Comparison of ECL races

[Sir Rechet]

Sorcerers aren't just nukers! Due to the way their spell limit per day is counted, it's actually more suitable to pick only the best nuke(s) for each level and widen the coverage on other spells. Especially suitable are all of those spells you know you'd want to use at one point or another but always seem to forget to memorize in large enough quantities in advance with your wizard, such as Identify, Knock, Mirror Image, (Mass) Invisibility or most types of summons you only intend to use as diversions.

Also, on some levels there's arguably very limited selection of nukes, such as fifth circle for sorcerers. You have Cone of Cold and Sunfire, both of which can be a bit tricky to use, while Chaos solves the problem of a massive incoming attack headed your way nicely AND is party friendly to boot.

[JT]

Originally Posted by Sir Rechet

Of which you should NOT do either, unless you want to make this character your dedicated diplomat/utility type. Which isn't all that bad of a concession, given how many (cross-)bows the game throws at you -

7 STR 16 DEX 18 CON
14 INT 3 WIS 18 CHA
If he's non-human, 14 DEX and 16 INT.

Try to find a little STR booster so he can carry stuff. (at higher levels, keep Bull's Strength on him all day with just one casting)

Originally Posted by Sir Rechet

Sorcerers aren't just nukers! Due to the way their spell limit per day is counted, it's actually more suitable to pick only the best nuke(s) for each level and widen the coverage on other spells.

For sure. This is why Sorcs are more versatile than wizards in IWD2. Sure, a wizard can LEARN every arcane spell, but in terms of what is AVAILABLE to cast at any given time, Sorcs have them beat hands down.

If someone wants to make a mod to fix this, I suggest:
- nerf sorc spells known by 1 or 2 per level.
- and improve a bunch of the useless spells so they become worth knowing.

[Paracelsi]

Except there is a thing such as redundancy. If I decided to bring two bards, for example, then my sorcerer wouldn't need to memorize buffing/debuffing/summoning spells. Why would I need a sorcerer then? What if my party focused on crowd control/insta-death or summoning? What if I already have a sorcerer? Shouldn't I instead bring along a character who would complement my sorcerer, not compete with him?

It's like saying "sorcerers are more powerful because they can cast two fireballs" in a game where you only need 1 fireball for anything. This redundancy is the main reason why I sometimes do not have a sorcerer as my main caster. Wizards level faster, and you can give him a rogue level so you won't have to worry about thieving. They are flexible - you can tailor his spell selection according to the needs of the party, and every few levels that need will change (spells get phased out, other classes gain the same spells you have, etc - this is especially true for parties with lots of casters, and this is why I usually bring both a wizard/x character and a sorcerer).

You don't always need more spells. I usually don't care if I run out of nukes. When I rest, it's usually because of one of three things - A) ran out of summoning spells, B) ran out of buffs, and C) ran out of healing spells.

[NguyenGiaThai]

I am think a special case : Wizards. To be more specific, Intelligence stat.

Intelligence is about the stat with least enhancement. You get no spell to enhance it, like Wisdom, but you dont get the awesome +5WIS ring. Half of the game before you get the first +1INT equipment.

And the early game restriction on spell placement mean if you advance too fast, your wizards dont have high level spell to cast. Human dont get to use its full arcane potential in Hardest difficulty outside of Heart of Fury.

Which is where Tiefling come into.

You get +2 INT, at the con of level adj +1. There's other subtleties, of course, but for wizard that's two important points. With this, a Tiefling mage got bigger arsenal than human wizard. Although human wizard got better high level spells, due to placement, they dont always get to use it before certain points. So in this case, which is before you get to buy or loot level 5 spells, a Tiefling mage may be better.

Why not Drow, you ask? Well, the level adjustment +2 is abit too big in my book. You could do it, but why bother when Tiefling is enough for the purpose.

[Ineth]

Originally Posted by NguyenGiaThai

And the early game restriction on spell placement mean if you advance too fast, your wizards dont have high level spell to cast. Human dont get to use its full arcane potential in Hardest difficulty outside of Heart of Fury.

Which is where Tiefling come into.

Agree, even though that doesn't solve the problem, only reduces it.

I had a Tiefling Diviner in my 6-member party for my first run through IWD2, and she would usually reach a new spell level quite some time before finding any scrolls of that level.