Diviner is ahead of evoker in most categories when it matters because of portent, expert divination, and third eye. Sculpt spell is very useful even if it does not increase damage directly, and evokers get potent cantrip and empowered evocation for better damage than diviners later. Limiting the levels to 12th lost overchannel, which is probably the best reason to take evoker.
DPR -- Wizards are not great at direct damage. Area damage (and effects) is what they are good at but weapon users tend to be a lot better due to getting ability modifiers added on to each attack while wizards do not typically get that bonus or multiple attacks to stack it. Evokers improve but by the time they are getting bonuses extra attack is already well ahead. Being able to launch a party friendly AoE damage effect is pretty awesome though, when it comes up.
CC -- Status effects and AoE are bread and butter to wizards. They excel in this area.
Utility -- I find this odd. The magical utility is better than many other spell casters but it turns into the effective limited resource compared to the good enough mundane options debate. I prefer relying on skills and equipment because using utility spells are often just a waste of a slot. Except those times when they are not. ;-) Differences in application and need and playstyles etc make this harder to quantify and tends to follow personal opinion on what's best. Wizards do have useful options and I'll leave it at that.
Social -- Other than INT applying some checks in social situation or relying on spells that make CHA checks anyway wizards are low to mediocre. This is one of those areas where portent can be useful outside of combat.
Exploration -- This is a lot like utility. I find spells for exploration are often just a waste of a slot over just using skills and equipment. Except those times when it might matter, which is generally a DM forcing the need.
Fun Factor -- That is opinion. The only way to know that for sure for you is to try it out and see if you like it. To give more insight on what might be fun for you might be what brought you to look at these options in the first place.
Well, these are the same class with the same spells, so there is only 3 features (4th at level 14) that set them apart. So they will tie in a lot if categories.
Considering a campaign from level 1 to 12. Only PHB allowed. No Multiclassing.
How would you rate these 2 Wizard Subclasses, in terms of:
DPR
CC
Utility
Social
Exploration
"Fun factor"
Hands down evocation. 2/3 of their features are for making your spells do more damage. Divination can indirectly effect DPR, but not by much.
Again evocation. The first ability they get lets you use AOEs without hurting allies (or at least hurt fewer of them). Divination again, can indirectly cause crowd control by making enemy attacks miss, but again not by much.
Here is where Divination starts to shine. The portent ability (the same one I've been referring to for indirect effects) works more consistently for skill checks. Also they get an ability that lets them regain spell slots if they use their divination spells (which are mostly for utility). And their level 10 feature is 100% utility. Evocation's features are combat focused. But both are still wizards which have a lot of utility already, so...
Again I say divination. Some divination spells (which both subclass have) can be used to read minds and communicate over distance, and the diviner has the ability to regain a slot when they use these spells.
Diviner is ahead of evoker in most categories when it matters because of portent, expert divination, and third eye. Sculpt spell is very useful even if it does not increase damage directly, and evokers get potent cantrip and empowered evocation for better damage than diviners later. Limiting the levels to 12th lost overchannel, which is probably the best reason to take evoker.
DPR -- Wizards are not great at direct damage. Area damage (and effects) is what they are good at but weapon users tend to be a lot better due to getting ability modifiers added on to each attack while wizards do not typically get that bonus or multiple attacks to stack it. Evokers improve but by the time they are getting bonuses extra attack is already well ahead. Being able to launch a party friendly AoE damage effect is pretty awesome though, when it comes up.
CC -- Status effects and AoE are bread and butter to wizards. They excel in this area.
Utility -- I find this odd. The magical utility is better than many other spell casters but it turns into the effective limited resource compared to the good enough mundane options debate. I prefer relying on skills and equipment because using utility spells are often just a waste of a slot. Except those times when they are not. ;-) Differences in application and need and playstyles etc make this harder to quantify and tends to follow personal opinion on what's best. Wizards do have useful options and I'll leave it at that.
Social -- Other than INT applying some checks in social situation or relying on spells that make CHA checks anyway wizards are low to mediocre. This is one of those areas where portent can be useful outside of combat.
Exploration -- This is a lot like utility. I find spells for exploration are often just a waste of a slot over just using skills and equipment. Except those times when it might matter, which is generally a DM forcing the need.
Fun Factor -- That is opinion. The only way to know that for sure for you is to try it out and see if you like it. To give more insight on what might be fun for you might be what brought you to look at these options in the first place.
Yeah, the "fun factor" is rather subjective. its even harder to explain haha. I find it fun when I change the outcomes of an encounter (both combat or social), those moments when the whole party goes like "holy shit!". The Wizard feels like a Class that could do that quite a few times during a campaign, both in and out of combat.
And that raised another question... What about Sorcerers? Draconic Sorcerer to be more precise. How are they compared to Divination/Evocation Wizards? Do they only shine on DPR/Charisma situations? Or can they keep up with the Wizard's toolbox?
Well, these are the same class with the same spells, so there is only 3 features (4th at level 14) that set them apart. So they will tie in a lot if categories.
Considering a campaign from level 1 to 12. Only PHB allowed. No Multiclassing.
How would you rate these 2 Wizard Subclasses, in terms of:
DPR
CC
Utility
Social
Exploration
"Fun factor"
Hands down evocation. 2/3 of their features are for making your spells do more damage. Divination can indirectly effect DPR, but not by much.
Again evocation. The first ability they get lets you use AOEs without hurting allies (or at least hurt fewer of them). Divination again, can indirectly cause crowd control by making enemy attacks miss, but again not by much.
Here is where Divination starts to shine. The portent ability (the same one I've been referring to for indirect effects) works more consistently for skill checks. Also they get an ability that lets them regain spell slots if they use their divination spells (which are mostly for utility). And their level 10 feature is 100% utility. Evocation's features are combat focused. But both are still wizards which have a lot of utility already, so...
Again I say divination. Some divination spells (which both subclass have) can be used to read minds and communicate over distance, and the diviner has the ability to regain a slot when they use these spells.
Depends. The diviner has a lot more use out of combat, and the evoker has a lot of use in combat. Both have the benefit of being wizards.
Same question for you DxJxC.. How are Draconic Sorcerers compared to Divination/Evocation Wizards? Do they only shine on DPR/Charisma situations? Or can they keep up with the Wizard's toolbox?
DPR - Evocation. Being able to cast fireballs on your team and have them take no damage is pretty awesome.
CC - Divination with a caveat. If you roll low on your portent dice, you can make bosses automatically fail their saving throws. Hold person on that big boss encounter and have them automatically fail his saving throws is amazing.
Utility - Not sure what you mean here. Probably a tie?
Social - Tie. Neither really excels here. MAYBE divination if you use portent to crush a persuasion check or some other social check.
Exploration - Divination. You can cast divination spells to scout out or do whatever and and regain a spell slot of of one level lower. Pretty awesome.
"Fun factor" - Super subjective. Had you asked me when I was a newer player I'd have said Evocation. It's a little easier to grasp why it's useful. Now I'd say divination because of how fun portent is.
As for Draconic Sorcerers, I'd say they're not the best at any of those things. They do them all well though and it does have better defenses. It's level 6 ability is nice for damage as long as you're not fighting something with resistance or immunity to your dragons specific damage type. It would put it on par with the evocation wizard on DPR I suppose. The evocation wizard basically gets the same ability at 10 but extending to all evocation spells. So who knows!
Diviner is ahead of evoker in most categories when it matters because of portent, expert divination, and third eye. Sculpt spell is very useful even if it does not increase damage directly, and evokers get potent cantrip and empowered evocation for better damage than diviners later. Limiting the levels to 12th lost overchannel, which is probably the best reason to take evoker.
