Starting a Sorcerer

Introduction
A Sorcerer is an arcane spellcaster, similar to a Wizard, but with a few key differences:
 * A Sorcerer learns spells instinctively, unlike a wizard that learns by studying.
 * A Sorcerer's spells are powered by his/her Charisma and can require components to be cast.

Also, keep in mind that Sorcerers can cast Repair spells, healing Warforged characters without the penalty imposed on Cure spells. The Sorcerer has a very limited selection of simple weapons, and usually only wears cloth armour. Heavier armour incurs a chance of arcane spell failure. These factors typically force the Sorcerer out of melee to the back row, contributing to battle with their ranged spells and/or bow/crossbow.

Specific Pointers
Your Charisma fuels your spells. It dictates how strong your spells are (their DC, or Difficulty Check) and how many bonus Spell Points (SP) you get. Since no initially available race gets a starting boost to Cha, there is no obvious choice for your sorcerer. Human is possibly the best starting point as they get the Human Adaptabilty enhancement to add to their Charisma. Elf and Halfling are popular choices for their Dex racial bonuses. Warforged can self-heal with repair spells but suffer lower Charisma and Dwarves have penalties to Charisma and no real benefits for a sorcerer.

Once you have a character with 400 points of Favor, you can create a Drow. Drow get a bonus to Charisma allowing them to start with a score of 20.

Attributes
Strength is typically not a useful stat for sorcerers. Some sorcerers might increase their Strength in order to haul more loot without becoming burdened, and others might increase it in order to be more resistant to strength sapping effects, like Ray of Enfeeblement, Ray of Exhaustion, or ability damage to strength.

Dexterity helps a sorcerer to avoid being hit in melee combat by any of the many enemies who may become enraged by your damaging spells and charge past the melee combatants to attack you. It also helps to protect you from becoming helpless from ability damage to dexterity. The AC or Armor Class bonus from Dex soon becomes irrelevant as you tackle higher level monsters, but the bonus to Reflex Save is considered by some to be valuable.

Constitution is always helpful for any character. More Constitution equates to more hit points, and a higher Fortitude save.

Intelligence affects a sorcerer's skill points. Higher Intelligence allows more skills to be boosted, but few sorcerers choose to boost Intelligence higher than 12.

Wisdom affects a sorcerer's Spot skill and his Will save. Higher is better, but very few sorcerers have a Wisdom score higher than 12. Will Save can be greatly increased by taking the Force Of Personality feat.

Charisma affects a sorcerer's casting ability. Higher Charisma leads to higher spell point totals and higher DCs for the spells you cast. The great majority of sorcerers start with 18 or 20 Charisma. (20 is only available to Drow elves and 16 is the maximum available to Warforged.)

Feats
Sorcerers get no bonus feats in DDO. At level 20 they will have 7 Feats in total. (8 for Humans)

Feats sorcerers will find useful include:


 * Empower Spell - Increases damage done by 50% and costs 15 extra SP
 * Extend Spell - Increases spell point cost by 50% and increases duration of spells by 100%
 * Maximize Spell - Doubles listed damage and costs 25 extra SP.
 * Spell Focus - Selected for a type of spell, it makes that type harder for enemies to resist or ignore.
 * Greater Spell Focus - Selected for a type of spell, it makes that type harder for enemies to resist or ignore.
 * Spell Penetration - Gives you a bonus against enemies with Spell Resistance.
 * Toughness - Gives bonus hitpoints and allows the Racial Toughness Enhancement

Feats sorcerers might find useful include:


 * Quicken Spell - Increases spell point cost and allows you to cast a little more quickly, with no chance of interruption
 * Combat Casting - Allows you to cast while moving at full speed. Without this feat, you can move only at half speed while casting.
 * Enlarge Spell - Increases spell point cost to double range at which spell can be cast
 * Eschew Materials - Increases spell point cost and allows you to cast without material components
 * Mental Toughness - Increases available spell points.
 * Improved Mental Toughness - Increases available spell points.

Skills
Many skills can be useful to a sorcerer, under the right circumstances. Plan ahead, before you make the character, as far as which skills you'd like to be able to use.

Concentration is higly useful. It will allow you to cast spells while being hurt. If you take damage while casting, you have to roll a Concentration check, and the higher your bonus is, the better your chances to succeed. Failure means you used the spell points but the spell did not come into effect.

Diplomacy is highly useful. It can allow you to convince enemies to leave you alone. If the party runs into a large group of enemies and one or more of them comes after your sorcerer, you can activate the Diplomacy skill to convince them that some other member of the party is a bigger threat, and they will leave you alone.

Use Magic Device allows the sorcerer to use race restricted equipment designed for another race or alignment, and allows him to use scrolls and wands made for Divine casters such as Paladins and Clerics. Sorcerers do not need a Use Magic Device check for Arcane magic scrolls and wands.

