Lot of ? about bigbys, SR, PM

[OneManArmy_ns3]

First of all sorry for n00bish questions but NS has again changed since i was playing and there is nothing more tricky than spells in a changing environment.
Before coming here and requesting your assistance, i tried by myself using old Sorc Build i used to play but it ended in a very predictable way : i screwed it up and now my 40 Sorc is to add in my OneMoreGimp list.

Questions :
- Which bigbyes are lifesavers nowadays ? I have lv5 and 7 (which were the only interesting one by the time) versions to decrease AB or hold a mob. But i've seen an other sorc knocking back some bosses that were immune to lv7 version. Is it a modificated lv9 version ?

- How is working PWK now ? It used to be pretty uber before HotU with the NS scripted version but now it just confuse me. iT used to kill Immune to death magic critter who were under 200 or 400HP (not sure, it was before HotU and lv 40 thingy). For example you could one shot Mefits in LP main.

- TS required time crystal which was a random drop. Now TS crystal seems to only drop from one area during the EC run (the zone just before Tulgilk revenge ... cant spell it)

- Mind fog still usefull or not ? Last time i tried, it lowered reflex by 10 and will by 3 or something.

- Summons i tried are all now post new epic area, IE completely useless (not talking about Starfall protector wich is not a spell). Am i wrong ? Cause taking the Epic spell "Mumy Lord" nearly made me fall from my chair and die of O_o

- More global questions : which spells are a must have now ? I'm not talking about the obvious one (Uber Ruins, Uber Hellball, nrj ray and burst etc) but i've seen that some bosses could be dazed or mazed (no mind immunity) and some mobs even controlled. This is definitively confusing =)

My brain is melting on my keys with all those ????? roaming in like a lost dog.

To finish, my last concerns are about PM lvs. It seems pretty uber to just use the three damaging shields and be immune to Crit hit/sneack and watch ur opponent die while u eat a nice Cheese cake (cant play cause cheese all over my fingers hmm k) but as PM lv arent added to SR mod, problem might be to take down those who fight like coward (me for instance) : mage and archer.

Thx for your time, thx for your patience.
Cheers
Guillaume

[DM Xero_ns3]

Which bigbyes are lifesavers nowadays ?

I tend to use 5,6,7,9 on my mages.

- How is working PWK now ?

It doesn't ignore death magic immunity, but the hp limit has been upped.

TS required time crystal which was a random drop. Now TS crystal seems to only drop from one area during the EC run (the zone just before Tulgilk revenge ... cant spell it)

I'm pretty sure it still shows up in your inventory on occation - just very rarely.

Mind fog still usefull or not ? Last time i tired it lowered reflex by 10 and will by 3 or something.

I was under the impression that the mob had to fail a save first to get the mind fog effect, which would make it fairly useless. Could be wrong though.

Summons i tried are all now post new epic area, IE completelky useless (noty talking about Starfall protector wich is not a spell). Am i wrong ? Cause taking the Epic spell Mumy Lord nearly made me fall from my chair and die of O_o

Casted summons are pretty useless right now. If you look elsewhere Fang said better summons are being considered, but that's certainly not a sure thing (and not necessarily comming soon).

which spells are a must have now?

Try build a wiz so you can experiment - there are some interesting ones that can get overlooked.

[OneManArmy_ns3]

Danke Xero. Very usefull.

[Forge_ns3]

I'll take a shot at a few:

Bigby's:

I like 5,6, and 7 in various situations. I personally, have never seen the lvl 9 version do ANYTHING very impressive. I know other people are very fond of it. Perhaps I'm missing something.. there are some who say that it will keep some enemies from healing, but I've never seen that. For me, I spend my lvl 9 spell slots on something else.

PWK:

It is still good. Definitely worth having while you are leveling to take out imps and such. I'm not sure if I'd recommened it as a final lvl 9 spell at your last sorc level though.

Time Crystals:

As far as I know, they can only be found in the location you mentioned.

Mind Fog:

I've never tried it. But, as Xero mentions, if a save is requried, it is useless.

Summons:
Create dead can be pretty useful at lower levels (pre-20) to serve as a tank. However, once you get into the higher level areas, summons are worthless.

Must Have Spells:
Neg burst
Ice Storm
Isaac's Greater Missle Storm
Mord's Disjunction
Mestil's Acid Sheathe
Bigby 5,6, and 7

PaleMaster:
You are correct... having a palemaster caster is very challenging because of the high SR on the mod. For that reason, there aren't that many PMs running around. I tried to make one once for PvP, but never finished levelling him because the SR was such a pain. You might could try making one for melee purposes... but AB would be tricky then.

Hope that helps.

[Charon_ns3]

The level 9 Bigby sometimes works when the level 7 one fails due to spell immunity and vice versa. Plus it's nice sometimes to have an extra 12 or 13 hands to grasp critters.

But most of the time I end up screwing myself with the lvl 9 one since it tries to do damage each round, which means you can't rest if you run out of spells...

[Kell Of Neversummer_ns3]

I know I still have time crystals showing up randomly in my inventory, about 1-2 a week.

I find it funny since I don't play mages, therefore have no use for them. But there is always a mage around that wants them.

[Alleen_ns3]

isnt the old old place to obtain Time Cristals still availible?
the one that gives you 3 Time cristals every 15 minutes?

[Jaeson Hawke_ns3]

Keep in mind that bigby is worthless if the person is immune to mind spells and knockdown : /

[Charon_ns3]

That's only true for 2/5 of the Bigby spells. The other three work great.