Wizard Capstone: Master of Magic (Preview)

[Eladrin]

This week's enhancement preview is the wizard capstone enhancement. Our scholarly friends get a nice solid bonus for reaching level 20, a passive bonus that emphasizes that they're the arcane class that are the true masters of metamagic.

Master of Magic
Prereqs: Level 20 Wizard
Cost: 2 AP
Benefit: Grants +2 Intelligence and all metamagics you possess cost 1 fewer spell point to use. (Heighten Spell costs 1 fewer spell point per level of heightening.)

[Eladrin]

<begins casting Spell of Mastery>

Edit: That's a joke, by the way - a tribute to Graal.

[Zenako]

Neat, I assume the INT bonus is untyped so it stacks with everything and yeilds more SP and with the lower meta costs factored in that could be a nice pump in spell potential.

[DragonKiller]

Any plans for a "Arcane Trickster" builds?

[Irongutz2000]

Now thats a capstone! Nice!

[TreknaQudane]

<begins casting Spell of Mastery>

You sir, have just made my decision that my Arcane Archer will be pure wizard

[redraider]

Now that I really like.

[Jay203]

hehe, now to think about whether that 2 lvls of rogue splash is worth it... =P

[Aspenor]

nice one

[Xanstrollinoax]

Excellent

[maddmatt70]

doh.. guess all wizards will be pure then other then the few battle arcanes and the handful of wizards with rogue skills..

[Lithic]

As if there wasnt enough reason to stay pure wiz before! :D

[VonBek]

Tyvm!

[Ganak]

Nice!

[Borror0]

Makes staying pure really attractive. Not sure yet if that is a good thing.

[Randolf_Drake]

Seriously, why don't they just remove multiclassing. :)

[Asherons_Chosen]

That is nice.

[Mhykke]

Makes staying pure really attractive. Not sure yet if that is a good thing.

Yes, it does....but I think it's a decent trade off. I mean, look at a popular wizard splash, the 2 rogue. Evasion, umd, and excellent rogue skills..or the capstone which gives you +1 DC to spells and a slight spell point cost reduction for metamagics......I don't know, seems like it doesn't force people to pure 20.

[plus10swordofpimp]

woo hoo! finally, my pure-class playing has paid off.

note to those who have multi-classed: R-E-R-O-L-L

[EKKM]

Yes, it does....but I think it's a decent trade off. I mean, look at a popular wizard splash, the 2 rogue. Evasion, umd, and excellent rogue skills..or the capstone which gives you +1 DC to spells and a slight spell point cost reduction for metamagics......I don't know, seems like it doesn't force people to pure 20.

It seems to be better than the previous capstones announced but I agree with you that the trade off to the most common wizzie multiclasses seem worth it.

A Gish build accepts that they are going to be more limited in spells for better melee capabilities. Levels of a melee class provide more benefit to that type build than this enhancement.

Same for arcane trickster as you mentioned.

No wizard who is planning to be a pure caster is going to multiclass. Giving up spells, spell points and spell penetration are just not worth it.

[Ministry]

woo hoo! finally, my pure-class playing has paid off.

note to those who have multi-classed: R-E-R-O-L-L

ROFLMAO...

Nice one...

Well, it looks like one of my very few pure class builds is going to work out.

Finally a toon I don't have to R-E-R-O-L-L

:)

[Osharan_Tregarth]

<begins casting Spell of Mastery>

Edit: That's a joke, by the way - a tribute to Graal.

I still load that game up and play it every so often... Good stuff.

[Yshkabibble]

Yes, it does....but I think it's a decent trade off. I mean, look at a popular wizard splash, the 2 rogue. Evasion, umd, and excellent rogue skills..or the capstone which gives you +1 DC to spells and a slight spell point cost reduction for metamagics......I don't know, seems like it doesn't force people to pure 20.

I think they did a great job here. None of these capstones should be a slam dunk. In other words if there is no debate as to whether or not a capstone is worth it, then it is either too week or too strong. If it makes hard to decide whether to take those 2 rogue levels or go pure Wiz, then the devs got it right.

[PurdueDave]

OK, the cleric one officially sucks now.:D

[Turial]

.....
Master of Magic
Prereqs: Level 20 Wizard
Cost: 2 AP
Benefit: Grants +2 Intelligence and all metamagics you possess cost 1 fewer spell point to use. (Heighten Spell costs 1 fewer spell point per level of heightening.)

This is nice but it is very much in a different class of enhancements from the other revealed capstones so far.

[Mhykke]

OK, the cleric one officially sucks now.:D

:)

[Lorichie]

This week's enhancement preview is the wizard capstone enhancement. Our scholarly friends get a nice solid bonus for reaching level 20, a passive bonus that emphasizes that they're the arcane class that are the true masters of metamagic.

Master of Magic
Prereqs: Level 20 Wizard
Cost: 2 AP
Benefit: Grants +2 Intelligence and all metamagics you possess cost 1 fewer spell point to use. (Heighten Spell costs 1 fewer spell point per level of heightening.)


Will the +2 from this benefit stack with shroud exceptional +3 int bonus, for potential total of +5.

R

[Ministry]

This is nice but it is very much in a different class of enhancements from the other revealed capstones so far.

Yup, different, subtle and very nice.

Now I feel a bit better about having a pure Wizzy, opposed to a pure sorc... well, until they come out with the level 20 capstone for the Sorc.

:)

[Zenako]

Yup, different, subtle and very nice.

Now I feel a bit better about having a pure Wizzy, opposed to a pure sorc... well, until they come out with the level 20 capstone for the Sorc.

:)

Well the SORC will get a +2 CON bonus (to be better able to withstand all the aggro they end up getting from all their spells....:D)

[kinar]

As others have said, this is the first actual useful capstone revealed which might convince any intelligent person not to multiclass. All others are just ...meh...

And since I don't yet have a wizard, it makes it all the better

[Ministry]

Well the SORC will get a +2 CON bonus (to be better able to withstand all the aggro they end up getting from all their spells....:D)

Good idea...

**** sorcs getting all the kills...

Well, now I might make it through 10% of the quests with mana, opposed to 5%.

**** Sorcs.

:)

[Delt]

Eh...maybe it's cuz I haven't had my coffee yet, but I'm not sure what it is you guys like about this capstone so much. The +2 INT is nice, but the metamagic is negligable @ 20.

It's a cool capstone, but nothing that would make anyone regret taking evasion instead. The biggest trade off is still losing the final level spells -- but multiclass wizards knew that risk when they did it.

[Elaril]

Eh...maybe it's cuz I haven't had my coffee yet, but I'm not sure what it is you guys like about this capstone so much. The +2 INT is nice, but the metamagic is negligable @ 20.

It's a cool capstone, but nothing that would make anyone regret taking evasion instead. The biggest trade off is still losing the final level spells -- but multiclass wizards knew that risk when they did it.

That's exactly why it's a good capstone. Nice, but not too overpowering.

[Deathseeker]

Anyone know how many additional spells you get at lvl 20 is vs lvl 19?

The 1 pt per meta feat is interesting. So on a maximized, empowered, extended Firewall, Im guessing that means 3 pts. Considering you probably cast about 25 of those at level 20 (Im guessing, please correct me if that's way off), that gives you about 1 more cast. Not horrible, not overpowering.

The +2 int give 1 more DC and some more SP.

