You are a wizard, part of a tradition that has lifted mountains into the sky and sunk islands into the depths. You are the reason the universe puts limits on magic. It is your curiosity, your brilliance, your power that changes the world...so long as you've transcribed everything correctly.

But what is a wizard without their crooked hat or gnarled staff? To help make sure your wizard has the necessary equipment for their adventures, here are 10 of our favorite magic items for the wizard class. If you don't have access to one of these items on your character sheet, ensure that you've bought it on the D&D Beyond marketplace or that it's being shared with you by a friend or DM with a master-tier subscription.

1. Arcane Grimoire
2. Dragon-Touched Focus
3. Elven Chain
4. Enduring Spellbook
5. Hat of Wizardry
6. Professor Orb
7. Robe of the Archmagi
8. Rod of Absorption
9. Spellbooks from Tasha's
10. Staff of the Magi

Dungeon Masters’ Discretion

Remember, some of the items you see in the list below may not be available or accessible in your game’s setting. Talk to your DM if you are interested in any particular items, but understand that they must be judicious about what to allow and when.

Top 10 Magic Items For Wizards

1. Arcane Grimoire

Wondrous Item, varies (requires attunement by a wizard)

First up on our list is the arcane grimoire, a spellbook designed to enhance the power of the magic it contains. Its enchantment scales to its rarity, with uncommon grimoires providing a +1 bonus to your spell attack bonus and spell save DC, with rare and very rare tomes providing +2 and +3, respectively. As a spellbook, this magic item can only be attuned to by a wizard.

While the passive bonus to your magic power is probably the item's most valuable trait, it's also become customary for items of this nature to boast an additional ability unique to its class. The arcane grimoire amplifies the wizard's Arcane Recovery feature, increasing the number of spell slots it regains by 1. One spell slot level may not seem like much of a boost, but remember that sometimes a 4th-level banishment will end an encounter much, much faster than that beloved 3rd-level fireball. 

With a selling point as strong as "What if your spellbook were simply better?" it's hard to imagine any wizard passing up this powerful item.

2. Dragon-Touched Focus

Wondrous Item, varies (requires attunement by a spellcaster)

Fizban's Treasury of Dragons introduced us to Hoard Magic Items, which have been steeped in the ambient magic of a dragon's hoard, usually for years. These items begin as "Slumbering (Uncommon)" and, after enough time in a suitable hoard, increase in power to become "Ascendant (Legendary)." Often, these benefits correspond to the color or family of the dragon in whose hoard the item resided. If you aren't playing in a campaign that takes you to a dragon lair, these items may be better suited for players in a game that grants magic items during character creation.

The dragon-touched focus can gain many abilities throughout its lifetime, too numerous to review in great detail here. Besides functioning as a basic spellcasting focus, this item has a little something for every wizard, including but not limited to: free spells, advantage on initiative, and the power to treat any spell you cast as though it were cast at 9th-level once per day. I can certainly see why the dragons hoard them.

3. Elven Chain

Armor (chain shirt), rare

Are you growing tired of casting mage armor every morning? Looking for a way to increase your AC without spending a precious Ability Score Improvement on Dexterity? Allow the elves, with their great wisdom and long history, to present you elven chain.

Without proficiency in light, medium, or heavy armor, your wizard has not been able to don any armor at all without severe consequences. Elven chain neatly avoids these penalties by granting its wearer proficiency in itself. So you can just throw this +1 chainmail on like a shirt and hop right into battle.

So how does this stack up against the wizard's staple, mage armor? Mage armor will remain your strongest defense if your Dexterity score is 18 or higher. If your Dexterity score is 16-17, elven chain will provide the same protection as mage armor, and your wizard can save the trouble of preparing and casting the spell daily. If your Dexterity score is 15 or lower, then elven chain will provide more protection than mage armor. Lastly, keep in mind that if you're using other items that only bestow benefits to an unarmored bearer or abilities that require light armor or no armor, then elven chain may not be your ideal option.

4. Enduring Spellbook

Wondrous Item, common

Many items on this list are as flashy as they are powerful, with lofty reputations preceding them – these qualities may make them challenging to acquire in your game's setting. Magical items like the enduring spellbook might seem meager by comparison, but an enchantment this simple could save a lifetime of work.

When you carry years worth of transcription on your person at all times, you may get a little worried about its safety and durability. After all, you're an adventurer and have likely been in all sorts of strange and wild situations. But fear no further! The enduring spellbook cannot be damaged by fire, water, or the passage of time. It's perfect for that wizard who wants to explore new depths or for that elf scholar who doesn't like to transcribe a new spellbook every century as theirs wears down. 

5. Hat of Wizardry

Wondrous Item, common (requires attunement by a wizard)

Well, it's right there in the name! While wearing this presumably stylish hat, it can function as your spellcasting focus, which frees up your hands to take that two-handed swing with your quarterstaff or get an item from your bag. 

