We have heard earlier how concentration isn’t really a limit on power as a wizard can just cast another spell. I disagree with that viewpoint but it’s worth acknowledging as an argument.
I do think Warcaster does increase power and is a must take for every serious caster. An extra spell is very good too though hampered by how rarely it will happen.
If a long adventuring day with multiple encounters is supposed to reign in the wizard by making them spend their slots, then not having to cast it again is saving you slots and making you effective for longer. It also matters for stuff like Hypnotic Pattern, if you lose concentration they're all freed, and may be able to act before you can cast it again.
Alert is no guarantee of going first. It also offers a very real toss up between buffing yourself in the first round or casting that fireball. Depending on the foes faced. The swinginess of Initiative means that this is by no means a given. That said it is effectively giving you an additional to if you get in first so does increase power. Of course it only works if other people haven’t got it. Initiative is relative. In a party of rogues, rangers and Dex fighters it probably won’t help at all.
It gives the same bonus as a 20 dex, so you'll likely have the highest even in a dex party. Especially good for Chronurgy wizards since they add their Int to it as well. Doubly good against surprise attacks, since you can act in the surprise round and likely go before the enemy.
More spells doesn’t increase power. It maybe useful for reasons of versatility but it isn’t making what you do more effective.
For a Wizard, more spells is pretty much more power, it's their whole thing. Take Fey Touched, you get Misty Step, which you'd definitely want anyway, and an enchantment or divination 1st level spell, say, Silvery Barbs.
You get teleportation and the ability to make an enemy reroll their saving throw against your spell, then have them always prepared to use with spell slots, and a free use for each. Both are useful pretty much through all levels, and allow you to prepare other spells instead, it's two new spells since those two are so good you'd definitely want them annyway.
A Wizard isn't like a Fighter, they don't have one thing they'll always want to do, sometimes damage, sometimes save or suck, sometimes buffing, having more spells gives them more options to use and makes them more powerful overall.
The problem with this spell is that it is so circumstantial. Many energy types don’t have a great spell of that type at every level. In the same way that the resistance is highly circumstantial, the benefit is highly circumstantial too.
The 1’s become 2’s boost is so negligible as to be almost useless. A fireball booster to level 7 doing 12d6 damage will do an extra 2 points of damage on its roll on average.
I meant it for Fireball, pretty much. If you're fighting resistant people, it's pretty good, but definitely situational. Does increase their power anyway though.
Most invocations won’t improve a wizards spellcasting power. Unless they have taken the Eldritch Blast feat. They just add more choices
As always, more choices is more power for a Wizard. Say, at-will Mage Armor saves them slots to use on other stuff or Devil's Sight counters the weakness of non darkvision for variant humans, so they don't have to carry stealth-ruining torches or waste a prepared spell and slot on the Darkvision spell.
My personal favourite feat. Definitely makes wizards more powerful but in a very limited way. To put it in context if you quicken that spell, you can still only cast a cantrip… once per day. You can only twin up to 2nd level. Good but not amazing at the point you get the feat. 2 sorcery points and your options are limited.
I was thinking more about Subtle Spell, you can use it twice. Great for casting while not being noticed, or to not be counterspelled if you're fighting another caster.
It’s a great feat. Great for everyone. But of a wizards main role - acting spells - many if not most of a wizards spells don’t have an attack roll. Fighters become much more powerful with this feat. Much more so than wizards. Ironically this feat is best used for Eldritch Knights (rangers, paladins etc) as they can take a full attack action and cast a spell. It’s far more useful for them than for wizards.
It can be used to reroll saves, including concentration ones, or save or suck ones that'd make you drop concentration, or damage ones that'd drop you to low health. Also, on Counterspell and Dispel Magic ability checks.
Sure but as discussed your wizard isn’t intended to be in the front line. You can try and expend resources to make your wizard like a fighter but they still won’t be as tough as a fighter. It also doesn’t help your spell casting power.
Same principle as the previous post. [Edit] Both are addressed in more detail in my next post to Frogreaver.
As I had mentioned above, "Frontline" is a shaky concept, it's really hard to set up if you don't have a chokepoint or the DM isn't playing along. Ranged attacks can still get you, flying or teleporting creatures can go right next to you, and even the ones on the ground can just walk past the melee boys since all they can do is do an opportunity attack most of the time, and a single attack doesn't do much damage even to rather low CR creatures that have dozens of HP each.
It definitely ties back to the spell casting power, since it'll save you slots. If you have more AC, they'll hit you less, you'll have to Shield less, and have more spells to cast later. More HP means you survive longer, so if you get attacked there's less chance you'll be KO'd, drop your concentration spells, and, like, die.
