Staff Wizards and Weapon Focus Staff

[Caliban]

According to the FAQ, swordmages and Wizards of the Spiral Tower can add the damage bonuse from Weapon Focus to their spells because they are using a weapon as an implement.

I didn't think this would apply to a wizard using a Staff, but then I used the character builder to test out a staff wizard build - Staff Fighting, Two Weapon Fighting, and Weapon Focus.

The character builder added the damage bonus from TWF and WF to all his spells.

I reported it as a bug to WOTC, and this was the reply I received:

Response (Support Agent)03/08/2009 12:41 PMCaliban,

Thanks for writing in! We have compiled the answers to many questions - including yours - in an FAQ document located in our Knowledge Base here . Simply select the appropriate book for your question and the answers you seek will appear! See number 21 for the Player's Handbook. They are supposed to be added in now staff implements. You may also want to save this link and check back as we update it regularly. It’s a fantastic source for more information and answers to you D&D questions. Have fun!


Paul
Online Response Crew
Wizards of the Coast

His wording is a bit unclear, but question 21 in the FAQ is the one that deals with Wizards of the Spiral tower getting weapon focus damage on their spells.

I'm not sure I trust his answer though, as it seems wrong to me, and he didn't state it clearly.

Anyone else want to send in the question and see if we get a response from someone else at WOTC?

 

[Eldorian]

Just add an implement focus feat and wash your hands of it. +1 feat bonus to damage for any class. Cost: one feat.

 

[MyISPHatesENWorld]

His wording is a bit unclear, but question 21 in the FAQ is the one that deals with Wizards of the Spiral tower getting weapon focus damage on their spells.

I'm not sure I trust his answer though, as it seems wrong to me, and he didn't state it clearly.

Anyone else want to send in the question and see if we get a response from someone else at WOTC?

You could quote the the part you have bolded and ask him to clarify it. It is not like they're going to bite your head of because he made a typo in responding to you.

The answer you received, that it works, is the answer I would have expected given how the game has evolved with the swordmage, the Melee Training feat, the Sorceror and the FAQ answers on this kind of stuff.

I would also expect that you need to be wielding the staff as a weapon (in two-hands) to gain the benefits of weapon feats. But, since you can't test it with the staff as an implement in one hand and a weapon in the other because of the known bug in the CB, we'll have to wait and see.

I like the two-handed staff mage build myself.

Human Wizard 1/12 INT20/22 CON12/13 DEX:12/14 WIS12/14

Feats:

1) Leather Armor Proficiency
2) Melee Training
4) Staff Expertise
6) Staff Fighting
8) Two-Weapon Fighting
10) Two-Weapon Defense
11) Toughness
12) Staff Focus

You'll have one more feat for something as a human - maybe to move toughness up to 1st level (especially if you don't have access to a backgrouns) and add a nice paragon power, but you'd probably be better with an INT/DEX, INT/WIS or INT/CON race to help out with the issue of needing to meet pre-requisites with two scores that aren't your primary and your Staff Mastery keying off yet another.

 

[Caliban]

You could quote the the part you have bolded and ask him to clarify it. It is not like they're going to bite your head of because he made a typo in responding to you.

Oh, I have. I just like to run a test when I get an answer that seems unclear - getting answers from different Cust Serv reps can reveal if they don't have a clear answer on an issue, or if there was just one person who isn't on the same page as the rest of them.

 

[Caliban]

And here is the follow up question I sent in:

"See number 21 for the Player's Handbook. They are supposed to be added in now staff implements."

This seems a bit unclear to me. Are you saying that TWF (if you have Staff Fighting) and Weapon Focus feats are intended to add to the damage of spells that use the staff as an implement?

If so, is this a change? The PHB seems to say that there is a difference between the wizards staff when used as implement and when it is used as a weapon.

Thank you,

And this is the response I recieved:

Response (Support Agent)03/10/2009 04:54 PM
Caliban,

Yes, those are recent changes and that's why it was added to the FAQ. So you would add the bonuses from those feats to to your powers damage while using a staff implement.

Good Gaming!



Paul
Online Response Crew
Wizards of the Coast

I wonder if this counts as stealth errata?

 

[Mal Malenkirk]

I don't like this one bit.

 

[Mengu]

I wonder if this means weapon focus light blade will give warlocks a bonus with pact blades, and sorcerers with dagger implements.

 

[Caliban]

I wonder if this means weapon focus light blade will give warlocks a bonus with pact blades, and sorcerers with dagger implements.

Yes, that was pretty clear from the PHB FAQ, question 21. Also Dwarven Weapon Training would give +2 damage to warlock powers with a Pact Hammer.

It was less clear if that would apply to Staffs, since the language in the PHB implies that a staff implement is treated differently than a staff weapon.

I guess they decided to treat it the same as the others. Maybe for consistency, maybe to boost wizards - every other arcane class seems to have a way of using a weapon as an implement.

 

[Starfox]

Just add an implement focus feat and wash your hands of it. +1 feat bonus to damage for any class. Cost: one feat.

This seems to be the only way to make sense of it now.

 

[parcival42]

Interesting...I hadn't even thought of using Weapon Focus for staffs before. I agree with Mal. Its bad. It makes staffs a bit better than the other two implements, since you get more from taking Weapon Focus than you would for taking Implement Focus (perhaps not a lot unless you want to use your staff in melee) and it also invalidates all the other "+1 to two types of damage" feats.

Mengu, using the CB, I can affirm that Weapon Focus Light Blades does in fact work with daggers for sorcerers.

Something else that may also become a problem with sorcerers (and I would guess warlocks too): the Daggermaster PP. Its wording is vague enough that you can gain the 18-20 crit. with spells. The Weapon Mastery Feats specifically say that you must use the weapons in melee, Daggermaster does not.