Wizards Get Better?

[MightyUnclean]

Right now, the wizard I had join my party seems more like a hindrance than anything, since he can only cast a few spells before having to camp.  Does this change at higher levels?  Or is it better to just not roll with a wizard in the party?

 

Thanks!

[AdmiralPrice]

I've found that one of the major problems is that enemies bee-line for the wizard the moment he uses a single spell. Hell, in a certain quest, enemies bee-lined for him eve before he used spells!

[Wolken3156]

You get more spell levels as you level up, which means you also get more casts. Once you reach a certain level, 1st and 2nd level spells become per encounter instead of per rest. also there's items and talents that can increase the number of casts you have per spell level.

[anameforobsidian]

You can also buy wizard rings that give you more spells.  That said, wizards do a surprising amount of damage with their implements.

[Parsong]

They get good, but druid/cipher usually are better.  On really hard fights (very rare) Wizard has insane CC which comes in handy, but for the most part the other two are superior.

[Lasci]

Druid has a lot of wonky spells that kinda seem counter productive, but they're not necessarily bad. All the spellcasters other than the druid start off pretty lackluster, however. I'd give it some time. To be honest, it doesn't help that Aloth is very poorly built.

[basketofseals]

You get more spell levels as you level up, which means you also get more casts. Once you reach a certain level, 1st and 2nd level spells become per encounter instead of per rest. also there's items and talents that can increase the number of casts you have per spell level.

What level is this?

[Wolken3156]

 

You get more spell levels as you level up, which means you also get more casts. Once you reach a certain level, 1st and 2nd level spells become per encounter instead of per rest. also there's items and talents that can increase the number of casts you have per spell level.

What level is this?

 

Level 9 for 1st level spells, I think it was 12 for 2nd level.

[Parsong]

As of todays new patch none of Wizards t1/2 are  that good tho, making his progression far more underwhelming than release version.

 

Druid/Cipher were already a bit better, now they are more so.

Edited April 4, 2015 by Parsong

[noules]

 

You get more spell levels as you level up, which means you also get more casts. Once you reach a certain level, 1st and 2nd level spells become per encounter instead of per rest. also there's items and talents that can increase the number of casts you have per spell level.

What level is this?

 

Level 1 spells become encounter instead of rest at level 9 (it says this in the manual in the spell progression table, but it's easy to miss) and level 2 spells become encounter at level 11. Needless to say, at level 9 wizards become considerably more convenient to use.

[Baleros]

Let me tell you how to wizard at low levels. 

 

1.  Make sure you have rod, scepter, or wand equipped.  Wizard go BOOM stuff on groups of enemies.

2.  Use arcane assault.  Wizard go BOOM stuff on groups of enemies.

3.  Is hard fight.  Cast spell to burn bad guiz until fight easy.  Wizard go BOOM stuff on groups of enemies.

 

Congratulations.  You is now wizard.  Go forth and make BOOM.

[Cowards]

I've found that one of the major problems is that enemies bee-line for the wizard the moment he uses a single spell. Hell, in a certain quest, enemies bee-lined for him eve before he used spells!

 

pretty much this. I love wizards and other casters, but it's a bit annoying

[Wolken3156]

As of todays new patch none of Wizards t1/2 are  that good tho, making his progression far more underwhelming than release version.

 

Druid/Cipher were already a bit better, now they are more so.

Fan of Flames and Chill Fog are still top tier 1st level spells. The patch didn't even touch the former. Eldritch Aim also a great spell, but mostly for higher difficulties.

 

2nd-levels though, have always been a bit underwhelming. Merciless Gaze and Fetid Caress are the only ones I ever find myself using.

[Anthony Stark]

Currently, the biggest issue is that the Wizard is one of the slowest starters in the game. Tier 1 spells have very niche applications (especially now that Slicken has had its duration reduced significantly), and are especially lacking in damage options for the early game. This is partly a consequence of the damage types used (Freeze damage is commonly resisted) and partly a consequence of the targeting types used. Both Fan of Flames and Jolting Touch require the Wizard, which is a very fragile class, to be within melee range of opponents (or to maneuver themselves to be open to attacks). By comparison, Druids have several ranged circle-targeted AoE damage spells, allowing them to remain in the backline in relative safety, which means that they have more opportunities to contribute to damage.

 

Honestly, the biggest use that I've found for Wizards so far is utility casting. Arduous Delay of Motion and Expose Vulnerabilities are both excellent spells, and Curse of Blackened Sight is now very handy in large group engagements. I'm not really sure that they measure up to Ciphers still, but you can get some use out of them. I would advocate for some changes to their earlier spells, however, to make them more party friendly.

[Parsong]

Currently, the biggest issue is that the Wizard is one of the slowest starters in the game. Tier 1 spells have very niche applications (especially now that Slicken has had its duration reduced significantly), and are especially lacking in damage options for the early game. This is partly a consequence of the damage types used (Freeze damage is commonly resisted) and partly a consequence of the targeting types used. Both Fan of Flames and Jolting Touch require the Wizard, which is a very fragile class, to be within melee range of opponents (or to maneuver themselves to be open to attacks). By comparison, Druids have several ranged circle-targeted AoE damage spells, allowing them to remain in the backline in relative safety, which means that they have more opportunities to contribute to damage.

 

Honestly, the biggest use that I've found for Wizards so far is utility casting. Arduous Delay of Motion and Expose Vulnerabilities are both excellent spells, and Curse of Blackened Sight is now very handy in large group engagements. I'm not really sure that they measure up to Ciphers still, but you can get some use out of them. I would advocate for some changes to their earlier spells, however, to make them more party friendly.

