Updated 4-29-2025


S: Star Mage > Maggie > Moon Mage
A: Reginald, Kavin
B: Sun Mage, Hatti
C: Wizard King > Ludwig > Aldric
D: Campanelli
Trash: Bryony

S:

Moon Mage getting Elements faster is huge, but spell size and Range bonus gives a good solid start point. Moonerang at +6 with Ice is a cheap Ice application.

Maggie's Aurora Wings + Explosion is now one of the best, with great reliability without putting yourself in danger, and cheap with only 1 Augment needed, damage dealing skills in the game. Her ability to sense artifacts is top tier.

Star Mage takes over as top tier due to the difference in damage calculations. Explosions as an Augment are now one of the most useful ways to deal damage, because Added Hits Augment and Lightning have both been nerfed. Explosions now need a 100% -> 95% damage reduction to bring them in line with others. Star Mage not having to be in danger due to cast range and the damage dealt make him easily the safest, highest damage member of the Brigade.

A:

Reginald stays the same, but honestly is comparitively a bit better, because others got worse.

Kavin gains for the same reason, but also gains due to the second Healing Artifact. Get all the Rocky Road Augments, and throw on Poison first, then Lightning. Good secondary skills: Solar Pulse (Ice), Arcane Broadsword (Lightning).

B:

Sun Mage is borderline A tier. Make use of the Road Speed buffs. Lightning and Ice are good picks for elements.

Hatti became much harder to play, because you have to pick +HP at some point, but Rune Burst is still a top tier spell.

C:

Wizard King is fine. Magic Missile is the best to make use of the new Dark Element, but it is undertuned, so it isn't exactly spectacular. Extra Crit Chance is huge, but not enough to be in B tier.

Ludwig and Aldric were greatly nerfed.

Ludwig gets a double wammy from the movement speed debuff + the new enemies. You need to pick at least +20% speed with everyone now as I'll mention later, but he has to make up an additional 10%. Barring getting an Epic/Legendary, that's a lot. Arcane Broadsword is still fantastic though.

Aldric got hit the hardest. Aether Beam was nerfed too much. If you're playing in a group, the healing is the best, but if you aren't it isn't worth building. Still, not as bad as the remaining wizards.


D:

Campanelli is still garbage. Phantom Blades are a bad spell. The only reason he isn't worse is because....

Trash:

Bryony and Vengeful Sprout are horrible. Don't level them, it isn't worth it. The idea is cool, but the damage is about 1/2 what it should be. It operates similar to Necro Whirl, but it does about 1/4 of the potential DPS it feels like, and is so annoying for the first few waves until you get a better spell. Just pick up Aurora Wings or Falling Stars as soon as possible if you have to play her for the quests.

----------
From Dec 2024:

This is pretty simple, because the variation isn't huge.

S: Aldric, Ludwig
A: Hatti, Reginald
B: Everyone but...
D: Campanelli, Moon Mage, Wizard King

Wizard Stats:

Aldric, Ludwig, Hatti, and Reginald provide real, useful, measurable buffs to the team. The rest of the Wizards are fine, with small differences here and there. Campanelli's projectile speed isn't super helpful, and Moon Mage's +50 health is negligible. You get +600 health from fully upgrading in the enhancements.

4-29-2025

(Preface is no longer needed from below, but new Preface added)

Preface: Additional Projectiles now splits the damage across those projectiles. This means Rune Burst and Aether Beam are now greatly nerfed. Split in Two doesn't seem to have as bad a problem, so B Tier and probably Hex Bomb are still worthwhile. Falling Stars dodges the nerf and gets a massive buff because with the Lightning Nerf and the Projectile Nerf, Exploding Projectiles gains a ton, relatively.