DPR -- Wizards are not great at direct damage. Area damage (and effects) is what they are good at but weapon users tend to be a lot better due to getting ability modifiers added on to each attack while wizards do not typically get that bonus or multiple attacks to stack it. Evokers improve but by the time they are getting bonuses extra attack is already well ahead. Being able to launch a party friendly AoE damage effect is pretty awesome though, when it comes up.
CC -- Status effects and AoE are bread and butter to wizards. They excel in this area.
Utility -- I find this odd. The magical utility is better than many other spell casters but it turns into the effective limited resource compared to the good enough mundane options debate. I prefer relying on skills and equipment because using utility spells are often just a waste of a slot. Except those times when they are not. ;-) Differences in application and need and playstyles etc make this harder to quantify and tends to follow personal opinion on what's best. Wizards do have useful options and I'll leave it at that.
Social -- Other than INT applying some checks in social situation or relying on spells that make CHA checks anyway wizards are low to mediocre. This is one of those areas where portent can be useful outside of combat.
Exploration -- This is a lot like utility. I find spells for exploration are often just a waste of a slot over just using skills and equipment. Except those times when it might matter, which is generally a DM forcing the need.
Fun Factor -- That is opinion. The only way to know that for sure for you is to try it out and see if you like it. To give more insight on what might be fun for you might be what brought you to look at these options in the first place.
Yeah, the "fun factor" is rather subjective. its even harder to explain haha. I find it fun when I change the outcomes of an encounter (both combat or social), those moments when the whole party goes like "holy shit!". The Wizard feels like a Class that could do that quite a few times during a campaign, both in and out of combat.
And that raised another question... What about Sorcerers? Draconic Sorcerer to be more precise. How are they compared to Divination/Evocation Wizards? Do they only shine on DPR/Charisma situations? Or can they keep up with the Wizard's toolbox?
It's pretty hard to keep up with the wizard's toolbox. Big list and the only class that does not need to prep / know rituals to use them (tome pact or ritual caster feat aside). Based on the description of "fun" I would say you would probably enjoy the diviner more than evoker because of portent. I prefer sorcerers because of meta-magic with the caveat that sorcerers are much more restricted in spells known (or available to be known) vs prepped. I don't worry about "thematic" spells at every spell level and just pick what I think are good spells. Sorcery points are limited but can be applied more often than portent.
If you want fun factor, lore bards are a solid choice based on the criteria above. They do not have the range of offensive spells diviners do and cannot cast as many spells per day, but bardic inspiration dice are used more often than portents or applied meta-magic, they know more spells than sorcerers, and they can rely on skill benefits instead of magic a lot of the time. The spells available on the bard spell list suit crowd control / status effects while the magical secrets can supplement the playstyle.
Diviner is ahead of evoker in most categories when it matters because of portent, expert divination, and third eye. Sculpt spell is very useful even if it does not increase damage directly, and evokers get potent cantrip and empowered evocation for better damage than diviners later. Limiting the levels to 12th lost overchannel, which is probably the best reason to take evoker.
DPR -- Wizards are not great at direct damage. Area damage (and effects) is what they are good at but weapon users tend to be a lot better due to getting ability modifiers added on to each attack while wizards do not typically get that bonus or multiple attacks to stack it. Evokers improve but by the time they are getting bonuses extra attack is already well ahead. Being able to launch a party friendly AoE damage effect is pretty awesome though, when it comes up.
CC -- Status effects and AoE are bread and butter to wizards. They excel in this area.
Utility -- I find this odd. The magical utility is better than many other spell casters but it turns into the effective limited resource compared to the good enough mundane options debate. I prefer relying on skills and equipment because using utility spells are often just a waste of a slot. Except those times when they are not. ;-) Differences in application and need and playstyles etc make this harder to quantify and tends to follow personal opinion on what's best. Wizards do have useful options and I'll leave it at that.
