Wizard

Wizard
Biographical information
Species:	Hive
Sect:	Hidden Swarm ; Spawn of Crota ; Blood of Oryx ; The Silent Brood ; Savathûn's Brood ; Grasp of Nokris ; Xivu Arath's Horde ; Lucent Brood
Purpose:	Fire Support
Combat information
Abilities:	Darkness Blast ; Rapid Flight ; Absorption Shield ; Poison Cloud (D1) ; Cloud of Darkness (D2)

"Wizards, lead your followers in battle. Take enough devastation to feed your worm, and a little more to grow, and take the tithe of your followers. Then take another portion, as much as you dare, and use it for your own purposes. But if it is too much, your peers will kill you and take it. Then tithe the remainder to the Ascendant you serve."

— Oryx, the Taken King

Wizards are a powerful caste of Hive. They wear long, crumbling robes and fly overhead to unleash their spells, drawing on the power of the Darkness to fuel their powers.^[1]

Overview

"The only word for what we saw is sorcery."

— Grimoire description.

While the lesser Hive monsters carry out the Hive's will through overwhelming force, the Wizards plan the Hive's conquests and carry out the unspeakable rituals that create its menagerie of abominations. ^[2] In addition to fueling the Hive's might through sorcery, the Wizards also serve as its reproductive caste. A Wizard becomes fertile either from a mate or on her own, whereupon she will produce the pupae that give rise to the Hive's legions of Thralls. ^[3] In Destiny 2, Wizards gain a new look as well, appearing to have more armor on their bodies, and sporting a helmet with two glowing lines on either side of their helmets. They can possibly cast illusions upon others as well.^[4]

Gameplay

Wizards are often frustrating opponents on the battlefield, being able to unleash long range darkness blasts in rapid succession while swiftly flying around. The higher the Wizard is ranked, the faster they fire them. In addition, they can plant down poison clouds that deal damage over time, blur the player's vision, and slow them down. The vast majority of wizards come with Solar shields, except for Omnigul, who comes with an Arc shield. But once the shield of any Wizard is picked apart through concentrated fire, their defenses are effectively shut down, leaving them fully vulnerable to Guardian attacks.

In Destiny 2, Wizards on Titan appear largely the same along with their abilities. Most appear with Solar Shields but a special few, such as Savathûn's Handmaiden, have Void Shields. Their Poison Clouds would later be renamed to "Cloud of Darkness."

Known Wizards

Blood of Oryx Wizards

Hidden Swarm Wizards

Spawn of Crota Wizards

Savathûn's Brood Wizards

Xivu Arath's Horde Wizards

Wrathborn Wizards

Grasp of Nokris

Lucent Brood Wizards

Unknown affiliation

Proxy Wizards

Nightmare Wizards

Variants

Major Variations

Brood Queen — High ranking Wizards, known for birthing entire broods or sects.
Deathsinger — Wizards that have mastered a lethal killing dirge.
Lightbearer Wizard — Wizard risen by a Ghost.

Common Variants

Ascendant Wizard — Epic difficulty Wizard
Blistered Wizard — Major Wizard (Destiny 2)
Chosen Wizard — Heroic difficulty Wizard
Dread Unhallowed Wizard — Major Grasp of Nokris Wizard
Hallowed Wizard — Major Wizard (Destiny)
Nightmare Wizard — A Nightmare with the form of a Wizard.
Revenant Wizard — Elite Wizard
Unhallowed Wizard — Elite Grasp of Nokris Wizard

Specific Variants

Trivia

The phrase "That Wizard came from the Moon!" (as uttered by the Ghost) has become an infamous line among the Destiny community.^[5] Bungie has released a shirt and a poster in recognition of the meme.^[6]
Most Wizards are females capable of reproduction, either sexually or asexually through parthenogenesis, however there has been some instances of male Wizards, with one notable being Nokris.