Intro

Epic

Good

Meh

Bad

Ability Scores

STR Dump

DEX this is good for armor class and initiative 

CON get you those hit points

INT Needs to be the highest

WIS DUMP

CHA if you plan to use the school of enchantment, make this stat high. 

Races

Aarakocra DEX and WIS. DEX is needed. WIS not so much.

Aasimar If you choose the School of Enchantment, this will boost your CHAR score. 

–Protector: Nothing good for Wizards.

–Scourge Gives you CON. 

–Fallen: Nothing good for Wizards.

Bugbear STR and CON. 

Centaur Nothing good for Wizards.

Changeling CHAR boost. Good for School of Enchantment. 

Dragonborn STR and CHAR but more STR. Only for the School of Enchantment. 

Dwarf Boost to CON.

–Hill: Nothing good for Wizards.

–Mountain: Nothing good for Wizards.

–Duergar: Nothing good for Wizards.

Elf DEX boost.

–Drow CHAR boost and only good for the School of Enchantment. 

–Eladrin CHAR.

–High INT +1

–Wood: Nothing good for Wizards.

–Sea Elf: CON boost

–Shadar-kai: CON boost

Firbolg: Nothing good for Wizards.

Genasi Boost to CHAR.

–Air Dex boost

–Earth Con boost.

–Fire Nothing good for Wizards

–Water: DEX boost

Gith

–Githyanki Nothing good for Wizards; STR

–Githzerai Nothing good for Wizards; WIS

Gnome INT boost.

–Deep DEX boost.

–Forest DEX boost.

–Rock CON boost

Goblin DEX and CON.

Goliath: Gives you CON, but you don’t need the STR. 

Half-Elf CHAR +2 and you get a +1 to two other ability scores.

Half-Orc STR and CON. More STR than CON.

Halfling DEX boost

–Lightfoot Nothing good for Wizards

–Stout CON boost.

Hobgoblin CON and INT. 

Human +1 to all stats.

Kalashtar WIS and CHAR. If you want School of Enchantment, this is an option.

Kenku: DEX and WIS. Don’t need WIS but DEX is good to have.

Kobold DEX and -2 to STR.

Leonin CON and STR. More CON than STR. Con is good but STR isn’t needed.

Lizardfolk CON +2 and WIS +1. Wisdom isn’t needed. 

Loxodon CON and WIS, don’t really need the wisdom.

Minotaur STR and CON. More STR than CON. Not really worth it. 

Orc Nothing good for Wizards.

Satyr CHAR and DEX. More CHAR than DEX. Good for the School of Enchantment. 

Shifter

Beasthide: CON +2 and STR gets a +1. 

–Longtooth: Your STR+2 and your DEX gets a +1. 

–Swiftstride: DEX increases by 2 and CHAR gets a +1. 

–Wildhunt: DEX gets a +1 and WIS increases by 2.  

Simic Hybrid CON +2 and +1 to another stat.

Tabaxi DEX and CHAR. Good for armor class and if you want School of Enchantment. 

Triton CON, STR, and CHAR boost. 

Tiefling INT and CHAR boost. These subclasses will give you more CHAR than the second stat. The Feral tiefling is the only exception.

–Asmodeus INT and CHAR

–Baalzebul CHAR and INT boost. 

–Dispatcher CHAR and DEX. Good if you take the School of Enchantment. 

–Fierna CHAR and WiS

–Glasya CHAR and WIS.

–Levistus CHAR and CON. More CHAR than CON.

–Mammon CHAR and INT.

–Mephistopheles CHAR and INT.

–Zariel CHAR and STR

–Feral INT and DEX. 

Tortle Nothing good for Wizards. 

Warforged CON and +1 to another stat.

Yuan-Ti Pureblood CHAR and INT. More CHAR than INT. 

Class Features

Hit die: 1d6

Armor: none 

Tools: none

Weapons: daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaffs, light crossbows

Ritual Casting Spells that have the ritual tag can be cast as a ritual. This means they take an extra ten minutes to cast but they don’t use a spell slot.

Arcane Recovery You recover spells slots during a short rest. Spells can have a combined level that is half your wizard level rounded up. 

Spell Mastery You can choose a 1st level and 2nd level wizard spell and these spells can be casted without spending a spell slot. They have to be cast at their lowest level. 

Signature Spells This depends on the spell. You don’t have to expend spell slots. So you basically get a free spell per day.

Subclasses

As a wizard, you choose a school of magic. Each school of magic comes with its own perks.

School of Abjuration: defensive magic, things that block, easy for a beginner

School of Conjuration: summoning magic and moving things

School of Divination: future sight, palm reading; better schools

School of Enchantment: make people do things

School of Evocation: explosions, good for a beginner

School of Illusion: illusions

School of Necromancy: self-explanatory

School of Transmutation: turn things into other things

War Magic (XGtE): tank mage; good at fighting other casters

Bladesinging (TCoE): wizard fighter, you have a sword and can use it to cast spells

Order of Scribes (TCoE): your spellbook is alive, the nerdiest of the nerds

Skills

Acrobatics  you can wiggle through things.

Animal Handling Situational.

Arcana You can find out about magic. 

Athletics Won’t have the STR for this.

Deception: Ability to lie.

History: Situational 

Insight WIS based. Judge character.

Intimidation CHAR bsed, sometimes used with STR.

Investigation Look for things.

Medicine You can check injuries. 

Nature INT based.

Perception:  What you can notice in an area.

Performance CHAR, situational.

Persuasion: How well you can convince someone.

Religion INT based.

Sleight of Hand DEX based. Stealing.

Stealth DEX based and be sneaky.

Survival WIS based.

Top 3 Backgrounds

Sage: 2 languages, INT based skill proficiencies.

Acolyte: 2 languages, INT and WIS based skill proficiencies. 

Hermit: 1 language

Top 3 Weapons

No weapons are needed since you’re going to use magic all the time. A dagger or quarterstaff is good to have just in case. 

Armor

You’re not proficient in any armor. You can build CON instead for the hit points and DEX for armor class. You can also use spells to increase your armor. As a Wizard, you’re usually in the back. The rest of the party is supposed to protect you.

Top 5 Feats

War Caster: advantage on CON saving throws (needed when you need to keep concentrating on a spell)

Elemental Adept: 

Keen Mind: +1 to INT

Magic Initiate Allows you pick and have more spells.

Spell Sniper Spell range is doubled.

I do want to mention that Tough and Durable are also viable choices. Ritual Caster isn’t a bad option either.

Multiclass options

Fighter or Rogue are two options to multiclass. Personally, I recommend not since you won’t get all of your spell slots. 

As a Fighter your DEX must be at a 13. You can choose the Eldritch Knight as a subclass since it uses INT too. However, multiclassing with casters is always a little more complicated.

As a Rogue, your DEX has to be at a 13 too.