For combat, I think that the Sorcerer generally takes the edge, but with the caveat that where a Sorcerer specializes, they will excel. If they choose to specialize in social situations (forfeiting a combat specialization), they might just be on par with the Wizard in combat. On the other hand, the Wizard's utility is kind of their schtick, so they'll be respectable in terms of survival and just about anything else if they want to be.
A few races make excellent Sorcerers, as there are lots of races with CHA bonuses. Half Elves, in particular, offer a lot to the Sorcerer, whose biggest weakness is that they lack versatility.
Sure, no reason why not. Like all multiclasses, it will slow your primary class' progression, and with the different stat dependencies, you might have a rough time - but there's no reason against it in principle.
I would have to say Dragonborn Sorcerer is better because it's very thematic with the Dragonborn Draconic Sorcerer, and the stat boost to CHA helps more than nothing.
Some questions have sparked in my mind about the differences between a sorcerer and a wizard. Mostly these:
- Which is the more advantageous in terms of combat skills and survival skills?
Define combat skills? Define survival skills? Does that include something like the Abjurer subclass, or the Divine Soul? Generally, the wizard has access to more spells (both in terms of spell slots and spells known), and thus is more flexible than the sorcerer, but the sorcerer can do some funky things with the few spells they do know. Wizards have better sustained abilities, while sorcerers have stronger nova powers.
Wizards have a ton more of out of combat spells for sneaking and exploring around, doing research, etc. Meanwhile, sorcerers have some nifty social / intrigue abilities, thanks to Still Spell, Twin Spell, and Heighten Magic metamagics.
Its hard to say which is "better" because they both have some very impressive abilities that are going to be weighed differently depending on the needs of the game. I tend to prefer wizards for the standard dungeon crawl game; they're better equipped for dealing with traps or identifying magic stuff than the sorcerer. In a more social game, sorcerer tends to be a far better option.
- Which race can benefit the most out of becoming either a sorcerer or a wizard?
Tiefling is the best one to flop between wizard and sorcerer. Aasimar seem to be the "best" sorcerer, with a few caveats*, while the best wizard is the gnome.
* Assuming we're talking about the Xanathar aasimar. Flying and extra damage, plus some good skills, are all solid abilities. Tiefling sorcerers have some nice support for fire mages. Half-elves give some extra skills and attribute bump. I like Lightfoot Halfings for chaos magic.
- Can there be a sorcerer/wizard multiclassed character?
Can, yes. Should? That's more debatable. Too much scales off your wizard level or your sorcerer level that I can only see that ending in tears.
- Which is better: a dragonborn sorcerer or a dragonborn wizard?
A dragonborn paladin. While dragonborn are a good fit for sorcerer story wise, mechanically they're not that great. The only reason a dragonborn is considered a "better" sorcerer is because the race has +1 Cha. All else applies equally.
In my experience, Sorcerers tend to preform depending on how well their Metamagic options mesh with their spell selection, and when they do, they do their job very well. The wizards tend to be far more versatile overall, but Sorcerers in the games I've played can stretch their resources out better. With that being said and done, you have to be much more careful with a Sorcerer then you do a Wizard, because the lack of versatility in the spells that are available to them and the limit on to what they can actually learn is much easier to botch then a Wizards spellbook.
As far as multiclassing goes...you can, but there isn't much of an advantage to it, especially since you'll need both a high Charisma and Intelligence for it. I've had a couple Sorcerers that had multiclassed farther into the Wizard class then the one they actually started out as, but that was more for story then it was for fun character building. I wouldn't recommend it otherwise.
For the record, I'm much, much more partial to Sorcerers then I am Wizards.
- In terms of combat, that depends on subclass. I'd say a Dragonblood Sorcerer would probably do a little better in combat in general, but for more niche situations that you can prepare for ahead of time, the Wizard might take the advantage. For survival, I'd say Wizard, as Leomund's Tiny Hut ensures that you'll get your long rests without problem, so long as you aren't camped in an area with enemy spellcasters nearby. Plus, Wizards are going to know more.
- For race, I'd say that for Sorcerer, it would be Human (to take Elemental Adept right away), Half Elf (nuff said), or really anything that gives a Charisma boost. For Wizard, Human (any starting feat would be good, possibly Observant to boost your Passive Perception), High Elf, or possibly a gnome. My favorite character I've ever played has been a Mountain Dwarf wizard, as they get medium armor.
