Icy Evoker

This is a pretty straightforward sorcerer build. Armed with tremendous firepower and self-healing, this build can easily be at the top of the kill counts without a heavy investment in unique gear.

The important thing to keep in mind about Savants is that they are SPECIALISTS. You will be an awesome damage dealer within your chosen element, able to dish out more punishment than anyone else, however your instant-kill spells (like Finger of Death) and enchantments (like Mass Hold or Sphere of Dancing) will be weaker, and between your main and back up element spells you won't have a lot of buff spells other than the critical ones. Because of your high spell points and effective yet low SP spell-like attacks, you'll be able to deal tremendous damage without having to worry about running dry when it counts

Level 20 True Neutral Warforged Sorcerer Savant 20

Hit Points:

Spell Points:

BAB:

Fortitude:

Reflex:

Will:

Ability Scores
You definitely want to keep CHA and CON as high as possible (CHA is a sorcerer's casting ability of course, and CON is not only important for HP but also used for the DC on their tier III ability) You really only need STR for carrying capacity, with a +6 item a base of 8 should be enough. DEX is important only for Reflex saves, and frankly you'll probably never get it very high without relying on gear. You should have decent Fortitude saves (from high CON) and Will saves (from good Sorcerer base) so I'd develop WIS more than STR or DEX to capitalize on that. INT isn't bad if you want to develop your skills.

Feats
To fill your role as arcane artillery, and to fulfill the prerequisites for Savant, your feats pretty much choose themselves.


 * Level 1 Empower Spell
 * Level 3 Toughness
 * Level 6 Spell Focus: Evocation
 * Level 9 Maximize Spell
 * Level 12 Heighten Spell
 * Level 15 Greater Spell Focus: Evocation
 * Level 18 Spell Penetration, Spell Focus (choice of secondary), or Arcane Initiate

Extend Spell is no longer as useful as it was, since many DOT spells now have fixed durations. It is still good at low levels for extending standard buffs, and short-duration buffs like Haste, Rage, and Displacement still benefit from it, but overall I found I can live without it at higher levels, so you can either skip it, or take it early and swap it out later as you prefer.

Toughness is something you definitely want at some point, but when you take it is mostly personal preference. Personally I like to take it early on, but a lot of people leave it for 18th and do just fine.

Quicken is not terribly useful for sorcerers, you have faster casting times as it is, and while being uninterruptible is nice, frankly I've only encountered a couple situations where it would have made a difference, and I always found ways to work around it.

Either Spell Focus: Evocation or Spell Focus: Conjuration are required for the tier II Savant enhancements, looking over the spell lists the vast majority of your damage dealers will be Evocation, although a fair number of other spells are Conjurations. Alternatively you can substitute Arcane Prodigy (sorcerer past life), although personally I think its a poor choice compared to either Spell Focus (+1 DC is better than a handful of spell points; you'll have more than you know what to do with by the end)

If you have Wizard Past Life, the Arcane Initiate feat (+1 to all spell DCs) is well worth taking, I would use it to replace the Spell Penetration/Secondary Spell Focus choice, otherwise I'd go with Spell Penetration; it made a noticeable difference in landing Finger of Death and Otto's Sphere spells. If you have good Spell Pen (from past life feats or equipment) then boosting the DC in another school isn't a bad idea.

Skills
You'll have few skill points, and almost all skills are cross-class for you. Keep Concentration maxed out. You'll thank me when you are swarmed and HAVE to get that Wail or Reconstruct launched to save yourself. After that it comes down to personal preference.

Don't worry about Jump, you'll get +30 from the spell, just get a +10 or better item and you'll be maxed out (I have a pair of Feather Fall Boots of Springing +10 that I crafted).

Balance is a good one (you won't avoid getting knocked down, but good Balance lets you get up quickly). Again, a +10 or better item will generally suffice however.

Because of your high CHA you may want to develop one of the "social" skills like Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate. Some quests require people with a high score in one to talk to an NPC to complete optionals (Partycrashers comes to mind). Diplomacy isn't a bad choice, most things that aggro me don't survive long enough to be an issue, except in epics where it can save your arse.

Use Magic Device is another handy one; although being a warforged means you can use arcane wands/scrolls to heal, its not bad being able to use Raise and Cure scrolls on teammates. Theres nothing quite so satisfying as Raising the cleric after hearing him whine about what a PITA healing warforged are, after you soaked that meteor swarm that took him out :D.

