Bright Wizard

The Bright Wizard is a master of destruction by magic, and a specialist in fire. Fire is at the heart of his every ability, and indeed at the heart of the Wizard himself. Using the power of the wind of fire, he can lay waste to swaths of enemies, or incinerate select foes with white hot energy. His magic feeds upon itself, upon the enemy, and upon the Wizard. Embracing the fires within his mind, the Bright Wizard himself is engulfed in flame. He directs this inferno against his foes, filling them with searing power until they burst, incinerated by arcane flames so hot they threaten to ignite the air itself.

Bright Wizard Specialty

There are secrets which only the Bright Wizards know... The Seven Keys, arcane talismans and techniques too reckless and destructive for the minds of humanitys Elven tutors, are mastered by every Bright Wizard and afford him considerable power. Each key lends the Bright Wizards magic a unique aspect, and all of them expand his power. With his mastery of the magic of fire, and the power of the Keys, his spells burn his foes, and then burn their own magic, combining to create a deadly conflagration.

Playing as a Bright Wizard

As a Bright Wizard you will destroy the enemy with arcane fire, but you must do so with cunning intellect, or risk finding your own end despite your power. Your defenses are minimal, and you are nothing if not obvious. For you, the best defense is your own mighty offense and that can be a very powerful deterrent. Quick decisive action is pivotal to your fighting. You must unleash your spells on the enemy forthwith so that they have the greatest possible opportunity to burn. Then you must take advantage of the opportunities this presents, using other powers to detonate your burning victims. If you are incautious, you may be slain before your enemy is defeated, only for him to fall to your lingering magic, but with skill and quick thinking victory will be yours.

Fighting against a Bright Wizard

The only real solution to a Bright Wizards deadly power is his death, and even this may not save you if he has had time to do his work. His magic lingers and burns, so you must be prepared to withstand not only his powerful direct assault, but the aftereffects of your battle. Resistance to his spells is key in limiting his ability to destroy you outright, but offensive power is equally important for putting him to a quick end. Ultimately, against a Bright Wizard it will be a race to see who can kill who first. However, it is a race for which he is well equipped, and his tools make him more and more potent the longer that race goes on.

Career Masteries

Master of the Lore of Fire, the Bright Wizard is the most destructive battle wizard in all of the Empire. The Bright wizard is renowned for his ability to incinerate anything, ranging from individual soldiers to an entire hillside. However, destructive fire is not the only trick in his arsenal. The Bright Wizards is also capable of manipulating the wind of Aqshy to cause a variety of debilitating effects, ranging from thick banks of choking smoke, to withering heat that saps the strength and endurance from even the staunchest warrior. Some Bright Wizards have even been known to dabble in the healing arts, though cauterizing a wound with white hot fire is never a soldiers first choice!

Due to the volatile nature of Aqshy, the Red Wind of Fire that they manipulate, the Bright Wizard is always risking a backlash that could incinerate himself as well as his opponent. This buildup of Aqshy is known as Combustion and the greater the level of Combustion a Bright Wizard places into his destructive spells the more likely they will explode with stupendous results (Critical Hit). However, even the most skilled wizard will get burned when playing with fire. Pushing the combustion level too high can result in a backlash of magical energy that will damage the Wizard himself.

Path of Incineration

The Path of Incineration primarily focuses on destructive single-target spells. About half of these spells have high values of Combustion allowing those who master the Path of Incineration to focus on weaving high risk spells in with more reliable destructive magics for optimal single target damage.

Path of Immolation

The Path of Immolation focuses on damage over time and debilitating, lingering debuffs. A Master of Immolation is more patient, relying less on high-Combustion spells with explosive effect and more on slow burns that build up into an unstoppable inferno.

Path of Conflagration

The Path of Conflagration is the most destructive of the Bright Wizard masteries with area effect spells capable of burning entire swaths of land to a crisp. However, Masters of Conflagration must exert the most self-control; most of their spells build up high levels of Combustion and their reckless use could mean the Bright Wizards doom as well.

Class Changes

• Rain of Fire radius extended to meet its visual effects (link)

• Flashfire tactic now decreases the cast time on the next non-instant ability by 50% and allows the ability to be cast on the move; internal cooldown is 3s (used to be 6s) (link)

Builds

• Tier 1: You're just starting your Bright Wizard career. Where do you put your points? Inquire within.
  • You'll be firing a lot of Fiery Blasts. Boost them by putting points into the Conflagration tree. Alternatively, you can strengthen your Ignite/Boiling Blood with points in Immolation. Grab the Emperor's Ward tactic for increased survivability.

