Overview

Welcome to our second class deep dive! We’re making great progress on the first four classes in our update queue, so keep an eye out for more of these posts in the near future.

Today we’ll be looking at the Wizard. We’ve already completed the work and are testing their new kit internally. We’re trying to iron out any bugs and oddities before bringing it to the beta servers, but even then, it’s inevitable that we’ll learn something new when it gets into the hands of thousands of players. Expect a bit of iteration as time goes on.

Our plan is to complete a solid first pass on all 18 classes, which involves getting the right abilities in place and making sure each class has its intended toolkit. While this phase does involve some tuning, we’ll certainly need to revisit each class afterward to ensure everything works well and they feel relatively balanced.

Once a set of changes reaches beta, expect further tweaks and tuning if anything turns out to be majorly wrong. There should be a quick turnaround if something’s outright broken, but otherwise, we'll move on to the next class in line with the goal of bringing all 18 to beta as quickly as we reasonably can.

Now, onto the Wizard.

There are a couple of items we mentioned in the initial Wizard class update post that have shifted somewhat.

We said:

• “Can summon useful items and teleport allies”

While Wizards can definitely teleport allies, we didn’t add any new summoned items in this round. Wizards still summon a short-duration light source, but that’s all for now. Once we finish more updates, we’d like to revisit summoned items across the board, particularly when it comes to the Elementalist.

• “Receives a portion of mana spent when delivering a killing blow with a spell”

This was an existing Wizard ability that we got a lot of feedback on—most of it negative. A common concern was that it felt too random or difficult to get a killing blow, particularly in group situations. Additionally, since the amount of mana returned was tied to damage done, crits and resists felt especially bad.

As a result, we’ve decided to move away from this mechanic and instead give Wizards a different way to gain bonus mana that feels within their control. Wizards still get some mana regeneration via a self-buff and from Arcane Invocation every few minutes, but now they’ll also be able to consume Mark of Magic stacks for an immediate mana return. We’ll tune this through playtesting, and look forward to your feedback after you get a chance to try it out.

• “Out of combat, Wizards can research and customize spells” 

As we worked through this one, we decided we want to include research as a broader crafting feature for multiple classes. Wizards will get research, but not as a class exclusive. Also, after including a total of 16 damage spell lines for the Wizard, we’re not sure there’s a lot of need to customize spells further. We can revisit this one if necessary in the future.

• “In combat, they can combine magical elements on the fly to adapt to the situation” 

This one we kept, and you can learn more about it in the Incantations section further down the page.

Let’s go over the major spell lines Wizards will have after this update.

Seal of Magic, Reclaim Magic, and Arcane Acceleration

Seal of Magic

• Invoke a magical seal, causing Evocation spells to activate Mark of Magic.

• Mark of Magic: Mark your target with magic, increasing all Spell Damage dealt to them.

• This effect stacks up to five times.

Seal of Magic is a key part of the Wizard’s arsenal, giving an immediate damage buff for you and your group. With the update, we’re also adding new ways to consume Marks of Magic in return for helpful effects.

Reclaim Magic

• Reclaim Marks of Magic from your target, converting each reclaimed stack into Mana.

Seal of Magic and Reclaim Magic form the core mana regeneration loop. Seal of Magic rewards you for stacking a debuff on the enemy; Reclaim Magic converts that investment into mana, offsetting the mana cost of your spells. When used with the Volley line, Wizards can do a bit of damage while simultaneously restoring mana.

Arcane Acceleration

• Burn Marks of Magic from your target, increasing the Casting Speed of your group and converting each burned stack into additional duration.

This is Reclaim Magic's aggressive counterpart. Instead of converting stacks into mana, you convert them into a group-wide spell haste, granting your group mates a valuable buff without straying from your regular damage cycle. Note that this is replacing the previous single-target spell haste buff.

Damage Spells

Wizards are masters of magic, so it's only right that they get a tool for every situation. Many of their spells have a secondary effect in addition to dealing damage; for example, ice spells snare the target briefly, lightning spells interrupt casting, and arcane spells decrease the target’s casting speed. We kept a good mix of magic, fire, cold, and electric spells, since every Wizard needs a Fireball.

When designing the spell lines, we tried to give each a strong identity, with tradeoffs between damage, cast time, and mana efficiency. These are likely to see continued adjustments in the future as we get more class updates done, so we can ensure that Wizards are the major damage dealers they should be.

