advice request: burst wizard attributes, talents and equipments

[LCinn]

It's been a while since I last played PoE, and I'm not entirely clear anymore on how the mechanics work, nor do I have a clear view of the items available. So I would really appreciate it if someone would be able to give me some advice!

 

I want to play a burst damage wizard (on hard, not PotD; that might be important for the viability of the entire concept). So a wizard that can unload pretty much his entire spell allotment in the form of fast damage spells in harder fights. So spells like minoletta's missiles on lvl 1, fireball on lvl 3, etc.

 

I'm not entirely sure about how to assign attributes and talents, and I actually have no idea if there are items that would help here.

 

For attributes, I guess might, perception, dexterity and intelligence are important, but I'm not entirely clear on the finer division between these. Might helps the (usually weaker) fast wizard damage spells hit harder, dexterity helps with the entire burst thing, perception makes sure the spells actually hit. Intelligence might actually be less important, since I won't be crowd controlling as much.

 

So given I'm not comfortable dropping mental attributes too low, does something like this look ok? I have no idea how important perception is (I haven't played since it became important).

 

M: 16

D: 18

C: 6

I: 14

P: 16

R: 8

 

Would more extremes be more useful (ie, is having perception 18 and intelligence 12 better than 16 and 14)?

 

With regards to talents (or race), is there anything that improves spell accuracy, damage, penetration or casting speed? Or do things like marksman only work with ranged weapons? Are there items that help? Any advice would be appreciated.

[MaxQuest]

Intelligence might actually be less important, since I won't be crowd controlling as much.

Int is not only for cc. It also increases radius of your AoE spells and duration of buffs.

I have no idea how important perception is (I haven't played since it became important).

You could take a look here.

[LCinn]

 

You could take a look here.

 

thanks, that minoletta build seems kind of what I'm looking for! Might drop con 2 more points for extra dex.

 

 

- Minoletta wizard: 19 mig, 8 con, 14 dex, 19 per, 10 int, 8 res wood elf. Single-target dps spellcaster. Maximizes the usage of: all Minoletta Missles, Ray of Fire, Ninagauth's Bitter Mooring, Ninagauth's Killing Bolt and Tayn's Chaotic Orb.

[DreamWayfarer]

thanks, that minoletta build seems kind of what I'm looking for! Might drop con 2 more points for extra dex.

 

- Minoletta wizard: 19 mig, 8 con, 14 dex, 19 per, 10 int, 8 res wood elf. Single-target dps spellcaster. Maximizes the usage of: all Minoletta Missles, Ray of Fire, Ninagauth's Bitter Mooring, Ninagauth's Killing Bolt and Tayn's Chaotic Orb.

I would drop a bit of MIG to get a little more INT. The Minoletta spell line synergises extremely well with Combusting Wounds, and you may want to self-buff relatively often, since with one or two buffs and Combusting Wounds your wand will do good damage without spending many spells, and you can use your missiles for when you need more burst damage.

 

And I would drop RES instead of CON.

[LCinn]

If I would (eventually) take eldritch aim, merciless gaze and alacrity for spell mastery, would that change which attributes would be useful? ie could I get away with less perception or dex?

[DreamWayfarer]

If I would (eventually) take eldritch aim, merciless gaze and alacrity for spell mastery, would that change which attributes would be useful? ie could I get away with less perception or dex?

Both are still very useful, but yes. I would drop DEX first, however, since Wizards are very good at causing interrupts if they have good PER. And I would suggest taking Combusting Wounds instead of Merciless Gaze, since it synergises with so many things.

Edited February 18, 2016 by DreamWayfarer

[MaxQuest]

If I would (eventually) take eldritch aim, merciless gaze and alacrity for spell mastery, would that change which attributes would be useful? ie could I get away with less perception or dex?

Yes, slightly. It would shift the importance of INT higher (and maybe dex too); and since you will get + 15 acc from aim, dropping 2-4 points of PER won't be that hardly noticed.

 

(higher int would be needed just for those buffs to last longer)

(and higher dex: to not spend a lot of time in self-buffing only; but to fully utilize their duration)

Edited February 18, 2016 by MaxQuest

[LCinn]

Haha, so keep Per high and drop Dex, but raise Int and Dex and drop Per. Thanks guys!

 

But seriously, thanks, I'm getting a much clearer view again on why I'd want to raise/lower some stats. And I guess that in the end it won't matter too much on hard, and apparently there's a fancy re-spec option these days if things go horribly wrong.

 

Any non-obvious talents to consider for this kind of wizard?

[DreamWayfarer]

Any non-obvious talents to consider for this kind of wizard?

Penetrating Shot affects your missiles.

[LCinn]

And crackling bolt and freezing rake so far (poor Calisca), but not fireball or freezing blast. Is there like a clear rule of what is affected and what not? Or is it kind of arbitrary?

[MaxQuest]

Haha, so keep Per high and drop Dex, but raise Int and Dex and drop Per. Thanks guys!

Pretty much it

 

But seriously, thanks, I'm getting a much clearer view again on why I'd want to raise/lower some stats. And I guess that in the end it won't matter too much on hard, and apparently there's a fancy re-spec option these days if things go horribly wrong.

Yeah, re-spec comes very handy. At some point you will notice that you use some spells over-and-over again. Which? depends on your playstyle and party composition, so you'll just adjust the stats to maximize the effectiveness of precisely what you need. Edited February 18, 2016 by MaxQuest