Capstone Fail

[Malison]

Artificer Arcane Empowerment (Capstone Enhancement)
Cost: 2 action points
Action Points Spent Prerequisite: 74
Available to Artificer class level 20
The patterns of the most complex magical formulae are like children's drawings to you. You treat any non-scroll activated equipped item that casts spells (such as wands, rods, armor, or other activated items) as if they were staves, increasing their caster level to equal yours as well as increasing Save DC's to (1 + your Intelligence bonus + level of spell) if it would be an improvement. These increases are applied after Artificer Knowledge, so do not stack.

1 + Int + level? That's TERRIBLE!

Consider: Wand of Phantasmal Killer, because it's one of the obvious things to try this with.
Used by a Wizard: DC = base (10) + spell level (4) = 14.
Used by an Artificer: DC = base (1) + Int (#) + spell level (4) = 5+Int.

So, if you have less than 30 Int, this gives you nothing at all. If you have more, that's nice. But you'll never get it to the kind of DC that will work on, well, anything you'd want to fight as a level 20. And that's the level that matters, because, in case you forgot, this is a CAPSTONE.

For reference, max sustainable 44 Int (18 +5level +4tome +3enhancement +7item +3exceptional +1litany +1human +2yugo) means DC 22. Triple wizard past lives and triple wand heightening enhancements caps your DC at 31.

Please, put this back to 10+level+Int, just as though it was being cast without Heighten, Spell Focus, DC-enhancing items, or PrE DC boosts. It's already far enough behind spells cast by actual casters without an artificial -9.

EDIT: Release notes were in error, two dev posts below.

[TreknaQudane]

1 + Int + level? That's TERRIBLE!

Consider: Wand of Phantasmal Killer, because it's one of the obvious things to try this with.
Used by a Wizard: DC = base (10) + spell level (4) = 14.
Used by an Artificer: DC = base (1) + Int (#) + spell level (4) = 5+Int.

So, if you have less than 30 Int, this gives you nothing at all. If you have more, that's nice. But you'll never get it to the kind of DC that will work on, well, anything you'd want to fight as a level 20. And that's the level that matters, because, in case you forgot, this is a CAPSTONE.

For reference, max sustainable 44 Int (18 +5level +4tome +3enhancement +7item +3exceptional +1litany +1human +2yugo) means DC 22. Triple wizard past lives and triple wand heightening enhancements caps your DC at 31.

Please, put this back to 10+level+Int, just as though it was being cast without Heighten, Spell Focus, DC-enhancing items, or PrE DC boosts. It's already far enough behind spells cast by actual casters without an artificial -9.

It IS 10 + Int Modifier + Spell Level

Reading Failure.

[Malison]

Reading Failure.

by you. Look again at the quote, or go to the release notes thread.

Unless it's a typing fail by them.

[Ryiah]

Unless it's a typing fail by them.

You clearly missed the first batch of U11 release notes. The epic items alone were missing a good deal of details.

[Eladrin]

It uses 10 + Int + Spell Level, the standard DC calculation, not 1.

[Shade]

mm yea scrolls were taken out.. But otherwise still a badass capstone.

[gloopygloop]

mm yea scrolls were taken out.. But otherwise still a badass capstone.

Other than wands of Web, I really can't think of any offensive spells that are worth casting from a wand. What wands am I missing here?

Phantasmal Killer is a terrible spell unless your spell DCs are through the roof because of its two saves and no Artificer is going to have spell DCs through the roof because all they get is 10 + level + Int bonus. There's no Heighten. There's no spell focus/greater spell focus feats. There's no GSF item. There's no Archmage/Pale Master PrE bonus to DCs.

"Nuking" with clickies/wands is going to be even worse because you can't use any Metamagic and all of your offensive item based magic is going to share the same 6 second cooldown, so you won't even be able to machine gun non-metamagic'd spells the way that real casters can.

Artificer spell DCs are going to be mediocre at best and there just aren't many useful offensive items that I can even think of. What offensive wands/clickies am I missing here?

So that leaves us with party buffs. Yes, Artificers will be outstanding at buffing the party with a backpack full of wands and clickies. I'm not impressed.

[Dolphious]

all of your offensive item based magic is going to share the same 6 second cooldown, so you won't even be able to machine gun non-metamagic'd spells the way that real casters can.

Wow, I hadn't even been thinking about that, but yeah the universal timer for clickies is going to be a big damper on this ability in general. Even buffing could get painfully slow if you want to cast a lot of spells.

[Malison]

It uses 10 + Int + Spell Level, the standard DC calculation, not 1.

