Among all classes in Diablo 3, the Wizard is consistently ranked as the most difficult to solo with. Sure, you've got more damage than you even know what to do with for almost any build you choose. But when it comes to taking one on the chin and then getting up afterward, it's fair to say your first choice to take that hit wouldn't be the Wizard.
Is this because the Wizard is just a bad class to play? Absolutely not. The fans often express anger or outright dismiss such polls because they include rookies and amateurs. The pro players anxiously hop onto their Wizards all by themselves and feel confident about their chances because, with the right build, enemies never get a chance to deliver that aforementioned blow to the chin.
Updated July 5, 2021 by Hodey Johns: Of all the classes, the Wizard is seeing the sharpest uptick in player usage, largely due to the fact that it recently cleared Greater Rift 150 solo. As a result, this article has been touching on a hot topic. Each of the original four entries has been updated and reflects the highest Greater Rift accomplished. Also, one build, Vyr-Chantado, made a huge leap since the last list and has therefore been added to the best builds.
Delsere's Magnum Opus Frozen Orb
- Active skills: Shock Pulse (Piercing Orb), Arcane Orb (Frozen Orb), Teleport (Safe Passage), Slow Time (Exhaustion), Magic Weapon (Deflection), Storm Armor (Power of the Storm)
- Passive skills: Illusionist, Galvanizing Ward, Power Hungry, Unstable Anomaly
- Armor: Shrouded Mask (Flawless Royal Topaz), Dashing Pauldrons of Despair, Harnass of Truth (Flawless Royal Topazes), Fierce Gauntlets, Ashnagarr's Blood Bracer, Captain Crimson's Silk Girdle, Captain Crimson's Thrust (Flawless Royal Topazes), Striders of Destiny
- Jewelry: Squirt's Necklace, Halo of Karini, Convention of Elements
- Weapons: Unstable Scepter (Flawless Royal Emerald), Triumverate
- Caldesann's Despair Augment: Intelligence
- Legendary Gems: Zei's Stone of Vengeance, Bane of the Stricken, Bane of the Trapped
- Item Stat Priorities: Critical Hit Damage, Critical Hit Chance, Cold Damage, Resource Cost Reduction, Attack Speed, Intelligence, Life Percentage, Vitality
- Kanai's Cube: Wizardspike, Pride's Fall, Ring of Royal Grandeur
The spellset of the Delsere's Magnum Opus Frozen Orb Wizard is one that is popular for new players who are trying to level to seventy for the first time. There's no reason to change builds if you've mastered these already, this build turns early game spells into something that can clear a Greater Rift at 136 all by themselves with just a little bit of farming.
The gameplay is as straightforward as it gets; slow enemies down and blow them up when they try to catch up. The frost effects are especially good at killing mobs and kiting bosses. Since the initial week of patch 2.7.0, no Wizard build has gained more ground in Greater Rifts than this one, which makes many believe its true power is only now being realized.
Typhon Hydra
- Active skills: Spectral Blade (Barrier Blades), Teleport (Safe Passage), Hydra (Frost Hydra), Blizzard (Apocalypse), Black Hole (Absolute Zero), Storm Armor (Scramble)
- Passive skills: Arcane Dynamo, Audacity, Galvanizing Ward, Illusionist
- Armor: Typhon's Frons (Flawless Royal Amethyst), Typhon's Tibia, Typhon's Thorax (Flawless Royal Amethysts), Tasker and Theo, Ashnagarr's Blood Bracer, The Shame of Delsere, Typhon's Abdomen (Flawless Royal Amethysts), Typhon's Tarsus
- Jewelry: Squirt's Necklace, Halo of Karini, Convention of Elements
- Weapons: Fragment of Destiny (Flawless Royal Emerald), Winter Flurry
- Caldesann's Despair Augment: Intelligence
- Legendary Gems: Enforcer, Bane of the Stricken, Bane of the Trapped
- Item Stat Priorities: Critical Hit Damage, Critical Hit Chance, Cold Damage, Hydra Damage, Area Damage, Attack Speed
- Kanai's Cube: Serpent's Sparker, The Magistrate, Ring of Royal Grandeur
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A few short patches ago, the Mammoth Hydra build was the top dog. People turned away from the Hydra after a few nerfs, but they turned a little bit too quickly; with some adjustments, the Typhon Hydra Wizard is an excellent damage-dealing machine that never has to stay in place to put up big numbers. Changing the Hydra to Frost from Mammoth has given it a fresh and strong new playstyle.
Groups that have a zBarb who can bring enemies into a tight ball of bodies will gladly take the services of a Typhon Hydra Wizard, but this build also shines in solo instances, capable of clearing Greater Rift 136 on its own.