• Mid Tier - Incineration: Standard Incineration build for mid tier.
  • Slot Endless Knowledge until you have access to a second tactic at 20, then grab Emperor's Ward for standard playstyle. You can swap to Close Quarters if you find you're in the midst of the fight often and want to cast quick Fireballs. Once you have enough points for Burn Through, swap that out with your other tactic. Funnel Power is a standard damage increaser for Bright Wizard, so utilize it often. Nova is a standard, high damaging instant cast ability from the Incineration line, and you should use it first on engagement because it builds the most Combustion out of all the BW abilities. Slot Misdirection for a defensive m1 (morale 1) to counter Sorcs and Magi, and grab Focused Mind for the cleanse, immunity, and build time decreaser for 10s. At 29, you'll have access to Funnel Power, Nova, and Burn Through, so you should slot Endless Knowledge and Burn Through for maximum dps. At 30, you can look into slotting Emperor's Ward again for more survivability or Close Quarters.

• Mid Tier - Immolation: Standard Immolation build for mid tier.
  • In this top tier dot spec, Fuel to the Fire will increase the damage of Boiling Blood, and Ignition is used to boost your Corporeal abilities. You'll want to slot Endless Knowledge and Fuel to the Fire in your 20s, then add Ignition when you hit 30. Grab the heal debuff, Playing with Fire, and your Corporeal based, channeled slow, Withering Heat, to round out the build.
  • Standard rotation is Ignite > Playing with Fire > Boiling Blood > Fireball/Pyroclastic Surge > Sear > Withering Heat (use Fireball if Boiling Blood will hit in 3s, or use Pyro Surge if it will hit in 2s. Note that Pyro Surge is boosted by Ignition but Fireball is preferred, especially if you're in your 20s without Ignition slotted). Withering Heat is a channeled ability, but the first part of the channel hits immediately. The goal is to have Boiling Blood, Fireball/Pyro Surge, Sear, and Withering heat hit all at once. This is normally referred to as the same "timestamp" and its purpose is to deliver as much damage in the shortest time window possible.

• Mid Tier - Conflagration Alternative: This build is focused more on aoe abilities, and is generally seen as less impactful than the top tier dot build from Immolation. However, if you like seeing numbers fly all over your screen, give this build a try.
  • This build is tough to pull off in mid tier until the later levels since it primarily focuses on the tactic Wildfire. At 30, you can add Fiery Reserves for the spammable Flame Breath and the 100% uptime potential on Rain of Fire. Spam Flame Breath at the beginning of an engagement to build Combustion, then target the mass of your enemies with primarily Conflagration abilities, like Spreading Flames, Rain of Fire, and Fiery Blast. If you're in the middle of the fight, cast Annihilate, Scorched Earth, and Flame Breath. When you reach m2, pop Focused Mind and spam Fiery Blasts.

• Tier 4 - The Harbinger of Death: This warband-focused build is incredibly useful when paired with other BWs who have specced all the way up the Incineration line to grab The Burning Head.
  • Drop five Burning Heads on your enemy, and you no longer have an enemy. This build is centered around your morale 4 ability. Everything else is just a supplement. Take Ruin and Destruction for a quick m2 drop, and the defensive Heart of Fire for m3, although you shouldn't need it most of the time. Alternatively, take Focused Mind instead of R&D. Flashfire will allow you to be incredibly mobile, and Burn Through will enable you to damage defensive tanks and healers with Fireballs. Take Embrace the Flames as a self morale pump. Fireball Barrage is your standard ranged aoe ability, and Annihilate will be your close range aoe. Alternatively, grab Playing with Fire instead of Annihilate for the heal debuff.

• Tier 4 - Incinerate, Immolate, Eradicate: For the BW in a party and not a warband, this build takes the best pieces from the left and middle trees to burn the forces of Destruction.
  • Timestamp your enemies in a standard rotation of Ignite > Playing with Fire > Boiling Blood > Fireball > Sear > Nova. Undefendable Fireballs paired with the increased damage from Boiling Blood is the focus here. Alternatively, drop Burn Through and Fireball Barrage for Ignition and Withering Heat for a more dot-centered spec.

• Tier 4 - Lighting Fires: This Conflagration-focused build is viable when you've got too many enemies on your screen.
  • The core tactics are Endless Knowledge and Wildfire. You can play around with some other tactics like Close Quarters and Crown of Fire. You can also adjust your build slightly to grab Fiery Reserves, or take it when you hit rr50.

• Tier 4 - mmm Need a Light?: This Conflagration heavy build drops Nova from Lighting Fires and picks up Backdraft and Fiery Reserves, which is useful when you're planning on being even more in the thick of it. Drop Flashfire as your main focus will be on spreading Wildfire through spammable Flame Breath, Backdraft, and Annihilate. Considerably more "meta" for EU warband BWs.

Credit: Dansaren