Newb friendly build for mage or sorcerer?

[Zero]

I'm playing on normal, I like the idea of sorcerer because there's less spells to deal with but you get more uses per day. However I know if I choose a wrong spell later on, there's no way of resetting what I've chosen.

I don't normally play mages, but the portrait I like is very 'magey' so I want to stick with one of the 2. So mage or sorcerer and any quick build tips for starting as either one?

Just wondering, is the general idea to fight a couple of battles, then rest to full health/magic and repeat? Or should you avoid resting too much?

[wendigo211]

There's no penalty for resting after every encounter if you want, although you risk the chance of getting random encounters when you rest. There is a penalty for not resting; you won't get your dream abilities as you progress through the game.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Yep, specialization for spell casters is a two-sided sword.

Most players already increase INT for mages (and that works also with potions) as to benefit from the "known spells per spell level" bonus. As such, they can memorize enough spells per spell level in order to contribute quite some arcane power and stay versatile enough as to prepare for different scenarios.

In the first game, due to the XP cap, you can reach at most level 9 with wizards. Ordinary mages can learn at least one spell from spell level 5. Sorcerers can't. Not a big issue, but there are a few interesting spells of that spell level.


With some searching of the Internet, I guess you may find some guides about which spells from each spell level are considered "popular", "useful" or "powerful". Often depending on taste and difficulty mode preferences, too - and with discussions about whether Magic Missile is less useful then Chromatic Orb.


However, it becomes more complicated in the sequel where you need to become intimately familiar with the set of protection & counter-protection spells. Those are a real mess. Again, I think there may be guides and tables on the Internet covering which counter-protection/dispel type of spell works against which protection.

I've posted a somewhat complex but likely not 100% list about protection breaker spells here:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/257350/discussions/0/3383904768762266109/#c3383904768763286340


Typically, ordinary mages or specialist mages are the better choice because of versatility.
For the sorcerer or dragon disciple you absolutely need to think long and hard (and possibly foresee) which spells you want to learn. If you try to follow some guide, you need to mimic someone's playstyle, too, which is anything but trivial/straightforward.

[Wicket W. Warrick]

The best build would be not playing a mage or sorcerer, since this is a game from another era and this choice probably means frustration and much more difficulty.

Anyway, again, with no preknoweledge of the game, I soul skip sorcerer, while a specialist mage would be a good choice, reading some guide you can choose the best for you.

Consider also that this is a party game, so you will have other NPC to cover some abilities.

About build.
STATs, I would put DEX 18-19, INT 17 or 18, CON 16, the others depending on total score, in a first walkthrough they don't matter much (probably I would take an average on all of them, with a strenght 13+ and a low wisdom, that is useful only on late BG2 for the wish spell).

SPELLS If you play specialist I would pick some spells of the school if possibile. I would choose between Spook, blindness , Charm person , greese, sleep . Magic missile is strong but from 5-6th level, so it can wait. Sleep is very useful at the beginning, but you can buy a wand and then recharge it quite early in the game, so it's only really useful until you get to high hedge and have enough money to buy it.
Later, since you almost have no limit, memorize all that you find except the find familiar, that you can use as a scroll.

WEAPON Not really relevant since you shouldn't fight. Darts can be a good solution or daggers that can be both melee and ranged, if you have an high strength value. I would pick up darts.

HOW TO START The beginning will be horrible. Even in Candlekeep you can have difficulties. Until you recruit some warrior you should avoid direct fighting: disable wth spells or flee. Then you should invest money in defensive equipement for warrior and later in wands (that you find in High Hedge, west of Beregost). Wands can be bought usually with 20 charges, but if after some use you sell them with some charges left and buy them again you find them fully recharged, 50-100 charges. The drawback is that they are more expensive. But it is always worth the cost. So save money, buy, use and recharge. At the beginning sleep and fear are the best ones (expecally the first that is really cheap), later paralyze, fireball and summon monster.

SLEEP Remember that any time you sleep you risk a random encounter, also if at lower difficulty the chances are low.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

One plausible choice of spells from each spell level in BGEE:

1: Blindness, Chromatic Orb, Protection from Evil, Shield, Spook
2: Web, Mirror Image, Invibibility, Knock (if no rogue is better at opening locks) else Blur
3: Slow, Haste, Remove Magic / or some of: Skull Trap, Melf's Minute Meteors
4: Greater Malison, Stoneskin / or some of: Spider Spawn, Emotion: Hopelessness

[Centurion]

Not to be too negative, but going mage for your first playthrough is going to be tough. Just getting from Candlekeep to the Inn, where you can finally recruit some fighters, won't be easy. You can rest after each fight, but in the wilderness you can be attacked by random monsters. And all you really have is Imoen's bow, because Xzar and Monty are not what I would call robust allies. Make no mistake, later in this game, to say nothing of the sequel, a pure mage/sorcerer is a titan of power. But for a newb to even survive the first chapters? An experienced player can solo a mage through the whole thing at LoB level. But the criticism of BG1 was always that is is heavy on melee and ranged combat and it is not until a mage reaches about Level 5 that you get into to some serious power spells. This is one reason why most guides stress multi- or dual-class mages.

