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I'll start!
Remember, this list is for the classes themselves without archetypes.
In no order, they are...
TOP 10
1. Rogue- Who doesn't love a rogue?
2. Bard- Pretty scary in combat if you build one right and exceptional in
social circles. DEATH BY MUSIC!!!
3. Wizard- The cheap way to god-mod a game.
4. Oracle- The REAL way to god-mod a game!
5. Paladin- What's not to like? Awesome combat, awesome concept, fun to see
people caricaturize it!
6. Druid- Wild Shaping, cool thematic spells, and a lot of utility in combat.
7. Brawler- Pimp slap a dragon down... now with 50% less stick-up-the-arse than the leading Monk!
8. Occultist- Seriously, this is a cool class for anyone with real occult knowledge.
9. Spiritualist- It's a summoner, but cooler and creepier. Quite thematic too.
10. Vigilante- BE THE BATMAN!
BOTTOM 10
1. Alchemist- I don't know why, I just don't really like it without archetypes.
2. Antipaladin- Nothing says suck like a code of conduct that basically forces you into the old, boring stereotypes of evil. Apart from that, it's a paladin clone. Make it more distinct!
3. Cavalier- Bland and horses don't fit in all locations.
4. Samurai- Same reasons as cavalier, but it also feels like a very poor representation of a samurai, at least in how iconic it is. Perhaps more historically accurate but it violates the rule of cool.
5. Witch- While it's cool, they are either too weak or too busted to play unless you gain levels fast and the DM adds some nerfs to some abilities.
6. Gunslinger- I love the concept of the gunslinger but I am not fond of it. I know it had to be balanced but it feels crippled compared to some other classes.
7. Summoner- I would have preferred a class similar to the Final Fantasy summoners, with a little bit of 'white magic' to go with a powerful being that they summon. Being able to choose from a few types, some more iconic/unique evolutions, and have a finishing move would have been awesome.
8. Unchained Summoner- It's the summoner, but more restrictive... enough said.
9. Fighter- Still too bland without archetypes. It's pretty much just passive benefits. Ever since the Tome of Nine Swords in 3.5 and Path of War from Dreamscarred Press, I would venture to say that fighters are just lame.
10. Warpriest- Meh. Atlas shrugs.
- Top Ten:
- Oracle. Wide range of flavor and power, without being too spread out or feeling forced.
- Inquisitor: Strong, flavorful, balanced, and well-supported.
- Druid: You can be an air elemental fighting with a lightningbolt on the back of a T-Rex. Need I go on?
- Shaman: Lots of flexibility, possibly the least-broken 9 level spell list, flavorful, and interesting.
- Thassilonian Speciallist Wizard: Adds some flavor and removes some power from a class starving for the former and stuffed with the latter.
- Brawler: Love fighting in close combat, love flexible feat and viable combat maneuvers, love having a solid touch AC in light armor.
- Alchemist: Comes with a built in ranged backup for one of the stronger melee options, and a set of fun and flavorful utility potions.
- Investigator: An alchemist variant with amazing skills and a different flavor.
- Skald: BardBarian combining some of the bard's amazing support with a bit of the Barbarian's martial prowess.
- Bard: A solid support character, face, striker, and generally a good class.
- Hunter: Not bad, but it feels less like a class and more like a druid archetype in flavor and features.
- Cleric: Too few class features or interesting abilities. I prefer Oracle.
- Wizard: Too much power at high levels, too little at low levels, too bland at mid levels (3-6).
- Occultist: Seems good, but it gives me a headache to read over the class.
- Kineticist: See Occultist.
- Ranger: Favored Enemy/Terrain just doesn't appeal to me.
- Fighter: Bland mix of misleading bonus feats, advanced armor/weapon trainings that shouldn't cost as much as they do, and generally low utility.
- Summoner: Standard Action Summoning feels like cheating. If your summon isn't worth a skipping a turn don't summon. If it is, getting 1/2 the cost is too good.
- Paladin: Between Local GMs suggesting flanking breaks the code and me not liking the alignment system in general, let alone as a balancing mechanic, I just can't bring myself to play one.
- Antipaladin: Should be an NPC only class.
Bottom Ten:
G*!&&#n Paladins, using strategy and military tactics.
Who does that, you'll attack everything in a straight line, or you fall!
Top 10
Investigator: Just the best skill oriented class in game.
Inquisitor: Burn the heretic
Swashbuckler: The way to be really cool!
Ranger: Sooo many options
Summoner: The only true pet class
Cleric: So many happy hours spent
Paladin: Smite the heretic
Samurai/Cavalier: Just stylish
Shaman: Cool as heaven and soo flexible.
Bard: has soo much flexibility.
Least 10
Rogue: Worst, most useless class in game. Never had one worth the tablespot. Many so bad that it counts as two useless.
Slayer: Just a notch better than above
Bloodrager: A well better nothing said
Brawler: Do not get them
Monk: To MAD, (Exception ZAM)
Witch: Just do not warm to them.
Wizard: Can be good, if played well. Too few have managed.
Fighter: Boring but practical
Gunslinger: Not my style
All psychic classes. Do not know do not appeal
Top 10
1)Kineticist
2)Sorcerer
3)Oracle
4)Swashbuckler
5)Monk(both)
6)Summoner(both)
7)Bard/Rouge(Unchained)
8)Brawler
9)Spiritualist
10)Druid/Ranger/Hunter
Bottom 10
1)Cavalier
2)Samurai
3)Inquisitor
4)Arcanist
5)Warpriest
6)Vigilante
7)Slayer
8)Shaman
9)Skald
10)Antipaladin
Top Ten, and archetypes that go with them if any
1. Magus (Vanilla)
2. Hunter (Vanilla)
3. Inquisitor (Sanctified Slayer)
4. Investigator (Empiricist)
5. Paladin (Numerous) / Antipaladin (Tyrant)
6. Bard (Numerous)
7. Shaman (Vanilla)
8. Arcanist (Vanilla)
9. Cavalier (Honor Guard, Strategist)
10. Ranger (Dungeon Delver)
Bottom Ten, and reasons why
10. Bard (Savage Skald, Archaeologist) - We have a real Skald now. As for Archaeologist (and other self-sufficient archetypes), its just a personal preference. The archetype is incredible, but I myself don't like the idea of a "selfish" Bard.
9. Gunslinger (any besides Bolt Ace) - Gun mechanics don't work very well, IMO. Rather than rolling to attack an enemy to see if you hit, all it really feels like is rolling to see if your gun messes up or not.
8. Wizard (Yes. Wizard) - The "basic 4" classes are all really starting to show their age. While powerful, I just feel like the wizard also comes off as a bit bland. Hardly any actual class features besides 2 School abilities. I only prefer Arcanists because of flavor and spell preparation. Still highly enjoyable at the table however.
7. Fighter (mostly any) - falls under the basic 4 principle listed above. There isn't much this class can do that is truly unique. Still welcome in my party though.
6. Monk (Core Rulebook) - Now with Unchained, I'll never look back. I feel like Unchained was a better approach as to cherry pick flavorful Monk abilities as opposed to being handed quite a few that didn't mesh too well together.
5. Alchemist (Ragechemist) - The Rage Mutagen just unsettles me so very much.
4. Bloodrager (Untouchable Rager) - This one I felt a little strange about, seeing that we finally got a Full BAB/4th-level Arcane class, and this archetype takes away the niche this class meant to fill.
3. Summoner (APG) - I honestly never saw the need for this class, but it does make for some interesting flavor. As a GM, I know it's a bit of a headache when the map gets cluttered with several summoned critters, so I also try to lessen that burden as a player.
2. Witch (Hex Channeler) - Once upon a time, I was looking for a viable Negative Energy channeling character and I thought this was it. Upon further inspection, I was severely disappointed. Other than that, it's still a Witch and still incredibly viable. The Hex Channeler just didn't promise what I thought it advertised.
1. Cleric - Definitely the most lackluster class IMO, despite having access to 9th-level spells. Has no true capstone, incredibly few class features (and therefore crippling archetypes), and nothing truly "unique" that another class archetype can't steal. It feels as if all of your character decisions are made at level 1. Not very ideal for a very fluid game.
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My current top 10:
1. Alchemist. Lots of options. Love the themes. Overall a solid class.
2. Kineticist. Lets me play blasters/elementalists that I've wanted to run for a long time. Appeals to me strongly on a thematic level.
3. Oracle. The most flavorful of the divine casters. Powerful and cutomizable. Love the mysteries, particularly in comparison to Cleric domains.
4. Witch. The second most flavorful spellcaster after the Oracle. I like the hexes almost as much as the Mysteries and enjoy the breadth of options available to the Witch.
