Please, new wizards...

[Lorz]

He shouldn't be hit in the first place. An extra 30 hp isn't gonna do much when the wizard has no AC and no DR to help things out.

(Just my opinion)
The way I see it, a good caster-wizard knows to not get hit, whether he/she 10 hp or a thousand. If the wizards you roll with are getting hit, they must suck something mighty fierce.

(A lot less opinion)
Try looking for some WF wizzys: they will self heal, and to get a WF, one much at least know a little about the game.

(Opinion again)
Toughness is useless on a wizard, unless he planned to take hits from the beginning or is going for PM[Rip on PM later everyone. This is about all of us wizards right now]. Some do. Some don't.

(Fact)
Everyone runs quest differently. On my low hp wizard, I rarely die; I know what to and not to do. When I do die, it's planned and I have already asked the cleric for a res after a certain amount of time, told the shields not to follow me and set things up to get the most from my death. Ask anyone I roll with if I drop dead constantly, because I aggro'd everything, but couldn't escape.

If you have death problems, talk to the player. If he is an idiot, kick him/get a new group. No need for anyone to gimp their build, just to die the same exact way, slightly slower.

(Reiteration/TLDR)
Toughness is useless, everything depends on how you play, work around idiots.

Simple.

Wow...you are makin my head hurt.

I shall refer to you from now on as ... DING!

[HallowedOne]

As a side note, I made a WF wizard ( yes, 18 starting con ) and I was thinking of, instead of taking the Toughness enhancements, taking the dr enhancements.

Anyone recommend this? Does that dr stack with any other adamantine dr?

[rimble]

As a side note, I made a WF wizard ( yes, 18 starting con ) and I was thinking of, instead of taking the Toughness enhancements, taking the dr enhancements.

Anyone recommend this? Does that dr stack with any other adamantine dr?

DR doesn't stack. Just use Stoneskin.

[Aesop]

DR doesn't stack. Just use Stoneskin.

/signed

[Tyrande]

DDO does not implement the advanced wizard survival spells like Greater Stoneskin, Premonition, Shadow Shield and Time Stop.

If these spells were available, then probably a 10 CON (+6 CON item +2 CON tome = 18 CON) wizard may be justifiable.

[calvinklien]

duh, hp's are good, the more the better. but in endgame, 50, even 100 hps don't necessarily mean you're going to survive. of course you have a better chance, but an endgame bladebarrier will slice you up and everyone tries to stay out of those right?

but i don't understand why everyone thinks the answer is a WF simply because he can repair himself. remember, if a WF is repairing himself, he's using SP that will not be available for an offensive spell or party buff. the answer? oils of repair. by that token, my elf wizard carrys an arse load of cure serious, thus, she can "self heal" ... is it expensive, yea, but she's got over 500k platinum just sitting there... money isn't really a problem in endgame. i never wait to get healed, i always self heal, if a cleric/FS hits me w/a heal, cool, but i'm not waiting for it, ever, ever.. ever.

both casting a spell or drinking a potion has a cool down time, but drinking a potion doesn't use SP and is optimal whether you are WF or fleshy.

now, reconstruct is an awesome spell and can FULLY heal a wf caster and that's cool, and that 'could' mean the difference between life or death, but chances are you're dying because you've got aggro, your stone skin has been cut through, your buffs are wearing off, and even if you self heal quick- if the creatures aren't getting killed by you or the party, it's going to get you eventually.

and whoever said a "pro" caster never get's hit ... they've never played this game... you're going to get hit.

[TheDjinnFor]

He shouldn't be hit in the first place. An extra 30 hp isn't gonna do much when the wizard has no AC and no DR to help things out.

You're forgetting that taking HP seriously and opting for toughness (+22), Minos Legens (+22 hp) a con +6 (+60) item, 6 build points in con (+60), a +2 con tome (+20), a +2 exceptional con item (+20), a greater false life item (+30), a GS hp item (+35-45), and toughness enhancements (+10-40) add up to anywhere from +279-319 hp, since most wizards have access to toughness enhancements.

