Thinking of buying, worried about Wizards though

[Ziljan]

Was reading the wiki and saw that wizards function like baldur's gate: they can only cast a small number of spells before becoming useless redshirts. To become marginally useful again they have to rest 8 hours... This seems like an outdated and annoying mechanic. What do wizards do once they've cast their two spells at level one? Go home and take a nap? Put on pom-poms and cheerlead for the real members of the party?

 

Please tell me I misunderstood the wiki so I can buy this game.

[Archaven]

Was reading the wiki and saw that wizards function like baldur's gate: they can only cast a small number of spells before becoming useless redshirts. To become marginally useful again they have to rest 8 hours... This seems like an outdated and annoying mechanic. What do wizards do once they've cast their two spells at level one? Go home and take a nap? Put on pom-poms and cheerlead for the real members of the party?

 

Please tell me I misunderstood the wiki so I can buy this game.

 

You are right about wizard in Pillars of Eternity. To add cherry on top, you are limited to say 2 camp supplies (2 rests) if you played on Hard.

[JRRNeiklot]

Save your money.

[SgtSilock]

Every class has limited uses, it isn't just wizards. One of my only gripes about this game.

[Tigranes]

They have more than 'two spells they can cast before they have to rest'. 

 

1) Their grimoire spells are per-rest, just like D&D games. It's a good mechanic because it means you can' tjust spam the exact same abilities you like every single time. It prevents every battle from being exactly the same. 

 

2) But in addition, they do have several per-encounter abilities like blast and grimoire slam, because yes, it is annoying if your wizard just sits there and does nothing while other characters don't have that limitation. 

 

3) Unlike IE games, you can make your wizards pretty competent in combat, even up front in melee. 

 

So no, your wizard won't sit back and cast 17 spells every battle. But it's also not "cast two spells, do nothing for next 6 battles". But yes, if you enjoy being able to cast any and every spell that you have in every battle without worrying about what that means for the next battle, then this game may not be right down your alley.

 

There are also other classes that have 'wizard-like' abilities but don't work by such per-rest constraints, e.g. the Cipher.

[Arctic]

Was reading the wiki and saw that wizards function like baldur's gate: they can only cast a small number of spells before becoming useless redshirts. To become marginally useful again they have to rest 8 hours... This seems like an outdated and annoying mechanic. What do wizards do once they've cast their two spells at level one? Go home and take a nap? Put on pom-poms and cheerlead for the real members of the party?

 

Please tell me I misunderstood the wiki so I can buy this game.

 

In this game wizards are not uselles without spells. they have a "area damage spell" that can be cast 2 times per fight, so you can always use that. At the same time, with the right talents your wand attacks are great (area damage, perforing defenses ...) so thats almost like a automatic spell.

 

And , if you read the manual, you will se that a hight level their lvl 1 and 2 spells become per encounter.

 

If you want to cast your spells without a day limit you can take a cypher, but they have a "per encounter limit" .  The thing about wizards is that hard fight were you can unleash your full spell book. While cyphers can cast 1-2 spells and then hope for getting some focus back.

Edited March 30, 2015 by Arctic

[kylania]

My main issue with wizards is positioning, especially with cone based fire spells while I'm fighting in close quarters.  I've had a lot of situations where I either couldn't get close enough to hit things or I'd have to singe the backs of my tanks!

 

There are a ton of spells available though, so don't fret.  Wizards are still powerful and fun, as is the game as a whole.  Just prepare for a lot of reading.

[SlackerBacker]

Was reading the wiki and saw that wizards function like baldur's gate: they can only cast a small number of spells before becoming useless redshirts. To become marginally useful again they have to rest 8 hours... This seems like an outdated and annoying mechanic. What do wizards do once they've cast their two spells at level one? Go home and take a nap? Put on pom-poms and cheerlead for the real members of the party?

 

Please tell me I misunderstood the wiki so I can buy this game.

