[PFS] Arcanist build advice

[Jiggy]

Looking to make an arcanist (the ACG playtest class) for PFS. I'll be starting at 2nd level due to GM credit. Here's what I'm thinking so far:

Jex Troiano, Human Arcanist

STR 10
DEX 14
CON 14
INT 18 (16+2)
WIS 10
CHA 10

That's a starting point for my stats; suggestions for tweaking?

Traits: Magical Lineage (burst of radiance), Reactionary

Here's what I'm thinking for feats and Exploits:
HD1: Spell Focus (evocation)
Hmn: Spell Specialization (burning hands)
Arc1: Bloodline (draconic [fire])
This has me, at 2nd level, casting burning hands for 4d4+4 damage.
HD3: Varisian Tattoo (evocation)
Arc3: Consume Magic Items Om nom nom...
At 4th level, SpellSpec switches to scorching ray, putting it at CL7 so I have two rays.
HD5: Spell Specialization (burst of radiance)
Arc5: Metamagic Feat (Intensify Spell)
Now I can cast intensified burst of radiance as a 2nd-level spell at CL 8.
At 6th level, SpellSpec1 switches off of scorching ray (which will still have 2 rays) and onto fireball.
HD7: Empower Spell
Arc7: Potent Magic
At 8th, SpellSpec2 switches from burst of radiance (which is near its cap) to scorching ray (which now gets its 3rd ray).

....After that it gets a little fuzzy, but any thoughts on the basic idea?

[RainyDayNinja]

Instead of Consume Magic Items, consider the exploit that lets you pick up the Wizard admixture school power, so you can switch the element on your specialized spells a few times per day.

[Jiggy]

RainyDayNinja wrote:

Instead of Consume Magic Items, consider the exploit that lets you pick up the Wizard admixture school power, so you can switch the element on your specialized spells a few times per day.

Wouldn't it be easier just to use a rod for that?

EDIT: And also having non-elemental spells available, like burst of radiance or non-blasts.

[RainyDayNinja]

Sure, you could use a rod, but if you use the exploit, you could use other rods on that same spell.

[TGMaxMaxer]

Use the Orc bloodline instead so it adds to each die no matter what kind of spell it is, and get Darkvision too. Light Sensitivity isn't really that big a deal for a caster.

[nate lange]

i see that you've avoided any abilities that rely on Cha... you might want to consider investing a few points in it, that would open up some more options. otherwise, dimensional slide could be handy (and not Cha based) at 9th and greater metamagic knowledge looks good at 11th... or counterspell and counter drain to protect yourself from nasty casters and replenish your arcane reservoir.

[Jiggy]

TGMaxMaxer wrote:

Use the Orc bloodline instead so it adds to each die no matter what kind of spell it is, and get Darkvision too. Light Sensitivity isn't really that big a deal for a caster.

You're welcome to buy me whatever book it's in. ;) Otherwise, I'll be sticking with draconic.

[Jiggy]

nate lange wrote:

i see that you've avoided any abilities that rely on Cha... you might want to consider investing a few points in it, that would open up some more options.

Yeah, I might take STR down to 8 and put CHA at 12, especially if I did do the admixture thing.

Quote:

or counterspell and counter drain to protect yourself from nasty casters and replenish your arcane reservoir.

Clearly you haven't seen the latest version of the Counterspell exploit. Utterly useless.

[Imbicatus]

Jiggy wrote:

TGMaxMaxer wrote:

Use the Orc bloodline instead so it adds to each die no matter what kind of spell it is, and get Darkvision too. Light Sensitivity isn't really that big a deal for a caster.

You're welcome to buy me whatever book it's in. ;) Otherwise, I'll be sticking with draconic.

Orcs of Golarion. The PDF is cheap ;)

[Jiggy]

Not cheap enough.

But anyway, any other suggestions/thoughts?