Balance allows a character to get up faster after he's been knocked down in combat. Since preventing the knockdown requires either high Strength, high Dexterity, or the divine spell Freedom of Movement, investing in this skill can help you to stand back up sooner after some creature does knock you down.

Bluff allows your character to convince certain NPCs to do something for you, or to give you some information. It is rarely useful, but when it is useful, it can sometimes save significant amounts of time. With a Sorcerer's high Charisma, a few skill points at most is usually sufficient.

Haggle will allow you to purchase supplies at slightly lower prices and will improve the price you get for items you sell to vendors.

Spot allows you to see enemies who are hiding before they are on top of you and attacking. Some creatures are easier to see than others, but even a few points in spot can make a difference.

Enhancements
Your Sorcerer Enhancements are geared towards boosting your spells, including extra spell points and the Charisma boosts, enhancements for whatever spell or spells you find yourself using most.

Elemental spells like Scorching Ray and Wall Of Fire or Ball Lightning and Acid Fog can be strengthened with the Elemental Manipulation, Lineage Of Elements and Lineage of Deadly Elements enhancements. Spell Penetration can be improved as can Metamagic SP costs.

Racial Toughness enhancements can be a large percentage increase in hitpoints for a sorcerer

Most commonly, sorcerers will take enhancements that maximise their damage and offensive capabilty. You can always reset your enhancements for a small fee, so play around and see what works for you.

General considerations
The consensus opinion on starting Charisma seems to be that a starting score of 16 to 18 is necessary. Starting with a Charisma score of 18 (or 20 for Drow) maximizes a sorcerer's starting save DCs and grants a few bonus spell points. The spell point advantage is minimal, but the higher save DC is very important. Having a higher DC for all of a sorcerer's offensive spells reduces the chance that enemies will succeed at full or partial saves, making the sorcerer more effective overall.

Another school of thought on the subject of having a high Charisma says that in the point buy system, a score of 17 or 18 uses too many resources to be worth the benefit. Proponents of this line of thought believe that spreading stat points around more will make a more effective character overall at the cost of having a lower spell save DC.

Warforged inherently have lower Charisma which would normally make them a poor choice. They make up for this with their powerful racial immunities and arcane self healing ability.

Conclusion
As a sorcerer, you will know a very small number of spells, but you will be able to cast them rapidly and you will have more spell points at your disposal than any other class. In some situations, no class is more desired than a knowledgable sorcerer.

Arcane spells fall under one of five categories:

1. Offensive spells like Magic Missiles and Burning Hands, every arcane caster needs some kind of offensive spell if they plan on doing any damage that wont result in their quick death.

2. Buffs (spells that aid yourself and your allies) such as Haste or Cats Grace, Stoneskin or Shield.

3. Debuffs (spells that hinder enemies) such a Ray of Enfeeblement, Bestow Curse or even Break Enchantment (can be used to remove curses/magic effects from your party or buffs from your enemies).

4. Repair spells that can heal Warforged (keeping yourself alive sometimes means keeping other party members alive first).

5. And finally crowd control spells such as Web or Deep Slumber, this type of spell limits the number of attacking enemies or at least hinders their approach.

Sorcerers are one of the most powerful classes in game and easily have the highest potential to inflict damage. Choose your spells carefully as you level up, and you can be one of Stormreach's Elite.

First Character
(N.B this is an older recommendation from back when the level cap was 14 and is not up to date with level 8 and 9 spells, feats and levels 15-20), but should still give an idea until an updated version is done very soon. (i.e. writing it now...)

Race: Human

Ability Scores
Str: 10 You won't be winning arm-wrestling contests, but you will be able to continue casting after a hobgoblin spell-caster hits you with a Ray of Enfeeblement, and you'll usually be able to carry as much loot as you want.

Dex: 10 You won't be dodging any fireballs, but you will be able to keep moving after some unruly creature has hit you for Dexterity damage, and you won't take any pesky AC penalties for low Dex.

Con: 10 You won't be trading punches with minotaurs in Stormcleave, but you will have enough hit points most creatures won't be able to kill you in one hit.

Int: 12 You won't be doing any long-division in your head, but you will have a few extra skill points to spend on things that may help you in the game.

Wis: 10 You won't be mediating a peace settlement in the middle east, but you won't take any pesky penalties to your Will save from a low Wisdom modifier.

Cha: 18 You will be suave, debonaire, and confident. You will have as many spell points as it is possible to have at the start of the game, and your save DCs will be as high as they can be.

