Pathfinder Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous - Game of the Year Edition

[Desiderius]

For my new Sanctified Slayer dual-wielding rider Kitsune I can't quite decide if I want to go with Str focus (meaning start with balanced stats for dual wielding - something like 15 Str and 15 Dex on start, with points into Str) or Dex focus (probably 19 Dex, 10 Str).

The first option will offer great variety of weapons my character will be able to use - all the best one handed arms he can find. Plus will benefit more from Str buffs (can't go overboard with size altering as a rider who wants to stay Medium/Small though - so for a large part of the game, Reduce Person might actually be more desirable - later on likely would stack Frightful Aspect/LP WITH Reduce to keep the model small - unless they correct this interaction) and items like Shy Lilly's Helmet.

The second seems more optimal stat wise, BUT will cost an extra feat and Mythic Feat (Weapon Finesse + Mythic) - while being already quite feat-starved. Worse, WF Mythic can be taken earliest in late Act 2 (around level 8 I believe) and before that he might struggle a little with damage. And would likely need to post-pone stuff like like Elemental Barrage if I go that way and Mythic TWF A LOT. And the weapon selection would be much more narrow. Better Initiative, AC, Reflex and Dex skills, including Mobility for Mounted abilities and Trickery for that sweet trap xp, though.

Thoughts?

You don't need Barrage.

I guess not. Particularly if I don't use that silly kukuri.

But maybe you have some thoughs on the Str vs Dex focus dilemma, Desiderius?

Main benefit of Slayer is Combat Style that lets you two-weapon w/o DEX and you don’t need AC as much Mounted, but you lose some of the benefit of Two-Weapon in TB since Leading Strike won’t trigger on your own hits. In RT your Dog or whoever will cash them in all the time.

Maybe use a two-hander and make an AoO build with Everready triggering from dog Trips?

 

[Desiderius]

The Duelist 10 ability is the only Sapping thing I’ve been happy with. And of course Shatter Confidence. This isn’t Deadfire where you get to hit stuff fifty times.

 

[Yosharian]

Having done some more testing with Elemental Barrage, it's really kind of underwhelming unless you really abuse the shit out of Geniekind, which I find distasteful.

 

[Desiderius]

Wait how are you getting a Mount again?

 

[Haplo]

For my new Sanctified Slayer dual-wielding rider Kitsune I can't quite decide if I want to go with Str focus (meaning start with balanced stats for dual wielding - something like 15 Str and 15 Dex on start, with points into Str) or Dex focus (probably 19 Dex, 10 Str).

The first option will offer great variety of weapons my character will be able to use - all the best one handed arms he can find. Plus will benefit more from Str buffs (can't go overboard with size altering as a rider who wants to stay Medium/Small though - so for a large part of the game, Reduce Person might actually be more desirable - later on likely would stack Frightful Aspect/LP WITH Reduce to keep the model small - unless they correct this interaction) and items like Shy Lilly's Helmet.

The second seems more optimal stat wise, BUT will cost an extra feat and Mythic Feat (Weapon Finesse + Mythic) - while being already quite feat-starved. Worse, WF Mythic can be taken earliest in late Act 2 (around level 8 I believe) and before that he might struggle a little with damage. And would likely need to post-pone stuff like like Elemental Barrage if I go that way and Mythic TWF A LOT. And the weapon selection would be much more narrow. Better Initiative, AC, Reflex and Dex skills, including Mobility for Mounted abilities and Trickery for that sweet trap xp, though.

Thoughts?

You don't need Barrage.

I guess not. Particularly if I don't use that silly kukuri.

But maybe you have some thoughs on the Str vs Dex focus dilemma, Desiderius?

Main benefit of Slayer is Combat Style that lets you two-weapon w/o DEX and you don’t need AC as much Mounted, but you lose some of the benefit of Two-Weapon in TB since Leading Strike won’t trigger on your own hits. In RT your Dog or whoever will cash them in all the time.

