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So I've been throwing around a couple Solarian build ideas in my spare time, and decided to write them up in a google doc. Basically, they break down into a Melee build, a Ranged build, a "Versatile Build", and a "Caster" build, each emphasizing a different aspect of the Solarian class.
This is pretty much the definition of theory crafting, as I've only played a variation on the "Versatile" build up to level 2. On the other hand, the stat blocks don't look that bad for some of the more unorthodox builds, such as the Ranged and "Caster". I've tried to include some of my reasoning on why each feat might be a good choice or not for any given build.
I expect a good portion of this to become out of date as Paizo updates its Starfinder FAQ, as well as when people get a chance to play to higher levels. And I don't doubt I've made a mistake here and there.
Anyways, here's a general solarian guide.
Nice guide. Thanks
Spacefarer can allow you to become a reasonable Captain with the 12th level ability. It would allow you to Aid Another the various Crew Actions just as the skill checks for other methods are going through the roof. Keep in mind that by that point there is no reason you would have a penalty in any ability score.
The same can be said of the 6th Level Ace Pilot ability — which is more restricted but gives a better bonus.
I feel a Cha 14 is going to feel weak, but I’ve started prioritizing Resolve over Con for survival.
Really nice guide!
It does look like you list the Korasha Lashunta twice under the races section. I think the second one is intended to be Damaya given the description.
Great guide. Useful both as advice for building Solarians, and as a reference for DMs to the many interpretive questions they'll need to work out answers to beforehand.
Nice!
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Quick question after reading the guide: if you're making a melee armor Solarian like your Versatile one, is the reach of the pike essential, or could one utilize a two-handed sword like a curve blade or devastation blade? Or a longsword in two hands, even though it doesn't provide any actual benefit?
Quick question after reading the guide: if you're making a melee armor Solarian like your Versatile one, is the reach of the pike essential, or could one utilize a two-handed sword like a curve blade or devastation blade? Or a longsword in two hands, even though it doesn't provide any actual benefit?
I happen to like reach, however I wouldn't call it essential. The AC of the versatile build is within 1 of the melee build, so you're going to have similar survivability to the melee build when just using a normal advanced melee weapon.
I find the reach + entangling is an interesting way of mitigating damage that isn't just pump your AC. It also makes it easier to provide the coordinated shot bonus without being in the way, or allows you to Spring attack back an extra 10 feet (5 feet on the way in and another 5 feet on the way out). It also is a replacement for Step Up and Strike.
Reach does come at the cost of damage per hit however, as reach weapons do less damage than their counterparts, as well as having fewer weapon options in the core rule book.
If you do decide to go the higher damage route without reach, I would prioritize Step Up and Strike. Perhaps start with a Tactical Pike (at low level its hard to beat for effectiveness). Then at 3rd grab Step up and at 7th grab Step Up and Strike. This would drop Coordinated Shot and push the rest of the feats from mobility onwards back.
Well, going Half-elf would mean you change a feat at 1st to Skill Focus. I'd probably keep weapon focus at 1st, and take fleet at 3rd, and drop coordinated shot (especially if you're not planning on using a reach weapon).
You also lose out on a skill per level, which means you need to decide which skills you really want. That is going to depend on what character concept you have, and if you can rely on a certain group of players at the table each time you play (much easier in a home campaign than SFS for example). Personally, I'd definitely keep stealth, as this particular build is aiming to be somewhat scout-like. Athletics is used with climbing suckers, and acrobatics will eventually be used with Jetpacks (which is why I put it off until 5th). Culture is likely to be covered by another character, so that is probably the easiest one to drop from the build.
I used themeless simply because I wanted to use the same theme for each of the example builds, and not bias any of the builds to any given theme. For any of these builds you can swap in any theme you want and it really doesn't affect it. The odd stat point in these particular builds don't matter.
Matt2VK has the right of it for the versatile's example build at 1st level.
I had put the odd point from themeless into Con. As the build didn't really need the odd point to qualify for any feats, I put it in Con simply because if your Con reaches 0 due to ability damage you die, while if your Wis reaches 0, you're just unconscious.