 

I find druid to have a much better version of all their dmg/aoe spells.   But while Wizard has crazy CC, Druid has healing and okay CC.  

Edited April 4, 2015 by Parsong

[basketofseals]

 

As of todays new patch none of Wizards t1/2 are  that good tho, making his progression far more underwhelming than release version.

 

Druid/Cipher were already a bit better, now they are more so.

Fan of Flames and Chill Fog are still top tier 1st level spells. The patch didn't even touch the former. Eldritch Aim also a great spell, but mostly for higher difficulties.

 

2nd-levels though, have always been a bit underwhelming. Merciless Gaze and Fetid Caress are the only ones I ever find myself using.

 

Is chill fog not great anymore after the patch?

 

What other spells are good? There's so many spells that are disgustingly undertuned like necrotic lance.

[cake-teleporter]

Druid seems better especially at lower levels, but it's relatively easy to use fan of flames, just scout ahead then pull the enemy with the fighter and fan of flames as he runs screaming past you, or just wait until the fight is well underway and position appropriately, to be honest the yellow area (that onlt effects enemies not allies) is often not hard to position.

 

The spell level 2 Curse of blackened sight is also Foe AoE and is a fairly powerful debuff.

Edited April 4, 2015 by cake-teleporter

[DavidHansen]

How are higher level spells for Foe-only AoE? I might not have the patience to carefully aim all my AoE spells. 

[Schyzm]

wizards get very powerful late game because of their per rest mechanic allowing them to vomit out an enormous # of powerful late game spells in important fights. but to be honest, I don't like the class having used it to bomb a bunch of fights. cipher is a much more fun and balanced class that is more enjoyable and still pretty good with some pretty strong stuff.

[Khrysophylax]

 

I find druid to have a much better version of all their dmg/aoe spells.   But while Wizard has crazy CC, Druid has healing and okay CC.  

 

 

That's been my general experience as well. Druids start out very strong and remain viable throughout pretty much the entire game. Wizards, especially after the nerfs to Slicken and Chill Fog, have a VERY difficult start and only start getting good quite a bit later in the game, and most of that is pure CC--aside from the Gaseous Cloud and Circle of Death equivalents, you're well advised to stay away from 'nuking' spells with the class entirely. The Druid does just about everything better in that regard.

 

Sure, their CC abilities aren't *as good* as the Wizard's, but they still have fairly decent CC options coupled with amazing AOE spells, healing, and the somewhat middling quality that is Shapeshifting. Honestly, they seem a lot more fun and balanced to play.

Edited April 4, 2015 by Khrysophylax

[Luridis]

The "raw damage" doohickey that you're supposed to use every fight is so annoying (range) that I end up wanding everything. I'm not getting that close to the front line just to use that mini aoe PoS. There are too many spells in the game IMO that amount of unfocused action bar clutter.

 

I'd like to see everything more useful and more focused.

Edited April 4, 2015 by Luridis

[Fimconte]

IEMod Aloth into a Cipher if you want to spam spells, Druid if you like AoE boom and debuffs or Priest if you want a various heals, shields and support buffs. 

I think Wizard needs some useful/fun per encounter abilities.
Arcane Assault doesn't fill that role.  
 

Edited April 4, 2015 by Fimconte

[KDubya]

I am only up to level 5 playing on hard, different levels and difficulties might have wildly different experiences.

 

I have Aloth, Eder, Durance, Kana, and a boreal dwarf two handed fighter specced for damage. The fighters initiate combat with pistol and arbalest and then switch to sword and board and Esoc to hold the mobs at bay. The rest fire from behind the line and use their per encounter abilities. The wizard Aloth gets two AoE arcane assaults which help from the safety of the rear. As needed his AoE spells like chill fog and cone of flames get used. The cone can either be fired from behind, finding the spot where both my frontline and the enemies are all in the light shaded area of effect or by running to the flank or rear and roasting the enemies.

 

The second level spell fetid caress is awesome for single tough targets.

 

Maybe other caster  classes can own everything but I find Aloth effective as a tactical damage dealer. Against normal enemies he just uses the per encounters, against large groups he lets loose with the AoE and against tough single targets he fires up the disabling spells. The spell system allows for flexibility, I can use 4 fire cones in a row if needed.

 

Perhaps as a main a low level wizard is not as exciting but I find in most encounters I take control of the wizard while my fighter main goes to town on his own.

[GreatBeyonder]

In most D&D settings, (not 4e) wizards are always frustratingly useless in early levels and always inconcievably overpowered in higher levels. PoE is simply following suit.

 

In this game, Aloth may seem useless at first, but if you just invest time in him, he'll make everyone else redundant.

[Odd Hermit]

As of todays new patch none of Wizards t1/2 are  that good tho, making his progression far more underwhelming than release version.

 

Druid/Cipher were already a bit better, now they are more so.

 

 

Chill Fog and Slicken are less cheesy but overall it's a better balanced class along the range improvements to some key spells. Chill Fog is still really strong honestly. 

 

My PotD party is around level 5 right now and the Wizard is a major asset to the group. Combusting Wounds is even more fantastic with the boosted range. Their level 1/2 spells are stronger than Druid's, really, they're just less forgiving to play because they have such weak base durability.

 

 

Yes, Druid is a better nuker on lower difficulties, but Wizard is still a strong class. They still have lots of fairly useless self-buffs that don't make sense for Wizard given PoE's combat style, but they're not crippled.

 

The classes that really need help right now are Ranger and Barbarian IMO.

Edited April 4, 2015 by Odd Hermit