Wizard Build Help

[Alexandererr]

Hi,

I currently have a level 23 Wizard/Magister Halfling. For the heroic levels I followed the Necromancy pre-set path, as I know next to nothing about various wizard builds. I followed the Pale Master enhancement tree. I still have my Lesser Heart that comes on character creation so I was wondering if anyone could provide a 'step-by-step' character plan that I could follow to fix my build. I want to be able to deal lots of damage but also be fairly self-sufficient so I'm not constantly dying in groups/raids!

Thanks for reading this, and thanks in advance for any help!

Ben

[UurlockYgmeov]

might also want to post character stats.... will help.

[MadCookieQueen]

You'll want to set aside some time to read this but The Pale Master Guide will really help you out.

He lists starting stats, feat order selections, enhancement tree ideas, spell reviews and more. Also the back and forth from the community has been pretty epic. I think it's helped lots of new to wizard players.

Good Luck and Game On!

[Alexandererr]

might also want to post character stats.... will help.

My current stats are:

STR 13
DEX 16
CON 25
INT 34
WIS 13
CHA 11

including all items/enhancements but not any of the Undead Shrouds.

[Alexandererr]

You'll want to set aside some time to read this but The Pale Master Guide will really help you out.

He lists starting stats, feat order selections, enhancement tree ideas, spell reviews and more. Also the back and forth from the community has been pretty epic. I think it's helped lots of new to wizard players.

Good Luck and Game On!

Thanks, I'll have a read

[count_spicoli]

Wizzy is all about dc's. So you need to get those as high as possible, Nuking is a by product as a wizzy so if nuking is your thing sorc will be for you.

To get your dc's as high as possible you will have to maximize int and get every piece of gear possible to maximize your dc's. To be successful in ee you will need to at least get low 70's if not higher and enchant low to high 60's.

[UurlockYgmeov]

My current stats are:

STR 13
DEX 16
CON 25
INT 34
WIS 13
CHA 11

including all items/enhancements but not any of the Undead Shrouds.

ok - you aren't all that bad off - you will / can make 28 and ER or TR pretty easily. Avoid EE mostly - but read that guide about PM's and mostly all good!

[count_spicoli]

meant to say at least low 70's to upper 70's in necro

[bsquishwizzy]

Hi,

I currently have a level 23 Wizard/Magister Halfling. For the heroic levels I followed the Necromancy pre-set path, as I know next to nothing about various wizard builds. I followed the Pale Master enhancement tree. I still have my Lesser Heart that comes on character creation so I was wondering if anyone could provide a 'step-by-step' character plan that I could follow to fix my build. I want to be able to deal lots of damage but also be fairly self-sufficient so I'm not constantly dying in groups/raids!

Thanks for reading this, and thanks in advance for any help!

Ben

A lot of this depends on what you want to do. If you want to make your PM stronger, my suggestion is to do a True Reincarnation, and re-level. Having multiple lives in wizard isn't a bad thing overall.

And when you do Reincarnate? Your best bet is probably Drow or Elf if you go the traditional route (Sun Elf iconic is the other alternative for the high INT). Drow / Sun Elf for the base max INT. Elf for Arcanum as this gives you Spell Penetration and Spell Points (most of Necro goes hand-in-hand with spell penetration).

When you take feats, I suggest you take the following (not in this order):
1) Spell Focus: Necromancy,
2) Greater Spell Focus: Necromancy,
3) Spell Focus: Enchantment (or Evocation, or Illusion, whatever your backup line is),
4) Heighten (Take this before or around the time you get Finger of Death),
5) Quicken,
6) Maximize or Empower,
7) Spell Penetration.

The other feats I recommend, especially if you are a pure caster, would be:
1) Toughness (take early),
2) Mental Toughness (also take early if you can),
3) Extend (to extend the length of your Death Auras, Haste, and a bunch of other buffs / spells).
4) Greater Spell Penetration (take in the mid-to-upper teens if you can).

I have no doubt that a bunch of people will dispute these suggestions. However, Spell Resistance is an issue throughout the game, and Instakills are your best friend. There are lots of mobs with spell resistance. You want to make sure you can overcome it in most situations. Between Elf Arcanum, two spell pens (and maybe even an epic spell pen), and a decent spell pen item, you can bypass most defenses.

As for stats, max INT, a minimum of 10 STR, a minimum of 12 CON (I'd do 14 or better if you can), and the rest distribute however. All Level-ups into INT. the minimum STR is to avoid you being helpless when you get stuff like Ray of Enfeeblement sent your way.

As for enhancements, you want to make sure you get to Improved Shrouding and Necomantic Focus. Skip Animate Ally. Take all of the Spell Critical: Negative Energy enhancements. I'd also invest in Deathless Vigor, and both INT offering. The rest is up to you. If you have anything left over, take the Toughness enhancement in EK, Energy of the Scholar in AM, and as many Spell Critical enhancements you can get in AM. Likewise, Harper is VERY friendly when it comes to INT boosts, so you may want to check that tree out as well.. if you screw up your enhancements, or want to mess around with different configurations, the upside is you can reset them all with using plat. So this is the area where you can really experiment to find something you like to play.

Skills? I usually invest in Concentration, Heal, Hide, Jump, Move Silently, and Spellcraft. Some will tell you investing in Concentration is a "trap", and that all of your spells should be quickened. If you go that route, have a large cache of spell pots handy, because you'll deplete that blue bar rapidly. I use Quicken sparingly: Ottos, Negative Energy Burst, Cloudkill usually have it turned on all of the time. At lower levels, having your metas on all of the time is the fastest way to be out of spell points way before the shrine. So use them sparingly until you hit about lvl 16. I usually Heighten Finger of Death as a standard.

After that it's all gear. You want the best INT and CON items you can get. You'll also want the best Wizardry item you can find, along with anything that will give you the best Void Lore and Nullification at your level as a minimum. After that, pick an element you want to specialize in (I usually go Cold), and fine the best Lore a potency item you can get.