is invisibility useful?

[rumpelstiltskin]

i'm thinking whether i should take it for a secondary spontaneous spellcaster (inquisitor). i remember in other games (dnd or not) you could abuse the AI by blocking passages with invisible characters, but here they detect you anyway as long as you are close enough, and can still attack you, so it just grants concealment (until you attack back). can it be useful just to sneak by often enough to justify a spell slot?
and coincidentally, is see invisibility useful often enough (still act 1)?

[T.W. Hamill]

See Invisibility: Communal (in particular) is a great buff. Decent number of enemies will cast invisibility. Even in act 3 and later.

USING invisibility as a player is a lot more miss than hit as TONS of the mid to high level demons have True Seeing innately.

[jasons073]

It's useful against some human enemies like cultists, but many demons can see through it.

[rumpelstiltskin]

i mean just simple invisibility, not greater. i'm still very early in the game. in fact, the spell description doesn't even say anything about combat bonuses like concealment/miss chance, etc (as it was in other dnd versions), it just says it adds +20 to stealth, so i guess as long as you are detected, it's completely gone? i wonder if it can be cheesed in some way by casting invisibility during combat to confuse the AI (if it even does anything).

[T.W. Hamill]

Originally posted by rumpelstiltskin:

i mean just simple invisibility, not greater. i'm still very early in the game. in fact, the spell description doesn't even say anything about combat bonuses like concealment/miss chance, etc (as it was in other dnd versions), it just says it adds +20 to stealth, so i guess as long as you are detected, it's completely gone? i wonder if it can be cheesed in some way by casting invisibility during combat to confuse the AI (if it even does anything).

The spell doesnt say anything about lesser invis granting concealment because it never did.

It just makes you not visible, which does not and has never meant not-attackable.

However, the spell doesnt need to because the are basic penalties built in when trying to attack an invisible target - they are specific to the spell, but to any time you attack something you cant see. I dont remember the penalties, but they are there.

Blindfighting (the feat) allows you to ignore a lot of them, and a lot of the enemies have Blindfighting, too.

But its +20 to stealth IF YOU EVEN NEED TO ROLL. If you aren't close enough that the mob can hear you, the Invis just works.

[Eonwe]

If you were to cast invisibility on an ally while in combat, it wouldnt "confuse" the AI, but your character would benefit from a 50% concealment (as long as you dont "break" the invis AND the AI doesnt have a skill or spell to see through it).

[Santa Claus Jr]

I have used it a couple times, mostly when you run into traps where the 'deactivation' thing is past a giant demon or something. then the benefit is you can get a surprise full sneak attack in if your stealth is good. Situational so i wouldnt get it on a spontaneous caster but on Woljit or a wizard it can be useful to have some scrolls or one prepared

[radziu93]

Originally posted by Eonwe:

If you were to cast invisibility on an ally while in combat, it wouldnt "confuse" the AI, but your character would benefit from a 50% concealment (as long as you dont "break" the invis AND the AI doesnt have a skill or spell to see through it).

I find it quite unfair, when I attack, my concealment is gone, but when enemy has it, I have to just bear with it, because apparently they all have concealment active even when attacking..

[rumpelstiltskin]

hmm i did a bit of testing, and looks like they do need to roll a perception check before they can attack you (but even trash mobs seem to have close to 20 perception, so invis alone is not enough). i wasn't able to verify if they have to re-reroll it if i cast it during combat, on someone they've already spotted. and it does provide 50% miss chance when they try to hit you.
however, i was also able to get some cheese out of it - for instance, if you start combat, do a bit of damage, then run away through a doorway and someone who they haven't perceived blocks that doorway, they won't be able to pathfind to you and will give up eventually, ending the combat. the damage will stick, however, and i assume you'll even be able to save afterwards. but it'll probably also work if the doorway is just far enough and they don't see the one who blocks the door simply because of distance.

[phadin]

Be ware of higher tier demons. They frequently come with natural See Invisibility or True Sight, as well as a lot of the tougher monsters and encounters. That will completely negate this strategy.

[rumpelstiltskin]

yeah doesn't look like invis can be made into something generally useful (and i have one invis as an ability on another char anyway). it's just that inquisitor's 2nd level spells are not that exciting. maybe i'll just take see invis and align weapon, since weapon alignment seems to be a pretty common requirement.

[Eonwe]

Originally posted by radziu93:

Originally posted by Eonwe:

If you were to cast invisibility on an ally while in combat, it wouldnt "confuse" the AI, but your character would benefit from a 50% concealment (as long as you dont "break" the invis AND the AI doesnt have a skill or spell to see through it).

I find it quite unfair, when I attack, my concealment is gone, but when enemy has it, I have to just bear with it, because apparently they all have concealment active even when attacking..

Invisibility works the same for you and the AI. If they can attack you and keep their concealment, then they’re using something else like displacement or greater invisibility.

[Soul]

Do you like being assassinated by babaus disguised as a bush?