Spell Focus vs Weapon Focus: Which is better?

[Endarire]

Greetings, all!

In 3.5 and Pathfinder - prerequisites aside - which feat is better, Weapon Focus or Spell Focus?  Both give a 5% boost to your primary means of offsense for the character.  (I assume that for whichever character takes this feat, they do so for a weapon or spell school they plan to use often.)

I vote Spell Focus for the better.  There are plenty of ways to boost accuracy.  Spell Focus boosts all DCs of one spell school by one, but that +1 DC is often for area effects, DoT effects, crowd control effects, and 'if you fail your save I win' effects.  Not all spells have saves, and not all spell schools are made equal for this feat (just like with Weapon Focus), but Spell Focus just makes me feel slightly better (compared to Weapon Focus) for having taken it.

[ketaro]

Weapon Focus is far less useful in that you really don't have to worry about AC scaling with levels (Because it doesn't) whereas your To-Hit will constantly be moving up.

Saves also are constantly scaling with levels so you either have to be constantly finding ways to keep up or ahead with your spell DCs or devote yourself to using a spell selection that doesn't care about whether the target makes their save or not or spells that just don't have saves. If you're doing the former, Spell Focus helps. If not, then it is just as much a waste as Weapon Focus.

Spell Focus is also more reliant on playstyle choice on whether it becomes worthwhile or not to pick up (as in deciding the kind of spellcaster you want to be in terms of spell selection; mostly spells with saves or mostly spells without saves and/or don't matter if saved against) whereas the decision to pick up Weapon Focus will almost always be reliant upon whether it is a Feat Prereq or not because otherwise you will never want to waste a feat on it and even if you HAVE to take Weapon Focus as a prereq, you're far better off finding some way of getting it for free instead of, again, wasting a feat on it.

[Keldar]

The one that you need to take as a prerequisite for something that isn't boring.

[awaken_D_M_golem]

Ha 


I suppose a revisit of i.p.proofing and
X-codes sacred cow slaughter idea,
would near automatically make anything
like Spell Focus to be more valuable.
Varying spell effects >>> damage.

[faeryn]

I vote Spell Focus... here's my reasoning...

Weapon Focus is extreamly easy to get for free and gives you no real benefit if you acquire it multiple times. Once you pick your weapon type your unlikely to ever change, even less so if you invest in weapon focus.

Spell focus can be taken for Spell Schools & for spell descriptors.... So an Illusionist could take Spell Focus (Illusion) & Spell Focus (Figment) for a total of +2 to their [Figment] spell save DCs.

Save DCs NEED the help to stay ahead of the curve at higher levels... and unfortunately still tend to fall behind eventually...

Weapon Focus is only needed for prerequisites, get it for free any number of ways dont waste a feat on it, Spell Focus is needed to be a competent spell caster when it comes to anything with save DCs, get it as many times as you can make it benefit you...

[IlPazzo]

Spell focus can be taken [...] for spell descriptors

That's not in PHB. Where is it updated?

I know of:
Corrupt Spell Focus from HoH;
Spell Focus (Alignment) from CD, which is an update to Spell Focus and doesn't stack;
Spell Focus (Good) from BoED (stacks and it's even +2).

But not that you can get Spell Focus for descriptors.

Besides, if you could take Spell Focus (the PHB one) for descriptors and for spell schools, effect would not stack as it's the same feat applied to different things. If it's a completely different feat that's good to know.

[faeryn]

I don't remember exactly which book it was that opened spell descriptors I think it may have been UA... I'll double check my books in the morning it's late and I need sleep...

If the feat won't stack when applied to different descriptors that apply to the same spell then I've had some very bad advice when I asked about boosting spell save DCs in the past on here...

[SorO_Lost]

There is a Draconic Aura that improves Save DCs based on the traditional Energy Descriptors.
In addition Reserve Feats buff the CL of a Descriptor by +1.
Both of those may be what you're thinking about.

[Keldar]

There have been a few nonstandard Spell Focus type feats published that stack with traditional Spell Focus, but never a carte blanche to make one for any descriptor you please.  The eminently abusable Cold Focus from Frostburn for example.

[zugschef]

Is this a troll-question?

[awaken_D_M_golem]

Is this a troll-question?

Uh, no ... umm, because    a Troll most likely has no idea what Spell Focus is.

  

[SorO_Lost]

Is this a troll-question?

While many of Endarire's skirt that concept, and some have devolved to such, I think Endarire's intent is to provoke discussion for discussion's sake.

I'm not sure which mythological creature that is, maybe it's this one.

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