There is another reason too. Low level mages get a few minor spells to cast at any time. No mistake, Sleep can take out low-level groups who you can then kill with ease. But once you run out of spells,... you just stand back hurling sling bullets while the NPCs do the real fighting. Like many, I like to see my avatar as the hero of the story. And heroes don't sit back and let their supporters do the fighting! (They also don't take the stairs.)

[Zero]

Originally posted by Centurion:

Not to be too negative, but going mage for your first playthrough is going to be tough. Just getting from Candlekeep to the Inn, where you can finally recruit some fighters, won't be easy. You can rest after each fight, but in the wilderness you can be attacked by random monsters. And all you really have is Imoen's bow, because Xzar and Monty are not what I would call robust allies. Make no mistake, later in this game, to say nothing of the sequel, a pure mage/sorcerer is a titan of power. But for a newb to even survive the first chapters? An experienced player can solo a mage through the whole thing at LoB level. But the criticism of BG1 was always that is is heavy on melee and ranged combat and it is not until a mage reaches about Level 5 that you get into to some serious power spells. This is one reason why most guides stress multi- or dual-class mages.

There is another reason too. Low level mages get a few minor spells to cast at any time. No mistake, Sleep can take out low-level groups who you can then kill with ease. But once you run out of spells,... you just stand back hurling sling bullets while the NPCs do the real fighting. Like many, I like to see my avatar as the hero of the story. And heroes don't sit back and let their supporters do the fighting! (They also don't take the stairs.)

And do you recommend normal difficulty or push for standard rules and adapt to it?

[Clockwerks]

Fighter/Mage is my favorite class to play, any suggestions against using it or a pure caster are silly. Wands alone will carry you through most of the dungeons just by playing peek a boom and running or popping off a lightning bolt and sidestepping. They're all equally viable, the differences are that some classes are better at wading into a sea of tards swinging and others are better suited to nuking the sea of tards until it is a quivering mass.

[Wicket W. Warrick]

Originally posted by Serenity:

And do you recommend normal difficulty or push for standard rules and adapt to it?

The difference is not relevant. If you want to play mage (or worse sorcerer), just understand how weak you are and try to avoid fights and melee.

Originally posted by Centurion:

But once you run out of spells,... you just stand back hurling sling bullets while the NPCs do the real fighting. Like many, I like to see my avatar as the hero of the story. And heroes don't sit back and let their supporters do the fighting! (They also don't take the stairs.)

I agree. But buying wands can be the solution. Also consider that at low level with 18-19 dex also ranged damage per round is not so bad (e.g with darts or even with daggers or sling if you have high strength), compared to other classes.

Originally posted by D'amarr from Darshiva:

One plausible choice of spells from each spell level in BGEE:

1: Blindness, Chromatic Orb, Protection from Evil, Shield, Spook
2: Web, Mirror Image, Invibibility, Knock (if no rogue is better at opening locks) else Blur
3: Slow, Haste, Remove Magic / or some of: Skull Trap, Melf's Minute Meteors
4: Greater Malison, Stoneskin / or some of: Spider Spawn, Emotion: Hopelessness

This is for a sorcerer build of course, I don't completely agree, but as you said earlier it all depends on play style. Without knowledge of the game is almost impossibile to do right choices.

[Zero]

Originally posted by stef.corsi:

Originally posted by Serenity:

And do you recommend normal difficulty or push for standard rules and adapt to it?

The difference is not relevant. If you want to play mage (or worse sorcerer), just understand how weak you are and try to avoid fights and melee.

Originally posted by Centurion:

But once you run out of spells,... you just stand back hurling sling bullets while the NPCs do the real fighting. Like many, I like to see my avatar as the hero of the story. And heroes don't sit back and let their supporters do the fighting! (They also don't take the stairs.)

I agree. But buying wands can be the solution. Also consider that at low level with 18-19 dex also ranged damage per round is not so bad (e.g with darts or even with daggers or sling if you have high strength), compared to other classes.

