Blizzard, Call Avalanche, or Control Winds: what to choose?

[backpackjack]

If you had to choose from among Blizzard, Call Avalanche, and Control Wind, which would you choose for general use. They all seem to have benefits and certainly each is better than the others for some purposes. I am wondering which you'd choose--and why--for general use.

Thanks,

BPJ

[Fable Wright]

It mostly depends on what you want to use the spells for. For in-combat use, Call Avalanche is probably the best, given that it's a reflex save-or-suck spell that can keep wizards incapacitated. Out of combat, Control Winds is more versatile, and it can be used for decent battlefield control if you have a high enough caster level and you're fighting small enough foes. Blizzard has a specific use which it does well: Locking down groups of enemies that don't have access to teleportation some distance away from you. Control Winds is probably the most versatile, but Call Avalanche may be the most powerful.

[Fates]

It really depends on what class you are, too. If you're a wizard, druid, cleric, whatever, you can pick and choose your spells daily, and all those spells are good at what they do, so it's really a crap shoot depending on the circumstances. For a sorcerer? If you can get control winds, go with that (there are ways).

[TuggyNE]

If memory serves, snowsight makes blizzard extremely good.

[ShriekingDrake]

Hoping I haven't passed the necromancy deadline . . . .

I think they are all top-notch spells. I think I'm persuaded that Call Avalanche is more likely to be useful than Control Winds, but I only give it the edge by a little bit. With some other cold-related spells, Blizzard can be fantastic. You're choosing among superior spells.

[Gavinfoxx]

http://www.thetangledweb.net/forums/profiler/view_char.php?cid=54924

Welll... do two Control Winds stack in intensity to produce tornado scale winds? Or no?

Do you like preparing Snowsight, Blood Snow, Arctic Haze, Boreal Wind, and Obscuring Snow?

[Phelix-Mu]

I have found that the utility behind dropping one foot of snow per round for 1 round/level over a crazy huge radius is huge. If you have ever lived in an area with lots of snow, you know that moving through snow more than 1' deep is difficult at best. Above knee-height, it becomes VERY diffecult, and about 6-8" deeper and movement becomes neigh impossible. This condition can be rendered in around twenty seconds.

Also, the water from melting snow created by blizzard can also have a profound effect; you can google this, but I believe the conversion is 1" of water becomes 3" of snow, and vice versa. This was learned by some party members in one of my that cast wall of lava within the area where a blizzard had been active. The dry terrain they had been on was instantly saturated with water, causing a small mudslide as the water flowed down the slope that the fight was taking place on.

Basically, choose blizzard unless you have a really good reason to pick control winds.