Also 1 more on reflex save if you took insightful reflexes.

My dip in bard really just gave me 40+ UMD without a lot of SP hit. Not sure what other items will come out for usefulness of UMD (ie mass heal scrolls maybe?)

Man, I really don't know whether to reroll or not now. Which probably means it was a good balanced capstone!

[Lorichie]

That's exactly why it's a good capstone. Nice, but not too overpowering.

Agree, these capstones should not make me go "dern it, now have to reroll to pure because i reeeaaaallllly want that capstone". It doesnt, instead it does as it should, in my opinion anyway, "man, i was debating staying pure and thats just nice enough for me to do so".

I like the fact that these cappers arent overwhelming, there just nice toppers on our characters, as they should be.

R

[Delt]

That's exactly why it's a good capstone. Nice, but not too overpowering.

Oh I agree, it's a fine capstone with legitimate 20 payoff. I wasn't confused by that -- I was confused by the followup posts that were all like "omg, that's awesome! REROLL if not pure".

I suppose the likely scenario is that I missed sarcasm (or that some players are clueless). I also thought that, maybe, Eld's 2nd post was some hint at final level spells that only the D&Ders would get.

[DelScorcho]

Nice and not overpowering. It adds +1 dc to spells and has the effect of stretching the mana pool. There will still be room for the 18W/2R builds, because their skills will still be useful. Very curious to see what they do for sorcs.

[Gol]

OK, the cleric one officially sucks now.:D
/signed

[Dexxaan]

hehe, now to think about whether that 2 lvls of rogue splash is worth it... =P

It doesn't take too long does it?


woo hoo! finally, my pure-class playing has paid off.

note to those who have multi-classed: R-E-R-O-L-L

You MUST be kidding right. Evasion-Uber Rogueing (no that it's needed in DDO)-Wizards with Reaver Cloaks and Greensteel Goodies will out last a Capstoned in similar Gear....anyday.

I'm actually more inclined to say Nice Capstone....Now I can get my 2 Rogue Levels (missing out on a potload of Skill points but it's not too late!)


OK, the cleric one officially sucks now.:D

You needed this Capstone to put that crappy one in perspective? Don't get me wrong Pursits will get a bone and at least this one is a good one.


As others have said, this is the first actual useful capstone revealed which might convince any intelligent person not to multiclass. All others are just ...meh...

And since I don't yet have a wizard, it makes it all the better

Obviously I'm with Stupid. :rolleyes:


Eh...maybe it's cuz I haven't had my coffee yet, but I'm not sure what it is you guys like about this capstone so much. The +2 INT is nice, but the metamagic is negligable @ 20.

It's a cool capstone, but nothing that would make anyone regret taking evasion instead. The biggest trade off is still losing the final level spells -- but multiclass wizards knew that risk when they did it.

Absolutely agree. Losing 1 Level of Spells is negligible compared to the Survivability, functionality and versatility that a well built Evasion-TrapMonkey-UMD'r Wiz has to offer. The DC difference with a Capstoned Wizard is 3 (not exactly a major issue. specially if the Evasion Wiz is a Drow), Spell Points difference is also a known price paid a long time ago so nothing to be shocked about really.


Oh I agree, it's a fine capstone with legitimate 20 payoff. I wasn't confused by that -- I was confused by the followup posts that were all like "omg, that's awesome! REROLL if not pure".

I suppose the likely scenario is that I missed sarcasm (or that some players are clueless). I also thought that, maybe, Eld's 2nd post was some hint at final level spells that only the D&Ders would get.

/Agreed.

[The_Phenx]

Tumbs up... I like it.

[Gratch]

I like it... not a character breaker if you can't take it, but a nice addition if you can. My pure human wizard from head start days will like it. My warforged wizard who will take a 2nd rogue level in Mod 9 will continue to be much much much much mucho mucho much more survivable.

[Wizzly_Bear]

You MUST be kidding right. Evasion-Uber Rogueing (no that it's needed in DDO)-Wizards with Reaver Cloaks and Greensteel Goodies will out last a Capstoned in similar Gear....anyday.
umm.....no. non wf wizzies? yes. wf wiz? no.

this is icing on the cake for my wf wiz. very beneficial for a pure, but not so overpowering that it makes multis unviable.

[Angelus_dead]

OK, the cleric one officially sucks now.:D
It may be a good time to think about allowing a class to have multiple capstone enhancements at level 20, although a character could only train one at a time.

That way clerics could choose either the current capstone to prevent some deaths, or be allowed an alternate offensive casting capstone.

Here's a sample alt capstone:
Divine Certainty: You gain +2 wisdom, and if all targets of an instant duration spell pass their save then 50% of the spellpoints are refunded to you.

[Mhykke]

It may be a good time to think about allowing a class to have multiple capstone enhancements at level 20, although a character could only train one at a time.

That way clerics could choose either the current capstone to prevent some deaths, or be allowed an alternate offensive casting capstone.

Here's a sample alt capstone:
Divine Certainty: You gain +2 wisdom, and if all targets of an instant duration spell pass their save then 50% of the spellpoints are refunded to you.


I believe the devs announced that there will be multiple capstones eventually, but only 1 at a time allowed to be taken. It was announced when capstones came out, I'll try and find it.

Edit, here it is:


The next module brings a selection of new Prestige Enhancements to some classes and expands some existing lines for others, but every class will gain a Capstone Enhancement to celebrate reaching 20 levels in the class. A character may only possess a single Capstone Enhancement at a time. (At this moment it's academic as there will be one for each class, but other choices will likely be added in the future.)

[DelScorcho]

You MUST be kidding right. Evasion-Uber Rogueing (no that it's needed in DDO)-Wizards with Reaver Cloaks and Greensteel Goodies will out last a Capstoned in similar Gear....anyday.

I'm actually more inclined to say Nice Capstone....Now I can get my 2 Rogue Levels (missing out on a potload of Skill points but it's not too late!)


Agreed. Correct me if I am wrong. I thought level 9 spells are the final spells for a wizard. So the benefit from going the last two levels wizard is only additional slots and mana and the last metamagic. The pure wizard is going to have a slightly higher spell DC (+1) by virtue of the +2 Intellegence, and an extra 24 seconds of haste per cast.

However, the evasion wizard will have evasion, rogue skills, and UMD out the wazzo (or whereever UMD comes from) enough to use heal scrolls (23 base + 3 (Charisma item) + 4 (GH) + 6 (Shroud) + 2 (Head) +3 (Feat) =41. With insightful reflexes, the reflex save will be more than decent.

Assuming a Drow and human eating a +2 int tome at level 1, on wizard levels will have 10 skill points until level 8, than 11 till level 16, and 12 to level 20, which is sufficient to max rank all the rogue skills, and put splashes in useful skills like tumble.

[Wizzly_Bear]

Agreed. Correct me if I am wrong. I thought level 9 spells are the final spells for a wizard. So the benefit from going the last two levels wizard is only additional slots and mana and the last metamagic. The pure wizard is going to have a slightly higher spell DC (+1) by virtue of the +2 Intellegence, and an extra 24 seconds of haste per cast.
and 2 more pts on spell penetration. and when epic levels come, epic spellcasting much sooner.


