I've always been kinda meh on this feat. I'm trying to figure out if that is just me or not. Everyone keeps saying my level 11 sorc should taken the feat last time.
I sit there and look at it thinking well I could use a Quickened Grease for that slot or my new Icy Prison. Well heck, I'm usually going to choose the Icy Prison. By the time I can use a quickened spell, spells 4 levels lower just don't seem to have much effect on the battle anymore.
Most of the groups I've played with, I am usually the only full caster. So I haven't seen it used too often. But the few times I have seen it used, it has always been a very minor (or often zero) zero impact spell. But it used up a high level spell slot - of which there are never enough. And it requires a feat - of which there are never enough.
I mean sure, if we find a rod of lesser quicken spell, I will sure as heck make use of it. Probably with a quickened mirror image for those 'Oh $%!&' moments when something gets to close to the squishy.
So I'm trying to decide, is it really that great and I have just not seen it in use enough?
OR
Do people just feel like it was great because they got to open the combat with 2 spells instead of just one (even though one probably didn't do much good)?
What do you think?
OK, I'll go ahead and tell you one particular spell that is a godsend when Quickened. You ready?
And don't get me started on how much fun it is to be a blaster with Quicken Spell.
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It depends a lot on how you play.
Firstly quicken spell is really only for high level play. Even if it is the beez kneez I probably wouldn't be taking it as a level 11 sorcerer anyway, I'd be waiting a couple of levels so you can quicken something better than a 1st level spell.
Secondly it depends on your style of game. If you play the classic 4 minute working day, you need to make use of your swift actions somehow. If you play 72 hour working days, there's no way you're wasting a level 4 spell slot on a cantrip (well you probably wouldn't do that anyway).
Lastly it depends what other resources you're putting into it... A level 15 Magus with Magical Lineage and Spell Perfection (both in Shocking grasp because Magus) can dish out 1 quickened-intensified Shocking Grasp & 1 Maximized-Intensified shocking grasp per turn (or something like that) while full attacking. If we assume you're Hasted (and why wouldn't you be?) you're looking at an attack routine of +9/+9/+9/+9/+4/-1 (that's 6 weapon attacks) with an additional 15d6+30 damage from your shocking grasps, and you've only used up 2 first level spell slots.
Having said that, I've never actually played a character who's taken quicken spell. I mostly play lower levels, I rarely play full casters, and I tend to play games with a longer time between rests, so it's never really been on my radar for anything but theory-crafting.
IMO: Quicken isn't good until you can use it for second level spells or higher. In the Kingmaker campaign I play we tend to have 30 second work days with the occasional 30 minute workday. Our 13th level sorcerer enchantress has way to many spells per day. Being able to shoot out a quickened scorching ray for 11d6 (About 40 damage) for just a swift can be pretty damn useful and is nothing to laugh at. Dominate the enemy BBEG then scorching ray to death a mook.
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You want Quicken Spell when you can cast 7th level spells. Before that it is not of much use, even though you can quicken 1st and 2nd level spells.
Much about Quicken is situational and therefore spontaneous casters get more bang out of it. The thing is that it can turn the rudder around when the party is losing. You want to have it when that happens, but don't need it when not.
The ability to get off quickened dispels or removal spells while using Heal is sometimes crucial for a healer. The same goes for an arcane caster, who can ramp up his DPR or control that way.
So I agree with all the others, that Quicken is one of the best metamagic feats out there.
Nonetheless, you have to ask yourself, with what spells you have at your disposal, if there is a situation where using a higher slot for a fast low level spell is better than using the slot for a spell of that level. If you can't see such a situation, you can put off getting the feat for later.
Some classes can make better use of it than others, too. The magus will certainly like it to be able to cast unhindered while being in melee.
I took the feat myself at level 15, when I could cast 7th level spells. For divine casters, the 7th level holds little attraction, but modified spells which need a 7th level slot are a different story. I wouldn't have gotten much out of 1st level spells when I got my 5th slots, and no spell is worth losing a Heal when you have 6th. I would have taken it in 13th to be ready for the 7th at level 14, but as the healer/buffer/debuffer I can take a relaxed attitude with my actions.
The other casters in the group (both arcane) have not taken the feat. And you can play without it - but it would have come in handy a couple of times for them.
Quicken is incredibly good, but only with certain spells.
Not everything is worth the caster level increase. Many things aren't.
Of course, this is why many casters will also buy Rods of Quicken spell.