 

You are correct. Some people go as far as to say that "this is a great mechanic, you have to choose carefully when to use your limited spells".

 

Well, guess what, if you aren't using your spells your Wizard is just doing auto-attack... Watching your character do that animation over and over without any input from the player for a laughable damage. Sounds like fun, doesn't it?

 

If you want to play a caster, Cipher does far more damage, has higher utility debuffs and you can use the spells per encounter not per rest. You playing on Hard? Cipher is even more power than a Wizard since the Cipher spells are not limited by just 2 camping supplies. 

[endruwiggin]

In PoE wizards in low level are actually more useful than other similar games, as other pointed out.

They're more like sorcerers than wizards.

Plus, if you're playing with a team then u won't spend a fireball on every small bandit, in my own experience i never had a problem of backtracking to inn so i can sleep so my wizard can pew pew more fireballs.

[Arctic]

My main issue with wizards is positioning, especially with cone based fire spells while I'm fighting in close quarters.  I've had a lot of situations where I either couldn't get close enough to hit things or I'd have to singe the backs of my tanks!

 

There are a ton of spells available though, so don't fret.  Wizards are still powerful and fun, as is the game as a whole.  Just prepare for a lot of reading.

 

 

The bonus area from int (the yellow one), does not hit your companions, also some spells are foe area. that helps a lot

[Dongom]

Wizard is very good to have in difficult battles.  Slicken is just.... 

 

But be warned, you will be auto-attacking for most of the time.  I'm not sure when encounter based teir 1/2 spells open up, but apparently it's pretty late game.

Edited March 30, 2015 by Dongom

[Leferd]

My wizard companion is actually by far, my biggest net damage dealer for my party and has the most kills.

[Arctic]

Wizard is very good to have in difficult battles.  Slicken is just.... 

 

But be warned, you will be auto-attacking for most of the time.  I'm not sure when encounter based teir 1/2 spells open up, but apparently it's pretty late game.

 

 

Lvl 1 at 9 lvl 2 at 11

[jivex5k]

They use rods/scepters/wands to auto attack.

They get a "per encounter" AoE Damage/Stun blast that is quite nice too, so after each battle you get 2 more uses from it.

 

45 bucks is a lot to spend on a game you are unsure about though, maybe check out some gameplay footage of battles?

 

I've gotta say though the wizard spells seem very powerful, plus you can find scrolls that help you out. 

[RedSocialKnight]

What do wizards do once they've cast their two spells at level one? 

 

A wizard with a high Might stat will do decent weapon damage separate from spells.

 

Aloth spends most of his time auto-attacking with a wand from the back rank. His Might score is mediocre so it's not a ton of damage, but he's not useless by any means when his spells are gone.

[Hurlshort]

Wizards are awesome.  I love how I get a grimoire every time I kill another wizard, and I can then copy any of the spells down for my own.  But yeah, my wizard is pretty decent with a rapier in a pinch.

[Horrorscope]

Wizards can do... more than Aquaman!    (Some spoilers explaining things out)

 

Right, you have the DnD rest situation.

They do get two per encounter Arcane Assaults, AOE, a meat and potato tactic, also doesn't target friendlies.

They are fine with bow's, so that is what they are doing when you don't micro-manage. Everyone is good range.

Then your uses per rest, those grow as you level and there are Talents you can get at level up to increase those.

There are also Abilities in the game like Combusting Wounds you get questing, you can assign to any one, giving to Wizard gets him 3 of those per rest and more to do.

Then there is crafting and scrolls. This is where if you want you can start giving them quantities of things to do. They are as strong as the spells themselves.

 

Now a Cipher is a special kind of magic user, that may be more of what you are looking for. They start with Points to spend, they use points as they cast, then as they deal damage when not using spells (melee/range) they build the points up again for more magic use. You can get it so this happens pretty quickly.

