Quote from Ashrym >>

I don't usually bother with blur or mirror image for mastery.  Blur is only better than mirror image if a person is expecting to need to use it against a lot of attacks over time and capable of maintaining that concentration where mirror image gives better protection initially then hits that hard limit from the number of images available and also doesn't require concentration.  In both cases I can just use shield at will at that point and cover a lot of attacks and not use concentration, and not lose my 1st round attack casting a defensive spell.

 

 Yes, shield is better than both, but I was pointing out that mirror image is more useful than blur.

My personal take is yeah shield, misty step is probably the best choice or shield and mirror image. But, I'd look at my gameplay and specialty.

As a enchanter since you can make it so people don't know you charmed them charm person would be solid, though I prefer tashas, I think its hilarious./  2nd level again if a  enchanter suggestion or hold person.  Remember you twin it for free as well.

illusionist silent image, as you can make objects solid with it its a really low level, smaller at will wall of stone. mirror image for the 2nd level spell.

conjurers fog cloud is solid, but have you considered unseen servant.  Yes its a ritual but you can summon 10 of them in a minute. 2nd level misty step is on point and great. 

abjurers shield or absorb elements is solid. 2nd level the only option is arcane lock and with its material component, id pass there and go with something else mirror image works well its a defensive feel even if done through illusion .

Evokers, necromancer its a bit harder burning hands, ray of enfeeblement etc just arent effective after a certain level, though thunderwave and earth tremor may always find a use. I'd probably go with shield and misty step or mirror image. for evokers warding wind maybe

Dviners, 1st level shield probably but there are reasons you might not want to have detect magic, identity, comprehend languages just as a ritual and be able to cast them on the fly without preparing them.  2nd see invisible, yeah your diviner ability CAN cover this but its range is 10' and with the spell you can cover multiple areas like use the ability for darkvision if you don't have it and let the spell his invisible/ethereal. detect thoughts is also a pretty solid choice though its concentration based, still we found uses for it at every level of play.

For my level 20 War Mage with around 29+ AC, I don’t bother with the Shield Spell because it’s redundant at that range. Instead I use Magic Missile - with Power Surge, War Caster and my lower-than-average Intelligence, it’s the perfect AoO spell.  3d4+3+9 = 15-24 Force Damage (Ave. 19.5) that automatically hits is really efficient.  And I can save my Level 1 slots for Absorb Elements vs those Meteor Storms. 

How did you manage to pump your AC up that high?

I mean, bladesingers can wear +3 studded leather, have a base AC of 20, then with Shield that's 25, and with Bladesinging that makes it 30, so Wizards can have very high AC's (normally temporarily), this isn't applicable to ever wizard. 

War Wizards don't have that, and even the 30 you came up with is with blade song active. War Wizards have a pseudo shield reaction with their class ability so I'd probably not take it with them but how any wizard gets their Ac to 29+ I have no idea. a level of life cleric and then what plate+3, shield +3, weapon of defense+3?

I wasn't saying War Wizard would have it. I was just saying a 29+ AC is feasible, and with Spell Mastery you can have that for 2 minutes a day, no spell slots expended. 

Sure, my point was that was very specific.  Outside a blade singer hitting 29 AC by just being a mage is pretty damn hard especially without shield.

Be honest though, how many wizards don't take shield. With how squishy they are, it is fairly needed to keep them alive. Most of the subclasses also have low-level abilities that directly help them stay alive (abjurers, war wizards, bladesingers, chronurgists, diviners)

Very few don't take shield, but the one actively being discussed didn't

Depends on your school. Abjuration is shield 100% to get your ward and the recharge for free between fights. Misty step seems to be the choice for 2nd for the most part. I haven't changed from those 2 on my Wizard since I took them, but I'm Abjuration. Other schools may have better options.

Agreed many of the specialties have spells that line up fairly well for being at will.  Evocation and necromancy not so much, unlimited level 1 burning hands really wont be useful. 

Yeah, 1st level damaging spells are outclassed by cantrips by level 11 often, besides AoE spells. 

I wouldn't choose a damaging spell for it, Combat Utility spells seem better. 

My Conjuror had Unseen Servant and Misty Step.

While Unseen Servant is a ritual, it takes 10 minutes to ritual cast. For a lazy wizard this is too long to wait. Plus it means you can have a lot of them active at once.

Misty Step is an obvious choice and it resets Benign Transposition so that's 60 ft of teleporting every turn if needed.

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I agree with consensus that a damage-spell is pointless for these choices as your cantrips can out-damage them. The only exception is if you want to exploit an additional effect (like Ray of Enfeeblement).

For those who want to always be able to scout ahead efficiently, Flock of Familiars is an interesting choice. You get 3 familiars to scout with and seeing/hearing through them no longer takes up your action and the range of this is increased to a mile. It does take a minute to cast but it lasts an hour, so that's fine for keeping it active throughout your adventuring day. The increased range makes them great for combining with sight-based spells like Arcane Gate to make portals on higher ledges or round corners.

Being an illusion wizard, i will definitly take silent image for the 1st lvl spell. Then either Misty Step or Mirror Image for the 2nd lvl spell

If this wizard takes one level in fighter (Dex should be high enough) then with the original idea, the AC skyrockets to around 30 (+3 studded leather, +3 shield, shield spell, 20 Dex). And with the wizard capstone being as bad as it is (I know it has its uses but still), she wouldn't you?

20 dex is a pretty big ask of a caster. Even as a high elf or feral tiefling you're probably only starting with a 16 Dex at best. You're looking at two ASIs to max your casting stat, usually an ASI into one of the concentration-buffing feats, so you've got one ASI left from there. 18 Dex at best, assuming you don't want to buff Con instead or find a different feat. In theory, yes, you could grab a book to push to 20, but now you're looking at a legendary item and two very rare items that have nothing to do with your actual wizardry. That's either a pretty huge ask of your DM or you gave up the Wizard essentials in a lot of other places.

It's also... not even particularly needed. Let's be a bit more practical and say 16 Dex - we found another feat we wanted, or we buffed our Con instead. We grab a Robe of the Archmagi instead of that +3 Studded Leather, and a Staff of Power over that +3 Shield. We're already at 20 AC. If we happen to be a Bladesinger (which is pretty much the go-to for a Wizard with a dumb AC), that Dex book can instead be an Int book and now we're at 26 AC before Shield.

Where the heck do I find bladesinger?

Quote from Gay_Bard_Necromancer >>

Where the heck do I find bladesinger?

 Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide.

Quote from Gay_Bard_Necromancer >>

Where the heck do I find bladesinger?

 
It can be found in Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide.