Wiz build?

[Neonchameleon]

Hey everybody,

So my friends and I recently started playing D&D and we chose 4e pretty much at random.

Anywho, I'm creating a Wizard and would like some general feedback on the build, any tips or tricks on how to play him (in encounters that is), and finally whether or not I've made an obvious mistake.

I should also mention that our DM has opened all books for use (so relevant for the wiz is just PHB and AP?)

PHB, Arcane Power, Heroes of the Fallen Lands (which has the Mage variant of the Wizard), and Heroes of Shadow (new out this month, has Necromancy and Nethermancy (shadow/curse magic)). Oh, and Dragon magazine.

Mages are more evocative than wizards; it just sounds better to say "I'm an enchanter who dabbles in necromancy" to "I'm a wand wizard". On the other hand they don't get ritual casting, and IMO that's the core of what a wizard is.

----------
Wizard Lvl 2

Looks pretty solid. I can see things I'd have done differently but different people have different play styles. The only thing I'd really change are the at wills.

Longsword(eladrin? worth it?)

Only if you want to. Not worth using in combat. If you find yourself getting into melee and can't shift back and blast your target, retrain one of your at wills for Thunderwave, Beguiling Strands, or Scare. Being close powers you can cast them into melee without taking free attacks.

So i've heard the exact opposite... that scorching burst and ray of frost were good for the fact that one was an AOE at will and the other gave a status effect (although I was only taking from PHB and AP again... I'll look into the Heros of the Fallen Lands at-wills)

Scorching Burst is weak; it's strictly worse than freezing burst. Freezing burst (in Heroes) does a better damage type (a lot more resists fire than cold) and slides everything it hits 1 - everything else is identical.

And the probem with Ray of Frost is that other than opening the combat and preventing the enemy from charging in, Slow is almost useless. Tactical movement is normally short distance anyway so slowing monsters doesn't do much good. If you want to reliably have a power that penalises single targets, Illusionary Ambush from Arcane Power works better, inflicting -2 to hit. And if you want to slow people down in combat, Restless Dead from Heroes of Shadow is nice to create a zone that prevents shifts. (Or there's Storm Pillar from Arcane Power).