@PsicoVic That's good to hear. Its not uncommon for me to rely entirely on a hybrid class for arcane magic.
I'm playing on normal difficulty, and aside from buffing/healing, I find my spell casters tend to not do a ton until boss fights in any given dungeon/quest/event. I do always try to keep a balanced party in terms of having at least 2 or 3 melee capable characters and at least one ranged one, then fill in arcane/divine as needed.
I'm sure I COULD micromanage them to be more consistently useful, but many is the time I'm finding that magic isnt terribly necessary. The game even gives you a ton of wands so you could probably try to go without any casters/healers and still make a pretty strong go of it in a lot (if not all) dungeons.
I'll also say that I'm doing all of this despite having what is generally considered a sub optimal build. I'm running a Fighter3, Rogue 7, Duelist 10. Duelists are pretty generally considered to be one of the worst prestige classes. I've found that their reputation is ill-earned (my Duelist has been fine), but I can perhaps understand that other classes offer more upside.
I'm mentioning this only to say that I've managed to find magic useful but unnecessary despite using a suboptimal melee build... so magic lite is very much workable.
Any recommendation for a pure arcane caster build that does not use the Lich mythic path? Lich is supposed to be strongest, but I don't feel like it - was considering Aeon, but not sure if the synergies are there.
I dont have advice as useful as @PsicoVic here, but I can at least recommend you give Trickster path a wide berth. I dont think it would be a particularly great accompaniment to any caster save perhaps the Arcane Trickster prestige class, which isnt really a "pure arcane caster".
Dont get me wrong. I love it and the flavor of it, but not exactly your standard faire for casters.
@Ficadius , a very kind soul made a google spreadsheet with all the Mythic path abilities if you want to check the different options you have in a single view. Maybe that could help.
I agree with @BallpointMan Trickster (And Golden dragon) have a wacky story and has some amazing abilities but it has little to offer to pure arcane casters, although trickster has an arcane spellbook.
So in currently on the fence, is this one worth buying right now or should I wait? I keep reading mixed things about people loving it but something's always bugged or doesn't work. They also gave an actual lich path which makes me want to throw my wallet at my computer screen.
So in currently on the fence, is this one worth buying right now or should I wait? I keep reading mixed things about people loving it but something's always bugged or doesn't work. They also gave an actual lich path which makes me want to throw my wallet at my computer screen.
Overall, I'd say with all the games in this isometric revival since Pillars of Eternity, it's often fine to wait a year. By that time, the bugs have been ironed out, and the DLC is also usually finished. If you haven't played it, Kingmaker is on sale on GOG at the moment for less than $20.00. If you're on an actual budget, I would never recommend buying games right away, since they can usually be had for a 1/3rd the price within 6-9 months. If money isn't an object, go for it. If it is, wait and grab one of the other half dozen games made in this mold the past half decade.
@jjstraka34
I'm playing the base kingmaker game right now, I plan on getting all the dlc with my next check come in. The rogue like dungeon play seems like it will be a fun way to test out new builds since chances are I'm probably only going to play the story twice. I really hate this times quest crap they got going on here. Heck they didn't even let me know one of the quests were in fact on a timer so i used that time to try to fill out the map, explore some more, kill somethings, try to do some kingdom management just to have my barony destroyed because I didn't rush to do the story quest. Point being I'm just wanted to know if it was far enough along to get. Then again I still haven't gotten pillars of eternity... Or original sin 2... Or even beat original sin. O.o
@jjstraka34
I'm playing the base kingmaker game right now, I plan on getting all the dlc with my next check come in. The rogue like dungeon play seems like it will be a fun way to test out new builds since chances are I'm probably only going to play the story twice. I really hate this times quest crap they got going on here. Heck they didn't even let me know one of the quests were in fact on a timer so i used that time to try to fill out the map, explore some more, kill somethings, try to do some kingdom management just to have my barony destroyed because I didn't rush to do the story quest. Point being I'm just wanted to know if it was far enough along to get. Then again I still haven't gotten pillars of eternity... Or original sin 2... Or even beat original sin. O.o
Right now, Original Sin 2 is only $18.00 on GOG. Some people really dislike Larian around here, but it's certainly something you should make a judgement on for yourself at that price.
So in currently on the fence, is this one worth buying right now or should I wait? I keep reading mixed things about people loving it but something's always bugged or doesn't work. They also gave an actual lich path which makes me want to throw my wallet at my computer screen.