Social -- Other than INT applying some checks in social situation or relying on spells that make CHA checks anyway wizards are low to mediocre. This is one of those areas where portent can be useful outside of combat.
Exploration -- This is a lot like utility. I find spells for exploration are often just a waste of a slot over just using skills and equipment. Except those times when it might matter, which is generally a DM forcing the need.
Fun Factor -- That is opinion. The only way to know that for sure for you is to try it out and see if you like it. To give more insight on what might be fun for you might be what brought you to look at these options in the first place.
Yeah, the "fun factor" is rather subjective. its even harder to explain haha. I find it fun when I change the outcomes of an encounter (both combat or social), those moments when the whole party goes like "holy shit!". The Wizard feels like a Class that could do that quite a few times during a campaign, both in and out of combat.
And that raised another question... What about Sorcerers? Draconic Sorcerer to be more precise. How are they compared to Divination/Evocation Wizards? Do they only shine on DPR/Charisma situations? Or can they keep up with the Wizard's toolbox?
It's pretty hard to keep up with the wizard's toolbox. Big list and the only class that does not need to prep / know rituals to use them (tome pact or ritual caster feat aside). Based on the description of "fun" I would say you would probably enjoy the diviner more than evoker because of portent. I prefer sorcerers because of meta-magic with the caveat that sorcerers are much more restricted in spells known (or available to be known) vs prepped. I don't worry about "thematic" spells at every spell level and just pick what I think are good spells. Sorcery points are limited but can be applied more often than portent.
If you want fun factor, lore bards are a solid choice based on the criteria above. They do not have the range of offensive spells diviners do and cannot cast as many spells per day, but bardic inspiration dice are used more often than portents or applied meta-magic, they know more spells than sorcerers, and they can rely on skill benefits instead of magic a lot of the time. The spells available on the bard spell list suit crowd control / status effects while the magical secrets can supplement the playstyle.
Hmm... To be honest, I dont really see myself playing a Bard... the potential "comic" side of the class I find amusing, but the musical is kinda boring to me. Im really stuck between those 3 Subclasses... Divination, Evocation and Draconic.
Portent seems really fun and game changing, definitely will give those "Holy shit!" moments. At the same time, I like to blow shit up too haha! Evocation and Draconic seems to be experts on that. Overall, I think I would pick Wizard over Sorcerer, but its not an 100% confident pick. I'd pick Wizard because they seem closer to what a Mage feels like to me. My "magical references" tend to come from the mmorpgs that I've played throughout my life. The most recent one would be Classic WoW, where a Mage looks a lot like an Evocation Wizard, because their skills are mostly based on Fire/Frost/Arcane. Damaging skills like fireball, frostbolt, blizzard, cone of cold, frost nova, arcane explosion... combined with utility skills like blink, polymorph, teleport, conjure food. That's the "type of magic" that I enjoy.
But at the same time, I would definitely see a Draconic Sorcerer being able to do those stuff too. That's why I havent made up my mind just yet. And also the fact that I have a big flaw, which is trying to choose the "best" class, the "best" race... etc.. Im a bit of a competitive person, so I tend to min-max a bit in life. I tend to dwell on choices for a bit, until Im confortable that I made the "best" decision. A bit foolish, but I cant help it.
Draconic sorcerers have more survivability than wizards with their natural mage armor and +1 to HP. If survivability were a category (maybe it should be), specifically draconic ancestry sorcerers have an advantage there.
They have mostly the same attack spells so DPR will be similar. Draconic ancestry will get a bonus to elemental damage to match the evoker, and metamagic can even turn it in the sorcerer's favor in this category.
Same goes for Crowd control and support as DPR. Mostly the same spells plus metamagic.
Sorcerers lose to wizards in utility. Wizards learn more spells and can cast rituals without preparing them. Sorcerers can't even cast rituals.
