Give credit where credit is due. Thank you for balancing Wizards!

So its been a few years, a lot of rants, heated debates, flames and some plain old nastiness but we'll get there in the end!

1) Thank you to whichever dev or team of devs took the time to listen to some of the DPS wizards gripes!
2) Wizards now can compete with Zerkers, Necros and rogues in the sub 2 min dps battle.
This is due to a number of facets and changes to the wizards which on closer inspection warrants a comment of nothing short of being a stoke of pure genius!

3) The ramp up of the Ethereals for raids might be a chip off the olde block begging for a balance in role-playing medicine, but it is vital to keep us competitive and also has a bearing on the balance of group play. The extreme agro linked to these new spells is exactly right in my humble opinion because they are and do play a huge part in balance of the class in these two scenarios. The wizard class is not supposed to have a point and click dmg spell without the effort and skill required to use it - although the new gosiks fire and hoarfrost cascade easily make up for any shortfall and imho should be used by spell casting mercs who should know the innate agro for the group - so too for boxers!

Sure the use of the new ethereals can be earned in game but there are plenty boxers that can and will easily pass these trials. It is fair that a wizard should play a part in enticing the SK and Paladin into groups - because of these classes innate ability to pilfer and dominate agro and of course boxers who play these toons will find using ethereals will be as easy as normal but it still calls for some effort on the part of the wizard to balance.

Decent warriors can easily balance out the agro of the wizards new spells, but it is true that boxers will be annoyed because they cant dedicate the effort needed to manage agro - a olde school skill; that I think it a vital part of the class and I personally welcome it back.

4) Of course the agro of the new ethereals will cause issues with average wizards and boxers but if the game has more average wizards then of course the agro for these spells will need to change. I just hope that its not too much so as to remove the declination to use them if not fully aware of how to mitigate them. As already said, I believe the extreme agro is correct at present. These spells should only be used by wizards who know how and when. The problem that is noticed is the huge agro difference between the olde ethereals and the new and that is the only real motivation to perhaps lower it. In this case I would go for a reduction of twenty percent of the current agro on the new Ethereals and see how that pans out. It also doesn't bode well for wizards to match every cast with a jolt but based on skills this can be mitigated by a number of internal and external mechanisms. A wizard has an arsenal of ways to manage agro and this is the class play that is required if a wizard wants to hit the top DPS numbers in group and raid play.

5) There are of course new sekrets that only the most passionate wizards will learn and appreciate and I speak not only of olde skills but new ones found hidden in the new spells released in this expansion - not sure if the devs intended this or not but I give em the benefit of the doubt now! I think the claw range of spells is the defining change for wizards that truely was the biggest surprise. I ranted about losing the havoc series but the new claw spells shut me up right and proper. Im still reeling from eating my own words-a tough slice of humble pie to swallow. These new spells have introduced a welcome rouse of randomness to the class that really has brought the joy of playing the class back into the game.

6) Managing mana and efficiency. This has also been one of the olde core class skills but for many years it has been dissipating to the point that any idiot can point and click and not worry about mana. Now its back in the game so that hardcore passionate wizards can use the mana at the rate that they can regain it using a host of methods some requiring extreme timing and awareness skills and sometimes just plain luck where the odds increase the more casts performed! The reward for this extra effort shows up consistently in the myriad of LOTD 30 min parses against similar level wizards of DPS character and persuasion.

7) The new rain spells. What can I say? What a truly tremendous change from previous expansions. Not only have you fixed the focus - done last expansion; and twincast stacking issues but now they can finally enter as a vital spell range to use by the average wizard and not only the passionate DPS wizard. The agro has been increased slightly but I think its a fair amount for the huge increase. Well done and huge thanks for finally putting this right.

All in all I figured so much beytching and ranting over the years, must also be matched by huge thank you's and respect when you guys get it right even if its from my personal perspective and opinion!

Kind and warm regards from a very happy wizard!.....Until the next round

Fortunbas Soulsender
Sorceror of Antonius Bayle

1) Aristo is in charge of spells
2) Not with full support to the melee classes, but whatever, sure.
3) The extra aggro is a bug, that will be fixed with the next patch.
4) Spamming deaggro spells in between nukes does not require any more skill than only spamming nukes. Aggro isn't a factor for most classes, it shouldn't be for us either.
5) It was an accident, but even if you fail enough times you chance doing something right, (penicillin, Teflon, etc).
6) Yep.
7) Rains are still not worth using, and I don't know what you are talking about as Focus effects do not work on them (except new type 3s), and there was never an issue with them and Twincast.

To the OP.
I agree with some of your points but I know a lot of wizards that vehemently disagree and will most likely attack you in 3..2..1..

Yes its fun playing a wizard again, love logging again and playing/raiding/spending SC etc... but this is EQ. We will be nerfed again . It will happen, only this time I won't have any inclination to return. Too many entertainment choices out there.

rofl Beimeith.....

7) You didnt get it last time this point came up either

a) Focus effects from spells- not only items, and now they stack where is they didnt before.
b) Twincast only worked on the first wave now it works on all three.
c) The true use of the rain spell. You still have not appreciated this and its not just one benefit but three. In fact latest expansion has introduced one more huge benefit that wasnt there before and not already mentioned, but I'm not here to teach my grandma to suck eggs am I.

a) Bards' Aria of Va'Ker, Gosik's Aria, and Fatesong of Protan do not work on rain spells. Kerafyrm's Prismatic Familiar does not work on rain spells. Worn focus items like Arms/Hands/Helms do not work on rain spells. Focus effects do not work on them as they are specifically exempted from working on them. Type 3 augs work with them because there is no exclusion on them. Fury of X line works on them because they also do not have an exclusion for AEs on them. All other Focus effects specifically exclude rain spells.

b) Twincast always worked fine with it. Twincast works (for us) by literally casting the spell twice. It cast twice, and worked exactly the way it was supposed to.

c) I have yet to hear what these great uses of rain spells you keep claiming are, and as the late great Christopher Hitchens once said, "That which can be asserted without evidence, can be dismissed without evidence." (Though to be fair I so have plenty of evidence they are still not worth casting so meh).

Please do share. Suspense is killing me!

He makes it rain like Little Wayne.

So whats this about the new rain spells? i havent used rains since i was in the low 50's just curious.

It's a big secret that only Fortunbas knows. And he won't tell us!

You get triple damage bonus when using rain spells while listening to this song

That's a face I definitely never want to see, especially on an EQ site.