Phil7
03-15-2016, 08:14 PM
*This build is outdated and I will propably not bother updating it again. Please read this
This is a simple wizard build using the new deep gnome race designed for new players. It focuses primarily on insta-kill spells and dots.
I decided to post this on the forums, after helping a friend with his feats and enhancements all the way to level 15. It was then that I realized that Turbine has added new epic feats for casters and that the Deep Gnome and Archmage enhancements both have a Phantasmal Killer SLA. Even as a Melee-main player, I had to give it a try and the results were amazing!
The build has 3... yes 3 Phantasmal Killer spells! Plus a bunch of other death-spells that will make your party members rage at you for not being able to land even a single hit on a mob!
*Pale Master is recommended at least in Heroic levels for a proper way to heal yourself. You can also use a Hireling or Cocoon for Epic levels.
Death Wizard
20 Wizard - Deep Gnome
True Neutral
Stats
. . . . . . . . . . 28pt. . 32pt. .34pt. .36pt
. . . . . . . .---- . . ---- . . ---- . . ---- . . -----
Strength. . . . .6. . . . .6. . . . 6. . . . 6. . .
Dexterity . . . . 8. . . . 8. . . . 8. . . . 8. . . .
Constitution. . 16. . . .18. . . 18. . . 18. . .
Intelligence. . 20. . . .20. . . 20. . . 20. . .
Wisdom. . . . . 10. . . .10. . . 10 . . .10. . . .
Charisma. . . . .8 . . . .6. . . . 8. . . .10. . . .
*Add to INT at level ups
Skills
max Spellcraft, UMD, Perform, Heal, Balance, Search and add 2 points to Tumble.
Extra points can go to Concentration.
Feats
Level 1 (Wizard)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Empower Spell
Feat: (Selected) Spell Penetration
Level 2 (Wizard)
Level 3 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Penetration
Level 4 (Wizard)
Level 5 (Wizard)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Spell Focus: Illusion
Level 6 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Focus: Illusion
Level 7 (Wizard)
Level 8 (Wizard)
Level 9 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Quicken Spell
Level 10 (Wizard)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Maximize Spell
Level 11 (Wizard)
Level 12 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Heighten Spell
Level 13 (Wizard)
Level 14 (Wizard)
Level 15 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Past Life: Arcane Initiate
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Spell Focus: Necromancy
Level 16 (Wizard)
Level 17 (Wizard)
Level 18 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Focus: Necromancy
Level 19 (Wizard)
Level 20 (Wizard)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Mental Toughness
Level 21 (Epic)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Epic Spell Penetration
Level 22 (Epic)
Level 23 (Epic)
Level 24 (Epic)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Intensify Spell
Level 25 (Epic)
Level 26 (Epic)
Feat: (Epic Destiny) Divine Sphere: Epic Spell Power: Negative
Level 27 (Epic)
Featt: (Selected) Epic: Embolden Spell
Level 28 (Epic)
Feat: (Epic Destiny) Arcane Sphere: Hellball
Level 29 (Epic)
Feat: (Epic Destiny) Arcane Sphere: Arcane Pulse
Level 30 (Epic)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Master of the Dead
Feat: (Legendary) Scion of the Shadowfell
Enhancements
Deep Gnome (at least 16 AP)
Wariness x2, Intelligence x2
Hardy Nature x3, Color Spray x1
Racial Spell Focus: Illusion x3, Stoneskin x1, Spellcraft x1
Phantasmal Killer x1
Archmage (at least 21 AP)
Illusion I-IV: Invisibility, Blur, Displacement, Phantasmal Killer
Energy of the Scholar x2
Improved Quickening x3
Spell Penetration x3, Intelligence
Useful Spells
1. Jump, Merfolk's Blessing, Sonic Blast, Magic Missile, Obscuring Mist, Shield/Nightshield
2. Resist Energy, Web, Gust of Wind, Hypnotic Pattern, Blur, Invisibility, Lesser Death Aura, Spawn Screen, Knock
3. Magic Circle Against Evil, Sleet Storm, Rage, Chain Missiles, Fireball, Displacement, Haste
4. Dimension Door, Ice Storm, Phantasmal Killer, Death Aura, Negative Energy Burst, Force Missiles
5. Protection from Elements, Teleport, Eladar's Electric Surge, Niac's Biting Cold, Prismatic Ray
6. Greater Heroism, Circle of Death, Undeath to Death, Disintegrate, Necrotic Ray, True Seeing
7. Prismatic Spray, Finger of Death, Protection from Elements Mass, Greater Teleport, Hold Person Mass, Otto's Sphere of Dancing, Invisibility Mass
8. Otto's Irresistible Dance, Power Word: Stun, Black Dragon Bolt
9. Power Word: Kill, Wail of the Banshee, Hold Monster Mass, Mordenkainen's Disjunction, Energy Drain
Destiny
Magister
Intelligence, Unearthly Reactions x2
[Spell School] Specialist (Illusion or Necromancy) x3, Intelligence
Piercing Spellcraft x3, [Spell School] Augmentation (Necromancy) x3
[Spell School] Familiarity (Illusion or Necromancy) x3
Master of [Spell School] (Illusion or Necromancy) x3
Arcane Adept, Intelligence
Twists of Fate
Echoes of the Ancestors: Arcane (Magister)
Piercing Spellcraft
Draconic Presence
Endless Faith or Intelligence
Items
Items that boost your INT, CON, the DC of Illusion/Necromancy spells and Spell Penetration.
