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About epic arcane casters…..


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#1
Elbahor

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So I’ve got the mood to fire up NWN recently and after playing through a few modules I’ve decided to reinstall Infinite Dungeons and play a bit. It’s been years since I played an unmodded,Bioware made module so it looked like an interesting thing to do. I decided to bring a lvl 40 wizard( I don’t remember I’ve ever did that back in the day). My
supposedly mindless fun however turned out to be a frustrating experience, as I had to face again with the feeling that epic level arcane casters are not exactly the most powerful chars in this game and are rather tedious to play (and I
should’ve rolled a fighter).

Of course I’m talking about the annoying fact that arcane casters are basically stop advancing in power beyond lvl 20( or is it 25 because of Horrid Wilting?). Eg. damaging spells do pitiful damage compared to the enemies scaling health, I don’t get to cast more per day of my pitiful damage spells, my most powerful summon is just lvl 20, only viable path is
necromancy but monsters with immunities and 40+ saves are abudant so even thatsnot much, etc . Basically as I see going epic actually makes arcane casters weaker not stronger which seems a bit stupid to me. However I read that in DnD epic casters are little less than demigods, destroying armies, combating godly avatars and such. I even read once that DnD players are complaining that wizards are too powerful and make fighter players obsolete( at level 7 !!!).

 

So what do you think epic NWN wizards are missing that make epic PnP wizards actually powerful enough to
be called "epic”? Are their spells scale beyond lvl 20? Maybe they have more
useful caster exclusive prcs and feats(almost certainly a factor IMO) or what?

Note: I don’t want to say that epic wizards in NWN should be super overpowered , nor that NWN should and can be like a tabletop game since thats not going to happen ever. I see however from my little research that the PnP game dynamics are a bit more in line with what we’d expect to see in a fantasy story for example( eg. great wizard
raining death upon enemy armies with magic while the great fighter cuts the hordes into pieces with his sword, not great wizard hiding behind strong barbarian, helpless to do anything ) and I’d like to see exactly how this was
achieved and how this could be better implemented in NWN itself(since the game itself should represent those very same stories too).

Thanks in advance for any suggestion!

Edit: Sorry for the format but it seems that this forum doesn't like Word at all and I couldn't find the preview button:unsure:

Modifié par Elbahor, 20 décembre 2012 - 04:06 .


#2
Shadooow

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 In DnD they are truly nearly demigods because there arent enemies with 40fort, there are almost no epic enemies at all so in DnD campaing, you will meet non epic monster with your epic character just with higher numbers - which doesnt matter for casters. Epic monsters in DnD are rather abberations bound with very specific areas which are mostly uprepeatable.

In NWN they really almost doesn't expand after lvl 25, but the higher caster level still affects:
- duration of all spells (in single player unusable, but in MP very)
- epic warding duration and damage reduction (this cannot be extended and each CL gives 50 extra DR, not negligible)
- damage shields damage
- spell penetration
- DC (you can get higher caster ability due to epic feats) - each point of DC is 5% spell damage power/chance of instant death

What is different in PnP rules are epic spells. In NWN and epic environment the offensive and summon epic spells are useless and waste of feats. 
In PnP, caster doesnt learn spells from feats, but must reseach them (spellcraft DC) to know them and then he can memorise up to lore/10 epic spells per day. Either 5times warding or once 5 different epic spells.

Also, caster in PnP can attain epic feat to get access to the tenth., eleventh and higher spell levels. There are no spells of tenth level, but caster can extend spells from 9th level or simply drag any lower spell into these slots (that is possible for any spell level in PnP, so you can take a magic missile as lvl 9spell)

#3
Elbahor

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ShaDoOoW wrote...

 In DnD they are truly nearly demigods because there arent enemies with 40fort, there are almost no epic enemies at all so in DnD campaing, you will meet non epic monster with your epic character just with higher numbers - which doesnt matter for casters. Epic monsters in DnD are rather abberations bound with very specific areas which are mostly uprepeatable.


So its not that they are that much stronger but their enemies are far weaker generally than a Dungeon Spawner or Infinite Dungeons monster set?

ShaDoOoW wrote...
In NWN they really almost doesn't expand after lvl 25, but the higher caster level still affects:
- duration of all spells (in single player unusable, but in MP very)
- epic warding duration and damage reduction (this cannot be extended and each CL gives 50 extra DR, not negligible)
- damage shields damage
- spell penetration
- DC (you can get higher caster ability due to epic feats) - each point of DC is 5% spell damage power/chance of instant death

Well, yeah in Good vs Evil or Dungeon Spawner for example where you can fight humans, elves and such with no inherent death immunity a necromancer build is very dangerous. Ironically I still can't do anything against undead or constructs since they are immune to instakill effects making DCs irrelevant. Evoker would be a choice against them but they can't seem to do enough damage even with the damage incresases with DC. I guess people should balance their modules a little better( 1000+ health on a mob ?)

