I don't get the 'Explosive Spellcasting' feat

[mach1.9pants]

Hey I was perusing AP and I came across the the above feat:

When you score a critical hit with a arcane area or close attack power and you are wielding an implement that deals extra damage on a critical hit, you can choose to deal that extra damage against any single target that you hit wit the attack.

Umm what does that mean? I guess: when you do a critical on one of the attack rolls you make you can choose to apply the extra damage to anyone you hit.

Ok, if that is the case, that is a lame lame benefit for an epic feat!

 

[keterys]

Eh - it's nice to transfer 6d10 damage to a target you care about, instead of one you don't... like a minion.

 

[Nifft]

Eh - it's nice to transfer 6d10 damage to a target you care about, instead of one you don't... like a minion.

Bingo. Area attack, six minions & one boss-type monster, and you crit two minions... suddenly, the feat is pretty sweet.

Cheers, -- N

 

[mach1.9pants]

double up

 

[mach1.9pants]

Eh - it's nice to transfer 6d10 damage to a target you care about, instead of one you don't... like a minion.

Yeah nice, but an epic tier feat that you can only use when you score a crit and using a power with multiple hits. Very situational, slightly better once you are scoring a crit 19-20 I guess.

 

[Saeviomagy]

It kind of sucks that it's arcane only. It would have been awesome for a daggermaster rogue otherwise.

 

[Nifft]

It kind of sucks that it's arcane only. It would have been awesome for a daggermaster rogue otherwise.

Daggermaster Warlock or Daggermaster Sorcerer, then?

Cheers, -- N

 

[Keenath]

When you're at epic levels, wizards have a ton of enemy-only attacks with huge areas, plus other epic feats that let you avoid ally hits... or hey, hit your ally. You might crit him and then get to redirect it onto an enemy.

And think about it: If you're a wizard hitting an average of two enemies per turn with area effects, you're rolling two attacks each turn. Mathematically, that's essentially the same as critting on 19-20 and attacking only one target (there's about a quarter-percent difference, technically). If he can reliably hit three enemies per turn, he's within 1% of being the same as critting on a 18-20. Wizards don't need crit boosters; they have area effects!

In any case, yes, this is an awesome feat for an epic wizard. When your crit bonus damage is in the four to six die range, that's a lot of damage you can shift off the minion (or weak monster) and onto the behemoth.

 

[DracoSuave]

Yeah nice, but an epic tier feat that you can only use when you score a crit and using a power with multiple hits. Very situational, slightly better once you are scoring a crit 19-20 I guess.

Well, if you're attacking 1 target, the chance is 10% in that situation. If you're targetting more, the chance of getting one critical in the bunch is much greater:

2: 19%
3: 27%
4: 35%

And if you're only critting on 20s:

1: 5%
2: 10%
3: 14%
4: 19%

So, if you're regularly attacking with AoE, and attacking multiple targets, it's actually better than the 19/20 feats.

And if -those- are playable, than therefore, this must be as well.

 

[Regicide]

Well, if you're attacking 1 target, the chance is 10% in that situation. If you're targetting more, the chance of getting one critical in the bunch is much greater:

2: 19%
3: 27%
4: 35%

And if you're only critting on 20s:

1: 5%
2: 10%
3: 14%
4: 19%

So, if you're regularly attacking with AoE, and attacking multiple targets, it's actually better than the 19/20 feats.

And if -those- are playable, than therefore, this must be as well.

Your numbers are off, if you have 2 targets it's only 10% chance to transfer the crit from the off target to the prime if you're critting on 19, etc. Also unlike the 19/20 feats, it isn't gaining you additional damage or crits, it's simply moving the damage around. I'll take something that gains me crits over something that may occasionally move a little damage around.

Dropping a meteor swarm, ganking a ton of minions and moving the crit damage to their boss is great. For one round. Then there are no more minions and for the next 10 rounds you'll be wishing you had the improved crit feat instead.