Looking for a critique

[zhelas]

Hello,

Even though the next fixskill is approximately 116 days away, I am looking for a critique. I have read many of the posts here and seen the pros and cons of shield ohe/brawler vs runestaff. As of right now, I don't plan on changing from a Runestaff user. Without an orb his CS is 268 when spelled up.

Demonology or Necromancy: Really not sure what to do with those. The benifits of 712 have saved me multiple times when I used to hunt shan. After reading the posts concerning Animating the dead, that sounds very interesting. Some of the new spells that might come out may require more ranks to be successful.

Perception has been a topic of much discussion..currently 1x in it.

Mana control: These were inexpensive runestaff ranks.

Spells: 2x in spells and I pick up a third when I can.

Any recomendations or tweaks will be helpful.

Thanks,

Zhelas


Strength (STR): 77 (13)
Constitution (CON): 63 (1)
Dexterity (DEX): 81 (25)
Agility (AGL): 70 (15)
Discipline (DIS): 95 (12)
Aura (AUR): 100 (35)
Logic (LOG): 88 (19)
Intuition (INT): 76 (18)
Wisdom (WIS): 96 (28)
Influence (INF): 76 (8)

(at level 50), your current skill bonuses and ranks (including all modifiers) are:
Skill Name | Current Current
| Bonus Ranks
Armor Use..........................| 40 8
Physical Fitness...................| 102 24
Arcane Symbols.....................| 151 51
Magic Item Use.....................| 151 51
Spell Aiming.......................| 202 102
Harness Power......................| 202 102
Elemental Mana Control.............| 151 51
Spirit Mana Control................| 151 51
Sorcerous Lore - Demonology........| 122 31
Sorcerous Lore - Necromancy........| 122 31
Perception.........................| 151 51
Climbing...........................| 120 30
Swimming...........................| 120 30

Spell Lists
Minor Elemental....................| 36

Spell Lists
Minor Spirit.......................| 22

Spell Lists
Sorcerer...........................| 50

Society: Not Voln

[Fallen]

Demonology or Necromancy: Really not sure what to do with those. The benifits of 712 have saved me multiple times when I used to hunt shan. After reading the posts concerning Animating the dead, that sounds very interesting. Some of the new spells that might come out may require more ranks to be successful. >>

As a 1x/1x Shield/Brawler, I only .5x Sorcerer lores. That being said, I never bother with animating or minor summoning. I've done both before, though certainly not more than 5 times each.

I also .5x MIU, as I rarely have a need for the skill outside of the occasional Invisibility amulet or wizard wand. You no longer need the ranks for Runestaff DS, so why not cut back there? Scrolls are more the forte' of the sorcerer, so if you can spare the points, perhaps consider 1xing the skill over .5xing that as well.

I also cut points in .5xing both mana controls. I rarely have need of this skill, and as you are NOT in voln, you don't really need to worry about having massive mana returns.

If you are looking to triple spells, those are definitely some viable areas to cut for points. Also, you may consider dropping your 30 Swimming/Climbing ranks. Those are the amounts I currently have at level 80, and I can get anywhere in Elanthia. This will allow some time for Stat growth for points.

You wont need the swimming ranks in the EN until the barrier, and the climbing ranks unless you hunt the Rift.

[zhelas]

Thanks for responding. I do have some questions. I can see the stopping in MIU since essentially I would be .5x if i ever reach cap. With the possiblities of 740 coming out do you think it might be wise to continue with the 1x in both elemental and spirit mana control since this seems to be a factor in its success. I have been 2x in HP, current mana total is 213. Might this be a good place as well to cut back to 1x or to 1.5x. Even with less mana i would think it would trade off with less casts to kill.

Zhelas

[Syberus]

This is a bit late, but I thought I'd chime in. Unfortunately at this time we don't know exactly how much mana controls will affect 740 accept for in the following ways:

Firstly we know that mana control is supposed to only be taken into consideration for your success with intra-realm travel (the local kind).

