Make it better: Have some one to cast warding bond on you. The reduction from resistance will be calculated first, then it calculated the flat amount reduction. Ex: You have 20 layer of ward and have a cleric cast warding bond on you. Now, if an enemy hit you with 100 dmg then dmg you take will be 100/2-20=30 dmg. The cleric will also take 30 dmg so the total dmg reduction is 100-(30+30)=40, double the value of your ward will also split the dmg.
Divination wizard can definitely be a game changer. There is a party comp called Wither's Cheaters that runs it with a Light Cleric (Warding Flare) and a Lore Bard (Cutting Words) that is pretty powerful. It also makes an excellent dip option as level 2 gets you portent dice.
I'm so glad I used a divination wizard in my first run and also my first honour mode run. I love having that safety net for potentially changing important dice rolls.
Really enjoying this. Thanks. Minor Illusion as a bonus action sounds useless, but it has one good use case in combat. The conjured cat will be targeted by enemies, wasting their attack action in exchange for your bonus action. That’s not terrible if you build around it.
The minor illusion is alright, but as soon as one enemy passes the investigation check then it's gone. However, wizards don't often have a bonus action to use so it's a case of, "well, I may as well use it!".
Love that you demonstrate everything! Totally agree with your breakdown. I completed honor mode with Gale as an Abjuration Wizard and can attest to being unkillable! I'm going to have to try that Divination Lore Bard combo, it sounds awesome! I'm thinking a Lucky Halfling Lore + Divination class with the Lucky Feat (and Counter Spell too)!
Funny, how yesterday I've watched every single one of your tier list ranking videos but noticed that a video ranking wizard subclasses wasn't made yet, so I was like, dang, well, I guess he'll upload it some time later, and here we are. Honestly, I couldn't be happier, really enjoying your content. I know it's a big request, but do you think you could make a ranking video of all unique equippable items?
Hah, maybe I somehow picked up on your thoughts!? As for ranking all unique equippable items......It's not particular feasible to do it in a single video considering there are about 110 unique martial weapons alone! Potentially I could probably break down the videos into smaller groups, either by type, rarity, or location found. I'll have a think about it!
@CasualVeteranGamer Yeah, that's exactly what I thought, heh. Obviously, the game has an enormous amount of items. It's unlikely that anyone could cover them all in one video. Splitting them by categories or acts is definitely a great idea. I would love to see it!
One thing that I have found with the Wizard sub-classes, even more than others, is that how you play is more important than the feature "strength". I've tried an Abjuration Wizard, but since I played a classic "keep the wizard back", he wasn't being hit anyway. And my current run I decided to try Necromancer since I never tried that before. I'm about to respec. Great having all those summons, but they are a pain to manage and they keep spoiling my ambushes! So style is more important especially amongst the top sub-classes.
Yeah, I'm sure people have their own favourite subclasses based on style as you say. I know some people hate the pop-ups from divination, or find summons annoying like yourself.
Divination wiz is something I want to love, but eventually it's too annoying to play. - It prolongs the playtime, and not for good reason. - The prophecies are a crappy mechanic. Most require combat, don't give portent dice back instantly and by trying to fulfill them, you often force yourself into using sub-par spells for those particular encounters. Eventually, even a Halfling 6 Divi Wiz / 6 Lore Bard feels less effective than just go full bard with ring of mystic scoundrel and helm of arcane acuity.
I've never minded the pop-ups for divination wizards, but I get the feeling many more people do have your opinion on that! As for the prophecies, you can get almost all of them outside of combat if you want. Over half are for dealing a certain type of damage, which can be done on objects. The other major group is casting a spell of a certain school, for which cantrips can help, or potentially rituals. Scrolls also work, and one of the prophecies is for using a scroll. It would be much better if it regenerated a divination dice immediately though, it is a shame we have to wait for a short rest. As for the full bard with that ring and helm, that's arguably just one of the best builds in the game. We could argue that almost any subclass is less effective than a swords bard, especially with a couple of levels in fighter/wizard!
If abjuration was anywhere other than number 1 I wouldn't even know what to say. There's just something hilariously satisfying about being the tankiest most dang near impossible to kill person in the party as a wizard, and one shot killing people every time they hit you.
