Spellballs are arguably one of the most versatile tools in a Wizard’s arsenal. They offer a more sustainable method of dispatching the enemy team than per refresh verbal spells and allow you to respond faster to an incoming threat than most verbals. This isn’t to say they are the be all end all of the class, though judging by its design Wizard certainly can be viewed as the “spellball class”. Each spellball has its strengths and weaknesses however, and it’s important to remember which classes flat out possess an immunity to your magic. With that, I’ll start moving down the list by level, explaining each spellball and what situation its good in.

Forcebolt:  The first spellball available to wizards. While not as flashy as the other balls on this list, I argue that any list that runs spellballs should not forgo Forcebolts. For a single point of magic at first level, you get three spellballs which can be charged faster than any spellball in the game, as the incantation is just “Forcebolt” three times (Unique to this spell only). On a hit, it will either deal one wound to a valid hit location, destroy a weapon struck, or do one armor breaking hit to any armor it comes into contact with. Now in a lot of instances, I argue that armor breaking and weapon destroying aren’t that good, but in a few circumstances it can be downright devastating, such as destroying someone’s polearm, or the weapon of another caster in a one on one battle. There’s also not much more annoying than forcing a class that doesn’t have access to Mend (Mind you, only 5 classes don’t, two of which are exclusive to knights) to have to run to a teammate to repair their weapon. The armor breaking aspect of Forcebolt isn’t necessarily that useful, as a lot of your more heavily armored opponents will likely be running around in Ancestral Armor. That being said, destroying a Barbarian, Scout, or Bard’s armor in a line fight may free up an opportunity for a teammate to score a kill.  The most use I personally see out of Forcebolt is as a low cost, low risk ball to punish people who aren’t aware of their surroundings. Monks can negate spellballs by blocking with their weapons or an open hand, but if they’re in the middle of a line fight and aren’t enchanted, a Forcebolt to the chest is an easy kill if they’re not paying attention. A fun thing to do with Forcebolts is use them to destroy a Monk’s weapon(s) while they’re in Sanctuary so they have to run to a teammate for a Mend or another weapon. All and all a reliable spellball with a low cost for good value.

Suppression Bolt: I think a lot of people sleep on Suppression Bolt as a spell, and I can’t really blame them. It’s a subdual spell, which a lot of things have/can be given immunity to, and it’s effect doesn’t effectively stun/murder people. However, I tend to take a Suppression Bolt whenever I can because it effectively stops one of your opponents from playing a class game for 60 whole seconds. And it’s engulfing!  So that Dervish Bard or enemy Wizard who’s been giving you grief most of the game? You can shut them up and open a window for either you or your team to kill them. Furthermore, like Break Concentration (Which is another must take on any list that allows it) Suppression Bolt has some serious applications as a clutch spell that stops an enemy from getting back up from a Healer, or prevents one of your allies from getting stunned or killed. Word of warning though, it doesn’t actually stop Bard’s from continuing to chant, or prevent enchantment abilities from being activated.

Entangle: I would argue that Entangle is one of the weaker early level spellballs, especially since we Wizards get an upgrade to it later on. It’s subdual, so Barbarians are immune to it, and it causes an engulfing stopped effect, so you hit the person, their weapon(s), their garb, or their shield, and they’re unable to move their feet but can still act freely.  During this window, you should probably be trying to keep anyone with a Release off your victim and either handle them yourself, or call for a hand. Or run! Stopping someone without a Release in the middle of the battlefield or a ways away from the objective is just as good as legging them and running, if not better. At lower levels, it’s harder to follow through on a stopped opponent, but not impossible. Heat Weapon and Forcebolts become your friends, as you can stay at a safe range and get rid of their weapon(s). When stopped, you should also check to see if your victim has an enchantment worth dispeling, and take it as an easy opportunity to do so. Entangle also helps fuel your first two spell kill combo at earlier levels, so I suggest newer wizards take it, as well as anyone running an evoker build. Otherwise, maybe consider dumping some higher level points into…

Iceball:  Iceball is good.  It’s plain good. Yes it’s still subdual, but the frozen state is arguably better than killing people in a lot of situations. For one point of magic at level three you get TWO of these suckers that when thrown are an engulfing frozen effect.  Frozen, as you may know prevents your opponent from moving, acting, speaking (other than declaring their states and counting down), and combos wonderfully with a spell at level 4 called Shatter. It also lasts for 60 seconds, like all spellball effects, and sometimes (But let’s be honest, it’s most of the time) freezing someone for 60 seconds is just as good as killing them. Good spell, just don’t get too cocky with the engulfing effect as it is perfectly valid for someone to drop their shield perpendicular to the ground to block the spellball. As soon as they drop their shield, it’s considered a terrain effect and the spellball discharges without any effect. So yeah, beware that.

Lightning Bolt: Lightning Bolt is Wizard’s exclusive, better version of Entangle. It’s flame school, meaning it’s much harder to get immunity to, it still has its engulfing stopped effect for 60 whole seconds. However, since Wizard is awesome, our upgraded Entangle also destroys weapons, breaks (Non-Ancestral) armor, and causes a wound if you hit a valid location. This ball is simple and good, and you should consider running one or two to deal with Barbarians. Fun fact, if you kill a Barbarian while they’re stopped by this, they remain stopped if they activate Fight After Death.

