Yet another expansion where wizard is left behind

[Raithe]

The biggest issue with wizard is not ultra specialization (thats sorc and they are fine), but no specialization. And the answer to multiclass a caster is not the right one at all. Pure wizard should be a build choice. Outside of palemaster and EK, wizards have no trees that help them actually specialize in anything.

I have no idea what you were trying to say about balance, but balancing is really the biggest issue with the current direction of the game. Nerfing one class or playstyle to oblivion to make others more useful is a terrible design goal and we have had plenty of that. It is absolutely time to bring up other classes that wer left or nerfed behind. Wizard (archmage specifically), Monk (Shintao specifically), Cleric (Warpriest specifcally) all have very little to offer.

It is probably hopeless to argue with someone that has your mentality, but I will try.

The problem with wizard is not that you can't play the game as a pure wizard. I have played the game as a pure wizard, and I did quite well. The problem in your eyes, and partially in mine is that there are other classes that fair better for the purposes you deem most important. True enough, I will stipulate that analysis. What you want to do is boost wizard to the top of the pecking order of classes - that is NOT what I want done. I want nerfs, lots and lots of nerfs.

And you are correct that nerfing classes to oblivion is terrible design practice. The only thing worse is the endless leapfrogging of classes until your game is no longer playable in groups, which is exactly what has happened. Nerfing will get rid of a substantial portion of your playerbase. Leapfrogging will also do that, but also prevent new players from onboarding.

[mr420247]

Same with sorc guess there never gettting a tree pass now and still no iconic and no arch type yet

They still only have 2 trees

[jskinner937]

It is probably hopeless to argue with someone that has your mentality, but I will try.

I almost quit reading after your first statement, just so you know. If you are trying to actually have a constructive discussion (which I was), this is not how you open a constructive discussion...

That aside, I think we can agree the metrics of balance have and continue to be out of whack. I would also agree that wizard is probably right where many casters probably should be as compared to the rest of the playstyles. But this is not the current state of the game. And the main focus of nerfs to target exploits or not WAI abilities is the very heart of the issues of balance.

Take for example...(nerfs targeting exploits or an overperforming ability)

Shintao Monks....One exploited build using loaded broken heroic dice posted to the forums and now who even plays shintao handwrap monks at end game?

FVS....overperformed in heroics (hardcore) and now who plays caster focused FVS at end game?

Shirardi Casters...AOE casters (ice storm) overperforming with Shirardi procs ruined playstyle for all other shirardi casters

All of these nerfs were heavy handed and never even targeted the actual overperforming ability or exploit. There just seems a better way of doing this. Maybe exclude or limit AOE procs from Shirardi for example. Or remove FVS MCL from cores 1-5 but give back in capstone. Or fix the broken loaded dice from HW Monks. Instead nerfs hit elsewhere and it impacted gameplay considerably more than intended with or without exploits.

Now for an alternate side.....

Melees, despite what people scream on the forums, perform very well in r10 and even better in raids. The issue with melee is that you need everything and everything to be there, they are the true meta. But once you have a completed build, it is pretty unstoppable.

Druids and bards and even alchemists can have high DPS, high damage AOEs, CC and very good self/party healing ability. DCs are as good or at least competitive with Wizard, but out DPS wizard and with ability to party heal on top of that. So again wizard is left with no appeal. In either a solo or group setting, and especially in a raid setting, no one would prefer a wizard over the other 3 caster options above, (not considering individual gear, DCs, abilities, etc.). This is true definition of a balance problem. Wizard needs a specialty, outside of self healing. Archmage was suppose to be this, but its outdated and many other enhancement passes later, it grows weaker.

To me balance is not nerf, nerf, nerf to bring underperforming classes into balance. To me balance is micro tuning some overperforming/underperforming abilities. A good nerf should be an adjustment of about 1/2-1/4 of what the devs think it needs to be and observe and make additional adjustments with future updates as needed. And for every nerf of an overperforming ability, there should be a counter balance of an underperforming ability in most cases. This type fo game balance creates more excitement as well, since there could be a new shiny to try out. This is the cycle of balance.