ShaDoOoW wrote...
What is different in PnP rules are epic spells. In NWN and epic environment the offensive and summon epic spells are useless and waste of feats. 
In PnP, caster doesnt learn spells from feats, but must reseach them (spellcraft DC) to know them and then he can memorise up to lore/10 epic spells per day. Either 5times warding or once 5 different epic spells.


PRC has a system like that and its very useful indeed though even those spells aren't doing that much(besides making you unkillable but still unable to do any real damage).
Drop a Hellball even 7 times and the enemies still aren't dead. Do you know by chance a PNP epic spell which'd kill even super mobs in NWN modules? Maybe it'd worth trying to implement it...

ShaDoOoW wrote...
Also, caster in PnP can attain epic feat to get access to the tenth., eleventh and higher spell levels. There are no spells of tenth level, but caster can extend spells from 9th level or simply drag any lower spell into these slots (that is possible for any spell level in PnP, so you can take a magic missile as lvl 9spell)


And does that make them more dangerous in epic levels? If so is it possible to implement maybe with the PRC in NWN?

Also do you know a module which is a bit closer to PNPs scale than general NWN modules?

#4
Shadooow

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Elbahor wrote...

So its not that they are that much stronger but their enemies are far weaker generally than a Dungeon Spawner or Infinite Dungeons monster set?

yes

I guess people should balance their modules a little better( 1000+ health on a mob ?)

I think that this is general issue in any epic environment, we at Arkhalia, which is epic loot PW, have also this problem, casters aren't much of use the monsters' HPs are balanced for melee characters with weapons +7 and lots of damage.

Do you know by chance a PNP epic spell which'd kill even super mobs in NWN modules? Maybe it'd worth trying to implement it...

not really these epic spells are really weird, there is memento mori which is ultra powerfull death magic and then probably only mass frog which is mass polymorph into harmless creature - undead/constructs wouldnt be immune, from damage spells the hellball is still probably best.

And does that make them more dangerous in epic levels?

definitely, I dont know if a IGMS memorised at lvl 9 is treated as lvl 9 spell and ignores spel immunity/raises DC (probably not), but with tenth+ spell levels you still earn new spell slots where you can put empowered/maximized spells of level 8 and 9.

 If so is it possible to implement maybe with the PRC in NWN?

even with a use of nwnx, chance to implement this is really very low. A feat workaround is probably the only way.

Also do you know a module which is a bit closer to PNPs scale than general NWN modules?

SP modules usually doesnt implement their own game changes, thats a domain of persistent worlds. Some modules uses the mentioned PRC which adds the new spells and epic spells change, same for few PWs. Some PWs removed the damage caps from spells though, this is common rather at PWs with expanded levels over 40.

#5
Elbahor

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[quote]ShaDoOoW wrote...



[quote]I think that this is general issue in any epic environment, we at
Arkhalia, which is epic loot PW, have also this problem, casters aren't
much of use the monsters' HPs are balanced for melee characters with
weapons +7 and lots of damage.

[/quote]I don't know. My first instinct would be nerfing fighter gear and damage output to the point that the max that they can achieve is the same as the mages max damage(thats DNDs strategy too, right?). Of course since I've never seen anybody doing this I guess there is a good reason nobody is doing it. Fighters would get upset I suppose or something else?

Whats more interesting to me is that most PWs I saw even nerfed arcane casters further. Why are such weak classes even need further nerfs?

I'd also suggest to anybody ever creating modules to not use any 1-9(read total in vanilla) spell immunity on mobs because then why not just ban casters and be done with it( many sp modules use that too)?


[quote]
not really these epic spells are really weird, there is memento mori which is ultra powerfull death magic and then probably only mass frog which is mass polymorph into harmless creature - undead/constructs wouldnt be immune, from damage spells the hellball is still probably best.[/quote]

Well Mori is about the best in PRC too, guaranteed to kill any living thing. So thats the best in PnP too? Mass frog would work however the PRC super large scale polymorph spells are all eventually get bugged and report a "Too many instructions" error so idk if that can be used. Indeed though PRCs Transmutation school is very useful in defeating undead and constructs( they can't be immune to polymorph or disintegration). Only problem is the lack of mass and 9th level spells and that Disintegrate requires a ranged touch which often misses.

[quote]
definitely, I dont know if a IGMS memorised at lvl 9 is treated as lvl 9 spell and ignores spel immunity/raises DC (probably not), but with tenth+ spell levels you still earn new spell slots where you can put empowered/maximized spells of level 8 and 9.[/quote]

I think in the PRC an empowered Disintegrate has the DC of a Wail of the Banshee +/- spell focus differences but its been a while since I used that so I may be wrong. 

So in PNP they actually get more spells per day but only using epic feats? That'd be damn useful in NWN too :(

[quote]
 even with a use of nwnx, chance to implement this is really very low. A feat workaround is probably the only way.
[/quote]

Well PRC uses feat based spellsystem  so they could probably do it( I'm very sad they aren't around anymore)...

