Recently I finished a campaign lasting from Jan 2022 to May 2024 that took us through The Abomination Vaults and Stolen Fate on Foundry VTT. With a smattering of the beginners box and Troubles In Otari to break up the initial levels. Throughout this adventure I played an Evocation (later Battle Magic in the remaster) Spell-SubstitutionWizard with the Alchemist and Time Mage archetypes mixed in as we had the free archetype rule on. It was a fantastic time throughout and I loved my Wizard so much. Leaving a real impact on me since starting in 4th Edition DnD, playing some Pathfinder 1e and other, less crunchy Tabletop Games. I had also run a PF2e game (Extinction Curse) as a GM so this was my first time actually playing.
Below are some assorted thoughts in no real order on the Wizard and the Time Mage archetype abilities. Itās honestly far too long as it is and Iām sure once Iām done writing, Iāll think of more things. But I loved playing them.
This is not a Caster/Martial debate or Wizard vs other games post.
Spell Substitution: In my opinion, Spell Substitution almost removes one of the biggest issues that prepped spell casters have. Letting you use those lesser known spells and such if you have the time to scout or get information about who you are going up against. Meant that you didnāt have to feel like a generalist who gambled on certain things happening. A great thing to add. But can totally see the appeal of other types of wizard thesis/study.
I felt flexible and powerful: I could flexibly jump between hitting weak defences, throwing down powerful buffs, plotting how we might approach a situation and so on. It didnāt always feel like this at lower levels but it got better and better so quickly.
A robust understanding of PF2e allows the Wizard to shine: As I GMāed a game before I had come armed with the knowledge from that to help me understand the best spells. You are rewarded by playing the Wizard of having this understanding. It makes it feel far less bad when you have a basic understanding of not only how the class works but what feels good to use against an enemy and even the best success spells. Experienced players know how good Frightened 1 and Stunned 1 can be on a foe. Newer players wonāt.
Remaster changes: I donāt have any big thoughts or feelings on the remaster. The schools obviously give less options now but I kind of liked getting some defensive options mixed into the original evocation list of almost all offensive spells. Sometimes I feel like people spend a lot of time talking about Pathfinder rather than actually playing it. So I never felt like I was massively hampered. But can understand those who have a certain idea of a type of wizard in mind losing out with these new schools. Iām sure plenty will be added in the future. I didnāt really dip into any remaster feats as well. I donāt feel like we should have changed to the remaster mid game though.
The Remaster removing Spell Schools means that we have lost an invaluable way of searching/categorising spells: I approve of removing the spell schools on the basis of their weirdness of not quite making sense for certain spells and the OGL issues. But I canāt imagine how overwhelming it must be for a new player to open up just the Arcane Spell list and not know what to pick and having to do research into it all. I enjoy making characters and looking through spell lists. But I also imagine there are many players who just want to play. Without spell schools we have lost a great way of quickly finding spells that are likely to fall into categories like damaging, defensive, out of combat, summoning and so on. Luckily, there are still traits that allow some quick searching to be done, like the elemental ones. The new wizard Arcane Schools feel like they should be signposted to more players (even those outside the Wizard classes) as ways of getting an idea of groups of similar spells.
Spell Volume: Iām fine with spellcasters starting with less spells and getting more as they go along. Even more so with focus spells and a wide range of cantrips to use. Sometimes I found myself wanting the spell blending thesis just so I could cut down on the spells by the end of the campaign. I think I could cast close to nearly 60+ spells by the end of the game at any time from a combination of focus spells, items, wizard spells and my staves. It was mind boggling. I felt so powerful. Getting Rank 3 spells at level 5 felt best though. Everyone loves a Fireball or a Haste.
Haste/Quickened: Speaking of Haste, I found that the Quickened condition was almost always useful when cast on my wizard. It was usually reserved for martials who get obvious use of it. But that extra move always felt good on myself, the cleric or the bard. It allowed us to play it so much safer. So do consider if there are certain times that a class might need it that doesnāt use Strikeās often. Rank 7 Haste is bonkers. Absolutely bonkers. I only used it less than I did so the GM didnāt get any ideas about using it tooā¦ ;)
The best defence is just moving out of the way: It doesnāt matter how many buffs, defences or tricks you have up your sleeve. The best defence is just to walk away. Or get out of that AoE an enemy is about to throw down. I got a reputation of running away each time I cast a spell and then ran quickly behind a corner. But it was a far more powerful negation that taking Counterspell would have ever been.
Having to wait until level 17 to get successes upgraded to crit successes was/is sad: As a Wizard I never felt like my class was particularly more powerful than the other classes around me. There were times I shined and other times I was less so. So I never really understood why all those classes around me all got abilities that upgraded their saves from successes to crit successes so early on in comparison. Even other spellcasters got it earlier. Once I hit level 17 I felt like I was using the upgrade ability for Will two or three times almost every game. If not more. So this is my petition.. Paizo itās okay for Wizards to have an upgrade succ to crit succ earlier on. :ā( Same goes for other classes like this too.
Force Bolt: The Evocation/Battle Magic focus spell, Force Bolt is a fantastic spell from level 1 to 20. I found consistent uses for it as filling in that single action at the end if I didnāt want to do anything else with my third action. Itās almost never resisted and always relevant for that reason. I find that in Foundry VTT with the Health Estimate mod it is even more powerful at the lower levels. If an enemy is āNear Deathā you can usually reliably kill an enemy with your initial action with this and then move onto something else. Or pop another foe. On a physical table I donāt think I would have used it as much. But this could also not be the case as I wouldnāt have saved it for popping those enemies.