At least finish Kingmaker a couple times first before you move on to WotR. That will give Owlcat more time to patch the game to a more acceptable state. Theres new patches coming every few days but they keep having to hotfix new bugs that they added that make it impossible to play.
That being said, I finally beat the game the day before yesterday (Core, turn based, Aeon) and while I did enjoy the game most of the time, some of the time it would drain my will to live. Some fights would take hours to get through, and then I would wipe, and try again. And wipe again.
Its a good game, but it definitely needs some more polish.
@jjstraka34
I'm playing the base kingmaker game right now, I plan on getting all the dlc with my next check come in. The rogue like dungeon play seems like it will be a fun way to test out new builds since chances are I'm probably only going to play the story twice. I really hate this times quest crap they got going on here. Heck they didn't even let me know one of the quests were in fact on a timer so i used that time to try to fill out the map, explore some more, kill somethings, try to do some kingdom management just to have my barony destroyed because I didn't rush to do the story quest. Point being I'm just wanted to know if it was far enough along to get. Then again I still haven't gotten pillars of eternity... Or original sin 2... Or even beat original sin. O.o
Right now, Original Sin 2 is only $18.00 on GOG. Some people really dislike Larian around here, but it's certainly something you should make a judgement on for yourself at that price.
I like larian, despite being unpolished I still enjoyed dragon commander, loved original sin even though I almost failed a semester of game design because of how obsessed I was with the game when it first dropped, and seem to got a free copy of the enhanced edition. I'll have to play it from scratch, and divinity 2 was cool.
For D&D5e fans, they made a mod to make the cantrips of pathfinder scale with your level like in 5e. It´s an interesting addition for people that do not like crossbow wizards.
It´s a miracle that purists didn´t flood the modpage with deadly viruses (yet) XD. I´ll download the mod as soon as possible just in case if you like that kind of thing.
I'm trying to find the 'perfect difficulty' to play like. I keep swapping it around because I want the game to be challenging but not where I repeat fights 13 times. I have 130 hours in the game and am still in act 3 because I played exclusively on turnbased on core difficulty and I'm really thinking of turning the difficulty down because real time with pause on core feels impossible.
So I'm thinking of keeping everything on core except, turn number of enemies down, and make enemies much weaker (I think it's 2 notches down from 'none'). I'd like my save spells to actually land and attack to land regularly as opposed to only landing on a 20 unleses I have all my buffs available.
I also play in core but lowered the "stronger enemies" feature. Stat bloating is not my preferred way of making things difficult. I still have one character in pure core for the achievements and the challenge ( it took me a ton of attempts to beat the
Nabassu of Kenabres
for the achievement)
Luckily you can keep the enemy numbers, extra enemy abilities, etc on and lower the enemy DCs. I was playing a Trickster and the skill-based abilities of the path keep failing against the overgrowth enemy CMD and saves of the latest chapters until I lowered it a few. It was not tactically inadvisable, it was a matter of pure maths: you just cannot numerically beat the DC. I´m all about challenges, but excessive bloat numbers just make some abilities pointless, you are never going to use them even if you think they could be fun to use.
I have the extra enemies on for the extra xp and because some areas feel empty without the extra enemies, but maybe that's me. I like the extra enemy behaviours too. I read it also applies to the crusade battles, the enemy monsters have more abilities ( like the dretches casting stinking cloud, etc)
Oh interesting I kept more monsters on and more behaviors originally so I might keep those on then and like you just lower the stat bloat until it's fun.
I don't care of this is PNP or not, this was a horrible idea! Staff, wand, grimoire, or a metaphysical D20... Any of these things are literally better and looking literally better on a wizard character than a freaking crossbow! If it wasn't for cantrips my arcane casters would be completely unarmed
I don't like it either from an aesthetically perspective. From a practical/realistic perspective it seems to make more sense though - one of the main advantages of crossbows was how relatively little training you need to use one.
And wands as simple projectile weapons as in PoE was just never a D&D thing - probably mainly due to them wanting Wizards to be limited by their spell slots, though cantrips have lately changes that in a different way as well.
Anyway, I am not sure if the throwing darts from BG were better?
I don't like it either from an aesthetically perspective. From a practical/realistic perspective it seems to make more sense though - one of the main advantages of crossbows was how relatively little training you need to use one.
And wands as simple projectile weapons as in PoE was just never a D&D thing - probably mainly due to them wanting Wizards to be limited by their spell slots, though cantrips have lately changes that in a different way as well.
Anyway, I am not sure if the throwing darts from BG were better?
