What is a Wizard?

[Graithl]

<DIV> <P><SPAN>I have a 32 wizard as of last night, and let me start off by saying I love my wizard.  I can do a lot of things that others can't and I thoroughly enjoy blowing things sky high.  Having said this, where the hell are the rest of my nukes?  I have more utility, fluff and BS spells than anything else.  I was born to convert bodies into corpses, I was made to blow holes in monsters souls and laugh with glee as I dance over their remains.  Now with the latest patch a lot of our stuns and such got a boost, which is more than welcome, and very sorely needed.  </SPAN></P> <P><SPAN>One thing that boggled me was that i got a twitch spell last night at 32.  Now at first i thought it was a typo, or even some cruel joke, but I was not laughing when it popped on my hot bar.  So I said guild, how many of you expect me to have any power left to give it to Random_Person0236?  They laughed.  My job is damage, my job is not to buff, my job is not to be a utilitarian besides evac (I can't wait) and maybe see invis.  The rest is not my job.  I am not here to give random melee a damage proc (Flametongue) I am not here to give a tank a power buff (Accord), My job is complete and utter destruction of what lies before me.  Pure, simple, elegant. </SPAN></P> <P><SPAN>The second question i have is who the hell was smoking the crack to make our debufs AE's?  I partner with a coercer and if i even look at my AE's she bashes me with a stick.  So they mostly go unused.  Now feel free to flame or whatever, I will ignore you quite effectively, but some of this just doesn't make sense.</SPAN></P> <P><SPAN><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT></SPAN> </P> <P><SPAN><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT></SPAN> </P> <P><SPAN><FONT size=3><FONT face="Times New Roman">Ps. The cat while almost utterly useless does come in handy if you are getting pounded into a pulp, lil kitty will jump in there and take a hit or two before its dead giving you a chance to run.<SPAN>  </SPAN>It would still be nice if it had a purpose, like a group +5 Int/Sta or something, it does not have to be earth shattering, just something.<SPAN>  </SPAN>Either that or take the concentration cost off.</FONT></FONT></SPAN></P></DIV>

[Whotookfrobo]

<DIV>I think our spell that gives power to others is a VERY VERY useful spell.</DIV>

[Graithl]

<DIV>The problem with this is that during a raid or a group its useless, during downtime i can see it since we get so many conversions, but thats not the point.  My point is we are killers, pure and simple, why the need for all the fluff?  A second thought I wanted to add is that our spells have too short of a lifespan, they should never be totally useless.  I tried to cast Freeze on a great briarpaw, it says the mob is poo powerful for the spell.  I know we get Blazing Intimidation as an upgrade, but it has 1.5 times the recast time and 4 times the cast time.  I guess my real point is this, the spell progression is inconsistent.</DIV>

[Aad]

I agree that we are damage dealers, but i totally disagree with you that we are not suppose to buff or anything else. I can gurantee if you do not pump power into random outta power person #1 and #2 your raid or group will fail. With a good wiz a fight can continue forever and he/she can still be doing damage. EQ1 our job was nothing but to do damage, the tides have turned...we have useful buffs and HIGH dmg now, makes us even more desireable (sp). Raids in eq2 are endurance challenges and push every skill in the raid to the limit and when those healers have no power to heal or the tank has no power to taunt, youre telling me youre not expected to pump the healers or accord/concurrence and pump the tank? Ha! i laugh at you cause i smell guild removal in your future.

[Articulas]

<DIV>I'm called to groups to deal damage. and with the latest patch... our new role is... DemiGod! <img src="/smilies/283a16da79f3aa23fe1025c96295f04f.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></DIV>

[SeTSwi]

<DIV>Magic users are users of pure power.  Being able to grant others power is a nice benefit that fits with the role.  All the more better if one uses it on a healer who can, in return heal you.  Hence the fight goes smoother.</DIV>

[Averni]

<DIV>heh, obviously youve never been to a raid, im a 47 wiz, and when i raid, (normally 2 wizards) our main job is to keep power going to healer and tank..if we all out nuke we get agro, so, its amazingly useful.</DIV>

