Backup Weaponry

[Eggplant]

As we all know, Wizards run out of SP much more quickly than Sorcerers. And if you keep on shooting, that eternal wand WILL run out of charges, and you have to wait for it to recharge. So what to do to stay in the fight without chugging Mnemonic Enhancement potions? Melee weapons are generally out of the question (at least for me), so that leaves the Ranged and Throwing. Because a Wizard's main role is either CC or DPS, without SP you will still be expected to do damage, so I am knocking out Thrown weapons. That leaves Ranged. Currently I am using a Heavy Crossbow, but with the attack speed I am really disappointed in the DPS. My question is, should I spend a feat to get Repeating Heavy Crossbow proficiency, or dish out the Gold to get a high damage Heavy?

[Gkar]

At low level, unless you totally gimped your str, when you get low on SP cast Masters Touch on a Greataxe and start swinging.

By mid levels you shouldn't be running out of SP. If you are, you need to think about what spells you are casting when and what metas you are using when.

[Eggplant]

Thanks for the quick response. My STR is 10 (prolly shoulda been 8, as I'm a 28 Pt build) so I can't do much damage in melee. I am a pretty low level (6) and I mainly run out of SP for 2 reasons:

1. No/bad tanks who let me get engulfed in Melee, where I use lots of SP to kill everything with Fireball
2. Long quests with few Shrines

I only have 11 AC and 50 Max HP, so I die really quickly in any Melee situation. Should I spam Diplomacy and hope for the best?

[PersonaJXT]

Wizards do tend to run out of sp in certain quests, much more so than sorcs. In fact, in a lot of quests wizards are mostly delegated to a support role with buffs, cc, etc. That's not to say that wizards can't do dps, but in general they don't have the sp to go around blasting things to bits like a sorc can. Wiz generally can't melee at all past the low levels, even with all their buffs, so while useful early on, melee buffs aren't going to help much.

The best thing a wizard can do is know when and where to use certain spells. Wizards have access to a lot more spells than sorcs (though most are junk to be honest), and can switch spells at any rest shrine/taverns, so a good wizard would behoove themselves not to take advantage of this fact and be able to bring the right spells to the right quests.

Once you get to know the quests in the game, you'll be better at rationing your sp so that you'll be able to last through most quests. Until you do though, it might be better to play conservatively, saving most of your sp for big fights.

As for survivability... there's nothing much you can do about the ac. Most characters ever have usable ac at high levels anyways. Start with at least 14 Con and take the Toughness feat and accompanying enhancements to shore up your wiz's low hp, and keep Blur up on yourself. Later you'll likely replace Blur with momentary Displacements (Blur is 20% dodge for a long time while Displacement is 50% dodge for a shorter time) along with other defensive spells like Stoneskin. And don't forget Resist Energy (and Protection from Energy to a lesser degree imo) for when fighting against nasty enemy casters. Casting crowd control spells on enemies is an excellent more proactive defense as well.

Your best defense is to just stay away from everything though. There really aren't "tanks" in DDO, at least not like the traditional tank in other games like EQ or WoW. You'll see an intimitank from time to time, but those tend to be rare and you shouldn't count on getting one. But if you're never in range to get hit in the first place, you'll never get hit. There are situations where you'll be getting hit with aoe along with everyone else, but that's what having decent Con and Toughness are for.

As a wizard, you'll have the skill points to put in diplomacy. Along with a diplomacy item, wizards are able to get decent enough diplomacy to diplomacy away most intelligent mobs. Just be aware that it can make mobs attack your healer or another caster instead of you, and that can be worse depending on the situation.

If you really want a bit of extra sp recovery aside from pots, the korthos island archivist necklace, the spell storing ring from the sands of menech, and items like the mysterious bauble can help a bit in that regard. After getting to the higher levels though, you'll be better with your sp, and you'll rarely run out of sp unless things go south.

[Hobgoblin]

Thanks for the quick response. My STR is 10 (prolly shoulda been 8, as I'm a 28 Pt build) so I can't do much damage in melee. I am a pretty low level (6) and I mainly run out of SP for 2 reasons:

1. No/bad tanks who let me get engulfed in Melee, where I use lots of SP to kill everything with Fireball
2. Long quests with few Shrines

I only have 11 AC and 50 Max HP, so I die really quickly in any Melee situation. Should I spam Diplomacy and hope for the best?

