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How to be a Control Wizard (IMO)
almireldignor
Member Posts: 1 Arc User
Basic build description: Lots of Singularities, decent damage. (Note that all comments here are my personal opinions, and are not to be taken as insults to a player's choice of skills/feats etc.)
Powers (To buy, or not to buy, and reasons why):
At-Wills:
Magic Missile, 3/3: The only truly viable At-Will ability for a wizard, regardless of spec. Nothing else measures up for a primary At-Will power.
Ray of Frost, 3/3: A bit o' control for a single target, good for freezing the one guy who's not content with joining everyone else in the singularity.
Chilling Cloud, 1/3: I personally do not recommend using this for two reasons: 1, not a lot of damage, less than 1/2 of what MM does. 2, the CC aspect of this power only activates on the third strike, and by the time you get to there, you have to move on anyway.
Storm Pillar, 1/3: Has charge time, does minimal damage, and no CC. Looks cool, but until Cryptic gives it some love, it's useless.
Dailies:
Ice Storm, 3/3: Where to begin.... First off, be careful using this power in a dungeon. If timed wrong/used without caution, it can make melee mad (especially GWF). Despite the fact that the knockback is mostly unreliable, it can be used to knock enemies off of certain areas effectively.
Arcane Singularity, 3/3: Don't use, is terribad JK. This is one of the only two dailies you should be using as a CW in a dungeon, with the other being Ice Knife. Pulls all the mobs to a central location, makes AoE and melee happy (especially GWF) and does decent damage. Best daily there is.
Oppressive Force, 1/3: Good stun, OK damage, but small AoE. Useable on a situational basis for spot-CC in areas where enemy AoE's proliferate.
Ice Knife, 3/3: The "other" daily, amazing single-target damage, CC and debuff, plus quick cast time and cool graphic. Can't go wrong.
Maelstrom of Chaos, 0/3: See Ice Storm and Storm Pillar
Encounters:
Chill Strike, 3/3: Great AoE damage when empowered, good single-target CC when not. I myself don't use it too much, but it was amazing when leveling. /salute
Conduit of Ice, 3/3: A good PBDoT centered on an enemy mob, drop it on a brute-class before AS and you've got yourself some DPS.
Entangling Force, 3/3: Great single target CC when not empowered, damage is slightly underwhelming, but that's ok. What we really want this power for is the AP gain: up to 50-70% max AP if used on a group of mobs while empowered. Fire it off right after a singularity, and you're already halfway there again.
Repel, 3/3: Not too great by itself, even in areas where "cheesing" is accepted/required. When empowered and fired at a group of mobs, it sends the whole group flying about 100-200ft or so. Useful situationally, but not recommended for your average dungeon crawl.
Shield, 3/3: Long precast time and a serious knockback, but it has its advantages: 1, if fired off during a singularity before they are all pulled in, the knockback is mostly negated. 2, Reduces incoming damage between precast and firing. 3, If fired on a group of 15-20+ mobs it can regenerate YOUR ENTIRE DAILY BAR. Not a joke. Not much difference when empowered except KB distance and damage reduction.
Ice Terrain, 1/3: A good quick-casting CC for when Time Steal is just too darn slow. Other than that, not much use to it.
Sudden Storm, 3/3: Great AoE DPS, plus added AoEDoT if empowered. Main drawback: will NOT affect enemies under the effects of Arcane Singularity! This includes mobs being pulled in, currently in the air, or falling right after the Singularity detonates.
Ray of Enfeeblement, 3/3: Cool debuff for boosting you and your party's DPS, and decent damage. Not sure if it will be worth it after the 20th's patch, though. When empowered, can stack twice for more debuff. Pretty cool.
Ice Rays, 2/3: Another single-target CC (albeit not as good as CS or EF), damage isn't too great for being only a single- or dual-target spell. Useful in PvP, so put 3/3 if you're into that sort of thing.
Time Steal, 3/3: My personal favorite for encounters, amazing CC that extends with the amount of enemies. Decent AP as well as a speed boost and hostile debuff if empowered. Always keep this slotted.
