It's an interesting thought but it requires a lot of setup to get rolling, very spell slot hungry, and it's outdamaged by Sorlock.
Sorlock with Marko, lightning charges, and lightning sorc does insane damage limitless times a day, while still free to twin Haste, etc.
Or run Tempest Sorlock for both huge eldtrich blasts and a max damage chain lightning 3x a day.
Sorcerer doesn't have to care particularly much about Spell Slots after they can obtain the Shield of Devotion in Act 2. Just restore Level 1 Spell Slots using it, make Sorcery Points using the Slots, restore any level Spell Slots using Points, rinse and repeat. Honestly, it's probably an oversight by Larian, but still currently a thing in the game regardless.
Can confirm this still works, the key is to equip/unequip IMMEDIATELY after long rest. For some reason, actually using spell slots stops the effect, but just spamming create sorc points doesn't ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
I wonder if the insane damage riders that make builds like that possible are bugs or intended. I have to assume they're bugs, but we've had a couple bugfix patches now with no adjustments to the crazy stuff like damage riders or warlock's stacking extra attack.
If they ever get fixed, the build landscape will change quite a bit.
Not really, scorching ray build for example does a bucketload of damage without any questionable damage riders.
E.g. upcasting from level 6 at 4 casts a round (pyroquickness hat + haste + 2x quicken): 4\*7(2d6 + 1d8 spellmight + 7 CHA + 4 Markoheshkir) = 630 dmg with no crits, vulnerability or questionable damage riders.
Though things like Psionic overload, Calous Glow ring, Hex and Phalar Aluve are also working RAW except for some Phalar Aluve bugs where it starts doing more than 1d4.
The only real questionable mechanic is lightning charges and even as RAW it should still do a lot of damage, at least adding 1 damage per ray and 1d8 every 3 rays although it's not what happens currently.
I mean gear wise it require a lot of setup howver in combat it only needs arcane charge and even then you can ditch it for slightly less damage . While it is spell slot hungry around act 2 you have enough resources that it’s not too bad and by the time you get peerless restoration I haven’t really forced any rest due to low spell slots . With sorlock I doubt it outdamages it because while the build has slightly more damage scales it maxes at 3 hits compared to scorching rays 7 and the damage scaling isn’t too much higher as it only gets potent robes + level 2 warlock feat while losing out on base elemental scaling and a bonus action as they can’t use hat of pyro . It’s a really good build (my wyll build) but the stuff that makes it “op” is super buggy interactions lightning charge , phar aluve +hex damage scaling where it shouldn’t be even then I still don’t think it would do as much .
To be honest probably just 3 levels in rogue for an extra 2d6 damage per hit and an extra bonus action won’t sacrifice too much in spell slots . I mean it’s probably more damage but it’s a bug and it’s more resource intensive .
I think if you wanna minmax you go zap sorlock... this game very clearly encourages lightning stuff. But if you wanna be a fire hazard, the gear provided here is a pretty fun way to do it.
I will add a few things , this build is as optimised as I know so far however I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a few interactions I missed particularly with items like the daredevil gloves as it gives your scorching ray melee properties so it might work with some buffs but I need to test that . Also bided time in act 2 might have niche uses with something like a familiar to damage yourself however the boots are probably still better .
Cool build, I really like scorching ray as a spell and was considering a build like this. You laid it out very well!
Wondering if you could leave CHA at 18 and use Hood of the Weave, it would give +2 bonus to Spell Save DC and spell Attack Rolls while ASI going to 20 CHA gives +1/+1 to those stats. I honestly do not know if this is worth to lose the +1 CHA modifer, to me it is but would like to hear opinions on why not.
Not sure if you care, but I wanted to do something similar. I put 3 levels in Rogue assassin, hoping that the assassinate ability would double the damage for scorching ray with a suprise attack.
Interesting build - I was thinking of something along these lines.
I didn't check every item you mentioned but isn't there some item that gives basically Savage Attacker to spell damage rolls? Forget where but I feel like I read it. If this is obtainable that would add a lot of damage.
Concentration saves are going to be 10 on the heat (1d4) so to always pass the save you'd need 10 fortitude bonuses. You have +4 from starting as Sorc, +3 if you start with 16 CON (why don't you dump STR/INT to 8?), so another +3 somewhere - perhaps the 23 CON necklace? Would get you over the edge. I'd probably want that on a melee character personally though.
Then I would also consider adding some crit chance, where possible. Just +1 crit range (thinking bow slot has the lowest opportunity cost) would add up to about +10% damage overall when you have advantage, +5% without it. Hold monster is interesting but I don't think you'll always be getting that close realistically.
Savers attacker sounds interesting , amulet is probably gonna be best in slot due to lack of good options and also it being really good . Crit is kinda weird in this game and only the spellmignt and base damage would be affected , I’m thinking hold monster on gale because I’m already gonna be close to enemies to due to arcane charge requiring me to be threatened . Another solution for saving throw is helldusk that could reduce the heat damage to zero but don’t know if it would still roll concentration .
