Pathfinder Pathfinder: Kingmaker Builds and Strats Thread

[J1M]

I initially started with an alchemist because I wanted to try a class I hadn't seen in a D&D game. Ability list reminded me of a D&D 3.5 Warlock the way bombs can be modified like eldritch blast.

Hacked up my save game experience so I could see what a level 20 character would look like, and I'm glad I did because the feats that allow for additional bombs per round don't appear to be working properly. Rapid shot and two weapon fighting are also supposed to work with fast bombs, so in theory you should be able to throw 4+ bombs in 6 seconds, but it appears the game treats bombs more like spells.

I find the real-time combat a real drag vs. what it could have been turn-based, but re-rolling as a paladin has lowered the pausing to a more tolerable level. Not clear on the best use of my feats for a paladin because I don't want to lock into a specific weapon type without knowing which ones the designers actually added to the game. I'll work towards Cleave-Through and pick up Wings for an AC bonus.

 

[vazha]

Is a two hander raging half-orc barb solo run doable on highest difficulty? Asking for a friend

 

[Lawntoilet]

For anyone planning a Magus build, there is an awesome

I initially started with an alchemist because I wanted to try a class I hadn't seen in a D&D game. Ability list reminded me of a D&D 3.5 Warlock the way bombs can be modified like eldritch blast.

Hacked up my save game experience so I could see what a level 20 character would look like, and I'm glad I did because the feats that allow for additional bombs per round don't appear to be working properly. Rapid shot and two weapon fighting are also supposed to work, so in theory you should be able to throw 4+ bombs in 6 seconds, but it appears the game treats bombs more like spells.

I find the real-time combat a real drag vs. what it could have been turn-based, but re-rolling as a paladin has lowered the pausing to a more tolerable level. Not clear on the best use of my feats for a paladin because I don't want to lock into a specific weapon type without knowing which ones the designers actually added to the game. I'll work towards Cleave-Through and pick up Wings for an AC bonus.

I'm only still in late Chapter 2, but I know there are some really good Heavy Mace options (for a S&B build) and Greatsword options for 2h.

 

[J1M]

For anyone planning a Magus build, there is an awesome

I initially started with an alchemist because I wanted to try a class I hadn't seen in a D&D game. Ability list reminded me of a D&D 3.5 Warlock the way bombs can be modified like eldritch blast.

Hacked up my save game experience so I could see what a level 20 character would look like, and I'm glad I did because the feats that allow for additional bombs per round don't appear to be working properly. Rapid shot and two weapon fighting are also supposed to work, so in theory you should be able to throw 4+ bombs in 6 seconds, but it appears the game treats bombs more like spells.

I find the real-time combat a real drag vs. what it could have been turn-based, but re-rolling as a paladin has lowered the pausing to a more tolerable level. Not clear on the best use of my feats for a paladin because I don't want to lock into a specific weapon type without knowing which ones the designers actually added to the game. I'll work towards Cleave-Through and pick up Wings for an AC bonus.

I'm only still in late Chapter 2, but I know there are some really good Heavy Mace options (for a S&B build) and Greatsword options for 2h.

I was hoping to use a halberd, or similar 2h reach weapon. But maybe reach is a bad idea.

 

[Lawntoilet]

For anyone planning a Magus build, there is an awesome

I initially started with an alchemist because I wanted to try a class I hadn't seen in a D&D game. Ability list reminded me of a D&D 3.5 Warlock the way bombs can be modified like eldritch blast.

Hacked up my save game experience so I could see what a level 20 character would look like, and I'm glad I did because the feats that allow for additional bombs per round don't appear to be working properly. Rapid shot and two weapon fighting are also supposed to work, so in theory you should be able to throw 4+ bombs in 6 seconds, but it appears the game treats bombs more like spells.

I find the real-time combat a real drag vs. what it could have been turn-based, but re-rolling as a paladin has lowered the pausing to a more tolerable level. Not clear on the best use of my feats for a paladin because I don't want to lock into a specific weapon type without knowing which ones the designers actually added to the game. I'll work towards Cleave-Through and pick up Wings for an AC bonus.

I'm only still in late Chapter 2, but I know there are some really good Heavy Mace options (for a S&B build) and Greatsword options for 2h.

I was hoping to use a halberd, or similar 2h reach weapon. But maybe reach is a bad idea.

