Mages Come to Diablo III!

Okay, so they're technically not called mages, but I was nevertheless overjoyed, despite the name difference, to hear this weekend that the newest class to join the forces of Diablo III is going to be the Wizard. And, having experienced a bit of what this arcane magic user can do at BlizzCon, I can happily state that all is well and good with magecraft in this newest installment of one of the most iconic action-RPG games.

Like her predecessor the Sorceress, the Wizard wields potent raw magical spells which can blast her enemies to smithereens, both at close range and afar. Unlike the Sorceress, whose abilities were based on elemental magics, the Wizard's power comes from "High Magic," and consist of spells which alter or transform the world around her, including what may well be my favorite: Slow Time.

Some of the old favorites from the Sorceress' arsenal will be back, however, like Blizzard and Teleport. But even these old standbys have been revamped to offer a high level of customization because of the Rune system, which allows players to add Runes which give special modifiers such as Multistrike or Lethality, to each spell they possess.

Not only does each Rune dramatically change the properties of each spell (I for one was thrilled to see that Teleport can be modified to do damage to surrounding enemies), they also change the spell's animation. And in the case of the Wizard, spell animations are wild, beautiful, and extreme.

As far as questing goes - playing the Wizard as opposed to the Barbarian or Witch Doctor will give you a whole new line of quests to work with. It was announced at BlizzCon that each character class will interact with game NPCs differently. Also, each character will have the ability to go on class-only quests which have been tailored to their unique abilities. So when you roll up your Wizard, you are guaranteed a gameplay experience unlike any other class.

All in all, the Wizard is the class to play for anyone who wants a lot of explosions, crackling lightning, and wild arcane lights; a wonderful addition to Diablo III, and fitting evidence that all is well and good for magic users in this upcoming title.