The Ultimate One D&D Wizard Guide – Mastering Wizards

I do a standard S-F tier ranking and here’s how I categorize them:

S Tier – The absolute best of the best. These options can even broach into unfair territory and may be subject to being banned at certain tables. If you’re looking for power level alone, there’s functionally no reason not to use these.

A Tier – While not as broken as the S Tier options, these are as good as you can get without broaching into unfair territory, although some of them may be strong enough to feel unfair!

B Tier – These will not be as inherently powerful as A Tier options, but are still quite strong in their own right. These are likely a bit more situational or slightly weaker than the A tier options, but still very good.

C Tier – Decent options, but likely not particularly strong. These options don’t offer too much or may just be a bit too situational to be ranked higher, but are still options you should consider as these will be the average power level.

D Tier – While not completely useless, these options are either very weak or very situational so are unlikely to be used, but unlike F tier, these aren’t completely unusable or actively detrimental.

F Tier – Either so weak or so situational that these should functionally never be taken or considered unless in the most niche of circumstances.

Level 1

Starting Proficiencies – D Tier – Obviously Simple Weapon proficiency is not taking this class very far. The only reason this isn’t in F Tier is because you do get to use True Strike if you want, but that’s personally not a big improvement.

Ritual Adept – S+ Tier – This is the main reason why Wizards stand at the top of the casters. Every Ritual you get you don’t have to prepare to use which is extremely powerful, especially since you can learn more spells as you go.

Arcane Recovery – A- Tier – Recovering spell slots is always nice, and as you level up, you can recover a good amount of spells!

1st Level Spells – S Tier – With Ritual Adept, your 1st level spells are even stronger than the other classes as you get to pick up a bunch of excellent ritual spells pretty quickly.

Level 2

Scholar – B- Tier – Getting Expertise in one skill is nice, but nothing too exciting.

Level 3

2nd Level Spells – A+ Tier – Wizards get a lot of excellent 2nd level options, and while you can’t grab as many 2nd level spells compared to 1st, they are still super impactful.

Level 5

Memorize Spell – B+ Tier – The ability to switch out a prepared spell with a short rest makes it that much more difficult to not have the right spell for the job.

3rd Level Spells – S Tier – Third level spells, like a martial characters Extra Attack, is a huge power spike for every full caster as you have a lot of extremely powerful options, and Wizards gets to grab and use more than anyone else!

Level 7

4th Level Spells – S+ Tier – There are a lot of messed up fourth level spells, and you get to use a bunch of them!

Level 9

5th Level Spells – A Tier – While you don’t get too many good options, getting access to Telepathic Bond and Wall of Force is really strong, and is once again, a pretty substantial power spike.

Level 11

6th Level Spells – A+ Tier – Unlike functionally all the other casters, Wizards get a lot of really good 6th level spells.

Level 13

7th Level Spells – A+ Tier – Like 6th level spells, Wizards get substantially better 7th level options than other casters.

Level 15

8th Level Spells – A- Tier – While still better than the other casters, even Wizard can’t avoid having good, but not as powerful 8th level spells compared to your previous ones.

Level 17

9th Level Spells – S Tier – 9th level spells are absolutely broken and the game is very much going to revolve around when you get to use them.

Level 18

Spell Mastery – B- Tier – This used to be an absolutely broken feature, but since the changes to it, it’s solid but nothing incredible.

Level 20

Signature Spells – C Tier – Two additional third level spell slots that you can’t use for any spell is fine, but not the most exciting.

The Complete Wizard Spell List

Wizard Spell Tier List – The Best Wizard Spells

Aasimar – A Tier – A generically strong species that gives you a lot of things for any class. Two damage Resistances (Necrotic and Radiant), Darkvision is great to have, some free healing, the Light cantrip for free, and a cool form to transform into with 3 reasonable options. Just a great all around choice and my general pick for Wizard.

Dragonborn – B Tier – A decent species in general as you get a damage resistance, Darkvision, Flight at level 5, and a breath weapon that can be useful in a pinch. Dragonborns are good, but are generally just outshined by Aasimar who offer a similar, but stronger package.

