Wizard vs Mage

[Vanessa]

So I plan on making another caster, the last class I played was an Enchanter. Shes a lot of fun, but I want to try something with a little more damage as well as nuking power. My first thought was Wizard, I get to blast stuff, plus teleport around! But then I was reading some threads where people were saying Wizards are an afk class and very boring, that they only nuke once a fight, then sit down medding until the next one. Also I was reading that a Mage does almost as much damage nuke wise as Wizards, plus get really strong pets that add even better dps. So now I am kind of in a bind, I am not really sure which to go with. Maybe some of you can offer your personal opinions on the class, or point out some not so obvious advantages and disadvantages of each, to kind of help me make up my mind. I should also note that my friend has a level 21 Enchanter so I will probably be grouping with her alot lvl 20+ also. Does one work better then the other as a duo with an Enc? Any info/opinions will help, thanks guys!

[Destan]

I've played both an enchanter and wizard to max level on this server, so here is my take:

The wizard class is more challenging than the mage, and is very much an 'afk class' sometimes. In fast-paced group and raid settings you'll find yourself sitting through most of it, waiting for mana. However, when those 'oh shit' moments hit you are invaluable, burning that mob down at an incredible speed and saving the day. The mage is more versatile when it comes to what you can do alone. It's a much better class for farming gear, materials, or just straight cash. And it's more useful to an xp group since you can always provide something to each fight with the pet.

However, when it comes to pairing with the enchanter, it depends on how well you play the class. Mage pets can wreak havoc on enchanter control if they break mez at a crucial moment. Not to mention enchanters will generally be charming, which means two things: They are utilizing their pet as the bulk of the dps and they will need to root things to maintain control. A wizard contributes more to this than a mage being able to do more damage in a shorter amount and most importantly, wizards have root where mages do not (no, the earth pet isn't reliable enough). Not to mention the mobility a wizard provides is great.

So long story short: If you can stomach the leveling and subpar solo experience you get as a wizard you will enjoy pairing with your enchanter buddy (and he will enjoy you too). If you want to be a farming machine, you will still be able to partner up and be effective enough.

[renegadeofunk]

I'd take mage over wiz with a chanter duo. The enchanter would be going through the same motions as if he were charm soloing but with better dps. The main problem with both classes is that you have no heals so you need to keep recharming new pets and also hope the enchanter doesn't take too much damage to have to sit and regen. Shaman/druid/cleric would work a lot better if you're at all interested in those classes.

[Pyrion]

I would take a druid. It's the most wizard-like priest class, you can almost pretend to be a wizard. Druids port and root as well as a wizard. Nukes are a bit weaker of course, but better than the other priests. You also get snare which is great if you want to fear kite with your chanter buddy. Plus a snared charmed pet is a safe pet. Druid+chanter has the most complete set of abilities that i can imagine.

[Clark]

wiz, druid, mage, sham if you wanna duo with ench and be able to nuke

As an enchanter I'd rather level with a shaman over anything because they can malo/slow and tank if needed. Second would be druid, third mage (pet can tank if you get too low of mana from long fight), fourth wiz. Ofcourse cleric is amazing with enchanter too so you can slow NPC and CH pet. Very efficient.

[renegadeofunk]

I forgot to mention that necromancers are one of the best duos with an enchanter and it sounds like the type of class you'd be interested in. You have a fairly strong pet, you can heal (level 20), snare, root, fear, and dps well. Eventually you can even charm undead for double the fun. Your early life will also be easier because enchanters don't really come into their own until 35+ from a solo/duo standpoint.

[Tecmos Deception]

Wizard and enchanter is a better duo than mage and enchanter. The person who commented that mage pets will break roots and that that will be bad was right on the money. Roots lasting, and lasting a long time, are essential to an enchanter's success.

The wizard instead of the mage doesn't bring as much sustained damage, but the wizard DOES bring extra stuns and roots to the equation, more burst damage, and ports.


That said, a necro would be a better choice still, if you wanted to do it, primarily because the necro can help heal the enchanter, and, at higher levels, do awesome pulls with invis, IVU, undead lulls (plus enchanter with invis, ivu, and normal lulls), rez the chanter if things go bad, and other fun stuff like that.