SS: Magic Missile
S: Aurora Wings (needs slight nerf) > Falling Stars, Scepter Mesh, Rocky Road
A: Solar Pulse, Rune Burst, Arcane Broadsword, Necro Whirl
B: Astral Orb, Hex Bomb
C: Moonerang, Cithonic Charge
F: Aether Beam
Trash: Vengeful Sprout
Not Ranked Yet: ( (probably A), Hex Bomb (Probably B), Cithonic Charge)

Magic Missile: Explosions and Split Projectiles. Needs a nerf. Maybe to 90% of damage. Easy to rack up 5-7 million damage in a run.

Aurora Wings: Only need 1 Augment (Explosion) to be a solid skill. Cheap to apply Poison/Ice and deals good damage on it's own, especially in that 2nd stage where you don't have all your skills but you have 1-2 Augments. Needs to be nerfed slightly on damage.

Falling Stars needs explosions and as many additional projectiles as possible, but adding Target Highest HP is good too.

Scepter Mesh only needs Connect All and it becomes S Tier in DPS and Element application. A must pick.

Rocky Road got a huge buff because Adding Projectiles got a huge Nerf. Super Reliable, Easy to work with, and all the Augments are worth it. Building high Crit Damage with guaranteed Crit Rocks Augment and Heal On Crit Artifact makes this S Tier. Without Heal, this is borderline S/A, and with Zero Augments it is probably low A Tier.

Aether Beam got Nerfed to Almost Useless except for Healing.

Vengeful Sprout is Completely Useless.


----------------------------------------------

December 2024:


Quick Elements Preface:

Lightning is OP, to the point of needing at least a 10% damage nerf. If you pick anything + Lightning you are on the right track, which makes the skills less variable overall (you'll get a much better result by adding Lightning to your spell, no matter which spell it is, and it covers the weakness of the spell through bounce).

Starting Spells:

Aether Beam:

Fairly meh to start, but once you add in a few augmentations of additional projectiles, and you add Lighting + Anything, it is one of the best skills. Since Aldric starts with Aether Beam, you'll have multiple chances to get there. Try for at minimum 3 projectiles. Best Skill for Newer players and on Frozen or Pyrestorm maps due to long cast distance. Best skill for applying Ice.

Arcane Broadsword:

Takes a couple minutes to get used to, and you need to augment it with Slower but Larger at least twice to get it really rocking. When it comes to elements, avoid picking Ice first. You need multiple hits to really usefully apply freezing, and without Lightning to add lots of hits, you'll be disappointed. If this is your main DPS skill, your priority should start: Lightning>Fire> Poison. If this is a Secondary DPS skill, prioritize Lightning + Fire > Lightning + Poison > Lightning + Ice (if your first skill is really good). If this is your 3rd or 4th spell, fill in your Poison or Fire damage as needed. Most times this results in my highest DPS output. Harder than other skills to use, but probably the best payoff.

Rune Burst:

Might be the best DPS skill after Arcane Broadsword and the best skill for applying Ice outside of Aether Beam. Augment with Rotation and +2 projectiles for best results, but even with no augmentations, it can be fantastic. Hatti's -5% Cooldown is completely made up for by this skill being fantastic. Lightning + Lightning or Lightning + Fire for DPS, but with this skill, I've run Every combination. Incredibly versatile, high Damage, Not hard to use. I'd recommend Hatti as your Second main (chronologically speaking) Wizard because of this skill alone.

Solar Pulse:

Simple, effective, and just works. Nothing to learn here, so nothing to say. This is the safest pick for third spell in every map. You can run this as your main skill, you can run it as a support skill. Sun Mage should be your First main wizard, because this skill will help you learn everything about the game while still placing high. Best part? You don't need to use ANY Augmentations on this skill for it to be effective.

Astral Orb/Magic Missile:

Just... meh. You'll feel underwhelmed, even if they work. Current State, they aren't super fun to play, and the visuals aren't super great. They both have an Augmentation where they split at the end of the projectile's life. They can be incredibly effective if you invest your Augmentations into them, and you throw Lightning on so you can see the zapping in huge groups, but they aren't worth it over the above skills to be honest.