Or slings, one of the two of which you are going to be most certainly using for the first 5 levels, or even longer until you find a staff worth wielding for it's special effect.
I hated slings and darts to... I'm very generic when it comes to my mages, grimoire, staffs, and I'm barely accepting of wand, or just give them a generic energy blast or something, and yes I know wands work differently in dnd but I'm talking in general right now.
This is just mages in general, there are still other archetypes such as battle mages that break that idea since to some people battle mages are mages who where armor, carry swords and shield. Which ironically enough was never my image of a battle mage up until I started dealing with pop culture and things like dnd. My original idea of a BM was a mage who specifically focused on combat oriented magic aka destroying ish. Which when you look at most things like video games that's 90% of the time what all magic tend to be about, combat and none combat magic a lot of times is almost never given to the players or just take story seats where it gets a single mention and then never spoken of again or becomes a mcguffin unless of course the game isn't one about action And a puzzle solver or civilization builder then you tend to see more diverse types of magic use from things such as agriculture to population growth/control.
And boy did I get off topic. Bottom line is I love magic and I love wizards and Amy chance I'm given the power I'm going to take it! >.>
I’m imagining that the above comments are why cantrips got buffed in 5e dnd (not sure about Pathfinder 2e). I agree with that change. It makes low level wizards more useful without needing to dip points into Dex (even if it’s still useful for unarmored AC).
Anyway, after taking a short break from WotR to prevent burnout, I’ll be throwing myself back into it. Think I’ll go with a gendarme cavalier wielding longspears this time. There are lots of good longspears for cavvies. As for the Mythic Path, not sure. I’m open to suggestions.
I’m imagining that the above comments are why cantrips got buffed in 5e dnd (not sure about Pathfinder 2e). I agree with that change. It makes low level wizards more useful without needing to dip points into Dex (even if it’s still useful for unarmored AC).
Yeah, they do in PF2 too, and they are heightened when you level up. In fact, it´s (mathematically proved) more efficient to use the cantrips for damage until you reach the level 3-5 primal spells. Even if you get them druids and mages possibly are going to keep using guidance, electric arc, telekinetic projectile, produce flame, etc since in 2e cantrips can crit, like normal spells.
Also, you can throw out the crossbows and slings and use your arcane might, which is a plus.
I have been playing the game until the end of Chapter 3 now and my preliminary verdict is that it could have been great, but has serious flaws (for me) that bring it down a notch.
It's a game that calls for replaying given the different paths, but I feel it is not respectful of my time. It's little things like all the loading screens when trying to just manage your crusade (there should *not* be a loading screen when opening the manage crusade table - there is no reason for it given the assets that get used). And it's big things like all the trash mobs - I feel there are just too many encounters, that are not interesting but suck up your time. And the random rolling on story screens can be really annoying as well. You could cut 50% of the encounters and it would be a better game.
I always feel that games should do for one of the two options: very easy trash that is killed extremely fast without much risk or fewer encounters. Dragon Age had the same issue for me.
I only tried Nenio as far as pure wizs go, but she is just fine. I end up picking "Abundant casting" and spawning the same spells in the end because the forbidden/specialized schools choice of Nenio is a little wierd, at least for my playstyle (there are not many good illusion spells worthy to use mid-to endgame)
Bloodlines (and the mythic feats that get you more bloodlines or the level 20 bloodline feature at level 6) and the rings for spontaneous spellcasters are crazy good still, but there are some interesting wizard archetypes ( scroll mage, cruoromancer,...)
I´m more of a witch or arcanist guy myself, tho; but that´s a personal preference.
Wizards are ok, abundant casting helps a lot with their main limitation of spells/day.
There is still rather little need to vary spell loadouts for specific dungeons.
If anything, with Ascendant Element and being able to use some abilities to convert elemental damage to your preferred type, you tend up even more specialized.
I think where they shine is with some very strong archetypes, such as Exploiter Wizard (honestly, the better Arcanist tbh) & Elemental Specialist - the element conversion is very strong. Plus they are the better base class if you have to dip to qualify for a prestige class because they are one class level ahead in getting new spell levels compared to spontaneous casters.
Still, for a pure caster I would still prefer a Sorcerer. But I want to try out an Azata build in the future (after DLC release) with something like Elemental Specialist 9/Vivisectionist 1/Arcane Trickster 10 - that seems like a strong option.
