Any pure range wizard builds?

[Paragoons]

Any pure range wizard builds? that doesn't involve multiclass or eldritch knight or whatever else? That is actually viable I mean lol.

I am a 28 point pale master its a struggle

[Riffolk]

Having some more information would likely help narrow down the best ranged options.
From what I've understood you have a toon that's pure wiz that you're wanting to convert to a ranged build.

If you have access the Inquisitive universal enhancement tree that would be a great main tree to focus on.
Something like:
41 AP in Inquisitive
31 AP in Eldritch Knight (for the spellsword weapon imbues)
8 AP in Palemaster (for undead shroud for self-healing)

If you character is a elf/wood elf/half-elf/sun elf there's also the option of the Arcane Archer tree through racial enhancements.

[Djjinni]

Having some more information would likely help narrow down the best ranged options.
From what I've understood you have a toon that's pure wiz that you're wanting to convert to a ranged build.

If you have access the Inquisitive universal enhancement tree that would be a great main tree to focus on.
Something like:
41 AP in Inquisitive
31 AP in Eldritch Knight (for the spellsword weapon imbues)
8 AP in Palemaster (for undead shroud for self-healing)

If you character is a elf/wood elf/half-elf/sun elf there's also the option of the Arcane Archer tree through racial enhancements.

I'd take a moment to just check here where you're getting your main stat to hit/dmg from on such a build before suggesting it.



Clarification on if this post is looking for a "Ranged" damage build using bows/crossbows or just 'range' in the sense of no-melee caster build would help a lot I think

[KoobTheProud]

A good repeater build with EK imbues is probably hella OP.

Haven't actually built one but when I pull out a good longbow and start taking potshots at hard to reach targets the 'spellsword' damage is always kind of shocking.

[Paragoons]

I'd take a moment to just check here where you're getting your main stat to hit/dmg from on such a build before suggesting it.



Clarification on if this post is looking for a "Ranged" damage build using bows/crossbows or just 'range' in the sense of no-melee caster build would help a lot I think

No-melee caster build! Thanks. I forgot that there is probably a crossbow option or something lol.


I want to play pure caster

[Careall]

This build is an awesome group support sniper.

Human (for the bonus feat)
20 Wiz: PM and EK (alt: 18 Wiz / 2 Rog, take Mech 1st core)
Abilities: Int 18 and the rest drop into Con. Level up Con.
Feats: Exotic Weapon (Great Crossbow), Rapid Reload, Pont Blank Shot, Toughness X 3, Spell Focus (Evocation or Enchantment), Metas: Extend, Quicken, Heighten, Maximize)
Skills: Heal, Spell Power, Balance, Concentration, Jump, and Spot (in order of preference)
EK: Spell Swords, defensive enhancements (no off-hand), Eldritch Accuracy, Int
PM: Lich, Cores that increase defenses and HP, Necrotic SLAs, Con, and Enhancements that increase HP and Negative Power/Healing Amp.

Playstyle: Crowd control using AOE cloud spells like Glitterdust, Ice Storm (slows enemies), Solid Fog (slows enemies), Mind Fog + Dancing Sphere. Set up choke points using AOEs. Stay at the back and take out trash mobs until tanks have secured main agro. Assist tanks by taking down mains by providing DPS and CC. Use Lesser Death Aura, Death Aura, and Negative Energy Burst to stay healed.

Build Philosophy
Primary: This build is a decent sniper intended to take out hard-to-kill and hard-to-reach targets using penetrating damage, but not DPS. Great Crossbows deal a lot of penetrating damage, so they can get through damage reduction even when nobody else is doing (much) damage. You can swap Spell Sword elemental damage to get around elemental resistances and take advantage of vulnerabilities. Use Haste to increase your shooting speed. Supplement the Great Crossbow using Maximized Necrotic SLA.

