Storm Sorcerer options. Unarmoured Agility vs. Leather Armour?

[Roseweave]

I've been playing a 1st level Hengeyokai Storm Sorcerer for a few weeks now and wondering what feats etc. I should take when I level up. I know I'll be taking Mark of Storm, Implement Focus, Improved Defenses, and some sort of AC feat.

I'm not sure when to take it or which one I should take - Unarmoured Agility or Leather Armour Proficiency. I think a bonus to Reflex would be better for the character but I do like the idea of just having an inherent bonus to AC regardless.

I'm facing a similar dilemma about taking the Storm magic feat that gives bonus to Lightning/Thunder damage which increases when bloodied or the dual implement spell caster - I'll probably only have room for one at Heroic. Would it be more useful to take Mark of Storm before damage feats if the party lacks a controller?

Should I focus on bonuses to hit or defenses? We'll be going to 2nd in a couple of weeks I think. I am concerned about survivability at low levels, but Storm Sorcerers aren't great Strikers at low levels so focusing on hitting and damage might make more sense. I'm mainly focusing on hiding and obscuring as defence, I'll be taking Deep Shroud at 2nd.

 

[masteraleph]

1) Before you take a lot of those feats, particularly Implement Focus, take the appropriate Expertise feat. +1 to attack is always better than +1 to damage. You also want a Superior Implement- probably Accurate, as boring as that is.

2) Practically speaking, they're relatively equivalent, though attacks targeting your Will tend to be worse for you than ones targeting Reflex. If you're using Daggers and not Staffs (with Staff Expertise), then definitely Unarmored Agility, because you probably want Shimmering Armor. Ditto if you eventually go into mid-Paragon as a Demonskin Adept, because you probably want a Robe of Eyes. Otherwise, Battle Harness and Parchment come in both cloth and leather, so use what you prefer.

3) See #1. You want Expertise and Superior Implement.

4) Storm Sorcerers, like all Sorcerers, get a big bump to damage at level 3 in Flame Spiral. Storm Sorcerers tend to be more survivable than others, because of the feature interrupt (most enemies aren't going to be dealing a huge quantity of lightning or thunder, or for that matter resisting it). I'm not a huge fan of Deep Shroud, and tend to prefer Spatial Trip for the teleporting, but none of the level 2 utilities for Sorcerers, or for their really good skills, are all that great.

 

[Roseweave]

Deep Shroud seems pretty amazing since at that level you're not using your minors for much and you're at a -5 to ranged attacks and -2 to Melee attacks as long as you sustain it, not to mention how useful it can be for party stealth etc.

I'm not sure I'll go with Flame Spiral. I know there's a ridiculous build you can do based around Flame Spiral but I want to avoid super cheesy stuff.

Since I have ensorcelled blade and a fair amount of mobility I'm not as bothered by not being able to make attacks in Meleé. Also isn't there a batter version of Shimmering Armour/Robe of Eyes that's available in both? I forget which one.

 

[MwaO]

There's a rare that's Greater Armor of Eyes. But Deep Shroud is a Daily power. If you're fighting the expected # of fights per day, not so great(4, but often only 3 in Heroic, 5-8 in Epic)

 

[Joshua Randall]

Unarmoured Agility or Leather Armour Proficiency.

Mechanically almost identical, so you choose based on whether you want to wear cloth or leather armor. Cloth has a few magic armors that leather doesn't (like Robe of Eyes), and vice versa.

You can even retrain based on magic armor availability as you level up.

the Storm magic feat that gives bonus to Lightning/Thunder damage which increases when bloodied or the dual implement spell caster

General optimization rule is to take feats that are 'always on' before you takes feats that are conditional. DIS is 'always on' (assuming you always dual wield, and why wouldn't you). But then again, so is Tempest Magic -- the fact that the damage bonus increases when you are bloodied is a nice add-on but not something you rely upon.

However something like Focusing Spellfury (+2 damage with melee/ranged but only after you hits 2+ enemies with an at-will) -- that's way too situational and you would never take it until you had exhausted all the other 'always on' feats.

Would it be more useful to take Mark of Storm before damage feats if the party lacks a controller?

Eh, I'm of the opinion that if your role is Striker, then be a Striker. Sliding the enemy 1 sq (Mark of Storm) is 'soft control' and pretty useful but it's not going to make up for the lack of an actual Controller in the party.

Also 'dead' is the best control there is.

Should I focus on bonuses to hit or defenses?

I'm a firm believer that offense trumps defense but this is an age-old debate.

Deep Shroud at 2nd.

Meh... it's a Daily and it doesn't help against enemy burst powers. Rock Armor might be better, that's resist 4 or 5 all (which is a lot at low levels) for one encounter per day and Slowed doesn't hurt you much.

Spatial Trip is awesome for positioning and getting out of grabs (or just bad placement). Good Timing if you want a Daily reroll so you can land a key attack.

 

[MwaO]

Eh, I'm of the opinion that if your role is Striker, then be a Striker. Sliding the enemy 1 sq (Mark of Storm) is 'soft control' and pretty useful but it's not going to make up for the lack of an actual Controller in the party.

That's missing something here:
If Flame Spiral is a Thunder power, then all kinds of things work on it. Including Mark of Storm.
That also involves taking Flame Spiral...

 

[Joshua Randall]

There's some setup involved in making Flame Spiral into a Thunder power though. And she was asking about a level 2 feat.

Edit: also in the case of sliding with Thunder'd Flame Spiral you are still attempting to apply the 'dead' condition, just using the slide 1 to do it.

 

[MwaO]

There's some setup involved in making Flame Spiral into a Thunder power though. And she was asking about a level 2 feat.

Edit: also in the case of sliding with Thunder'd Flame Spiral you are still attempting to apply the 'dead' condition, just using the slide 1 to do it.

Right. Just pointing out the reason why Mark of Storm gets called out for Storm Sorcerers is the assumption that Flame Spiral will be involved somehow.

 

[Roseweave]

I feel the flame spiral thing is a bit corny and kind of limiting for what you can build.

Deep Shroud is a daily but that's misleading as it lasts indefinitely as long as you use a minor action to sustain it. So you can have it active for an entire encounter, or the big party stealth scene.

OOI what sort of stealth bonuses should heavy concealment give?

 

[MwaO]

Deep Shroud is a daily but that's misleading as it lasts indefinitely as long as you use a minor action to sustain it. So you can have it active for an entire encounter, or the big party stealth scene.

OOI what sort of stealth bonuses should heavy concealment give?

None. It is what allows you to make a stealth check in the first place.

Also, you actually can't see through the heavy obscurement either. It is a cloud of obscurement, so you're not hiding the cloud from anyone - even if people can't see you, they see the cloud. Finally, not so hard to guess where you are as the cloud puts you in the center...