Spellstaff choices

[Legacy_philty_]

               I am merely curious as to which 3 spells ppl here choose when making their staves (and why).

I am trying to choose among 4 of the following:

Improved Invisible
Mindblank
Truesight
Stoneskin

This is the order of preference I lean to. I play a non-fighting Wizard, and am always accompanied by a Shadow Dancer / Assassin and a Weaponmaster, so all the fighting is done by them.

I generally walk with a Staff of Command, since I am Illusionist, so the spells I cannot cast are there, plus the mind spell immunity. The helment I wear gives me+2 to Intel, so I do not wanna wear a helm that gives me that propoerty (but may reconsider). Improved Inv is excellent, giving Concealment for a long time, and truesight is great, because I am using Tony K AI, meaning lots of foes use their Hide skill a lot, not to mention the invisible ones.

I might consider Stoneskin, as a precaution (more or less like Improved Inv), but am not sure if I toos Mindblank away. Any thoughts, pls let me know.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_MrZork]

               I favor long-term buffs and typically use Improved Invisibility, Stoneskin, and either Mind Blank or Protection from Elements. Of course, if your wizard really avoids combat, then you might consider Fox's Cunning instead of Stoneskin.

A more melee-oriented wizard might benefit from Bull's Strength, Cat's Grace, or even a reciprocal damage spell like Mestil's Acid Sheath or Elemental Shield.

Something to keep in mind is that the buffs cast by the staff are cast at caster level 10, which is respectable at the time the staff is acquired, but they become fairly easy to dispel at higher levels. It can be useful to have a staff that casts spells that benefit the caster and are not easily dispelled. For example, being able to swap in the staff and have it quickly cast Greater Restoration (or Heal), (Greater) Sanctuary, spell mantles, and so on, which can be very useful when one is in a tight jam.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_philty_]

               you can cast Greater Restor on it? I tried casting Spell Mantle and it was not possible, as the spell is always on self.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Shadooow]

               Greater restoration can be cast on others, but try to cast it from radial. Click right mouse button on staff, and in radial menu select spell you want to cast. Every spell except Invisibility Purge (fixed in my unofficial patch) must be possible to cast on (any) item. This is in order to allow crafting scrolls, potions and wand, but afaik this feature have been added in expansion packs so if you dont have HotU then you might not be able to cast it.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par ShaDoOoW, 14 octobre 2011 - 04:59 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_WhiZard]

               

MrZork wrote...
Something to keep in mind is that the buffs cast by the staff are cast at caster level 10, which is respectable at the time the staff is acquired, but they become fairly easy to dispel at higher levels.

Though it doesn't change the point made, the real caster level used is 2*innate level -1 (minimum of 10).
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_WhiZard]

               

ShaDoOoW wrote...

Greater restoration can be cast on others, but try to cast it from radial. Click right mouse button on staff, and in radial menu select spell you want to cast. Every spell except Invisibility Purge (fixed in my unofficial patch) must be possible to cast on (any) item. This is in order to allow crafting scrolls, potions and wand, but afaik this feature have been added in expansion packs so if you dont have HotU then you might not be able to cast it.

To create the spellstaff you are casting on an orb, not an item in your inventory.  Thus some spells cannot target because they are not designed to target placeables.

For the sequencers, this works differently, as you are casting it on an item in your inventory.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_Shadooow]

               

WhiZard wrote...

MrZork wrote...
Something to keep in mind is that the buffs cast by the staff are cast at caster level 10, which is respectable at the time the staff is acquired, but they become fairly easy to dispel at higher levels.

Though it doesn't change the point made, the real caster level used is 2*innate level -1 (minimum of 10).

If the function ActionCastSpell is used for the casting (and there isnt other way to do it anyway) then the caster level is 10 everytime due to the bug in that function.

WhiZard wrote...

To create the spellstaff you are casting
on an orb, not an item in your inventory.  Thus some spells cannot
target because they are not designed to target placeables.

For the sequencers, this works differently, as you are casting it on an item in your inventory.

Oh, sry I confused concepts, though its sequencer.
               
               

               
            

[Legacy_WhiZard]

               

ShaDoOoW wrote...
If the function ActionCastSpell is used for the casting (and there isnt other way to do it anyway) then the caster level is 10 everytime due to the bug in that function.

You haven't tested above level 5 innate.  Innate levels 6 and above will always use innate level * 2 - 1 for the caster level.  Yes there is a bug in the function, but the bugged does look at the innate level in spells.2da.  Look at the talk page on the wiki under sequencer, and you will see how unbalancing this can become.

I understand why you think cheat casting is a constant 10, and I thought this way about a year ago.  However, I found inconsistent results and formulated the 2 * innate level - 1 (minimum of 10) equation which expressed the inconsistencies.  ActionCastSpell() will, if not cheat cast, cast the spell normally under the caster's standard caster level, when ActionCastSpell() cheat casts it ignores the caster but formulates the caster level from the innate level in spells.2da.  Given the majority of spells are innate level 5 or less, most people who tested this, including myself, convinced ourselves that cheat casting used a constant 10.
               
               

               

                     Modifié par WhiZard, 15 octobre 2011 - 06:53 .
                     
                  

            

[Legacy_Shadooow]

               Ok confirmed, you are right.