- I've never multiclassed, but from what I can see, it seems to work best when the two classes demand similar stats, which Wizard and Sorcerer don't. Just my opinion, probably worth what you're paying for it.
- Depends on the level. By level 12, you should have 20 in your main stat no matter what. Earlier on, the Dragonborn gets a slight edge stat wise, though if you're an experienced player who knows what they're doing, that might not be too harmful for the Wizard.
Sorcerers are focused specialist. Wizards are adaptable generalists. I'd also say the sorcs are not forgiving. You a pro and plan everything ahead with a clear focus on either subtle NPC abuser, AOE bulldozer or Boss shut down? go sorc. he wins.
Or do you want to learn every spell possible and have an answer to most situations by the next day? go wizard.
Honestly, it’s really just depends. Evocation / divination / necromancy /conjuration (debatable) are amazing wizard subclasses, wild magic, divine soul, draconic bloodline (also debatable) I find are the best for sorcerers. Also, divine soul, draconic bloodline, AND storm sorcery grant flight, where the wizard has to rely on spells like fly.
A well built sorcerer is a specialist who's a master of doing one thing.
A well built wizard is a generalist who does pretty well at just about everything.
If you compare a Dragon-blood sorcerer who went with red, gold, or brass for their dragon affinity to an evoker, the sorcerer might do better against a foe that has no special defenses (like a bunch of orcs). Against foes who are resistant or immune to fire, though, the evoker will generally do far batter. And if you get into non-combat situations the wizard will likely be operating on a completely different level since they can swap out their spells to adapt to the situation or cast ritual spells.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
In my opinion, the fact that sorcerer keys of charisma is an advantage by itself. It allows them to multiclass to hexblade giving them both a very powerful cantrip for sustrained damage as well as heavier armor and slightly broader low-level spelllist. It also affects all social skills (versatility). This matters.
I also believe the best two metamagic options, namely quicken and subtle are underrated. Quicken is a cheap way to do crazy stuff, especially combined with the hexblade combo above. Subtle makes sorcerers immune to counterspell when needed - a huge benefit.
I totally agree its all about versatility vs. raw power, but if you are smart about it its possible to pick very modal spells for a sorcerer too, giving plenty of versatility. Where wizards excel in my opinion is when it comes to spells that you dont want to cast often, such as clone and demiplane as well as ritual spells which are awesome.
Here is an example of a sorc18/hexblade2 assuming eldritch blast is used for dealing damage (possibly supported by animate objects):
SORCERER SPELLS LV0 Light, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, Booming Blade, Fire Bolt, Message LV1 Absorb Elements LV2 Suggestion WIS, Mirror Image, Web DEX LV3 Counterspell, Dispel Magic, Blink LV4 Banishment CHA, Confusion WIS, Greater invisibility LV5 Hold Monster WIS, Animate Objects LV6 - LV7 Plane Shift CHA LV8 Dominate Monster WIS LV9 Wish
As for best races the above mentioned guardian aasimar is crazy for sorcerers, but the same is true for half-elves because they get access to the incredible elven accuracy feat which work wonders with improved invisibility and eldritch blast.
As for wizards I am not sure, but elves get the same benefit to intelligence hits with elven accuracy automatically making them a strong choice.
I think it's going to be very campaign dependent, I can easily see a evocation wizard beating the pants off a sorcerer in the correct group comps, or the new order of scribes wizard trouncing what a sorcerer can do with the damage swapping ability, but they do require the right circumstances while in 'general' a sorcerer and metamagic will put out more damage in most encounters if using twinned spell or quickened spell.
But what the sorcerer gives up is incredibly steep to get metamagic, the sheer flexibility of the wizard is often really under sung in how good it is, and the ability to pick up more spells on the fly in the forms of other wizards spellbooks or scrolls is also amazing. Free access to find familiar, ritual casting. The wizard has a LOT going for it that your going to have more answers for the problems the DM throws at you.