50 max hp? what is your con? and race?

that seems low considering my level 6 wiz/1 rogue has 95

hob

[AyumiAmakusa]

As we all know, Wizards run out of SP much more quickly than Sorcerers. And if you keep on shooting, that eternal wand WILL run out of charges.....*snip*

Stop right there. As someone who has farmed for Eternal Wands, I can safely say that if you have sufficient Eternal Wands, you'll never run out of charges. About 5 wands will give you infinite shooting through a quest. But what you need to learn is SP conservation and have some Heavy Picks on hand (for melee-ing if you're capable) or any other weapon that suits you.

Sometimes, blasting your opponent to death is not the best way to deal with them. Try Crowd Control spells that render your opponent weak/incapable of fighting and let the melees handle them.

Don't get into the Crossbow line as a Wizard. If you're dealing low DPS then it's not your fault. Do what you can if you run out of SP and let your team handle the rest. Generally if you manage your SP, you won't run into too many situations where you run out of SP quickly.

[SirAppleheart]

50 max hp? what is your con? and race?

that seems low considering my level 6 wiz/1 rogue has 95

hob

50 HP at lvl 6 means 12 con and no Toughness. :(

Now I personally would probably just reroll to be fair. Even with 28pt builds you should be able to get more then 12 con, and by level 6 I'd warmly recommend getting Toughness too, but thats optional of course. Also getting a +con item will go a long way there.

Squishy wizards are dead wizards, more often then not at least.

[Eggplant]

Well, I don't have Toughness, that much is true, but I DO have 14 CON. I just got level 7 and Pale Master, so actually I think I will keep some potions/a healing wand on hand and use Necrotic Touch.... I also have 55 HP from the bonus, and 63 or so from level 7. Also, the reason I have low hp is probably the fact that I have NO HP/health items... planning on getting some of those.

EDIT: PK will probably help me save some SP... I PK is cheaper and faster than 2 fireballs.

[abull74]

50hp?

I cant understand why people are making such squishy toons....w t f? I ran with a lvl 8 wizzy the other day that only had 68 hp...how are you gonna survive when an infant, crippled, half ******** kobold can one shot you?


Seriously people...max INt then max CON...thats all you need as a caster

Dex does nothing for you.....wis does nothing for you.....cha does nothing dor you(unless you are sorc, then you dont need INT), str does nothing for you

toughness feat at lvl 1 and dont look back....

Biggest mistake is people making elf casters...WHY? all you are doing is screwing yourself out of HP...you gain nothing by being an elf caster.

dwarf or WF make great wizzys...humans too

elf are good for nothing but making one-shot wonders


I AM THE FPOON!!!


PS: Maximize and Empower Stack people.....you cant kill sh!t if you dont use them.....with them on you can one shot an entire mob with ONE fireball instead of casting it 3-4 times......THINK PEOPLE!!!

[TheMeanDM]

#1 choice: Firewall (now that you're 7th).

Make them walk through fire to get to you, as well as stand IN the wall you create.

The melee enemies will be dead in no time.

Don't forget to block if you stand still for very long.

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Charm Person/Monster

Summon Monster III (hell hound)

Great to draw aggro off of you, because your minion will probably be hitting for more damage per swing than you do.

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Fireshield is a nice little spell (both the Fire and Cold versions can be applied at the same time, fyi, for cold and fire damage).

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Fearsome equipment will make your enemies run, or be shaken.

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Any type of "Guard" equipment (Fire Guard, Acid Guard, etc) will help kill folks that hit you. Yes, different guard types stack: So a Fire Guard robe and Acid Guard buckler will deal 1d8 damage EACH.

(Ice guard doesn't work vs. Undead, fyi).