I'm afraid I'm not on that level to modify PRC that much but maybe I'll have to try. :?

[quote]

SP modules usually doesnt implement their own game changes, thats a domain of persistent worlds. Some modules uses the mentioned PRC which adds the new spells and epic spells change, same for few PWs. Some PWs removed the damage caps from spells though, this is common rather at PWs with expanded levels over 40.
[/quote]

Well removing the level cap seems the other obvious choice I guess. Not very rules friendly but the whole problem is because NWN itself isn't rule friendly so I guess it doesn't matter.

Also a little OT question: Is it possible to implement dual arcane progression PRC Mystic Theurge style(yes I'm thinking about the Ultimate Magus prc which I read somewhere about) in NWN ? MT and a Sorcerer based Eldrict Theurge are really fun( provided you pregen your char for epic) IMO but UM would be cool too I think.

#6
Aelis Eine

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The thing about epic level NWN is that it kind of has its classes on backwards.

In NWN, high level mages are Con-based tanks that run around with damage shields up and attract aggro so that things kill themselves by attacking it. To that extent, it has the epic spell, Epic Warding to absorb damage, and Acid Sheath and Elemental Shield which don't have damage caps and when combined with Death Armor for good measure, return 135.5 damage on average every time someone hits it. Suppose that someone is a dual wielding Monk with 10 attacks per round, the mage does 1355 damage in 6 seconds just by standing there.

Conversely, high level sword/shield/heavy armor fighters are usually squishy damage dealers because their AC is capped by plate armor and they lack defensive abilities unless they multiclass into caster classes like Red Dragon Disciple or Pale Master, or they go Dwarven Defender, except Dwarven Defender requires 13 Dex, but has no Strength requirement. However, Strength-based fighters have a chance to instantly kill on a crit due to Dev Crit.

And high level Rogues are healers because unless they multiclass into Weapon Master or Arcane Archer, they tend to fall so far behind in AB that they have trouble hitting things in epic levels. However, they have the skill points to dump into stealth skills and Heal and can use Heal kits without breaking stealth. With Use Magic Device, they also get access to scrolls and wands for all classes, giving them a wider selection of those to cast from than pure casters.

Once you get used to reversing your frame of thought, the classes become a lot easier to work with :P

Modifié par Aelis Eine, 20 décembre 2012 - 11:06 .


#7
WebShaman

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That shield mage doesn't have all the shields listed - you can also add in the sonic damage from the Bard shield, by casting it from a scroll ;)

And you can Shapechange to an Iron Golem with those shields on...yummy! Only do so with m0bs/Bosses who have very high AB, otherwise it defeats the purpose.

#8
Shadooow

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Elbahor wrote...

Whats more interesting to me is that most PWs I saw even nerfed arcane casters further. Why are such weak classes even need further nerfs?


You're right, that is very common. Reason is probably balance within other spells or PvP. The bigby hands are most common nerfed spell, IGMS second one. IGMS against one target does most damage at all. Since this is 6th spell lvl, you can memorise it silent at 7, empower at 8 and maximize at 9, so pure caster can have around 30times. Since IGMS has no save, but other spells its the only spell at epic that casters uses and then players simply spam this on anyone. DMs often don't like this tactic so they are often nerfing this spell instead they would add damage vulnerabilities, lessen saving throws of monsters etc.

I think in the PRC an empowered Disintegrate has the DC of a Wail of the Banshee +/- spell focus differences but its been a while since I used that so I may be wrong.

Well thats obviously wrong, empowered spell still has spell level of the default spell in PnP. Thus I guess that normal spell memorised on higher level will do also - I couldnt find this information in rules, but it would be extremely imbalanced otherwise so it makes sense.

So in PNP they actually get more spells per day but only using epic feats? That'd be damn useful in NWN too :(

You misunderstand me, in PnP you take single feat at epic levels and that will allow you to attain 10th and higher spell slots where you can memorise much more spells. So its even more useful than you thought.

Also a little OT question: Is it possible to implement dual arcane progression PRC Mystic Theurge style(yes I'm thinking about the Ultimate Magus prc which I read somewhere about) in NWN ? MT and a Sorcerer based Eldrict Theurge are really fun( provided you pregen your char for epic) IMO but UM would be cool too I think.

Well the PRC has both these classes. If you want to have dual spellcasting progression in NWN without PRC thats possible too but only with prestige class. To do it you would have to edit classes.2da and collumns ArcSpellLvlMod and DivSpellLvlMod to values of 1(+1CL per lvl of this PrC) or 2 (+1CL at each odd lvl of this PrC)

#9
HipMaestro

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As has already been mentioned, polymorph forms of a Wiz40 are incredibly bullet-proof when fully buffed with empowered versions (Bull's, Cat's, Endurance), the 3 recipro shields and mantle, are practically impossible to dispel (though can be gradually eroded by other casters).  Tenser's is usually the easiest  and earliest to play effectively in melee, though the crit immunity of iron golem is worthwhile especially against DevCrit enemies.  Usually the shape changes are only needed vs. spell immunes like raks & demilichs and SR monks.