Dwarf – C- Tier – Long range Darkvision, Tremorsense for scouting, and extra health is nice. Resistance to poison damage and advantage to save against the poisoned condition is alright, but pretty rare so it’s not going to come up that often and the poisoned condition is not that relevant to spellcasters.

Elf – A- Tier – Darkvision is great, an extra skill proficiency is nice, and advantage on saving throws against being Charmed can be useful in some situations. The real treat, however, is being able to pick your lineage for free, prepared spells. Wood Elf in particular to get Longstrider and Pass Without Trace on top of extra movement speed is particularly appealing, but High Elf for Misty Step is definitely great as well..

Gnome – C+ Tier – Darkvision is obviously good, but more importantly, advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws is excellent. This is a decent choice if you want to be relatively resistant to enemy spells/effects, but Gnome does give you less than most of the other classes.

Goliath – C+ Tier – Extra movement speed and a free ability is nice, but the only one you’d be super interested in is Cloud’s Jaunt for a functional Misty Step, and you could’ve just chosen Elf with High Elf ancestry if you wanted that (you do get more teleports for free, but you’re trading off all the other abilities Elf gets for it).

Halfling – D Tier – Brave is ok and Luck is a fun feature, but Wizards don’t get much out of being a Halfling.

Human – A- Tier – A free Heroic Inspiration every day, a free skill, and a free Origin feat is great for any class. A generically good choice.

Orc – C Tier – Long range Darkvision, bonus action Dash, and not going down the first time you hit 0 health are all fine abilities, but none of them are super exciting for Wizard in particular.

Tiefling – D Tier – Damage resistances and Darkvision are always great, but the spells package is just worse than what Elves could give you.

Acolyte – A- Tier – Boosting Intelligence is great, and while you don’t get Dexterity or Constitution as well, Wisdom is a decent alternative. Getting Insight as a skill proficiency is excellent, but more importantly, getting to pick up Guidance and Bless because of Magic Initiate (Cleric) is excellent.

Artisan – B Tier – Boosting Dexterity and Intelligence is good and you get great proficiencies, but your feat is horrendous making this a bit of an awkward choice.

Charlatan – C- Tier – Not boosting Intelligence is rough (even if you do get Dexterity and Constitution), but you do get an alright feat and alright proficiencies.

Criminal – A+ Tier – Perfect ability scores (you could go for the beautiful triple +1 if you wanted to, I probably wouldn’t, but you could), excellent feat, and solid proficiencies. This is a great choice and my typical choice for Wizards.

Entertainer – D Tier – You get an excellent feat and you get to boost Dexterity, but that’s all you get.

Farmer – D Tier – Boosting Constitution is good and Tough is solid, but that’s not nearly enough.

Guard – C+ Tier – Similar, but functionally strictly worse than Criminal.

Guide – B+ Tier – You can’t boost Intelligence and the proficiencies aren’t great, but boosting Dexterity and Constitution is good and getting Magic Initiate: Druid is very good.

Hermit – D- Tier – Functionally nothing here is something you want.

Merchant – B+ Tier – Perfect ability scores, ok feat, and ok proficiencies.

Noble – B Tier – Boosting Intelligence is good, you get an ok feat, and you get ok proficiencies making this an ok choice.

Sage – A- Tier – While Magic Initiate: Wizard is a bit unnecessary for you, everything else here is really good.

Sailor – D- Tier – Boosting Dexterity is good as well as Perception proficiency, but everything else is not good.

Scribe – B+ Tier – Great ability scores, decent feat, and really good proficiencies. Not your best choice, but a solid choice.

Soldier – D Tier – Boosting Dexterity and Constitution is decent, but that’s all this gives you.

Wayfarer – D Tier – Only boosting Dexterity is ok plus you get a decent feat and proficiencies, but that’s not nearly enough to justify.

Arcana – A Tier – A really good check that only Wizards are really going to excel at. Most Wizards are going to take this proficiency.

History – B Tier – This won’t always be helpful depending on the adventure/campaign, but this is generally going to come up enough to be useful.

Insight – A- Tier – While your Wisdom isn’t going to be stellar, this is such a good skill check to be good at regardless.

Investigation – A Tier – An excellent check that having high Intelligence is only going to make this easier. Most Wizards are going to take this proficiency.

Medicine – D Tier – This is a pretty uncommon check and almost certainly not your job.