For a Half-Elf Scholar, assuming you put the racial +2 into Str, you're spending 2 points on Strength, 4 Points on Dexterity, 4 points on Charisma. Then your Scholar Theme adds 1 point to Int.
So your stats at 1st level would be:
Str 14 Dex 14 Con 10 Int 11 Wis 10 Cha 14
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Just a note:
With just "Step Up" you have already used your reaction to close the gap. So you can not follow up with an AoO should they provoke again. That is what "Step Up and Strike" allows you to do.
The Benefit of "Step Up" by itself is that you don't have to take a move action on your turn to close so you can still Full Attack.
Any thoughts on the Alien Archive races
I'll be getting a copy of the Alien Archive tomorrow, and then I'll be able to try answer that question.
Just a note:
With just "Step Up" you have already used your reaction to close the gap. So you can not follow up with an AoO should they provoke again. That is what "Step Up and Strike" allows you to do.
The Benefit of "Step Up" by itself is that you don't have to take a move action on your turn to close so you can still Full Attack.
Agreed.
Looking back, I probably didn't write those two feat sections as clearly as possible, but they do say basically the same thing.
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Thanks for the guide, I have a question. On your 6th level melee build, I see 19 +2 for strength for a total of 21. I see a revelation labeled "unbalanced" in bold as well. I cannot find an unbalanced revelation only disproportionate revelations make you take longer to hit zenith. Am I missing something?
Thanks for the guide, I have a question. On your 6th level melee build, I see 19 +2 for strength for a total of 21. I see a revelation labeled "unbalanced" in bold as well. I cannot find an unbalanced revelation only disproportionate revelations make you take longer to hit zenith. Am I missing something?
The +2 represents purchasing a +2 strength personal upgrade (which is a level 3 upgrade that costs 1,400 credits). So the melee build starts with an 18 in Strength, adds 1 point with one of the four 5th level stat increases, putting the base value at 19, and then is assumed to purchase said personal upgrade, making it 19+2=21 total.
The unbalanced is meant to refer to the disproportionate rule. The melee build basically goes heavy into photon revelations and never looks back. I felt balanced and unbalanced was easier and shorter to write than disproportionate and proportionate, but perhaps I should change it to make it clearer.
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Any thoughts on the Alien Archive races?
So I've finally gotten a copy of Alien Archive.
The short answer is Dragonkin, Sarcesian, and Shobad look really good to me. Below that Haan, Nuar, and Skittermanders seem good.
I will give Kalo an honorable mention with Defy Gravity as being an interesting option that has Blindsight at level 1 (which nobody else can do, except Operatives at level 14+), and turns some its slowness into an reasonable speed at level 6.
The long answer is as follows:
Unlimited flight from level 1. Ability to double Strength damage or have reach as a swift action once every 1d4 rounds. Unfortunately, the stat distribution is particularly bad for Solarians in general. On the bright side, you'd be pretty tough. You could do it, but you'd need to leverage the special abilities a lot to make up for for having no racial bonuses to Strength and Charisma, and a penalty to Dex. This is probably Orange (possibly red) for all Solarian builds.
Again, unlimited flight. Poor stat distribution for a Solarian, and will have low hit points for a melee character. Solar weapon works oddly well with Atrophied (2-handed weapon damage in a single hand). Again, this is possibly an Orange for a caster build, and red for everything else.
Stats which don't help at all, a penalty to charisma, and underwhelming racial abilities. This is red.
Now we are talking.
1) Reach! (Usable with your Solar Weapon)
2) Unlimited flight! (at least at 5th)
3) Partner bond! (Bond with the Operative for really good initiative while ignoring Dex)The extra 2 hit points, vision, free AoE once a rest, and sleep immunity/paralysis save bonus are just extras that aren't game changing, but they're free on top of everything else.
This is a crazy good melee Solarian choice. Stat distribution will match that of a human's. The only downside is large size, which means you'll be getting in the way of your ranged allies more, and have some issues with squeezing sometimes.
This is a blue choice for melee and versatile. Orange for a caster, and probably red for ranged.