Originally posted by D'amarr from Darshiva:

One plausible choice of spells from each spell level in BGEE:

1: Blindness, Chromatic Orb, Protection from Evil, Shield, Spook
2: Web, Mirror Image, Invibibility, Knock (if no rogue is better at opening locks) else Blur
3: Slow, Haste, Remove Magic / or some of: Skull Trap, Melf's Minute Meteors
4: Greater Malison, Stoneskin / or some of: Spider Spawn, Emotion: Hopelessness

This is for a sorcerer build of course, I don't completely agree, but as you said earlier it all depends on play style. Without knowledge of the game is almost impossibile to do right choices.

Do you think Baldur's gate 3 will be as tough on normal/standard difficulties or will it be streamlined for masses?

[Centurion]

Originally posted by Serenity:

Do you think Baldur's gate 3 will be as tough on normal/standard difficulties or will it be streamlined for masses?

According to Wikipedia, Baldursgate wiki, and the Steam comments on the pre-release, BG3 will be a completely different game with only the setting (the city of Baldur's Gate) and some historical references tying it to the originals. It's a different developer, a different version of AD&D (5th ed. as opposed to 2nd), and you will be creating an entirely new character. So forget about BG3 being a continuation of the original games. Even the city is going to be designed not just around the original, but also tabletop games. And it is set 150 years in the future. The new game is more "inspired by" than a sequel. Think about how the Christopher Pine Star Trek movies are a re-boot of the original series and movies.

Given that it implements a totally new AD&D system and is 25 years newer, I would imagine it will be more streamlined than the originals, with easier inventory systems and more 3D graphics and such.

[Centurion]

BTW, if you really are totally new, and determined to be a mage-type, I would recommend lowering the difficulty even below Standard. You need to survive the first 4 areas. The nice thing about the game is you can raise/lower the difficulty at any time. Starting as a mage your learning curve is going to be brutal.

[wendigo211]

Originally posted by Serenity:

Do you think Baldur's gate 3 will be as tough on normal/standard difficulties or will it be streamlined for masses?

It's 5e, so it's streamlined. That said, Larian has never shied away from difficulty in their games, particularly at low levels; the opening areas of DOS and DOS2 are pretty tough on the higher difficulty levels.

When I played BG3 in EA, I thought its normal was a little on hard side for the genre; harder than Solasta at any rate. That said Larian isn't Owlcat, so don't expect that level of jackassery when it comes to difficulty.

I don't think the game will be good, but that mostly has to do with 5e and the limits the flat powercurve places on encounter design at higher levels, particularly for a CRPG. Larian is a solid CRPG studio.

[Wicket W. Warrick]

Originally posted by Serenity:

Do you think Baldur's gate 3 will be as tough on normal/standard difficulties or will it be streamlined for masses?

Dont' know, but it's a completely different game with different rules and mechanics. It can't be compared

Anyway, it's not the game to be tough, it's your choice to play as a mage. And not for all the game, only at the beginning. A berserker or an archer would be much easier.
It's just that you need to be aware that a mage al low level must be played differently than a warrior. Don't go melee and avoid fights when you have finished spells, until you find some warriors. Later in game you will be stronger, expecially if you save money for wands. You can do it, but if you don't have other reason than a nice picture, I would start with another class.

[Zero]

Originally posted by wendigo211:

Originally posted by Serenity:

Do you think Baldur's gate 3 will be as tough on normal/standard difficulties or will it be streamlined for masses?

It's 5e, so it's streamlined. That said, Larian has never shied away from difficulty in their games, particularly at low levels; the opening areas of DOS and DOS2 are pretty tough on the higher difficulty levels.

When I played BG3 in EA, I thought its normal was a little on hard side for the genre; harder than Solasta at any rate. That said Larian isn't Owlcat, so don't expect that level of jackassery when it comes to difficulty.

I don't think the game will be good, but that mostly has to do with 5e and the limits the flat powercurve places on encounter design at higher levels, particularly for a CRPG. Larian is a solid CRPG studio.

I guess you've heard the hype that it's going to be 'the greatest RPG of all time'

[wendigo211]

Originally posted by Serenity:

I guess you've heard the hype that it's going to be 'the greatest RPG of all time'

Hype is what the gaming media is all about these days. Wotc is also riding high these days with the popularity of Stranger Things, Critical Role and the D&D movie. At the very least it's going to be biggest western TRPG since Wrath of the Righteous, and the closest we've gotten to AAA quality in a western TRPG since Dragon Age: Origins. It's been a long time since we've had a game in this genre with production values from the same decade as its release.

This year has also been pretty miserable for PC releases. I think Hogwarts Legacy was the only major release that was actually playable on release, so the bar is pretty low for Larian.

At least it isn't as overhyped as Starfield. Like Cyberpunk 2077, there's no way that game isn't going to be a disappointment because it can't possibly live up to the hype.