Need some advice on wizard gearing (level 4)

[Istaria1]

Hiyas,

I have a new char, a rogue 1/wizard 3 (warforged) that I am having alot of fun with.

The problem is it's the only caster I have played, and the terminology and items are all new to me.

Can anyone recommend some items I should be aiming for? And I would also appreciate some advice on those "essentials" like the XP gem from Delera's. I have not played in more than a year and am VERY rusty

I have a level 11 exploiter build who has a little plat and can maybe feed down some items, but would prefer to go it alone if possible.

I have no problem with grouping, but I admit I do prefer to solo due to my irregular/short playing times.

Thanks!

EDIT: I am not really referring to "end game" items to aim for, more stuff to grab while levelling.

[Hambo]

I'd add a second level of Rogue at some point to get evasion for free.

[bradleyforrest]

Hiyas,

I have a new char, a rogue 1/wizard 3 (warforged) that I am having alot of fun with.

The problem is it's the only caster I have played, and the terminology and items are all new to me.

Can anyone recommend some items I should be aiming for? And I would also appreciate some advice on those "essentials" like the XP gem from Delera's. I have not played in more than a year and am VERY rusty

I have a level 11 exploiter build who has a little plat and can maybe feed down some items, but would prefer to go it alone if possible.

I have no problem with grouping, but I admit I do prefer to solo due to my irregular/short playing times.

Thanks!

EDIT: I am not really referring to "end game" items to aim for, more stuff to grab while levelling.

At the moment? A THW and Master's Touch.

[Dlusin]

An abashi set for lvl 5 is not a horrible goal...

[Afyndax]

Not sure I would go with a master´s touch and weapon. It is much easier to use eternal wands on junk mobs and save SPs for harder pulls.

One really great piece of equipment at that level is a fireguard robe of Invulnerability. Basically absorbs 5pts of of all melee damage (which means many things won´t even damage you) and at the same time dishes out a little damage to them for touching you. There are a few quests with packs of kobolds where they basically kill themselves while hitting you for 0 damage.

Another nice piece of caster gear is a a clickie for level 1 spells that increase the type of damage you like to do. For instance, my bread and butter spell is sonic blast... i like the short stun along with decent damage. I made a off-hand scepter that gives (I think) 60% damage boost to lvl 1 sonic spells for 3mins (3 uses)... so basically 9 minutes every rest period my main spell is doing great damage.

I have the exact same character as you are building. I usually have a pet summoned, stealth, wait til the pet chages, then charm one mob and just eternal wand from there. If it is a tough pull, I use sonic blast.

I think the general consensus is to take the second level of rogue after your 7th level of wizard, which is when you get wall of fire, which apparently is a very OP spell. Also it is highly recommended to take Insightful Reflexes, which makes your reflex saves use your INT bonus... along with Evasion(which you get at your second rogue level), this is very useful.

The eternal wands also make getting breakables very easy since you can do them at range. I am just not a big fan of master´s touch and using melee weapons with no strength bonus when you have recharging wands that kill stuff from range and do just as much damage. You also don´t have to worry about oozes and stuff like that.

I am having a lot of fun with this character. disarming and picking everything, charming and wanding... and lots of stealth.

[bradleyforrest]

Not sure I would go with a master´s touch and weapon. It is much easier to use eternal wands on junk mobs and save SPs for harder pulls.

Reason being that at level 4 (and for a few levels beyond that), meleeing is faster than eternal wands or sitting behind a fire guard robe. It allows you to still cast spells if you need to, but your damage output will be higher and you'll be completing quests faster.

Add the fact that he can cast Web since he's got 3 WIZ levels, and he can CC the MOBs and kill them without them being able to hit him back.

If you have a few levels in crafting, you can create tailor made Lesser Bane weapons that will make it easier for you to hit and deal more damage.

Basically, your SP pool is low at low levels and bashing things is faster than wands or a guard item. IMHO, it's more fun, too.

[mwgarn]

Masters Touch and a +1 Shock (THW) of Righteousness(sp?) is my choice too, I generally us a great axe, I put frost burst on it and use it till about level 14-16 along with divine power clickie starting at level 9. One more life and it'll collect dust.. makes me sad kinda

[Phidius]

At the moment? A THW and Master's Touch.

This.

Also...

