I have been following this build completely, and I seriously don't know what I need Illusion DCs for. Greater Color Spray? Literally this build focuses so heavily on Evocation that it feels nerfed without it. Most enemies are basically immune to Greater Color Spray late game, too. So it's basically useless for the build.
Hi
@Daleisme101 Thanks for your message.
I see where you are coming from: this build packs a lot in, so some things are not particularly obvious at first glance. Perhaps these comments/thoughts will help clarify things a bit:
- Spellsinger gives Illusion DCs for free, while boosting Evocation and Enchantment. This was one of the initial reasons to explore if there would be enough abilities that could take advantage of that
- Being hybrid, I knew it would be highly likely that I would use the Magewright set, as its set bonus boosts the DC aspect of the build. Even if I decided not to go with Illusion at all, one of the items of this set boosts Illusion DCs significantly (equipment and insightful bonuses)
- The Scion that would be most beneficial for this build is Feywild, and guess what: it boosts Illusion!
- CHA to hit and damage live in the Feydark Illusionist tree, and guess what: it supports illusion casting!
- All in all, it literally felt like I was pushed towards looking for Illusion stuff to take advantage of all this. It would have felt wasteful not to
So, during the planning stage, the key abilities that I pin-pointed to benefit from Illusion DCs are:
> Shadowdancer's 'Weird',
This is a mass insta-kill ability, very strong. This alone is a strong reason to invest in Illusion DCs, especially considering how spellsinger already gives Illusion DCs for free, so it's not like you are having to go way out there into 'less useful' trees to get some
> Greater Colour Spray
Another strong ability: no offense, but it is far more useful than you seem to realise, and it works very well in the endgame content, inc high difficulties. Some of its key benefits are in gold color:
(from Wiki)Enemies are sprayed with illusions of color, and must make a Will save or be Dazed,Blinded, and/or Silenced. The target must make a saving throw for each effect.
- Dazed effect by this spell won't be removed by damage, and render enemies helpless.
- Targets normally immune to Illusions (for example Spiders, Scorpions, Undead and Constructs) can still be blinded and silenced.
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Some further comments:
- helpless and blindness are highly desirable de-buffs
- this is in addition to (not replacing) Mass Hold. Considering how Mass Hold unfortunately has a very long cooldown, this is very welcome indeed
- it's particularly useful on things that are immune to Mass Hold, like undead and constructs
- it's range is longer than spells like Greater Shout, so you can cast from a slightly safer distance
- WILL save spells, in general, are very desirable, as it seems to be the least resisted by mobs
- each time you cast an illusion spell you apply a de-buff on your enemies:
> Feydark Illusionist's 'Twist Reality': Offensive Illusion spells reduce enemies' Will saves by 1 for 10 seconds. This stacks 3 times.
N.B. The level 1 bard spell
Color Spray does not cause helplessness, and is generally not as useful at endgame. I use it to apply the de-buff above, so I only apply quicken, and not heighten, Embolden, etc
Hopefully this clarifiies the reasons for the choices I made.
In the end, it is possible for different directions to be taken:
> Shiradi T5
> no investment in Illusion abilities (though the bonuses to Illusion DCs will still be there, for free, even if you decide to focus on Evocation or Enchantment)
I'd be keen to hear how things go if you do take a different direction with this build, if you don't mind sharing here of course! It is likely to help anyone who's interested in this build and wants to tweak it a bit
