Difference between revisions of "Wizard"

Latest revision as of 04:10, 8 June 2017

The Wizard is a pure spellcaster, harnessing arcane and elemental magic to do his/her bidding via a devastating array of offensive spells. While the Wizard is thought to be quite similar to the Sorcerer and Sorceress of previous Diablo games in design, the play style is quite different. Diablo 3's end game Wizard play puts a much greater emphasis on defensive skills and crowd control spells, and has much less movement speed due to the cooldown limitations on teleport.

Other major gameplay differences stem from equipment changes (weapon damage and Critical hit Chance / Critical hit Damage matter for all classes), the removal of skill points, and especially the fact that monsters do not have varying resistances to different types of elemental damage.

The resource system, Arcane Power differs greatly as well. AP refills very quickly, and Wizard skills use both AP cost and cooldown time as limiting factors. Both can be circumvented by other skills and item affixes. The "Arcane Power on Crit" ("APoC") affix is a build-changer for most end game wizards.

Class Design[edit | edit source]

Diablo III Class

The Wizard
Skills:	Wizard Skills
Passives:	Wizard Passives
Resource:	Arcane Power
Common builds:
Caster, Battle mage.
Background
Origin:	Xiansai
Affiliation:	None current. Vizjerei (former), Zann Esu (former)
Friends:	None known
Foes:	Vizjerei, Yshari Sanctum, Valthek

The Wizard is a fast-action, fast-casting, primarily-ranged attacker. The class is not really a "glass cannon," despite having a Passive skill actuall called Glass Cannon. In fact, that is one of the main complaints about the class; that they are more of a mage tank than anything else, who must rely on defensive skills or strong crowd control and enemy debuffs to survive.

This is in stark contrast to the Sorcerer and Sorceress from previous games in the series, who could be a bit tanky with the right gear, but who mostly relied on speedy attacks and evasion (mostly via unlimited use of the Teleport skill). (The Demon Hunter actually plays much more like the glass cannon fast-movement mage seen in previous Diablo titles.)

See the Wizard skills page for a full list of all Wizard skills and rune effects. As with all classes, the skills are sorted into six categories. Enabling Elective Mode in the Game Options allows players to choose any skills from any category, rather than being stuck with one from each in the default, noob-friendly design.

Refer to Diablo3Ladders.com for a listing of all Wizard passive skills ranked by popularity.

Primary • Magic Missile (1) • Shock Pulse (3) • Spectral Blade (11) • Electrocute (15)	Secondary • Ray of Frost (2) • Arcane Orb (5) • Arcane Torrent (12) • Disintegrate (21)	Defensive • Frost Nova (4) • Diamond Skin (8) • Slow Time (16) • Teleport (22)
Force • Wave of Force (9) • Energy Twister (13) • Hydra (21) • Meteor (25) • Blizzard (27)	Conjuration • Ice Armor (14) • Storm Armor (17) • Magic Weapon (20) • Familiar (22) • Energy Armor (28)	Mastery • Explosive Blast (19) • Mirror Image (25) • Archon (30)

Wizard Passive Skills[edit | edit source]

Male Wizard using Wave of Force.

See the Wizard passive skills article for a full listing with descriptions and more details. These skills focus more on utility, variety, and defense than on boosts to the Wizard's offensive attacks or damage.

By far the most used and most build-changing passive is Critical Mass which grants critical hits a chance to reduce the cooldown of Wizard skills by 1 second. Numerous Wizard builds rely entirely on "CM" in order to repeatedly use skills with 6, 8, 10 second, or even longer cooldowns. Blizzard has adjusted (lowered) the proc coefficient values of numerous Wizard skills several times since launch, since some skills (especially Energy Twister) that caused many, many hit checks were procing so often that Critical Mass was triggering almost constantly and effectively reducing cooldowns to nothing.

Refer to Diablo3Ladders.com for a listing of all Wizard passive skills ranked by popularity.

Wizard Traits[edit | edit source]

During early design passive skills were called "traits" and were set to allow 1-5 points to be spent in each. This system was scrapped and simplified shortly before the beta test began. See the Wizard traits page for full info on what the traits system looked like.

Diablo 3 Wizard Lore and Story[edit | edit source]

Like all of the characters in Diablo 3, the Wizard has a unique in-game backstory that gives insight into the character's personality and mannerisms. The male and female versions of each class are essentially interchangeable in these non-gendered fictions.

The Diablo III Wizard hails from the far northern island of Xiansai, which lies in a region culturally and ethnically similar to Asia. The Wizards are anything but aged Dumbledore types; in the game fiction the Wizards (male and female) are portrayed as rebellious, impudent, headstrong, and cocky young mages who were too impatient to follow the rules and wait to learn slowly from the elders at the mage academy in Caldeum.

Abd al-Hazir, the scholar and historian responsible for most of the in-game lore released pre-game, wrote about the wizard's time in a mage academy in Caldeum in his seventh entry.

This wizard was sent here to spend her formative years under the tutelage of the best mages in the world. Well, it seems they neglected to teach our wizard manners on her native island of Xiansai, for she was a rude and uncooperative student from the very beginning. Originally under the guidance of the Zann Esu mage clan, she was eventually handed over to the Vizjerei in the hopes that their strict and unbending discipline would break her anarchic spirit. Yet even the esteemed Vizjerei instructors were unable to rein her in. She was continually being caught seeking out dangerous and forbidden magics, heedless of the consequences to herself or anyone around her.

Although there is no truth to the tales that she actually ventured into the infamous Bitter Depths below the Sanctum, she was caught in the Ancient Repositories, where the most dangerous incantations are housed for the safety of the public. When confronted by the great Vizjerei mage Valthek and demanded to account for herself, she brazenly attacked him rather than face the punishment merited by her acts.