Goggles: Goggles of Insight
Necklace: Anger's or Pathfinders
Boots: Anger's or Pathfinders
Bracers: Spear Bane

Enter dungeon, cast Master's Touch, Resist: Fire, Shield, and Bull's Strength. Take out the trash.

[Kmnh]

"invulnerability" is really good at this level. buy a shard or something.

[Philibusta]

If you're VIP (or if you can get a guest pass, I wouldn't recommend buying the pack)...The Robe of Duality from the Catacombs chain is a good one for lvl 4. It gives you +5 HP (Lesser False Life), but more importantly, it raises the caster level of ALL your spells by 2.

[Mrmorphling]

MAster touch + Carnifex (Delera end reward) or just any greataxe will be much faster than anything else until fireball or firewall. Infact many will suggest you to pick your secondlvl of rogue at lvl 9 so grabbing 7th as wizard to cast FW .

As already mentioned Chrono set (Abishai) is very good for low lvls.

[ArgothvonCarstein]

If you're VIP (or if you can get a guest pass, I wouldn't recommend buying the pack)...The Robe of Duality from the Catacombs chain is a good one for lvl 4. It gives you +5 HP (Lesser False Life), but more importantly, it raises the caster level of ALL your spells by 2.

Correction, raises the caster level of 1st level spells by 2.

http://ddowiki.com/page/Robe_of_Duality

[Istaria1]

An abashi set for lvl 5 is not a horrible goal...

Checked that out on the Wiki - that's a nice set. I've noticed most (all?) of the items are "bound to account on acquire". Does that mean I can grab them with my higher level char and pass them to my little wiz?

Also, it should be noted that my wizard is Warforged - robes are out for me :/

One last thing - I have been mulling over in my mind whether or not to reroll a fleshy to go Pale Master PRE - anyone got opinions? If I'm going to do it it'll need to be soon - I don't want to progress too far and then restart.

Thanks

[ReaperAlexEU]

This.

Also...

Goggles: Goggles of Insight
Necklace: Anger's or Pathfinders
Boots: Anger's or Pathfinders
Bracers: Spear Bane

Enter dungeon, cast Master's Touch, Resist: Fire, Shield, and Bull's Strength. Take out the trash.

you can only choose 1 korthos final reward, and while the +2 to hit is nice early on the necky with 3 SP charges is the only one that will still be useful at lvl20.

if you're aiming for the +2 to hit then grab the boots and then the gem of many facets from chronos. that way you can have your cake and eat it

personally my 10 STR dwarven PM just used his buffs and a carnifex until lvl12, didnt bother with any gear besides a STR item (for hauling loot).

[Syllph]

Checked that out on the Wiki - that's a nice set. I've noticed most (all?) of the items are "bound to account on acquire". Does that mean I can grab them with my higher level char and pass them to my little wiz?

Also, it should be noted that my wizard is Warforged - robes are out for me :/

One last thing - I have been mulling over in my mind whether or not to reroll a fleshy to go Pale Master PRE - anyone got opinions? If I'm going to do it it'll need to be soon - I don't want to progress too far and then restart.

Thanks

Yes BtA (Bound to Account) means you can transfer it with the shared bank account. I'd suggest leveling this guy to 6 get the PrE you want then, either on this server or a different one, roll a fleshy caster to 6 and compare which one you liked better. This isn't the best solution but it at least for me I started with a fleshy caster then rolled a WF and never looked at the fleshy again.

As for items. Make sure you upgrade your rogue items every other level. +5, +7, +10, +13, +15 I think there might be some I missed but they will make life easier. You can find them sold fairly cheaply in Marketplace Brokers near the turn in for Chronoscope. Make sure you have (when casting spells) two weapons not one. On the one hand place a lore item (Fire lore for example) in the other a potency item (Superior Potency III for example) this will make your spells much more effective.

Find items to boost you SP pool. Power V should work at your level giving you +50 SP. While not much every bit counts. Keep in mind you cannot stack items of a like type. So wearing 2 Power V items will only yield +50 not +100.

Eternal wands are fun when you're out of Spell Points, but personally I haven't found them terribly effective. Instead practice kiting the mobs in a circle (so bunches are grouped up closely) and use your favorite AoE spell. Burning hands, Acid Spray, Fireball; you get it. Just don't kite too long as other players tend to get frustrated at this.