However, the evasion wizard will have evasion, rogue skills, and UMD out the wazzo (or whereever UMD comes from) enough to use heal scrolls (23 base + 3 (Charisma item) + 4 (GH) + 6 (Shroud) + 2 (Head) +3 (Feat) =41. With insightful reflexes, the reflex save will be more than decent.
wf wiz have no need for any of that nonsense.

edit: not to mention that reg evasion has diminishing returns if you're non dex based. as increasing dc's continue to outpace your save progression, and as damage becomes more severe, evasion quickly becomes less useful.

[I_Bob]

OK, the cleric one officially sucks now.:D

/signed

[Angelus_dead]

edit: not to mention that reg evasion has diminishing returns if you're non dex based.
There's this thing called Insightful Reflexes... its a good idea even for wizards who don't have Evasion.

[Milolyen]

There's this thing called Insightful Reflexes... its a good idea even for wizards who don't have Evasion.

Even with Insightfull Reflexes how high do you get in reflex saves as even my ranger with 34 + can get hit with a roll of 2 - 4 (if not higher) in elite quests.

Milolyen

[Stamp3de]

Even with Insightfull Reflexes how high do you get in reflex saves as even my ranger with 34 + can get hit with a roll of 2 - 4 (if not higher) in elite quests.

Milolyen

My pure wf Wiz has a 28 reflex with Insightful reflexes and my wf Wiz14/rog2 has a 31 reflex save

[Wizzly_Bear]

There's this thing called Insightful Reflexes... its a good idea even for wizards who don't have Evasion.
if you picked the wrong race at ceation (ie not wf) then yes it can help, but then, non wf wiz need all the help they can get. they can have evasion for free for all i care.

[Wizzly_Bear]

My pure wf Wiz has a 28 reflex with Insightful reflexes and my wf Wiz14/rog2 has a 31 reflex save
why would a non evasion wiz have IR?

[maddmatt70]

Even with Insightfull Reflexes how high do you get in reflex saves as even my ranger with 34 + can get hit with a roll of 2 - 4 (if not higher) in elite quests.

Milolyen

+15 =ability score with 40 int.
+6 = base save.
+4 = greater hero.
+5 = resistance item.
+2 = luck bonus with head of good fortune.
---
32 reflex

this is for a pure drow wizard level 20 and with the capstone its 33 reflex. This does not count any wierd bonuses such as shroud +3 reflex bonus or lightning reflex feat etc..
With two rogue splash its a 35 reflex...

I still don't feel that its worth splashing for evasion without for sure having rogue skills by the way and less worth it because it costs less for other classes to splash 1 level of rogue and get the rogue skills. You lose 2 to spell pen, spell points, a bonus feat, +2 to int now, spells for splashing 2 levels of rogue.

[maddmatt70]

edit..

[maddmatt70]

why would a non evasion wiz have IR?

What feats would a pure wizard have instead I think is probably the argument. Are there 12 better feats for a wizard? When you compare a wizards other options for feats 8-12 are they that much better?

[Aesop]

woo hoo! finally, my pure-class playing has paid off.

note to those who have multi-classed: R-E-R-O-L-L

Nope

It is nice I admitt (maybe a little more powerful than I expected) but I like my high umd and once I have my ducks in a row I think I'll be more than fine

Aesop

[krud]

Well, my original 28pt 15wiz/1rgr is gonna need a reroll. :(

He's been fun, gimped and all, but this might put him too far behind in high end elite content (but that won't stop me from trying).

[Wizzly_Bear]

What feats would a pure wizard have instead I think is probably the argument. Are there 12 better feats for a wizard? When you compare a wizards other options for feats 8-12 are they that much better?
mt, imt, spell pen, grt spell pen, extend, enlarge, max, empower, heighten, quicken, and then toughness at lvl 18. hopefully we get some mroe metamagic feats though or be stuck with eschew mats for 20th :rolleyes:

[Shima-ra]

That capstone is Huge!

[sephiroth1084]

why would a non evasion wiz have IR?

Because taking half damage instead of full damage from things like delayed blast fireball is the difference between a wizard who is still casting spells and one lying dead in the penalty box.

[sephiroth1084]

Of all the capstones announced so far, I think I like this one the best. It's not insane, yet it is a nice reward and a useful ability. Might allow me to leave Quicken on more often, but more importantly, will make leaving Heighten on all the time that much less expensive.

Now, I think I want to roll 2 separate wizards: 1 pure, and 1 with the 2 rogue splash.

[Maegin]

I think its a neat capstone and goes with the theme of a wizard reaching his peak, and mastering his versatility and control over his art.

[Noctus]

I wanted to roll my wizard-character with 2 levels of Rogue. Now i have to contemplate over it again. The Capstone is really good, but not that good.

In conclusion:
I think they got it just right.

[Wizzly_Bear]

Because taking half damage instead of full damage from things like delayed blast fireball is the difference between a wizard who is still casting spells and one lying dead in the penalty box.
only if that wizard were gimped and didnt have cold shield and fire resist on.

[Angelus_dead]

only if that wizard were gimped and didnt have cold shield and fire resist on.
Remind me what version of Fire Shield I need to cast to deflect Chain Lightning and Blade Barrier...

[Wizzly_Bear]

Remind me what version of Fire Shield I need to cast to deflect Chain Lightning and Blade Barrier...
for chain lightning wear a ring of the djinn

for bb, stand still

and for both, have more than 200 hps :rolleyes:

edit: or you could, ya know, cast some magic on that bb and make it disappear. hmm....what was that spell again?......

[sephiroth1084]

for chain lightning wear a ring of the djinn

for bb, stand still

and for both, have more than 200 hps :rolleyes:

edit: or you could, ya know, cast some magic on that bb and make it disappear. hmm....what was that spell again?......

Fine. Your 300 HP wizard will still die from 2 DBFs in a row because you have a Reflex save around 16, whereas the one with Insightful Reflexes will be able to take 2 or maybe 3 before dying, even if a little under 300 HP.

[Naso24]

I still don't feel that its worth splashing for evasion without for sure having rogue skills by the way and less worth it because it costs less for other classes to splash 1 level of rogue and get the rogue skills. You lose 2 to spell pen, spell points, a bonus feat, +2 to int now, spells for splashing 2 levels of rogue.

Or you could splash 2 monk levels if your alignment is LG.

You lose 2 to spell pen, spell points, a bonus feat, +2 to int now, spells for splashing 2 levels of monk, but you gain higher saves, evasion, 2 feats, a little bonus to AC if wearing robes, a few weapon proficiencies, higher hit points, and some decent cheap enhancements.

You could take insightful reflexes at L18, toughness at M1 and M2, or toughness and lightning reflexes. It's the net survivability that is tempting for me.

Since you get access to L9 spells at L17 and more preparation slots at L18, you wouldn't be giving up too much. Part of the deciding factor will be how many decent L9 spells there are. If they are anything like L8 spells, it won't be a tough decision.

[sephiroth1084]

Or you could splash 2 monk levels if your alignment is LG.

You lose 2 to spell pen, spell points, a bonus feat, +2 to int now, spells for splashing 2 levels of monk, but you gain higher saves, evasion, 2 feats, a little bonus to AC if wearing robes, a few weapon proficiencies, higher hit points, and some decent cheap enhancements.

You could take insightful reflexes at L18, toughness at M1 and M2, or toughness and lightning reflexes. It's the net survivability that is tempting for me.

Since you get access to L9 spells at L17 and more preparation slots at L18, you wouldn't be giving up too much. Part of the deciding factor will be how many decent L9 spells there are. If they are anything like L8 spells, it won't be a tough decision.

