Always casting defensively

[CWheezy]

I've been thinking about this for a bit.

I have noticed that guides on how to okay spellcasters don't mention casting defensively whenever you cast a spell. Once you auto make the dc, there is no reason not to defensively cast, correct?
For reference, the hardest DC is 33, for level 9 spells

[Kahel Stormbender]

I can think of one reason not to cast defensively... You're not standing in a threatened area, so don't need to. Of course sometimes you just forget.

[Onyx Tanuki]

There's always a chance of rolling a nat 1 though, right? I'm not 100% certain if a nat 1 on a concentration check is auto-fail, though, so it'd be worth clearing that up. If nat 1 isn't auto-fail though, you're right, there's not much reason not to cast defensively if you can make the DC no matter your roll.

[CWheezy]

Kahel Stormbender wrote:

I can think of one reason not to cast defensively... You're not standing in a threatened area, so don't need to. Of course sometimes you just forget.

Well, you automatically succeed on checks depending on your level, so even if you think you don't need to, you always should anyway? What if there is an invisible guy near you, waiting for an AoO?

Natural 1s on a concentration check are not an auto fail. you need a _32 to be able to auto succeed on any defensive casting check.

[Onyx Tanuki]

You could also still be hit for enough damage that you could fail the concentration check to keep the spell going I'd think, especially if you're at high enough levels to be casting 9th level magic

[Fromper]

Natural 1's don't auto-fail, except on attack rolls and saving throws. For some builds that cast on the front line a lot, such as a melee magus or "bad touch" cleric, boosting your concentration check and always casting defensively is standard practice.

For instance, my level 4 "bad touch" cleric has the Focused Mind trait, and Combat Casting and Uncanny Concentration as his first two feats. He's at +16 to cast defensively at level 4, which means he doesn't have to roll for level 1 spells. This also applies to spell-like abilities, such as his level 1 domain abilities, both of which he uses on the front line all the time, which is a large part of the point of the character.

By level 5, he'll be able to get a wisdom headband, so he'll auto-succeed on level 2 spells, too. I think I worked out that he'll never need more than a 3 on the die to succeed on his highest level spells. Given that this is for PFS, and I always have a shirt reroll available, I should be able to avoid ever failing.

[Trigger Loaded]

What ways are there to increase the Concentration check? Paizo made it a caster level+Stat check, to prevent the easy boosting that could be done with skills.

Obviously, there's Stat boosters and the Combat Casting feat. Beyond that, though, it seems hard to increase it enough to auto-succeed at concentration checks, except for your lower spell slots.

[BretI]

There are Spellguard Bracers. If you are a Charisma caster, the circle of persuasion should also work.

[-Grijm-]

Not sure if it makes the cut, but there's 2 items I know that can each increase concentration by +2: Spellguard bracers and Tunic of Careful casting

[graystone]

You can get a trait to boost it and several other feats stack with combat casting. Elves and humans get boost options.

[Fromper]

As I said, there's the Focused Mind trait, Combat Casting feat, and Uncanny Concentration feat. There's one other feat that gives +1 to concentrate and +1 initiative, IIRC, but it's probably not worth it.

[Fromper]

The DC to cast defensively is 15 + (2 x spell level). So the DC on 2nd level spells is 19.

And the post I was responding to has disappeared. Must have realized the mistake