Wizard101 Questing Strategy
How to Avoid Dying in PvE: Part 2


 

Are you dying a little too often when you’re questing?  Or have you been stuck on that quest because you couldn’t get past a boss? As we discussed in part 1 of this series, having good gear can help a lot, so many Wizards assume it’s their gear.

Did you know that your strategy has a bigger impact on how well you survive?  Even with “okay” gear, if you use an effective strategy, you can still quest like a pro!

Check out our strategy recommendations below  They focus on taking out your enemies quickly since longer battles give your enemies more opportunities to cause problems.

Table of Contents

  1. Only Defend and Heal When Necessary
  2. Prioritize Zero-Pip Buffs
  3. Prioritize Other Buffs
  4. Try Not to Hit Short
  5. Consider Taking Minions Out Early
  6. Handle Shields and Weakness
  7. Coordinate & Communicate
  8. Have the Right Cards at the Right Time
  9. Don’t Let Them “Cheat” You Out of Victory

 

Only Defend and Heal When Necessary

For most battles, you’ll be able to achieve victory by casting only buffs and hits.  As the old saying goes, sometimes the best defense is a good offense.

But for others, your enemies may get a lucky critical, or a boss and their minions may get your health low before you’re able to take out the minions.  In these cases, a well-timed heal, shield or damage reduction aura (e.g., fortify) can give you the extra time you need to finish the battle.

Even if you’re playing a healer/support role on a team, you typically won’t need to heal or shield every round, and you’re usually more helpful casting buffs for your hitters so they can achieve higher damage.

Prioritize Zero-Pip Buffs

In order to take out your enemies quickly, you’ll need:

  • Enough buffs so that the damage from your hit will take out the enemies (or at least do a large amount of damage)
  • Enough pips to hit

So for most turns, the most helpful thing you can do is cast a stacking zero-pip buff.

Did you know that higher level Wizards easily have access to six stackable zero-pip buffs?

Even a starting Wizard can have access to 2 stackable zero-pip buffs (pet blade, TC school blade).

Especially against mobs, only using stackable zero-pip buffs allows you to hit hard, hit often if needed, and finish the battle quickly.

 

Prioritize Other Buffs

Especially against bosses, you’ll want to prioritize casting other buffs so that you’re hit(s) will have enough damage, ideally for a one-hit knock out (OHKO).

Feint is your highest priority.  Got enough time to take out all enemies with a “Area of Effect” (AoE) spell that hits all enemies?  Look at the difference between the health of the boss and minions.  Less than double?  Maybe you only need one Feint on the boss.  More than double?  Maybe you need 2-3 stacked Feints (e.g., Regular Feint, Potent Feint, TC Feint, etc.) on the boss.

Elemental or spirit blades are also good choices (but lower priority than the zero-pip blades!).  Any Wizard can train these spells from Niles the Balance Tree, thus having at least two more buffs to stack (regular and sharp tri-blades).

If you use an Enchanted armament pet, you even can use one of their Pet Sharpen Blades on your school blade and another on your tri-blade, giving you two stackable blades.

Some pets that come with good buff cards

You can find these pets (and many more) in the Hatchmaking Kiosk in the Pet Pavilion.

 

Try Not to Hit Short

It can be tempting to hit without enough buffs to take out your enemy (i.e., hitting “short”), especially if you’ve got a lot of pips or can’t find a useful card that round.

But did you know that hitting “short” typically ends up being a slower way to finish the battle?  Let’s take a look at an example of a mid-level Storm Wizard fighting a boss with 20,000 health. Notice how one battle only takes 8 rounds, while the other takes 19!

One-Hit Knock Out (OHKO)

A OHKO strategy will take 8 rounds (assuming no rounds needed to deal with issues).