5. Inquisitor. A fun, solid class to play. There's a gap between my top four and here in terms of how much I'm attracted to the classes, but I think this is a well-build class that I enjoy playing consistently.
6. Chained Summoner. I love the theme of this class and getting to control a highly-customizable eidolon. I'm also a fan of Synthesists and merging with an otherworldly being.
7. Mesmerist. I like the hypnotist-theme, the implanted tricks, the gaze attacks, and the mind-magic. I look forward to seeing the options for this one expand over time.
8. Vigilante. It lets me play all sorts of things that were tricky to play before, from superheroes to magical girls to serial killers. Overall, it opens up a strong option-space and has grown on me as a good pick for a lot of character ideas recently.
9. Magus. I like the gish melee-mage idea/role. It feels like an arcane sibling to the inquisitor even if I like the Inquisitor more.
10. Sorceror. I like casters, and I like the bloodlines and the Sorceror's (general, non-mandatory) connection to something inhuman a bit more than the Wizard's thematics.
Psychic and Investigator are also ones I like, and they'll probably drift in and replace some of the ones in the 5-10 range of this list part of the time.
I'll note before proceeding into my bottom classes that there's no class I'd actually want removed from the game. I like having *lots* of options, even if some of them end up being ones I rarely take out of my tool-box or feel really similar to existing ones.
My current bottom 10:
10. Hunter. It's probably the class I use the least. Whenever I'm making an NPC that could fit as a hunter, it usually ends up a Druid or Ranger or something else. The Hunter doesn't feel thematically notable enough to me.
9. Brawler. Same problem as the Hunter. I don't feel like it's thematically interesting enough compared to Monk / Fighter, so I pretty much never use it.
8. Chained Rogue. This one had huge power level issues. I like the concept/niche it's intended to occupy, but it's overshadowed in every way now by something else. An Unchained Rogue, Alchemist, Ninja, Slayer, Ranger, or *something* else will essentially always be a better build pick, leaving the chained rogue as mostly the domain of NPCs in my games.
7. Warpriest. Same general issue as the Hunter/Brawler. Generally overshadowed by Paladins and Inquisitors in terms of what my go-to pick for a character will be.
6. Slayer. With the Unchained Rogue out and Ranger present, the Slayer dropped down into the thematically-overshadowed pile. I don't really have a problem with it, but nothing about it screams 'interesting, must pick'.
5. Swashbuckler. This one is a class I was looking forward to that never really met my expectations. I wanted there to be a light, swashbuckler-y type martial. The actual class has just never been quite potent enough to draw my attention, though.
4. Skald. Not quite as much so as the other Hybrid Classes I've listed here, but the Skald just doesn't get used much by me. I usually have a multiclassed Bard/Barbarian or the like in the rare instances where I'd need a Skald-type because they fill the role and I'm more familiar with them.
3. Unchained Summoner. If this had come first, I probably would be loving it like I am the Chained Summoner. I'm even okay with the spell-level changes. As things stand, though, I feel so restricted on Eidolon design compared to the Chained Summoner that playing this version seems stifling and far less fun by comparison.
2. Unchained Barbarian. I prefer the chained one.
1. Commoner. I'm really stretching at this point to find classes to put on the bottom 10. I'm frankly glad that this exists for NPCs, but I actively like all of the remaining PCs classes, and this is the most boring of the NPC set.
Advanced Class Guide was probably the low point for me in classes; the Hybrids (barring Investigator, which includes elements of my favorite class and fills the thematic role of 'Detective', which I love) never really stood out enough for me from the existing classes, and time hasn't really done a ton to change that.
Not in any order, because I can't make lists. I love them all for different reasons, I can't quantify why I like X more than Y.
Best:
Alchemist. Took me a while to appreciate this class, but I'm loving it. Bomb-lobbing is kinda boring IMHO, but a good Hyde Alchemist is terrifying. Investigator as an extension of the Alchemist. Never played one, but seen several in action. They're pretty sweet.
Druid. I just love the options wildshaping offers. Plus, pretty kickass spell list.
Cleric. I've played several buffing Clerics, and while I'd agree that straight up healing is meh, it isn't to be disregarded. I love the feeling of being the problem-solver and facilitator of the group.
Bard/Skald. I've once heard the expression "a Bard is like beer. Not every party needs it, but every party becomes better with it." I always thought of Bards as lame support characters, but I've seen a well-built Bard in action, and I'm impressed. Not really my type of class, but he really puts a party into overdrive.
Slayer. Flavourwise he's pretty vanilla, but I love the versatility this class offers. Mechanically it isn't very interesting and at some point they taper off (level 7 is great for Swift action study, then level 10 for Opportunist), but they're very efficient. They feel more like upgraded Fighters than a Ranger/Rogue combination. Several free feats, most likely with early access or cheating requirements, way better skills and saves, and an efficient way to increase damage output (Studied Target is pretty much on all the time at level 7). You're lagging a bit behind in damage output, I think, and you don't get Armour Training, but you have the skill points to make up for it in Acrobatics, Swim, and the like. Sneak Attack is just a cherry on top, but isn't needed to be a damage monster.
Occultist. Very complicated, but incredibly rewarding. So many cool things you can do. I can build a new character and choose different implements to start with and each time my build and even my stats will change dramatically. I don't think that can be said of many classes.
I've never played a Warpriest, but their Fervor abilities look incredibly sweet.
Hmm, that's only 9. Oh well.
Worst:
All d6 classes. I don't like characters with low HP and no armour. I wanna be in the thick of battle, taking and giving out blows. Also sucks that they don't have a lot to do in the early levels, when you don't have a lot of spells to burn.
Swashbuckler. They just look like boring one-trick ponies to me. Parry is great, but at higher levels enemies outsize you or have so high to-hit that you can't possibly beat it.
Magus. They're incredibly versatile, I'll give them that, but I think they can do too much. They can go nova too easily and they really dominate fights.
Summoner. They have a customisable pet (less with Unchained) and have great combat magic. It's a loop that feeds itself, and leads to a lot of repetitive builds. Pet with Pounce, lots of attacks, and Haste at an absurdly low level.
Spiritualist. Looks like they nerfed the Summoner in both ways, but both slightly too much. Pet seems to have lost most of its combat power, while the spell list is kinda mediocre, IMHO. The whole class just doesn't pop for me.
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Rogue hate is lower than expected, but the thread just begun...
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Hmm, my top and bottom 5 because I don't feel like typing 10 out.
1: Unchained Rogue - this is how you do rogue and dex-based combat right.
2: Bard - it only does everything, especially after archetype support.
3: Medium - the other master generalist.
4: Paladin - tanks well, smites hard.
5: Kineticist - a switch-hitter who doesn't need to change weapons to do it, but see below.
5: Kineticist - needs way more utility talents, most elements only have 1 good one per level, if that.
4: Shaman - fluff and mechanics already covered by witches, clerics, and oracles.
3: Vigilante - I get the modular nature of the class, but not sold on the dual identity at its core.
2: Swashbuckler - a 1 level dip gets you its only redeeming feature, then you might as well go full unchained rogue.
1: Arcanist - sure, obsolete both the sorcerer and wizard in one class, power creep at its finest.
Top 10 [Note: I've not played all or even most of these classes, so, I base my assessments on if they look fun, inspire ideas for fun characters and such.]
1. Wizard. I usually have a blast playing them (no pun intended), even when starting at lv. 1. It also suits my preference for preparation.
2. Occultist. I really like a lot about this class. While it is mostly a magic front liner, there are other ways to potentially build it.
3. Mesmerist. For some reason, I don't get into bards (they're good and solid I know), but the nega-bard here seems like a lot of fun.
4. Kineticist. Their options are admittedly quite low right now, so a lot of builds end up looking very similar. That said, they're tough and still pretty fun to play. Especially Aetherkineticists.
5. Investigator. Definitely not the strongest in combat by a long shot, but I love me some skills and with inspiration, they can get up that at handling them.
6. Druid. You can turn into a bird and summon lightning while flapping about. Sounds fun to me.
7. Witch. Hexes can be fun, as can crippling an opponent using them.
8.Alchemist. A lot one can do and focus on with an alchemist. A very versatile and fun class.
9. Inquisitor. Seems to fit the theme quite well, and the only class I'd care to play under a deity.
10. Oracle. Some very interesting mysteries and archetypes can make for some very different and fun characters.
Bottom 10.
1. Spiritualist. Honestly got bored reading through the class and while it may inspire some ideas for characters, it didn't inspire an urge to play them, personally.
2. Medium. Just feels too weak for me. That's likely because I'm playing the radiance house binder that gives a lot more options and flavor for this type of character.