Items that boost your Negative Spell Power, your Spellcraft and your maximum Spell Points and Hit Points.
For survivability invest in PRR, MRR and Dodge. AC is unimportant in this build and your Saves will propably be very poor.
And to clarify a few things:
*Strength can be added at level 1 to prevent you from being encumbered or helpless from annoying Rays of Exhaustion and from moving at the speed of a turtle with a full inventory.
*Charisma can be added at level 1 to increase your UMD and your Social Skills.
*UMD is for Ress Scrolls, Perform has a good synergy with Shiradi and Concentration to avoid being interrupted when using those Ress Scrolls.
*If you don't have a Wizard Past Life, take Improved Mental Toughness in place of the Past Life feat.
*Epic: Intensify Spell?! Wait, why not Intelligence or Epic Spell Focus? Because a perma +75 to your Spell Power is a huge boost and imo can't be compared to a simple +1 to spell DCs.
*Arcane Pulse: another great dot to use against bosses or annoying death-warded champion mobs.
*Sonic Blast is great for destroying groups of breakables.
*Magic Missile are again, a good synergy with Shiradi.
*Hypnotic Pattern: I would recommend using this spell only when soloing quests. You CAN get kicked out of groups for using it.
*Spawn Screen: use against annoying Wraith/Spectre Lingering Touch skill.
*Sleet Storm: again, don't use if in a group, unless everyone has Freedom of Movement.
*Fireball: good for breaking down doors when your STR is too low...
*Prismatic Spray/Ray: these can proc an insta-kill effect with no save and other funny effects.
*Mordenkainen's Disjunction: remember those nasty Spell Wards that explode in your face and slow/paralyze/kill/burn/poison/whatever you? Well you can actually disarm them kind of like a Rogue. Use this spell on them until their CR drops to 0.
*[Spell School] Augmentation (Necromancy):
You can combine this with your Death Aura and Lesser Death Aura to decrease the Fortitude save of nearby enemies and therefore make them less resistant to your Fortitude-based death spells. Every single tick of your Auras can proc this effect!
*HELP! I used my Finger of Death on a boss, but nothing happened! Are my spell DCs too low?
Propably not. I saw the build in action at level 15 inside a level 18 quest (Elite) and he could 1-shot everything with his Phantasmal Killer. Bosses are just immune to Death Effects. But you have 3-4 dots to help against them + Ice Storm.
*What about the rest of the Enhancement points??
It's called laziness and I also want to encourage new players to try out things for themselves.
You can invest in Eldritch Knight for Survivability, in Harper for Spell Power or in Archmage/Pale Master for increased DCs and Spell Penetration.
*I want to gather some Past Lives for this build!
Great, you can improve it with 3 PLs Wizard (+6 Spell Pen and +1 to DCs feat)
3 PLs Favored Soul (+3 Spell Pen)
3 Iconic PLs Deep Gnome (+3 Illusion DC)
3 Epic PLs of Arcane Alacrity (10% faster spell recharge)
*http://ddowiki.com/page/The_Rare_Arcane_Scroll_List
Here you can find a list of all the spells that are not being sold by merchants.
