Lazuli
Well-known member
Are you asking what's wrong with that build for new people without resources, after saying that they are going to have problems with the evocation DC? Really really?
Illusion is a horrible specialization for a new player without resources. Your only offensive spell, phantasmal killer, has two saves. As nice as it may sound to have two phantasmal killers (for the third one a new will have no points), they will never reach a decent DC. It's much easier to get a decent evocation DC that allows you to run dragon breath and your other evocations than it is to run phantasmal killer in a build without tomes or good equipment.
An archmage/necromancer is much, much more practical. Necromancy has three offensive spells, finger without the handicap of having two saves, and although circle of death does have two saves, at least it is an area spell and applies negative levels. You get Banshee at 17, not 30 like with Weird. You're hardly going to consider Weird a "leveling spell"! The devs haven't added it to the arcane list, as they should have. And don't forget that phantasmal killer has the same immunities as those three necromancy spells, and a few additional ones (those corresponding to mind-affecting effects).
With finger + soul trap you can kill selectively depending on the enemy's higher will or fort. . With Phantasmal Killer you don't have that luxury, you need to achieve no-fail against each enemy's highest save, and that's hard for a newbie.
Insightful reflex so late in the build is a bad idea. A new one needs it early, to help him with the traps whose location he will not know and with all those evocations that the kobolds and other mobs throw at you at low levels.
The distribution of enhancements also seems very bad to me. Ek is a waste in this context, better to invest into pale master for better cures (you haven't even finished putting all the points to the conduit!), and for the cores, which are much better than what you get with EK. Each PM core gives you +2 DC to a school, or removes the double light damage. Have you forgotten how much light damage as a pale master hurt before you got that buff?
The EDs, sorry, horrible. Draconic would be much much better, and I repeat, it is much easier to make those evocations work than the phantasmal killer. Raise shadowdancer to get evasion, +3 to a school, and shadowcaster, yes, it works very well (the cooldown reduction from draconic+shadowdancer is good for a wizard and evasion increases survival). But that's it.
The third ED, I would take exalted angel or magus, to get more spell points with the second core. Although be clear that magus is deeply bugged: Moontouched affects your phantamal killer spell but not the SLA, negative energy abilities do not break undead immunity if you have the MP enhancement, etc.
Yours will be a build to leveling, but, seriously, Perfect SWF at 31? Better to recommend that they look for 4 pieces of the winter set and get Spell specialty here--- here is the time to get the illusion DC if they really want it, although the truth is, a new one will do better in taking enchantment: the groups to which you join will expect you to have a functional hold monster mass before a functional phantasmal killer.
And if you really want to have a damage + DC (which I approve, a DC caster without damage is very rough to play without a group), Master of Knowledge is not the way to go. Grab at 26 Embolden, which will help with the DC of all your spells, and at 27 and 30 the Ruin feats. Introducing arcane blast into the spell rotation is a waste of dps. Even improved, that SLA damage is that of a level 5 spell. At epic levels you have spells that do more damage in rotation. Master of Knowledge takes time to stack up in significant numbers, while Ruin/Great ruin are immediate, have no save, do really good damage (bane as well), and are even better with the tier 5 draconic. And the ruins when arcane supremacy ticks are sooo sweet.
I could say more things, but I think you already have some things to think about.
Look, being a streamer doesn't mean recommending the first thing that comes to mind. That is like being a journalist who does not verify his sources or prefers to invent his article instead of looking for truthful information. If you are recommending builds for newbies and you don't know what you're talking about, check with people who know before streaming.
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Fisto, Heal skill is useful for pale masters, that is well chosen.
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