Odie's Guide to Wizardry

[Odieman]

[UNDER CONSTRUCTION AND FORMATTING]

First and foremost I'd like to state:  This guide is an opinion piece.  Your idea of what a good wizard brings with them to the station may vary wildly, and that's okay.

 

Now lets get down to brass tax:

A tier list!

 

 

 

And of course, I'd be a nerd if I didn't describe what these spells do and how to use them, etc:

 

The Best:

Bind Soul:  "A dark necromantic pact that can forever bind your soul to an item of your choosing. So long as both your body and the item remain intact and on the same plane you can revive from death, though the time between reincarnations grows steadily with use.
Can be cast without wizard garb"  Cooldown: 1 Cost: 2

This spell is mostly just known as Lich.  It allows you to grab a random object on the station and bind yourself to it, allowing you to teleport there when the crew inevitably beats you to death.  When most wizard rounds usually end, yours starts over again!  Very powerful spell.

 

Blink: "This spell randomly teleports you a short distance." Cooldown: 2 Cost: 2

Where Ethereal Jaunt is good for mobility, Blink is good for being alive.  Down on the ground and stunned, you are at your most vulnerable.  Being able to randomly displace yourself around on the ground makes you incredibly hard to hit, and a cool down of only 2 seconds makes sure you can do it many many times.  You can also gamble with it to get you into places you aren't allowed to be in.

 

Six Soul Shards and the spell Artificer: "Soul Stone Shards are ancient tools capable of capturing and harnessing the spirits of the dead and dying. The spell Artificer allows you to create arcane machines for the captured souls to pilot." Cost: 2

This belt and spell together create incredibly powerful constructs that serve you and decimate the station.  When I used this spell, a single wraith returned to me 7 bodies.  And I had several wraiths.  There are three constructs you can create, each with their own respective abilities.  A brief description of each:

Artificer: These guys can create new shells, shards, walls, floors, pylons, and can also heal other constructs with help intent.  Their healing is very quick, so it should be used if needed, and they can summon pylons that supplement their quick healing.  They are the suppliers of your shards, without at least 2 of these you will only have a small number of wraiths decimating the station.

Wraith: These guys are fast, can teleport, and deal the same amount of damage as a wielded fire axe.  They only have 75 health, but that's not really an issue as they can very easily teleport away if they need to.

Juggernaut: These guys are slow, have a damage threshold of 10, and hit like a truck.  What I mean by damage threshold is that, if they are hit by something that does 10 or less brute damage, it does nothing to them.  They have 200 health, and hit with the same damage as an e-sword.  These guys work best as base defense, as they are very sturdy, hit hard, and lack any maneuver abilities.

 

Contract of Apprenticeship: "A magical contract binding an apprentice wizard to your service, using it will summon them to your side." Cost: 2

Essentially, more wizards!  There are four different types, based on schools of magic.  I'll list them from best to worst, in my opinion:

Healing: "Your apprentice is training to cast spells that will aid your survival. They know Forcewall and Charge and come with a Staff of Healing." They cost 2, but come with items and abilities that cost 3, all packed into an extra wizard person.  A bargain indeed.  This apprentice is best kept in the back, away from danger.  Coupled with the belt of wands, they can be given wands to recharge, or to use for their own defense.

Destruction: "Your apprentice is skilled in offensive magic. They know Magic Missile and Fireball." Comes with two very useful spells, and acts as a way of extending the destruction if die.  Overall a solid choice, and if robust enough can hold their own quite well by themselves.

Robeless: "Your apprentice is training to cast spells without their robes. They know Knock and Mindswap." This spell pairs well with the belt of shards, as they can interact with the artificers whilst also blending in with the crew.  Having Knock is a great mobility spell, and being able to mindswap with security could cause an interesting amount of chaos if they continue up the chain...  It has been done before!

Bluespace Manipulation: "Your apprentice is able to defy physics, melting through solid objects and travelling great distances in the blink of an eye. They know Teleport and Ethereal Jaunt."  Even though at the bottom, it's still good to have an apprentice with good mobility!  That's all they have,  however.  They are completely at the mercy of the station and being able to teleport is cool and all, but a long cool-down makes sure they are eventually caught with virtually chaos to the crew.

 

 

Awesome:

Fireball: "This spell fires a fireball at a target and does not require wizard garb." Cooldown: 6 Cost: 2

This is one of the more must have spells.  Low cooldown, great damage, and almost certainly causes someone to lose a limb or two.  Don't cast it if the person is right in front of you!  Explodes in a 3x3 area.  I've seen many a wizard make the mistake of hitting themselves with this one.

 

Fireball: This spell is for gamers by gamers

Description

 

Ethereal Jaunt: "This spell creates your ethereal form, temporarily making you invisible and able to pass through walls." Cooldown: 30 Cost: 2

Overall a great spell.  The only downside is the cooldown, and sometimes you end up in a place you'd rather not be.

 

Wand Assortment: "A collection of wands that allow for a wide variety of utility. Wands do not recharge, so be conservative in use. Comes in a handy belt." Cost: 2

So many great wands, and some less useful ones.  I'll list them in no particular order:

Wand of Death: Guess what this one does?  It instantly kills someone!  Works great with the shards as you can very quickly get a small army created if you're accurate.  3 charges, and upon recharge goes to 2, then 1, then cannot be recharged.

