D&D 5E Basic Build Series: Wizard

Author: Audere

The Wizard is widely thought of as the most powerful class in the game, and for good reason. Wizards make for powerful primary controllers and become absurdly strong at high levels due to spells like wall of force and simulacrum. They have the best spell list in the game, and spell selection is what makes or breaks a Wizard. This build, part of our Basic Build Series, uses the School of Divination along with a carefully curated spellbook to create a classic and powerful spellcaster. If you use this guide, you’ll be sure to have reliable options for every spell level that let you live out the Wizard fantasy.

Race: Human (Variant)

Ability Score Increases – +1 Dex, +1 Int.
Feat – Alert. Going first is big for any controller, because it’s often the difference between a monster getting 1 turn where they can be effective and 0 turns. Surprise is also a big party killer, so having the controller immune to that is great. Unseen attackers not getting advantage is also nice; this can come up from time to time since we don’t have Darkvision.
Skill – Perception. The most commonly used and important skill in the game for any character.
Languages – Common and Dwarvish. The language choice doesn’t really matter, as it is campaign dependent and should be discussed with the DM. It can be useful to speak different languages from the rest of the party, or to have one obscure non-Common language that the entire party shares, so you can converse without the NPCs knowing what you’re talking about.

Class: Wizard

Skills – Arcana, Investigation. As an Intelligence based class, we’ll be good at these, and likely the only one in the party who is. 
Arcane Recovery – This lets us regain either our highest level slot or a few lower level slots each day. Combined with our access to economical spells like web, this will let us be one of the best casters at resource management.
Spellcasting – The most powerful feature in the game.

Detect magic – Detect the presence of magic within 30 feet of you for ten minutes. A useful ritual that you should have up by default in dungeons.
Find familiar – Gain the service of a familiar which you can conjure or dismiss at will. Extraordinarily useful in and out of combat. At this level we recommend an owl so that it can give the Help action and get away with Flyby. At higher levels you’ll want to switch to a bat for Blindsight.
Mage armor – Gain a base AC of 13 + your Dexterity modifier for 8 hours. Make sure to rest cast this.
Shield – Gain +5 AC for a round using a reaction. With your hit points at this level, shield can be the difference between life or death. Try to position yourself so that you don’t need to use it.
Sleep – Knock out an average of 22.5 hit points worth of creatures within a 20 foot sphere. By far the most potent spell in the game for a few levels, since it takes out multiple enemies with no saving throw. We’ll unprepare it later when it loses effectiveness due to increasing enemy Hit Points.
Unseen servant – Create a mindless, shapeless force which acts at your command within 60 feet of you for an hour. Can solve a lot of problems and prevent a lot of headaches. Another spell that you should have up by default in dungeons.
Fire bolt – On a hit, deal a bit of fire damage to the target, which can be a creature or an object. Believe it or not, this is a utility spell as much as it is a damage one. You can use this to destroy objects like locked doors. The range is also useful in combat, since you want to be as far away as you can.
Minor illusion – Create a minor visual or auditory illusion. Very versatile utility cantrip.
Ray of frost – On a hit, deal a bit of damage and reduce the target’s speed by 10 feet. Slowing an enemy by 10 feet can cost them an entire turn of effectiveness.

Ability Scores

8 Str, 15+1 Dex, 15 Con, 15+1 Int, 8 Wis, 8 Cha

Dexterity, Constitution, and Intelligence are all essential for Wizards. Dexterity impacts initiative and AC, Constitution impacts hit points and concentration, and Intelligence impacts Spellcasting. The 15 Constitution is so that we can take Resilient (Con) to round it off later.

Background (Custom)

Skills – Stealth, Acrobatics. Stealth should be used whenever possible to get the jump on enemies, and we might need Acrobatics to escape a grapple without consuming a spell slot.
Tools – Thieves’ tools, mason’s tools. Thieves’ tools are useful and it’s not just Rogues who can use them. If you use the Tools With Skills section of Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, Mason’s Tools can provide +5 passive Perception for the purposes of spotting secret doors in dungeons.
Feature – Library Access. Not particularly important, but this can help with getting spells to scribe.
Creator’s Note – Making a custom background is RAW, the PHB on page 125 states, “The sample backgrounds in this chapter provide both concrete benefits (features, proficiencies, and languages) and roleplaying suggestions. To customize a background, you can replace one feature with any other one, choose any two skills, and choose a total of two tool proficiencies or languages from the sample backgrounds.” Using this, we are making a custom background and using the Cloistered Scholar feature.

