Newby Wizzy Needs a Few Pointers

[ironheartthefirst]

Hi,Let me start off saying my mains a level 70 Necromancer, so i know abit of language <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /> I've soloed virtually all the way up to 34, wit a few groups for rare loot and suchJust need to know what gear i should be using?Which spells should i upgrade?Which AA line? I am near the end of STR one, and i was advised AGI aswell, and i must say the cold line or manaburn line looks very pretty =]Any Legendary Stuff i should be looking out for?Thanks in advanced =]

[simpwrx02]

<p>If you mostly solo I would put a few points into the STA line as it will help you survive and decrease your resists at lower level which can help greatly.  for dps wise the Agi line is about double the dps increase as the str line.  Also for solo manaburn is a nice nuke and can allow you to kill many mobs you other wise shoudlnt be able to kill.</p><p>the cold line is sort of good once you hit 50, but before that so mostly soloing it isnt that great compared to the heat line.  once you hit 50 max out ICE nova asap.</p><p>gear wise simple MC gear will easily suffice till t7 ish.  Spells to upgrade with prioty are your root spells, ball of fire line, Ice nova when you get it,  the flame chamber line. I would say get tehm all at adept 3 if you can , but that is just me.</p>

[Trilarian-2]

I never was a fan of Manaburn as there are too many restrictions for it to be a normal cast spell(long cast time, no power after cast, 50% cap on damage), but to each their own.Aside from Manaburn, I'd say the sorc tree gives more bang for the buck so to speak.  To where I'm at now(I solo 90% of the time for now), this is how I spent my AA.<b>Level 10+ (still have this spec at my current level):</b>• 1 point to get +2.9% crit rate• 10 points Magi ShieldThis gave me a small chance to crit a spell and survivability should a mob break free from a root or another added to the fight.Pre 50:• Went down the STA line 4-4-8-8• Went down the AGI line 4-4-6-8-1Pre-50 in the old zones are still tuned for before there were AA, so having the STA line gave me incredible mitigation for cloth and lowered resist(as if I had masters using app IV and adept I).  In fact, I remember early on not even bothering to root and just straight nuke encounters.  I didn't pick Manashield on the STA line since that is a situational spell(some love it, so spec and try it out) and put the extra points in capping my resist and mitigation.  Going down the AGI line gave a big boost to DPS in allowing me to cast the longer delay spells quicker and taking less time to recast.  For solo, that also means getting off the root/nuke/evac before the mob can interrupt you or your hp goes from red to grey.  A note on AGI, some prefer to go 4-6-4-8-1.  It depends on your playstyle.  I took the extra speed as it also works in combat which I found helpful for getting out of damage range, YMMV.Post 50:• Respec STA to STR 4-4-6-8-1• Keep AGI 4-4-6-8-1• Move to Wiz tree and go down Cold LineIce Comet changes everything.  And CAT + Ice Comet is what I open every single solo fight that is not aggro.  Yes it starts me off with -25% hp, BUT most of the time if the mob is not heroic it is dead with that cast(which means one less mob of an encounter).  If it is heroic, that one cast will usually take 50%-75% of the mobs HP.  So, for me, its a worthy tradeoff.  Some prefer to stay with STA up or move down the WIZ line for the reduce power cost and freehand sorc.  You can always respec, so try a few out.  Main thing to watch here is once you drop the STA line you will need to upgrade your most critical spells(roots, ice comet, and ball of lava are the main ones) to Adept III or Master I if you can. At the moment, my goal on the wiz tree is to get ice shape.

[Korter]

The biggest pointer I can give you after playing wizards since the game was launched is this "get used to dying...it will happen often"

[ironheartthefirst]

Does the STA line make you any noticble better in taking damage?i mean will i stand more than a few attacks lol?

[Skwor]

NO, as it was said earlier. Get used to dieing...alot.

[Trilarian-2]

<cite>ironheartthefirst wrote:</cite><blockquote>Does the STA line make you any noticble better in taking damage?i mean will i stand more than a few attacks lol?</blockquote>Depends on what you are fighting.  Does spec'ing STA mean you can tank a heroic like a plate tank - not even close.  Does it mean you will have the extra HP and mitigation to absorb a few extra attacks from solo mobs(1... maybe 2 from a regular heroic) - sure.  The biggest advantage I saw in the STA line, though, was the lowered resist on spells not upgraded(save coin) and the ability to root/nuke yellow-orange con solo mobs and blue con heroics(with upgraded spells).  You will still get roots that resist, and if your next try gets resisted or interrupted you will die.  It's how it goes, but I find I can solo many things that give others trouble.  I just have a lot of downtime or it takes a few tries if I go for things I shouldn't.One instance that comes to mind is the three named heroic for the blazing mace HQ starter in Fearrot.  I solo'd the three when they were blue con.  It took me a handful of tries just to get them all rooted with the AoE(tries as in it failed and I died).  However I was able to play with AoE root, single root, slow, and stun/stifle to manage all three and pick them off weakest to strongest(then double root / nuke the main).  I did need some potions to keep power going, but it was one of the most exhilarating fight I've had in awhile.  I won the fight with about 2% hp left, I would of lost without STA spec'd.  Thats not to say that you can't solo without STA, in fact after Ice Comet I can't see giving up the guarentee crit on such a big spell for some hp/mit.  Once I'm 80 and +crit is common, sure I can spec down the WIS line, but for now I think the STR line is increasing my damage more than AGI.  I'm at 18% spell crit with no +crit gear, and guarenteed a big bang for an open.  :)Anyway, all said and done a respec card with 5 charges cost you 10g.  Buy one, and play around with the different lines and find what works for you.  You don't have to have the cookie-cutter build unless you are 80 and raiding full time.EDIT => Yes you will die a lot, but its not as bad as some make it.  My kill to death ratio is 60.84 which I think is just fine for a wizard. :p

[simpwrx02]

<cite>Trilarian-2 wrote:</cite><blockquote>Depends on what you are fighting.  Does spec'ing STA mean you can tank a heroic like a plate tank - not even close.  Does it mean you will have the extra HP and mitigation to absorb a few extra attacks from solo mobs(1... maybe 2 from a regular heroic) - sure.  The biggest advantage I saw in the STA line, though, was the lowered resist on spells not upgraded(save coin) and the ability to root/nuke yellow-orange con solo mobs and blue con heroics(with upgraded spells).  You will still get roots that resist, and if your next try gets resisted or interrupted you will die.  It's how it goes, but I find I can solo many things that give others trouble.  I just have a lot of downtime or it takes a few tries if I go for things I shouldn't.</blockquote><p>Actually pre T8 instances you can tank herioc instances if specced correct.  My pvp warlock was tanked many herioc zones with a warden healing me .On my wizzy I have tanked part of CoA with a Templar healing, didnt get a chance to kill all the named unfortuneately. I also tanked in KC with a mystic as the only other person in group for some of his epic updates.</p><p>Is it pretty tanking in STA spec, no it is not, is it possible yes it is.  If you have 8 points into the mit increaser and 10 points into magi shielding you can basically ignore rooting on mobs except ^^^.  My warlock bulls groups of blue con heriocs and just nukes them down before they kill me I dont even bother to root.  If it is a group wiht 1^^^ and 3-4 normla heriocs I root the ^^^ and AE the otehrs down.  </p><p>You cant solo a ^^^ named with out rooting it, but then again neither can a tank.  Specced correctly in all MC gear you can hit ~45% mit and close to 45% avoidance.  </p><p>BUt yes with the poster I quoted the best part is lower spell resists.</p>