Vyr-Chantodo
- Active skills: Magic Weapon (Deflection), Arcane Torrent (Static Discharge), Archon (Slow Time), Storm Armor (Power of the Storm), Slow Time (Time Warp), Black Hole (Absolute Zero)
- Passive skills: Galvanizing Ward, Evocation, Elemental Exposure, Audacity
- Armor: Vyr's Sightless Skull (Flawless Royal Diamond), Vyr's Proud Paunldrons, Vyr's Astonishing Aura (Flawless Royal Topazes), Vyr's Grasping Gauntlets, Ashnagarr's Blood Bracer, Fazula's Improbable Chain, Vyr's Fantastic Finery (Flawless Royal Topazes), Vyr's Swaggering Stance
- Jewelry: Squirt's Necklace, Convention of Elements, Halo of Karini
- Weapons: Chantodo's Will, Chantodo's Force
- Caldesann's Despair Augment: Intelligence
- Legendary Gems: Zei's Stone of Vengeance, Bane of the Trapped, Bane of the Stricken
- Item Stat Priorities: Cooldown Reduction, Attack Speed, Cold Damage, Critical Hit Damage, Critical Hit Chance, Intelligence
- Kanai's Cube: The Furnace, The Swami, Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac
Astonishingly, the Vyr-Chantodo build wasn't even on the map and was considered mostly outdated at the beginning of the latest patch. After a few weeks, the global stats seemed to confirm that this build was mostly in retirement.
If it weren't for a few creative minds in the community, that might still be the case, but after getting a second look, players have managed to clear Greater Rift 138 with a build that appears to have reclaimed the glory it got during season four.
This is a build for players who love to spend as much time in Archon as possible. The kicker is that both legendary sets used on the build stack damage, making this particularly strong against bosses and monsters.
Legacy Of Dreams Twister
- Active skills: Arcane Torrent (Static Discharge), Energy Twister (Wicked Wind), Wave of Force (Arcane Attunement), Archon (Teleport), Magic Weapon (Deflection), Ice Armor (Crystallize)
- Passive skills: Galvanizing Ward, Evocation, Unstable Anomaly, Audacity
- Armor: The Swami (Flawless Royal Diamond), Mantle of Channeling, Aquila Cuirass (Flawless Royal Topazes), Stone Gauntlets, Ancient Partan Defenders, Fazula's Improbable Chain, Swamp Land Waders (Flawless Royal Topazes), Ice Climbers
- Jewelry: Squirt's Necklace, Convention of Elements, Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac
- Weapons: The Twisted Sword, Etched Sigil
- Caldesann's Despair Augment: Intelligence
- Legendary Gems: Legacy of Dreams, Bane of the Trapped, Bane of the Stricken
- Item Stat Priorities: Area Damage, Critical Hit Damage, Critical Hit Chance, Intelligence, Life Percentage, Vitality
- Kanai's Cube: Valthek's Rebuke, Ranslor's Folly, Halo of Arlyse
Groups that need somebody excellent at clearing trash mobs absolutely love the Legacy of Dreams Twister Wizard. It's the best group killer build that the Wizard has access to. Thanks to being able to clear rooms quickly, the solo Twister Wizard can clear up to around Greater Rift 143 and reaches similar heights with two to three teammates.
There is an underappreciated tanking capability for the Twister Wizard with two separate shields that stave off the errant fire. These shields are based on life totals, so be sure to stock up on life percentage and vitality.
Firebird's Mirror Image
- Active skills: Spectral Balde (Flame Blades), Disintegrate (Chaos Nexus), Explosive Blast (Chain Reaction), Teleport (Safe Passage), Mirror Image (Duplicates), Slow Time (Stretch Time)
- Passive skills: Unwavering Will, Audacity, Elemental Exposure, Evocation
- Armor: Firebird's Plume (Flawless Royal Diamond), Aughild's Power, Firebird's Breast (Flawless Royal Topazes), Firebird's Talons, Aughild's Search, Captain Crimson's Silk Girdle, Captain Crimson's Thrust (Flawless Royal Topazes), Firebird's Tarsi
- Jewelry: The Traveler's Pledge, The Compass Rose, Convention of Elements
- Weapons: Deathwish, Firebird's Eye
- Caldesann's Despair Augment: Intelligence
- Legendary Gems: Taeguk, Enforcer, Bane of the Trapped
- Item Stat Priorities: Critical Hit Damage, Critical Hit Chance, Fire Damage, Cooldown Reduction, Intelligence
- Kanai's Cube: Orb of Infinite Depth, Tasker and Theo, Ring of Royal Grandeur
As predicted by pros on day one of the latest patch, it was only a matter of time before a Wizard was capable of clearing Greater Rift 150 all by itself and, sure enough, that day is here. As of this writing, not just one, but three players have managed the feat.
The single target damage might not be what an Aegis of Valor Crusader can bring to the table and it might also be just slightly behind the Witch Doctor and Necromancer when it comes to clearing out mobs, but no other build across any class can take care of both single target and group damage like this build can. In three-person groups, this Wizard is the only DPS that needs to come to the party.
There are more than a few complaints that the Mirror Images aren't exactly geniuses. They often target the wrong enemies and get themselves killed. But that hardly matters as even their weakest effort vastly outclasses any other build.