Exaggerated stories of the battle are already being inflated to mythic proportions by the more rebellious of our city's youth, but suffice it to say that she did not actually best Yshari's most powerful mage in single, honorable combat. The details of the encounter remain unclear, as Valthek has yet to regain consciousness, but it has been verified by reliable sources that she relied on trickery and deceit to bring the great man low. I have also been assured that the extensive property damage was chiefly the result of Valthek's magical prowess, not the upstart wizard's. As to where she is now, no one rightly knows, for she fled the city immediately after the encounter.

This story built fan expectations that the Wizard would be quite unruly and reckless. Unfortunately, those character traits do not really come through in the game, and even when the game action moves to Caldeum in Act Two, the Wizard does not show any concern or heightened attention in returning to that city.

Wizard Style and Appearance[edit | edit source]

Female wizard: concept art to final in-game.

The female wizard's appearance was widely-accepted and non-controversial. She looks quite a bit like her original concept art.

Male Wizard Controversy[edit | edit source]

The male wizard, on the other hand, had a very controversial reveal. No one thought much of his concept art or paid much attention to his appearance when he debuted as a playable character in the BlizzCon 2009 demo. However, some months later when Blizzard added his in-game model to their official wizard page, there was a curious eruption of fan rage. [1]

The primary complaints were that he looked too effeminate, and while there was arguably a homophobic edge to the complaints, the class design was more metrosexual and less masculine than some fans were expecting. People especially hated his "starfish" hat.

Male Wizard gear set, October 13, 2010, set off the biggest debate of all, about his huge "starfish" hat.
- Many fan complaints and revisions of his starfish hat.
- And yet more fan remakes.
- A vote found very mixed opinions about the helm, in contrast to the overwhelmingly negative fan comments.

Male Wizard concept vs. in-game.

Blizzard made no substantive comments over the fan reaction to the male wizard's appearance and if the character changes any in appearance during the rest of the development cycle, no one noticed. A poll on Diablo.IncGamers.com found fan opinions widely split on the character's look.[2]

What do you think of the look of the Male Wizard?
2) It's good, but could be improved. 243 votes, 28.79%

4) Ugh. I'll be playing the female Wiz. 220 votes, 26.07%

5) Hate it. J-pop boy-band reject. 140 votes, 16.59%

1) I love the male Wizard look. 137 votes, 16.23%

3) I'm indifferent. M'eh. 104 votes, 12.32%
Total Votes: 844

This entire controversy stemmed from the look of the character in some artwork and renders; no one objected to the look when playing him in the BlizzCon 2009 demo. That trend continued, and the controversy did not reappear when the beta test began and the look of the character is a non-issue post-release.

Sorceress Redux?[edit | edit source]

Some fans initially criticized the Wizard for just being the Sorceress with a new look. Jay Wilson commented on that in an interview with 1up.com in December 2008.

Wizard using Disintegrate.

Jay Wilson: "I would respond, "Yeah, you're right; the Wizard is basically a re-skinned Sorceress." What we couldn't do with the Sorceress very well was break into what I'd call the old-school pen-and-paper magic user. You know the old magic user who could do a variety of things, like conjure up animals out of midair or create clouds of fog and acid or control time or disintegrate things or use death spells. They had this wide variety of magic that they could use compared to the more traditional elementalist -- which is what the Sorceress is, meaning fire, ice, and lightning -- who was just more limited.

What we really wanted to do is break into this area, while if we just did the Sorceress again, we'd be like, "OK, you have to do fire, ice, and lightning, but where does Disintegrate fit? Where does Slow Time fit in?" So we decided [that we'd] just take the same class mechanics, and [that we'd] change the basic concept and name and just have a throwback to that old-school magic user to give ourselves a broader range of magic skills. But there was never a huge desire to go away from the basic gameplay of the Sorceress; there's a lot of repeated skills, and that's intentional."

Spell Damage and Weapon Damage[edit | edit source]

One major change from Diablo 2, seen during the development cycle, was the addition of spell damage item affixes. Unlike the skill point system in Diablo 1 and Diablo 2, Diablo 3 had no skill points, and thus weapon damage became as important for mages as for combat classes. The developers made this change partially to even out the classes, after the Sorceress and Necromancer were extremely good at Magic Find in Diablo 2 since they did not need to worry about boosting damage with equipment. (Just boosting skill level.) This allowed those characters to stack up much more Magic Find and Resistance on their gear, while still retaining a rapid killing speed.

The early effort in Diablo 3 to correct this imbalance used +%spell damage modifiers. As seen in Blizzcon 2008 and 2009 demos, caster weapons had bonuses to spell damage which modified the flat damage figures on spells, in much the same way that equipment and skills interacted for non-mage classes. A quote from a 2009 Blizzcon demo report details the system:

When viewing the listed damage on each spell, it’s important to keep in mind that those are not absolute numbers, in D3. They’re much like weapon damage; modified by your wizard’s attributes, your character level, by other skills, and also by your equipment. Lots of types of items in D3 carry modifiers that boost spell damage, usually by a percentage.

I found numerous wands, staves, and even pieces of armor with values between +5-25% spell damage, and that was just in the early stages of the game.

That system did not survive through to launch, and after further experimentation the Wizard and Witch Doctor were slotted into the same pool of affixes and weapon functions that the other three classes got. This made the game more accessible and consistent across the classes, but it's not a universally-popular design with many fans wishing the spell casters had different priorities in equipment and affixes than the combat characters.

Wizard Development Pace[edit | edit source]

The Wizard was the third class to be revealed, making her debut at BlizzCon 2008, several months after the game's initial reveal in June at the Paris WWI. Later in development Blizzard admitted that the Barbarian and Wizard were by far the most polished classes at launch. Despite that they chose to debut with the Barbarian and Witch Doctor since the WD was more of an original character type. This was a mixed blessing since many fans were unhappy that the Necromancer was not coming back, but when the Wizard debuted just months later, the class was clearly far more developed than the WD, with many more functional skills.