Take for example the new EDF removal and the competence HP bonuses. This was probably the most exciting way to introduce a nerf to HPs. Imagine if EDF was just removed from the game with nothing else added? I applaud the devs for their effort, despite some of the issues/bugs. I hope this is how they look at game balance more in the future

With the current state of the game and population, many new players struggle to solo epic hard even....nerfs will hurt these players the most, while r10 meta players wreck content in record time. To me the issue here is not power creep from classes/enhancements or even EDs. The overperforming factor is gear (which is reasonable to expect) and reaper points. RPs are the heart of the issue with power creep and should be nerfed. I love reaper difficulty, but having more power so reaper becomes easier specificallly is a silly game design, and I cannot believe anyone would disagree. Power Creep should never became exclusive to the hardest game difficulty, that is the worst kind. But for the love of all that is holy, do not penalize the newer players because of this bad game design in the way of nerfs, that is an even worse decision.

[Tyrande]

[...] and reaper points. RPs are the heart of the issue with power creep and should be nerfed. I love reaper difficulty, but having more power so reaper becomes easier specificallly is a silly game design, and I cannot believe anyone would disagree. Power Creep should never became exclusive to the hardest game difficulty, that is the worst kind. But for the love of all that is holy, do not penalize the newer players because of this bad game design in the way of nerfs, that is an even worse decision.

What did I say about having reaper difficulty 5 years ago along with reaper trees when people were finding EE too easy?

Now many people on my character's server are running the maximum difficulty, i.e. R10s and some individuals with crazy amount of reaper points are saying even R10s are easy.

We're now back to square one 5 years ago...

[Halciet]

I love Archmage. To me it is the true Wizard Prestige.
The problems with the tree stem from it being old, virtually unchanged from its inception (before the UI revamp into proper "trees")
It could use modernization seeing that it gets very little DCs and Spell Penetration when compared to Pale Master (It is unfortunate feeling like I need to split into PM.)
Many of the costs are out of date (The SP and Spell Penetration compared to Feydark Illusionist.)

For updating anything mechanical to have it be more Archmage (than current Archmage):
One thing that would be excellent is spell countering and reflecting. It could work just like deflect arrows but with spells (deflect spell once every X seconds) then would upgrade to returning that spell back upon its caster. This would be very Archmage. (Maybe replace a certain T3 and T5 spot if needed)
Spellshaping is not really needed as we have basically every damage type in w/e shape with few exceptions.

We could add Arcane Bolt / Blast to the regular spell lists just like what happened to Arcane Tempest as presently trying to maintain Master of Knowledge stacks is a chore and general waste of time you could be casting better spells (So maybe we should upgrade those dice to modern too) This would open up MoK to non Archmage but leave AM as the primary benefactor.

" I don't like Archmage tree, please change it into a force Nuker. " While not specifically here, I have read / heard this line of thought too many times.
For those who do think along those lines, please concern yourself with playing one of the several options that you already have to do that, though perhaps in a different damage type of your choosing(which also likely lets you strip immunity making the "type" effectively meaningless anyway.) Making AM into the force nuker would just be one more step toward "pick your damage symbol." Why are you trying to change a thing that other people enjoy into something that they don't. 50+ other trees are not good enough? They already took away Magister.

[slarden]

However, if you are willing to lose -2 DC (all schools), -5 DC (Illusion) the Tiefling Wizard build below in my opinion is the most fun and versatile end game Wizard. I've also played Alchemists, Sorc, Cold Druids, etc... and in my opinion this build holds it own with those. Because you can instant kill and DPS. Since Wizard's have the Scorch spell (on 3s cool down with EDs), and the SLA you can 100% keep immunity bypass on Iron Golems etc... This makes it work much better for Wizards than other casters. I have Racial/Heroic/Epic Completionist and 95 Reaper points, but the build below can solo R4-R6 easily (I am sure a better player than me could go higher) and still is solid in R10's. It is also very fun because you can always contribute. You can CC/Instant Kill/DPS reliably in any quest.

