D&D 5E Treantmonk's Guide to Wizards 5e

[CapnZapp]

So, for easy fights, you can rely on just healing the damage afterwards, but for tough fights break out the proactive damage prevention.

At first, I started to disagree, but then you summarized your stance as above, and I stayed my hand.

Of course, in Treeantmonks defense, he's right to focus on the fights that actually matter - i.e. the hard ones.

"for easy fights, you can just heal the damage afterwards" can after all be stated this way too: "you don't need healing in easy fights". (You might say you don't prevention either, and that'd be true. At which point it's easier to just go "let's not talk about the easy fights at all, since it doesn't matter much what strategy for incoming damage you choose")

In other words, of course he's comparing in-combat damage healing with in-combat damage prevention.

 

[TheTurboTornado]

I haven't read all the reactions and I'm not going to, so this has probably been said, but... Shocking Grasp + Find Familiar. Party rogue's gonna love ya.

 

[CapnZapp]

Unless I'm mistaken, the 5th level Necro spell Contagion is missing from your document (part 2)?

 

[Garrett Phillips]

I have a legitimate question: are guides like these written with DPS optimization in mind? I don't mean this as a dig or anything, just curious how these are intended.

Lorewise Bladesinger has always been about patient, defense focused swordplay. I think they achieved this with the way the class is designed.

I also think the guide underestimates the use of the offensive cantrips for a pure Bladesinger. The average damage difference between GFB and Extra Attack aren't much different on a single target, and with two targets GFB is the superior choice.

Obviously this changes as you level, but it is never more than 4 points on average. At level 5 when you get extra attack the difference between a single target GFB and using 2 attacks on average is about 3 damage. Hardly a huge difference. To me, the cantrips are meant to add options. Can you hit a second target with GFB? Do it, the damage averages better. Fighting 1 on 1? Either Booming Blade him and control his turns/kite him or extra attack and kill him as quickly as possible. They are all viable options in a fight.

Sure, a Bladesinger will never hit as hard as a barbarian. But they are very hard to hit for most monsters in the MM, and when they are fighting something that hits easily they can play the traditional wizard role. They aren't meant to be a hard hitting glass cannon. They are designed to be a defensive sword fighter that augments their ability with spells. And I think they are more than practical in game.

*Mini rant about Bladesinger usefulness over*

Anyway, this guide is extremely helpful, especially for choosing spells. Thanks for the hard work.

 

[NADRIGOL]

Unless I'm mistaken, the 5th level Necro spell Contagion is missing from your document (part 2)?

Unless I'm missing some secondary document, Contagion isn't on the Wizard's spell list.

 

[NADRIGOL]

I have a legitimate question: are guides like these written with DPS optimization in mind?

I obviously don't want to speak for the Author, but I think the most appropriate way of phrasing the guides intent is "encounter optimization". Often this translates to "Party DPS optimization" which is managed through a combination of direct spell damage and battlefield control, but sometimes mitigating damage or avoiding encounters is more efficient. I think the spell ratings make sense when you approach them with this mindset (the mindset of a god wizard)

As for your commentary on the Bladesinger, I think I agree with most of your points. Of the various opinions I've read of the Bladesinger, I think this guide is quite conservative (letting the god wizard attitude shroud the potential). I think the Bladesinger has potential to be regarded as an over powered class. I do think multitasking is a key part of this, and that pure bladesinger is objectively weaker however. With one Fighter level the DPS is not far off a Fighter or Barbarian, and you maintain full spellcasting (although delayed).

 

[Garrett Phillips]

I obviously don't want to speak for the Author, but I think the most appropriate way of phrasing the guides intent is "encounter optimization". Often this translates to "Party DPS optimization" which is managed through a combination of direct spell damage and battlefield control, but sometimes mitigating damage or avoiding encounters is more efficient. I think the spell ratings make sense when you approach them with this mindset (the mindset of a god wizard)

As for your commentary on the Bladesinger, I think I agree with most of your points. Of the various opinions I've read of the Bladesinger, I think this guide is quite conservative (letting the god wizard attitude shroud the potential). I think the Bladesinger has potential to be regarded as an over powered class. I do think multitasking is a key part of this, and that pure bladesinger is objectively weaker however. With one Fighter level the DPS is not far off a Fighter or Barbarian, and you maintain full spellcasting (although delayed).

I agree. I'm sure that optimization in terms of damage potential would utilize a Fighter/Wizard multiclass (Which, coincidentally, is what you had to do in older editions to play the class in the first place), but I think a pure Bladesinger has plenty to offer to a group regardless. Then again, I have always disliked Multiclassing in general and am by no means a power gamer (I play for fluff and lore first), so maybe my bias is just showing lol.

I do have similar views to Battlerager also, which is counter to what most everyone thinks of the class, so it must just be me.

 

[CapnZapp]

This particular guide is written from the viewpoint that magic should be used to control monsters and deny them their biggest strengths. It is not a guide to optimize damage.

I think Treantmonk's term is "God Wizard".

 

[20thLevelCommoner]

So I'm obviously WAY late to this party, and forgive me if I missed the post mentioning it in these 33 some odd pages, but I don't believe you included Giant Insect in the Spell Guide.

Personally I'd rank it Blue - Animate Objects got blue and I'd call this one superior in almost every way. It's Level 4, to begin with, so you'll get it earlier than Animate Objects. It's not hard to have 10 Centipedes/5 Spiders/3 Wasps/1 Scorpion (Hey if you don't mind risking the 10GP, this is a really cool thematic use of your Familiar!) on hand. Although personally I'd probably say the 10 Centipedes are the best; sure it's only a DC 10 Con save, but one they have to make potentially 10-times, and they're PARALYZED on a failure. That's enormous, especially if there is a Rogue in the party who can take full advantage. Or, if you're using Feats, a Great Weapon Fighter or Sharpshooter.

Also kind of neat, thematically, for a Necromancer even if it isn't the Necromancy school. And it will save you from the obnoxious alignment conversations "Animate Dead" will bring up.

 

[NADRIGOL]

Unfortunately good sir, I believe Giant Insect is only on the Druid spell list.