Nature – C- Tier – Not that you can’t be good at nature, but you’re probably not the person who’s going to be expected to be good at it.

Religion – C Tier – While you can be really good at this, this is a pretty uncommon skill check so being great at it isn’t the most useful despite specific adventures/campaigns.

While not every feat can be mentioned as that would be an oppressively long list, the ones I would at all consider would be here (all the Origin feats included as any of the backgrounds could be potential choices). Feats left off the list are not ones I would normally not consider for any Wizard build, but a full reference on the all the feats in the Player’s Handbook and their associated rankings, check the link below.

The D&D Feats, Fighting Styles, and Epic Boons Tier List

Origin Feats

While your Origin feat is tied to your background, it’s good to know how good each feat is to help consider which background you may want or if you decided to pick Human as your species. Past level one, I would functionally never consider taking an origin feat (though it is allowed).

Alert – A+ Tier – An excellent feat, especially for Wizards who want to go first to lay down some battlefield control.

Crafter – F Tier – The feat is just bad unless there’s something big about it I’m missing.

Healer – C Tier – It’s not a bad feat, just a strange one for Wizards in general as you’ll run the risk of getting too close to the action.

Lucky – C+ Tier – A decent feat in general, fine for any class or build.

Magic Initiate (Cleric) – A- Tier – Guidance is an excellent cantrip to have and you can never have too many Guidance on your team (plus you get another cantrip which can let you grab any utility feat you want). Picking up Bless (or more commonly) Healing Word is very solid for Wizards and will remain a solid choice throughout your game.

Magic Initiate (Druid) – A- Tier – Like Cleric, Guidance is great to have, and you can take something like Entangle or Goodberry for your spell choice as both are excellent and not normally available to Wizards. While your second cantrip option is less consequential (probably an attack cantrip for a decent ranged option, but a utility option can be reasonable as well), but if you are playing with spells from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, Magic Stone can be a good pickup to synergize with your team if they are about that lifestyle.

Magic Initiate (Wizard) – C- Tier – While not a terrible origin feat for Wizards, Wizards don’t really need help learning more Wizard spells considering you can add more spells to your spellbook.

Musician – S Tier – An excellent feat for any class, an adventuring party should always have at least one Musician!

Savage Attacker – F Tier – Doesn’t do anything for Wizards unless in the most niche of niche circumstances.

Skilled – C+ Tier – A reasonable feat for pretty much any class save Bards or Rogues where it’s a bit weaker.

Tavern Brawler – F Tier – Unless you have an incredibly wacky build in mind or you want the flavor, this is something I would never pick.

Tough – B Tier – Extra health is always solid, even if you shouldn’t be taking that many hits.

General Feats

Fey-Touched – A Tier – A great feat to get spells you wouldn’t normally have access to (Misty Step in particular) while bolstering Charisma.

Lightly Armored – C+ Tier – Don’t get me wrong, this feat is really good for Wizards in theory but doesn’t work that well in practice. Using your whole feat just to get Light Armor and Shield proficiency when you can just multiclass is not a great deal. That said, if you don’t want to multiclass or your table doesn’t allow it, then this will give you an appreciable boost to your AC.

Resilient – A- Tier – A classic feat for functionally any spellcaster who doesn’t naturally have Constitution proficiency (so pretty much just Artificers and Sorcerers).

Speedy – C+ Tier – While not a super exciting feat, you can do worse than getting additional movement speed while boosting your Constituion.

Telekinetic – B Tier – Not every Wizard will always have something to do with their bonus action, so shoving enemies or allies around is definitely not bad.

War Caster – B Tier – While an excellent feat, the main reason to take this is for casters who risk having their hands full which Wizards rarely struggle with and for advantage on Concentration checks. If having a free hand is potentially an issue or you really don’t want to fail concentration checks, this is a great choice.

Unsure how to build your specific Wizard? This section can help you! While each subclass guide has my specific way of building it (with plenty of overlap between builds), there’s a lot of directions you could take Wizard.

