Diablo III™

Key Features

  • Elemental Mastery

    Wizards claim dominion over the natural elements of Sanctuary. Crackling flames, bolts of lightning, blasts of ice and whirlwinds are at their command, and this versatility enables them to target foes’ weaknesses and bypass their defenses.
  • Area Attacks

    The battlefield is covered in the forces summoned by a powerful wizard – cones and blasts that hit large groups of creatures at once, rays that punish them for standing close together, and falling rocks that crush those who idle.
  • Protective Spells

    Though not as physically agile or strong as some other heroes, wizards cloak themselves in defensive magics. They can encase their skin in diamonds, create mirror images to befuddle their enemies, and harm or slow those foolish enough to strike at them directly.
  • Endless Energy

    Wizards rarely find themselves without the power of magic. They can nearly always afford to cast their weaker spells thanks to their swiftly-regenerating Arcane Power, and they invoke certain powers more easily as their experience grows.

Resource: Arcane Power

Unlike more deliberate and cautious magic-users, wizards are lightning rods for Arcane Power. An intense energy courses through them, and they direct it as though it were an extension of their own bodies.

Wizards continually crackle with Arcane Power – it regenerates itself quickly, and so they can call upon their lesser abilities seemingly without end. They are only in danger of depleting their stores of energy when attempting a number of invocations at once.

However, Arcane Power can ravage wizards’ bodies if its use is not carefully paced, so Wizards must endure a cooldown period before repeatedly casting certain potent spells. These spells – conjured meteors falling from the sky, torrents of force that shove multiple foes off their feet, or energy bubbles that halt the flow of time itself – are so powerful that they are worth the wait.

Wizards are renegade spellcasters who use their bodies as vessels for arcane energy, forsaking the more careful path favored by other magic users. They manipulate all manner of forces to disintegrate, burn, and freeze their foes, and they can control time and light to teleport, create powerful illusions, and deflect oncoming attacks.

Wizards grip wands and staves to focus their less potent magics, blasting at their enemies while gathering the energy or time necessary to destroy them in a dazzling hail of arcane might.

With few exceptions, wizard attacks are conducted at a distance, away from danger. As living artillery, wizards are well suited to relying on long-range destructive power.

Background

“If my old masters could see me now...”

Magic-users hail from academies throughout Sanctuary – from Xiansai to Caldeum – bearing monikers like "sorcerer" and "mage," but those who would refer to themselves with the derogatory epithet "wizard" are as similar to their fellow spellcasters as a lion is to a kitten. Wizards and sorcerers both wield the hidden mysteries of the arcane; there, the commonalities end.

Wizards are known for a number of qualities: not only rebelliousness and flair, but also disdain for the endless lessons and prattling about caution and safety that echo from academic schools of magic. Wizards’ superior attitudes seem to stem from their natural talent – their ability to wrestle the ambient force of magic into submission and direct it to their ends by will and instinct. Any accidents that might occur due to their lack of finesse are unfortunate…but that rarely stops wizards from indulging in their unstable power.

If they can only master their double-edged gift and avoid destroying themselves, these upstart arcane prodigies may be able to finally reach the destiny that they see on the horizon.

Read the short story

Equipment

Though all material items serve as channels for the wizard’s immense power, some have particularly special uses. Wizards wield orbs, which aren’t quite weapons – instead, they’re off-handed supplements that provide them with visions and knowledge to aid their spellcasting, or serve as reservoirs of power. Wizards also equip themselves with traditional (and often enchanted) wands, thin sticks that they use to direct monumental arcane forces at their targets.

Armor Progression

Early wizard armor is quilted wear that would have been out of place in a Caldeum academy, and is equally out of place protecting young wizards from arrows and claws.
Some effort and battlefield experience can rectify the situation, as later armor sets integrate hardened chestplates and greaves with travel tunics and trailing robes.
Truly successful wizards wear the rewards of their questing proudly: flowing capes ornamented in the Xiansai style and crowned headpieces, all carefully placed amidst embossed metal that a soldier would envy.
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Comments (1,107)