It's also a big deal once you're able to access Spell Perfection.
Have you seen a wizard throw down a fireball with spell perfection with Quickened Maximized Intensified Fireball and Maximized Intensified fireball in 1 round? The enemy is nearly dead before they even know what happened.
Personally I love quickened spell.. in rod form.
Metamagic feats are really only for Blasters; figure Intensify, Quicken, Empower, and Maximized are all you need. Sure, Dazing is great, but that's over half your feats, and if you're a truly effective Blaster, your intended target(s) are dead before this is required, and/or you have a bunch of contingency defenses in place.
That isn't to say that Metamagic rods are bad (A Greater Quicken Metamagic Rod is the most OP spellcasting item in the game), but you can only ever use one, and if you're going to use one, you'd really only need them for situations that call for it (Silent Rod, Still Rod, etc).
But you're right, as far as the feat is concerned, it's not particularly great. If you're playing a (non-optimized) Magus, you'd need to cast 5th level spells before you could make use of it with Shocking Grasp, and even that costs a very high-powered spell slot. An Optimized Magus could do this with Shocking Grasp as early as 3rd level, though 4th level would be better, since you could stack Intensify on top of it. And unfortunately, Magi cannot really use Metamagic Rods, since they need a hand free to cast spells, and a hand for their melee weapon, so unless they dipped 2 levels in Alchemist for a Vestigial Arm or a Tentacle (not a horrible investment, but not exactly a great one either).
For other spellcasters who don't optimize around a single spell (i.e. non-blasters), you'd need to wait even further, as your really good/staple spells are higher level than a Magi's 1st level Shocking Grasp.
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Metamagic feats are really only for Blasters;
*snip*
Counterpoint: Persistent Spell. Until you start getting No Save win spells, Persistent drastically increases the odds of a spell successfully impacting an encounter. My 13th level Psychic used Persistent Mental Block (after adjustment, 4th level, base spell is 2nd) to shut off a dragon. There were, of course, other things going on, but Persistent caused the dragon to have a roughly 1% chance of getting out of the effect. It was a CR 17 encounter.
What do you call a dragon that can't remember how to fly and can only full attack? Answer: dead.
I agree with the other posters that Quicken is a higher level metamagic. I would take it no earlier than 13, probably pushing towards 15. 7th level slots make it much more viable.
Metamagic feats are really only for Blasters;*snip*
Counterpoint: Persistent Spell. Until you start getting No Save win spells, Persistent drastically increases the odds of a spell successfully impacting an encounter. My 13th level Psychic used Persistent Mental Block (after adjustment, 4th level, base spell is 2nd) to shut off a dragon. There were, of course, other things going on, but Persistent caused the dragon to have a roughly 1% chance of getting out of the effect. It was a CR 17 encounter.
What do you call a dragon that can't remember how to fly and can only full attack? Answer: dead.
I agree with the other posters that Quicken is a higher level metamagic. I would take it no earlier than 13, probably pushing towards 15. 7th level slots make it much more viable.
The problem with save or die spells are that you really gotta use feats, class features, etc. to pump up your DC. Which is fine for a Save-or-Suck caster, since as you said, Persistent spell is all you need (Heighten is really nice too, as that increases the Save DC as well), but to be honest, it's very difficult to make universally strong, and can only function in niche situations.
The other problem is that their applications aren't universal. Let's take our Mental Block spell as an example; it's really powerful for its level, and only certain Psionics, or a Bard, can cast it, so not even a God Wizard can shut down encounters that way.
But, if you're running into creatures with strong saves versus Mind-Affecting Effects (or even Immunities to said effects), you just became useless in that fight, Persistent Spell and all. There's also a question as to whether the Persistent Spell effects apply to saving throws after the initial one, as Mental Block gives you a Saving Throw every round.
The way I see it, if you can reliably affect a Human Barbarian with Superstition (and the FCB into it as well), which is the epitomy of powerful Will Saves (as high as +28 for their Will Save against your spell) then yes, Save or Die spells are great and can trivialize most every encounter. However, I have yet to come across a DC that is higher than ~32, so the odds of beating that Will Save is highly unlikely; at least, without some outside help or debuffing (which would likewise be difficult to implement, at least in spell form).
I am not a blaster, being an oracle (life), but having some metamagic is useful. I have picked up Heighten Spell, Reach Spell, Persistent Spell and Quicken Spell, of which Reach sees the most use (so many divine spells have a range of touch *sigh*).
