With the new Ethereal weapons, the Wizard in Diablo 3 is one of the strongest classes in the game. As iconic weapons from Diablo 2 such as the Oculus, Mang Song's Lesson, or Wizardspike are back, Wizards have one of the highest DPS in the game. Another advantage Wizards have is that it is easier to set up compared to other classes.

 

1. Ethereal Weapons

Mang Song's Lesson

The Oculus

Wizardspike

As mentioned above, the Ethereal weapons available for Wizards are The Oculus, Mang Song's Lesson, and Wizardspike. The best choice among these Ethereal weapons is The Oculus as it is the only weapon that guarantees the "Critical hits grant 5.0-7.0 Arcane Power" option.

 

However, there's an option that's more important than this: the Ethereal weapon needs to have the Deathwish or Orb of Infinite Depth option. Note that if you have a Wizardspike with one of these options in a high value, it could be better to use the Wizardspike.

 

Mang Song's Lesson has great damage as it is a two-handed weapon, but it will most definitely lack Arcane Power and Toughness.

 

2. Firebird's Finery — Season 24 Wizard Main Gear Set

Firebird's Plume

Firebird's Breast

Firebird's Talons

Firebird's Eye

Firebird's Down

Firebird's Pinions

Firebird's Tarsi

 

The main set items for the season 24 Wizards are Firebird's Finery. The biggest advantage of the Firebird's Finery set effects is the cooldown reduction for Teleport. With this, you can browse through Nephalem Rifts and Greater Rifts in no time. Maintaining close to 50 stacks Disintegrate is important.

 

You need five Firebird set items to trigger the 6-set effect while using the Ring of Royal Grandeur. From the Firebird set, you must have the gloves (Firebird's Talons) and the Orb (Firebird's Eye). With the other three parts, you can choose from which parts are the best among what you have, as you also need the Captain Crimson's Trimmings set and the Aughild's Authority set.

 

Most users pick the wrists and shoulders from the Aughild's Authority set and the waist and feet from the Captain Crimson's Trimming's set, but there's room to choose from. Note that the Aughild’s Authority set and Captain Crimson’s Trimming set are only obtainable by forging.

 

The rings and amulets you'll need are Convention of Elements, and the Endless Walk set, along with the Ring of Grandeur for the Kanai's Cube.

 

Here are the options you need to prioritize by equipment.

 

Head: Firebird’s Plume or Aughild’s Spike

- Intelligence

- Critical Hit Chance

- Vitality

 

Torso: Firebird’s Breast or Aughild’s Rule

- Sockets (3)

- Intelligence

- Vitality

- All Resistance

- Life %

- Damage reduction from melee or ranged attacks

 

Shoulders: Aughild’s Power or Firebird’s Pinions

- Intelligence

- Cooldown reduction

- Reduce Resource Costs

- Vitality

 

Wrists: Aughild’s Search

- Critical Hit Chance

- Intelligence

- Vitality

- Fire skill damage

- Damage reduction from melee or ranged attacks

 

Hands: Firebird’s Talons

- Critical Hit Damage

- Critical Hit Chance

- Cooldown Reduction

- Intelligence

 

Waist: Captain Crimson’s Silk Girdle

- Intelligence

- Vitality

- All resistance

- Life %

- Armor

 

Legs: Firebird’s Down or Captain Crimson’s Thrust

- Sockets (3)

- Intelligence

- Vitality

- All Resistance

- Armor

 

Feet: Captain Crimson’s Waders or Firebird’s Tarsi

- Intelligence

- Vitality

- All Resistance

- Armor:

 

Off-hand: Firebird’s Eye

- Damage

- Critical Chance

- Cooldown Reduction

- Fire Skill damage

 

Rings and Amulet: Endless Walk set and Convention of Elements

- Socket

- Critical Damage

- Critical Chance

- Cooldown Reduction

- Fire skill damage

- Damage

- Intelligence

 

3. Jewels and Kanai’s Cube

Taeguk

Bane of the Trapped

Enforcer

One of the biggest strengths Wizards have over other classes is that Intelligence grants All Resistance. This means if you use Topazes in your equipment, All Resistance will rise as well as Intelligence. You should insert Topazes for your torso and legs sockets, and a Diamond for your head. For your weapon, insert a Flawless Royal Emerald after adding a socket with Ramaldni's Gift.

 

For the legendary gems, you need Taeguk, Bane of the Trapped, and Enforcer to maximize your damage.

 

The Kanai’s Cube also has some options to choose from. In the Weapon slot, you can use either Deathwish or Orb of Infinite Depth, depending on what you have on your Ethereal Weapon. For your Armor slot, you can choose between Mantle of Channeling and Tasker and Theo depending on what you need more — if you need more Toughness, use Mantle of Channeling, if you need more damage, use Tasker and Theo.

 

The ring slot should be locked in with the Ring of Royal Grandeur as you need the extra set item options for all of your sets.

 

4. Skillset and Gameplay

Primary: Spectral Blade - Flame Blades

Secondary: Disintegrate - Chaos Nexus

Action Bar Skills:

- Explosive Blast - Chain Reduction

- Mirror Image - Duplicates

- Teleport - Safe Passage

- Frost Nova - Bone Chill

 

Passive Skills:

- Unwavering Will

- Audacity

- Evocation

- Elemental Exposure

- Conflagration

- Glass Cannon

- Unstable Anomaly

- Galvanizing Ward

- Astral Presence

- Cold Blooded

- Blur

 

The main damage source for Wizards in Season 24 is Explosive Blast. While charging up stacks on Disintegrate, all you need to do is Teleport around while constantly using Explosive Blast. When the Convention of Elements clock is at Cold Damage boost, use Frost Nova, and when it ticks to Fire Damage boost, use Mirror Image. This way, you will have enough damage to run Greater Rifts while having enough Toughness to endure most attacks. Using Spectral Blade from time to time will give you some extra damage boost in certain situations as well.

 

Although the active skills are pretty much locked in, there’s a variety of choices you can choose from for your passive skills. The most used passive skills are the top four, but you can move them around depending on what you need.

 

5. Last tips for Season 24

If everything is set up properly, you’ll be able to run Level 100+ Greater Rifts without much trouble. Once things are set up, things you’ll be hunting for are better weapons and equipment, obviously, but it’s also important to farm a lot of Bounty Material. By the time you’ve applied Caldesann’s Despairs on your equipment, you’ll have plenty of Forgotten Souls. When you do, what you should be collecting is the Bounty Material.

 

There’s a chance to gain Primal Ancient Legendary items from the Kanai’s Cube by reforging legendary items with the Law of Kulle — which requires Bounty Material. This will make it easier for you to gain items with good options without needing to farm new ones all the time. Especially for your accessories which are usually harder to gain.

 

You will also need Bounty Material for forging the Aughild’s Authority and Captain Crimson’s Trimmings, so the more the better.

 

Some additional boosts available are setting up your Followers. You can find the Followers’ guide here.

 

MORE DIABLO III GUIDES
Season 24 Demon Hunter build guide
Season 24 Followers guide: Which follower, skills, and gear to choose

 

All images by Blizzard