Have just achieved level 6. I get a new hex here, I currently have Evil Eye, Cackle, Misfortune and Slumber. I am considering getting Flight at this level or Swamp's Grasp. Not sure if I should just use my 3rd level spell Fly or if I could grab Swamp's Grasp. We have an Alchemist in the group who likes to throw Tanglefoot and Void bombs. What would you all recommend? Oh and the other two party members are a melee Paladin and Barbarian.
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Flight hex is pretty great. Yes, you can just prep fly and cast it, however when you cast fly you can’t divide up the duration like you can with the hex. One casting gives you one instance of minutes/level fly. But if your combats are spread out, you’ll need multiple castings. With the hex, you can use a minute whenever you need it and still have plenty left. Need to cross a chasm? Activate the hex and fly a rope across. Or activate it every single fight and fly up out of reach. Use your third level spell for something else.
Swamp’s Grasp looks interesting, and I’m sure it has lots of uses. But it seems like it would get in the way of the Melee characters. Creating difficult terrain is great for reach builds trying to generate attacks of opportunity. For a pouncing Barbarian, not so much. Unless you use your 3rd level spell slot to cast [i]fly[i] on him first.
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Flight hex is a good option if you can retrain out of it once you have overland flight.
I like soothsayer + fortune/protective luck + cackle to prep for a big fight.
Calderon is decent if you want to craft. Agony at least targets a different save.
Scar is fun if you play in an intrigue setting or your gm has enemies that actually retreat.
I never considered taking Fortune just seemed much weaker than Misfortune. But ur right for a Boss fight it would prove most useful. Maybe I'll get "Extra Hex" after and pick it up.
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I agree with the above. Flight is extremely useful. Considering your party composition, you might want to pick up the Healing hex at some point. Yes, it's only once/day/character, but it's nice in a pinch, and if you come upon a lot of people who need healing all at once, you'll be very popular! ;-)
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Flight is a very good personal Hex. It offers the witch a lot for herself. But I know in former threads I discussed why I do not like it. Too many ways to Get flight that I feel it is a waste of a hex especially later when you can buy a broom of Flying, or Use extended Overland flight and have all day flying. I tend to think Fly is good enough of a spell and able to be used on anyone in the party.
But it is completely up to you and how you feel the character is developing. I just know I have won fights by simply casting fly on our group's archer and watched them rain death from above on creatures with no ranged response. Basically, an Auto win in certain fights. But Flight Hex does save a witch and also can be used to bypass hazards that others struggle with. So it is a double-edged sword. The way I handle it is I prepare a fly spell and have a scroll just in case. I always buy a lesser rod of Extend and this is a buff I like to use it on. Then later I do the Overland flight thing. If I am given enough cash I do buy a broom of flying because it is just appropriate for a witch to have a broom.
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Flight is a very good personal Hex. It offers the witch a lot for herself. But I know in former threads I discussed why I do not like it. Too many ways to Get flight that I feel it is a waste of a hex especially later when you can buy a broom of Flying, or Use extended Overland flight and have all day flying.
So use retraining.
Flight hex works from level 5. Overland flight requires level 9, and the broom is not affordable until level 10-11. It depends entirely on what levels you'll be spending most of your campaign on.
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Also, nothing prevents you from preparing fly to cast on someone in your party. Having the hex means if you do prep fly, you don't have to choose between casting it on yourself or someone else. (I mean, they're both standard actions, so you might have to choose in a particular round, but you know what I mean).
Flight is a very good personal Hex. It offers the witch a lot for herself. But I know in former threads I discussed why I do not like it. Too many ways to Get flight that I feel it is a waste of a hex especially later when you can buy a broom of Flying, or Use extended Overland flight and have all day flying.So use retraining.
Flight hex works from level 5. Overland flight requires level 9, and the broom is not affordable until level 10-11. It depends entirely on what levels you'll be spending most of your campaign on.
Depends if it is allowed or not.
And really I'm just speaking from my own personal experiences as I play a lot of full casters. You know the old saying, "Your Mileage may vary."
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This is why I'm ok with taking it then retraining once you have overland flight. I find the value of 9th level casters drops dramatically when they use the first round of combat for defense. The first round offers the best enemy positioning, and limits the potential of targeting allies. This results in being able to use a better spell for the given fight.
Melee characters can afford a first round buff as the first round has the least value for them, single attack first round instead of a full round in others. Pounce changes moving and a single attack followed by your opponent getting full round attack to trading full round attacks but even that is not as valuable as getting a powerful spell cast first.
Witches suffer from this even more because they like to go three rounds evil eye, misfortune, spell. In many fights you have to cut this down to misfortune, spell or the fight will be over. If you add in a round to fly the fight will be over before you start to fight.
