Preview: The Sorcerer

[Vael]

I see Sorcs becoming one of the most racially focused classes. Because extra damage is based on the secondary stat, players are going to want 18s in CHA and either STR or DEX. This really limits your racial choices, but it will keep the Sorc's defenses comparable.

 

[yesnomu]

I haven't read the whole thread (ENW is sooooo slooooooooooow for me at the mo, almost unusable) but I just had to put in my 2c on the At Wills...again the Wiz looks like rubbish. This is a striker with more controllery AW than the Wiz...C'mon Arcane Power publish already!

Naw. They don't get a ranged burst, and their close blast only does damage. No at-wills create zones or add status effects. They do more damage, but they ought to, of course. The wizard's role is safe from the sorc, at least.

 

[deleteme123456]

I'd want at least 14 con for the extra surges / HP, plus hide spec at paragon.

I'd probably build a 16 STR / 18 CHA (16/14/13/8/10/18) D'Born Dragon Sorc.
Level 1: Leather

After that it's hard to say... if there are actually good feats in PHB2 / Complete Arcane for offense, it might be temping, but on the other hand, defensive feats open to us:


Light Shield
Heavy Shield
Hide
Weapon Prof: Parrying Dagger

That's +6 AC from 5 feats (including leather), which ought to get you strong enough to survive the front line. Admittedly 5 feats is a crapload. So don't take them all if you don't have to. The sword & board fighter has 7 (scale) + 2 (shield)... [we ignore advancement, with AV armors it scales about the same]. We start at level 1 (assuming leather) with 5 (leather + 3 STR). So we need more (all of the above) to catch up, or we can aim for something a little lower, since normally I figure being 2 behind the fighter is good enough, since the mark will offset it. But you could build this as a serious tank if you wanted. And you might want to with all those close bursts.

As far as powers go, I'd take Dragonfrost over the wizard's Ray of frost any day. Push 1 is often as good as slow. Lets your ally use a move action for something other than shift.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

The sorcerer's extra damage does maybe about the average of the other classes extra damage abilities. While the Warlock is the only PHB1 striker class that didn't get an upgrade feat (like backstabber or lethal hunter) to their extra damage ability, but I'm sure that's coming shortly enough.

Compared to the Warlock, the warlock seems to have better defenses (leather + int as a secondary). And getting concealment almost every round adds a lot to it. I think at this stage they've made the Sorcerer better at straight out damage, and the Warlock better at inflicting conditions.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

It makes me wonder what some of the other spell sources for sorcerer's might be. I can definitely see new spell sources for new builds in Arcane Power, much like how wizards will get new implements, warlocks new pacts, bards new virtues, swordmages get new aegis'.

I guess aberrant spell sources could be a possibility, even if aberration stuff sort of goes near the psionics power source or the star warlock territory. Astral spell source could be another, and I don't think it'll infringe on any divine classes.

 

[Plane Sailing]

I wonder whether the sorcerer will prove attractive to the many people who feel that the wizard is underpowered, since it is basically doing the wizardy 'thing' (magic zaps!) but is causing more damage with it.

Of course, I suppose there is still some waiting for wizards to get a little more controllery (whatever that ultimately turns out to mean!)

Cheers

 

[bganon]

The Dagger Implements are also a bit strange, if you will go into melee you will certainly not depend on such a week weapon (besides rogues) and only use it offhand, so why not just give them a Wand like most other Arcane users?

I think sorcerers NOT having wands as an implement is an important balance issue, for two reasons:

1) Since sorcerers aren't an arcane class that uses wands, sorcerer encounter powers can't be put into wands. Nobody else gets those blasty sorc powers without multiclassing (poor warlocks).
2) Sorcerers themselves don't have the flexibility of being able to just pick up a wand of mire the mind and blast away, at least not without multiclassing.
EDIT: upon closer reading, maybe they -can- use the wand's power, but they won't get any implement bonus from it.

I suspect multiclass sorcerer/warlocks (sorclocks?) will be enormously popular anyway, but they'll probably mostly be using pact daggers (or maybe dual-wielding rod/staff?).

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I wonder whether the sorcerer will prove attractive to the many people who feel that the wizard is underpowered, since it is basically doing the wizardy 'thing' (magic zaps!) but is causing more damage with it.

Of course, I suppose there is still some waiting for wizards to get a little more controllery (whatever that ultimately turns out to mean!)

Cheers

so later this year it would be wizard for status effects, sorcerer for damage...

sounds like multi classing the two will be popular.... how hard is it for Int, Cha, and dex/orStr to all be good stats...

 

[garyh]

I was kinda disappointed that there wasn't any use of Con in the Sorcerer. I've got an Infernal Warlock, and I'd love SOME other class out there to eventually be Con based as well. In the meantime, I'm multi-ing Wizard using my secondary stat.

 

[Zaukrie]

I just realized my primary issue with 4E.

All the classes use the same mechanic. They all have the same at wills (in terms of numbers). The sorcerer no longer has the ability to know lots of stuff, but cast less of them. This makes all the classes too similar for me somehow. I love 4E, this isn't a rant, just an observation.