Elan w/ Max Charisma, Dex>Con=Int=Wis>Str
Use -1 HP to +1 PP every level. 1PP = 5 HP from Vigor
Traits:
Psi-Gifted: Mind Thrust
Reactionary
Lvl1 - Mind Thrust, Psicrystal Affinity
Lvl2 - Vigor
Lvl3 - Psionic Meditation
Lvl4 - Share Pain, Inertial Armor (Extra Power Known from Elan Favored Class 1/4)
Lvl5 - Empower Power
Lvl6 - Energy Wall
Lvl7 - Expanded Knowledge(EK): Energy Missile
Lvl8 - Fold Space, Solicit Psicrystal (Extra Power Known),
Lvl9 - EK: Metamorphosis
Lvl10 - Telekinetic Maneuver
Lvl11 - EK: Remote Viewing
Lvl12 - Retrieve, Incarnate (Extra Power Known)
Lvl13 - Psicrystal Containment
Lvl14 - Disintegrate
Lvl15 - Split Psionic Ray
Lvl16 - Barred Mind, Energy Wave (Extra Power Known)
Lvl17 - Enervation Fortitude
Lvl18 - Alter Reality
Lvl19 - Maximize Power
Lvl20 - Timeless Body, Shadow Body (Extra Power Known)
Currently I'm at level 7, but this is my planned build and so far it's working awesome. -IF- I ever roll a 4 on my chaotic surge, it's lights out for anything. Empowered Mind Thrust on a 4 surge is currently 12d10 (+50%)dmg with a 21 Will Save DC, Empowered Energy Missile on a 4 surge is currently 11d6 (+50%)dmg on up to 7 targets with a 21 Reflex/Fort Save DC.
At lvl 15, I can Empower a Split Psionic Ray on Disintegrate with a 4 surge, that's 42d6 (+50%) + 42d6 (+50%).
Solicit Psicrystal lets my Psicrystal take over the Concentration on Telekinetic Maneuver (Bull Rush, Trip, Disarm, Grapple/Pin) or on Energy Wall so I can continue nuking. Both are excellent for defense and crowd control.
Vigor/Share Pain + Inertial Armor (Share w/ Psicrystal) = lots of defense, especially if you Wild Surge them.
Remote Viewing + Retrieve = Inter-dimensional Carmen San Diego
Incarnate can make all kinds of neat-o effects permanent.
Metamorphosis = ultimate utility, and fly for 1 min/lvl.
In battle, Metamorphosis with 4pp augment, Reduce size -2, +4 Dex for a +4 initiative, +4 reflex, +6 AC, +8 Stealth (Tiny size bonus) and throw in DR5/magic or +3 Nat Armor.
The dmg output so far at lvl 7 is absolutely unreal with a 2, 3 or 4 on my Chaotic Surge. I basically have a 75% chance to end the encounter. If I roll a 1, so what :P
slight nitpick: Psionic Meditation cannot be taken at level 3, as it requires 4 ranks in autohypnosis. it is late, so I'll look at this when i wake up.
slight nitpick: Psionic Meditation cannot be taken at level 3, as it requires 4 ranks in autohypnosis. it is late, so I'll look at this when i wake up.
Yeah, you're correct, it requires 4 ranks in autohypnosis. I had to delay getting Psionic Meditation until lvl 4, so I didn't have my 2nd feat at lvl 3.
slight nitpick: Psionic Meditation cannot be taken at level 3, as it requires 4 ranks in autohypnosis. it is late, so I'll look at this when i wake up.Yeah, you're correct, it requires 4 ranks in autohypnosis. I had to delay getting Psionic Meditation until lvl 4, so I didn't have my 2nd feat at lvl 3.
Just to let you know, that's against the rules. Your DM can allow whatever they wish (and obviously have, since you've got 3rd-party materials in the game), but the core rules don't permit delaying acquiring feats.