Most spells do an SR check, so a good strategy is to elect all of the spell penetration feats (Wiz 40 has loads of bonus feats!) and then cast a Mord before engaging into combat further.  High level monks, however, may force you into the polymorph mode with their un-breachable SR.  Tenser's will pierce up to +3 DR but the forms with creature weapons will pierce up to +20 DR with Epic Warding in place.  Polymorphs will not deliver massive amounts of damage, however.  It can become tedious killing that way.

Some PWs will nerf high-level arcanists even without making any spell changes by simply placing spell resistances, spell immunities, improved evasion, uber save levels, elemental immunities/resistances, magic damage resistance/immunity etc. on their monster skins.  Pretty much makes them impervious to offensive casting effects and takes arcanists completely out of the mix, probably because balancing their presence is so difficult without complete spellcasting reconstruction. 

And there are those Dead/Wild Magic Zones that pop up occasionally. :P

#10
omen_shepperd

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The PRC still exists, a few of us still lurk about on its page. prc.athasreborn.com/index.php

#11
MagicalMaster

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Elbahor wrote...

Evoker would be a choice against them but they can't seem to do enough damage even with the damage incresases with DC. I guess people should balance their modules a little better( 1000+ health on a mob ?)


You say "1000 HP" and I think "Oh, four Maximized IGMSes will leave it at 40 HP to finish off, I can do that in 12 seconds.  If I Time Stop, I could kill it with three Time Stops and five Empowered IGMSes and the other guy wouldn't even be able to move."

That's not even getting into reflecting damage shields for the 130+ damage as mentioned.

Maximized Ice Storms also do 90 cold damage to every mob in an AoE as well with no save.

However, yeah, you won't see any spell changes unless you're on a PW or a select few modules.   If you haven't played the Aielund Saga, you really should.  I disagree with many of the spell changes, but overall I think it's better than default.

Spell Penetration, Epic Bonus Feats, and Dispel Protection are also benefits from epic caster levels.  A level 26+ caster (if I recall correctly) is immune to all dispelling except from Breaches or a Mord's.  Which means only another arcane caster can dispel them (unless a scroll/wand is used).

#12
Aelis Eine

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MagicalMaster wrote...

You say "1000 HP" and I think "Oh, four Maximized IGMSes will leave it at 40 HP to finish off, I can do that in 12 seconds.  If I Time Stop, I could kill it with three Time Stops and five Empowered IGMSes and the other guy wouldn't even be able to move."


If by "mob" the OP meant trash in a mod with rest restrictions, that would be a pretty inefficient use of spells =p

#13
Shadooow

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Aelis Eine wrote...

MagicalMaster wrote...

You say "1000 HP" and I think "Oh, four Maximized IGMSes will leave it at 40 HP to finish off, I can do that in 12 seconds.  If I Time Stop, I could kill it with three Time Stops and five Empowered IGMSes and the other guy wouldn't even be able to move."


If by "mob" the OP meant trash in a mod with rest restrictions, that would be a pretty inefficient use of spells =p

And thats exactly the setting in many epic PWs. The only way how to play caster is to horde as much mobs as possible and spam, spam and spam. Since 1.69 implemented creature space, this is also most efficient tactics as well as only the nearest mobs can attack the caster. To stand in corner or dead end helps this further.

#14
Elbahor

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Aelis Eine wrote...

MagicalMaster wrote...

You say "1000 HP" and I think "Oh, four Maximized IGMSes will leave it at 40 HP to finish off, I can do that in 12 seconds.  If I Time Stop, I could kill it with three Time Stops and five Empowered IGMSes and the other guy wouldn't even be able to move."


If by "mob" the OP meant trash in a mod with rest restrictions, that would be a pretty inefficient use of spells =p


Yup, I'm talking about regular enemies who are filling a whole dungeon and with limited resting. I don't see IGMS as that impressive in that case. Against a single target and especially a player who is actually bound by the rules it might be pretty dangerous I admit but I'm talking mainly about PVE now.


You're right, that is very common. Reason is probably balance within
other spells or PvP. The bigby hands are most common nerfed spell, IGMS
second one. IGMS against one target does most damage at all. Since this
is 6th spell lvl, you can memorise it silent at 7, empower at 8 and
maximize at 9, so pure caster can have around 30times. Since IGMS has no
save, but other spells its the only spell at epic that casters uses and
then players simply spam this on anyone. DMs often don't like this
tactic so they are often nerfing this spell instead they would add
damage vulnerabilities, lessen saving throws of monsters etc.


Yup. The problem is that they fail to realize IMO  that the reason why everybody spams IGMS isn't that its that super powerful to require nerfing but because there is no alternative for offensive spells. At least I don't know one. Or mages should be content with casting their pitifully weak Meteor Swarms, wasting their few precious slots then get killed? 

