Summoner / enchanter

[SpiritofAlba]

Hi forumites.

I am a super casual long time player, just musing about next life. I have done cleric healer, barbarian, thief acrobat, wolf druid and ranger / rogue. I like exploring different kinds of toon, and fancy a summoner next.

Yes, I know, summoner is not really viable. So plan is pure wizard, and to enchant and charm as well as summon. Enchanting goes down nicely in reaper (I only pug, so tends to be low skulls) and there is synergy as most summons enhancements etc also apply to charmed creatures.

Build thoughts so far follow below. All suggestions welcome. I should add that this is only a 1-20 build, will then TR probably. Also appreciate that this is going to be very much a support build in a group, offering CC and extra targets, rather than anything else. More druid or wizard past lives would obviously help, but one life at a time... oh, and I don’t have warlock either so can’t go that route.

Race:
Inclined to drow, for 20 int start. Or is it another case of human is always better? Don’t have access to WF.

Feats:
Augment summoning, Spell focus and greater, spell pen and greater, heighten, extend, insightful reflexes. What else?

Enhancements:
At least 23 into Pale Master to max out skelly Knight
At least 31 into Archmage for max spell DCs
8 into Harper to get Harper leadership

Thinking probably running in Vampire for enchant DCs. Do these stack with AM DC bonuses? Where to put remaining points?

Gear:
Obvious maxing Int, and anything that helps spells to land, plus the stuff (like con and fort) that all characters need. Anything named or unusual I should particularly be seeking? I do cannith and greensteel, but not thunder, slaver or anything more recent.

Strategy:
Pop up skelly, plus summons, plus hire (WF ideally for heals). Buff everyone in group. In weaker pugs or harder content, use more charms. In stronger groups or zergy runs, concentrate on holds, dance etc. No damage spells. Never get aggro.

All feedback welcome. I will also post how I get on, although expect months between updates!

[SpiritofAlba]

Level 2. So, finally made a start, and korthos is done on elite solo. A bit squeaky in one or two places, but Cellimas and co cleared the grotto without my help, and Byron Scoutsword has pretty much done the rest, aided by summons. I contribute a bit with charm for humans and sleep for sahuagin. No deaths and no kills so far.

Level 4. Done L3s solo elite fine, and enjoyed some pugs too. Hire (Frenzy now) is still doing most killing, though put points into skelly and its starting to contribute more. Charms and sleep landing most of the time. In a strong pug running R1 had relatively little to contribute. Looking forward to L5 when I pick up more twink gear (Int+4, Con+4, 80% fort) and hold person, and L6 when can go vampire. Not running undead just now, so relying on cure pots. Still no deaths (though one very near miss in Swiped Signet) and no kills.

Level 6. As hoped, hold person gives an extra dimension. In quests with lots of humanoids life is fun. Much tougher where there aren't - Small Problem was a real chore for example. Have had first deaths sadly, but still very survivable generally. No WF melee hire at this level, which is a downer. Running a lot in Vampire, so can use death aura to help heal skelly. Find need to switch back occassionally for normal healing, as the aura is quite slow.

Level 10. With enhancements and equip, death aura(s) now tick pretty powerfully, both for healing and damage - means I now do get some collateral kills. Umbrel worg is a handy summons at this level, as benefits from aura too. Overall having mixed feelings about the build. It actually works pretty well solo - charm a few mobs in each encounter, and let them plus hire, skelly and summons do the rest, throwing in a web when needed. In pugs though can feel a bit of a spare part at times. The two PITAS are triple light damage, and drow who are saving against spell pen every time at the moment.

Level 13. Ok, you can say “told you so” at this point. Got tired of limiting to summons / enchant / CC, and started experimenting with damage and instakills. Skelly still very survivable, but as mobs get tougher, damage gets relatively feebler. Create undead helps a bit. Enchants and CC still landing well (pesky drow excepted) but solo that leaves you short of DPS, and in stronger pugs it is not often needed. Probably more utility in a higher skull static group, but RL doesn’t allow for that. Any detailed advice on pros and cons of different necro spells would be handy.

