Surviving as a Caster
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Wands and tumble work great for me.
Wands of invis, color spray and magic missile. Keep wands of your most used spells to free up spell slots for one-shot or powerful spells.
Remember, even 1 point in Tumble gives 25% chance to avoid AoO (attack of opportunity)
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From my experiences as May B El-vin….
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Understand agro
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Use stealth mode and take steps to buff it up, its far more useful than invisablity if you invest in it.
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Carry buffing items for nasty siterarations.
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Assume that sooner or latter all your spell will be used up. Furthermore try to put of casting till you need it and take steps to avoid needing spells too much.
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Sometimes being in combat can be safer than trying to run from it.
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Carry tools to look after the party
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Don't be afraid to muticlass to gain these advantages.
May was a ranger 1/wizard 9 when she died in a dm event. She went on hunts with malarites using a mixture of magic flail, magic shield, magic breastplate and attacking from stealth mode. She survived hand to hand combat with several trolls who broke through the front line on trolls quest once because she could hold the line reasonably well, similarly she avoided being killed by goblins who jumped her group from behind when level 5 because she was in stealth mode, with a level 10 wizard being not so lucky.
She was also con 12 and didn't have expertise!
So admittedly I could have made her a far better powerbuild if I had tried too, but most of the tricks she used were fairly low time/resource expensive. She was the "pragmatic mage" and the highest level character I've had on Arabel for a very long time and there nothing stopping the average wizard gaining half her tricks with a few levels and shopping trips!
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If you run… run towards help not away from it!
the number of times i have been following people waving my healing wand about unable to use it as they try to evade enemies by running to the edges of the map has been really frustrating.
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I play a "caster" kinda - I play a pure healer bard. She has 10 con, and has some how survived to level 11. I don't always stay in invis, but honestly most of the time I do. I spent the few buffs I have - on the frontline or the flanker. I charge into the fighting group to sing, curse, or heal - not always in invis.
I know many people hate mages or casters or whatever that do nothing but invis - but honestly even with the new AI, invis helps alot. What people need to remember .. in terms of those people who do play casters - buff your PARTY not yourself. You standing fully buffed while invisible is helping -no one-. Be smart about it. Be strategic. Don't use all your buffing spells or offensive spells from the git go - but don't be AFRAID to use them if they're needed.
Most Casters aren't made to be up in the middle of things - stop trying to be. Be the support and do it well. And yes - run TOWARDS the help not away from it.. Having to have some one chase an entire room away from you to try to save you stinks.
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OP makes some really good points. Jhlessia died a lot before buying her first invisibility wand, then she only died once in the next month (because I was playing really stupidly).
My friend likes to tell stories about a armored mage that he played for years here. I'm sure its viable, and should be pretty easy to survive as such, though it might be a little weak in terms of Damage Per Round. People don't like them as much, though, because they tend to buff themselves in order to become viable tanks…Increased survivability rocks, though.
Pure casters shouldn't use crossbows: the extra 1d8 damage on a rare hit isn't worth drawing aggro. I did break that rule on Jhlessia, but she was a crossbow-focused rogue/wizard who would hit for 20+ damage on a sneak attack.
All that being said, my favorite players I've seen on NWN servers throughout the years are those who would be bold enough to play a pure-wizard with a greatsword/greataxe. It's pretty epic when you rush in without armor and start chopping things to bits. I'm considering trying this with a concept soon-ish. Even if it isn't optimal, it's still cool.
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Damage per Second? Aggro?
I just spend a good week or two with Diablo, and that is the first place I have ever encountered such terms. I suppose I dont play enough LoL or maybe I am simply too old.
However, despite the AI being updated, I would still say that Mages, sorceress' and many more dont need to stay invisible to survive.
I played during the days of the War Wizards. That if anything showed me that Mage characters can be combat oriented and still be INSANELY viable in NwN. If you dont start with 18 intelligence at start up, you will have -alot- of ability points to spread out. One of the EFU dms showed me back in the day when we played City of Waterdeep, that you are an idiot if you put more than 15 points in any stat at startup. Since most of the wizards or sorcs' I know of usually go with 18 int at startup for maximum spells and DCs, if you go with 15, you will have 8 points you can place into another stat. Thats enough to raise that str from 8 to 14, and throw an additional +2 into CON or Dex.
Take feats like Expertise, or improved Expertise, take martial weapons feat, or take a level of ranger or fighter, and you will be able to raise your AC, from lets say… 12 in robes, to 22 with improved expertise, +4 from a magical towershield, +4 from the shield spell, and +4 from mage armor. Thats two lvl 1 spells, spend when shit hits the fang, for having a 36 AC. You dont have to buff to kingdom come to be useful.
I saw a team of two lvl 9 or 10 ish war wizards hold the front line on a DM quest gone wrong, with a wand of mage armor, a potion of shield, and a few feats spend differently.
The trick to surviving CoA has always been to think smart and play smart. I have in the past seen crazy stuff done by people who were willing to go less OP for a few different tricks up their sleeves. The Potion Maker who always keeps a few potions at hand for when things get tricky, the wand maker who passes around wands at the start of a quest, to help survivability.
As many of the CoA mechanical Powerhouses can attest to, potions and the right use there of is ten times more important than build, or OP thinking. Up to 5 points of a stat can be replaced temporary by a potion. Lesser armors can be replaced by potions of AC boosts. Lack of AB can be replaced by potions. So can will, reflex and fortitude saves. Sure such makes you more open to spells like dispel, but if the enemy isnt alive to cast such spells, then thats the point?
Oh, and I had a pure evoker wizard, who could by clever use of spells laid down more than enough enemies to prove her worth.
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I applaud people that can do that caster or otherwise since the change from v3 to v4 i found that it much harder to survive and characters uniqueness (at least in combat) drew rather stale. I've tried a few times playing a two handed weapon warrior or a more combat orientated mage but found it much harder and much more difficult to face in pvp against mages with high DC's or chicken fighters that just push improve expertise to push there ac up to 32 so you can't hit them.
Some older characters around made me proud (this was pre barbarian gear) there was this little gnome barbarian named Rupert he wore urchin cloth and wield a battle axe and was the first to charge into combat.
or the old War wizards that walk around with a great sword to beat people down if there spells fail.
But i agree with oluth a few well palced potions will beat any build and most gear.
as for aggro and Damage per second they are mmo terms mostly picked up from World of warcraft.
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In the past, that's true Olouth. The New AI however makes things -alot- harder for casters. ;) Nearly every monster with hands having dispell spams.. so unless you carry around stacks of potions.. it gets expensive and painful.
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I disagree. Life is easier for casters now, harder for tanks and DPS.
Dispelled buffs apply to the warriors who already have limited important buffs (stoneskin, improved invisibility).
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One thing is for sure, my wizard is using spells she never used before due to this new AI. I'm having to throw up extended acid sheath for those punks that break the frontline to get me…
Running away only makes things worse.
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I was curious on a good way to make a battle cleric honestly
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I'll be honest. I suck with casters unless they're clerics, and then I tend to play those tanky. Something about squishy characters just…makes me squirm. I have a fairly comprehensive knowledge of most spells and everything, but the actual implementation and execution is lost on me. I even applied to play this one really cool wizard and had to abandon the concept because I just COULD NOT get into the style of play it requires. On the other hand, throw me a fighter, cleric, or monk, and I'm all over it both in mechanics and in RP.
The only true and honest tip I could ever give to anyone playing a caster from the perception of the tank role is this:
When the enemy targets you, run TOWARDS your melee folks, not away. (Apologies if this was already said in this topic, a lot of it was tl;dr).