Wizard
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Wizards are one of Gemstone's pure spellcasters. They are considered to be masters of the Sphere of Elemental Magic. Wizard offensive spells are primarily implemented as Bolt Spells of a particular Element. Wizards have a wide array of defensive magics and utility spells as well. Wizards can Enchant weapons and armor by means of the Enchant Item (925) spell to give bonuses to attack or defense, respectively. Wizards can also Imbed their spells into certain imbedable items by means of the Create Magic Item (420) spell, and recharge some of these items by means of the Charge Item (517) spell to keep their magic strong. Finally, Wizards are able to summon a magical Familiar by means of the Call Familiar (920) spell, which they can use for various non-combat purposes.
Stat Placement and Race Selection
The most important Attributes for a Wizard are Aura and Logic, as they provide double the training points as the other stats. In addition, Aura determines the bonus for some of our Elemental Spells as well as how much Mana we start off with. Dexterity is also an important stat for any Wizard as it adds a bonus to bolt attacks, our primary form of offense. The other stats are less important, but should not be "tanked" as that can result in serious penalties. Strength in particular can be important if you want to be able to carry treasure back from a hunt without being encumbered, an issue that Constitution also factors into somewhat.
Stat placement should be optimized for either growth, training points, or a balance of the two. As most players will not hit level one-hundred, I find it's best to balance the two so that you're effective at lower levels but also grow nicely, resulting in better stats overall. Since you'll be using primarily mental training points, you're best off focusing on Mental stats. Note that you will be converting a lot of Physical Training Points in order to train in all your skills, but due to the way the Trainer is set up, this does not penalize you in any way.
Race selection is a fairly non-mechanical decision. Though some races receive more appropriate bonuses (i.e. Dark Elves and Halflings) there is no single race that is superior over the others. Choose whichever one best fits your character.
General Training Suggestions
Wizards are expected to train primarily in magical skills and, of course, spells. The magical skills which apply to Wizardry are Arcane Symbols, Magic Item Use, Spell Aiming, Harness Power, Elemental Mana Control, and the four Elemental Lores. Magical skills and spells are key for wizards who use a runestaff, which requires at least eight total magical skill ranks per level to be an effective form of defense. Wizards may also choose to train in shield, armor, and weapon use, depending on the specific type of Wizard you want to play. Both weapon and shield serve primarily a defensive purpose for most Wizards, though some choose to focus on more martial skills and supplement them with spells.
- Arcane Symbols
- Most Wizards recommend singling in this for life, possibly doubling in it if you're interested in being an Enchanter. It helps with reading spells from scrolls and casting them. Though scrolls aren't particularly useful in the middle of combat, they're very useful for casting utility and defensive spells outside of battle. This skill also serves as a cheap way to improve Runestaff defense.
- Magic Item Use
- This skill is particularly useful for using wands in a Wizard's early life. Magical items sometimes also require certain skill to activate. Singling in MIU for life is usually recommended, though a Wizard serious about Enchanting might consider doubling in it. MIU is another cheap skill to increase Runestaff defense.
- Spell Aiming
- This is a Wizard's primary attack skill. It determines accuracy with our aimed bolts, and therefore should always be doubled in for life.
- Harness Power
- Training in this provides three mana for each training up to your level. Training beyond that only provides a single extra mana point per rank. Because of this, most Wizards train up to their level, and beyond that when they feel the need for more mana (especially at the lower levels). Some Wizards enjoy the extra mana, however, and find it well worth the cost to double in it.
- Elemental Mana Control
- This skill determines how effective you'll be in sharing elemental mana with other casters. Twenty-four ranks will give you maximum efficiency in sharing mana, but most Wizards will 1x for life. Again, serious Enchanters may train more in EMC to benefit their casting.
- Elemental Lores
- This skill can define a Wizard by determining which element they will specialize in. Lores result in a small (.001) increase in the respective bolt's Damage Factor, as well as resulting in varying effects on different elemental spells. It has been made clear that staff expectations are for Wizards to 1x in Elemental Lores, and future implementations are likely to be based on this expectation.
- Weapon Skills
- Since Edged Weapons are the cheapest to train in, most Wizards who choose to use a weapon will 1x in that for life.
- Shield Training
- Training 1x in this for life is the basic defensive training for any Wizard that chooses not to use a Runestaff.
- Armor Training
- Most Wizards will recommend training four ranks to wear Full Leathers with no maneuver hindrance. Other wizards recommend enough ranks to wear Double Leathers, though you'll always suffer some hindrance with anything above Fulls. Opinions vary over whether the extra protection is worth the spell hindrance and extra training cost.
- Physical Training
- Train in this sparingly until you reach your maximum health (which is based on Race and your Con bonus). Afterwards, most Wizards will stop training in it entirely, though it does still provide some benefit regarding the length of stuns and severity of criticals.
Secondary Skills
- Spiritual Mana Control
- Handy for any Wizard who wants to share mana with spiritual casters such as Empaths or Clerics. Doesn't directly affect any Wizard abilities. Twenty-four ranks will provide the most efficiency for your mana sharing.
- Climbing and Swimming
- These skills become more important with time, particularly Climbing. Generally, thirty ranks of each will get you everywhere you want to go, but having that many ranks is unnecessary until much later in life. I've found that ten ranks of each around level twenty is more than sufficient for some time.