Equipment

Wizard Starting Equipment

• A dagger. We don’t have good Strength, so a quarterstaff wouldn’t be useful.
• A component pouch. Leaves hands free and harder to disarm than a focus.
• An explorer’s pack. More useful for adventuring than the scholar’s pack.
• A spellbook.

Cloistered Scholar Background Starting Equipment

• Scholar’s robes
• A writing kit
• A borrowed book
• A pouch containing 10 gp

Purchasing Goals

• Spells! Whether in the form of spellbooks or scrolls.
• Healer’s kit, potions of healing
• Thieves’ tools
• Plenty of ball bearings and caltrops

Level 1 Strategy

While dungeoneering, your standard operating procedure should be to have detect magic and at least 1 unseen servant up at all times. The unseen servant(s) should have ongoing orders to administer potions to downed party members if you have any. Use your familiar for vision almost exclusively so that you can explore from safety and take advantage of its keen senses. Anywhere you suspect a secret door, check by dismissing your familiar to its pocket dimension and then attempting to summon it on the other side of the wall or floor. Interact with everything from a distance using unseen servant to avoid being caught by traps.

In combat, keep an eye out for situations where ray of frost can deny an enemy turn. Remember to take the Dodge action when you’re not in a safe position. Maintain the optimal engagement distance. Cast sleep in difficult encounters, but try to save at least 1 slot for emergencies.

Level 2 Wizard

Arcane Tradition – School of Divination. This subclass doesn’t offer as much raw power as some others, but Diviners can turn the tide in critical moments using Portent.
Divination Savant (School of Divination feature) – Copy divination spells into your spellbook for half the normal time and gold. This is pretty minor, but nice for picking up some of the rituals added to the Wizard list in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything like augury and divination.
Portent (School of Divination feature) – Roll two d20s at the beginning of each day, record them, and gain the ability to use each one in place of one roll for an ability check, attack roll, or saving throw that you can see. Portent is potent. Its expected value over the course of an adventuring day isn’t huge, but it’s excellent for emergencies and other high-leverage moments. Don’t be in a rush to use it, and don’t feel bad if your Portents go unused. The only wasted resources are those spent needlessly. Portents in your pocket make for a much-needed safety net in the chaos of adventuring. Right now, the best use of Portent is initiative—high portents on ourselves, and low portents on priority targets. Initiative will always be one of the best possible uses of Portent, and particularly at this level, it’s a better option than taking something like Tasha’s hideous laughter and forcing a failed Wisdom save.
Spell Changes: +absorb elements, +identify.

Absorb elements – Gain resistance to an elemental damage type as a reaction. Can save your life, and will be useful more and more often as you level.
Identify – Learn how to use magic items or other magic-imbued objects. The typical use of this spell is to identify magic items, but many don’t know that the spell can reveal how to use any magic-imbued object– including many tricky doors and magical obstacles in dungeons.

Level 3 Wizard

Cantrip Formulas (Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything Optional feature) – The only optional class feature that Wizards received in Tasha’s, this feature provides some more flexibility in cantrip selection. We won’t go over every cantrip or situation that might require a swap, but being able to long rest and prepare mold earth or mending might come in handy, for example.
Spell Changes: +levitate, +web.

Levitate – Immobilize an enemy with a single failed Constitution save, which we can force with Portent. A melee enemy has no counterplay to levitate, but even ranged enemies can be severely hamstrung since the party will be able to consistently end their turns out of range or in cover. Note that using Rules as Written, levitate immobilizes flying creatures just as well as grounded ones.
Web – Create a 20 foot cube of webs which restrain enemies. One of the most potent 2nd level spells in the game. Right now, this is the biggest thing we can do, but even as we reach high levels, we’ll continue to use web for its value-in-slot, and it’ll continue to be effective.

Level 3 Strategy

Many think that level 5 is the biggest jump in power for casters. This is not the case. For anyone who can cast web, level 3 constitutes the greatest jump in power. At this point, we have twice as many spell slots as we did last level and several options for disabling enemies. Sleep is approaching the end of its usefulness, but remains potent in many encounters. Our go-to in large encounters is web, with levitate as an option in encounters with a single priority target.