Warforged get another +2 con (+20). Humans, on the other hand, can make due with +1 from their adaptability enhancements and a +1 from an extra exceptional item (+20). Pure casters can easily fit 10 build points in con (+20), and a +4 tome might not be out of the reach (+20). Grand total from all of that is +339-379.

Your standard wizard can eventually fit all of the above on with absolutely no significant sacrifice to the build, and triple or quadruple their measly HP because of it.

[AylinIsAwesome]

Ran WW the other day on my new WF FvS and I met an Elven Wizard who lost almost their entire health bar from every single hit a kobold made on him. Then I noticed that my measly CLW would almost top them off from half (my CLW heals just shy of 20 at level 4).

So I asked him if he had stat damage somehow to CON, or he just had no Toughness and low starting CON.

He started with 6 CON. He wasn't planning on getting hit ever he told me.


Well, shortly after he told me that, he didn't get hit again, since I stopped healing him and just busted through stuff myself with my greatsword.

[Sweetsoul86]

1st, I agree with the OP toughness is extremely important for a lot of toons and con is a must if you plan on surviving high level quests/raids. Without toughness or con you're gonna need some great items or have your best friend play a cleric and promise them real money.

/off topic

I've an opinion the world if flat, and all left-handed people should be killed.

LMAO, I'm left-handed and couldn't stop laughing!

[xtchizobr]

The Dex is a completely moot point, as there is no reason to plan for the first 6 levels of the game like that. If you're building your character to swing in melee, you need that Con even more, so there is absolutely no reason to be trading the Con for Str aside from starting with 10 points into Con vs. 13 or 16.

Cha for the UMD is a valid point, though I haven't bothered with that on my wizards. Still, not a compelling enough reason to drop Con by more than a couple of points. Certainly not below 14, and not really worth dropping below 16 either.


That's actually 2 costs: a feat and 3-10 AP, which cuts into the wizard's enhancements, which are very good.

And even though a wizard has many feats to spend, there are 11 feats worth taking.
Maximize
Empower
Heighten
Extend
Quicken
Spell Penetration
Greater Spell Penetration
Insightful Reflexes
Spell Focus (do your job better, or...)
Greater Spell Focus or a second Spell Focus
______
Greater Spell Focus or a second Spell Focus
Greater Spell Focus
Mental Toughness (do your job better, or...)
Improved Mental Toughness
Toughness (...be more survivable)
Enlarge
____
Wizard Past Life Feat

While I agree that it's a hard case to justify not taking Toughness, I don't think it is unreasonable to pass it up. Like I said, I've made due without taking it on my wizard, which I started with a 14 Con. Sure, when I TR Elochka my plan is to take Toughness and increase my starting Con to 16, not because I've felt especially squishy, but because the additional HP both grants me greater flexibility in my actions and because it will help me in those moments when the party needs saving from a bad situation.

300 HP on a wizard is solid, 400 HP is comfortable, and that's really going to be the difference.

Now, Toughness can help a lot earlier on, before someone gains access to all of the other sources of HP, but it still isn't necessary.

naturally i'm not serious about the dex and all that for anyone who's interested in a non-permadeath character. permadeath players might seriously consider it, though. my point was only that it's a subjective judgment where you put your points, and there are things to be said for any build idea. so i basically agree with you that nothing besides int is worth points at the expense of con.

the assumption that we are all making is that all wizards want to stay alive and do "their job" (which is a separate assumption altogether). basically, it should be obvious that the more hp the better. why? because of a simple cost:benefit analysis.

do i advocate trading con or int for anything else? no. not that you couldn't do so and get something out of it, but that what you get out of it isn't worth what you gave up. you *could* achieve very high AC for a half-dozen levels or so. is this worth the tradeoff later? this thread is here to give advice to everyone who reads it knowing that players who have played much longer know more about a wider range of the gameplay. you certainly could romp about low levels like a barbarian. worth the build points in strength? you spend maybe a day or three at level 1-6, but weeks between level 9-13, and maybe months between 16-19, and unless you delete your character, they'll stay at 20 unless (until) the cap is raised. you can't know what level 20 is like without asking.

