Reasons to keep levelling a wizard alt (55+)

[Jimjam]

Hey guys, I have a 55 wizard. I was looking forward to hitting 57 to help guildmates cross West Karana and reach Permafrost faster. With the inclusion of Surefall ports this no longer motivates me.

I still spin out the occasional quad in old haunts for fun, but not with the intensity to accumulate enough xp to level further any time soon.

To return my wizard mojo, is there anything to look forward to at higher levels? What fun / social moments are there now 56-60?

[loramin]

Do you have friends that need evacs across Siren's Grotto? Since we can't "hack" our way across that zone like we could on live, there will always be a demand for that here.

[Jimjam]

Thanks for replying Loramin, I appreciate it is a niche thread so was anticipating not getting any responses.

The SG evac is a great point! Most (all?) of my toons can safely cross themselves so i forgot about the dangers for others!

Is it worth going beyond 57?

[loramin]

Thanks for replying Loramin, I appreciate it is a niche thread so was anticipating not getting any responses.

The SG evac is a great point! Most (all?) of my toons can safely cross themselves so i forgot about the dangers for others!

Is it worth going beyond 57?

I mean, I don't have a Wizard that level, so I'd hope someone who does could come up with a more compelling answer, but based on http://wiki.project1999.com/Wizard#Level_58 ... not really?

It seems to me everything they get 58+ either lets them quad better or raid better. If neither of those are things you'd want to do with your alt, I don't see the benefit ... but again, I haven't played a Wizard that high (and my 60 Druid never quads things for fun ... but maybe 60 Wizards do?).

[Scoojitsu]

Be a Sorcerer and nuke for 1600. :rolleyes:

Not sure really. Depends on how much effort it takes to get those last levels.
On raids it would definitely help.

(my wizard is lvl 9)

[Jimjam]

I mean, a masochistic part of me is excited at the prospect of finding out just exactly how bad the Flaming Sword of Xuzl is … I kinda expect it to be even worse than on live: people were hyperbolic in how terrible it is, which I guess would be used as evidence for its exact function here.

[DMN]

I think that spell was supposed to summon an uncommandable pet that will last as long as it has any mobs on its hate list. From reading the spell description on the wiki it doesn't seem to do that on p99. Since you can't command it ou have to be proactive in securing additional aggro for it.Maybe I'm remembering it wrong though. I never had a high level wiz and there weren't many 58+ wizards.

[Jimjam]

I think that spell was supposed to summon an uncommandable pet that will last as long as it has any mobs on its hate list. From reading the spell description on the wiki it doesn't seem to do that on p99. Since you can't command it ou have to be proactive in securing additional aggro for it.Maybe I'm remembering it wrong though. I never had a high level wiz and there weren't many 58+ wizards.

Yea, I do occasionally trawl the old webs for info on these things, but never net much.

I finally found a classic ish comments (https://web.archive.org/web/20010418035754/http://eq.castersrealm.com/spells/spell.asp?Id=665) page from Casters Realm on this issuePage 3 onward (pre 28 jan 2001) missing (https://web.archive.org/web/20011228015637/http://eq.castersrealm.com/spells/spelldescriptions.asp?Id=665&Page=2)

A USE, By Ninina (5/11/2001)

This is useful, but only against high level uber mobs that resist everything you can throw at them, other wise it's very mana ineffant, but makes a nice toy. I'm sure there are other uses, I'd just thought I point one out.

POSSIBLE USE FOR DUELING, By Caedwyr (1/28/2001)

Just wondering, but will the sword interrupt a caster, if so this spell could potentially be useful for dueling wizards.

HERES EXACTLY THE PET STATUS, By Azarod kurai'jinja (1/28/2001)

Heres what ive experienced!
1- Takes 700mana to summon( No components)
2- Pet doubles for 52, and has around 150hp
3- Pet CAN NOT be buffed or healed.
4- Pet will die as SOON as current target is dead.
So overall this pet is extremly useful in duels, and very useful when kiting an important mob. It is very mana efficient since ive seen it do above 800 dmg.
But i still dont appreciate the fact that it dies after.