(Edit) Conflicting information on the Longstrider spell and it having a scroll. I have memories of finding some while playing, and one wiki says it exists, but flextralife doesn't seem to possess information claiming it exists, and since I haven't played it for awhile I'm wondering if I'm mixing up EA play sessions where it did exist and they removed it for some odd reason. Maybe because it became a ritual spell? Even then I feel like leaving it in makes sense. Confused the hell out of me on that one I admit. I'd also personally swap conjur and divination. I don't find divination interesting in the slightest and actually prefer to accept dice rolls without what feels like....divine intervention.........so to speak, and conjur with gear from the game can be pretty damn good mixed with their bonuses. I assume though you are doing this just based on the class and not with gear so yeah. Abjuration is a bit weird as top slot, but some of us focus on keeping the spell caster back from the middle of a fight so defensive measures aren't as important in the way it works.
I've never seen one in the game. And the Wiki specifically says you can't get it in a scroll (both on the Wizard page and the Scrolls list page) unless you use a mod.
Yeah, I tried not to take items into account because it's a lot of work, and I don't know where to draw the line with the items. Plus a few items are locked to certain origins or choices, and I can't assume that others want to make the same choices. Even keeping abjuration at the back still lets you protect the rest of your party with the reaction ability. I've never found a scroll of longstrider, and the only spell scroll based on movement that I've found is expeditious retreat.
Wizard/Warlock is exceptional combination. Armor of shadows, armor of agathys, agonizing blast, extra spell slots restored on short rest. Very potent combination.
You didnt mention it. If you have the necromancy of Thay summons, they will get all of your bonuses from the subclass. That includes the extra summon. Also you can use the staff of cherished necromancy to be able to cast lv 6 animate dead without a spell slot
My ratings: Illusion - 2/10. Illusion spells are fine and scribing them for half price is better than nothing, i suppose😂 Conjuration - 3/10. Create Water once per short rest means the party can clean itself by taking a magic shower. Better than nothing, i suppose😁 Enchantment - 4/10. The capstone feature is good, but you can also take a couple levels in Sorcerer and twin those spells. Plenty of ways ro get lots of sorcery points even if starting with only two. Pretty good for higher level spells though, so bonus points for that. Necromancy - 3/10. Disappointing, for a fantasy staple. Almost nothing the necromancer does can't be done better with a friggin' spore druid multiclass 😂. I guess 6 necro/6spores is a fun combo. Transmutation - 10/10 as a camp caster only, 1/10 as a playable character if you already have a camp transmuter, 6/10 as a playable character if you don't use camp casting. Reasons were mentioned in tbe video. Divination - 8/10. The capstone sucks, but mechanically this is a 10/10 subclass, portent dice are that good. I dock two points because getting asked if you want to use your portent dice almost after every single thing that happens ,is annoying at best and game breaking at worst. Playing a diviner will add hours to your playthrough 😂 Evocation - 7/10. Sculpt spells is exceptional on a first playthrough, less useful in later playthroughs because you know the battlefield and maybe late game you can also fly around the place negating the need for careful positioning. Capstone is very good too, for that extra damage. Great 2 level multiclass dip, though. Abjuration- 10/10 . Works no matter what, melee and cqc playstyles benefit the most. Absolutely broken with armor of Agathys reflective damage, even better with firce conduit and heavy armor that adds further damage reduction, not to mention the heavy armor master feat. Level 6 ability is fantastic for protecting the entire party. Level 10 ability is very handy, but hardly necessary because Armor of Agathys and Warding bond from the ring set can get you close to max anyway.
Great breakdown. That combo with Armor of Agathys is brokenly OP. Honor mode here I come :)
It's certainly one way to make things easier in Honour mode!
Make it better: Have some one to cast warding bond on you. The reduction from resistance will be calculated first, then it calculated the flat amount reduction.
Ex: You have 20 layer of ward and have a cleric cast warding bond on you. Now, if an enemy hit you with 100 dmg then dmg you take will be 100/2-20=30 dmg. The cleric will also take 30 dmg so the total dmg reduction is 100-(30+30)=40, double the value of your ward will also split the dmg.