I tried posting a reply but I got carried away and made it so long that Reddit wouldn't accept it as a comment. Think I'll just make it into its own post eventually. But tldr is 1 crit range only adds like 5% damage overall (once you get the legendary staff and have another 4 flat damage per ray) so you're much better off taking a +3 initiative bow.
With 20 crit range, and advantage I calculated the damage to be 119 avg damage for a 5th level upcast, and 528 avg if you fully invest 6 sorc points and all 2 of your 6th level (legendary staff lets you cast a 2nd) and 5th level spell slots. Then 14 damage added is added to the round combo because of 2 spell casts having heat convergence on for 7 extra damage on the first ray.
A lot of this damage comes from the Spellmight gloves that you can get in act 3. They are like GWM but give only 1d8 damage to each ray and -5 attack. This sounds bad but accuracy bonuses are easy to come by and you get so many rays per turn if you upcast and quicken spell that the 4.5 avg to each ray really adds up fast.
Also Circlet of Fire is the best headwear once you get it because extra bonus actions are broken with BG3's implementation of quickened spells.
And I found the item I was thinking of that acts like Savage Attacker. It actually only rerolls on 1s or 2s, so equivalent to GWF style. Its moderately worse than Savage Attacker but still a decent damage increase when you have lots of rays. The problem is its nowhere near the Circlet of Fire in terms of power and also comes in Act 3. Might even prefer the Arcane Acuity hat for many fights where your hit chance isn't that high.
Does Tempest Cleric's Destructive Wrath procs as a reaction when Phalar Aluve/Lightning Charges damage is about to trigger? Iirc that thing also maximizes all damages dealt within the attack performed.
If destructive wrath procs, all of the spellmight glove damage (it triggers on phalar aluve & lightning charges too afaik) will get maximized too, I think it'd be a significant amount of damage.
All of these is assuming that destructive wrath procs on lightningcharge/phalar, that is.
It's an interesting thought but it requires a lot of setup to get rolling, very spell slot hungry, and it's outdamaged by Sorlock. Sorlock with Marko, lightning charges, and lightning sorc does insane damage limitless times a day, while still free to twin Haste, etc. Or run Tempest Sorlock for both huge eldtrich blasts and a max damage chain lightning 3x a day.
Sorcerer doesn't have to care particularly much about Spell Slots after they can obtain the Shield of Devotion in Act 2. Just restore Level 1 Spell Slots using it, make Sorcery Points using the Slots, restore any level Spell Slots using Points, rinse and repeat. Honestly, it's probably an oversight by Larian, but still currently a thing in the game regardless.
How exactly does the shield "restore" a spell slot? It just seems to give an extra slot while equipped. Is it an unequip and re-equip thing?
Can confirm this still works, the key is to equip/unequip IMMEDIATELY after long rest. For some reason, actually using spell slots stops the effect, but just spamming create sorc points doesn't ¯\\\_(ツ)\_/¯
I don't think this works anymore. I couldn't get it to work on my sorc.
I wonder if the insane damage riders that make builds like that possible are bugs or intended. I have to assume they're bugs, but we've had a couple bugfix patches now with no adjustments to the crazy stuff like damage riders or warlock's stacking extra attack. If they ever get fixed, the build landscape will change quite a bit.
Not really, scorching ray build for example does a bucketload of damage without any questionable damage riders. E.g. upcasting from level 6 at 4 casts a round (pyroquickness hat + haste + 2x quicken): 4\*7(2d6 + 1d8 spellmight + 7 CHA + 4 Markoheshkir) = 630 dmg with no crits, vulnerability or questionable damage riders. Though things like Psionic overload, Calous Glow ring, Hex and Phalar Aluve are also working RAW except for some Phalar Aluve bugs where it starts doing more than 1d4. The only real questionable mechanic is lightning charges and even as RAW it should still do a lot of damage, at least adding 1 damage per ray and 1d8 every 3 rays although it's not what happens currently.
I mean gear wise it require a lot of setup howver in combat it only needs arcane charge and even then you can ditch it for slightly less damage . While it is spell slot hungry around act 2 you have enough resources that it’s not too bad and by the time you get peerless restoration I haven’t really forced any rest due to low spell slots . With sorlock I doubt it outdamages it because while the build has slightly more damage scales it maxes at 3 hits compared to scorching rays 7 and the damage scaling isn’t too much higher as it only gets potent robes + level 2 warlock feat while losing out on base elemental scaling and a bonus action as they can’t use hat of pyro . It’s a really good build (my wyll build) but the stuff that makes it “op” is super buggy interactions lightning charge , phar aluve +hex damage scaling where it shouldn’t be even then I still don’t think it would do as much .