Introducing vulnerabilities and lessening saving throws would definitely help though to make save or suck or even other damaging spells viable. Of course what do we expect when the OC campaings themselves aren't balanced that way? In HOTU the Ice Trolls constantly saved my 40+ dc spells for example...

IDK about Bigby. Its a lvl 9 spell and is only effective against a single target though that target won't go anywhere for a while thats for sure( even most bosses can't resist it in my experience). It won't kill it though. I still don't consider it the most  broken thing in the game myself.

Well thats obviously wrong, empowered spell still has spell level of the
default spell in PnP. Thus I guess that normal spell memorised on
higher level will do also - I couldnt find this information in rules,
but it would be extremely imbalanced otherwise so it makes sense.


Made a test today and it seems to be as its in PnP so my fault here.

You misunderstand me, in PnP you take single feat at epic levels
and that will allow you to attain 10th and higher spell slots where you
can memorise much more spells. So its even more useful than you
thought.


Seeing that, my own research and my experience with the PRC I think things would be better if more things would've been implemented from the PNP rules for casters. Simple things like a proper epic spellcasting system, actually caster oriented PRcs( Archmage, Red Wizard) or spells like teleport are already making things easier for casters imo. Those slots would be anoher step or that doubling metamagic feat. These things won't save you from the insane hp inflation problems themselves but if BW cared to implement epic casters better then we may have a more balanced game now IMO.

Well the PRC has both these classes. If you want to have dual
spellcasting progression in NWN without PRC thats possible too but only
with prestige class. To do it you would have to edit classes.2da and
collumns ArcSpellLvlMod and DivSpellLvlMod to values of 1(+1CL per lvl of this PrC) or 2 (+1CL at each odd lvl of this PrC)


Sorry, I always forget that Warlock is supposed to be an arcane class too, not divine. In that case I just need to adapt the Eldrict Theurge prc right?

Some PWs will nerf high-level arcanists even without making any spell
changes by simply placing spell resistances, spell immunities, improved
evasion, uber save levels, elemental immunities/resistances, magic
damage resistance/immunity etc. on their monster skins.  Pretty much
makes them impervious to offensive casting effects and takes arcanists
completely out of the mix, probably because balancing their presence is
so difficult without complete spellcasting reconstruction. 


So far Dungeon Spawner and Good vs Evil are the only modules I saw which allow epic play( idk that much about PWs) but aren't doing this. The mobs still have super health, devcrit and insane damage potential but at least I can kill things provided I'm a necromancer or prc transmuter.

The thing about epic level NWN is that it kind of has its classes on backwards.

In
NWN, high level mages are Con-based tanks that run around with damage
shields up and attract aggro so that things kill themselves by attacking
it. To that extent, it has the epic spell, Epic Warding to absorb
damage, and Acid Sheath and Elemental Shield which don't have damage
caps and when combined with Death Armor for good measure, return 135.5
damage on average every time someone hits it. Suppose that someone is a
dual wielding Monk with 10 attacks per round, the mage does 1355 damage
in 6 seconds just by standing there.

Conversely, high level
sword/shield/heavy armor fighters are usually squishy damage dealers
because their AC is capped by plate armor and they lack defensive
abilities unless they multiclass into caster classes like Red Dragon
Disciple or Pale Master, or they go Dwarven Defender, except Dwarven
Defender requires 13 Dex, but has no Strength requirement. However,
Strength-based fighters have a chance to instantly kill on a crit due to
Dev Crit.

And high level Rogues are healers because unless they
multiclass into Weapon Master or Arcane Archer, they tend to fall so far
behind in AB that they have trouble hitting things in epic levels.
However, they have the skill points to dump into stealth skills and Heal
and can use Heal kits without breaking stealth. With Use Magic Device,
they also get access to scrolls and wands for all classes, giving them a
wider selection of those to cast from than pure casters.

Once you get used to reversing your frame of thought, the classes become a lot easier to work with :P


Well of course there are ways I suppose to play arcanists effectively even with these rules and its actually very impressive that the community found ways to turn any class into a killing machine :)

But I never really wanted to think about such a build because when game mechanics and what they are supposed to represent are so much at odds, it just stops being fun to me. I don't want to say that I'm an RP er or such and don't care  about my character build because it isn't the case. I like if my character is as powerful as possible and can take on any chalange. But if a mage isn't a mage anymore but a tank then it feels weird to me. Same with Dragon Age BTW. Best mage? Arcane Warrior tank.... Seems like a Bioware thing.

Still my builder side is a bit fascinated so I'll try to make something like that. Any advice?   Int/cha till I can cast lvl 9, then the rest to con? Take Extend spell and toughness I suppose.

And you can Shapechange to an Iron Golem with those shields on...yummy!
Only do so with m0bs/Bosses who have very high AB, otherwise it defeats
the purpose.