Agree tiefling is an effective wizard and the -2 DC is not really a big deal, especially with the ED changes that strongly encourage generalist casters. DC is much more about targeting the right enemies with the right spells vs. achieving the max #. On R10 with a tiefling wizard you will still have an effective dc for finger, trap the soul and to a lesser extent pk.

To me that is kind of the point, tiefling is strong for a wizard with a heavy investment in the racial tree - close to 20 points. That is fine with someone with a bunch of free points, but ultimately if you are looking at an 80 point build you are likely to invest heavily in PM with around 20 points in tiefling and the rest in archmage or feydark illusionist. 11 points in feydark is going to give you a cheap aoe cc sla which in my opinion outshines anything in archmage.

Melees, despite what people scream on the forums, perform very well in r10 and even better in raids. The issue with melee is that you need everything and everything to be there, they are the true meta. But once you have a completed build, it is pretty unstoppable.

Agree, the melee trees are strong and generally in a good place excluding monk which was over-corrected previously. The problem with melee is that there are too many encounters where even with a tank some enemies are pounding out really high cleave damage or other aoe damage on R10 impacting only melees. For example the Orthon boss in the new chain. If melee range cleaves and aoe are toned down so an average melee isn't one-shot with a tank that fixes the problem. I don't think you can fix that problem by adding more hp, prr, etc. because it trivializes all other content besides those few encounters.

On my assassin I have a high # (but not max) number of hp from past lifes, reaper points, etc. and keep affirmation up. Even with that there are some encounters that are terrible for a melee due to cleave/aoe damage, but it's not nearly as bad as the forum complaints would indicate - I completely agree. My assassin does significantly more single-target damage than my casters which makes it good for raids and quests where I don't get killed too much (R10 tempest spine end fight I give up - using a throwing dagger).

Wizards, in contrast to sorcerors, have extremely strong symbiosis with classes that use intelligence as a primary stat, most notably rogue.

Agree and also splashing 3 for a wizard doesn't take away your level 9 spells. Generally a palemaster wants the capstone so that strongly incentivizes going 20 wizard.

Wizards would be able to take advantage that more if archmage was a better tree.

[EinarMal]

Agree tiefling is an effective wizard and the -2 DC is not really a big deal, especially with the ED changes that strongly encourage generalist casters. DC is much more about targeting the right enemies with the right spells vs. achieving the max #. On R10 with a tiefling wizard you will still have an effective dc for finger, trap the soul and to a lesser extent pk.

To me that is kind of the point, tiefling is strong for a wizard with a heavy investment in the racial tree - close to 20 points. That is fine with someone with a bunch of free points, but ultimately if you are looking at an 80 point build you are likely to invest heavily in PM with around 20 points in tiefling and the rest in archmage or feydark illusionist. 11 points in feydark is going to give you a cheap aoe cc sla which in my opinion outshines anything in archmage.

Yeah for sure the Tiefling Wizard build benefits a lot from having the extra AP, past lives, etc... It is easier to just go Sorc/Alchemist/Druid DPS if you do not have those. If you can do the build I posted I think it is on par with some of the best caster builds I have played. It to me is less boring, I get sick of cold Druid for instance you basically cast 5 spells over and over. I like the mix of instant killing, AOE, single target, and choosing what to use it makes it more interesting to me.

I agree Archmage is not good, Falconry is a better 2nd tree for the Tiefling build and if you have the extra AP you can still get the good stuff from Feydark/Racial.

I've tried the Archmage with Master of Knowledge, and maintaing the stacks is just not worth the effort compared to Falconry flat 30% DPS boost.

[eightspoons]

I wonder how many more times the topic of the deficient Archmage is going to come up before someone really gives it some proper attention.