3. Psychic. 9th lv. caster that, while powerful, doesn't inspire me in the slightest.
4. Cleric. Never been a fan of my characters having to be beholden to a deity for their power, and the spell list just isn't as fun as the arcane or druid for me.
5. Paladin. Again, beholden to deity, and this time to DMs. I feel I could probably play a solid and fun paladin honestly, but with my group of friends (the only ones I game with), odds are they'd be at odds within first game.
6. Fighter. Bores me to an almost unbelievable level. There are some pretty awesome / cool feats, but not enough that I'd want to make an entire character out of.
7. Cavalier. They honestly don't look horrible, but they also tend to have abilities built around their mount. I don't particularly enjoy mounted combat, so I stay away from them.
8. Vigilante. I've read they can be good, but after glossing over the class once or twice, it didn't do anything for me personally.
9. Magus. Seems a bit of a headache to manage in regards to all their abilities, and while I've read that they can be competent, I prefer Occultists for this type of character.
10. Barbarian. I don't hate barbarians, nor do I think they're horrible, but again, they don't inspire any ideas for characters that I'd personally want to play. At least yet.
10. Shaman. Just kind of half assed the two classes rather than a unique take, to me.
I kind of agree with you on this here. I actually did a rather in-depth analysis of this class, and it actually doesn't feel like either of its two parent classes (other than stealing the flavor of the words for Spirit choices that harken to Oracle). It's more honestly like a Cleric with actual class abilities. If anyone's curious as to why, I can break it down.
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My Top 10 with my favorite Archtypes:
1. Witch (Winter Witch) - I love everything about the witch. Their debuffing capabilities of their hexes and their flavor and different spells they can differential themselves with their patron spellcasting.
2. Bard (Arrowsong Minstrel, Arcane Duelist) - Even Vanilla bards can be built a variety of ways, but its the quality of archtypes that really set this class apart for me. Normally only a few of them stand out for me, Bard has many incredible ones for whatever style of play you want.
3. Oracle (Spirit Guide, Dual Cursed) - There is a lot to love about Oracles. With the increasing number of mysteries, Oracles could fit into any party (Shadow/Wind for Roguish, Fire for blaster, Waves for debuff, Metal/Battle/Wood for Heavy hitters/Ranged, to name some examples)
4. Swashbuckler (Inspired Blade) - I love a dex based full martial. Dexterity is probably my favorite stat in a game, and all of the cool tricks swashbucklers gets to use really appeal to me.
5. Kineticist (Vanilla) - I love the flavor of a bender. They only need a few feat's to really be effective characters. Con based casting is fantastic too.
6. Warpriest (Molthuni Arsenal Chaplain)- So much flavor, and swift action casting makes them great Martials. So many great characters run through my mind when I think of Warpriest options.
7. Sorcerer (Wildblooded) - Spontaneous caster for arcane spells. I just like arcane magic more in general then divine.
8. Slayer (Vanilla, Stygian Slayer) - Lots of great flavor in this hybrid class. I love studied target aspects but I also like that they get a mix of rogue and ranger talents and sneak attack, with full BAB. Easily the best option in my opinion for two weapon fighting builds.
9. Psychic (Vanilla) - I was waiting for a class like this. I love the idea of psychic magic and the psychic didn't disappoint. The undercasting mechanics are great, also I really enjoy their overall spell list.
10. Rogue (Unchained) - They fixed a lot of the rogues problems. However I feel like its hard to go past 4 or 5 levels of this before jumping over to Slayer (which I feel is the better option for late game). However it definitely stands on its own without Slayer around.
Least Favorite Classes:
1. Summoner (Chained/Unchained) - I hate summoning, by far my least favorite aspect of the game. Having an additional character, let alone several to keep track of detracts from the game unless its the most skilled players. In most cases it just frustrates me.
2. Cleric - I am not a big fan of prepared spellcasting in most cases. I just fail to see what a cleric can do that a specialized Oracle can't do better.
3. Gunslinger - Not really a fan of guns in a medieval setting. I love ranged combats (probably my favorite kind), but with a bow or crossbow. That said Bolt Ace is an archtype I would consider playing/
4. Rogue (Chained) - So much has been made apparently wrong with this class without additional resources. The game has shored up a lot of weaknesses over the years, but it requires a lot of investment to be as effective as other classes.
5. Cavalier - Not as bad as Summoner, I probably wouldn't use the mount much, but its been a deterrent for me from playing one. There are archetypes that trade it away, which I probably would consider.
6. Medium - this is the one Occult class I can't seem to get behind. I feel like its pretty versatile, but I find it needlessly complicated.
7. Monk (Chain/Unchained) - I like the idea of a Monk, but I am not a big fan of its execution in either style. I do love the Zen Archer (quite possibly my favorite archtype in the game), but that is really the only appealing think about a monk to me.
8. Magus - I don't really dislike this class, I just don't like playing the class with people. It requires too much explanation unless you are playing with long term players with lots of experience.
9. Druid - The better option here for me is a domain, rather then animal companion even though in most cases its the weaker one. I love the flavor of druid spells. I just find them less flashy then arcane spells.
10. Fighter - They are great for sheer damage, I just don't find them particularly flavorful. Honestly recent resources have made these much better, especially Vanilla fighter. There is just nothing more to it then sky high damage in most cases though.
Top 10, no particular order:
BARBARIAN - "crazy awesome" the class
Bard - A little song, a little dance, an lotta pain piling on your opponents' faces
Slayer - everything I want from the fighter and ranger (bonus feats, skipping feat prereqs, and open-ended flavor)
Inquisitor - I get to customize my bonuses to whatever I need them to be every round
Alchemist - sooo many build options
Cavalier - smite without the alignment restrictions. The required mount is a bit of an issue though, wish there were more archetypes that replaced that
Magus - because dual wielding spell and sword is awesome
Witch - so what if I have less spell slots per day, I have hexes
Oracle - for having so many build possibilities based on which mystery you choose
Summoner - for build-a-pet hilarity
Bottom 10:
Rogue - sorry buddy but except for your alternate classes you don't do the things you advertise; and a lot of other classes can actually do all of that and better
Arcanist - Sure, lets just take all the best features of 2 of the arguably most powerful classes and stick them together into one base class -_- Honestly I feel this should have been a prestige class
Hunter - This could honestly have been an archetype of druid
Warpriest - Oh goody, ANOTHER d8/medium bab class dedicated to serving a specific god. And THIS one comes with a lot of extra complicated rules that don't mesh well together all the time
Shaman - So, you took the oracle, increased the number of options available to it, and replaced the curse with the witch's hexes. Right...
Unchained classes - Other than the unrogue (still on the fence for that one) I do like the idea of unchained from a design standpoint, but I'm disappointed in the execution of what we have so far
Psychic casters - mainly down here because to me they came way too soon after the huge glut of classes from the ACG, I'm still reeling from class overload. that and I'm disappointed that psychic magic is vancian
Oracle: my favorite divine caster
Sorcerer: I have maybe a thing for spontaneous casters
Fighter: a simple blunt instrument, but it gets the job done
Paladin: all around better than before
Witch: I like the concept and the hexes, if not the darn familiar
Wizard: not even close to 1E, but it is still a wizard ;)
Ranger: can pull off the melee/archer even with low stat builds
Psychic: not so sure about him, but looks nice on paper
Kineticist: can probably be fun, have not yet a chance to test
Investigator: have not yet seen one, but might be better than the rogue
Occultist: ...not my taste...
Druid: animals are so not my thing, being one even less
Alchemist: the description of some abilities makes me step back
Gunslinger: doesn't fit my idea of fantasy
Cavalier: someone already said it: horses in Moria?
Magus: I am so tired of fighter/magic-users
Shaman: not the best idea they had
Samurai: cavalier replacement *sigh*
Monk: either the 5th wheel or OP, depending on the stats, usually the first
Bloodrager: I don't see Conan whip out his spells in battle
Top ten:
1. Wizard
2. Sorcerer
3. Arcanist
4. Magus
5. Oracle
6. Alchemist
7. Inquisitor
8. Druid
9. Paladin
10. Witch
Bottom ten:
Fighter
Chained Rogue
Samurai
Antipaladin
Vigilante
Swashbuckler
Medium
Gunslinger
Occultist
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I'll give this a whirl.
Best
#10 Spiritualist: It's the summoner 3.0, but hey, I like summoners, and I like the idea behind this class.
#9 Arcanist : I think this should be the default magic class. The mechanics just feel a lot better than wizard or sorc.
#8 Barbarian : A lot of rage powers just 'feel right' to me, and it does core melee really well.
#7 Unchained Monk : Aside from weak will, this is what I wanted from the core monk.
