why are orbs good again?

[Particle_Man]

Unfortunately, there are no encounter spells with "save ends", so you are stuck with using Dailies for the Orb.

Well it is the capstone power, but an Archmage at 30th level can treat one daily, say Legion's Hold, as an encounter, for Orb goodness.

 

[drachasor]

Well it is the capstone power, but an Archmage at 30th level can treat one daily, say Legion's Hold, as an encounter, for Orb goodness.

Best to retrain for Orb at 30 then. If that's the case.

 

[Rith the Wanderer]

Honestly, more troublesome is how much trouble Wizards seem to have hitting things at higher levels compared to people using weapons.

I have not played at higher levels, but this seems like it shouldn't be the case. The various defenses tend to stay pretty steady in comparison to AC (around 3 less, just enough to cancel out the proficiency bonus). Are higher level melee characters just attacking non-AC defenses often? Or are they grabbing bonuses from places that the wizard can't get them from?

 

[Roxlimn]

I think that the Blood Mage's Destructive Salutation is better for Orb usage if you're going to be facing small groups of enemies at that level. But really, THE spell to use for treatment as an encounter power is definitely not Legion's Hold but Shape Magic.

That way, you can choose which of your Dailies you regen at your discretion, and still double up on Legion's Hold (or whatever) for NOVA power.

 

[Rith the Wanderer]

I think that the Blood Mage's Destructive Salutation is better for Orb usage if you're going to be facing small groups of enemies at that level. But really, THE spell to use for treatment as an encounter power is definitely not Legion's Hold but Shape Magic.

That way, you can choose which of your Dailies you regen at your discretion, and still double up on Legion's Hold (or whatever) for NOVA power.

While I would like to be able to do something like that as well, a spell as described in Archspell is defined as an Arcane power. Shape magic is not an arcane power (weird, I know, but look at the write up). So technically you can't do this RAW, and I think this may be the reason shape magic isn't an arcane power.

 

[Zurai]

But really, THE spell to use for treatment as an encounter power is definitely not Legion's Hold but Shape Magic.

Shape Magic is not a spell.

 

[drachasor]

I have not played at higher levels, but this seems like it shouldn't be the case. The various defenses tend to stay pretty steady in comparison to AC (around 3 less, just enough to cancel out the proficiency bonus). Are higher level melee characters just attacking non-AC defenses often? Or are they grabbing bonuses from places that the wizard can't get them from?

Well, I've only read some people looking things over, and it seems Wizards (and Warlocks) have problems because other classes have access to more things that increase to-hit values. It's a bit easier for them as they gain levels. I've read a few cases where people have looked at this and defenses at high levels, and it seems like it is a bit of a problem. Maybe it doesn't matter much if you have another class helping you hit things though (like a Warlord).

 

[Graf]

The orb option is good enough that there are people who believe that not only should you keep Sleep from levels 1-30, there are even those who think you should have a higher Wis than Int.

I'm not one of those people, but it is an extremely powerful effect... and really, the only other choice is to invest in Con. You do get 2 points at every stat bump.

At low levels, keeping cloud of daggers going an extra round each encounter can easily be worthwhile, especially if you have a tide of iron fighter or positioning strike rogue. You can really play ping pong with those two and thunderwave...

That said, I'm not big on either the sleep spell or the tactic, but there is a valid reason people like it.

It is the only control class feature outside his powers the wizard gets, and all

Pingponging? Not worth the effort.

You're going to do an extra, what? 4 points of damage.
Better to move the monster someplace tactically sound.

 

[Roxlimn]

Wow. I didn't realize that the lack of the Arcane keyword meant that it wasn't a spell. That's weird, but considering the application I was thinking of, that actually makes sense. I still think that for Orb purposes, it's probably better to use it on something like Destructive Salutation for better Solo performance (stun and damage in the same spell).

 

[Old Gumphrey]

Best to retrain for Orb at 30 then. If that's the case.

You can't "retrain for orb" at any point in the game. You can retrain powers, skills, or feats. You can start with orb, or you can never have orb.