Drow sorcerer, becoming a team player

[Grenada]

***Wall of text incoming***


Firstly, UMD is your friend. My level 9 sorcerer could umd raise dead scrolls with 15% chance at success (20% with charisma from airship buff). UMD makes you popular with people when things go wrong.

How do you get good umd? It's not as hard as you think.

lets look at a first lifer, no tomes:

20 base cha + 5 level ups + 3 sorcerer enhancements = 28 charisma
+ 6 item = 34 charisma

(34-10)/2 =12 skill modifier

UMD skill (items easy to get; cove items assuming they stay as is are easy enough to get tier 1, which is all you need):

12 charisma modifier
11 max skill (pure sorcerer, remember)
2 from good luck bonus on epic buccaneers ring
3 from epic treasure hunters spyglass
2 heroism pot (self sufficiency, so GH may not be an option) [Edit: scroll/spell is also a possibility. Thank you Darknark]
=29, not great, but ok
+6 charisma skills from greensteel item (a little more of a grind, but at least doable)
=35, now that's getting there (100% chance to use raise dead scroll, 85% chance to use heal scroll)


now lets add in a few more things:
+1 from a +2 charisma tome
=36 (90% chance to use heal scroll)
+1 from +2 exceptional charisma on a greensteel item
=37 (95% chance to use heal scroll)

removing the buccaneers ring can be done by making a tier 3 treasure hunter's spyglass, and slotting good luck +2 in the green augment slot.
Also, by making it tier 3, the +3 umd becomes an enhancement bonus, which mean it will stack with the seven fingered gloves.
that adds +5
=42 umd
*edit* +2 from GH scroll/spell {again, thank you DarkNark]
=43
finally, if a +4 tome is used (unlikely, but maybe )
+1
=44 (there is very little you won't have 100% to use now )

*Edit* poor choice, but just for completeness
+3 from completionist (1 from increased charisma, 2 from skill boost)
=47
*edit* ***Lammannia Spoiler*** Also, PL: artificer may grant you something with UMD...***END SPOILER***
so it is possible to get a decent umd on a drow, with lots of room for improvement.
Non-drow, your looking at 1 less, due to max charisma is 2 lower.
There are other items which will boost your UMD. I won't talk about them here, but just look for some, and you will see just how easy it is to get good UMD

Second: get some buffs.

Even just a couple key buffs. Haste and blur for sure. Displacement is nice to have, as well as nightshield and false life (even if just for leveling, they help out a lot). Helping make the other players in your party more effective is just as important as doing max dps.


Third: Repair spells

If you aren't going to take a few repair spells (such as reconstruct), then at least take a couple ranks in the wand and scroll mastery enhancement line. Even though you are a useful addition to the party without it, it's easier to get into raid groups if you can be the healer in charge of the WF tank.

If you are going to take some repair spells, taking a couple ranks in the repair line will help you save sp, as the spells will be more effective (otherwise, you just gotta spam them twice as often).

tl;dr: umd, buffs, repair is key to success

(note: color meant to save your eyes from critical failure)

[Darknark]

2 heroism pot (self sufficiency, so GH is not an option here)

Quite a nice summary for umd actually..... but this part could be changed. A Sorc can either cast it (GH) or scroll it.(GH) (see portable hole for scrolls).

EDIT: I am a noob, and the "it" I refer to is Greater Heroism being available to cast/scroll via portable hole vendors, not heroism. I think I need caffeine. Truly sorry for the confusion.

[Grenada]

Quite a nice summary for umd actually..... but this part could be changed. A Sorc can either cast it or scroll it. (see portable hole for scrolls).

Awesome, I'll add that in.

[erikbozelie]

all hail the mighty UMD!.

its the only skill worth taking on any toon by my standards. umd + (trapsmithing and 1 rank tumble) is what any toon need.

[Zachski]

I've read through this thread like three times and it's still marking every post as unread.

Ah well.

I'm not sure what this thread has to do with drow, but these are great tips for every Sorc

[Grenada]

I'm not sure what this thread has to do with drow, but these are great tips for every Sorc

I was just to lazy to incorporate anymore info into the OP. Making it race specific meant I only have to show the calculations for that race.

So here it is: Non-drow, subtract 1 from your Max UMD. (will add to OP)

[Rumbaar]

Good Luck +2 is fairly easy low level crafting item, so you can put that on a trinket easy enough for the +2 if you have no access to the event +2.

Also Persuasion +3 to CHA skills [UMD] is also quite a low level crafting item that adds the same UMD bonus as the Golden Cartouche.

Golden Cartouche +3 UMD is easy to get from Delera's tomb.

You also have the Big Top from Partycrashers for +1 UMD

All of those are quite easy to come by and can add to your UMD. I think they are all lower than Level 9, so can be gotten quite early, where higher UMD for scrolls is more important.

[dkyle]

Heh, I thought this was going to be a very different thread, but yeah, UMD on a Sorc is great.

Even though it isn't a class skill, that CHA really adds up.

[Mubjon]

Nice thread and for a Sorc there is no reason to not get UMD. I know my sorc can scroll raise dead scrolls at level 13 70%.

[Isharah]

An alternative breakdown assuming end-game gear.

Human: 18(base) + 5(level up) + 4(enhancements) + 7(cha item) + 3(exc cha +1, +2) + 1(litany) + 2(tome) = 40
Stat mod: (40-10)/2 = 15

15 stat mod
11 skill ranks
4 GH
3 Vile Blasphemy (+3 umd, competence)
6 GS cha skills (+1, +2, +3)
1 litany (profane skill bonus)
------------------------------------------
40 no-fail heal scroll usage (with end-game gear you will probably be static at this value)
1 ship buff
1 yugo pot
------------------------------------------
42 no-fail resurrection scroll usage
1 swap-out litany for epic spyhunter's glass (-1 cha mod, -1 profane skill and +3 umd enhancement bonus)
2 good luck
2 seven-fingered gloves (+5 umd but we already considered +3 on Vile Blasphemy)
1 +4 tome
3 Artificer past life (passive)
3 completionist
------------------------------------------
54 i don't know what you'd want to do with this much umd (also you will probably be swapping out of your standard end-game gear just to get this value... not really ideal)

Open to corrections.