The Wizard's resource took longer to nail down. The class used Mana as a placeholder resource in the Blizzcon 2008 and 2009 demos, even after Blizzard had announced, in late 2009, that Mana was not going to be the final version of the class' resource. The system evolved further over the next couple of years, with Instability the resource for a time, until Arcane Power was implemented and perfected.[3]

Trivia[edit | edit source]

The female Wizard is voiced by Grey DeLisle, a veteran of voice acting. She's done many film and television roles, including Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender, and roles in Afro Samurai, The Spectacular Spider-Man, Wolverine and the X-Men, and many more. She's also had many roles in video games, including a lot of the Star Wars series, Mass Effect, Metal Gear Solid, Baldur's Gate, Fallout, Doom 3, Batman: Arkham City (as Catwoman/Selina Kyle), and she also played Nova in StarCraft II.

The male Wizard is voiced by Crispin Freeman, also a veteran voice actor. He's done a gluttonous amount of English dubs for anime, and also many video games including the .hack series, BioShock 2, God of War III, Metal Gear Solid 4, Xenosaga, Saints Row: The Third, and many more.

Media[edit | edit source]

Wizard Profile Video[edit | edit source]

You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:

Female Wizard.
Male Wizard.
Wizard vs King Leoric.
Wizard casting Disintegrate.
disintegrate used on Zombies.
Slow Time with Wave of Force to throw spells back at casters.
Casting Electrocute out of a Slow Time bubble.
Mana Globe in a level-up explosion.
The male Wizard in the game.
Male Wizard concept by Glowei.

References[edit | edit source]

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer primary

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer secondary

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer corpses

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer bloodandbone

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer reanimation

Template:Skill navbox Necromancer curses

Fan-made Classes			Fan-made Skills [e]
• Alchemist • Arcane Warrior • Artisan • Aurian Mage • Bard • Channeller • Dragon Warrior	• Flagellant • Giant (U) • Hollow Man • Nomad • Onaga Manji • Phase Knight	• Ranger • Slayer (U) • Techpriest (U) • Telepath • Untainted (U) • Zealot	Dragon Warrior Skills • Bow and Throwing Skill Tree • Dragon Disciplines Skill Tree • Martial Arts Skill Tree	Untainted Skills • Divine Skill Tree	Aurian Mage Skill • Holy Power Skill Tree • Shadow Spells Skill Tree • Nature Forces Skill Tree
(U) = Unfinished				Untainted Skills • Divine Skill Tree

