[AximusLokar]

I wanna make sure I've got this right, because I'm hoping I've got something wrong.

1) In order for Increase Attribute to affect an attribute it has to be cast at a force equal to or greater than the augmented value of the attribute to be increased.
Example: Two dwarven mages, one with a Willpower of 5 and another with 7, are expecting some heavy casting today, so they wants to boost their Willpower higher. The first needs to cast Increase Willpower at a minimum of Force 5 to affect it, and the latter at Force 7. They have really good spellcasting dice so they manage at least 5 and 3 respectively(to reach augmented max of 10)
2) A sustaining focus can only sustain a spell up to it's rating.
Therefore in order to sustain the above spell the first needs only a Force 5 sustaining focus but the later needs a Force 7.

Is this accurate? Cause it kinda sucks for the guy that's already got a decent score.

[Makki]

you are correct

[UmaroVI]

Yes, both are correct.

If you're looking for ways to deal:

Get a better Sustaining Focus
Maybe Heightened Concentration (adept power from Digital Grimoire)
You can have a Bound spirit eat the penalty for you, but it's costly, has RP drawbacks, and isn't really that great in the first place so I don't recommend it.
Summon or Bind a Spirit of Man with Innate Spell, and have it cast on you and sustain while chilling out somewhere. Note that Innate Spell can't be overcast so the spirit needs fairly high force. This is one of the best options, although it ties up a spirit, especially if you give it something generically useful like Increase Intuition that it can put on a bunch of people.
Take Psyche and suck the penalty down.

If you just want to handle Drain, Centering is a very efficient way to do so. Centering Foci are also useful.

[AximusLokar]

Summon or Bind a Spirit of Man with Innate Spell, and have it cast on you and sustain while chilling out somewhere. Note that Innate Spell can't be overcast so the spirit needs fairly high force. This is one of the best options, although it ties up a spirit, especially if you give it something generically useful like Increase Intuition that it can put on a bunch of people.
Take Psyche and suck the penalty down.

This is perfect. With my Power Focus I have a Magic of 9, and thus can summon a Force 9 Spirit of Man to cast Increase Will and Increase Logic at 6 and 8 respectively. Is there anything stopping a Spirit of Man from casting another spell while sustaining the first? I imagine their spellcasting check would suffer the -2 but other than that?

[Makki]

power focus does not increase your Magic attribute.

[AximusLokar]

Curse you, balanced mechanics! Cuuuuurse yoooouuu!

:p Good point, didn't catch that. Thanks. I'll have to give up on my idea to make an invincible ManaCannon at chargen

[Gorean]

<snip> I'll have to give up on my idea to make an invincible ManaCannon at chargen

Just because you can't  get there via magic....

Take a dwarf hermetic mage.
Hard cap will, soft cap logic
Take one rank of focused concentration.
Two times restricted gear, used on a Pain Editor and Rating 3 Cerebral Booster
Also take Daredrenaline

All that will give you a drain resist pool of 17dice.

Once in play you can then get the second rating of focused concentration along with genetic optimization of both logic and willpower which will raise you to 21dice.
If the GM is still talking to you at that point you can buy exceptional attribute for another 2 dice.

[Thrass]

add:
- Blood fetish (adds 4 dice though I think you cant use it to summon/bind)
- Surge with 2 metagenetic enhancements
- genetic enhancement on both attributes

will add another 8 dice but will make you get that high availability gear ingame rather then at start

Take a pixie go surge 3 buy 2 metagenetic enhancement, get 2 genetic enhancements get 1 focused will (then you should have 35 points of positive qualities full).
Hardcap willpower softcap ... Charisma is higher so go for a charisma tradition or go with logic to eventually get that deltaware logic booster (pixies can only accept deltaware)

Willpower 10 and Charisma 9 add daradrenaline for 20 add blood fetish for 24 don't forget that focused will and you end up with 25.
at chargen if I'm not mistaken