Probably a few more times yet, I'm guessing.

Anyway I totally agree, and to repeat things I myself have said many times before, I think a focus of the Archmage tree shouldn't be in DPS, but rather in suitably wonderful magical defences that a really powerful wizard (such as ... an Arch Mage for example) should be throwing up without blinking. That should also include buffing and bypassing the stupid MRR restriction specifically on cloth/robes (somewhere high up in the tree to prevent simple class splashing), and would give a reason not to invest in armour feats that, in my opinion, somewhat fly in the face the class. This restriction has never made the slightest bit of sense to me, especially in the case of wizards.

Powerful wizards wear powerful robes with all kinds of defensive enchantments woven in to them. Why is this not reflected in the class? Give them something that lets them continue to stand and support their comrades, even if it involves inflicting low (or no) damage to do so.

Of course, I also think the force SLAs need bringing slightly up to speed too, but they shouldn't be the ultimate focus here. And no immunity stripping. I hate immunity stripping. DnD was always a rather cerebral experience and things like that just turn the whole thing in to a mindless button-mash.

I know none of this stuff is likely to happen in my life/ever, but it makes me feel better to rant about it.

[EinarMal]

I wonder how many more times the topic of the deficient Archmage is going to come up before someone really gives it some proper attention.

Probably a few more times yet, I'm guessing.

Anyway I totally agree, and to repeat things I myself have said many times before, I think a focus of the Archmage tree shouldn't be in DPS, but rather in suitably wonderful magical defences that a really powerful wizard (such as ... an Arch Mage for example) should be throwing up without blinking. That should also include buffing and bypassing the stupid MRR restriction specifically on cloth/robes (somewhere high up in the tree to prevent simple class splashing), and would give a reason not to invest in armour feats that, in my opinion, somewhat fly in the face the class. This restriction has never made the slightest bit of sense to me, especially in the case of wizards.

Powerful wizards wear powerful robes with all kinds of defensive enchantments woven in to them. Why is this not reflected in the class? Give them something that lets them continue to stand and support their comrades, even if it involves inflicting low (or no) damage to do so.

Of course, I also think the force SLAs need bringing slightly up to speed too, but they shouldn't be the ultimate focus here. And no immunity stripping. I hate immunity stripping. DnD was always a rather cerebral experience and things like that just turn the whole thing in to a mindless button-mash.

I know none of this stuff is likely to happen in my life/ever, but it makes me feel better to rant about it.

Yeah unfortunately D&D is a subtle game with people making it interesting. DDO is a video game. At the end of the day the only things that matter are killing things as fast as possible and damage mitigation (healing, defense, crowd control).

Archmage is not good for any of those things today. Your version of just defense honestly would also not be that good, you would still be better of with CC/DPS over any sort of extra defense unless they drastically alter the game.

[Jasves4]

Agree Archmage is terrible and needs an update but:

There are basically two Wizard builds if you want to play caster at end game. One is the traditional and very common DG max Necro/Illusion instant killer. This is great if you always run in groups, you can CC/Insta-kill and contribute in most quests. However, occasionally, and in most boss fights you can't contribute a ton. That is what you have ranked. Also not the best solo.

However, if you are willing to lose -2 DC (all schools), -5 DC (Illusion) the Tiefling Wizard build below in my opinion is the most fun and versatile end game Wizard. I've also played Alchemists, Sorc, Cold Druids, etc... and in my opinion this build holds it own with those. Because you can instant kill and DPS. Since Wizard's have the Scorch spell (on 3s cool down with EDs), and the SLA you can 100% keep immunity bypass on Iron Golems etc... This makes it work much better for Wizards than other casters. I have Racial/Heroic/Epic Completionist and 95 Reaper points, but the build below can solo R4-R6 easily (I am sure a better player than me could go higher) and still is solid in R10's. It is also very fun because you can always contribute. You can CC/Instant Kill/DPS reliably in any quest.