Social is more in the sorcerer's favor with their inclination toward CHA. Sorcerers also have some of the more useful charm spells, plus metamagic like subtle spell can be useful here. Hard to compete with the diviner's ability to cast divination spells at a discount though, which is useful in a different way.
Exploration goes back to Wizard. I don't think sorcerer has a single applicable trait for this (at least not until they get a natural fly speed at level 14). They still get most of the movement spells wizards have.
Someone mentioned bards. Playing music is the "default" for bard casting, but any form of art your DM approves would fit. Bit it singing or poetry, I've even heard of someone playing a painter bard that painted their spells to life.
Diviner is ahead of evoker in most categories when it matters because of portent, expert divination, and third eye. Sculpt spell is very useful even if it does not increase damage directly, and evokers get potent cantrip and empowered evocation for better damage than diviners later. Limiting the levels to 12th lost overchannel, which is probably the best reason to take evoker.
DPR -- Wizards are not great at direct damage. Area damage (and effects) is what they are good at but weapon users tend to be a lot better due to getting ability modifiers added on to each attack while wizards do not typically get that bonus or multiple attacks to stack it. Evokers improve but by the time they are getting bonuses extra attack is already well ahead. Being able to launch a party friendly AoE damage effect is pretty awesome though, when it comes up.
CC -- Status effects and AoE are bread and butter to wizards. They excel in this area.
Utility -- I find this odd. The magical utility is better than many other spell casters but it turns into the effective limited resource compared to the good enough mundane options debate. I prefer relying on skills and equipment because using utility spells are often just a waste of a slot. Except those times when they are not. ;-) Differences in application and need and playstyles etc make this harder to quantify and tends to follow personal opinion on what's best. Wizards do have useful options and I'll leave it at that.
Social -- Other than INT applying some checks in social situation or relying on spells that make CHA checks anyway wizards are low to mediocre. This is one of those areas where portent can be useful outside of combat.
Exploration -- This is a lot like utility. I find spells for exploration are often just a waste of a slot over just using skills and equipment. Except those times when it might matter, which is generally a DM forcing the need.
Fun Factor -- That is opinion. The only way to know that for sure for you is to try it out and see if you like it. To give more insight on what might be fun for you might be what brought you to look at these options in the first place.
Yeah, the "fun factor" is rather subjective. its even harder to explain haha. I find it fun when I change the outcomes of an encounter (both combat or social), those moments when the whole party goes like "holy shit!". The Wizard feels like a Class that could do that quite a few times during a campaign, both in and out of combat.
And that raised another question... What about Sorcerers? Draconic Sorcerer to be more precise. How are they compared to Divination/Evocation Wizards? Do they only shine on DPR/Charisma situations? Or can they keep up with the Wizard's toolbox?
It's pretty hard to keep up with the wizard's toolbox. Big list and the only class that does not need to prep / know rituals to use them (tome pact or ritual caster feat aside). Based on the description of "fun" I would say you would probably enjoy the diviner more than evoker because of portent. I prefer sorcerers because of meta-magic with the caveat that sorcerers are much more restricted in spells known (or available to be known) vs prepped. I don't worry about "thematic" spells at every spell level and just pick what I think are good spells. Sorcery points are limited but can be applied more often than portent.
If you want fun factor, lore bards are a solid choice based on the criteria above. They do not have the range of offensive spells diviners do and cannot cast as many spells per day, but bardic inspiration dice are used more often than portents or applied meta-magic, they know more spells than sorcerers, and they can rely on skill benefits instead of magic a lot of the time. The spells available on the bard spell list suit crowd control / status effects while the magical secrets can supplement the playstyle.
Hmm... To be honest, I dont really see myself playing a Bard... the potential "comic" side of the class I find amusing, but the musical is kinda boring to me. Im really stuck between those 3 Subclasses... Divination, Evocation and Draconic.