[Vanessa]

Hey everyone thanks for the suggestions so far, I didnt even consider Druid or Necro because I just assumed they wouldnt be very good for a duo. I mean I know a Druid can heal/root/snare, but I figured that would be better for full groups. And the Necro, I thought that was like the very LAST pick for any group or duo? I was under the impression that Necros offered very very little to a group or a duo, I thought they were a completely solo class only, and were the very last choice for most people to want in a party. Someone a few posts said something like a Necro is like the Mage, just better...or something of that sort. Maybe some of you can elaborate on that? I havent considered Necro until now because I thought it was the class people played alone and not with others?

[Tecmos Deception]

Originally Posted by Vanessa [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Hey everyone thanks for the suggestions so far, I didnt even consider Druid or Necro because I just assumed they wouldnt be very good for a duo. I mean I know a Druid can heal/root/snare, but I figured that would be better for full groups. And the Necro, I thought that was like the very LAST pick for any group or duo? I was under the impression that Necros offered very very little to a group or a duo, I thought they were a completely solo class only, and were the very last choice for most people to want in a party. Someone a few posts said something like a Necro is like the Mage, just better...or something of that sort. Maybe some of you can elaborate on that? I havent considered Necro until now because I thought it was the class people played alone and not with others?

Druids can heal and buff, but that doesn't really make them a preferred choice for most groups. Their heals lack enough punch to do the job at high levels, and their buffs usually are redundant because of the presence of a cleric or shaman. Damage shields are underrated, though, imo. Druid would work fine with an enchanter, providing extra damage, buffs and heals for the enchanter, help with root CC, and ports.

Necros offer a ton to a duo OR a group. They are underappreciated because a lot of people don't know how necros can use their HUGE variety of spells to great effect in many different situations.

Originally Posted by diplo [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

i'm a mage and i used to duo fungi king/crypt with my buddy loraen back in the day.

can't say wizards can do the same =/

plus, you will get tells for exp groups as a mage.

Don't listen to this guy. Epic mages are unique snowflakes in the game, really, and if you start a mage with plans for having your epic pet and duoing the entire game with a donals cleric, you'll be disappointed for a very long time (possibly forever).

Also, Loraen has solod king, so obviously it is possible for an enchanter and a wizard (or any other class, for that matter) to duo it... even if enchanter+wizard would be a harder duo for king than something like enchanter + cle/sham/nec/whatever.

[diplo]

Originally Posted by Tecmos Deception [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Also, Loraen has solod king, so obviously it is possible for an enchanter and a wizard (or any other class, for that matter) to duo it... even if enchanter+wizard would be a harder duo for king than something like enchanter + cle/sham/nec/whatever.

i haven't seen loraen solo the king (but i believe it), but i'm sure about 75% of it was luck that slow landed after tash. malo+sini will help a lot in that particular situation, can't see a wizzy doin anything to help in that situation. you have no margin for error with a wizzy. if charm breaks on a chanter's pet, least my pet can tank while he recharms. if you overnuke on a wizard, you gain aggro and you die or you can just sit there and watch and get some afk loot. wizard is the easier class to play. you sit and hit a nuke button (most wizzys) in group situations because most wizzy's won't take the time to stun (probably cause they're lazy) - i'm sure if a group is sitting there and waiting for you to hopefully wipe on king, a chanter would take a mage over a wizard 100% of the time (though sham would be most preferred).


yea although mage's can just send a pet on a mob, i can DS, malo and can do everything a wizard can except quad kite.

if a mage can't find a group, you can solo, you can farm a majority of items on ez mode.

plus, mage's are the least dependent for gear. if you don't have over 200 int for a wizzy, you won't quad kite properly, can't say the same for a mage here.

but to OP, it all depends on what you're looking to do. i have the most fun killing targets and doing camps that are challenging and require a lot of strategy, and you have many more options as a mage. if you just want to have a breezy time exping in groups, quad kiting and porting around, be a wizard, but one thing for certain is you can do a lot more FUN stuff as a mage, epic pet or not.