Fireball: Level 4 is a really good level for Wizards. You gain access to the Swift metamagic, allowing you to Swift-Teleport away from any bad situation (More on why Teleport is great in a future post), Suppress Aura as a RANGE 50’ SUPPRESSION VERBAL which lasts for 30 seconds. Icy Blast and Shatter are spells I suggest pretty much every Wizard takes Experienced the second they gain access to both spells for bigger fights as it’s a truly ridiculous two spell kill combo that you can continue to leverage as you hit higher levels with spells like Steal Life Essence or getting Confidence from a Bard. Dimensional Rift is a kill spell that works on Insubstantial, allowing you to make Assassins and people Teleporting feel bad about their life decisions, and while I’m personally not so hot on Wounding and Destroy Armor I recognize their value in some lists (Such as running a Warlock list). Fireball is still consistent though, giving you a chance to destroy a shield, a weapon, some armor, or a person. It’s another flame school spellball, meaning not many people are immune to it and there’s something viscerally satisfying about hucking a wounds kill projectile at someone, so I’d definitely say that this spell is pretty integral to Wizard’s class fantasy. That being said, I think if you’ve freshly hit level 4, consider taking some of the other really cool spells available at this level, such as Icy Blast/Shatter or D-Rift.  Fireball offers the consistency that other spellballs do, but it can also be blocked by as little as one measly point of armor, and I don’t view its ability to destroy weapons and shields as particularly relevant due to the fact that pretty much everybody either has a Mend, has an ability that functions like a Mend, or has a friend who has a Mend. That being said, remember that destroyed strap shields count as a valid hit location, so feel free to use Fireball to make an opening for either an ally, or yourself by Swifting another spellball or by casting sword. On an unarmored opponent though, maybe consider just using Forcebolt? If you beam them in the chest, it’s still a kill and you’re not down one of your more powerful spellballs. Speaking of powerful spellballs…

Phase Bolt:  I love Phase Bolt, to the point where it’s usually the “default” spellball I carry around in my hand charged. It ignores any and all enchantments, including those granted as traits. Phase Bolt is an important, must take spell for anyone looking to not get creamed in the Wizard vs. Monk matchup, as it ignores their Magic Ball Block and Sanctuary abilities. You can also take Heat Weapon, but I personally hate that spell and believe that Phase Bolt has far more applications, is easier to cast, and has fewer counterplay options. It also ignores Ancestral Armor, allowing you to conveniently pop any unarmored player with an Ironskin, Stoneskin, or Barkskin, and you can hypothetically use it to soften up a AA Warrior’s armor thanks to the fact that it’s armor breaking (Though there’s a better spellball available for this). It also doesn’t procc Gift of Air, making it invaluable in a Wizard vs Wizard showdown where your opponent has said very annoying enchantment.  All and all, this is a solid choice that should be ran in most lists that can take it.

Sphere of Annihilation: Say it with me kids. Sphere. Is. Hype. For the high cost of two points of sixth level magic, you get Finger of Death on a Stick™.  It ignores armor (And by extension Ancestral Armor), ignores enchantments, destroys weapons, destroys shields, destroys hopes, destroys dreams, and kills any player hit, leaving them cursed and forcing some poor enemy Healer to Greater Release and Rez or Greater Resurrect your victim. One of the amazing things about Sphere that you ought to know is that thanks to its wording, specifically that “A player hit is killed” so long as you’re technically hitting them, even if it’s not a valid location for a wound they’re dead and cursed, do not pass GO, do not collect 200$. Furthermore, abilities and enchantments that might save your victim, such as Blessing Against Wounds which work on lesser spellballs such as Fireball because it prevents the wound that is Wounds Kill don’t function against awesome power that is Sphere. Just as icing on the cake however, a Warrior cannot True Grit after being killed with a Sphere of Annihilation, similar to how if you’re fast enough, Steal Life Essence is capable of denying them the same ability through inflicting the Cursed state. Barbarians killed with a Sphere of Annihilation can still Fight After Death, but hey, you can’t win them all, plus a well built Wizard will carry at least a couple other answers for Barbarians. Another thing to add is that while the price seems steep, most of Wizard’s bread and butter spells are actually at 4^th and 5^th level.  So, you’re probably going to find yourself only taking maybe 4 points of magic at the highest level, and that’s usually only if you’ve taken on an archetype. In summary, Sphere is awesome and you should run it the second you get it, unless you’re super keen on playing battlemage.

And that’s spellballs! Technically speaking there is also Abeyance, but I’m rating Wizard spellballs here. In conclusion, your spellballs are your workhorses, they’re consistent and are capable of both killing players, holding objectives, and making space for your team. Pretty much every ball has its use, and you should try to include a couple of them in every list you run, unless you’re running Battlemage.

Challenge Question Answer:

Q: A Warrior with 5 points of Ancestral Armor and enchanted with Golem is frozen with an Icy Blast. While frozen, can you cast Dispel Magic at them?

A: Yes, though the frozen state specifically says that the person can only be affected by spells and abilities that affect states in general or the frozen state in specific, Dispel Magic specifically states that it works on individuals who are frozen or insubstantial, so dispel away.

Challenge Question: If you throw a Phase Bolt at someone with Blessing Against Wounds and hit their arm, do they take a wound?