Falling Stars/Rocky Road:

Incredibly satisfying to play with, but can be challenging at the beginning. Falling Stars is easy, because position doesn't matter, where as Rocky Road position is everything. Falling Stars is fun to watch at end game with multiple Augments into +2 projectiles and Projectiles Explode on Impact, but it can be really irritating at the beginning. Rocky Road is also hard in the beginning, because your trail is so short, but once you throw a few Augments in, with the Exploding Tail and Crit Rocks, and you've got a long Road, its a ton of fun. Choose these if you have patience and enjoy a rewarding challenge. Rocky Road is top tier for applying Ice.

Moonerang:
(side note)

You might like this skill, but you'll hate it with a passion by the time you earn Full Moon Mage outfit if you try to earn it in a row. It is incredibly frustrating to use, because it is the skill I find that varies most wildly according to level ups. When getting the Full Moon Mage outfit, rotate with Moon Mage and Aldric's Crustworthy challenge, or you'll learn to hate this skill.

(Skill Review)

As stated above, Varies WILDLY with skill ups. Rewarding with the Augment for Lingering at Endpoint and Crit At Endpoint, but because your distance thrown can vary so wildly with skillups, you can actually throw TOO far, and overshoot the enemy group, rendering it all useless. This skill can be a solid 3rd spell to apply Fire or Poison.

Phantom Blades:

Horrible. Needs to be tuned WAY up to make Campanelli worthwhile. Augment with Pierce? Flip the blades to start coming out from behind him as default, then in front with the Augmentation? Anything. Not worth it. Don't pick him without being prepared.



The below skills currently do not have a Wizard that starts with them:

Scepter Mesh/Necro Whirl

Fantastic, but needs to have Augmentations. Add Whirls or extra Scepters. Great for Applying Ice. Necro Whirl is a viable main DPS skill, even when pulling it in as your 3rd skill. Make sure Scepter adds Connect All Scepters.

Hex Bomb:

Don't pick Hex Bomb unless you've also picked Harmony Pact. If you have selected Harmony Pact, and you get this in your second or third spell pick, Grab it and Go to town. Extra Bounce and Split into Two make this skill cover a huge area of the map. Its hilarious, and tons of fun. Not the best DPS, but this is one of the most fun skills in the game.

Chthonic Mine:

Fun in thought, slightly less fun in practice. Another skill not to pick without Harmony Pact or without planning to pick the Healing Augmentation. Is slightly under tuned. Maybe needs slightly higher base damage. That said, its still a usable skill.

Moderate:

Easy. Too Easy on the Verdant Meadows unless you are just starting.

Severe:

Medium. Without any Enhancements you'll struggle when you are just starting.

Hardcore:

Hard. Without Enhancements you are almost certainly toast. With Enhancements it can still be a challenge, even in the Verdant Meadows. With the Terrain challenges in the Frozen Ancients and Pyrestorm you are in for a real challenge.

Verdant Meadows:

Simple. No major issues. Don't waste a level up on Evasion.


Frozen Ancients:

Ice Patches where you slip, Bushes that slow you down, and Sulfuric Geysers that can deal damage to units on top of them after a Wizard steps on them.

Use the Geysers to quickly kill enemies before you get to higher levels. The Sacrifice and Seal the Rift Challenges can be difficult because they are placed on the ice patches.

The fast enemies unique to this map stop and curl into balls when you look at them. Get used to a quick look back and keep running motion and you'll be fine.

You'll take damage either in a bush or on the ice. Evasion isn't worthless on Hardcore.

Pyrestorm:

Lava. Tornadoes. Flying enemies. This is a real challenge. You will die. Difficult to complete on Hardcore alone.

Use the Lava to deal chip damage to enemies at the beginning of the game, as they'll take damage taking the shortest path to you.

Flying Stingrays can't turn on a dime, but don't take tornado or lava damage. Use the exploding enemies wisely, and make these a priority when they appear.

Tornadoes... Brutal. 100 damage per impact, and you'll take at least 5 hits per match. Consider picking skills with healing augmentations to handle these, and you can Evade them. Picking an Epic or Legendary Evasion is totally worth it.