Level 18. Largely become a classic PM necro build. I did even try respeccing enhancements without skelly, but I missed him so reverted quickly. Both the toon and skelly are surprisingly resilient, with undead fort, and masses of self-heal from aura. I've invested quite heavily in harper tree, which has some nice caster goodies, less in AM than planned. Harper also allows int to damage, which isn't much, but gives something to do between spells. Much more rounded contribution in a group now - can instakill my share, and still cast CC (hold, charm, dance) when needed. Main downside is resistant mobs - then become largely hopeless.

Level 21. Ditto what I said at L18. I am currently running in Shadowdancer as a destiny that I need to fill, rather than being particularly useful, although it does provide more points into intelligence. Ended up maxing Harper - both free extend, and occassional 10 boost to DC really nice. Almost ready to TR. I guess what I learnt really is that PM is perfectly viable, even as a first life wizard, but summoner / enchanter basically not so beyond about L10.

[unbongwah]

Race:
Inclined to drow, for 20 int start. Or is it another case of human is always better? Don’t have access to WF.

Sun elf is technically the best elf for wizard, since they get both the +2-4 INT of drow and +3 Spell Pen of regular elves; though AP-wise that's pretty expensive, obviously (15 total). But it requires an LR +1 to get rid of cleric level if you want pure wiz.

Feats:
Augment summoning, Spell focus and greater, spell pen and greater, heighten, extend, insightful reflexes. What else?

Quicken is a must-have for any caster, IMO. You get a ton of feats; might as well pick up some more metamagics.

Thinking probably running in Vampire for enchant DCs. Do these stack with AM DC bonuses?

AFAIK, but Archlich gets you +4 INT vs vamp's +2 Enchant DCs; making lich preferable for a caster. It's not like you'll be using only Enchant spells on a PM, after all. Well, not if you're doing it right, anyway.

[SpiritofAlba]

Sun elf is technically the best elf for wizard, since they get both the +2-4 INT of drow and +1 Enchant / +3 Spell Pen of regular elves; though AP-wise that's pretty expensive, obviously (15 total). But it requires an LR +1 to get rid of cleric level if you want pure wiz.

Thanks Unbongwah.

Don’t have sun elf, sadly. Drow also get +1 enchant I see, but no spell pen, but guess that is better than regular elf. Also answers where to put remaining APs.

Quicken is a must-have for any caster, IMO. You get a ton of feats; might as well pick up some more metamagics.

Quicken is good.

AFAIK, but Archlich gets you +4 INT vs vamp's +2 Enchant DCs; making lich preferable for a caster. It's not like you'll be using only Enchant spells on a PM, after all. Well, not if you're doing it right, anyway.

Who said I’d be doing it right??

[Kriogen]

Feats: Quicken, Enlarge

Gear: Ravenloft is heaven for casters (especialy INT or CHA based).

Race: Sun elf best, 2nd best would be Drow or Gnome.

[unbongwah]

Drow also get +1 enchant

Yeah, brain fart: I forgot all elves have Enchantment Lore. Fixed post.

Who said I’d be doing it right??

If you're running with the skeletal knight, it makes sense to use undead form so you can unheal yourself and your pet with the same Necro spells (i.e., NEB + both Death Auras). While you could settle for vamp form, either wraith form for 25% Incorporealty or lich form for +4 INT and extra +1 Necro DCs make more sense. And even if you aren't going all-in on instakills (i.e., Finger of Death et al), you can still make good use of Necro debuffs like Energy Drain because you're investing in Spell Pen for Enchantment spells anyway (or so I presume).

[SpiritofAlba]

Bumped to ask for advice as per my L13 update on post 2 above.

EDIT: spotted that such a review list is at post 75 of this threadhttps://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...e-Master-Guide