Shard of the Endless Avalanche, 2/3: A pain in the rear to use properly, coupled with its annoying tendency to bug out and not do anything, makes this one more or less useless for now.
Class Features (Passives):
Orb of Imposition, 2/3: I only put these points in for progression purposes, the buff is good but there are better abilities.
Arcane Presence, 2/3: Another I only bought to proceed, I myself don't use too many Ice spells except ice knife, so taking up a feature slot just isn't worth it.
Chilling Presence, 1/3: See Arcane Presence.
Evocation, 1/3: Currently bugged, only applies to a select few powers, none of which I use. IF fixed, maybe. Just maybe.
Storm Fury, 1/3: Not useful at all, by the time you get to 50% HP, you've got bigger things to worry about then DPS, besides which the actual damage is minimal.
Storm Spell, 3/3: 10% chance to cause additional damage equivalent to a few magic missiles? Sure, why not. Maybe be swapped out with Evocation if it's ever made viable again.
Eye of the Storm, 3/3: 8 seconds of 100% crit is a HUGE boost to dps, in addition to allowing you to stop stacking the Crit stat entirely. Only activates 5% of the time, but it will proc off a ton of effects besides just "using" a power. Always have this on your bar.
Feats:
Heroic: (For space reasons I will not include feats not taken)
Controlling Action, 5/5: More AP gain = more AS's = happier group. Nuff' said.
Fight On, 5/5: Reduces CD of all your encounters by a sweet 10%, which, in addition to the bonus from recovery, adds up to an amazing 50% less time between attacks.
Lightning Teleport, 5/5: Kill mobs, teleport more. Very useful.
Arcane Enhancement, 2/3: Gives the majority of your powers 4% more damage. Not a ton, but enough to make a difference.
Learned Spellcaster, 3/5: An additional 3% damage is always good.
Paragon:
Thaumaturge:
Tempest Magic, 5/5: More damage to enemies below 30% max HP. Great for boss dps, not so much for adds.
Malevolent Surge, 5/5: 10% more damage for every enemy you kill, up to 3 stacks. Since you'll be slaying mobs most of the time, you should have all 3 stacks almost all the time, for a 30% damage bonus around the clock.
Snap Freeze, 5/5: Actually synergizes with the fact that you DON'T use a lot of ice powers, adds 20% damage to Ice Knife if the target doesn't have chill (that is, always)
Elemental Empowerment, 5/5: Ice Knife does ANOTHER 30% damage as DoT, and your other powers debuff enemies' defenses.
Assailing Force, 1/1: Conduit of Ice reduces the damage resist of enemies it hits. Not terrific, but let's face it, what else are you gonna do with ONE paragon point?
Oppressor:
Bitter Cold, 5/5: Increased damage after inflicting Chill on a target. (In soviet russia, Ice Knife buffs YOU!)
Brisk Transport, 5/5: RUN FORREST, RUN!
The Gear:
Armor Set: Archmage (T1) or High Vizier (T2)
Enchants:
-Offensive (Dark)
-Defensive (Azure)
-Utility (Dark/Radiant)
Stats: Recovery > ArmorPen > Power > (defensive stats) > crit
The Skill Bar:
Empowered: Entangling Force (Lots of AP gain, groups enemies to make your pet GWF happy)
Feature One: Storm Fury/Evocation (Extra Damage)
Feature Two: Eye of the Storm (Tons o' crit, removes the need to stack crit as a stat)
Encounters:
-Ray of Enfeeblement (for bosses)/Sudden Storm (for mobs)
-Shield (AP gain, utility KB, etc)/ Conduit of Ice (for areas not conducive to lots of mob-throwing)
-Time Steal (AoE CC, AP gain)
Dailies
-Arcane Singularity (No comment needed) / Oppressive Force (situational)
-Ice Knife (DPS, lots of buffs as well)
At-Wills
-Magic Missiles (No comment needed)
-Ray of Frost (Single Target CC, dont use right before Ice Knife, can be cast for quick 5% damage boost)
The Rotation (Skill usage order):
(if you have a singularity ready)
-Cast Singularity
-Conduit of Ice (on brute-class mob or higher, if available)(if slotted)/ Shield (if slotted)
-Entangling Force once they're grouped up
-Time Steal
-(after all the mobs land) Sudden Storm
-Magic Missile until Daily is ready again, if it isn't already
-Rinse and Repeat
So there you have it folks, my build laid out in detail for the world to see. Enjoy/rage as you see fit.
