Just picked up Heroes of the Fallen Lands and thought it would be fun to give the new powers a spin. So I made it to my local RPGA meeting last night and ran through AGLA 1-5 with a mage: a level 3 wizard built entirely with essentials powers.
I choose a human so I could test an extra at-will. There were so many cool new at-wills to try that I didn't have room for them all. I wanted to test out the more unusual ones, so I skipped obviously good powers like Freezing Burst (same as Scorching Burst, but with slide 1). I also passed up Phantasmal Assault (single target vs will, 1d8+int psychic, target grants CA and can't make opportunity attacks for a turn) because I've already used it in my campaign and know it's awesome -- best single target wizard spell IMHO. I really wanted to try out Phantom Cage (single target vs will, 1d8+int psychic damage, "if the target moves before the end of your next turn, it takes 5 psychic damage") but didn't want to get into rules lawyering. From the wording, it seems to me that the target would take damage every time it moves, voluntarily or not, but I'm not sure that's clear.
I ended up taking Arc Lightning, Beguiling Strands, Hypnotism, and Magic Missile (essentials wizards get MM for free). My encounter powers were Illusory Obstacles, Blissful Ignorance, and Suggestion (another new free one), and my daily was Fountain of Fire. Here's how it went:
AT-WILL POWERS
ARC LIGHTNING: 1 or 2 targets vs ref, 1d6+int lightning damage
Nice simple damage-only power, Divine Bolts for a wizard. Nothing fancy, but I used it the most of my three at-wills. Hitting two bloodied enemies for double-digit damage is not shabby. Eat your heart out, rangers.
BEGUILING STRANDS: Close blast 5 vs will, enemies only, int mod psychic damage and push up to 3
The MVP of the at-wills. Damage is weak, but it hits only enemies over a whopping 25 squares, which is full of win. Amazing minion killer and great for positioning enemies. When our barbarian was slowed and kept failing his saving throw, I used this power to push a monster right next to him so he could smack it. It was even more useful in bunching up enemies for my daily, Fountain of Flame. My campaign wizard uses Thunderwave, and overall I think this power is definitely better. The extra effect size and friendly targeting makes up for the smaller damage. Note that mages who specialize in Enchantment can increase the push of this spell to FIVE squares.
HYPNOTISM: One creature vs will, either slide target 3 squares or target makes a melee basic vs adjacent creature with +4 to attack.
Maybe the most interesting of the new at-wills. Sadly, I never even used it. Beguiling Strands was a better choice to move enemies around so I never needed the slide option. I kept waiting for an enemy marked by our fighter to be next to another enemy, so I could force the marked enemy to make an attack and trigger Combat Superiority, but that didn't happen once all night. This power would perhaps be better with some teamwork -- since this was an RPGA game, we were a sloppy pickup group that didn't synergize that well -- but it seems very situational to me. Monsters generally try to flank, so they're not adjacent to a defender and each other all that often, and it doesn't seem worth using the forced-attack option unless it's triggering a defender's mark. I would not take this power again, but I'd be interested if someone else could make it work.
MAGIC MISSILE: Does 2+int damage to one target automatically.
Never used, except to help bust down a door. I would never spend an at-will spot on MM, but it's awfully nice to have for free. It's definitely useful in certain situations: an enemy is more than 10 squares away, has heavy cover, or is down to single-digit HP. I've always thought MM should be a class feature of all wizards, so it's great that it is for the Mage.
ENCOUNTER POWERS
Level one
ILLUSORY OBSTACLES: Ranged burst 1 vs will, no damage, targets dazed and unable to charge for one turn. MISS: only unable to charge.
A very good power. It's about time WotC realized that dazing is somewhat useless when monsters can simply charge. This power robs targets of both multiple actions and charge, effectively making melee creatures lose their next turn. One encounter was against a group that was primarily based on ranged powers, so this spell was pretty useless that fight. Still, a very strong power.
SUGGESTION: Make an arcana check instead of a diplomacy check.
All mages get this power for free -- it's called a cantrip, even though it's an encounter power. Obviously, this is very useful, and one of the features I'm most looking forward to giving to my campaign wizard. Sadly, we didn't have a social skill challenge on this particular night so it went unused.
