Monsters and Memories Wizard Guide

01The Wizard at a Glance

The Wizard is the pure damage caster of Monsters and Memories — a cloth-wearing scholar who ends fights from range with the hardest-hitting single-target nukes and area spells in the game. Ice that slows, lightning that interrupts, arcane surges that cripple enemy casting, and fire that simply burns: a good Wizard picks the right spell for the moment and lands it at the right time.

The official class page calls the Wizard "Arcane Artillery" and describes it as having the highest damage single-target nukes and area-of-effect spells in the roster — fragile, mana-dependent, and rewarding precise play. Outside of combat you are also the group's travel service, with gates, group portals and emergency evacuations.

02Is the Wizard Right for You?

For a brand-new player the Wizard is one of the easier caster classes to understand: target the mob the tank is fighting, cast damage, don't take aggro, sit when you're low. The skill comes later — managing mana, choosing elements, stacking Marks and knowing when to stop casting. If you read only one section twice, make it group play.

03Choosing Your Race

Five races can be Wizards at Early Access. Your class adds +4 INT (plus small STR and DEX bumps) to your race's base stats, and you get 10 bonus points to spend at creation. Starting values before bonus points:

Spending your 10 bonus points

Intelligence sets both your spell damage and your mana pool, so most of your points go there. The usual community advice is to put a couple into Dexterity next, and a little into Stamina for extra health.

• Humans and Dwarves: +7 INT, +2 DEX, +1 STA.
• Gnomes: +5 INT, +2 DEX, +3 STA — you already have the most INT, so buy a little survivability.
• Deep Elves and Deep Gnomes: something like +6 INT, +2 DEX, +2 STA works well.
• Charisma and Wisdom do nothing important for a Wizard. Don't spend points there.

The official class page also lists High Elf as a Wizard race, but High Elves aren't playable at Early Access.

04Recommended Traits

You pick one trait from each of four categories at creation (see the New Player Guide for the full lists). For a Wizard:

05Getting Started

Your starter quest

Every Wizard begins with a class starter quest that teaches the basics and hands out your first gear. For the full step-by-step walkthrough, with every NPC, location and reward, see our Wizard Starter Quest Guide. Individual quest pages: Wizard Starter Quest (Night Harbor) · Burnt Out Lightstones.

Where to buy spells

• Night Harbor: the Chartered Academy of Arcane Inquiry is your guild hall. Your trainers and spell scribes are there.
• Underdocks: there is also a Wizard starter quest for characters who begin in the Underdocks. Ask a guard for the Wizard trainer, and see our Underdocks page.
• Scrolls or glyphs: every Wizard spell is available as a normal scroll. The glyph system is optional.

06Your Toolkit

Wizard spells come in lines: you learn a spell, then buy stronger versions every few levels. The deep dive lists 16 damage lines across four elements — arcane, ice, lightning and fire — and nearly every one carries a secondary effect: snares on ice, interrupts on lightning, casting-speed slows on arcane. Levels shown are when the first version (and each upgrade) becomes available.

07Spells to Prioritize, Levels 1–28

You won't be able to afford every spell as soon as it unlocks. This is the order that matters most for a new Wizard:

Past level 28, the pattern continues: upgrade your main nukes (Iceblast, Surge, Flash) and Spellshield first, then your area spells, then resist buffs and portals.

08Playing in a Group

In a group your job is simple to say and hard to do well: deal as much damage as possible, as quickly as possible, without pulling the mob off the tank.

Before the pull

• Buff yourself: Spellshield, Sorcerous Mind and Eldritch Ward if you expect to be hit. Offer resist buffs if the group is about to fight something elemental.
• Agree on the kill target, and ask whether anyone is mezzing. If an Enchanter or Bard is controlling adds, your area spells are off the table until those mobs are dead.
• Know where you'll run. Keep Blink and Exodus ready, and at higher levels an Evacuation for the whole group.