Other than their stat distribution, which is pretty good, their racial abilities are very uninspiring, and include a penalty.
The question is, do environmental protections in a Drow's armor prevent blindness from bright light? Given being on the surface of a star if you are fire immune doesn't actually blind you like it should, presumably environmental protections filter out bright light.
Overall, Drow strike me as Orange, possibly Green if the light blindness can be mitigated by technology.
Stat distribution is less than ideal, but not the worst for a melee Solarian. Blindsense is hard to get other than as a racial, and scent is not a bad one. Sonic resistance 5 isn't bad at low levels, but probably won't come up much. Overall, probably Orange for non-ranged builds.
Stat distribution is okay for a ranged build. The extra speed is handly, and the stealth bonus combines nicely with a Dex build. Probably green for a ranged Solarian, orange for versatile, and red for melee and caster.
Terrible stats, and lack luster racial abilities. This is red for all builds.
Good stat distribution for melee and versatile builds. Its has reach, which is a definite plus, but at the cost of large size, which is a minus. It gets slow fall instead of actual flight, and a once a rest AoE. If you care about skill points, Dragonkin is probably going to be superior to this choice. This is green for melee and versatile, orange for ranged and caster.
Stats are merely okay. Built in climb speed is good for heavy armor builds. Move action for a harry like ability, but is a ranged attack (so works on Dex) that needs to hit KAC is kinda like Improved Feint 1+ (level/5) times a day. Overall,
probably Orange for most builds.
Stats are ok. Hit points and stamina points will be on the low side. Its also slow, at a speed of 20 feet base on land. But, this race gets something no one else gets: Blindsight 60 foot. They also need to have their environmental protections on all the time (not that big of a deal, especially once you've gotten to 3rd or 4th level and upgraded your armor). Basically being immune to illusions, holograms, smoke clouds, darkness, etc is rather unique. Overall probably still Orange, but it does have some niche possibilities that might bump it up to green (consider the 50 foot swim speed combined with Defy Gravity).
This has an extra arm (tail), built in climb speed (good for heavy armor), and blindsense. Its too bad the stats are actively bad for a Solarian. Its red, as there are better ways to get climbing speed and a third (or fourth arm).[/b]
Charges ignoring difficult terrain built in. Base 40 foot speed. Stats are passable for a melee build. Not great, but can be worked with. (i.e. 14 Str/13 Dex/ 14 Cha). It makes for good maneuverability in heavy armor. Its a solid equivalent of 2 or 3 feats in a single package, plus the +2 Int for more skills. This is probably green for a melee build, and orange for versatile and caster, and red for ranged.
Stats are good (equivalent to human). The racial abilities makes for an interesting face/spy type Solarian. However, if you are not planning such a spy character, the racials aren't that great. This green if you're looking for a spy, and orange otherwise.
Stats are terrible for a Solarian. The bonus feat, and stacking fire resistance would be interesting (10 fire resistance at level 5 for example will pretty much negate lasers), but really can't make up for a penalty to Strength and no bonuses to needed stats. This is probably red.
Stats are good (equivalent to human for Solarian purposes), get the human's skilled (+1 skill rank per level), and has reach. Does come with the disadvantage of being large. Overall seems like a good package, and is probably green for most builds, possibly blue for melee builds because of the reach.
Incredible stats for a melee Solarian (as good as a Lashunta's). Has:
1) Reach
2) Four Arms
3) Base 40 foot speed
4) Can act for 1 round after being dropped to zeroPlus darkvision and stacking cold resistance, and an extra 2 hit points. For a melee build, this a great combination. Blue for melee, versatile and caster, probably orange for ranged.
Deceptively cute, but quite possibly one of the better Solarian races. Excellent stats for nearly any Solarian build, combined with six-arms and the ability to once per day take a bonus move action. These are basically green for all build types.
These are pretty bad. Active penalty to Cha, no bonus to stats a Solarian needs. Large size (basically a disadvantage) with no reach. Penalty to face skills. And they're slow. The blindsense, low light vision and telepathy just don't do enough to make it useful even in niche cases. These are red.