Well IG is seems like a requirement since even in Infinite Dungeons every mob is DevCritting anything they can find. My familiar and at least two quest givers tasted it already :P

The PRC still exists, a few of us still lurk about on its page. prc.athasreborn.com/index.php


Thanks for the heads up! Honestly I didn't know if anybody is still there, but I'm glad this great mod still has some people left( got a few question I wanted to and will ask there). Though I read that there won't any new releases :crying:

#15
Shadooow

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oh sorry I gave you bad link the feat name on that page is actually "Improved Spell Capacity", the Epic Spellcasting feat is a required feat to be able to learn epic spells at all.

#16
Aelis Eine

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Elbahor wrote...
But I never really wanted to think about such a build because when game mechanics and what they are supposed to represent are so much at odds, it just stops being fun to me. I don't want to say that I'm an RP er or such and don't care  about my character build because it isn't the case. I like if my character is as powerful as possible and can take on any chalange. But if a mage isn't a mage anymore but a tank then it feels weird to me. Same with Dragon Age BTW. Best mage? Arcane Warrior tank.... Seems like a Bioware thing.


That's how I see it too =p Partly why I shook my head when Bioware announced they were doing a big title like SWTOR. Bioware is known for writing good stories and characters, but also known for memory leaks and poor class design, and the latter two are more important for MMOs. Unsurprisingly for its first foray into MMORPGs, TOR tanked and so did its F2P transition.

Still my builder side is a bit fascinated so I'll try to make something like that. Any advice?   Int/cha till I can cast lvl 9, then the rest to con? Take Extend spell and toughness I suppose.


That's a good start. Dwarf is a good race for the Wizard variant. It can easily start with 16 Int 18 Con. Finish at 20+ Int and 22+ Con - put the extra points into Int or Con according to personal preference. When you get 22 Con, take the 3 Epic Damage Reduction feats as something to fall back on if Warding runs out.

As for multiclasses, 10 levels of Pale Master is something to consider for the critical hit immunity, especially in a Dev Crit environment. You do lose 10 caster levels, and that's quite a lot when talking about damage shield damage.

For a Sorcerer, Human is probably the race of choice. 16 Con and 16 Cha and follow a similar progression. Sorcerers get the option of multiclassing into Paladin for saves, which helps them tank spells a lot, especially with Evasion from Monk or Rogue. Sorc 38/Paladin 1/Monk 1 one of the most survivable mage builds in the game.

Spell Penetrations, Maximize and Empower are all worth considering because of IGMS and Ice Storm. They have no save, so even with 20 Int or Cha, they will still be as strong as one cast from a mage of the same level with 38 Int or Cha.

Put skill points into Heal if the module has heal kits. They're cheaper than Heal potions or scrolls. Otherwise, Concentration and Spellcraft are pretty standard. Discipline too, if you multiclass into a class with that as a class skill and the mod has Knockdown spammers.

Modifié par Aelis Eine, 21 décembre 2012 - 08:16 .


#17
MagicalMaster

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Elbahor wrote...

So far Dungeon Spawner and Good vs Evil are the only modules I saw which allow epic play( idk that much about PWs) but aren't doing this. The mobs still have super health, devcrit and insane damage potential but at least I can kill things provided I'm a necromancer or prc transmuter.


Hmm.  I could show you a project I was working on for a PW a while ago that was aiming to avoid many of the problems you're talking about.

It's basically a testing ground for mechanics changes I was working on with an NPC who can (de)level you, sell you gear, and port you to different dungeons.  There's only one true level 40 solo zone (on both normal and hard mode), but there's another six dungeons with three bosses each that's meant for group content (2-3 people for two, 4ish people for two, and 6ish people for two).

There's no persistency (it's not an actual PW) and no in-depth story or something, but if you're interested in being able to play an evoker effectively you might like it.  Let me know if you'd like to see it, I'd be happy to play through parts of it with you and I might be able to grab a friend as well.  Also can hire NPC henchmen.

#18
Elbahor

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That's how I see it too =p Partly why I shook my head when Bioware announced they were doing a big title like SWTOR. Bioware is known for writing good stories and characters, but also known for memory leaks and poor class design, and the latter two are more important for MMOs. Unsurprisingly for its first foray into MMORPGs, TOR tanked and so did its F2P transition.


Frankly I've never understood why anybody ever thought that Tor is a good idea. And yes, that was my opinion far before Tor even launched. Firstly BW is just isn't the company who should make an MMO for reasons you already mentioned( and probably anybody knows this who ever touched at least one of their products). Secondly nobody was asking for a KOTOR MMO, everybody wanted  KOTOR 3, a story heavy sp game building on the first two excellent installments. So why gambling and putting so much money into it when they could've made a game with a huge guaranteed customer base?

But then if at least they made a decent game and surprised us, but no.

They kinda deserved this flop IMO for acting without thinking things through.  

That's a good start. Dwarf is a good race for the Wizard variant. It can
easily start with 16 Int 18 Con. Finish at 20+ Int and 22+ Con - put
the extra points into Int or Con according to personal preference. When
you get 22 Con, take the 3 Epic Damage Reduction feats as something to
fall back on if Warding runs out.