Level 4 Wizard

Ability Score Improvement (Feat) – Resilient (Con). Our job as a controller is to cast a potent spell and then keep it up. Resilient helps us with the second part by boosting our Constitution saving throws. Constitution saves also come up outside of Concentration, and this increases our maximum hit points as well, so this feat helps our defenses in multiple areas.
Spell Changes: +locate object, +rope trick, +mind sliver.

Locate object – Does what it says on the tin. One of the most versatile divinations in the game. Check out our Spell Spotlight article on locate object to get an idea of its potency and how to use it. Knowing where to go helps keep the game moving.
Rope trick – Create an extradimensional refuge as an action. The best 2nd level defensive spell in the game. Once you’ve cast a concentration spell, maintaining concentration should be your highest priority, and rope trick helps you do that far better than something like mirror image would. Allies can also join you in the refuge when necessary.
Mind sliver – Debuff an enemy’s next saving throw. Casting this in cooperation with another caster in your party is a great economical play. You can also consider casting this on your first turn if the party isn’t in imminent danger and it’s not clear yet what spell will be best to concentrate on.

Level 5 Wizard

Spell Changes: +hypnotic pattern, +fireball.

Fireball – Deal a good quantity of damage in a 20 foot sphere. Damage is damage. Very different from our other spells, which is a good thing. Some players overrate fireball, but many underrate it as well. Even though its damage won’t scale as we level, its relative cost will go down, and troublesome hordes exist at all levels, so this will remain a solid preparation, especially as it doesn’t require concentration.
Hypnotic pattern – Force enemies in a 30 foot cube to make a Wisdom saving throw or be charmed, incapacitated, and immobilized, although they can be woken up by damage. Capable of single-handedly shutting down encounters. Be careful not to cast this on enemies immune to being charmed, though.

Level 5 Strategy

Now we have two new big guns in hypnotic pattern and fireball. However, as much as you might be itching to show off, keep in mind that web will remain the most effective option in many encounters.

Regarding hypnotic pattern, make sure your allies all know to avoid waking hypnotized targets unnecessarily, and how to Ready actions to focus down hypnotized enemies one by one. Finally, note that incapacitated targets automatically fail grapple contests, so you can reposition them, throw them into hazards, and so on.

This is around the level where you should swap your familiar from owl form to bat form. Since martials are getting Extra Attack, the marginal utility of the Help action has gone down a lot, and as you level you’re more likely to encounter illusions, invisible creatures, and the like, so the bat’s Blindsight is major.

Level 6 Wizard

Expert Divination (School of Divination feature) – Regain a lower level spell slot whenever you expend a slot to cast a divination spell. This is pretty minor, but it’s nice to get back 1st level slots whenever we cast locate object.
Spell Changes: +counterspell, +phantom steed.

Counterspell – Attempt to negate the casting of an enemy spell using your reaction. A powerful counter to other spellcasters. However, be mindful that they may be able to counterspell your counterspells, so it’s best to have at least two counterspell casters in the party. You should also be aware of your own ability to counterspell enemy counterspells. This spell has its own tactics which deserve their own article, but in short, it’s limited by range, line of sight, and the use of a reaction. Casters can circumvent it by casting from afar, by readying a spell from cover and then stepping out to release it, or by taking away their opponent’s reaction (such as with multiple counterspells).
Phantom steed – Create mounts with excellent mobility, potentially for the whole party, as a ritual. This is great for fast travel as well, since the steeds can gallop to travel at 26 miles per hour, and since you renew them every hour they won’t get tired. Note that you can use this with locate object to scan approximately 1.64 square miles per second level slot. You should consider keeping this up in any space that has room for it, since there’s basically no cost to doing so. In combat, you can use it to run circles around enemies.

Level 7 Wizard

Spell Changes: +polymorph, +Leomund’s tiny hut.

