Help a wizard to survive, what do I need?

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xf1313
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Help a wizard to survive, what do I need?

Post by xf1313 » Mon Jun 13, 2022 1:53 pm

I have a wild mage with 12con, so 115 HP at lv 23, chaotic hence the conduct is Slaadi, after getting sliced like bread twice by mimir undeads, think there must be something I can do to keep her alive.

I had cleric with angels who did the same writ with ease, but mage lack spell resistance buff and the magical vestment to boost ac. Not to mention heavy amour and shield. The summons are easily banished. What are the strategies/spells I should prepare if I want do better?

And for new characters..what would u suggest, for start abilities and path?
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Re: Help a wizard to survive, what do I need?

Post by Ping14 » Mon Jun 13, 2022 10:42 pm

Associate tool - lets you control your summons, letting them get infront of you to scout ahead and be... lets say... meat shields.

Fetch - A console command that pulls all your summon so that you can reposition them better.

Drawing in aggro (or the opposite) - remember that any damage you deal to hostile mobs will be make then target you. So if you're casting a spell that damages, be prepared to deal with the aggro next turn. Offensive spells is best used on tight corridors when you can block it with your summons so they dont get to you. AoE control spells are your best spells as a wizard. And summons.

Banishment is a problem for summon - But you can still use Animal Empathy and Golems. Gate does have some SR (18 i think), but duration is short.

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Re: Help a wizard to survive, what do I need?

Post by Flower Power » Mon Jun 13, 2022 10:44 pm

Your feats at L1 & L3 should always be Spell Focus (Conjuration) & Greater Spell Focus (Conjuration); if you take Planar Conduit at 21 and Epic Spell Focus (Conjuration) at 23, everything else basically resolves itself from there - or at least they should. I think the Slaad are generally considered the worst Planar Conduit summons, but they're still really good right now (and at least they probably get stuck on fewer things than the Formians, who have SUBSTANTIAL problems with pathing and being able to 'reach' the hitboxes of even adjacent creatures.)

As long as you're using the associate tool to maneuver them around instead of just relying on vanilla NWN AI, you should be fine.
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Re: Help a wizard to survive, what do I need?

Post by Eyeliner » Tue Jun 14, 2022 6:09 am

On the mage- do you have premonition and improved invisibility up? Are you using darkness (not against undead but other creatures?) Different people have different tactics but I would be invisible as much as possible. Learn what spells work out of invisibility too.

Squishy wizards should hang back and let their summons jump into the fight first so they draw all the aggro. You can and should attack with ranged spells but never aim for the enemy closest to you... Aim for the one furthest away so if they come straight for you your summons will distract them.

That's just a few things. It's totally possible to survive as a low HP wizard but you need to have extra situational awareness and be a coward.

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Re: Help a wizard to survive, what do I need?

Post by xf1313 » Tue Jun 14, 2022 7:48 am

Thank you for the reply, I know what went wrong, I was casting spells....right, get them all angry at me. The wizard who does nothing gets to live..I shall remember that.

And associate tool! Yes, that’s great. I suppose the chance for me to use any other offensive spell would be very low, just...stand behind and wait.
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Re: Help a wizard to survive, what do I need?

Post by Eyeliner » Tue Jun 14, 2022 8:00 am

You can definitely cast spells.. You just have to time it right and get a feel for how the aggro works in the game (what gets the monsters coming straight towards you). Let the planar conduit start the fight and keep them between you and whoever you cast spells on and you're most of the way there. Don't open with a big spell that gets everyone mad, instead pick off enemies one by one. Put a cloud or tentacles or some area spell between you and the enemy... Stuff like that helps too.

Also be ready to retreat. Shapechange is a pretty good spell to have on hand if you get mobbed and need to get away or buy time.

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Re: Help a wizard to survive, what do I need?

Post by Aelryn Bloodmoon » Tue Jun 14, 2022 8:05 am

xf1313 wrote:
Mon Jun 13, 2022 1:53 pm
I have a wild mage with 12con, so 115 HP at lv 23, chaotic hence the conduct is Slaadi, after getting sliced like bread twice by mimir undeads, think there must be something I can do to keep her alive.

I had cleric with angels who did the same writ with ease, but mage lack spell resistance buff and the magical vestment to boost ac. Not to mention heavy amour and shield. The summons are easily banished. What are the strategies/spells I should prepare if I want do better?

And for new characters..what would u suggest, for start abilities and path?
My wizard is an evoker and can't summon- but the first place I would start is your gear. At level 23, you should be able to afford 11 items with +1 to CON and +1 to INT on each of them, and since you're not a specialist you might consider mixing in some extra wizard spell slots on the gear along with some concentration, discipline, and/or spellcraft.