Secondary: This build can provide some crowd control. Use debuffing AOE clouds to lower appropriate DCs: Use Solid Fog to reduce Reflex saves for AOE spells like Ice Storm. Use Mind Cloud to reduce Will saves for spells like Dancing Sphere. Cloud Kill can be its own CC by lowering Con to zero. Also, when you vorpal with a Great Crossbow, your target gets knocked down, no save, with very few exceptions (red or purple bosses and oozes come to mind).

Tertiary: This build isn't a squishy caster, but is tough and can take a hit or two (probably even from low CR Carnage Reapers). In most cases, if you happen to grab agro, you can stand your ground for a moment until the tanks can get to you and grab the agro back. Alternatively, you can run around and jump while sniping and not have to slow down to cast a spell.

[Careall]

No-melee caster build! Thanks. I forgot that there is probably a crossbow option or something lol.


I want to play pure caster

A pure 28 build caster wizard will be a bit squishy and will run out of mana often.

This is the Monk problem: I would not advise anyone to run a Monk on Elite or higher difficulty unless they had a minimum of 32 points, a +2 tome, and a +5 tome, and planned to be in a regular party with a dedicated tank grabbing agro. Then, a monk can be a great source of DPS to add to the party dynamic.

Regarding a Wizard, even with a 32+ point build, you're going to be running out of mana a lot if you don't have some combat capabilities to fall back on. This is where knowing a little more information would be useful comes into play: Would you be soloing or in a party? What difficulty level are you looking to do? Normal, Hard, Elite, Reaper?

If you're in a regular party, a 28 pt build caster might work, but your group is going to be carrying you through most of the quest unless you're really good at choosing your opportunities. If the group is carrying you that much, you're basically piking and the build doesn't matter. For example, our group has been carrying a bad barbarian build from 1 to 28 (at the time of writing). He's a bit of a drain on resources - healing and scrolls to resurrect.

That all said, the best basics for most any caster wizard is go Con and Int, PM with Lich, and AM tree. Get a lot of hitpoints so you won't be squishy. Get a lot of mana so you can contribute between rest shrines. I like AOE clouds to support combat members of the party. Trying to go for straight damage via fireballs and such, will run you out of mana quick. For the AOE caster, Heighten and Quicken are probably your most important Metas.

[slarden]

No-melee caster build! Thanks. I forgot that there is probably a crossbow option or something lol.


I want to play pure caster

I would give up on casting with a 28 point build. Despite the game not being very caster-friendly there is always another caster nerf right around the corner.\

[KoobTheProud]

I would give up on casting with a 28 point build. Despite the game not being very caster-friendly there is always another caster nerf right around the corner.\

28 pt builds can still reach 18 main stat and 16 Con.

A human 28 pt Wizard is probably good to go with any number of casting builds but PM/AM stands out as a way to beat the system. Obviously there are instances that will be undoable solo beyond normal with the build but it should be able to cap and then cap epic fairly easily any way.

As for nerfs on casters - seriously, casters are still far ahead of the game compared to most builds out there for non end game play. The ability to AoE and IK at range still makes casters fundamentally more powerful than classes that need to come up close to do their damage. There are a few melee based builds that are at a similar power level due to extreme damage at close range and good built-in defenses but if you're bringing a fighter to a mage fight you're probably making a mistake, again except in terms of endgame team play.

[Smokewolf]

Sounds like a fun build till I realized that the the EK attacks require a melee weapon. Though the Spellsword imbue should still work just fine.

Note: Could make an Elf wizard to mix the EK enhancements with the Arcane Archer ones. That’s assuming they’d stack.

-Smoke

[slarden]

28 pt builds can still reach 18 main stat and 16 Con.

A human 28 pt Wizard is probably good to go with any number of casting builds but PM/AM stands out as a way to beat the system. Obviously there are instances that will be undoable solo beyond normal with the build but it should be able to cap and then cap epic fairly easily any way.