Skills

 * Concentration - You need a high Concentration to cast spells while under fire.
 * Haggle - The higher your Haggle is, the cheaper your material components are, and the cheaper any robes or weapons will be at the brokers.
 * Spot - The higher you Spot skill is, the sooner you will see the enemies. The sooner you see them, the more likely they won't see you.
 * Use Magic Device - Use Magic Device will allow you to use magic items built for other races or alignments. You can use arcane scrolls and wands without this skill, but it comes in handy for certain items later in the game.

Feats

 * At first level, Mental Toughness (for extra spell points) and Empower Spell. (to boost the damage dealt by an individual casting)
 * At third level, Spell Focus Conjuration. (to make your Niac's Cold Ray hit more often. That one spell really is worth it, too.)
 * At sixth level, Extend Spell. (to make Haste last longer. Not all Sorcerers do this, but it's an excpetionally good choice most of the time.)
 * At ninth level, Improved Mental Toughness. (for even more additional spell points)
 * At twelvth level, Enlarge Spell. (for Cloudkill and Phantasmal Killer. Invaluable.)

Spells
I'm not going to tell you which spells to take, as that depends very heavily on your play style. Pick a few of these, and if you find that one is less useful than you thought it might be, go back to the trainer and pay a small fee to replace the spell with another one.

I will list off a few of the spells I find most helpful.

Level 1 spells:
 * Burning Hands, Chill Touch, Expeditious Retreat, Feather Fall, Jump, Magic Missile, Niac's Cold Ray, Repair Light Damage, Sleep

Level 2 spells:
 * Blur, Bull's Strength, Glitterdust, Knock, Otto's Irresistable Dance, Resist Energy, Scorching Ray, Web

Level 3 spells:
 * Displacement, Fireball, Halt Undead, Haste, Heroism, Hold Person, Lightning Bolt

Level 4 spells:
 * Bestow Curse, Charm Monster, Dimension Door, Enervation, Force Missiles, Phantasmal Killer, Remove Curse, Solid Fog, Stoneskin, Wall of Fire

Level 5 spells:
 * Ball Lightning, Cloudkill, Cone of Cold, Hold Monster, Summon Monster V

Level 6 spells:
 * Acid Fog, Chain Lightning, Disintegrate, Flesh to Stone, Greater Heroism, Shadow Walk, Summon Monster VI, Tenser's Transformation, True Seeing

Level 7 spells:
 * Delayed Blast Fireball, Finger of Death, Hold Person, Mass, Otto's Sphere of Dancing, Waves of Exhaustion

Enhancements
I recommend choosing the Charisma boosting enhancements, the Spell Point boosting enhancements, and then choosing spell boosting enhancements. I wouldn't recommend taking skill or wand enhancements. These are even cheaper to change than spells, so try out things that sound useful and change them out any time you think of something different to try

Sorcerer, Straight up
Str: 10 +0 to hit and damage. You suck at melee, but what is the Kobold you just flamed with Burning Hands gonna do about it? At least you wont get overloaded too quickly.

Dex: 14 +2 to AC and Reflex Saves. Dexterity is important because you are an unarmored target with few hitpoints.

Con: 12 +1 to HP/level and Constitution Saves. Goldilocks for a Sorceror

Int: 8 -1 Remember you are not a Wizard, but it is nice to boost your Concentration/Tumble every level. Want skills? Roll a Wizard instead

Wis: 11 +0 Your spells don't require Wis, but who needs to give Kobold Shamens an easy target for their Curse spells? 11 allows you to take one level of Cleric if you want to take the ultra cool Divine Vitality feat as your Turn Undead ability will be quite useless but your Charisma gives you plenty of turns to convert to spell points for fellow magic users in the party.

Cha: 17 +3 to spell DC and social skills. The only thing you'll need as a Sorceror, though it is nice to be well balanced. Luckily in DDO +1 Ability bonuses in your class ability are not too hard to come by so have no worries, this is even better than taking an 18 to start

Another sample build
Human Sorc
 * str 8
 * dex 14
 * con 14
 * wis 8
 * int 8
 * cha 18

Bonus stat points into cha.

Feats

 * 1 mental toughness
 * 1 luck of heroes
 * 3 toughness
 * 6 imp mental toughness
 * 9 fortitude +2 / toughness

Spells

 * 1 magic missle, burning hands, shocking grasp, expeditious retreat
 * 2 web, scorching ray, ottos resistable dance, repair moderate
 * 3 fireball, haste, hold person, suggestion*
 * 4 phantasmal killer, bestow curse, repair critical*, charm monster*
 * 5 hold monster, cloudkill*, cone of cold*, break enchantment*

Enhancements

 * Fire damage
 * sorc's cha
 * human's cha (if you get a bonus from it, lightning damage if not)
 * sorc's energy

Skills

 * Concentration
 * Diplomacy cc
 * Tumble (Two points, rest in dip)