New Sorcerer char needs help

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Lionet
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New Sorcerer char needs help

Post by Lionet » Sun Jul 25, 2021 9:07 am

I like challenge but i found myself unable to do anything in the first cold area (sorry i just forgot the name). Enemies were just way too overpowered for my sorceress, so there was no way to fulfill any of the 3 starter contracts. Now i am trapped in a port town with no quests and barely other players. Any tips? Did i miss something?

I am not a new NWN player, but new to the server. I hope to find a great RP server to spend time on.

fading
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Re: New Sorcerer char needs help

Post by fading » Sun Jul 25, 2021 9:31 am

Skal is more populated during different hours of the day, particularly at night if you're in european timezones or day in american ones. If you find that you're unable to play during those hours, and can't seem to find other players to adventure with, you can always travel to the mainland by talking to the half-orc at the docks.

Aside from that, the best advice for playing a full caster is to take spell focus/greater spell focus in conjuration and use the summon creature spells. It's the only viable way for a wizard/sorcerer to solo at low levels.

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ZombieDuck
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Re: New Sorcerer char needs help

Post by ZombieDuck » Sun Jul 25, 2021 11:25 am

Arelith has 'Associate Tool' which you'll find in the radial menu if you mouse right click your character, then go left to 'Special Abilities' and then go to your class(Sorcerer) menu.
This will allow better control of your summons, giving casters the ability to send their summons ahead of them, open doors, bash chests, kite rats around.
As said in the previous comment, getting Spell Focus and Greater Spell Focus Conjuration helps you summon stronger summons with Summon Creature (Number) as it basically upgrades the summon tier(In example summon creature 2 turns in to summon creature 3 with GSF Conjuration and so on).
The best starting familiars are the ones with damage reduction and regenation: Imp and Mephits(Mephits have slightly more dmg and the Ice Mephit might fare slightly better in Skal(Which I assume was the place you were talking about, becouse of their 100% immunity to cold dmg).
For dmg there's Hellhound that's good at straight dmg, and Panther that's good for sneak attack dmg.
For disarming traps/opening locks there's the Pixie that's basically a pocket rogue that can also cast Improved Invisibility few times and this is the familiar you'll see 99% being used after starting levels.

As for spells, try to use buffing spells that last Hours/CL, now obviously they last the longest, but becouse Areliths ingame hours are even longer compared to normal NWN, these spells will last fairly long.

Here are he links in the wiki for some info on summons:
http://wiki.nwnarelith.com/Summoning_Changes
http://wiki.nwnarelith.com/Summons

You should probably use your gold on healing kits, since even without skill investment they heal 1d20+healing kit grade(1-10) and let you take 20(Always roll 20) when out of combat, for cheap healing.
Other than kits, you can buy scrolls for summoning or buffing.
Forever a duckling.
Character: Typically some Orog in UD

Lionet
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Re: New Sorcerer char needs help

Post by Lionet » Sun Jul 25, 2021 11:53 am

Very sad to hear that about sorcerers.
I think i am on the mainland, i am in Guldorand. No way back to Skal. While it is impressive how good everything looks for nwn1, and how well it is designed area wise, i'm a bit in awe about how helpless i am right now -.-

Thank you for the tips also Zombieduck, but i feel like most of them apply more to mid lvl than low lvl. My 18 HP/50 Gold Sorceress cannot even do the first skal quest because of practically using all spells for the first rat batch, and when going up or down ladders all her summons stay in the last area (they wont transition with you). Which means insta death if i proceed. Not being able to rest leaves you just walking around without any possibilities (except roleplay, for what i am actually here for). That's a bit of a strange balancing design and always leaves me questioning why even implementing these unbalanced auto quests into an RPG server.
Sorry that became a bit of a rant, i will try a few more hours to get into it.

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Kalos
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Re: New Sorcerer char needs help

Post by Kalos » Sun Jul 25, 2021 12:47 pm

Sorceress/sorcerer are fun but definitely challenging at low levels. Definitely follow the advice above and choose a decent familiar, and use your summons. If you click on the Player1 (associate) tool and, then yourself you can control both of them. Then simply click the tool (hotkey it) and choose what you want them to do.

