A Year+ later...can I salvage my Sorc???

[hawkytom]

Hello my Human Sorc is lvl 19 and about 30k exp from max level with about 2500 favor.

I basically only played solo/duo (99.99999% of the time) and built my character with that in mind. I also don't want to be warforged.

Starting stats were(32pt):

12str
8dex
16con [+2tome used]
10int
8wis
18cha (lvl ups go here) [+2tome used]

Skills: Concentration + UMD + Balance & 1pt in tumble

I think I can fix my spellbook with the 2 blood of the dragon I have in my inventory...but I would love some advice on spell picks for the new DDO!

General advice on enhancements couldn't hurt either and I should be able to fix those with some platinum. (I'm leaning towards Earth Savant with minor in Cold, but open to all options/suggestions/observations/etc...)

FEATS is where I think I'm screwed!!!! I have no interest in spending massive amounts of turbine points to fix my character, because I probably already need about 3000-4000 if I want to get the new challenges/adv packs!! (so hopefully this can be avoided for the most part!)

Toughness
Maximize
Empower
Heighten
Extend
Force of Personality
Spell Focus: Evocation
Greater Spell Focus: Evocation

I think I read about Force of Personality being basically worthless, and Extend doesn't affect spells like Wall of Fire, Cloudkill and AcidFog anymore so is it really worth keeping for just extending Haste/Displacement/Rage....Also Spell Focus&GSF Evocation I'm concerned about, are these still worth using at all, or should I just pick a different Focus &/or a Spell Penetration feat??

So I'm thinking I might have to replace anywhere from 1-4 feats....YIKES, I already did my 1 free feat swap with that quest as well! ADVICE PLEASE

[Postumus]

Yes you can!

[Cardtrick]

I would definitely swap out Force of Personality, but otherwise that's a perfectly reasonable sorcerer build. SF:Evocation and GSF:Evocation are great feats on a sorcerer, although if you do go Earth Savant, you might consider swapping them out for Conjuration focuses (many earth/acid spells are conjuration rather than evocation, and they'll also help with getting a great DC on heightened Web).

Extend is personal preference, but is definitely expendable if you don't mind casting your short-duration buffs more frequently. If you drop Extend and FoP, you can take 2 more feats.

Option one would be Shield Proficiency and Shield Mastery, for turtling behind a shield while regenerating SP with torc/conc-opp and situationally DoT-tanking.

Option two would be more spell focuses -- probably Necromancy (or Enchantment). You'll struggle a bit with either line due to first-life sorcerer's lack of spell penetration, but against foes without spell resistance, it can be very useful having an extra 2 DCs on instant kill/crowd control spells. Much of the time you'll still want to be doing spell DPS, but there are many situations when that's not the most efficient thing.

Option three would be Spell Penetration and Greater Spell Penetration. This is probably my least favorite; your main sorcerer spells don't have spell pen checks, and without taking the SF/GSF feats your enchantment/necromancy spells (which do have spell pen checks) are unlikely to have high enough DCs against the sort of enemies you need lots of spell pen for anyway. A wizard should absolutely take spell penetration feats; a sorcerer without relevant past lives probably shouldn't.

As for your enhancements . . . they can be swapped out freely and easily. As you're already level 19, you should not consider fire savant (great choice while leveling, but weak at endgame). Any of the other 3 savants could be great, though. Cold is the best for single-target nuking (although it's great for other stuff too). Air has more spells with DC checks, but can be among the most offensively powerful if you have good DCs (and you get wings!). Earth is lower DPS than the others, but more SP-efficient, very little is immune to acid damage, and tier 3 has a really powerful crowd control ability (earth grab). Any one of them is a great option. I tend to think earth is best if you solo much and/or do a lot of varied questing, and don't want to worry about immunities (and by far the best if you run Abbot much); cold is best if you primarily raid and want max boss DPS; fire is best for leveling and for certain epic scroll farming; and air is well balanced over-all but really benefits from gearing up and getting reliably high DCs.

[goodspeed]

Ya that builds fine. You basically have a modified version of the 28 point build.

force of personality isn't worthless, it's just that a freedom of movement pretty much does it's job. depending on what you got I might swap it for skill focus umd for +3 bonus to umd for no failing heal scrolls, as that would be ur main survival source. (Never depend on someone else to keep you up, otherwise you love all those nice ship buffs.)

Course even with that ud still need the gear. Gear being a GS exceptional cha skills bonus equaling 6 points to umd. As well as a +3 umd competance bonus item like the necklace from delera's or the spyglass from crystal cove (both +3) or theirs the 5 fingered gloves that give +5 I think.

Course a luck bonus item with +1 or 2 helps as well. Could even umd a +2 luck skills scroll like recitation but it's only about 1.1 minutes long.

Extend is completely up to you. I find in epics I usually buff alot more to keep the melee's displaced, raged and hasted. Cause unlike an elite, a mage can't cover for 5 people. A palemaster maybe, but not a sorc without 2 or 3 wiz past lives going and the feats to boot.

Now spell pen is another nice feat but the thing is if I were to take that id wan't the dc's as well. And in epic unless you got the stuff and past lives, might as well not even blow the mana. The exception as stated would be an earth savent. Taking conjuration is kinda like killing 2 birds. Web doesn't need an amazing save to be great. It can get by with say 38. Very reasonable and easily gotten.

As far as what spells that's up to you. As when you left fire still sucks end game for anything vale/shaverath related. Air savant is electricity, and yes mobs still have amazing epic like reflex even on norm.

I'd say ur best bets are either water or earth savant. Water basically has great single target dmg, the ability to freeze a single target once every 30 seconds I think, and it's low cost sla's are all ranged.

