Is Wizard a late bloomer ?

leasm · September 2018

So, I'm trying a few classes to see what fits my taste.

First I played a Warlock until around lvl 50, and this guy is so great for leveling. Huge damage plus life steal. Only downside is I feel overpowered.

Then I tried a Cleric, and it seems almost as powerful as the Warlock. The playstyle is awkward to me, but both the damage and survivability are there.

Then my third try was a Wizard. From paper, Wizard seemed to be the most interesting with 4 encounter powers, maybe a glass cannon. But to my surprise, I simply can't play Wizard. Even at lvl 1 I have to unleash a full animation of Missiles to kill a mob, while both Warlock and Cleric just need 2 shots from their at-will. Both Warlock and Cleric have splash damage on their at-will, while Wizard is single target. Even the encounter powers seem to deal no damage, while Killing Flames from the Warlock immediately removes half a boss health. Also, I used up all my potions when playing Wizard, yet I have never used any potion on my Warlock/Cleric. So, something is wrong..

TL;DR:
Is Wizard a late bloomer? Is there a point where I can feel powerful like the other classes? Maybe I should persist and wait for the better powers at higer levels?

Note: I know Warlock was introduced later, and Cleric got a 30% buff to everything at some point. So, Wizard gets better at later levels, or is really just behing the other casters for solo leveling?

frozenfirevr · September 2018

Is it possible you're using a lower level weapon compared to when you were on other classes? It shouldn't be THAT different compared to other classes at such low levels. But yeah, you do get better powers later on.

And, the DC will become weaker, good only during levelling.

leasm · September 2018

frozenfirevr said:
Is it possible you're using a lower level weapon compared to when you were on other classes?

I also thought that initially. But then I decided to start over and compare at lvl 1, when everyone has the exact same weapon. And the best example of the disparity is Magic Missiles dealing so weak damage in comparison to other starting at-wills. But then again, maybe later powers can make me feel stronger as a Wizard.

frozenfirevr · September 2018

leasm said:

frozenfirevr said:
Is it possible you're using a lower level weapon compared to when you were on other classes?
I also thought that initially. But then I decided to start over and compare at lvl 1, when everyone has the exact same weapon. And the best example of the disparity is Magic Missiles dealing so weak damage in comparison to other starting at-wills. But then again, maybe later powers can make me feel stronger as a Wizard.

It does cast faster than lance though... So should be kinda similar result. But yeah, DCs are quite the beasts initially. Well, any class with a solid AoE.

leasm · September 2018

@frozenfirevr

Thanks. I think you're right, and the issue may really just be the lack of decent AoE at start. Conduit of Ice is too weak, and Magic Missiles has no splash.

I'll wait until lvl 30 for Ice terrain and Sudden Storm before jumping to more conclusions.

vorphied · September 2018

leasm said:
@frozenfirevr

Thanks. I think you're right, and the issue may really just be the lack of decent AoE at start. Conduit of Ice is too weak, and Magic Missiles has no splash.

I'll wait until lvl 30 for Ice terrain and Sudden Storm before jumping to more conclusions.

Basically all of that.

Conduit of Ice without the Storm Spell class feature is terrible.

Magic Missile is simply your filler, and you're right; since AoE is the name of the game for leveling and for almost all solo daily stuff, it's very meh.

CW damage depends on using Chilling Presence and eventually Storm Spell or Swath of Destruction (SS, MoF respectively) for class features while managing Chill stacks on enemies. If the "correct" class features, feats, powers, and gameplay are not leveraged, CW damage is completely terrible. It should still be adequate for early leveling, but you do want to keep it in mind for later on.

pitshade · September 2018

Every class has powers and feats essential to their ability to do damage. Some classes get theirs early amd some later. It isn't possible to judge how a class ends up based on yhe leveling. Balance is pretty much entirely focused on level 70 characters.

The worst class at low level is by far the Great Weapon Fighter and yet they are perpetually cited as the easiest, most powerful DPS class due to their performance at level 70.

As for the Control Wizard, Conduit of Ice is more of a self buff, allowing you to add chill stacks at range, essential in making use of the Chilling Presence feature which is a large part of our damage. Otherwise, the CW is saddled with some very weak powers at low level. When the Tab spell mastery slot is unlocked, there aren't enough good powers to fill all 4 slots.

mebengalsfan · September 2018

pitshade said:
Every class has powers and feats essential to their ability to do damage. Some classes get theirs early amd some later. It isn't possible to judge how a class ends up based on yhe leveling. Balance is pretty much entirely focused on level 70 characters.

The worst class at low level is by far the Great Weapon Fighter and yet they are perpetually cited as the easiest, most powerful DPS class due to their performance at level 70.

As for the Control Wizard, Conduit of Ice is more of a self buff, allowing you to add chill stacks at range, essential in making use of the Chilling Presence feature which is a large part of our damage. Otherwise, the CW is saddled with some very weak powers at low level. When the Tab spell mastery slot is unlocked, there aren't enough good powers to fill all 4 slots.

CW take until you unlike the following to be effective...

Conduct of Ice - Tab
Icy Terrain
Sudden Storm
Steal Time

Once you get these powers you are ok but without Spell Twisting they can take quite a while to refresh making it harder on a CW. CW start to shine around level 55 or so.

As for a GWF they are fine right from the start as are all classes. The difference is that CW are based on our encounter damage and not really our at wills making the CW a bit weaker in comparison to other classes when leveling until you get spell twisting which really boost your CW ability to use more encounters.

pitshade · September 2018

GWF damage is based on self buffs and at wills. At low levels they have no self buffs and only one usable at will. They can't even use determination properly because they lack the destroyer capstone.

mebengalsfan · September 2018

pitshade said:
GWF damage is based on self buffs and at wills. At low levels they have no self buffs and only one usable at will. They can't even use determination properly because they lack the destroyer capstone.

True..but they can take a hit a lot better than a CW and when the GWF takes a hit they get the points needed to use Determination. A CW is really squishy and needs to avoid the hits.

Overall the both get better with time but the GWF is a bit of the CW at level 1 and until the CW gets Spell Twisting. Than the CW is head until the GWF gets the Destroyer capstone.

Personally I don't like the easy and boring play style of the GWF. If that class could really tank I would play my GWF more. Since it is regulated to a DPS only class ATM, I am going to keep my GWF stacked away on my list of characters.

Is Wizard a late bloomer ?

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