All in all, have to say my impression of the game got more favorable the more I played. The different mythic paths add a lot. Completed once as Azata, close to Chapter 5 with my Lich and middle of Chapter 2 with an Angel. Going to start Aeon next, though that path seems definitely weaker & I am still considering what class to play with it.
I agree, for pure blaster spellcasters, the sorcerer has the upper hand. In the videogame, there are fewer spells and less reason to vary your spell loadout between dungeons. And you have the spontaneous rings and bloodline spells to add more variation to your spellbook, you have access to a lot of scrolls, wands, rods... You also do not have forbidden schools.
As a wizard you end up picking abundant casting and spawning multiple copies and meta magic versions of the same spells. It´s like playing a sorc with extra steps sometimes.
Also, for some reason the sorcs (and skalds) have an extra spellcasting feat at level one, you can convert any energy spell to your element with the elemental bloodline (you can even have several bloodlines with the mythic feat or crossblooded archetype) like the elemental mages, etc so you do not lose much being a sorcerer in comparison with being a wizard, unlike in PnP.
With the upgrades the sorcerers get in WoTR you could arguably say they are the bombing kings, in a close contest with oracles (Divine magic is very useful in a game full of chaotic demons and evil undead).
I usually pick sorcerers for arcane artillery and witches or arcanists for utility, being wizards my third choice for both.
Wizards are still good to get access to loremaster, hell knight signifier or arcane trickster earlier and has very cool archetype wizards. I do not recommend a pure wizard, tho.
Going to start Aeon next, though that path seems definitely weaker & I am still considering what class to play with it.
I do not know what characters do you prefer to play, but Aeon´s Enforcing gaze that improves your CL works well with extend metamagic (that ups the spell level to +1, so with the mythic metamagic feat goes to zero) and enduring spells to get 24h of buffs, even with buffs of 1 round/level. It works well with half-casters or classes that use a lot of buffs to fight ( Inquisitor, warpriest, magus, alchemist, etc). It also offers a lot of immunities and auras to use when you are toe-to-toe with your enemies.
For example to get a 24 h 1/round level spell, like haste you need a 16 level brown fur Arcanist (CL16) +2 from Spell Specialization +2 from Arcanist Exploit +1 from Headband of Reshaping, +1 from either Scimitar of Wind or Fiery Spell Weaver, +3 from Aeon mythic path Enforcing Gaze Caster level = CL 25, which is 50 rounds with extend spell, or 5 minutes which is the threshhold to bump it up to 24 hour duration with enduring spells. Also possible to bump up other rounds/level spells like transformation, divine power, geniekind, greater invisibility, etc with other classes.
You can even rest and the spell may be still on.
PD: The scrolls do not consume materials like dinosaur bones or diamond dust. For minute/level buffs or round/level buffs that you can heighten to the correct CL, as long as you have the Enduring Spell feats they count as 24 hour buffs, even Being from a Scroll! as long as you are casting it with a character with enduring spells. there is a cloak that increases the effective caster level when using scrolls by 4. It is useful for legendary proportions, communal stoneskin, etc
At this time Nenio the scroll wizard, for example, basically buffs the entire party for 24 h with anything she crafts.
Comments
I'm playing on normal difficulty, and aside from buffing/healing, I find my spell casters tend to not do a ton until boss fights in any given dungeon/quest/event. I do always try to keep a balanced party in terms of having at least 2 or 3 melee capable characters and at least one ranged one, then fill in arcane/divine as needed.
I'm sure I COULD micromanage them to be more consistently useful, but many is the time I'm finding that magic isnt terribly necessary. The game even gives you a ton of wands so you could probably try to go without any casters/healers and still make a pretty strong go of it in a lot (if not all) dungeons.
I'll also say that I'm doing all of this despite having what is generally considered a sub optimal build. I'm running a Fighter3, Rogue 7, Duelist 10. Duelists are pretty generally considered to be one of the worst prestige classes. I've found that their reputation is ill-earned (my Duelist has been fine), but I can perhaps understand that other classes offer more upside.
I'm mentioning this only to say that I've managed to find magic useful but unnecessary despite using a suboptimal melee build... so magic lite is very much workable.
I dont have advice as useful as @PsicoVic here, but I can at least recommend you give Trickster path a wide berth. I dont think it would be a particularly great accompaniment to any caster save perhaps the Arcane Trickster prestige class, which isnt really a "pure arcane caster".