(For all builds, this is assuming you have 17 starting Charisma between your initial ability score distribution and your background)

Battlefield Controller – A+ Tier – While it’s generally less exciting than trying to outright obliterate enemies, controlling the battlefield is generally the direction you want to go. Wizards have a wellspring of awesome control spells starting at level 3 making this an extremely efficient play style as your one spell slot is going to be extremely valuable compared to using spell slots just for damage. If you’re going this route, you have a lot of flexibility in how you want to build your Wizard. Generally speaking, I would take an Intelligence feat to 18 (usually War Caster), then at level 8 you either go straight to 20 Intelligence or take a Constitution feat to get to 16 Constitution (I generally opt for Resilient), then you take the other one at level 12.

Blaster – A Tier – While a bit less effective than using your spell slots on control spells, using them on damage dealing spells certainly works as well. Sometimes, casting Fireball is just a bit too fun and I can’t blame anyone for wanting to do that as often as possible! While I do consider this strategy to be weaker, this is more effective against weaker enemies (as why try to control them when you can just kill them) and can be more effective against singular, strong enemies (damage will always add up, but if the enemy passes the save against a control spell, you lost your action and a spell slot). If you’re going this route, you have a lot of flexibility in how you want to build your Wizard. Generally speaking, I would take an Intelligence feat to 18 (usually War Caster), then at level 8 you either go straight to 20 Intelligence or take a Constitution feat to get to 16 Constitution (I generally opt for Resilient), then you take the other one at level 12.

Not every potential multiclass is going to be mentioned as most don’t synergize well with Wizards, just the ones I would consider. Furthermore, these multiclass considerations are going to assume that Wizard is remaining your base class. For a more thorough breakdown on multiclassing, check out the link below.

The Ultimate Guide To Multiclassing in One D&D

Artificer – A Tier – The “classic” multiclass option with Wizards. What makes Artificer so appealing is that they give you Constitution proficiency (if you start Artificer), medium armor and shield proficiency, and they round up when considering what spellcasting level they are (for a more thorough explanation on what that means, check out the “How Does Spellcasting Work With Multiclassing?” under the Multiclassing FAQ in the Multiclassing Guide). This is simple and effective, and while Artificers no longer hold a choke hold on the obvious multiclass option, it is still probably the best of the bunch.

Cleric – A Tier – Having at least 13 Wisdom is no big deal, especially when you don’t need a decent Dexterity score going this route! Heavy armor proficiency and shield proficiency is huge for Wizards as you go from a pitiful AC to an extremely high AC. Furthermore, you get access to a bunch of spells that Wizards normally wouldn’t get access to like Bless and Healing Word to give you even more versatility than you would normally get.

Druid – B Tier – Another excellent multiclass choice, but it’s much more awkward to have the 13 Wisdom as you need at least 14 Dexterity to get the most out of this multiclass (for the +2 in medium armor). If you can manage both, Druid gives you medium armor and shield proficiency which is great, but obviously weaker than Cleric’s heavy armor proficiency. However, where Druids excel is the spells you get. Your cantrips options are better than Clerics, and your 1st level spell options are way better and you get a bunch of them with just one Druid level as you can pick up Entangle, Goodberry, and Healing Word as excellent spell options. I would probably give a slight edge to Clerics still, but both this and Cleric are excellent options.

Fighter – B Tier – The Fighter multiclass is classic as you get heavy armor proficiency, shield proficiency, Second Wind, a Fighting Style (if you aren’t going for some sort of melee build, the Defense style is obviously great), and Weapon Mastery if that’s relevant to you (it won’t outside of Bladesinger) are some excellent benefits, but it’s definitely not free. First off, Fighter doesn’t contribute to your spellcasting level so you are slowing down your spell progression going this route. Second, you’ll need at least 13 Strength (not happening on your average Wizard) or Dexterity (obviously reasonable) to multiclass in, but if you decide to use Heavy Armor, your Dexterity is going to be wasted.

Abjuration Wizard Build Guide: Focusing on defensive wards, Abjurers are excellent at protecting their allies with spells or their arcane ward.

Bladesinging Wizard Build Guide: Utilizing both sword and magic, Bladesingers are unique as they are just as threatening up close as they are from afar, and also rare for Wizards, can be extraordinarily difficult to hit!

Chronurgy Wizard Build Guide: The masters of time, Chronurgy Wizard has a fleet of powerful and unique abilities that are excellent at disrupting enemies or aiding your allies.

