Keeping track of an ever-growing list of spells and weird spell components is hard enough, so to avoid overloading your brain with also having to figure out what magic items are best for wizards in 5E D&D, we’re sharing our list of the top 10 best magic items for wizards in 5E D&D!
1. Robe of the Archmagi
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A robe of the archmagi gives you a flat increase of your spell save DC, which almost no magic items in 5E D&D do, and for good reason – it’s completely overpowered!
Not only does this legendary robe increase your spell save DC and spell attack bonus by 2, it also changes your base AC to 15 + your Dexterity modifier (2 higher than mage armor), AND it grants you advantage on saving throws against spells and other magical effects.
I usually avoid legendary magic items in these articles, but this robe is so amazing in every aspect – and, I would argue, the all-around best magic item a wizard can ever hope to acquire in 5E D&D – so I felt I ought to make an exception. However, wizards are already an extremely powerful class, so unless you’re running a super high-level campaign, your DM should probably avoid giving you this magic item!
2. Staff of the Magi
Another exception to my rule of steering clear of overpowered legendary items on these lists, it’d be amiss if I didn’t include staff of the magi on a list of the best magic items for wizards in 5E D&D.
The staff doesn’t increase your spell save DC like a robe of the archmagi does (although it does grant you a +2 bonus to spell attacks), but what really makes it a wonderful magic item is its wobbling 50 charges that you can use to cast an arsenal of awesome spells, such as conjure elementals or a 7th-level fireball for 7 charges. The staff regains 1d12 charges per day, and even lets you cast a bunch of decent spells at no cost, which basically means you’ll never run out of awesome spells to cast in combat!
As if all this wasn’t enough, a staff of the magi also lets you absorb single-target spells aimed at you as a reaction, completely canceling the effects of the spell and instead having the staff regain a number of charges equal to the spell’s level. This is insanely powerful!
Did I mention it also gives you advantage on saving throws against spells?
3. Ioun Stone of Mastery & Ioun Stone of Intellect
Moving on to the less but still super powerful magic items on the list, we have an ioun stone of mastery and an ioun stone of intellect. An ioun stone is basically a stone that orbits your head and grants you some kind of bonus – and out of the bunch of ioun stones in 5E D&D (20 or so, last I counted) these two does does exactly what you want as a wizard – they raise your spell save DC!
The ioun stone of mastery is, deservingly, a legendary magic item (I’m breaking my rule again..), that raises your proficiency bonus by 1, which is quite amazing. The very rare and considerably less amazing ioun stone of intellect simply raises your Intelligence score by 2, unfortunately to a maximum of 20. If you have yet to achieve god-tier Intelligence, it’s still a great magic item, though.
It should be mentioned that any ioun stones can be grapped by another creature with a DC 24 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check or a successful attack against AC 24 – plus the stones are described to have 10 hit points (and resistance to all damage), so if your DM is super evil, they could snatch or smash your stone. The stones do count as worn objects though, so at least they won’t be destroyed by area of effects spells.
4. Wand of the War Mage
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A wand of war mage gives you a bonus to your spell attack rolls, which is always great, and lets you ignore half cover when making a spell attack, which is also nice, although pretty situational. The wand comes in three types of rarity, with the uncommon version giving you a +1 bonus to spell attacks, the rare version granting a +2 bonus, and the very rare version taking it all the way to +3.
While a bonus to spell attacks is much less powerful than an increase of your spell save DC – aside from cantrips, surprisingly few spells require you to make spell attacks – but I still think this classic magic item deserves a spot on the list!
5. Ring of Spell Storing
Snippet of magic item card handout from our 5E Magic Item Card Deck!
A ring of spell storing is one of my favorite magic items in 5E D&D!
The ring lets you store up to five levels worth of spells and cast them using the spellcasting ability of whoever cast the spell into the ring – even if you aren’t a spellcaster yourself! Of course, this makes the ring even greater on classes that aren’t able to cast spells, but even for a wizard, it can be really handy to store a few shield spells, or to convince the cleric they ought to store up a cure wounds or even a reviviy spell in your ring!