Secondly we know that 1x in each lore is going to be considered baseline. Nilven likened it to 930 as far as what kind of role it will take. What you can draw from that I'm not exactly sure, however supposedly I guess it means that intra-realm travel would become reliable around 50 or 60 if you're 1x in each control like gate does for wizards.

[Necromancer]

I'll toss in my two cents, especially as Evarin and I tend to disagree greatly on how to train a sorcerer. It'll be good to hear two people argue two very different training paths well (it also goes to show that you can make a successful sorcerer in any number of a million ways)

MIU/AS: If you're looking to be good at scroll infusion (and truly, it is a VERY handy spell), you're going to want to be at least 1x in MIU and AS. Personally I went over 1x on them, mostly with AS though. Around 100 ranks should be sufficient to infuse quite well.

Mana Controls: These factor into a number of spells, and the mana regen bonus is nothing to sneeze at. I wouldn't suggest going below 1x elemental and 1x spiritual. You need it for Animate Dead, Minor Summoning, Scroll Infusion, Implosion, Dark Catalyst, and Planar Shifting, not to mention DS for your runestaff. They're cheap. They're effective.

Spells: 2x in baseline. Most people I know do somewhere between 2x-2.5x. Personally I'm about 2.25x, and I've never had a CS problem. Considering how expensive extra spell ranks are, those TPs are often better used elsewhere. Some people really like to tank their CS, however, and there's definitely an argument for that.

Perception: I 1x in this. Mostly because I hate being ambushed by lower level rogues and dying from it. Some people barely touch it. You can go either way.

Harness Power: If you're in COL, there's no reason to be wasting so many TPs on HP. You shouldn't need the mana at your level. Go down to 1x and put those TPs elsewhere.

Lores: I'm a big fan of 2x in lores. Animate Dead in particular requires heavy investment in lores. The formula for MAL is [(Necro Ranks -20)/5]-10. Which means that at 70 ranks, you can animate at your own level. At 100 ranks you can animate creautres 6 levels higher than your own. At 50 ranks you can animate 4 levels below your own. It also factors heavily into its duration (which is key since there's a physical component to casting). Also, summoning requires about 50 ranks to be able to use a valence-specific runestone outside of a summoning chamber with 100% effectiveness. (25 ranks to be 100% effective inside a summoning chamber). Lores affect a variety of other spells though. 711 becomes VERY useful with about .8x necro lore (it's a staple hunting spell at later levels if you have the lore), and the blood returns on 701 seem to cap out at about 100 ranks (17 blood back on a maximum 35 point bleeder). Phase is a godsend, and demonology will let you phase heavier boxes and containers (which can let you hold many of your seldom-used items with no encumbrance). And at 50 ranks, Cloak of Shadows has a 95% chance of firing when you're stunned, which can save your life. Personally I'd grab 50 ranks of demonology and then tank necromancy for now. So 50 ranks in each at level 50, and then 2x necro from there on out. I've never regreted it.

Also, life as a sorcerer is much more interesting when you can make use of all of your spells; which is what lores let you do.

Anyway, my two cents. Good luck! If you have questions, you can IM me at JesseREvans

[zhelas]

Thank you...After reading the replies i did reduce my harness power to 1x. I put the points that I regained into my Lores. I am now sitting at 50 for demonology and 48 for necro. Do I miss the extra mana? Yes and no. Since I am not in Voln I don't have to worry about mana but spelling up at the begging takes a little longer. I totally agree that it is more fun with full use of your spells. Cloak of Shadows has saved me more often now than it has in the past. I plan on dabbling in animating. I believe that this was the right move for me. Those extra points that I put into harness power will find a better home with my other skills/spells.

Question: I see some of my brothers and sisters in the art of sorcerery with looks like limbs from creatures they have killed. Do you need a certain amount of ranks for that or are there only certain creatures you can do that with?

Zhelas