Wizards have an uphill battle to fight trying to get to the top of the leaderboards in Diablo Immortal. Nobody doubts that a Wizard can dish out damage, but do they have the speed and tankiness to survive when opponents get tougher?
Although there are some variations among top players on each server in Diablo Immortal, there does seem to be a specific build that does better than others. Occasionally, players who have shelled out tons of cash will snatch the lead on their servers, but it's likely they'd be getting even higher had they strategized differently.
Due to several factors, like gear, skills, reforging, and upgrades, it is impossible to list the exact quantities for many of the numbers detailed here. Any variable number has been replaced with an 'X' to signify its potential to change.
Skill Selection
Slot | Skill | Description |
Primary Skill | Electrocute | Arc lightning from your fingertips, dealing X to X damage to the first enemy struck, and then leaping to X additional enemies for X% as much damage. |
Skill | Arcane Wind | Unleash a blast of wind in a direction, dealing X damage and knocking away enemies. Charging longer increases range, knock away distance, and damage up to X. Deals X% increased damage to Burning enemies. |
Skill | Meteor | Summon an immense meteor that plummets from the sky, dealing X damage and Stunning all enemies in the impact area for X seconds. The ground it hits is scorched, Burning enemies for X damage over X seconds. |
Skill | Ice Armor | Surround yourself in a barrier of ice for X seconds that absorbs up to X damage. When the barrier expires, it will shatter for X damage to all nearby enemies and inflict X% Chill for X seconds. Activate again to shatter the barrier immediately. |
Skill | Lightning Nova | Hurl X balls of lightning away from you in all directions, dealing X damage as they pass outward and again as they return to your new location. Limit X hits per target. Hits X and beyond on a target deal only X% damage. |
The group damage of this build is apparent with the first three skills. After that, it's all about tanking, speed, and single-target damage. Ice Armor will toughen the Wizard up, a well-placed Lightning Nova works well against bosses, and the set items will help give the Wizard some additional mobility.
Gear
The bulk of gamers will be hunting down their ideal pieces of legendary gear after taking the time to beat the game. But don't forget to track down the set bonus pieces after choosing them from the list. A complete set gives three additional effects, on par with the legendary bonuses from the regular gear.
Primary Gear
Slot | Piece | Legendary Effect |
Head | N/A | No legendary gear yet exists in this slot that boosts this build's skills. |
Chest | Starcaller's Drapery | Meteor radius increased by X%. |
Shoulders | Shoulders of the Cataclysm | Meteor damage increased by X%. |
Legs | Starcaller's Breeches | Meteor now continually damages enemies in an area, but no longer stuns. |
Main Hand | Windshaper | Arcane Wind now summons a Tornado that follows enemies and continually damages all enemies in its path. |
Off Hand | Heart of the Storm | Ice Armor becomes Storm Armor, continually damaging nearby enemies. |
With no legendary gear that benefits these skills, feel free to take the best piece available. Diablo veterans will be excited to see Storm Armor return, further punishing enemies that get anywhere close to the Wizard. The rest of the gear is all designed to deliver on the one-two punch of Meteor followed by Arcane Wind.
Set Items
Set Bonus | 2/6 Effect | 4/6 Effect | 6/6 Effect |
Issatar Imbued | Each time you defeat an enemy, you gain X% increased Movement Speed for X seconds. | Damage dealt increased by X% for every X% increase in your Movement Speed, up to a maximum damage increase of X%. | Each time you defeat an enemy, you have a X% chance to gain an orbiting soul orb for X seconds, which deals X damage when it passes through an enemy. Cannot gain a soul orb more often than once every X seconds. |
Although there is hardly a consensus on the best gear, it does seem like those who put together Issatar Imbued are getting the best times in Challenge Rifts. Because this build will be getting kills frequently and in clusters, the extra boost from mob-to-mob makes up for a lack of mobility skills.
Reforge Bonuses
Even for paid players, reforge attribute bonuses can be guided, but are not guaranteed completely. With enough rerolls, any player can eventually get the exact attribute they want, but this will take time and luck, even for those who have the money. Therefore, several different attributes have been listed within the same family, in order of preference.
Family Bonus
Family | Family Attribute |
Tremor | Your primary attacks have a X% chance to inflict X damage and stun nearby enemies for X seconds. |
There is a pretty even divide between the Vengeance and Tremor families, but, upon further inspection, the nod will go to Tremor. Both give bonuses to primary attacks, but the individual attributes within the Tremor tree a slightly more valuable.
