Dragon Sorcerer Element advice.

[Aleister VII]

Hey everyone!

I'm making a new character, this time a Tiefling dragon sorcerer but I'm wondering if there's another elemental affinity to take instead of fire as being a tiefling Already gives me fire resistance.

I mean... fire is the element with most spells to boost, or getting an extra resistance isn't that important?

[PeteNutButter]

You have to spend sorcery points on the resistance so you aren’t losing much if you go with fire. You’d be losing a lot more picking an element with very few spells.

Extra boost, you can take the racial feat for tieflings which boosts fire damage as well.

Edit: Elemental affinity is a better feat for its resistance penetration, but as a half feat the flames of p. is basically free. You can always grab elemental affinity at level 8 or 12 as needed.

There are lists out there regarding the other elements, but even with the Xanathar spells there just isn’t enough to make them worth it. Lightning and Cold are remotely viable but cold lacks any good AoE until cone of cold and lightning bolt is just really weak compared to fireball. Acid is interesting in that its d4s get the most out of elemental affinity, but even so vitriolic sphere is a poor man’s fireball that comes a spell level late. Comically acid arrow isn’t on the sorcerer list...

[Iados]

Don't forget that sorcerers have access to the Absorb Elements spell, courtesy of Xanathar's Guide. That spell will provide you with resistance for 1 round to a variety of elements, and much like Shield, is one of the few Level 1 spells that retains its value even as you reach higher levels.

Also, if you're playing a Tiefling and really want multiple resistances, you can take Infernal Constitution as a racial feat. You'll then have inherent resistance to fire, cold and poison damage.

Fire still outshines other elements for anyone who is playing a Tiefling Draconic Sorcerer. Your access to Flames of Phlegethos as feat stacks nicely with Elemental Affinity (fire) and Empower spell. Empower plus FoP allows you to reroll some dice twice (if they're really not cooperating), and you still can't roll lower than a 2 as a result of Elemental Affinity. If you're using your rerolls strategically (reroll an initial result of 3 or less on a d6), the average value of each rolled d6 will be just short of 5, instead of 3.5. This adds up if you're casting fire spells that use d6s, like Scorching Ray*, Fireball, or Meteor Swarm.

Yes, many enemies will have resistance to fire, but Elemental Affinity will negate that for anything that isn't outright immune to fire damage. (And that's why you always keep Chromatic Orb or Dragon's Breath in your pocket as a backup option.)


*Once you reach Level 7, combine Scorching Ray and Greater Invisibility for maximum enjoyment. Doubling your chance to crit is always a plus.

[EvilAnagram]

The above advice is pretty solid, but it's also worth noting that there are plenty of spells that deal cold damage, with lightning and poison not too far behind. Acid gets hosed, though, with only Acid Splash, Chromatic Orb, and Vitriolic Sphere available.

[Naanomi]

Cold is pretty reasonable, but Lightning loses luster when storm sorcerer is so tempting on that front

[EvilAnagram]

Cold is pretty reasonable, but Lightning loses luster when storm sorcerer is so tempting on that front

True. Storm Sorcerer is a ton of fun.

[Aleister VII]

I see, that sounds good, I haven't considered flames of plegheton until now.

So I'm going pyromaniac! xD