Wizard Support for my Group

[WereRabbitz]

So we our running a new campaign and I just hit level 3 as a Abjuration Wizard.

Our team is made up of a Fighter & Monk level 3, and a Rogue level 2.

Sometimes the DM's character comes as a NPC style person Celestial Warlock 2

I'm leveling up my Wizard to level 3 at the moment, and i'm trying to figure out how to best help my team.
We had a couple people not show for the first 3 sessions that were going to heal, and i'm not betting on them showing up in the future ones either.

So what are some ideas for helping to protect my team? I'm really looking for a way to keep them safe, but not sure on the spell line up.

So far i'm using:
Firebolt, Mending (Flavor), Minor Illusions
Mage Armor, Sleep, Shield, Feather Fall, identify

Now that i'm getting some Level 2 spells, I'm still not seeing any good control spells to help reduce Damage

Blind/Deafen, but it's a con Save so doesn't seem great
Hold Person? Invisibility?
Were almost all short Races so maybe Expeditious Retreat?

Or should I pick up a level in Cleric or something to provide some healing options/bless?

With 1 Arcane user and no Divine, i'm really just trying to shield or heal, but looking for suggestions!

Might talk to the DM about re rolling a Cleric if no good suggestions come up.

[sandmote]

Web and Levitate come to mind, particularly given none of the spells you listed use concentration.

Web creates an area of rough terrain. Creatures inside it must make a Dex save or they're restrained. Levitate has a 500 lb limit but otherwise you can either lift an ally out of melee danger or lift a melee opponent to where they can't attack; Hold Person uses a weaker save but Levitate only allows them to try a save when you first cast the spell.

Maybe see if your DM will let you copy Grease into your spellbook manually?

[Grimmnist]

Probably your best chance of mitigating damage as a Wizard is to start taking crowd control or area control spells, the party can't get hit if the enemies can't get to them (unless the enemies have ranged, but that's cheating). Things may be a bit rough without healing (remember to buy healing potions), but giving up higher level Wizard spells in order to get some healing will start to hurt fast.

You listed some decent potential spells. Hold Person is an amazing spell against humanoids so that's probably worth taking. Blindness/Deafness doesn't take your concentration, which is good if you usually have one up, but the effect is kind of weak. Invisibility has some situational uses, but the effect ends as soon as you attack or cast a spell. Expeditious retreat can only be cast on self, so it wouldn't do much for helping your party.

I would recommend you take Web or Grease, both of which create an area difficult for melee enemies to pass though so your party can soften them up before taking damage. If your problem is ranged enemies Darkness or Fog Cloud can block line of sight so they can't attack.

[Petrocorus]

Have you read any guide online? Treantmonk's notably.

What is your race?
What is your full spell list?
Have you had access to foe's / ally's spellbooks?

As general rules:
- BattleField Control and Crowd/Creature Control are the best way to help your party.
- AoE blast can help a little, against crowds of mobs.
- Single-target damage spells are usually a waste of spell slots.

At level 0, you may ask the DM to replace Fire Bolt with Frostbite. The range and the damage are lower, and it's a Con save instead of a spell attack roll but giving disadvantage to your enemies is what you want apparently, and it's a good way to do it. Fire Bolt is still better IMHO overall.

At level 1, you can add Fog Cloug that is great to create covers, Tasha's Hideous Laughter is amazing against big foe with bad Wis (like ogres), Disguise Self has amazing utility if you're good with Deception and Silent Image if you're imaginative. Thunderwave is probably the second best damage spells of level 1, after Sleep.
Longstrider is better than Expeditious Retreat, ER has a range of self and take your concentration. Longstrider can be cast on the party's Fighter.

At level 2, Spider Climb and Invisibility can be awesome for your Rogue. Flaming Sphere can be both damage and control, Hold Person is the next Hideous Laughter, and obviously you'll want Mirror Image and Misty Step for your own safety. Shatter is the best damage of this level.
Blind is very good on enemy with high Wis save but low/average Con save, notably spellcasters. Not only you give them disadvantage and advantage to your party member to hit them, but you also forbid them to cast many spell, including Misty Step. And it's no concentration.
I approve Web and Levitate cited by Sandmote. Web is an amazing BFC for its level and Levitate is both utility and creature control, it is a Con saves though, but at your level it's still fine and it's only one save for the whole duration.