Attributes
Preference | Attribute |
First | Your primary attacks have a X% chance to reduce enemy attack and movement speeds. |
Second | Stun resistance increased by X%. |
Third | Knock away resistance increased by X%. |
There's no doubt that this is tankier than what many WIzard may expect. But the build has plenty of damage to clear Challenge Rifts, the only worry is if it can take a few hits. This is also particularly useful against bosses who don't succumb to the usual tactics of a PvE build.
Gems
There are two kinds of gems to consider for this build: the legendary gems and the regular gems. Players of all income levels will be using this guide, so there are three charts for legendary gems to choose from. Probability demands that even paying for an advantage will still make it tough to get the right gems, so feel free to mix and match from the charts based on the character's most valuable stats.
Legendary Gems
5-Star Gem | Effect |
Blood-Soaked Jade | Increases all damage you deal by up to X% and your Movement Speed by X%, with less damage bonus the lower your Life, to a minimum of X%. |
Chip of Stoned Flesh | Each time you cause an enemy total loss of control, you will also apply an explosive curse. When the curse expires, the enemy will explode for damage equal to X% of all damage taken during its duration, up to a maximum of X% base damage. Cannot occur more often than once every X seconds per target. |
Bottled Hope | Using a skill to grant a buff increases the target's damage done and movement speed by X% for X seconds. Cannot occur more often than once every X seconds per target. |
Seeping Bile | Your attacks have a X% chance to poison enemies, inflicting X% base damage +X every second for X seconds. This poison spreads to nearby enemies if the victim dies. Cannot affect the same target more often than once every X seconds. |
Zwenson's Haunting | When you defeat an enemy, summon a dark beast to attack nearby enemies, dealing X% base damage +X to all nearby enemies. Cannot occur more than once every X seconds. |
Phoenix Ashes | Prevents fatal damage, and then grants a shield for X seconds that absorbs damage equal to X% of your base damage. Cannot occur more often than once every X seconds. |
For players who have their pick of 5-Star gems, the only change to make at higher Challenge Rifts is to switch out a few offensive gems and plug in some defensive ones. Survival is what will hold the Wizard back, not their damage output, so remember that when choosing gems.
2-Star Gem | Effect |
Bloody Reach | Increases all damage you deal by X% for every X yards between you and the enemy hit. Maximum increase of X% at X yards. |
Fervent Fang | Each time you deal damage to an enemy, that enemy now takes X% increased from your attacks, up to a maximum increase of X% at X stacks. |
Power and Command | Power and Command alternate states every X seconds. Power increases your Primary Attack damage by X%. Command increases all other skill damage by X%. |
The Hunger | Heal X% base damage +X Life each time you defeat an enemy. Cannot occur more often than once every X seconds. |
Battleguard | Decreases all melee damage you take by X% from enemies within X yards. |
Lightning Core | Your Primary Attacks and movement slowly charge you up with electricity. When fully charged, your next Primary Attack will release chain lightning, dealing X% base damage +X to nearby enemies. Cannot occur more often than once every X seconds. |
2-Star gems mostly have precedents over 1-Star gems regardless of their effect due to the Resonance increase. Given a choice, use anything that increases the Wizard's longevity throughout the rift.
1-Star Gem | Effect |
Respite Stone | Decreases all damage you take by X% for every X% your Life is below maximum, up to maximum damage decrease of X%. |
Chained Death | Increases damage done by your attacks by X% per target hit, up to a maximum of X% with X targets. |
Everlasting Torment | Your critical hits inflict agony, dealing X% Base damage +X every second for X seconds. Each enemy can only be affected by this once every X seconds. |
Ca'arsen's Invigoration | Increases the speed of your Primary Attack by X%. |
Seled's Weakening | Gain X% increased damage for X seconds after killing an Elite monster. |
Zod Stone | Increases the duration of your Ultimate Skills by X%. |
Despite a wide array of 1-Star gems, only a few will make sense for a PvE Wizard. Never intentionally tank hits, no matter how good the gems appear to be, but these gems should be able to help with the natural cuts and bruises.
Regular Gem Preference
Color | Gem | Effect |
Red | Tourmaline | +Damage |
Yellow | Citrine | +Potency |
Blue | Sapphire | +Armor Penetration |
Given the choice between tanking and damage, elect for extra damage every time, allowing the best defense to be a good offense. It should be noted that most players have one or two defensive variety gems on them. If physical, magic, or health seem to be an issue, plug these in on a case-by-case basis.
Diablo Immortal is available now for mobile and PC.