Sorcery Int Build and Off-Hand Questions/Discussion

[FearfulSky]

Hi

If you use +10 court sorcerer staff to cast sorceries, which item is best to offhand?

60 int - 7fth

Right now I am using Scholars Candlestick +10.

Would using Sage Staff +5 and casting the steady chant buff increase the damage of my court sorcerer casted spells more than using candlestick?

[Signeow the Cat]

Scholar's Candlestick. It provides a 25% boost to sorceries. That's larger than anything else in the game. It's practically mandatory.

[FearfulSky]

but what about the steady chant buff from the sage staff?

[Signeow the Cat]

For your primary, sure. It won't buff the Court Sorcerer's Staff, but it will buff itself. While it's up, the Crystal Sage's Staff is actually stronger than the Court Sorcerer's. But still, if you want maximum damage possible, you may as well still use the Scholar's Candlestick in your offhand. It provides the benefit even when you're two handing a staff.

[FearfulSky]

Ok i thought the sage staff buff applies to any spell you cast (even with other weapon). thanks :)

[Signeow the Cat]

Yeah, unfortunately what is required to make sorcery usable is pretty set in stone. Young Dragon Ring for 12% spell buff, Bellowing Dragon Ring for 20% spell buff, Sage Ring if you don't want to spend tons of points on Dex for cast speed, Offhand Scholar's Candlestick, Court Sorcerer Staff or Crystal Sage Staff, with the Dusk Crown as optional, if you want to risk extra magic damage taken in exchange for 10% more spellbuff.

[FearfulSky]

Yup that is pretty much my setup :) Most players die or have 5% life if i hit a soulmass + soul spear.

Also nice for PvE.

Thanks for your help!

[Signeow the Cat]

Glad to help. Though personally I find the soulmass and soul spear combo, while devasating, nearly impossible to hit against other players. Then again, I prefer to do fight clubs and duel summons. It is probably easier when invading. My current build is more of a battlemage. Heavy armor and a decent chunk of hp, with Great Deep Soul, Great Farron Dart, Soul Greatsword, Farron Flash Sword, and Farron Hail. I like to lead with the Great Deep Soul, since it's projectile is deceptive in its speed and to try to force them to roll when closing with me. Done right, they'll eat a Soul Greatsword and, usually, back off. At that point, I can chip them with Great Farron Dart if at range or try to trade hits with Farron Flash Sword if they don't back off. Farron Hail is surprisingly useful at getting chip damage in on someone who knows how to roll or on getting the very last hit, since its cone of fire is very large, even if the actual damage output is quite low. Plus, if you freeaim it well, you can predict where people are going to roll and have most of its darts hit them when they get there.

[FearfulSky]

I havent even tried Great Deep Soul, I will do it today.

I usually spam soul arrows or farron darts whenever I can and they are out of melee range.
Always have soulmass up.
If they come close, farron sword or roll back.
Try catching them with soul spear if there is an opportunity.
And if they walk away/try estus i will spam crystal hail.

And in invasions/ganks I sometimes chameleon, soul spear + undead hunter charm, then either farron sword em or spam some farron darts. Ultimate trap for noobies.

It has worked OK so far, but some invaders that stay close and roll a lot in duels are hard to dispose of. Id say I usually win any invasions and most duels right now. But Im not that experienced in this game...

[TrueArchery]

It didn't cross your mind yet to use the staff in the offhand and whatever support tool you need in your main hand, right? That way you have BOTH steady chant and the passive equipment buff.

The Scholar's Candlestick has been nerfed shortly after launch, it buffs spell damage by only 12.5%

Wielding both the court sorcerer's staff and the crystal sage staff and using the crystal staff weaponart will buff BOTH staffs. It's stronger than the candle stick but obviously requires the setup and FP, without the buff it's weaker.

[FearfulSky]

Originally posted by TrueArchery:

It didn't cross your mind yet to use the staff in the offhand and whatever support tool you need in your main hand, right? That way you have BOTH steady chant and the passive equipment buff.

The Scholar's Candlestick has been nerfed shortly after launch, it buffs spell damage by only 12.5%

Wielding both the court sorcerer's staff and the crystal sage staff and using the crystal staff weaponart will buff BOTH staffs. It's stronger than the candle stick but obviously requires the setup and FP, without the buff it's weaker.

did u test it? im getting so much info and none is the same. some people are telling me sage staff longer buffs both staffs and it was a glitch that has been fixed? idk i cant test it right now...

[Signeow the Cat]

I just checked the wiki and it seems I was wrong. You CAN wield the Crystal Sage Staff in the offhand and use its buff on your main hand staff, which should be the Court Sorcerer Staff. The Sage buff grants a massive 40% extra spellbuff. My apologies for the bad information. Considering that, plus the nerf of the Scholar's Candlestick to only 12.5% spellbuff, as long as you can spare the time and mana to apply the sage buff, it wins in the raw power department over the Candlestick as an offhand.

[FearfulSky]

So if it works I can probably 1 shot most invaders considering that currently they are ALMOST dying without sage buff.

[FearfulSky]

Since you guys are here now and this is a int sorcerer related thread. My pure caster stats now @111:

Vigor-27
Attunement-40 (i like my spells xd)
Endurance-25
Vitality-11
Str-7
Dex-12
Int-60
Fth-7
Luck-12

Rings: Sage+2, Young Dragon, Bellowing Dragoncrest (Last ring I swap sometimes, silvercat, obscuring, prisoner chain, magic clutch for pve)

Crown of Dusk + some light fashion gear

Using only sorceries so I dont need STR or anything. Cast speed capped with sage ring.

What do you guys think I should level up? I think I will go to 133 (in 120 SL range but gives me some more points since I feel like i need as many as possible)

So 22 points to spare...if i equp sage staff my equip load is 17.3/51 (33.9%) so I need a bit more vitality for sure I think.

[Plox]

For last ring you could use RoF+3 as an allrounder, otherwise just pump Vigor and End if you dont plan on using any melee weps.

[Signeow the Cat]

Maybe consider using Lloyd's Sword Ring instead of the Magic Clutch Ring, in some situations. Extra Vitality would be a decent choice, I'd say. More armor is good, considering most sorcerers are pretty fragile. On my SL 99 sorcerer, I got enough vitality to wear Morne Armor, Black Knight Gauntlets, and Black Knight Legs with Ring of Favor equipped. I traded out Endurance to do it, but that is mitigated by the Ring of Favor, too. Generally, I do not like the Prisoner's Chain at higher levels, since it provides flat stats, which I do not believe is worth the absorption penalty. Also, what do you use as a backup weapon, in case you run out of mana and don't have time to use Ashen Estus?