The beauty of these types of games is the variable nature, so here are some broad strategies.

Enhancements:

Max Health > Armor > Move Speed > Health Regeneration > Luck > Rerolls > Experience. I'd focus on this group first, then afterwards Everything Else can be leveled evenly.


Skill Choices:

Start with Sun Mage. Get used to the game. Once you are used to it, move to Hatti, Aldric, and Ludwig. These Wizards have the current state best DPS skills.

After you get used to these four skills, then learn the rest, and supplement in these four as your secondary skills so you don't feel worthless.

Don't be afraid to try out Rocky Road and Scepter Mesh. High Learning Curve, but they're plenty fun once you get good.

Luck:

Always take any Epic or Legendary Luck level up. Your goal should be about 20 Luck, or if you find the Luck +1 if you have a Reroll and don't use it up to 10, 30. Someone else can explain the stats, but 20 Luck feels right.

Success:

Measure your success. A good round should see you deal around 3 million damage. A great round is 4 million. The most I've ever done was over 7 million. A fine teammate deals 1.8 million damage and doesn't die a lot.

Experience:

In the Wizards section, I ranked Reginald as A tier. This is for two reasons. First is his +1 Luck to all Wizards. Second is his +3% EXP. Even with a meh spell, he's worth picking, because leveling up is so important.

Try to get to around level 45 in any given match. I've been as high as 65 in a non-endless match, because I kept getting Legendary Additional Experience level ups. If you get to your first level up and pull the Common +Experience level up, take it. That 7% is so worth it over time, and you'll see massive differences in matches where you take them and those you don't. Shoot for +24% experience in a match at least, but +30% range is better. +40% is getting carried away. To get to 65 I think I had +60% Experience.

Dying:

Dying is fine. Don't worry too much. However, be patient with your team to get a revive. Give them a minute to realize you're down. Then send the message for "Revive Me." If you're fine waiting, use the chat to say "Focus On Objective", so they know you're fine waiting. Campanelli has a challenge to revive players. If you see someone playing Campanelli let them revive.


The Boss:

Let one person tackle the boss at a time, because of his attack. He'll summon pillars that do about 1,000 damage that have shadows where they'll hit. The attacks are dodgeable, but if there are 2 or more people in one area, you can get each other killed. Pull other enemies away from the boss and your main combatant, and if you are the main combatant on the boss, let others switch in, don't do it alone for no reason.


Healing Skills:

Aether Beam/Solar Pulse are the main healing skills after Augmentation. If you're playing with someone who is having trouble with their HP and Dying, its a good idea to play as a healer. You can still deal great damage if you've chosen more than one of the S/A tier spells.

Spells can be Augmented during each match after completing an objective. Your first Augmentation will only have your first two spells. Your Second Augmentation will have your Third spell. So make sure you choose wisely which Wizard to start with, and your second spell.

Spells that DON'T need Augmentation:

Solar Pulse, Necro Whirl, Rocky Road

These can be USEFUL without Augmentation. Therefore they carry extra weight as third and fourth spells. Necro Whirl, at Level 7, with Fire Element, can deal 1 million damage with no augmentation throughout a match. Solar Pulse and Rocky Road are great at inflicting Ice to enemies, so they are useful without augmentation as well.

Augmentation Tier List:

S: Aether Beam: Additional Projectile, Arcane Broadsword: Slow but Large, Necro Whirl: Extra Whirl

A: Necro Whirl: Seek Enemies, Arcane Broadsword: Grows over Time, Scepter Mesh: Additional Scepter/All Scepters Connect, Rune Burst: Additional Projectile/Rotating Pattern, Falling Stars: Explode on Contact, Hex Bomb: Split, Rocky Road: Crit Rocks

B: Aether Beam: Seek Highest HP, Moonerag: Crit at Endpoint/Linger At Endpoint

C: Most everything else

F: Solar Pulse: Take Less Damage (Get Good. Don't waste your pick on this.), Chthonic Mine: Heal (Such low Return on investment. Pick something better.)