WF better as pure or 18/2 wizard?

[teamghost]

I would love some opinions on whether it is "better" to go pure wizard or wiz/rog with a Warforged. Also looking for opinions about Archmage...magic missile, chain missile, arcane bolt/blast look like a good way to go with a WF...should I try to fit in hypnotize too?
Solo'ing is fine but I want to contribute to a party too since I am used to being a divine (healer usually). Do you usually go for the rogue splash mainly for evasion or for rogue skills? Does that hurt you much in the long run or do the benefits outweigh what you give up? Anyway, I'm hoping to hear from people who have had both a pure and rogue splashed WF. Thank you!

[Kamo]

18 wizard/ 2 rogue or 18 wizard/ 2 monk is the way to go, the capstone for wizard isnt very impressive

[Cartheron]

Wizard capstone is very impressive, if you think +1 dc to all spells is not worthwile, then you either have fully geared char (drow, +7 enchantment int item, +4 tome, litany, etc), so mobs are always failing saves - in elite amrath its probably impossible btw, or very bad geared and build char with low DC, so mobs are usually saving against your spells. Additionally, capstone gives wizards cheaper metamagic, which transaltes into more sp, which is always good.

Im not saying that 2 rogue or 2 monk splash is weak and worthless, but claiming that capstone is not impressive is plainly wrong.

[Cam_Neely]

Ideally I would say go 18/2 Wiz/Rogue while leveling (can be the caster and trap guy in all content along with better survivability) then LR to pure for endgame play. Traps play a disappointingly small part in end game content.

[Phidius]

18 wizard/ 2 rogue or 18 wizard/ 2 monk is the way to go, the capstone for wizard isnt very impressive

I don't agree with the assessment of the capstone, but I do prefer the 17 Wizard/2 Rog/1 Fighter (or Barb).

I'm waiting for Precious to get his turn to TR in order to respec him as an Archmagi (TR is the best option for respecing multiple feats without spending money in the DDO Store), but he's going to be Enchantment specced for running epics.

[Phidius]

...Traps play a disappointingly small part in end game content.

True, but I find Evasion + Intimidate + UMD to remain incredibly useful.

[Kamo]

Its most definetly not a bad capstone, but i dont consider just +1 to dc's to be the best path to go.

[DrNuegebauer]

Wizard capstone is fantastic.

The evasion splash (2 rogue, 2 monk) is also great.

To the question "WF better as pure or 18/2 wizard?" the answer is "yes".

You'll contribute to the party either way - I'd go pure on first life and try the 18/2 when you TR.

[Kamo]

Pure wizard: +1 to dc's

Wizard/rogue: Trap skills, evasion, umd

Wizard/monk: Addtional hp, evasion

[oweieie]

Its most definetly not a bad capstone, but i dont consider just +1 to dc's to be the best path to go.

It can also save you more SP than the entire archmage prestiege line combined. Not getting the capstone is gimpifying a wizard.

[Kamo]

It can also save you more SP than the entire archmage prestiege line combined. Not getting the capstone is gimpifying a wizard.

How so?

[Nezichiend]

Evasion is severely overrated on a self-healing high-hp build.
Traps are almost pointless.
+1 DC and less sp from metamagics is not useless.

[Kamo]

I would not consider taking 2 rogue to be gimping a wizard though. I guess is boils down to what build you find more enjoyable

[teamghost]

Wizard capstone is fantastic.

The evasion splash (2 rogue, 2 monk) is also great.

To the question "WF better as pure or 18/2 wizard?" the answer is "yes".

You'll contribute to the party either way - I'd go pure on first life and try the 18/2 when you TR.

Why pure on first life? I keep hearing how the 18/2 is easier to level...

[Guilllotine]

Ideally I would say go 18/2 Wiz/Rogue while leveling (can be the caster and trap guy in all content along with better survivability) then LR to pure for endgame play. Traps play a disappointingly small part in end game content.

This right here. Splash for leveling, LR into pure once you reach L20, assuming you have the TP/Plat to do so. Expect raised eyebrows if you request to get into some epic runs if you don't go pure. If you plan to TR, splashing is the way to go.

[kernal42]

I would love some opinions on whether it is "better" to go pure wizard or wiz/rog with a Warforged. Also looking for opinions about Archmage...magic missile, chain missile, arcane bolt/blast look like a good way to go with a WF...should I try to fit in hypnotize too?
Solo'ing is fine but I want to contribute to a party too since I am used to being a divine (healer usually). Do you usually go for the rogue splash mainly for evasion or for rogue skills? Does that hurt you much in the long run or do the benefits outweigh what you give up? Anyway, I'm hoping to hear from people who have had both a pure and rogue splashed WF. Thank you!

The question of "which is better" has no answer. They're both good. There is a clear tradeoff of benefits between different builds.

That said, I (as well as numerous previous posters) have some definite opinions on the matter:

For soloing, I would suggest 18 Wiz/2 Monk. Traps are irrelevant when you have evasion, and monk has some awesome benefits. For party play, the ability to do traps can be important, as can intimidate (as Phidius suggests). So can increased DC and Spell Pen from pure wizard.

If you're looking for party play and this is an unfunded first-life, it is hard to go wrong with pure wizard. The lowered spell pen and DC from a rogue or monk splash can be hard to overcome with gear for new accounts. If you think you can mitigate these penalties, you may find more success with a splash build.

Cheers,
Z/T/J

[Thrudh]

I would love some opinions on whether it is "better" to go pure wizard or wiz/rog with a Warforged. Also looking for opinions about Archmage...magic missile, chain missile, arcane bolt/blast look like a good way to go with a WF...should I try to fit in hypnotize too?
Solo'ing is fine but I want to contribute to a party too since I am used to being a divine (healer usually). Do you usually go for the rogue splash mainly for evasion or for rogue skills? Does that hurt you much in the long run or do the benefits outweigh what you give up? Anyway, I'm hoping to hear from people who have had both a pure and rogue splashed WF. Thank you!

Neither is "better".

Both are solid builds...

Full UMD, evasion, and trap skills are very nice...

More spells, +2 Spell Pen, more SP, wizard capstone... also very nice..

Neither is "better"

[Thrudh]

Evasion is severely overrated on a self-healing high-hp build.

Well, this is a good point... Evasion loses some of its benefit on a WF wizard, since self-healing is so easy.

[Crystalizer]

+2 sp +1 dc, how many feats do you need to obtain the same on a wiz ?
to me the wizard capstone is the best one in game
if you plan a str based battlecaster yes monk or rogue as good, otherwise if you dont melee i dont see the need of these splashes
if you want survivability then go warforged for reconstruct spell, you wont get damaged so often btw especially with wizards cc abilities

[Cartheron]

Wizard capstone is saving alot of sp by making every single metamagic 1sp cheaper. Thats alot of sp here. And I dont agree that leveling a splash is easier - its actualy more difficult, because on every given level you have less sp and lower level spells available - lev 7 without fw, level 11 without reconstruct (for wf), level 12 without PM form (for PM), level 13 without fod, level 17 without wail of the banshee. Please, explain me how 2 levels of rogue or monk make vale quest easier than wail?

Splash is nice for its benefits, if you want to do traps or just love evasion splash is the way to go. If you want to be as powerful wizard as possible, stay pure, nothing will give you more of power