Monk splash is probably more survivable, while rogue splash gives you some skill versatility (you can be a trapmonkey in addition to being a mage).

[Wizzly_Bear]

Fine. Your 300 HP wizard will still die from 2 DBFs in a row because you have a Reflex save around 16, whereas the one with Insightful Reflexes will be able to take 2 or maybe 3 before dying, even if a little under 300 HP.
no. my wizard shields the squishies. with fire resist and cold shield you take negligible damage, esp with fire prot on. the point is to not take the damage in the first place. you dont need to evade something if it cant hurt you.

edit: and i think my reflex was only around a 12.

[SteeleTrueheart]

no. my wizard shields the squishies. with fire resist and cold shield you take negligible damage, esp with fire prot on. the point is to not take the damage in the first place. you dont need to evade something if it cant hurt you.

edit: and i think my reflex was only around a 12.


I was just wondering how these 3 buffs work together. Does protection get stripped first, then cold shield is taken into account, then resist? A different order? I'm not sure.

Nice capstone. Not too much not too little.

Now where is the Paladin capstone?!

[Wizzly_Bear]

I was just wondering how these 3 buffs work together. Does protection get stripped first, then cold shield is taken into account, then resist? A different order? I'm not sure.

Nice capstone. Not too much not too little.

Now where is the Paladin capstone?!
iirc*, it goes

dbf hits you

fire prot first

fire resist next

leftover, whatever would hurt you is reduced by the shield.

[EightyFour]

:( Oh well, time to reroll my wizard. I figure I'll stick him in the closet for awhile and maybe he'll die on his own.

LOL, oh dolt, forgot, got to e delete three characters to rebuild one. Oh well.

[Lithic]

iirc*, it goes

dbf hits you

fire prot first

fire resist next

leftover, whatever would hurt you is reduced by the shield.

Thats wrong.

Assuming you have a 30pt resist up, a 150pt pro up, and fireshield:

First example is a weakling 132pt fireball.
First the game checks to see if you have more pro than resist. If yes, the pro absorbs as much as possible. Resist and shield do not apply as there is no damage left.

That leaves you with 18pts of pro, a 30pt resist, and fireshield.

Second firball hits your face for 129pts. The game checks to see if your pro is higher than your resist. It is not. Therfore the damage is reduced by 30 from your resist and the 18pts of pro are also stripped. Damage is only reduced by 30 though. Next the game sees 99pts of fire incoming, so it is reduced by coldshield, firestorm greaves, and whatever absorption items apply. Not sure in what order, or if they even stack though.

Second example, a 300pt fireball.

It strips 150pts of your protection, completely ignores your resist (as 30 is less than 150), and is then reduced to 75 from your cold shield.

[Wizzly_Bear]

Thats wrong.

Assuming you have a 30pt resist up, a 150pt pro up, and fireshield:

First example is a weakling 132pt fireball.
First the game checks to see if you have more pro than resist. If yes, the pro absorbs as much as possible. Resist and shield do not apply as there is no damage left.

That leaves you with 18pts of pro, a 30pt resist, and fireshield.

Second firball hits your face for 129pts. The game checks to see if your pro is higher than your resist. It is not. Therfore the damage is reduced by 30 from your resist and the 18pts of pro are also stripped. Damage is only reduced by 30 though. Next the game sees 99pts of fire incoming, so it is reduced by coldshield, firestorm greaves, and whatever absorption items apply. Not sure in what order, or if they even stack though.

Second example, a 300pt fireball.

It strips 150pts of your protection, completely ignores your resist (as 30 is less than 150), and is then reduced to 75 from your cold shield.

sounds more like what i remember from that dev reply a while back.

[Lucian_Navarro]

I'm not impressed.

The +2 INT is nice but what does that really get you? +1 DC, +1 to INT Skills, about +34 Spell Points.

The -1 sp reduction when using your Metamagic Feats is just okay. (So now your 71 point Horrid Wilting will now cost 70)


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[Baranor]

mt, imt, spell pen, grt spell pen, extend, enlarge, max, empower, heighten, quicken, and then toughness at lvl 18. hopefully we get some mroe metamagic feats though or be stuck with eschew mats for 20th :rolleyes:

You already have 6 metamagics already so why are you worried about being "stuck" with another.
They have these dragon shard things that change feats, you might want to look into them.

btw IR is a great feat, half damage is always better than full damage

[EightyFour]

I think heighten is the winner here, level 1 spell cast as a level 9 for only 2 sp, that's pretty good.

[Baranor]

I'm not impressed.

The +2 INT is nice but what does that really get you? +1 DC, +1 to INT Skills, about +34 Spell Points.

The -1 sp reduction when using your Metamagic Feats is just okay. (So now your 71 point Horrid Wilting will now cost 70)

on it's own prob not,
personally I was considering 2 lvls of rog after cap increase but now if I stay pure I get those sp from lvls 19-20 as well as the xtra sp and dc from bonus and most spells have multiple metas running so its more than 1 sp per cast as well as the higher spell pen that would have been lost

decisions...

[krud]

I think heighten is the winner here, level 1 spell cast as a level 9 for only 2 sp, that's pretty good.

I think it would be 2sp per level of heighten, not +2 sp total, so +16sp.

[Wizzly_Bear]

I think heighten is the winner here, level 1 spell cast as a level 9 for only 2 sp, that's pretty good.
no. every spell level costs 5 sps more than the next lower level spell. when you heighten, you raise the level and you raise the sp cost by 5/level. this reduces it to 4/level.

[Kalari]

definately glad I have 2 pure wizards now, but this one affect the one rogue/wiz build I plan on working on either. Im just glad I have something to shoot Kalari towards now to. Thanks :)

[krud]

no. every spell level costs 5 sps more than the next lower level spell. when you heighten, you raise the level and you raise the sp cost by 5/level. this reduces it to 4/level.

plus the enhancements brings it to 2/level.

[Wizzly_Bear]

plus the enhancements brings it to 2/level.
if you have them, yes.

[PurdueDave]

The +2 INT is nice but what does that really get you? +1 DC, +1 to INT Skills, about +34 Spell Points.



For 2 APs, that's a very good deal considering what the regular stat lines cost.

[Junts]

It may be a good time to think about allowing a class to have multiple capstone enhancements at level 20, although a character could only train one at a time.

That way clerics could choose either the current capstone to prevent some deaths, or be allowed an alternate offensive casting capstone.

Here's a sample alt capstone:
Divine Certainty: You gain +2 wisdom, and if all targets of an instant duration spell pass their save then 50% of the spellpoints are refunded to you.


they already stated this is the case

[muffinlad]

For my pure wizard, this is great. It in no way makes me regret my Wiz/Rogue (currently 14/2) who is a different type of character all together.

Nice for a pure play, but does not disgourge the split class.

muffinwizzer

[Aerendil]

<begins casting Spell of Mastery>

Edit: That's a joke, by the way - a tribute to Graal.

Master of Magic. Classic game.
Nice reference, El ;)

[sephiroth1084]

Thats wrong.

Assuming you have a 30pt resist up, a 150pt pro up, and fireshield:

First example is a weakling 132pt fireball.
First the game checks to see if you have more pro than resist. If yes, the pro absorbs as much as possible. Resist and shield do not apply as there is no damage left.

