besides, Divine Power clickies aren't needed as much as you might think.

Precious will definitely be taking THF/ITHF.

Divine Power is a fine way to boost your BAB if you need it. I would rather build my PC so that it doesn't need to rely on the Divine Power Clickie or the Tenser's. But I do like Tenser's always have always will, swapping clickles around is a pain that I don't need when a quick spell takes care of it. But unlike a Divine Power Clickie you need to able to go with out spells for the duration, not a easy skill to master.

And as Phidius has pointed out to me many times, a lot of the boosts from Tenser's might not stack/be better than the items your wearing.

[kingfisher]

Samius would argue that it is, but I can't stand it personally. You get the same benefit (BaB boost) from Divine Power clickies, except Divine Power clickies doesn't neuter you.

Besides, Divine Power clickies aren't needed as much as you might think.

Precious will definitely be taking THF/ITHF.

There aren't. Caster Level is completely irrelevant to DP / Tenser's.

But hey, if you want to go without reconstruct for 2 or 4 minutes, have at it. I'll save an inventory spot for your stone.

dp clickies are much better 90% of the time. madstone/tensors/cookies are very useful when (a) end boss/raid with full healing behind you or (b) the sp are low and you need to recharge or (c) your outta dp clicks lol. even in these first two situations dp clicks still work as well. personally i use madstone for raid end bosses and tensors via scrolls as a last resort only.

[Phidius]

...I would rather build my PC so that it doesn't need to rely on the Divine Power Clickie or the Tenser's...swapping clickles around is a pain...

Agreed, and agreed... I shrine with all of my DP clickies intact 96% of the time (rough guess) just because I also hate swapping goggles/rings/etc...

If they ever change Tenser's so that casting becomes more difficult instead of impossible, I'll probably load it up. Thankfully, I play WF so I don't have to hold my breath.

dp clickies are much better 90% of the time. madstone/tensors/cookies are very useful when (a) end boss/raid with full healing behind you or (b) the sp are low and you need to recharge or (c) your outta dp clicks lol. even in these first two situations dp clicks still work as well. personally i use madstone for raid end bosses and tensors via scrolls as a last resort only.

I use madstone for raid end bosses who are unable to focus on me... or when I'm solo beating portals in explorer areas. Even when I'm out of SP, I still have a stack of scrolls that Tenser/Madstone just won't let me use.

Don't get me started on my aversion to relying on other people to keep me alive

[Varr]

Coming late to the party.......but I would stress, if your going to play a melée caster you must be able to heal all the damage you take. I prefer halflings to wf simply for girth of avatar, but in either case you can bet your ass your last on the clerics "to heal" list. Because of this, I also prefer dp clickies. You'll never use 15 hits per shrine.....so three sets of gloves with 5 hits each gets you covered. 70% of the time they go unused for me.

[corignis]

Thank you for all the info!

The melee wizard build appeals to me because it seems very spell point efficient. Use melee for the minions and spells for buffing and the bosses. Is that most of your (plural) play style? Also, do you guys solo or party mostly? Any problems from other party members when you show up with a great axe?


CorIgnis

[Samiusbot]

I use TWF thinking of that as a spell I can cast as long as my Hp is up. But in other every way I am a caster, I finger of death, Pk, WoF but if I can stand and fight I do so.
If I need to play the WoF jumping game I do that too.
But mostly I web and fight, I will aways have effectively more SP available to me then my blasting counter parts. Because I don't need to spend it to help the group.

I both solo and group, they are not exclusive.

As for party members, I think it is often more of a surprise when I am killing on the front lines. And if I have to sword to death a group of mobs that killed a melee or two before I rez them or carry them to a shrine it is always an eye opener, for them.

[Phidius]

I'm very flexible - I like wading into battle with steel flashing and spells popping. I keep my favorite spells on my primary hot bar, and just hit the correct number for the one I need in between swings.

I solo a lot, but I do party with known friends. PUGs are normally reserved for raids, although I've not been running them much since I TR'ed Stryde.

People's reactions to battlemages/battleclerics are a great source of fun.

[Calebro]

People's reactions to battlemages/battleclerics are a great source of fun.

Agreed!
On a 5 man Stormcleave Outpost run the other day, one in which my halfling dragonmarked battlemage was the only healer via the dragonmarks, near the end, I see the fighter type:

@#&% [insert Calebro's toon's name here]
huh ???
You're a beast!
(I hit x and see that the fighter has 35 kills, and I have 73)
That was with never once casting a single offensive spell in combat. Only melee & buffs.
It was hilarious to me!

On the following run on hard, we lost 1, and picked up a Cleric and a Barb. Out of curiosity from the last run I checked again at the end. The Barb got me by 8