- Survival and First Aid
- If you choose to train in these, their primary application is usually the ability to remove pelts from creatures during your hunts. First Aid also reduces roundtime from eating herbs, while Survival can protect you from certain adverse conditions (particularly in the frigid north).
- Perception
- Most players get at least 24 ranks or so to allow them to find certain hidden paths that are scattered throughout the land and will allow you access to certain hunting grounds. Otherwise, this is a fairly unimportant skill, unless you want it for a different reason (i.e. Lockpicking).
- Other Skills
- Just because a skill isn't mentioned here doesn't mean it's entirely useless. The only skills that serve no purpose are the non-Elemental lores. All the other skills can be trained in and garner some ability. Wizards can pick boxes rather well, or train in Combat Maneuvers to disarm their opponents, or better defend against Disarming.
Spell Training
Depending on how much you want to train in spells, most Wizards recommend anything between 2x and 3x training. Wizards have three Spell Circles available to them: Major Elemental Spells, Minor Elemental Spells, and Wizard Spells. All three have important spells and how you decide to split your training between the three is up to you, though there are certain spells you may want at a particular level.
This circle is one of the most widely available spell circles. However, it provides a lot of defensive and utility spells that will be important for a Wizard. There are certain key spells that I found particularly important.
- Getting these at their respective levels will help keep your defenses high. Since the gap between 406 and 414 is rather large, you may want to drop off training after 406 in order to focus on the other two circles.
- An excellent set-up spell, it tends to knock down everyone in the room that is NOT joined to you and give them round time before they can stand back up. Not a vital spell though, so you can usually wait a bit after tenth level to acquire it.
- Highly recommended as soon as you hit level twenty-five because of the bonus it adds to your attacks. It'll make hunting a lot easier.
- Though handy, I haven't found the extra defense necessary until later. You can wait on learning this spell until well after level thirty.
This circle provides several key utility and defensive spells, as well as a few important offensive ones.
- A cheap and powerful defensive spell, you want this as soon as you can. The color of the specks of light is based on your Attunement.
- Not key for it's level, the spell deserves mentioning because of it's incredible utility as soon as you get twenty ranks of Elemental Lore: Air. Once you do, the spell becomes a Bolt attack that uses Unbalance crits, which have a very high knockdown and stun chance.
- Also not particularly key for it's level, the spell is still very useful. Most Wizards find it helps tremendously with their carrying capacity, though several War Mages also use it for it's offensive boost with their weapons.
- One of the most sought after spells from other classes, this disk is used to hold items so that they do not encumber the owner. Again, not vital at it's level, but another important spell.
- This is the first offensive bonus to your bolts that you can learn, and I highly recommend getting it as soon as you reach level thirteen. It does cause a penalty with weapon-based attacks, but at this point only War Mages are likely to find that to be a hindrance.
- Mana Leech is quite possibly the most important spell to get as soon as it's available. It's the best mana returning spell in the game, and key for a Wizard as soon as they reach level sixteen. It will ensure that your hunts last long enough to completely fill your head with experience.
- Not a vital spell at it's level, this is still one of the most powerful spells a Wizard can cast. It hits every creature in the room with Major Shock (910). It's an old spell, and very useful for destroying swarms of creatures during invasions. Great to show off with.
- Not a particularly useful spell, this is one of the most devastating spells available. It summons meteors into the room it's cast in as well as surrounding rooms. The meteors can deal damage to players, creatures, and even the caster. Casting the spell sends a warning to Game Masters due to it's potential abuse. Needless to say, you shouldn't use this often, if at all.
This circle contains the majority of a Wizard's offensive power in the form of Bolt Spells. It also has some of the more profession defining spells such as Call Familiar (920) and Enchant Item (925).
- Bolt spells deal damage to a single enemy based on Spell Aiming ranks and your Dexterity bonus. Most Wizards use Minor Acid (904) as their primary bolt until higher levels or against specific creatures.
- Ball spells tend to deal less damage than Bolt spells, but they have the advantage of being able to cause multiple flares beyond the first hit. These flares can hit multiple creatures in the room, which makes Ball spells ideal for crowd control. Most Wizards prefer to use Major Fire (908) because of it's higher damage.
- One of the more popular spells among other classes, Mass Blurs affects everyone joined to the caster. It's not vital for a Wizard, but it does make you popular, and helps boost your defenses further.
- An excellent defensive spell, this spell will make hunting significantly easier. You should try to get this at level thirteen.
- Call Familiar allows a player to summon an animal to serve as an ally. Wizards who are attuned to a particular element have the opportunity to summon a wyrdling in addition to the typical mundane animal. Though Familiars cannot perform any combat actions, they can deliver messages, watch rooms, carry an item, and find other players. Call Familiar is considered to be a defining spell of the Wizard profession.
- Familiar Gate allows a player to create a gate between their own location and that of their familiar. While the gate remains open, any player may pass through it to travel between the two locations. The gate remains open for a short period of time, typically a few seconds, or until the player who created it passes through.
- Enchant Item allows a player to enchant weapons, shields and armor, increating the bonus to AS for weapons or DS for shields and armor. Enchant Item is limited to increasing the bonus of items to a maximum of plus thirty-five (+35) or 7x, with each complete enchantment increasing the bonus of the item by five (5). Typically trained Wizards who learn this spell at level twenty-five (25) are considered capable of using Enchant Item to bring items to a bonus of plus twenty (+20) or 4x. Enchant Item is generally considered a defining spell of the Wizard profession.