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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Shayuri" data-source="post: 6425907" data-attributes="member: 4936">As someone who's played wizards, sorcerors and warlocks, this seems like an invitation for me to share my thoughts on their relative balance/roll. They do feel to me like they fit as points on a continuum in some ways, with the wizard being the 'pure' arcanist, and the warlock being almost a hybrid spellcaster/fighter or rogue, depending on build.Wizards are the best 'all around' mage class, based on their enormous spell list and the robust Arcane School options available to them. A draconic sorceror can pull ahead of them on raw damage a bit, and metamagic can give them some nice burst damage, but an evoker wizard can use his firepower more safely and flexibly. There's no arcane spellcasting feat they're -bad- at, regardless of school choice.Sorcerors are kind of a mixed bag. Much like 3rd Edition, you have to have a pretty clear idea of what a sorceror will want to do, and build for that from the start. I think the metamagic choices factor into that pretty heavily. It's hard to beat a draconic sorceror with Empower Spell, Twin Spell and/or Quicken Spell for raw damage output in a round. But the metamagic that eliminates verbal and somatic components can be very handy for a sneaky Charm Person or similar slyness. However, since sorcerors don't get any abilities that recharge on a short rest, they must always consider the expenditure of sorcery points very carefully. I get the sense that's to balance the fact that they can swap them for spell slots more than anything...it does make short rests as a sorceror a bit of a bummer though. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> And I have to say, I'm not wild about wild mages. Feels like they're just there cuz fans like them and they don't make sense as wizards...I get that...but I'd have preferred something with more practicality in the PHB. Ah well.Warlocks are sort of like sorcerors in that you have to build them from the start to be something, but even more so. Their invocations are pretty awesome, but also very narrow in application. Their spells give them a tich of flexibility, but they have to constantly ask themselves if this is the right moment, because they only get a tiny number of slots. Yes, those slots recover on a short rest, but the party won't be short resting NEARLY as often as opportunities to cast spells come up. My warlock has been a trickster sort...with disguise self and mage armor invocations (so he doesn't have to wear visible armor), and the Actor feat. He's a smooth operator. But when it comes time to spellcast, he pretty much just lobs Fireballs, because any other spell has to be weighed against, "Will I need a Fireball before we rest next?" Usually the answer is yes. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> Other Invocation and pact choices can make a warlock into a credible melee frontliner, or a sneaky scout, or a magical mind-controller. Warlocks can pick from a variety of schticks, but they DO have to pick one...that's distinct from a wizard who -kind of- has a schtick in his arcane school, but the spells prepared are really what determine what the wizard can do at any given moment...and from a sorceror who does need to focus on a theme, but the themes they encompass are broader in scope because they can more flexibly use their spells.So far I'm enjoying all three. I can't say any of them feel grossly underpowered or imbalanced. However, the sorceror and warlock ARE less forgiving of players in terms of what choices they make at creation and each level. A wizard can pretty easily just change their prepared spell list, but it's harder for sorcerors and warlocks to 'respec' away mistakes or changes of heart. They're also more locked in as far as what their potential to do well at is. A wizard can do many things pretty well and a few things quite well...but sorcerors and warlocks really have to pick one thing to do super well at, and there's only a relatively (compared to the wizard) small list of possible things for them. They work great if you want to play one of those things...less so if you want to draw outside the lines and test the limits.That's my take so far at least! Still a lot more gaming to do. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /></blockquote>

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