Flash of Ice, Flash of Lightning

• Assault your target with a flash of ice, dealing Cold Damage and decreasing their Movement Speed.

• Assault your target with a flash of lightning, dealing Electric Damage and interrupting their casting.

This is your fastest direct damage spell line. It's useful for pulling, kiting, and filling gaps when your longer casts aren't safe, but isn’t quite as mana efficient.

Iceblast, Fireball

• Blast your target with ice, dealing Cold Damage and decreasing their Movement Speed.

• Hurl a blazing fireball at your target, dealing Fire Damage.

These are your highest damage spells with a longer cast time. They make good openers when soloing, or big hits when your group needs to burn something down fast. Wizards get their first Iceblast early on; they can't cast a lot of them before running out of mana, but they sure hit hard!

Arcane Volley, Fire Volley

• Launch an arcane volley at your target, dealing Magic Damage X times.

• Launch a flaming volley at your target, dealing Fire Damage X times.

• This spell is channeled.

Volleys are the fastest way to stack Marks of Magic on a target. Marks give increased damage to your evocation spells, or you can consume them for mana or a spell haste buff.

Arcane Surge, Lightning Surge

• Overwhelm your target with a surge of arcane energy, dealing Magic Damage and decreasing their Casting Speed.

• Overwhelm your target with a surge of lightning, dealing Electric Damage and interrupting their casting.

These are your workhorse single-target spells that are efficient enough to sustain through long fights.

Fire Spike, Ice Spike

• Lance your target with a firey spike, dealing Fire Damage.

• Lance your target with an icy spike, dealing Cold Damage and decreasing their Movement Speed.

• This spell is difficult to resist.

These are a great choice when you're facing high-resistance enemies.

Arcane Nova, Lightning Nova

• Unleash an arcane nova upon nearby targets, dealing Arcane Damage and decreasing their Casting Speed.

• Unleash a lightning nova upon nearby targets, dealing Electric Damage and interrupting their casting.

Novas are your fastest AoE spells, though they do a bit less damage than Burst spells and radiate out from the caster’s position (PBAoE).

Burst of Lightning, Burst of Magic

• Strike your target and those around it with a burst of lightning, dealing Electric Damage and interrupting their casting.

• Strike your target and those around it with a burst of magic, dealing Magic Damage and decreasing their Casting Speed.

These are targeted AoE spells, so you can hit things further away than you can with Nova spells. The cast times are longer to account for the greater range.

Firestorm, Icestorm

• Call forth a fire storm, dealing Fire Damage to targets within the affected area.

• Call forth an ice storm, dealing Cold Damage to targets within the affected area.

These are also targeted AoEs, but deal damage over time rather than one big hit like Bursts. This means they are a better choice if you're worried about pulling aggro.

Crowd Control & Debuffs

Root

• Root your target to the ground, immobilizing them.

Telekinetic Knockback

• Blast your target with telekinetic force, knocking them back and stunning them.

Arcane Bonds

• Encumber your target and those around it with arcane bonds, decreasing their Movement Speed.

Wall of Force

• Summon a wall of force, immobilizing targets that attempt to pass through the affected area.

Dispels

Dispel Magic, Abolish Magic

• Dispel magic from your target, removing one harmful effect.

• Abolish magic from your target, removing two harmful effects.

Purge

• Purge your target, removing one beneficial effect and one song.

Resistance Buffs & Debuffs

Cold Protection, Electric Protection, Fire Protection, Magic Protection

• Ward your target against frost, increasing their Cold Resistance.

• Ward your target against shock, increasing their Electric Resistance.

• Ward your target against heat, increasing their Fire Resistance.

• Ward your target against the arcane, increasing their Magic Resistance.

Insidious Fire, Insidious Ice, Insidious Lightning, Insidious Magic

• Distort the defenses of your target, decreasing their Fire Resistance.

• Distort the defenses of your target, decreasing their Cold Resistance.

• Distort the defenses of your target, decreasing their Electric Resistance.

• Distort the defenses of your target, decreasing their Magic Resistance.

The Insidious line gives Wizards a meaningful debuff to a target’s resists, boosting spell damage for themselves and group mates. 

Self Buffs

Spellshield

• Encircle yourself with a magical shield, increasing your maximum Health, Armor Class, and Magic Resistance.

