MAJOR NOOB WIZARD Quistion!

[Darkstar1996]

Ok im gunna make a Monk/Wizard and the Wizard is NO Offensive one. just for buffs. So... INT is it to Offensive and Buff spells? or is it just for Offensive spells if so ill put INT up to Minimum of 12 or Dont put any in Int if just using for buffs?

Thanks for helpin da Noob!

[Psiandron]

INT is what get's you your spell points, as well as making you elligible for higher level spells, so you really don't want to drop that. It does also help with spell DCs which is, ofc, for offensive spells.

I think that you're going to want to be able to cast at least a modicum of offensive spells. Honestly, if you just want to buff and fight melee, you might consider just running a shintao monk. They have several excellent finishers which are great for buffing a group.

If you want to splash a wizzy with something, you really should go with rogue. INT helps a rogues search and disable device checks, making wiz/rog among the best trappers in the game.

[DarkForte]

Even if you are gonna dump int, make sure you have at least 19 by endgame to cast 9th level spells (though if you want absolutely NO offence in spells, you can theoretically do less). The only spells affected by your int score are your spells with DCs, which are most of your offensive spells. It does help your spell points by endgame (You get 9+CL SP per 1 in int modifier).

Though I think a wizard build forgoing offensive spells is like a battlecleric that refuses to heal itself.

[bigolbear]

id recomend 14 int on a battle caster build.

14 is cheap.. no expensive build points, and remember that int also governs how many skill points you get.

14 lets you cast lvl 4 spells without an item, and with and item you will be able to cast all your spells - whatever your lvl split.


What class split are you looking at?
have you planned the build out already, if not there are some great character builders available - just search the forum im sure you will find one.
Take into account any tomes you have available, or wheter your willing to purchase them from the store.

When you have a proposed build post it up, and we can provide constructive criticism.

[Darkstar1996]

12 Monk/8 Wizard

[bigolbear]

ok at 12 monk 8 wizard.. id be looking to know the folowing info.

whats your stat distribution - and how much points buy you have and whether your taking tomes into account.

Whats your race? Warforge would be the obvious for emergency self repairs.

What feats are you planning on, bear in mind that with 8 wizard lvls you will get 2 free metamagic/caster feats.

With 8 wizard lvls your not going to have superior nuking - or any decent CC spells but i think you know that. The wizy lvls are for self buffing (haste, rage, displacement, sheild, mage armour at low lvls etc)

That doesnt mean however that you cant have some nuking - there are spells that dont have dc's and some that scale well with a low caster lvl. Fire wall, icestorm and acid rain are a good examples of this and you will have access to these spells. To make a battle caster work you need to learn how to mix spell and sword (or fist in your case). Id advise practicing the art of dropping AOE's and fighting inside them.

I have to say. with 8 wizard lvls Id STILL recomend 14 int - get the points by not maxing out STR and CON so much.. the points saved by going to 14 or 16 is huge compared to 18 but the loss is not so bad, especialy by end game where your stats are heavily beefed up by other things like items and tomes.

going 14 int lets you cast up to lvl 4 spells, means you dont have to wory about slotting an int item if your ignoring your spell DC's, it also means you get a couple of extra skill points which will be darn handy.

For feats Id highly recomend extend - as much of your buffs will be quite short duration with only 8 caster lvls, extend will help you here.

Normaly I wouldnt recomend mental toughness and impmental toughness but honestly, your proposed build is an exception - mental toughness gives you extra mana based on your character lvl, so you'll be getting some extra mana even when gaining monk lvls. Further more in percentage terms these feats will be giving you a lot - wheras most casters would gain little when looking at the percentage.

If you go warforge for self repairs your also going to want quicken and maximise (posibly empower) for burst healing under heavy combat.

If your not going warforge, may i suggest 12 monk/7 wizard, 1 rogue/bard/arti to give you solid umd options. You will find pugging a little more painstaking as many pug leaders wont accept multiclass builds they dont understand - this is their issue not yours but be aware and build for self sufficiency.

Finaly id suggest that whatever nuking spells you do decide on match your preference for elementla stance(s). This way you will find synergy in your enhancements - increasing both your ki strikes and damage spells at the same time. Given that you are up close any way Id advocate looking into touch spells/touch SLA's And how this can synergise with monk.

Off the top of my head:
Fire stance + dark move vulnerability to fire folowed by a point blank scorching ray.
Air stance + dark move vulnerablity to lightning folowed by shocking grasp.
pale master + touch of death.
tripple dark finisher + necrotic touch
dark strike(shaken) + cause fear(which causes shaken if they pass) = auto fear no save, as shaken + shaken = feared. this would need testing to verify but should work.

[Enoach]

with 8 levels of Wizard, technically your Intelligence only needs to be 14 to be able to cast the Highest Spell level you have attained.

You can choose to do that through an Int Item such as base 8 with +6 item. This can also be done as a switch out item after buffing as the SP loss from a lower Int should have already been used up.

Things to consider:

• Intelligence bonus does help with more SP
• Intelligence bonus adds skill points - During your Wizard Level ups you will usually have more skill points to dispense, with a lower Intelligence you will have less of these points to shore up needed skills
• You 1min/per level buffs will be 8 minutes without Extend and other buffs like Displacement, haste and rage will also be shorter <- these are buffs that help the most during combat situations.

[MrFister]

I would consider 12 monk / 7 wizard / 1 fighter.

Trade in spell slots for more HP and a feat?