As said earlier 'but the sorcerer is CHA based so works in social encounters' my caveat to that is so are bards, warlocks, and to an extent paladins, your more likely to have another good charisma character in your party to get through social stuff than you are to have a second wizard for the INT skills like investigation, arcana or history (investigation being the biggest one there)
I think overall the wizard just beats the pants off the sorcerer in 5e, sorcerers biggest advantage is blasting but evoc and scribe wizards tread into that pretty heavily while offering up a lot more to the group than the sorcerer does. Know it's anecdotal but in our campaign we've run into numerous times where a wizard would of been great to have, failed investigation checks because our groups int doesn't break a 13, no ritual casting for spells like comprehend languages or tensers floating disk, found a few spellbooks and scrolls which could of been a big boon if the sorcerer coulda made use of them (besides the single cast from the scroll) The familiar could of been amazing a few times just in scouting out things and spying. On the flip side the amount of use the metamagic spells have come into effect and been big boons has been lackluster, had a twinned invisibility that was nice but didn't swing the combat super hard and a few quickened spells for an extra fireblast but eh?
Back in 3.5 there was a bigger boon to sorcerers you had less spells you got them slower but you cast more per slot and everything was spontaneous while the wizard had to prep every slot. They took the advantages away from the sorcerer in 5e and left it with limited use metamagic to counter the negatives of a static and tiny spell list
There is a big difference between suggesting an optimal route and saying something isnt good. Exchange those two levels for sorcerer and use Firebolt for that matter. Point is that sorcerer has flexibility by keying of a stat used by many classes, including bard, paladin and hexblade. Also, hexblade isnt very good by itself, its the sorcerer that carries the hexblade class imo. My example above was made to showcase how a sorcerer can be quite flexible, and that would be true without the hexblade levels.
I guess this "debate" shows that wizards managed to balance the two really well.
There is a big difference between suggesting an optimal route and saying something isnt good. Exchange those two levels for sorcerer and use Firebolt for that matter. Point is that sorcerer has flexibility by keying of a stat used by many classes, including bard, paladin and hexblade. Also, hexblade isnt very good by itself, its the sorcerer that carries the hexblade class imo. My example above was made to showcase how a sorcerer can be quite flexible, and that would be true without the hexblade levels.
I guess this "debate" shows that wizards managed to balance the two really well.
The problem is that ever optimum route for the sorcerer seems to be dipping into hexblade or paladin to take advantage of the front-loaded nature of those classes.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
There is a big difference between suggesting an optimal route and saying something isnt good. Exchange those two levels for sorcerer and use Firebolt for that matter. Point is that sorcerer has flexibility by keying of a stat used by many classes, including bard, paladin and hexblade. Also, hexblade isnt very good by itself, its the sorcerer that carries the hexblade class imo. My example above was made to showcase how a sorcerer can be quite flexible, and that would be true without the hexblade levels.
I guess this "debate" shows that wizards managed to balance the two really well.
The problem is that ever optimum route for the sorcerer seems to be dipping into hexblade or paladin to take advantage of the front-loaded nature of those classes.
Of course, just like an optimal paladin leans heavily into sorcerer. I don’t quite see the problem, and as mentioned the gain from hexblade isnt what makes the sorcerer good, it takes the sorcerer from very good to yet another step up
The difference is that people actually will speak in favor of playing a pure paladin without multiclassing. I'm having trouble thinking of a single instance of someone recommending the same for a sorcerer.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I dipped hexblade with my divine soul sorcerer, and it was a mistake. Eldritch blast was nice and all, but i'd have rather not delayed my spell progression.
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Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
The problem with the sorcerer is that you only learn 15 spells over 20 levels and you only get a few metamagic options that are fueled by the far too few sorcery points you get access to. Also remember that the sorcerer has one of the worst spell lists in the game unless you want to be a glass cannon. Honestly the wizard is far more powerful. The problem with being a hyperspecialized caster is that you more times than not end up in situations where your ineffective. Now if your dm is the type to only have 1 or 2 encounters in an adventuring day the sorcerer is going to be alot of fun to play. Anything beyond that and there are going to be times that you feel like an npc class. They also get far too few out of combat utility abilities so they end up feeling like a 1 trick pony.
The wizard gets versatility and is able to recover spell slots plus their class features are pretty much always usable. There are also tons of arcane traditions to choose from so its far easier to pull a character concept off with the wizard than the sorcerer.
I think people are forgetting some key points about sorcerer...
1. Sorcerers can go beyond normal action economy with their metamagic. Twinned spell doubles a cast (yes, with caveats) meaning you get twice the bang for your spell slot AND your concentration. Quickened spell allows you to bonus action cast, which means you can get a grand total of 3 casts in one turn as a sorcerer (one leveled spell and two cantrips). Wizard cannot keep up with that action economy -- any time there is an initiative order the sorcerer has an advantage.