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-The '''Wizard''' is a pure [[caster|spellcaster]], harnessing arcane and elemental magic to do his/her bidding via a devastating array of offensive spells. The Wizard is quite similar to the [[Sorcerer]] and [[Sorceress]] of previous Diablo games, in design and concept.
+The '''Wizard''' is a pure [[caster|spellcaster]], harnessing arcane and elemental magic to do his/her bidding via a devastating array of offensive spells. While the Wizard is thought to be quite similar to the [[Sorcerer]] and [[Sorceress]] of previous Diablo games in design, the play style is quite different. Diablo 3's [[end game]] Wizard play puts a much greater emphasis on defensive skills and crowd control spells, and has much less movement speed due to the cooldown limitations on [[teleport]].
-One key change in Diablo 3 is that the Wizard does not use [[mana]], but has a new resource called [[instability]], a change that has profound gameplay implications. Details about how Instability will function have not yet (March, 2010) been revealed.
+Other major gameplay differences stem from equipment changes (weapon damage and [[Critical hit Chance]] / [[Critical hit Damage]] matter for all classes), the removal of skill points, and especially the fact that monsters do not have varying resistances to different types of elemental damage.
+The resource system, [[Arcane Power]] differs greatly as well. AP refills very quickly, and Wizard skills use both AP cost and cooldown time as limiting factors. Both can be circumvented by other skills and item affixes. The "Arcane Power on Crit" ("APoC") affix is a build-changer for most [[end game]] wizards.
-==Background==
-{{Classbox
-|game= Diablo III
-|portrait= Wizards.jpg
-|portrait-width= 200px
-|name= Wizard
-|classtype= official
-|role= [[Caster]]
-|attrib= [[Willpower]]
-<!-- Class Skills -->
-|skilltree1= [[Arcane Skill Tree]]
-|skilltree2= [[Conjuration Skill Tree]]
-|skilltree3= [[Storm Skill Tree]]
-<!-- Background -->
-|origin= [[Xiansai]]
-|affiliation= None. [[Vizjerei]] (former), [[Zann Esu]] (former)
-|friends= None Known
-|foes= [[Vizjerei]], [[Yshari Sanctum]], [[Valthek]]
-}}
-[[Image:Male Wizard2.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Male Wizard using [[Wave of Force]].]]
-The word "wizard" is used derogatory for rogue [[Sorcerer]]s and magi that are dangerous to the world at large in the world of [[Sanctuary]].
-The female Wizard character in [[Diablo III]] is from the island [[Xiansai]], an island to the far north with a culture similar to Asia in our world. [[Abd al-Hazir]] writes about a 'wizard' wreaking havoc in [[Caldeum]] in his [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0007|seventh entry]] of the [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir]].
+==Class Design==
+{|cellpadding="2" width="250px" align="right" style="border-collapse: collapse; float: right; border: none; background: #2D0606; clear:left; margin-top: 5px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-left: 10px; line-height: 10px; font-size: 10px;"
+!colspan="2" style="text-align: center; line-height: 12px; font-size: 14px;"|'''[[Diablo III Class]]'''
+|-
+|colspan="2" style="text-align: center;"|[[File:Wizards.jpg|200px]]
+|-
+!colspan="2" style="text-align: center; line-height: 14px; font-size: 16px;"| The Wizard
+|-
+| [[Skills]]:
+| [[Wizard Skills]]
+|-
+| [[Passives]]:
+| [[Wizard Passives]]
+|-
+| [[Resource]]:
+| [[Arcane Power]]
+|-
+! colspan="2" | Common [[builds]]:
+|-
+| colspan="2" | [[Caster]], [[Battle mage]].
+|-
+! colspan="2" |
+<center>Background</center>
+|-
+| Origin:
+| Xiansai
+|-
+| Affiliation:
+| None current.<br>
+[[Vizjerei]] (former),<br>
+[[Zann Esu]] (former)
+|-
+| Friends:
+| None known
+|-
+| Foes:
+| [[Vizjerei]], [[Yshari Sanctum]], [[Valthek]]
+|}
+The Wizard is a fast-action, fast-casting, primarily-ranged attacker. The class is not really a "glass cannon," despite having a Passive skill actuall called [[Glass Cannon]]. In fact, that is one of the main complaints about the class; that they are more of a mage tank than anything else, who must rely on defensive skills or strong [[crowd control]] and enemy [[debuffs]] to survive.
+This is in stark contrast to the Sorcerer and Sorceress from previous games in the series, who could be a bit tanky with the right gear, but who mostly relied on speedy attacks and evasion (mostly via unlimited use of the Teleport skill). (The [[Demon Hunter]] actually plays much more like the glass cannon fast-movement mage seen in previous Diablo titles.)
+See the [[Wizard skills]] page for a full list of all Wizard skills and rune effects. As with all classes, the skills are sorted into six categories. Enabling [[Elective Mode]] in the Game Options allows players to choose any skills from any category, rather than being stuck with one from each in the default, noob-friendly design.
+* Refer to Diablo3Ladders.com for a listing of [http://www.diablo3ladders.com/skills/mostused/wizard#softcore all Wizard passive skills ranked by popularity].
+{|
+|
+'''Primary'''<br>
+• [[Magic Missile]] (1)<br>
+• [[Shock Pulse]] (3)<br>
+• [[Spectral Blade]] (11)<br>
+• [[Electrocute]] (15)
+|
+'''Secondary'''<br>
+• [[Ray of Frost]] (2)<br>
+• [[Arcane Orb]] (5)<br>
+• [[Arcane Torrent]] (12)<br>
+• [[Disintegrate]] (21)
+|
+'''Defensive'''<br>
+• [[Frost Nova]] (4)<br>
+• [[Diamond Skin]] (8)<br>
+• [[Slow Time]] (16)<br>
+• [[Teleport]] (22)
+|-
+|
+'''Force'''<br>
+• [[Wave of Force]] (9)<br>
+• [[Energy Twister]] (13)<br>
+• [[Hydra]] (21)<br>
+• [[Meteor]] (25)<br>
+• [[Blizzard]] (27)
+|
+'''Conjuration'''<br>
+• [[Ice Armor]] (14)<br>
+• [[Storm Armor]] (17)<br>
+• [[Magic Weapon]] (20)<br>
+• [[Familiar]] (22)<br>
+• [[Energy Armor]] (28)
-This 19 year old female wizard was sent to the [[Zann Esu]] [[mage clan]], but later handed over to the powerful [[Vizjerei]] since she was a "rude and uncooperative student," that the smaller mage clan could not control. They hoped the harsh discipline at Vizjerei "would break her anarchic spirit." Yet even the Vizjerei instructors were unable to rein her in. She was continually being caught seeking out dangerous and forbidden magics without care for herself or anyone around her.
+|
+'''Mastery'''<br>
+• [[Explosive Blast]] (19)<br>
+• [[Mirror Image]] (25)<br>
+• [[Archon]] (30)
+|}
-It was rumoured in Caldeum that she ventured into the infamous [[Bitter Depths]] below the [[Sanctum]], but the truth is she was caught in the [[Ancient Repositories]], where the most dangerous incantations are housed for the safety of the public.
+==Wizard Passive Skills==
-[[Valthek]], a great Vizjerei mage confronted her and she attacked him. She relied on trickery and deceit to render Valthek unconscious and then proceeded to flee the city immediately after the encounter. The extensive property damage was assumed to be the result of Valthek's [[magic]]al prowess, not the young wizard.
+[[Image:Male Wizard2.jpg|thumb|300px|Male Wizard using [[Wave of Force]].]]