EDIT(6/11/2013): Got Storm Spell and Storm Fury class features mixed up. /derp
EDIT(6/13/2013): Moved some heroic points around, now lists 2/3 for Arcane damage bonus, and 3/5 for learned spellcaster. Also, rewrote my opinion of Ice Storm, as Ive been told there ARE situations/areas where its better than Ice Knife as a DPS tool.
Powers (To buy, or not to buy, and reasons why):
At-Wills:
Magic Missile, 3/3: The only truly viable At-Will ability for a wizard, regardless of spec. Nothing else measures up for a primary At-Will power.
Ray of Frost, 3/3: A bit o' control for a single target, good for freezing the one guy who's not content with joining everyone else in the singularity.
Chilling Cloud, 1/3: I personally do not recommend using this for two reasons: 1, not a lot of damage, less than 1/2 of what MM does. 2, the CC aspect of this power only activates on the third strike, and by the time you get to there, you have to move on anyway.
Storm Pillar, 1/3: Has charge time, does minimal damage, and no CC. Looks cool, but until Cryptic gives it some love, it's useless.
Dailies:
Ice Storm, 3/3: Where to begin.... First off, be careful using this power in a dungeon. If timed wrong/used without caution, it can make melee mad (especially GWF). Despite the fact that the knockback is mostly unreliable, it can be used to knock enemies off of certain areas effectively.
Arcane Singularity, 3/3: Don't use, is terribad JK. This is one of the only two dailies you should be using as a CW in a dungeon, with the other being Ice Knife. Pulls all the mobs to a central location, makes AoE and melee happy (especially GWF) and does decent damage. Best daily there is.
Oppressive Force, 1/3: Good stun, OK damage, but small AoE. Useable on a situational basis for spot-CC in areas where enemy AoE's proliferate.
Ice Knife, 3/3: The "other" daily, amazing single-target damage, CC and debuff, plus quick cast time and cool graphic. Can't go wrong.
Maelstrom of Chaos, 0/3: See Ice Storm and Storm Pillar
Encounters:
Chill Strike, 3/3: Great AoE damage when empowered, good single-target CC when not. I myself don't use it too much, but it was amazing when leveling. /salute
Conduit of Ice, 3/3: A good PBDoT centered on an enemy mob, drop it on a brute-class before AS and you've got yourself some DPS.
Entangling Force, 3/3: Great single target CC when not empowered, damage is slightly underwhelming, but that's ok. What we really want this power for is the AP gain: up to 50-70% max AP if used on a group of mobs while empowered. Fire it off right after a singularity, and you're already halfway there again.
Repel, 3/3: Not too great by itself, even in areas where "cheesing" is accepted/required. When empowered and fired at a group of mobs, it sends the whole group flying about 100-200ft or so. Useful situationally, but not recommended for your average dungeon crawl.
Shield, 3/3: Long precast time and a serious knockback, but it has its advantages: 1, if fired off during a singularity before they are all pulled in, the knockback is mostly negated. 2, Reduces incoming damage between precast and firing. 3, If fired on a group of 15-20+ mobs it can regenerate YOUR ENTIRE DAILY BAR. Not a joke. Not much difference when empowered except KB distance and damage reduction.
Ice Terrain, 1/3: A good quick-casting CC for when Time Steal is just too darn slow. Other than that, not much use to it.
Sudden Storm, 3/3: Great AoE DPS, plus added AoEDoT if empowered. Main drawback: will NOT affect enemies under the effects of Arcane Singularity! This includes mobs being pulled in, currently in the air, or falling right after the Singularity detonates.