Polymorph – Transform an ally into a form (typically a giant ape or tyrannosaurus rex) with a whole lot of hit points and, depending on their level of optimization, some improved damage as well. You can also use this to turn an enemy into a clam, which can be a good use of a Portent. This is a great spell for turning around desperate situations, but it can also be efficient if used proactively since it lasts for an hour and can likely be kept up for multiple encounters.
Leomund’s tiny hut – Create a dome of force that your allies can pass through freely, but outsiders can’t, as a ritual. Resting has never been easier. This spell can be potentially countered by dispel magic, but you can protect against this as well by casting the spell multiple times at offset altitudes, creating multiple nested domes which would require several castings of dispel magic to get through.

Level 7 Strategy

In general, your highest level slots should be saved for emergencies, and as you level, your second-highest level slots open up a bit to be used in moderately difficult encounters. This level is no exception. Web should be your go-to, with hypnotic pattern and fireball as options for encounters that need them, and polymorph on an ally or a Portent polymorph on an enemy should be your trump cards.

Level 8 Wizard

Ability Score Improvement  – +2 Int. There are many highly competitive feats, but Intelligence makes our spells approximately 10% more effective and gives us an additional spell preparation, which is great.
Spell Changes: +dimension door, +Tasha’s mind whip.

Dimension door – Teleport up to 500 feet with few restrictions, bringing a willing creature with you if you like. Sometimes you need to get out of dodge and/or rescue an ally.
Tasha’s mind whip – Force an enemy to make an intelligence saving throw or be extremely hamstrung on its next turn. We’re getting to the level where non-concentration options become more important, and Tasha’s mind whip is a great one. Now we have two non-concentration options, Tasha’s mind whip and fireball, the first of which is effective on priority targets, and the second of which is effective on hordes. These allow us to “nova” significantly harder in the most difficult encounters.

Level 9 Wizard

Spell Changes: +contact other plane, +wall of force.

Contact other plane – If you can succeed a DC 15 Intelligence saving throw, gain the chance to ask a knowledgeable extraplanar entity 5 questions to which they will respond with one-word answers. With a Paladin in the party, it should eventually be possible to automatically succeed on the saving throw, but even if you can’t, there’s no reason not to cast this every night or very early morning, since the negative effects of the spell wear off after a long rest.
Wall of force – Create either a wall, a sphere, or a dome of indestructible force which cannot be dispelled and gives enemies no saving throw to avoid or escape. This spell is absolutely game-changing, and will open up the possibility of defeating enemies that would be otherwise unrealistic. The typical use of this spell that most players are aware of is splitting an encounter into two much easier ones. Many also know about the technique of “microwaving” enemies by locking them in a wall of force with an ongoing damage effect such as sickening radiance. Depending on the situation, any of these techniques can allow your party to win an encounter with little risk and no saving throws, which is why wall of force is a Wizard’s ultimate weapon.

Level 9 Strategy

The big game-changer here is wall of force. Before, you were limited in the CR of enemies that your party could take on. Now, those limitations have changed, and you must keep an eye out for size, teleport actions, and other abilities which might allow powerful enemies to circumvent your wall of force spells.  

Level 10 Wizard

The Third Eye (School of Divination feature) – Gain a minor passive divinatory effect. We recommend you use this for Darkvision most of the time. Your bat familiar will be far better than you at spotting invisible creatures, after all.
Spell Changes: +animate objects, +Rary’s telepathic bond, +prestidigitation.

Animate objects – Animate ten silver coins which together can deal impressive single-target damage. Your 5th level slots should be reserved for wall of force by default, but occasionally focused damage might be a better option against enemies too large for wall of force for example. Be mindful of immunities and resistances to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage from nonmagical attacks; silver coins can potentially get you past some of these, but against other enemies animate objects will be a waste of your best slot. The most important thing here is to stay disciplined and avoid using your 5th level slots when they’re not necessary to defeat an encounter. Dealing big damage with animate objects is flashy and cool, but it’s not worth being caught without a wall of force later in an encounter where you need it.
Rary’s telepathic bond – Create a telepathic link between up to ten creatures which lets them communicate over any distance while on the same plane. Coordination with your party is essential in and out of combat. This spell can let you discuss plans silently in the presence of others or stay in contact when separated. It should be up by default when adventuring. Also note that this spell can circumvent language barriers.
Prestidigitation – Create one of a variety of small effects. Helpful for food and laundry. You can afford a luxury cantrip at this point.

Level 11 Wizard

Spell Changes: +contingency, +scatter.

