Problems with saving throws?

[pawsplay]

And maguses, spellblades, swordmages, etc., who get to pull off neat tricks when they mix swords and spells.

Such as...? Weapon Focus (ray) is not only not a neat trick, but rarely useful.

How is this any different than making the "tactical choice" to use Fort-save effects against wizard-types and Will-save effects against brutes?

Well, for one thing, ranged touch attacks pretty much always work. There is no creature I can think of that has a Dex and deflection bonus that scales adequately compared to a wizard's BAB.

Using Reflex for rays would actually make it more like Fort vs. wizards and Will vs. brutes, which is a good way to run the whole rock-paper-scissors scenario. Rays break that balance. Considering that Reflex based spells face a high Save bonus, and opponents may have traits such as evasion, Reflex spells tends to be pretty weak in the long run. The result is that rays are the default aimed spell at higher levels.

Let me put it this way, would you allow dominate monster as a ray, no save? And yet that is the default for many rays, including most of the damage dealers.

 

[Patryn of Elvenshae]

Such as...?

Such as "Make a weapon attack to deliver your touch spell instead of a melee [or ranged] touch attack; use your weapon's critical threat range for the spell, as well."

Such as the ability for spells to critically hit to begin with.

But otherwise, this just boils down to touch AC not scaling fast enough, presumably because many monsters don't take advantage of the ways touff their touch ACs? PF helped with this by ratcheting down size bonuses / penalties to many things (but not attacks or AC), but it could easily be done.

Also, remember that ray-type spells often fall afoul of the "firing into melee" and "allies and enemies provide cover" penalties, giving an effective +8 to touch AC for many foes, given that spellcasters don't often have the spare feats to burn on Point Blank and Precise Shots.

In short, yes, a "Reflex negates" could work; it would, however, remove interesting distinctions and abilities that I think added a lot to the game.

Also, Touch AC includes more than just Dex and Deflection; it includes all bonuses other than Armor, Shield, and Natural Armor (and enhancements to same, obviously). Additionally, such attack spells are subject to non-AC defenses in just the same way that normal attacks are - Blur, Mirror Image, etc., will foil a ray as easily as an arrow.

EDIT:

And, as well all know, "doing damage" is the weakest of all choices for the well-versed 3E wizard.