As for nerfs on casters - seriously, casters are still far ahead of the game compared to most builds out there for non end game play. The ability to AoE and IK at range still makes casters fundamentally more powerful than classes that need to come up close to do their damage. There are a few melee based builds that are at a similar power level due to extreme damage at close range and good built-in defenses but if you're bringing a fighter to a mage fight you're probably making a mistake, again except in terms of endgame team play.

This is often the perspective of someone that hasn't tried to solo on a caster with a ftp account 28 pt build - I did try it this summer and sp management was too difficult. I rerolled paladin and it worked much better. Swashbuckler is also a great build because you can get your feet with casting a bit while having melee to get you through quests easier.

If op is willing to run lower difficulties and skip some quests wizard will work but will take longer to solo and will require significant spell point management (e.g., using slas the most and turning metamagic off on most spells). Wizard does get easier to play at high levels but the sp management continues to be a challenge and soloing in general. At higher levels you will be able to solo some quests higher difficulties and others you will need to drop back the difficulty to solo.

If you are willing to go vip or spend some money on classes warlock is the only class I would solo on a caster as a first lifer. If you are interested in trying warlock caster let me know and I can help you with a build where you can solo as a pure caster, but I wouldn't try it on a wizard unless you are grouping up - and then focus on support - crowd control, buffing with haste and rage, etc.

Once you've learned the game well you can revisit wizard.

[Xgya]

Sounds like a fun build till I realized that the the EK attacks require a melee weapon. Though the Spellsword imbue should still work just fine.

Note: Could make an Elf wizard to mix the EK enhancements with the Arcane Archer ones. That’s assuming they’d stack.

-Smoke

The main reason you go Eldritch Knight for a ranged build isn't the special attacks, but the imbues, which are still a rather decent amount of damage.

31 points in EK will give you 6d10 extra scaling damage die. (average 33)
- Technically, the max output on an EK is 7d12 (avg 45.5), but nobody should do that when 41 points in Inquisitive is an option.
32 points in Arcane Archer grants 9d8 (average 40.5)

Pros/Cons.
- EK gives you all 4 elements at once. Archer locks you into one.
- Arcane Archer's total output is higher.
- Arcane Archer locks out your T5s, and its own T5s are lackluster.
- EK has various defensive benefits
- Arcane Archer's total output comes online at level 12, Eldritch Knight has less than half that at the same level.
- Arcane Archer locks you into using bows. EK lets you use any weapon.
- You need 14 racial AP to unlock Arcane Archer on an Elven Wizard.

Inquisitive is such a stellar option that losing out almost 30% of your magical damage (by not going 41 EK) is always a damage buff to your build.
No matter how much extra damage the Arcane Archer gets, Wizard has absolutely no other way of gaining more ranged alacrity than going Inquisitive.

Using a bow without said alacrity buff just so you could use both arcane archer and EK might sound nice at first, until you realize just how much you're losing by attacking at that snail's pace bows use.

Overall, I'll say Arcane Archers can win some battles, especially if it's a heroic build, because of just how fast the elemental damage comes to them compared to EK, but EKs will win this war eventually.

[KoobTheProud]

This is often the perspective of someone that hasn't tried to solo on a caster with a ftp account 28 pt build - I did try it this summer and sp management was too difficult. I rerolled paladin and it worked much better. Swashbuckler is also a great build because you can get your feet with casting a bit while having melee to get you through quests easier.

When I'm running a build like this I tend to buy spell pots to get over the hump between shrines, of which there is usually one an instance.

The key to the PM/AM working well is that it only really requires stacking Negative and Force with a potency item handling the alternate spell damages you will use now and then.

As a 28 pt PM the OP is likely opening instances on Normal and should have no difficulty completing quests on that difficulty. If they are using the Skeletal Knight things get even easier because on Normal that thing is a beast.

[slarden]

When I'm running a build like this I tend to buy spell pots to get over the hump between shrines, of which there is usually one an instance.

