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

[FormerlyHemlock]

We can talk about Paladins, but only as they relate to the use of wizards. Good point that Warcaster + Booming Blade can be used for a reaction opportunity attack. From the standpoint of a Wizard, I don't see using reactions for opportunity attacks very much, but for a tank-style character who does, yeah, using booming blade at a moment when the secondary effect is automatically going to trigger is pretty fantastic. That said, I'm no expert of Tank-style characters, but it seems to me that magic-initiate and warcaster is a massive investment to make.

It's more likely to be Warcaster + multiclassing to a class a spellcaster wants anyway, e.g. Paladin/Wild Sorcerer. You gain access to Booming Blade at the same time you're gaining access to Shield, Expeditious Retreat, and Tides of Chaos (awesome for tanks--if casting Shield accidentally produces a Fireball as a byproduct, it is the enemy, not your allies, who are going to suffer most from it), and extra spell points/slots for casting awesome Paladin spells like Wrathful Smite and Aura of Vitality.

Life Cleric 1/Enchanter X is also a fun tank build which can make good use of Warcaster + Booming Blade, if you're not using it on Instinctive Charm this round.

 

[Arial Black]

We can talk about Paladins, but only as they relate to the use of wizards. Good point that Warcaster + Booming Blade can be used for a reaction opportunity attack. From the standpoint of a Wizard, I don't see using reactions for opportunity attacks very much, but for a tank-style character who does, yeah, using booming blade at a moment when the secondary effect is automatically going to trigger is pretty fantastic. That said, I'm no expert of Tank-style characters, but it seems to me that magic-initiate and warcaster is a massive investment to make.

I've got a Ftr 1/War 10 with Warcaster and booming blade.

 

[Locnath]

Hah, now that were talking about booming blade, I've got a goofy build idea where a human (variant) Ftr 1 wizard 4 polearm master just pokes enemies with booming blade to keep them at bay.

 

[Bolares]

I've made a Swashbuckler High-elf with booming blade and it was great! It either upscaled my damage exponentially or made the enemy never melee attack me.

 

[Charlie Ashlin]

Great read... I think I've been a closet Wizard all along. What will my father think..?

 

[ScimTar]

What do you think about Warlock 2 for the at will Silent Image paired with Illusion wizard?

 

[jgsugden]

Giving up 2 levels of wizard spell advancement to get the at will Silent Image is a high cost. Further, the difference between at will Minor Image and At will Silent Image is not great enough to warrant it. There are some nice other benefits you can collect by gaining some Warlock Levels, but it generally isn't worth it from a cost benefit perspective. However, there are some awesome role playing ideas you can get by having a wizard that sells his soul for even more magical powers, so if that intrigues you, go for it.

 

[ScimTar]

What do you think about Warlock 2 for the at will Silent Image paired with Illusion wizard?

 

[Treantmonklvl20]

As jdsugden mentioned, giving up 2 levels for an at-will silent image is a prety big cost, especially if you are playing an illusionist as the best illusionist abilities come at the higher levels (Illusory reality is my favorite of all the school abilities by a pretty far margin). Also keep in mind that the silent image will be using Cha for any save DC's. I've played a straight warlock dedicated to illusions and disguise (paired with the actor feat) and I found it pretty effective, not sure it would have worked out as well multi-classed with Wizard (of course, Warlock/Sorcerer's work pretty well, as do Warlock/Bards).

It's almost tempting to take 2 levels of warlock after getting illusory reality (infinite wall spells) - but I think even then, if you look at what 2 more levels of Wizard would provide, it's not going to be a good trade.

If you really want to focus on illusion, a straight Wizard illusionist will do pretty well for you. You can cast one silent image and change it over and over with malleable illusion, as well as with any minor images you make. I'm playing a straight illusionist right now in a campaign, and it's been reasonably effective (except we keep coming up against creatures with blindsight - ugh).

Hope that helps

 

[SpoCk0nd0pe]

I am currently tinkering with possible Eldritch Knight/Bladesinger builds. This is somewhat offtopic because it is really about gish builds but there is also a guide to Bladesingers in the first post.

Has anyone done the math on damage output with various EK/Bladesinger variants? I would love to know what works and what doesn't.
It seems like the EK7 feature is a very attractive ability to have damage wise. Since the ability seems to outpace the damage of extra attack, I don't think going beyond EK 10 is worth it. Is 10/10 really the best split?