If they get 'stuck', use the -fetch command to bring them to you. For exactly the ladder situation you mentioned.

I also like to take GSF: Evocation early for the infinite casting of magic missile.

And for a brand new player to the server, Cordor (IMO) is really the best place to start and get acquainted with the server. Brogendenstein is also great if you are a Hin, Dwarf, or Gnome. Lots of players usually in both those areas.

Welcome, and do not get discouraged. Every char is playable here, some just more of a challenge than others.

Definately Not A Mimic
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Re: New Sorcerer char needs help

Post by Definately Not A Mimic » Sun Jul 25, 2021 1:27 pm

If you are low lvl, Guldorand isn't really the easiest place to be lvling. Maybe you're in over your head and need to sail to one of the other cities or Crows Nest and work in safer areas as you learn the mechanic changes of this server. I'd also say that Cordor is normally more populated than Guldorand so you may find more rp there.

AstralUniverse
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Re: New Sorcerer char needs help

Post by AstralUniverse » Mon Jul 26, 2021 10:40 am

Being lvl 3 at Guldorand is not playable. You sort of have to take several boats (50 gp price for each boat) and reach Cordor. Get similar writs to what you have in Skal, but in Cordor. That, or if you dont mind doing remaking the character, then you can start in Skal again (and use the opportunity to start with spell focus and greater spell focus Conjuration).
Svrtr wrote:

I've spoken with Kenji and warpriest will be allowed to take elemental avatar so keep this in mind too


MRFTW
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Re: New Sorcerer char needs help

Post by MRFTW » Mon Jul 26, 2021 12:16 pm

I try to get these feats in the following order:

SF: Conjuration
GSF: Conjuration
Extend Spell

This will be either level 3 for a human or level 6 for a non-human. Take the best Summon Creature available and hide behind it, practising walking in combat to avoid attacks of opportunity while using heal kits or potions on the summon, preferably healing kits.

Sorc with GSF Conj only really starts to be playable at level 4, when you get access to Summon Creature 2, which will be upgraded to Summon Creature 3 via your GSF. The summon 3 dire wolf is a decent enough companion with buffs to carry you through early levelling, upgrade to dire bear at level 8 via summon 4, rinse and repeat.

Your spell choices should be mage armour, cats grace and other AC boosts for the summon.

Exordius
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Re: New Sorcerer char needs help

Post by Exordius » Mon Jul 26, 2021 5:09 pm

Wiz/sorc is super easy at low levels if you know what your doing. The advice given here is exactly what you should do. Get the best summon you can, buff it, buy 30-60 healing kits and heal it when it gets low, let it do the work and sit in the back tossing infini-spells to help it along and make the battle take a little less longer. If you end up taking aggro, command your summon to defend you and take the heat off. As long as you go slow and keep the amount of mobs you fight at once low you will be fine. I have done this many times now and have never had much trouble.

MRFTW
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Re: New Sorcerer char needs help

Post by MRFTW » Mon Jul 26, 2021 6:18 pm

Exordius wrote:
Mon Jul 26, 2021 5:09 pm
Get the best summon you can, buff it, buy 30-60 healing kits and heal it when it gets low, let it do the work and sit in the back tossing infini-spells to help it along and make the battle take a little less longer.
Regarding infispells, this is absolutely best play but most of the infispells you'd actually use (burning hands, colour spray, Melf's Acid Arrow) will cause enemy aggro and that's by far the easiest way for low level casters to die. The notable exception is blindness/deafness from GSF: Enchantment which doesn't cause aggro. Using infispells is definitely in Sorc/Wiz 102, but is needlessly risky for a player that's still practising.

To add to my previous post now I'm not at work, you can bridge the gap between good summons (Dire Wolf is getting very underwhelming by level 8) you can use scrolls of Summon Creature, which will also add the GSF: Conjuration bonus. Lore will let you use these scrolls, and if you start in Skal (recommended), there's a scroll merchant that'll sell you a variety of useful scrolls in the trade hall.

