Best archmage focus?

[doubledge]

let me reformat my question, if my caster mostly does non epic quests, is abjuration focus worth it? i think the 15 mp high dc dismissal would be very good for killing annoying adds.

[oweieie]

let me reformat my question, if my caster mostly does non epic quests, is abjuration focus worth it? i think the 15 mp high dc dismissal would be very good for killing annoying adds.

No, dismissal doesn't hit all that many creatures in the game. Pre-epic wail of the banshee is king. Between that and wall of fire and maybe the occasional polar ray or something you're not going to be using much that abjuration focus matters.

[Gol]

let me reformat my question, if my caster mostly does non epic quests, is abjuration focus worth it? i think the 15 mp high dc dismissal would be very good for killing annoying adds.

In that case, Necromancy. Wail of the Banshee and Finger of Death are the best insta-kills. Dismissal only works on outsiders (which, granted, is most endgame content, but not all of it).

[Urvine]

Personally I focused in crowd control/support with my archmage. I primary conjuration for max dc web and stinking cloud. and secondary evocation for magic missiles gust of wind and chain missiles so i can defend myself for low sp cost and blow away most monster CCs.

I think gust of wind is very underrated. it can blow away web, any cloud effect, ice storm, disco ball, firewall, i think the only persisting effect it doesn't work on is sleet storm and blade barrier. and all for only 3 sp.

stinking cloud can be bothersome though, i tend to only use it in a situation where the monsters are immune to web. it makes it difficult to see, and most people don't know what it does because the monsters are still moving around.

with the right gear and force/repair enhancement line and metamagics magic missiles can hit for 115 per barrage non crit. and over 300 full crit. most the time at least one missile crits. so its generally at least 150 damage for 1 sp, and chain missiles can hit twice that much by lvl 19. and if there are only one or 2 secondary targets they take even more damage than the primary target did. chainmissiles seems to scatter out a fixed amount of missiles regardless of how many targets there are. so the less there are, the more damage each of them take, save for the primary, they always take a 1 hit initial burst that crits for over 500 at lvl 19. and with 1 and 6 sp cost, it'll hardly scratch your sp so you can use your sp for buffing. now this is in no way a raid dps build or anything. it really gives you a low cost means to defend yourself.

and the best part is being able to apply meta magics to all your spell like abilities for free. i generally have enlarge,quicken, maximize, empower, extend, heighten up at all times.

[Gadget2775]

up to 20 base int (drow), but we'll assume WF for the sake of argument. so 18 base int.

intelligence:

+18 (base)
+05 (levels)
+06 (item)
+01 (exceptional)
+02 (exceptional)
+03 (enhancements)
+02 (capstone)
+02 (tome)
+01 (litany)
-----
40 int = +15 DC

DC:

+10 (base)
+15 (int)
+02 (GSF item)
+02 (SF/GSF)
+02 (archmage enhancements)
+09 (heighten/spell level)
-----
40

Pretty much my layout. I'm a Human and will top off with +1 Int for Enhancements and a +3 tome to push the DC a little. (Not including ship buffs for +2 int and +1 enchanctment from Lore of the 12)

[Scortius]

Thanks for that Jaid- I'm at the 37 without the exceptional +2, Litany, and the GSF item. Hadn't had the Litany on my want list- but its goin on.

[bradleyforrest]

Pretty much my layout. I'm a Human and will top off with +1 Int for Enhancements and a +3 tome to push the DC a little. (Not including ship buffs for +2 int and +1 enchanctment from Lore of the 12)

The Phiarlan Inspiration (Lore of the Twelve is +1 Conj) buff doesn't stack with items. No word if this is WAI or not.

[Gadget2775]

The Phiarlan Inspiration (Lore of the Twelve is +1 Conj) buff doesn't stack with items. No word if this is WAI or not.

Evocation and Conjuration acording to the tool-tip...Not that it helps me any Need to not skim when reading the buff descriptions.

[Gadget2775]

Was just looking at the wiki and found

House Phiarlan Entertainer Contract "Casts Phiarlan Inspiration (+1 Luck bonus to all skills, +1 DC on enchantments/illusions that you cast) "

Anyone know if that's in the same situation as the buff from the 12? IE Not stacking?

[stille_nacht]

A: use banish, not dismissal

B: to answer your question, the best focus would most probably be necromancy, in this way you could get the PM PrE, and have higher insta kill spells. Pale master would further increase your survivability and spell DCs also, and is, IMO, slightly better for non-epic. (I chose AM because it is slightly better in epic, slightly worse in non-epic)

C: you could take abjuration as a secondary school, but note that it only really helps out in the Vale, as in Amrath, you cannot banish them to their home plane, because you are on their home plane

[thegreatneil]

B: to answer your question, the best focus would most probably be necromancy, in this way you could get the PM PrE, and have higher insta kill spells. Pale master would further increase your survivability and spell DCs also, and is, IMO, slightly better for non-epic. (I chose AM because it is slightly better in epic, slightly worse in non-epic)

So the best Arch mage focus is the one for Palemaster. Good answer.

[stille_nacht]

So the best Arch mage focus is the one for Palemaster. Good answer.

ok, that does seem quite garbled when i look at it. Re statement

Best Archmage focus at high, non-epic level-> necromancy, its where saves matter most. Wail of the Banshee is like banish with a wider AoE and effects non outsiders too. It is slightly worse against outsiders as it doesnt have a will save but it should still work.

Best Archmage focus at mid-low level -> Evocation, when your damage still matters a lot.

Also, if you dont play epic/ places where wail barely ever works, go PM, because they are slightly better than AM for Non-Epic play (Note: i did not say substantially better, i said slightly), they have self heals, more hp, and a +1 to all dcs (AM only has a 1 advantage in one area, and more SP)