I have no way to push my DCs except by accumulating CHA, so Persistent is my best option to get a spell across, if I have to. Not often used - I am armed with melees after all :) - but nice to have when you need to succeed.
Metamagic including but not limited to Quicken Spell that you would want to use with low-level spells -- and some of these are neither save-or-lose nor blasting:
Quicken Spell on Ill Omen has already been mentioned above -- make them suffer the effect for one round, because it allows no save and they have to use a Move Action to get rid of it. Usually only for Witch, but a few archetypes of other things can get it (Hexcrafter Magus and Dual-Cursed Oracle come to mind). This one isn't save-or-lose, only spell-resist-or-lose (unless they are somehow just immune).
Quicken Spell on True Strike -- if you are a gish and want to make sure that a Combat Maneuver or an attack with an important spell rider hits without having to wait until next round, this is for you. Again, not save-or-lose.
Persistent Spell on Staggering Fall -- if you are a gish doing a Trip, this is good to improve your chances of Staggering them and hurt their chances of recovering from it. This one doesn't need Quicken Spell, because it is already Immediate Action; however, it is save-or-lose, hence the need for Persistent Spell. If you can also get Ace Trip (requires Weapon Training or Martial Focus with a ranged weapon group), you can even TripStagger airborne enemies this way (as well as slamming them to the ground) -- although note that you can't do this in the same round as a Quickened True Strike unless you somehow manage to get in a Swift Action and an Immediate Action in the same round (normally you can't, but I can't remember if Mythic has something that lets you bypass that restriction).
Reach Spell on a Cure-series spell (or Inflict-series if one of your friends has Negative Energy Affinity) -- normally you don't want to heal in combat, but sometimes you have an absolute emergency and have to do this or lose them, and you can't get to them in time. Again, not a save-or-lose.
Also, if you are a Magus (or somehow otherwise got Spellstrike) and want to use a Metamagic Rod without dipping into another class, be the right kind of Tiefling (Prehensile Tail alternate racial trait and/or Grasping Tail feat). I don't think Mindblade Magus without a tail can do this, because Dual Manifest has to have specific text to let them off the hook for not having a hand free when using a weapon two-handed (and even if you got a Metamagic Rod integrated into a weapon, you don't get this ability until 13th level).
If you are a Metamagic Rager, you can use rounds of Bloodrage to pay for 1 metamagic feat. You probably want to have Extra Rage (maybe even 2 ranks of it) before doing this. Example: Cast Burning Hands with Persistent Spell (optionally also Intensify Spell or Elemental Spell) from increase in spell slot level, Dazing Spell from Bloodrage Rounds, and Quicken Spell from Spell Perfection on a horde of opponents, and then Full Attack them in the same round with Cleave and Great Cleave (and other Cleave-series feats if you can get them). This one is save-or-lose and blasting.
The problem with save or die spells are that you really gotta use feats, class features, etc. to pump up your DC. Which is fine for a Save-or-Suck caster, since as you said, Persistent spell is all you need (Heighten is really nice too, as that increases the Save DC as well), but to be honest, it's very difficult to make universally strong, and can only function in niche situations.
As a spontaneous caster, I have a lot of options for Persistent. Here's a PDF of said Psychic, now 14. Typical Persistent spell options: Oneiric Horror, Mental Block, Wall of Blindness/Deafness, Feeblemind, and Plane Shift. You'll also note that I have nothing but Overpowering Mind to increase save DCs. While I'm not batting 1000, I'm still doin' pretty fine.
The other problem is that their applications aren't universal. Let's take our Mental Block spell as an example; it's really powerful for its level, and only certain Psionics, or a Bard, can cast it, so not even a God Wizard can shut down encounters that way.
Yes, and I think that's fine. The Wizard has a better spell list than the Psychic anyway. You'll note that the majority of my spells actually come out of the CRB and the overwhelming majority are shared with Wizard. A single spell is not the be-all, end-all of a character in most situations.
But, if you're running into creatures with strong saves versus Mind-Affecting Effects (or even Immunities to said effects), you just became useless in that fight, Persistent Spell and all. There's also a question as to whether the Persistent Spell effects apply to saving throws after the initial one, as Mental Block gives you a Saving Throw every round.
