I used to play before AA's existed, help me in choosing!

[MorthosethEQ]

<p>Recently started playing the game again and took my wizard from level one and is currently level 22 with about 10aa's to spend, however i have no idea which way to take it, or what to get.</p><p>I play in a trio of friends, a Shadowknight, a Fury and Myself so i have both a tank and a healer, so was thinking defense isnt needed as much, but what do you guys suggest?</p><p>Dont want to mess it up! <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p><p>Edit -- also which racial traditions are advised?</p>

[Ol]

<p>Well first of all, you dont have nearly enough aa's. And to aa's my wizzrd is currently level 70 with 86 aa's (i dont have enough either) and my aa spec is this</p><p>STA: 4 4 8 6 2</p><p>AGI: 4 4 6 8 2</p><p>Then i went down the soercer tree and got manaburn. ATM i am putting aas into fission and ice comet and that stuff to minimize the resists. after that ill max out the wards and get the 6 range, then probably put some aas in str line for crits.</p><p>Just my personal setup, theres others that would work. And NO MATTER WHAT dont ditch manasheild. its an important survival tool</p>

[Ol]

<p>Sorry Double post.</p>

[MorthosethEQ]

<p>So i start with the sorceror line always before the wizard one? Some places say go for manashield first, or manaburn first - or cant you do that? I dont really understand the system tbh</p>

[Jrral]

<p>What I went for with my wizard was close to the conventional raid spec:</p><ul><li>STR 4-4-4-8</li><li>WIS 4-6-4-8-2</li><li>AGI 4-6-4-8-2</li></ul><p>And the leftover point in INT. That gives better base damage and crits, reduced power cost and reduced cast and reuse times. In the AGI line you might move the extra 2 points from the interrupt melee attack to the movement-speed increase depending.</p><p>In the wizard tree I've heard conflicting opinions about Manaburn. It's a big nuke and can't be outright resisted, but on the other hand if you've got a high crit chance you may be able to generate more damage from other nukes you could cast in the same time that wouldn't burn the majority of your power. I decided to skip it because it didn't look to be giving me that huge a gain in damage for it's cost in AP I couldn't put into enhancing my other damage spells.</p>

[MorthosethEQ]

<p>Thanks for the reply, but which line would you say was most important to fill first? Spellshifting for faster casting or the extra crit?</p><p>Is it better to put points in the Str/wis/agi etc lines before the wizard tab?</p><p>Sorry to sound like a complete newbie, i dont want you to tell me how to play or the like - more what is more important</p>

[thajo]

<p>AGI and WIS are both good bang for buck.  Imo though the 14% cast speed is more useful all around than the 4% base damage.  Also freehand sorcery is kind of pointless until you can freehand Ice Comet/Fusion and their upgrades (lvl 50, then lvl 65 for fus).  Also back when AA cap was 50 for KoS tree, the optimum dps setup was indeed, Wis/Agi. </p><p>On the wizard tab its really good but, again, not as much until lvl 50 and up.  You get great bonuses to Fission, Bolt of ice and Storming Tempest (lvl 58 iirc).  Maxing out frigid gift will also make you a more desirable group member.  Heat side doesn't seem to pack the same power cold does, but it has some nice AA's still.  And to answer directly, I think the Sorc lines AGI/Wis are more important than wizard tab.</p><p>Manashield/STA line I really would recommend against it.  It's good for PvP and its good for wizards tanking mass green mobs in low con zones, or PL'ing with a wizard, its nice to grab MS, or I even use it sometimes just to beat a scout in a duel once in a while.  For the everyday grouping or solo'ing though it really is unnecesary giving the dps you have to give up to spec it.  We have 2 roots, an unbreakable 36s snare and many other snare/stun effects.  If your not playing sloppy or dumb, MS is totally not needed.  If I remember right, the KoS AA's came out a bit after PvP was introduced, so it was probably more intended of a spec for people engaging with other players, cause there it is golden. </p><p>Manaburn has no right or wrong answer.  Spec it and try it, you'll either feel it fits your style and keep it, or ditch it.  This is effected big by type of gear you have (lots of power regen gear) and also group setups.</p>

[MorthosethEQ]

<p>Exactly the reply i wanted, thank you very much for putting it in a way that i understood instantly! I have decided to put what points i had into the agi line thus far, deciding which will get 6 points will be my next thought, currently 4/4/3/0 (Yes, grinding more as we speak! Haha)</p><p>I'll do everything in the Sorceror line before worrying about mana burn and the rest, when i get to the higher levels i can always respec and give it a go anyway - as you say, the faster casting applies and helps now, the rest isnt too useful until later.</p><p>Is the melee interrupt skill even useful btw? I obviously have it now, but is it any good?</p><p>Once again, thanks for your reply - really appreciate it <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></p>

[Jrral]

<p><cite>MorthosethEQ wrote:</cite></p><blockquote><p>Thanks for the reply, but which line would you say was most important to fill first? Spellshifting for faster casting or the extra crit?</p><p>Is it better to put points in the Str/wis/agi etc lines before the wizard tab?</p></blockquote><p>I'd start with the AGI line for the decreased cast/reuse timers. Wizards already do a lot of damage, and cast and reuse times are the biggest bottlenecks. I tend to actually start with points in INT and a few in STR for carrying capacity, then move to the EoF (wizard) tree first, upgrading the Cold Whorl line (improves the debuff aspect) and direct damage spells. Once I've accumulated 65-70 points, then I respec and put my points into the KoS tree build and start filling in the EoF tree again. The only change I'd make now is that, with the TSO tree available, it's probably worth spending 5 points in the first row there to increase your max power. If you get your diety pet, it's also probably worth it to spend 5 more points in TSO first row to bump up the bonuses from the pet.</p>