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Wizards, while notoriously easy to kill, are easily the most versatile spell-casting class ofBaldur’s Gate 3. While they have a great spell list on their own, they can also learn any spell from a scroll, provided you have enough coin. (And they’re leveled enough to cast it. Unfortunately, there will be no level three Wizards casting Disintegrate.)
Evocation Wizards focus on offensive spells that deal damage against enemies. They make the most of AOE options when facing hoards of enemies, such aswhen you give Halsin a hand in the Shadow-Cursed Lands. All told, Wizards are one of the game’s most powerful classes if you grab the right spells, even without any extras picked up from scrolls.
Best Races And Backgrounds For An Evocation Wizard
For a Wizard, the best races willgrant you options for armorand increase the amount of spells you always have prepared.
Keep in mind thatyou cannot change your race or backgroundafter leaving character creation.
As the squishiest class,any boost you can get to AC will help you out, and spells that refresh on long or short rests save you spell slots.
Features
High Half-Elf
Half-elves getLight Armor proficiency, which can boost your AC. They also haveAdvantage on saving throwsagainst being charmed and can’t be put to sleep by magical means. As a High half-elf, you getan extra cantrip from the Wizard cantrip list. While Wizards can learn cantrips from scrolls, this is a handy feature early on.
Githyanki
Githyanki are proficient in bothLight and Medium armor. They alsostart with the cantripMage Handand learnMisty StepandJumpas they level, meaning you don’t have to expend prepared spells or spell slots for them. They also getAstral Knowledge, which can boost checks for any ability score.
Forest Gnome
While small and have less movement, gnomes are still a viable option. TheirGnome Cunninggrants advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws. They also haveSpeak with Animalsavailable right out of the gate.
Your background will depend on what you personally want to do with your character. Since inspiration (and also experience) comes from your background,your own play style should influence this choice. A couple of options mesh well with a Wizard and provide useful skill proficiencies.
Noble
All of these proficiencies come up in dialogue occasionally and can be useful. Persuasion, of course, comes into play the most often.
If you’re not happy with your Charisma modifier, the cantripFriends is useful for dialogue checkssuch as Persuasion, Deception, and Intimidation. Be aware that on higher difficulties, characters may not appreciate your use of this spell on them.
Recommended Spells For An Evocation Wizard
These spellswork very well for a Wizardbut areby no means the only spells you should select.ThunderwaveandGrease, for example, can be very useful.
Take advantage of your Wizard’s ability tolearn spells through scrolls. Do this particularly with Evocation spells, since they will be half the price of other spells.Learning spells this way means you won’t have to select them when leveling upand could learn other spells instead.
Level 6 Spells
Otto’s Irresistible Dance,Globe of Invulnerability,Chain Lightning
Mage Armor and Shieldare indispensable spells. They will do wonders to protect your low health, armor-free Wizard. Magic Missile is also an excellent spell, early game and beyond,because it can’t miss its target.
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Sculpt Spells
This is the best aspect of a low-level Evoker.Your allies will take no damage from your spells—meaning you’ll be able to cast Fireball whenever you wish, no matter how small the room.
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Feat
Grab an Ability Score Improvement on your Intelligence. This will increase your Intelligence from its base score of 17 to 19, whichimproves spell casting and the number of spells you may learnat each level.
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Potent Cantrip
Your cantrips become harder to evade, and even on a saving throw, the target will still take half damage.
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Take War Caster forAdvantage on concentration saving throws. With Advantage on these throws, you’ll be less likely to let a concentration spell go to waste after just a few turns of combat.
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Empowered Evocation
This allows you toadd your Intelligence modifier to damage rolls for Evocation spells. With an Intelligence of 19, your modifier is +4, and once you increase it to 20 with your final feat at level 12, it will be +5. Keep in mind that this only applies to Evocation spells, such asFireball,Magic Missile, and your cantrips.
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For your final feat, take another Ability Score Increase.Max out your Intelligence to 20, and increase your Constitution by one. This increases your Constitution modifier, giving you an even better shot at succeeding concentration rolls andincreasing your small health pool.
Evocation Wizards can benefit frommulticlassing into a single level of Fighterbecause it gives them all armor proficiencies, which they can use to bolster their very low AC, especially in the early game. However, this does mean sacrificing a feat.
Avoid multiclassing to two levelsin Fighter. While a Fighter’s Action Surge is tempting,this will limit you to Wizard level 10, locking you out of sixth level spells.Rely on Haste to give yourself more actions in a turn instead.
Best Equipment For An Evocation Wizard
The best thing any piece of equipment can do for you as an Evocation Wizard isincrease your spell attack, spell save DC, or AC. The first two will make your spells deal more damage and harder to avoid, and your AC makes you harder to hit.
Any equipment that grants a free spell will also be a good option. Since these spells can recharge on a short rest,you can use them up to three times a long restwithout expending any spell slots.
Robe of the Weave
Inquisitor’s Chamber of Creche Y’llek
Available early,Psychic Sparkis one of the best amulets for an Evocation Wizard. An extra missile forMagic Missilecan rack up damage, particularly after level 10’s damage boost to Evocation spells.
Loot from Cazador Szarr
You may not think to give your Wizard a longsword, butPhalar Aluve’s ability to Shriek increases your chance to damage enemiessince they’remore likely to fail saving throws against your spells. It’s also one of the few longswords that can use your Dexterity modifier instead of Strength.
On the other hand, if you don’t want to give Phalar Aluve to your Wizard, it couldwork just as well for you in the hands of another party member.
You should alsotake the time to find the Curriculum of Strategy: Artistry of War scroll from theSorcerous Sundries’s vaultwhile you’re looking for theAnnals of Karsus. This spell can deal a truly massive amount of damage and can be used again after a short rest. It’s also an Evocation spell, so you’ll get to add your Intelligence modifier to the attack damage.
How To Play An Evocation Wizard
At Low Levels
It might be tempting to lean onFire Boltin early levels because it is a free spell, butyou should be using your spell slots (and long resting to restore them) liberally. Your cantrips will mostly be for interactions with the environment and, in a pinch, when you’re out of spell slots.
Fire Boltwill be particularly useful when interacting with the environment, such as with Smokepowder, Firewine, or grease.Ray of FrostandShocking Graspalso deal double damage to wet enemies.
For dealing damage,Magic Missile,Scorching Ray, andCloud of Daggersare your best options at early levels.
At High Levels
At high levels, an Evocation Wizard is a powerhouse capable ofdealing massive damageto many enemies at once. The many spells available will make it easy tocontrol the battlefield, keeping enemies at a disadvantage and dealing damage against them in the process.
For a fight with many enemies,laying down an AOE such asWall of FireorEvard’s Black Tentaclesat a choke point and forcing enemies to pass through itis a good strategy.
Don’t forget that you should favor your Evocation spells since they’ll deal more damage to enemies after level 10. For spells like Magic Missile, which roll multiple attack rolls,this damage boost applies to each missile separately.
Your primary defense should be ahigh AC and a few tanky party membersto take as many hits for you as they can.Mage Armor, Shield, and other defensive spells will be your best friends for avoiding damage. ApplyMage Armorafter every long rest, before getting into a fight, to avoid wasting your first turn.
As long as the target can be charmed,Otto’s Irresistible Danceautomatically gives allies an Advantage against an enemy and prevents it from moving or acting.
Baldur’s Gate 3 offers you a ridiculous amount of potions and elixirs, so don’t be afraid to use them in a tough fight. The best options for a Wizard areElixir of Peerless Focus, Elixir of Battlemage’s Power, and Potion of Speed.