For Mental Block, sure. Mind you, undead aren't safe from Mind-Effecting vs this character (Will of the Dead), but I can certainly just Plane Shift, Greater Object Possession, or Mass Mydriatic Spontaneity to offensively contribute. By the way, did you know that hitting a lich with Will of the Dead Feeblemind makes them lose a lot of HP? A stock bestiary 1 lich loses 88 of 111 health from that.
Or Haste, Wall of Force, strategically Dim Door/Teleport allies, buff allies... That's all good too.
The way I see it, if you can reliably affect a Human Barbarian with Superstition (and the FCB into it as well), which is the epitomy of powerful Will Saves (as high as +28 for their Will Save against your spell) then yes, Save or Die spells are great and can trivialize most every encounter. However, I have yet to come across a DC that is higher than ~32, so the odds of beating that Will Save is highly unlikely; at least, without some outside help or debuffing (which would likewise be difficult to implement, at least in spell form).
Depending on what level you're looking at, I might have answers for that. At 16, I get Euphoric Tranquility, which has no save and ends fights. *shrug*
At mid-levels, Quicken Spell is very powerful when you must win the encounter as fast as possible -- usually this is against major foes, or ones with hugely swingy save-or-die abilities. If you can afford to spend a little more time to take them down while using not so many spells, it really just burns your high-level spell slots.
At really high levels (say 15+) you weren't likely to be burning through all your 5th- or 6th-level spell slots anyway, so you can use them to back up your 8th- and 9th-level spells.
Ok, it looks like most people think it is mostly great for the high levels that I have almost never played. I will keep that in mind for the future.
thx
Hexcrafter Magus with prehensile hair hex and a rod.
In general, I tend not to like feats that merely give me a trade unless the trade is significantly in my favor. As noted, it's not worth the trade till you can cast higher level spells, and even then, only situationally. Now that I've taken a shine to level 6 casters, unless I can find a way to use a rod, metamagic is on the back-burner.
^Even for a Magus, non-Rod metamagic other than Intensify Spell (which is extremely widely used) can be useful. On a maneuver Magus who does Trip, it can be good to use Spell Blending to snag Staggering Fall from the Sorcerer/Wizard list, and then use Persistent Spell to make it harder to save against (as I posted above). Later on, a maneuver Magus could use Quickened True Strike to break through high CMD in 1 round (as I posted above). (Anybody remember if Mythic gives you a way to do both in the same round?)
So 6/9 caster still have some room for metamagic. For 4/9 casters, this is usually not the case, but see the Metamagic Rager example I posted above (except I made a mistake in naming the attack -- Cleave/Great Cleave uses a Standard Action attack, while Whirlwind Attack uses a Full Attack, but the basic idea remains the same).
Later on, a maneuver Magus could use Quickened True Strike to break through high CMD in 1 round (as I posted above).
Actually a Magus kind of has a built in Quicken spell, b]Spell Combat[/b]. To be honest Quicken spell isn't super useful to a Magus since they already have that effect and it doesn't have a built in "+4 to level".
There are some amazing tricks you can do if you're casting 2 spells & full attacking in the same turn but you really need to build specifically for that kind of thing.
Later on, a maneuver Magus could use Quickened True Strike to break through high CMD in 1 round (as I posted above).Actually a Magus kind of has a built in Quicken spell, b]Spell Combat[/b]. To be honest Quicken spell isn't super useful to a Magus since they already have that effect and it doesn't have a built in "+4 to level".
There are some amazing tricks you can do if you're casting 2 spells & full attacking in the same turn but you really need to build specifically for that kind of thing.
There's also the factor of Spell Storing weapons, which allow you to discharge spells stored into the weapon as a Free Action (according to the PRD), though it's only one use until it has to be restored, so it's really only good for contingent or emergency use spells like Vampiric Touch, so you aren't dying in the middle of combat, or say, debuffing with the likes of Dispel Magic. The best part is, it discharges on a successful hit, so you aren't having to waste spells for it.
So, with Spell Combat, Quickened Spells, and a set-up Spell Storing weapon, you could, in fact, get ~3 spells off within a single round.
Quicken is only as good as the spells. Most effective uses for a 5th level quicken are probably:
- Ill Omen for landing save or die effects
- Obscuring Mist after you draw aggro with a maximised intensified empowered fireball, so you cannot be targeted.
- Vanish, same as above but doesn't hinder allies or work on foes with see invisibility.
- Enlarge Person, for when the fighter needs reach but you have something else to do.
