Wizard vs Sorcerer

[Kasa]

Let's start with this, I've almost always played wizards first and formost. I love the idea that ANYONE can be a wizard with some time and effort. As oppose to the chosen one Sorcerer's feel like. That aside in th game are wizards actually worth it?

All knowledge checks are easily covered by a inqusitor, Sorcerer's can have charisma as a primary casting stat that works well on those occasional times your called for a check. There are too few spells to actually scribe into you spell book as a wizard so you more or less have the same number of known spells as a Sorcerer.

Wizards are suppose to be more versitile then a Sorcerer but that dosn't really seem true especailly in the game where you are on a time limit. You can't always sit down and rest just to relearn you spells for a specific encounter. As oppose to a Sorcerer you can take some generic spells and can easily cast them all day long and also have those really niche spells on the side for just in case senarios.

Am I missing somthing in general with wizards? I mean I really love the class but what it does and what people say it does doesn't seem to match up.

[Kasa]

I'm not actually talking about damage potential. A purple worm is just as dangerious at 1 hp then at 100hp. Better to buff the fighter to deal 4 more damage and let them go at it then wast a spell slot to do 10 - 25 damage once. That much I get, I was more refering to flexability. A sorc has all the spells on their list all the time. On PnP it could be argued that wizards could be more versitile if they get scrolls to scribe into their book. But in games (PnP or otherwise) where the DM dosn't drop scrolls or sells scrolls wizard seems like a poor sorc, and I say that coming from a place of love.

[GrandMajora]

In the PnP version of the game, I hear that Sorcerers are great because they get metamagic feats.

In the digital version of the game, EVERY caster gets gets metamagic feats. Sorcerers, Wizards, Clerics, Druids, Bards, Warlocks, Magi, est.

The only thing Sorcerers have going for them in video games is their ability to spam spells over and over. But even that's not as impressive as it sounds, because each spell level shares the same number of casting charges. If you cast Magic Missile, for example, it drains a charge from your Burning Hands and Mage Armor.


They also can't learn new spells effeciently, and have to do so as they level up. Where as the Wizard can learn virtually any spell as soon as they find a scroll for it. And as an added bonus, they can copy the scroll into their spell book, even if they can't cast the spell yet! I copied Fireball into Octavia's book when she could only cast up to the 2nd level.


So yeah, when it comes to video game adaptations, the sorcerers have never been that impressive for me. The only reason I ever saw to grab one was for Dragon Disciple, and now it seems like Eldritch Scion would serve as a better option to go with, due to being a martial caster!

[Grifta]

Sorcerer's are better in a for combat, Wizards are better for utility and fun weird things.

Sorcerer's also have great on-the-spot versatility (pick any of the spells you have), whereas Wizards have better overall versatility (add any spell to your known list, and leave a slot open to memorize it (Pen & paper thing))

Since this is a combat heavy CRPG, Sorcerer's are better. There aren't as many spells as the Pen and Paper, since most of the fun social and goofy spells have been removed along with crafting. This removes a lot of the benefit of being a Wizard.

[Kasa]

Originally posted by GrandMajora:

In the PnP version of the game, I hear that Sorcerers are great because they get metamagic feats.

In the digital version of the game, EVERY caster gets gets metamagic feats. Sorcerers, Wizards, Clerics, Druids, Bards, Warlocks, Magi, est.

The only thing Sorcerers have going for them in video games is their ability to spam spells over and over. But even that's not as impressive as it sounds, because each spell level shares the same number of casting charges. If you cast Magic Missile, for example, it drains a charge from your Burning Hands and Mage Armor.


They also can't learn new spells effeciently, and have to do so as they level up. Where as the Wizard can learn virtually any spell as soon as they find a scroll for it. And as an added bonus, they can copy the scroll into their spell book, even if they can't cast the spell yet! I copied Fireball into Octavia's book when she could only cast up to the 2nd level.


So yeah, when it comes to video game adaptations, the sorcerers have never been that impressive for me. The only reason I ever saw to grab one was for Dragon Disciple, and now it seems like Eldritch Scion would serve as a better option to go with, due to being a martial caster!

Actually in the PnP it was wizards who had meta magic. It used to be sorc needed a full round of casting to cast a spell with meta. Now all casters (included divine casters who use to need their own spelicized feats) can use meta magic with no problems.

An the exact same thing can be said for wizards when it comes to spells cast, a wizard with 3 spell slots needs to decide do they prepare 1 mage armor and 2 sleeps? or 2 sleeps and a summons monster. The difference is a sorc can cast all those spells without deciding what thy want a head of time and will be able to cast those spells more often as well.

As for learning spells that could be the cast where wizards with access to scrolls can learn MORE magic and higher level magic faster then sorc but the problem with that is:

1: It relies on scrolls being dropped by you DM
2: And or being able to buy scrolls in stores

As it stands now that there are about 6 or so spell scrolls you will find in the game that a wizard can copy into their spell book, and stores don't carry a wide variety of scrolls to buy for your wizard.

[OnlyOffensive]

Pick wizard only if you are really into mass abjuration buff ( but why would you do that on yourself ) and tanking with transform or cheap spells, which would be pretty late in game, otherwise i dont see it as alternative for sorcerer. Of course this is pure "pragmatic" wizards still can be fun and interesting probably even on hard.

Imo bloodlines are too good. I mean wizard pays 2 schools to get some kind of advantage, and sorcerer just get crazy stuff like incorporeal form, DR, resistances, not to mention dragons for free.

[Shadenuat]

Originally posted by Kasa:

You can't always sit down and rest just to relearn you spells for a specific encounter

You easily can and absolutely should. Nothing says Wizard like trivializing Stag Lord with Protection from Arrows Communal, to switch to blaster with fireballs for local fauna, later to spam summons as living wall to protect yourself from stat draining enemies and later to grab as many hold persons possible to stunlock some boss while hasting your party.

And with maxed INT and bonded item you have enough fireballs to be a solid blaster as well. Especially when you are a Scroll Savant and have 20 fireball scrolls in inventory. Octavia can take care of some extra stuff you might not have, depending on your prohibited schools.

As for dr/resists if you play well you don't need it. You're going to protect your whole party anyway if you want to survive stuff like wisps or enemy spells.

[Kasa]

Final boss for the chapter seems like the obvious exception.

[Entropy]

Originally posted by Kasa:

Actually in the PnP it was wizards who had meta magic. It used to be sorc needed a full round of casting to cast a spell with meta. Now all casters (included divine casters who use to need their own spelicized feats) can use meta magic with no problems.

It does increase the casting time though:
"Because the sorcerer or bard has not prepared the spell in a metamagic form in advance, he must apply the metamagic feat on the spot. Therefore, such a character must also take more time to cast a metamagic spell (one enhanced by a metamagic feat) than he does to cast a regular spell. If the spell’s normal casting time is a standard action, casting a metamagic version is a full-round action for a sorcerer or bard." https://www.d20pfsrd.com/feats/metamagic-feats

And in the video game, it does seem to take (with a Sorc) twice the number of seconds to cast a spell with metamagic, so it seems they implimented this rule. Has anyone else noticed this?

I haven't tried it with a Wizard, so I was wondering (in the video game) if a Wizard using metamagic on a spell had its casting time in seconds increased?

[Selvokaz]

the game doesn't have the huge spell list and thus versatility that makes playing a wizard so appealing, the best wizard archetype is also pretty much a clone of the best qualities of being a sorcerer, that is to say the Scroll Savant allows you to be a blaster wizard better, but in that case why not kill two birds with one stone and be a sorcerer from the get go?