Maybe use a two-hander and make an AoO build with Everready triggering from dog Trips?

Sanctified Slayer is an Inquisitor archetype
Gets a mount from Animal Domain (and Swift Action Dimension Hop from Impossible Domain + Domain Zealot).

The downside is that his Combat Style/Slayer Talents have a weird and sucky progression: 1st at level 8, 2nd at 16 (3rd and 4th at 17 and 20, respectively - should I want to take these levels). So I can't/don't want to rely on them to get important feats.

Generally I agree two-handers are likely a better choice. But I already have a deadly charging Angel Cleric/Sohei/Gendarme with fauchards (respecced from greaxes, respecced from falchions), so I want to try a slightly different flavor
...and also take advantage of sneak attacks and other bonus sources of damage (like that Mallander's Insult shortsword: 3d6 bonus damage to both hands for 10 minutes per day).

 

[Desiderius]

Yeah I was kind of addicted to the Mallender Monk Belt. Kept meaning to try Sanctified then finally got around to it and decided it wasn’t worth it. Judgements are good but Inquistor doesn’t really fit very well with any Mythic.

If you want a Mount that bad just ride the Triceratops. Domains are valuable. Or you could go Divine Hound. It’s really good. The Doggo shares the Judgements.

 

[zapotec]

Does Steel Soul works now?

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

• Changed difficulty for the Icy Prison effect. A Strength check has been replaced with a Fortitude save to increase the chance to break free;

That poor poor spell...

SorcererVictor/Meredoth/Cryomancer in 3....2....1.....

Having done some more testing with Elemental Barrage, it's really kind of underwhelming unless you really abuse the shit out of Geniekind, which I find distasteful.

It seems like it would be pretty good with all the items that add damage types. A scorching ray with Aspect of the Asp should trigger at least 3 times. That would add up very quickly, especially if you bolster it to splash everyone within 5'. I wouldn't know though. I'm just lurking until this game is finished. I waited a year after KM to play and was rewarded. The wait is killing me.

 

[Desiderius]

• Changed difficulty for the Icy Prison effect. A Strength check has been replaced with a Fortitude save to increase the chance to break free;

That poor poor spell...

SorcererVictor/Meredoth/Cryomancer in 3....2....1.....

Having done some more testing with Elemental Barrage, it's really kind of underwhelming unless you really abuse the shit out of Geniekind, which I find distasteful.

It seems like it would be pretty good with all the items that add damage types. A scorching ray with Aspect of the Asp should trigger at least 3 times. That would add up very quickly, especially if you bolster it to splash everyone within 5'. I wouldn't know though. I'm just lurking until this game is finished. I waited a year after KM to play and was rewarded. The wait is killing me.

1d6 per Mythic level isn’t very fast. It’s solid on classes that can enchant their own weapon and/or add AoE (Especially good with Eldritch Archer) but jamming it onto every class just sucks too many scarce resources.

 

[Infinitron]

 

[Haplo]

Yeah I was kind of addicted to the Mallender Monk Belt. Kept meaning to try Sanctified then finally got around to it and decided it wasn’t worth it. Judgements are good but Inquistor doesn’t really fit very well with any Mythic.

If you want a Mount that bad just ride the Triceratops. Domains are valuable. Or you could go Divine Hound. It’s really good. The Doggo shares the Judgements.

Sanctified Slayer doesn't get Judgements :p
Does get Bane, spells, Solo Teamwork feats, bonuses to Initiative, bonuses to Perception & Persuasion and other Inquisitor goodies, though.

Triceratops has a large model and would mostly likely suck for mounted charging.

By the way, short of Trickster with Perception trick, I don't think you can teach an AC Greater Trip to really benefit from AoOs. With normal Trip, the enemy should be dead before he gets a chance to get up and provoke an AoO.

 

[razvedchiki]

For my new Sanctified Slayer dual-wielding rider Kitsune I can't quite decide if I want to go with Str focus (meaning start with balanced stats for dual wielding - something like 15 Str and 15 Dex on start, with points into Str) or Dex focus (probably 19 Dex, 10 Str).

