# Fills the "Controller" role.
- ".. direct control powers affect targets for a much shorter duration."
- Will the Wizard and Sorcerer merge? No (source). Sorcerer will be different from wizards in more ways than just resource management.
- Wizards have spells and power words. Power words drain your energy and can be used time and time again. The wizard is designed to "make things go boom". Metamagic and Item Creation feats are gone. Item Creation is now a ritual.
- Rich Baker clarifies wizards' use of Enchantment, Illusions, Necromancy in a post here:
An aside on this one: Even though we want wizards to have a little less "concept sprawl" into all forms of arcane magic, that doesn't mean that every necromancy, enchantment, or illusion spell will be stripped out of their spell lists. Your core D&D wizard will still have a smattering of classic enchantments, like Sleep and Charm Person and Hold Monster. Ditto with classic illusions and classic necromancy spells. You won't be able to really build a specialist Enchanter, but you can still build a wizard with a couple of handy enchantments.
- Schools of magic are gone, replaced by foci (orb, staff, wand, with more to come in later books possibly). The orb foci involves terrain control and retributive and perception effects, staves ranged blasting, and wands long distance control and defense. In addition to spells, wizards will also possess rituals that deal with item creation. Metamagic feats are gone, though spells can still be boosted by Wizard powers and other feats. In addition, since characters can buy any kind of feats they want, it is mentioned that you could turn a Wizard into a 3E-style Warmage or Duskblade by buying weapon, armor and melee attack feats, as 4E Wizards no longer suffer from arcane spell failure in armor.
- Schools are heavily redesigned: lots of stuff moved to rituals (Abjuration's long term wards and restorative spells, Conjuration's teleportation, all of Divination, Enchantment reduced and saved for "future classes", Evocation expanded for more blowing-up potential, Illusions still common, Necromancy nerfed, Transmutation's polymorph gone). School is gone as a mechanical division.
- "I’ll take magic missile and fireblast for my at-will powers. Oh! Burning hands for an encounter power, and, let’s see, sleep for my daily." Interesting; in 3E they're all 1st-level spells, except fireblast which is new.
- "Power of Thunder" ability mentioned. Could be a spell or a class ability.
- See the extensive "Magic" section, below, for much more info on magic.