[Takhisis]

Charisma is optional for the arcanist, but having it opens up some nice stuff. No more then 14 is needed, and you can get away with possibly 12. The arcanist I'm planing goes down happily to 7 strength and 9 wisdom to get con, dex and cha at 14 while int remains 18. Arcanists use strength for nothing except encumbrance so if you don't mind getting magic storage spaces ASAP and finding creative ways to haul your gear before then dumping strength to 7 may be worth it for the extra points in your other stats. As for wisdom, the only thing you need it for is will saves and perception, the former of which you have at good anyway and the latter of which can be remedied by taking ranks in the skill. Thus, dumping wisdom as well as str to get more cha, dex, con and int is totally worth it to me, just try not to take wisdom below 8 if possible as having a +0 will save at Lv 1 can hurt.

As for actual build advice. I agree that Orc would be better then dragon, but if you don't want to spend the money that's understandable. If that's the case then taking the admixture evocation school would be beneficial to you as changing out damage types can be highly useful for a blaster.

[andreww]

nate lange wrote:

i see that you've avoided any abilities that rely on Cha... you might want to consider investing a few points in it, that would open up some more options. otherwise, dimensional slide could be handy (and not Cha based) at 9th and greater metamagic knowledge looks good at 11th... or counterspell and counter drain to protect yourself from nasty casters and replenish your arcane reservoir.

Don't do this. Charisma is a complete Arcanist dump stat. The only exploits it really affects are the ray attacks and they are all awful.

Personally I would avoid Consume Magic Items as a bit of a trap. It is less of an issue in PFS as your gold isn't reduced by consuming potions and scrolls that you find. Personally I wouldn't want to run an Arcanist without Dimensional Slide, it is quite simply amazing.

You are investing quite a lot in increasing your damage which takes a lot of resources. You would probably be more effective investing in DC boosts and grabbing Persistent and later Dazing. That would mean skipping some of the caste level increases and picking up Greater Spell Focus, Potent Magic earlier on and maybe the Foresight school to act in surprise rounds.

If you are invested in dealing damage then definitely stick with what you have but I would second the Admixture Wizard School ability. If you go that route don't dump Charisma but I wouldn't bother investing any more points in it.

[Mystically Inclined]

First of all, I am taking notes your build. This is some good stuff.

With that said, aren't you going to run out of spells awful fast? I always thought blasting had the highest spell consumption cost, and you've chosen the full caster class with the lowest spells per day.

[Jiggy]

Mystically Inclined wrote:

With that said, aren't you going to run out of spells awful fast? I always thought blasting had the highest spell consumption cost, and you've chosen the full caster class with the lowest spells per day.

I won't only be blasting; but non-blasts don't require as much investment to be strong. ;D

[Takhisis]

Yeah, but remember this. An Arcanist has one thing going for it in the realm of blasting....it is a prepared and spontaneous caster at the same time. Sorcs suffer from having to spend their limited blasts on spells known while wizards likewise suffer by being forced to fill all their spellslots with blast spells if they want to blast. Wizards, in most cases, are seen as the superior blasters because they don't have to waste their resources on blast spells and can still be the "god wizard" via changing out their daily spells. However, they suffer in that they must choose between being a god wizard and a blaster at the start of the day and once they pick that choice, they can't change it until the next day. Certain high level feats can remedy this, but they don't kick in until at minimum 15th level.

The arcanist, however, has the same advantage of the wizard without the disadvantage that he has until he's 15th level and gets spell perfection. By being both prepared and spontaneous, he can be both the "god wizard" and "Michael bay disciple" at the same time. Unlike the wizard who must devote a sizable portion of his spell slots to blasts if he wants to be a blaster the arcanist need only devote a single slot. Being a spontainous caster, he can prepare just one blast and make the rest of his prepared spells god wizard things, utility and other more generally useful magics yet still have the ability to spam his blasts. The sorc can do that too, mind you, but comes with the drawback that his spells known are very limited and thus he has to waste that precious resources on blasts if he wants to be a blaster. While the sorc blaster has more staying power then the arcanist one the arcanist blaster comes out ahead in the end because he can be both the blaster AND the god wizard or utility guy while the sorc is basically a specialized blaster and thats all.

So while the spells per-day may be low for an arcanist, I think their unique style of casting makes them the fullcaster best suited for being the blaster. Thats just my two cents, though, so take it for what you will.