Build that doesn't usually do damage?

[jackmcbarn]

I'm thinking about a Wizard build focusing around spells like Charm Person, Sleep, Blindness, Scare, Grease, and Suggestion, basically not doing any damage at all but (temporarily) rendering enemies harmless. I'd also want to pack a few spells like Invisibility, and even though they wouldn't be my primary tool, I wouldn't mind the occasional Fireball. Does this sound like a practical idea, and has it been done before?

EDIT: Here's what I've come up with so far after reading everyone's feedback:

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 03.12.02
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 20 True Neutral Warforged Male
(2 Rogue \ 18 Wizard) 
Hit Points: 184
Spell Points: 1366 
BAB: 10\10\15\20
Fortitude: 11
Reflex: 17
Will: 11

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(32 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 20)
Strength              8                     8
Dexterity            10                    10
Constitution         18                    18
Intelligence         18                    26
Wisdom               10                    10
Charisma              6                     6

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 20)
Balance               4                    12
Bluff                -2                    -2
Concentration         6                    31
Diplomacy            -2                    -2
Disable Device        8                    25.5
Haggle                2                     2
Heal                  0                     0
Hide                  4                     4
Intimidate           -2                    -2
Jump                  3                    10
Listen                0                     0
Move Silently         4                    13
Open Lock             4                     4
Perform              n/a                   n/a
Repair                4                     8
Search                8                    25.5
Spot                  4                    13.5
Swim                 -1                    -1
Tumble                4                     4
Use Magic Device      2                     6.5

Level 1 (Rogue)
Skill: Balance (+4)
Skill: Concentration (+2)
Skill: Disable Device (+4)
Skill: Haggle (+4)
Skill: Hide (+4)
Skill: Jump (+4)
Skill: Move Silently (+4)
Skill: Open Lock (+4)
Skill: Search (+4)
Skill: Spot (+4)
Skill: Tumble (+4)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+4)
Feat: (Selected) Insightful Reflexes


Level 2 (Wizard)
Skill: Concentration (+3)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Spell Focus: Enchantment
Spell (1): Acid Spray
Spell (1): Charm Person
Spell (1): Expeditious Retreat
Spell (1): Feather Fall
Spell (1): Grease
Spell (1): Repair Light Damage
Spell (1): Sleep


Level 3 (Wizard)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Spell Penetration
Spell (1): Hypnotism
Spell (1): Jump


Level 4 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: INT
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Spell (2): Invisibility
Spell (2): Web


Level 5 (Wizard)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Spell (2): Knock
Spell (2): Snowball Swarm


Level 6 (Wizard)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Mental Toughness
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Spell Focus: Illusion
Spell (3): Fireball
Spell (3): Protection From Energy


Level 7 (Wizard)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Spell (3): Acid Blast
Spell (3): Stinking Cloud


Level 8 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: INT
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+1)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Spell (4): Repair Critical Damage
Spell (4): Wall of Fire


Level 9 (Rogue)
Skill: Disable Device (+4)
Skill: Search (+8)
Skill: Spot (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Spell Focus: Conjuration


Level 10 (Wizard)
Skill: Concentration (+2)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Search (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Spell (4): Charm Monster
Spell (4): Ice Storm


Level 11 (Wizard)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Search (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Spell (5): Cloudkill
Spell (5): Symbol of Pain


Level 12 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: INT
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Search (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Focus: Enchantment
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Quicken Spell
Spell (5): Niac's Biting Cold
Spell (5): Eladar's Electric Surge


Level 13 (Wizard)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Search (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Spell (6): Reconstruct
Spell (6): Symbol of Persuasion


Level 14 (Wizard)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Search (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Spell (6): True Seeing
Spell (6): Otiluke's Freezing Sphere


Level 15 (Wizard)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Search (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Penetration
Spell (7): Greater Teleport
Spell (7): Otto's Sphere of Dancing


Level 16 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: INT
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Search (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+0.5)
Spell (7): Mass Protection From Elements
Spell (7): Prismatic Spray