Earth you get more for spells like stone skin, and helps you have some cc via conjuration (as long as some nub doesn't whip a fireball) sla's are only 2. (acid spray kinda sucks) but you get melfs over leveled and maxed, as well as acid blast.

[sirgog]

If you aren't changing feats, go Air or Water savant. You can still dip into Acid (for the amazing Acid Rain) if you go Water.

[hawkytom]

thank you all for your advice! I'm leaning towards Water w/ Air secondary, and eventually replacing my Extend/FoP feats when I get the shards from other characters or something

Now I just need to find some good spell selection posts and I'll be all set!

[sirgog]

If you go Water/Air, the key spells to start with are:

Haste
Resist Energy
Displacement
Jump
Niac's Biting Cold
Eladar's Electric Surge
Power Word Stun
Polar Ray (get a clickie to boost this ASAP)
Energy Drain
Cone of Cold
Otiluke's Freezing Sphere

And really most of the rest is up to taste.

[MRMechMan]

thank you all for your advice! I'm leaning towards Water w/ Air secondary, and eventually replacing my Extend/FoP feats when I get the shards from other characters or something

Now I just need to find some good spell selection posts and I'll be all set!

You are already almost at endgame so water or air are probably best. Earth isn't bad either though, just lower boss DPS. If that's all you care about, go water.

You could always TR, sorc past life isn't bad.

Get rid of FoP asap (will saves just about useless endgame), and extend if you don't feel you need it (it's convinient, but not really needed on a sorc).

Definitely fixable...and certainly playable as it is.

[Mindspat]

FEATS is where I think I'm screwed!!!! I have no interest in spending massive amounts of turbine points to fix my character, because I probably already need about 3000-4000 if I want to get the new challenges/adv packs!! (so hopefully this can be avoided for the most part!)

Toughness
Maximize
Empower
Heighten
Extend
Force of Personality
Spell Focus: Evocation
Greater Spell Focus: Evocation

Also Spell Focus&GSF Evocation I'm concerned about, are these still worth using at all, or should I just pick a different Focus &/or a Spell Penetration feat??

All you might need to feel more beneficial is a minor tweak, hardly anything to be worried about.

Your feats look good. I have used the exact same loadout before and use something only slightly different today.

Heighten and Force of Personality are probably going to be the two easiest to play around with without feeling as if you've made drastic changes which might have gimped your character. Personally, I have had terrible results every time I've swapped out Force of Personality and have not tried changing it out in a while. Heighten is great for some things but I honestly feel it has little affect upon the partie's results, but a hieghtend web can be pretty awesome if you've also have the DC's to go with it.

I continue to use:
Toughness
Maximize
Empower
Extend
Force of Personality
SF/GSF Evocation
Light Armor Profecientcy (bet you didn't see this one coming!)

As a Sorcerer I feel that Spell Penetration is best left to the Wizards. I work around this by dealing direct spell damage which is not blocked by typical SR. My primary counter to a mob with high spell resistence is either a fighter classed character or a Polar Ray.

[Spiffyspiffy]

Option three would be Spell Penetration and Greater Spell Penetration. This is probably my least favorite; your main sorcerer spells don't have spell pen checks, and without taking the SF/GSF feats your enchantment/necromancy spells (which do have spell pen checks) are unlikely to have high enough DCs against the sort of enemies you need lots of spell pen for anyway. A wizard should absolutely take spell penetration feats; a sorcerer without relevant past lives probably shouldn't.

Note that enervation & energy drain must both pass resistance, and have no DC. But of course can be used to reduce the required DC for your other spells. Thus Spell Pen is still quite useful.

[Hathorian]

All you might need to feel more beneficial is a minor tweak, hardly anything to be worried about.

Your feats look good. I have used the exact same loadout before and use something only slightly different today.

Heighten and Force of Personality are probably going to be the two easiest to play around with without feeling as if you've made drastic changes which might have gimped your character. Personally, I have had terrible results every time I've swapped out Force of Personality and have not tried changing it out in a while. Heighten is great for some things but I honestly feel it has little affect upon the partie's results, but a hieghtend web can be pretty awesome if you've also have the DC's to go with it.

I continue to use:
Toughness
Maximize
Empower
Extend
Force of Personality
SF/GSF Evocation
Light Armor Profecientcy (bet you didn't see this one coming!)

As a Sorcerer I feel that Spell Penetration is best left to the Wizards. I work around this by dealing direct spell damage which is not blocked by typical SR. My primary counter to a mob with high spell resistence is either a fighter classed character or a Polar Ray.

how often do you use Maximize? +25 spell points per cast can drain your mana pool in seconds... I see Maximize on every build but i don't know when people would use it. it must be very situational...final boss fight right after a shrine i guess. couldn't you get by with empower though?

[Jsbeer]

Maximise is useful because you can apply it to your SLAs (Spell-like Abilities) for free, and as a result these are your most efficient way of doing damage.

[sirgog]

how often do you use Maximize? +25 spell points per cast can drain your mana pool in seconds... I see Maximize on every build but i don't know when people would use it. it must be very situational...final boss fight right after a shrine i guess. couldn't you get by with empower though?

Maximize increases damage per mana AND damage per second. Of course you take it, it is the single best feat on a Sorc. Almost never turn it off.

It no longer costs 25 SP when you spend some AP on Efficient Maximize. 12-19 SP depending upon gear and your AP use.

Empower is weaker (less damage per second increase and is more often a damage per mana decrease) but still is must-have.

[aristarchus1000]

how often do you use Maximize? +25 spell points per cast can drain your mana pool in seconds... I see Maximize on every build but i don't know when people would use it. it must be very situational...final boss fight right after a shrine i guess. couldn't you get by with empower though?

At high level, you never will turn maximize off.