The first option will offer great variety of weapons my character will be able to use - all the best one handed arms he can find. Plus will benefit more from Str buffs (can't go overboard with size altering as a rider who wants to stay Medium/Small though - so for a large part of the game, Reduce Person might actually be more desirable - later on likely would stack Frightful Aspect/LP WITH Reduce to keep the model small - unless they correct this interaction) and items like Shy Lilly's Helmet.

The second seems more optimal stat wise, BUT will cost an extra feat and Mythic Feat (Weapon Finesse + Mythic) - while being already quite feat-starved. Worse, WF Mythic can be taken earliest in late Act 2 (around level 8 I believe) and before that he might struggle a little with damage. And would likely need to post-pone stuff like like Elemental Barrage if I go that way and Mythic TWF A LOT. And the weapon selection would be much more narrow. Better Initiative, AC, Reflex and Dex skills, including Mobility for Mounted abilities and Trickery for that sweet trap xp, though.

Thoughts?

since you wont go for weapon dice increase i would say the dex route, higher initiative and ac. sanctified slayers studied target and sneak attack will help with the dmg until you get them mythics abilities.
sanctified slayer generally is really great in wrath with the mythic abilities, you get
- slayers studied target
- sneak dice
- cleric domains
- bane
- solo tactics
the only minus is the 3/4 BAB.

 

[Desiderius]

I know it doesn’t get Judgments, that’s why I didn’t play it.

I guess if you’ve got Pounce that’s true on the Trip. I always ended up going STR with Kit (even Nenio!) because it wasn’t letting you Finesse the Bite. And yeah SS gets better with Pounce (but SS isn’t full BAB so you get it late!).

I’d just lose the Mount altogether, go big, and enjoy your free Feat and Domain if you want to go SS. Always more fun (and often more effective) to focus on the strengths of your class and leave the other features to the classes that focus on them.

You might be happier with Arcane Enforcer since it gets a bunch of Teleports at lvl one.

 

[Desiderius]

For my new Sanctified Slayer dual-wielding rider Kitsune I can't quite decide if I want to go with Str focus (meaning start with balanced stats for dual wielding - something like 15 Str and 15 Dex on start, with points into Str) or Dex focus (probably 19 Dex, 10 Str).

The first option will offer great variety of weapons my character will be able to use - all the best one handed arms he can find. Plus will benefit more from Str buffs (can't go overboard with size altering as a rider who wants to stay Medium/Small though - so for a large part of the game, Reduce Person might actually be more desirable - later on likely would stack Frightful Aspect/LP WITH Reduce to keep the model small - unless they correct this interaction) and items like Shy Lilly's Helmet.

The second seems more optimal stat wise, BUT will cost an extra feat and Mythic Feat (Weapon Finesse + Mythic) - while being already quite feat-starved. Worse, WF Mythic can be taken earliest in late Act 2 (around level 8 I believe) and before that he might struggle a little with damage. And would likely need to post-pone stuff like like Elemental Barrage if I go that way and Mythic TWF A LOT. And the weapon selection would be much more narrow. Better Initiative, AC, Reflex and Dex skills, including Mobility for Mounted abilities and Trickery for that sweet trap xp, though.

Thoughts?

since you wont go for weapon dice increase i would say the dex route, higher initiative and ac. sanctified slayers studied target and sneak attack will help with the dmg until you get them mythics abilities.
sanctified slayer generally is really great in wrath with the mythic abilities, you get
- slayers studied target
- sneak dice
- cleric domains
- bane
- solo tactics
the only minus is the 3/4 BAB.

I can’t remember, does it get Swift Studied?

Otherwise you’ve got to land a Sneak first to turn it on or burn a Move, and Swifts can get clogged in any case. Judgements end up outpacing Studied and also give huge Spell Pen boosts if you’re wanting to land any spells among other flexible benefits. Sneaks aren’t bad though with all those attacks although the usual caveats about melee finding targets for its extra attacks applies. Melee has to move, ranged doesn’t.

