The Blast Magefire fire FIRE! - BeavisThere is a certain satisfaction in making things explode with your mind. That's what a blast mage does. He controls the cosmic power of the universe, and he uses it to make popcorn, light the campfire, and turn his enemies into cinders all at the same time. Seriously, that's pretty hardcore.
Fortunately for the blast mage, he no longer has to dig around in a little bag for spell components that are supposed to be funny because they are in-jokes. Fireball isn't a MacGyver trick anymore. You don't make a lightning bolt by rubbing cat fur on a glass rod, and this means you can actually act cool while making stuff explode. And we're mostly interested in the stuff exploding part, so we're good with that.
Most people who want to play a blast mage don't actually want to think about it too much. They want to sit down and throw hollywood special effects around and enjoy being awesome. This guide will help you get to that point without too much hassle and be effective at what you do. Your character might have an intelligence of 26 - heck, you might have an intelligence of 26 - but what you really want is to blow stuff up and afterwards be able to declare "I sunk the George Washington Bridge."
Theory and Optimization GoalsBlast Mages want to maximize total damage output, and they want to do this by making things explode. This is not single-target dominance, this is Area of Effect dominance. A striker will outperform them at killing one foe, but they'll clear rooms faster than anyone else.
When maximizing damage, it is not sufficient to just deal a lot of damage when you hit. Because if you miss a lot your average damage output, and therefore impact of your damage on combat, is going to be low. The proper variable to maximize is average damage.
Average damage for any given attack is equal to the product of expected damage per hit multiplied by the probability of hitting. For the mage, then, where damage per hit is going to vary by spell, and probability of hitting is going to vary by opponent's defenses, he needs to worry about the average of damage across all his spells and his ability to attack as many different defenses as possible. Thus, the major areas of focus are going to be on power selection, attribute arrangement, and bonuses to attack rolls and damage rolls.
One thing that will quickly become clear is that just going through the power list and choosing high damage spells is not always the best approach. Most good blast powers target reflex. As being able to choose which of reflex, fortitude, or will you're targetting is worth approximately a +3 to hit modifier, some variation is going to be essential. Will is on average the weakest defense, and also the one with the fewest blasting powers, so we're going to have to occasionally compromise our pure blast ideals for variety.
AttributesIntelligence is by far a blast mage's most important attribute. It adds to both attack and damage rolls, making it the workhorse attribute for everything the blast mage is doing. As such, you want to maximize intelligence as much as possible. Grabbing an 18 with point buy can be considered, although many will likely settle for a 16.
After intelligence the attributes you care about are Dexterity, Constitution, and one of Wisdom or Charisma. Barring a specific reason to choose charisma, wisdom is probably the better attribute.
Dexterity is important because of wand focus, which will give you a to-hit bonus 1/encounter equal to your dexterity modifier, and thus ramping up your average damage, especially if used on a high damage spell. Wand focus is probably the best choice for a blast mage because of this. Dexterity also helps you qualify for a number of useful feats, such as Arcane Reach.
Constitution and (Wis/Cha) are of near equal importance to each other, although Constitution is slightly more valuable as your Fortitude defense will tend to be lower. Their value relative to dexterity depends on your preference as a player and how hard the DM works to neutralize the party's backfield. Dexterity from a numbers standpoint is ultimately a low value attribute to a wizard outside of the wand implement as it only contributes to initiative beyond that, so the optimal level of dexterity may be set by desired feats or how valuable you feel the bonus from wand use is.
When advancing attributes, every opportunity should be taken to advance intelligence. The second attribute pump can be split between the three other important attributes or dumped into the one of your choice (or choose two and ignore the third). Blast mages have some flexibility here because they aren't as dependent on two stats as control mages are - their intelligence mostly defines their combat effectiveness on its own.
Example effective 22PB stat spreads:
18 12 12 12 10 8
16 14 14 13 10 8
16 16 12 12 10 8
The first stat is intelligence and the next three are your other important attributes in the order you choose. You'll generally want to sack strength, although an argument can be made for the one of wisdom/charisma you didn't choose.