There's at least one very good Glaive in the Bald Stones area of Chapter 2, I gave it to Amiri and she's been very effective with it.

 

[Lhynn]

Reach is amazing, but sometimes bugged, often times your companions wont be able to reach past your front line, at other times theyll do it easily.

Reach + enlarge + cleave on amiri can be quite amazing tho.

 

[Sheepherder]

I initially started with an alchemist because I wanted to try a class I hadn't seen in a D&D game. Ability list reminded me of a D&D 3.5 Warlock the way bombs can be modified like eldritch blast.

Hacked up my save game experience so I could see what a level 20 character would look like, and I'm glad I did because the feats that allow for additional bombs per round don't appear to be working properly. Rapid shot and two weapon fighting are also supposed to work with fast bombs, so in theory you should be able to throw 4+ bombs in 6 seconds, but it appears the game treats bombs more like spells.

I find the real-time combat a real drag vs. what it could have been turn-based, but re-rolling as a paladin has lowered the pausing to a more tolerable level. Not clear on the best use of my feats for a paladin because I don't want to lock into a specific weapon type without knowing which ones the designers actually added to the game. I'll work towards Cleave-Through and pick up Wings for an AC bonus.

Nah dude, rapid shot and two weapon fighting are not supposed to work with bombs. Where did you get that from? The amount of bombs you can throw with fast bombs depends on your BAB. 1 ar bab<6, 2 at 6 bab, 3 at 11, 4 at 16. Alchemist has 1/2 bab progression so you'll get 2 bombs or 4 bombs with transformation spell. Dunno about haste.

 

[Yosharian]

Is a two hander raging half-orc barb solo run doable on highest difficulty? Asking for a friend

If you don't have spells it's extremely unlikely you'll be able to solo on the highest difficulty. You need buffs, immunity spells, etc.

However, the viability of a solo run does depend a lot on what items you use, so it's possible that powerful immunity items might make the run viable.

I mean, you could always just keep reloading until you make that one save.

 

[Yosharian]

I initially started with an alchemist because I wanted to try a class I hadn't seen in a D&D game. Ability list reminded me of a D&D 3.5 Warlock the way bombs can be modified like eldritch blast.

Hacked up my save game experience so I could see what a level 20 character would look like, and I'm glad I did because the feats that allow for additional bombs per round don't appear to be working properly. Rapid shot and two weapon fighting are also supposed to work with fast bombs, so in theory you should be able to throw 4+ bombs in 6 seconds, but it appears the game treats bombs more like spells.

I find the real-time combat a real drag vs. what it could have been turn-based, but re-rolling as a paladin has lowered the pausing to a more tolerable level. Not clear on the best use of my feats for a paladin because I don't want to lock into a specific weapon type without knowing which ones the designers actually added to the game. I'll work towards Cleave-Through and pick up Wings for an AC bonus.

Nah dude, rapid shot and two weapon fighting are not supposed to work with bombs. Where did you get that from? The amount of bombs you can throw with fast bombs depends on your BAB. 1 ar bab<6, 2 at 6 bab, 3 at 11, 4 at 16. Alchemist has 1/2 bab progression so you'll get 2 bombs or 4 bombs with transformation spell. Dunno about haste.

From Paizo FAQ on the Alchemist page:

If an alchemist has the Fast bombs discovery, can he use Rapid Shot, Two-Weapon Fighting, Improved Two-Weapon Fighting, haste, and similar abilities and effects to add more attacks?

As written, yes, all of these apply because fast bombs “functions just like a full-attack with a ranged weapon.”

 

[Luckmann]

We should probably try to refrain from assumptions regarding the validity of the PnP rules in relation to PF:K. It leads to a lot of assumptions that simply doesn't apply, as well as arguments as to whether it should or not. How it works in the PnP is largely irrelevant, and purism for the sake of purism is puerile.

 

[vazha]

Is a two hander raging half-orc barb solo run doable on highest difficulty? Asking for a friend

If you don't have spells it's extremely unlikely you'll be able to solo on the highest difficulty. You need buffs, immunity spells, etc.

However, the viability of a solo run does depend a lot on what items you use, so it's possible that powerful immunity items might make the run viable.

I mean, you could always just keep reloading until you make that one save.

Well, that's a massive, massive decline. Any game worth its salt should be beatable by bashing the brains out of your enemies' skulls. Spells? Pah!
On a more serious note, what second class should I take to augment the defenses of my barbarian? As in, I dont want to cast spells, no sirrah, but I would tolerate some sort of innate magical defense and such.