Portent seems really fun and game changing, definitely will give those "Holy shit!" moments. At the same time, I like to blow shit up too haha! Evocation and Draconic seems to be experts on that. Overall, I think I would pick Wizard over Sorcerer, but its not an 100% confident pick. I'd pick Wizard because they seem closer to what a Mage feels like to me. My "magical references" tend to come from the mmorpgs that I've played throughout my life. The most recent one would be Classic WoW, where a Mage looks a lot like an Evocation Wizard, because their skills are mostly based on Fire/Frost/Arcane. Damaging skills like fireball, frostbolt, blizzard, cone of cold, frost nova, arcane explosion... combined with utility skills like blink, polymorph, teleport, conjure food. That's the "type of magic" that I enjoy.
But at the same time, I would definitely see a Draconic Sorcerer being able to do those stuff too. That's why I havent made up my mind just yet. And also the fact that I have a big flaw, which is trying to choose the "best" class, the "best" race... etc.. Im a bit of a competitive person, so I tend to min-max a bit in life. I tend to dwell on choices for a bit, until Im confortable that I made the "best" decision. A bit foolish, but I cant help it.
edit: grammar
How much music is involved is more preference than requirement. There's no comic side of the class until someone adds it. They were based on the fili, skald, and jongleur following legends like Amergin or Taliesin. They were prominent in real world history and had similar models in cultures across the planet.
The modern tropes exist as well but they do not replace the classic representation. It's up to you on how you want to represent the character but the comical version is definitely not standard and usually a sign someone is not familiar with the relevant mythology. You can go with a minstrel, a bard, a warrior poet, a philosopher, or something more exotic like ghost whisperers curing plagues (biwa yoshi).
Bards cover a lot. ;-)
Where they really shine is enhancing the party.
Ironically singing and chanting is often part of rituals to the point "chant" is a root to enchanter. I can give plenty of background info here.
There is no "best" class. They all have advantages and disadvantages. If you want that surge potential that's more sorcerer. If you want versatility that's more wizard or bard.
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Diviner is ahead of evoker in most categories when it matters because of portent, expert divination, and third eye. Sculpt spell is very useful even if it does not increase damage directly, and evokers get potent cantrip and empowered evocation for better damage than diviners later. Limiting the levels to 12th lost overchannel, which is probably the best reason to take evoker.
Well, these are the same class with the same spells, so there is only 3 features (4th at level 14) that set them apart. So they will tie in a lot if categories.
Yeah, the "fun factor" is rather subjective. its even harder to explain haha. I find it fun when I change the outcomes of an encounter (both combat or social), those moments when the whole party goes like "holy shit!". The Wizard feels like a Class that could do that quite a few times during a campaign, both in and out of combat.
And that raised another question... What about Sorcerers? Draconic Sorcerer to be more precise. How are they compared to Divination/Evocation Wizards? Do they only shine on DPR/Charisma situations? Or can they keep up with the Wizard's toolbox?
Same question for you DxJxC.. How are Draconic Sorcerers compared to Divination/Evocation Wizards? Do they only shine on DPR/Charisma situations? Or can they keep up with the Wizard's toolbox?
As for Draconic Sorcerers, I'd say they're not the best at any of those things. They do them all well though and it does have better defenses. It's level 6 ability is nice for damage as long as you're not fighting something with resistance or immunity to your dragons specific damage type. It would put it on par with the evocation wizard on DPR I suppose. The evocation wizard basically gets the same ability at 10 but extending to all evocation spells. So who knows!
Hope this helps!
It's pretty hard to keep up with the wizard's toolbox. Big list and the only class that does not need to prep / know rituals to use them (tome pact or ritual caster feat aside). Based on the description of "fun" I would say you would probably enjoy the diviner more than evoker because of portent. I prefer sorcerers because of meta-magic with the caveat that sorcerers are much more restricted in spells known (or available to be known) vs prepped. I don't worry about "thematic" spells at every spell level and just pick what I think are good spells. Sorcery points are limited but can be applied more often than portent.
