It's time to explore Dungeons and Dragons' most classic and well-known example of a master arcane practitioner: the Wizard. In older editions of D&D, the wizard class underwent a pretty dramatic power curve wherein they felt useless at their lowest levels. Then, in 4e, the Wizarding class morphed again and, despite improvement in some areas, declined in others--especially where subclasses were involved.

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Now in 5e, the Wizard class has found a happy balance and offers a ton of interesting options for players who know how to navigate them. Wizards are the brainiest of the many arcane spell casting-focused classes in Dungeons & Dragons.

Warlocks make bargains, Bards project through music, and Sorcerers are natural powerhouses, Wizards learn their craft through years of intense study. They can also fulfill a lot of different roles in combat, from a blaster with a never-ending supply of fireballs to battlefield control and support. Any playing style is feasible for Wizards, so long as the character build supports it.

Updated on September 8th, 2022, by Hodey Johns: This article debuted as a wizard character builder. That is a fun concept, but it's not really what the title of the article suggests. Instead of general tips and tricks, there are now specific builds for the most powerful Wizard schools. This guide has been completely overhauled with a handful of builds for players to try out that should help them defeat even the toughest monsters that can be encountered. Additionally, the latest rules and changes have been implemented and reflected here as well. Playing a wizard is tough enough, these builds come as close as possible to playing for themselves.

Note: Flavor matters more than functionality! Even the worst Wizard build, properly equipped, can be useful to the adventuring party. The specific recommendations should always take second priority over personal taste and enjoyment.

Divine Savant

• Race: Variant Human, +1 Intelligence, +1 Dexterity, Lucky Feat, Persuasion
• Proficiencies: Arcana, History
• Arcane Tradition: School of Divination

• Background: Sage, Insight, Deception

The Divination Wizard is one of the most role-playing heavy classes in the game and yet it still manages to be a broken character build. The class specializes in locating objects or opponents even better than the most honed Rangers.

The biggest selling point in combat is the talent for rolling to start the day, then replacing any roll about to occur with either of the rolls they started with. That includes enemy rolls, so starting the day with "bad" rolls can take the best moves away from opponents and force them to miss.

Finally, with the ability to communicate with any creature in any medium, this class doubles as a leader and support to the team. If there is a Divination Wizard in the group, even chatty Bards will have a tough time speaking over their arcane counterparts. Tack on some utility with seeing in the dark, too.

Chronurgist

• Race: High Elf, Fire Bolt
• Proficiencies: Arcana, Investigation
• Arcane Tradition: Chronurgy Magic

• Background: Haunted One, Religion, Survival

Similar to the Divination Wizard, this build is one of the most accurate in the game, allowing rerolls for misses and hits, depending on if the creature in question is a friend or foe. This can be used for the Chronurgy Wizard if they specialize in damage dealing or help out with allies if they feel like dipping into some support functions.

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This build has a unique feature among all spellcasters. The Arcane Abeyance allows the Wizard to convert their spells into beads, letting a familiar or another ally cast a spell on behalf of the Wizard. When comparing all the spellcasters, this gives the Wizard a significant advantage over the competition.

Eventually, the Chronurgy build can guarantee success without rerolls required, but the Wizard will take on some levels of exhaustion. Exhaustion is a big problem for dextrous classes like Rogues or Monks, but it matters little to a Wizard.

Illusionist

• Race: Forest Gnome
• Proficiencies: Arcana, Investigation
• Arcane Tradition: School Of Illusion

• Background: Hermit

Illusion is a highly underrated form of magic as its role-playing and combat abilities are nearly without limit. Wizards are prone to getting instantly smashed. There are tanky-ish Wizard builds, but they fail to reach the glory of a traditional Fighter or Paladin tank while giving up too much power.

The Illusionist takes a different approach, disappearing, reappearing, and forcing the rare successful attacks to miss by hitting illusions. The implications of this style in the heat of battle are clear; enemies will both suffer for targeting the Wizard and likewise suffer for ignoring them since these apparitions can deal immense damage.

Outside of a skirmish, the Illusionist can be anything from a carefree prankster to a serious thief. Distracting guards of any level or triggering traps with a decoy has usefulness written all over it. Even the best-made campaigns will have a difficult time contending with the Illusionist.

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