Stats are bad for a Solarian. The unique ability to get +10 to stealth while still isn't enough to recommend them. This is red.
They have Ok stats. Probably makes for a decent caster build. Four arms is nice plus magic missile once a day at low level can be handy, but will rapidly lose its effectiveness as levels increase. Overall, its probably Orange.
Stats are actively bad, and they're slow on land. Sheltering is kind of like the Vesk's armor bonus, but more restrictive in when it applies. Overall, unless you're in an aquatic campaign, this is going to be red.
Could the Versatile and Melee builds be hybridized so you could be a Versatile Solarian with a Solar Weapon instead of Armor? I like the Versatile build’s...well, versatility, but having one’s very own LIGHTSABER is too cool to pass up!
Is this for a home campaign or for Starfinder society? What is the level of optimization of other players if a home campaign? How do you want the character to play in combat and outside? What features are the most important to your concept of the character?
The melee build is focused on dealing as much damage as possible while up in the enemy's face. It uses heavy armor and minimizes its investment in dexterity in order to maximize its strength investment.
The versatile build aims to have a secondary job outside of combat as a scout. It has high speed so that when its moving at half speed for stealth, it still moves a good distance. If things go bad, it can use its speed and abilities to quickly reach safety or the rest of the party. In combat, it uses its mobility and debuff abilities to mitigate incoming damage, and isn't necessarily in the enemy's face every round.
By using Solar weapon instead of Solar armor you are losing out on both reach as well as another 1-2 points of AC, reducing its survivability in melee even further.
You could use Heavy armor to mitigate the AC loss, at which point your trading out mobility (losing the option to take fleet, losing clmibing suckers, and spent an extra feat).
Essentially, you are changing the versatile build from multiple directions, and its unclear what synergy it has, or how you envision combat happening.
The question becomes, what is the game plan behind your character? What do you want it to do the most? You have to make trade offs. A single character can't do everything.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but so far your definitive choices look to be:
1) Half-elf
2) Scholar
3) Solar weapon
This leaves you with 4 skill points at level 1 (assuming the stat distribution above). One of those skills is going to be Life Science or Physical Science. That leaves you 3 left, 2 less than what you need for the versatile skill selection. Do you want the to focus more on face and captaining skills like Diplomacy, Intimidate, Culture, or do you want to focus on mobility like Athletics, Acrobatics, and Stealth? Keep in mind what you want the character to do in starship combat.
From there your decision to go light armor or heavy armor becomes more clear, and equipment and ability choices will naturally flow.
As a final note, I'll point out Solar Weapons are not lightsabers. Lightsabers are pieces of equipment Jedi use. Lightsabers clearly target EAC (since they cut through anything) and deal something more like fire or plasma damage. Solar Weapons are some kind of physical construct that deals bludgeoning, slashing, or piercing, and targets KAC. More Green Lantern than Luke Skywalker.
Skyfire swords and plasma swords are much closer to being lightsabers. There is also such a thing as a lightsaber pike (from novels, games, and animated shows), which would basically be a Cryopike while using Plasma sheath. Targets EAC, deals fire damage. It also has reach and works with Entangling fusions.
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Okay, kind of embarrassing answer: it’s about aesthetic...see, I retooled my Solarian, Arcalinte, to match your Versatile setup with the intention of dropping the pike in favor of a two-handed sword later. The idea was that he activates his solar armor by seizing his more and clapping it onto his head like a helmet, causing his armor to form around him in a flash, kind of like how Doctor Fate transforms. After Alien Archive came out, though, I became enamored with the Barachius Helm, which would make him more paladiny. But it’d look really dumb to put my mote on like a helmet OVER a helmet I’m already wearing, right?
And I’m hesitant to use a Skyfire or Plasma sword for two reasons: one, both types of weapons would make Plasma Sheath redundant, since that power REPLACES your weapon’s damage type with fire damage, which is the original damage type for those two swords anyway, and secondly...the pictures of Skyfire and Plasma swords look kinda ugly...
