Savant Prestige Information

[Xaxx]

No pre's negative should be higher than its posative in any part of it (+2 and -3) and lets face it there arent a whole lot of pres with downsides and even the downsides of the ones that do, their plus sides are definatly higher than the direct oposite unless you choose for them not to be.

Sorry guys back to the drawing board.

[Missing_Minds]

While they do cast their "appropriate" summons at a higher caster level, at this time caster level doesn't modify the creature you gain. We were considering placing an Augment Summoning style buff on creatures of your specialty, but ended up not doing so. Maybe in the future.

I assume that would be something more appropriate for an Acolyte of the Skin then?

[Siskel]

Update 9 sounds like a pretty big change for casters. Will most damage spells have their damage cap removed?

[sirgog]

@Eladrin - A question - Is it your intention that, post-U9, a well-geared Cold Savant sorc with Tevli's set, Eardweller, etc, will be able to be effective in a DPS role in major 'endurance battles' like the entire Elite Horoth+Suulo encounter, or Epic Devil Assault?

[bradleyforrest]

They also get split up into 1/1/.../1 lines, but it's a bit more expensive to maximize multiple lines. We front-loaded those as well:

Glacial Spellcasting I
Prereqs: Level 2 Sorcerer or Wizard, Frost Manipulation I
Cost: 1 AP
Benefit: Grants a 4% chance for cold spells to generate a critical hit. (Base spell critical chance is 0% and critical damage bonus is +50%)

Glacial Spellcasting II
Prereqs: Level 5 Sorcerer or Wizard, Frost Manipulation II, Glacial Spellcasting I
Cost: 1 AP
Benefit: Grants a 5% chance for cold spells to generate a critical hit.

Up to Glacial Spellcasting VI (9%), and:

Deadly Kinetics I
Prereqs: Level 4 Sorcerer or Wizard, Force Manipulation I, Kinetic Spellcasting I
Cost: 1 AP
Benefit: Your spell critical multipliers for force spells and spells that deal untyped or physical damage are increased by an additional 25%, bringing your base critical damage bonus with these spells to +75%.

through

Deadly Kinetics VI
Prereqs: Level 19 Sorcerer or Wizard, Force Manipulation VI, Deadly Kinetics V
Cost: 1 AP
Benefit: Your spell critical multipliers for force spells and spells that deal untyped or physical damage are increased by an additional 10%, bringing your base critical damage bonus with these spells to +125%.

How are the new costs for the crit enhancements going to stack up against the current ones? It looks to me like it will be a lot more expensive to get where we are now, and that's not a change that should be happening. Casters already don't deal enough damage, and if this is going to make the multipliers more expensive to get, then we will end up being stretched thin in order to keep up with what we currently are able to do.

<edit> So, it's going to cost 6 AP each to get a single element to where we can currently get 2 elements for the same cost. Why is this a good change again?

[shagath]

Hmm, interesting. Any forms?

[Missing_Minds]

Oh yeah~!

Any appearance changes to the Savants like you did to PMs?

[Requiro]

So quick respond. I’m imprested

(...)
Edit: Oops, I misread that a little bit. I thought you meant "what happens if you bring resistance below zero". My bad. An acid vulnerable foe will inherently take more damage since your caster level is higher (and partially bypassing the normal cap).

To be clear: So that ability work only for moobs that have already any resistance in our type of Elements? It won't work on vulnerable monster to our type of Elements same as to moobs that don't have any resistance to our type of Elements? But we can still do more damage because we have higher caster level. Right?

A tier III Earth Savant will be casing Flesh to Stone at caster level 26. That could come in useful against certain enemies.

(Let's not look at the Air Savant's FtS caster level, it's a little embarassing.)

Are "additional" caster level are extra to the spell description? Or it is still limited by spell design? For example: Fireball can do 16d6 maximum damage / 13d6 maximum damage instead of 10d6 or not?

They also get split up into 1/1/.../1 lines, but it's a bit more expensive to maximize multiple lines. We front-loaded those as well:

Glacial Spellcasting I
Prereqs: Level 2 Sorcerer or Wizard, Frost Manipulation I
Cost: 1 AP
Benefit: Grants a 4% chance for cold spells to generate a critical hit. (Base spell critical chance is 0% and critical damage bonus is +50%)

Glacial Spellcasting II
Prereqs: Level 5 Sorcerer or Wizard, Frost Manipulation II, Glacial Spellcasting I
Cost: 1 AP
Benefit: Grants a 5% chance for cold spells to generate a critical hit.

Up to Glacial Spellcasting VI (9%), and:

Deadly Kinetics I
Prereqs: Level 4 Sorcerer or Wizard, Force Manipulation I, Kinetic Spellcasting I
Cost: 1 AP
Benefit: Your spell critical multipliers for force spells and spells that deal untyped or physical damage are increased by an additional 25%, bringing your base critical damage bonus with these spells to +75%.

through

Deadly Kinetics VI
Prereqs: Level 19 Sorcerer or Wizard, Force Manipulation VI, Deadly Kinetics V
Cost: 1 AP
Benefit: Your spell critical multipliers for force spells and spells that deal untyped or physical damage are increased by an additional 10%, bringing your base critical damage bonus with these spells to +125%.