As for multiclasses, 10 levels
of Pale Master is something to consider for the critical hit immunity,
especially in a Dev Crit environment. You do lose 10 caster levels, and
that's quite a lot when talking about damage shield damage.

For a
Sorcerer, Human is probably the race of choice. 16 Con and 16 Cha and
follow a similar progression. Sorcerers get the option of multiclassing
into Paladin for saves, which helps them tank spells a lot, especially
with Evasion from Monk or Rogue. Sorc 38/Paladin 1/Monk 1 one of the
most survivable mage builds in the game.

Spell Penetrations,
Maximize and Empower are all worth considering because of IGMS and Ice
Storm. They have no save, so even with 20 Int or Cha, they will still be
as strong as one cast from a mage of the same level with 38 Int or Cha.

Put
skill points into Heal if the module has heal kits. They're cheaper
than Heal potions or scrolls. Otherwise, Concentration and Spellcraft
are pretty standard. Discipline too, if you multiclass into a class with
that as a class skill and the mod has Knockdown spammers.


Thanks! It'll make for a great build experiment :)

I think I'll need PM  because as I said the modules I'm playing all have insane devcritters. Of course this is against my hatred for the PM for its "-10 CL feature" which I find ridiciolusly harsh for a "caster PRC". Can you take PM with the sorc too or the pal+monk are better choices then even in a devcrit heavy environment for some reason?

Hmm.  I could show you a project I was working on for a PW a while ago
that was aiming to avoid many of the problems you're talking about.

It's
basically a testing ground for mechanics changes I was working on with
an NPC who can (de)level you, sell you gear, and port you to different
dungeons.  There's only one true level 40 solo zone (on both normal and
hard mode), but there's another six dungeons with three bosses each
that's meant for group content (2-3 people for two, 4ish people for two,
and 6ish people for two).

There's no persistency (it's not an
actual PW) and no in-depth story or something, but if you're interested
in being able to play an evoker effectively you might like it.  Let me
know if you'd like to see it, I'd be happy to play through parts of it
with you and I might be able to grab a friend as well.  Also can hire
NPC henchmen.


Problem is that I don't know when I'll have time to even play in the following weeks(probably not much times). Of course it'd be very interesting to see how you tried to change things to make the evoker viable. Damn Holidays :(

Also pity that you never got to implement it into a PW. Maybe it would've set a new trend of changing mechanics instead of just mindlessly nerfing/buffing up things. 

oh sorry I gave you bad link the feat name on that page is actually
"Improved Spell Capacity", the Epic Spellcasting feat is a required feat
to be able to learn epic spells at all.


Thanks, I've found it! And a lot of other things which make me envious : )

BTW is it true that in DnD you can apply more than one metamagic to a spell( I guess using the above feat to get slots)? Putting a few of the more powerful pnp only metamagics on a spell would help it doing more damage too.( maximized+ twinned etc)

#19
MagicalMaster

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Elbahor wrote...

Problem is that I don't know when I'll have time to even play in the following weeks(probably not much times). Of course it'd be very interesting to see how you tried to change things to make the evoker viable. Damn Holidays :(

Also pity that you never got to implement it into a PW. Maybe it would've set a new trend of changing mechanics instead of just mindlessly nerfing/buffing up things.


Well, the PW I was working on it for kind of stalled, the person who had access to the host machine and the module itself vanished for months (was sort of a revival for a world), so I put it on hold.

But ultimately I wasn't entirely happy with the system I made because it was a band-aid fix to a larger problem (a fairly good band-aid in my opinion, but still a band-aid).

So now I'm working on some ideas I'd make into a brand new PW that revamps the combat system (gives physical attackers things to do, casters do something beyond just spam their strongest spell).  That's a long way away from being finished or even properly started, though, since I'm also busy with other things.

If you'd like, I can host the module on my computer and leave the connection info here over the holidays at least.  Should be up most of the time.  You'd also have to download the hak for it (small hak, but necessary for some changes), but I can upload the most recent version of that on NWVault along with the documentation.   Let me know if you'd be interested in that.

#20
Elbahor

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[quote]MagicalMaster wrote...

[quote]

Well, the PW I was working on it for kind of stalled, the person who had
access to the host machine and the module itself vanished for months
(was sort of a revival for a world), so I put it on hold.

But
ultimately I wasn't entirely happy with the system I made because it was
a band-aid fix to a larger problem (a fairly good band-aid in my
opinion, but still a band-aid).

So now I'm working on some ideas
I'd make into a brand new PW that revamps the combat system (gives
physical attackers things to do, casters do something beyond just spam
their strongest spell).  That's a long way away from being finished or
even properly started, though, since I'm also busy with other things.

[/quote]

Yeah, I bet its not easy especially with the ever present hard coded limitations. Though I'm a bit surprised that among so many mods I've never found something similar. You'd think that people would be more interested in fixing possibly the most annoying aspects of the game.