  • Base attack:
    • Leviathan attack: 1030 base damage
    • Enchanted with Gargantuan: 1030 + 225 = 1255 total damage
    • 70% Storm Damage boost: 1255 x 1.7 = 2134 total damage
  • Turn-by-Turn
    • Turn 1: 30% Regular Storm Blade: 2134 x 1.3 = 2774 total damage
    • Turn 2: 35% Item Storm Blade: 3744 total damage
    • Turn 3: 30% Pet Storm Blade: 4868 total damage
    • Turn 4: 35% Regular Elemental Blade: 6571 total damage
    • Turn 5: 40% TC Elemental Blade: 9200 total damage
    • Turn 6: 70% Regular Feint: 15640 total damage
    • Turn 7: 70% TC Feint: 26587 total damage
    • Turn 8: Hit

Multiple “Short” Hits

Assuming the same Wizard often hits “short”, the battle would take a whopping 19 rounds.  And that assumes they always get the cards they need and have 100% power pip chance so they could use Triton for each follow up attack.

  • Base Attack:
    • Leviathan attack: 1030 base damage
    • Enchanted with Gargantuan: 1030 + 225 = 1255 total damage
    • 70% Storm Damage boost: 1255 x 1.7 = 2134 total damage
  • First 4 turns:
    • Turn 1: 30% Regular Storm Blade: 2134 x 1.3 = 2774 total damage
    • Turn 2: 35% Item Storm Blade: 3744 total damage
    • Turn 3: 30% Pet Storm Blade: 4868 total damage
    • Turn 4: Hit with Leviathan
  • Base attack for Future Turns:
    • Triton attack: 795 base damage
    • Enchanted with Gargantuan: 795 + 225 = 1020 total damage
    • 70% Storm Damage boost: 745 x 1.7 = 1734 total damage
  • Future Turns:
    • Turn 1: 30% Regular Storm Blade: 2254 total damage
    • Turn 2: 35% TC Storm Blade: 3043 total damage
    • Turn 3: Hit
  • Total Turns:
    • Leviathan: 4 turns for 4868 damage
    • Triton #1: 3 turns to get to 4868 + 3043 = 7911 total damage
    • Triton #2: 3 turns to get to 10954 total damage
    • Triton #3: 3 turns to get to 13997 total damage
    • Triton #4: 3 turns to get to 17040 total damage
    • Triton #5: 3 turns to get to 20083 total damage
    • Total turns: 19

Consider Taking Minions out Early

In some boss battles you’ll have enough time to take out the boss and their minions in one hit if you want to, which is good since it’s the quickest approach.  But in other instances, the boss and the minions can hit pretty hard, and may take you out before you have time to set up your OHKO.

For these battles, a much safer option can be to handle it in four steps:

  1. Stack enough buffs to take out the minion(s)
  2. Take out the minion(s) as quickly as possible (using an AoE if there are multiple minions)
  3. Stack enough buffs to take out the boss (healing or shields if necessary)
  4. Take out the boss

Remember that once you get the boss one-on-one, you have a significantly higher chance of achieving victory.

Handle Shields and Weakness

Ever set up the perfect OHKO, only to have you enemy cast a school shield, weakness, plague (or even worse an Efreet)?

For these situations, especially against bosses, we suggest carrying some Pierce TC, some Cleanse Charm TC, and a Shatter TC in your side deck.  In most cases, you can remove the damage reduction item without taking away your buffs.

wizard101 questing strategy  questing strategy 

Pierce is used to remove one shield from the opponent. Shatter will remove all shields from the opponent. Cleanse Charm will remove a weakness from an ally (for example if the boss casts efreet on you and you need to remove the -90% weakness). You can find all three in the Bazaar.

Coordinate & Communicate

If more than one wizard is present in a battle, the fight will be far easier and far faster if you coordinate!

If you’re using team up for battles, try communicating with the others in the dungeon with you about the strategy. By not just running into battle, your team can save significant time and avoid issues.

Non-Cheating Bosses

For non-cheating boss battles, the most efficient approach is to:

  • Designate one Wizard as the hitter
  • The other Wizards play a support role and focus on casting stackable buffs for the hitter (e.g., elemental or spirit blades, feints, etc.)
    • If there is more than one support Wizard, it can be helpful to take a moment to “divvy up” stackable buffs for the hitter (e.g., one Wizard is responsible for regular and potent Feint, another is responsible for regular and sharp Tri-Blades, etc.)
  • Take out them all with a OHKO, usually in only a few rounds
  • Since the battle is so short, you don’t need healing or shields

Mobs

For mob battles:

  • Similar to the strategy for non-cheating bosses, you can designate one Wizard as the hitter and the other Wizards buff them
  • Or if a few Wizards have a high-critical build, you could have them all casting 4-5 pip AoEs, sometimes finishing battles in 1 turn!