Level 17 (Wizard)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Search (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Heighten Spell
Spell (8): Mass Charm Monster
Spell (8): Polar Ray


Level 18 (Wizard)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Search (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Feat: (Selected) Maximize Spell
Spell (8): Sunburst
Spell (8): Otto's Irresistible Dance


Level 19 (Wizard)
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Search (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Spell (9): Meteor Swarm
Spell (9): Wail of the Banshee


Level 20 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: INT
Skill: Balance (+0.5)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Search (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+1)
Spell (9): Mass Hold Monster
Spell (9): Dominate Monster
Enhancement: Rogue Acid Trap Lore I
Enhancement: Rogue Cold Trap Lore I
Enhancement: Rogue Electric Trap Lore I
Enhancement: Rogue Fire Trap Lore I
Enhancement: Rogue Sonic Trap Lore I
Enhancement: Improved Concentration I
Enhancement: Improved Concentration II
Enhancement: Improved Concentration III
Enhancement: Improved Concentration IV
Enhancement: Glacial Spellcasting I
Enhancement: Deadly Ice I
Enhancement: Acid Manipulation I
Enhancement: Frost Manipulation I
Enhancement: Frost Manipulation II
Enhancement: Frost Manipulation III
Enhancement: Frost Manipulation IV
Enhancement: Frost Manipulation V
Enhancement: Frost Manipulation VI
Enhancement: Frost Manipulation VII
Enhancement: Storm Manipulation I
Enhancement: Flame Manipulation I
Enhancement: Force Manipulation I
Enhancement: Repair Manipulation I
Enhancement: Wizard Spell Penetration I
Enhancement: Wizard Spell Penetration II
Enhancement: Wizard Spell Penetration III
Enhancement: Wizard Energy of the Scholar I
Enhancement: Wizard Energy of the Scholar II
Enhancement: Wizard Energy of the Scholar III
Enhancement: Wizard Energy of the Scholar IV
Enhancement: Wizard Intelligence I
Enhancement: Wizard Intelligence II
Enhancement: Wizard Intelligence III
Enhancement: Warforged Construct Thinking I
Enhancement: Warforged Damage Reduction I
Enhancement: Warforged Hardiness I
Enhancement: Warforged Inscribed Armor I
Enhancement: Wizard Archmage I
Enhancement: Wizard Archmage II
Enhancement: Wizard Archmage III
Enhancement: Wizard Archmage IV
Enhancement: Wizard Archmage V
Enhancement: Archmage Secondary Spell Mastery I: Conjuration
Enhancement: Archmage Spell Mastery I: Enchantment
Enhancement: Archmage Spell Mastery II: Enchantment
Enhancement: Conjuration I - Grease
Enhancement: Conjuration II - Web
Enhancement: Enchantment I - Hypnotism
Enhancement: Enchantment II - Otto's Resistible Dance
Enhancement: Enchantment III - Hold Person
Enhancement: Enchantment IV - Charm Monster
Enhancement: Illusion I - Invisibility

[Brennie]

Back in the good ol' days of low caster damage, and epic enemies being immune to instakills, this was basically the role that Wizards were relegated to. Mass Hold Monster, occasion web, and then wait for melees to kill everything.

And they complained. Alot. Evidently, being a crowd control bot that does nothing else isn't fun.

However, nowadays you don't need to be ALL crowd control and nothing else. You can easily pack some Damage over Time spells for bosses, and some save-less damage spells for trash. Infact, i highly reccomend it - having somethign to do after thigns are crowd controlled will help you contribute to the party significantly more than just twiddling your thumbs. Cold damage is a great thing to spec into, letting you pop off a good DoT, a good persistant AoE spell (Ice storm), a could good AoE damage spells (Cone of Cold and Otilukes sphere), and a good single target damage spell (polar ray).

