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Wizard (Hotfix #54)
Playing wizard can be difficult, but it can also be highly rewarding. This guide will serve as a general overview to the tactics that a wizard has in their magical toolbox. It's intended for beginner/intermediate players, so some experienced players may not gain much from this.
When playing wizard the rule of the game is simple: no spells, you're dead. So you always want to be taking stock of how many spells you have left, and trying to only use them when the time is right. If you're in a party don't be afraid to ask to Rest before engaging an enemy team. That extra spell or two could win the fight. At the same time when resting you'll want to be extra cautious, as resting is the most venerable state in the game. Made even more so if using the Meditation skill, which muffles audio making it even easier for someone to get the drop on you.
Generally speaking there are 3 categories of wizards. Melee wizards, DPS casters, and support wizards. Each is good in its own way, so pick one that will fit your personal play style best. You can always change your build later, but keep your style in mind when picking the rest of your abilities. Also note that a good wizard will transition into whatever the situation requires, picking a well rounded build will help ensure you can win more matchups. So you may want to read the abilities for other styles to see if its something you're interested in.
Perks and Skills
DPS caster
Sage gives a 10% bonus to knowledge. This is really good, especially at lower levels. Knowledge gives spell memory, casting speed, and spell recharge bonus so it is nice to have.
Fire Mastery is good for dealing with enemy healing. It will cut healing by 50%. It also adds damage to your fire based spells (including Zap)
Spell Overload will make 5 spell wizard viable at higher skill levels. When starting out, I don't think its good enough to merit until you can run at least 4 spells with it.
Ice Mastery is going to solve a lot of problems for a ranged wizard. When coupled with Ice Bolt you're able to better manage melee w key enjoyers.
Quick Chant gives 10% spell casting speed. This isn't necessary but it could be the difference between getting a spell off and not.
Mana Surge gives 10% magical damage bonus. It's decent at lower gear levels, but if you build into magical damage bonus or magical power it could be a solid pick.
Arcane Mastery is the last perk I'd recommend for wizard. That isn't to say its bad, I use it on almost any wizard build i have. It will allow you to insta-cast Invisibility as well as helping with Magic Missiles giving you a bit wider of a safety net.
Intense Focus will let you insta-cast one spell. This can be huge if played right. insta-Fireball or insta-Chain Lightning can be devastating to a team, but at the cost of Meditation or another Spell Memory you'll wanna make sure you really like this ability if you keep it
Meditation is really good for new wizards, giving you your spells back at twice the normal sitting rate. It will keep you up and the game fun, but when you feel ready you should drop it.
Melee Wizard
Arcane Shield is a great pick for any melee wizard. It immediately applies a shield for 20hp of any damage type. This is really good especially with lower gear.
Reactive Shield another solid option for melee wizards, when you take damage you will gain a shield for 15hp of any damage type. This could potentially stack with your other shield for 35hp.
Ice Shield provides 20 armor rating and slows attackers when they hit you by 20% move speed and attack speed. Guaranteeing that you can escape or slow them down while you're engaging
Staff Mastery is really good if you are going to use the magic staff. Because it scales at 100% a white staff with ignite would essentially have an extra 11 magical weapon damage on it, 2-3 taping most classes.
Melt isn't the worst pick for a melee wizard. It lowers physical damage reduction by 10% which could help win the fight, but most the time I prefer fire mastery for the heal cut.
Support Wizard
There aren't any support wizard skills or perks in the game currently. Pick any that sound good to you. If you're lost a good first perk is always Sage.
Spells
DPS caster
Zap is probably one of the best spells on wizard. It's hitscan, so it's way easier to hit than almost any other damage spell. When fighting other mages (warlocks, wizards) in close range a common strategy is to zap spam while dodging. You don't want to waste these though because you may need one to secure a kill.
Ice Bolt is extremely good for countering melee players (especially with ice mastery.) Its also incredibly useful as a long range projectile due to its lack of projectile drop and quick cast speed.
Magic Missile is possibly the best spell on wizard when used correctly. Not only in PvE but also PvP. Knowing when to use this ability and for how long will determine life or death sometimes. TIP: aim for the head
Lightning Strike isn't the most popular wizard spell, but in its own situation nothing is more effective. You aim this ability on the ground so if you have a frontline you can safely assure you wont damage them but you will hurt the enemy they are fighting. Note: It is possible to do a well timed crouch-jump and completely nullify the damage from this spell.