Divination wizard can definitely be a game changer. There is a party comp called Wither's Cheaters that runs it with a Light Cleric (Warding Flare) and a Lore Bard (Cutting Words) that is pretty powerful. It also makes an excellent dip option as level 2 gets you portent dice.
I'm so glad I used a divination wizard in my first run and also my first honour mode run. I love having that safety net for potentially changing important dice rolls.
@@CasualVeteranGamer I haven't done it yet but I thought about running a halfling divination wizard with the lucky feat.
Really enjoying this. Thanks.
Minor Illusion as a bonus action sounds useless, but it has one good use case in combat. The conjured cat will be targeted by enemies, wasting their attack action in exchange for your bonus action. That’s not terrible if you build around it.
The minor illusion is alright, but as soon as one enemy passes the investigation check then it's gone. However, wizards don't often have a bonus action to use so it's a case of, "well, I may as well use it!".
Love that you demonstrate everything! Totally agree with your breakdown. I completed honor mode with Gale as an Abjuration Wizard and can attest to being unkillable!
I'm going to have to try that Divination Lore Bard combo, it sounds awesome! I'm thinking a Lucky Halfling Lore + Divination class with the Lucky Feat (and Counter Spell too)!
Sounds like a great build! Really leaning into that luck/divination aspect!
Tho I don’t play with wizards this is one of the most fun videos since they have a lot of subclasses
Yeah, almost too many! It feels a bit unfair to the rest of the classes really.
Funny, how yesterday I've watched every single one of your tier list ranking videos but noticed that a video ranking wizard subclasses wasn't made yet, so I was like, dang, well, I guess he'll upload it some time later, and here we are. Honestly, I couldn't be happier, really enjoying your content. I know it's a big request, but do you think you could make a ranking video of all unique equippable items?
Hah, maybe I somehow picked up on your thoughts!?
As for ranking all unique equippable items......It's not particular feasible to do it in a single video considering there are about 110 unique martial weapons alone! Potentially I could probably break down the videos into smaller groups, either by type, rarity, or location found. I'll have a think about it!
@CasualVeteranGamer Yeah, that's exactly what I thought, heh. Obviously, the game has an enormous amount of items. It's unlikely that anyone could cover them all in one video. Splitting them by categories or acts is definitely a great idea. I would love to see it!
5:40 I was only coming up with variations of cat illusions in tabletop anyway, so this class remains top-tier in my heart
One thing that I have found with the Wizard sub-classes, even more than others, is that how you play is more important than the feature "strength". I've tried an Abjuration Wizard, but since I played a classic "keep the wizard back", he wasn't being hit anyway. And my current run I decided to try Necromancer since I never tried that before. I'm about to respec. Great having all those summons, but they are a pain to manage and they keep spoiling my ambushes! So style is more important especially amongst the top sub-classes.
Yeah, I'm sure people have their own favourite subclasses based on style as you say. I know some people hate the pop-ups from divination, or find summons annoying like yourself.
Divination wiz is something I want to love, but eventually it's too annoying to play.
- It prolongs the playtime, and not for good reason.
- The prophecies are a crappy mechanic. Most require combat, don't give portent dice back instantly and by trying to fulfill them, you often force yourself into using sub-par spells for those particular encounters.
Eventually, even a Halfling 6 Divi Wiz / 6 Lore Bard feels less effective than just go full bard with ring of mystic scoundrel and helm of arcane acuity.
I've never minded the pop-ups for divination wizards, but I get the feeling many more people do have your opinion on that!
As for the prophecies, you can get almost all of them outside of combat if you want. Over half are for dealing a certain type of damage, which can be done on objects. The other major group is casting a spell of a certain school, for which cantrips can help, or potentially rituals. Scrolls also work, and one of the prophecies is for using a scroll. It would be much better if it regenerated a divination dice immediately though, it is a shame we have to wait for a short rest.
As for the full bard with that ring and helm, that's arguably just one of the best builds in the game. We could argue that almost any subclass is less effective than a swords bard, especially with a couple of levels in fighter/wizard!