Conjuration Wizard Build Guide: Rather than an archetypal summoner, Conjuration Wizards have an extremely diverse skill set that help showcase all that conjuration has to offer.

Divination Wizard Build Guide: Being able to view the future, Divination wizards are experts in information gathering and manipulating luck to their favor.

Enchantment Wizard Build Guide: The masters of CC spells, Enchantment wizards are an excellent support class that specialize in locking down opponents so their allies can clean them up.

Evocation Wizard Build Guide: Concerned with all things damage, Evocation Wizards are glass cannons focusing their efforts in dealing as much damage as humanly possible.

Illusion Wizard Build Guide: Focusing on illusions, this school has complete mastery over illusions letting them manipulate them and even sculpt them into reality!

Necromancy Wizard Build Guide: Controlling the forces of undeath, Necromancers look to build up their undead forces to absolutely overwhelm their enemies.

Scribes Wizard Build Guide: The most studious of all the Wizard, Order of Scribes can manifest different powers through their spellbooks and learn new spells more efficiently than anyone else!

Transmutation Wizard Build Guide: Majorly focused around their Transmuter’s Stone, this subclass adds a lot of utility to Wizards making them a very unique support build.

War Magic Wizard Build Guide: Masters in the art of combat, War Wizards abilities emphasize defense while their spells more than cover the offense.

Most Wizards were not changed too substantially, so how I would’ve ranked the 2014 Wizards versus the 2024 Wizards are not that different beyond Illusion going from one of the worst to one of the best subclasses for Wizards.

Necromancers get an S Tier ranking based on how problematic they can technically be between an infinitely expanding army and an infinitely expanding health bar. If these are reigned in to not break your table, Necromancy is a fine subclass that plays really uniquely compared to most other subclasses in D&D.

1. Necromancy – S* Tier
2. Chronurgy – A+ Tier
3. Divination – A+ Tier
4. War Magic – A+ Tier
5. Illusion – A+ Tier
6. Bladesinging – A+ Tier
7. Abjuration – A- Tier
8. Enchantment – A- Tier
9. Evocation – A- Tier
10. Conjuration – B Tier
11. Transmutation – B Tier
12. Scribes – B Tier

Abjuration

Abjuration Savant (Level 3) – B Tier – This ability lets you learn a lot of free spells which is always nice and frees up the spells you can grab from your level ups.

Arcane Ward (Level 3) – B Tier – This will absorb a decent amount of damage and you can restore it with spells, and while this is helpful, this is never going to be too strong of a buffer.

Projected Ward (Level 6) – B Tier – Being able to protect an ally with your ward is really nice.

Spell Breaker (Level 10) – A- Tier – Extra prepared spells is always nice, especially if they are good spells. Furthermore, you don’t even lose your spell slot if you can’t break a spell one way or another which makes using these so much less risky.

Spell Resistance (Level 14) – B Tier – This ability is good, but most nasty effects that are going to get you are abilities rather than spells, but there are still definitely enough spells used against you that make this a worthwhile ability to have.

Bladesinging

Training in War and Song (Level 3) – B Tier – Light Armor and a weapon proficiency is definitely nice and pretty pivotal for this class.

Bladesong (Level 3) – A Tier – A big AC boost, bonuses to concentration, and more speed make up the key feature to this class. You’ll be super hard to hit as you continue to either poke enemies or bombard them with spells.

Extra Attack (Level 6) – A Tier – Extra Attacks are always great, especially when you can weave a cantrip in as well.

Song of Defense (Level 10) – B- Tier – I don’t love abilities that trade reactions for damage reductions, especially when they take up a tangible resource, but damage reduction can be really important when you’re concentrating on a spell, so this is better on Bladesingers than it would normally be.

Song of Victory (Level 14) – B Tier – While this would normally be a good feature, in reality, you probably shouldn’t be in melee range most of the time by this point anyway which limits this abilities usefulness. However, if you’re still getting up in the enemies business, this is obviously a good ability.

Chronurgy

Chronal Shift (Level 3) – B- Tier – Giving advantage or disadvantage on a roll twice a day is fine, but nothing super special.

Temporal Awareness (Level 3) – B Tier – Flat bonuses to initiative are always great.