#6 Warpriest : A great marriage of melee and magic, this time with a buffing focus.
#5 Magus : The hole in my heart from duskblade is gone, making melee and magic feel more natural.
#4 Chained Summoner : The raw customization that this class allows is just beautiful, the spell list is just a touch strong.
#3 Kineticist : While mechanically wonky, thematically it's great, and I owe this class a lot.
#2 Vigilante : The amount of versatility with this class is great, but social talents are what make it truly shine.
#1 Alchemist : This class has and will always be my favorite, it's the best class that's ever been put out for PF by far.
Worst
#10 Unchained Rogue : My problem here is I still don't feel like it did enough, and that the vigilante does what it should better.
#9 Unchained Summoner : All that versatility I liked in the original summoner was just gutted in this, making it feel so bland.
#8 Gunslinger : This is a 5 level dip class, that's it. Nothing worth having here beyond 5th level.
#7 Brawler : Martial versatility is cool, but it's not cool enough to validate an entire class based around it.
#6 Bloodrager : I love gishes, but this one doesn't blend spellcasting and combat nearly well enough for my taste.
#5 Skald : It's not a bad class, it's just one that didn't need to exist to me, a filler option.
#4 Cavalier : Another class that has some interesting ideas but just terrible in execution, consider this a strike against the Samurai too.
#3 Swashbuckler : This is a janky fighter without a great mechanic to make it better, making it a dip class at best.
#2 Fighter : A class that can only fight...something that every other class in the game can do...cool.
#1 Chained Rogue : This is the worst class written in PF by far, being almost non functional in any role in which it is attempted.
Top Ten, in no particular order:
Ranger (especially Skirmisher)
Oracle
Slayer
Sorcerer
Bloodrager
Alchemist
Psychic
Kineticist
Cleric
Bard
Bottom Ten, once again in no particular order:
Paladin
Summoner (I generally dislike "pet" classes)
Arcanist (because we desperately needed a sorcerer/wizard hybrid...)
Occultist (seems so... Thematically jumbled)
Cavalier (Iiiiiiiiit's a sorta Fighter. On a horse.)
Spiritualist
Medium
Ninja (no, this is not how I would "fix" the Rogue)
Gunslinger (neat idea, clunky execution)
Samurai (kinda covered by the Cavalier making his list, but the samurai was an effort to fit into the cavalier's chassis without enough divergence, in my opinion)
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Mine are a bit subjective but the main thing I look for in a class is flexibility and choice. I hate being locked into a concept
Top
Oracles: Revelations and curses keep it feeling fresh every time. Please paizo release some more curses though
Barbarian: Despite the amount of AM SMASH Barbarians there is some nice variety in the class
Witch: Hexes make the DM groan and party cheer
Bard: I'm helping!
Medium: Like I said I love flexibility
Shaman: Well I like oracles and witches and flexibility so I feel this is a gimme
Druid: Rawr!
Alchemist: Hehhehehhehehhee! Booom!
Kineticist: Like the flavour and with constant drip feeding of ability choices I always have something to look forward to
Inquisitor: I always have the right tools at my disposal
Bottom 10
Cleric: All your choices are done at 1st level other than spells and feats you never change
Magus: For the love of God can we please stop having shocking grasp scimitar magus
Gunslinger: Not a fan of guns and if you don't want guns then tough luck with this class
Fighter: If I give other classes crap for only giving feat choices well then...
Swashbuckler: Like the gunslinger it is locked into a concept and stuck there hard. It is good at it but gets little else
Vigilante: Great flavour but damn is it hard to work into any campaign that isn't stationary
Antipaladin: Welp there goes the party
Hunter: Doesn't have enough unique features to make it worthwhile. Teamwork feat list pretty much means it needs to be melee.
Summoner: Just too damn strong and most I have encountered run exactly the same character.
Cavelier: Wait several of my class features rely on my mount why are we constantly in dungeons with 5 ft corridors!
Totally going to chart these responses. I like user preference data.
Top 10
1) Cleric: I naturally gravitate toward them, easy to build.
2) Ninja: "Magic" rogue.
3) Oracle: Easier to build less MAD Cleric.
4) Ranger: enough bonus feats to be good in melee, decent spells & a pet :)
5) Slayer: Interesting marshal, gets a good mix of selections.
6) Druid: Easy to build flavorful, wild shape.
7) Arcanist: Like that there are so many options for a caster.
8) Hunter: Pet & tons of potential builds, allow me to use team work feats effectively no matter the group.
9) Unchained Rogue: A step in the right direction.
10) Honestly after unchained rogue everything hits Meh status for me. I don't love 'em but don't hate 'em either.
Bottom 10
1) Summoner: Too much to keep track of with evolutions, I have trouble remembering all the options, spell list kinda broke but that has been fixed with Unchained.
2) Cavalier: Not a fan of mounts.
3) Samurai: See Cavalier.
4) Wizard: Over-powered, lacking in build options that aren't spells
5) Paladin: though fixed with archetypes I don't like mounts or alignment restrictions.
6) Anti-Paladin: See Paladin.
7) Monk: alignment restrictions, MAD
8) Sklad: its weird that it doesn't work well with Barbarians
9) Medium: have yet to play a game in which a haunt exists making them less useful then they could be.
10) Alchemist: I want to like it but you have to really customize or sacrifice to get an interesting build.
Is it my turn... yay!
My top ten
10. Spiritualist, so many ways to go with your own ghost
9. Inquisitor, especially Vampire Hunter archetype
8. Ranger, Tammy's a Ranger
7. Witch
6. Oracle
5. Bard, a million and one archetypes
4. Kineticist, fun all around, especially if you have two that are teamwork focused
3. Mesmerist, just a fun easy class
2. Alchemist, fun and versatile
1. Medium and Occultist, both incredibly fun classes to play, whether it's my Elven Medium that tries to channel The Brightness, but instead gets dead people, or my Halfling Occultist with his grandfather's monocle, neither would be possible without Occult adventures
Now, the hard part.
My bottom ten, not necessarily bad, just not my thing.
10. Cleric, not bad especially with deity focused prestige classes.
9. Skald
8. Anti-Paladin
7. Shaman, unnecessary
6. Summoner, I've seen good applications, but again, not my thing.
5. Arcanist, unnecessary
4. Necromancer, often more abused then Summoners
3. Paladin
2. Paladin
1. Paladin, have yet to see a Paladin I liked. Except Dragonbait, of course.
Top 10
Arcanist-The arcane exploits make this class more fun than a wizard, and the spontaneous aspect means that I don't have to guess at how many castings of a certain spell I need.
Ranger-I can fight, and I have skills, even if I am not the best at both.
Witch-The hexes are nice, but so is the ability to be a psuedo Mystic Theurge that actually works.
Sorcerer-Choose spells known and go. Less book-keeping than a wizard.
Barbarian-I can fight, and have utility. Would be in the ranger spot if it was better with archery.
Bard-Another class that can almost always contribute, and it makes the team better.
Inquisitor-See Bard, but without making the team better.
Bloodrager-never played one, but I think it would be fun
Druid Tie-I can cast spells, and my pet can wreck enemies. Fun, but I dont always care for the bookkeeping.
Slayer Tie - I always wanted a nonmagical class that had utility, as well as someone who could be a nonmagical assassin. This class is it.
Bottom 10
Cavalier-It does its thing well, but it is too close to a fighter for my taste.
Magus-Without shocking grasp the class is not nearly as useful
Alchemist-The bombs are too limited in my opinion.
Antipaladin(As written)-The class features are good, but the code is a killer for me.
Swashbuckler-I've seen one in play, and I was not impressed.
Fighter-Never again will I play this class other than as a dip to get feats.
Monk(Core and Unchained))-The monk needed to be better, not just different. I am not talking about archetypes such as the Zen Archer.
Gunslinger-It does its thing well, but after level 5, may as well go into another full BAB class.
Ninja- a rogue by another name
Rogue(Unchained)-Better than the core rogue, but that's not saying much
Rogue(Core)-Worse class in the game IMHO.
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I love versatility and healing options, so here we go:
Top 10
1. Druid - has nearly all i want!^ Healing, summoning, shapeshifting....
2. Shaman - so much flexibility ... and the hexes!! And no alignment downer! Lov it!
3. Cleric - my first D&D love....and still a little crushed!
4. Bard - Master of diplomacy, seduction and a great buffer and healer! Love archetypes like Animal speaker, Dirge Bard or Arcane Healer.
5. Summoner - Summoning is on of my favs! Lack of healing is a downer.
6. Magus - Hybrids are cool! And thanks to the Hexcrafter there are also healing through hexes. Mine uses an Urumi! ^^
7. Arcanist - First time that i really wanna play a full arcane caster.
White Mage and Occultist are the delicate toppings!
