Are wizards decent and desirable in teams @ end game?

[Dennac]

I don't play MMO's to play by myself and I come to DDO as someone who has played a lot of MMO's but unfortunately is mostly new to the rules of DDO. I've been rolling various characters getting a feel for some of the basics and the low level characters and am entertaining the idea of playing a wizard (the one i have now is lvl 4) but in all honesty am not sure how much frustration I want to submit myself to.

I'm playing a free account so that will have to factor in how I approach this for now. So some questions:

Is the CC of a wizard strong enough to ensure desirability in teams?
What exactly will I bring to the table that is desirable?
Is using the in game template for a necromancer viable?
Would I be better off working out a career path instead? (difficult because of my lack of knowledge of the game systems and content)
Is the summoned pet a help or a mana & time draining nuisance?
How come charms don't follow me?
Is there a better & faster way to release charms so my team mates can slay them when ready? (instead of right clicking on them and hitting the release button)

If it looks like I'm going about this all wrong, please offer suggestions.

Thanks

[TheBlueFox]

I dont know about the deep of endgame, but I have never seen a wizard turned down in a group, unless theres already an arcane class in it and they need a healer.

CC does diminish a bit, but with heightened webs, glitterdusts and nice tasty firewalls, you should be fine and welcome.

youll probably be buffing alot, Hastes, elemental resistances, stoneskin and various things like that, maybe even repairing warforged, but the major thing I hear (again, have not experienced for myself) is that arcane damage takes a backseat either due to its mana cost or efficiency.

Summoned pets are good at level 1 and 2 for adding a little extra damage and a distraction. but beyond that, their effectiveness is negligible. They are just too weak to be a deciding factor in battles and only serve as fodder or a distraction to sneak by things.

Charmed enemies are no longer SUPPOSED to follow you, I believe its only suggested enemies...or something else, but not charmed.

Releasing charms can only be done by selecting them and hitting the remove charm feat that you are provided with and probably dragged to your hotbar.

As for necromancer, using ANY of the preset templates can often lead to less than desirable ends. If you wish to make a necromancer, you should research on your own how it can be created here.

[linaewen]

As you can see from my sig, I play a wizard (high level one too), I dont have much to add to BlueFox comments but I will say that:

- up to Vale (lvl 13-16) stuff (orthons and devils ), a wizard RULES with firewall and a few buffs.
Then it becomes a bit more complicated however I still feel like a decent addition to any group I join. There are some nice strategies to figure out.
Pets are just as dumb and useless as hirelings, so they are useless.

You want a decent wizard build? Easy enough, max INT, rest in CON, and all the other stats at 8. And don't follow any path, customize your toon.

So overall, I think you should be fine playing a wizard in free content, just one thing, DO NOT spec your wizard as a necromancer, the main ability of a wizard is to switch spells when needed, so be a generalist and do what you have to to ensure success.

[TheBlueFox]

As you can see from my sig, I play a wizard (high level one too), I dont have much to add to BlueFox comments but I will say that:

I see no sig >.>

[Montrose]

Wizards are still viable in end-game content, though their usefullness has diminshed not insignificantly in reaver's refuge and beyond due to massive amounts of inflated HP and immunities.

Crowd Control is still viable (symbol of stunning is always a crowd pleaser, mass hold monster makes short work of mobs that fail their save), but the rise in spell resistance and ridiculous saves makes them harder to land. You'll probably wind up needing to energy drain a mob before they'll reliably fail a save.

I highly recommend a wizard before you roll a sorc so that you can try out all the spells. However, once you're comfortable and know what spells you like, I'd suggest rolling a sorc. You get more SP and faster casting time, plus natural attribute synergy with the UMD skill.

I've got both a high-level sorc and a high-level wiz, and of the two the sorc is hands-down more viable in most quests. (Though the wizard is better experimenting and running one-off quests because of the ability to switch spells).

[RTN]

Otto's Irresistible Dance and Mind Fog+Disco Ball are all very effective at end game. A pure Wiz will also get the capstone, which will boost this as well.