If abjuration was anywhere other than number 1 I wouldn't even know what to say. There's just something hilariously satisfying about being the tankiest most dang near impossible to kill person in the party as a wizard, and one shot killing people every time they hit you.
Abjuration wizards really are something different and potentially at a level above the others!
(Edit)
Conflicting information on the Longstrider spell and it having a scroll. I have memories of finding some while playing, and one wiki says it exists, but flextralife doesn't seem to possess information claiming it exists, and since I haven't played it for awhile I'm wondering if I'm mixing up EA play sessions where it did exist and they removed it for some odd reason.
Maybe because it became a ritual spell? Even then I feel like leaving it in makes sense. Confused the hell out of me on that one I admit.
I'd also personally swap conjur and divination. I don't find divination interesting in the slightest and actually prefer to accept dice rolls without what feels like....divine intervention.........so to speak, and conjur with gear from the game can be pretty damn good mixed with their bonuses.
I assume though you are doing this just based on the class and not with gear so yeah. Abjuration is a bit weird as top slot, but some of us focus on keeping the spell caster back from the middle of a fight so defensive measures aren't as important in the way it works.
I've never seen one in the game. And the Wiki specifically says you can't get it in a scroll (both on the Wizard page and the Scrolls list page) unless you use a mod.
Yeah, I tried not to take items into account because it's a lot of work, and I don't know where to draw the line with the items. Plus a few items are locked to certain origins or choices, and I can't assume that others want to make the same choices.
Even keeping abjuration at the back still lets you protect the rest of your party with the reaction ability.
I've never found a scroll of longstrider, and the only spell scroll based on movement that I've found is expeditious retreat.
Wizard/Warlock is exceptional combination. Armor of shadows, armor of agathys, agonizing blast, extra spell slots restored on short rest. Very potent combination.
You didnt mention it. If you have the necromancy of Thay summons, they will get all of your bonuses from the subclass. That includes the extra summon. Also you can use the staff of cherished necromancy to be able to cast lv 6 animate dead without a spell slot
Thanks for letting us know!
My ratings:
Illusion - 2/10. Illusion spells are fine and scribing them for half price is better than nothing, i suppose😂
Conjuration - 3/10. Create Water once per short rest means the party can clean itself by taking a magic shower. Better than nothing, i suppose😁
Enchantment - 4/10. The capstone feature is good, but you can also take a couple levels in Sorcerer and twin those spells. Plenty of ways ro get lots of sorcery points even if starting with only two. Pretty good for higher level spells though, so bonus points for that.
Necromancy - 3/10. Disappointing, for a fantasy staple. Almost nothing the necromancer does can't be done better with a friggin' spore druid multiclass 😂. I guess 6 necro/6spores is a fun combo.
Transmutation - 10/10 as a camp caster only, 1/10 as a playable character if you already have a camp transmuter, 6/10 as a playable character if you don't use camp casting. Reasons were mentioned in tbe video.
Divination - 8/10. The capstone sucks, but mechanically this is a 10/10 subclass, portent dice are that good. I dock two points because getting asked if you want to use your portent dice almost after every single thing that happens ,is annoying at best and game breaking at worst. Playing a diviner will add hours to your playthrough 😂
Evocation - 7/10. Sculpt spells is exceptional on a first playthrough, less useful in later playthroughs because you know the battlefield and maybe late game you can also fly around the place negating the need for careful positioning. Capstone is very good too, for that extra damage. Great 2 level multiclass dip, though.
Abjuration- 10/10 . Works no matter what, melee and cqc playstyles benefit the most. Absolutely broken with armor of Agathys reflective damage, even better with firce conduit and heavy armor that adds further damage reduction, not to mention the heavy armor master feat. Level 6 ability is fantastic for protecting the entire party. Level 10 ability is very handy, but hardly necessary because Armor of Agathys and Warding bond from the ring set can get you close to max anyway.
Thanks for your own breakdowns!
It's good to see why other people give their rankings, that's far more useful than the ranking itself.
@@CasualVeteranGamer You did all the heavy lifting by meticulously going through everything in the video. My rankings are more like color commentary 😂