As for being a CC focused caster - Totally doable, and moreso by a wizard than anyone else. Enchantment archmage, with the possible sub-specilization for Conjuration just to get the Web SLA, is totally viable. You WILL require maxed out DCs and you WILL require significant spell penetration, since most crowd control spells have both saves and SR checks. Mass Hold Monster will be your bread and butter, while charm/suggestion spells should only be used in situation where the outcome of a fight may not be in your favor (if your group is easily dispatching enemies, charming them only slows you down. But in tough situations, charmed enemies can mean the difference between easy victory and defeat). You can also soften up enemy will saves via Hypnotism or Crushing Despair, or various negative level effects.

[morticianjohn]

I'm thinking about a Wizard build focusing around spells like Charm Person, Sleep, Blindness, Scare, Grease, and Suggestion, basically not doing any damage at all but (temporarily) rendering enemies harmless. I'd also want to pack a few spells like Invisibility, and even though they wouldn't be my primary tool, I wouldn't mind the occasional Fireball. Does this sound like a practical idea, and has it been done before?

we call it CC (crowd control). I know many wizards who are CC specced. Typically you'll still have enough enhancement points to max out the ice damage enhancements or your preferred element but your main focus will be CC. Usually they specialize in enchantment as many of the CC spells are enchantment spells. Charm, hypno, otto's sphere of dancing, hold monster, and mass hold monster are all enchantment spells. IMO the best crowd control spell is web (doesn't work with fireball well but does great). Web is conjuration and can be a good secondary focus if you go this route. You can choose archmage or palemaster (doesn't really matter you'll be effective either way) but I suggest WF if you go archmage for reliable healing. I primarily play divines so I don't appreciate fleshy archmages who can't heal themselves well (I've only met a couple who could heal themselves well).

The big attraction for archmage (IMO) is the web an hypno SLAs which are nearly free to cast. However, you might be able to get a slightly higher DC on a palemaster (specifically if you choose drow or human vs a wf archmage).

edit:/// just took me too long to post it. I honestly wasn't exchanging notes with brennie. He noted debuffing which is very important for landing your spells. Mind fog in combination with otto's sphere of dancing is a great combo from level 13 and up once you get otto's sphere of dancing. If you are in a group see if the melee will use shattermantle against drow so you can land your spells through their spell resistance (as brennie said you need as much spell pen as possible) and cursespewing helps to lower their saves.

As bennie said this is a throwback build. So here is one of the threads from those days which includes a CC build WF archmage.
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=281875

[jackmcbarn]

Okay, I've got a build in progress. I'm looking at Sleep and Deep Slumber, though, and can't see any difference between them at all (other than the fact that Deep Slumber is a higher-level spell). Am I missing something?

[Faent]

Is this a flavor build? A wizard that doesn't do damage is a complete and total gimp and a worthless waste of space in a party slot. Not to mention a pathetic soloer. You can have awesome CC while preserving your ability to do lots of damage. Please do so if you plan to join groups.

I recommend a WF Archmage. Take SF: Enchant and GSF: Enchantment, along with SF: Conjuration. That's all you need for top-tier Crowd Control (Mass Holds, Webs, Mass Suggestion, etc...) Plan on getting your damage from dropping Acid Rain and Ice Storm on groups of Held mobs. And, of course, your Niac's Biting Cold and Eladar's Electric Surge DoT's. This wizzie will do less DPS than a Necro-focused wizzie, but he'll be awesome at CC and still be able to deal good damage.

[shareplz]

Is this a flavor build? A wizard that doesn't do damage is a complete and total gimp and a worthless waste of space in a party slot. Not to mention a pathetic soloer. You can have awesome CC while preserving your ability to do lots of damage. Please do so if you plan to join groups.

I recommend a WF Archmage. Take SF: Enchant and GSF: Enchantment, along with SF: Conjuration. That's all you need for top-tier Crowd Control (Mass Holds, Webs, Mass Suggestion, etc...) Plan on getting your damage from dropping Acid Rain and Ice Storm on groups of Held mobs. And, of course, your Niac's Biting Cold and Eladar's Electric Surge DoT's. This wizzie will do less DPS than a Necro-focused wizzie, but he'll be awesome at CC and still be able to deal good damage.