[quote]
If you'd like, I can host the module on my computer and leave the connection info here over the holidays at least.  Should be up most of the time.  You'd also have to download the hak for it (small hak, but necessary for some changes), but I can upload the most recent version of that on NWVault along with the documentation.   Let me know if you'd be interested in that.
[/quote]

Sounds great!  I'd be interested of course : ) Thanks

#21
MagicalMaster

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It's up. Hak and documentation are here: http://nwvault.ign.c....Detail&id=7871

Note that the basic level 40 store is roughly what you'd have been meant to have at 40 and the content is tuned around that.  The "super tier 2 store" is more along the lines of what actually drops in the 5+ person content.  You can use it to get a boost and help you beat the bosses, but you're supposed to be getting equipment of that power FROM the bosses.

Also, no enemies are immune to sneak attacks, critical hits, or any specific damage type.

Should be able to log in with

24.107.141.112:5121
testing

Local vault is enabled, but it's intended for you to make a new character (not doing so will result in you missing some things) for the module (but then you can use a locally saved character you made using the module).

Edit: Player tool 4 (Weapon Finesse/Sword icon) directs any NPCs you control to attack what you click on.  Forgot to include that feature in documentation, will update PDF.  Also unlimited ammunition for ranged weapons.

Modifié par MagicalMaster, 23 décembre 2012 - 09:09 .


#22
Aelis Eine

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Thanks! It'll make for a great build experiment :)

I think I'll need PM  because as I said the modules I'm playing all have insane devcritters. Of course this is against my hatred for the PM for its "-10 CL feature" which I find ridiciolusly harsh for a "caster PRC". Can you take PM with the sorc too or the pal+monk are better choices then even in a devcrit heavy environment for some reason?


No reason Sorc/PM wouldn't work, but you won't be able to learn new spells or change spells on PM levels.

The -10 CL is actually pretty equitable if you think about it in terms of damage lost vs damage reduction gained. Your shield damage gets reduced from 135.5 to 99.5, or 73.4% of the original number, but your damage taken decreases to 68.9% vs. non-WM Scimitar users and 47.6% vs. WM Scimitar users, just from them not being able to crit you.

#23
FunkySwerve

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If you want to see a fully balanced caster, you need to supply them with meaningful choices, which means making enough spells useful in your pw/mod, as well as bringing all spells into a rough power alignment by level.

At the same time, it also means ensuring that any one tactic, be it damage spam, death spam, summon spam, etc, is never consistently rewarded. This means creating a variety of critters with things like spell resistance, specific immunities (death, mind, implosion, confusion, fear, etc), varied racial types (for narrower slaying spells like Defoliate, by way of example), damage feedback/healing, varied damage resistances/immunities, and more. This requires intelligent, targeted spellcasting, even when you give players access to powerful spells.

The reason you don't see this much is that it requires a crapton of work and extensive playtest - only really feasible for experienced modders on large pws.

Here are our spell edit descriptions (including many new spells):
Click Me

And here is a spreadsheet for one of our area sets, showing some of the planning that goes into monster statting:
Click Me

To summarize, getting casters right takes an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach. :P Of course, you can half-ass it, which is how we started out, with kludges like standard 5/- magic resist on most things to stop IGMS, making most stuff death immune, etc etc, but this approach tends to leave most spells either uber or useless, with little middle ground. Properly set saves and SR go a long way towards balance, with immunities used more sparingly (being less granular).

Funky

#24
WebShaman

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^ Right on, FS!!

#25
Shadooow

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Elbahor wrote...

I think I'll need PM  because as I said the modules I'm playing all have insane devcritters. Of course this is against my hatred for the PM for its "-10 CL feature" which I find ridiciolusly harsh for a "caster PRC". Can you take PM with the sorc too or the pal+monk are better choices then even in a devcrit heavy environment for some reason?

second choice is wearing heavy armor and tower shield and using divine shield ability from paladin/blackguard levels combined with monk/rogue for tumble.

Or you can install my community patch (1.71 beta 8), spawn PC widget tool and enable ading PM into CL. You get only 5CL from 10PM as PM adds spells only at each odd level, but still something.

BTW is it true that in DnD you can apply more than one metamagic to a spell( I guess using the above feat to get slots)? Putting a few of the more powerful pnp only metamagics on a spell would help it doing more damage too.( maximized+ twinned etc)

Somehow it is definitely possible as I found a mention in manual that maximized+empowered spell deals maximized result + one half normally rolled result. But not sure how would you got into this. I dont think you can combine it normally, this is probably some special case when spell is treated as maximized/empowered automatically from some reason.

However I read up a manual and there are more interesting feats:

Intensify spell - epic metamagic - 7level slots higher than usual - spell is maximized, then doubled.
Improved metamagic - spell slot modifier of all metamagic you know is reduced by -1spell level - can be taken multiple times to minimum of 1
Enhance spell - increases spell caps by 10CL - can be taken multiple times (this feat would be easy to implement in NWN btw)
Intensify Spell epic

Modifié par ShaDoOoW, 23 décembre 2012 - 03:46 .