This is why I'm ok with taking it then retraining once you have overland flight. I find the value of 9th level casters drops dramatically when they use the first round of combat for defense. The first round offers the best enemy positioning, and limits the potential of targeting allies. This results in being able to use a better spell for the given fight.
Melee characters can afford a first round buff as the first round has the least value for them, single attack first round instead of a full round in others. Pounce changes moving and a single attack followed by your opponent getting full round attack to trading full round attacks but even that is not as valuable as getting a powerful spell cast first.
Witches suffer from this even more because they like to go three rounds evil eye, misfortune, spell. In many fights you have to cut this down to misfortune, spell or the fight will be over. If you add in a round to fly the fight will be over before you start to fight.
I totally agree. On casters, I tend to take long lasting buffs and make sure I have them up prior to a fight. Pretty easy to know when it is coming in most cases.
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Witches suffer from this even more because they like to go three rounds evil eye, misfortune, spell.
That's because this particular combo is a really poor choice, tactically speaking :)
Spells are stronger than hexes, people (except slumber, arguably). If you want to affect combat most, open with one of your highest level spells. Use hexes either as pre-buffs or in subsequent rounds.
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Witches suffer from this even more because they like to go three rounds evil eye, misfortune, spell.That's because this particular combo is a really poor choice, tactically speaking :)
Spells are stronger than hexes, people (except slumber, arguably). If you want to affect combat most, open with one of your highest level spells. Use hexes either as pre-buffs or in subsequent rounds.
I tend toward tactical descriptions of how and when things are good. So here is one for witches combining spells and hexes. If there is a group of equally strong creatures a AOE spell (persistent is your best option)as it causes multiple rolls by multiple enemies. If there is a singularly more powerful creature in the group witches are exceptionally well equipped, as int based casters, to identify strengths and weaknesses. If experience seems to suggest the fight will be over quickly use a single target spell/hex. When the enemy is stronger use 1 hex + spell combo and when it is stronger yet, use the three step combo.
The witch played this way is setting up success even if a fight goes south. Witches involve more tactical thinking than other casters. Their spell list is more limited than wizards, and the thought process outlined above requires more skill than playing most other casters which should identify weak saves hit with devastating spells. A witch can use all of the previously mentioned tactics to gain the greatest benefit from their class.
* Side note I tend to ignore slumber in most witch discussion because it is one of the only powerful class features I see people opt out of more than opt into.
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I tend toward tactical descriptions of how and when things are good.
Well you can describe any tactic, but that doesn't change the fact that the three-step combo is a really poor tactic :)
Just do the math instead. Spell + spell, or misf + spell, or misf + accursed hex misf all have a pretty good chance of making a difference the first round (without using slumber), and the 'combo' is guaranteed to not change anything in the first round. As somebody just posted earlier, the first round is important to casters.
I tend toward tactical descriptions of how and when things are good.Well you can describe any tactic, but that doesn't change the fact that the three-step combo is a really poor tactic :)
Just do the math instead. Spell + spell, or misf + spell, or misf + accursed hex misf all have a pretty good chance of making a difference the first round, and the 'combo' is guaranteed to not change anything in the first round. As somebody just posted earlier, the first round is important.
For the group the OP is playing in I believe he has a bomber alchemist who can benefit from Evil eye or Misfortune with the right bombs.
I know I advised him to work out some killer combos with the Alchemist since they are both smart characters who would probably discuss tactics at some point.
But really it is a case by case (Fight by Fight) decision-making. Playing a full arcane caster is not easy but very rewarding once you get the feel for it.
I tend to open with AoE when the targets are looking Juicy. But against smaller fights and fewer enemies, I tend to lean more on my hexes since enemies tend to be further apart.
If you think that witches think more tactically than other full casters
a). I suggest this comparison is invalid. Druids/Clerics have nothing in common with witches/Wizards. Witches / Wizards are fairly fragile, clerics et.al much less so.
b). You need to play with better casters. The more fragile the build the more analytical and tactical thinking required. Playing defense with a wizard, is indeed, poor tactics *usually*.
As a God-Wizard my thinking goes something like this:
Is this a combat I need to exert myself. Ie, is the party at significant risk. If not, I contribute offense in piddling ways.
Such as:
Ready magic missile on spell casting.
Caste haste.
A wizard is a bit like a swiss army knife married to a howitzer.
Solutions is what he offers. And you only pull out the big guns when the situation requires it.
Sure you can have a 10 minute adventure day - but it isn't exactly a lot of fun for the rest of the party.
As for the rest - I agree with Louise. Flight hex is invaluable if you are playing a hexblade gish or similar.
But Hexes choises are rarer and more difficult than spells.
Flight is best solved by magic item; then by scrolls, then by spells. And only for the aforementioned gish types would I prescribe hex flight.