This

[Brennie]

Okay, I've got a build in progress. I'm looking at Sleep and Deep Slumber, though, and can't see any difference between them at all (other than the fact that Deep Slumber is a higher-level spell). Am I missing something?

Sleep has a unique way of calculating its spell DC, which makes it less useful as you level up.

Thumbs up to morticianjohn, especially since he pointed out Ottos Sphere of Dancing, which i cannot believe i forgot D: That is the pinnacle of static crowd control spells, aside from Web. Great for choke points!

You'll find that later on in life all the "interesting" crowd control spells eventually become significantly less useful, and you only have a few that really shone (Mass hold monster, ottos sphere of dancing, irresistible dance, and web for the most part). However, those spells do have a real and noticable impact on so-called "trash mobs" in quests (Trash mobs are anything that isn't orange/red/purple named; the minions and dungeon fodder).

As otehr have said though, you can fully maximize atleast 1 form of spell-based damage without hurting your crowd control abilities *at all*. There are only so many feats, enhancements and gear you can get to boost your crowd control abilities. Everything else you're free to use as you like, and i highly suggest you bring some Damage to the table, especially since most "boss" type monsters range from highly resistant to flat out immune to most crowd control, so you'll need something to fall back on in order to contribute.

[giggiddy]

Agreed... not doing any DPS will just slow a party down. Even if you plan on only specializing in crowd control you can do more than just mass hold, web, and... um... sleep...

You can do crowd control as well as very good DPS and that will help the party more than just dancing and fearing mobs so the melee have to chase it down.

If you are worrying about being more of a team player and think that crowd control is the only way to do so you are wrong. Your healer will thank you if you dot up that orange or red name so the fight goes faster, thereby decreasing their resources.

Also for those long fights to help the healer you can throw down a cloudkill for concealement or an acid fog for concealment and AC reduction of mobs. Waves of exhaustion will help decrease party damage as well since mobs don't attack as fast.

[Faent]

Sleep has a unique way of calculating its spell DC, which makes it less useful as you level up.

Sleep and Deep Slumber are great at very low levels. Pick up an good weapon. Hit the mobs with Sleep or Deep Slumber. Then go to to town. You will never use these spells at higher levels. Their usefulness almost completely fades off around levels 8-10.

[jackmcbarn]

Am I on the right track with this build?

Character Plan by DDO Character Planner Version 03.12.02
DDO Character Planner Home Page

Level 14 True Neutral Warforged Male
(2 Rogue \ 12 Wizard) 
Hit Points: 150
Spell Points: 726 
BAB: 7\7\12
Fortitude: 11
Reflex: 13
Will: 8

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
Abilities        Base Stats          Modified Stats
(32 Point)       (Level 1)             (Level 14)
Strength              8                     8
Dexterity            10                    10
Constitution         18                    20
Intelligence         18                    22
Wisdom               10                    10
Charisma              6                     6

                  Starting          Feat/Enhancement
                 Base Skills         Modified Skills
Skills           (Level 1)            (Level 14)
Balance               4                     4
Bluff                -2                    -2
Concentration         6                    25
Diplomacy            -2                    -2
Disable Device        8                    20
Haggle                2                     8
Heal                  0                     0
Hide                  4                     4
Intimidate           -2                    -2
Jump                  3                     9.5
Listen                0                     0
Move Silently         4                    14
Open Lock             4                     4
Perform              n/a                   n/a
Repair                4                     6
Search                8                    10
Spot                  4                    13.5
Swim                 -1                    -1
Tumble                4                     4
Use Magic Device      2                     2

Level 1 (Rogue)
Skill: Balance (+4)
Skill: Concentration (+2)
Skill: Disable Device (+4)
Skill: Haggle (+4)
Skill: Hide (+4)
Skill: Jump (+4)
Skill: Move Silently (+4)
Skill: Open Lock (+4)
Skill: Search (+4)
Skill: Spot (+4)
Skill: Tumble (+4)
Skill: Use Magic Device (+4)
Feat: (Selected) Insightful Reflexes
Enhancement: Warforged Construct Thinking I
Enhancement: Warforged Damage Reduction I
Enhancement: Warforged Hardiness I