A personal choice, but one I highly recommend, is spending all your low level spare gold (after you've got 50+ healing kits) on enchanting blank gear with level 3 spell slots from the dweomercrafting basin. it costs about 700g per item and will give you a lot more ooomphf between rests. Bear in mind, as a sorc this will only help you from level 6 onwards. Non-spontaneous divine casters can use this trick to greater effect, as they already "know" all of their available spells and adding a spellslot of that level will simply allow them to use the spell slot for a level 3 spell, regardless of their actual caster level. That's how the level 2 cleric with a zombie build works, which is another summoner-type build that doesn't play too differently from a sorc.

Skills-wise, you only really need to worry about 2 until you get higher level: concentration and heal. This helps your spells not get interrupted when you take damage, and most importantly it allows defensive casting, with which you have to make a concentration check before casting a spell, but that spell won't give every enemy in melee range an attack of opportunity against you. 2-3 enemies making an attack of opportunity because you were casting in melee range of them = death, a lot of the time. Once you get higher level, other skills like spellcraft, lore and discipline become more important but for starting, conc is king. Heal's use is self-explanatory, but it'll serve you well if you're using kits. Sorcs get Brew Potion at first level, so if you wanted to craft your own healing potions instead, that'd work decently but kits are superior. You need to be very good at positioning to use potions without risking AoOs against yourself, which is a tricky skill to learn on top of trying to do everything else in combat at once.

TL:DR

Healing kits
Summon
AC Buffs
AB/Damage buffs
Concealment (imp invis at level 9)
Inficast

If you can't or won't use concealment, which is level gated, or inficasting, which is good but risky, that's just fine. Sorc is one of those classes that is very hard to play at first, but the playstyle doesn't change much with levels, you just add more and different spells.

Hopefully this helps, interested to see if other players have any starting mage tips that I haven't mentioned. It's a really interesting playstyle with a lot of nuance.

Lionet
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Re: New Sorcerer char needs help

Post by Lionet » Mon Jul 26, 2021 6:45 pm

Thank you all for the help!
I am in Cordor now and i would love to do the Speedy Messenger quests, but the NPC doesnt let me, it says i am too experienced O_o. And i cannot find any other NPC which gives me jobs.
How do i get infi spells?

MRFTW
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Re: New Sorcerer char needs help

Post by MRFTW » Mon Jul 26, 2021 6:58 pm

Lionet wrote:
Mon Jul 26, 2021 6:45 pm
Thank you all for the help!
I am in Cordor now and i would love to do the Speedy Messenger quests, but the NPC doesnt let me, it says i am too experienced O_o. And i cannot find any other NPC which gives me jobs.
How do i get infi spells?

Right click a quickslot, then choose 9 o'clock, then 10 o'clock. Your infispells show up there. Remember to reset them on your quickbars after every level up, as you get new versions. You must have greater spell focus in a particular school to get access to its infispells.

You can't do the speedy quest because you're already level 3; that quest is designed to show you around Cordor and get you to level 3. If you started in Cordor you'd do this, but since you started on Skal, you talked to the mayor which gave you level 3. Same thing, different starting quest.

The main quest giver is in an inn on the outskirts of Cordor, iirc. I don't play there often so I can't say for sure, but I remember the registry agent (what most call the questgivers in game) being in a half-city, half-wilderness type area, inside an inn or tavern or something.

You can use the /ama command to find helpful players to ask questions to while you're in game, if anyone online has it enabled, it'll tell you who you can whisper. Beyond that, your character is just as new to Cordor and Arelith as you are, and giving people welcome tours is a common type of RP that people will help a new player with.

I'd check /ama, and if no luck, wander round and ask a few people in character - I'm sure someone will be glad to help you.

Exordius
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Re: New Sorcerer char needs help

Post by Exordius » Tue Jul 27, 2021 3:16 am

One other thing i forgot to mention... oh s*** moments are going to happen so you will want a panic button for when it does. Invisibility works for the early levels but you will want to switch to greater sanctuary when you can. Always keep one prepared and extended if at all possible, if and when s*** happens use it and then run like hell. If you have a lens and or can teleport away right after using greater sanctuary so much the better.

chops1916
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Re: New Sorcerer char needs help

Post by chops1916 » Fri Aug 13, 2021 5:35 pm

If you want help you can pm me here on the forum or in game. My Character is Uhthra Woeinklaf. I can show you around and help you link up with similar leveled characters if you want. At this point though I'm sure you found things out by now.

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