7. Inquisitor - Versatility and options are great....i like the Preacher Archetype!
8. Ranger - If i must play a full BAB class, would be my first choice
9. Bloodrager - It's the mixture! No real healing, but a raging Bloodline...cool!
10. Warpriest - Nice by itself...but the Sacred Fist Archetype is the Monk i wanna play!
Bottom 10
1. Fighter - Just killin? Boooorrring!
2. Paladin - To good to be true! And outshines the cleric in a lot aspects....my old hate from AD&D rarely dies!
3. Gunslinger - Hey, they got ONE weakness...there expensive....
4. Wizard - Not my cub of tea
5. Antipaladin - A dirty joke...and not a good one!
The rest are only fillers...there is more i like than i dislike..
6. Swashbuckler - no magic, no fun
7. Rogue - why rogue when you can play a Ninja?!
8. Brawler - They can wear armor.... meh, out of play!
9. Samurai - Not interessted
10. Cavalier - Just count to ten! ^^
I'll give this a whirl.
Best
#10 Spiritualist: It's the summoner 3.0, but hey, I like summoners, and I like the idea behind this class.
Nyan~ Good thing I kept pestering you to read it.
- 10 Unchained Rogue:
A lot is freed up by the inclusion of Dexterity stuff to unchained Rogue. Building a proper Rogue is now much easier. But, it ends up low on the list due to no archetypes rule the OP put forwards. With archetypes, I love it a lot more. - 9 Mesmerist:
I will probably never play a Mesmerist, but I love the Occult classes and of all of the 6th level casters the Mesmerist captured my attention the most. I just wish Fey Trickster had tricky spells and was less MAD. As I understand it uses both Wis and Cha... - 8 Brawler:
Brawler is like a spontaneous caster of combat feats with all of them on his spell list. That's pretty amazing. There's so many feats out there one would never take that become perfect in just the right situation. - 7 Sorcerer:
I disagree with the evaluation that a Sorcerer is worse than a Wizard in Pathfinder. It's far more focused, but if you spend that focus on versatile spells you can do a lot of amazing things with stupid DCs. Whereas Save or Suck is unreliable for the Wizard the Sorcerer can make it far more steady. There's also some STUPID good arcana out there. - 6 Kineticist:
This class captured my dreams from the days of Bionicle and Roborider. I love it to bits and it's one of the most creative classes released. - 5 Psychic:
I wouldn't even play with archetypes with a Psychic, so of the classes I like it eeks out ahead by a wide margin. - 4 Mystery Cultist:
Nyan~ Technically PrCs count! ...and I really like worshiping Arshea. Psychics are pretty good at it too. They have some Cha dependence and can still use Fervor. - 3 Evangelist:
Is this cheating? This is probably cheating. - 2 Enchanting Courtesan:
I haven't really tried this one out yet so I'm not sure if it will really work great, but being able to cast Enchantment spells without anyone noticing is a very Rogueish approach to magic I really like. It's definitely only really playable in an intrigue game, but I like games with people as opponents rather than monsters. It's just odd this one isn't as effective for Psychics. Having components actually makes it harder to notice casting. If only there was a Sorcerer that had free access to the entire psychic casting list... - 1 Veiled Illusionist:
No shocks here. This one just takes illusion magic and makes it better. It does in practice what most PrCs are supposed to do in theory.
- 10 Shaman:
It's not a bad class... I think. It's just... forgettable. I never look at it for very long or remember it when I reach for a class. There are a lot of Divine classes that are not it's parent class and yet feel like they fulfill roughly the same role only more interesting. This class is just never on my radar. - 9 Unchained Barbarian:
...why? No thanks, I'm much happier with the old. - 8 Investigator:
Everything I don't care about from Rogue and then Alchemist semi-casting. I never really cared much about Alchemist casting, it's the other stuff that makes that class for me. At least Psychic Investigator exist, but still keeps a bit of the Rogue trap based garbage. Can I use that to detect trap class features? - 7 Shadowdancer:
I want to like this class. I desperately want to. But, hell hath no fury like a Mort scorned. The Shadowdancer is just so terribad it hurts my soul. At least there are plenty of archetypes to replace it and Kineticist. - 6 Medium:
I can't even tell you what this class does. It just feels confusing and weak. Why wasn't this a 6th level caster? Why does the Spiritualist feel like it fulfills this thematic role better? What's the point? - 5 Gunslinger:
Awesome flavor, but just boring and terrible class design. - 4 Slayer:
It's a variant Unchained Rogue that Paizo forgot about and doesn't hand the goodies. - 3 Swashbuckler:
I don't actually dislike this class. But if we are talking sans archetypes, it's hot garbage thanks to it's parent classes. Archetypes make this class. - 2 Cavalier:
It's not so much that this class can't be build to be good, it's that sooooo much of it are trap options. Majority of orders become red at higher levels and there are a few that are purple. Why?! Dwarfs have a stupid good FCB for no reason. Some class features are terrible while others are just too good. Even though we aren't including archetypes so many of them are bloody awful. It's just a mess of a class. - 1 Inner Seas Pirate:
...What the hell?
Do you think that there might be to meny classes
Bottom 10, in no particular order because it's hard to decide and frankly I still find most of these classes okay:
-Wizard. Boring and Overpowered and it stops getting new class features that aren't spells at level 8. Amazing.
-Cleric. Basically the Wizard, except slightly more boring and slightly less overpowered. Also stops getting class features at level 8. Except even worse because it doesn't even get bonus feats.
-Barbarian(Unchained). Why? The core Barbarian is one of the most effective and interesting martials in the game and pretty much everything good that the U-Barb brings to the table could be a two to three sentence sidebar on replacing the con bonus with temp HP.
-Summoner(Unchained). The core Summoner was an interesting and dynamic class that suffered from a lot of balance problems. The U-Summoner simultaneously overreaches and falls flat fixing these problems. Problem spells are removed or delayed, but lots of other non-problematic spells are removed for no real reason, leaving the class with one of the most uninspiring spell lists in the game. Eidolons are slightly less powerful at the top end, but still incredibly strong and are now much more boring to build because Paizo decided to hamstring player creativity. It's still a mess to play. It still can unbalance games, but it's a lot less interesting too. Also unlike the Rogue, Monk and Barbarian Paizo has abandoned the original summoner entirely since publishing the variant. Cool.
It is by far the worst thing Paizo has ever published and definitely my least favorite class ever.
-Gunslinger. I don't like one trick classes and Gunslingers are built entirely around a single combat style. Why? Isn't that what archetypes are for? Also if you don't need Signature Deed for your build you're better off bailing out at level 5 which is awful too.
-Swashbuckler. Like the gunslinger, far too niche to deserve to be a class. Unlike the Gunslinger it isn't even good at its job.
-Rogue(Chained). Not very good at its job, very conservative design principles that do not serve it well.
-Samurai. The Samurai is a very confused class. It's a Cavalier variant that feels very similar to the Cavalier, but its differences somehow make it even worse. Specifically its class features.. don't seem to work together very well: It has a mount, but its only mounted support is an archery bonus, but its DPR button doesn't work with ranged attacks. Then it has a bunch of tank style defensive abilities that don't really seem appropriate with the mobility of mounted melee or mounted archery and it just leaves me wondering what the hell they were trying to do with this class.
-Antipaladin. This is almost an awesome class, but its code makes it nearly unplayable and it spends too much time trying to be an antipaladin and not enough time trying to be its own class. Obviously an alternate class is SUPPOSED to look a lot like its parent class, but the design space of a 'dark knight' character is pretty huge and it's a shame that pretty much the only thing the Antipaladin does is be bizarro paladin.
-Monk/Cavalier. Putting these together because they're both really borderline for me and have similar issues. Both are one note classes that feel very fighter-y but both also have some cool mechanics that differentiate them. Both also have a lot of really interesting archetypes that spice up the class so if we add those to the table I can't think of a tenth least favorite.
Top 10:
-Mesmerist, Bard, Skald, Inquisitor, Investigator, Spiritualist, Alchemist, Magus. Sixth level casters are awesome. None of them are perfect but they're all really well put together. I had like two sentences on each of them but then I lost the post so I'm just lumping them all into one now.
-Vigilante. This is the best martial class Paizo has ever put together. It's well rounded, good in combat and solid enough out of it. Amazing.
-Arcanist. I hated this class when it first came out. Then I realized that it's just better designed than the Wizard in every possible way.
