You have to be caster level 5 to take craft wand but the wand's minimum caster level is the caster level need to cast a spell of the spell level in the wand.
So a caster level 1 wand of cure light wounds is perfectly fine.
As above, but I should also point out that wands are cheaper / more expensive to craft depending on the caster level you put in them.
When crafting a wand, you can set the caster level as anywhere between the minimum caster level you can cast the spell as and your actual caster level, but the cost of the item increases appropriately. A wand of Cure Light Wounds set at caster level 5 is five times as expensive as one set at caster level 1.
A cost that is disproportionately high for CLW, too.
A cost that is disproportionately high for CLW, too.
Pretty much. What's better, fifty instances of 1d8+5 (average 9.5/cast, or 475/wand), or two hundred and fifty instances of 1d8+1 (average 5.5/cast, or 275/wand)?
Since the majority of wand uses are for out of combat, the need to use twice as many charges is mitigated by the fact that you have five times the charges to use, resulting in a significant net gain.
Or, you know, realize that having an average of 1375 in wand healing is overkill, and use some of the gold you would have spent on wands on gear that make you get hurt less.
Indeed. Even a same cost CMW has on average 2.5 more healing.
With the exception of very certain spells, particularly 1st level, I've always found wands to be a waste. Most of the wands we use are found, rarely bought or crafted.
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Our paladin is very found of shield wands with a CL of 2. :)
Sometime wands of armor with a CL or 2 or 3 can be worth it (but a first level pearl of power probably is more efficient).
There is some other spells where it is worth it to have a wand with a CL higher that the minimum value, but not many.
Resist energy is one spell I would consider a higher caster level for.
There are certainly viable options, particularly when durations/effects scale 1:1 with level.
Wands are mostly used out of combat, true, but odd.
Using a wand does not provoke attacks of opportunity. Wands are very nice in overrun situations.
Just saying, playing a wand-slinging evoker with Staff-like Wand is ridiculously fun. Aside from the high level requirements, of course.
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Wands are an excellent way to extend the adventuring day past your spells prepared or spells known. I try to keep a few wands on hand for my wizard character, both for useful non-combat spells and for a few direct combat options that will be a better use of my time than casting a cantrip when all my other spells get used up.
Wand random treasure is normally minimum level.
If you are custom designing a dungeon, feel free to use a higher caster level.
In a homebrew game you can add 1D6-1 to the caster level. Just be ready for the extra book keeping.