If you take two levels in fighter you can twin spell twice for a total effect of four casts of a leveled spell... how many baddies want to face 4 casts of disintegrate in 6s (yes, yes, only 2 casts per target and this will cost a lot of sp, it still is a brutal opening to a fight...)
2. Sorcerers ALSO can recover spell slots, and unlike the wizard, can do so IN COMBAT. This gives the sorc the resources they need WHEN they need it. The conversion between sorcery points and spell slots is a very powerful feature.
3. While some wizard features are more impressive than some sorcerer features, the opposite is also true. Many sorc subclass get non-concentration flight, which is quite good for defense. The divine soul gets improved spell lists and a powerful saving throw feature. The wild mage gets free upcasting on top of the wildmagic surge table WHICH CAN BREAK ACTION ECONOMY FURTHER... wild magic also gets to bend luck to get clutch failures on enemy saves. Shadow sorc gets to impose disadvantage on enemy saves for cheap on top of being mobile and able to abuse darkness....
15 spells is a limitation, but to be honest you only need around 5-8 core spells (counterspell/dispel, a couple damage options and a couple good control options) and the rest can either be utility or theme driven. Its not THAT bad a limitation.
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Some questions have sparked in my mind about the differences between a sorcerer and a wizard. Mostly these:
- Which is the more advantageous in terms of combat skills and survival skills?
- Which race can benefit the most out of becoming either a sorcerer or a wizard?
- Can there be a sorcerer/wizard multiclassed character?
- Which is better: a dragonborn sorcerer or a dragonborn wizard?
Feel free to answer or not. Thanks!
Can, yes. Should? That's more debatable. Too much scales off your wizard level or your sorcerer level that I can only see that ending in tears.
A dragonborn paladin. While dragonborn are a good fit for sorcerer story wise, mechanically they're not that great. The only reason a dragonborn is considered a "better" sorcerer is because the race has +1 Cha. All else applies equally.
In my experience, Sorcerers tend to preform depending on how well their Metamagic options mesh with their spell selection, and when they do, they do their job very well. The wizards tend to be far more versatile overall, but Sorcerers in the games I've played can stretch their resources out better. With that being said and done, you have to be much more careful with a Sorcerer then you do a Wizard, because the lack of versatility in the spells that are available to them and the limit on to what they can actually learn is much easier to botch then a Wizards spellbook.
As far as multiclassing goes...you can, but there isn't much of an advantage to it, especially since you'll need both a high Charisma and Intelligence for it. I've had a couple Sorcerers that had multiclassed farther into the Wizard class then the one they actually started out as, but that was more for story then it was for fun character building. I wouldn't recommend it otherwise.
For the record, I'm much, much more partial to Sorcerers then I am Wizards.
- In terms of combat, that depends on subclass. I'd say a Dragonblood Sorcerer would probably do a little better in combat in general, but for more niche situations that you can prepare for ahead of time, the Wizard might take the advantage. For survival, I'd say Wizard, as Leomund's Tiny Hut ensures that you'll get your long rests without problem, so long as you aren't camped in an area with enemy spellcasters nearby. Plus, Wizards are going to know more.
- For race, I'd say that for Sorcerer, it would be Human (to take Elemental Adept right away), Half Elf (nuff said), or really anything that gives a Charisma boost. For Wizard, Human (any starting feat would be good, possibly Observant to boost your Passive Perception), High Elf, or possibly a gnome. My favorite character I've ever played has been a Mountain Dwarf wizard, as they get medium armor.
- I've never multiclassed, but from what I can see, it seems to work best when the two classes demand similar stats, which Wizard and Sorcerer don't. Just my opinion, probably worth what you're paying for it.
- Depends on the level. By level 12, you should have 20 in your main stat no matter what. Earlier on, the Dragonborn gets a slight edge stat wise, though if you're an experienced player who knows what they're doing, that might not be too harmful for the Wizard.
Sorcerers are focused specialist. Wizards are adaptable generalists.
I'd also say the sorcs are not forgiving. You a pro and plan everything ahead with a clear focus on either subtle NPC abuser, AOE bulldozer or Boss shut down? go sorc. he wins.
Or do you want to learn every spell possible and have an answer to most situations by the next day? go wizard.