Top 10 Classes currently (including Arcetypes, excluding classes I do not know much about)
1. Chained Barbarian - lots of cool Rage Powers great at smashing things.
2. Paladin - works well with any build
3. Ranger - fights well, flavor skill monkey
4. Bard - really cool and versatile
5. Cavalier - I like pet classes, can smite, many cool Archetypes
6. Inquisitor - probably the best designed class in the game
7. Druid - I like wildshaping and pets, would love a more martial druid
8. Witch - Most flavourful full caster
9. Medium - looks pretty cool, will try to play one soon
10. Arcanist - more interesting than wizard or sorcerer
Worst 10 Classes
1. Unchained Barbarian - don't nerf my beloved Barbarian
2. Gunslinger - too much damage, nothing else
3. Cleric - nobody ever wants to play one despite his power, boring
4. Wizard - lacks flavour
5. Skald - passing Rage Powers and Rage around just confused my party
6. Chained Summoner - kinda cool, but ends up with a flavourless clawball in praxis too often, Archetypes like Master Summoner and Synthesist make it even worse.
7. Antipaladin - even if one ignores the code, still a lot than the Paladin
8. Chained Monk - only playable due to Archetypes
9. Swashbuckler - would prefer the other Dex-ased options
10. Alchemist - many cool concepts, but a bit too much for one character
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My list is based on what players have created in my games. The number is the number of times the class was used.
BEST
1. Cleric - 11 - At least 3 were followers of Desna, but players always cite flexibility and variation of gods. Archetypes are rarely used. Spell lists are tailored by deity in my games.
2. Ranger - 9 - Sometimes a Rogue replacement and sometimes a Fighter replacement, again flexibility and variety seem to be key, with Archetypes being used frequently, with Trapper, Dungeon Runner and Shifter being notable for being used more than once, and usually in combination.
3. Bard/Inquisitor - 5 - Both well liked. There always seems to be an archetype involved on the Bard, but not always with the Inquisitor.
4. Fighter - 4 - Two were archers, one was a THF, the last was a homegrown Quarterstaff archetype.
5. Druid/Sorcerer/Wizard/Oracle - 3 - All powerful. The Druids and Oracles have varied a bit in build, but the Sorcerers and Wizards seem to have been fairly similar in every case.
6. Paladin - 2 - Starting to break these up now. Paladin is more liked than the number indicates. There have been several scrapped Paladins along the way in favor or Rangers and Inquisitors, but it always seems to be a near thing. Carrion Crown and Wrath of the Righteous both practically demanded one though.
7. Cavalier/Gunslinger - 2 - One Cavalier in Kingmaker and a Daring Champion in Hell's Rebels. One regular gunslinger in Iron Gods and a Bolt Ace in Giantslayer. All filling a very AP-centric niche.
8. Alchemist/Witch/Hunter/Investigator/Occultist - 1 - Though only taken once, each was noted as "will be played again", particularly the Investigator.
9.Monk - 1 - Zen Archer, went back to a Fighter Archer the next time.
10. Barbarian/Antipaladin - 1 - Played, got the job done, but not overly enjoyable. Both myself and my martial player both have irrational dislike for the Barbarian... it's not deserved, but we at least admit it. :)
WORST
10. Psychic - Will probably be one of our Strange Aeons characters
9. Warpriest - Almost taken into an AP on two occasions, replaced with regular Cleric
8. Brawler - Was almost taken into an AP once, got replaced with a Ranger
7. Magus - Moderate interest
6. Vigilante - Mild interest
5. Arcanist/Bloodrager/Shaman/Skald/Slayer/Swashbuckler - No interest
4. Kineticist/Medium/Mesmerist/Spiritualist - Too new as yet, initial reactions were confusion/too complex. Occultist above was an exception, taken by the most experienced player.
3. Samurai/Ninja - Never considered, mostly due to eastern flavor. Yes, flavor can be changed, but when told this, the players usually shrug and say "there are better classes anyway".
2. Rogue - Even after Unchained, no one makes one of these. Last true Rogue we had was the 3.5 play through of RotRL and even then it was not well liked.
1. Summoner - banned (per player vote, not DM fiat)
Hmmm... Let's see.
TOP 10:
1- Bard/Inquisitor: Both well designed, balanced and extremely fun to play! Good selection of archetypes too. :)
2- Barbarian (Core): A cool, effective, martial class with really awesome choices of class feature!
3- Magus: A gish that actually works. Sadly, people too often chain themselves to the Shocking Grasp gimmick.
4- Alchemist/Investigator: Balanced, fun, well designed classes. :)
5- Paladin: Now, if only it had 4 skill points/level and a better written code. It'd be nearly perfect.
6- Ranger: Used to be my favorite class. Still really cool.
7- Druid: Doesn't have as many game-breaking spell as his fellow tier 1 casters, but has many cool spells and fun class features.
8- Oracle: It's a Sorcerer done right.
9- Slayer: Good "generic warrior class" that works. Uninspired, but functional.
10- Sorcerer: I like the class' concept. Too bad there's no real reason to play one over an Arcanist.
- - -
BOTTOM 10:
10- Hunter: Not a bad class. Just completely pointless (as a base class). Should've been an archetype.
9- Skald: See Hunter.
8- Warpriest: See Skald.
7- Arcanist: Shamelessly overpowered. Also completely pointless (as a class). Should've been an alternate casting system.
6- Cavalier/Samurai: Possibly the dullest class in the game. I barely even remember this thing exists.
5- "Unchained" Barbarian: Completely unnecessary stealth nerf to a balanced class. Made to address a problem I had never even heard about before it was announced.
4- Rogue (Core): Cool concept. Good design philosophy. Terrible design implementation. Wholly dependent on splatbooks just to be a functional class.
3- Fighter: Same as Rogue, but also has terrible design philosophy ("hit things hard - useless at everything else")
2- Monk (Core): Complete mess of game design. Wholly dependent on splat books just to be a functional class.
1- Swashbuckler: I can't think of another class that fails this badly to live up to its class description. It's an "agile" warrior that is no more agile than a Fighter with Weapon Finesse... That's what happens when nearly all feedback goes completely ignored. The epitome of "missed opportunity" in Pathfinder.
- - -
MEH:
Psychic classes.
Beginning anew. Like dragon Ball Z.
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Gunna stick to top/bottom 5 because 20 classes is a crazy number to have strong opinions on.
:) list
1) Brawler - broken in half and filled with cheese. Also one of my favorite melee classes because it's just so damned satisfying. A short list of things my brawler has done in PFS play (some building up to, but most from level 13 stats): suplexed a triceratops, be the bane of practically every spellcaster alive (pin-down, step up, readied actions, etc...), drop 304 points of damage at level 13 in a single full round attack (1 crit, no offensive combat styles), have a grapple and trip CMD in the upper 40's/low 50's, have a disarm/grapple/trip CMB in the low-mid 30's, be able to react to practically any situation, be able to avoid attacks in the mid/low 40's fairly reliably, get attacks of opportunity whenever someone misses me, solo a notoriously nasty humanoid opponent taking no damage, have all saves be 11+, with Fort at +18, a great initiative bonus, be a living lie detector (sense motive at +35 can't be wrong!)...
2) Hunter - able to have fun with a little bit of everything. Maybe it was just the class I wanted in a pet class, but I really enjoy dropping 7d6+(~15) with an attack bonus rivaling full BAB class, lots of very useful defensive spells, and all the wacky teamwork feat shenanigans.
3) Wizard - I know you can build them up to be god-characters, but if you don't you can have an effective character and have a lot of interesting flavor. A little bit of this is nostalgia as it was one of the first classes I ever played.
4) Oracle - Because I can legally play a dark gnomish life oracle of Zon-Kuthon in PFS who enjoys pain. Do I need another reason? Also a really killer healer/debuffer class.
5) UC Rogue - great support class capable of dropping some pretty decent damage and good at having a response in a lot of various specialized situations. I know a lot of folks don't get a good feel for rogues, but I find them pretty fun.
:( list
1) Ranger - anything they can do something else can do better...(*music*). They also just don't have anything RP wise that I can dig my fingers into. Most of these lists are personal flavor preferences anyway.
2) Core Monk - meh. Bland and evokes even more of a hardline paladin feel than paladins do for me. Amusing when I love brawlers so much.
3) Core Rogue - a bunch of parts that never really came together. UC was a big improvement on the base class, and I really enjoy it.
4 & 5) Ninja/Samurai - meh. The vaguely asian flavored rogue/fighter. I never got the purpose of these classes. In all cases I'd rather just fill in where a character came from and build them up that way instead of trying to make an archtype into a class. Maybe it's just me, but they aren't my jam.
Top 10
<Insert core classes here>
Bottom 10
<Most other classes here>
Honorable mentions:
I do like the Swashbuckler though because it's a more sensible form of the Dualist, remember Dualist? Remember prestige classes!? Oh man what a mess huh.