That leaves you with 18pts of pro, a 30pt resist, and fireshield.

Second firball hits your face for 129pts. The game checks to see if your pro is higher than your resist. It is not. Therfore the damage is reduced by 30 from your resist and the 18pts of pro are also stripped. Damage is only reduced by 30 though. Next the game sees 99pts of fire incoming, so it is reduced by coldshield, firestorm greaves, and whatever absorption items apply. Not sure in what order, or if they even stack though.

Second example, a 300pt fireball.

It strips 150pts of your protection, completely ignores your resist (as 30 is less than 150), and is then reduced to 75 from your cold shield.

On a side note, I understand that this is HOW this functions, but is it how it SHOULD function? Shouldn't resist be applied before protection all the time, and shouldn't protection be left intact if resist negates all the incoming damage anyway?

[Aesop]

I'm not impressed.

The +2 INT is nice but what does that really get you? +1 DC, +1 to INT Skills, about +34 Spell Points.

The -1 sp reduction when using your Metamagic Feats is just okay. (So now your 71 point Horrid Wilting will now cost 70)





OK then look at it this way you can take this enhancement and drop the top two Wiz Int Enhancements thus saving you a net of 8 AP after spending the 2 AP on the Capstone.

I'd take that

Aesop

[sephiroth1084]

if you have them, yes.

I'd imagine that any wizard not dedicated mostly to blasting things would have at least 1 tier of the enhancement line, if not both. I for one cast many more heightened spells than maximized or empowered or quickened ones (Web, Otto's Resistible and Sphere, FoD, PK, Hold, F2S, Charm/Suggestion, Symbol of whatever, Glitterdust, Greater Shout...). And it helps with some DPS as well, since your CoC, Disintegrate and Fireball will not be saved against as often.

[Wizzly_Bear]

I'd imagine that any wizard not dedicated mostly to blasting things would have at least 1 tier of the enhancement line, if not both. I for one cast many more heightened spells than maximized or empowered or quickened ones (Web, Otto's Resistible and Sphere, FoD, PK, Hold, F2S, Charm/Suggestion, Symbol of whatever, Glitterdust, Greater Shout...). And it helps with some DPS as well, since your CoC, Disintegrate and Fireball will not be saved against as often.
i always leave heighten on and never take these enhancements. it's much more worthwhile to me to do more damage than to save sps and have to recast the spell b/c it didnt do the job.

this is what my wiz enhancements look like.

Wizard Concentration I
Wizard Lineage of Energy I
Wizard Lineage of Elements I
Wizard Lineage of Force I
Wizard Energy Manipulation IV
Wizard Elemental Manipulation IV
Wizard Force Manipulation II
Wizard Spell Penetration III
Wizard Energy of the Scholar IV
Wizard Intelligence III
Warforged Constitution I
Warforged Inscribed Armor I

[Uska]

woo hoo! finally, my pure-class playing has paid off.

note to those who have multi-classed: R-E-R-O-L-L

I'll keep my evaison thank you see how much good your capstone does you when your dead:) yeah its nice for those that want it but I see no serious temptation to reroll my rge/wz

[Angelus_dead]

i always leave heighten on and never take these enhancements. it's much more worthwhile to me to do more damage than to save sps and have to recast the spell b/c it didnt do the job.
Lol crazy.


Wizard Energy of the Scholar IV
Lol insane.

EOTS4 gives you +30 sp for 4 AP. Imp Heighten 1 costs 4 AP, and saves you 5 sp from a level 5 spell, or 3 sp from a level 5 spell. If you cast 7 spells at level 5 or 11 spells at level 5, or some other combination, then Imp Heighten is providing you more spellpoints.

[Uska]

and 2 more pts on spell penetration. and when epic levels come, epic spellcasting much sooner.


wf wiz have no need for any of that nonsense.

edit: not to mention that reg evasion has diminishing returns if you're non dex based. as increasing dc's continue to outpace your save progression, and as damage becomes more severe, evasion quickly becomes less useful.

Thats just silly as damage becomes more severe evasion becomes more useful not less and insightful reflexes will help you dex saves quite a bit. Yah not having improved evasion hurts but at least if you save you take nothing vs full that you pure wizard is gonnna take I will still be allive yes its a nice capstone. And evasion is just important for a WF race those few extra hp isnt going to help you survive more then evasion would

[Uska]

why would a non evasion wiz have IR?

because half damage is much better then full damage maybe:rolleyes:

[Angelus_dead]

On a side note, I understand that this is HOW this functions, but is it how it SHOULD function? Shouldn't resist be applied before protection all the time, and shouldn't protection be left intact if resist negates all the incoming damage anyway?
Yes it should. That would improve game balance, by making the higher level spell more valuable.

Right now if you went to some random (non-caster) player character and offered to give him a (binded) clicky with 3x uses of Resist Energy or Prot Energy (both caster level 12), he'd obviously choose Resist Energy because it's such a superior effect.

The lower-level spell is more powerful, and that's wrong. If Prot Energy were applied before Resist, then it would have some justification for costing a higher-level slot. The job of Prot Energy is to save you from sudden big 100+ blasts of fire, but it usually fails in that mission because a repeated series of 20-30 point fire damages have already stripped it.

[sephiroth1084]

i always leave heighten on and never take these enhancements. it's much more worthwhile to me to do more damage than to save sps and have to recast the spell b/c it didnt do the job.

this is what my wiz enhancements look like.

Wizard Concentration I
Wizard Lineage of Energy I
Wizard Lineage of Elements I
Wizard Lineage of Force I
Wizard Energy Manipulation IV
Wizard Elemental Manipulation IV
Wizard Force Manipulation II
Wizard Spell Penetration III
Wizard Energy of the Scholar IV
Wizard Intelligence III
Warforged Constitution I
Warforged Inscribed Armor I

For a WF, sure, you have to be concerned with the amount of healing you receive from your Repair spells, and sank points into that.

Off the top of my head, I believe my enhancements are as follows (drow):
Enhancement: Elven Enchantment Resistance I
Enhancement: Wizard Improved Empowering I
Enhancement: Wizard Improved Empowering II
Enhancement: Wizard Improved Heightening I
Enhancement: Wizard Improved Heightening II
Enhancement: Wizard Improved Maximizing I
Enhancement: Wizard Improved Maximizing II
Enhancement: Wizard Improved Maximizing III
Enhancement: Wizard Concentration I
Enhancement: Wizard Concentration II
Enhancement: Wizard Lineage of Elements I
Enhancement: Wizard Lineage of Elements II
Enhancement: Wizard Lineage of Elements III
Enhancement: Wizard Lineage of Deadly Elements I
Enhancement: Wizard Elemental Manipulation I
Enhancement: Wizard Elemental Manipulation II
Enhancement: Wizard Elemental Manipulation III
Enhancement: Wizard Spell Penetration I
Enhancement: Wizard Spell Penetration II
Enhancement: Wizard Energy of the Scholar I
Enhancement: Wizard Intelligence I
Enhancement: Wizard Intelligence II
Enhancement: Wizard Intelligence III

[Wizzly_Bear]

EOTS4 gives you +30 sp for 4 AP. Imp Heighten 1 costs 4 AP, and saves you 5 sp from a level 5 spell, or 3 sp from a level 5 spell. If you cast 7 spells at level 5 or 11 spells at level 5, or some other combination, then Imp Heighten is providing you more spellpoints.
but heighten is not always used and so, based upon how i play, i have more sp by taking the full line of sp enhancements. heighten does not affect acid fog, firewall, reconstruct, and several spells that i commonly, and sometimes exclusively, use. for a generic wizard laying down cc, yes enhancements for height are better. but not for me.


