High Level SR/DC/Meta Questions

[Darkrok]

I'm getting ready to possibly LR my Evocation spec'd 15wiz/2rog to go Enchant/Necro and just had a few questions.

1) How much SR is 'enough' for running Shroud/Amrath/Epics? Obviously I'm starting out down two from the rogue splash. I can fit in +2 from enhancements and either +2 or +4 from feats (more on that later). Is that enough? Is the latter one overkill? I could really use the second feat, which leads to:
2) What's a good target for the DC on Wail? I could either get 34, 36, or 38 at level 20 if I unlock my Death's Touch. 34 is with no necro feats, 36 is with one, and 38 is with two.
3) Which two feats should I go with out of this list for a build like this: Greater Spell Pen, Maximize, Necro Focus, Greater Necro Focus? If I take the greater spell pen and maximize for instance I could at least do a bit of damage with my firewalls/ice storms but my wail DC would be hurting. If I go double-necro my wail DC would be outstanding but I might have SR problems (not sure until I see the answers to #1) and I'll have weak damage output. Is sacrificing Quicken an option at all? I've never run without it on a caster but then all my high level casters have been healers.

That's it for now. Thanks in advance!

[Khurse]

For the DC's

41-43 Mass Hold and 42-44 Necro works well enough for me in everything but Elite Amrath.
38 (ish) would be fine in Shroud (although I do miss stuff occasionally with over 40)
Epics are (generally) lower than elite Amrath, ( My Mass Hold grabs more in epics than Elite Amrath) and high 30's will probably get by with a few exceptions, (Like the Devils in EChrono)

Quicken is huge. While I'm certain there will be a number of players drop in and mention how they easily soloed Echrono without it, I'm willing to admit, I absolutely need it.

[Darkrok]

For the DC's

41-43 Mass Hold and 42-44 Necro works well enough for me in everything but Elite Amrath.
38 (ish) would be fine in Shroud (although I do miss stuff occasionally with over 40)
Epics are (generally) lower than elite Amrath, ( My Mass Hold grabs more in epics than Elite Amrath) and high 30's will probably get by with a few exceptions, (Like the Devils in EChrono)

Quicken is huge. While I'm certain there will be a number of players drop in and mention how they easily soloed Echrono without it, I'm willing to admit, I absolutely need it.

How about the Spell Pen? Is +4 from feats/enhancements enough for an 18/2 or do I really need to get +6? From the DC's you listed it looks like an 18/2 wizard is going to have to double-focus on both to get the dc's high enough. I'll have a 36int (18 base, +5 level, +2 tome, +2 exc., +6 item, +3 enhancements) for +13, +9 for spell level, +10 base, and a +2 item (dreamspitter/unlocked death's touch) for a total DC before feats/enhancements of 34. The best I could hope for gear-wise given where I'm getting my exc. int right now would be +1 more to get to 35 and that would require slotting an epic slot and getting a +3 tome both.

[Khurse]

Spell pen isn't really an issue as long as you put some feats/enhancements towards it. (Think my casters is like 31 or 32 and I rarely have problems, except against Drow now)

35 (ish) DC will be marginally acceptable I think. You'll do Ok in Shroud/Vale, but stuff after that will be tough.
You will get some of the lower will saved epics, but not alot of them. You might do Ok in normal Amrath, hard or elite would not be a wise choice though.

[Darkrok]

Spell pen isn't really an issue as long as you put some feats/enhancements towards it. (Think my casters is like 31 or 32 and I rarely have problems, except against Drow now)

Wouldn't my spell pen be FAR lower than 31-32 though? If I'm not mistaken I'd have 18 from being level 18 wizard and the most I could possibly add would be 10 to that (+3 greater spell pen item, +4 both feats, +3 from enhancements) and most likely much less. Am I missing something here

35 (ish) DC will be marginally acceptable I think. You'll do Ok in Shroud/Vale, but stuff after that will be tough.
You will get some of the lower will saved epics, but not alot of them. You might do Ok in normal Amrath, hard or elite would not be a wise choice though.

Ah, that makes me feel a bit better then. If a 35'ish DC is ok in Shroud/Vale then I can probably limp by with my Wail in the Shrouds. I think I'll try my very nice nuking build/weak Wail build for awhile, at least until 20, tossing the Enchanter Secondary on to my Evocation main school. My spell pen will be bad but that won't affect me for mass holds, my mass hold dc will be 34 before level 20, 36 at level 20. I really like the evocation build and would love to have it work at least marginally for this life at the very least.

[Khurse]

Yes 35/36 is marginally OK. I still occasionally miss with a 43 DC, so you will miss a lot with a 35ish.
But you'll also get some, so as long as you're not expecting perfection, you should do OK.

Just (as mentioned) stay out of Amrath, you're a tad low for that.

[locus]

You will probably need both spell pen feats or one spell pen + 2 enhancements at a minimum (I need at least both feats + 2 enhancements on a /2 rogue splash or I do notice quite a lot of misses on holds).

While taking four spell focus feats (both enchant & both necro) gives flexibility and higher DCs (and the ability to switch to PM), you will be missing out on one of them depending on how you spec your enhancements, keep that in mind (only one +dc bonus as secondary). Quicken or Empower is what you should likely drop imo to make room.

[Darkrok]

You will probably need both spell pen feats or one spell pen + 2 enhancements at a minimum (I need at least both feats + 2 enhancements on a /2 rogue splash or I do notice quite a lot of misses on holds).

While taking four spell focus feats (both enchant & both necro) gives flexibility and higher DCs (and the ability to switch to PM), you will be missing out on one of them depending on how you spec your enhancements, keep that in mind (only one +dc bonus as secondary). Quicken or Empower is what you should likely drop imo to make room.

If I go with the double-greater focus I'll probably go with the following 11 feats:
Toughness, Mental Toughness, Insightful Reflexes
Quicken, Heighten, Extend
All 4 Spell Focuses and 1 Spell Pen

That means no maximize or empower and probably no enhancement room for any damage boosting things.

I'm starting to get second thoughts about this on this life. I think a pure caster that doesn't have an overwhelming reason for taking insightful reflexes is much better with this double-focus build. That's two more feats which means you can fit in maximize (and empower on a human), take both spell pen feats, and call it a day. I'll probably TR to that build after this life. It looks like this toon will never be a powerhouse in epics on this life and that's ok for a first life wizard. I think I'll just farm the non-epic stuff, get 20 shrouds, get at least one ToD ring made, farm my raid loot from VoD/Reaver, and then come back as a Half Elf for the cleric dilettante fun.