Enhancements
I won't go into much discussion about enhancements because its so easy to respec them; at early levels investing in Wand & Scroll Mastery is a good idea, then you can abandon them later on. Generally speaking you want to max out the enhancements for your primary element, and take the damage boost lines for a secondary element, as well as the Force line (I don't bother with more than the first tier of the critical chance enhancements, just the main damage augmentation)

I choose not to take the second tier of WF Constitution and last tier of Racial Toughness because the high cost (8 points) would have forced me to give up too much. Best case I would have gained 30 hp (20 if the extra +1 CON puts you at an even number, 10 for the last tier of racial toughness), which is nothing to sneeze at, but I would've lost a lot of damage potential, which is what a Savant is all about.

Note the specific list below is for a Fire Savant with a secondary in electrical; simply swap out the enhancements to your chosen element as appropriate.


 *  Flame Manipulation VII (damage bonus)
 *  Combustive Spellcasting V (critical damage bonus)
 *  Deadly Flame VI (critical damage chance)
 *  Sorcerer Fire Savant III
 *  Storm Manipulation VII


 * Sorcerer Energy of the Dragonblooded II
 * Sorcerer Improved Maximize II
 * Racial Toughness III
 * Warforged Constitution I
 * Sorcerer Improved Heightening I
 * Warforged Inscribed Armor I
 * Sorcerer Wand and Scroll Mastery I
 * Sorcerer Improved Empowering I
 * Sorcerer Charisma III
 * Force Manipulation VII
 * Repair Manipulation I
 * Sorcerer Bloodline of Power Capstone

Spells
A lot of people are under the impression a Sorcerer is just a Wizard with fewer spells and more spell points, but Savants turn a sorcerer into what they should be, a specialist. Without the extra feats and versatility of the Wizard, you really need to focus on what sorcerers are meant to do; dump massive amounts of damage. Many of the instant-kill effects are enchantment or necromancy based, which is more wizard territory, but no wizard is going to be able to compete with the sheer dps a 20th level savant is going to be able to put out within his own element. I'm not saying ignore finger of death or otto's sphere of dancing, just keep in mind they will never be as effective for you as they will be in the hands of a Pale Master or an Enchanter.

When selecting spells remember you get spell-like abilities that will be your main attacks at levels 6, 12, and 18. Also keep in mind your opposition element will have a -9 caster level penalty by 18th level. You want to keep some variety of damage types, but you need to remain focused to be truly effective. You may need to rely on items to get your enchantment/necromancy DCs to workable levels, this depends on your build and preferences, but as a Sorcerer you want to focus on damage spells

The Spell lists below are for a 20th level Water Savant. Keep in mind that as you level up you'll probably want to make other choices and swap out as you go. Don't be afraid to experiment, your exact spell list will evolve to match your personal style of spell slinging.

Level 20 Water Savant Spell List
 * Level 1 Spells; Nightshield, Protection from Evil, Magic Missile, Jump
 * Level 2 Spells; Resist Energy, Ooze Puppet (or Invisibility), Blur, Knock
 * Level 3 Spells; Rage, Acid Blast, Displacement, Haste
 * Level 4 Spells; Stoneskin, Dimension Door, Ice Storm, Fire Shield
 * Level 5 Spells; Break Enchantment (or Cloudkill), Cone of Cold, Niac's Biting Cold, Eladar's Electric Surge
 * Level 6 Spells; Disintegrate (or Otiluke's Freezing Sphere), Chain Lightning, Reconstruct
 * Level 7 Spells; Mass Protection from Elements, Finger of Death, Otto's Sphere of Dancing
 * Level 8 Spells; Polar Ray, Summon Monster VIII, Otto's Irresistible Dance (or Horrid Wilting)
 * Level 9 Spells; Mass Hold Monster, Energy Drain, Wail of the Banshee

I wouldn't bother with Repair spells until you can take Reconstruct - they aren't really worth the trouble, you're better off sticking with pots, wands, and scrolls until then.

Ooze Puppet may not seem very important, but you can use it against the hated Living Spells as long as you can get past their SR, if you prefer to just blast them Invisibility is a very handy alternate.