Level 2 (Wizard)
Skill: Concentration (+3)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Spell Focus: Enchantment
Spell (1): Acid Spray
Spell (1): Charm Person
Spell (1): Expeditious Retreat
Spell (1): Feather Fall
Spell (1): Grease
Spell (1): Repair Light Damage
Spell (1): Sleep
Enhancement: Improved Concentration I
Enhancement: Repair Manipulation I
Enhancement: Wizard Energy of the Scholar I
Enhancement: Warforged Inscribed Armor I


Level 3 (Wizard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Haggle (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Spell Penetration
Spell (1): Hypnotism
Spell (1): Jump
Enhancement: Wizard Intelligence I
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution I


Level 4 (Wizard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Haggle (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Spell (2): Invisibility
Spell (2): Web
Enhancement: Repair Manipulation II


Level 5 (Wizard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Haggle (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Spell (2): Knock
Spell (2): Snowball Swarm
Enhancement: Improved Concentration II


Level 6 (Wizard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Haggle (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Mental Toughness
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Spell Focus: Illusion
Spell (3): Fireball
Spell (3): Protection From Energy
Enhancement: Wizard Energy of the Scholar II


Level 7 (Wizard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Haggle (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Spell (3): Stinking Cloud
Spell (3): Acid Blast
Enhancement: Wizard Spell Penetration I
Enhancement: Wizard Intelligence II
Enhancement: Wizard Archmage I
Enhancement: Enchantment I - Hypnotism
Enhancement: Illusion I - Invisibility


Level 8 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: INT
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Haggle (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Spell (4): Wall of Fire
Spell (4): Charm Monster
Enhancement: Warforged Constitution II


Level 9 (Rogue)
Skill: Disable Device (+4)
Skill: Move Silently (+4)
Skill: Spot (+4)
Feat: (Selected) Spell Focus: Conjuration
Enhancement: Rogue Acid Trap Lore I
Enhancement: Rogue Fire Trap Lore I
Enhancement: Warforged Hardiness II


Level 10 (Wizard)
Skill: Concentration (+2)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Haggle (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Spell (4): Repair Critical Damage
Spell (4): Dimension Door
Enhancement: Rogue Electric Trap Lore I
Enhancement: Improved Concentration III
Enhancement: Repair Manipulation III
Enhancement: Repair Manipulation IV


Level 11 (Wizard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Haggle (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Spell (5): Symbol of Pain
Spell (5): Teleport
Enhancement: Wizard Archmage II
Enhancement: Archmage Spell Mastery I: Conjuration
Enhancement: Conjuration I - Grease
Enhancement: Conjuration II - Web


Level 12 (Wizard)
Ability Raise: INT
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Haggle (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+1)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Feat: (Selected) Greater Spell Focus: Enchantment
Feat: (Wizard Bonus) Quicken Spell
Spell (5): Ball Lightning
Spell (5): Break Enchantment
Enhancement: Rogue Cold Trap Lore I
Enhancement: Warforged Construct Thinking II


Level 13 (Wizard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Haggle (+0.5)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+1)
Spell (6): Symbol of Persuasion
Spell (6): Reconstruct
Enhancement: Wizard Improved Quickening I
Enhancement: Wizard Energy of the Scholar III


Level 14 (Wizard)
Skill: Concentration (+1)
Skill: Disable Device (+0.5)
Skill: Haggle (+1)
Skill: Jump (+0.5)
Skill: Move Silently (+0.5)
Skill: Spot (+0.5)
Spell (6): Otiluke's Freezing Sphere
Spell (6): True Seeing
Enhancement: Wizard Archmage III
Enhancement: Archmage Secondary Spell Mastery I: Enchantment
Enhancement: Enchantment II - Otto's Resistible Dance
Enhancement: Enchantment III - Hold Person

