Hi, asking for a little help there. I suck at theory crafting and would like to try a shifter build ; I like the class thematically .
I found a demon mythic path based on Aspect of Kalavakus and trip feats onYoutube but I don't like the demon path
Would something work with Azata or trickster mythic class or would I gimp myself ?
Many thanks in advance
Well, Azata isn't a very strong path for martials, but it can still work. Trickster is okay, its crits are strong, but for a shifter - a pretty feat-starved class already - the 3 feats to spend on the critical hit improvements of vanilla Trickster are kind of a big deal.
Lich would work very well IMO. Aeon would be fine also.
My thanks to you and the above poster.
I'll try to play as I go. I wanted an optimized build for a change from my pathfinder walkthrough where my char was seriously underpowered at the end due to suboptimal build but following strict min-maxing strategies I find online is just no fun. I'm in act 3 with a trip kineticist but bored as hell.
Best melee is Angel. Those spells and abilities you get even for non caster are bonkers.
Angel is fine.
However its far from best for melee. Angel never had much in the way of unique Attack Bonus boosts (gets Divine Favor/Power/Avenger - but other casting classes can access the first 2 as well). Now that Abolish Guile is supposedly fixed, he's also lost his major damage boost vs most enemies. And sure, he gets great buffs overall, particularly defensive. Sun Marked adds a nice chunk of damage to the whole party, Holy Sword adds a little more for himself.
But its nowhere near strongest martial support. In this field he's badly overtaken by Trickster, Lich, Aeon, raging Demon... hell even Azata with the DLC3 ring has stonger melee boosts.
Granted, the entire Angel party works very well due to the safety cushion of the awesome buffs plus SunMarked bonus damage.
However a trip machine, like a wolf shifter, would really want something more in the way of Attack Bonus boosts - as they also boost his CMB. And angel offers very little here (compare with Aeon who also has Divine Favor/Might, but ALSO gets up to +10 AB from Gaze + cloak AND up to +10 AB/damage more on AoOs or extra +6 CMB, Lich +4 AB & MR damage from Fear Control and potentially some 6+ AB & damage from Power from Death, Demon who stacks something like +19 CMB during rage, as well as lots of AB & damage...).