I could go Lvl3 Empower Power and Lvl5 Psionic Meditation next time then :)
At lvl 20 with a +3 Surge Crystal on a 4 surge: Maximized Empowered Mind Thrust is 33d10 (+50%), Max Emp Energy Missile is 32d6+32 (+50%) to 7 targets, Max Split Psi Ray Disintegration is 64d6 + 64d6, Max Emp Energy Wave is same numbers as Energy Missile, except in a 120 ft cone.
Disintegration = static 384 dmg with a Fort save of 26 + whatever your Cha Mod is, twice. So potential 768 damage if they fail both saves.
Mind Thrust = static 495 dmg with a Will Save of 27 + Cha Mod.
Energy Missile/Wave = static 336 cold/fire dmg to 7 Targets/Cone with a Fort/Refl Save of 26 + Cha Mod.
Share Pain+Vigor would give me and Psicrystal 190 health, Inertial Armor would be +22 AC, etc.
The primary downside of playing a Chaotic Wilder is being Dazed for a full round on Psychic Enervation and having the highest PE chance (25%). It does actually suck getting dazed. But, it really ups the tension in a fight ;)
I was going over the math thinking those numbers seemed odd, but they all math out right. huh. not sure if empower power would effect both rays or just the original.
you built it solidly. but oh man those enervation chances or that chance of rolling 1 on that chaos surge roll could bite you pretty hard, but that is the risk with that surge type.
Enervation is the worst, yeah. Rolling a 1 on Surge isn't too bad though. If I was lvl 20 and rolled a 1 on a Max Emp Mind Thrust, that is still a static 75 dmg. Next round I can still swing for the bleachers and try again.
Currently at lvl 7, if I roll a 1 on an Emp Mind Thrust, it's 3d10 (+50%)
Or 2d6 (+50%) to 7 targets with Energy Missile, on a 1 Surge.
Anyone have any idea how I could work Hustle, Fission, or Schism into this build, either with items or by substituting powers/feats?
If our campaign goes past lvl 20, I'm thinking of a Paladin dip to 2 for Divine Grace, lvl 1 dip into Vitalist for the collective ability, then going Psion Generalist Discipline or Psy War :)
have you checked out Psionics Augmented: Wilders?
No, not yet. Is it good?
I checked out the Psionics Augmented: Wilders. The feats and powers look really cool, but the prestige classes are lacking, imo.
Overchannel + Wild Surge.... Holy crap that's so good
And the feat that removes Daze from Chaotic Wilder's PE....
Btw, if you're ever worried about how much dmg you can do at lvl 1, for 1 power point, you could Chaotic Surge for 1d10 - 4d10. Up to 11-12 + Cha Mod Will DC. Or simply cast the power for 2d10.
and some people say psyions are not broken...
1d10-4d10 at level 1? please share.
I was going over the math thinking those numbers seemed odd, but they all math out right. huh. not sure if empower power would effect both rays or just the original.
you built it solidly. but oh man those enervation chances or that chance of rolling 1 on that chaos surge roll could bite you pretty hard, but that is the risk with that surge type.
you were wondering what I meant when I said dreamscarred press had messed up damage scaling? basically this thread.
my personal favorite toy is Concussive Onslaught. Lock someone down and then for 17 power points drop them in an area that deals 14d6 force damage per round for 20 rounds. If they're locked down for the whole duration, average of 840 damage.
or if you want something even stupider, let's use Energy Current. would be a different build, but the power is still absurd. Crossblooded Sorc 1 / Psion or Wilder 19 for +2 dmg per die on fire spells. Wilder would need to pick up a feat @ 11th to actually learn energy current, but the results speak for themselves. augment 6 times then empower for 17 PP to deal 22d6+66 every round for 20 rounds, if you get hits in every round it averages out to 2760 damage.
yeah, psionic damage is pretty insane.
and some people say psyions are not broken...
honestly outside of their wonked out damage scaling, psionics are fine.
my personal favorite toy is Concussive Onslaught. Lock someone down and then for 17 power points drop them in an area that deals 14d6 force damage per round for 20 rounds. If they're locked down for the whole duration, average of 840 damage.