[morticianjohn]

your feats

insightful reflexes
spell focus enchantment
combat casting
mental toughness
spell focus illusion
spell focus conjuration
greater spell focus enchantment
quicken



There are two feats which I suggest dropping

combat casting - you can see that quicken is the option you want. Make sure you only turn quicken on for those spells that it's most useful for (reconstruct, and spells with a long casting animation) for most of your damage spells you can turn quicken off.

spell focus illusion - Spell focus is to increase the DC of spells from that school. I think phantasmal killer is the only worthwhile illusion spell that requires a high DC to land.

the two feats which I would pick up are toughness and spell pen. Spell penetration is needed at higher levels to land spells against bearded devils, drow, and various othe enemies which have spell resistance.

edit:// I'm looking at the enchantments now. It's easier if you put all the enhancements at the end on the character planner so they're all together.

ok, the enhancements are a mess. The repair line is great but IMO the ice line is more important even though you're not focused on dealing damage. It is nice to have the option of nuking when possible. Drop any rogue enhancements. I'm not sure how useful the invis SLA is for you. If you absolutely rely on it 10+ casts per quest than maybe it's worth it but if you're casting it less than 10 times just cast the spell it's like 15 SP. You're giving up too much to get the SLA in terms of 1 feat, action points, and spell points when you could just cast it for the full 15 SP which isn't too bad. On the enchantment SLA's I might only go up to hypno and on the conjuration I would only go up to web. My enchantment AM is only level 13 and I haven't gone beyond hypno or web yet. Just a few things to think about. GL I know AP is really tight for this build but do try to fit in the ice line if you can.

[jackmcbarn]

Okay, I'll replace Combat Casting with Spell Pen.

EDIT: The rogue enhancements I took were all generic energy resistances. Should I replace them anyway? I feel like I'll lose a lot by enhancing ice spells, which I don't plan to use often, with repair spells, which I use on myself all the time. I could dump Dance SLA and Hold Person for ice if it's worth it, though.

[morticianjohn]

Okay, I'll replace Combat Casting with Spell Pen. I took Spell Focus: Illusion to get Invisibility as an SLA for 1 spell point. Is this a good idea?

I was editting it. I personally think the invis SLA is only useful if your style of play is to be permanantly invisible. If you're visible for most of the quest and only casting invis for 2-3 times per rest IMO you're better off without the SLA and just casting it for the full cost. Most of the WF enhancements aren't needed for this build either other than the one that allows you to cast without a 5% spell failure.

[jackmcbarn]

I do want to be permanently invisible, unless the feat is too important to lose. Don't I have really bad Fort and Will saves without the WF enhancements? Also, are my spells appropriate?

[morticianjohn]

I do want to be permanently invisible, unless the feat is too important to lose. Don't I have really bad Fort and Will saves without the WF enhancements? Also, are my spells appropriate?

If that is your playstyle then by all means go for it. Just keep in mind those 3 feats I've mentioned toughness, spell pen and greater spell pen. You'll want them for higher level content. As for spells I'll just list the ones I can think of off the top of my head, keep in mind you are a wizard and one of the advantages of playing wizard is that you can swap spells to a more appropriate list at a rest shrine if you need some other spell.

lvl 1
jump
expiditious retreat

lvl 2
resist energy
web
invis
knock

lvl 3
haste
rage (these two buffs are great for the melee try to keep it up the whole quest)
frost lance

lvl 4
ice storm
dimension door
charm monster

lvl 5
niac's biting cold
eldar's electric surge (for high HP bosses use these 2 spells)
circle of death

lvl 6
otiluke's freezing sphere
reconstruct

lvl 7
otto's sphere of dancing - primary CC spell for almost any quest
Finger of Death

lvl 8
polar ray

lvl 9
wail of the banshee
mass hold
mass charm

Some spells can be scrolled just as easily as cast from your blue bar. Teleport and break enchantment are two that you can remove from your spell list if you go buy scrolls of those spells.