While you may decide to rule it differently at your table, casting a spell from a magic item doesn’t require any components (these would be used when you cast the spell into the ring), meaning that you’d effectively gain the benefits of the sorcerer’s Subtle Spell metamagic feature, which can be quite handy if you’re trying to trick someone with a major image spell or trying to use charm person on them.
I should also mention that an ioun stone of reserve basically does the same as a ring of spell storing, except that it can only store 3 levels worth of spell – and you have to deal with having a magic stone orbiting your head.
6. Bracers of Defense
Snippet of magic item card handout from our 5E Magic Item Card Deck!
Since wizards don’t have proficiency in any type of armor, you’ll want whatever item can increase your AC in other ways – and bracers of defense probably does this better than any other magic item in 5E.
These bracers gives you a +2 bonus to your AC as long as you aren’t wearing any armor, but the beautiful part is that, at least according to this explanation from Wizard’s lead rule designer Jeremy Crawford, they can be paired with mage armor, effectively giving you an AC of 15 + your Dexterity modifier! Pretty great.
7. Bag of Holding
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A bag of holding probably requires no real introduction, but I’ll give it a go anyway: Its a magic bag that lets you store a lot of stuff in an extradimensional space. 500 pounds to be exact. It’s awesome!
As a wizard – or any other class, if you’re like me – you’ll quickly pick up a lot of weird stuff on your adventures, making a bag of holding a great magic item. Plus, you’ve probably dumped your Strength score, so unless your DM doesn’t care about encumbrance, this magic bag will be really handy!
8. Cloak of Protection & Ring of Protection
Snippet of magic item card handout from our 5E Magic Item Card Deck!
A cloak of protection and a ring of protection each give you a +1 bonus to AC and saving throws. It’s a simple yet pretty excellent buff, making either a great magic item for wizards.
In case you’re wondering, the only difference between these two magic items is that a cloak of protection is uncommon, while a ring of protection is rare. And yes, the effects stack.
9. Wands!
Snippet of magic item card handout from our 5E Magic Item Card Deck!
“The wand chooses the wizard,” as the saying goes (yes, I’m quoting Harry Potter), and if even that isn’t entirely true in 5E, wands are a great magic item for wizards.
Ignoring overpowered wands such as the wand of orcus (which is a mace) and the elder wand (which is from Harry Potter), most wands in 5E are decent but not overly powerful, at least at higher levels. Yet, a wand of lightning bolts or a even an uncommon wand of magic missiles can provide you with additional and much-needed blasting power, while a wand of paralysis lets you paralyze your foes without casting or concentrating on a spell, which also means it can’t be nullified with a counterspell. Pretty awesome.
The more utility-based wands such as wand of secrets and wand of magic detection are somewhat lackluster, but a wand of wonder is bound to bring loads of fun to the table, while a wand of binding is downright great as you can expend its charges not only to cast hold monster but also to gain advantage on saving throws against being paralyzed or restrained as well as checks to escape a grapple.
Finally we have the wand of the war mage, but I gave that one it’s own section!
10. Elven Chain
An elven chain is the only armor in 5E D&D that lets you ignore the fact that wizards are not proficient in armor, making it just about the only armor a non-mountain-dwarf-wizard can wear, and thus a decent magic item for wizards. Is it better than mage armor? Well, unless your Dexterity is 18 or higher, the short answer is yes.
Barring aside the joy of not having to waste spell slots on mage armor, an elven chain (a +1 chain shirt) gives you an AC of 14 + your Dexterity modifier, up to a maximum of 2. So, as long as your Dexterity score is less than 16, you’ll have a higher AC with an elven chain than with mage armor. Conversely, if your Dexterity score is 18 or higher, you’re better off using mage armor.
In any case, if your DM gives you a pair of bracers of defense, you can throw away your elven chain for good.
Conclusion
That’s it for our list of the top 10 best magic items for wizards in 5E D&D! Let us know in the comments if you agree or disagree with our picks – and feel free to share your own favorite magic items for wizards in D&D.
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