I know it’s kind of silly, but I’ve always held the view that all the optimization in the world is meaningless if you don’t look cool at the end of the day. And that’s why I’ve been kind of concerned about the climbing suckers that your guide kind of makes me think are essential, because grafting octupus tentacles to my arms kind of clashes with the Warhammer Tyrion/Luke Skywalker look I’m going for...
Okay, kind of embarrassing answer: it’s about aesthetic...see, I retooled my Solarian, Arcalinte, to match your Versatile setup with the intention of dropping the pike in favor of a two-handed sword later. The idea was that he activates his solar armor by seizing his more and clapping it onto his head like a helmet, causing his armor to form around him in a flash, kind of like how Doctor Fate transforms. After Alien Archive came out, though, I became enamored with the Barachius Helm, which would make him more paladiny. But it’d look really dumb to put my mote on like a helmet OVER a helmet I’m already wearing, right?
And I’m hesitant to use a Skyfire or Plasma sword for two reasons: one, both types of weapons would make Plasma Sheath redundant, since that power REPLACES your weapon’s damage type with fire damage, which is the original damage type for those two swords anyway, and secondly...the pictures of Skyfire and Plasma swords look kinda ugly...
I know it’s kind of silly, but I’ve always held the view that all the optimization in the world is meaningless if you don’t look cool at the end of the day. And that’s why I’ve been kind of concerned about the climbing suckers that your guide kind of makes me think are essential, because grafting octupus tentacles to my arms kind of clashes with the Warhammer Tyrion/Luke Skywalker look I’m going for...
Sounds like you've got a fairly solid idea of what you want the character to look like and do. I say just go for how you view the character and have fun with it. In this case, I'm not really sure what you're asking for when you ask about a hybrid between the melee and versatile builds.
If you're just asking if you can use a Str 14/ Dex 14/ Con 10/ Int 11/ Wis 10/ Cha 14 stat line with the melee build, sure you can.
If you're asking if you can use Solar Weapon with light armor, you can do it, although its going to be sub-optimal in terms of AC. If you're happy with being a bit under optimal AC, go for it.
By the way, the climbing suckers are described on the soles of your feet. It specifically is not your arms. Nobody is going to notice unless you're climbing a wall or kicking them. Even then custom clothes in principle can hide them. However, if you feel they don't match the character's aesthetic, don't take them.
Lastly I'll note you have great latitude in describing the Solar Weapon and Solar Armor fluff. They're basically whatever you want, whether a lightsaber looking weapon, or armor that looks like an ancient Paladin's full plate with a shield. Or even artistic angel wings. It has no in game effect, but you're explicitly allowed to describe it however you want. If you talk to your GM, they might let you have a similar latitude in describing other equipment and gear. Just because one picture in one books looks a certain way doesn't mean they all look that way.
Anyways, good luck with the character.
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I wonder if I can ask my GM to refluff the climbing suckers as subdermal magnets or something. Technological instead of biological. My basic question was could I get away with using the Versatile build with a Solar Weapon instead of Armor...though given what you’ve said it may be better to keep the Armor and just describe the transformation differently. Like casting the mote to the floor to make a flame on the ground and then stepping through it and coming out armored on the other side!
I wonder if I can ask my GM to refluff the climbing suckers as subdermal magnets or something. Technological instead of biological. My basic question was could I get away with using the Versatile build with a Solar Weapon instead of Armor...though given what you’ve said it may be better to keep the Armor and just describe the transformation differently. Like casting the mote to the floor to make a flame on the ground and then stepping through it and coming out armored on the other side!
Given there's explicitly an augmentation which changes technological augmentations to biological for a 10% cost increase, adding a house rule that lets you change a biological augmentation to technological seems reasonable to me. Certainly won't break anything.
Also, if it makes a difference to you, you don't have to grab your mote for Solar armor. You can if you want to as the fluff part of the sequence, but you only have to "seize it in one hand" for the Solar Weapon version, as that is the hand that is considered wielding it. You can activate Solar Armor with both hands full.
I generally just walk around with Solar Armor on. It saves a move action when combat starts - unlike Solar Weapon, you can't activate it as part of another move action or charge. There is no reason not to, unless you want to hide the fact that you're a Solarian. Everyone else is already armored up with maximum protection all the time in their armor, no reason a Solarian shouldn't as well.