Level three
BLISSFUL IGNORANCE: Ranged burst 2, no attack roll, targets slowed and can't make opportunity or immediate actions for one turn.
Another no-damage power with a strong control effect. This one imposes its effect automatically over a large burst 2, which is pretty eye-popping. Other players at the table assumed it was a daily power! The mass slow is obviously nice, but our defender took advantage of the no OA provision to throw himself into the middle of the group with impunity. Very impressive.
DAILY POWER
FOUNTAIN OF FLAME: Ranged burst 1 vs ref, enemies only, 3d8+int fire damage (half on miss). Zone lasts until end of encounter: enemies entering it or ending turn there take 5 fire damage.
A whopping 3d8, in a burst, that doesn't affect allies, and also creates an ongoing zone that doesn't have to be sustained. That's pretty good for a level one spell. The only drawback is the fairly small burst 1, so it takes a little planning to hit several enemies with this power. In my case, I used Beguiling Strands to push two monsters near a third, spent an action point, then put all three of them on the Lava Griddle of Death. Two were killed instantly, one by a crit (37 damage -- ouch!) and the fighter used Combat Superiority to keep the last one locked down in the zone, eating five damage each turn. Although it's obvious on first read that this a very strong power, I was still startled by how brutal it was in practice. Ladies and gentlemen, godlike wizard dailies are alive and well. I'm not sure I'd give up my beloved Flaming Sphere to take this, but there's no doubt it's a very worthy alternative.
Overall, I found the new spells fun and strong without being overpowered. I do think that the new choices largely make the old spells obsolete. Why take Phantom Bolt or Scorching Burst when you can take Freezing Burst, which combines both spells? Why take Ray of Frost when there are now so many options to slow monsters? And although many wizards regard Winged Horde as too good to pass up, I might never take it again now that Beguiling Strands and Phantasmal Assault are available.
It's also nice to see the high number of non-damage control spells now available. Although I didn't go past third level on this playtest, those kinds of options continue to be available at higher levels (two of the three level 7 encounter powers fall into this vein, and they're both superb). It definitely makes wizard more versatile, and I think it's possible now to roll an illusionist wizard who literally never makes a damage roll, yet is still quite strong.
Hope you enjoyed the write-up.
I choose a human so I could test an extra at-will. There were so many cool new at-wills to try that I didn't have room for them all. I wanted to test out the more unusual ones, so I skipped obviously good powers like Freezing Burst (same as Scorching Burst, but with slide 1). I also passed up Phantasmal Assault (single target vs will, 1d8+int psychic, target grants CA and can't make opportunity attacks for a turn) because I've already used it in my campaign and know it's awesome -- best single target wizard spell IMHO. I really wanted to try out Phantom Cage (single target vs will, 1d8+int psychic damage, "if the target moves before the end of your next turn, it takes 5 psychic damage") but didn't want to get into rules lawyering. From the wording, it seems to me that the target would take damage every time it moves, voluntarily or not, but I'm not sure that's clear.
I ended up taking Arc Lightning, Beguiling Strands, Hypnotism, and Magic Missile (essentials wizards get MM for free). My encounter powers were Illusory Obstacles, Blissful Ignorance, and Suggestion (another new free one), and my daily was Fountain of Fire. Here's how it went:
AT-WILL POWERS
ARC LIGHTNING: 1 or 2 targets vs ref, 1d6+int lightning damage
Nice simple damage-only power, Divine Bolts for a wizard. Nothing fancy, but I used it the most of my three at-wills. Hitting two bloodied enemies for double-digit damage is not shabby. Eat your heart out, rangers.
BEGUILING STRANDS: Close blast 5 vs will, enemies only, int mod psychic damage and push up to 3
The MVP of the at-wills. Damage is weak, but it hits only enemies over a whopping 25 squares, which is full of win. Amazing minion killer and great for positioning enemies. When our barbarian was slowed and kept failing his saving throw, I used this power to push a monster right next to him so he could smack it. It was even more useful in bunching up enemies for my daily, Fountain of Flame. My campaign wizard uses Thunderwave, and overall I think this power is definitely better. The extra effect size and friendly targeting makes up for the smaller damage. Note that mages who specialize in Enchantment can increase the push of this spell to FIVE squares.