Want of Resurrection: Works just like the staff of healing, but with limited uses.  Charges the same way as the Wand of Death, max 6 uses in a wand and starts with 3 charges.  Use it on yourself or an Apprentice!

Wand of Polymorph: Changes someone into something else!  Sometimes a cat, sometimes a mouse, sometimes a syndicate borg, or maybe a Xenomorph Hunter...  For the last two things, this isn't always a great weapon.  Alien Hunters generally do not like the person who turned them into one, and if this wand ends up in the wrong hands, you're in trouble.  Getting hit by this as a lone wizard can end your round instantly.  Has 10 charges, and loses a charge every time it is recharged.  10+9+8+7+6+5+4+3+2+1 = 55 Maximum uses!

Wand of Teleport: Can be cast on someone to make them blink somewhere else, or on yourself.  Useful if the guy attacking you is in full wizard killing gear and you gave your fireball wand away.  Has 10 charges, and recharges to 10 every time.  Infinite uses!

Wand of Door Creation: Cast this on a wall to turn it into a door.  Cast it into a door to open the door.  Doors bolted by the AI still open, but doors welded by the crew do not.  20 Charges, recharges to 19 then 18, and so on.  20+19+18+17+16+15+14+13+12+11+10+9+8+7+6+5+4+3+2+1= 210 Maximum Uses!

Wand of Fireball: Casts a fireball.  There is no cool-down with this wand, so you can blast all 8 very quickly.  Not a good idea to unleash the fury all at once as 1 is good enough to take out IPC's and Plasmemes, 2 for most of the crew, and if they are really armored up and ready to fight, 4 will be good for them.  Save your ammo!  Starts with 8 charges and recharges to 8 every time.  Unlimited Power!  Pairs well with the healing apprentice as they also come with charge.

 

 

Great:

Battlemage Armor: "An ensorceled suit of armour, protected by a powerful shield. The shield can completely negate sixteen attacks before being permanently depleted." Cost: 2

The interesting thing about this armor is that it is best used as long as you are not going loud.  It has the same defensive abilities as regular robes when unpowered, but also blocks 16 hits to you that might otherwise mess you up.  Buckshot is very powerful against this armor.  16 sounds small, but in the beginning most of security is rolling with tasers, which this armor blocks.  An early stun on the wizard has been game over many times.

 

Mutate: "This spell causes you to turn into a hulk and gain laser vision for a short while." Cooldown: 40 Cost: 2

This spell turns you into a hulk.  You shoot 20 burn damage lasers and punch for 15 brute.  The lasers fire VERY quickly.  You can also break down doors pretty effectively.  You get no damage resistance, but you are immune to stuns.  It lasts about 30 seconds, meaning by the time it's over you can almost do it again.

 

If you're seeing this, it means I'm still writing things, and testing things!  You came here early.

 

 

Good:

Disintegrate: "Charges your hand with vile energy that can be used to violently explode victims. This spell manifests in your hand and requires you to touch your target, so you will not be able to use it while handcuffed or stunned. Additionally, all the gear except their shoes, gloves, helmet, mask, headset, glasses and whatever they were holding in their hands will be permanently destroyed." Cooldown: 60 Cost: 2

This is a good spell for locker wizards.  Hide in a locker, wait for security to find you, hit them with it, and then juant away to another locker.  This spell gibs people, so it doesn't work with shards.

 

Repulse: "This spell throws everything around the user away." Cooldown: 40 Cost: 1

This is a pretty useful spell, it allows you to knock people over, drop what they had in their hands, and stun them for a brief moment.  Very good defensive spell if you get knocked down.  It also works in a very wide range around you.

 

Magic Missile: "This spell fires several, slow moving, magic projectiles at nearby targets." Cooldown: 20 Cost: 2

These slow moving little orbs are incredibly annoying to deal with.  Generally, casting this will cause people to run away from you as these stun them for a good amount of time.  Works great if you are stunned yourself, as an orb is spawned for ever person within sight of you.  Stuns for just long enough to handcuff someone.

 

Charge: "This spell can be used to recharge a variety of things in your hands, from magical artifacts to electrical components. A creative wizard can even use it to grant magical power to a fellow magic user."

Scroll up to the belt of wands to see how different ones work.  This spell also works on things like tasers and stun batons, charging them.  I've no idea what the granting magical power to a fellow magic user means, but I'd imagine it has to do with dragging an apprentice or something.  No idea.  Very useful if you go in solo with the wands, as it gives you infinite fireball and many many door openings.

 

Staff of Door Creation: "A particular staff that can mold solid metal into ornate wooden doors. Useful for getting around in the absence of other transportation. Does not work on glass." Cost: 1

Infinite mobility around the station!  Cast on any wall and that wall is now a door of random material.  Cast on any door and that door opens.  Works just like the wand, but never runs out of power.  Also very cheap.

