Best no save sorc / wiz spells

[Ranax]

If at 20th level you had 9th level spell access with a 19 casting stat, what offensive or battlefield control spells would be on your spell list.

Some easy ones

magic missile
acid arrow
vampiric touch
black tentacles
wall of force
maze
polar ray

[MattR1986]

I don't understand why people applaud no save spells such as acid arrow/vampiric touch when it still requires a ranged/melee touch attack?

[Pupsocket]

Ranax wrote:

If at 20th level you had 9th level spell access with a 19 casting stat, what offensive or battlefield control spells would be on your spell list.

Some easy ones

magic missile
acid arrow
vampiric touch
black tentacles
wall of force
maze
polar ray

Magic Missile and Acid Arrow really don't pass muster at level 20. Black Tentacles...if you fight something that doesn't have Flight/Teleportation/Freedom of Movement, it's probably a joke fight, and it will still have a CMD of "infinity". Polar Ray is just an inexcusably bad spell.

[Makarion]

The best no-save spells a wizard has are summons.

[BadBird]

Technically Battering Blast has a save, but its only against being knocked prone. Consider intensified Battering Blast at 20: 4 x 7d6 force, then an insane bull rush (4 rolls, use best +30)... reflex save to not be knocked over. Knocked over is nice, but if you can slam something with that much force damage and send it out of full-attack or maybe even charge range, you've probably already made it pretty sad.

As a spell of only level 3, you can of course also run up some more metamagic easily as well if its your thing.

[Quandary]

MattR1986 wrote:

I don't understand why people applaud no save spells such as acid arrow/vampiric touch when it still requires a ranged/melee touch attack?

Because if you're an Eldritch Knight, who is probably the prime case of a 9th level Caster who wants to avoid spells with Saves, attack rolls aren't really much of a problem, hm? Alot of these spells will be great for Magus Expanded Knowledge (or whatever) and maybe Ragecaster if their spell list gets fixed.

[Cap. Darling]

I like frostbite. The auto fatigue part of that Spell is lots of fun when you get to cast it before the badguy rages.

[Philip Dhollander]

Scorching Ray with several applied metamagics... best to include energy subsitution too for good measure :-)

Split it, empower it, quicken it and subsitute it... or something of that nature :-)

And slap some feats on it, so the metamagics cost less of a slot increase!

Still a ranged touch to hit, but touch AC will always be poor in comparison...

[Movin]

@mattr: No save touch spells are awesome in the same way folks think the gunslinger is broken. Toch ac is usually the lowest armor class in the game, it is astronomically easier to land a touch attack on most monsters than it is to land a spell with a saving throw.
Assured effect is nice when you only have a few shots a day to try with.
Ranged touch attacks because wizards tend to die in melee range.

Intensified snowball isnt bad at 10d6 no save and no sr. Lesser orb of broken.

Enervation for making living things unhappy.

Scorching ray is a meh spell but still decent if you need to kill it with fire.

Gloomblind bolts are great if you can get the spell. Negative energy is a rare immunity for anything that isnt already dead.

Calcific touch requires some set up but it is a no save 1d4 of dex damage. Plus slow effect if they fail, not that you care if they make it. Murders high str/armor/low dex baddies like dragons.

Stonecall is unkind, creating a 40ft radius of difficult terrain is great much less the no save 2d6 damage tacked on.

Oh and explosive runes. Because nothing starts a combat round better than handing the gm a note with the word "falcon" written on it and landing that mook with a forceful fist of 6d6 no save damage.

[CWheezy]

Wave of fatigue and wave of exhaustion.

Hard to beat the terrible penalties for both of those. Also, goodbye barbarians!