Your math appears to be wrong (assuming you are NOT looking at chaotic surge wilder). at 19th level you could spend 19 Power Points to pull off 10d6, and it would last only 19 rounds. At that level? that math is fine, especially considering that power resistance (and thus spell resistance by default) applies AND you get a fortitude save for half damage. if you have stalwart or improved stalwart (or similar feature), you could be taking 0 damage.
Now, looking at a normal wilder, this COULD be pulled off at an earlier level, with the risk of enervation.
or if you want something even stupider, let's use Energy Current. would be a different build, but the power is still absurd. Crossblooded Sorc 1 / Psion or Wilder 19 for +2 dmg per die on fire spells. Wilder would need to pick up a feat @ 11th to actually learn energy current, but the results speak for themselves. augment 6 times then empower for 17 PP to deal 22d6+66 every round for 20 rounds, if you get hits in every round it averages out to 2760 damage.
even here you math is wrong...
to get 22d6, you are going to need to get yourself 22 levels of psion. and if you ALSO want to empower it, you'll actually need to be a 24th level psion. on top of that evasion (or stalwart, depending on energy type chosen) could negate that damage entirely, and by those levels, likely will. AND you are stuck concentrating on the power every round, so getting hit could stop you power completely.Technically a lower level with the wilder could pull this off, but again, enervation chance.
yeah, psionic damage is pretty insane.
outside of the chaotic surge wilder, I am going to have to disagree.
1d10-4d10 at level 1? please share.while not d10s 4d4+12 aoe or you could focus on single target for 4d6+12 while not as bursty as rolling 4 10s it has a significantly better average damage and that's assuming no meta magics
How are you doing that at level 1?
1d10-4d10 at level 1? please share.
With Psi-gifted: Mind Thrust at lvl 1, simply manifesting the power is 2d10. With Chaotic Surge, depending on 1d4 roll, you could get -1 or +1 or +2 ML, so 1d10-4d10.
Having the ability to deal 4d10 for 1PP at lvl 1 is absolutely absurd. And it only gets worse from there, because lvl 2 is 2d10-5d10, lvl 3 is Surge +2, so now Mind Thrust is 2d10-8d10. 8d10 at lvl 3.... And if you get Empower Power as your lvl 3 feat, may the Gods have mercy upon thine enemies.
I know everyone looks at the Chaotic Surge like "Omg so much random", but you hit 4's more often than you might think. I mean, you do have a 50% chance to Surge normally, 25% to suck, and 25% to turn them into sticky goo because they can't even possibly save vs your ridiculous DC's.
It is for this reason that you NEED a range of dmg powers that are able to hit all the saves, and you still NEED to have a nice mix of Single Target and AoE powers.
Crossblooded Sorc 1 / Psion or Wilder 19 for +2 dmg per die on fire spells. Wilder would need to pick up a feat @ 11th to actually learn energy current, but the results speak for themselves. augment 6 times then empower for 17 PP to deal 22d6+66 every round for 20 rounds, if you get hits in every round it averages out to 2760 damage.
What do you think of something like this :)
Crossblooded Sorc 1 / 19 Chaotic Wilder:
Psi-gifted: Energy Ray
Either go Psi Affinity/Containment or get Metapsionic Mastery: Energy Ray
Favored Weapon: Ray
Split Psi Ray
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/feats/favored-energy-psionic/
http://www.d20pfsrd.com/psionics-unleashed/feats/rime-power-metapsionic/
That's a lotta DPR, and you can Dmg/Entangle two targets every round. And it's super cheap PP-wise, like cheapy cheap.
