Metamagic: Rod vs Feat

[Neo2151]

Just wondering what the general consensus is about which metamagic feats are good enough to actually learn, and which ones are wasted as a feat but great to have as a Rod.

[Elfinlocks]

Rods are just generally better in my opinion. You can always earn money to buy more rods, but a caster only gets so many feats, and they're likely better spent on things like Improved Initiative, Spell Focus, Spell penetration, etc

[Validorn]

Cheap and circumstantial would be a good case for buying the rods:

elemental (feat could be stronger for matching draconic bloodline)
extend
selective (feat could be stronger for AoE spammer)
ectoplasmic
merciful
piercing
silent

Beyond that, I would imagine it may depend on your build. Magical lineage trait combined with something like the intensify metamagic feat is common for cranking up a level 1 spell.

There could be RP or mechanical reasons to justify choosing a feat over a rod or vice versa.

[Hubaris]

Honestly there are very few Metamagic Feats I really like. Remember that only 1 Rod can be applied at a time, so if you want to stack Metamagic then you need some feats.

The general rule is if you can see yourself using it more than 3 times per day, its probably worth a feat.

Persistent Spell (almost always worth the feat even for blasters. The difference between a failed and passed save is 50-100% damage)
Quicken Spell (action economy breaker, especially with Spell Perfection. Though it can be used late game to make those 1st level spells like Shield still solid if you don't have Extend)
Empower Spell (not just purely for the blaster if you read the fine print)
Intensified Spell (shenanigans with Magical Lineage that make this quite good)
Bouncing Spell (for a +1 it allows you to effectively try again on a SoD, though the Swift Action sort of hurts)
Dazing Spell (entire builds hinge on this)
Toppling Spell (as above)

Also if you plan on abusing Spell Perfection, then you really have even less choice as you now need 3 at least.

[Kurald Galain]

The main problem with metarods is the actions required to draw them. Switching from one metarod to another in the middle of combat is impractical, whereas switching to a different feat doesn't take actions.

Also, certain classes (e.g. the Magus) may not have a free hand available to hold a metarod in.

That said, generally speaking for level 1-3 spells, rods are better because of how cheap they are.

[Finlanderboy]

I find the ones that raise the caster level more useful as wands. Empower and persistence are my two favorites.

[avr]

A magus needs either intensified spell or rime spell in most cases. Rime spell can be worth building around for sorcerers or druids too.

Otherwise persistent, quicken, maybe empower are ones I'd consider as feats, all else can be a rod. Dazing spell is probably off the table due to being overpowered.

[Wheldrake]

The main problem with metamagic feats is the higher-level slots they require. This would be considered a prohibitively expensive proposition if there didn't exist two inappropriately generous traits that nearly every wizard and his brother and his brother's dog manages to sign up for, despite the illogical nature of making every wizard in the world spend years of his life living in Wayang-land. Those traits that reduce the metamagic costs are far too powerful to be simple traits. Yet they exist. As long as you use them, metamagic feats will be highly valuable.