Shadow Signet: I never got this item despite the fact I probably should have. But it didnāt lessen my experience at all.
Contingency: A wizard classic. My go-to was āwhen an enemy targets me with a melee strike, dimension door behind the named cleric in the partyā. A really great spell but also a high level one too!
Recall Knowledge: The longer the game went on, the more vital Recall Knowledge became. Targeting lowest saves with a wide arrange of spells and also all the quirks of foes became really important. The higher level you get the more unusual abilities enemies get. Even more so from pre-written adventures where the writers want to showcase interesting monsters and unique designs. Rather than what is on the more easy side to run.
Spell Penetration : I have almost wanted to write a post alone on the weirdness of Spell Penetration/Irresistible Magic. I think for some GMās it is a simple ability to account for. As well as people reading this might think itās extremely simple. But I think for many GMs and players, it will represent a feat that will be often missed. And you donāt want to miss out on what is a common resistance for enemies to have at higher levels!
The problem with it is that as a player you have choices:
- Consistently remind your GM of Spell Penetration, even when you donāt know if itās relevant or not after every single spell you cast.
Or
- Rely on your GM to remember it, while they are juggling a range of diverse and complex foes, storylines and spell lists.
So it either resembles nagging the GM or hoping your GM remembers yet another jenga piece to the chaos of battle. Unlike something like say, Overwhelming Energy, itās not something you are announcing you are turning on before you cast it. It is always on. It feels like a feat both GM and Player have to remember in not a great way. Plus itās a feat that is so good that everyone should at least consider it. It was a highly effective +1 to spells in many situations against those nasty Daemons and such. Once again, Iām sure in some games this is never a consideration or an issue.
Spell Combination: A wonderful Level 20 feat that lets you just merge spells to hilarious effects. When I wasnāt sure of some wacky combination I just went for things like āDouble Single Target Fireballā and āDouble Disintergrateā. But combined some other things together like Fly/Freedom of Movement and Befuddle + Fear. Alongside Visions of Death + Confusion. Truly rewards your knowledge of playing over the course of the game.
Time Mage: This is a cool archetype. It gives an array of interesting abilities. With some that I wish I could have got more use out of.
Delay Consequence: By far the most used of all feats. While itās taken from another class, it is great at denying the disruption of spells and abilities that Reactive Strike cancels out on a crit. Making it a seriously powerful action enabler. In many cases it saves a player from having two actions denied from them at the cost of a wizard reaction, which is usually less valuable than other classes. Among other similar abilities. It works best, however, if you have a Cleric or another class that can dump a load of healing in preperation for a big hit about to happen later on though.
Statis: A very flavourful ability that I didnāt use as much as I liked. The incapacitation trait really prevented me from using it. But having a stun 1 on success meant it never felt too bad to use. Good for letting us ignore an enemy for a turn. The fact it was a Will Save as well meant that it sometimes almost felt like a stand in for the extremely powerful Slow spell when I wanted some action denial and not a Fort save.
Into the Future: The action required to use this means I never used it the way I wanted to and never really saw use of it. I couldnāt quite work out or see situations to use it in. My only real thought was trying to stack on something like True Strike to come onto my Wizard the next turn then throw down another buff. But ultimately it never panned out.
Plot the Future: Feels like a cheat ability, honestly. Unlimited ask the GM a question and they have to give you a pretty honest answer felt a bit too good. And Iām not a fan of GMās who try to play coy with you over abilities that are quite clear. Otherwise they are useless. I didnāt take this until level 20. As it felt cheesy. But had some nice uses and everyone in the party will quickly see you as someone who can indeed plot the future!
Purge of Moments: Tragically never used. I feel like this is a great and flavourful ability for shaking off some nasty abilities but I think it is really underpowered at 3-Actions to use. Needs to be geared down to 2-actions personally. Even more so when itās only once per encounter. Beyond shaking off things like Paralysis or another ability that lets you keep your mind in tact, there felt like nothing else good for it. Unless you have something like Regeneration on you and need a big dump of HP. I mean at 3 actions, it doesnāt even let you try and shake off a somewhat longer lasting stun/slowing ability.
Timeline-Splitting Spell: What a cool name and what a cool ability! Getting to cast two spells at once and then deciding what to keep is so, so powerful. It lets you toss out a reliable spell mixed in with a less reliable one. Even if itās once a day and burns up two spell slots AND is three actionsā¦ I LOVED this. It rocks. It feels so different from the sort of balancing we see in pf2e.
I tried to hold back on using this on large groups of enemies so I didnāt give everyone a headache. Despite being a Time Mage, time is finite in the real world and I donāt want to waste it and the other players patience by comparing two different sets of five-six saves/damage rolls to see what is the best(!)
Final Thoughts: Wizards are still great. They arenāt the game/battle enders they were once you started going past level 6 or 7 in Pathfinder 1e but they are a fantastic class. You can do almost everything barring healing. And battle forms even let you get some punches in. Works very well in a group and excels at hitting multiple saves, AoE damage and buffing. It certainly is a class that rewards high knowledge of the game and can feel bad if you don't have a lot of information to go off when you're prepping for the day. Work with your GM to find out if it's the best fit for the campaign.