Ray of Enfeeblement, 3/3: Cool debuff for boosting you and your party's DPS, and decent damage. Not sure if it will be worth it after the 20th's patch, though. When empowered, can stack twice for more debuff. Pretty cool.
Ice Rays, 2/3: Another single-target CC (albeit not as good as CS or EF), damage isn't too great for being only a single- or dual-target spell. Useful in PvP, so put 3/3 if you're into that sort of thing.
Time Steal, 3/3: My personal favorite for encounters, amazing CC that extends with the amount of enemies. Decent AP as well as a speed boost and hostile debuff if empowered. Always keep this slotted.
Shard of the Endless Avalanche, 2/3: A pain in the rear to use properly, coupled with its annoying tendency to bug out and not do anything, makes this one more or less useless for now.
Class Features (Passives):
Orb of Imposition, 2/3: I only put these points in for progression purposes, the buff is good but there are better abilities.
Arcane Presence, 2/3: Another I only bought to proceed, I myself don't use too many Ice spells except ice knife, so taking up a feature slot just isn't worth it.
Chilling Presence, 1/3: See Arcane Presence.
Evocation, 1/3: Currently bugged, only applies to a select few powers, none of which I use. IF fixed, maybe. Just maybe.
Storm Fury, 1/3: Not useful at all, by the time you get to 50% HP, you've got bigger things to worry about then DPS, besides which the actual damage is minimal.
Storm Spell, 3/3: 10% chance to cause additional damage equivalent to a few magic missiles? Sure, why not. Maybe be swapped out with Evocation if it's ever made viable again.
Eye of the Storm, 3/3: 8 seconds of 100% crit is a HUGE boost to dps, in addition to allowing you to stop stacking the Crit stat entirely. Only activates 5% of the time, but it will proc off a ton of effects besides just "using" a power. Always have this on your bar.
Feats:
Heroic: (For space reasons I will not include feats not taken)
Controlling Action, 5/5: More AP gain = more AS's = happier group. Nuff' said.
Fight On, 5/5: Reduces CD of all your encounters by a sweet 10%, which, in addition to the bonus from recovery, adds up to an amazing 50% less time between attacks.
Lightning Teleport, 5/5: Kill mobs, teleport more. Very useful.
Arcane Enhancement, 2/3: Gives the majority of your powers 4% more damage. Not a ton, but enough to make a difference.
Learned Spellcaster, 3/5: An additional 3% damage is always good.
Paragon:
Thaumaturge:
Tempest Magic, 5/5: More damage to enemies below 30% max HP. Great for boss dps, not so much for adds.
Malevolent Surge, 5/5: 10% more damage for every enemy you kill, up to 3 stacks. Since you'll be slaying mobs most of the time, you should have all 3 stacks almost all the time, for a 30% damage bonus around the clock.
Snap Freeze, 5/5: Actually synergizes with the fact that you DON'T use a lot of ice powers, adds 20% damage to Ice Knife if the target doesn't have chill (that is, always)
Elemental Empowerment, 5/5: Ice Knife does ANOTHER 30% damage as DoT, and your other powers debuff enemies' defenses.
Assailing Force, 1/1: Conduit of Ice reduces the damage resist of enemies it hits. Not terrific, but let's face it, what else are you gonna do with ONE paragon point?
Oppressor:
Bitter Cold, 5/5: Increased damage after inflicting Chill on a target. (In soviet russia, Ice Knife buffs YOU!)
Brisk Transport, 5/5: RUN FORREST, RUN!