Although I'd love Freezing Sphere (its an ice fireball basically) Chain Lightning gives you an excellent non-cold alternative (for facing cold-immune enemies). I don't like giving up Disintegrate, which is awesome against golems, cubes, and casters, as well as most other elemental-immune types. Experimenting will find the best balance for you.

Summon Monster VIII = Air Elemental. 'Nuff said

One of the things I hear a lot is "Why don't you have Greater Heroism?!?!" First off, its a level 6 spell, (means you give up reconstruct, chain lightning or disintegrate, none of which I'm willing to do) also while anyone can use +4 saves, overall it is primarily a melee buff, and therefore falls outside my domain.

Update: I realized I don't use Banishment much at endgame, its useless in Shavarath and most other places pure damage/wail is just as easy, so I swapped it for Mass Protection from Elements, and replaced Protection from Elements with Cone of Cold and am MUCH happier for it.

Equipment
I don't like gear-dependent builds, since not everyone has access to all packs, and even people that do aren't interested in grinding for specific gear. That said there are definitely some things to keep your eyes out for as you level up, as well as more commonly available equipment to always have on hand.

Scrolls & Wands

These will get you through the lower levels before you have much in the way of spell-like attacks, and you find your SP pool draining quickly. Always keep a half-dozen attack wands of various types on hand, and keep stocked on Repair wands/scrolls/pots.

Eternal Wands deserve special mention. These are wands that recharge themselves over time (recharging completely when you rest.) You get one for free at character creation, and there are a number of others to find throughout the game. Three particularly good ones are the Eternal Wand of Acid Splash from Waterworks, the Cacophonic Verge from Red Fens, and the Wand of Blasting from Diplomatic Impunity.

Also keep a variety of "utility" scrolls on hand - scrolls with spells that are largely unaffected by the low fixed caster level/DC, such as Teleport, Greater Teleport, Invisibility, Mass, as well as Reconstruct for emergency heals. If you have decent UMD, carry some Raise Dead as well. Look for spells that you'd like to have, but aren't willing to spend a slot on (often because you just don't need to cast them that much)

Weapon

By weapons I mean spell boosting items that you'll be wielding. If I ever see you meleeing as a sorcerer, I will revoke your caster privileges permanently :P. Get the best Potency item you can to wield in your off hand, and that lets you swap out wands or other boosting items in your main hand. There are a huge variety of spell boosting items out there, bother random and named. Potency boosts all damage spells but you can also get ones that boost your DC (focus items) or criticals (Lore items).

Crafting a greensteel CHA boosting weapon should be a high priority, you will NOT regret it. I made an Existential Stalemate II Dagger with +6 INT/+1 Exceptional CHA/+2 Exceptional CHA (I was already getting +6 CHA off a ring) the aspect powers include WIS +6/+10 Haggle/+10 Diplmacy, and Concordant Opposition (chance of regening SP when hit) making it an incredibly versatile item (remember your spell DC is based on your CHA mod, so anything that boosts it is great)

Docents

As a warforged you have a variety of great caster docent available to you. Here are the ones I'd try to stockpile.
 * Diabolist's Docent - ML 2 - Summon Monster III, Int +3, Conjuration Focus - Chronoscope
 * Blademark's Docent - ML 5 - +3, Life Shield, Invulnerability - The Tide Turns
 * Docent of Acid - ML 8 - +3 Docent, Conjuration Focus, Acid Resistance, Superior Corrosion IV - The Pit
 * Gorgon Docent - ML 8 - +4 Docent, +4 Constitution, Earthen Guard, Gorgon Breath 3/day - Eyes of Stone (Coin Lords chest)
 * Elfcrafted Docent - ML 10 - +3 Docent, Evocation Focus, Arcane Lore, Minor Spell Penetration VII - 20 Ancient Elven Relic Turn in
 * Frostflame Docent - ML 12 - Greater Fire Lore, Greater Ice Lore, Improved Fire Resistance, Improved Cold Resistance - Attack on Stormreach chain
 * Blue Dragonscale Docent - ML 14 - +5 Docent, Potency VII, Greater Arcane Lore, Spell Penetration VII, Greater Lightning Resistance - 25 Blue Dragon Scales Turn in
 * Dragontouched Docent - ML 16 - (this one you customize with Runes, there are some decent options for casters out there) - Stealer of Souls
 * Quorforged Docent of Battle - ML 18 - 5 Docent, Reinforced Plating +2, Constitution +6, Improved False Life, Will Save -2, Suppressed Power - The Mindsunder
 * Quorforged Docent of Battle (unlocked version) - ML 18 - +5 Docent, Reinforced Plating +2, Constitution +6, Will Save -2, Superior False Life, Toughness - Dreaming Dark