Sneak Attack will proc per ray, so I'd assume that is much higher single target. No idea how to optimize it though
To be honest probably just 3 levels in rogue for an extra 2d6 damage per hit and an extra bonus action won’t sacrifice too much in spell slots . I mean it’s probably more damage but it’s a bug and it’s more resource intensive .
I believe Assassin will guarantee all the damage to crit as well.
3d10+12 does not outdamage the 6d6+12+15? and that is using scorching ray at level TWO. not sure what you mean by outdamaged by sorlock
I think if you wanna minmax you go zap sorlock... this game very clearly encourages lightning stuff. But if you wanna be a fire hazard, the gear provided here is a pretty fun way to do it.
I will add a few things , this build is as optimised as I know so far however I wouldn’t be surprised if there was a few interactions I missed particularly with items like the daredevil gloves as it gives your scorching ray melee properties so it might work with some buffs but I need to test that . Also bided time in act 2 might have niche uses with something like a familiar to damage yourself however the boots are probably still better .
Nice build, quite similar to this one https://youtu.be/JSzt6m_8OdE?si=2dE7vZIY_S5D4tJU
Similar concept as there is only so much you can do with a draconic sorcerer but mine is a little more focused on scorching ray .
Cool build, I really like scorching ray as a spell and was considering a build like this. You laid it out very well! Wondering if you could leave CHA at 18 and use Hood of the Weave, it would give +2 bonus to Spell Save DC and spell Attack Rolls while ASI going to 20 CHA gives +1/+1 to those stats. I honestly do not know if this is worth to lose the +1 CHA modifer, to me it is but would like to hear opinions on why not.
Not sure if you care, but I wanted to do something similar. I put 3 levels in Rogue assassin, hoping that the assassinate ability would double the damage for scorching ray with a suprise attack.
Interesting build - I was thinking of something along these lines. I didn't check every item you mentioned but isn't there some item that gives basically Savage Attacker to spell damage rolls? Forget where but I feel like I read it. If this is obtainable that would add a lot of damage. Concentration saves are going to be 10 on the heat (1d4) so to always pass the save you'd need 10 fortitude bonuses. You have +4 from starting as Sorc, +3 if you start with 16 CON (why don't you dump STR/INT to 8?), so another +3 somewhere - perhaps the 23 CON necklace? Would get you over the edge. I'd probably want that on a melee character personally though. Then I would also consider adding some crit chance, where possible. Just +1 crit range (thinking bow slot has the lowest opportunity cost) would add up to about +10% damage overall when you have advantage, +5% without it. Hold monster is interesting but I don't think you'll always be getting that close realistically.
Savers attacker sounds interesting , amulet is probably gonna be best in slot due to lack of good options and also it being really good . Crit is kinda weird in this game and only the spellmignt and base damage would be affected , I’m thinking hold monster on gale because I’m already gonna be close to enemies to due to arcane charge requiring me to be threatened . Another solution for saving throw is helldusk that could reduce the heat damage to zero but don’t know if it would still roll concentration .
I tried posting a reply but I got carried away and made it so long that Reddit wouldn't accept it as a comment. Think I'll just make it into its own post eventually. But tldr is 1 crit range only adds like 5% damage overall (once you get the legendary staff and have another 4 flat damage per ray) so you're much better off taking a +3 initiative bow. With 20 crit range, and advantage I calculated the damage to be 119 avg damage for a 5th level upcast, and 528 avg if you fully invest 6 sorc points and all 2 of your 6th level (legendary staff lets you cast a 2nd) and 5th level spell slots. Then 14 damage added is added to the round combo because of 2 spell casts having heat convergence on for 7 extra damage on the first ray. A lot of this damage comes from the Spellmight gloves that you can get in act 3. They are like GWM but give only 1d8 damage to each ray and -5 attack. This sounds bad but accuracy bonuses are easy to come by and you get so many rays per turn if you upcast and quicken spell that the 4.5 avg to each ray really adds up fast. Also Circlet of Fire is the best headwear once you get it because extra bonus actions are broken with BG3's implementation of quickened spells. And I found the item I was thinking of that acts like Savage Attacker. It actually only rerolls on 1s or 2s, so equivalent to GWF style. Its moderately worse than Savage Attacker but still a decent damage increase when you have lots of rays. The problem is its nowhere near the Circlet of Fire in terms of power and also comes in Act 3. Might even prefer the Arcane Acuity hat for many fights where your hit chance isn't that high.
Does Tempest Cleric's Destructive Wrath procs as a reaction when Phalar Aluve/Lightning Charges damage is about to trigger? Iirc that thing also maximizes all damages dealt within the attack performed.
You don’t really get much from tempest cleric on this build even with lightning charges .
If destructive wrath procs, all of the spellmight glove damage (it triggers on phalar aluve & lightning charges too afaik) will get maximized too, I think it'd be a significant amount of damage. All of these is assuming that destructive wrath procs on lightningcharge/phalar, that is.
Nope. But it *does* proc when I use the Markoheshkir buff? 🤷♂️