D&D 5E Low Level Wizards Really Do Suck in 5E

[UngeheuerLich]

Wizards of low levels are quite good. Better hp than previous editions, spells are actually doing some points of damage... not 1d3 or 1d4 for a burning hands spell. Yes, monsters have a little more hp now, but kobolds and goblins are going down moew easily now with a burning hand spell than ever before at level 1. Sleep is good. Even tasha´s hideous loughter can be quite good against an ogre or so. Your ability to use crossbows is as good as the fighter´s ability if ranged is not his specialization.
Starting from second level, and and then at 3rd you are going to be quite flexible in your castings, since you don´t have to prepare each spell individually. 4 first level spells and 2 second level spells is as good as 3rd edition spell casting when not having a bonus spell from specialization... and you get that spell extra from arcane recovery.

 

[aramis erak]

YMMV, but a single first level spell that acts as mind control for days seems overpowered to me.

Which was a major reason Charm Person and Charm Monster were de rigueur choices (if your DM allowed picking) for wizards in AD&D...

On the other hand, the 1 minute of current... may be a bit too much nerf.

 

[Gadget]

Which was a major reason Charm Person and Charm Monster were de rigueur choices (if your DM allowed picking) for wizards in AD&D...

On the other hand, the 1 minute of current... may be a bit too much nerf.

I believe the duration is 1 hour, not one minute. That is a bit of a difference. Though I agree that the effects for the spell now are so mild that there hardly seems a need for the 'they are aware you have bamboozled them after the duration expires' clause. Maybe they want to stop magic-users from running a street con operation in a city adventure? I can see this spell allowing you to get a good price when haggling, but it's not like the money-grubbing merchant that would sell out his own mother is going to give away stock to a 'friendly acquaintance'.

 

[Shadowdweller00]

Which was a major reason Charm Person and Charm Monster were de rigueur choices (if your DM allowed picking) for wizards in AD&D...

On the other hand, the 1 minute of current... may be a bit too much nerf.

I think you'll find that Charm Person lasts a full 60x longer than that The cantrip version, Friends, lasts a minute. I don't know - seems like there's a significant overlap in functionality between the two (other than Charm Person being upgradeable to affect multiple targets simultaneously). But the difference in duration is sufficient, say, to make Charm Person useful for getting the guards of the fortress/dungeon complex to let you without raising the alarm for a bit, whereas Friends might be a bit more efficient for interrogating a prisoner.

I think maybe an important issue is that Charm Monster/Person was once effectively an auto-win at certain social challenges (aka one of the Three Pillars of gaming) for wizards, whereas now they're merely another advantageous tool to help succeed at them. With some downsides.

 

[Shayuri]

I've played a few 5e wizards now, and I've been pretty happy with them overall. Scorching Ray is not the powerhouse it used to be for sure, but spells like Magic Missile and Burning Hands were beefed up at low levels to make them worth it even for a 1st or 2nd level spellcaster.

Average damage on Burning Hands is 10, average on Magic Missile (if all missiles converge on one target) is 9. These are not giant numbers, but 10 damage aimed over a good group is quite nice. Heck, even 5 damage helps. And the no-miss clause of Magic Missile makes it great for picking off enemy ranged units, or other guys who are for whatever reason hard to reach.

I admit, I haven't used a lot of non-damage spells. Web has always bothered me...it's almost as much of a hindrance to your allies as the enemies. Grease is nice, and I'm sure I'll be using it eventually, but most of the time when the question is, "Do I want to knock this bunch of enemies down, or fry them up Cajun?" the answer will be the latter.

And don't forget that low level spells can be cast at higher levels. Burning Hands at 2nd level is a healthy 4d6 in that area. Better in many situations than Scorching Ray, unless you need that range.

The limit on buffing with Concentration does mean wizards tend to be squishier. You can have Blur OR Mirror Image OR Blink... But being the squishy one was always part and parcel of the wizard 'deal.' It can be worked with.

So I dunno! My experience with wizards is definiately different from the OP's. Maybe my inordinate love of setting things on fire* has dulled my eyes to deficits in other areas.




* - With magic! Only with magic. *looks shiftily around*

 

[Shadowdweller00]

Average damage on Burning Hands is 10, average on Magic Missile (if all missiles converge on one target) is 9. These are not giant numbers, but 10 damage aimed over a good group is quite nice. Heck, even 5 damage helps. And the no-miss clause of Magic Missile makes it great for picking off enemy ranged units, or other guys who are for whatever reason hard to reach.

Uhh...not quite. Each individual magic missile does 1d4+1 damage, with a d4 averaging 2.5. So Magic Missile does 10.5 damage against a single target, without modification. Burning hands ALSO deals a base 10.5 damage BUT allows a save. Presuming that this succeeds more or less half the time, Burning Hands averages something more on the order of 7.9 or so against each individual target.

 

[pepticburrito]

NPCs never heal.

My Great Old One worshiping NPCs and their clerics would like to have a word with you. I most certainly do give NPCs access to potions and heal spells.

 

[Shayuri]

Shadowdweller, ah, my thanks for the correct on Magic Missile! The pesky .5 per dice! *shakes fist at the heavens*

As for Burning Hands, okay, yes, saves...but since most other spells can miss an attack roll (except magic missile) I figured I'd just disregard the save factor on that, just as I wouldn't include the odds of missing when toting up the average damage on a weapon attack.

*makes a save vs Statistics*

 

[KarinsDad]

My Great Old One worshiping NPCs and their clerics would like to have a word with you. I most certainly do give NPCs access to potions and heal spells.

It's a matter of probabilities. Does your NPCs heal one battle in 5, 1 in 10, 1 in 100? How about your undead? Your dragons? Your oozes?

Sure, a DM could throw creatures that use objects (like potions) or who are healers themselves at the PCs, but as a general rule, that is the exception (at least IME) and not the rule.

And of course, using healing is typically a subpar action in 5E anyway, even for PCs. Yes, there are situations where healing is a good idea, but that is atypical even for PCs. Players that often heal other players and do not use their action to take out a foe are on the wrong side of action economy (there are exceptions like Healing Word). The same applies to NPCs.

 

[Tormyr]

My Great Old One worshiping NPCs and their clerics would like to have a word with you. I most certainly do give NPCs access to potions and heal spells.

Quite. One sure fire way to surprise players: Have the cleric of Erythnul use channel divinity: Heal Lots of Hit Points as well as mass cure wounds on his fighters.