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Excellent, thank you for the clarification. Your explanation is what I was attempting to imply with option 2, that using Arcanist level for Wizard level works for all abilities acquired and not just the first one selected.

So because it would ONLY apply to the selected "shift" ability and the "summoner's Charm" ability would only function as a level 1 ability? Or does the change also impact the other abilities acquired when you empower this feat.

Thanks Skylancer but that is actually the sentence that is causing all the problems as the pronoun is unclear. Rereading my post I wasn't very clear on exactly what I'm confused about. I understand that by spending a point the "Shift" ability I selected would operate at my arcanist level, but any secondary abilities acquired are unclear. I'm looking for the clarification on the "this ability" pronoun, as the interpretation completely changes how the exploit plays out.

There are two possible ways to interpret this sentence so let me replace "this ability" with the possibilities. Assuming the previous arcanist the ability could read one of two ways(sorry for the caps, I can't figure out how to italicize on this forum):

"As a swift action, the arcanist can expend 1 point from her arcane reservoir to bolster her understanding, allowing her to treat her arcanist level as her wizard level for the purpose of using THE SELECTED WIZARD ABILITY for a number of rounds equal to her Charisma modifier (minimum 1). (I.E. referring to the ability selected in the second sentence of this exploit, so any other wizard abilities would not be affected by the increase)

or

As a swift action, the arcanist can expend 1 point from her arcane reservoir to bolster her understanding, allowing her to treat her arcanist level as her wizard level for the purpose of using THIS EXPLOIT for a number of rounds equal to her Charisma modifier (minimum 1). (Implying that he can use his arcanist level as his wizard level for the purpose of any additional lv 1 wizard abilities granted by this exploit during the duration)

I assume that it is the latter, as there is no mention of what level should be applied to the other level 1 abilities granted when this exploit is empowered. The second question still remains. Is duration determined when the spell is cast?

I'm looking for clarification on the School Understanding Arcanist exploit. I have searched the boards and not found a specific answer.

Here is the copied text of the ability:

The arcanist can select one arcane school from any of the schools available to a character with the arcane school wizard class feature, but does not have to select any opposition schools. The arcanist gains one ability of that arcane school as though she were a 1st-level wizard, using her Charisma modifier in place of her Intelligence modifier for this ability. The ability must be one gained at 1st level and is limited in its use per day to 3 + the arcanist's Charisma modifier. As a swift action, the arcanist can expend 1 point from her arcane reservoir to bolster her understanding, allowing her to treat her arcanist level as her wizard level for the purpose of using this ability for a number of rounds equal to her Charisma modifier (minimum 1). During this time, she also gains use of the other ability gained at 1st level for her selected school. She does not gain any other abilities when using this exploit in this way, such as those gained at 8th level. If the arcanist already has an arcane school (or gains one later), taking this exploit instead allows her arcanist levels to stack with the levels of the class that granted the arcane school when determining the powers and abilities of her arcane school.

My question is, when spending a point to gain access to the other abilities is your wizard level treated as lv 1 or equal to your arcanist level. (I.E. is "this ability" referring to the lv 1 wizard ability or to the exploit?)

For example:

a 20th level arcanist has the school understanding exploit and has selected the teleportation school and he selects Shift as his first level ability. By spending 1 point he gains access to the conjuration summoner's charm ability. Does he use the Summoner's Charm ability function as a 20th level wizard when empowered or a first.

Assuming summoner's charm operates at lv 20 then here is a follow up question. Does the summoners charm ability apply to duration when the summon is cast or does it check every round. So if the same summoner (assume a CHA bonus of +2) empowers the school understanding exploit and then casts summon monster the following round, is the summon permanent?