Post/Author/DateTime	Post
LachlarlanIII 08-01-07, 12:46 PM	The Focused Specialist wizard alternate class feature lets me cast 2 additional specialist spells per day at the expense of losing one spell slot from each spell level and losing an additional spell school. Is this a worthwhile trade? I was thinking about going Focused Necromancer and dropping Enchantment (don't care for a school that doesn't affect 2/5s of the creatures in the game) and Illusion, but can't decide what other school to forbid.
rutrow424 08-01-07, 02:28 PM	The prevailing viewpoint is dropping any schools as a wizard is a bad choice, so I would guess that dropping 3 schools would be frowned upon even more. I don't agree (I love specialist wizards, and necromancers in particular) and like the extra oomph provided by the extra spells. Getting a 2nd extra spell for a 3rd school is good for the lower levels if you can handle the restricted spell list. If you drop illusion and enchantment (good choices IMO), evocation would be the only other school that you could consider dropping. I would personally feel naked as a wizard w/o fireball and magic missile, but I realize that other spells are "better" than direct damage in most circumstances. Did you get access to this via an AR?
bitznarf 08-01-07, 02:31 PM	The prevailing viewpoint is dropping any schools as a wizard is a bad choice That may be the prevailing opinion where ever you are, but you will find many lively debates on the matter throughout the wizards.com boards. And it really just comes down to each having different strengths and different weaknesses.
Timlagor 08-01-07, 03:32 PM	Specialisation is much debated but basically it's well balanced. I don't generally like specialisation for myself. Focussed Specialist gives a proportionately lower benefit (because you already have more spells) and although you only give up one extra School you're really squeezing your spell options. I find Abjuration relatively easy to give up since Clerics can cast all the good spells on that list ..but Illusion has too much value for me.
TWG_Prometheus 08-01-07, 05:33 PM	Specialisation is much debated but basically it's well balanced. I don't generally like specialisation for myself. Focussed Specialist gives a proportionately lower benefit (because you already have more spells) and although you only give up one extra School you're really squeezing your spell options. I find Abjuration relatively easy to give up since Clerics can cast all the good spells on that list ..but Illusion has too much value for me. Give up Abjuration? *Heart Attack* *Faint* *Die*
control freak 08-01-07, 05:35 PM	ill kill the dead my necromancer droped trans :D :P
dkay807 08-01-07, 09:49 PM	I personally think that specialization is great. Granted you probably won't be able to drop a primastic wall at high levels, but I think that dropping certain schools for more spells per day is a very solid option. By that line of thought, I think Focused Specialist is a great class feature for the right type of caster. A wizard's key downside is that you have very few spells per day. If you can increase that by 1 or even 2, that really puts you up on the power curve. The cost is heavy, but if you build and play the character intelligently, you can turn it into a major advantage. My Shadowcraft Mage just retrained into it for more illusions per day. I gave up Enchantment, Evocation and Necromancy and apart from missing False Life, I don't think I gave up a whole lot, given the power of the Shadow Illusion ability.
Timlagor 08-02-07, 04:45 AM	I thought all Shadowcrafters gave up Conjuration ;) ..silly Class.
bitznarf 08-02-07, 10:33 AM	Nah, there are some conjuration spells you can't get through SCM.