Things I wish I knew as a new wizard

XSonOfCircex - Sanctuary

Let me start by saying the guide here is very thorough, and when you get to a higher level, a lot of it will be very relevant to you.

However, here you are starting out and there may not be anything in there that, you know, you can understand. Demon/Sage isn't til 89, and let's face it, that seems really far off.

This isn't intended to be a guide (though I do notice that we're sorely lacking for a true beginner guide for wizards) but instead be a way for those of us who have casted our fair share of spells to impart some basic know how and maybe pass on those things that we wish we learned at level 19 rather than once we were much much higher level.

Here's a few things I wish I had known:

Don't be that guy (me) at level 93 going to his first tw and having someone ask you why you're in glacial embrace. Stone barrier is your friend, I know it doesn't regen mp, so for now it might be useful, but at higher level you should start looking towards using stone barrier over glacial embrace.

The 2 spark spells that you get at 59 are pretty, and they give big numbers, but they're not efficient uses of sparks or casting time on a single target, especially not if that target is a boss with several hundred thousand hp (I really just mean anything you won't 1 or 2 shot) You will increase damage by more over the duration of SPARK+ (and especially demon/sage spark) AND get some nice bonus mp back

That pretty blue weapon with the -3 channeling on it that you were like this is awesome imma use it til the next time I get a channeling weapon (which so happened to be about 20 levels later when I got a tt70) yeah not worth it... Channeling is fun and it's good for PVE, but carry a pdef belt and necklace too, even if they're basic. Don't sacrifice a lot of damage for a little channeling. AOE phys damage sucks. Casting fast doesn't help if you're 1 or 2 shot, especially if casting fast makes you steal aggro. Channeling is NOT the only stat to be looking for.

Those are the ones that I look back on and I'm like oh yeah, right... whoops. b:surrender

Anyone else got anything to contribute?

XEmpressX - Heavens Tear

I would add, when doing mob kill quests, watch for the different types of mobs, ie, increaded mag resistance, increased life etc. These mobs can be real pains, just because you cannot kill them fast enough, and slows your progress down. Keep looking around until you find normal mobs or weak ones, much easier and safer to kill.
Also watch out for the aggro range on certain mobs, ie, if you hit one mob and its buddy starts to rage at you too, you may end up with a bunch of moblies on you and this would be unsafe depending on your gear. Take mobs 1 by 1 at the outer edges of the pack to try to avoid this situation.
Adding to Circe's tips, instead of Utils on a boss, use a sutra combo. you can fling 4 hard hitting skills in a short amount of time that will put the damage output of an ulti to shame.