The best part of this build is the versatility, I have 122 Necro DC, 121 Illusion DC, so instant killing works well, other school DC in the ~114 range which also work well overall and 68 spell penetration. So you can CC/Instant Kill, but you also have very good damage potential, and you can bypass immunity whenever needed reliably.

With 50% helpless damage, I have 82 Fire/45 Force/35 Rest critical damage, 40-50% critical chance (Tiefling nerf hurt here) and Spell Power in the 900-1100 range, it is very solid DPS. I don't even have the best gear to be honest, I am sure it could be higher. Actual gear I currently have listed below to hit stated numbers.

Defensively: I am sitting in reaper at around 2,600 hp, 5,800 sp, evasion (good save), 30% dodge, 111 PRR, 89MRR plus undead immunities. In R4 I cannot really die, in R6 you have to be a little more careful. In R10 I wish I had a bit more defense, you have to be careful, but not more so than a DG Wizard.

Spell rotations are also solid:
CC: Mass Hold/Color Spray random other stuff on occasion
AOE: Dragon Breath (Fire), Meteor Swarm, DB Fireball, Arcane Tempest, (Necrotic Blast/Chain Lightning/Cold Sphere/Ball Lightning) filler
Single Target: Greater Ruin (Intensified), Iceberg, Thunderstroke, Meteor Swarm, Arcane Tempest, Ruin (Intensified), Necrotic Ray, Polar Ray
Instant Killing: Finger, PK, Trap the Soul, Circle of Death, Wail

Note: Too lazy to post all the choices, don't take stuff that sucks like summons etc...

Tiefling Wizard 20
Str 8
Dex 8
Con 18
Int 18
Wis 12
Cha 10

Feats: (7 + 5WB)
1-Quicken
1-(WB) Maximize
3-Arcane Initiate
5-(WB) Empower
6-Insightful Reflexes
9-Mental Toughness
10-(WB) Extend
12-Heighten
15-GSF Necromancy
15-(WB) SF Necromancy
18-Improved Mental Toughness
20-(WB) Enlarge
21-Epic SF Necromancy
22-Epic Spellpower Fire
24-Embolden
25-Epic Spell Power Force
27-Ruin
28-Crush Weakness
30-Scion of Shadowfell
30-Greater Ruin
31-Spell Specialty Illusion



Enhancements (97)
PM - 41
Falconry -25
Racial - 16
Feydark - 15


Epic Destiny (73)
Draconic - 36
Magus - 21
Shadowdancer - 16

Gear
Elders Cap
Legendary Dusk Lenses
Legendary Order's Garb
Legendary Aetherband
Legendary Shattered Onyx
Legendary Spinneret
Legendary Deepsnow Boots
Dino Artifact (20/10/5 Fire Critical Damage, +2 Sacred DC)
Legendary Walking Ancestor's Shroud
Legendary Silverthread Belt (can swap to Legendary Thrummingspark or pretty much anything here)
Epic Gem of Many Facets (Force Lore, Int +14, Ins. Force SP)
Elder's Focus
Legendary Wild Flame
Legendary Wreckage of the Drowned Rat


Augments
Topaz of Evocation Power
Topaz of Necromancy Power
Topaz of Conjuration Power
Topaz of Greater Evocation
Topaz of Greater Necormancy
Topaz of Greater Conjuration
Topaz of Greater Enchantment
Topaz of Greater Illusion
Sapphire of False Life
Sapphire of Resistance
Ruby of Magnitism
Ruby of Impulse
Festive Int
Festive Con
Globe of Imperial Blood
Topaz of Feather Falling
Diamond of Constitution
Diamond of Spellcraft
Dodge

I have a build I am working on, but my DC's aren't great.
I would be very interested to see your enhancements and destiny choices, I am sure it would give me some insight how to improve my build.