[ThatLukeGuy]

This is a great thread for people looking for information. Thanks guys for putting up the responses! I've been playing for a bit but there was still new info I learned by reading the thread that will help me be a better player :D

[chrisgina39]

14 str no dex wis cha 14 con(or 16 if wf/dwrf) 18 int u can melee no feat(2 lvls of rouge greatly helps)

[Muldamai]

Turtling up is really good too, right after dropping a fire wall. Keep a tower shield handy, swap to it when aggroed, and hold down the shift key (while standing in the wall of fire). Just remember to change out the shield before casting again.

[sirgog]

Someone suggested Charm spells. Don't use them, use Suggestion instead - it has a consistent duration, typically longer than a Charm lasts, and it works on a wider range of foes (Suggestion works on orange-named minibosses, for example).

[Eggplant]

Thanks for all the helpful responses guys. Turns out I DID only have 12 Con (D'oh!) so I'll be sure to get either Con or False Health items (Prolly Con). I took Phantasmal Killer and Firewall as my level 4 spells, so I am definitely doing more damage for my SP now. Currently my best strategy is to use Exped Retreat (Wand) and get the mobs to run back and forth through the wall, aggroing with fireball. I have been using Summon Monster III since level 6 and it has in fact tanked for me a bit... and as a Pale Master I can summon skeletons in addition to the Monsters summoned. So, should I grab a Buckler? I recently got a Fearsome Robe of Lesser Acid Guard for pretty cheap, so I had been using that, and it has been keeping some damage off me... that and in emergencies PKing the enemy casters. I don't think I have much of a chance even with a shield... if the enemy gets past Blur I am almost always hit, with my AC of 12. With Mage Armor (Which is 20 minutes Extended for me) it gets up to 16, which is still feeble. I was going to grab a scroll of Shield and learn it, to bring it to 18 AC, but I am still pretty much always gonna be hit. If I grab a, say, +3 Buckler that would give me a +4 to AC (Shields stack with Mage Armor, right?), so 22 AC.... still pretty bad, if you ask me. Is it worth it?

[TheMeanDM]

Ok, look at this guy's AC.....(and his INT)



I know it's nothing really special, but I'm proud of it nonetheless :)

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/9760/screenshot00042.jpg


Obviously AC doesn't mean much as a spell-slinger at 20th level....so don't fret over it too terribly much.

[vVAnjilaVv]

Ehhhh...my WF'ed WIZ has a base 14 STR and power attack......I use melee all the time......I guess it's a bit more feasible on a self repairing build tho.

[MateCarefor]

Mage Armor won't stack with Armor Bonus, so if you are wearing Black Widow Bracer's or the like, it is a waste of spellpoints.
Shield is more for protection from magic missiles than for AC (in my opinion)

My 2cp worth of things I have learned being a consumate arcane noob:
1. you should not hit targets first unless insta-killing or it is a general cc in the area (like web, otto, fog, etc) - let the melee's get aggro.
1a. That is why having a ranged weapon can be a really bad idea. You tend to acquire a target first, plink it, then you have aggro.

2. If you are going to jump around with a train of monsters, scrape them off on your melee's; do not run monsters out of your own team's DPS range. It is inefficient, annoying, and tedious.
2a. Fear is ok for solo, but be verrrry careful using it in a group. you can seriously annoy folks making critters run all over the place rather than into the blades of your melees. Might ask them before you equip it.

3. As said above, Diplomacy does work pretty well, and turtling with a high DR shield is a great way to weather the onslaught (you can intim and diplo while blocking, just as an fyi)

4. Never underestimate your utility. Nuking is fun, but hasting barbarians is more DPS than Magic Missile
4a. Invisibilty on healers works well too - all their heal spells can be cast without breaking invis. (works on hirelings for soloing as well)

5. Metamagics can be expensive, items are free. Dual wield potency/penetration items. Use clickies of superior (x) to enhance damage without extra spellpoint cost
5a. Know when Max/Emp/Height are going to pay off. lots of posts in the forums breaking it down on sp cost/damage return, or scratch some notes while you play.
Hint: Maximizing on kobolds is usually a waste till you hit Reaver's Refuse...er...refuge

6. If your DC is high enough, keep in mind held/incapp'd monsters are crit hit with every shot, allowing you to land tremendous damage with a heavy pick, and your melees can mop up. Flesh to Stone, hold monster, etc are great for this work.