+See the [[Wizard passive skills]] article for a full listing with descriptions and more details. These skills focus more on utility, variety, and defense than on boosts to the Wizard's offensive attacks or damage.
-Abd al-Hazir is concerned about the young, rebellious and inexperienced wizard wandering the world, using magics she does not understand. He mentioned that certain schools of magic were too dangerous and "those wiser than you or I determined long ago [to forbid] their practice." Primal forces including time warps include the secrets he suspects she gathered from the Ancient Repositories.
+{|
+|
+* [[Blur]] (10)
+* [[Power Hungry]] (10)
+* [[Evocation]] (13)
+* [[Glass Cannon]] (16)
+* [[Prodigy]] (20)
+* [[Astral Presence]] (24)
+* [[Illusionist]] (27)
+* [[Cold Blooded]] (30)
+|
+* [[Conflagration]] (34)
+* [[Paralysis]] (37)
+* [[Galvanizing Ward]] (40)
+* [[Temporal Flux]] (45)
+* [[Critical Mass]] (50)
+* [[Arcane Dynamo]] (55)
+* [[Unstable Anomaly]] (60)
+<br>
+|}
-===The Male Wizard's Lore===
-The official Wizard lore only addresses the female Wizard. Whether the male Wizard will get his own, gender-specific lore tale at some point is unknown. As with all the male/female versions of each character, the male Wizard is known to be much the same as the female, when it comes to personality and temperament.
+By far the most used and most build-changing passive is [[Critical Mass]] which grants [[critical hits]] a chance to reduce the [[cooldown]] of Wizard skills by 1 second. Numerous Wizard builds rely entirely on "CM" in order to repeatedly use skills with 6, 8, 10 second, or even longer cooldowns. Blizzard has adjusted (lowered) the [[proc coefficient]] values of numerous Wizard skills several times since launch, since some skills (especially [[Energy Twister]]) that caused many, many hit checks were [[proc]]ing so often that Critical Mass was triggering almost constantly and effectively reducing cooldowns to nothing.
+* Refer to Diablo3Ladders.com for a listing of [http://www.diablo3ladders.com/skills/mostused/wizard#softcore all Wizard passive skills ranked by popularity].
-==Class Design==
-The Wizard is an aggressive archetypal magic wielder founding his powers on the aggressive fierceness of the storm, the arcane and conjuration. Both the male and female wizards are rebellious, headstrong, impulsive, and brilliant. Too smart and arrogant to fit into the authority of the sorcerer schools of the [[mage clan]]s. Always on top of their skills and even smarter than their teachers, cocky and self assured.
+===Wizard Traits===
+During early design passive skills were called "[[traits]]" and were set to allow 1-5 points to be spent in each. This system was scrapped and simplified shortly before the beta test began. See the [[Wizard traits]] page for full info on what the traits system looked like.
-===Instability===
-One major change in the Diablo 3 Wizard is that the character does not use [[mana]] as a spell-casting resource, but a new power called [[instability]]. Full details of this resource have not yet been revealed.
+==Diablo 3 Wizard Lore and Story==
-===Sorceress Redux?===
+Like all of the characters in Diablo 3, the Wizard has a unique in-game backstory that gives insight into the character's personality and mannerisms.  The male and female versions of each class are essentially interchangeable in these non-gendered fictions.
-Some fans have criticized the Wizard for just being the [[Sorceress]] with a new look. [[Jay Wilson]] commented on that [http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?pager.offset=1&cId=3172030&p=1 in an interview with 1up.com] in December 2008.
-[[Image:Wiz-disintegrate1.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Wizard using [[Disintegrate]].]]
+The Diablo III Wizard hails from the far northern island of [[Xiansai]], which lies in a region culturally and ethnically similar to Asia. The Wizards are anything but aged Dumbledore types; in the game fiction the Wizards (male and female) are portrayed as rebellious, impudent, headstrong, and cocky young mages who were too impatient to follow the rules and wait to learn slowly from the elders at the mage academy in [[Caldeum]].
-::''I would respond, "Yeah, you're right; the Wizard is basically a reskinned Sorceress." What we couldn't do with the Sorceress very well was break into what I'd call the old-school pen-and-paper magic user. You know the old magic user who could do a variety of things, like conjure up animals out of midair or create clouds of fog and acid or control time or [[Disintegrate|disintegrate things]] or use death spells. They had this wide variety of magic that they could use compared to the more traditional elementalist -- which is what the Sorceress is, meaning fire, ice, and lightning -- who was just more limited. What we really wanted to do is break into this area, while if we just did the Sorceress again, we'd be like, "OK, you have to do fire, ice, and lightning, but where does disintegrate fit? Where does slow time fit in?" So we decided [that we'd] just take the same class mechanics, and [that we'd] change the basic concept and name and just have a throwback to that old-school magic user to give ourselves a broader range of magic skills. But there was never a huge desire to go away from the basic gameplay of the Sorceress; there's a lot of repeated skills, and that's intentional.''
+[[Abd al-Hazir]], the scholar and historian responsible for most of the in-game lore released pre-game, wrote about the wizard's time in a mage academy in [[Caldeum]] in his [[Writings of Abd al-Hazir: Entry no. 0007|seventh entry]].
-===Male Wizard's Appearance===
-[[File:Wiz-male-ingame1.jpg|thumb|175px|Male Wizard.]]
+<blue>This wizard was sent here to spend her formative years under the tutelage of the best mages in the world. Well, it seems they neglected to teach our wizard manners on her native island of Xiansai, for she was a rude and uncooperative student from the very beginning. Originally under the guidance of the Zann Esu mage clan, she was eventually handed over to the Vizjerei in the hopes that their strict and unbending discipline would break her anarchic spirit. Yet even the esteemed Vizjerei instructors were unable to rein her in. She was continually being caught seeking out dangerous and forbidden magics, heedless of the consequences to herself or anyone around her.
-The Wizard debuted with the female, and the male was not seen in-game or screenshots for some time afterwards. He was playable during the Blizzcon 2009 demo, and his appearance in the game did not excite any comment. That changed quite abruptly in early March, 2010, when an animated graphic of the male wizard, taken from the in-game version, was added to the official site. Fans reacted immediately and strongly, and while opinions were mixed, many of the negative comments were cutting and angry.
+<br>