Dont get me wrong. I love it and the flavor of it, but not exactly your standard faire for casters.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1HDvaA0pA9cm_0S0Sr9KU3cIW5tL378ysm0C41gaPs1E/edit#gid=0
I agree with @BallpointMan Trickster (And Golden dragon) have a wacky story and has some amazing abilities but it has little to offer to pure arcane casters, although trickster has an arcane spellbook.
Overall, I'd say with all the games in this isometric revival since Pillars of Eternity, it's often fine to wait a year. By that time, the bugs have been ironed out, and the DLC is also usually finished. If you haven't played it, Kingmaker is on sale on GOG at the moment for less than $20.00. If you're on an actual budget, I would never recommend buying games right away, since they can usually be had for a 1/3rd the price within 6-9 months. If money isn't an object, go for it. If it is, wait and grab one of the other half dozen games made in this mold the past half decade.
I'm playing the base kingmaker game right now, I plan on getting all the dlc with my next check come in. The rogue like dungeon play seems like it will be a fun way to test out new builds since chances are I'm probably only going to play the story twice. I really hate this times quest crap they got going on here. Heck they didn't even let me know one of the quests were in fact on a timer so i used that time to try to fill out the map, explore some more, kill somethings, try to do some kingdom management just to have my barony destroyed because I didn't rush to do the story quest. Point being I'm just wanted to know if it was far enough along to get. Then again I still haven't gotten pillars of eternity... Or original sin 2... Or even beat original sin. O.o
Right now, Original Sin 2 is only $18.00 on GOG. Some people really dislike Larian around here, but it's certainly something you should make a judgement on for yourself at that price.
At least finish Kingmaker a couple times first before you move on to WotR. That will give Owlcat more time to patch the game to a more acceptable state. Theres new patches coming every few days but they keep having to hotfix new bugs that they added that make it impossible to play.
That being said, I finally beat the game the day before yesterday (Core, turn based, Aeon) and while I did enjoy the game most of the time, some of the time it would drain my will to live. Some fights would take hours to get through, and then I would wipe, and try again. And wipe again.
Its a good game, but it definitely needs some more polish.
I like larian, despite being unpolished I still enjoyed dragon commander, loved original sin even though I almost failed a semester of game design because of how obsessed I was with the game when it first dropped, and seem to got a free copy of the enhanced edition. I'll have to play it from scratch, and divinity 2 was cool.
https://www.nexusmods.com/pathfinderwrathoftherighteous/mods/64
It´s a miracle that purists didn´t flood the modpage with deadly viruses (yet) XD. I´ll download the mod as soon as possible just in case if you like that kind of thing.
So I'm thinking of keeping everything on core except, turn number of enemies down, and make enemies much weaker (I think it's 2 notches down from 'none'). I'd like my save spells to actually land and attack to land regularly as opposed to only landing on a 20 unleses I have all my buffs available.
Luckily you can keep the enemy numbers, extra enemy abilities, etc on and lower the enemy DCs. I was playing a Trickster and the skill-based abilities of the path keep failing against the overgrowth enemy CMD and saves of the latest chapters until I lowered it a few. It was not tactically inadvisable, it was a matter of pure maths: you just cannot numerically beat the DC. I´m all about challenges, but excessive bloat numbers just make some abilities pointless, you are never going to use them even if you think they could be fun to use.
I have the extra enemies on for the extra xp and because some areas feel empty without the extra enemies, but maybe that's me. I like the extra enemy behaviours too. I read it also applies to the crusade battles, the enemy monsters have more abilities ( like the dretches casting stinking cloud, etc)
And wands as simple projectile weapons as in PoE was just never a D&D thing - probably mainly due to them wanting Wizards to be limited by their spell slots, though cantrips have lately changes that in a different way as well.
Anyway, I am not sure if the throwing darts from BG were better?
Or slings, one of the two of which you are going to be most certainly using for the first 5 levels, or even longer until you find a staff worth wielding for it's special effect.
This is just mages in general, there are still other archetypes such as battle mages that break that idea since to some people battle mages are mages who where armor, carry swords and shield. Which ironically enough was never my image of a battle mage up until I started dealing with pop culture and things like dnd. My original idea of a BM was a mage who specifically focused on combat oriented magic aka destroying ish. Which when you look at most things like video games that's 90% of the time what all magic tend to be about, combat and none combat magic a lot of times is almost never given to the players or just take story seats where it gets a single mention and then never spoken of again or becomes a mcguffin unless of course the game isn't one about action And a puzzle solver or civilization builder then you tend to see more diverse types of magic use from things such as agriculture to population growth/control.
