Good ways to boost attacks of oportunity

[Hogeyhead]

So I'm theory crafting a wizard who would use attacks of opportunity to deal martial damage on the opponents turn, however at higer levels gaining a decent to hit is difficult, due to the slow bab. However I feel this isn't impossible to do, and I was wondering if anyone knew of any feats or such that granted attack bonuses specifically to attacks of opportunity?

I know a couple, there is paired opportunist, but that's difficult to rely on, and may need leadership to work as it is a teamwork feat. There is also an exotic reach weapon that gives +2 to attacks of opportunity At the cost of having -2 to hit at all other times. I may use that, but only if I really need it.

Anyone know of anything?

[Mad Alchemist]

I think there is a trait that gives +1 to hit with spears for AoOs.

[Saldiven]

That reach weapon is the Elven Branched Spear. If your wizard is an Elf, he automatically treats it as a Martial Weapon due to the Elven racial ability "Weapon Familiarity." It's also affected by Weapon Finesse, so your Wizard could use that Feat for improved to-hit. (Odds are the Wizard will have better than a 10 Dex, but not so likely to have better than a 10 Str.)

[RumpinRufus]

Depending on what weapon you plan to use, there is the Fencer trait.

[Daniel Turner Zen Archer]

Saldiven wrote:

That reach weapon is the Elven Branch Spear. If your wizard is an Elf, he automatically has proficiency in it due to the Elven racial ability "Weapon Familiarity."

Not necessarily, an Elf with said ability merely treats weapons with 'Elven' in their name as Martial weapons, they don't automatically get those weapons as proficiencies; note that the same trait is worded thusly.

"Weapon Familiarity: Elves are proficient with longbows (including composite longbows), longswords, rapiers, and shortbows (including composite shortbows), and treat any weapon with the word “elven” in its name as a martial weapon."

Elves don't gain all 'elven' weapons as proficiencies, and Wizards don't gain all martial weapons as proficiencies either.

[Saldiven]

@Daniel: Whoops; you caught me in mid-edit :P

[UnArcaneElection]

Elven Branched Spear doesn't give you a penalty to use it for normal attacks, provided that you are proficient with it. (I would have linked the d20pfsrd.com page, but right now for some reason that page is causing Firefox to partially lock up.)

Here is a build that I theorycrafted for a Reach Eldritch Knight that would do what you want. Be careful that the consensus seems to lean against Magus Arcana Maneuver Mastery working for VMC Magus, so you might need to substitute another Magus Arcana for it at 7th level.

[Scott Wilhelm]

Daniel Turner Zen Archer wrote:

Saldiven wrote:

That reach weapon is the Elven Branch Spear. If your wizard is an Elf, he automatically has proficiency in it due to the Elven racial ability "Weapon Familiarity."

Not necessarily, an Elf with said ability merely treats weapons with 'Elven' in their name as Martial weapons, they don't automatically get those weapons as proficiencies; note that the same trait is worded thusly.

"Weapon Familiarity: Elves are proficient with longbows (including composite longbows), longswords, rapiers, and shortbows (including composite shortbows), and treat any weapon with the word “elven” in its name as a martial weapon."

Elves don't gain all 'elven' weapons as proficiencies, and Wizards don't gain all martial weapons as proficiencies either.

So, what if the character were an Eldritch Knight instead of a Wizard? If you want to be making attacks of opportunity, maybe "Wizard isn't what the OP should be going for anyway.

My advice to the OP. Your wizard should take 1 level in Fighter and then be an Eldritch Knight. Your BAB will Go up faster that way.

My second piece of advice: make your attacks of opportunity with Ray Spells. Ranged touch attacks.

Use Greater Invisibility, so you will be targeting opponents Flatfooted AC with your Ranged Touch Attacks.

What's the matter? Can't make Attacks of Opportunity with Ranged Weapons? Take Snap Shot feats, then you can.

[UnArcaneElection]

Scott Wilhelm wrote:

{. . .}

My second piece of advice: make your attacks of opportunity with Ray Spells. Ranged touch attacks.
{. . .}

I don't think you can cast a spell as an Attack of Opportunity unless you have soe way to cast a spell as a Swift Action on an attack, such as Magus Arcana Critical Strike (requires a critical hit and a separate touch attack, and is 1/day == yecch), Magus Arcana Opportune Strike (same deal except no longer requires a critical hit), or Eldritch Knight's Spell Critical (capstone ability, requires critical hit but at least no limit on uses per day). All these are only available at high level.

[Scott Wilhelm]

UnArcaneElection wrote:

Scott Wilhelm wrote:

{. . .}

My second piece of advice: make your attacks of opportunity with Ray Spells. Ranged touch attacks.
{. . .}

I don't think you can cast a spell as an Attack of Opportunity unless you have soe way to cast a spell as a Swift Action on an attack, such as Magus Arcana Critical Strike (requires a critical hit and a separate touch attack, and is 1/day == yecch), Magus Arcana Opportune Strike (same deal except no longer requires a critical hit), or Eldritch Knight's Spell Critical (capstone ability, requires critical hit but at least no limit on uses per day). All these are only available at high level.

Perhaps it would work if it were a Quickened spell.

But even if it were Quickened, you would have to take Snap Shot feats, because ray spells would be sort of like a Ranged Weapon.

This might work in conjunction with Arcane Archer's Imbue Spell Class Abiilty. That only requires 2 levels of Arcane Archer, but it would still require a Quickened Spell

You could make it work if you wanted to use this for spell-enhanced melee attacks such as Elemental Touch, and if you wanted to do things like this, Eldritch Knight might not be a bad choice, since it will increase your BAB.

[Otherwhere]

There are some Traits that grant a +1 or +2 bonus on AoO's, Tactician is one of them, but only 1x/day.