+Although there is no truth to the tales that she actually ventured into the infamous Bitter Depths below the Sanctum, she was caught in the Ancient Repositories, where the most dangerous incantations are housed for the safety of the public. When confronted by the great Vizjerei mage Valthek and demanded to account for herself, she brazenly attacked him rather than face the punishment merited by her acts.
+<br>
+Exaggerated stories of the battle are already being inflated to mythic proportions by the more rebellious of our city's youth, but suffice it to say that she did not actually best Yshari's most powerful mage in single, honorable combat. The details of the encounter remain unclear, as Valthek has yet to regain consciousness, but it has been verified by reliable sources that she relied on trickery and deceit to bring the great man low. I have also been assured that the extensive property damage was chiefly the result of Valthek's magical prowess, not the upstart wizard's. As to where she is now, no one rightly knows, for she fled the city immediately after the encounter.</blue>
-The main objection was to the look of the male wizard. His face was deemed to be too soft and effeminate, his downcast eyes made him seem submissive and weak, and his resting animation was compared to belly dancing. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/male-wizard-in-game-animation-and-ss/]
-Blizzard has not yet responded to these attacks. That they released the artwork shows that they're happy with it, so it seems unlikely that they'll make any changes at this point. It's also worth noting that no one objected to the look of the male wizard in game, at Blizzcon 2009. It's only in this head-on view that he became objectionable, and since this is a view players will never have in the isometric, top-down game view, (barring some sort of "zoom in to look at your character's armor" option) this controversy may well fade to nothing fairly quickly.
+This story built fan expectations that the Wizard would be quite unruly and reckless. Unfortunately, those character traits do not really come through in the game, and even when the game action moves to Caldeum in Act Two, the Wizard does not show any concern or heightened attention in returning to that city.
-==Spell Damage==
-One of the key changes to spell casters in Diablo III is the addition of +% spell damage modifiers. These sorts of modifiers were found on many skills in Diablo 2, and on a few uniques and runewords, but they were uncommon, and not necessary to kill effectively. As a result, casters in Diablo 2 were much less item-dependent than the combat classes, and found it easier to concentrate on [[Magic Find]], resistances, hit points, and other non-damage bonuses.
+==Wizard Style and Appearance==
-This will not be the case in Diablo 3, where mages must add considerable +% spell damage from modifiers to stay ahead of the monster hit point curve. A high level Wizard or [[Witch Doctor]] in Diablo 3 will no more be able to kill quickly with no +spell damage than a [[Barbarian]] or [[Monk]] could succeed with a junk weapon. A quote from Flux's post-Blizzcon 2009 Wizard write up explains this in more detail:
+[[File:Wiz-fem-02.jpg|thumb|250px|Female wizard: concept art to final in-game.]]
+The female wizard's appearance was widely-accepted and non-controversial. She looks quite a bit like her original concept art.
-::When viewing the listed damage on each spell, it’s important to keep in mind that those are not absolute numbers, in D3.  They’re much like weapon damage; modified by your wizard’s attributes, your character level, by other skills, and also by your equipment. Lots of types of items in D3 carry modifiers that boost spell damage, usually by a percentage.
+===Male Wizard Controversy===
-::I found numerous wands, staves, and even pieces of armor with values between +5-25% spell damage, and that was just in the early stages of the game. We know nothing about higher level equipment bonuses, and it’s entirely possible that the D3 team is projecting high level characters to have +100%, +200%, or who knows, +500%, spell damage. If so they’ll be adjusting the base spell damage accordingly, which might make it look very low to our untrained eyes.
+The male wizard, on the other hand, had a very controversial reveal. No one thought much of his concept art or paid much attention to his appearance when he debuted as a playable character in the [[BlizzCon 2009]] demo. However, some months later when Blizzard added his in-game model to their official wizard page, there was a curious eruption of fan rage. [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/male-wizard-in-game-animation-and-ss/]
-::Here’s an example from early in the game, that was mentioned in the [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/full-witch-doctor-skills/ Witch Doctor skills report]. The skill tree listed damage on my level 2 Skull of Flame spell was 6-9, yet with a level 12 Witch Doctor my Inventory screen showed 19-29 for that spell.  I don’t think I had more than +50% spell damage from equipment, so assuming the display values aren’t wrong (in [http://diablo2.diablowiki.net/Lying_Character_Screen D2’s infamous LCS] style), there are considerable bonuses added to damage from character attributes, which are then further boosted by the spell damage bonuses on your equipment.
+The primary complaints were that he looked too effeminate, and while there was arguably a homophobic edge to the complaints, the class design was more metrosexual and less masculine than some fans were expecting.  People especially hated [[Gear_sets#Retractions_and_Changes|his "starfish" hat]].
-::This is all part of the D3 team’s plan to make all of the attributes useful to all characters, and to make more types of modifiers useful/essential to spell casters.  We don’t know enough yet to judge how well it’s working, but it should be a substantial change from how spell damage was calculated and scaled up (or not) in D2.
+* [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/male-wizard-gear-set-preview/ Male Wizard gear set], October 13, 2010, set off the biggest debate of all, about his huge "starfish" hat.
+** [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/more-on-the-male-wizard-gear-set/ Many fan complaints and revisions] of his starfish hat.
+** [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/male-wizard-gear-set-remixes-keep-on-coming/ And yet more fan remakes].
+** [http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/vote-the-wizards-starfish-hat.-yes-or-no/ A vote found very mixed opinions] about the helm, in contrast to the overwhelmingly negative fan comments.
+[[File:Wiz-male-comparison1.jpg|frame|thumb|200px|Male Wizard concept vs. in-game.]]
+Blizzard made no substantive comments over the fan reaction to the male wizard's appearance and if the character changes any in appearance during the rest of the development cycle, no one noticed. A poll on Diablo.IncGamers.com found fan opinions widely split on the character's look.[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/male-wizards-look-your-opinion/]