Thats just silly as damage becomes more severe evasion becomes more useful not less and insightful reflexes will help you dex saves quite a bit. Yah not having improved evasion hurts but at least if you save you take nothing vs full that you pure wizard is gonnna take I will still be allive yes its a nice capstone. And evasion is just important for a WF race those few extra hp isnt going to help you survive more then evasion would
its not the hp that keeps the skilled wf wiz alive, its the self healing coupled with having the right spells for the right situation. id rather survive that fireball/lightning, finger the baddy regardless of their saves and sr and then self heal than hope i evade the damage and if i dont then im screwed and couldnt heal myself even if i was alive.

[Angelus_dead]

but heighten is not always used
Not according to you:

i always leave heighten on

[Wizzly_Bear]

Not according to you:
:confused:

my leaving it on does not mean it is always in use. it is only in use if it is, ya know, used. this happens when you cast a spell that heighten affects.

[Angelus_dead]

Enhancement: Wizard Energy of the Scholar I
Right, it's a mystery to me why someone would take ETOS more than 1 or 2.

[Angelus_dead]

my leaving it on does not mean it is always in use. it is only in use if it is, ya know, used. this happens when you cast a spell that heighten affects.
Well duh. It can't be as if you don't do that even 5-8 times in a typical quest segement.

Or what about Maximize? You could claim that it only applies to spells measured in hitpoints, but one again it's not as if you're going to be able to avoid both those kinds of spells and still be useful for anything, unless you're happy as a buffbot.

[Solmage]

I have to say I'm not incredibly impressed. I think it's nice, but not powerful enough to compensate the benefits of say 2 levels of monk on a level 20 caster, not unless the current trend to make 90% of all spells useless to cast ends abruptly.

Let's see, right now we're back full circle: Enemies again have DCs where all spells are nearly worthless to cast, so we switched to save-less spells, so now they also are starting to get spell resistance where you need to roll a 17 on a max-spec'd caster to get anything to land, and at which point you might as well save your mana for solid fogs, CKs, firewalls, and other such damage spells. (Let's not forget the blanket immunities just because super-saves were apparently not enough)

Well, those remaining still-useful spells don't care too much if you have 18 or 20 caster levels. Actually upon giving it further thought, I think my dissatisfaction isn't so much with the capstone but with how wizards in particular have been getting nerfed by making their spells less and less useful (who cares you can swap spells if only a handful remain worth casting) and how the fact that they have the same enhancements as a sorcerer is detrimental to the class.

I mean nobody in their right minds would think that fighters having the same enhancements as barbarians would be a good idea, yet this is the case between sorcerers and wizards! The wizard is supposed to be able to leverage the right spell for the right situation, but he's pigeonholed into choosing an element to be effective with just like the sorcerer, and he can't leverage the fact he has more feats available for spell focus feats through specific enhancements, etc etc. Furthermore, acid spells, due to limitations in the engine, which should be re-visited, do not stack further limiting the number of useful spells to cast.

I guess what I was hoping was that the capstone showed an indication that things were going to change.

Allow me to add my submission for a wizard capstone, which I'm totally stealing from the archmage prestige class, which to me signifies the epitome of wizardry:

Mastery of Elements

The archmage can alter an arcane spell when cast so that it utilizes a different element from the one it normally uses. This ability can only alter a spell with the acid, cold, fire, electricity, or sonic descriptor. The spell’s casting time is unaffected. The caster decides whether to alter the spell’s energy type and chooses the new energy type when he begins casting.

(Of course, if archmage is one of the planned PrCs for wizard, and this ability will be included, then, hum, nevermind.. :) but still please revisit the fact that sorcs and wizs have the same enhancements, and just how many of the spells are or have been turned useless)

PS: Sorry for the long post. Got a bit carried away.

[Lillitheris]

Looks nice. Sorcerers shouldn't get a boost this big, because most of them are pure builds anyway. A wizard/rogue is still very powerful and definitely not gimped by this capstone.

[Pyromaniac]

Nice for wizzies, looking forward to something equivalent in power for Sorcs.

[Voalkrynn2]

woo hoo! finally, my pure-class playing has paid off.

note to those who have multi-classed: R-E-R-O-L-L
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

[Lo_Pan]

Simply Eladrin, I can't say anything positive about the capstone. It is simply very bad. What are you thinking!!??!!

[500520]

woo hoo! finally, my pure-class playing has paid off.

note to those who have multi-classed: R-E-R-O-L-L

Why? I prefer Evasion, Stealth Skills in mid 40s, Trap skills in 60s.....

[Aesop]

Simply Eladrin, I can't say anything positive about the capstone. It is simply very bad. What are you thinking!!??!!

Care to elaborate?

What about it don't you like?

Aesop

[EightyFour]

I think it would be 2sp per level of heighten, not +2 sp total, so +16sp.
Yeah, I have no clue what I was thinking there.

5/level, reduces the cost to 4/level. Still a nice savings, but it was much less than I was thinking.

[EKKM]

Simply Eladrin, I can't say anything positive about the capstone. It is simply very bad. What are you thinking!!??!!

Very insightful, I'm sure this constructive criticism will assist Tolero in creating future capstones and enhancements.

[Tyrande]

<begins casting Spell of Mastery>

Edit: That's a joke, by the way - a tribute to Graal.

Spell of Mastery? Where did I read/heard/played that before?!

Oh yes, fond memories of the Master of Magic!

The only thing that resembles that nowadays is:

Fall from Heaven II, a Civilization IV: BTS 3.17 mod.

[Jay203]

Very insightful, I'm sure this constructive criticism will assist Tolero in creating future capstones and enhancements.

dude, if you're gonna be sarcastic, at least address the right people
Tolero is not the one making these capstones and enhancements =_=

[bobbryan2]

Very insightful, I'm sure this constructive criticism will assist Tolero in creating future capstones and enhancements.

I'm sure Tolero is creating lots of capstones in enhancements.

[Eradacator]

God this is so awesome!!!! This makes me so happy I stuck to my guns and stayed Pure Wizard since launch! Now I can only hope They bring out Assassian for Rogues ;)

[Solmage]

Am I the only one not particularly impressed with the capstone? :(

Since I suppose it's too much to hope that anyone reads the long rant I posted, this is what I would have liked to see for a wizard capstone, something that allows them to use ALL their spells :

Mastery of Elements:
The archwizard can alter an arcane spell when cast so that it utilizes a different element from the one it normally uses. This ability can only alter a spell with the acid, cold, fire, electricity, or sonic descriptor. The spell’s casting time is unaffected. The caster decides whether to alter the spell’s energy type and chooses the new energy type when he begins casting.

