I was wondering what some good feats for wizards would be. I'm fairly new to the game, as was wondering if there are any specific ones I should consider taking.
So you know what I'm playing:
Fire Genasi Order of Scribes Wizard. Currently 3rd level. I'm trying to play him as a Support/ Battlefield Control wizard.
Outside the usual Resilient (CON) and Warcaster to help maintain concentration on your spells, Telekinetic is a hidden gem for a Wizard. It makes your Mage Hand invisible and removes the VS components for it. The Shenanigans you can pull with this is already worth the feat. But you can also use your bonus action to potentially shove creatures. Is there a archer on a wall pelting your party with arrows? Give him a little nudge towards you to potentially have him fall off the wall. A scary enemy is in your face and you got no spell slots to Misty Step? Try to shove it back 5 ft so you can make a run for it without triggering a AOO.
Another feat worth considering is Fey Touched because a free Misty Step is bomb.
What’s your int score? ASI is often a great choice, but if it’s an odd number a half feat may be better. Or also if int and something else like dex or con are odd then giving a +1 to two abilities.
I'd go +2 in Int, then. it's kind of boring, but its effective, will make your spells hit more often, enemies save less often, allow you to have an extra spell prepared, and bump a few skills. Plus, if you're new, it's just a flat, passive bonus, so its one less thing to worry about tracking and using, rather than adding in some extra power.
Casters need to always focus on getting their casting stat to 20, before getting adventurous with other feats. While a weapon user might be able to compensate for a low to-hit bonus by finding Advantage somehow.... casters very rarely will have Advantage on their spell attacks, will often have disadvantage (if someone's knocked the target prone) or be firing through half- or three-quarters cover (+2 or even +5 AC for the enemy), or will be casting save-based spells that are just a straight up numbers game with no way to improve the math in your favor. If a Fighter misses, they can probably swing a second, or third, or even fourth time... and/or Action Surge, to get another fifth, sixth, or seventh go at it! As a caster, if your single spell attack or single save misses... that's it, turn over. And not just turn over, spell slot wasted if it wasn't a cantrip!
Being a Wizard, your fun creative features don't come from feats, they come from the spells you cast. Get Intelligence to 20 ASAP by level 8 so that you're casting as well as you possibly can. After that, then you can start to think about Warcaster (better concentration, spells as OAs instead of staff bonks), Resilient (Con for better concentration, or Dex for less squish), Polearm Master (with Warcaster, spells as OAs when an enemy first tries to run up to you BEFORE they can attack), Tough (less squish), or Skill Expert (+1 Dex, Expertise) would be useful at 12, 16, and 19.
The telekinetic feat gives a wonderful bonus action that doesn’t require spell slots and doesn’t interfere with your casting.
it can be used to move an enemy or ally around by 5ft. This can move allies to safety or enemies back into a spell effect you going on. The feat gives the ability to willingly fail the save, which is why it can reliably move allies. The ability to fail a saving throw is not a general rule, so spells and features must give the option to willingly fail.
it also turns magehand invisible while taking away all the cantrips spell component requirements. If you go with the feats intent, it extends the range of the hand too.
The tricky thing with Wizard is that INT doesn't just affect your ability to hit enemies, it also determines how many spells you prepare each morning. So until you get it to max it's not just a question of your spellcasting ability, it's outright an extra spell every time you boost through an ASI.
That said, I think an 18 will get you through most games if you see a feat that really appeals to you, but in your case I would take the ASI to int at levels 4 and 8, but your stats are good enough for a Wizard that you can just play with feats for the rest of the game.
Alert is fantastic for a Wizard. Not only because the amazing bonus to initiative and the fact that you’ll not be caught in surprise anymore, but because heavy obscurement imposes disadvantage to creatures trying to attack you. As a Wizard, you have a lot of ways to generate that without jeopardizing your allies (Fog Cloud, Pyrotechnics, Sleet Storm, etc).
Spell sniper is handy for the squishy d6 casters, since it doubles your attack spell range, allows you to ignore half and three-quarter cover, AND allows you to learn one attack cantrip from any spell list. With your doubled range, you can take a step back and deal damage from afar, without putting yourself at risk of being attacked or counterspelled.
I'm planning on using this feat on my sorcerer to get access to Eldritch Blast, since sorcerers and warlocks are both CHA-based.
Spell sniper is not a half feat. There is no +1 option to any attribute.
it does have an interesting effect on many spells though. The feats interaction with steel wind strike is pretty cool though. It doesn’t increase damage or targets directly, but does increase average damage by bypassing Cover to increase chance to hit. It’s distance increase also increases the area available to teleport substantially.
I also find that cover is one of the most important game mechanics in the game since quite a few game features introduced or created are effected by it or negate it. I also find that cover is basically completely ignored by the community at large unless it’s total cover. There’s a large disparity between the features designed to work together and what the community actually does.
Be careful with Spell Sniper. Being far back means that your friends are that much farther away when you get jumped. Wizards are a big enough threat that smart enemies would do that.
I'm a big fan of stat boosts. As C_C said, your class features are largely your spells, and another +2 INT means you have another spell at your disposal each day. That can be really useful as your spellbook fills up.
I was wondering what some good feats for wizards would be. I'm fairly new to the game, as was wondering if there are any specific ones I should consider taking.
So you know what I'm playing:
Fire Genasi Order of Scribes Wizard. Currently 3rd level. I'm trying to play him as a Support/ Battlefield Control wizard.