Eldritch Ward

• Weave an eldritch ward, increasing your Armor Class and absorbing incoming damage.

Two defensive layers starting at a low level. Wizards aren't built to take hits, but these offer some survivability when something goes wrong.

Sorcerous Mind

• Infuse your mind with sorcery, increasing your Mana Regeneration and Casting Speed, and granting you the ability to see invisible entities and magical effects when considering targets.

This is a self-only spell that bundles a few helpful effects into an hour-long buff. 

Arcane Invocation

• Invoke the arcane, restoring Mana.

• This spell is channeled.

Mobility & Transportation

Blink

• Vanish in a blink, reappearing a short distance forward and removing all stun and immobilize effects.

Wizards aren't melee fighters, so Blink gives them an escape tool even when they're locked down.

Evacuation, Exodus

• Evacuate your group, relocating them to a safe location in the current zone.

• Seek exodus, relocating yourself to a safe location in the current zone.

Zone Portals & Gates

• Teleport your group, relocating them to Shaded Dunes, Glass Flats, or Vale of Zintar.

• Teleport yourself, relocating to Shaded Dunes, Glass Flats, or Vale of Zintar.

Translocate

• Translocate a target group member, returning them to their bind location.

Transportation spells are the most visible group utility Wizards bring outside of combat. Portals, Translocate, and Evacuation each cover a different kind of “we need to get out of here" situation.

Utility

Sense Magic

• Glaze the eyes of your target with a magical coating, granting them the ability to see magical effects when considering targets.

Summon Mage Light

• Summon a flickering mage light, granting you a light source.

Bind Vision

• Bind your vision to that of your target, granting you the ability to see through their eyes.

Shroud of the Magi

• Shroud a target group member in a cloak of invisibility, rendering them unseen by the living and granting them the ability to see invisible entities.

New System: Incantations

Before we wrap things up, there's one more piece of the Wizard kit worth knowing about: the Wizard-exclusive Incantation system. This was the part we referenced earlier:

• “In combat, they can combine magical elements on the fly to adapt to the situation.”

Every casting class in Monsters & Memories has ten spell slots available. A Wizard using the Incantation system can access 36 different spells using just five of those slots—four glyphs and the catalyst that fires them. This gives you access to all 16 damage spell lines at any time, along with 20 other utility spells. 

That's the pitch. 

If you like the fantasy of a Wizard who’s genuinely mastered their craft and always has the right spell for the moment, then this system was built for you. It does come with some effort though, as recalling which glyphs you need for the right incantation can take time and experience as a player. A damage spell is always a combination of two glyphs, but that’s still 16 incantations to recall.

We don’t want to over or under sell this feature. We hope many Wizards will enjoy it, but it's not going to please everyone, and that's okay. Please consider Incantations an optional mastery system. If it doesn’t grab you, every Wizard spell is also available as a traditional scroll you can scribe, memorize, and cast from your bar the traditional way. You can still play Wizard at a high level without ever touching a glyph.

For those who do want to learn it, here's how it works:

• Glyphs are the building blocks. There are four of them, with one for each element: Glyph: Mun (Arcane), Glyph: Hil (Ice), Glyph: Nas (Lightning), and Glyph: Dur (Fire). They have no mana cost and don't trigger the global cooldown. 

• Incantations are recipes you build by casting glyphs in sequence. The first glyph you cast sets your foundation; i.e., the spell type you're building toward. Any glyphs you cast after are enhancements that shape the final spell. You can add one enhancement up to two times before activating your incantation.

• Spell Catalyst activates the incantation, triggering whichever spell your combination maps to at the highest rank you're capable of.

The system unlocks gradually. Wizards get their first glyph at level 8 with only a handful of combinations to learn. A second arrives at 16, a third at 24, and the fourth at 32. By the time all 36 incantations are available, most of the recipe logic should already feel familiar; each element follows consistent patterns, so you're building on rules you've already learned rather than memorizing a table from scratch.

If you’re already a high level Wizard, this system may be a little more challenging to learn all at once compared to ramping up gradually throughout the leveling journey. Please keep that in mind when trying it out.

And a little lore side note: the name of each glyph is based on a language we're developing for an ancient civilization… but you’ll learn more about that as the game grows.

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That wraps up our Wizard deep dive. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading. We’ll keep an eye out for feedback and initial impressions, and we really look forward to seeing what you think after you’ve tried this out on the beta server in a couple weeks.