Essential Mage: The return of schools

[Budalic]

No, there's nothing about Ritual Casting on the article, but we don't know what Aprentice, Expert and Master Mage means. They could very well have rituals from the school you choose to specialize.

And I hope they errata the older spells to add the new school keywords, but only with a list of spells published so far, or saying "all pre-essentials spells with the Fire, Cold, Lighting and Acid keywords can be considered evocation spells. All spells with the Illusion keyword belong to the Illusion school", etc. I don't want the next errata to have 279 pages of reprinted wizard spells... :S

I think that they could simply write:
These spells gain evocation school: From PHB: A, B, C; From Arcane Power: X, Y, ...

I also think wizards and clerics will get rituals over levels. The main school specialization feature will probably be available at level 1. I hope it will be better than Arcane Implement Proficiency (because wizards currently have worst class features in game, at least combat-wise) , but not broken like pre-errata Orb of Imposition.

New at-wills are pretty good - comparable with thunderwave and winged horde. I like them.

EDIT: Is it just me, or wizard can now have more than 2 spells per level in spellbook? Cool. I hope it will be errataed in PHB that way, too.

 

[Mengu]

Things to note:
* It appears that like dailies and utilies, Wizards can now also prepare encounter spells.

Not wizards, mages.

It seems to me like they took the Tome of Readiness, and built it in as a class feature for the mage, so they really aren't losing a class feature there. However, also of note is that mages can't use tomes as implements. (With so much focus on a spell book, it makes sense that they can't use a book as an implement right?)

There are already 3 at-will illusion powers, so I'm guessing we'll see a reprint of two of those (and also guessing that's why they didn't show them to us in preview).

They say Con, Wis, Cha are the secondary stats. I suspect Evocation Con, Enchantment Wis, Illusion Cha. Which also means the apprentice mage features will add something using one of those stats. I'm rather curious about this, since the feature seems to evolve by level.

 

[renau1g]

Gaining MM as a freebie is almost worthless.

Actually, it's not worthless, it's getting an RBA for free? I hope they introduce this for all classes, especially melee-type ones (like the thief or rogue whatever they call it) to have their basic attacks key off their main ability score (dex for rogues, etc.) as it always felt weird to me that classes were devastating part of the time, but if an enemy just saunters by you, the rogue flails about with a poor attack (even Brutal Scoundrels aren't great)

 

[renau1g]

They say Con, Wis, Cha are the secondary stats. I suspect Evocation Con, Enchantment Wis, Illusion Cha. Which also means the apprentice mage features will add something using one of those stats. I'm rather curious about this, since the feature seems to evolve by level.

I would actually see Enchantment more as Cha and Illusion as Wis.

 

[Markn]

I like the nod to the schools of magic again, I really felt like that needed to be added back into the game. However, I hope that wizard schools play more of a role than what is seen in the preview.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

Magic missile does have a level. It says "Wizard Attack 1". If it did not have a level then PHB wizards could no longer get it!

Not in the preview article. Mages get Magic Missile, which is then listed as "Wizard Attack" without a level. For them it is a class feature, not a level 1 At-Will.

On the other hand, it then says to pick 2 At-Wills from the following list. All of those powers say "Wizard Attack 1".

As per the Cleric preview, they can swap any power that has a level listed.

 

[Mengu]

Not in the preview article. Mages get Magic Missile, which is then listed as "Wizard Attack" without a level. For them it is a class feature, not a level 1 At-Will.

Actually it says "Wizard Attack 1" your browser is cutting off the 1. Try copy/pasting that section and you will see the 1.

 

[Scribble]

Not in the preview article. Mages get Magic Missile, which is then listed as "Wizard Attack" without a level. For them it is a class feature, not a level 1 At-Will.

On the other hand, it then says to pick 2 At-Wills from the following list. All of those powers say "Wizard Attack 1".

As per the Cleric preview, they can swap any power that has a level listed.

It looks like it's cut off actually... You can just kind of see the tip of the 1.

In either case, I think it's both- Magic Missile has a level (1) but the Mage gets it for free as a class ability and not a power slot.

It's effectively a pre-chosen at-will for the Mage that he can't change.

 

[Mengu]

I would actually see Enchantment more as Cha and Illusion as Wis.

Illusionist build in AP is Cha based. Gnomes are iconically supposed to be good at illusions. I'd be surprised if Mage's Illusion school specialization is not Cha based.

The school specialization is basically replacing implement mastery. Illusion would be Orb of Deception, Enchantment would be Orb of Imposition, Evocation would be either Wand of Accuracy or Staff of Ruin (not a typo). I have a feeling it's going to be just "better" to specialize than be an implement master.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I actually think the non-Essential wizard spells won't get errata'd with the three school keywords. I think it more likely that the Essential spells will have that extra-special ability for the requisite school tacked onto the power the same way normal classes have powers with the extra stuff dependent on the build you are. So like certain powers are more powerful if you are a Tactical Warlord for example, certain Essential spells are more powerful if you are an Evocation Mage. All other Wziards and Mages can use the power fine, but the Evocation Mage gets a little extra perk.

Thus, going back over all the old powers aren't necessary, because they just get treated the same way all non-build specific powers are. Good powers in their own right... just lacking that little extra oopmh that comes from being the specific build it asks for.