And boy did I get off topic. Bottom line is I love magic and I love wizards and Amy chance I'm given the power I'm going to take it! >.>
Anyway, after taking a short break from WotR to prevent burnout, I’ll be throwing myself back into it. Think I’ll go with a gendarme cavalier wielding longspears this time. There are lots of good longspears for cavvies. As for the Mythic Path, not sure. I’m open to suggestions.
Man, a lich-knight riding into battle on a skeletal horse? All he needs is a metal theme song.
Also, you can throw out the crossbows and slings and use your arcane might, which is a plus.
Hell yeah!
It's a game that calls for replaying given the different paths, but I feel it is not respectful of my time. It's little things like all the loading screens when trying to just manage your crusade (there should *not* be a loading screen when opening the manage crusade table - there is no reason for it given the assets that get used). And it's big things like all the trash mobs - I feel there are just too many encounters, that are not interesting but suck up your time. And the random rolling on story screens can be really annoying as well. You could cut 50% of the encounters and it would be a better game.
I always feel that games should do for one of the two options: very easy trash that is killed extremely fast without much risk or fewer encounters. Dragon Age had the same issue for me.
Bloodlines (and the mythic feats that get you more bloodlines or the level 20 bloodline feature at level 6) and the rings for spontaneous spellcasters are crazy good still, but there are some interesting wizard archetypes ( scroll mage, cruoromancer,...)
I´m more of a witch or arcanist guy myself, tho; but that´s a personal preference.
There is still rather little need to vary spell loadouts for specific dungeons.
If anything, with Ascendant Element and being able to use some abilities to convert elemental damage to your preferred type, you tend up even more specialized.
I think where they shine is with some very strong archetypes, such as Exploiter Wizard (honestly, the better Arcanist tbh) & Elemental Specialist - the element conversion is very strong. Plus they are the better base class if you have to dip to qualify for a prestige class because they are one class level ahead in getting new spell levels compared to spontaneous casters.
Still, for a pure caster I would still prefer a Sorcerer. But I want to try out an Azata build in the future (after DLC release) with something like Elemental Specialist 9/Vivisectionist 1/Arcane Trickster 10 - that seems like a strong option.
All in all, have to say my impression of the game got more favorable the more I played. The different mythic paths add a lot. Completed once as Azata, close to Chapter 5 with my Lich and middle of Chapter 2 with an Angel. Going to start Aeon next, though that path seems definitely weaker & I am still considering what class to play with it.
As a wizard you end up picking abundant casting and spawning multiple copies and meta magic versions of the same spells. It´s like playing a sorc with extra steps sometimes.
Also, for some reason the sorcs (and skalds) have an extra spellcasting feat at level one, you can convert any energy spell to your element with the elemental bloodline (you can even have several bloodlines with the mythic feat or crossblooded archetype) like the elemental mages, etc so you do not lose much being a sorcerer in comparison with being a wizard, unlike in PnP.
With the upgrades the sorcerers get in WoTR you could arguably say they are the bombing kings, in a close contest with oracles (Divine magic is very useful in a game full of chaotic demons and evil undead).
I usually pick sorcerers for arcane artillery and witches or arcanists for utility, being wizards my third choice for both.
Wizards are still good to get access to loremaster, hell knight signifier or arcane trickster earlier and has very cool archetype wizards. I do not recommend a pure wizard, tho.
For example to get a 24 h 1/round level spell, like haste you need a 16 level brown fur Arcanist (CL16) +2 from Spell Specialization +2 from Arcanist Exploit +1 from Headband of Reshaping, +1 from either Scimitar of Wind or Fiery Spell Weaver, +3 from Aeon mythic path Enforcing Gaze Caster level = CL 25, which is 50 rounds with extend spell, or 5 minutes which is the threshhold to bump it up to 24 hour duration with enduring spells. Also possible to bump up other rounds/level spells like transformation, divine power, geniekind, greater invisibility, etc with other classes.
You can even rest and the spell may be still on.
PD: The scrolls do not consume materials like dinosaur bones or diamond dust. For minute/level buffs or round/level buffs that you can heighten to the correct CL, as long as you have the Enduring Spell feats they count as 24 hour buffs, even Being from a Scroll! as long as you are casting it with a character with enduring spells. there is a cloak that increases the effective caster level when using scrolls by 4. It is useful for legendary proportions, communal stoneskin, etc
At this time Nenio the scroll wizard, for example, basically buffs the entire party for 24 h with anything she crafts.