Mage Build (Wizard)

The blue Wizard line. Elemental spellcasting via wands and staves. The Battlemage hybrid is the most-recommended all-rounder in the Update 8 meta.

At a glance

Color anchorBlue (Wizard line).
RoleElemental spellcaster: fire, frost, lightning via wands and staves.
Best hybridBattlemage (blue and red). Wand plus Ward, passive mana regen, elemental resistance. The most-recommended “run this if unsure” build in the Update 8 meta.
Good againstFire-weak enemies, and stun-gated bosses via Chain Lightning and Stun Arrows.
CrafterAlchemist (Balthazar): magic armor, potions, concoctions.

How the skill tree works

The Update 8 tree is a four-color ring of 222 nodes across 12 archetypes. The blue anchor is Wizard; nearby wedges hold Battlemage, Beguiler, and Healer hybrids. Beguiler and Healer are most valuable in co-op.

Do this in order

  1. Rescue the Alchemist for magic armor, potions, and concoctions.
  2. For the safest start, build toward Battlemage: wand plus Ward, passive mana regen, elemental resistance.
  3. Pick spells by matchup: fire for fire-weak foes, Chain Lightning to stun stun-gated bosses.
  4. Keep three food buffs active and build for Comfort to hold the Rested buff.
  5. As the fight demands, a pure Fire Mage is called out for Fell faction bosses.

Watch out for

See melee and ranged for the other archetypes, and the skill tree deep guide for how nodes and crafters fit together.