Thaumcraft features numerous wands for the player to use. Some of these wands allow the user to practice magic (craft magic items, remove magic items, etc.) while some others allow the user to use magic (fire, lightning, etc.).
Magic Wands[]
All the wands that are used for practicing magic have a common mechanic. They can store a certain amount of magic (in terms of vis) that can be released to do magic operation such as crafting, changing objects into magic objects, etc. These wands have no durability bar, and the vis will slowly regenerate, provided there is Flux to be collected in the area.
The wands used to practice magic follow an upgrade pattern. The apprentice thaumaturge (any newcomer) can craft the Wand of the Apprentice, given he/she has sufficient materials (mostly vis shards). After unlocking the proper research in the Thaumonomicon, he/she will have the ability to upgrade it to the Wand of the Adept, then again to the Wand of the Thaumaturge. Each upgrade comes with a better vis capacity and appearance. Due to the vis cost of the craft and the fact the recipe requires a wand, the thaumaturge will in fact need two of the lower tier to craft the next one. The first wand in the recipe will be upgraded, the second serves the purpose of providing vis charge to the Infusion Altar.
Utility wands[]
The Thaumonomicon features five utility wands:
These wands, unlike the previous ones, do not store vis and have a durability bar. Using the different powers they provide will drain this bar slower or faster depending on what the user does with them.