 

Now combining both a Cipher and a Wizard, what you find is the Wizards actual spells are only for the "Big Fights" or when you are knowing you are heading towards a rest you can fire them off. Make sure to think of a couple tanks to keep the squishes free to do their thing out of harms way. There have been times he takes over and is the star of the show, that is when they carry their weight.

 

I will also state there are some spells you may pick as a Wizard you may regret, aoe's can be damaging to both sides and many you need to get in close to use. So it gets tricky. Other spells I just don't feel them well. I'd say when you are leveling a wizard, make a hard save, have a fight readied and try out different spells to see what you like.

 

They aren't bad, however they are DnD'ish and not say WoW'ish.

Edited March 30, 2015 by Horrorscope

[CynicalP]

I love playing my Wizard.  Fans of Flames is insanely powerful for a level 1 spell,  not to mention slicken.   In prior IE games you had to wait until you were level 5 before you mage/wizard felt useful.  One cool thing I discovered is you can learn spells from other wizard's grimoires for a cost.  So I gave Aloth my grimoire and gave my spells and vice versa. So Aloth handles the CC and I handle the nuking.  I wish I had some control of rolling flame that spell is awesome but dangereous kind of like the old IE lightening spell.

[waretaringo]

I'm finding the wizard pretty gimped at low levels on hard mode, much like in earlier editions of d&d. The Cipher is a better damage dealer and has better control capabilities too. The limitations on the camping supplies on higher difficulties make the 'per-rest' caster types essentially a liability in long engagements. 

[Althernai]

I'm playing a Wizard and while I'm not fully used to the system yet, it's not too bad. You have to be really careful about your spell selection -- there are quite a few spells which are borderline useless and while you can learn spells from the grimoires of allies and defeated enemies, it's expensive. As mentioned above, Fan of Flames is a good spell as is Rolling Fire (you can use the latter before the enemies have even seen you and it can hit them multiple times after rebounding). Also, you get 2 uses of an AoE ability (Arcane Assault) per encounter which does a bit of Raw damage (which appears to be difficult to resists) and inflicts Daze for around 7 seconds.

[SeekDWay]

Wizards have a few per encounter talents, but they do have very powerful spells and anyone who would tell you otherwise got something wrong. If you feel that those spells are not enough then don't play this class, there are other classes that have better tool-box feeling to them.

 

I also have to note that mages have decent ranged weapons that they can spec in and deal a good amount of dps with. They are great damage dealers, but as with every CRPG a lot of auto attacking is involved.

Edited March 30, 2015 by SeekDWay

[talharbash]

I wish more AOE damage spells did not hit allies too, for my wizard.

 

In realtime it becomes a mess when you try to position your wizard on a flank and cone out those flames.

 

After the next patch I'll get back in and see how Aloth does for CC.

[Sylvanpyxie]

 

 

While cyphers can cast 1-2 spells and then hope for getting some focus back.

You're kidding right? I've been playing a Cipher and honestly, she's got focus pouring out of her pointy little ears.

 

Focus is not a problem. If you want endless spell casting, roll a Cipher.

[waretaringo]

 

While cyphers can cast 1-2 spells and then hope for getting some focus back.

You're kidding right? I've been playing a Cipher and honestly, she's got focus pouring out of her pointy little ears.

 

Focus is not a problem. If you want endless spell casting, roll a Cipher.

 

This has been my experience, basically. Cipher keeps pace with the wizard in the theoretical 'unlimited rests' scenario, and just ramps harder the fewer rests per campaign you take.

[RedSocialKnight]

I've been playing a Cipher and honestly, she's got focus pouring out of her pointy little ears.

 

Focus is not a problem. If you want endless spell casting, roll a Cipher.

 

Recovery time and casting time are the trouble with my Cipher, as while he's standing there in melee for five seconds casting a spell he is not doing any damage but he is getting punched in the face. So even though Focus isn't a scarce commodity, I still find it's best to have him only cast at a couple of junctures in the fight -- usually at the outset and when the guy he's engaged with goes down.