Odin212 wrote on Feb 16
th, 2015 at 2:47pm:
0.) Should i even bother? is it something i am going to regret wasting time on? How bad is it?
I guess it might be a reasonable alternative if you refuse to turn the sound off. Otherwise, no. Arti casting is for buffs/supplementing the repeater. Notice the daze effect on Static Shock? Lightning Sphere? The CC element to Grease? The knockdown from Tactical Detonation? Those are for keeping distance.
Arties get enough feats that you don't have to choose between metamagic and repeater feats. Quicken, Empower, Maximize. Heighten is questionable. Extend doesn't apply to most Arti spells. Evocation focus becomes the point at which you're sacrificing other choices, and frankly it's only useful for Blade Barrier
*. (Not that Blade Barrier can't be a major feature of your game play.)
Odin212 wrote on Feb 16
th, 2015 at 2:47pm:
1.) artificer and wands: seems like an arti and wands go together nicely? With retain essence seems like my wands could get way more uses than normal but is it enough to make it worth while?
It's a nice bennie. But there just isn't any existing way to make offensive wands worthwhile. I dream of stupid builds all the time. Whippet Good, the Devo-themed wand whipper remains just another stupid build.
Odin212 wrote on Feb 16
th, 2015 at 2:47pm:
2.) seems to me pure arti only gets one ED choice, and that Ed does not seem very good for a non castor arti
Play more epic content. Use more EDs. You'll find that many of them compliment an Artie just fine. DC stands above the rest, of course. DC stands above the rest for just about anything.
Odin212 wrote on Feb 16
th, 2015 at 2:47pm:
3.) 40 bonus universal spell power seems quite strong no?
Better than not 40. But the decision doesn't come down to that, does it?
Odin212 wrote on Feb 16
th, 2015 at 2:47pm:
4.) blast rod seems crazy strong whats up with that?
Blast Rod is crazy strong. It's also a trap. Cool-down isn't quick enough to use it alone, and in epic content, the CC spells aren't effective enough to give you time for it to reload. There's also the little thing about it being a close-range spell....
*Edited: Forgot to mention that rune arms benefit from Evocation Focus. I've played epic content on a pure arti with evoc. focus and without. It does make a noticeable difference. That difference is still not enough to sacrifice the feats you have to choose between.