Personally, I would shoot for Overchannel, the new Overchannel+WS feat, Favored Energy: Fire (and cold, if you want some added versatility), Maximize Power, Psi Affin/Contain, and get the traits Psi-gifted: Energy Ray and Psionic Knack, and Split Psi Ray, and make sure you get Solicit Psicrystal (Energy Current is a concentration power, and your Psicrystal can take it over as a Swift so you can continue nuking).
With a +3 Surge Crystal, Overchannel and a 4 surge at lvl 1/19 with a Max Split Psi Ray, you're looking at 36d6+144 Fire dmg + 36d6+144 Fire dmg.
So, static 360 fire + 360 fire dmg.
This would also be on top of your Psicrystal already channelling your Energy Current. And this build transitions nicely into Disintegration.
And you could always throw in Concussive Onslaught somewhere on the field too, it's a power that just pulverizes an area over several rounds and doesn't require concentration
The true beauty of Energy Ray is that there's no save. If you touch, you dmg.
Also, if you ever take that character higher than lvl 20, take 3 more levels in Sorceror, get the feat Wildblood Mage, and dip 1 in Psion, then go Cerebremancer10 :D
You would be lvl 34 with no ML loss due to the Sorc4 dip, and you'd cast spells like a lvl 14 sorc and all the versatility in powers of a lvl 11 Psion but with the crushing might of a ML34 + with a potential +21ML from Chaotic Surge/Overchannel.
Just imagine a Max Split Psi Ray Disintegration that costs 34 PP that deals static 98d6 + 98d6 (588 + 588) with Fort Save of 35 + whatever your Cha Mod is.
@Ryze Kuja
Since technically level 20 is the cap (yes, you can go higher, and there is some advice for it, but it isn't supported in any way), that is a lot of what if.
It's bad enough that few games seem to make it to level 20, but finding a DM (like me) who would allow you to keep going beyond 20 seems to be equally rare.
Anyway, you have put a lot of thought into this... like, munchkin levels of thought. A part of me wants to congratulate you. But another part is considering banning that surge type, but I'd have to check to see how great are the drawbacks.
@Ryze Kuja
Since technically level 20 is the cap (yes, you can go higher, and there is some advice for it, but it isn't supported in any way), that is a lot of what if.
It's bad enough that few games seem to make it to level 20, but finding a DM (like me) who would allow you to keep going beyond 20 seems to be equally rare.
Anyway, you have put a lot of thought into this... like, munchkin levels of thought. A part of me wants to congratulate you. But another part is considering banning that surge type, but I'd have to check to see how great are the drawbacks.
I wouldn't ban the surge type. But I would ban the min/max builds for the surge type. I'm also a DM, and my current DM and I had a discussion about the craziness that a Chaotic Wilder brings prior to starting our campaign, and we agreed that I wouldn't min/max via dips (i.e. Cross-blooded Sorc1, for example).
Wilders are the highest damage dealers in the game hands down, rivaled only by Wizards/Sorcerors who build themselves to specifically be blasters. However, they are not without weaknesses. Every Chaotic Psychic Enervation hurts, badly, and they can come at the most inopportune times. Being Dazed for a full-round is absolutely awful, and -ML or -ML(x2) in PP also hurts, but not as bad as being dazed. Also, much of the Wilder's survivability revolves around being able to use 3 standard actions to buff prior to a fight: vigor, share pain and inertial armor. So if you get surprised or caught off-guard, or you've sent your psicrystal to investigate something and become attacked, you're in trouble. Without Vigor/Inertial Armor up, at lvl 7, I have 34 health, and my AC is 19.
Chaotic Wilders also have a weak spot with saves (except Will). Elan's racial gives a +4 to all saves as an immediate action for 1pp, so this helps a ton. But any time my DM wants to crank up the heat, ability drains and fort/reflex saves crush me.
So, I wouldn't ban the surge type, it's actually very balanced. However, I am in favor of banning the surge type with dips for min/max.