Momentary Stasis (Level 6) – A Tier – This is a super interesting ability that gives you functionally a free CC spell (Resilient Sphere is the closest comparison) multiple times per day as needed. This isn’t necessarily the best spell and it is limited by the creature’s size, but free interaction is definitely not bad.

Arcane Abeyance (Level 10) – A Tier – Being able to pass around spells is extremely good and can create some real wacky interactions if you get creative enough. You do only get one of these per short or long rest, but this is still quite good.

Convergent Future (Level 14) – B+ Tier – In desperate situations, this can be invaluable as this will force a pass on an important d20 roll. Getting too much exhaustion is brutal, especially since it can only be cleared by a long rest. Still, this is a solid a pretty powerful ability.

Conjuration

Conjuration Savant (Level 3) – B Tier – This ability lets you learn a lot of free spells which is always nice and frees up the spells you can grab from your level ups.

Minor Conjuration (Level 3) – C Tier – Making items out of thin air can be helpful, but it won’t be particularly often as you are limited in what you can make.

Benign Transportation (Level 6) – B Tier – Being able to reposition both yourself and an ally is really powerful, but using an action to do it is a bit painful. This will be good still, but when you teleport, you really want it to be as a bonus action.

Focused Conjuration (Level 10) – D Tier – This can be a decent feature, but not only is losing concentration to damage not a big concern at this level, you’re probably not using summons that often anyway.

Durable Summons (Level 14) – C Tier – This does make summons pretty durable if you’re using them!

Divination

Divination Savant (Level 3) – B Tier – This ability lets you learn a lot of free spells which is always nice and frees up the spells you can grab from your level ups.

Portent (Level 3) – A+ Tier – The standout ability and the main reason players choose this class. Being able to swap out two die rolls today is extremely powerful and very fun.

Expert Divination (Level 6) – A- Tier – This gives you back so many spell slots if you’re casting a lot of Divination spells which is really helpful, especially if you like casting spells like Clairvoyance or Arcane Eye.

The Third Eye (Level 10) – C Tier – Getting one of three low level spells as a free ability per short or long rest is fine, just a little disappointing.

Greater Portent (Level 14) – A Tier – 50% more Portent dice is obviously strong.

Enchantment

Enchantment Savant (Level 3) – B Tier – This ability lets you learn a lot of free spells which is always nice and frees up the spells you can grab from your level ups.

Hypnotic Gaze (Level 3) – B+ Tier – This ability can make Enchanters feel a bit one note, but this is really good for locking one enemy out of the fight while your allies deal with the rest of the goons.

Instinctive Charm (Level 6) – C- Tier – Being able to redirect attacks is neat, but this only works against an enemy once, they may just hit a friend of yours instead, and you won’t even know if the attack was going to hit or miss which isn’t ideal.

Split Enchantment (Level 10) – A Tier – Doubling the effectiveness of some amount of spells is really good.

Alter Memories (Level 14) – D Tier – This is super specific, but it can be helpful for non-combat encounters I guess.

Evocation

Evocation Savant (Level 3) – B Tier – This ability lets you learn a lot of free spells which is always nice and frees up the spells you can grab from your level ups.

Potent Cantrip (Level 3) – C+ Tier – Functional extra damage on your cantrip is solid, especially as your cantrips become stronger.

Sculpt Spells (Level 6) – B Tier – A big concern of some evocation spells is that your friends can get caught in it, but now they won’t which is awesome! There are some really potent combinations you can do now, like trapping enemies in a Sickening Radiance or Storm of Radiance that can’t hurt your allies.

Empowered Evocation (Level 10) – C Tier – A small upgrade to your spell’s damage (unfortunately this no longer works with Magic Missile), but this also works with cantrips which is nice.

Overchannel (Level 14) – B Tier – For one spell a day, you can absolutely pop off with an evocation spell which is fun! 64 damage Cone of Cold away!

Illusion

Illusion Savant (Level 3) – B Tier – This ability lets you learn a lot of free spells which is always nice and frees up the spells you can grab from your level ups.

Improved Illusion (Level 3) – A Tier – By RAW, this is pretty powerful as you can bonus action cast your Minor Illusion to hide yourself, then attack any enemy you want at advantage every single turn. This is a brutal interaction that can work well with anything that requires a spell attack roll.