The key to the PM/AM working well is that it only really requires stacking Negative and Force with a potency item handling the alternate spell damages you will use now and then.

As a 28 pt PM the OP is likely opening instances on Normal and should have no difficulty completing quests on that difficulty. If they are using the Skeletal Knight things get even easier because on Normal that thing is a beast.

The negative is ok when it works. The force is painfully slow.

Avoid casters as a 28 point build. If you really want to run a caster stick with normal or go with a martial build and run a higher difficulty - and come back to caster later.

[archest]

I'd take a moment to just check here where you're getting your main stat to hit/dmg from on such a build before suggesting it.



Clarification on if this post is looking for a "Ranged" damage build using bows/crossbows or just 'range' in the sense of no-melee caster build would help a lot I think

Intelligence.

[archest]

I am playing an arcane archer elven knight wizard.
its a Wizard.
I use Bow at long range instead of spell points
(Spell point conservation)
Long Sword and Shield.
When the mob hits I can increase PRR and MRR and AC
as an eldritch knight Elven natural proficient with long bow and long sword.
Using Chain lightning , cone of cold and delay fireball as main short range spells
I have force ,electric, combustion and glaciation at +100 effects in equipment with maximized + 150 spell power in the 350sp range combined at level 18.

Very versatile and capable in groups.
Its a pure wizard.

nothing in the archmage or pale master trees.

will consider dropping the AA tree for the new one .
Inquisitive : have it not using it.
Harper Agent : have it not using it.

2nd life elf and wizard

[C-Dog]

No-melee caster build!

Hi, welcome to the game, and the forums!

There are 3 basic types of attacks:

• 1) Melee
• 2) Ranged (bow/x-bow/thrown)
• 3) Caster.

The fact that a Caster can do their damage from a distance does not make them "ranged", not in this sense.

GL w/ the build.

[zybert]

Any pure range wizard builds? that doesn't involve multiclass or eldritch knight or whatever else? That is actually viable I mean lol.

I am a 28 point pale master its a struggle

you can have a half elf or elf and tap into the ranger tree that way combined with EK would be potent

[Careall]

You could probably get an infinite caster AA build that would be fairly useful.

Elf AA & Wiz AM splashing EK & PM

18 Int, 16 Con, level up Int (unless on HC, then consider swapping those)

Start out life with Augment Summons and use your skeleton to get you up to level 10-ish or so. After level 10, your summons and pets will start to lose effectiveness quickly. Unfortunately, level 12 is the tipping point for this concept.

Reset your trees for this next part.

You can use your free feat-trade to get rid of Augment Summons for something like Mental Toughness.
Pick up some spell points and other fun stuff from the Elf tree to work your way to getting the AA tree. The take Corrosive Arrows (or another element) followed by Elemental Damage +2 in the higher tiers.
Eventually, you'll want to pick up Soul Magic and Moon Bow. You now have a renewable mana source of up to about 30 temp mana.
Use Arch Mage to pick up some SLAs or grab the PM necrotic SLAs.
Use EK to add more elemental damage to your bow and pick up Eldritch Accuracy for Int to Hit. Your primary bow damage comes from elemental Spell Power, so no need to worry about Dex or Int to damage. You can also pick up Light or Medium Armor proficiency from EK. I'd go with PM for the Death Aura healing but that's optional and you might be stretching out your AP too thin.

Around Level 12, you might have enough AP to get tier 5 in the elf's AA tree (14 AP to get AA and 30 to open Tier 5 is 44 AP, but you would have nothing in the wizard trees.

Your AM SLA's can be heightened, Maxed, Empowered, etc for no additional cost. With the renewable mana from AA, you could cast even the highest SLAs (though you probably won't have the AP to buy them) about every 10 seconds without using mana, and you can shoot enemies with your bow between casting.

I know some folks might ask about bow feats. If you can work them in, great. But the bow is tertiary to casting and mana regen, so I'd put those considerations on the back burner.