7. you have the highest intelligence of the bunch, role-play you do as well. Get monsters into choke points like halls and doorways where you can control the fight better (just like in the tabletop game). Web the hall, fog the path up, get cloudkill in front of the spawn point, etc. This approach gets muuuch easier as you have experienced the quest a few times.

Just some thoughts - hope they help, and have fun!

[Kriogen]

As we all know, Wizards run out of SP much more quickly than Sorcerers. And if you keep on shooting, that eternal wand WILL run out of charges, and you have to wait for it to recharge. So what to do to stay in the fight without chugging Mnemonic Enhancement potions? Melee weapons are generally out of the question (at least for me), so that leaves the Ranged and Throwing. Because a Wizard's main role is either CC or DPS, without SP you will still be expected to do damage, so I am knocking out Thrown weapons. That leaves Ranged. Currently I am using a Heavy Crossbow, but with the attack speed I am really disappointed in the DPS. My question is, should I spend a feat to get Repeating Heavy Crossbow proficiency, or dish out the Gold to get a high damage Heavy?
If you have some STR and are durable (solid number of HPs, etc) you can melee with Wizard just fine. Not as good as Barbs and stuff, but good enough for 99% of content.

If your DEX is solid, you can invest in ranged. Repeater is not so bad for a bit of support. Not as good as melee, but it does more damage then all "wands" combined for example.

Well, you need to "hit" things. Melee in general need STR for tohit, ranged need DEX.

Repeater will work. Its like normal XBow, but fires 3 bolts in rapid succesion and not just 1 bolt. A shock/acid of pure good with icy-ritual and conjure flame bolts is not bad at low levels

If you have some gold, you can also buy a damage wand or two in shops all around Stromreach.

[Eggplant]

Okay, just a quick question. I pretty much ALWAYS keep Extend on, unless I am placing a short duration fire wall. Is this a good idea? It is one of the cheaper Metas.

[nibel]

Yes, its a bad idea. You make better use of extend when you do the initial buffing on the quest entrance, and when you cast haste (2x haste = 40 SP. Extended haste = 30 SP). Otherwise, keep extend off.

Sure, some tactical places will love an extended wall of fire, or an extended solid fog. But they are situational enough to get out of the general recommendation.

Also, remember that Pale Master give bonus DC to necromancy spells, and PK is illusion. Your first necro instakill is Finger of Death, at level 13.

[QuintellaRosa]

OK: simple question, not sure about answer:

How do I get 52 Intelligence? I come from the PnP game, so 52 Int is for gods (not demi-gods). Even NWN2 would not reach that (I think it's capped to 40...)

So, again: how do I get such ability???


Also: I plan to level up Ranger 1 / Wizard 19 and go Arcane Archer. I understand people saying "think on DPS!!!", but that's fair more than a wizard can do. I'm sure I'll do more than keep waiting 'til the boss come or the barbarian tell me: "Let me see... 1 Bull's, 1 Bear's and a Displacement, please. For delivery in a small box, please. And don't forget the ketchup!"


@Nibel:

Putz, sabia que não era o único brasileiro, mas pelo menos, vi alguém da terrinha aqui tb! :D

[Meko99]

I rarely run out of spelllpoints unless people are being incredibly stupid and I have to use up a good chunk to save the group from wiping. But when I do I pull out my trusty paralyzing staff of +stun and have at some nasty monsters preferably in the back of the head. Why a staff? Your a wizard, act like one.. If you can't do even noticable dps, get a weapon with some usefull effects like paralyzing, disruption or even a metalline one then you can still help and still look fashionably wizard like.

[Heronous]

Ok, look at this guy's AC.....(and his INT)





Obviously AC doesn't mean much as a spell-slinger at 20th level....so don't fret over it too terribly much.


Also take note of her CON and her HP ;)

[Eladiun]

I haven't seen it mentioned yet so I will. Stoneskin is a wizards best friend. You can buy Stoneskin wands in the 12 so you can conserve XP at lower levels. In a real pinch hit yourself with Displacement as well, and you should be able to be able to handle the damage you take when you get agro.