This is a simple wizard build using the new deep gnome race designed for new players. It focuses primarily on insta-kill spells and dots.
I decided to post this on the forums, after helping a friend with his feats and enhancements all the way to level 15. It was then that I realized that Turbine has added new epic feats for casters and that the Deep Gnome and Archmage enhancements both have a Phantasmal Killer SLA. Even as a Melee-main player, I had to give it a try and the results were amazing!
The build has 3... yes 3 Phantasmal Killer spells! Plus a bunch of other death-spells that will make your party members rage at you for not being able to land even a single hit on a mob!
*Pale Master is recommended at least in Heroic levels for a proper way to heal yourself. You can also use a Hireling or Cocoon for Epic levels.
Death Wizard
20 Wizard - Deep Gnome
True Neutral
Stats
. . . . . . . . . . 28pt. . 32pt. .34pt. .36pt
. . . . . . . .---- . . ---- . . ---- . . ---- . . -----
Strength. . . . .6. . . . .6. . . . 6. . . . 6. . .
Dexterity . . . . 8. . . . 8. . . . 8. . . . 8. . . .
Constitution. . 16. . . .18. . . 18. . . 18. . .
Intelligence. . 20. . . .20. . . 20. . . 20. . .
Wisdom. . . . . 10. . . .10. . . 10 . . .10. . . .
Charisma. . . . .8 . . . .6. . . . 8. . . .10. . . .
*Add to INT at level ups
Skills
max Spellcraft, UMD, Perform, Heal, Balance, Search and add 2 points to Tumble.
Extra points can go to Concentration.
Feats
Level 1 (Wizard)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Empower Spell
Feat: (Selected) Spell Penetration
Level 2 (Wizard)
Level 3 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Penetration
Level 4 (Wizard)
Level 5 (Wizard)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Spell Focus: Illusion
Level 6 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Focus: Illusion
Level 7 (Wizard)
Level 8 (Wizard)
Level 9 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Quicken Spell
Level 10 (Wizard)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Maximize Spell
Level 11 (Wizard)
Level 12 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Heighten Spell
Level 13 (Wizard)
Level 14 (Wizard)
Level 15 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Past Life: Arcane Initiate
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Spell Focus: Necromancy
Level 16 (Wizard)
Level 17 (Wizard)
Level 18 (Wizard)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Focus: Necromancy
Level 19 (Wizard)
Level 20 (Wizard)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Mental Toughness
Level 21 (Epic)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Epic Spell Penetration
Level 22 (Epic)
Level 23 (Epic)
Level 24 (Epic)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Intensify Spell
Level 25 (Epic)
Level 26 (Epic)
Feat: (Epic Destiny) Divine Sphere: Epic Spell Power: Negative
Level 27 (Epic)
Featt: (Selected) Epic: Embolden Spell
Level 28 (Epic)
Feat: (Epic Destiny) Arcane Sphere: Hellball
Level 29 (Epic)
Feat: (Epic Destiny) Arcane Sphere: Arcane Pulse
Level 30 (Epic)
Feat: (Selected) Epic: Master of the Dead
Feat: (Legendary) Scion of the Shadowfell
Enhancements
Deep Gnome (at least 16 AP)
Wariness x2, Intelligence x2
Hardy Nature x3, Color Spray x1
Racial Spell Focus: Illusion x3, Stoneskin x1, Spellcraft x1
Phantasmal Killer x1
Archmage (at least 21 AP)
Illusion I-IV: Invisibility, Blur, Displacement, Phantasmal Killer
Energy of the Scholar x2
Improved Quickening x3
Spell Penetration x3, Intelligence
Useful Spells
1. Jump, Merfolk's Blessing, Sonic Blast, Magic Missile, Obscuring Mist, Shield/Nightshield
2. Resist Energy, Web, Gust of Wind, Hypnotic Pattern, Blur, Invisibility, Lesser Death Aura, Spawn Screen, Knock
3. Magic Circle Against Evil, Sleet Storm, Rage, Chain Missiles, Fireball, Displacement, Haste
4. Dimension Door, Ice Storm, Phantasmal Killer, Death Aura, Negative Energy Burst, Force Missiles
5. Protection from Elements, Teleport, Eladar's Electric Surge, Niac's Biting Cold, Prismatic Ray
6. Greater Heroism, Circle of Death, Undeath to Death, Disintegrate, Necrotic Ray, True Seeing
7. Prismatic Spray, Finger of Death, Protection from Elements Mass, Greater Teleport, Hold Person Mass, Otto's Sphere of Dancing, Invisibility Mass
8. Otto's Irresistible Dance, Power Word: Stun, Black Dragon Bolt
9. Power Word: Kill, Wail of the Banshee, Hold Monster Mass, Mordenkainen's Disjunction, Energy Drain
Destiny
Magister
Intelligence, Unearthly Reactions x2
[Spell School] Specialist (Illusion or Necromancy) x3, Intelligence
Piercing Spellcraft x3, [Spell School] Augmentation (Necromancy) x3
[Spell School] Familiarity (Illusion or Necromancy) x3
Master of [Spell School] (Illusion or Necromancy) x3
Arcane Adept, Intelligence
Twists of Fate
Echoes of the Ancestors: Arcane (Magister)
Piercing Spellcraft
Draconic Presence
Endless Faith or Intelligence
Items
Items that boost your INT, CON, the DC of Illusion/Necromancy spells and Spell Penetration.
