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Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfiretakes place in the world of Eora, a setting it shares with the upcoming first-person RPGAvowed. UnlikeAvowed,Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfireis a classic top-down CRPG with a team of colorful companions, real-time or turn-based combat, and a deep character creation system.
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Theclasses inPillars of Eternity 2: Deadfirerun from original to traditional, and the Wizard is firmly in the traditional camp. An unrivaled spell-slinger, the Wizard gets more Abilities to choose from and more versatility in their casting than any other spell-based class inPillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire. These three builds are some of the best that the Wizard can offer, and are equally powerful in real-time or turn-based mode.
The Phantom (Blood Mage/Assassin Spellblade)
While the Wizard can function well as asingle-class character inDeadfire, some of its best builds work in combination with a second class. The combination of Wizard and Rogue makes the Spellblade, but this particular build relies more on its subclasses than its classes. The Assassin Rogue subclass grants huge bonuses to Penetration, Accuracy, and Crit Damage when attacking from stealth. However, what might not be immediately obvious is that this bonus doesn’t require a weapon attack or even a Rogue Ability, and players can use it to supercharge their most devastating Wizard spells.
The other half of the Phantom build is the Blood Mage Wizard. Unlike most of theWizard subclasses inPillars of Eternity 2, the Blood Mage doesn’t lock the player out of any specific magic schools, allowing them access to all the most powerful spells. In addition, they gain the Blood Sacrifice Ability, allowing them to take raw damage in return for recovering a Wizard spell and boosting their Power Level for the next round. This is a Free Action, allowing the Phantom to activate it, enter Stealth with a Rogue Ability, and then emerge from the shadows to deal devastating damage with the double-boost of Blood Sacrifice and Assassin.
While the Phantom Build does require the player to gain several levels before they can re-stealth during combat effectively, it can begin dealing devastating damage with Assassin-boosted spells right from thestart ofDeadfire’s story. Players can enter stealth at any time outside of combat, allowing them to start each fight with a boosted damage spell, potentially wiping out several enemies before the battle even begins. The Phantom’s effectiveness can be further boosted with Arkemyr’s Grimoire, which gives them access to Arkemyr’s Brilliant Departure. Brilliant Departure is a unique spell that offers invisibility that won’t be broken by casting crowd control or hazard spells like Wall of Flame, meaning the Phantom can benefit from the Assassin’s boost to accuracy without having to leave stealth at all.
The Arcanist (No Subclass Wizard)
With their unique powers and abilities, it’s tempting to think that notchoosing a subclass inPillars of Eternity 2is a mistake. However, Wizards pay a high cost for each of their subclasses apart from Blood Mage, sacrificing a good deal of their incredible versatility for mastery over a single school of magic. A no-subclass Wizard is actually one of the strongest single-class builds in the game, granting them the full versatility of every spell on their sprawling Ability list, as well as the ability to use any of the unique spells inDeadfire’s many Grimoires.
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Despite being a single-class spellcaster, the Arcanist build is incredibly flexible when it comes to combat styles and Attributes. Using powerful defensive spells like Arcane Veil, Llengrath’s Displaced Image, and Arcane Reflection, the normally-squishy Wizard can function effectively in close combat. This melee Arcanist can be further enhanced with spells invented byEora’s most famous Wizards, Concelhaut’s Parasitic Staff and the late-game Citzal’s Martial Power, allowing them to matchDeadfireclasses like the Fighter or Paladin in close-range damage.
Alternatively, players can focus their Spells on devastating ranged damage and crowd control. The Wizard has some of the best single and multi-target damage Abilities inthe world of Eora, allowing them to burst down strong enemies with spells like Minoletta’s Missiles, or blast groups with a classic Fireball. Here are the basics of putting this build together:
The Sanguinist (Blood Mage/Helwalker Sage)
The Blood Mage is the only subclass inPillars of Eternity 2: Deadfirethat has the ability to cause itself harm to gain power. This Ability, Blood Sacrifice, combos incredibly well with the Monk class, which gains its unique resource Wounds from taking damage. Using Blood Sacrifice to take damage and fuel their Monk Abilities, the Sanguinist can build up enough power to take downPoE’s strongest enemies.
This is particularly true with the addition of the Helwalker Monk subclass, which gains 1 Might for each Wound they’ve taken, reflectingDeadfire’s interesting lore on deathand the soul. This boost combines with the buff from Blood Sacrifice and allows the Sanguinist to deal devastating amounts of damage with their elemental spells. Once the build reaches Monk level 4, it gains a second boost through the Duality of Mortal Presence Ability. This modal Ability allows the Monk to also boost their Intellect or Constitution based on their current Wounds, allowing them to maximize the area-of-effect and duration of their spells, or to gain huge amounts of extra health.
The Sanguinist relies on a combination of defensive and offensive Wizard Abilities. Defensive spells like Arcane Veil or Llengrath’s Displaced Image will help keep the build alive in melee combat even as it causes damage to itself, allowing players to use the full range of MonkAbilities inPillars of Eternity 2. Meanwhile, offensive spells like Fireball can clear an entire fight in a single cast when the Sanguinist’s Might and Intellect are boosted by their number of Wounds.
Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfireis out now on PC, Xbox One and PS4.