The Blademarks is a great low level docent, and by the time the Invulnerability becomes obsolete (around level 10) you can hopefully upgrade to the Elfcrafted, its a great one that will see you well into higher levels. My personal favorite at endgame is an unlocked Quorforged docent, the Will penalty is a small price to pay for +6 CON and +60 HP. Also its pink, which goes well with my feathered pirate hat. My guildmates don't refer to me as the Pimpforged for nothing.

Misc Equipment

There are some nice unique named items out there, ranging from extremely easy to extremely difficult to acquire, as well as being able to fill in the blanks with some custom crafted equipment. Greensteel Items Cannith Crafting Items
 * Korthos Island Item Sets; these are ML 1 from the Korthos quests Sacrifices and Misery's Peak.
 * Arcane Mind Set (CHA +1, 15% set bonus to 1st level spell damage)
 * Archivist Set (Necklace is a Minor Mnemonic Aid clicky)
 * Chronoscope Raid Item Set
 * Might of the Abishai Set - ML 5, when you have all 5 pieces you get caster level bonuses to Evocation and Conjuration, as well as bonuses to stats and Resistance 10 to everything except sonic. VERY handy set to have.
 * The Red Fens Item Sets - These are all ML 7, and some offer some really nice bonuses.
 * Shaman's Fury Set (CHA bonus, Evocation Focus, and 30% bonus to level 1 thru 4 elemental spell damage)
 * Lordsmarch Plaza Quests - The basic set comes from the F2P chain, the marks to upgrade it comes from the Attack on Stormreach p2p chain.
 * Wrath of Sora Kell Set - (ML 11/ML13 upgraded - Greater Potency VI and stat/skill bonuses)
 * Greensteel CHA Boosting Weapon - The two best are either a Positive II weapon (CHA +6/Excep CHA +1/Excep CHA +2; Raise Deady clicky) or my personal favorite a Stalemate II (INT +6/Excep CHA +1/Excep CHA +2; WIS +6, Conc Opp). If you go for the prestige set you'll get CHA +6 off a ring, and a Stalemate II gives you nice extra bonuses.
 * Greensteel HP Item - some people like a Stalemate II HP item, for the WIS bonus and Conc Opp power, I'm planning on a Mineral II for the Con Skills bonus and Heavy Fortification.
 * Greensteel SP Item - I'm planning a Positive II item, for a sorc will be +600 SP (when you factor the double SP bonus) and +6 CHA skills, plus a Raise Dead clicky and Greater Disruption Guard.
 * Greensteel Immunity Goggles - Its very common to make a pair of Negative II goggles with Blindness/Fear/Poison/Disease Immunity and Deathblock on them. As a warforged if you have another item with Deathblock you could get away with just Blindness Immunity goggles, but with so few decent goggles choices its handy to have.

Generally I use Cannith crafting to "fill in the blanks", to gain specific powers not provided by other items, sometimes just until I get my hands on some hard-to-get named item that will replace it. There are limits to what you can make, but if you can grind your crafting level high enough (or have a friend that will make you unbound shards) there are some great options. Be sure to look for base items with a Guild Augment Slot if you can use one; our guild is high enough level to allow Medium slots, which means bonuses like +15 HP or +60/+120 SP, nothing to sneeze at!
 * Enhanced Feather Falling item - Feather Falling by itself is just ML 1; I have a pair of boots with FF and a +10 Jump bonus, as well as a medium guild slot.
 * Greater Spell Focus item - I made bracers with Greater Evocation Focus and Resistance (Fortitude +5), also planning a Greater Conjuration Focus Trinket of Fire Absorption 33%.
 * Saving Throw boosters - ALthough I never finished it (because I made the Stalemate II dagger) one of the items I planned was a WIS +6 necklace of Resistance (Will +5) with a medium guild slot - would be a total +9 to Will saves!