we're telling you (anyone who's asking) -- you will take a lot of damage. a lot of it can be mitigated or avoided, but there is still a lot which you can do nothing about. hp is the only thing which can keep you standing. don't think you know enough or have enough gear or are just too awesome to take reasonable steps to improve your hp pool.

where does the hp come from? we've already said. my only point is that you can certainly spare the tiny handful of AP and the one feat to boost your HP by so huge an amount. i would agree that wizards have some good enhancements. do they need them all? at the expense of a minimum of 20 hp? both elf enhancements are a paltry, what, 3 total AP cost? and if you got all four of the WF ones, that's, what, 6 ap for 40 hp? it's not like wizards are ap starved. we totally have plenty to specialize in an energy type, take our INT enhancements, get the crits and improved metamagic enhancements. it can all fit. palemaster is a joke, and anyone who thinks otherwise needs to be flogged.

as for the feat?

sephiroth seems to think that insightful reflexes is at least worth taking, and i'd agree.

but both mental toughness feats? by level 12, you will stop having chronic SP problems. your buffs will be lasting quite long enough (especially with extend) and your various offensive spells will be effective enough that you need only cast one or maybe two in a fight. is more sp nice? certainly. two feats for a mere 210 sp? well.... at the cost of 40 hp? (these are at level 20, by the way). could you spare improved mental toughness (105 sp) for that 40 hp? i think you certainly could. 105 sp isn't very many spells, especially when you factor in metamagic costs (but you really should be in the habit of toggling those metas on/off to be conservative. don't be one of "those guys" who just leaves them on and then burns five SP pots...). remember that wands and scrolls are cheap. even on a multiclass wizard, i have no SP problems and didn't take either of the mental toughness feats. this is really more related to playstyle, though, so we'll move on and compare with other feats.

what about spell penetration? no, penetration is just too universal and really does have a huge effect when combined with enhancements. these are solid feats to have, though not really before level 12 depending on where you level.

extend? ahhhh..... in the beginning when you are feat starved, extend is one of your best feats. it makes your buffs more efficient and last long enough to be worthwhile -- extend is just all around nice to have, especially for new wizards. at level 20 when your "long duration" buffs are lasting long enough all on their own? maybe it tapers off a little, but still affects haste and displacement very nicely. i don't think wizards are so feat-starved to have to bump this one out.

maximize and empower... do you need both? depends on your playstyle. they require a huge number of AP to make efficient, but have the "flashiest" effect on your power. they're significant enough for even crowd-control-purists to spare a few feat slots for.

heighten: take it. improve it. never look back.

spell focus. alas. end game, things are pretty much immune to all the cool spells that you just recently got the hang of. finger of death and wail of banshee are almighty gods and spell focus in necromancy would be highly recommended were it not for the almost universal proliferation of "death ward" protections. a lot of creatures are also immune to being Held due to freedom of movement immunities, and immune to poison, and.... the list goes on. evocation is the safest to focus in because it's almost certain you have a nuke that can hurt something. but! the best nukes you have don't allow saves in the first place, and damage isn't a wizard's main purpose anyway. disintegrate is transmutation, by the way. overall, i would recommend that you take spell focus enchantment because freedom of movement just feels like a less common protection than death ward, to me. and mass suggestion remains a very strong spell forever (in my opinion, of course). enchantment just seems to lose less than necromancy. do you need spell focus in two schools? at the cost of 40 hp? i would say absolutely not. take toughness and drop the theoretical 5% in spell DC of a school. spell resistance is way more effective against your spells than a monster's saves.

enlarge -- the only possible value of this feat, that i can think of, is against beholders. they're annoying, but worth keeping a feat slot at the expense of 40 (minimum) hp? please. tactics can be used against beholders, and are more viable than simply outranging them. i wouldn't recommend the enlarge feat even if it didn't compete with toughness.

quicken -- healers have a reason to want to ensure their spells get out asap and without interruption. wizards.... not so much. WF wizards might appreciate healing themselves so quickly, but other than that...? it's convenient. it's an ok perk to have. but worth toughness? it shouldn't have to be in competition, but still loses out if it comes to that.

tl;dr -- there's plenty of feats i would pass up to take toughness, and toughness is only one feat. you have room. there's no excuse. take it.

