Spell casters have always had a somewhat more limited selection of equipment effects to look for, and none of those effects made spell casters particularly more effective at their primary jobs within a group. To correct this issue, as well as add some more equipment variety, we have added a set of new effects called Spell Focus. There is one item effect for each major type of magic, and each point gives you a 1% bonus to all spells cast of that type. It works a lot like specialization does, but you are not limited by your class type.
For example, a druid who wears 10 points of Spell Focus: Healing will see a 10% increase in all healing spells, resulting in better vits, more hitpoints healed, etc. An Enchanter who wears 15 points of Spell Focus: Enchantment will have hastes, dragonscales, and other spells that last 15% longer or are 15% more effective.
The total bonus for any one spell type is currently 25%, meaning that you can potentially get a 25% bonus to all spell types, but no more. That cap may change in the future once we observe the effect of these items.
There are no items in the game yet that feature these effects, but you can look for them in forthcoming new zones and zone updates. The complete list of spell effects is:
- Spell Focus: Invocation
Spell Focus: Illusion
Spell Focus: Healing
Spell Focus: Summoning
Spell Focus: Protection
Spell Focus: Necromancy
Spell Focus: Enchantment
Spell Focus: Spirit
Spell Focus: Nature
Spell Focus: Elemental
Spell Focus and 2.0:
When 2.0 goes live, all Spell Focus effects will be converted to the closest equivalent spell school OR spell subtype to approximate the previous usage as closely as possible.