-==Attributes and Skills==
+<blockquote>What do you think of the look of the Male Wizard?
-===Attributes===
+* 2) It's good, but could be improved. 243 votes, 28.79%
-====Starting Attributes====
+* 4) Ugh. I'll be playing the female Wiz. 220 votes, 26.07%
-<!--*'''[[Strength]]:''' x
+* 5) Hate it. J-pop boy-band reject. 140 votes, 16.59%
-*'''[[Dexterity]]:''' x
+* 1) I love the male Wizard look. 137 votes, 16.23%
-*'''[[Vitality]]:''' x
+* 3) I'm indifferent. M'eh. 104 votes, 12.32%
-*'''[[Willpower]]:''' x-->
+Total Votes: 844</blockquote>
-*'''[[Life]]:''' 20
-*'''[[Mana]]:''' 80
-<!--
-====Attribute Increase Per Level====
+This entire controversy stemmed from the look of the character in some artwork and renders; no one objected to the look when playing him in the [[BlizzCon 2009]] demo. That trend continued, and the controversy did not reappear when the beta test began and the look of the character is a non-issue post-release.
-*'''[[Strength]]:''' x
-*'''[[Dexterity]]:''' x
-*'''[[Vitality]]:''' x
-*'''[[Willpower]]:''' x-->
+===Sorceress Redux?===
+Some fans initially criticized the Wizard for just being the [[Sorceress]] with a new look. [[Jay Wilson]] commented on that [http://www.1up.com/do/previewPage?pager.offset=1&cId=3172030&p=1 in an interview with 1up.com] in December 2008.
-===Wizard Skills===
+[[Image:Wiz-disintegrate1.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Wizard using [[Disintegrate]].]]
-[[Image:D3_skilltree_wizardshot.jpg|thumb|right|150px|An off-screen still image of the Wizard's skill tree.]]
+<blue>Jay Wilson: "I would respond, "Yeah, you're right; the Wizard is basically a re-skinned Sorceress." What we couldn't do with the Sorceress very well was break into what I'd call the old-school pen-and-paper magic user. You know the old magic user who could do a variety of things, like conjure up animals out of midair or create clouds of fog and acid or control time or disintegrate things or use death spells. They had this wide variety of magic that they could use compared to the more traditional elementalist -- which is what the Sorceress is, meaning fire, ice, and lightning -- who was just more limited.
-The [[wizard skill]]s are arranged into to three distinctive skill tree categories:
+<br>
-* [[Storm_Skill_Tree|Storm]]
+What we really wanted to do is break into this area, while if we just did the Sorceress again, we'd be like, "OK, you have to do fire, ice, and lightning, but where does Disintegrate fit? Where does Slow Time fit in?" So we decided [that we'd] just take the same class mechanics, and [that we'd] change the basic concept and name and just have a throwback to that old-school magic user to give ourselves a broader range of magic skills. But there was never a huge desire to go away from the basic gameplay of the Sorceress; there's a lot of repeated skills, and that's intentional."
-* [[Arcane_Skill_Tree|Arcane]]
+</blue>
-* [[Conjuration_Skill_Tree|Conjuration]].
-All three trees have a combination of active and passive skills. Active skills are used in combat, while the passive skills usually boost or change the behaviour of the active skills.
-====Arcane Skills====
-[[Image:Wiz-slow-time1.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Electrocute]] in a [[Slow Time]] bubble.]]
-The [[Arcane_Skill_Tree|Arcane tree skills]] consists of many classical pen and paper RPGs, including time distortions, [[Disintegrate]], and other magical forces that are not related to elements like Fire, Ice, Lightning. This tree is also good at enhancing or manipulating other spells known by the Wizard.
-<div style="clear:both;"></div>
-====Storm Skills====
-[[Image:Wiz-frost-nova1.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Frost Nova]]]]
-The [[Storm_Skill_Tree|Storm tree skills]] specialize in the power of the heavens, enabling the wizard to wield electrical energy and casting forth the fierce cold of a blizzard accompanied by the harsh freezing wind. The storm elements also protect and enhance the armour and the power of a wizard.
-<div style="clear:both;"></div>
-====Conjuration Skills====
+==Spell Damage and Weapon Damage==
-[[Image:Wiz-spectral-blade1.jpg|thumb|left|150px|[[Spectral Blade]]]]
-The [[Conjuring_Skill_Tree|Conjuring tree skills]] summons protection or offence from other planes of existence. This is where the classic [[Hydra]] spell is located, as well as the powerful [[meteor]]. This tree can also be used to increase or modify other spells, similar to the Arcane tree.
-<div style="clear:both;"></div>
+One major change from Diablo 2, seen during the development cycle, was the addition of spell damage item affixes. Unlike the skill point system in Diablo 1 and Diablo 2, Diablo 3 had no skill points, and thus weapon damage became as important for mages as for combat classes.  The developers made this change partially to even out the classes, after the Sorceress and Necromancer were extremely good at Magic Find in Diablo 2 since they did not need to worry about boosting damage with equipment. (Just boosting skill level.) This allowed those characters to stack up much more Magic Find and Resistance on their gear, while still retaining a rapid killing speed.
-==Wizard Lore and Story==
+The early effort in Diablo 3 to correct this imbalance used +%spell damage modifiers. As seen in Blizzcon 2008 and 2009 demos, caster weapons had bonuses to spell damage which modified the flat damage figures on spells, in much the same way that equipment and skills interacted for non-mage classes.  A quote from a 2009 Blizzcon demo report details the system:
-Like all of the characters in Diablo 3, the Wizard has an in-game backstory that gives insight into the character's personality and mannerisms. The tale is written from the perspective of [[Abd al-Hazir]], the scholar and historian responsible for most of the game lore thus far released. [http://us.blizzard.com/diablo3/characters/wizard.xml]
+::When viewing the listed damage on each spell, it’s important to keep in mind that those are not absolute numbers, in D3.  They’re much like weapon damage; modified by your wizard’s attributes, your character level, by other skills, and also by your equipment. Lots of types of items in D3 carry modifiers that boost spell damage, usually by a percentage.
-[[Image:Male_Wizard.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Male Wizard concept art.]]
+::I found numerous wands, staves, and even pieces of armor with values between +5-25% spell damage, and that was just in the early stages of the game.
-::Owing to my lack of tolerance for those who would use magic towards their own nefarious ends, many have assumed that I am averse to the practice of the magical arts on a philosophical level. Nothing could be farther from the truth. My quarrel is with those sorcerers who dismiss the ancient traditions and teachings – teachings that have been honed over millennia in order to preserve respect for authority and the rule of law.