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Actually, just the other day, we had a pretty epic "knock-down, drag 'em out" fight. We have a Catfolk Paladin, named Cale, Human War Priest, Ragnar, Elven Investigator, Phillipe and an Elan Chaotic Wilder, Ryze.
After helping our Paladin, Cale, destroy an evil sand elemental that was plaguing his Catfolk cousins for some several years, it was grounds for an epic feast and party that lasted to the break of dawn. Songs were sung, drinks were had, and all the frivolities of a village's-worth of highly-enamored catfolk ladies ensued.
The next morning, we awoke to several catfolk ladies in our quarters, an epic hangover, and the scratching of talons outside in the hallway. Our Paladin roused first and spotted 3 Brataurus (psionics bestiary), who were drawn to the psionic power that Ryze wields.
The Brataurus charged, and Cale roared loudly, to awaken the rest of the party. Ryze came to the door and a Brataurus immediately recognized him as the font of power they seeked, and charged him. Ryze was overcome by raw emotion, and in the throes of adrenaline, he crushed the first foe with an Emp Mind Thrust that dealt 79 damage, instantly liquefying and imploding the Brataurus's mind, also leaving Ryze's mind exhausted and depleted in a daze-like stupor. Suddenly, 4 more Brataurus arrived, and while the Paladin, War Priest and Investigator had their hands full with the other two, two of the new arrivals focused on Ryze.
In the end, Ryze was enervated three separate times, all on 4 surges (so that's -14, -14, -14PP). Our paladin was completely depleted of wisdom and on the ground unconscious. The War Priest and the Investigator were badly wounded and barely hanging on to their sanity, as their wisdom was also severely drained. And despite just waking up with a full tank of 34HP and 79PP, Ryze was down to 9 PP and 14 HP and had -4 wisdom drain.
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It took a couple days to limp that fight off.
fair enough.
Your math appears to be wrong (assuming you are NOT looking at chaotic surge wilder). at 19th level you could spend 19 Power Points to pull off 10d6, and it would last only 19 rounds. At that level? that math is fine, especially considering that power resistance (and thus spell resistance by default) applies AND you get a fortitude save for half damage. if you have stalwart or improved stalwart (or similar feature), you could be taking 0 damage.Now, looking at a normal wilder, this COULD be pulled off at an earlier level, with the risk of enervation.
start with 3d6 per round for 5 power points. spend 10 pp to augment up to 8d6, spend 2 pp to empower to increase to an effective 12d6 force per round (missed that extra damage) for 17 rounds for a total of 17 PP at ML 17.
the broken part comes from lower levels. At level 10 you can augment to 5d6 and overchannel to empower it for 7d6 per round for 10 rounds. No other spell in pathfinder compares to this damage wise.
even here you math is wrong...
to get 22d6, you are going to need to get yourself 22 levels of psion. and if you ALSO want to empower it, you'll actually need to be a 24th level psion. on top of that evasion (or stalwart, depending on energy type chosen) could negate that damage entirely, and by those levels, likely will. AND you are stuck concentrating on the power every round, so getting hit could stop you power completely.
Technically a lower level with the wilder could pull this off, but again, enervation chance.
energy current costs 9 pp, spend 6 pp to get to 15d6, 2 pp for empower to get to 22d6 effective @ 17 pp. Crossblooded gives you +2 damage per die on fire spells, add another +1 for fire from current itself (forgot this last time) so your spell does 15d6+45, empower increases this to an effective 22d6+67 PER ROUND for 17+ rounds.
unless I'm missing something, my math is fine.