 

[aweigh]

so is cleric still the best all around class, like in 3.5?

 

[Mortmal]

We should probably try to refrain from assumptions regarding the validity of the PnP rules in relation to PF:K. It leads to a lot of assumptions that simply doesn't apply, as well as arguments as to whether it should or not. How it works in the PnP is largely irrelevant, and purism for the same of purism is puerile.

Close enough but there's big differences, for example my arcane trickster scorching rays apply sneak damage to every rays, instead of one . So specialize in ray ,+penetration + meta magic feats, fill all the memorize slot, you cant compete with that damage with any other builds.
But some spells are weaker like animate undead wich last only 1 min, there's really nothing to make a really good necromancer build.

 

[Yosharian]

We should probably try to refrain from assumptions regarding the validity of the PnP rules in relation to PF:K. It leads to a lot of assumptions that simply doesn't apply, as well as arguments as to whether it should or not. How it works in the PnP is largely irrelevant, and purism for the same of purism is puerile.

That wasn't my intention, I was simply pointing out how the mechanics are 'supposed to' work, since that was the phrasing used by the person I was quoting.

But yes, the game may well function differently.

Not sure why such a mechanic would be changed, though, as a bomber build is hardly overpowered.

 

[Yosharian]

Is a two hander raging half-orc barb solo run doable on highest difficulty? Asking for a friend

If you don't have spells it's extremely unlikely you'll be able to solo on the highest difficulty. You need buffs, immunity spells, etc.

However, the viability of a solo run does depend a lot on what items you use, so it's possible that powerful immunity items might make the run viable.

I mean, you could always just keep reloading until you make that one save.

Well, that's a massive, massive decline. Any game worth its salt should be beatable by bashing the brains out of your enemies' skulls. Spells? Pah!
On a more serious note, what second class should I take to augment the defenses of my barbarian? As in, I dont want to cast spells, no sirrah, but I would tolerate some sort of innate magical defense and such.

Well, perhaps, but D&D was designed primarily as a team game, not a solo one.

The weakest aspect of a solo class is the ability to resist save-based attacks. If 1/4 of your party gets disabled, it's not so bad, but when soloing, a disabling attack could spell instant death.

So, a build which has good saves, such as a pure monk, or a paladin with aura of grace, could work.

Not wanting to use a spellcaster does limit things somewhat.

 

[Serus]

We should probably try to refrain from assumptions regarding the validity of the PnP rules in relation to PF:K. It leads to a lot of assumptions that simply doesn't apply, as well as arguments as to whether it should or not. How it works in the PnP is largely irrelevant, and purism for the same of purism is puerile.

Close enough but there's big differences, for example my arcane trickster scorching rays apply sneak damage to every rays, instead of one . So specialize in ray ,+penetration + meta magic feats, fill all the memorize slot, you cant compete with that damage with any other builds.
But some spells are weaker like animate undead wich last only 1 min, there's really nothing to make a really good necromancer build.

As with very many things in Kingmaker, sneak attack applying to rays like that is with high probability a bug/oversight not a conscious decision on parts of the devs. Which means it might get corrected at some point. Enjoy it as long as it lasts. But then maybe they did it on purpose for some reason, can't be certain.

 

[Emmanuel2]

Are people solo-ing the game with the XP option enabled?

If not, Unfair and even Challenging would be outright impossible for the former or just really hard for the latter at some points on solo and just downright impossible for some classes.

 

[J1M]

We should probably try to refrain from assumptions regarding the validity of the PnP rules in relation to PF:K. It leads to a lot of assumptions that simply doesn't apply, as well as arguments as to whether it should or not. How it works in the PnP is largely irrelevant, and purism for the same of purism is puerile.

No. Unless the designers indicated a specific intentional change, we can assume that the goal was a faithful reproduction of the pathfinder ruleset. That's how over 90% of mechanics are resolved.

Additionally, the problem with the alchemist is confirmed by the game including the Fast Bombs ability. If the design intent was to neuter that build for some reason, then that ability would be removed, not broken.

I get that you like the game, but this attutude you have comes across as "child pretending to sound mature".

 

[Yosharian]

I updated my builds at https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1528413526, notably the Raging Alchemist build. I wanted to go for some Trip shenanigans but the other feats are just too strong...