Cheating Bosses

For cheating bosses, the support Wizards may need to play other roles.  Remember, though, that they often still have turns to cast buffs for the hitter!

  • One or more Wizards can play a healer role.
    • Note that they can still cast blades! They should focus on zero-pip buffs for the hitter so they have pips for healing.
  • One Wizard may focus on damage reduction or dispels.
    • This can be a very helpful role for Death wizards, with Bad Juju and Virulent Plague.
  • One Wizard may need to focus on stopping the cheats (e.g., hitting every turn against Belloq).

 

One benefit of good coordination is that the schools of the Wizards on the team often don’t matter much:

  • Especially at higher levels, any school can achieve a high damage boost and play the hitter role in most situations*
  • Any Wizard can have plenty of stackable buffs for the hitter by:
    • Training Feint, Elemental Blades, and/or Spirit Blades
    • Buying TC
    • Using an amulet and/or pet so they have a few stackable buffs for the hitter
  • Any Wizard can be an effective healer by having high outgoing healing boost, training heals, crafting Pigsie, or using TC heals

Yes, there are certain times where having a specific school can be helpful or even critical, but with a well-coordinated team they are far fewer than you think!

* Unfortunately except for Balance, since there are far fewer buffs for the support Wizards to use to help them set up a OHKO hit.

Have the Right Cards at the Right Time

Your deck size will impact your ability to pull cards you need. Do you have too many cards? You’ll often find that you don’t have the card you want/need available, causing what is known as a “deck fail”.

Most seasoned Wizards have learned that using a small deck (i.e., with only the key cards they need) is much more efficient and effective than having a deck with many cards just in case you might need them.

Possible Deck Types

When it comes to creating your deck setup, you need to consider whether it’s a deck for killing mobs or for a boss. I’ll put some decks down as an example if you need help figuring out how to put a deck together. The less cards you have to go through to pull what you need the better the chances you pull that blade or attack you are looking for. Making the most of your treasure cards in the side deck is also useful. Placing attacks and other cards that may be harder to pull in the side deck can make pulling them a little easier.

Another helpful tip: give your decks a name! This is important because, once you have multiple decks, it can be confusing which one to equip when they’re all named the same way.

Solo Mob Decks

For fighting mobs going smaller is better. A good set up could include one or two hits (preferably AOE hits), two enchants, one mass convert of your school, and maybe a blade or two if you require one. Most of the time the extra blade isn’t needed but sometimes it is.

For more information about mob deck examples and the rationale for them, we highly recommend checking out the excellent guides at Mercenaries for Hire on Mob Decks for Below Level 86 and Mob Decks for Levels 86+.

Solo Boss Decks

When it comes to a boss encounter: those decks contain more cards. Boss decks usually include multiple blade variations for blade stacking, feints, enchants, single target and AOE hits, and some treasure cards in the side deck. Converts may also be handy as you will face bosses of your school.

Support Decks

There are also support decks, used to support a hitter. Support decks are mostly used in a supporting role while questing with a partner. Support decks typically include two elemental or spirit blades (depending on who is the hitter), a sharpened blade and potent trap, and two feints. As a balance you can also carry your balance blade and blade storm.

How to Avoid Dying in PvE

Last Advice

The less cards you have to go through to pull what you need the better the chances you pull that blade or attack you are looking for. Making the most of your treasure cards in the side deck is also useful. Placing attacks and other cards that may be harder to pull in the side deck can make pulling them a little easier.

Don’t Let Them “Cheat” You Out of Victory

Knowing what spells can trigger a cheat on a boss can make the fight go so much smoother than running in blind. Once you understand the boss’ mechanics, they may not seem so hard anymore.

