Arcane Wizard

[MongoJerry]

In order to make sense of all of the skills available to the Wizard, I started crafting some potential builds in order to make some sense of it all. These builds are entirely based on the skill description, and the skills may end up playing very differently in game than the way I currently imagine. Also, keep in mind that I tend to play hardcore, so I tend to focus on survivability rather than pure damage.

With that in mind, here's my idea for an Arcane Wizard:

http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/wi...XUb!YbaZbY

This Wizard is all about movement and crowd control -- slowing mobs and their attacks down, pushing them back when they get too close, and teleporting away when it's no longer safe. The Temporal Flux passive, which slows enemies hit by arcane damage by 30% for 2 seconds, is a key component of this build.

SKILLS

Magic Missle - Attunement: With the Attunement rune (generates 4 Arcane Power per hit), this spell is designed to be an easy way to quickly fill up the Arcane Power orb. If it turns out that AP isn't difficult to regenerate, then I might choose the Seeker rune instead in order to potentially hit mobs around a corner.

Arcane Orb - Arcane Nova: Designed to be the primary aoe spell, hitting mobs in a 20 yard radius for 175% weapon damage and due to the Temporal Flux passive, slow them by 30% for 2 seconds. I chose the Arcane Nova rune, because I don't yet know how big "10 yards" versus "20 yards" is on screen. I just thought, "double the yardage equals four times the area." If it turns out that 10 yards is typically big enough to hit most mobs, then I can increase the damage with Obliteration or decrease the casting cost with Tap the Source.

Wave of Force - Impactful Wave: I'm imagining this to be like the boomkin knockback skill in WoW. If it is like that, then it'd be a useful spell to use to force mobs back (with 200% weapon damage dealt, too), and the Impactful Wave rune adds a 2 second stun on top of that. It'll be interesting to see if this works on champions or lesser bosses.

Energy Twister - Gale Force: I needed a strong single target damage spell to use against bosses, and I'm hoping that Energy Twister moves fast enough that it can be used effectively against a target while there's a lot of moving around. I chose Gale Force, because I needed to add some extra damage to a build that otherwise skimps on damage. However, Mistral Breeze is a good option if Arcane Power becomes an issue. Or Storm Chaser, if that means that the spell is free entirely.

Teleport - Reversal: The signature spell of a Diablo sorceress/wizard class imho. It's great for both getting into and out of trouble in a hurry. I like the Reversal rune the best, because I can imagine cases where I might telport from around a corner to within line of sight of a boss, cast a boatload of damaging spells, and then teleport back before the boss obliterates me.

Slow Time - Perpetuity: This seems like a "must have" spell for all Wizard builds, since ranged attacks are the most dangerous to Wizards. Perpetuity was chosen, because I suspect I'll want the spell up as much as possible.

PASSIVES

Astral Flux: Increases the maximum AP and generates 2 AP per second. I initally had Prodigy (generates 4 AP per signature spell hit), causing Magic Missle to generate even more AP. However, it's nice to have the extra AP generating passively no matter what you're doing. Other options could be Critical Mass or Power Hungry.

Temporal Flux: This is the must-have passive for this build, since it slows mobs by 30% for 2 seconds every time they are hit by arcane damage. It'll be interesting to see if champions and minor bosses are affected by it.

Evocation: Reduces cooldowns by 15% -- allowing Wave of Force, Teleport, and Slow Time to be used more often. Yummy!


Additional comments: I was suprised to end up not using any of the mage armors. I could see potentially replacing Wave of Force with Storm Armor - Scramble, if Wave of Force ends up not being as good as I am currently imagining it to be. Or, Energy Armor - Prismatic Armor could be useful for pure damage reduction purposes.

[swirly]

I really like the idea behind this build. Movement, control, and slow on damage seems like a strong combination to me. I also want to say that I love that you gave your reasoning behind the choices. Drives me crazy when people post a build, but give none of their reasoning.

When I first read this I was thinking that you could get away with the smaller radius on Arcane Orb since there is no cooldown and so you can cast multiple ones to bring down a group. I've been rethinking this though. I was focusing too much on the damage side with that train of thought. Now I think you want to keep the larger radius so you can use it as a control skill. Throw one orb and slow a huge section. So I like your choice there.

For some reason Energy Twister feels weird to me, but I can't figure out anything better either. In the end, I think I've decided it will work out alright. I just worry about the control with such a spell. I think with all the slow that it will work though. I can see slowing a group with Orb then spamming a couple Twisters through them to wipe them out. I realize you were thinking of it more as single target, but it can do both I think.

I've not played any beta either, but I do wonder if Astral Flux will be required. I feel like you already have more AP gain from Magic Missile and you aren't using Meteor or Blizzard which look to be the higher casting spells. Though 35 on Orb and Twister isn't exactly cheap. I just wonder if something like Unstable Anomaly wouldn't be better as a hardcore player.

Overall I feel like I'm knit picking and that your build is pretty solid.

[MongoJerry]

I've not played any beta either, but I do wonder if Astral Flux will be required. I feel like you already have more AP gain from Magic Missile and you aren't using Meteor or Blizzard which look to be the higher casting spells. Though 35 on Orb and Twister isn't exactly cheap. I just wonder if something like Unstable Anomaly wouldn't be better as a hardcore player.

Overall I feel like I'm knit picking and that your build is pretty solid.

Thanks for the feedback, and no worries, I don't think you're nitting. Until we play the characters, there are a lot of unknowns. The two biggest ones for me atm are "How big is a yard?" (and yes, that screenshot in another thread was good, but I won't really know until I experience it myself in game) and "How easy is it to refill the AP ball?" If AP is a real problem, then I have to put more into AP generating skills or AP cost reduction runes. If not, then I can move more of those skills and runes into damage or control skills and runes.

The other thing I'm thinking about is the Archon skill for a massive short-term power boost. I initially didn't think it was necessary, but then I started thinking about champion packs. Or perhaps some bosses might end up summoning huge crowds of adds, and the Archon skill would be key to defeating that encounter. We'll see when we get in game!

[MonTy]

Hail,

Here's my Arcane Wizard: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/wi...YXU!YaZbbb

I think it's important to focus on one or two damage abilities while devoting your other skill slots to defense or utility. After actually playing the game, I have a feeling we're going to need as much survival skills as possible and arcane power buffs.

The idea behind this build is to open with Diamond Skin to reduce incoming damage, while at the same time taking advantage of the rune which reduces arcane power spell cost. This means I can cast 5-6 arcane orbs within a very fast amount of time (thanks to +max arcane power spells/talents). That's over a thousand weapon percent damage being dished out.

After I nuke a target and deplete my arcane power, I'll use whatever defensive skill I can to run around while my power regens. I think the nature of this build will be very good against bosses, as they tend to have a spell or two that requires you to just run away- the perfect chance to regen AP.