 

[Luckmann]

We should probably try to refrain from assumptions regarding the validity of the PnP rules in relation to PF:K. It leads to a lot of assumptions that simply doesn't apply, as well as arguments as to whether it should or not. How it works in the PnP is largely irrelevant, and purism for the same of purism is puerile.

No. Unless the designers indicated a specific intentional change, we can assume that the goal was a faithful reproduction of the pathfinder ruleset. That's how over 90% of mechanics are resolved.

"Over 90%" not being 100%. Many small things are obviously adjusted, intentionally so, and others simply differ because of implementation issues; assuming a 1:1 faithfulness is fucking stupid.

Additionally, the problem with the alchemist is confirmed by the game including the Fast Bombs ability. If the design intent was to neuter that build for some reason, then that ability would be removed, not broken.

I don't care, because I wasn't commenting on any one particular issue or discussion, but rather in general. I didn't mean to take anyone's side, I was just tired of seeing people be retarded and making assumptions that doesn't apply, clearly wasn't intended to apply, nor will ever apply. If you insist on having a fruitless and meaningless discussion that comes to no meaningful conclusion, arguing entirely beside the issues, I can't stop you or anyone.

I get that you like the game, but this attutude you have comes across as "child pretending to sound mature".

Fine, I'll just call you a fucking autist, then.

 

[J1M]

Relax, man.

 

[Lawntoilet]

We should probably try to refrain from assumptions regarding the validity of the PnP rules in relation to PF:K. It leads to a lot of assumptions that simply doesn't apply, as well as arguments as to whether it should or not. How it works in the PnP is largely irrelevant, and purism for the same of purism is puerile.

No. Unless the designers indicated a specific intentional change, we can assume that the goal was a faithful reproduction of the pathfinder ruleset.

That's really hard to do with Paizo, though, since they don't errata things well. For example, Slashing Grace is worded to work with Weapon Finesse, and it does in Kingmaker, and was assumed to in the PnP until someone in a FAQ at Paizo just decided "nah I don't like that." On top of that, there are so many dozens of feats they didn't implement because they are redundant, extremely weak, etc. that it seems like they were trying to keep things relatively simple compared to PnP, while still offering a ton of build flexibility.

 

[glass blackbird]

Hi guys, I have a build related question. I am planning to create a Mad Dog Lvl1 char, then switch to Fighter (and go all the way to 20 with Fighter).

Would boon companion feat make my pet continue to scale with my level, even if I'm fighter?

Someone on the inet said that boon companion is bugged and the pet won't scale when you multiclass, so if someone has tested this, please share your experience.

that's not what boon companion does in the tabletop, so i would hope not. it adds a flat level bonus for your pet, and is designed for rangers (since they don't get a pet until lv4, so the bonus makes the pet have level parity with them), though it can be used by other people if they want to dip and keep a full level pet.

 

[Luckmann]

Hi guys, I have a build related question. I am planning to create a Mad Dog Lvl1 char, then switch to Fighter (and go all the way to 20 with Fighter).

Would boon companion feat make my pet continue to scale with my level, even if I'm fighter?

Someone on the inet said that boon companion is bugged and the pet won't scale when you multiclass, so if someone has tested this, please share your experience.

that's not what boon companion does in the tabletop, so i would hope not. it adds a flat level bonus for your pet, and is designed for rangers (since they don't get a pet until lv4, so the bonus makes the pet have level parity with them), though it can be used by other people if they want to dip and keep a full level pet.

Let's be clear, though, that the bonus is +4 up to a maximum of your HD. So in that sense, it's possible to "scale with fighter". Not that that would help in this particular instance in any way whatsoever, I just wanted to point out that it's not a flat +4.

I wonder how it works in PF:K. I know it works for Ekun and I know effective animal "druid-level" is tracked seperately. I know this because at lvl 7 i was trying things out and gave Ekun (who has Boon Companion) a class level (but not a character level) of Divine Huntsmaster (or whatever the Inquisitor class is called) and his wolf grew to Large as if it's effective druid level was 8.

I want to also point out that it's not necessarily made for Rangers. It is equally good for druids that multiclass, or a number of other classes that get full ajimal progression. That said, I don't kjow why someone would multiclass a druid in PF other than for the lulz. Multiclassing is largely a sucker's game in PF.

 

[Jarpie]

Should I take combat casting for frontline casters, like clerics and magus etc? I remember it being useful in NWN 2.