During the fight

1. Let the tank build aggroWait for the tank to land a few hits or taunts before you cast. Your biggest nukes create a lot of threat.
2. Seal and stack MarksWith Seal of Magic up, your Evocation spells mark the target. Volleys hit several times, which makes them the easiest way to build stacks; each Mark raises all spell damage the target takes, including your group's.
3. Pick the right elementUse a lightning spell to interrupt a dangerous cast, an arcane surge to slow an enemy caster, ice to slow a runner. If a mob resists one element, switch — or lower that resist first with the matching Insidious spell.
4. Cash in the MarksWhen the target is near death or you need mana, Reclaim Magic turns its Marks into mana and gives your party Arcane Acceleration.
5. Stop before you pull aggroIf the mob turns to you, stop casting and let the tank take it back. Eldritch Ward and Blink buy you the seconds you need.

09Soloing

The official description admits some Wizards find adventuring alone difficult, "but clever use of spells could prove otherwise." With no pet and no heals, soloing is about never letting the mob reach you — or making sure it dies when it does.

• Open big: the deep dive calls Iceblast and Fireball good openers when soloing. Start with your biggest nuke from max range, then finish with Flash of Ice.
• Root and nuke: Root the mob in place, back up, and cast. Root has a strong chance to break on damage, so be ready to re-root or snare.
• Snare and kite: your ice spells slow movement by 25% for a few seconds. Move, turn, cast, and keep distance.
• Knock it back: Telekinetic Knockback (from 20) pushes the mob away and stuns it — perfect for resetting the distance.
• Pull one at a time: you can't handle adds. Look at what is near your target before you cast, and avoid social mobs.
• Sit after every fight: regain mana before the next pull. Starting a fight at half mana is how Wizards die.

10Leveling Path

A suggested route for a Wizard. You can solo the early spots, but you'll level faster and more safely in a group — and groups love a Wizard who can portal them home afterward.

See Where to Level in the New Player Guide for more spots, and each zone page for maps and named mobs.

11Gear to Look For

Wear cloth and stack Intelligence first — it raises both your damage and your mana pool — then mana, Stamina and hit points. Dexterity is a useful extra. Unlike Enchanters, Wizards can ignore Charisma, so caster items with a big CHA penalty (such as the Deathmask of the Witchlord or the Skull of Whispers) are perfectly usable if the INT and mana are good.

Early gear (roughly levels 1–16)

Upgrades for later

Stats from our item database. Item levels aren't published, so "early" is based on where they drop; the Night Harbor named NPCs above are not newbie mobs, so check their level before trying. Browse the database for more INT cloth.

12Incantations and Glyphs

Incantations are the Wizard's optional mastery system. Instead of memorizing a dozen damage spells, you memorize four glyphs and a Spell Catalyst — five spell slots that can produce any of 36 spells. The deep dive describes it as a way to give Wizards "a tool for every situation."

1. Set a foundationThe first glyph you cast sets the foundation — the type of spell you are building toward.
2. Add enhancementsGlyphs cast after that are enhancements that shape the final spell. You can add one enhancement up to two times.
3. ActivateCast Spell Catalyst to fire the result. Incantations use your highest known rank of the spell they produce.

Managing your mana

• Sit between pulls. Meditation (from level 4) only boosts mana regeneration while you're sitting. Resting at a campfire also speeds regeneration and builds the 15% Rested experience bonus.
• Run the Mark loop. Keep Seal of Magic on, stack Marks with your spells, and use Reclaim Magic to turn them back into mana. This replaced the old mana-on-kill mechanic, so it works whether or not you land the killing blow.
• Keep Sorcerous Mind up. It adds mana regeneration and 10% casting speed for almost no cost.
• Arcane Invocation (from 20) restores mana every 2 seconds for 10 seconds — use it during a lull, not mid-pull.
• Match the spell to the job. Cheap Flash spells finish off low-health mobs; save the expensive nukes and bursts for targets that need them.

13Common Wizard Mistakes

• Nuking before the tank has aggro. One opening Iceblast can put a fresh mob on your face.
• Using area spells near mezzed mobs. One Burst or Nova wakes everything.
• Casting until empty. A Wizard with no mana can't help when the next pull goes wrong. Stop at a reserve.
• Forgetting Spellshield and Eldritch Ward. Cloth plus no shield means one or two hits can kill you.
• Ignoring resists. If a mob keeps resisting ice, switch elements or use the matching Insidious debuff.
• Not binding near the hunting spot. Soulbind yourself and your group so deaths don't mean a long corpse run.

14Wizard FAQ