 

[Haplo]

Thanks, but the exploits are not Swift Actions. More importantly, they won't enable Spirited Charge - not what I'm looking for.

 

[Haplo]

Sneaks aren’t bad though with all those attacks although the usual caveats about melee finding targets for its extra attacks applies. Melee has to move, ranged doesn’t.

That's a very good point. I really enjoyed my Angel with Fauchard and Overwhelming Flames.
Sometimes he'd explode whole groups, if packed tightly.

Here I guess it will be more like wasteful one target at a time. A reality I need to accept. Will have Aeon powers and spells as consolation.

 

[Desiderius]

Aeon is a nonbo with Inquistors unfortunately. Seriously, think this through, you’re just duplicating everything. Start with the Mythic you want then choose the class to complement it.

And if you like swift teleporting you’re going to be so swift clogged you’ll tear your hair out unless they REALLY changed Aeon. Does anyone have a link to Aeon changes?

 

[Desiderius]

Due to the way BAB works you wouldn't be able to get Vulpine Pounce until lvl 15 with SS.

If you play a Hellknight you could get Pounce at 11 and Swift Teleport at 13, due to the way Domains work currently (which makes no sense, should match levels in the Order, which would also make Armiger better).

 

[Desiderius]

Thanks, but the exploits are not Swift Actions. More importantly, they won't enable Spirited Charge - not what I'm looking for.

a) is Spirited Charge working yet?

b) how are you getting it?

 

[Haplo]

That's another reason I plan to MC to Gendarme 3 - will get Pounce at 13 (and 3 feats, proficiencies, Cavalier Charge and Braggart). Still late, but...

As for Aeon changes, Gazes are now Free Actions.
Also the Devs added a shitload of new Gazes.
Sanctified Slayer doesn't get Judgements, so while not optimal with the Swift Actions economy, I think I'll manage.

Anyway intriguing about Hellknight. Maybe I need a closer look.

 

[Haplo]

Thanks, but the exploits are not Swift Actions. More importantly, they won't enable Spirited Charge - not what I'm looking for.

a) is Spirited Charge working yet?

b) how are you getting it?

Sure, it was more-or-less working most of the time. Reliability varied in the past. But when I had a short test ride yesterday, it did seem rock solid.

As for how, it only has one prerequisite: Mounted Combat feat.
I MIGHT get 1 Sohei as shortcut to skip the prerequisite (plan for 4 multiclass Full BAB levels anyway) - but not sure I want to delay main class features.

 

[Desiderius]

Yeah go off man. That makes a lot more sense. Been awhile since I've played so forgetting all the intricacies.

The problem with Aeon is the Bane though not the Gaze. Does it even stack with Inquisitors? And you're just duplicating the spells, tho Aeon does add Archon's.

 

[Haplo]

Yeah go off man. That makes a lot more sense. Been awhile since I've played so forgetting all the intricacies.

The problem with Aeon is the Bane though not the Gaze. Does it even stack with Inquisitors? And you're just duplicating the spells, tho Aeon does add Archon's.

The effects don't stack. But it gets upgraded to Aeon's and their daily uses stack.
Frankly not sure how useful it will be through most of the game with Crusaders Edge available.
Later on its stronger and the dispel is nice, of course.

 

[Desiderius]

Yeah I usually tried to get both Image and Divine Favor/Power via the Class/Mythic Combo. The Divine Spells and the Illusion Spells are complementary.

So Bloodrager Aeon was really good.

 

[Desiderius]

The problem with the full BAB front-end is that you never get to those backloaded Slayer Talents lol.

Just determined not to play Huntmaster?

I think Divine Hunter (the Hunter one) gets a Domain? That gives you and your pet Outflank at lvl 2 I think? And Celestial Template? Better mix of spells with Aeon.