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There is absolutely no difference between the male and female Wizards... look the same to me...
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WOLFKING93#1238
WOLFKING93
WOLFKING93
6 hours, 13 minutes ago
god truly hates me i cant even log in
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SMKNTREEZ#1636
SMKNTREEZ
SMKNTREEZ
6 hours, 54 minutes ago
still not working
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i need to be able to play my d3 disk it cost 68$ &i cant play im upset
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EmpirePinky #805
EmpirePinky
8 hours, 56 minutes ago
I completely agree with Azaradel. Where is the stat allocation? There is a difference between a game being "idiot proof" and just making it easy and un-interesting. That was the difference with Diablo II: It took you forever to get to level 99 and if you invested in the wrong points before going down a certain path - sorry your fault - be excited about starting over. I dont believe in making games to last one year and, so far, it looks like d3 has limited itself on this side. Let players CHOOSE to make their own mistakes. I'll really be disappointed if I'm level 99 in a month, walking around like a god, and dont know what to do with myself. Especially with the new auction house, which i think is a fantastic idea, I am dubious if all this work is for nothing if everyone ends up in the same "place."
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Charmander18#1618
Charmander18
Charmander18
8 hours, 52 minutes ago
@EmpirePinky: even if everyone is at the same place in the end when it comes to pvp it will all come down to skill and that's the beauty of it
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What's with the lack of options for characters? One cannot assign stats or esp skill points in d3 from what I've seen. Pretty graphics of course, but seems like my char is on rails and will be exactly like every other wizard out there. Dumbed down gameplay unfortunately compared to d2.
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@Jaeger: Stat allocation was pointless in D2 anyways. It was always the same exact formula. Enough strength to wear your equipment and then dump the rest in vitality. What are you really losing by not being able to do that?
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TarulenVoid#1454
TarulenVoid
TarulenVoid
9 hours, 15 minutes ago
@Azaradel: the freedom to choose your build now its a forced build with walls and boundaries. I miss the old d2 style but im giving this a chance im currently only level 15 but i do wish i could mix and match more spells and choose which ones i unlock instead of the game picking all of it
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EmpirePinky #805
EmpirePinky
8 hours, 53 minutes ago
@Jaeger: Awesome point Jaeger. I meant in my post to agree with you; not Azaradel
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SETTING UP GAME NOW... WHAT CLASS SHOULD I GO WITH? I WAS THINKING ABOUT GOING FOR MONK?
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all i wanna do is play da game cant get it going humm wounder i send it back?
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How do I get my program key?
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Hypocr1sy#1335
Hypocr1sy
Hypocr1sy
15 hours, 34 minutes ago
the game just came out and already having server patches... wtf -_-
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im only gunna be a wizard cuz they r op
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Vladamire77#1247
Vladamire77
Vladamire77
16 hours, 29 minutes ago
Frustrated, Once I start using my magic, my bow doesnt work anymore......Any help on how to switch back to using my bow (I have it equipped it just wont let me use it)
PLEASE HELP!!!
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@Vladamire77: You can only use your weapon (assuming you're a wizard) when your Arcane pool runs out.
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Choptikon
Earthen Ring
Choptikon
16 hours, 31 minutes ago
I played from about 5am to 4pm est, got to level 20 as a wizard, about half way threw act2. I love it so far, cant wair for servers to come back on.
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i wana kick !@# what class?
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If you are gosu wizard pwns
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just got this and now i can't log on....btw what classes do you guys recommend? I think ima go Wizard but not sure what spells i should pick, Magic missile sounds cool tho ;D. Anything helpful would help a lot, ty O=
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I agree with the Panda, Diablo 3 lost almost all the freedom it had in D2. Everything is straight forward... no control over the stats, you cant equip what ever items you like, there is no skill trees. What Blizzard has been creating over the past 10 years is pathetic. I'm going back to MW3 on the PS3.
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@brutus: peace
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KungfuPanda #432
KungfuPanda
19 hours, 19 minutes ago
seriously, diablo 3 sucks like crap, only the graphic is better than D2, but u can't change skills easily, there is no skill points for different style build, nothing such as "max out", u can't rush, can't host a game, only 4 players/game, diablo 3 is really really disappointing
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@KungfuPanda: dumb
just dumb....
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Gnowain
Wyrmrest Accord
Gnowain
17 hours, 1 minute ago
@KungfuPanda: You do realize, in diablo 2, that despite the skill system, there was always only one or two builds that were the only thing worth playing at all.
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@KungfuPanda: agree. D3 is so so disappointing beside the graphic. i feel like im playing another PS2 ARPG game 15 years back.
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I love her. They couldnt have picked a better voice actor. <3
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Yell0wMamba#1656
Yell0wMamba
Yell0wMamba
19 hours, 26 minutes ago
I just noticed how squishy Wizards can be in Hell and Inferno after watching live streams from other people. Part of me believe that I'll be a more skilled Wiz than these people....but I can't wait to wipe, rinse, and repeat heading into Inferno!
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So, is the voice actor for the female wizard the same as princess Azula in Avatar: the last airbender cartoon?
Sounds very similiar, has that snark tone in her voice like she is the supreme being.
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Yell0wMamba#1656
Yell0wMamba
Yell0wMamba
19 hours, 28 minutes ago
@Kieffer: Yessir, you are correct.
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@Kieffer: Holy !@#% lol you really recognized it like that?
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@Kieffer: Wow, you noticed it too? =D I laughed SO hard when I realized it was Azula's VA. I didn't think they'd give the female wizard her voice. That's just awesome.

After looking at the Barbarian and Wizard now, I'm torn between making one of them. Maybe I'll just make both, lol.
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This is my favourite class
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at least they are working on it XD
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Because the Servers are offline for a maintenance (emergency) and will return at or about 1:30 PDT
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yeah it sucks
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I got to play 3-4 hours and was then suddenly thrown out of the game, now I cant logon and I get the same error-messages over and over.
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Well as soon as I can play I am rolling with this character.
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WTF with login?