It's an exception to the general rule.
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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I'm sure I could dig up a link, but one of the designers already chimed in that no, the magus does not benefit from haste or Hasted Assault while using Spell Combat.
EDIT: Designer Sean K Reynolds makes multiple comments in this thread (despite the thread's title being about monks).
A Magus does not ONLY spellstrike and does not ONLY use spell combat - sometimes, he just hits things with his weapon. And a magus does not ONLY choose Speed as a weapon quality; he would only do so when it is his intention to simply hit things with his weapon more often.
Magi don't need to use spell combat every round, and especially at higher caster levels may prefer not to so as to continue using multicharge spells like chill touch or frostbite, at which point they can use normal full attacks and benefit from haste or flurry or natural attacks.
The spell combat multiple attacks is a specific rule that overrides the general rule that a full attack is required for iteratives.
Looks like it's correct to me.
(Edit: I be a slow typer apparently)
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As a player of a 7th level Magus with Haste in his spellbook, you learn to pick and choose what will get you the best bang for your buck. If we've got a lot of mooks to clean up, the extra attacks from Haste are more useful than wasting several one-shot spells that would be better for bosses. Plus it's a buff for the whole party.
It's fine the way it is.
To reiterate something that seemed to be overlooked in another thread on this topic: Specific trumps general.
The general rule is that in order to get your iterative attacks from BAB, you must use a full-attack action.
The specific rule for the Magus is that when using Spell Combat (a full-round action), he is granted all of his iterative attacks from BAB in addition to being able to cast a single spell simultaneously.
The downside to the specific detail of Spell Combat is that, because it is not a full-attack action, it does not benefit from things like Haste that grant extra attacks.
As a 10th level Spell Dancer Magus, I can say that the movement speed and bonuses to AC, hit, and Reflex are still worth it - and I'm sometimes surprised how often I use a full-attack and forego Spell Combat (really, on any 'trash' fights, I generally just rely on my scimitar).
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Not this again...
Oh how i wish they never put that FAQ, anyway if you don't like it (like i do) you can ignore it for home games, if you play PFS you must accept and move on (and hope it changes).
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I think it's honestly fair...
Casting a spell and getting a free touch attack was really good. (spell combat)
Casting a spell, and getting a free weapon attack for it was insanely good (spell strike)
Aren't those already like haste? Your magus is already hipped up on speed!
I wonder if anyone ever feels that sometimes characters become too powerful and trying to make them even better takes some of the fun out of the game? Especially for the other casual players across the table? Already for a group I DM, 4 PC's, I have to increase the CR of the encounter by 2 steps for it to be "challenging", or string ATON of combats in a single day (like 6-7) which gets pretty old pretty fast.
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I think it's honestly fair...
Casting a spell and getting a free touch attack was really good. (spell combat)
Casting a spell, and getting a free weapon attack for it was insanely good (spell strike)
Aren't those already like haste? Your magus is already hipped up on speed!
Casting a spell and getting a free touch attack is the norm for touch range spells (and getting a ranged touch attack is the norm for ranged touch spells).
What spell combat do is to allow you do make an attack (or multiple attacks) with a melee weapon while casting the spell.
Spellstrike allow you to convert the feer toucha ttack you get for casting a spell with a range of touch into a weapon attack, with increased damage (the weapon damage) at teh expense of precision(normal attack vs. touch).
I wonder if anyone ever feels that sometimes characters become too powerful and trying to make them even better takes some of the fun out of the game? Especially for the other casual players across the table? Already for a group I DM, 4 PC's, I have to increase the CR of the encounter by 2 steps for it to be "challenging", or string ATON of combats in a single day (like 6-7) which gets pretty old pretty fast.
Exactly what are you saying here? That you are adding 2 to the table below and so for your group a challenging encounter is a encounter at APL +3?
Table: Encounter Design Difficulty Challenge Rating Equals…
Easy APL –1
Average APL
Challenging APL +1
Hard APL +2
Epic APL +3
Group composition change the situation a lot. Try a encounter with a leech swarm in water. It is a CR 4 creature, but almost any group will have problems.
A golem: a fighter heavy group will find it easy, a spellcaster heavy group hard.
Cohorts are a strong force multiplier, even 1 cohort, if well chosen, will enhance the whole party.
You need to define better what you mean if you want a meaningful reply.
The specific rule for the Magus is that when using Spell Combat (a full-round action), he is granted all of his iterative attacks from BAB in addition to being able to cast a single spell simultaneously.
Technically its an implied rule. If we went by a literal reading of the text, it's not a full-attack action (so no iteratives from that) and it never says you get them anyway. It just says it's a full round action where 'he can make all of his attacks'. We just have to assume they mean iteratives by that rather than a single attack plus whatever extras he's gained in other ways.
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Eh, I went on a tangent, my bad.
I added +2 to everything, so the medium was hard, the challenging was epic, and epic was... well, for them it was what epic shoulda been. Thanks for the idea's though, I'll put em to good use.
As for the original post (no more derailing here) once again the haste and spell strike don't mesh/stack. There are, however, a few things you can do to plan around it better. For example, prepare a spell that affects multiple hits, like Chill Touch, or frostbite. Like previously mentioned, haste is great for dealing with lots of weaker enemies, where blowing a large amount of burst in one hit is overkill.
Frostbite is actually really good for said situations. 1d6+CL damage. at level 10, thats 1d6+10dmg for every hit you land, and you get 3 hits with haste. Not too shabby, thats an average of 39 dmg in one round, sustainable for 3 more rounds (and/or a few attacks of opportunity). So In my opinion, it helps to add more decisions that you have to make.
Am I going to burst down some guy with shocking grasp?
Or am I going to slaughter the army chasing after me?
Do I plan to be making lots of attacks of opportunity?
Tis up to you.