So you finally have your hands on Diablo 4, and you’re left wondering, How do I build my character? Well, there are many avenues you can take, and that can be both an incredibly good and scary thing.
One of the most powerful classes in Diablo 4 is the mage. They can be adept at the elements, specialize in certain types of damage, or just be a glass cannonball – capable of wiping out any enemy in front of them while at the same time being a delicate little flower. We’ve tried almost every master design you can make with a magician, and here’s the best one to settle on.
Better leveling skills
Each time you level up, you will gain a skill point that can be applied to the skill tree. You can also gain skill points by gaining enough fame in each area to unlock fame bonuses. Since everyone will gain skill points at a different pace, we’ve broken down our leveling guide to focus on point allocation, rather than your character’s level.
There are dozens of ways to build your own wizard. To ensure you have the best skills to help you level up quickly, we’ve tried builds that focus strictly on fire, lightning, ice, and a combination of the three. You can certainly switch up some of these skills to suit your play style, but we’ve found this particular group to call mage battle It provides options for almost any situation, be it offensive, defensive or dribbling. These skills also give you a nice balance between close combat and ranged attacks, and will help ensure you make use of the best upgrade and passive improvements available.
skill point |
skill type |
priority skill |
---|---|---|
1 |
Basic |
lash arch 1/5 |
2 |
Basic |
Arc Lash 2/5 |
3 |
essence |
Ice shards 1/5 |
4 |
essence |
Ice shards 2/5 |
5 |
Basic |
Arc Lash 3/5 |
6 |
essential upgrade |
Improved Ice Fragments |
7 |
defensive |
Teleport 1/5 |
8 |
defensive |
Frost Nova 1/5 |
9 |
defensive |
Frost Nova 2/5 |
10 |
Basic |
Arc Lash 4/5 |
11 |
basic upgrade |
Bow Lash Enhanced |
12 |
essence |
Lightning Series 1/5 |
13 |
essence |
Lightning Series 2/5 |
14 |
Basic passive |
Devastation |
15 |
essential upgrade |
Enhanced Lightning Series |
16 |
Basic passive |
Devastation |
17 |
essence |
Lightning Series 3/5 |
18 |
defensive |
Frost Nova 3/5 |
19 |
managed |
meteorite 1/5 |
20 |
managed |
meteorite 2/5 |
21 |
defensive promotion |
Enhanced Frost Nova |
22 |
defensive promotion |
Frost Nova flashes |
23 |
essence |
Lightning Series 4/5 |
24 |
climax |
Hard freeze |
25 |
Basic |
Arc Lash 5/5 |
26 |
Ultimate exaggeration |
permafrost |
27 |
defensive |
Frost Nova 4/5 |
28 |
essential upgrade |
Destructive Lightning Chain |
29 |
essence |
Lightning Series 5/5 |
30 |
climax |
Prime Minister Deb Fraser |
Better gear and stats
Like allocating skill points, there is more than one way to equip your mage. In general, magicians can use either a one-handed wand or a combination of a one-handed weapon and a magic item. Wands usually have a slower casting speed but higher damage output, while a wand and magic item combo comes with a faster casting speed but often lower overall damage. The wand and magic item combo also comes with the added bonus of having twice the number of item effects since both items will have their own effects, stickers, and aspects. Sometimes it’s better to do a little less base damage to get the extra stat benefits that come with it.
Since weapons and armor are randomly generated stats, buffs, and aspects, there is no direct way to send you to find a specific item for that better build. Instead, you’ll want to pay attention to the effects on the items you find because they’ll be the most important factor in building your settlement. As a Battle Mage whose primary attack requires you to get up close and personal, it’s important to focus on ensuring you can get in and out of the action quickly. Teleportation will definitely help you with that, but you’ll also need to be able to do the most damage on your skills and be prepared to take some hits as well.
priority level |
priority titles |
---|---|
1 (highest) |
Rank points for Skill, Intelligence, Dexterity |
2 |
Maximum energy, willpower, frost skill damage, shock skill damage, damage vs. run |
3 |
Basic skill damage, basic skill damage, damage vs. cooling, resistance to the elements |
4 |
Life kill, receive health, critical hit damage, cooldown reduction |
5 (lowest) |
Movement Speed, Lucky Strike%, Damage Control vs. Horde |
Recommended gems
To maximize your design, you will need to choose the right gems for your equipment. There are several types of gems to choose from, each with its own effects. Furthermore, the type of gear you insert into the gems will completely change the effects of the gems.
Again, there is no one way to do this, but there are a few gems that will work best for you in almost every type of scenario. When choosing which of these decals to install in your gear, the last thing to consider is what are the primary decals for the gear. For example, if you already have a bunch of resistance due to the stats your equipment came with, you can probably reserve one of the gem slots for something related to damage instead. Don’t be afraid to experiment to find the right combination. You can always unlock and keep gems if you don’t like your original decision.
gear item |
Perfect gem |
---|---|
arms |
topaz, diamond, skull |
shield |
Ruby, skull |
jewelry |
Diamond, skull |