-::Recently the youth of Caldeum have fallen prey to the overblown stories of just such a delinquent wizard. That is correct: I used the uncouth term wizard, not sorcerer. It seems that even the title of a civilized magic wielder is too restrictive for this young upstart. Through my contacts at the Yshari Sanctum of the mage clans, I am one of the few who actually know the truth behind the rumors now sweeping our streets regarding this hellion who flaunts her magic irresponsibly.
+That system did not survive through to launch, and after further experimentation the Wizard and Witch Doctor were slotted into the same pool of affixes and weapon functions that the other three classes got. This made the game more accessible and consistent across the classes, but it's not a universally-popular design with many fans wishing the spell casters had different priorities in equipment and affixes than the combat characters.
-::This wizard was sent here to spend her formative years under the tutelage of the best mages in the world. Well, it seems they neglected to teach our wizard manners on her native island of Xiansai, for she was a rude and uncooperative student from the very beginning. Originally under the guidance of the Zann Esu mage clan, she was eventually handed over to the Vizjerei in the hopes that their strict and unbending discipline would break her anarchic spirit. Yet even the esteemed Vizjerei instructors were unable to rein her in. She was continually being caught seeking out dangerous and forbidden magics, heedless of the consequences to herself or anyone around her.
-::Although there is no truth to the tales that she actually ventured into the infamous Bitter Depths below the Sanctum, she was caught in the Ancient Repositories, where the most dangerous incantations are housed for the safety of the public. When confronted by the great Vizjerei mage Valthek and demanded to account for herself, she brazenly attacked him rather than face the punishment merited by her acts. Exaggerated stories of the battle are already being inflated to mythic proportions by the more rebellious of our city's youth, but suffice it to say that she did not actually best Yshari's most powerful mage in single, honorable combat. The details of the encounter remain unclear, as Valthek has yet to regain consciousness, but it has been verified by reliable sources that she relied on trickery and deceit to bring the great man low. I have also been assured that the extensive property damage was chiefly the result of Valthek's magical prowess, not the upstart wizard's. As to where she is now, no one rightly knows, for she fled the city immediately after the encounter.
+==Wizard Development Pace==
+The Wizard was the third [[class]] to be revealed, making her debut at [[BlizzCon 2008]], several months after the game's initial reveal in June at the [[Paris WWI]]. Later in development Blizzard admitted that the Barbarian and Wizard were by far the most polished classes at launch. Despite that they chose to debut with the [[Barbarian]] and [[Witch Doctor]] since the WD was more of an original character type. This was a mixed blessing since many fans were unhappy that the Necromancer was not coming back, but when the Wizard debuted just months later, the class was clearly far more developed than the WD, with many more functional skills.
-::It is not my goal to alarm, but I find this situation disturbing. We now have a rebellious wizard, young and inexperienced, wandering the world, dabbling in powerful magics she does not understand. Those wiser than you or I determined long ago that certain schools of magic were too dangerous and forbade their practice. It is those magics that this wizard seems determined to explore – magics centered on manipulating the primal forces from which reality is constructed. Imagine, a headstrong nineteen-year-old youth, able to warp time itself to her will! The thought is truly terrifying. It is my honest hope that this self-styled wizard chooses never to return to Caldeum.
+The Wizard's resource took longer to nail down. The class used Mana as a placeholder resource in the Blizzcon 2008 and 2009 demos, even after Blizzard had announced, in late 2009, that Mana was not going to be the final version of the class' resource. The system evolved further over the next couple of years, with [[Instability]] the resource for a time, until [[Arcane Power]] was implemented and perfected.[http://diablo.incgamers.com/blog/comments/blizzcon-2010-hand-on-blascid/]
-These stories are told on the official site, and though they refer to just one gender, the male and female versions of each character are fairly similar in outlook and personality, though their origin tales might differ slightly.
-==Development==
-The Wizard was the third [[class]] revealed by Blizzard, debuting at [[BlizzCon 2008]]. It's in essence a re-make of the [[Sorceress]], but with a slightly different set of skills.
-In the [[GamesCom 2009 demo]], we saw the male version of the in-game wizard the first time.
+==Trivia==
-On 22nd September 2009, [[Bashiok]] announced the Wizard will not be using traditional [[Mana]], but a [[resource pool|resource]] more specialized for the class.  This resource was later named [[instability]]. [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/bashiok-on-non-mana-resources-and-cinematics/]
+The female Wizard is voiced by Grey DeLisle, a veteran of voice acting. She's done many film and television roles, including Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender, and roles in ''Afro Samurai'', ''The Spectacular Spider-Man'', ''Wolverine and the X-Men'', and many more. She's also had many roles in video games, including a lot of the ''Star Wars'' series, ''Mass Effect'', ''Metal Gear Solid'', ''Baldur's Gate'', ''Fallout'', ''Doom 3'', ''Batman: Arkham City'' (as Catwoman/Selina Kyle), and she also played Nova in [[StarCraft II]].
+The male Wizard is voiced by Crispin Freeman, also a veteran voice actor. He's done a gluttonous amount of English dubs for anime, and also many video games including the ''.hack'' series, ''BioShock 2'', ''God of War III'', ''Metal Gear Solid 4'', ''Xenosaga'', ''Saints Row: The Third'', and many more.
 ==Media==
+===Wizard Profile Video===
+<youtube>4BHKcR8P7wg</youtube>
+<youtube>uTvQ5FMnrG0</youtube>
 You can find pictures in the Diablo 3 screenshot and picture gallery:
 * [http://www.diii.net/gallery/ Diablo 3 screenshots and pictures]
@@ Line 165: / Line 244: @@
 Image:Mana-orb1.jpg|[[Mana Globe]] in a [[Experience#Level_Up_Bonus|level-up]] explosion.
 Image:Male_Wizard2.jpg|The male Wizard in the game.
+Image:Mwiz_concept.jpg|Male Wizard concept by [[Glowei]].
 </gallery>
 ==References==
@@ Line 173: / Line 251: @@
 * [http://www.diii.net/blog/comments/bashiok-on-non-mana-resources-and-cinematics/ Bashiok on non-mana Resources and Cinematics]
-{{Class navbox floor}}
-{{Skill navbox}}
+{{Skill_navbox_Diablo_III|Wizard}}
 [[Category:Classes]]
 [[Category:Basics]]
+[[category:Wizard]]