DISAPPOINTED, By Fistanyght_luclin 52 channeler (1/28/2001)

I have to admit I'm a bit disappointed in this spell! Learning that it had such low HP was one thing, but finding out that it dies/poofs after the attacked mob dies?? Now that's just rediculous for a lvl57 700 mana spell. Sheesh!

USES, By Onigami (1/28/2001)

This spell is a fancy DoT spell.
It melees like a pet for 700mana, but doesn't tank. The only HP it has, is probably to absorb damage shields.
If you are fighting something with 32k hp, and 99.9% Magic Resist, best bet is to summon & lure. Everything can die to melee. Not everything can die to nukes. =(
Lure helps a lot, but so does this spell.

ODD..., By Anon (1/28/2001)

Well seeing that others who already have this spell says the pet dies after the mob dies. Well i find it odd that here it has the max duration is 'Until you zone' like the regular pets who don't die after killing a mob. Maybe it's a glitch on the site or verant... /shrug

FACTS ?, By Blackmagic (1/28/2001)

All I have seen so far in the way of stats for the pet is 'It has very low HP' any aditional info would be appreciated.

NOT AT ALL USEFUL...MERELY A TOY, By Meself of tarew marr (1/28/2001)

This spell is only useful as a toy. It does approximatly 700 damage vs. a 52+ mob in Sebilis, making it extremely mana-inefficient.
Interestingly, though, the cleric's hammer is smart enough to move on to the next mob when one falls, whereas this one just dies when the mob it's working on dies over.

RE: HMM?, BY SKYSTORM, By Altema desu (1/28/2001)

No component, but shaman pets also don't need components. Seems like non-pet classes with pets don't need components.

HMM?, By Skystorm (1/28/2001)

Does this spell need a component? Or is it the only pet spell in the game that doesn't require one?

SCION OF THE ELVEN EMPIRE, By Lyaelan starcatcher (1/28/2001)

The major use of this is in Groups. Or Kiting. You CANNOT use this spell like a magician, so don't even try. It is a pet that can do some extra dmg, and in groups, nothing will attack it. While kiting, the mob will have attention focused on you, so pet can be attacking the monster and the monster won't turn around and attack it.


This little bit I've found strongly disagrees with what is listed on the wiki (1hp, only hits for 22)… Anyone got a 59+ wizard able to verify how if it works like CRgaming states, or as the wiki describes?

[ChooChoo Train]

You could use a reclaim energy item on that pet for evac mana or another nuke

[Jimjam]

You could use a reclaim energy item on that pet for evac mana or another nuke

How much mana does reclaim energy return? I thought it was a function of a pet’s hp, but on consideration of high level mages that can’t be right...

[ChooChoo Train]

How much mana does reclaim energy return? I thought it was a function of a pet’s hp, but on consideration of high level mages that can’t be right...

I think it’s some formula of % of cost to cast spell x % of pets hp. So like a 400mana pet at 100% hp will give you back more of that 400mana than a pet at 60% hp etc.

[Jimjam]

I think it’s some formula of % of cost to cast spell x % of pets hp. So like a 400mana pet at 100% hp will give you back more of that 400mana than a pet at 60% hp etc.

What if the pet has over 100% life because of gear or buffs?

[Sabin76]

I don't know if it changes at higher levels, but at level 28 using the focus item clickie returns 100% of the mana I spent to cast the pet when it's at full health, as far as I can tell. This is easier to test when at low mana because you can just wait until you have just enough to cast, then reclaim and you can cast again immediately. If you cast the spell (instead of focus clickie), you can't do this because the spell itself costs a small amount of mana that isn't recovered.

[sacman08]

(and my 60 Druid never quads things for fun ... but maybe 60 Wizards do?).

Wizard quadding is about as exciting as Druid quadding. Done both, Different spells, different mobs but same plays.

[loramin]

What if the pet has over 100% life because of gear or buffs?

I'm legit curious about this. I strongly suspect it caps at the amount of mana used to create the pet ... but we won't know for sure until someone tries :)

[Kirdan]

Reclaim returns % of mana cost = to % of hp the pet has when reclaimed. In the case of flaming sword of xuzl, it returns 700 mana unless you manage to get your sword damaged without killing it, which is technically possible because I've tested it and it has more than 1 hp (a 60 shm meleeing flaming sword with his epic was not killing it due to its high regen).

And yes, using a reclaim clicky (I recommend the torch one for RP value) is the only way to make flaming sword of xuzl worthwhile. I use it on any raid target where AoE, damage shield, and riposte chances won't kill it unexpectedly, which pretty much means giants like vindi/statue/AoW/KT. It's a low agro way to start a fight where you would normally be waiting for tank agro to build and you can then immediately med or harvest after casting it. During the fight, you can cash it in for 700 mana at will if you need to, whether because the target flips and you expect it to die to a riposte or you need the mana. On a typical vindi fight, my sword does about 500-700 dmg before I reclaim it, which is not just free damage, I gain mana that I would not have had the chance to regen otherwise had I not used the sword, so it nets me mana. I should also note that its usefulness is predicated on raising your conjuration skill, because that's something most wizards don't really have a need for and without it, you'll be fizzling far too much to benefit.

[Jimjam]

That is a really pro tip!

The pet is much better than the wiki implicits (and it looks to work like the evidence I found on the archived casters realm pages), even if situational.

Thank you for sharing, Kirdan.

[DeathsSilkyMist]

To answer the question about "over HP", I have never noticed getting additional mana back from my pet, even when he is buffed with FoS and STA. I assume the calculation is always % based, regardless of the actual HP pool. That would make the most sense, because pets have a wide range of HP pools. It would be a lot more effort to compare the pet's current HP to the actual base HP of the specific pet, including it's randomized level.

This does mean HP buffs have a small benefit, however. The larger your pet's HP pool, the less % health they lose per hit. This means you have a longer window to reclaim energy on a pet, and still get a good chunk of your mana back, even when they are not at 100%.

[Muggens]

Interesting to read about flaming sword of xuzl. Using it to reclaim it for mana was my initial thought for this spell, but I gotta admit Ive yet to really test it since my conjuration skill is abyssmal.

As for leveling your Wizard beyond 55, Jim... I made myself a wizard alt back in 2016 and dinged 60 on it earlier this year(hehe), its now my main raid character even tho I have a 60 rogue.
The reason is its very enjoyable and relaxing to play on raids, and theres is a mystique and flair to the wizard which other dps classes dont have. The whole ordeal of making the most dps possible without getting agro is exciting(to me). Ive spoken to alot of long time raiding wizards, asking them questions on how they go about their raid mob nuking, and they all have different approaches, depending on items available to them, what guild theyre in(tank agro management), some use concussion alot some never use it at all, etc. Raiding as a wizard is not as straight forward as many non-wizards trynna make it sound like for sure.

I really enjoy it, always trying my best to increase my output each encounter, its like the artiste of the dps classes, youre trying out formulaes and always dancing on the razors edge to hit that grande ceiling of nuke dps, while still standing at the end of the battle, swaggerin' in your boss robe(and hopefully with the sweet Soandso has been slain by "insert kewl wiz name here") :)

[Muggens]

Wizard quadding is about as exciting as Druid quadding. Done both, Different spells, different mobs but same plays.

Have to disagree, its a whole lotta more effective/faster to quad as a wiz contra the druid. Flux staff, bonds of force and great ratio quads (although the long slouch with only circle of force is kinda suckaronie)

But yeah, lvl the wiz to 60 if you wanna raid with it, if not I dont really see the point(there are "better" classes for soloing and grouping at that lvl)

Great class to adventure and "roleplay" with!

[enjchanter]

the main and best reason to level a wizard is so you can easily get to raid targets and get on the dkp logs without having to do much and you have the most plausible excuse for adding yourself to raids without actually being there

[the_only_jake]

Being able to use the 2k damage bane nukes on belly caster raid mobs from max range is also fun . Also remember the best gear a wiz can get is more levels. It helps with the resist rates. So technically any wiz who isn't 60 is just gimping themselves in that department.