Human Wizard recommendations for a n00b?

[scottchiefbaker]

My buddies and I just started playing D&D for the first time. I'm using the precreated Human Wizard character. What are some recommendations for how to steer this character, that would make it most fulfilling for a new player? Any recommendations about feats/abilities I should pick when I level?

 

[talarei07]

it depends on the premade wizard. is it the one from keep on the shadowfell? if not what implement mastery does he have? what feats does he have? what spells? ect..

 

[KarinsDad]

Leather Armor and Toughness are good feat selections.

There are a lot of good At Will powers, but a reasonable selection is Cloud of Daggers (basically single target, but part of it damages even vs. cover), Scorching Burst (ranged area effect), and Thunderwave (for when one or more foes are right on top of a Wizard).

Another thing about Wizards is that they are one of the few class selections where a starting ability score of 20 is a reasonable choice. But be aware that if you do that, the additional effects on powers will be slightly weaker.

Using pre-made characters is probably less effective.

 

[scottchiefbaker]

This is the character I'm using:

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/humanwizard.pdf

Any advice for a D&D n00b would be great.

 

[KarinsDad]

Since you are a wand Wizard, you will want to train both Int and Dex starting at level 4.

Also, you should retrain out Ray of Frost when you get the chance.

You should consider retraining some of the feats and possibly other powers in the future as well.


Your original strategy should be to stay near the middle of the party early on and use Scorching Burst if you can catch 2 or more foes in the area.

Continue to use Scorching Burst until enemies are engaging your front line allies and seem likely to possibly break through (or, you can no longer get 2 or more foes within a single area attack).

Then, go back at least 10 squares behind the party (if possible depending on encounter environment) and use your Magic Missile attack as often as possible. You want to be back far enough so that if enemies have range 10 attacks, your range 20 Magic Missile can target them whereas they cannot target you. If someone gets too close, then consider using Ray of Frost. If multiple foes get too close, see if you can use Burning Hands first and then again use Scorching Burst.

Also, remember that you can stand behind another PC and get a cover bonus. Cover is your best friend since your AC is pretty low.

Save your Sleep spell for when the foes seem overwhelming. Typically, that won't be during the first couple of encounters. You can even catch a fellow party member in the area of your Sleep spell without seriously harming him, don't worry about that too much.

If you are third level, try to not be in a situation where you need to use Fire Shroud. If you are within 3 squares of multiple foes, you are too close.

 

[LightPhoenix]

I forget what feats and powers that the Human Wizard has, so I'll give some general advice.

The At-Wills you should have are Thunderwave, Magic Missile, and Scorching Burst. Thunderwave is the best choice for when enemies have swarmed you, since it won't provoke opportunity attacks when used. Make sure to have at least a 12 Wis, so you can push enemies away. Magic Missile is most useful for being a basic ranged attack that can be triggered by anything that allows them (ie, Warlord powers). The range is excellent as well, but didn't come into play too often for me. Scorching Burst will let you hit multiple enemies at range, which will be your bread and butter. All three can be enhanced with the Master's Wands in AV1. Alternatively, you could sub out Magic Missile for... ugh, the Illusion power in Arcane Power. That way you'll have an attack that hits Fort (Thunderwave), Reflex (Scorching Burst), and Will.

For further powers, I would try to stick to powers that allow you to attack multiple enemies. A lot of people swear by Sleep, but honestly my experience with it was poor. It's definitely better for Orb Wizards. Otherwise, it's mostly your choice as to what powers you take. Single-target spells are tempting (and I got a lot of milage out of Icy Hand) but keep in mind you can use Wand of Accuracy with an area spell to get the bonus to one creature in the burst.

Your utilities should be focused on keeping your defense up. Shield is by far your best bet at level two. Personally, I'm fond of Levitate since many enemies won't have ranged attacks in Heroic tier. The penalty to AC/Dex is worth not being attacked at all. I'm a huge fan of Mass Resistance, but discuss it with your DM first.

As for feats, the most useful by far is Improved Initiative. Leather Armor Proficiency is useful as well, since it won't impact spellcasting. Really, the rest of your feats will depend on what powers you take. Personally, I would stick to one or two keywords (for example, Fire and Thunder), and pick up the damage boosting powers for them. Destructive Wizardry can be a nice boost to damage for multi-target spells. IMO, most of the really useful feats for Wizards show up in Paragon tier.

For abilities, I would recommend boosting Int and Wis, even as a Wand Wizard. Many of the riders on the Wizard powers key off of Wizard Wisdom, and to my knowledge none ride off of Dex. Additionally, raising Dex and Int means your other defenses will be taking a hit.