[Angelus_dead]

The archwizard can alter an arcane spell when cast so that it utilizes a different element from the one it normally uses. This ability can only alter a spell with the acid, cold, fire, electricity, or sonic descriptor. The spell’s casting time is unaffected. The caster decides whether to alter the spell’s energy type and chooses the new energy type when he begins casting.
Wall of Sonic = brokenly overpowered

[Deathseeker]

Am I the only one not particularly impressed with the capstone? :(

Since I suppose it's too much to hope that anyone reads the long rant I posted, this is what I would have liked to see for a wizard capstone, something that allows them to use ALL their spells :

Mastery of Elements:
The archwizard can alter an arcane spell when cast so that it utilizes a different element from the one it normally uses. This ability can only alter a spell with the acid, cold, fire, electricity, or sonic descriptor. The spell’s casting time is unaffected. The caster decides whether to alter the spell’s energy type and chooses the new energy type when he begins casting.

Wouldnt this basically mean instead of seeing firewall used in all cases except where the mob is resistant/immune, we'd just see it in all cases? The element portion of the spell makes it unique and specialized. Otherwise, we'd just see the highest damaging spell (ie Firewall) and all others would go into the history books.

I like the official capstone much better. Im still on the fence whether to multiclass or go pure due to this, and that's how it should be.

[Borror0]

wall Of Sonic = Brokenly Overpowered
Qft

[Tin_Dragon]

That is awesome, too bad I had to delete my pure Wizzy to make room for my TWF Barb that was gonna use crit rage. I got doubly screwed over!

Thanks

[Strumpoo]

Well duh. It can't be as if you don't do that even 5-8 times in a typical quest segement.

Or what about Maximize? You could claim that it only applies to spells measured in hitpoints, but one again it's not as if you're going to be able to avoid both those kinds of spells and still be useful for anything, unless you're happy as a buffbot.

Yeah, but Angelus, Heighten doesn't apply any extra cost unless the spell you cast can be heightened. I think that is what he is trying to say.


You can leave the metamagic on and it won't cost you any extra SP until you cast a spell that can be heightend. ;)



Tin dragon -

There is still time, hurry and level that TWF. You can still have the crit Rage.. HURRY! :D


I like this capstone. I would much rather have archmage but hopefully that is coming. Something needs to be done to make wizzy's comparable to sorcs, since this game has limited spells (that work that is).

I think the extra +1 dc may come into play quite a bit in the new content.

Wall of sonic would be great! Give us wizzy's something to be overpowered with... It has been so long...

[Deathseeker]

I like this capstone. I would much rather have archmage but hopefully that is coming. Something needs to be done to make wizzy's comparable to sorcs, since this game has limited spells (that work that is).

I think the solution is to make more existing spells useful. The game has lots of spells, just not lots of useful spells. If they would make heightened lower level spells have some relevance at later levels, and scale damage on spells so it isnt capped so low all the time, it would really open things up. And once again, blanket immunities on mobs limit options and by limiting options sorcs benefits.

If they would just rework some of the spells a little bit to make them more relevant, so everything isnt haste/firewall/finger/fleshtostone, then it would be more balanced.

All the spells that say "works on mobs up to XXX hitpoints" turn out pretty useless. Change those and we could be in busines...

[Solmage]

Wall of Sonic = brokenly overpowered

Ok, fine, limit which elements we can substitute. Perhaps only blue and red fire, like fire shield, for firewalls and such.


Wouldnt this basically mean instead of seeing firewall used in all cases except where the mob is resistant/immune, we'd just see it in all cases? The element portion of the spell makes it unique and specialized. Otherwise, we'd just see the highest damaging spell (ie Firewall) and all others would go into the history books.

I like the official capstone much better. Im still on the fence whether to multiclass or go pure due to this, and that's how it should be.

Yes... sort of... BUT this would be ONLY for WIZARDS, not sorcerers. So the wall of icey blue flames would be a wizard's thing, not a sorcerers. So the wizard would be able to augment their DPS by tossing one of those against the fire resistant critter, while the sorc is using his extra mana pool and 2x casting speed to DPS it.

It would also create some fun spells! Cone of flame! Delayed Blast Lightning! Lvl 8 Inferno Ray! Etc etc.

Please note I'm not saying some obviously overpowered combos should not be voided, but the MAIN goal would be to TRULY differentiate between a wizard and a sorcerer. I mean.. 1 less mana to meta magic and +1 to DC is what makes a wizard better than a sorcerer right now, provided their capstone isn't about the same. Yay?

[Lo_Pan]

Care to elaborate?

What about it don't you like?

Aesop

Not really.....got this discussion going on in my guild forums...I'd provide a link, but....meh. I just don't like it. It's not like it's super over powered, nor is it super underpowered either. It's actually kinda fitting...It still doesn't make up for the fact that wizards have to LOOT most of our spells. Wizards have been dealt a bum rap for some time, and this is in no way any form of true compensation for all of that. It's kinda kitsch if you really want my opinion.

[Inspire]

I have a really crazy feeling that this Capstone will go very well with some of the PrE lines(If certain PrEs get things like better spell DCs to certain schools and/or greater discounts on Metas etc).

+1 to DCs and -1Sp on all Metas. Ntm about 40 extra Sp and +1 Reflex save if you chose IF as a feat.

This Capstone is probably the second best thus far, right behind the Monk.

[Makdar]

[QUOTE=Solmage;1974506]Ok, fine, limit which elements we can substitute. Perhaps only blue and red fire, like fire shield, for firewalls and such.

Honestly, I love the concept, and I think it would be a lot of fun, but the devs are not going to go for a max-emp, critical, Wall of Cold to be landed on the Pit Fiend and do 600+ damage every click. Not going to happen.

Best one could hope for is that the non-persistent spells like fireball have an ability like this. Anything that is persistant and does dmg over time is going to be a game changer that the devs won't put in. If they did, there would have to be a huge penalty like damage is reduced by half or 3/4 when the damage type is transmuted.

[Aesop]

Not really.....got this discussion going on in my guild forums...I'd provide a link, but....meh. I just don't like it. It's not like it's super over powered, nor is it super underpowered either. It's actually kinda fitting...It still doesn't make up for the fact that wizards have to LOOT most of our spells. Wizards have been dealt a bum rap for some time, and this is in no way any form of true compensation for all of that. It's kinda kitsch if you really want my opinion.

Fair enough

Though it sounds to me like it has nothing to do with the Capstone itself and more to do with the state of Wizards. I agree btw that wizards need a little pick me up. Though I'd perfer that be in the form of more useful spells and Feat. Right now a Sorc can get most of the useful spells no problem and has enough Feats toget the important Metas... SO where does that place Wizards versatility... on the shelf with the S&B Fighter

Aesop

[Lo_Pan]

Fair enough

Though it sounds to me like it has nothing to do with the Capstone itself and more to do with the state of Wizards. I agree btw that wizards need a little pick me up. Though I'd perfer that be in the form of more useful spells and Feat. Right now a Sorc can get most of the useful spells no problem and has enough Feats toget the important Metas... SO where does that place Wizards versatility... on the shelf with the S&B Fighter

Aesop

That's half my point Aesop. An entire class has been meta-gamed out of the park, and the devs think that this little capstone is gonna soothe the anger and pain? Well, I wish Eladrin would remove the blinders and look at what he's done to wizards. It's plain to see that he just doesn't want to admit it.... Either that or he doesn't care. A capstone like this doesn't mean much when your shooting blanks. Even when they have all of the enhancements under the sun. Wake up Eladrin!