 

 

Greater Force Wall: "Create a larger magical barrier that only you can pass through, but requires wizard garb. Lasts 30 seconds." Cooldown: 10 Cost: 1

Creates a wall that only wizards can pass through.  It blocks every projectile and it also blocks people from standing on it.  If you use it right, you can stand on it and cast spells onto both sides, and retreat to whichever side is safer.

 

Knock: "This spell opens nearby doors and does not require wizard garb." Cooldown: 10  Cost: 1

This one works just as described.  Mobility is king when everyone on the station wants to be the one with your head.

 

Smoke: "This spell spawns a cloud of choking smoke at your location and does not require wizard garb." Cooldown: 12 Cost: 1

The key feature of this spell is not described.  Choking in this smoke causes you to drop your item held, and it's very hard to see where you've dropped it until the smoke clears.  Don't cast this if you have a staff or wand in your hands!  You choke immediately upon casting it.  Doesn't work very well when security is wearing gasmasks, but not everyone has one.

 

 

Okay:

Curse of the Cluwne: "Turns the target into a fat and cursed monstrosity of a clown." Cooldown: 60 Cost: 2

Would be great if people immediately see the cluwne as valid during wizard rounds.  That's not how the chaos works, generally, and you'll sometimes just have a cluwne fighting you now.  Can you imagine losing a wizard round to a cluwne?  The embarrassment.

 

Stop Time: "This spell stops time for everyone except for you, allowing you to move freely while your enemies and even projectiles are frozen." Cooldown: 50 Cost: 2

It is possible to use this spell with great effectiveness.  I would say force wall is better, just because it has a much quicker cooldown.  The issue is using this in a narrow hallway, you stop the bullets but if you can't make it to the end of the hallway, you get hit by the very bullets you spent 2 points to stop.  This meme was created by Force Wall Gang.

 

A Necromantic Stone: "A Necromantic stone is able to resurrect three dead individuals as skeletal thralls for you to command."

Creates skeletons wielding very powerful weapons and shields that can honestly do some damage.  The issue is that you can only have three, whereas the soul shards you can very quickly have six, and then many more from the artificers.  If you could somehow make more, they would be on par with the shards, but only three makes you much more vulnerable if you decide to have these as your soldiers over the shard constructs.

 

Staff of Animation: "An arcane staff capable of shooting bolts of eldritch energy which cause inanimate objects to come to life. This magic doesn't affect machines."

This staff is actually pretty interesting.  Casting it on an item causes that item to come alive, and it 'biting' people causes whatever brute damage it would have to transfer.  The creatures do not seem to attack the wizard, but apprentices may be in danger.  Items created with this staff have almost no health, and revert to normal in about 5 minutes.  Cast it on a fuel tank for hilarious results.

 

Greater Knock: "On first cast, will remove access restrictions on all airlocks on the station, and announce this spell's use to the station. On any further cast, will open all doors in sight. Cannot be refunded once bought!"  Cooldown: 20 Cost: 2

This spell opens all the doors for everyone and removes any sense of stealth you might have had.  Not as good as regular knock, as sometimes you're banking on doors closing behind you, and this one has a longer cooldown.

 

Flesh to Stone: "This spell charges your hand with the power to turn victims into inert statues for a long period of time." Cooldown: 60 Cost: 2

This spell turns crew into statues for a long long time.  Like 10 minutes or something.  It's incredibly boring for the person getting turned into a statue, as you are locked in place and miss out on the action.  I feel like this one works pretty well against crew but, it's negative fun on the receiving end so I would suggest not using it.  I'd rather die than be a statue!

 

Rod Form: "Take on the form of an immovable rod, destroying all in your path." Cooldown: 60 Cost: 2

Great in very narrow hallways, this spell is tricky to use as it requires a very niche set of circumstances.  Generally, this is great at killing one or two people, or the AI.  I'd say this spell is okay because, in rod form you are invulnerable and anyone you touch will certainly die.  Good if you want to be a maints wizard, but bad if you want to be roving the hallways.

 

Disable Tech: "This spell disables all weapons, cameras and most other technology in range." Cooldown: 40 Cost 1

This spell would be great if it didn't confuse the wizard casting it, along with flashing him.  It does remove all power from tasers and stunbatons, disables all cameras, and acts as an EMP on doors.  Essentially, this spell is an infinite EMP implant with a cooldown.

 

Mjolnir: "A mighty hammer on loan from Thor, God of Thunder. It crackles with barely contained power." Cost 2

This hammer is good in that it acts as a stunbaton that does fire axe damage, and also sends people FLYING.  A person will travel an entire Z-level if there isn't a wall in the way.  Upon hitting the wall, they get hurt as well, increasing the damage.  It's a hilarious weapon, but it's not amazing.

 

Staff of Slipping: "A staff that shoots magical bananas. These bananas will either slip or stun the target when hit. Surprisingly reliable!"  Cost: 1

This staff is surprisingly reliable.  Essentially a taser with infinite charges.  Doesn't do anything else, and cannot be stored in a bag.  For the cost, it's actually pretty solid if you're going for annoying non-murder wizard, but where's the fun in that?  Does have a cool-down if you spam it too hard, like all staves.

Edited December 22, 2019 by Odieman
More testing, editing the list, etc.