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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jedavis" data-source="post: 4513170" data-attributes="member: 35933">Yeah, we did run the mathematical analysis on the feat the party warlock wanted (Blistering Spell, PHBII, for application to Brimstone Blasts), and found that it broke even on damage as soon as Brimstone Blast is available.  At later levels, it could be quite profitable (consider, for example, 20th level, using a Brimstone Blast with Blistering Spell: 8d6+16 vs 9d6.  I think that's worth a -1 save DC (of course, by 20th level, Brimstone Blast is hardly optimal as a special effect, but that's not the point.  Damage is the point.).)  Retributive Spell is another interesting option, even from low levels.  Sure, most metamagic won't be as good for Warlocks as it is for Wizards on a per spell-basis...  but then again, a Warlock can use it all day long.  That extra 5 points per hit from Empower at 20th (or 12 per hit with Blistering) adds up.  Also, we've found save DCs for Warlocks to be fairly secondary compared to damage; at high levels, Vitriolic Blast tends to be the favorite Essence due simply to the fact that it ignores SR.  However, if you're concerned by underpowering, remove the save DC penalty.Also, your point of inconsistency across level applies equally to the base metamagic system for standard casters.  Quicken Spell is absolutely unusable at first level, not worthwhile even when it is usable at 7th or 8th, and quite good at high levels.  For Warlocks, Quicken is quite tenable at 9th level (or 7th with a Chasuble); a free swift action blast, even for only 1d6, is still a free swift action blast. The application of metamagic to warlocks does become a mathematical optimization exercise (something which my group is not terribly opposed to)...  one could argue the same for stanard metamagic, though that is much harder to optimize since the number of available spells is so much larger.</blockquote>

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