Phantasmal Creatures (Level 6) – B Tier – Two free spells learned and prepared and you can cast each once for free. While this won’t necessarily scale that well, this will be really good for awhile.

Illusory Self (Level 10) – C+ Tier – Dodging one attack can be useful as this guarantees this misses, but with multiattacking enemies, this won’t be too reliable.

Illusory Reality (Level 14) – B Tier – This ability is extremely cool and can be really powerful for players who are creative enough, but this will take some amount of work to make useful.

Necromancy

Necromancy Savant (Level 3) – C+ Tier – This ability lets you learn a lot of free spells which is always nice and frees up the spells you can grab from your level ups. Unlike the other schools, though, Necromancy probably has the worst spells overall making this less powerful than it is on the other classes.

Grim Harvest (Level 3) – D Tier – Regaining health on a Wizard is a luxury functionally no Wizard has, but the healing is so small it’s nearly insignificant. That said, this will become more powerful as you get better spells, but it’ll still not be that strong.

Undead Thralls (Level 6) – S Tier – The perfect ability for those looking to raise an undead army. Extra health to your skeletons and them getting a bonus to their weapon damage is quite good, especially as you get more and more of them. With enough planning, this ability can easily ruin your campaign.

Inured to Undeath (Level 10) – S Tier – Necrotic resistance is really niche at this point and so few creatures are going to attack your hit point maximum so those uses of it are not helpful. However, any spell that increases your hit point maximum (Aid, Heroes Feast) can be infinitely stacked for you. Your DM will likely not allow this and will count it as temporary health instead, but by RAW, this would work.

Command Undead (Level 14) – B Tier – This ability is really campaign dependent as some DMs won’t throw high level undead at you, but if they do, you can get some mileage out of this.

Scribes

Wizardly Quill (Level 3) – F Tier – This is a flavor ability, but still this is functionally useless in nearly every scenario.

Awakened Spellbook (Level 3) – D+ Tier – Changing damage types can be helpful, but that’s the only part of this ability that’s at all helpful.

Manifest Mind (Level 6) – D+ Tier – I do like surveillance spells, but not when they alert whoever your surveilling to your presence. Casting from your spellbook’s origin is solid as well, but not that impactful.

Master Scrivener (Level 10) – D+ Tier – If this worked for a spell of any level and you could share it, I would be all about this ability as that would be really cool. As is, this ability is just not that helpful and really just gives you an extra 1st or 2nd level spell slot per day.

One with the Word (Level 14) – D+ Tier – Preventing all damage can be helpful, but at the cost of losing a bunch of spells for literal days is a pretty ridiculous downside. This still could be good in a pinch, but it is brutal.

Transmutation

Transmutation Savant (Level 3) – B Tier – This ability lets you learn a lot of free spells which is always nice and frees up the spells you can grab from your level ups.

Minor Alchemy (Level 3) – D- Tier – Unless you plan on scamming (or at least attempting to) scam some poor merchants, this ability doesn’t really do much.

Transmuter’s Stone (Level 6) – B Tier – This ability is really versatile as it gives you so many choices and the opportunity to change the stone’s effect with each transmutation spell cast. While none of the abilities are that strong, the utility makes it good.

Shapechanger (Level 10) – C- Tier – Learning Polymorph for free and getting a functional Wild Shape out of it is interesting, but this really only frees up one prepared spell slot which isn’t great, especially as you feel compelled to wait to grab this three levels after you’d want it.

Master Transmuter (Level 14) – C- Tier – Blowing up a stone produces some solid effects, but nothing amazing.

War Magic

Arcane Deflection (Level 3) – A Tier – Only being able to use cantrips after activating this sucks, but if it’s to get a bonus to your AC or to pass a saving throw, it can well be worth it.

Tactical Wit (Level 3) – B Tier – Flat bonuses to initiative are always great.

Power Surge (Level 6) – D Tier – Free damage is free damage, but this is not much free damage.

Durable Magic (Level 10) – A- Tier – +2 to AC and saving throws is really good.

Deflecting Shroud (Level 14) – C Tier – Free damage is free damage, even if it isn’t much per target, but 21 total damage at this level for free is definitely not bad.