D&D 4E query

BigLundi

I have a question I'd like some of the more veteran members of the D&D community to help me with. I have been playtesting 4E and I made one of the saved character types, the elf wizard. I'm...not sure how to play a wizard. I'm always one to play a paladin, or fighter, or barbarian of some sort. I'm usually a tank of some sort. So I'm switching things up for 4E and I'm...not all that knowledgeable about how to play a wizard. Any suggestions?

Assuran

What type of wizard are you playing?

In general, the wizard is the controller, so you want to choose powers that make life miserable on the bad guys (debuff powers).

Over on the main WoTC site, there are these handbooks found on the charop board that go into much detail about the various wizard roles and how to play it. I suggest looking there.

Lord Palington

Stay a little behind your defender, watch out for monsters that can get past him, and make life miserable for your opponents. When you are selecting your spells, pay very close attention to the Target line in the description. "Creatures in blast" also means your party members, whereas "Enemies in blast" will only target your foes.

Charop boards aren't a bad place to look, but they usually get pretty deep into the nitty gritty. I'd probably take the superior implement training feat soon (accurate version of whatever implement you're using is a great, basic +1 to all of your attack rolls with spells cast through it). If you look at the Handbooks, they break every level down and give you some good guidelines on your choices. Don't be afraid to pick a 'subpar' power if it looks like you'll get some good use out of it.

Here's the latest Wizard handbook on the D&D Character Optimization forums.