Synthesist ranged combat


Advice


Hi folks,

i would really appreciate your help with one problem our group has.

I'm a 4th level synthesist and we encountered 3 major battles with an reoccuring problem: We have no good ranged attack options vs. flying enemies. Yesterday we sat there, with all our melee combat prowess and only one half-decent archer. We buffed with haste, but it was painful to watch how the enemy softened us with extremly powerful magic, while we could only watch and tried our flimsy (and mostly missing) ranged attacks.

I'm at a loss how to remedy this situation with possible evolutions of an eidolon. My Eidolon is a melee-build and his ranged attack is only +4.
Is there any way i could improve my ranged combat somehow with available evolutions on the next level (the only thing i could come up with was flight)? My idea was something in the range of warlock-blasts or something like that. One thing would really be cool: An evolution that replicates the spike-attack of an hydralisk from Starcraft ;)

I only have a crossbow, my summoner spells are limited to buffs (mage armor, shield, haste, bull's strength, rejuvenate eidolon etc.). We have a hunter who's ok with a bow, but the rest is purely melee.

If you have any cool ideas, even mundane ones, they would really be appreciated. :)

Thank you!


unless you cheesed out your toon to be super\dump whne you fused\not fused.
drop your eidolon and summon some flying mobs( swarms are cool too)

show your flare as a master summoer and prove to your DM that you can adjust to any shtik he tries to pull at you.


Hi,

that occured to me as well, being a summoner and all, but i'm really vulnerable without the eidolon. So i was scared ;)

Will be more couragous the next time.

Any other ideas?


Flight is great, but a trick which can make use of the many potential arms and so-so attack bonus of an eidolon is to buy a bunch of guns. Guns target touch AC within their first range increment.

Flight is the most versatile fix, but a Gundolon doesn't take enormous investment to be effective.


This is an awesome idea.
Problem is: This will cost a feat and i have to check with the DM first.
Most don't want guns in their campaigns.

Is there any way to use a gun normally without taking a feat?


If you have UMD and can buy a wand of Bestow Weapon Proficiency, and you have the time to buff up, I suppose that'd work. A lot of ifs though.

Multiple flasks of alchemists fire (or acid, etc.) might be a temporary substitute for guns and require no particular proficiency. 10' range increment means your enemies can still kite you though, flight/charge might serve you better.


well if you can't gun them down do what normal melee do against unreachable range - smoke screen .
there are so many many seplls that can provide this. from the fog\cloud spells to illusions\invisability spells.
one nice trick a former member of my party used, he speacilized in throwing other party members that spec in grappaling at the targets.(they had their action ready to grapple whne close enough.) since most of the fly+ranger don't have melee at hand that worked very nicely.("Switness, ready for the 'jumping Betty' move?")


zza ni wrote:

well if you can't gun them down do what normal melee do against unreachable range - smoke screen .

there are so many many seplls that can provide this. from the fog\cloud spells to illusions\invisability spells.
one nice trick a former member of my party used, he speacilized in throwing other party members that spec in grappaling at the targets.(they had their action ready to grapple whne close enough.) since most of the fly+ranger don't have melee at hand that worked very nicely.("Switness, ready for the 'jumping Betty' move?")

Hmm..problem is, the enemy was 40ft up in the air.

How can i throw any medium creature that far?
Fog may conceal us, but it also conceals the enemy, so the advantage is 0 because both sides are in an equally bad position.

It's very sad that here are not more eidolon evolutions like for astral constructs. They had a lot more options.

Scarab Sages

Obscuring Mist is great for a melee heavy party. Yes, it hurts you, but it hurts your ranged enemies more, because they have the advantage without it. It forces them to either waste actions shooting blind or come play in the fog. It can also let you move to a more advantageous position.


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Ranged synthesist reminds me of Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke.

Sorry, I have nothing else to add :x

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