[sephiroth1084]

I agree with almost everything you said. Well put, but one quibble...

There's this key, it appears on both the left and right sides of you keyboard. It even has a sister who performs the same thing, but all the time (Caps Lock is a ****!). Be kind to the Shift key. Don't let it sit idle while all the other keys get hammered.

[noinfo]

I am not saying it is a big deal that I do I was just stating how I play my character. I also have a cleric that I soloed alot with but stopped playing him as I got too upset with going into things and finding out how squishy some PLAYERS make their characters. This is a wizard discussion though so back to the topic.

I already have Mental Toughness and Improved MT. I still have two feats so I will probably take Spell Pen I and II. It is possible that I would trade out the second toughness later for something else if it looks like it would help (ie. Reflex save fails start hampering me or as he acquires raid loot), but for now he is exactly where i want him to be for MY playstyle. (My goal for this build was a self sufficient loot runner, and to solo the Reaver Raid)

As far as Spell focus goes maybe you can enlighten me but I don't see where +1 on the save DC for one school is worth a feat.

When is it not? It is all those little +1 here and there that add up to make the difference. Weapon focus on a fighter etc is another example, spell penetration etc are all examples of small bonuses that add up and that 5% extra chance to kill or cc can often be more imporatant that that last 20 hp.

You are commenting on other peoples builds expect people to comment on yours. Personally I don't care that you have 2x toughness or whatever it it makes you happy and you are not dieing repeatedly good for you. But by stating it as something to aspire too, thats something else.

[mediocresurgeon]

Hey all,

I am glad this string is going.

I havent loggedin in 3 years and am getting back on now.

I logged last night to check out my Wizzard and I wanted to run his info by you all.

He might not even be worth playing moving forward but you let me know. I would like to just pick him up and press on.

Have a great day everyone and thanks for any comments.

Info Below:

Race:
Warforged

Level:
5

Char Stats
STR - 8
DEX - 10
CON - 16
INT - 21
WIS - 10
Cha - 6

Skills I have 17 points to spend ATM (How should I)
Most all my points are in the following.
Concentration - 10
Repair - 11

Feats
Heroic Durability
Defensive Fighting
Dismis Charm
Eschew Materials
Extend Spell
Heroic Durability
Inscribe Scroll
Light Fortification
Magical Training
Maximize Spell
Mental Toughness

Stats without items/enhancements, please.

[xtchizobr]

I agree with almost everything you said. Well put, but one quibble...

There's this key, it appears on both the left and right sides of you keyboard. It even has a sister who performs the same thing, but all the time (Caps Lock is a ****!). Be kind to the Shift key. Don't let it sit idle while all the other keys get hammered.

just as Quicken is not a substitute for concentration, blocking is not a substitute for hp. you actually "block" much less damage than you think, and are rendered immobile and inactive while doing so -- blocking is a tactic for use with shields and doorways. wizards jump around and scream for healing at the top of their lungs.

so has it always been, and so shall it always be, forever unto the end, amen.

[Kistilan]

just as Quicken is not a substitute for concentration, blocking is not a substitute for hp. you actually "block" much less damage than you think, and are rendered immobile and inactive while doing so -- blocking is a tactic for use with shields and doorways. wizards jump around and scream for healing at the top of their lungs.

so has it always been, and so shall it always be, forever unto the end, amen.

This is the tactic I use without screaming. I'm not sure if its the points invested in jump, or the ring or balance or what, but I tend to be successful with jump-casting. I did it a lot in Asheron's Call and I've taken the mobility line of spellcraft. Maybe this affects the jumping-casting?

Very rarely am I screaming for heals. If I get hit hard I check my stoneskin, amp up on displacement if I'm only blurred, check my nightshield is on for resistance and appropriate resistance for elemental. Meanwhile I'm running and jumping out of the way of the target's agro. As soon as I see a tactical point to jump cast, I make for it and utilize it to the best of my advantage. Sometimes it's simply dragging the mob through the line of melees so it gets caught on it. Then I wait and cast an enhanced web and follow up with any appropriate buffs or damage spells to assist the mob.

The only quest I've honestly had a problem with (and you can dispell these things) is the Demon Queen raid carving my caster to pieces with his low hp. It's higher now thanks to a helm and a few more levels, but I do recall his first few demon queen attempts being rough. Note: I don't have insightful reflexes, which probably would help in this instance.

[Bilger]

Toughness is a great feat for a wiz. What other feats would you take in place of it?

Spell focuses are not a waste IMO especialy in areas like amrath the higher the dc the better.

I have a TR Wiz capped at 20 now no shroud hp item sitting at 372 hp and can hit a 36 umd most of the time and keeps myself healed scrolled if taking damage( http://my.ddo.com/character/thelanis/rshiel/ ). Self suffiecency is a big key in this game have 2 manned or soled alot of this game with her and if didn't have the HP she haves would of made it alot more difficult but not impossible.

I sure wouldn't of tried some of the quests and pulled off some of the things I have if not for those few extra hp which have saved my but more times than can count.

Hp are invaluable especially in higher end content and so are your dc's.

[sephiroth1084]

just as Quicken is not a substitute for concentration, blocking is not a substitute for hp. you actually "block" much less damage than you think, and are rendered immobile and inactive while doing so -- blocking is a tactic for use with shields and doorways. wizards jump around and scream for healing at the top of their lungs.

so has it always been, and so shall it always be, forever unto the end, amen.

Hahaha! Actually, I was making a joke about your lack of capitalization.

Although, while we're on the topic, shield blocking is a valid tactic in some areas. FW+Shield works very well in many of the Necro quests (I believe Ghoste posted a video on this), and also is a great way of generating SP (this is a point in favor of more HP).

This is the tactic I use without screaming. I'm not sure if its the points invested in jump, or the ring or balance or what, but I tend to be successful with jump-casting. I did it a lot in Asheron's Call and I've taken the mobility line of spellcraft. Maybe this affects the jumping-casting?

I'm a regular **** acrobat on my wizard, but I play using a gamepad, which makes feats of mobility (not the feat, Mobility) pretty easy.

Very rarely am I screaming for heals.

Right. For one thing, with the mobility and defenses of a wizard, it's almost always easy enough to just chug CSW pots. If you're WF or have sufficient UMD for Heal scrolls, it's even easier. I 2-manned a Reaver on elite not long ago just running around chugging pots and throwing firewalls and disco balls, and have healed myself through the Inferno in the Abbot with CSW and buffs.

The only quest I've honestly had a problem with (and you can dispell these things) is the Demon Queen raid carving my caster to pieces with his low hp. It's higher now thanks to a helm and a few more levels, but I do recall his first few demon queen attempts being rough. Note: I don't have insightful reflexes, which probably would help in this instance.

It would very much.

[Seldarine]

He shouldn't be hit in the first place. An extra 30 hp isn't gonna do much when the wizard has no AC and no DR to help things out.

(Just my opinion)
The way I see it, a good caster-wizard knows to not get hit, whether he/she 10 hp or a thousand. If the wizards you roll with are getting hit, they must suck something mighty fierce.

(A lot less opinion)
Try looking for some WF wizzys: they will self heal, and to get a WF, one much at least know a little about the game.

(Opinion again)
Toughness is useless on a wizard, unless he planned to take hits from the beginning or is going for PM[Rip on PM later everyone. This is about all of us wizards right now]. Some do. Some don't.