 

[Chainsaw]

Considering a human wizard myself, so these responses are very helpful. Can anyone give a quick summary of the beef with the wizard as presented in PHB and how options in Arcane Power have addressed the problems, if at all?

For background - I play a Human Fighter now and love it, but I want to DM in a while and think it might be good to play a few other classes and roles first.

 

[Destil]

Then, go back at least 10 squares behind the party (if possible depending on encounter environment) and use your Magic Missile attack as often as possible. You want to be back far enough so that if enemies have range 10 attacks, your range 20 Magic Missile can target them whereas they cannot target you. If someone gets too close, then consider using Ray of Frost. If multiple foes get too close, see if you can use Burning Hands first and then again use Scorching Burst.

Actually, I wouldn't risk it without some sort of escape plan or a buddy to get this far away. The safest place to stand is 2-5 squares from the fighter, not 11-20. Ranged attacks be damned. If I had a player who was doing this every fight they'd end up in a really bad spot whenever there's lurkers about.

Likewise ray of frost isn't that bad, but it depends on the party. If you have a decent ranged lineup consider trying to catch enemy soldiers and brutes with it early so you can get a few rounds in on 'em before they can get into melee...

 

[KarinsDad]

Actually, I wouldn't risk it without some sort of escape plan or a buddy to get this far away. The safest place to stand is 2-5 squares from the fighter, not 11-20. Ranged attacks be damned. If I had a player who was doing this every fight they'd end up in a really bad spot whenever there's lurkers about.

Likewise ray of frost isn't that bad, but it depends on the party. If you have a decent ranged lineup consider trying to catch enemy soldiers and brutes with it early so you can get a few rounds in on 'em before they can get into melee...

To each their own.

It's rare to have foes attack from behind, at least in published adventures, due to the fact that the PCs tend to wipe out everything more or less in a straight line. Generally, there is nothing left behind the PCs.

So, the foes would need to move 10+x squares to get to the Wizard (if the Wizard is 10 back from the Fighter). That is almost always a waste of an entire rounds worth of one or more enemy actions.

There are some Ranged 20 attacks in the various monster manuals, but that too is rare (< 20%).

This Wizard is handicapped somewhat. He's stuck with Ray of Frost and Burning Hands combined with a low AC. The only nice thing about this PC is that he has Improved Initiative and Scorching Burst, so he might be able to get one or two of those off early in an encounter before the foes can react.

If he stays close to the Defender as you suggest, he can easily be toasted by being too close to the enemies, and his Burning Hands might result in friendly fire on other PCs (it's a fairly large blast) if he tries to use it.

But if he is far away, he can use his Ray of Frost to slow up a foe that gets past the Defender (the successfully hit foe moves a max of 4 per round, the Wizard 6 per action), otherwise, use his long range Magic Missile or even Scorching Burst if he can catch two foes near another PC.

If he had different powers and feats, I would suggest different tactics. But with these eclectic options, this unusual set of tactics is better than more normal tactics with more well balanced Wizards.


As for Ray of Frost, it has three weaknesses if used as you suggest:

1) It targets Fort, so it affects most foes less often.

2) Even when it does affect foes, the foes will tend to be within 4 squares of some PC that they can charge, so the Slow has a minimal effect (or even be standing next to a PC, so no charge needed).

3) It does 1 or more fewer points of average damage per round than most other single target At Wills.


Every other single target At Will is better: Cloud of Daggers and Magic Missile do more damage (since Slow rarely is helpful), Illusory Ambush does the same damage but protects the PCs more, and Phantom Bolt does more damage and allows the Wizard to slide the foe (extremely useful in many circumstances).

All in all, Ray of Frost is the worst of the single target lot.

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

At-Will: You are a human, 3 at-Will, yay! Be certain to take an at-will targeting each defense.

Reflex: Scorching burst, for sure.
Fortitude: Probably Thunderwave but only if you have at least WIS 12, which you might not have if you went with 20 Int and a wand or staff wizard. Any of the other fortitude power is fair, then.
Will: My preference goes to Illusory Ambush. Phantasm Bolt is cool too.

Feats: Enlarge is great, just great. Toughness and Leather armor are a must if you go combat wizard with plenty of close blast, less so if you are a more careful wizard who manages to avoid the front for the most part.

Stats: If you play a short game, 20 INT rocks. If you think you might be in for the long term, 20 INT is likely to prevent you fron taking a lot of kick ass feats to the point where that +1 to hit and damage will eventually seems to be an hindrance compared to what you are missing. For example, you need 13 charisma for Spell Focus. enlarge spell is 13 wis, Destructive Wizardry is 13 dex... You won't be able to take all of these great feats if you have 20 int but you probably can if you have just 18 and more spread stats.