Metamagic: change element

[Aexicas]

How about the metamagic feat that changes elemental damage type from one to another?
So you could change your fireball to iceball or acidball but it either costs an increase in SP or maybe a number of turns /day. Not sure, open to suggestions.

I've noticed wizards always go for fire damage boosting items assumingly because fire is the most common type of damage available. I've never seen or heard of an ice or acid specialist wizard. Have you??

Your thoughts??

Three things I have to say about this:

1) I have a sorcerer; I love playing her.

2) I would absolutely love this feat; it would allow me to tear apart literally everything, with little to no investment and effort. If this feat were to be put in game, I would, without hesitation, pick up this feat (and, likely it's successor, Energy Adamixture)

3) I do not want to see this feat (or any other feat like it) in game.

In the end, this would allow casters (sorcerers, in particular) to be grossly overpowered. Imagine having all four "wall of (element)"'s on your list, so that you can simply use one spell to kill (literally) everything. What point would there be to even having other spells on your list, when two or three spells would suffice for your entire damage stock?

No, I think energy substitution should lie in the hands of the Savants (the whispered about sorcerer PrE), but, if it's done as PnP is, that would substitute every energy type with one specific energy type. Which would be okay, so long as they gave ways to pierce DR, but... thats another topic.

In the end, good suggestion with good intentions, but I see this feat being universe shattering, more than game breaking.

[Vellrad]

Arcanes do not gravitate to scorching ray/fireball/WoF/DBF because they like fire damage.

They gravitate to fire damage because they like WoF. Period.

Arcanes takes fire/ice because repair/force and electricity/acid don't have anything interesting to offer (especially at high lv)

[Scraap]

Needs more restrictions. Single target spells only, say, and/or doubling the net casting cost after extend, heighten, maximize, et al. Then it *may* be balanced to a degree.

Much as I prefer PnP solutions, that no raising of the spell-slot-level bit strikes me as broken given the current enhancement systems for specific element-pairs rather than spell schools, and changing that would likely cause more than a minor revolt without some definite additional pluses.

[Phidius]

You really think lv20 wiz/sorc piking at most epic bosses (like now) is a good idea?
After buffing party its 4 minutes pike until haste/displacement/rage/whatever ends.

If that's the only reason you're bringing an arcane, I suggest you bring a bard instead. Much better option, even if the level of piking remains unchanged.

[Schwarzie]

Schwarzie - I'm not programmer but i don't think changing the damage type would be massivly difficult. Changing the graphics might be a challange but damage type? Don't know... Challange yes but difficult, no. Dunno.

I think it'd be nice to see but wouldn't rate this as top of the list of things to do.

You misunderstood me. It would be trivial to implement into the game. the Problem is the AI of all our enemies. The reason why FW dominates the midgame is the stupidity of all enemies to run constantly through it and simply ignore the damge.

If Firewall now does Elec or Cold damge you could use it against basically everys mob in the game, therefore there would be casters soloing amrath Elite with ease. The only thing which makes amrath and other High level stuff dangerous is that FW is NOT working there.