Invisibility is put as a DPS caster spell even though it doesn't directly do damage, because it is possibly the most useful wizard buff. It allows you to run away, push, and reposition in the middle of a fight. If you're ever being chased into a corner you can jump cast invisibility and then immediately turn around on your attackers running past them back to the safety of your team. (Jump casting is explained in the Play Style section
Fireball is perhaps the most iconic wizard spell, and it's no less iconic in Dark and Darker. Fireball has a wide array of uses from ranged damage, splash damage, pushing an enemy back, or even to break a door down in a pinch. When using this spell in PvP try to decide if you're going to go for a direct hit or a splash. Splashing the floor will usually be more accurate but directs are worth going for if you see the opportunity.
Explosion is another really good wizard spell. It has the exact same casting sound as a fireball so you can feign a fireball and follow up with an explosion and they wont be ready. Its essentially a hitscan sticky grenade, that does a little more than zap. You can place it on the ground or wall to prevent an enemy from pushing. If an enemy does decide to push through your explosion you could hit them with an ice bolt (with ice mastery) and freeze them in your explosion.
Chain Lightning is perhaps the most fear striking spell if your arsenal. 1 good chain and they are panicking, 2 good chains and they know they're done. This spell can chain back to yourself, so be careful.
Support Wizard
Light Orb isn't the most useful wizard spell, but it can really shine sometimes (sorry i couldn't resist). Its best used to counter rogue's hide, but with the recent changes to rogue i don't think its as necessary as it once was. I still use it on my 10 spell wizard because I hate torches and shooting light out of my fingers makes me feel like god, and hey isn't that what playing wizard is all about.
Slow is a really good spell. Whether you're melee or ranged this spell opens a lot of opportunities. You hit a slow on someone? Sweet that's a guaranteed ice bolt/zap. Maybe even a fireball if you're especially quick with it. You can also use it when someone is trying to kite your frontline.
Magic Lock could potentially let your team reset in the middle of a fight. However if you are going to run this spell be careful of classes who can break wooden doors (Barbarian, Druid, Warlock, Wizard) In the inferno the doors cannot be broken and so there is no way to counter this spell.
Haste has been nerfed a lot since its release, so its less a staple than it used to be. Its still a solid choice though. It gives 10% spell casting and action speed as well as 5% movespeed. Using this on yourself or an ally could give the advantage you need to get your attack off.
Melee Wizard
Ignite as mentioned before gives +5 magical weapon damage to every hit you do. It also applies a burn for 1-3 damage. Its really good for PvE but can still have its moments to shine in PvP.
Gear
to be written
Play Style
Jump Casting
Regardless of how you plan on playing wizard an important thing to remember is to jump before you cast a spell, as your momentum is carried until you land. This gives you enough time to cast about half of the spell without a movespeed cost
(Note: at advanced levels it is possible to bunny hop by jumping on the exact frame you land. Which allows you to cast spells with no movespeed penalty)
Spell Budgeting
Another important thing to remember is spell budgeting. If you have spent 3 magic missiles and you know that you are about to sit down why not hit your friend who is still fighting a skeleton with a haste, or help out with a zap or two. Of course you are risking not having it if PvP breaks out. So don't use this all the time, but if the situation feels right then this can give you a lot more ammunition for a PvE fight, and your friends will appreciate the extra help. Being good at budgeting your spells doesn't only mean saving them, its also knowing when to spend them. Try to never spam one spell over and over again, its okay if that's just what the situation calls for, but most times multiple spells could be used to achieve a similar effect. Like imagine an enemy barbarian is healing behind a thin pillar, your first instinct may be to hit them with a fireball to splash them out, but if your also carrying lightning strike or explosion either of these spells could achieve essentially the same thing. When playing wizard I try to think of whatever the enemy is doing as the problem and I have only so many spells to solve it. Fireballs answer a lot of problems for you so its important to use them well.
Positioning
Wizard has the lowest starting health of any class in Dark and Darker. If you're just trading damage you will loose every fight. So you're going to have to outplay your opponents. In general playing wizard with at least one other teammate will make it far easier, because unless you're a melee wizard you're trying to kite to enemy while doing damage to them. So having a team will let you kite back to a safety net, and then you can fight from range while the front lines are fighting. Its 100% possible to kill any class on wizard but that doesn't mean you have better and worse pairings. Always try to pick a fight starting from your best foot. For instance its relatively easy to kill plate fighters on wizard, compared to killing a ranger which is way harder. So if someone else on your team has a better match up against a ranger they should go for them, while you take the plate fighter. I'll go into more specifics about positioning for each playstyle in each ones own entry