The mid one is probably the best overall, with the top one rating after it. The lack of a second truly critical attribute makes the last spread less effective than it is for a control mage.
Note that this lack of a second dominant attribute makes blast mages the easiest to multiclass with, because you can choose a viable attribute to make into a secondary with the 16 16 12 12 10 8 array based on your desired multiclass.
RacesOf primary importance is getting an intelligence pump - not getting one is a deal breaker, and we will ignore every race which doesn't have one. The secondary pump should be one of the three other attributes we care about, and as long as it is we'll be far more interested in racial abilities than which attribute it happens to be most of the time. We'll consider races both from the PHB and the MM.
PHB Races:Eladrin (Int, Dex)
With a dex pump in addition to the int pump, Eladrin strongly favor wand-focused mages, and thus the blast mage is right up their alley. Their Fey Step power is useful for maneuvering around the battlefield, but mostly for keeping out of the reach of nasty creatures. They also get a great defensive bonus in the paragon tier from the Feywild Protection feat. Finally, they get +2 Arcana for help with rituals, and a free skill from outside their class list. Unfortunately, none of these abilities help with their offense, so while they have better than average defense, they aren't the optimal choice. However, if you wanted to play an Eladrin Wizard, blast mage is the only meme they really fit into.
Human (Any)
Humans have some of the best racial feats and benefit from an extra at-will power and extra feat, skill, and defense bonuses across the board. Humans make great mages of all types, and although they're not the absolute best blast mages right now, they'll continue to get better as feat options increase with splats.
Tiefling (Int, Cha)
The Cha bonus means you'll go Charisma instead of Wisdom, but that's ok because it makes qualifying for Astral Fire easy, except you'll probably grab Hellfire Blood first because its even better (+1 attack and damage, they'll want Astral Fire sometime in paragon or epic because its damage boost keeps going up). Tieflings also net a +1 attack against bloodied foes, which is a great to-hit boost, and their Infernal Wrath power grants them another +1 to hit and a damage boost - it just requires the enemy has already hit you. Tieflings make perhaps the best blast mages because of this variety of +attack roll modifiers.
MM Races:Doppelganger (Int, Cha)
With the same stat pumps as Tieflings, it has none of the synergies a tiefling provides. Still, being a doppelganger is pretty cool, and you do get a disguise power useable at-will. But nothing to help out your blasting.
Githyanki (Int, Con)
The Con pump is useful, as is their +2 racial bonus to initiative. And their telekinetic leap power isn't without uses. But the rest of their abilities are nothing to write home about. Not notably good for blast mages, but certainly playable.
Gnome (Int, Cha)
Gnomes make an interesting blast mage, because they're highly likely to acquire combat advantage. They may just avoid being noticed - letting them attack their enemies unawares when they first act. Then they can fade out to invisibility to set up another advantaged attack. Gnome blast mages will probably want to train Stealth somehow. Probably tied with or slightly worse than humans as a blast mage race.
Shadar-Kai (Int, Dex)
Very much like the Eladrin, their teleport racial power is slightly better for defense (but less useful for offensive positioning because it has less range). They also have worse features otherwise. Not a great choice.
Rankings from best to worst:
1. Tiefling
2. Human, Gnome
3. Eladrin, Githyanki
4. Shadar-Kai
5. Doppelganger
PowersA few general rules on choosing powers:
(1) Make sure you have a way to target every defense (except AC). Most blast powers target reflex, so you'll need to leave this comfortable bubble occasionally.
(2) A generally unified set of elements is easier to enhance with feats than a grab bag. Choose one or two elements to specialize in. (Fire and lightning are the best blast elements).
Unfortunately, 1 and 2 work at cross purposes, because most powers of a given element target the same defense. Blast mages suffer here the most because they care about the element damage pumping feats the most, and being thrifty with those feat choices means a narrower range of saves targetted.
Elements and Typical Defense (Approximate order most-least useful for blast mages)Fire : Reflex
Lightning : Reflex
Thunder : Fortitude
Cold : Fortitude
Force : Reflex
Necrotic : Fortitude
Acid : Fortitude
Poison : Fortitude
Psychic : Will
Radiant : Will
At-Will PowersScorching Burst will be most blast mages first choice. Thunderwave will probably be the second, but magic missile is certainly a possibility. A human likely grabs MM as their third. Cloud of Daggers and Ray of Frost are single-target and low damage (relative to MM, at least early on), making them easy passes for a blast mage.
