Agreed. But if the +4 cap to Skills is in, Foci are less problematic. Still cheap though.
Yeah, cheapness is still a serious issue.
Also, small nitpick, I feel like we should stop referring to the interpretation we prefer to as "+4 skill cap", because that wordings still feels like the skill version of attribute caps. A "+4 augmentation maximum to the non-attribute components of a total dice pool" or similar would be better.
I think you guys are going about this the wrong way. I like the idea of uncapped progression. The idea that you can just keep sinking karma in to becoming something on par with an IE or Great Dragon.
Well, folks in opposing camps on whether limited or unlimited progression is best will likely never see eye to eye on the matter because the core philosophy is in direct opposition. I prefer my god mages to be confined to only high fantasy settings myself.
Likewise, for me, narrative penalties are a terrible way to attempt to balance game mechanics. Enhancement to game mechanics, though? Sure.