[jackmcbarn]

Are Spell Mastery II: Enchantment and Charm Monster/Hold Monster SLAs worth getting?

[unbongwah]

A wizard that doesn't do damage is a complete and total gimp and a worthless waste of space in a party slot. Not to mention a pathetic soloer.

That's a bit harsh, but I do agree a wizard who only CCs is like a cleric who only heals; you're only living up to part of your class's potential when you could be doing so much more.

I recommend a WF Archmage. Take SF: Enchant and GSF: Enchantment, along with SF: Conjuration. That's all you need for top-tier Crowd Control (Mass Holds, Webs, Mass Suggestion, etc...) Plan on getting your damage from dropping Acid Rain and Ice Storm on groups of Held mobs.

This is basically my plan for my WF Archmage. In brief, here's my build:

Base stats: 8 / 8 / 20 / 18 / 6 / 6 (lvl-ups in INT, obviously) - DEX & WIS are largely meaningless for a wiz, CON INT maybe STR are the only stats I would bother with
Feats (roughly in order): Mental Toughness (AM pre-req), Insightful Reflexes (1), Toughness (3), SF Enchant (5), Empower (6), Heighten (9), SF Conjuration (10), GSF Enchant (12), Spell Pen (15), Maximize (15), Greater Spell Pen (18), Quicken (20), ESF Enchant (21), ESP (24) - would've liked to slip Extend in there for short-term buffs, but don't want to drop anything to get it
SLAs: Hypnotism / Otto's Resistable / Hold Person from Enchantment, Grease / Web from Conjuration
Enhancements: AM pre-reqs, SLAs, Spell Pen, DPS bonuses, W&S Mastery if I can afford it, Toughness to round things out

[idle1]

Ignore the naysayers, a illusionist archmage is certainly viable up to cap and fun, I've done 2 lifes of it now and I'm usually top of killcount in quests it can be usable on in 15-20 game, get used to casting cause fear first for -2dc. Problem is your a one trick pony, so enchantment makes a nice second spec to go along with your idea. Mass suggestion could go along with your idea of trying not to kill, dominate person/monster and a summon for when solo and disco/mass hold will get you far through you'll have to pop an ice storm or firewall with those, can't avoid nukes completely but in some quests its fun to watch a boss die from all his charmed guards rather than kite around unmagely.

[Carpone]

I'm thinking about a Wizard build focusing around spells like Charm Person, Sleep, Blindness, Scare, Grease, and Suggestion, basically not doing any damage at all but (temporarily) rendering enemies harmless. I'd also want to pack a few spells like Invisibility, and even though they wouldn't be my primary tool, I wouldn't mind the occasional Fireball. Does this sound like a practical idea, and has it been done before?

It's not practical and you're setting yourself up for failure if you follow this path. If you can't do damage during a raid, there's no point in bringing you. Wizards and Sorcerers have the most efficient damage spells in the game for raid encounters.

[jackmcbarn]

Ignore the naysayers, a illusionist archmage is certainly viable up to cap and fun, I've done 2 lifes of it now and I'm usually top of killcount in quests it can be usable on in 15-20 game, get used to casting cause fear first for -2dc. Problem is your a one trick pony, so enchantment makes a nice second spec to go along with your idea. Mass suggestion could go along with your idea of trying not to kill, dominate person/monster and a summon for when solo and disco/mass hold will get you far through you'll have to pop an ice storm or firewall with those, can't avoid nukes completely but in some quests its fun to watch a boss die from all his charmed guards rather than kite around unmagely.

I wasn't really thinking about being an Illusionist. I was thinking of focusing on Enchantment and only taking SF: Illusion for Invisibility as an SLA.

It's not practical and you're setting yourself up for failure if you follow this path. If you can't do damage during a raid, there's no point in bringing you. Wizards and Sorcerers have the most efficient damage spells in the game for raid encounters.

I didn't say I don't want to be able to do damage. I said I don't want it to be the focus of my build.