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Do you think that there might be to meny classes
I do, a bit. We went from 20 classes (not counting alternate classes) to 36 (not counting alternate or unchained versions) in the space of 2 books. Especially with the 10 from ACG, there's a bit too much overlap in a lot of them.
There is a lot of overlap, but there's also still a lot of character archetypes that are either ungainly to build or completely unplayable still, so I think there's still room for more.
I tend to like building characters who are more than one class. I like blasters who are Sorcerer 1 / Wizard X. I like my Unchained Rogue / Unchained Barbarian. I like my Fighter with a bit of Cleric or Alchemist tossed in there.
That said, going with straight, single classes:
Top 10:
1) Wizard - Magic rules.
2) Sorcerer - Yup, magic still rules.
3) Magus - I always loved the old Elven Bladesinger. I like the cast-and-swing. I don't care that the abilities of the class focus so heavily on maxing out insane shocking grasps and then going nova.
4) Summoner - Master Summoner in particular is just amazing. Regular summoner is meh because I'm not a fan of pet classes.
5) Bloodrager - Let's be honest, this is just to make an insane Dragon Disciple
6) Warpriest - The swift-action self-buffs are awesome.
7) Cleric - I love the domain powers. Great class for a dip. Having a huge spell list of great buff spells and summons makes this class an absolute monster.
8) Unchained Rogue - The new unchained stuff makes them awesome - skill unlocks, debuffs on sneak attacks, etc.
9) Fighter - I like the versatility of the fighter but they're better for a few levels and then mixed up with another class.
10) Alchemist - Really depends on the flavor. Very well balanced, powerful class but I don't like the not-magic for most of my games. Works really well in the right game (like Iron Gods AP).
Bottom 10:
10) Druid - I'm still not a fan of pet classes
9) Witch - I don't like how hexes are balanced. They seem to be either insanely overpowered (Slumber) or insanely underpowered (that one where they can smell children).
8) Investigator - Killed the original rogue. Can't forgive it for that.
7) Bard - I just don't like the "bardic performance" thing.
6) Barbarian - I don't like the way they make fighters basically useless.
5) Skald - So, a barbarian bard? Nah.
4) Monk - I never liked the "Here's an Asian class" mixed in with the traditional "European" inspired classes. That old annoyance has carried through generations of the game.
3) Hunter - I'm still really not a fan of pet classes
2) Slayer - Mechanically, the unchained barbarian / unchained rogue combo that I like does pretty much everything a slayer does but better.
1) Vigilante - It just seems like they took things that should have been RP and skill based and made clumsy game mechanics around them.
TOP 10
1. Bard
2. Samurai
3. Paladin
4. Bloodrager
5. Hunter
6. Swashbuckler
7. Arcanist
8. Occultist
9. Magus
10. Cavalier
BOTTOM 10
1. Gunslinger
2. Warpriest
3. Inquisitor
4. Brawler
5. Witch
6. Summoner
7. Investigator
8. Ranger
9. Oracle
10. Druid
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My favorites are classes that offer flexibility and party support while not dominating the table.
My top 10:
1. Bard (very useful to a variety of parties and amazingly fun to play).
2 Skald (a great addition to a combat heavy party and fun to play)
3. Medium (spirit dancer archetype)I have been impressed at how much fun this character is. Power level is a little low but great flexibility.
4. Hunter (good skills, nice spell selection, and some great teamwork feats make this a fun class. Can dominate tables at some levels thou.)
5. Inquisitor (great skills, good spell selection, and interesting build variations)
6. Bloodrager (great combatant, flexible with spells \class choices, and just fun to play.)
7. Oracle (lots of variations, interesting curses, and great rp potential).
8. Vigilante (warlock archetype)the combination of skills, spells, and social abilities makes for a really good time.
9. Sorcerer (very flavorful class lacks a little in flexibility and power vs wizard /arcanist but that keeps them from dominating tables as much).
10. Ranger (good skills coupled with some decent spells makes the class fun and interesting to play).
My Bottom 10
10. Cleric ( I enjoyed my herald caller but the base class needs more).
9. Paladin (the mechanics are okay, but the alignment and code interpretation disagreements get very old, very fast)
8. Witch (hexes can range from game breaking ala slumber to okay ala weightless to why ala smell children)
7. Barbarian (too much of the hulk smash to be a fun type for me).
6. Wizard (way too easy to dominate tables with).
5. Fighter (way too one dimensional for me).
4. Cavalier (too dependent on a mount for most games).
3. Monk (just way too many Bruce Lee fanatics have ruined the concept for me).
2. Chained summoner (when playing with one of these way is the rest of the party needed?)
1. Gunslinger (I am not a fan of guns or touch attacks, this class has both).
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Bottom 10 first because that is an easier list for me.
10: Cavalier - The class is very much designed around getting mounted charges off. I hate classes that essentially force you in to a specific build, and while some archetypes correct this I just really don't care for the class.
9: Shaman - The Shaman has the smallest spell list of any 9th level caster, and the ACG errata fixed some huge flaws with their spell list, the class still comes off as lazy and uninspired. All of the concepts that I can think of for a shaman I can just as easily do with a cleric, oracle, or witch and probably end up closer to what I wanted to be able to do than I would have been able to pull off with the Shaman.
8: Monk - Conceptually the monk is supposed to be a highly mobile martial artist, mechanically with the flurry of blows class features they result in some of the most stationary fights in the game. The unchained monk fixed this a bit with the flying kick style strike, and while the unchained monk was a huge improvement it still lacks the feel the class was originally trying to capture.
7: Kineticist - The major problem with kineticists is the total lack of options. Many levels present you with a single decent choice for wild talents to select, this is getting better with time, but for now I have seen several people take kinetic blade not because they wanted a melee option but because skilled kineticist is terrible.
6: Magus - While I want to like the Magus for combining magic and martial prowess I just can't. The class favors one or two builds, all of them focused on crit finishing to get those multipliers on their shocking grasps and frigid touches. If I had a dollar for every Magus with the Dervish Dance feat I could publish my own tabletop system. Also I hate how easily brand new players are attracted to this class.
5: Oracle - I hate the curse mechanics, and I hate how singularly dependent on charisma that the class is. I understand the desire for a spontaneous caster that uses the cleric's spell list, something about this execution of it just does not sit right with me at all.
4: Rogue - For one of the staple roles in the classic party makeup this class has so little love from the design team. Ninja helped some, and Unchained Rogue helped even more, but rogues just can't really do anything interesting and contribute so little to the overall party makeup. And like the Magus, for some reason lots of new players want to play a Rogue and on several occasions that I have observed they ended up getting turned off to the game as a while because the class could do so little.
3: Summoner - This class probably never should have been a class as the concept could already be accomplished with several other existing classes, and it ended up being way too strong out of the gate. The Unchained summoner toned it down a bit but the standard action summon monster is still just too strong an ability.
2: Swashbuckler - One of the most offensive cases of forcing players in to a specific build, the swashbuckler should have never seen the light of day as a class, I think it would have been an excellent Fighter archetype though. It is also so heinously front loaded that it promotes dipping a single level far too often for my tastes.
1: Gunslinger - Like the Swashbuckler, this should have been an archetype, not an entire class. The terrible mechanics for guns don't help anything either.
10: Medium - The versatility of this class is fantastic and the concept of letting legendary spirits use your body as a vessel is just so cool. This class really shines in PFS play in my opinion where you get to pick up whatever role the table most needs to shore up the weaknesses of the table. But the utility in home games is also amazing if for no other reason than item creation and getting access it any spell you need for any particular item.
9: Spiritualist - This class did what the Summoner was trying to do without breaking too much around it. It has a balanced, thematic, and useful spell list and has the little buddy that has purpose being out or put away which is something the Summoner never quite got right.
8: Warpriest - This class is everything the Cleric should have been, fervor is such an excellent mechanic and the Warpriest has so many different ways you could build it. My one criticism is the lack of skill points.
7: Arcanist - Of all of the styles of spellcasting in Pathfinder, this on is my favorite. The Arcanist isn't the strongest 9th level arcane spell caster for sure, but the style of spellcasting and exploits definitely make it one of the more interesting ones.
6: Bloodrager - Thematically one of the coolest classes in the game, and I think the bloodlines are more well designed for this class than for the Sorcerer. I love the combination of magic and martial, and while it doesn't combine the two as much as have them side by side I still prefer it to the Magus. My only criticism of the class is that too much of it's class features are melee dependant which forces most bloodragers to end up as melee types.