[slarden]

Yeah for sure the Tiefling Wizard build benefits a lot from having the extra AP, past lives, etc... It is easier to just go Sorc/Alchemist/Druid DPS if you do not have those. If you can do the build I posted I think it is on par with some of the best caster builds I have played. It to me is less boring, I get sick of cold Druid for instance you basically cast 5 spells over and over. I like the mix of instant killing, AOE, single target, and choosing what to use it makes it more interesting to me.

I agree Archmage is not good, Falconry is a better 2nd tree for the Tiefling build and if you have the extra AP you can still get the good stuff from Feydark/Racial.

I've tried the Archmage with Master of Knowledge, and maintaing the stacks is just not worth the effort compared to Falconry flat 30% DPS boost.

I've done several variations of tiefling wizard for the immunity stripping. I've also experimented with falconry, but I just don't find falconry to be a net positive when soloing, raids or group R10s. If kill count is important it will boost that slightly in groups, but I've never found helpless mobs much of a threat and with or without the helpless boost they go down fast. Even on R10 groups take helpless/salted mobs down fast.

[EinarMal]

I have a build I am working on, but my DC's aren't great.
I would be very interested to see your enhancements and destiny choices, I am sure it would give me some insight how to improve my build.

Well DC is a lot of gear, feats, but enhancements help.

PM - lich form, int enhancements, and the +2 DC Necro/Enchantment plus capstone.
Falconry - 30% helpless, +2 Int, Run Speed, plus other assorted minor boosts
Feydark - +2 Int, Color Spray, other assorted boosts
Racial - No DC boosts, get immunity fire bypass, fire spell power, other minor boosts

Reaper gets you +4 DC, +5 Int

Draconic - +3 Necro, +3 All (T5), +4 Cores
Magus - +3 Enchantment (Or Conjuration)
Shadowdancer - +3 Illusion

I can't figure out how to post images LOL, if you PM me I can email you the exact enhancements.

[EinarMal]

I've done several variations of tiefling wizard for the immunity stripping. I've also experimented with falconry, but I just don't find falconry to be a net positive when soloing, raids or group R10s. If kill count is important it will boost that slightly in groups, but I've never found helpless mobs much of a threat and with or without the helpless boost they go down fast. Even on R10 groups take helpless/salted mobs down fast.

I can't play without sprint boost, and it gets you +2 int, I personally like the 30% helpless as I am constantly using Greater Color Spray/Mass Hold when soloing, I definitely find it makes a difference.

One could also easily switch to lower Falconry (again sprint boost is non-negotiable) and +1 int, and shift more to Feydark.

[slarden]

I can't play without sprint boost, and it gets you +2 int, I personally like the 30% helpless as I am constantly using Greater Color Spray/Mass Hold when soloing, I definitely find it makes a difference.

One could also easily switch to lower Falconry (again sprint boost is non-negotiable) and +1 int, and shift more to Feydark.

I had double wings at end game the last time I played tiefling wizard so sprint boost didn't really add anything.

The issue isn't really that I am not keeping mobs cc'd, it's more that helpless mobs are no threat and go down fast anyhow. 30% more damage simply doesn't change the calculus enough to be useful. That is true whether I am soloing mid skulls or running R10 with a group. Different people have different playstyles and what works for me doesn't necessarily work for you and vice versa. It doesn't really mean that anyone is right or wrong, it's more of just a preference.

[capsela]

Pretty sad the sorcerer race Tiefling is a better wizard than Gnome. I'm not amused.

[LurkingVeteran]

Tiefling is not a sorcerer race. The iconic is even bard. Races are supposed to offer something for many classes, which Tiefling obviously does (but mainly because immunity removal is very strong for classes that lack it).

[slarden]

Pretty sad the sorcerer race Tiefling is a better wizard than Gnome. I'm not amused.