In addition, the hat of wizardry allows you to attempt to cast one cantrip per day that you do not already know, as long as you succeed on a DC 10 Intelligence (Arcana) check. With the longest spell list in the game, the wizard can access over thirty cantrips. Perhaps you don't think you'll use spells like mold earth or mending often enough to learn them, but you'll be grateful for the attempt to try casting them when you want to harry those bandits or fix your carriage's broken wheel.

6. Professor Orb

Wondrous Item, rare

One thing I have learned from the past 20 years' worth of fantasy media is the popularity of the "floating little helper." People appreciate navigating the world with a bit of help from their friends, be they a pixie-like companion or artificially intelligent handheld computer. D&D already allows you to summon a familiar, but the professor orb is there for when you need an expert's take — or if you just want your DM to adopt a silly voice for a while.

The professor orb is an expert on four narrow academic subjects, with the "personality of a scholar," fluency in four languages, a +9 bonus to Intelligence checks about its areas of expertise, and the ability to transport itself using mage hand.

The professor orb is a gift to DMs and players alike. The DM gets a fun project — building the orb's personality, expertise, stats, and voice — and the players get their own floating little academic.

7. Robe of the Archmagi

Wondrous Item, legendary (requires attunement by a sorcerer, warlock, or wizard)

The robe of the archmagi is a paragon of wizard equipment, the shining star that enchanters hope to create and adventurers hope to acquire. This robe bestows an AC of 15 + your Dexterity modifier, grants you advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects, and increases your spell save DC and spell attack rolls by +2. Put another way, the robe of the archmagi provides the same AC as studded leather, +3, with all of the abilities of a mantle of spell resistance and most of the abilities of an arcane grimoire, +2. 

With enchantments that powerful, it's no surprise these robes are the subject of legends.

8. Rod of Absorption

Rod, very rare (requires attunement)

Have you ever wished you could carry around an arcane battery, a storage container for spell slots that you could pull from on-demand? Akin to a pearl of power or a ring of spell storing, but even more flexible and on an even grander scale? Allow me to present the rod of absorption, the best arcane battery in the game and one of the most potent defensive magic items ever created.

If you (you alone, and not as part of an area of effect) are being targeted by a spell, you can use your reaction to say "No thank you" and cancel the spell's effect, absorbing its energy. The rod has 50 charges that can be filled when absorbing incoming spells, and these charges can then be expended by the bearer as though they were available spell slots. For example, if you cast misty step while holding this rod and it has at least 2 absorbed charges, you can cast the spell either with your 2nd level spell slots, or cast it by expending 2 of the rod's charges.

Use it wisely. Once all 50 of these charges have been filled and then spent, the rod becomes nonmagical.

9. Spellbooks from Tasha's

Wondrous Items, rare (requires attunement by a wizard)

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything introduced a series of magic items that can only be attuned to by a wizard, all of which can function as spellbooks. All but one of these ten items correspond to a school of magic — abjuration, conjuration, divination, enchantment, evocation, illusion, necromancy, or transmutation — and they come bearing a handful of spells from that school. In addition, each item has 3 charges, and you can expend these charges to replace prepared spells with those of the item's school or to trigger a unique ability whenever you cast a spell of that school.

So, why ten items and only eight schools of magic? In part, because the school of conjuration was given two items, one tailored to conjuration's role in summoning or creating creatures and the other to conjuration's role in teleportation and planar travel. The tenth item, rising above the rest but designed with the same structure, is the crystalline chronicle. This device provides a variety of spells and cantrips, and its three charges can be expended on abilities that are not specific to any one school of magic.

10. Staff of the Magi

Staff, legendary (requires attunement by a Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard)

Every shield needs its sword. The staff of the magi grants you a +2 bonus to spell attack rolls, a +2 bonus to attack and damage rolls, and has 50 charges with which it can cast 13 spells. (The staff can cast 19 spells, but 6 do not require charges.) 

But the staff is not limited to offense. Though it does have 7th-level fireball or lightning bolt if you need them, most of the staff's spells deal no damage at all. In addition, the staff of the magi grants you advantage on saving throws against spells and allows you to absorb the power of incoming spells that target only you, similar to (though not quite as flexible as) the rod of absorption.

Lastly, try not to break it. The staff deals tremendous damage (up to 8 times the number of remaining charges) to creatures up to 30 feet away from it when it breaks.

Building a Wizard

Spells prepped, wand ready, robes looking stylish — you're ready to face whatever the world has in store. When it's time to name your character and roll their stats, head to D&D Beyond's Character Builder to get started!

Damen Cook (@damen_joseph) is a lifelong fantasy reader, writer, and gamer. If he woke up tomorrow in Faerun, he would bolt through the nearest fey crossing and drink from every stream and eat fruit from every tree in the Feywild until he found that sweet, sweet wild magic.