Is Arcane Bolt Worth it?

[stille_nacht]

Many people have told me it isnt, but why not?

for 50 starting sp you get 1d6/level force damage with a save (1sp per casting), its basically like a polar ray that nothing resists but has a save. I dont know about everyone else, but the thought of throwing around

60d6 or even 30d6 for next to free seems pretty appealing, and 50sp only equals one spell so....

Side note, i cast polar ray for 240s-280s all the time, yet it should only do 60d6... not sure whawts going on there... the average should be 210, but the loweest ive ever hit for is 234...

[oberon131313]

Side note, i cast polar ray for 240s-280s all the time, yet it should only do 60d6... not sure whawts going on there... the average should be 210, but the loweest ive ever hit for is 234...

potency?

[stille_nacht]

potency?

have a potency XIII clicky, but it wasnt turned on :/

[brucelee82]

I was reading the lamania threads about arcane bolt and the devs commented saying that maximize and empower would not work with arcane bolt so you would only throw out 20d6 bolts at best which would be why people don't think it is worth it. I have not tried this at all and dont know if enhancements/items would buff this.

[frznvimes]

It would have a fairly low save (I forget what the spell level is, 3?) that you can't boost through feats or items, only int. You're not going to see many failed saves, so you're looking at 10d6 damage.
It's also a reflex save, so any mob with evasion who saves is going to take 0 damage (which is why it's inferior to pm's necrotic versions, besides not being free).

[FaSo]

i took it on my wiz and like it, not love it, but like it. Its able to be casted through beholder magic not allowing thing(just woke up from a nap, still cant rmber) that is nice, at lvl 13 im hiting for 20-40 on it so its not like im doing massave damage but its not to bad if i hav like 9 sp left i can get 180-360 dmg extra.


Personaly i will be resepcing at 20 and i will not grab it, but till then its not to bad


Faso

[Freeman]

I tried it out on my capped wizard, then respecced out of it as soon as the timer allowed. Without being able to apply any metamagics, the damage just isn't worth the cost. I'd rather be able to cast an extra spell or two that will actually be useful than 50-100 spells that won't do enough damage to matter.

[stille_nacht]

I was reading the lamania threads about arcane bolt and the devs commented saying that maximize and empower would not work with arcane bolt so you would only throw out 20d6 bolts at best which would be why people don't think it is worth it. I have not tried this at all and dont know if enhancements/items would buff this.

ah, i had thought that metamagics affected the spell-like abilities :[

[frznvimes]

ah, i had thought that metamagics affected the spell-like abilities :[

not if the spell-like ability isn't actually a regular spell (so it does work on the magic missile sla, but not arcane bolt).

[Thrudh]

ah, i had thought that metamagics affected the spell-like abilities :[

They do for dragonmarks, but not for arcane bolt... which makes it mostly worthless...

Sure, it's super cheap, but all it does is **** off the guy you're fighting... 1 sp to get aggro is not a good trade...

The only thing it's good for is the killing blow on those mobs who manage to have a sliver of health left after the last spell you cast.... Then, it's nice to be able to finish them with 1 sp instead of wasting a whole other spell...

On the other hand, if meta-magiks actually worked on it, then it would be super over-powered... I wish they could have found a better middle ground.

[stille_nacht]

They do for dragonmarks, but not for arcane bolt... which makes it mostly worthless...

Sure, it's super cheap, but all it does is **** off the guy you're fighting... 1 sp to get aggro is not a good trade...

The only thing it's good for is the killing blow on those mobs who manage to have a sliver of health left after the last spell you cast.... Then, it's nice to be able to finish them with 1 sp instead of wasting a whole other spell...

On the other hand, if meta-magiks actually worked on it, then it would be super over-powered... I wish they could have a better middle ground.

meta magic at half efficiency perhaps... well, now that i know its 10d6 or 35 damage, i am very put off, how am i going to do anything with only 35 damage >.>, meteor swarms barely taking out 25% on a lot of the mobs im seeing....

[Looonatic]

Assuming that you're going with the Evocation line and/or maximizing your non-metamagic enhancements for force damage, then yes. It's worth it to do 1 sp force attacks even without metamagic. I'm using it right now and I like it. What I like even more is my 1sp magic missiles WITH metamagic and enhancements and without saving throws. I am really digging them. It's making me crave 6 pt Chain Missiles.

But what I'm not yet totally sold on is the Evocation line. I haven't committed to it yet and am still considering options like Enchantment and Necromancy. I'm not convinced that the Arcane bolts and blasts will be worth it without the commitment to force damage boosts.

[Majere_Aumar]

I'm running mainly shroud at the moment, and considering Harry doesn't have a resist for it, its not too bad as a filler while waiting on another damage spell to cooldown.

[Vellrad]

I have this sla, and only +10% force damage, 3% crit chance, X1,5 crit damage, but with major kinetic lore and superior potency VI, I'm dealing about 100 damage without crit, and at failed save. With crit & failed save its 200+ damage. For 1SP. But its almost useless against epic bosses and other mobs with evasion. And is excelent for favor runs (but I don't think its matters)

[phalaeo]

My BF took it to see what it's like- I've been watching him playing around with it.

You know why I think it would be worth it? When you've got a mob that has some HP left- too much to "melee", not enough to waste SP on another 90-110SP costing spell. It finishes them off quite nicely at no real cost in either SP or in the Wizzy's HP (getting close to melee whack a mob to finish it off).

Is it worth it? Depends on your build and playstyle. He finds it nice for soloing and uses it often. It's not going to kill a raid boss, but it has its place.

[Meowin]

Side note, i cast polar ray for 240s-280s all the time, yet it should only do 60d6... not sure whawts going on there... the average should be 210, but the loweest ive ever hit for is 234...

Loaded dice? The description should have been updated to be 60d3 + 180 so your average without any amplifiers should be 300 with the lowest possible value 240?

[donfilibuster]

Well, on one hand the arcane bolt cost a little sp, which u get a large pool but still won't regen like hp for necrotic bolt.
On the other hand you probably won't need to have an unlimited supply since you'll likely reach a shrine in time.
Both necrotic and arcane bolt are useful to save some sp here and there, when otherwise you'd have to throw a fireball or scorching ray costing more sp.

[blitzschlag]

have a potency XIII clicky, but it wasnt turned on :/

ow, potency 13. that outgunns the eardweller for sure.

[Deaths_ward]

And here, I was enjoying my 1sp 100 points of death. At level 10-12 it's really nice, and since you need to take it to get the Blast Effect, well that makes it worth it to me.

What I like is that with tier 3 force damage, Blue Scales, and Sup Potency VI item, that Force Blast is a fireball on roids. Because A)It doesn't stop adding dice until level 20. B) You can spam it forever. I'm landing about 200ish damage on a non-crit, almost 400 on a crit. The save DC isn't amazing, and Evasion mobs ignore it, but I have FoD for evasion mobs, and nothing has resistance to Force effects.

[Deaths_ward]

ow, potency 13. that outgunns the eardweller for sure.

Lul wut. I totally missed that. +1 For pointing that out.