After playing this game for a very long time and mostly enjoying the versatility of Wizards, I have noticed I always select the same go-to battlefield control spells each level. It’s funny because I pick these spells regardless my school or origin, they are always there.
What are the control/offensive spells that always have a safe place in your lists?
Level 1: Sleep Level 2: Web Level 3: Hypnotic Pattern (sometimes Slow) Level 4: Polymorph Level 5: Wall of Force (sometimes Animate Objects)
I've been playing through a campaign with a Bard who focused on control as much as possible... he has a lot of the spells listed here, but by far the one he cast the most was Blindness/Deafness. Not because it's like... the best spell or anything, but it's one of the few control spells that doesn't require concentration. So generally there was a bigger, nastier spell he was concentrating on (usually hypnotic pattern, but it depended on the combat). Synaptic Static fulfills a similar function, but it's higher level so it's harder to spam the battlefield with it.
I suspect rime's binding ice will have a prominent place on lists like this soon enough
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Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock) Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric) Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue) Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Slow rules. One thing I'd underestimated before I played with it a little is how powerfully it works to undermine opponents with multiple attacks. Suddenly those half-dozen trolls or that hydra across the battlefield are much less scary.
Web is great - super useful in tunnel/hallway scenarios, especially.
Slow rules. One thing I'd underestimated before I played with it a little is how powerfully it works to undermine opponents with multiple attacks. Suddenly those half-dozen trolls or that hydra across the battlefield are much less scary.
Web is great - super useful in tunnel/hallway scenarios, especially.
What I love about Slow (specially against Hypnotic Pattern) is that it does not require sight to cast and no friendly-fire. So you can manage to cast in a safe spot to avoid Counterspell.
I remember to always start hard combats generating a thick fog with Pyrotechnics and then stay there for protection. I would just step out to visualize the battlefield and then go in the fog, casting Slow or Web without worrying about Counterspell. Nice.
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After playing this game for a very long time and mostly enjoying the versatility of Wizards, I have noticed I always select the same go-to battlefield control spells each level. It’s funny because I pick these spells regardless my school or origin, they are always there.
What are the control/offensive spells that always have a safe place in your lists?
Level 1: Sleep
Level 2: Web
Level 3: Hypnotic Pattern (sometimes Slow)
Level 4: Polymorph
Level 5: Wall of Force (sometimes Animate Objects)
Looks pretty similar to my regular picks. But sometimes if I'm feeling frisky I mix it up with these spells:
L1: Color Spray
L2: Suggestion, Levitate
L3: Enemies Abound
L4: Wall of Fire
L5: Bigby's Hand, Synaptic Static
I recently ran a control- focused wizard and these are ones I liked:
Level 1: color spray, fog cloud, longstrider (control can mean buffing allies too)
Level 2: Tasha's Mind Whip, levitate, web, blindness/deafness, earthbind (if you expect to go up against flying enemies)
Level 3: dispel magic, counterspell, slow (by far my favorite control spell), haste, fly
Level 4: Watery Sphere, otiluke's resilient sphere, and evard's black tentacles
Level 5: wall of force
Level 6: scatter (another of my favorites, which I finally got to use to great effect in this recent campaign!).
I've been playing through a campaign with a Bard who focused on control as much as possible... he has a lot of the spells listed here, but by far the one he cast the most was Blindness/Deafness. Not because it's like... the best spell or anything, but it's one of the few control spells that doesn't require concentration. So generally there was a bigger, nastier spell he was concentrating on (usually hypnotic pattern, but it depended on the combat). Synaptic Static fulfills a similar function, but it's higher level so it's harder to spam the battlefield with it.
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I suspect rime's binding ice will have a prominent place on lists like this soon enough
Active characters:
Carric Aquissar, elven wannabe artist in his deconstructionist period (Archfey warlock)
Lan Kidogo, mapach archaeologist and treasure hunter (Knowledge cleric)
Mardan Ferres, elven private investigator obsessed with that one unsolved murder (Assassin rogue)
Xhekhetiel, halfling survivor of a Betrayer Gods cult (Runechild sorcerer/fighter)
Slow rules. One thing I'd underestimated before I played with it a little is how powerfully it works to undermine opponents with multiple attacks. Suddenly those half-dozen trolls or that hydra across the battlefield are much less scary.
Web is great - super useful in tunnel/hallway scenarios, especially.
What I love about Slow (specially against Hypnotic Pattern) is that it does not require sight to cast and no friendly-fire. So you can manage to cast in a safe spot to avoid Counterspell.
I remember to always start hard combats generating a thick fog with Pyrotechnics and then stay there for protection. I would just step out to visualize the battlefield and then go in the fog, casting Slow or Web without worrying about Counterspell. Nice.