- Divine Favor because unlike righteous might this stacks with your belt (and doesn't interfere with action economy)
- True Strike for when you really need to hit. Bonus points if you are an arcane archer.
- Secluded Grimoire in case your GM just showed you a sunder-based fighter moving toward you.
- Ray of Enfeeblement for a solid debuff if your other trick this turn is risky.
Later on, a maneuver Magus could use Quickened True Strike to break through high CMD in 1 round (as I posted above).Actually a Magus kind of has a built in Quicken spell, b]Spell Combat[/b]. To be honest Quicken spell isn't super useful to a Magus since they already have that effect and it doesn't have a built in "+4 to level".
There are some amazing tricks you can do if you're casting 2 spells & full attacking in the same turn but you really need to build specifically for that kind of thing.
Casting 2 spells in a round is one possibility, but another possibility is that you are making a ranged attack and you are not an Eldritch Archer (the only archetype that gets Ranged Spell Combat), or you need to use a Two-Handed Weapon for some reason and you are not a >=13th level Mindblade (the only archetype so far that gets Spell Combat usable with a two-handed weapon, but only at >=13th level). The former is a lot more likely, since usually a Magus doesn't have to use a two-handed weapon (although it would be cool if we got an archetype that could do this), whereas opponents that can fly faster than you even with Fly and Haste are reasonably common, and some of them have their own ranged attacks.
True Strike + melee attack/maneuver in the same round could also be useful for somebody who is doing the Magus thing, but doesn't have Spell Combat: Bards, Eldritch Knights, Puppetmaster Magus (True Strike is not Enchantment or Illusion, so it doesn't qualify for Puppet Combat), Bloodragers, and Inquisitors. Some of the latter will have to jump through hoops to make Quicken Spell actually usable (+4 level adjustment on a 4/9 spellcaster is an obvious problem -- solve with Metamagic Rager and/or Spell Perfection and/or some trait that lets you reduce Metamagic cost); a few other classes might even be able to shoehorn True Strike onto their spell list (for instance, Skalds using Spell Kenning, or Clerics with Destruction or Luck Domain or First Subdomain).
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I picked up Quicken Spell at 11th, I think, on my Sorcerer. I'll use it for blasting to cast an extra Snowball or tack a Magic Missile onto whatever else I'm doing. Or Vanish. But it really takes off when you get 6th level spell slots.
Even as a Sorcerer, you can find a way to cast Ill Omen. I put it into a Ring of Spell Knowledge II. My spell DCs are not insanely high like some Sorcerer builds. A 6th level spell is a DC 23 for me at 14th level (was 1 lower at 12th, I think, because I hadn't bought a +6 headband yet). Quickened Ill Omen followed by Flesh to Stone means save twice or die on a spell slot I'd otherwise not be able to put Persistent on. Sure, it costs 2 6th level spell slots, but I'm at 6/day. I could get a Persistent Spell Rod, which I might, but then I can stack Ill Omen and Persistent. And, keep in mind, action economy becomes an issue with Rods, since they still make the spell take a full-round to cast for a Sorcerer. So having a Persistent Spell Rod takes a move action to take out, then you can only begin casting the spell that round. With a Quickened Ill Omen, you can cast both spells with a swift, then a standard and still have a move action available.
I have 7 5th level slots, so spending an occasional one to add some extra damage in a round isn't a big deal.
And True Strike is great to follow with Enervation or Disintegrate to make sure they hit and aren't wasted.
The game in general, but especially high level, is very much a matter of making the most out of your action economy. Quicken Spell gives you more action economy.
I will admit that since the Staff of the Master was errata'd, Quicken Spell and all Metamagic Feats have lost some of their usefulness at higher levels. When having Quicken Spell meant that you could Quicken a 6th or 7th level spell twice a day it was much more attractive. That's not the case anymore without an extremely expensive Rod.
Finally, it doesn't sound like your question is for PFS, but specifically for PFS, having Quicken Spell at 11 means you get to make use of it during normal scenario play, and having it for 12 instead of waiting to 13 means you'll have it for all of Eyes of the Ten, instead of just the last 2 scenarios.
As much as I dislike it my flame oracle is picking this up on level 13 to keep up with the arcanes in the party. I mainly intend to use it on Blinding Ray since my DCs on that are decently high and I force three saves most of the time as well as a few third level buffs like prayer.
Quicken is only as good as the spells. Most effective uses for a 5th level quicken are probably:
- Ill Omen for landing save or die effects
- Obscuring Mist after you draw aggro with a maximised intensified empowered fireball, so you cannot be targeted.
- Vanish, same as above but doesn't hinder allies or work on foes with see invisibility.
- Enlarge Person, for when the fighter needs reach but you have something else to do.
- Divine Favor because unlike righteous might this stacks with your belt (and doesn't interfere with action economy)
- True Strike for when you really need to hit. Bonus points if you are an arcane archer.
- Secluded Grimoire in case your GM just showed you a sunder-based fighter moving toward you.
- Ray of Enfeeblement for a solid debuff if your other trick this turn is risky.
Very solid list. Almost exactly what I wanted to apply. Quickened Divine Favor is a must have for all melee clerics and oracles.
Quicken is amazing with spell perfection, your favourite spell is now only a swift action.
Quicken is only as good as the spells. Most effective uses for a 5th level quicken are probably:Very solid list. Almost exactly what I wanted to apply. Quickened Divine Favor is a must have for all melee clerics and oracles.
- Ill Omen for landing save or die effects
- Obscuring Mist after you draw aggro with a maximised intensified empowered fireball, so you cannot be targeted.
- Vanish, same as above but doesn't hinder allies or work on foes with see invisibility.
- Enlarge Person, for when the fighter needs reach but you have something else to do.
- Divine Favor because unlike righteous might this stacks with your belt (and doesn't interfere with action economy)
- True Strike for when you really need to hit. Bonus points if you are an arcane archer.
- Secluded Grimoire in case your GM just showed you a sunder-based fighter moving toward you.
- Ray of Enfeeblement for a solid debuff if your other trick this turn is risky.
Only if your game has a really high level of optimization. At most levels it's overkill.
Quicken spell is very, very good for any 9-level caster because of the way it affects action economy; I'd recommend picking it up as soon as possible after gaining 5th-level spells. It's especially effective in getting buffs and other effects out faster; for example (assuming this is a "boss fight"):
Cleric 9 - casts Quickened divine favor and searing light (vs. undead) or some other appropriate spell before fighting
Wizard 9 - casts Quickened enlarge person on the party barbarian and haste before using battlefield control spells
Ranger (urban ranger) 9 - turns enemies into pincusions
Barbarian 9 - rages and goes to town
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I will also mention that almost all the people urging me to take quicken spell always mention it in relation to attack spells. Which almost none of the above suggestions are for attacks.
Now that it has been brought up, I can clearly see the use for the buffs and get away spells. Some of the first and second level buffs ARE useful at all levels.
Quicken is good for buffs but also good for blasting and even battlefield control. Unless you're on some kind of marathon adventure it can be helpful to have a way to unload your spell battery faster and get all that power deployed into the encounter (go nova). Of course you might not have enough spell slots to go wild in every fight, but being able to do it when needed is a big plus.
I will also mention that almost all the people urging me to take quicken spell always mention it in relation to attack spells. Which almost none of the above suggestions are for attacks.
Now that it has been brought up, I can clearly see the use for the buffs and get away spells. Some of the first and second level buffs ARE useful at all levels.
You see it in relation to blasting because it's amazing for that and blasters generally pick up as many things that reduce metamagic level increase as they can, quicken is good on lots of spells, it's great when it's only counting as a +2 spell level on your favourite spell.
Quicken spell ..can.. be a lifesaver, in the right situation. Problem is, outside of that situation, it isn't worth it, at all. In a game setting where you can reasonably predict its need with a specific spell, it is worth it. If you can't, not so much. How is your divination?
A lot of Metamagic is that way. Some are more likely to be useful in most games, especially modules and paths. You can be fairly sure anything that enhances damage is going to help, other combat modifiers are more situationally useful, therefore more of a risk of wasting assets.
That is why we have rods, and why they are so expensive.
The more predictable a setting is, the more valuable Metamagic can be. If you know to a fair degree what you are going into...
Hmm, horse dead, I put away club now.
Who says horses can't come back from the dead?
Several examples of Quicken Spell above (including some of mine) were not just lifesavers, but more generally useful in combat, even for 6/9 casters.
I've used it on a 13th Sorcerer to tank the 17th level Swashbuckler for a good 4 rounds with Quickened Mirror Images.
It only got better and better as the game went on.
OK, yes I can definitely see that and a couple of the others being sufficiently reliably required. Frontliners have a different action economy.