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<blockquote data-quote="Hussar" data-source="post: 5859724" data-attributes="member: 22779">Ok, Buugipopuu, let's walk through this shall we?A 1st level wizard (discounting bonus spells) has 1 spell.&nbsp; That spell deals a level 1 worth of damage (if it deals damage) and lasts for, at most, one hour.A level 10 wizard has 16 spells, spread across 5 levels, with each level of spell being more powerful than anything in the spell level previous.&nbsp; That makes sense, spell levels should be more powerful.&nbsp; But, it doesn't stop there.&nbsp; The earlier level spells aren't static.&nbsp; They continue to scale.&nbsp; They scale in damage, duration, saving throw DC's (since that's tied to the wizard's base scores which also go up as the wizard levels), and range.So, spells that were fairly minor at 1st level suddenly become a lot more useful at higher levels.&nbsp; Mage Armor at 1st level is a minor spell that is likely only going to affect a couple of encounters.&nbsp; Very few wizards will ever use it at 1st level because it's not terribly effective.&nbsp; But, that 10th level wizard casts it every day, because now that same spell, which stacks with most of the other defensive items that he has, lasts for most of the adventuring day.Or, take Unseen Servant.&nbsp; At 1st level, it lasts for 1 hour and has a range of 25 feet.&nbsp; Handy, but, again, unlikely to get used by a 1st level wizard.&nbsp; The 10th level wizard, OTOH, gets an Unseen Servant at a range of 50 feet for 10 hours.&nbsp; Ultimate trap detector.&nbsp; It's unkillable, so, you simply have it open everything.&nbsp; A million and one uses, all made possible because the cost of casting (1 first level spell slot) has now dropped to the point where it's negligible and the duration means that it's going to last all day long.This is why wizards are exponential.&nbsp; It's not that the spells get better as the spells are higher levels.&nbsp; That's fine.&nbsp; It's that ALL the wizard's spells get better as the wizard advances in levels.&nbsp; Instead of having 3-5 really useful spells and a bunch of minor stuff that's not terribly effective because it's too low level, the wizard has 16 perfectly viable spells that he can mix and match to extremely great effect.This is a systemic issue that's endemic to all casters.&nbsp; The spells not only become more powerful as you go up in spell level, but the lower level spells continue to gain in effect as the character rises in level, thus making him significantly more powerful than any non-caster.&nbsp; It's not a case of a couple of problem spells at all.&nbsp; That's never really been a big issue.&nbsp; It's a baseline problem that infects all casters.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Hussar, post: 5859724, member: 22779"] Ok, Buugipopuu, let's walk through this shall we? A 1st level wizard (discounting bonus spells) has 1 spell. That spell deals a level 1 worth of damage (if it deals damage) and lasts for, at most, one hour. A level 10 wizard has 16 spells, spread across 5 levels, with each level of spell being more powerful than anything in the spell level previous. That makes sense, spell levels should be more powerful. But, it doesn't stop there. The earlier level spells aren't static. They continue to scale. They scale in damage, duration, saving throw DC's (since that's tied to the wizard's base scores which also go up as the wizard levels), and range. So, spells that were fairly minor at 1st level suddenly become a lot more useful at higher levels. Mage Armor at 1st level is a minor spell that is likely only going to affect a couple of encounters. Very few wizards will ever use it at 1st level because it's not terribly effective. But, that 10th level wizard casts it every day, because now that same spell, which stacks with most of the other defensive items that he has, lasts for most of the adventuring day. Or, take Unseen Servant. At 1st level, it lasts for 1 hour and has a range of 25 feet. Handy, but, again, unlikely to get used by a 1st level wizard. The 10th level wizard, OTOH, gets an Unseen Servant at a range of 50 feet for 10 hours. Ultimate trap detector. It's unkillable, so, you simply have it open everything. A million and one uses, all made possible because the cost of casting (1 first level spell slot) has now dropped to the point where it's negligible and the duration means that it's going to last all day long. This is why wizards are exponential. It's not that the spells get better as the spells are higher levels. That's fine. It's that ALL the wizard's spells get better as the wizard advances in levels. Instead of having 3-5 really useful spells and a bunch of minor stuff that's not terribly effective because it's too low level, the wizard has 16 perfectly viable spells that he can mix and match to extremely great effect. This is a systemic issue that's endemic to all casters. The spells not only become more powerful as you go up in spell level, but the lower level spells continue to gain in effect as the character rises in level, thus making him significantly more powerful than any non-caster. It's not a case of a couple of problem spells at all. That's never really been a big issue. It's a baseline problem that infects all casters. [/QUOTE]

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