Encounter PowersAt level 1 burning hands makes the most sense because its a fire power, but Icy Terrain and Force Orb are both plausible choices.
At level 3 Shocksphere is the stylistic fit, but its another reflex targetter. This is a good place to pick up a Will targetter (Colorspray) or a fire fortitude targeter (Fire Shroud). Both of them work with Astral Fire, and as Will is harder to find useful powers that synergize with blasting, its a shoe-in. That it also happens to be a good control power is a plus.
At level 7 Fire Burst and Lightning Bolt are both traditional blast powers, but Fire Burst is much better, even ignoring that its a fire power. The other choices aren't especially tempting.
At level 13 the control blasting choices are not exciting. Prismatic Burst is radiant damage against a will save, which probably edges it out over Thunderlance. You could swap color spray for prismatic burst, but you're probably better off swapping your level 1 power since having 2 1/encounter will targetters is nice.
At level 17 Combust is a pure upgrade for a power like fireburst.
At level 23 you might consider Chain Lightning, but it would be better if you'd focused on lightning powers up till that point. Thunderclap has similar appeal with a different build.
At level 27 you swap something for Black Fire.
Your encounter powers at level 27 probably look like: Colorspray, Prismatic Burst, Combust, Black Fire if you're optimizing for damage and defense diversity (you have thunderlance as an at-will fort targeter), unless you really liked your paragon encounter power (at which point you probably dropped Colorspray because its pretty low damage).
Alternately, you focused on lightning and thunder powers, and have Chain Lightning, Thunderclap (one taken at 27th), Thunderlance, and Prismatic Burst (one taken at 17th), barring a paragon path encounter power you like. This is worse for overall damage but has more hard control. Its not quite as good because Raging Storm won't benefit Prismatic Burst, and your level distribution of spells is skewed downwards because of a lack of a good element spell at each level.
The fire mage option is much better laid out for encounter powers.
DailyYou do get to choose 2 per level, but the discussion will be assuming you'll choose one as a primary that you'll prepare most days, and thus will assume you're mostly choosing one power.
At 1st level you aren't picking up a will targetter without Sleep, and blast mages won't be interested. Flaming Sphere keeps with a fire theme and is a reasonably good power, but Freezing Cloud is also a decent choice.
At 5th level fireball is the obvious if you're going pure blaster, and nothing else comes close. However, fireball isn't essential (you have plenty of fire spells), and many blast mages will choose to splash for a little something else about here - web is probably the best choice despite not dealing damage.
At 9th level Lightning Serpent is the lightning power, but its not really a blasting power. Any of the level 9 powers are plausible picks, none of them are great blasting powers, so choose for diversity and random utility.
Swapping dailies is easy at this point, because blast mages aren't really excited about any of the low level daily spells.
At 15th level Prismatic Beams is a shoe-in and possibly the first daily you really care about. Blast of Cold also makes a decent choice (but doesn't combo well with your encounter powers).
At 19th level Disintegrate is likely your best choice, and Acid Wave makes a good backup. Of course, Evard's is sufficiently good that even a blaster might grab it.
At 25th level Elemental Maw is the obvious choice, but Necrotic Web and Prismatic Spray are arguably better choices, even for a blaster.
29th level features Meteor Swarm, but this power is made of fail. It isn't much better than Black Fire, which you get 1/encounter. You're better off grabbing Legion's Hold - it'll give you another will targetter, and its truly awesome control for when you're in a pinch. Of course, if you really just want to blow stuff up, Meteor Swarm isn't useless, it just doesn't feel very exciting for your daily to be a mere +7 average damage over your best encounter power. If you make it an encounter power with archmage you won't feel too bad about it, especially if you're playing a blaster for the sole purpose of setting things on fire with your mind.
You'll notice daily power elements for good choices vary a lot more. An element that did get chosen with some frequency was Necrotic, which suggests Dark Fury might not be a terrible investment.