Your math appears to be wrong (assuming you are NOT looking at chaotic surge wilder). at 19th level you could spend 19 Power Points to pull off 10d6, and it would last only 19 rounds. At that level? that math is fine, especially considering that power resistance (and thus spell resistance by default) applies AND you get a fortitude save for half damage. if you have stalwart or improved stalwart (or similar feature), you could be taking 0 damage.Now, looking at a normal wilder, this COULD be pulled off at an earlier level, with the risk of enervation.
start with 3d6 per round for 5 power points. spend 10 pp to augment up to 8d6, spend 2 pp to empower to increase to an effective 12d6 force per round (missed that extra damage) for 17 rounds for a total of 17 PP at ML 17.
the broken part comes from lower levels. At level 10 you can augment to 5d6 and overchannel to empower it for 7d6 per round for 10 rounds. No other spell in pathfinder compares to this damage wise.
even here you math is wrong...
to get 22d6, you are going to need to get yourself 22 levels of psion. and if you ALSO want to empower it, you'll actually need to be a 24th level psion. on top of that evasion (or stalwart, depending on energy type chosen) could negate that damage entirely, and by those levels, likely will. AND you are stuck concentrating on the power every round, so getting hit could stop you power completely.
Technically a lower level with the wilder could pull this off, but again, enervation chance.
energy current costs 9 pp, spend 6 pp to get to 15d6, 2 pp for empower to get to 22d6 effective @ 17 pp. Crossblooded gives you +2 damage per die on fire spells, add another +1 for fire from current itself (forgot this last time) so your spell does 15d6+45, empower increases this to an effective 22d6+67 PER ROUND for 17+ rounds.
unless I'm missing something, my math is fine.
You should seriously consider getting Solicit Psicrystal for your Energy Current. Concussive Onslaught isn't a concentration power, it's a power you manifest and it just does its thing for xx rounds. Theoretically, you could have Concussive Onslaught active somewhere, your Psicrystal could take over concentration of Energy Current as a Swift action, and then you as the Psion can control, nuke, run, do your nails, get a coffee...
Your math appears to be wrong (assuming you are NOT looking at chaotic surge wilder). at 19th level you could spend 19 Power Points to pull off 10d6, and it would last only 19 rounds. At that level? that math is fine, especially considering that power resistance (and thus spell resistance by default) applies AND you get a fortitude save for half damage. if you have stalwart or improved stalwart (or similar feature), you could be taking 0 damage.Now, looking at a normal wilder, this COULD be pulled off at an earlier level, with the risk of enervation.
start with 3d6 per round for 5 power points. spend 10 pp to augment up to 8d6, spend 2 pp to empower to increase to an effective 12d6 force per round (missed that extra damage) for 17 rounds for a total of 17 PP at ML 17.
the broken part comes from lower levels. At level 10 you can augment to 5d6 and overchannel to empower it for 7d6 per round for 10 rounds. No other spell in pathfinder compares to this damage wise.
even here you math is wrong...
to get 22d6, you are going to need to get yourself 22 levels of psion. and if you ALSO want to empower it, you'll actually need to be a 24th level psion. on top of that evasion (or stalwart, depending on energy type chosen) could negate that damage entirely, and by those levels, likely will. AND you are stuck concentrating on the power every round, so getting hit could stop you power completely.
Technically a lower level with the wilder could pull this off, but again, enervation chance.
energy current costs 9 pp, spend 6 pp to get to 15d6, 2 pp for empower to get to 22d6 effective @ 17 pp. Crossblooded gives you +2 damage per die on fire spells, add another +1 for fire from current itself (forgot this last time) so your spell does 15d6+45, empower increases this to an effective 22d6+67 PER ROUND for 17+ rounds.
Unless I'm missing something, my math is fine.
Effectively more dice isn't the same thing as actually using that many dice. it is unnecessarily deceiving. empower doesn't add dice, after all. If you were at my table and tried to roll extra dice because empower is 'effectively more dice' then I would only count your lowest resulting dice up to the correct amount as punishment.
I honestly don't see most of these numbers as terrible. Because experience has shown me first hand that this is generally not as bad as people like to make it out to be; in contrast I have seen druids, wizards, and clerics do far more damage to my games (in ways other than damage, though sometimes in that category too).