The Gear:
Armor Set: Archmage (T1) or High Vizier (T2)
Enchants:
-Offensive (Dark)
-Defensive (Azure)
-Utility (Dark/Radiant)
Stats: Recovery > ArmorPen > Power > (defensive stats) > crit
The Skill Bar:
Empowered: Entangling Force (Lots of AP gain, groups enemies to make your pet GWF happy)
Feature One: Storm Fury/Evocation (Extra Damage)
Feature Two: Eye of the Storm (Tons o' crit, removes the need to stack crit as a stat)
Encounters:
-Ray of Enfeeblement (for bosses)/Sudden Storm (for mobs)
-Shield (AP gain, utility KB, etc)/ Conduit of Ice (for areas not conducive to lots of mob-throwing)
-Time Steal (AoE CC, AP gain)
Dailies
-Arcane Singularity (No comment needed) / Oppressive Force (situational)
-Ice Knife (DPS, lots of buffs as well)
At-Wills
-Magic Missiles (No comment needed)
-Ray of Frost (Single Target CC, dont use right before Ice Knife, can be cast for quick 5% damage boost)
The Rotation (Skill usage order):
(if you have a singularity ready)
-Cast Singularity
-Conduit of Ice (on brute-class mob or higher, if available)(if slotted)/ Shield (if slotted)
-Entangling Force once they're grouped up
-Time Steal
-(after all the mobs land) Sudden Storm
-Magic Missile until Daily is ready again, if it isn't already
-Rinse and Repeat
So there you have it folks, my build laid out in detail for the world to see. Enjoy/rage as you see fit.
EDIT(6/11/2013): Got Storm Spell and Storm Fury class features mixed up. /derp
EDIT(6/13/2013): Moved some heroic points around, now lists 2/3 for Arcane damage bonus, and 3/5 for learned spellcaster. Also, rewrote my opinion of Ice Storm, as Ive been told there ARE situations/areas where its better than Ice Knife as a DPS tool.
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
Though personally prefer renegade. The ultimate feat is pretty win (probably why its getting nerfed next update)
I actually do recommend repel for your average dungeon crawl tho. As it can turn a crawl into a sprint. Being 99% of dungeons have very convenient placed instant death pits.. Tab repel all the mobs in there, its the ultimate CC - the cc that killls them.
I mean pretty much the only T2 that you cant do massive pit kills is Karrunax (and even that has one nice one at the end).
But yea, generally don't use it unless the intention for the mob to be either falling to his doom, or be stuck somewhere where he can be ignored and continued on without issue.
CC in such a way that you end up top on the damage meters and you know your a god among control wizards
My standard rotation varies also:
If no ap:
1: Icy Terrain (great cc, great damage)
Steal time (stun em all)
Shield (Ill have full ap after i spread em anyways to regroup them)
Blackhole
Shield again if its avail (often is.. I have 4700 recovery)
else go to 1.
tab slots usually repel - if pits around or i need that lil bit more ap for a singularity.
swap it to ray for bosses.
can permanently cc 12-infinite mobs with this setup.
Funny thing is tho 1-11 doesn't get enough ap, so its harder lol. I can solo 12+,
1-11 - I may need heals, if they have ranged attacks.
-Epic Dread Vault Crushed.
Characters (Dragon): Axer (60 Guardian, Leader of Crush It!), Controller (60 Wizard), Warlocker (60 Warlock)
Yup he does have them mixed up. And Storm Spell, by far is the BEST Class Feature.
I swear I don't mean to be rude or condescending. But I think you need to run a ton of T2s, and even have the harder ones on farm, like CN and Dread Vault, before writing a comprehensive guide. I promise that within a couple of weeks of running T2s, you yourself will make a ton of changes to many of the things you suggested above. Regardless, your intentions are well placed, since there are many new to 60 CWs that could use good advice.
That's what separates good CWs from the not so good ones. You'll be clearing Dread Vault and CN in no time. Read strategies, look up videos, and you will surely pick up some tips. No ONE cleared CN or Dread Vault in their first few tries, besides those who enjoy using exploits.
looks like im going to use the respec token on the 20th. till then I guess ill go back to my TR before its gets nerfed.
thanks again!!
Also, an edit: EDIT(6/13/2013): Moved some heroic points around, now lists 2/3 for Arcane damage bonus, and 3/5 for learned spellcaster. Also, rewrote my opinion of Ice Storm, as Ive been told there ARE situations/areas where its better than Ice Knife as a DPS tool.
Thanks for the suggestions all, made me rethink a couple things.