If you want fun factor, lore bards are a solid choice based on the criteria above. They do not have the range of offensive spells diviners do and cannot cast as many spells per day, but bardic inspiration dice are used more often than portents or applied meta-magic, they know more spells than sorcerers, and they can rely on skill benefits instead of magic a lot of the time. The spells available on the bard spell list suit crowd control / status effects while the magical secrets can supplement the playstyle.
Hmm... To be honest, I dont really see myself playing a Bard... the potential "comic" side of the class I find amusing, but the musical is kinda boring to me. Im really stuck between those 3 Subclasses... Divination, Evocation and Draconic.
Portent seems really fun and game changing, definitely will give those "Holy shit!" moments. At the same time, I like to blow shit up too haha! Evocation and Draconic seems to be experts on that. Overall, I think I would pick Wizard over Sorcerer, but its not an 100% confident pick. I'd pick Wizard because they seem closer to what a Mage feels like to me. My "magical references" tend to come from the mmorpgs that I've played throughout my life. The most recent one would be Classic WoW, where a Mage looks a lot like an Evocation Wizard, because their skills are mostly based on Fire/Frost/Arcane. Damaging skills like fireball, frostbolt, blizzard, cone of cold, frost nova, arcane explosion... combined with utility skills like blink, polymorph, teleport, conjure food. That's the "type of magic" that I enjoy.
But at the same time, I would definitely see a Draconic Sorcerer being able to do those stuff too. That's why I havent made up my mind just yet. And also the fact that I have a big flaw, which is trying to choose the "best" class, the "best" race... etc.. Im a bit of a competitive person, so I tend to min-max a bit in life. I tend to dwell on choices for a bit, until Im confortable that I made the "best" decision. A bit foolish, but I cant help it.
edit: grammar
Bit late responding.
Draconic sorcerers have more survivability than wizards with their natural mage armor and +1 to HP. If survivability were a category (maybe it should be), specifically draconic ancestry sorcerers have an advantage there.
They have mostly the same attack spells so DPR will be similar. Draconic ancestry will get a bonus to elemental damage to match the evoker, and metamagic can even turn it in the sorcerer's favor in this category.
Same goes for Crowd control and support as DPR. Mostly the same spells plus metamagic.
Sorcerers lose to wizards in utility. Wizards learn more spells and can cast rituals without preparing them. Sorcerers can't even cast rituals.
Social is more in the sorcerer's favor with their inclination toward CHA. Sorcerers also have some of the more useful charm spells, plus metamagic like subtle spell can be useful here. Hard to compete with the diviner's ability to cast divination spells at a discount though, which is useful in a different way.
Exploration goes back to Wizard. I don't think sorcerer has a single applicable trait for this (at least not until they get a natural fly speed at level 14). They still get most of the movement spells wizards have.
Someone mentioned bards. Playing music is the "default" for bard casting, but any form of art your DM approves would fit. Bit it singing or poetry, I've even heard of someone playing a painter bard that painted their spells to life.
How much music is involved is more preference than requirement. There's no comic side of the class until someone adds it. They were based on the fili, skald, and jongleur following legends like Amergin or Taliesin. They were prominent in real world history and had similar models in cultures across the planet.
The modern tropes exist as well but they do not replace the classic representation. It's up to you on how you want to represent the character but the comical version is definitely not standard and usually a sign someone is not familiar with the relevant mythology. You can go with a minstrel, a bard, a warrior poet, a philosopher, or something more exotic like ghost whisperers curing plagues (biwa yoshi).
Bards cover a lot. ;-)
Where they really shine is enhancing the party.
Ironically singing and chanting is often part of rituals to the point "chant" is a root to enchanter. I can give plenty of background info here.
There is no "best" class. They all have advantages and disadvantages. If you want that surge potential that's more sorcerer. If you want versatility that's more wizard or bard.