5: Skald - I prefer the Skald to the Bard for one major reason, Spell Kenning. Honestly Spell Kenning probably should have been a class feature for the Bard and the Skald should just be an archetype but as is it is the reason I prefer the Skald.
4: Vigilante - Fluff aside, this is one of the more well designed classes in Pathfinder history, and that is saying a lot after Occult Adventures. They also finally have a class I can use to build a crime fighting superhero or a serial killer. Always a fun class to have at the table.
3: Brawler - Martial Flexibility is one of the greatest class features of all time, and should probably have been a Fighter class feature. The criticism I have for Brawler is that some of their class features don't work for the weapons they are proficient with, which is just confusing.
2: Investigator - While I am not a fan of how alchemy works mechanically in Pathfinder, I love this class so much. It functions in many ways like the Rogue probably should have functioned and while it is a little slow to start is one of the more interesting classes as far as class features goes.
1: Occultist - Probably the most well designed class in Pathfinder in my opinion. From the abilities that allow you to be less dependent on the big 6, to the amazing feel of the class, I love everything about the Occultist.
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Top 10-
1- Magus. I like me the arcane knight character, what can I say? Screw the haters. Not our fault that the alternative is an eldritch knight.
2- Alchemist. So many different ways to play; bomber, melee beast, all with different ways to approach them.
3- Witch. I love the spell list and the hexes.
4- Slayer. AKA the reason I don't like the Ranger. I don't care about the wilderness or favored enemy aspect; slayer is my focused murder-class of choice.
5- Shaman. I like any class that can get a full divine list without worshipping nature or a deity, hexes make them better.
6- Bloodrager. I just love the theme behind the class; a sorcerer that didn't want to be a squishy.
7- Mesmerist. I love my anti-bard. Fun spell list and, especially useful, can tank will saves with a glance.
8- Occultist. Don't know why everyone thinks the class is complicated; easier to understand than a kineticist.
9- Pyschic. Possibly because it seems 'forbidden fruit'-like.
10- Fighter. For all it's maligned lack of ability, with archetypes one can be pretty damn fun. Even vanilla fighter has weapon and armor training now.
Bottom 10-
1- Summoner, though Unchained helps. It's just been permanently tainted by all the one-shotted bosses I've sat through.
2- Unchained Barbarian. I can appreciate wanting to make rage easier, but it's a straight downgrade; feels like a slap in the face to anyone that actually built a barbarian and figured the math out for themselves.
3- Ranger. I hate pretty much everything this class does, with the exception of style feats. The only thing I like about the ranger is that it contributed to the Slayer.
4- Kineticist. What could have been such a cool, simple idea was marred by overcomplicated mechanics.
5- Medium. The versatility is nice in concept, but in play I've found it's lacking.
6- Investigator. Don't know why, but it never really appealed to me, no matter how many nice things they can get.
7- Cleric. Probably unfairly maligned by me, but I hate how this is the only option if you want to play an actual healer in a core game.
8- Druid. I think it gets too much credit, I'm not a fan of the whole 'nature class' thing. Still, I can at least respect them for their spells.
9- Skald. Personal bias here, but I play a lot of classes that would never want to benefit from raging song, because spells or the like. Otherwise a fine class.
10- Gunslinger/Rogue/Ninja/Samurai. All these classes are lumped together not because I don't like them (I like all of them), it's just players that really shouldn't be playing a complicated class get attracted to them.
Top 10
1. Wizard
2. Druid
3. Cleric
4. Witch
5. Shaman
Because casting spells is the most fun.
6. Swashbuckler - Made Fighters Great Again.
7. Investigator - INT TO EVERYTHING!!!
8. Kineticist - KAMEHAME HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
9. Paladin 2 - The best two level dip ever
10. Shield Champion Brawler - Captain Lastwall!
Bottom 10
1. Arcanist - Completely broken, shouldn't exist
2&3. Rogue/Unchained Rogue - Literal garbage.
4&5. Monk/Unchained Monk - Also garbage.
6. Cavalier - Just make an archetype that gives the fighter Mount.
7. Vigilante - All bark no bite
8. Unchained Barb - unnecessary
9. Unchained Summoner - an obvious and blatant nerf.
10. Antipaladin - Good for spreading STDs, not much else.
Design Manager
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My top 10 favorite from Paizo:
1) Vigilante: Possibly the best designed class Paizo has ever released. Non-magical counters to magical effects, a superb balance of social and combat abilities, and lots of cool unique options that you just don't see on non-magical characters very often. The dual identities are a great tool for an adventure in a huge variety of situations as well, covering tropes from Batman to fantasy Army ranger. Whether you're an elven defender of the woods, a dour and masked dwarven guardian, or whatever else you come up with, the class delivers.
2) Hunter: Very much what I've always wanted out of a nature warrior with a companion. Strong, functional, well-balanced, less situational than the ranger and harder to get ridiculous with than the druid.
3) Bard: One of the most flexible classes in the game, capable of filling in any role or stretching into multiple secondary roles, the bard would have been my number 1 before the vigilante and the hunter released.
4) Paladin: I'm a fan of the holy knight trope to begin with, and the paladin does an excellent job of delivering at the table. Fortunately, I've never really had the issues I occasionally hear about with GMs determined to find a way to interpret an action as having violated their code or players doing the "Lawful Stupid" thing.
5) Inquisitor: Another excellently designed class, the inquistor does a great job of being a competent adventurer in and out of combat, with enough flexibility to be played via a large variety of different character concepts.
6) Investigator: "Consistently competent" is one of the big things I want to be able to say about a class, and the investigator does a great job of delivering on that front. Possibly the preeminent skill-monkey in the current core game, the investigator is one of those classes that's always welcome in a group, and isn't a sluch in combat either.
7) Spiritualist: The spiritualist has a great combination of versatility and unique mechanics that reward a clever player, and the phantoms are much less abusable than the summoner's eidolons. Would probably place higher on my list if it weren't for the fact that it's difficult to focus the class past a certain point.
8) Mesmerist: Another well-balanced and interesting class with lots of unique mechanics, the mesmerist fits well into most groups. Goes up a notch with the vexing daredevil archetype, which I personally really enjoy.
9) Monk: Takes quite a bit of work and doesn't make the list if you're not using the Unchained option, but unchained or archetyped core, the monk allows a huge variety of cool character options and interesting interactions with unarmed combat.
10) Alchemist: Another class that combines competence and versatility, the alchemist is a solid and interesting class, and a great addition to most groups. The class can be a bit unfocused without a bit of work or archetyping, otherwise it would probably get a better placement in the list.
My top 10 least favorite from Paizo:
1) Wizard: Absolutely hate it. Competency with the class is entirely based on the player's system mastery, with an abysmally low floor and a ridiculously high ceiling.
2) Arcanist: Has the same issues as the wizard, but is full of class features that seem powerful but are either too weak or too situational to actually be of much benefit. Seems to lead to a lot of frustration with new players. I do like the casting mechanics though.
3) Swashbuckler: Advertises a bunch of abilities, but unfortunately most of them compete with each other for action economy. Works well in lower system mastery games, but doesn't do as well in the intensity of a more challenging game. Having its defensive and offensive abilities compete when it already has two poor saves is just unfortunate, especially given the fact that its poor saves are both the kind where failing a save can end the game.
4) Cleric: I would love a cleric class whose domains were much more meaningful class features that were more impactful to the class. As is, it's a class that can be almost as powerful as the wizard at the high end and doesn't have quite as low a floor, but one cleric is often indistinguishable from another.
5) Fighter: Takes a ton of work and multiple books to make into a solid and competent character and still ends up being fairly boring to play, at least in my opinion.
6) Rogue: Does not include the Unchained Rogue. Similarly to the Fighter, tends to involve a lot of work for relatively mediocre return, but unlike the fighter, the work is on both the character building and play sides.
7) Summoner: Wreaked all kinds of havoc with multiple facets of the game from the moment it was released. Was relatively well fixed with Unchained, but lost many of the most interesting facets of eidolon building in the process.
8) Cavalier: A class full of "almosts" for me. Unfortunately, the steep action economy, poor scaling, poorly integrated teamwork feat prerequisites, and tons of other little but pertinent issues have led to this class being replaced by other options in my games.
9) Gunslinger: A very sadly inconsistent class built around inconsistent mechanics. Wealth and misfire will be issues for some characters and completely ignored by others. A full BAB class capable of targeting touch AC just isn't something I personally feel like the game needed either, especially since the other limiters of firearms are so easily circumvented.
10) Slayer: It's actually not a bad class by any means, it's just... boring, IMO. It's simple, functional, and does what it's supposed to do, much like a spoon, and is about as dynamic and interesting. There are several really interesting archetypes that elevate the class though.