Best spellcaster weapons

[widrox]

I was wondering if some experienced players could share their thought on this subject. What kind of weapons is best for spell casters. I know it depends on what type of species you play (e.g.. aptitudes) and RNG, but you probably have some overall vision.

1. Is it better to have some one hand weapon and a shield, and then switch to staff (aptitudes too)
2. Weapon + Shield aptitudes only, switch to staff, but no apt. for Staves
3. Two hand weapon, and then switch to staff (aptitudes too)
4. Two hand weapon aptitudes only, switch to staff, but no apt. for Staves
5. Something else maybe?

I often go with UC, especially with classes good with it. It does not overload me so much. And really I already have magic so why bother with some weapon brands. But then again... What if I play IE and I came upon the Cold & Poison immune monster, or worse Fire, Ice, Poison immune. What with necros and imps or even worse shit? Ok, necros are hybrids mostly, but the same can happen with elementalist or others.

And if use weapon, the which? Swords, Axes, Polearms, Staffs?
Are the staves good to use from the start. E.g. pumping weapon aptitudes to staves as a main weapon?

[crate]

UC is kind of bad unless you want to get to very high skill levels, which if it is not your primary method of killing things you don't want to do, since that's a ton of xp.

Good weapons for conjurer-types are the good onehanders (demon weapons, maybe scimitar, elec/pain/disto branded onehanders), elemental staves, and lajatangs. These all require not very much investment in weapon skill (elemental staves require lots of one spellcasting skill and decent evo but you were getting the spellcasting skill anyway) for good performance.

[widrox]

What about shields? Is it worthy to use it with one hand weapon? I think it is not so much easy quick switching (') to two hand weapons with these. There is a message "you cant use it with shield (or something like that).
How can I set it to quick switch form 1HW+Sh to 2H weapon (with ')?
Sorry if I got something wrong. But as I remember there was something like that.

[crate]

You cannot use ' to swap between a one-hander plus shield and a two-hander. This is because taking off a shield is a slow action.

If you want to use a lajatang then you should not wear a shield. The other good weapons for a conjurer are all one-handed so just use a shield if you use one of them.

[Konebred]

I usually just try to find a randart to cover some resistances. RPoison is great because it frees up an armor/ring slot. Early game I use venom or elec daggers for casters with confusion spells. I eventually use caster staves. Even without a resistance, staves of conjurations are versatile enough to make them a decent choice. I am fairly nooby though, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

[crate]

Not having any way to kill things without using mp is at best annoying and at worst harmful to your character. The ~8 skill levels you need to make a lajatang/demon weapon/elemental staff a pretty decent weapon are not even going to be noticeable in the long run, so just get them.

You can do it, I've done it at least once, but it's not really a good idea.

[Southpaw]

I agree with crate. I've taken casters through vaults without training any weapons at all and just carrying around whatever branded whip I could find. Very annoying having to run away (more) frequently when you realize you have to kill like 3-4 ogres to get a reasonable weapon skill

[galehar]

What about unskilled? In the early game, when you're putting all your XP in magic skills, at which point a weapon becomes too slow or inaccurate to be considered a viable upgrade?

[KoboldLord]

What about unskilled? In the early game, when you're putting all your XP in magic skills, at which point a weapon becomes too slow or inaccurate to be considered a viable upgrade?

When unskilled you use whatever you find. Preference for protection, electrocution, venom, or distortion. Plus pain, if you happen to be starting as a necromancer or are following Kiku. The base stats of the weapon aren't likely to come up, since you won't be using that weapon on things that are hard, but a fast weapon with modest damage is preferable to a slow weapon with good damage because non-threatening monsters don't tend to have very many hit points anyway. That rat will die quickly whether you're waving a short sword or a great sword.

[dassem]

Ok, for a squishy mage you don't want enemies to be right next to you, so I like polearms (with their innate reaching) and ranged. I also take aptitude into account, for example HE have good bows aptitude (and swords) and Mf are great with polearms. A spear of venom is just great early with nice upgrade options later. You also might want to look out for a blowgun. A few curare needles can transform early orc knights from a terminal threat to lumbering XP.

My favorite early game tactics are either to block a corridor with a conjured flame or confuse things or similar (depending on what you can cast) and then poke away. If you're fast, swift, or hasted then you've got other nice kiting options.

The problem with ranged is that you might need more Str to carry enough ammo. (Well, I do, but I tend to collect too much junk!) The other main risk with this approach is that I tend to waste too much XP on those skills and often find that I'm not deadly enough with my main skill in the mid-game.