/rant off
Thanks for the confirmation.

[WarDestroyer]

It uses 10 + Int + Spell Level, the standard DC calculation, not 1.

pawned

[Caseas]

Forget tooltips and patch notes, people. Try it in practice! :P

It's awesome.

[kalaxi]

It does render the original use i thought for it, scrolling buffs like spell resistance, nightshield, jump, prot from evil useless, disappointing.

[patang01]

It does render the original use i thought for it, scrolling buffs like spell resistance, nightshield, jump, prot from evil useless, disappointing.

Yup - I wasn't going to use anything offensive anyways since offensive wands and scrolls are fairly useless regardless if they're level 20 compared.

I was considered going pure simply because the delightful use of 20 minute stoneskins, nightshields and such.

Now this capstone is as good as the rangers and just another reason to go multiclass.

Personally I can't think of any reason for anyone or the devs to go...mah gosh - scrolls just make this guy to powerful.

I tried banishment on my level 20 and it failed all the time. So as scrolls goes it was not very useful in that regards.

[TempestAlphaOmega]

Yup - I wasn't going to use anything offensive anyways since offensive wands and scrolls are fairly useless regardless if they're level 20 compared.

I was considered going pure simply because the delightful use of 20 minute stoneskins, nightshields and such.

Now this capstone is as good as the rangers and just another reason to go multiclass.

Personally I can't think of any reason for anyone or the devs to go...mah gosh - scrolls just make this guy to powerful.

I tried banishment on my level 20 and it failed all the time. So as scrolls goes it was not very useful in that regards.

When I first read the capstone description I thought "gee that sound interesting", then I thought about the fact that you don't get it until level 20 and without Metas it basically left you with some minor damage dealing and buffing. Inst and CC you won't have what it takes to make them effective and your nuking will be more pew pew ing.

As others have said makes it easy to multiclass without any guilt or second thoughts.

[andbr22]

Unfortunetly without scrolls this capstone is medicore if not poor.
Yeah you could use scrolls but still you would prefer use buffing scrolls more than direct damage or effect save scrolls, because with all good stuff you would get only around 30 DC what is way to low for succesfuly CC anything other than normal vale maybe.
Well from scroll knowledge you will still get enought for top Heal scrolls anyway.

The biggest miss are dispalement and haste scrolls, that accualy were reason why this would be worth to take. (Maybe some DoT scrols also would be usefull)

[rimble]

The biggest miss are dispalement and haste scrolls, that accualy were reason why this would be worth to take. (Maybe some DoT scrols also would be usefull)

If the big payoff for you was Displacement and Haste scrolls, do you not see that same payoff using Displacement and Haste clickies instead? Of course, it's more **** to carry around.

[andbr22]

how many dispalcement / hastle cliekies can you carry (I am quite happy with my 5 hastle cliekies ring)? 2 of each (4 uses of each are 4 slots while scrolls only are 2 slots, and you can carry 100 of each...

[Riggs]

So - the only way this would be useful is if wands were actually useful.

Reduce the 6 second cooldown (maybe just for artificers, or maybe everyone because wands are useless anyway) - to a 1 second global cooldown.

Let artificers use metamagics on wands.

Add more and better wands - as pnp staves and rods were far more useful and powerful - and DDO has neither really - maybe the Queen staff, but 1 raid item does not a class make.

Have an enhancement to recharge wands/staves somehow - like in pnp - like say paying 500 sp to charge a wand back up - or 1 charge per 10 sp or whatever - something.

The whole point of pnp Artificers - like wizards, was they could craft new wands or items with whatever they wanted on it - short of giving them that ability - make more powerful wands more plentiful and useful.

[LeLoric]

Not an unexpected change however the two spells I found to be the biggest uses/abuses of the capstone in scroll form are also available in clickie form.

The capstone is still good but not as crazy as it was with scrolls however it does keep the artificer from having to wait 6 sec *x buffs to get all your scroll buffs in.

[Socio]

Like someone said Here and I agree with, Scrolls should stay Caster level 20, but if the dc's on offensive scrolls was the issue then lower the dc's so they are not top notch.

Frankly sitting here and thinking about it that would make since if you take a moment to think of how the artificer works. Artificers are kings of magical items. They can craft and wield many items that contain magical properties. They can use scroll's as they can understand it's working and cast them, but lack the raw natural talent to make them powerful. So what appears as a 30 second Inferno of a Wall of fire for a arcane may just be a 30 second Picket fence Smoldering fiercely for a artificer. They both still work, Both still last's the same, It's just that the Arcane's portable atrocities are much more powerful.