This is sad news

For now we get +125 to both type of energy for 6 AP. With new system for the same price (6 AP) we get bonus only for one type of energy...

Is that still consider to change after beta test?

[Cyr]

Interesting stuff so far.

I like the split lines for damage and crit chances. Not sure I am too thrilled with the numbers on the crit stuff, but the damage lines look appropriate.

The Tier 1 earth savant looks pretty lame though. Shockingly so when compared to let's say the tier 1 FvS PrE coming in U9.

[Missing_Minds]

While they do cast their "appropriate" summons at a higher caster level, at this time caster level doesn't modify the creature you gain. We were considering placing an Augment Summoning style buff on creatures of your specialty, but ended up not doing so. Maybe in the future.

Re reading question. "Appropriate" summons.... So that means an air element just sticks around longer for an air savant while a summoned earth would stick around maybe... half that time?

[dkyle]

Re reading question. "Appropriate" summons.... So that means an air element just sticks around longer for an air savant while a summoned earth would stick around maybe... half that time?

Summons have a static 10 minute duration. CL does not effect summons in any way.

[bradleyforrest]

For now we get +125 to both type of energy for 6 AP. With new system for the same price (6 AP) we get bonus only for one type of energy...

Is that still consider to change after beta test?

Here's hoping. Increasing the costs for casters to be able to maintain the status quo for their already weak DPS is a Very Bad Thing(tm).

Turbine, you need to cut out half of the tiers of the new crit enhancements. It will maintain the status quo, we can keep the damage bonuses that we have for the same cost, and we can bump it higher for 2 more AP on the damage line.

[Spiderwight]

Does caster level on a summon adjust how difficult it is for an enemy to dispel? I can't think of any other effect it has.

[Requiro]

We've removed the 150 point cap from stoneskin. (Though Earth Savants would be able to bypass that partially anyway.) Normal level 20 casters will drop 200 point stoneskins, T3 Earth Savants will cast 260 point ones.

Great! But... This is not in DnD style... That supposed to be grater Stoneskin. But so far I like this change...

(...)

While they do cast their "appropriate" summons at a higher caster level, at this time caster level doesn't modify the creature you gain. We were considering placing an Augment Summoning style buff on creatures of your specialty, but ended up not doing so. Maybe in the future.

I hope that this "future" don't mean year or so

And if you told us: What that is mean: "summon at higher caster level"? CR is higher? Abilities of summon are higher?

Oh yeah~!

Any appearance changes to the Savants like you did to PMs?

That is a good question. Are Savants get their unique look?

[charmor]

The favored elements are defined wider than merely damage spells - Earth Savants can drop a higher cap Stoneskin on people, for instance.

Pretty nice.

As far as I know Stoneskin and Flesh to Stone, for example, are not linked by the rules to earth spells. This means you guys are just picking some specific non-damaging spells by hand and considering them from an element, right?

Also, I'm considering that having a higher caster level on such spells will also increase their spell penetration rolls.. I believe this can really be pretty nice depending on the spell you are getting those +6 casters levels.

[Missing_Minds]

As far as I know Stoneskin and Flesh to Stone, for example, are not linked by the rules to earth spells. This means you guys are just picking some specific non-damaging spells by hand and considering them from an element, right?

In that same token, I'm hoping that air savants get modified Cyclonic and Gusts.

I've always been a strong fan of acid, but if those get hit up also by "Air"... I'm so revamping my sorc.

[KreepyKritter]

My wife's capped Sorcerer is getting a little hot and bothered by all this talk of Savantism...

Which is good news for me as well.

[GoldyGopher]

In thinking about this some more....

Wouldn't these changes (AP Costs) actually benefit the Wizard Class more than Sorcerer Class?

I mean Sorcs will have to spend as much or more in terms of AP to gain a little DPS in their preferred line while losing alternative damage in the associated line (Fire/Ice Currently).
Now Wizards who specialize in say Crowd Control can drop 2, 3, or 4 AP in the Fire line and have 95% (off the top of my head math) of the DPS in their Wall of Fire as a Sorc who specializes in it. I realize it may cost the Wizard more SP to cast, but when you only through say one or two a quest/encounter who cares.

[LeLoric]

So if each teir does +2 caster level and +1 max and gives -3 caster level to opposite a lev 20 water savant with an epic staff of arcane power would do 28d6 polar rays. That's pretty impressive.

Granted said sorc would be lacking in firewalls doing only 2d6+13 instead of 2d6 +20. Delayed blast fireball would generally be replaced with an 18d6 otilukes and cone of cold for no big loss there except to cold immune mobs. Meteor swarm could still be a pretty useful aoe fire effect as it has no basis in caster level.

[Spiderwight]

In thinking about this some more....
Wouldn't these changes (AP Costs) actually benefit the Wizard Class more than Sorcerer Class?

I mean Sorcs will have to spend as much or more in terms of AP to gain a little DPS in their preferred line while losing alternative damage in the associated line (Fire/Ice Currently).
Now Wizards who specialize in say Crowd Control can drop 2, 3, or 4 AP in the Fire line and have 95% (of the top of my head math) of the DPS in their Wall of Fire as a Sorc who specializes in it. I realize it may cost the Wizard more SP to cast, but when you only through say one or two a quest/encounter who cares.

Shaddup, dude! We need them to not notice that yet! ;-)