High level sorcerer spells?

[mobrien316]

For 8th and 9th level spells on my 20th level capstoned air savant, the ones I currently have are:

8 - Summon Air Elemental (because it seems to fit so well on an air savant)
8 - Polar Ray (because my secondary line is ice)
8 - Sunburst (because someone told me it works well on all the golems in the Necropolis that are healed by lightning spells - I haven't used it yet)

9 - Meteor Swarm (because it is an evocation spell, but I don't think I have ever used it)
9 - Energy Drain (because I heard it is good, but, again, I don't think I have ever used it)
9 - Wail of the Banshee (same as above)

Generally my strategy is as follows - For trash mobs I spam Chain Lightning, SLA Lightning Bolts, and Lightning Bolts (because the SLA has a six-second cooldown). If the mobs have evasion or good reflex saves, I spam Frost Lance and Polar Ray, and occasionally Freezing Sphere. Sometimes I toss in a Disintegrate as well. For bosses I hit them with the electric curse, then Eladar's Electric Surge, Niac's Biting Cold, then spam all the old favorites listed above until I have stacked three each of the DoT spells.

As an air savant my DC's for enchantment and necromancy spells are not very good, around a 28, I believe. I have the maximize, empower, and heighten spell feats, and have Spell Focus Evocation and Greater Spell Focus Evocation. I also have one level of enhancement for Spell Penetration.

I tend to think I must be missing something if I am never using the ninth level spells. I have not done any epic level quests (just got to level 20 the other day) and thus far have not had any difficulties in any of the quests I’ve done. I am guessing that will change when I start to do epic quests, so I am seeking some advice on which are the most useful high level spells for an air savant and how they are best utilized.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

[licho]

I would swap sunburst, its good against vampire and other undeads (or ozzies), but nothing spectacular. You dont have lines to enchant this one. Against golems (any) desintagrate is our easy button.

Instead:
Otto dance - no save single cc, in epic very handy.
Symbold of Death - level drain, but fort save from necro school.

lv 9: i will leave it as is, however if you find no use of MS, you can swap it for PWK. (no save instadeath with horrible cooldown)

BTW, why GSF Evo?

[Tid12]

I would swap sunburst, its good against vampire and other undeads (or ozzies), but nothing spectacular. You dont have lines to enchant this one. Against golems (any) desintagrate is our easy button.

Instead:
Otto dance - no save single cc, in epic very handy.
Symbold of Death - level drain, but fort save from necro school.

lv 9: i will leave it as is, however if you find no use of MS, you can swap it for PWK. (no save instadeath with horrible cooldown)

BTW, why GSF Evo?

Because those Archers and Assassins have high Ref saves i guess.

Anyway, i dropped otto dance and picked Symbol of Death, very handy to drain some levels.
Energy drain is usefull against casters, i usually EDrain + Finger them.

[mobrien316]

BTW, why GSF Evo?

I was trying to boost my DC a bit more so fewer enemies could make their saves against my lightning spells.

I considered Spell Penetration instead, but figured that the +2 boost I would get from that would still leave my Enchantment and Necromancy DC's too low to hit anything worthwhile. The majority of my AP's have been used to boost my electricity spells and my ice spells, so my DC's with enchantment and necro spells are not very high. I thought that boosting them from 28 to 30 wouldn't really make a difference.

[illowock]

I'm curious why your DC is so low. Even with a Evo DC of 35, I find that higher level and epic mobs frequently save against lightning bolt and chain lightning. Your base DC should be around 33. Here's my DC breakdown without including specific school feats:

18 Initial CHA
5 Level Ups
4 Enhancements (3 + 1 human)
9 Item (6 + 3 exceptional)
2 +2 CHA Tome
----------------------------------
38 Total CHA

DC 34 = 10 + 9 (heightened spell level) + 14 CHA bonus + 1 DC Item (Stormreavers Napkin)

I agree with the spell selections mentioned above. But keep in mind, that while PWK and OID don't require a save but they do require passing SR. Check your Spell Pen or these could be quite useless in epic content.