Wizard

"That Wizard came from the Moon!"

- Ghost, Destiny First Look Alpha

Wizards are a class of the Hive species. In combat, Wizards fly around to unleash magical attacks on their enemies, their powers granted by The Darkness. They protect themselves with powerful shields that take additional damage from Solar weapons. Wizards can be identified by their crumbling robes and elaborate headgear. All wizards are female.

Behavior
Wizards hover above lesser Hive minions, bombarding Guardians with dark energy. Such attacks are well-aimed and difficult to dodge out in the open, but because they are slow-acting, dodging by chance is made easier by observing their actions.

Wizards can also summon a dark sphere of energy, which is frequently done when their shield is taken down. Hive that stand within are healed, but such energy is a poison to Guardians. As such, it inflicts damage, dulls your perception, and slows you down.

Wizards are protected by a Solar shield. When this shield is destroyed, the Wizard is vulnerable, but levitation makes them nimble targets in the air. They are also capable of a short teleport, though they do not use it often.

On higher difficulty tiers, a Wizards' basic Darkness Blast becomes faster and more deadly, increasing their lethality.

Wizards are intelligent enemies unlike other enemies. If you get her attention and take some health out, she will hide behind a wall and heal quickly. She will also have another enemy protect her while she is behind the wall.

Tactics
Wizards are dangerous opponents, and although they rank below Boomer and Cleaver Knights in terms of immediate threat, it is best to dispatch them as swiftly as possible.

Wizards hover around the battle zone while you are fighting other Hive units, healing them and pelting you with Darkness, increasing the difficulty. In terms of wasted time and efficiency, Wizards are a major annoyance.

To take them down quickly, heavy machine gun fire or sniper shots work well. A Fusion Rifle blast from medium range is quite effective too. Like all Hive, the head is the Wizard's weak point. Because they are nimble aerial units, they are difficult to target with grenades or rockets, unlike other Hive units. When targeting a Wizard, avoid using these weapons unless the rocket launcher fires homing rockets. A fireteam can damage a wizard from different angles keeping her in a offensive position, making for an easier kill.

Notable Wizards

 * Gotra, Eir Spawn
 * Mormu, Xol Spawn
 * Omnigul
 * Vurok, Eir Spawn
 * Xyor, the Unwed

Trivia

 * During the Destiny First Look Alpha, the Ghost's line "that Wizard came from the moon" gained infamy among the Destiny fan base. The phrase became so popular that Bungie made the meme into a t-shirt. Within an hour, the shirt went on to become the best-selling item among the available inventory in the Bungie Store.