If you focus on fire as a wizard you don't have many ways to deal with enemies like iron golem and ruin intensified doesn't have a toggle. Ruin and greater ruin are one of the few spells effective against golems since it's untyped damage, but try using that on an iron golem and you will heal it for more than the damage due to the ruin intensified bonus damage. Immunity stripping was always good, but relatively speaking it's more important after the ED changes.

[PurpleSerpent]

If you're willing to put a bit of time into a build and gear set, it is, in fact, perfectly possible to create an elemental-focused DPS Evoker Wizard that is viable at end-game play. You'll never quite have the same pure DPS output as a Fire Sorcerer, but it's possible to make up for that with access to a wider variety of spells, the ability to use more than two damage types effectively and the excellent self-healing and portable aggro magnet that come packaged with the Pale Master tree (Sorcerer's primary disadvantage is a complete lack of class-based access to self healing.) Just make sure to get any Intelligence and Constitution boosts you can, spend just enough in Archmage to grab at least a couple of DCs and Spell Critical boosts (skip all the SLAs, they're pointless) and put most of your Destiny Points into Draconic Reincarnation (or possibly Magus of the Eclipse if you've been going with Negative or Cold damage as your best offensive option.)

This build does have a bit of trouble in Reaper, as things start hitting much harder and taking less damage, and wizards struggle more with mitigating this than sorcerers do, but even then it is possible to solo content on low skulls, although you will need a party for high skulls as Despair Reapers are really good at wrecking your day solo.

Personally, I'm getting best results with Lightning spells, as Lightning is much more rarely resisted than Cold and Fire and offers both a crowd clearance spell (Chain Lightning) and powerful single-target damage spell (Thunderstroke) at high levels. Just make sure to have a backup for when you have to fight Demons or Celestials.

Oh, and definitely pick up either Sharn or the Feywild. Some of the best gear for an Evoker comes from those two expansions.

[Alrik_Fassbauer]

Melees, despite what people scream on the forums, perform very well in r10 and even better in raids.

I don't do R or raids.
Apart from the weekly guild run.

So, I'm only interested in anything heroic un-R.

[Raithe]

Personally, I'm getting best results with Lightning spells, as Lightning is much more rarely resisted than Cold and Fire and offers both a crowd clearance spell (Chain Lightning) and powerful single-target damage spell (Thunderstroke) at high levels. Just make sure to have a backup for when you have to fight Demons or Celestials.

Since this thread is still going, I'll add a few more hints to this one from PurpleSerpent.

1) Acid and sonic are both resisted less than even lightning, which is correctly stated as being resisted less than cold or fire. The issue with acid and sonic is that they are generally less one-shotty (not a real word) and do damage more slowly than the other elements. I haven't tried Acid Well yet, but the general trend before that spell was added lined up with what I'm saying. The damage per spell point, however, is probably as good or better.

2) Wizards have the ability to always use the spells that do the most damage per spell point for the type of mobs being encountered. This can occasionally make wizards easier to run than a sorc or other high SP evoker.

3) I read someone mentioning that if you are fighting a golem on a character using Draconic Incarnation, the issue can be that the healing damage being delivered can overpower the actual damaging damage. You are supposed to be able to turn off your destiny mantle, which should prevent that from happening. Unfortunately, I have fought clay golems on a character with the black dragon specialty, and turning off the destiny mantle did not resolve the problem quickly enough. I'm not sure how I eventually got the mantle to stop applying the healing damage, so that needs looked at by the developers (assuming they just don't remove the entire ridiculous mechanic - I'm often killing things with a single tick of a Death Aura spell.)

4) As other people have stated, this game can be played in a large variety of ways by a large variety of characters. Coming to the conclusion that a character is suboptimal because joining a random PUG leaves that character with very few kills is hardly a noteworthy measure. For the vast majority of the history of DDO, the character I would bring to a raid or difficult quest was a bard/rogue that had great survivability and utility/buffs, but basically never got many kills. It was easier for me to help control the outcome of the quest for the entire group on that character. Wizards could be sitting pretty in a similar role, if players in general would ever decide to see it that way.