HYPNOTISM: One creature vs will, either slide target 3 squares or target makes a melee basic vs adjacent creature with +4 to attack.
Maybe the most interesting of the new at-wills. Sadly, I never even used it. Beguiling Strands was a better choice to move enemies around so I never needed the slide option. I kept waiting for an enemy marked by our fighter to be next to another enemy, so I could force the marked enemy to make an attack and trigger Combat Superiority, but that didn't happen once all night. This power would perhaps be better with some teamwork -- since this was an RPGA game, we were a sloppy pickup group that didn't synergize that well -- but it seems very situational to me. Monsters generally try to flank, so they're not adjacent to a defender and each other all that often, and it doesn't seem worth using the forced-attack option unless it's triggering a defender's mark. I would not take this power again, but I'd be interested if someone else could make it work.
MAGIC MISSILE: Does 2+int damage to one target automatically.
Never used, except to help bust down a door. I would never spend an at-will spot on MM, but it's awfully nice to have for free. It's definitely useful in certain situations: an enemy is more than 10 squares away, has heavy cover, or is down to single-digit HP. I've always thought MM should be a class feature of all wizards, so it's great that it is for the Mage.
ENCOUNTER POWERS
Level one
ILLUSORY OBSTACLES: Ranged burst 1 vs will, no damage, targets dazed and unable to charge for one turn. MISS: only unable to charge.
A very good power. It's about time WotC realized that dazing is somewhat useless when monsters can simply charge. This power robs targets of both multiple actions and charge, effectively making melee creatures lose their next turn. One encounter was against a group that was primarily based on ranged powers, so this spell was pretty useless that fight. Still, a very strong power.
SUGGESTION: Make an arcana check instead of a diplomacy check.
All mages get this power for free -- it's called a cantrip, even though it's an encounter power. Obviously, this is very useful, and one of the features I'm most looking forward to giving to my campaign wizard. Sadly, we didn't have a social skill challenge on this particular night so it went unused.
Level three
BLISSFUL IGNORANCE: Ranged burst 2, no attack roll, targets slowed and can't make opportunity or immediate actions for one turn.
Another no-damage power with a strong control effect. This one imposes its effect automatically over a large burst 2, which is pretty eye-popping. Other players at the table assumed it was a daily power! The mass slow is obviously nice, but our defender took advantage of the no OA provision to throw himself into the middle of the group with impunity. Very impressive.
DAILY POWER
FOUNTAIN OF FLAME: Ranged burst 1 vs ref, enemies only, 3d8+int fire damage (half on miss). Zone lasts until end of encounter: enemies entering it or ending turn there take 5 fire damage.
A whopping 3d8, in a burst, that doesn't affect allies, and also creates an ongoing zone that doesn't have to be sustained. That's pretty good for a level one spell. The only drawback is the fairly small burst 1, so it takes a little planning to hit several enemies with this power. In my case, I used Beguiling Strands to push two monsters near a third, spent an action point, then put all three of them on the Lava Griddle of Death. Two were killed instantly, one by a crit (37 damage -- ouch!) and the fighter used Combat Superiority to keep the last one locked down in the zone, eating five damage each turn. Although it's obvious on first read that this a very strong power, I was still startled by how brutal it was in practice. Ladies and gentlemen, godlike wizard dailies are alive and well. I'm not sure I'd give up my beloved Flaming Sphere to take this, but there's no doubt it's a very worthy alternative.
Overall, I found the new spells fun and strong without being overpowered. I do think that the new choices largely make the old spells obsolete. Why take Phantom Bolt or Scorching Burst when you can take Freezing Burst, which combines both spells? Why take Ray of Frost when there are now so many options to slow monsters? And although many wizards regard Winged Horde as too good to pass up, I might never take it again now that Beguiling Strands and Phantasmal Assault are available.
It's also nice to see the high number of non-damage control spells now available. Although I didn't go past third level on this playtest, those kinds of options continue to be available at higher levels (two of the three level 7 encounter powers fall into this vein, and they're both superb). It definitely makes wizard more versatile, and I think it's possible now to roll an illusionist wizard who literally never makes a damage roll, yet is still quite strong.
Hope you enjoyed the write-up.
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