New to wizard class, few questions

Tojop - Dreamweaver · May 2009

Ok, I have a level 74 cleric, full mag. Decided to make a light armor wizard alt, as it seemed different, but still magical. I loves my spells b:victory

I read the guides about which spells I should level, so I have a good idea about what is/is not efficient. Anyone have any tips or pointers that aren't common sense? Any and all help appreciated.

Also, I will never again take cleric buffs for granted.

Zeonus - Heavens Tear · May 2009

Tojop - Dreamweaver wrote: »

Ok, I have a level 74 cleric, full mag. Decided to make a light armor wizard alt, as it seemed different, but still magical. I loves my spells b:victory

I read the guides about which spells I should level, so I have a good idea about what is/is not efficient. Anyone have any tips or pointers that aren't common sense? Any and all help appreciated.

Also, I will never again take cleric buffs for granted.

Spell wise, keep Pyrogram and Gush maxed. Stone rain is useful in some situations but I stopped leveling it around 7. I don't personally have a preferance to use it, you may.

Also, keep Glacial Snare and Sandstorm maxed. Sandstorm is really amazing on water mobs and in TW/pvp. Glacial Snare isn't as amazing, but I prefer it over any other skill to open with.

Shieldwise, since you're an LA build, I would reccomend maxing Earth Barrier first (I'm robe build and I did anyway) since you will be taking more damage due to a less damage output and LA+Earth Barrier=Win. Aqua barrier comes in when you find spare SP. I kept it at level 1 until my 50s. Now it's only at 5 and staying there for a while.

Ult wise, I really just wish I didn't buy Black Ice Dragon Strike. It's damage is actually less than or equal to Blade Tempest. You honestly are better off double sparking/sutra in PvE, so the fact BIDS adds a chance for a medicore stun is irrelevant. In Pvp and TW, I like BT the best. The damage on BMs and Barbs isn't TOO much less than BIDS, and it helps take out groups of squishies too. Just IMO though. When I get the spirit, I'd gladly keep BIDS updated along with BT.

As for Mountain's Seize...meh. Lowest damage, and a chance to stun. The only uses I could see would be TW, and I'd take more damage over a chance to stun. Leave that to the BMs.

Will of the Phoenix is really useful in TW and in SOME PvE situations. I still have it at level 1, with everything else I can't find the spirit to level it.

Force of Will..I wouldn't level it until you can get at least 5 levels of it. A single .3 seal advancement isn't noticable enough and you get more spirit later on...so I figure max this when you are higher and can get mutipile levels of it. It's vital in PvP/PvE and helps in some TW situations.

Distance Shrink...same thing applies as Force of Will. I'm waiting until I can MAX it, to do so. So it's gonna be stuck on level 4 for a while. But yeah, very useful in PvE, PvP, and TW. Vital skill.

Essential Sutra...really amazing. It helps to kill barbs much faster in TW, it helps in PvP, and is worth the two sparks much more than an ultimate in any given PvE situation. (aside from a PvP/TW situation when there are a LOT of people together)

Divine Pyro...meh. I put some spare spirit into it to make it level 7 and better than Pyrogram. Only for my Sutra combo (Glacial--DP--Sandstorm--DP). It takes a lower priority than say FoW or Distance Shrink.

Those are my comments about skills. As for actually playing, surviving, and thriving as a Wizard, that's something each person learns in experience.

I'm only 63 right now, so I'm sure higher level wizards can give much more & better insight. all of this is imo.

_makina_ - Sanctuary · May 2009

@ OP - There are guides already stickied with skill recomendations out of the guides i recomend Pandora's PVP wizard guide. Only the skill part out of his guide though. If your gonna lvl ulti i recomend blade tempest and black ice dragon. Your job in tw is to kill barbs, seal blademasters, and crowd control.

@Zeonus - Black Ice Dragon Strike is the hardest hitting of the wizard ultimates although not on robes.

To all those people who say blade tempest helps you a lot with magic resistance that is the big lie it just makes your 30 hit combo into a 25 hit combo >.> . Undine Strike>Bladetempest.

juboforce · May 2009

If you can kite, use your mana shield. You're not getting hit anyway; why bother with extra defense or HP regen?

If you fail horribly at kiting, your Earth shield will do wonders for you, especially since you're LA.

As for spells: max out your first 3. Those have the highest DPS of all your skills. You should also get level 1 Phoenix for the pushback. Force of Will makes mobs run.