Honestly, it’s really just depends. Evocation / divination / necromancy /conjuration (debatable) are amazing wizard subclasses, wild magic, divine soul, draconic bloodline (also debatable) I find are the best for sorcerers. Also, divine soul, draconic bloodline, AND storm sorcery grant flight, where the wizard has to rely on spells like fly.
(Unless you’re talking flying races which are really OP and a pain for the DM).
A well built sorcerer is a specialist who's a master of doing one thing.
A well built wizard is a generalist who does pretty well at just about everything.
If you compare a Dragon-blood sorcerer who went with red, gold, or brass for their dragon affinity to an evoker, the sorcerer might do better against a foe that has no special defenses (like a bunch of orcs). Against foes who are resistant or immune to fire, though, the evoker will generally do far batter. And if you get into non-combat situations the wizard will likely be operating on a completely different level since they can swap out their spells to adapt to the situation or cast ritual spells.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
In my opinion, the fact that sorcerer keys of charisma is an advantage by itself. It allows them to multiclass to hexblade giving them both a very powerful cantrip for sustrained damage as well as heavier armor and slightly broader low-level spelllist. It also affects all social skills (versatility). This matters.
I also believe the best two metamagic options, namely quicken and subtle are underrated. Quicken is a cheap way to do crazy stuff, especially combined with the hexblade combo above. Subtle makes sorcerers immune to counterspell when needed - a huge benefit.
I totally agree its all about versatility vs. raw power, but if you are smart about it its possible to pick very modal spells for a sorcerer too, giving plenty of versatility. Where wizards excel in my opinion is when it comes to spells that you dont want to cast often, such as clone and demiplane as well as ritual spells which are awesome.
Here is an example of a sorc18/hexblade2 assuming eldritch blast is used for dealing damage (possibly supported by animate objects):
WARLOCK SPELLS
LV0 Eldritch blast, Mage Hand
LV1 Shield, Hex, Expeditious Retreat
SORCERER SPELLS
LV0 Light, Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, Booming Blade, Fire Bolt, Message
LV1 Absorb Elements
LV2 Suggestion WIS, Mirror Image, Web DEX
LV3 Counterspell, Dispel Magic, Blink
LV4 Banishment CHA, Confusion WIS, Greater invisibility
LV5 Hold Monster WIS, Animate Objects
LV6 -
LV7 Plane Shift CHA
LV8 Dominate Monster WIS
LV9 Wish
As for best races the above mentioned guardian aasimar is crazy for sorcerers, but the same is true for half-elves because they get access to the incredible elven accuracy feat which work wonders with improved invisibility and eldritch blast.
As for wizards I am not sure, but elves get the same benefit to intelligence hits with elven accuracy automatically making them a strong choice.
The moment you say "multiclass to Hexblade," you're admitting that sorcerers aren't that good on their own.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I think it's going to be very campaign dependent, I can easily see a evocation wizard beating the pants off a sorcerer in the correct group comps, or the new order of scribes wizard trouncing what a sorcerer can do with the damage swapping ability, but they do require the right circumstances while in 'general' a sorcerer and metamagic will put out more damage in most encounters if using twinned spell or quickened spell.
But what the sorcerer gives up is incredibly steep to get metamagic, the sheer flexibility of the wizard is often really under sung in how good it is, and the ability to pick up more spells on the fly in the forms of other wizards spellbooks or scrolls is also amazing. Free access to find familiar, ritual casting. The wizard has a LOT going for it that your going to have more answers for the problems the DM throws at you.
As said earlier 'but the sorcerer is CHA based so works in social encounters' my caveat to that is so are bards, warlocks, and to an extent paladins, your more likely to have another good charisma character in your party to get through social stuff than you are to have a second wizard for the INT skills like investigation, arcana or history (investigation being the biggest one there)
I think overall the wizard just beats the pants off the sorcerer in 5e, sorcerers biggest advantage is blasting but evoc and scribe wizards tread into that pretty heavily while offering up a lot more to the group than the sorcerer does. Know it's anecdotal but in our campaign we've run into numerous times where a wizard would of been great to have, failed investigation checks because our groups int doesn't break a 13, no ritual casting for spells like comprehend languages or tensers floating disk, found a few spellbooks and scrolls which could of been a big boon if the sorcerer coulda made use of them (besides the single cast from the scroll) The familiar could of been amazing a few times just in scouting out things and spying. On the flip side the amount of use the metamagic spells have come into effect and been big boons has been lackluster, had a twinned invisibility that was nice but didn't swing the combat super hard and a few quickened spells for an extra fireblast but eh?