Always, always, always keep your Fortification as high as you can manage. As a WF you can wear a moderate fort item and gain 100% immunity to critical hits. I cannot stress enough how important this is. Many new players do not understand this.

Deconstruct everything you have (Ignore money for the time being) and craft a docent of invulnerability. You'll see 0 for damage on 99% of all physical damage until around level 7 or so. This shard is very easy to craft only taking 15 levels of Crafting. Honestly, the best investment to can make. This will take you all of one day to get to. Then return to selling as you see fit. Money will come very easily after level 12.

these are all my personal experiences, through many many lives.

[ReaperAlexEU]

Checked that out on the Wiki - that's a nice set. I've noticed most (all?) of the items are "bound to account on acquire". Does that mean I can grab them with my higher level char and pass them to my little wiz?

Also, it should be noted that my wizard is Warforged - robes are out for me :/

One last thing - I have been mulling over in my mind whether or not to reroll a fleshy to go Pale Master PRE - anyone got opinions? If I'm going to do it it'll need to be soon - I don't want to progress too far and then restart.

Thanks

well the main advantage of the PM is the ability to self heal, but you already have that by being a warforged. so go with which ever you like the most, both are good choices

[Ryiah]

Checked that out on the Wiki - that's a nice set. I've noticed most (all?) of the items are "bound to account on acquire". Does that mean I can grab them with my higher level char and pass them to my little wiz?

If you have a Shared Bank, yes.

[Daedalis]

Welcome back Istaria,

I love casters and here is some gear I always try to get or pass down at low levels.

(ML = Minimum Level)

- helm: Puzzle Cap - +2 int (no ML - bound to account - good up to level 7 when you can get a +3 item) - comes as end reward for the Halls of Shan-to-kor series
- Trinket: Crimson Gemstone - Wizardry II (50 SP, ML: 5) - comes as end reward for Tangleroot series
- Robe/Outfit - Invulnerability - ML: 4 - blocks 5 pt of Melee damage, all types. Best thing to wear up to level 8ish quest.
- Fort Item: Can't remember the minimum levels for the different fortification items, but I would try to get the highest one available when you can. % of not getting crited when attacked by melee weapons.
- False life item - gives extra HP - lesser FL, FL, improved FL, greater FL, & superior FL items.
- Con item - get an item that will give the highest Even # for Con.

All these items are fairly easy to obtain, sometimes the Crimson Gemstone can take a few runs. But you can pass it to another toon once you get it which is nice.

Hope this helps
Dae

[Hambo]

Reason being that at level 4 (and for a few levels beyond that), meleeing is faster than eternal wands or sitting behind a fire guard robe. It allows you to still cast spells if you need to, but your damage output will be higher and you'll be completing quests faster.

Add the fact that he can cast Web since he's got 3 WIZ levels, and he can CC the MOBs and kill them without them being able to hit him back.

If you have a few levels in crafting, you can create tailor made Lesser Bane weapons that will make it easier for you to hit and deal more damage.

Basically, your SP pool is low at low levels and bashing things is faster than wands or a guard item. IMHO, it's more fun, too.

Since the caster portion is a Wizard, having Master's Touch isn't a hinderance. You can always scribe a scroll of your choiceand replace Master's Touch at any shrine or inn after your spell damage improves.

When I roll a caster I grab MT and that Starter Firetouch Greataxe as a first weapon, then use whatever drops in loot that's better.

[Hambo]

Yes BtA (Bound to Account) means you can transfer it with the shared bank account. I'd suggest leveling this guy to 6 get the PrE you want then, either on this server or a different one, roll a fleshy caster to 6 and compare which one you liked better. This isn't the best solution but it at least for me I started with a fleshy caster then rolled a WF and never looked at the fleshy again.

<Snip>

Beware! Down this path lies madness!

This is the first stage to becoming a raging Altaholic! For me it was experimentation... I was curious what race would make a more fun Rogue for me, Halfling or Elf. I added the same stat points to each, ignoring racial bonuses and levelled them identically, For me, the Halfling was more fun.

That simple experiment has led me to a 5 1/2 year DDO career in which I have accumulated 20 Alt slots/server, have not yet seen all the content in the game, and have never reached level 20 on any Alt, although I have two at 18 now.