D&D 5E Do you think Wizard is a Support Class or a DPR class?

[Jester David]

"Supporter" and "damage" are terns you apply to characters, not classes.

 

[Caliban]

Wizards as a class are best at battlefield control and AOE damage. Specialist wizards can change this a bit - for example Evokers can do some crazy single target damage at lvl 10 with Magic Missile (if you use the official ruling that allows them to add their Int to damage from each missile in the spell).

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

The wizard need his area spells. He only has one concentration spell active. That is his huge buff or debuff. He uses dpr in round where he can't use another concentration spell.

Can also use cantrips or non-concentration spells like Blindness/Deafness or Forcecage.

 

[Corwin]

I reject the premise that 5e classes fit into any of these kinds of "categories".

 

[akr71]

Both

Either

Take your pick. That is the great versatility with wizards.

 

[Cognomen's Cassowary]

A Wizard can do everything while a Sorcerer can do the Blaster role but little else.

Good one.

To answer the question, the wizard's wide variety of spells allows it to fill several roles, including support and DPR. The drawback for its breadth is that it lacks depth in any one role, which is only partly compensated for with subclass.

 

[Tony Vargas]

I reject the premise that 5e classes fit into any of these kinds of "categories".

Most 5e classes are not so inflexible as to be able to fit into only one of them, nor so narrowly focused as to be unable to make secondary or at least 'everyman' contributions outside the functions that leverage their relative competency. The fighter, barbarian, and even (in combat) the rogue, for instance, are quite focused on the DPR function, while the former two are 'tanky' as well. So is the Paladin (Tanky DPR), though it adds healing/'support' functionality, as well. OTOH, any full caster who blows all his slots on high-damage spells is also DPR, but if they're AE spells, he's the 'blaster' variation that maximizes DPR over multiple opponents instead of focused-fire. With different spell usage, the same caster can take on 'healer' or 'buffer' or more general/varied 'support' functions. A prepped caster can not only shift emphasis like that spontaneously, but can completely change prepared spells to focus on a given function(s) for the day, defying any theoretical functional category.

As a 5e prepped caster, the Wizard is DPR when he prepares one or more solid DPR spells and chooses to cast them with a significant proportion of his slots, and 'support' when he preps and chooses to cast support spells, and by no means limited to choosing between those two options. The one thing the wizard doesn't have ready access to is the healing specialty of the support function, which could count him out of providing 'support' to the party if there's no one else (like a Paladin) capable of picking up that slack.

 

[Corwin]

Most 5e classes are not so inflexible as to be able to fit into only one of them, nor so narrowly focused as to be unable to make secondary or at least 'everyman' contributions outside the functions that leverage their relative competency. The fighter, barbarian, and even (in combat) the rogue, for instance, are quite focused on the DPR function, while the former two are 'tanky' as well. So is the Paladin (Tanky DPR), though it adds healing/'support' functionality, as well. OTOH, any full caster who blows all his slots on high-damage spells is also DPR, but if they're AE spells, he's the 'blaster' variation that maximizes DPR over multiple opponents instead of focused-fire. With different spell usage, the same caster can take on 'healer' or 'buffer' or more general/varied 'support' functions. A prepped caster can not only shift emphasis like that spontaneously, but can completely change prepared spells to focus on a given function(s) for the day, defying any theoretical functional category.

As a 5e prepped caster, the Wizard is DPR when he prepares one or more solid DPR spells and chooses to cast them with a significant proportion of his slots, and 'support' when he preps and chooses to cast support spells, and by no means limited to choosing between those two options. The one thing the wizard doesn't have ready access to is the healing specialty of the support function, which could count him out of providing 'support' to the party if there's no one else (like a Paladin) capable of picking up that slack.

So you agree?

 

[marcelvdpol]

Good one.

To answer the question, the wizard's wide variety of spells allows it to fill several roles, including support and DPR. The drawback for its breadth is that it lacks depth in any one role, which is only partly compensated for with subclass.

To be fair; the Sorcerer is a better Blaster than the Wizard (although the difference isn't huge). However, there are plenty of classes which can output a good DPR each round; a Ranged Fighter or a Ranger can even do this at range like the Blaster.

Finding a class to replace the versatility of the Wizard is much tougher and a Bladesinger can even make a good contribution in melee (not as good as some melee classes but still...).

 

[Aldarc]

The wizard is a Swiss army knife of spells. That is probably why the wizard tends to be D&D's most popular class, particularly among veterans, in that the wizard has a wide array of spell options that allow for a style of tactical play that appeals to gamemastery. It's about having the right spell for the right occasion. In some regards, I will agree that the wizard defies categories in that the wizard has a tremendous amount of build diversity that caters to a wide range of specializations and functions. One can build a wizard character as a blaster, a minion-master, an all-knowing sage, etc. That said, I do think that the wizard offers greater options than most when it comes to AoE, battlefield control, and, for lack of a better term, all-purpose utility.