[styph]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <P>I like the mana transfer spell. I always seem to be the last person in the group (during long fights or when there are adds) so if I can pump some more mana into the healer so the tank stays alive and we don'g whipe, I'm happy. </P> <P>I absolutely agree that damage is our #1 responsibility and the main reason I chose the class, but having other things to do besides blast makes for a nice change of pace. </P> <P>They DO really need to give us crits though! =) </P></BLOCKQUOTE>

[Zcenicx]

<DIV>The following is a small list of abilities about the Wizard. It's all IMO, but I've never been scolded by a group for sticking to these though...</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><U>DPS</U></DIV> <DIV>We are, with the warlocks, the highest DPS class in the game again. We've been buffed to the point where the cap on our DPS is set by the tanks taunting ability. If we want to, we can peel the mobs of a even level guardian without much trouble. We'll die doing so though.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><U>Buffs</U></DIV> <DIV>Our buffs leave something to be desired for a buff class, but most are ok and we aren't a buff class. A small-chance heat proc, mana heal proc, elemental mitigation buffs etc don't really hamper the flow of battle. I consistently cast Frostbound Gift, Descry and Concurrence. They can only help, right? I've seen all of my proc buffs proc, sometimes several times in a battle, and every little bit helps.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><U>Debuffs</U></DIV> <DIV>Name said it all. All classes have these, and most are quite useful. No need for specifics, if you don't know what spells do what in this category, don't play a Wizard. We live at the mercy of the elemental debuffs.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><U>Stuns 'n Stifle</U></DIV> <DIV>Don't stop using the stun spells just because you have better damage spells. Sure, killing the mob faster might end combat sooner, but being able to stun the mob those 6-7 seconds might give the healers enough time to get that tank out of the red. Same goes for your stifling spells. They're not the best ones out there, but every single one can stop an evil AoE nuke from overstressing the healers, or a high damage hit at the tank. Don't mix Stun and Stifle effects though, stifles are instant casts that interrupts and that's it. No lasting effect.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><U>Conversions</U></DIV> <DIV>Start to learn these spells early. In combat, a wizard shouldn't care about hitpoints. It's not like they matter, most mobs hit for 1k and above when you reach the T5 zones. That means quick-fried wizard. You may last one hit, maybe two, three is improbable. Barrage alone can kill you. If the tank's good and you can deal a lot of damage behind him, try and do these as the main spells recharge. It both reduces downtime and give you a lot more power through the fight than if you start doing them when you're already empty on power. Oh, and try and get that Manastone, it's not necessary, but it's a major conversion and it's instant.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><U>Mana heals</U></DIV> <DIV>You running low on mana? Well, before you start converting for yourself do a quick check on the healer and tank. They might be too and sorry, <STRONG>DPS is secondary to tanking and healing</STRONG>. If the tank loses aggro, it will either go to you or the healer anyways. <STRONG>Use these mana heals! </STRONG>Promise, Intromission and Surge combined can give the healer enough for three or four more major heals, maybe even more if you're lucky or have a high level on these. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><U>Emergency Spells</U></DIV> <DIV>Oh, what's this? Depart goes to this category. So does Boreal, Aurora, and all other spells that bring us no real combat gain. Useful only in that emergency situation. Bad to have? Hardly, but you won't use them very often. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><U>Soo...?</U></DIV> <DIV>At level 40, the cap on my damage is the tanks ability to hold aggro. I find it easier to do more damage quicker behind a warrior class tank, as do most sorcerers. But. </DIV> <DIV>If that guardian goes down to zero power there will be no more taunts. I can prevent that.</DIV> <DIV>If that healer goes down to zero power there will be no more tanking. I can prevent that too.</DIV> <DIV>If that roamer that just popped aggros and adds I have the option to save the tank or healer or whoever for 30 seconds.</DIV> <DIV>If that named ^^^ adds I have evac.</DIV> <DIV>If that caster mob tries to do a major AE DoT I can stifle it, and stop that spell from ever even start.</DIV> <DIV>If the healer has a fizzlefest I can stun for a little while, not long but maybe long enough.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>And finally: </DIV> <DIV>If I have mana, and the group is doing well, I can do what I'm best at and blast that mob into the afterlife faster than anyone else.</DIV>

[PacketSpi]

What he said ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^