Wizard considering returning in S21

It’s been a few seasons since playing diablo as real world things started getting in the way. I’ve now got some more time on my hands and want to return to the world of Sanctuary. I always love the wizard/magic class and always play that when given the option so naturally have little to no interest in playing another class (and since this is the Wizard forum, I imagine I’m not alone here :slight_smile:)

I only get excited, however, when playing if I can work towards being optimal so if another class is significantly better, I’ll probably lose figure what’s the point when I could achieve better results with that other class, lose interest and do something else. I’d therefore like to know where wizards shine and what is their role in the meta whether that be solo speed farming T16/group speed farming T16/solo pushing or trash clearing/RGK/zdps support in 2 man, 3 man or 4 man groups so I can get motivated to work towards that?

So, my fellow wizards, for what purposes are Wizards Meta as that’s what I’ll focus on in Season 21? Looking forward to the replies. Many thanks. :slight_smile:

Honestly?

If your goal is to be playing an optimal class, this isn’t the season to play wizard.

Wizard is decent at T16 and lower level solo GR speedfarming (like GR90-100), but falls behind in pretty much everything else. It’s a good chunk below the other classes for solo pushing, it falls behind other classes for higher GR solo speedfarming (like 105-110) it doesn’t have a role in either group speed metas or group push metas.

If you’re playing wizard this season, it’s because you love playing wizard. It’s definitely not an optimal class for either solo or group farming or metas. I hate to turn people away from playing wizard, normally I’d never do that. But based on your goals, I don’t think wizard is the right class for you in S21. Next patch is supposed to be a big balance patch, so S22 might bring something much better for wizards.

Just look at the rank 1 clear on the seasonal leaderboards:
Barb: GR135
Crusader: GR131
DH: GR141
Monk: GR130
Necro: GR131
WD: GR139
Wizard: GR124

Sure, class popularity is a bit of a factor in that. DHs are super popular right now, and wizards not very popular. But that leaderboard discrepancy should tell you all you need to know.

Everyone and their uncle is playing Demon Hunter this season because the new DH set is very good for solo speedfarming, solo pushing, and group speedfarming. Barb is also a good all around class, the WW/Rend build is great for solo speedfarming and they always have a spot in group speedfarming and group push meta as zbarb.

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Going to have to echo Tinne here. We are the worst class in the game by a considerable margin this season. I should also note the Rank 1 wizard is probably bot account at over 2500 paragon; one of several users with the same name theme.

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Ok, it seems Wizards aren’t useful for anything in the game. Well, that’s depressing. guess I’ll give S21 a miss then as I only enjoy playing Wizard and know I’d quickly get demotivated knowing I could be doing so much better by playing another class (in this case any other class it seems). Maybe S22 will be better.

Thanks for your responses Tinn and Venaliter. Much appreciated.

Been like this nine months now. Ugh.

Yeah, I think I’ve rolled every class for S21 and Wizards are by far the bottom of the ladder. I’ve never been a fan of Archon builds either. Endlessly hoping for a magical D2 frozen orb archetype again. But you should play if you want a cool steampunk pet :smiley:

The irony is wizards are ending RoS as we began it. The worst class in the game using Hydra builds, though this time it isn’t Venom hydra.

I did S21 cause I am stuck taking forever to get primals on my non season wizard. 15 primals in on season and nothing but junk, so having finished all the season challenges, I am pretty much done for this season.

I’ll be doing S22 on the wizard too…if we still suck, I’ll do my challenges and hang my hat again.

Just to tell you how OP the DH is, with zero ancients and the bare minimal gear set, I am able to solo a GR95 no problem with the DH. I need ancients to do that with the wizard lol