Lev30 DD vs lev34 DD

Saab · August 07, 2004, 03:08:18 PM

Hi all...

I see most of you posting here are 65+..so this is irrelevent to you, but I wanted to share something that was helpful for me...

At lev 15, Blast of frost was a lot fizzles, but got my skills up over time in EVO, which seems my hardest skill to raise, to maybe 30..then lev 30 Spirit Strike..I was hoping to raise more and do more DD...Spirit Strike..jeeesh! That thing fizzled 99%...so went back to BVlast of frost..didnt seem to be able to raise beyond like 60 skill. But still total fizzle fest on the Spirit Strike...! By this time I made level 35, and was hesitant about I ce Spear the lev 34 DD spell we get. But I figured what the heck..it costs less, does more, maybe, just maybe..I can cast it.

MAn...I can cast the BETTER I ce spear 99% of the timeand back to getting skill ups now in EVO, even tho if I try the Spirit strike..still fizzle!

So, in my experience, dont even bother with the lev 30, Spirit Strike, and go to I ce Spear..does 150DD, and costs less - 50 mana, and the biggie..it will cast most of the time!

Tastian · August 07, 2004, 05:09:02 PM

Yeah the level 34 nuke and the whole line of ice/frost/shard/spears own. The level 30 nuke is a shaman spell, the level 34 spell is a beastlord spell hehe. Now you see why so many people like the ideas of us getting our own things. A spell that is built for a class that gets specialization and gets it many levels earlier doesn't usually translate over too well to us. I personally used dots to pull with early on and didn't use evoc at all until I got the 34 nuke on my last beastlord hehe. You hardly fizzle and the skill just maxes over time. Now if only they'd throw in an early level beastlord dot to raise conjuration.

Oneiromancer · August 07, 2004, 06:37:32 PM

Yeah, what Tastian said. Look out for Beastlord-only spells...they have a much lower casting time and fizzle rate in general. The ones we share with other classes are nice but are intended for much lower levels, as he said.

Invisibility is the worst offender...we get it at level 49...and so you will fizzle it like there's no tomorrow if your skill isn't up to par, since the fizzle rate is tied to the level YOU get the spell, not the level other classes do. Work on keeping your Divination up...Invisibility will still fizzle a lot even above 180 skill. =/

Game on,

Tastian · August 07, 2004, 10:39:02 PM

Frenzy is another one that gets people a lot. I always wished they would have just made beastlord special versions of those spells. Even with high divination the spells fizzle a lot and you see some beastlords picking up mastery of the past rank 1 just so they don't have to deal with fizzling those spells again.

Oneiromancer · August 07, 2004, 11:20:45 PM

Frenzy is Abjuration though. And yeah, I have Mastery of the Past 1, but I didn't really want to bring that up since you need to be 61 to get it and the OP is not really close to that yet. :)

Game on,

Tastian · August 08, 2004, 02:32:35 AM

Since when do on these boards care about the OP? lol I consider it great when a topic gets answered before the thread goes off on a rant hehe. 8P

Saab · August 08, 2004, 06:33:22 PM

/waves Thanks for the input , brothers, ( and maybe sisters - dont know if any of you are )

Tastian, you mentioned Specialization...which reminds me ..I had a question...do we get specialization?..and if we do..how do we invoke it? And what is best for BST's to choose...

Thanks again, all

Saab - 38 - hopefully 39 TODAY! ( I want my new pet etc...!!! The best Server....Firionia Vie )

Tardar · August 08, 2004, 06:41:31 PM

No, we don't get specialization.

Dakat · August 10, 2004, 06:19:29 AM

One thing you should check is your Wisdom. Lower wisdom, is tied to fizzle rate, if I remember correctly. Lower it is more chance to fizzle.

Another is spell cast proficiency. A reason your skill is so low, is for lack of casting the spell. Your skill in casting the spell at 15 is 80. 1 level gives 5 skill levels. Including level 1 + 15 x 5 (per level) = 80. At level 34 your max skill level is 175. If you are at 90 persay, then it's perfectly understandable why you fizzle so much.

If you never trained in the skill could be another problem. When you train the skill, it will automatically put your skill level even to where it should be for the level you receive it.

Another factor, channeling. It's also a skill that is used when casting any form of spell. Casting a spell on the run, while moving, having a possibility of continue casting.

Lastly, I just wanted to mention that the level 15 and level 30 spells are of the same type. After casting them, they have a 2 sec recast time. Whereas the level 34 spell has a 30 sec wait time.

I can recommend 2 things. First, Cast the lowest form of that spell type frequently during fighting. Second, you should have a few skill training points reserved. Spend some of them to raise your skill. After a certain level, it does require platinum. If its worth it to you to not fizzle so much, spending 100pp to get the skill up would be a good choise. Since 100pp is easy to come by.

Taiglin · August 10, 2004, 01:14:33 PM

"When you train the skill, it will automatically put your skill level even to where it should be for the level you receive it."

I always thought when you trained a skill you hadn't it gave you a skill level equal to your current level (ie train skill at 30 and you skill level is 30). Been so long since I have started a new toon though that I might be remembering wrong.

Tytallia · August 11, 2004, 06:46:42 AM

(Old timey mode engaged) Back in the day the first Evocation spell we got was Spirit Strike at 30 and that was after hiking 5 miles up a hill in the snow... with my lazy warder riding piggy-back.

What is said above about beastlord only spells having less fizzle rate is totally true. What I did was use what I used not worrying about Divination or whatever and when I hit 44-45 (whenever our casting skills cap out at 235) I sat down and made hotkeys to cast a spell 5 times and just spent 4 days straight begging/buying KEIs and casting spells until all 5 skills were maxed. Don't worry too much about keeping all 5 maxed as you level up, but somewhere around 45-49 you really should get them maxed. I can't stress that enough because even when I had max Div casting Invisibility in public was guaranteed to get me ridiculed. Oh gawd and the AC buff /shudder

Eatbugs · August 11, 2004, 07:52:58 AM

The BST-only DDs have large fizzle modifiers attached so they're much easier to cast. (The ones we share with Shaman were designed for a class that has specialization and generally cares more about wisdom than any other stat, so they fizzle a ton with a low-casting-skills, low-wisdom hybrid, particularly at lower levels.)

The excitement is gone these days, but I remember them being a real thrill to cast when they finally went in. Woohoo! A DD that doesn't fizzle 50% of the time! :shock: