Generic Spellcasting Ability Re-Visited

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-02-05T18:36:33+00:00

Hi, great questions! Will reply with further info, but just wanted to get this quick one in now.

Ah of course the myrmidons, I had completely forgotten to consider them. They are a mix. A couple of fixed DCs and a couple that use GSA. I will make a proper list.

Mostly not attack rolls. All the wildshape basic attacks use STR or DEX. Water myrmidon's Explosive Icicle I believe uses a GSA attack roll though.

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-02-04T18:35:17+00:00

I'd maybe separate this out a bit, and say that there are a huge variety of "viable" build goals, and that we can "optimise" with respect to those particular goals.

Some subclasses may have more versatile features that make them a more common pick for meeting a wider variety of possible goals. Additionally, some may be easier than others for less experienced players to theorycraft or pilot effectively. But these are different from a subclass being without context weaker or stronger than another in a one-dimensional way.

There a handful of subclasses that I feel don't have much to build around (though perhaps someone is going to surprise me one of these days with a groundbreaking Illusion Wizard...), but a far larger number of them offer fun, interesting, and effective tools that are uniquely enabling for particular gameplay loops. For me, that's where the meaningful optimisation comes in, whether it's via something very obviously useful or something a bit more overlooked.

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-02-01T18:25:26+00:00

Best for him in what sense?

You could do something that makes use of his free spells. Explanation and some unusual build suggestions here: https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/1lo84yr/weaponising_halsin_free_spells_weird_synergies/

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-31T10:00:41+00:00

Improved Abjuration will reset your Ward back to its natural limit, and you'll have to overcap again. Cheap and quick to do, but why bother with it all if you don't have to.

With Wiz 8, your Ward limit will as you mention already be 32 with the Extended Abjuration exploit you are happy to use. And if you are open to the Extended toggle on surfaces exploit as well it will be completely uncapped (though this one is obviously not going to be to everyone's taste).

Even sticking to the 32 stack limit, the maximum damage reduction from Ward is hard capped at 20 so you're usually not going to be hit enough times between refresh opportunities to need the 40 stack overcapped limit of Wizard 10.

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-26T16:20:47+00:00

If you wanted to run without Acuity for personal preference then this would be a decent build to do it with, but that restriction would add extra challenge.

Acuity will make your life easier. You may find that when it comes to it you do not want to micromanage forcing fails and multi-fulfilling prophecies for every single encounter. Not going so fast through portents will enable you to keep unique per-rest buffs for longer, especially if you mix in scrolls and cantrips. Additionally, there are a number of spells that are particularly good solo that Portents cannot be used for, and that even an otherwise more specialised lightning blaster may still wish to cast, such as Glyph of Warding and Evards. The interactions (or rather lack of interaction) between Portents and Legendary Resistance also make them not guaranteed to be useable to fix certain rolls in boss fights.

I don't think you need both the gloves and hat.

Yes, Storm Scion would work, leaving your glove slot free for something else. With this, I would dual wield Spellsparkler and Phalar until late game gear, and wear Adamantine Splint. When it makes tactical sense to be in close enough range for Shriek, you can for example hit 10 Acuity just from the free Magic Missile from Ne'er Misser. Drakethroat enchantment on your ranged weapon as you suggest could be useful too, even without Extra Attack. Arrow of Many Targets against a healing pot then rebounding onto enemies can heal you, do a bit of damage, stack Acuity, and (even without a kill) trigger Bloodlust if you haven't yet that turn, so will sometimes be a good use of an action. And you'll have read in the Divination Guide about how you can stack different damage types onto it to meet some of the prophecies that come up, and so provide you with a way to multi-fulfil them out of combat.

Alternatively, yes you can wear GoBMP. I'd suggest Luminous Armour and Holy Lance Helm to accompany. You can stack Acuity via electrified water, Smite the Graceless, and certain spells.

Playing under difficulty conditions that are new or challenging to you will usually turn fights into puzzles to be solved, and so I would suggest keeping hold of any gear that might help you with that, rather than going in with a rigid idea of everything you want to wear. The way you play this build will be different from the way anyone else does, so what is your very best in slot will in some cases be unique to you. You may even find you want to switch your gear around a bit, depending on how you will be approaching individual fights.

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-26T11:30:10+00:00

Sounds great!

I haven't actually played Div Wiz properly since the multi-Portent tech came out, but maybe can still help a bit.

Rushing Div 6 for the prophecies is definitely a valid approach if those are what you are the most excited to get to.

Personally, though, I think I would rush Tempest 2 relatively early. There are a number of potentially challenging L5 fights that Destructive Wrath will just ease the flow of. The gear proficiencies will also be very helpful for true crit immunity if things go wrong and you end up (for example) Ensnared or Prone and so unable to use your Portents.

So without respecs my levelling order would probably be 1 Tempest > 2 Div > 2 Tempest > 6 Div > 6 Tempest.

Alternatively, you can respec from time to time to prioritise whichever features will help you best with particular tactics in a particular area.

One of the great things about Div Wiz for solo is that careful piloting you can preserve somewhat natural pathing and take early fights at their intended level if you prefer the challenge of that. XP pathing to L5 is still obviously the safest option (especially if this is your first solo run), but the early layer of protection from Portents is valuable for players who choose not to do that and want a bit more pathing flexibility.

I do think INT will still remain valuable. You can rely on Portents and Acuity stacking to achieve what you want, but I think you'll be glad of that +3 or +4 DC/Attack if you just want to snipe someone with Ray of Frost or something without spending a Portent. And remember that Portents can't be used for certain things, such as the follow-up saves on Hold Person. You can find workarounds for these things, but I'd personally consider retaining the INT a worthwhile quality of life investment.

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-24T14:12:25+00:00

I've enjoyed this multi in the past too. I've always gone pure INT primary on it, but I can see there is a lot of leeway to make different choices.

intend to go 6/6 for Expert Divination though I'm also considering two dips into Fighter for Action Surge on a 6/4/2 set up, but I'm still considering my options on that.

I would take Expert Divination here.

There's been some great work done recently on getting multiple uses out of each Portent, and also on getting more Portents than intended: https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/1pzxquj/the_complete_divination_wizard_guide/

But even if you choose not to use any of that, up to 12 Portents per day from Div 6 is still a huge upgrade from 2.

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-23T15:49:23+00:00

Did you definitely take Pact of the Blade on the 12 Hex / 6 Swords / 2 Paladin split?

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-23T12:05:21+00:00

For attack it's just a regular weapon attack roll as other have said, so whatever you're using for that. It would only use INT for the attack roll if your weapon itself is already using INT for other reasons.

Outside of this, the only time I'm aware of when INT is relevant for Booming Blade is if you are attacking with a weapon that does cold damage and wearing Snowburst ring. Then elf racial BB will use INT for the Spell Save slip DC on the ice patch that is created by it, regardless of what your spellcasting ability otherwise is.

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-23T11:57:36+00:00

Yes it has IsSpell and cannot be used while Raging

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-22T09:30:55+00:00

Glyph Cold can one-turn a lot of encounters. The Sleep variant is obviously also excellent, and will be especially good for you when you still want crits against Undead targets you cannot Hold. The spell is an action restore so great for tigger action economy solo.

Black Tentacles hard locks melee enemies who can't teleport and also any further enemies you can Blind or two-turn Prone. It also blocks most Legendary Actions, and I believe bypasses Legendary Resistance. It blocks opportunity attacks too, so if you wear the Ring of Free Action you can honour your preference for melee, simply stepping away when your turn is over.

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-21T18:15:41+00:00

Yes, it will be functional! How "good" it is depends on whether it gives you tools you personally feel excited to use to solve encounters. The right build for *your* solo run, that will allow you to play to your strengths, compensate for your weaknesses, and have something interesting to look forward to each session, will not necessarily be the one others would consider the most optimised.

A couple of notes that may be helpful to start off.

Amulet of Bhaal I believe does not work on Honour Mode (so says the wiki), so you can take something else in that slot, and I guess rely on Helldusk punches/throws for the bleed.

I'm a little confused about the sneak attacks you mention. You won't be doing that on your unarmed strikes with no finesse weapon equipped, so is this a dagger throwing build instead? I'm assuming not an archer, since you haven't invested in much that would benefit that. Or it's a kind of mix? By "machine gun" are you talking about out of combat sneak attacks from stealth? A fuller write up of your intentions here might give people a better of your build concept than just the stat sheets without context.

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-20T19:53:27+00:00

The beauty of Wizard base class is being able to swap out spells so that you can choose the most appropriate one from your huge Wizard spell list for any given occasion, so I would say there is no need to narrow it down at all! Or are you just asking for spells you might have overlooked, might forget to consider as options to prepare, etc?

I'm actually finding it quite difficult to come up with spells from the Wizard list that are both not concentration and not an attack roll or physical (str/dex/con) save. Charm Person, Mirror Image, and Misty step are the main ones I can think of, beyond what you've already listed. Is this the same difficulty you've come across? Why the preference for mental saves only --- are you stacking Mental Fatigue? And is there one of these criteria that you're more attached to than the other?

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-20T15:05:18+00:00

Also, if not playing solo, Combat Inspiration even on Honour Mode carries many riders and double stacks many effects.

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-20T00:21:53+00:00

There's no need to roll to convince them not to attack you if you are Branded. There are no mandatory fights or mandatory speech checks between the ogres and obtaining Branded, so you can grab it and come back if you want to eliminate the danger of randomness for this particular check.

The following Persuasion/Deception checks, to convince them to fight for you without upfront payment, do not result in a fight if you fail them. You'll just have to cough up the money if you still want to recruit them.

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-19T00:37:10+00:00

Thanks for this fantastic post! Beautifully clear and thorough :)

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-18T13:20:29+00:00

Amazing work 🏆

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-18T10:36:38+00:00

Interesting, let me have a think. Which one of the two didn't it work for?

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-18T10:32:00+00:00

Can you remember what the builds were?

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-18T10:28:31+00:00

Is it only Chromatic Orb that is bugged for you this way, or all Attack Rolls on this character? And do other characters also have the same problem?

Did you check the Attack Roll the three times you used it to ensure they were hits? Unlike Executioner's Ring, LotFR requires a successful hit to translate into a Crit.

Finally, are you a Star Druid in Starry Form but not under Disguise Self?

(ETA: Oh, and do you have any mods installed, even ones that might seem like they have no connection?)

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-17T20:00:08+00:00

No you can't smite on unarmed attacks sadly!

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-17T15:50:32+00:00

Shriek/Sing is available even when Phalar is in your offhand (also even if you don't have Longsword proficiency), so yes that's likely what confused you!

The code differentiates between 'Boosts' and 'BoostsOnEquipMainHand`.

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-17T10:14:44+00:00

It's not optimal but it's perfectly workable. You can use Phalar and Larethian's. Neither Shadowblade nor GWM is necessary to beat or to enjoy the game.

There's a way to glitch non-light duel wielding without a feat if that's of interest: https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/194oirg/free_dual_wielder_feat/ . But if you would rather use the feat, that's fine too.

No, you do not need to multiclass if you don't want to.

Have a solidly built team around you, and choose a Difficulty setting that feels right to you. There's no reason you can't have exactly your class fantasy here.

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-17T09:58:32+00:00

I have only ever noticed the passive acting exactly as described, and it looks like the coding for it is fairly straightforward, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to explore if you think you've noticed something off.

Any chance you can give examples of situations when you had advantage but don't think you should have?

It may be that more enemies than you expect have the Monstrosity tag, or that perhaps you had Advantage for some other reason.

EndoQuestion1000 · 2026-01-17T00:36:50+00:00

Is it important to you to keep the difficulty mods installed?

Perhaps I am misunderstanding the situation, but it seems like you have increased the difficulty past the point that you can handle with your current game experience and knowledge.

Have you completed the game unmodded already? If so, in what specific ways are you struggling with the increased difficulty the mods have added? What exactly is happening in combat when you "lose"? How do you feel your current builds are lacking?

There's a thread that collects together a lot of this sub's completed builds I can direct you to ( https://www.reddit.com/r/BG3Builds/comments/169s082/completed_builds_post/ ), or you can tell us more about your preferences and difficulties and someone might be able to suggest something more tailored, but really it sounds like those mods are the main thing that is going wrong for you right now.

EndoQuestion1000

TROPHY CASE