Back in 3.5 there was a bigger boon to sorcerers you had less spells you got them slower but you cast more per slot and everything was spontaneous while the wizard had to prep every slot. They took the advantages away from the sorcerer in 5e and left it with limited use metamagic to counter the negatives of a static and tiny spell list
There is a big difference between suggesting an optimal route and saying something isnt good. Exchange those two levels for sorcerer and use Firebolt for that matter. Point is that sorcerer has flexibility by keying of a stat used by many classes, including bard, paladin and hexblade. Also, hexblade isnt very good by itself, its the sorcerer that carries the hexblade class imo. My example above was made to showcase how a sorcerer can be quite flexible, and that would be true without the hexblade levels.
I guess this "debate" shows that wizards managed to balance the two really well.
Know it's kinda lame but that might be the sorcerers biggest advantage, being able to be a sorlock :S
It's what Im gonna do after level 5, 3 levels of warlock for a better cantrip and take pact of the chains for a familiar.
The problem is that ever optimum route for the sorcerer seems to be dipping into hexblade or paladin to take advantage of the front-loaded nature of those classes.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Of course, just like an optimal paladin leans heavily into sorcerer. I don’t quite see the problem, and as mentioned the gain from hexblade isnt what makes the sorcerer good, it takes the sorcerer from very good to yet another step up
The difference is that people actually will speak in favor of playing a pure paladin without multiclassing. I'm having trouble thinking of a single instance of someone recommending the same for a sorcerer.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I dipped hexblade with my divine soul sorcerer, and it was a mistake. Eldritch blast was nice and all, but i'd have rather not delayed my spell progression.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
Tasha
The problem with the sorcerer is that you only learn 15 spells over 20 levels and you only get a few metamagic options that are fueled by the far too few sorcery points you get access to. Also remember that the sorcerer has one of the worst spell lists in the game unless you want to be a glass cannon. Honestly the wizard is far more powerful. The problem with being a hyperspecialized caster is that you more times than not end up in situations where your ineffective. Now if your dm is the type to only have 1 or 2 encounters in an adventuring day the sorcerer is going to be alot of fun to play. Anything beyond that and there are going to be times that you feel like an npc class. They also get far too few out of combat utility abilities so they end up feeling like a 1 trick pony.
The wizard gets versatility and is able to recover spell slots plus their class features are pretty much always usable. There are also tons of arcane traditions to choose from so its far easier to pull a character concept off with the wizard than the sorcerer.
I think people are forgetting some key points about sorcerer...
1. Sorcerers can go beyond normal action economy with their metamagic. Twinned spell doubles a cast (yes, with caveats) meaning you get twice the bang for your spell slot AND your concentration. Quickened spell allows you to bonus action cast, which means you can get a grand total of 3 casts in one turn as a sorcerer (one leveled spell and two cantrips). Wizard cannot keep up with that action economy -- any time there is an initiative order the sorcerer has an advantage.
If you take two levels in fighter you can twin spell twice for a total effect of four casts of a leveled spell... how many baddies want to face 4 casts of disintegrate in 6s (yes, yes, only 2 casts per target and this will cost a lot of sp, it still is a brutal opening to a fight...)
2. Sorcerers ALSO can recover spell slots, and unlike the wizard, can do so IN COMBAT. This gives the sorc the resources they need WHEN they need it. The conversion between sorcery points and spell slots is a very powerful feature.
3. While some wizard features are more impressive than some sorcerer features, the opposite is also true. Many sorc subclass get non-concentration flight, which is quite good for defense. The divine soul gets improved spell lists and a powerful saving throw feature. The wild mage gets free upcasting on top of the wildmagic surge table WHICH CAN BREAK ACTION ECONOMY FURTHER... wild magic also gets to bend luck to get clutch failures on enemy saves. Shadow sorc gets to impose disadvantage on enemy saves for cheap on top of being mobile and able to abuse darkness....
15 spells is a limitation, but to be honest you only need around 5-8 core spells (counterspell/dispel, a couple damage options and a couple good control options) and the rest can either be utility or theme driven. Its not THAT bad a limitation.