Doing this will increase your bonus spell slots from INT bonus as well as the DC of all your spells, and more importantly, it will more than double your HP after you drink an endurance potion, bringing you from 115 HP to 253.

253 HP is still pretty squishy at epic levels, but it should be enough to react to anything except unexpected scythe crits.

Eyeliner has some particularly useful advice, for sure. Your first concern should always be making sure you're not in a position to get attacked. Dealing damage comes after that, always. If you can't ensure the first condition, and escape isn't an option, drop all restraint and unload your best spells for the situation as fast as possible- all of them- and pray your kill time is faster than theirs. There's no point in saving spells for the next fight if you die in this one.

It's not that you can't cast spells- but when you do, they need to be decisive and leave as little room as possible for you to get attacked afterwards- so ideally, every spell-cast should result in a kill or a control that either disables or dominates.
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Re: Help a wizard to survive, what do I need?

Post by xf1313 » Tue Jun 14, 2022 11:21 am

Thanks, that is something to think about, and her gear is rather rubbish at the moment. I have wondered if it is worth it to dip 3 levels into something with tumble and parry (netting 12 ac at expense of cl)
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Re: Help a wizard to survive, what do I need?

Post by MRFTW » Tue Jun 14, 2022 11:57 am

xf1313 wrote:
Tue Jun 14, 2022 11:21 am
Thanks, that is something to think about, and her gear is rather rubbish at the moment. I have wondered if it is worth it to dip 3 levels into something with tumble and parry (netting 12 ac at expense of cl)
As a wild mage, you really want to stay pure for the perfect /fate at level 28 onwards.

Maxing your CON to 24, keeping premonition / Energy Buffer / Improved Invis up all the time and mastering the associate tool will help you a lot. The associate tool in particular is a very powerful one.

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Re: Help a wizard to survive, what do I need?

Post by Arienette » Tue Jun 14, 2022 12:27 pm

As others have said- your survival strategy is to avoid combat in general.

However, you should also gear up your CON to hit the +12 cap.

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Re: Help a wizard to survive, what do I need?

Post by Kalos » Tue Jun 14, 2022 7:22 pm

The other strategy no one mentioned.... Don't go it alone. Wizards are far more fun in a group :)

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Re: Help a wizard to survive, what do I need?

Post by Rei_Jin » Wed Jun 15, 2022 2:49 am

Survival tips for Mages:
1. Avoid getting aggro. This can be done with ease or with challenge. The easy way is to let your summons do everything (boring). The challenging way is to avoid line of sight with the enemy whilst using the associate tool so that your summons get line of sight and become the target of your enemy, and once the enemy has engaged with your summons you can use cantrips on them for infinite boom. Also, GSF: Necromancy gets you Blindness/Deafness at will, which does not get aggro onto you.
2. Max your soft Constitution. Spells, items, whatever it takes. 12 Con as a base means 24 Con with spells and items as a cap, which would give you an extra 138hp at your level.
3. Have ways to break aggro. This is easier said than done, as the AI can be very aggressive in its pursuit of a squishy mage. In a pinch, Greater Sanctuary will work, but it also de-summons your pets. Some will put ranks (and gear) into Hide and Move Silently, allowing them to use "Corner Sneaking" as it is known (meaning you break line of sight and then stealth). Yes, even cross-class, this can work against the AI, if you invest well in your gear. Invisibility will not break aggro unless you use a transition. Darkness can work, so can Blindness/Deafness. Try some things, see what happens, and remember that no single trick will work in every situation.
4. Don't travel alone. D&D, and NWN (and Arelith) is a co-operative game, designed for folks to work together to accomplish goals. You may be squishy, but Fighty McFightface is not. Let him draw aggression, while you wait for your time to unleash firey doom upon your foes.

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Re: Help a wizard to survive, what do I need?

Post by MRFTW » Wed Jun 15, 2022 4:08 am

Rei_Jin wrote:
Wed Jun 15, 2022 2:49 am
Invisibility will not break aggro unless you use a transition.
Or use stealth.

I'm a big fan of hide/MS on casters, too.

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Re: Help a wizard to survive, what do I need?

Post by chris a gogo » Tue Jun 21, 2022 3:18 pm

Wizards are good but require set up.
For the battle.
Fire elemental the crit immunity/bite back are the big things here.
Keep premonition, acid sheath for melee mobs, mind blank, neg protection and shield for the casters, giving a neg protection potion to the elemental is worth it don't forget to give the summon and yourself see invis for the annoying mages.
Have a few spell slots for hold undead to stop the mobs charging you.
Don't use low damage mass target spells, so missile storms bad, sunburst, incendiary cloud good best used for massed mobs on the bridge.
Single target spells are fine but stick to one target until it's dead.
Have a wand of imp invis for emergency hiding, and don't be brave run away if things go sideways and come back once you have prepared.

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