Items that boost your Negative Spell Power, your Spellcraft and your maximum Spell Points and Hit Points.
For survivability invest in PRR, MRR and Dodge. AC is unimportant in this build and your Saves will propably be very poor.
And to clarify a few things:
*Strength can be added at level 1 to prevent you from being encumbered or helpless from annoying Rays of Exhaustion and from moving at the speed of a turtle with a full inventory.
*Charisma can be added at level 1 to increase your UMD and your Social Skills.
*UMD is for Ress Scrolls, Perform has a good synergy with Shiradi and Concentration to avoid being interrupted when using those Ress Scrolls.
*If you don't have a Wizard Past Life, take Improved Mental Toughness in place of the Past Life feat.
*Epic: Intensify Spell?! Wait, why not Intelligence or Epic Spell Focus? Because a perma +75 to your Spell Power is a huge boost and imo can't be compared to a simple +1 to spell DCs.
*Arcane Pulse: another great dot to use against bosses or annoying death-warded champion mobs.
*Sonic Blast is great for destroying groups of breakables.
*Magic Missile are again, a good synergy with Shiradi.
*Hypnotic Pattern: I would recommend using this spell only when soloing quests. You CAN get kicked out of groups for using it.
*Spawn Screen: use against annoying Wraith/Spectre Lingering Touch skill.
*Sleet Storm: again, don't use if in a group, unless everyone has Freedom of Movement.
*Fireball: good for breaking down doors when your STR is too low...
*Prismatic Spray/Ray: these can proc an insta-kill effect with no save and other funny effects.
*Mordenkainen's Disjunction: remember those nasty Spell Wards that explode in your face and slow/paralyze/kill/burn/poison/whatever you? Well you can actually disarm them kind of like a Rogue. Use this spell on them until their CR drops to 0.
*[Spell School] Augmentation (Necromancy):
You can combine this with your Death Aura and Lesser Death Aura to decrease the Fortitude save of nearby enemies and therefore make them less resistant to your Fortitude-based death spells. Every single tick of your Auras can proc this effect!
*HELP! I used my Finger of Death on a boss, but nothing happened! Are my spell DCs too low?
Propably not. I saw the build in action at level 15 inside a level 18 quest (Elite) and he could 1-shot everything with his Phantasmal Killer. Bosses are just immune to Death Effects. But you have 3-4 dots to help against them + Ice Storm.
*What about the rest of the Enhancement points??
It's called laziness and I also want to encourage new players to try out things for themselves.
You can invest in Eldritch Knight for Survivability, in Harper for Spell Power or in Archmage/Pale Master for increased DCs and Spell Penetration.
*I want to gather some Past Lives for this build!
Great, you can improve it with 3 PLs Wizard (+6 Spell Pen and +1 to DCs feat)
3 PLs Favored Soul (+3 Spell Pen)
3 Iconic PLs Deep Gnome (+3 Illusion DC)
3 Epic PLs of Arcane Alacrity (10% faster spell recharge)
*http://ddowiki.com/page/The_Rare_Arcane_Scroll_List
Here you can find a list of all the spells that are not being sold by merchants.