Useful Wizards
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Disclaimer: This is not an attack on current wizards players! I love all you guys. Srsly.
But can I recommend that all wizards take a minimum of craft wand? Or at least pass out some useful potions/items for those who don't have them?
I see wizards use crossbows and even their staffs when fighting monsters. I get upset when a wizard says: "I don't have anymore spells." I also get annoyed when my little druid is passing out potions and items for my group to use, depleting my stock, while the wizard contributes nothing.
I will admit readily that my druid is useless in a fight. I try to make up for this by stocking potions to give to party members. I also have heal wands and barkskin wands. I give free potions of blur, barkskin, health, speed, shield and even my cloaks for others because the other casters don't offer buffs.
Wizards, make some wands of magic missile, armor, endure elements or something similar. That way, when spells run out, you have backup wands. My wizard characters always carried magic missile wands and I would spam the dangerous foes and help the fighters. And use your stoneskins for other party members, and fireball is useless in my opinion.
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Dont' bring a useless [wizard] to a fight then.
Don't hand out any reward to the useless [wizard] at the end.
[change with appropriate character name/specialization]
Every character contributes with whatever he/she can, not everyone would have to participate to the fight in an equal manner.
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Handle it IC and IG.
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Totally, eat the wizard.
I've, in the middle of quests, beaten useless wizards in my party and thrown them out of the group. I mean, they're wizards who just said they're out of spells…easy pickings. Although, 50% of the time they say "I'm out of spells" they turn Invisible and run away, occasionally firing a Magic Missile from the distance before transitioning away.
OR
Drink an Invis potion when they're really close to you, and let a monster eat them!
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Only recently got back onto the server, but there plenty of ways a wizard can be handy….
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Use all those spare skillpoints on something usefull. Most of you are Int 16 +.
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Wands, BUY THEM. No one will care that your hard as wet tissue paper and spends most of the quest near the back with a crossbow if you acturly magic missile that greater mummy to death and save the party.
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Save and use spells smartly. casting every buff you know on yourself at the start of a quest is NOT going to get the average scout to stop scouting near the end of the quest, just becuse all your buffs are wearing off.
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Last time I checked, most wizard have far more money coming in then going out, use this coin to your allies benefit.
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I had an encounter last night with my current wizard. He was completely out matched, and against a few of the creatures he was useless. (weapons ineffective)He'd used his mightly array of spells that a 2nd lvl generalist gets and then had nothing left. No wands and no potions.
Two things
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Thank you to Leyoz and Paradox for sticking it out with me. I think I felt worse about being able to do anything but use the odd healing kit, fire off a long bow, and occaisionally wade into melee at opportune times than they did. ICly my wizard was going to let them take all the gear but ICly they didn't let him. He was given some awesome arrows to be more effective at range. That one event has greatly influenced what I thought was going to be his attitude to two factions and the direction this character was going to go. All in all, a win.
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It is about effort both IC and OOC. It not always about being awesome. Sometimes it's just about making it fun to interact with, share in the risk and make sure the those that are carrying the day know they are appreciated. OOCly certainly and ICly whenever possible.
p.s. Please don't let Moloch eat my wizard.
Geek
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Yeah, and while you wizzies are at it, make sure you memorize buff spells. If you are going to run out of spells, you can at least make the tanks more hardy and kick ass. :P
Sadly, people are going to play their characters however they want as long as they fall within the rules. You should be thanking the wizards who stick it out and try to contribute in some fashion once they run out of spells. Otherwise, you just look ungrateful.
I propose we offer more spell slots, so wizzards don't run out of spells ;)
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Fighters/Barbarians don't really need any more than a Bull's Strength.
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Buffs are so useful on a long quest to a fighter/barb. Cast by a level 9 wizard they last as long as three potions. That's 200+gp of consumables saved by one level 2 spell slot.
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I was trying to be sarcastic :-S Who knew it was actually useful advice
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I'm not saying you have to be a buffbot, just pointing out that one slot for your favorite fighter helps them a lot.
If you're not a melee mage/transmuter then using wands of sleep, color spray, ray of frost helps way more than a crossbow ever could. Fallow Staves were also added to help with the issue. Join the MG and get unlimited firepower.
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Or buy unlimited firepower from COG. No magic skill required!
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Learn to use your spells efficiently. Don't waste that Magic Missile on an already dying goblin, or haste your main warrior when there is nothing left to kill.
Noone will say thanks for Bull's Strength or Endurance, but a well placed Dispell or Slow (or anything that is used infrequently) can buy you a ticket for the next quest.
I found that, lvl 1 slots are good for self protection. You can memorize buffs and party helpers for Lvl 2-3 slots, and Lvl 4 slots is where the real magic happens. Sure, you can mix it, and I suggest to mix it! It is extremly boring to play a character who buffs the entire party, then stands back because he can do nothing else.
By the time you are lvl 9, you can do pretty much anything. Your buffs last for ages, your damaging spells can be really painfull, and you have a lot of spell slots to play with.
As for craft wands, I love it. I like to craft my own wands, and I use them a lot. A shield wand is cheap, and you don't need to memorize the spell anymore. Endure elements for the whole party! MM if you can afford it. Invisibility wand because you will need it.
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Protection from Evil is also very, very nice.
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Totally, eat the wizard.
I've, in the middle of quests, beaten useless wizards in my party and thrown them out of the group. I mean, they're wizards who just said they're out of spells…easy pickings. Although, 50% of the time they say "I'm out of spells" they turn Invisible and run away, occasionally firing a Magic Missile from the distance before transitioning away.
B-, but the whiny tells!
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Most of the wizards I've played with lately have been pretty good. Some of the regulars have even figured out that a couple low level buffs can turn my humble monk into an unarmed death machine. I try to play out some gratitude to those spell casters that do me good. Playing a humble monk character, I don't give the mediocre wizards a hard time though.
The crossbow wizard usually reaps what he sows when the bad guys start shooting back. I learned that one the hard way with my old wizard character Wilhelm the absent minded gnome. Crossbow wizard = bad/dead. I was intentionally playing a bad wizard though so all the trips to the fugue were kind of in character I suppose.
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@Deadlock:
If you're not a melee mage/transmuter then using wands of sleep, color spray, ray of frost helps way more than a crossbow ever could. Fallow Staves were also added to help with the issue. Join the MG and get unlimited firepower.
This.
As for craft wands, I love it. I like to craft my own wands, and I use them a lot. A shield wand is cheap, and you don't need to memorize the spell anymore. Endure elements for the whole party! MM if you can afford it. Invisibility wand because you will need it.
And this.
It blows my mind that wizards only seem to use invis wands to get themselves out of trouble while the party dies around them. Maybe spamming that stone troll from a distance with magic missile wands may end up saving the party.
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This thread hits home so bad.
Is true though. Wands leave you with a warm fuzzy feeling and lots of tingling that you did something good.
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Why should greedy wizard X give away his potions, if nice kind druid Y is willing to deplete his stock.
If you want characters to do more, tell them that IG or give them the beating that they deserve. Tell them to change their strategies to be useful over a long period of time, besides buff bot supreme.
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Don't forget an important tip. Even if you aren't a wizard, or wands user of any type, you can still buy them, and toss then at the wizard. "Put down that fool crossbow and hit them with this" as you throw a wand of frost at the wizard just might make someone's day. Same goes for buff's you like to have.