UtilityYour primary concern with utility is being able to put spells where you need them. This means spells like Expeditious Retreat, Dimension Door, Arcane Gate, and Fly are all useful. Additionally, some defensive spells will serve you well, and spells like Invisibility can do double duty by letting you move unhindered to where you want to drop your attack from while protecting you at the same time.
FeatsYou're going to want a unifying theme for a large number of spells so you can choose a fitting damage feat for them: Typically Astral Fire or Raging Storm. Generally limiting yourself to one such feat is for the best, although picking up Dark Fury later for some builds may be a good choice.
At the paragon tier you'll generally want Arcane Reach. Depending on your elemental focus you may also want Lightning Arc. As a blast mage, your likely high dex makes Sieze the Moment a great feat, although 17 dex may be beyond what you cared to invest. Solid Sound may also be worth the investment, especially if you're getting a lot of use out of Thunderwave.
In epic tier, an astral fire mage may find Font of Radiance useful, although your focus on damage over control may limit its effectiveness. Irresistible Flame is a necessity for fire-focused mages.
Otherwise, the general advice in the
feats section applies (and much of the above is highlights from comments on specific feats).
Paragon PathsSome blast mages may head for Blood Mage, but its not really a blasting paragon path. Fire mages will prefer Battle Mage, as it provides some awe-inspiring damage dealing spells and nice to-hit bonuses. Lightning-focused mages could either go Battle Mage (recommended if you took Cha over Wis), or Spellstorm Mage (high wisdom a definite plus).
See Paragon Paths for more details.
Epic DestiniesNothing really compares to the archmage abilities. Demigod is of little interest to a blast mage.
See Epic Destinies for more details.
Sample CharacterXendao, Tiefling Blast Mage
Racial: Fire Res 5, +1 attack v. bloodied opponents, +2 bluff/stealth
Skills: Arcana, Diplomacy, Religion, (Insight or Nature)
Class: Cantrips, Spellbook, Wand Focus
At-Will:
Scorching Burst, ThunderwaveLevel 1
Str 8 Con 13 Dex 14 Int 18 Wis 10 Cha 16
Encounter:
Burning Hands, Infernal Wrath, Wand of Accuracy
Daily:
Flaming Sphere*, Freezing CloudFeats: Ritual Casting (b), Hellfire Blood
Level 6
Str 8 Con 13 Dex 14 Int 19 Wis 10 Cha 17
Encounter:
Burning Hands, Colorspray, Infernal Wrath, Wand of Accuracy
Daily:
Flaming Sphere*, Freezing Mist, Fireball*, WebUtility:
Expeditious Retreat, Shield, Invisibility*, Dimension Door*Feats: Ritual Casting (b), Hellfire Blood, Armor Proficiency (Leather), Improved Initiative, Skill Training (Bluff or Stealth)
Level 11 - Battle Mage Paragon Path
Str 9 Con 14 Dex 16 Int 21 Wis 11 Cha 18
Encounter:
Burning Hands, Colorspray, Fire Burst, Forceful Retort, Infernal Wrath, Wand of Accuracy
Daily:
Flaming Sphere, Freezing Mist, Fireball*, Web*, Wall of Fire*, Ice StormUtility:
Expeditious Retreat, Shield, Invisibility*, Dimension Door, Blur*, Arcane Gate*Feats: Ritual Casting (b), Hellfire Blood, Armor Prof (Leather), Imp Init, Skill Train (Bluff or Stealth), Astral Fire, Danger Sense, Arcane Reach (1 retrained)
Paragon: Arcane Riposte, Battle Mage Action
Level 16
Str 9 Con 14 Dex 17 Int 22 Wis 11 Cha 18
Encounter:
Forceful Retort, Colorspray, Fire Burst, Prismatic Burst, Infernal Wrath, Wand of Accuracy
Daily:
Flaming Sphere, Fireball*, Web, Wall of Fire, Prismatic Beams*, Blast of Cold*Utility:
Expeditious Retreat, Shield, Invisibility*, Dimension Door, Blur, Arcane Gate*, Arcane Rejuvenation*, Greater Invisibility*, Fly*Feats: Ritual Casting (b), Hellfire Blood, Armor Prof (Leather), Imp Init, Skill Train (Bluff or Stealth), Astral Fire, Danger Sense, Arcane Reach, Sieze the Moment, Lightning Reflexes, Fiery Rebuke (1 retrained)
Paragon: Arcane Riposte, Battle Mage Action, Battle Edge
Level 21 - Archmage Epic Destiny
Str 10 Con 16 Dex 18 Int 24 Wis 12 Cha 19
Encounter:
Colorspray, Forceful Retort, Prismatic Burst, Combust, Infernal Wrath, Wand of Accuracy
Daily:
Fireball*, Wall of Fire, Prismatic Beams*, Blast of Cold, Closing Spell*, Evard's Black Tentacles, Disintegrate*Utility:
Expeditious Retreat, Shield, Invisibility*, Dimension Door, Blur, Arcane Gate*, Arcane Rejuvenation*, Greater Invisibility*, Stoneskin, Mass Fly*, Displacement*Feats: Ritual Casting (b), Hellfire Blood, Armor Prof (Leather), Imp Init, Skill Train (Bluff or Stealth), Astral Fire, Danger Sense, Arcane Reach, Sieze the Moment, Lightning Reflexes, Fiery Rebuke, Evasion, Irresistible Flame, Spell Accuracy (2 retrained)
Paragon: Arcane Riposte, Battle Mage Action, Battle Edge
Epic:Spell Recall
Level 26
Str 10 Con 16 Dex 19 Int 25 Wis 12 Cha 19
Encounter:
Colorspray, Forceful Retort, Prismatic Burst, Combust, Infernal Wrath, Wand of Accuracy
Daily:
, Wall of Fire*, Prismatic Beams, Closing Spell*, Evard's Black Tentacles, Disintegrate*, Prismatic Spray, Necrotic Web*Utility:
Expeditious Retreat, Shield, Invisibility*, Dimension Door, Blur, Arcane Gate*, Arcane Rejuvenation*, Greater Invisibility*, Stoneskin, Mass Fly*, Displacement*, Shape Magic*Feats: Ritual Casting (b), Hellfire Blood, Armor Prof (Leather), Imp Init, Skill Train (Bluff or Stealth), Astral Fire, Danger Sense, Arcane Reach, Sieze the Moment, Great Fortitude, Lightning Reflexes, Fiery Rebuke, Evasion, Irresistible Flame, Spell Accuracy, Font of Radiance, +1** (2 retrained)
Paragon: Arcane Riposte, Battle Mage Action, Battle Edge
Epic:Spell Recall, Arcane Spirit
Level 30
Str 10 Con 16 Dex 19 Int 25 Wis 12 Cha 19
Encounter:
Forceful Retort, Colorspray, Prismatic Burst, Blackfire, Meteor Swarm, Infernal Wrath, Wand of Accuracy
Daily:
, Wall of Fire*, Closing Spell*, Evard's Black Tentacles, Disintegrate*, Prismatic Spray, Necrotic Web*Utility:
Expeditious Retreat, Shield, Invisibility*, Dimension Door, Blur, Arcane Gate*, Arcane Rejuvenation*, Greater Invisibility*, Stoneskin, Mass Fly*, Displacement*, Shape Magic*Feats: Ritual Casting (b), Hellfire Blood, Armor Prof (Leather), Imp Init, Skill Train (Bluff or Stealth), Astral Fire, Danger Sense, Arcane Reach, Sieze the Moment, Great Fortitude, Lightning Reflexes, Fiery Rebuke, Evasion, Irresistible Flame, Spell Accuracy, Font of Radiance, +3** (2 retrained)
Paragon: Arcane Riposte, Battle Mage Action, Battle Edge
Epic:Spell Recall, Arcane Spirit, Archspell
*typically prepared
**given the lack of useful high level feats, one would be best served praying for a splatbook. However, a variety of defensive or utility feats could be chosen here.
Note that you may choose to keep Combust over Colorspray for the damage, but Colorspray is a will targetter, which shouldn't be underestimated.