Contingency – Set up a spell of 5th level or lower which affects only you to go off when some trigger occurs. We’ll likely be using this with dimension door. A good trigger is “when I wink three times within one second or am unwillingly rendered unable to do so.”
Scatter – Cause creatures you can see within 30 feet of you to be teleported to a point on the ground or floor that you can see within 120 feet. Unwilling creatures get a Wisdom saving throw. This is a great way to get the entire party out of dodge while simultaneously shunting enemies away. It can also shunt enemies into a wall of force or similar.

Level 11 Strategy

We’ve gained more ways to escape from sticky situations. Scatter can also be used offensively, but really, our default use of our 6th level slot should be wall of force. Since we can potentially cast wall of force four times in a day now, we can be a bit more proactive about casting it to save the party other resources.

Level 12 Wizard

Ability Score Improvement (Feat) – Lucky. Reroll bad initiative rolls, bad saving throws, and critical hits. A great addition to any character’s defense.
Spell Changes: +magic jar, +sleet storm.

Magic jar – Possess a humanoid indefinitely, gaining most of their statistics while maintaining your own class features. There’s a 1-minute casting time, so this is an off prep, but if you can capture a strong humanoid you can gain a lot of power using this spell. Just keep the gem close by and be mindful of dispel magic.
Sleet storm – Create difficult terrain, heavy obscurement, and an ongoing save-against-prone effect in a massive area. At these high levels, it’s better to go back and shore up mid-level picks rather than preparing a bunch of high level spells, and sleet storm is something we’ve been missing out on. Especially around this level we’re likely to see lots of enemies immune to being charmed, so sleet storm gives us a reliable 3rd level option besides hypnotic pattern.

Level 13 Wizard

Spell Changes: +forcecage, +simulacrum.

Forcecage – Create a box or cage of indestructible force which can’t be dispelled. This isn’t so much of a game changer as wall of force, since we already have wall of force, but forcecage doesn’t use concentration and can hold slightly larger creatures, so it makes for an even more powerful option. Oh, and creatures who attempt to escape using teleportation or interplanar travel have to make a Charisma saving throw or waste the use of the spell or effect.
Simulacrum – For a bit of money, play as two characters. Seriously, that’s what this spell does. It’s a bit expensive, but you shouldn’t have a problem paying for the material components at this level—the average level 11-16 treasure hoard contains over 30,000 gp. This spell is one of the biggest reasons why Wizards dominate at high levels even compared to other casters.

Level 13 Strategy

The biggest thing here is that you are now two characters. Take some time to think of spell combinations that you can use with your simulacrum and a preparation list for it which could include spells that you don’t prepare. 

If money is a limiting factor, you should use your own spell slots before using your simulacrum’s, since theirs don’t recharge. However, if you’re flush with gold (which you should be) or your simulacrum is low on hit points, you should use their resources before your own since they might be destroyed.

Your resource management should be focused around your wall of force and forcecage slots. It is often worth several lower level castings to save a wall of force.

Level 14 Wizard

Greater Portent (School of Divination feature) – Gain a third portent die! This isn’t the most major subclass capstone in the game, but it’s nice to get a 50% boost to our subclass’s biggest feature.
Spell Changes: +mirage arcane, +plane shift.

Mirage arcane – After a 10 minute casting time, reshape reality to be whatever you want within a one mile square for 10 days. Nice to have in your spellbook as an off prep.
Plane shift – Take your party to a general location of your choice on another plane (which requires a tuning fork attuned to that plane, whatever that means). You could also try to send an enemy to another plane, which might be a decent use of a Portent once in a blue moon, but usually not. This spell serves as both an escape plan for the party and a way of getting around. It’s better than teleport because it doesn’t have a chance of failure, and you can use it to go somewhere on the plane that you’re on by entering the extradimensional space of a rope trick first.

Level 15 Wizard

Spell Changes: +maze, +mind blank.

Maze – Send a target to an extradimensional maze with no saving throw. Attempting to return requires an action and a DC 20 Intelligence check. This is for those very special creatures who need to be put in time-out and can’t be trapped in a wall of force or forcecage.
Mind blank – Gain immunity to psychic damage and a variety of scary effects for 24 hours. Rest cast this every day.

Level 16 Wizard

Ability Score Improvement  – +2 Int. At this level we can max out our Spellcasting Ability Score.
Spell Changes: +antimagic field, +antipathy/sympathy.

