D&D 5E Optomized wizard help

[Player1975]

Hello,

Im in a group with 6 total characters.
1 Eldritch Knight
1 vengence Paladin
1 rogue
1 cleric of life
1 warlock

This is my first campaign in 5th edition. I played 3.5 Wizards and enjoyed them. We skipped that 4th edition thing. Problem im having is finding spells that synergize with my group but doesnt make me feel like a buff bot. Our group is pretty min maxed and the melee types do a ton of damage. As a 3.5 wizard i could compete with these guys with my summons and debuffs. Not anymore.

I originally chose bladesinger for my wizard, but the DM agreed to let me remake my Wizard because i was not enjoying him. Only stipulations were:
Level 5
Wizard atleast 3 levels.
Any race.
Not bladesinger sub class

We rolled our stats and mine are as follows. 14, 16, 16, 12, 18, 12. (No order).

I was think of playing a Diviner, Conjurer, or Necromancer.

Any help or suggestions to help me enjoy my gaming sessions again. Also what spellsshould i be using? Any spell combo workwell together?

Thank you in advance.

 

[TheBigHouse]

Wizard is a great choice for this party, and doesnt have great multiclassing options, other than maybe a 2 level dip at some point. You can't really be a buffbot because of the concentration requirements.

Diviner, Conjurer, and Necromancer are all great choices.

Conjurer really wont come into its own until level 8 (conjure minor elemental), but it's very strong when it comes online. Cloud of daggers without having to worry about losing concentration is nice too.

Necromancers can do great things with either tons of arrows from your skeletons, or big meat shields from your zombies (or both). They are a bit book-keeping heavy, though.

Diviner gets to sometimes make things auto fail against your best debuffs which is always nice.

Your stats are fantastic, throw a 18 in INT (obviously) and the other 16s in dex and con.

IMO Necromancer and Evoker are strongest at level 5-6, but the other schools probably surpass them at higher levels.

Your party has damage covered and then some, so I would focus on crowd control, battlefield control, and out of combat utility. That doesn't mean you cant pick up direct combat stuff. Just keep an eye out for things that can let your damage dealers do their job easier. I would definitely recommend Treantmonk's God Wizard style of play in that party.

Examples: Detect Magic, Tasha's, Invisibility, Web, Pyrotechnics, Counterspell, Hypnotic Pattern, etc. Conjure Minor Elementals is also great for creating pathing blockers and generally frustrating the monster's plans.

If you are getting bored, focus on spells that require creativity or tactical positioning to use. Suggestion, Major Illusion, Phantasmal Force, web, etc.

Let me refer you to my wizard guide: http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?469130-GUIDE-Arrive-on-Time-A-General-Guide-to-Wizardry

 

[Player1975]

Thank you for your help, BigHouse.

Is Animate object a decent offensive ability? Compared with Conjure Minor Ele.

 

[mellored]

Thank you for your help, BigHouse.

Is Animate object a decent offensive ability? Compared with Conjure Minor Ele.

Yes. Particularly the small objects. Though it doesn't scale too well.

You have plenty of single target damage in that group, so i would go with more wall and zone spells (cloud of daggers, web, stinking cloud), along with fireball, and some utility (flight).


If you really want to keep up with single target damage go necromancer. A small army of skeletons with bows can do plenty of damage, as long as you can keep them alive, and fit them into the dungeon.

 

[TheBigHouse]

Yes. Particularly the small objects. Though it doesn't scale too well.

You have plenty of single target damage in that group, so i would go with more wall and zone spells (cloud of daggers, web, stinking cloud), along with fireball, and some utility (flight).


If you really want to keep up with single target damage go necromancer. A small army of skeletons with bows can do plenty of damage, as long as you can keep them alive, and fit them into the dungeon.

What Mello said.

Animate is a powerhouse. The tiny objects offer great damage output, and can really block your enemies, unless they want to eat a ton of opportunity attacks.

If there is a large or huge object around it can also be useful for blocking a hallway or something, but its more situational.

Here's the main differences:

Conjure elemental: Casting time: 1min, 1 hour duration, gets conjurer school benefits, some mephits have useful abilities like blind, less damage, less attack, less durable (until level 14), scales up.

Animate Object: Casting time: 1 action, 1 minute duration, transmutation (no real benefits), more damage, more attack, more opportunity attacks, a bit of flexibility if there are big objects lying around, no scaling.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I believe bladesinger is better in smaller groups when being able to fill different roles although your stats are great for that charakter.

I also support the area damage route. No better status effect than dead. A well placed fireball and some walls and zones make life much easier.

 

[pdegan2814]

Definitely grab some good AoE spells, your single-target strikers will appreciate not being overwhelmed.
If your weapon-wielders are primarily melee attackers, look for stuff that knocks people prone, restrains them, etc. My party's Warlock got his first chance to use Blindness last session, and it WRECKED the guy he targeted. And it scales up to multiple targets, so it can be useful on a group or on that one member of the enemy mob that's really messing with your party. Flaming Sphere might be worth picking up too. It's a small AoE, but you can use your bonus action to move it around from turn to turn, while using your main action to cast other spells. Of course, if you're choosing 3rd-level spells, you've got plenty of multi-target spells to choose from like Lightning Bolt and the ever-popular Fireball.

 

[Flipteach]

Echoing the thoughts above. As your party has single target damage covered really well, I'd focus on crowd control. Get Fireball, obviously, but then look for ways to set up the rest of the party effectively. One spell that I have gotten good use out of is Hypnotic Pattern.

Bump your Int as fast as you can, then Alert is great for you to be able to dictate terms of battle from the beginning of the encounter.

 

[Zaruthustran]

I think the Conjurer's ability to conjure anything (within the parameters) is pretty cool. What utility! What fun! Just a cool "classic wizard" ability. I'd recommend that.

Pick up Find Familiar if the Warlock didn't go Chains, and if none of the other characters picked it up from Magic Initiate. Just such an amazingly useful spy and utility.

Honestly it's a relief that the other party has damage on lockdown. That means you are freed up to go with the high risk/high reward spells like Suggestion, Banishment, Sleep, and such. Let them chip away at the HP total while you go with the big drama spell effects. You can meaningfully contribute to battle with cantrips, but you save your best for out-of-combat situations--or combat-ending spells.