Quote:
Originally Posted by Stone Dog
Are missile spells practical after all?
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They can be, for the patient player who prefers to Concentrate, step around the edge of the fight, and then cut loose with a shot from the side or back. Also, when you're facing undead and demons with huge HT, Will, and/or Magic Resistance, you can just about forget about any other magic working – whereas with Missile spells, it all comes down to "Dodge
this!" This character is all about just blasting foes with big damage, and she gets to choose between electricity, fire, and light, so she can cherry-pick what hurts most.
There are no guarantees, but when her pals are healing, searching for secret doors, etc., she could look at "any amount up to
twice your level of spellcasting talent per second, for three seconds" and say, "That's 18 energy, less one for high skill . . . so 17 energy. Okay, I'll charge it up, take 9 from ER and 8 from FP, and be all rested up in 45 minutes with Recover Energy." And then she'd enter the next fight with an Explosive Fireball that does 9d burn ex. If that goes off in your hex, you're probably taking 31 points of large-area injury, or 15-16 even if you dive out of the hex.
It's also kind of fun when you realize that 3d missiles cost her two energy, so she can alternate summoning them and lobbing them for 12 turns before she even starts to get tired, and can be ready to do it again 30 minutes later. It's true that 3d isn't as impressive as some half-ogre's swing damage, but she gets to hang back and take potshots.
It boils down to player style.