So next time you die on a cheating boss or don’t understand the cheats, trying to find a boss guide might be super helpful.

wizard101 questing strategy

Some Boss Guides on Final Bastion

World Location Boss Type of Guide Link
Aquila Tartarus Hades Dungeon Guide Link
Aquila Mount Olympus Mount Olympus Dungeon Guide Link
Azteca Black Sun Pyramid Ixcax Cursedwing Cheats & Strategy Link
Empyrea Part 1 Aeriel Shores Beastmen Speed Run Link
Empyrea Part 1 Sepidious Medulla Cheats & Strategy Link
Empyrea Part 2 Southwest Aeroplains Neumian Lion Cheats & Strategy Link
Empyrea Part 2 The Reverie Shadow Belloq and Jabberwock Cheats & Strategy Link
Empyrea Part 2 The Reverie The Headmaster Cheats & Strategy Link
Empyrea Part 2 Zanadu Tumbler Cheats & Strategy Link
Housing item Ultra Exalted Dungeon Rattlebones Cheats & Strategy Link
Khrysalis Central Keep Ghost Dog Cheats & Strategy Link
Khrysalis Shadow Palace Morganthe Cheats & Strategy Link
Marleybone Barkingham Palace Barkingham Palace Dungeon Guide Link
Mirage Aggrobah Verboten Mimic Cheats & Strategy Link
Polaris Forlorn Tayg Baba Yaga Speed Run (2 rounds) Link
Polaris Borealis Peaks Rasputin Speed Run (4 rounds) Link
Wizard City Darkmoor Aphrodite II Cheats & Strategy Link
Wizard City Darkmoor Darkmoor Dungeon Guide Link
Wizard City Darkmoor Graveyard Solo Fight Link
Wizard City Darkmoor Graveyard Speed Run Link

Two Great Spells for Cheating Bosses

Aegis and Indemnity

With the release of Mirage two useful spells became available at 110 and can be very useful against cheating bosses.

Aegis protects your blades while the spell Indemnity protects a trap, like a feint from being removed or switched. These are very useful spells to train.

 

Got any other advice for novice Wizards to help them with their Wizard101 questing strategy?  Let us know in the comments below!

 

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Destiny SparkleHeart

Destiny is an ice wizard who travels the Spiral with the companionship of her snow beast Isabella. Once a pvper, all she now has to show for those days is trophies. Currently she’s more into exploring the Spiral and seeing what it offers. She likes training pets in her free time. When not traveling the Spiral you can find her hunting for shiny, fluffy, or cute items to decorate her Wysteria Villa with. She will most likely greet you with a cheery meow if you find her in the Spiral. Can be found sometimes stuck in a tree during Christmas.

5 COMMENTS

  • Please note that the “Mercenaries for Hire” website links are no longer valid.

  • Thank you so much for this article! I had battled a certain wizard and it was, I felt impossible to over come with a victory. After 4 battles and needing to learn some serious spells I figured it out with this article. Don’t want to give it away because it is better to self learn how to beat this wizard. I am a low level 47. Finding Final Bastion has been a great game changer for me! Thanks so much for all your hard work hope to meet you in the Spiral..
    Gabrielle Pixiblossom AKA Human form Jeanette

  • I would like to add the flee method. You will need potions for this method. You can kill the minions then flee, use a potion and port back immediately and the minions won’t be there. You can now 1on1 the boss.

  • Really good article! I’m usually trying to explain this to many wizards, but having it spelled out here is fantastic – I now have a good link to quote.

    Just a small note: you can have more zero-pip buffs than 6. There are four (!) different Sharpened Blade spells: learned, pet’s (Enchanted Armament, Class pets from Deckathalon etc.), amulet’s (Jewel of the Apiary and the like) and TC, all of which stack. Too bad it clogs your deck, so it’s better on support.

    My Balance has such a build (I did work on getting Balance Class pet, so I have both Sharpened and pet’s blade), where I can put 6 different balanceblades on the hitter: regular, pet’s, sharpened, sharpened by pet, sharpened by amulet, item’s (Jewel of the Apiary again, though I do have Dual Balanceblade Jewel, too). A few Availing Hands with good Balance critical wrap it up, topped with Reshuffle or two.

    Another small note: I never bothered to find the exact formula, but critical heals give more than double compared to normal. Looks more like x2.2 or even x2.4

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