(Fact)
Everyone runs quest differently. On my low hp wizard, I rarely die; I know what to and not to do. When I do die, it's planned and I have already asked the cleric for a res after a certain amount of time, told the shields not to follow me and set things up to get the most from my death. Ask anyone I roll with if I drop dead constantly, because I aggro'd everything, but couldn't escape.

If you have death problems, talk to the player. If he is an idiot, kick him/get a new group. No need for anyone to gimp their build, just to die the same exact way, slightly slower.

(Reiteration/TLDR)
Toughness is useless, everything depends on how you play, work around idiots.

Simple.

Me?
I did take the Toughness feat. It gave me roughly...18 or so extra hp at my current level. It wasn't a part of my build, but Pale Mater lich form required it; if pale master required shuriken proficiency, I would have that instead. I just took it a level ago, and up until then i did perfectly well without it.

My plan was to get a spell focus (transmutation probably) or something like that, but Pale Master and Lich/wraith forms came out Ju-u-ust in time to screw that up.

Oh come on...it isnt that bad. Sure, if you expected to be able to support yourself with only the Prestige's abilities you don't stand a chance, as many people have said before, but it's still an alright group of abilities. You just have to be good at using them: I'm a ninja with wraith form, since nothing can see me sneaking until i drop sneak to cast FoD. With Lich form, I'm able to ghoul touch most enemies without heighten, so i can Monk meele them safely, saving massive amounts of SP.

I'm a little curious as to what everyone was expecting when they heard of Pale master...I've played one on Neverwinter nights 1&2 and PnP, and I'm more than satisfied.

Perhaps a Dread Necromancer would fit everyone better.

No inflict wands for sale...

I laughed.

Two characters.

[Ookami007]

i won't take the high road, i'll just call you out right now: you're the ****ing idiot that we all have to work around. fools like you who spread ignorant propaganda based on your experience in other games are the reason some of us are soloing hard mode because it's easier than finding a decent group.

I won't take the high road either. You points are written from the point of someone who hasn't played a wizard much.

Play one... then TR... then TR again... then... come talk to us.

there is no way to play which magically empowers you to invulnerability.

While true, it doesn't mean that you can't do your best to avoid aggro. There are many aspects to this... knowing what spell to cast and when... knowing the capabilities of your tank... knowing the pathing... knowing the capabilities of your opponents.

It's called tactics. And it makes all the difference.

you will be hit. and often. and hard.

That you WILL be hit is a given. That you will be hit often and hard are completely up to the wizard.

With the proper spells, you can take the bite out of many blows. You won't go toe-to-toe with anything big, but if you want to do that... play fighter.

If something is swinging at you, you need to ask yourself... why...

and when i see you getting one-shot, i simply will not waste my time to raise you. there are five other members of the party who can accomplish something without first requiring a Raise Dead. your stone will languish where it falls for all i care. and i do know how much hp you have as soon as i land a heal on you, and i do make a decision about your value to the group which determines whether you get heals.

Obviously... you're a lousy healer who doesn't know how to play his class. If you let people die... it's obviously all your fault because you don't know how play.

Hehe... like you, I can speak out of my butt too.

a good "caster-wizard" knows he will get hit because it's not a class-dependent feature of gameplay. any decent player knows he will get hit.

Again, everyone can get hit. How you deal with it is up to you. A "GOOD" wizard knows that having versatile spells is the key to not getting hit too hard too often.

1) An opponent cannot hit you if they are held
2) An opponent cannot hit you if they are charmed
3) An opponent cannot hit you if they cannot find you
4) An opponent cannot hit you if they cannot get to you
5) Finally, an opponent cannot hit you if they are dead

A "good" wizard can control the situation thru the proper selection and use of spells.

warforged do not necessarily have to know anything about the game because they can bought from the DDO store instantly.

VIP have them too. So on this, we agree.

if your low-hp wizard is not dying often, it's because you're not contributing to the group. stop sitting on your thumbs in the back watching and whipping useless fireball wands to "conserve your sp".

