I'm returning to GS after having not played it since the 90's, so I'm very unfamiliar with many aspects of the current game. However, I'm a longtime DR player, so I'm familiar with a significant amount of the game from that and feel as though I'm picking up things quickly.

After having searched through all the data I could find, I still have a few questions regarding Sorcerers. The big one is on stats. I'm a Dark Elf Sorcerer, and I was wondering which stats would be appropriate to "dump" at start, both from an optimal training perspective and for perhaps a middle of the road. At minimum, I'll need to lose 35 points off of max. The beginner's guide to Sorcerer's on the wiki suggests that Influence and Intuition are not very important. However, I wasn't sure if those should be dumped due to the importance of mental training points. My other options, Strength and Constitution seem to have their own disadvantages, particularly when it comes to burden. Further, I was hoping to kind of split the difference between the optimal growth layout and scrape together perhaps another 29 points to bring Wisdom and Aura up to 70, since I'm thinking that low CS combined with lack of knowledge about the game will be a bad combination.

So, my questions are:
1) Which stats are optimal not to cap to reach the baseline optimal growth starting array?
2) Am I correct in thinking that going with a growth stat array from level 20 onward would be very difficult for someone without a lot of knowledge about the game?
3) For a more balanced stat array, which stats should I reduce beyond that starting array in order to raise Aura and Wisdom?

For reference, my starting array I sacrificed strength and constitution. I'm thinking, though, that I might want to recombine that in a different way.

Strength 54
Constitution 55
Dexterity 62
Agility 73
Discipline 68
Aura 70
Logic 62
Intuition 73
Wisdom 70
Influence 73


Thanks in advance for any assistance.

<1) Which stats are optimal not to cap to reach the baseline optimal growth starting array?>

The stats you listed are generally well rounded and will provide decent stats at cap, though you will have fewer then the max at 100 (even if you have no intention of ever capping, it's important not to completely disregard the possibility).

As far as tanking stats, no matter what stat(s) you tank, you'll feel it somewhere, esp as a dark elf. That said, Intuition is generally the stat sorcerers set low since the only thing of importance it affects for sorcerers is trading. Since dark elves have a negative modifier at just about every shop in just about every town, this means you'll make less from selling loot to the gemshop/pawnshop/furrier then just about everyone else in the game. This can be made up for with training in Trading, selective hunting, and/or getting someone else to sell your loot for you. Personally I haven't had any problems with obtaining silvers.


<2) Am I correct in thinking that going with a growth stat array from level 20 onward would be very difficult for someone without a lot of knowledge about the game?>

It will definitely make your learning curve steeper, but how much depends on how quickly you learn. If you learn quickly and figure out good strategies for how to hunt various critter types, you shouldn't have many problems with what you have.


<3) For a more balanced stat array, which stats should I reduce beyond that starting array in order to raise Aura and Wisdom?>

It really depends on what you plan on doing with your sorcerer. There are several hunting styles possible with what's considered a "standard" build, each one affected differently by each stat. For this response, I'm going to assume your intention is to have a standard CS hunter. It's also important to note that as long as you don't set any stat stupidly low, you can usually make up for it with training or tactics.

Dex can probably have some points shaved off it, but I wouldn't set it below 55. It affects Spell Aiming and is a secondary factor in the new Standard Maneuver Roll, but it has a decent growth rate and sorcerers don't bolt much, if at all (unless they make sacrifices elsewhere to do so, but if you wanted to bolt you'd have created a wizard).

Inf is the traditional stat sorcerers have "tanked" to boost other stats. Dark elves have horrible trading modifiers with most merchants (including the gemshop, furrier, and pawn shop in every town), so unless you pick fairly rich hunting areas or can get someone else to sell your loot for you, you prolly won't want to set it TOO low. It really doesn't affect anything else for sorcerers though, so if you're ok with having a bit lower of a bank balance, you can safely set it as low as 50 if you like.

Below I'm putting my dark elf sorcerer's starting stats and his stats at level 72 to give you an idea of how they change over time. I haven't had any significant troubles with him, though if I had the ability to do it over, I'd drop his AUR and WIS by 10 each and put those points into INT and CON:

Strength (STR): 50
Constitution (CON): 40
Dexterity (DEX): 50
Agility (AGI): 60
Discipline (DIS): 80
Aura (AUR): 90
Logic (LOG): 80
Intuition (INT): 60
Wisdom (WIS): 90
Influence (INF): 60


Strength (STR): 64 (7) ... 64 (7)
Constitution (CON): 61 (0) ... 61 (0)
Dexterity (DEX): 83 (26) ... 83 (26)
Agility (AGI): 83 (21) ... 83 (21)
Discipline (DIS): 100 (15) ... 100 (15)
Aura (AUR): 100 (35) ... 100 (35)
Logic (LOG): 100 (25) ... 100 (25)
Intuition (INT): 83 (21) ... 83 (21)
Wisdom (WIS): 100 (30) ... 100 (30)
Influence (INF): 83 (11) ... 85 (12)


Starchitin

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