The group is starting a new campaign at level 8 and I will be playing an ifrit Diviner. At the moment I'm leaning heavily towards a specialist wizard but part of me seeks some vindication for my purchasing of the advance class guide.
Why I like the wizard: bonus feats, arcane discoveries, faster spell progression, free familiar* (scorpion but if I get the familiar folio it might change). Feats I will have:
Improved initiative
Defensive combat training
Knowledge is Power arcane discovery
Eschew materials
Not yet sure what feat No. 5 will be - probably one of the boring ones like toughness,spell focus, spell penetration or combat casting. That said I do rather like the look of firesight coupled with either pyrotechnics or an eversmoking bottle.
Trait wise I’ll be taking seeker and mutant eye. I will also have the hedonist drawback (his spell component pouch will be for drugs since he has no need for spell components) which grants me a third trait. I'm not %100 set on what this trait will be as there are quite a few good options that I can easily work into the character's background i.e. arcane temper, desperate resolve, dangerously curious, outcast’s intuition and pragmatic activator. Any suggestions here would be welcome.
I will most definitely be taking wildfire heart as well as efreeti magic and either fire in the blood or fire insight.
Assuming a dex of at least 14 I should have and initiative of 18 (19 with arcane temper) before rolling.
*due to his history of playing D&D the GM has a fondness for killing familiars so this may be a moot point.
I really think the arcanist has better flexibility than the wizard, combining the best features of wizard and sorcerer.
If I was going wizard with a familiar-killing DM, I'd take an arcane bond instead. That extra spell can be a life-saver!
You could always take a Figment Familiar. Even if it dies, it just comes back later.
I'd considered a bonded item but the effects of being without the item are worse then being without a familiar. I'll look into the Figment Familiar. Also the class guide reads "Each day, when preparing spells, the arcanist's arcane reservoir fills with raw magical energy". So does this mean that if they lose their spellbook and lack another means of preparing spells the reservoir does not refill or would the preparation of read magic fulfil this requirement? Part of the appeal of the acanist was this if the spells book is lost then I could still do something with the arcane exploits.
I would take the bonded item and have it be a ring. It is easier to kill you than get that ring unless the GM just makes stuff up because he can. If he is going that route then go arcanist.
I'm with Wraithstrike there. If your DM wants to scr*w with you, he will regardless of what you do.