[dv8maker123]

Hmm, as a level 17 wizard I find that my level 9 spell summon demon is quite handy (but yes most of the lower level ones stink). As for dumping all other stats to an 8...not a fan of this. Thats a big hit to reflex and will saves, and when you're out of mana its handy to have a bow to add at least some dps. I also have a level 10 wizzie who has a pretty good STR, so with the right buffs and some Divine favor clickies I can go to town in melee. While I expect that to decline when he starts seeing some higher levels it will still be somewhat available to me (the point being there are many ways to be a wizard, you just need to find one that suits your play style). I'm also a proponent of going warforged because the self healing is just irreplaceable (as long as you don't mind looking like a robot).

[Montrose]

Hmm, as a level 17 wizard I find that my level 9 spell summon demon is quite handy (but yes most of the lower level ones stink). As for dumping all other stats to an 8...not a fan of this. Thats a big hit to reflex and will saves, and when you're out of mana its handy to have a bow to add at least some dps. I also have a level 10 wizzie who has a pretty good STR, so with the right buffs and some Divine favor clickies I can go to town in melee. While I expect that to decline when he starts seeing some higher levels it will still be somewhat available to me (the point being there are many ways to be a wizard, you just need to find one that suits your play style). I'm also a proponent of going warforged because the self healing is just irreplaceable (as long as you don't mind looking like a robot).

Reflex saves are not an issue if you take insightful reflexes. Will save is your best save, and even at -2 should be sufficiently high as to not fail much.

[bobbryan2]

Believe it or not... Wizards might actually be taking over for sorcs, if built and played right at end game.

Equipped with a torc and a few concordant opposition items, the SP bonus that sorcs have is almost nullified. With quicken on, the casting times are similar enough to call a wash.. and wizards also get more spells/level, ability to switch out at any time, and most importantly, a bunch of extra feats.

You can make some powerful wizards right now. Especially if they combine warforged race and a bit of melee ability in with their casting.

[Montrose]

Believe it or not... Wizards might actually be taking over for sorcs, if built and played right at end game.

Equipped with a torc and a few concordant opposition items, and the SP bonus that sorcs have is almost nullified. With quicken on, the casting times are similar enough to call a wash.. and wizards also get more spells/level, ability to switch out at any time, and most importantly, a bunch of extra feats.

You can make some powerful wizards right now. Especially if they combine warforged race and a bit of melee ability in with their casting.

You may be right. The sorc capstone is kinda meh, given the immunities, saves and insane HP of the new mobs.

The difference isn't as vast as it once was. If they implement "no-mana-cost spells" on wizards, that might be the tipping point.

[WeaselKing]

There is no team in party.

[RTN]

You may be right. The sorc capstone is kinda meh, given the immunities, saves and insane HP of the new mobs.

Actually, the mobs in the newest content seem to have fewer HP than previous Mods. Their saves are sky high, but not their HP.

[ogboot]

wizzies are great!

[Montrose]

Actually, the mobs in the newest content seem to have fewer HP than previous Mods. Their saves are sky high, but not their HP.

THey still have some pretty darn good HP, especially if you have a full party and they're not scaled downwards. THey're not Frost Giant stupid, but they're still up there.

A few days ago I spent some time in BoP on normal solo trying out different tactics for taking down mobs. CK + Woo Stick was the most reliable method, and required kiting mobs around a bunch waiting for them to get dizzy so you could smack em. :-(

Energy Drain + FoD worked pretty well also, but consumed a ton of spell points.

I have just not found a "good" way to reliably take down the new mobs without using a large number of spell points. (Talking arcane spells, not counting blade barrier here)

I'm very open to suggestions though, if someone has a good method.

[RTN]

I have just not found a "good" way to reliably take down the new mobs without using a large number of spell points. (Talking arcane spells, not counting blade barrier here)

I'm very open to suggestions though, if someone has a good method.

I think MrCow has some vids up of him soloing new content with his sorc. What I don't know is if it would be possible with a wizard since we'd have hundreds fewer SP. Looked to me like he used a combo of direct damage and instakills (w/ deleveling), along w/ skills and some stealth.

CK should work w/ FoD as well, since it's a fortitude save.