As for the ulti: BIDS is the highest damage option except where your opponent's M-def surpasses their P-def. Then, BT is better.

Rinnve - Lost City · May 2009

_makina_ - Sanctuary wrote: »

To all those people who say blade tempest helps you a lot with magic resistance that is the big lie it just makes your 30 hit combo into a 25 hit combo

LIES. BT takes about 50% of magic res mob's hp. 4-6 hits before it, 4-6 hits after. It's still takes too long, but it's necessary if you grind a lot on one spot. Just guess why ^_^

Ursa - Dreamweaver · June 2009

Tojop - Dreamweaver wrote: »

Ok, I have a level 74 cleric, full mag. Decided to make a light armor wizard alt, as it seemed different, but still magical. I loves my spells b:victory

I read the guides about which spells I should level, so I have a good idea about what is/is not efficient. Anyone have any tips or pointers that aren't common sense? Any and all help appreciated.

Also, I will never again take cleric buffs for granted.

Why are u rolling a LA mage on a PvE server? an LA wizz will do less dmg than a cleric at lower lvls, u can't heal yourself, when you're called upon is to tank magic mobs or DD and LA doesn't excels at any of them. As an experiment go ahead, have fun, but as LA you will basically miss the fun part: very high dmg output.
If u want to get serious about it, roll a full mag. First wizz I ever tried was LA. A friend of mine cleric, was seriously outdamaging me after lvl 30 and the trend was same in the 40s too. In that case, WTF is the point of having a wizz? No squad skills, duel gimped class ( we basically have no seal/sleep that allow us to cast at least 2 spells), and u need to wait until 30 to fly.
Now, he's one lvl higher than me, but the dmg output is way different.

Lareish - Harshlands · June 2009

Ursa - Dreamweaver wrote: »

Why are u rolling a LA mage on a PvE server? an LA wizz will do less dmg than a cleric at lower lvls, u can't heal yourself, when you're called upon is to tank magic mobs or DD and LA doesn't excels at any of them. ...

A friend of mine cleric, was seriously outdamaging me after lvl 30 and the trend was same in the 40s too. ... Now, he's one lvl higher than me, but the dmg output is way different.

The point here isn't how much damage an LA Wiz does in comparison to a Cleric - the OP already has one of those and is looking for something different. Also, LA mages can heal themselves just fine o0; We can also act as a backup healer for a squad mate who's doing the tanking. It's a lot slower and less effective than a Cleric heal, yes, but it's still a lifesaver when used properly.

It's better to compare LA Wiz to Arcane/Robe Wiz. In the early levels (pre-40, to maybe 60), the damage difference between Robe and LA isn't much. It becomes very apparent, however, around level 90. Now, since you're on a PvE server, you might want to stick with Robes. You'll hit just a little bit harder, and kill mobs with 1 spell less than LA in most situations. LA works better for PvP - it's my armor of choice since I'm on a PvP server. But really, if you're not going to switch to PK mode when you hit 30, you might find Robes nicer. Especially since the Rank rewards end up being arcane XD

Tips:

Kiting is important if you're grinding mobs solo. While channeling your spell, click a spot 20 meters away from where you are now. When the spell casts, you will go there. When you near the spot, cast the next spell, click another spot while it's channeling. Repeat until mob is dead. Remember to stay zoomed out with an aerial view to make sure your path is clear, and be careful of respawns in a well-hunted area.

Apothecary potions are your lifeline. You can make and use Life Powders right away - +50 HP/sec for 10 minutes will let you tank things wonderfully (results may be different with Arcane, my experience is with LA). When you hit level 30 invest in Focus Powders. Pop one of each and you won't have to meditate for the next 10 minutes XD

Zeonus - Heavens Tear · June 2009

Lareish - Harshlands wrote: »

Now, since you're on a PvE server, you might want to stick with Robes. You'll hit harder, and kill mobs with 1-2 spells less than LA in most situations. LA works better for PvP - it's my armor of choice since I'm on a PvP server.

QFT/Fixed.

.

King_Solomon - Heavens Tear · June 2009

level the ones you like. there's no absolute guide.
like... some people love gush, some hate it. some people love pyrogram, some hate it...
i could even write a guide about skills but the best thing you can do is to get at least lvl1 of all spells and then lvl up the ones you like the most.

New to wizard class, few questions

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