Outside the usual Resilient (CON) and Warcaster to help maintain concentration on your spells, Telekinetic is a hidden gem for a Wizard. It makes your Mage Hand invisible and removes the VS components for it. The Shenanigans you can pull with this is already worth the feat. But you can also use your bonus action to potentially shove creatures. Is there a archer on a wall pelting your party with arrows? Give him a little nudge towards you to potentially have him fall off the wall. A scary enemy is in your face and you got no spell slots to Misty Step? Try to shove it back 5 ft so you can make a run for it without triggering a AOO.
Another feat worth considering is Fey Touched because a free Misty Step is bomb.
What’s your int score? ASI is often a great choice, but if it’s an odd number a half feat may be better. Or also if int and something else like dex or con are odd then giving a +1 to two abilities.
My scores are: Int: 16, Con: 16, Dex: 13, Wis: 12, Cha: 10, Strength: 8
I'd go +2 in Int, then. it's kind of boring, but its effective, will make your spells hit more often, enemies save less often, allow you to have an extra spell prepared, and bump a few skills. Plus, if you're new, it's just a flat, passive bonus, so its one less thing to worry about tracking and using, rather than adding in some extra power.
Alright
Casters need to always focus on getting their casting stat to 20, before getting adventurous with other feats. While a weapon user might be able to compensate for a low to-hit bonus by finding Advantage somehow.... casters very rarely will have Advantage on their spell attacks, will often have disadvantage (if someone's knocked the target prone) or be firing through half- or three-quarters cover (+2 or even +5 AC for the enemy), or will be casting save-based spells that are just a straight up numbers game with no way to improve the math in your favor. If a Fighter misses, they can probably swing a second, or third, or even fourth time... and/or Action Surge, to get another fifth, sixth, or seventh go at it! As a caster, if your single spell attack or single save misses... that's it, turn over. And not just turn over, spell slot wasted if it wasn't a cantrip!
Being a Wizard, your fun creative features don't come from feats, they come from the spells you cast. Get Intelligence to 20 ASAP by level 8 so that you're casting as well as you possibly can. After that, then you can start to think about Warcaster (better concentration, spells as OAs instead of staff bonks), Resilient (Con for better concentration, or Dex for less squish), Polearm Master (with Warcaster, spells as OAs when an enemy first tries to run up to you BEFORE they can attack), Tough (less squish), or Skill Expert (+1 Dex, Expertise) would be useful at 12, 16, and 19.
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I'm going to make this way harder than it needs to be.
The telekinetic feat gives a wonderful bonus action that doesn’t require spell slots and doesn’t interfere with your casting.
it can be used to move an enemy or ally around by 5ft. This can move allies to safety or enemies back into a spell effect you going on. The feat gives the ability to willingly fail the save, which is why it can reliably move allies. The ability to fail a saving throw is not a general rule, so spells and features must give the option to willingly fail.
it also turns magehand invisible while taking away all the cantrips spell component requirements. If you go with the feats intent, it extends the range of the hand too.
Thanks!
The tricky thing with Wizard is that INT doesn't just affect your ability to hit enemies, it also determines how many spells you prepare each morning. So until you get it to max it's not just a question of your spellcasting ability, it's outright an extra spell every time you boost through an ASI.
That said, I think an 18 will get you through most games if you see a feat that really appeals to you, but in your case I would take the ASI to int at levels 4 and 8, but your stats are good enough for a Wizard that you can just play with feats for the rest of the game.
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Alert is fantastic for a Wizard. Not only because the amazing bonus to initiative and the fact that you’ll not be caught in surprise anymore, but because heavy obscurement imposes disadvantage to creatures trying to attack you. As a Wizard, you have a lot of ways to generate that without jeopardizing your allies (Fog Cloud, Pyrotechnics, Sleet Storm, etc).
Spell sniper is handy for the squishy d6 casters, since it doubles your attack spell range, allows you to ignore half and three-quarter cover, AND allows you to learn one attack cantrip from any spell list. With your doubled range, you can take a step back and deal damage from afar, without putting yourself at risk of being attacked or counterspelled.
I'm planning on using this feat on my sorcerer to get access to Eldritch Blast, since sorcerers and warlocks are both CHA-based.
Spell sniper is not a half feat. There is no +1 option to any attribute.
it does have an interesting effect on many spells though. The feats interaction with steel wind strike is pretty cool though. It doesn’t increase damage or targets directly, but does increase average damage by bypassing Cover to increase chance to hit. It’s distance increase also increases the area available to teleport substantially.
I also find that cover is one of the most important game mechanics in the game since quite a few game features introduced or created are effected by it or negate it. I also find that cover is basically completely ignored by the community at large unless it’s total cover. There’s a large disparity between the features designed to work together and what the community actually does.
Be careful with Spell Sniper. Being far back means that your friends are that much farther away when you get jumped. Wizards are a big enough threat that smart enemies would do that.
I'm a big fan of stat boosts. As C_C said, your class features are largely your spells, and another +2 INT means you have another spell at your disposal each day. That can be really useful as your spellbook fills up.
My homebrew subclasses (full list here)
(Artificer) Swordmage | Glasswright | (Barbarian) Path of the Savage Embrace
(Bard) College of Dance | (Fighter) Warlord | Cannoneer
(Monk) Way of the Elements | (Ranger) Blade Dancer
(Rogue) DaggerMaster | Inquisitor | (Sorcerer) Riftwalker | Spellfist
(Warlock) The Swarm
Raise int to 20 ASAP. Then probably resilient con. Warcaster is better for gishes .