For Mangler I am going to be adding a boxed wizard for the first time. I have honestly never played the class past level 10 in 20 years. In doing testing I have been focusing on just the available, non-researched single DD spells. I know wizards they have a wide range of nukes but should I be trying to integrate rains/AEs? I notice there is also a big gap from 30-40 in terms of new nukes or am I missing something?
If you get single pulls, your most efficient nukes are your rain spells. Obviously, if you have multiples that need to be CC'd, then you can't go that route.
As a box you pretty much just cast rains while not dying. In a group you can be the hero with a well timed evac. If needed they can root and snare which is about the most exciting they get. Typically they're funner on raids because you get to use all your mana and put up big numbers. Not sure how they change after POP, but wizard is more close to a pen and paper game than any class I've played. For raids you basically need to do the art and science of knowing how many concussions to cast.
Unless it has changed, 1 cast of a rain when it hits 2 targets is the most efficient approach (4 hits, 2 per mob) to wizarding in your 50’s when you get access to rains. Before that I just used the best available nuke that landed at my level.
It is a recent switch up from my normal Ench/Dru/Mage. Going Ench/Cler/Mage/Wiz this time. I've been doing testing and I really like the raw power improvement over the Druid (even though I love druids ). So breaking my own CC is a concern but then again a /heal wiz hotkey and some extra Defense capped wizard might not be such a bad thing.
2-4 mobs is ideal for rains if non are being mezzed/rooted. since you'll get all 4 hits in. On single target you get 3 hits which is still the most efficient if the mob is alive long enough for all 3 waves.
When you get conflagration in the early 40s you can sometimes one shot light blue mobs. Rain spells are helpful for pure efficiency however they are dangerous in tight quarters.
I understand you're replacing the Druid with the Wiz for travel, with that in mind, have you considered keeping the druid and doing 2 mages?
I'd stick with nukes most of the time then. Rains are efficient but with built in buffs mana isn't going to be an issue for you. I played a wizzy main 1-65 on Agnarr and while rains were very effective on raids, mobs rarely survived long enough in grouping situations to make them worth their while.
Even when your rain only hits 3 times it's still the most efficient spell... by quite a ways. Rain spells don't get the benefit of nuke focus and they still win. Rite of passage: When you kill yourself with your own rain because you stood too close to the target.
Easy addition. Great pick for enc/cler/mage. Whenever you nuke with the mage, nuke the wizard. Basically everything when you boxing. On raids, target the tank when you cast rains and you will get way less agro. Throw in nukes when rain is on CD. Don't pull agro, dead wizards don't cast spells and take a week to get their mana back in combat.
LOL, here's another scenario. You rain on yourself but don't die. You're at 14% health. You get low health aggro and get beat to a pulp and die anyway.
It's been a few years since I played, did they change nuke focus not affecting rains? I distinctly remember focus items generating both increased damage and the accompanying item speech when rains hit.
Rains are basically treated the way Complete heal and percentage based heals are these days. Still super effecient compared to most nukes though.
Only as far as Improved Damage focus goes. Extended Range, Spell Haste and Mana Preservation still affects rains as well. CH is solely affect by Extended Range focus effects.
My guess is that improved damage doesnt work on rains because it is technically a "duration" spell... Improved Damage has the "instant only" tag on it. Not sure if later on foci that effect say fire damage work on them.