I think I might invest in that energy current power, it's pretty damn good. At lvl 20, I could hit Max Emp surge 4 for 32d6+32, so static 336 cold/fire every round for 20 rounds. And my Psicrystal could concentrate on it for me while I nuke :)
Max Emp concussive onslaught would be awesome too, next time I ever do a chaotic wilder, i'll swap that for Energy Wall. Max Emp 4 Concussive Onslaught would be 16d6, so static 144 force dmg per round in an aoe for 20 rounds, Fort save for half
Or maybe I should just get Psychic Reformation from the town Psion :P. Energy Wall is cool, but it can't be augmented. The save DC will become worthless at later levels.
Max dmg across 20 rounds would be 2880 on concussive onslaught in a 30ft area, 6720 for energy current, with a possible 6720 more because it can arc to a second target within 15 ft. And during all this time, I'm free to nuke or control as I please for the next 18 rounds
Effectively more dice isn't the same thing as actually using that many dice. it is unnecessarily deceiving. empower doesn't add dice, after all. If you were at my table and tried to roll extra dice because empower is 'effectively more dice' then I would only count your lowest resulting dice up to the correct amount as punishment.
I honestly don't see most of these numbers as terrible. Because experience has shown me first hand that this is generally not as bad as people like to make it out to be; in contrast I have seen druids, wizards, and clerics do far more damage to my games (in ways other than damage, though sometimes in that category too).
it was a practical approximation, it wasn't intended to be decieving, and I would love for you to tell me how a regular caster without mythic tiers can cast a single spell capable of doing thousands of damage.
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they never had to do thousands, as none of my players ever managed to DO thousands (or even hundreds). maybe I lucked out and my players just never noticed these powers? who knows.
what i do know is that comparing 0-9 anything (caster, manifester, etc.) based on blasting ability is kind of dumb; if my encounters can be solved with nukes the majority of the time, then i have failed to design good encounters. what i mean is: damage shouldn't solve all problems. If it does, your DM is doing it wrong (or depending on group, just right, but that isn't my kind of group).
they never had to do thousands, as none of my players ever managed to DO thousands (or even hundreds). maybe I lucked out and my players just never noticed these powers? who knows.
what i do know is that comparing 0-9 anything (caster, manifester, etc.) based on blasting ability is kind of dumb; if my encounters can be solved with nukes the majority of the time, then i have failed to design good encounters. what i mean is: damage shouldn't solve all problems. If it does, your DM is doing it wrong (or depending on group, just right, but that isn't my kind of group).
We've played 19 levels of Wrath of the Righteous, 4 levels of Giant slayer and 3 levels of Rise of the Runelords, thus far damage is the answer to everything. In a homebrew game absolutely, damage should only be part of the equation and you need a lot of varied kinds of situations to keep players on their toes, but my experience with paizo adventure paths is thus far that damage is the be all end all. Maybe that changes for something like Jade Regent or Curse of the Crimson Throne, but I don't know.
We've played 19 levels of Wrath of the Righteous, 4 levels of Giant slayer and 3 levels of Rise of the Runelords, thus far damage is the answer to everything. In a homebrew game absolutely, damage should only be part of the equation and you need a lot of varied kinds of situations to keep players on their toes, but my experience with paizo adventure paths is thus far that damage is the be all end all. Maybe that changes for something like Jade Regent or Curse of the Crimson Throne, but I don't know.they never had to do thousands, as none of my players ever managed to DO thousands (or even hundreds). maybe I lucked out and my players just never noticed these powers? who knows.
what i do know is that comparing 0-9 anything (caster, manifester, etc.) based on blasting ability is kind of dumb; if my encounters can be solved with nukes the majority of the time, then i have failed to design good encounters. what i mean is: damage shouldn't solve all problems. If it does, your DM is doing it wrong (or depending on group, just right, but that isn't my kind of group).
That is likely the disconnect; I avoid adventure paths 99% of the time. so far the only published adventure I have used has been the beginner box a few years back (I wanted to be lazy for a day).