[sephiroth1084]

That's half my point Aesop. An entire class has been meta-gamed out of the park, and the devs think that this little capstone is gonna soothe the anger and pain? Well, I wish Eladrin would remove the blinders and look at what he's done to wizards. It's plain to see that he just doesn't want to admit it.... Either that or he doesn't care. A capstone like this doesn't mean much when your shooting blanks. Even when they have all of the enhancements under the sun. Wake up Eladrin!

I honestly don't think that wizards have it as bad as that. "Shooting blanks"?

Come on. We get fewer SP than sorcs, and slower casting times, and have some difficulty in learning new spells that come out under our level (or before we can level to obtain them).

Spell versatility, while less useful than it once was (apparently), is by no means useless, and our extra feats grant us more than just metamagics that sorcs can get. It frees up our other feats so that we may take Toughness, or both Spell Penetration feats, or a Spell Focus or two, or Insightful Reflexes, or Skill Focus: something, or any number of other useful (but underused) feats, while the sorc has to spend all of their feat choices on the necesities.

This capstone grants us some bonus SP, not a lot, but some, and not just from the Int boost. This will also likely mean that our spells will land more often than sorcs (I really do hope they do NOT get a similar +2 Cha as their capstone).

[Lo_Pan]

I honestly don't think that wizards have it as bad as that. "Shooting blanks"?

Come on. We get fewer SP than sorcs, and slower casting times, and have some difficulty in learning new spells that come out under our level (or before we can level to obtain them).

Spell versatility, while less useful than it once was (apparently), is by no means useless, and our extra feats grant us more than just metamagics that sorcs can get. It frees up our other feats so that we may take Toughness, or both Spell Penetration feats, or a Spell Focus or two, or Insightful Reflexes, or Skill Focus: something, or any number of other useful (but underused) feats, while the sorc has to spend all of their feat choices on the necesities.

This capstone grants us some bonus SP, not a lot, but some, and not just from the Int boost. This will also likely mean that our spells will land more often than sorcs (I really do hope they do NOT get a similar +2 Cha as their capstone).


Yes, shooting blanks. How many times do I have to point out that whilst we are given pen and paper spells in a world of non pen and paper monsters, we will continue to suffer. That's all arcane casters, not just wizards!! Please know the facts: we are being deliberately held back, while tanks are given an upper hand! Well, I'm sick of it!

[Desteria]

mmmmmmmm

Dyeign to se the sorc one now...

[Desteria]

On a side note, I understand that this is HOW this functions, but is it how it SHOULD function? Shouldn't resist be applied before protection all the time, and shouldn't protection be left intact if resist negates all the incoming damage anyway?

Nope....

If yo8u read the original Sorce spells wich have a lot mroe room for text in the books ;)
The protect spells are an 'Upgrade' of the resist Line the Overlap and supress the lower level spells....
(slight note in PnP if you have a prot with 1 point level adn a 30 pt resist and you get hit from 30 you take 29 damage still! However actuyl havign both at once is purty rare since most casters/celrics have better things to do in combat then cast mutiple resists/prots on the same person. And mass resist energy get house rulled out in a lot of campains/the old living campains banned it to.)

In PnP you would get to shose the order to bets suite you form Fire sheild and (prot or resist). etc and Appling Fire sheild FIRST is alwyas the best choice, I dotn knwo wich order DDO does it in but it realyl should do fire sheild first if doesn't If I wasent lazy I';d test it but i'm to lazy to bother.

[Auran82]

In PnP you would get to shose the order to bets suite you form Fire sheild and (prot or resist). etc and Appling Fire sheild FIRST is alwyas the best choice, I dotn knwo wich order DDO does it in but it realyl should do fire sheild first if doesn't If I wasent lazy I';d test it but i'm to lazy to bother.

Wow, just read the spell description for Fire Shield, can we have it implemented properly please?

Can be found here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/fireShield.htm)

Mainly:


Warm Shield
The flames are warm to the touch. You take only half damage from cold-based attacks. If such an attack allows a Reflex save for half damage, you take no damage on a successful save.

[Desteria]

Wow, just read the spell description for Fire Shield, can we have it implemented properly please?

Can be found here (http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/fireShield.htm)

Mainly:

ahhh yes to have fire sheild work liek it realyl does in PnP I would love it to... but I don't hold out hope for that but makign sure it haves the dameg First alwasy would be a big help still, assumign tio isent first in the Order of opperatiosn as it stands now never realyl tested it.

[Griphon]

<begins casting Spell of Mastery>

Edit: That's a joke, by the way - a tribute to Graal.

Master of Magic was one of my ALL TIME favorite games.
The awesome of it goes beyond mortal understanding....

Dark Elf Warlocks for the WIN!

[Baahb3]

The Mastery of Elements would not be too bad, they may have to limit some combinations but one thing to remember, should you lay down that lightning wall or cone of sonic then all of your fire/cold enhancments and gear would not apply to that cast, causing a drop in damage output, critical chance, critical multiplyer ect.

[Strumpoo]

The Mastery of Elements would not be too bad, they may have to limit some combinations but one thing to remember, should you lay down that lightning wall or cone of sonic then all of your fire/cold enhancments and gear would not apply to that cast, causing a drop in damage output, critical chance, critical multiplyer ect.

I agree and think that could be the wizard's defining ability to change their elemental spells at a whim.

That would be awesome!

[query]

I can live with that capstone being missed and not getting DBF'ed with my insightful reflexes and evasion, backstabbing the baddie when my spells become "useless" and casting again when something needs to be added or renewed.

Oh yeah, ressing those non evasion non insightful reflexes wizards who died from the puny DBF :)

Mabye I'll make a pure drow wiz or sorc later to see what it feels like....but playing devil's advocate here, it's NOT lost if you multiclass: only lost until you enter epic levels as THEN you CAN get 20 levels of a class and x of a multiclass.

[krud]

I agree and think that could be the wizard's defining ability to change their elemental spells at a whim.

That would be awesome!

It would be awesome, but changing spells on a whim sounds more like a sorcerer ability than a wizard trait, imo.

[Aesop]

It would be awesome, but changing spells on a whim sounds more like a sorcerer ability than a wizard trait, imo.

Actually no A sorceror knows a few tricks but can do them a lot a wizard is practiced in the study of the nature of magic itself and has a wide breathe of knowledge on the subject if either had the ability to change a spell it would be the wizard... but that's just the way I look at things


Aesop

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

This week's enhancement preview is the wizard capstone enhancement. Our scholarly friends get a nice solid bonus for reaching level 20, a passive bonus that emphasizes that they're the arcane class that are the true masters of metamagic.

Master of Magic
Prereqs: Level 20 Wizard
Cost: 2 AP
Benefit: Grants +2 Intelligence and all metamagics you possess cost 1 fewer spell point to use. (Heighten Spell costs 1 fewer spell point per level of heightening.)

+2 INT, -1 DC, -1sp per metamagic, and up to -7sp per heighten!? for TWO action points??

This is a Crowd Control Wizzy's DREAM. HUGE spike for mana conservation to wizards that understand the benefit of the metamagics...

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

repost

[query]

making me not damaged most of the time and a casting/fighting fun WF......tree of goodness :).

That said, AWWWWW.

Can't have everything. Looking to epic to catch up other things and have more wizardly goodness (besides their PrE's of course.)

[Daigaioh]

can I ask for any of those level 20s who have both this capstone and pale master do you notice any issues using necromancy spells (any) on the more resistant mobs.. and if not what exactly are you using weapon/item wise to punch through?