Possibly your most ignorant and telling statement. Learn to play and we'll talk when you have a little experience under your belt and you'll laugh at how silly and inexperienced you were.

if anything, wizards and fighters are the two classes in the game who have the most incentive to take toughness: they have more feats, and they have a lot of use for more hp. Toughness is more than just the hp which the feat provides, there are enhancements which are worth a whopping 10hp each -- depending on your race, you could get more enhancements than others. WF have the most, and also happen to have constitution as their favored ability. absolutely everyone should put 6 build points into constitution as a minimum. there is simply no reason not to, and the best reason in the world to do so: if you have hp, you can keep playing. it's that simple.

I won't debate the usefulness of CON. I personally stick spare points into CON. But there is no reason to go overboard. A fighter NEEDS hp... because he's soaking up hits. That's all he can do.

A wizard can kill every mob in the room without taking a single hit. At first level. Charm person can work wonders. Command undead does the same for undead and ooze puppet can make slimes your friends.

That's just ONE spell. ONE.

A wizard getting aggro is a dumb wizard. If you're taking hits, you're playing wrong.

keep in mind that there is no save against Power Word: Kill, but it won't hurt you if you have more than a certain amount of current HP (not max! but if you're missing some hp, you're that much closer to being in PW:Kill range)

Hmm... too bad deathblock wouldn't prevent this... oh wait.

i made a WF wiz/rog, and at level 17 with 240+ hp unbuffed, evasion, and insightful reflexes, he is difficult indeed to take out. having watched barbarians drop to half health from an inferno of enemy delayed-blast fireballs and meteor swarms, and knowing that he had twice my hp... while i took no damage but the unavoidable bludgeoning... i can say that there is something to be said for hp, and even more for extra survival measures. not only do i never need to be raised (costing the group 10% xp and the healer's SP or PP to do so), but i also never need to be healed. the healer can babysit the barbies, i brought my own stack of reconstruct scrolls. you can't heal yourself if you're dead, but if you have half your hp remaining, you can eat a scroll and be back to shiny condition again. if you get raised, you also need to be buffed -- the hidden cost of the Raise Dead spell.

Interesting, if true. You certainly demonstrate that you can zerg your way through things like a spell casting fighter.

Funny thing... I have a squishy drow sorcerer who I TRed as a sorcerer and then TRed as a wizard... I don't die either. And I don't have those hit points and can't self heal.

I wonder why that is...

it's expensive to die.

In this, you will get no argument.

the game is balanced under the assumption that everyone has a minimum amount of hp. this is approximately a base CON of 12 or 14, the toughness feat and several toughness enhancements. use your stoneskin wands. they're cheap. seriously. spend one of your surplus feats on insightful reflexes even if you don't splash for evasion (when you make your reflex save, you take half damage from any effect i can think of right now, oh and none from niac's ;-D). wizard don't need any ability except int and con, in that order. you have more than enough build points to put a minimum of 6 into CON. just do it.

Again... that's one way... and it works for you. I (and obviously others) prefer the other way of using brains over firepower and actually using tactics to survive.

Try it... you might like it.

and buy 100 cure serious, neutralize poison, lesser restoration, and remove disease pots if you aren't WF.

This goes without saying.... you should always be self-sufficient... though I recommend items for poison and disease immunity.


To conclude, you created one wizard... not even a full wizard... and you gave him lots of hit points and you don't die as often... so... you assume that your way must be the ONLY way to not die alot.

Sorry to burst you bubble.... some of us can do it just fine by using tactics.

Cheers!

[Anneliese]

Funny thing... I have a squishy drow sorcerer who I TRed as a sorcerer and then TRed as a wizard... I don't die either. And I don't have those hit points and can't self heal.

I wonder why that is...

I had such a char too, drow sorc, no toughness, no shroud HP items - beside the amrath quests/raids, I was able to do pretty much what I wanted with her.

But it left no room for error - one lagspike or unlucky situation, and you could be dead.


I now made a sorc as a WF, and its much easier. I was able to do the same quests earlier and with much suckier equipment.

Because now an error or a lagspike usually doesnt mean that I die - I now cast a quickened reconstruct and can move on np.