Antimagic field – Shut down magic in a 10-foot radius sphere centered on you. This shuts down your own magic, of course, but magic is the scariest thing in the game, and occasionally you might encounter magic that’s scarier than you are. This spell is a good way to no-sell such enemies so that your party can kill them.
Antipathy/sympathy – Cause an object to repel or attract a kind of intelligent creatures that you choose for 10 days, so it’s great to have in your spellbook. You can keep enchanted pebbles that you don’t want “active” in an extradimensional space such as a bag of holding. “Evil intelligent creatures” are a good kind of intelligent creature to have objects prepared for using this spell.

Level 17 Wizard

Spell Changes: +true polymorph, +wish.

True polymorph – Turn a creature into another creature, a creature into an object, or an object or into a creature, potentially indefinitely. Many people think wish is the best spell in the game, but true polymorph gives it a run for its money.
Wish – Replicate the effects of any spell of 8th level or lower, without needing to meet requirements of the spell such as casting time or components. We don’t talk about the other effects. Good spells to replicate include simulacrum, mirage arcane, clone, and find greater steed. You can read about wish in greater detail in our Spell Spotlight.

Level 17 Strategy

This is it! You’ve won D&D. You have a new ultimate resource, bigger and badder than all the ones you’ve had previously, which is your 9th level slot. By this point you can cast spells like wall of force and animate objects relatively freely and throw out Tasha’s mind whips and fireballs with abandon.

By this point, the resource management game is almost completely focused on your high level slots, which can evoke effects without saving throws. Think carefully before committing to a forcecage or maze.

Look around at your party. Would an Adult Gold Dragon be more effective than what they are bringing to the table now? Time to very carefully convince them to embrace their new form. Wouldn’t that be fun?

From here on out, your spell choices don’t matter all that much, but for the purposes of this guide we’ll be taking a lot of 9th level spells. The reason for this is simple: you’re exceedingly unlikely to be able to find the best 9th level spells from spellbooks, while lower level spells are likely to be more accessible by this level in the average game. Feel free to change out some of these choices and preparations based on your campaign; for example, you might have scribed some lower level spells like stone shape that you’d prefer to prepare instead.

Level 18 Wizard

Spell Mastery – shield, locate object. Here you get to choose a 1st level spell and a 2nd level spell to be able to cast at will, which you can switch with 8 hours of downtime. For your 1st level pick, we recommend shield, which is pretty standard and will let you reliably use your Arcane Recovery on higher level slots rather than shield slots. For your 2nd level pick, we recommend locate object because far more than alternatives like misty step, being able to spam locate object at will is insane. If you haven’t yet checked out our article on locate object, it should give you some idea of the power of this spell.
Spell Changes: +foresight, +meteor swarm.

Foresight – Gain advantage on everything for eight hours. This is an excellent rest cast, so you shouldn’t feel bad about leaving 9th level slots unused.
Meteor swarm – Deal a lot of damage to a lot of creatures. Sometimes this is the solution.

Level 19 Wizard

Ability Score Improvement (Feat) – War Caster. Advantage on saving throws to maintain concentration can be useful for when we take a lot of damage at once and can’t automatically succeed.
Spell Changes: +planar binding, +synaptic static.

Planar binding – Bind a fey, fiend, celestial, or elemental to serve you. While you’re at this level, you may as well have some fun with true polymorph and planar binding.
Synaptic static – Fireball, but with an Intelligence saving throw, psychic damage, and an ongoing debuff to attack rolls and ability checks. You’re at the point where you can use relatively high level slots on non-concentration options, and this is a good one.

Level 20 Wizard

Signature Spells – fireball, hypnotic pattern. For your signature spells, you should pick spells that you’re likely to cast at least once per day, and fireball and hypnotic pattern fit the bill. A better capstone than many classes get, but not overwhelmingly strong.
Spell Changes: +gate, +shapechange.

Gate – Speak someone’s name and create a gate between planes that leads to them. You can use this to meet your favorite celebrities, or to chase down people who’ve wronged you.
Shapechange – Gain the ability to transform into creatures besides undead and constructs for an hour. Heaps of fun to use. 

And that’s it! We hope you enjoy the build and get a chance to experience ultimate cosmic power.