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Really? I thought your Solar Manifestation, Weapon or Armor, was only active during combat, returning to Mote form when you’re not actively fighting.
Nope, that is Stellar Mode (i.e. Photon/Graviton), not Solar Manifestation. Basically anything that doesn't require attunement can be done at any time. So go for the glowing Paladin look 100% of the time. :)
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Really? I thought your Solar Manifestation, Weapon or Armor, was only active during combat, returning to Mote form when you’re not actively fighting.Nope, that is Stellar Mode (i.e. Photon/Graviton), not Solar Manifestation. Basically anything that doesn't require attunement can be done at any time. So go for the glowing Paladin look 100% of the time. :)
YES!
The KAC/EAC defenses for a build using heavy armor can't go much higher than that presented in the melee build. Basically, keep your Dexterity bonus equal to or slightly higher than the max allowed in heavy armor.
You could certainly pick to go Vesk, which would increase your AC by 1, as well as force some minimal investment in Con.
The only defenses you can really improve over the builds presented here would be your saving throws. You could move the saving throw feats up in priority so you take them 3rd-7th. Equipment for DR and ressitance is fairly easily tacked on to the current builds.
A stat line of Str 14/Dex 12/Con 12/Int 10/Wis 10/Cha 14 could work as a Vesk Melee starting point (I like skills, but you could drop Int to 8 and bump Charisma up to 16 for more resolve or Wisdom to 12 for more will saving throw). Stat allocation would go like:
Level: Str/Dex/Con/Int/Wis/Cha
1: 14/12/12/10/10/14
5: 16/14/14/10/12/14
10: 18/16/16/10/14/14
15: 18/18/18/10/16/16
20: 19/18/18/12/18/18
Odd point can go anywhere.
Personal upgrade priorities: Dex (+2 only needed), Str (+4 then +6), and Cha (+4 at the end).
Revelations would be something like:
2: Stellar Rush
4: Dark Matter
6: Plasma Sheath
8: Reflection
10: Soul Furnace
12: Defy Gravity
14: Gravity Shield
16: Ultimate Graviton
18: Ultimate Photon
This gives you some benefits when you're in Graviton mode and want the extra reflex saving throw bonus, along with damage reduction. Also, reflection is a nice bonus on a high AC build. Once you get reflection, consider actually using full defense when it makes sense. You can literally stand in front of your party and provide cover to the rest of them if no other cover is available, if the enemy ranged attacks you, they're actually making a mistake.
Feats might be:
1: Heavy Armor
3: Iron Will
5: Enhanced Resistance (vs Fire)
7: Great Fortitude
9: Spell Bane
11: Weapon Focus
13: Penetrating Attack
15: Nimble Moves
17: Lightning Reflexes
19: Toughness
Overall, your offense is going to suffer by -3 to hit at low levels compared to the pure melee build, but your fortitude and will saving throws will be 1-5 higher.
A 6th level build would have EAC/KAC of 24/26, along with Fort/Ref/Will saves of +7/5/8 (+1 to reflex from Graviton). They would only have a +9 to hit (although they'd be buying Strength +4 at level 7, so it would jump up by 1 relatively speaking)
A 12th level build would have EAC/KAC of 33/35 (+1 EAC with phase shield), saving throws of 13/10/12 (+2 to reflex with graviton, +2 vs spells which doesn't stack with graviton).
I'm not sure how much I'd recommend such a build. I think it would be functional in combat, with 15% reduced offense or so from maximum. EAC/KAC isn't improved that much (and mostly due to picking Vesk), while the saving throws are the biggest change.
If you really wanted maximum AC at the cost of everything else, you could multi-class into Guard Soldier, and grab armor training and then increase your starting Dex to 14. Give it the +4 personal upgrade instead of Cha.
Great guide, really enjoyed reading it. :)
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Every 5 levels (at 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th levels), you get to increase and customize your ability scores. Each time you reach one of these level thresholds, choose four of your ability scores to increase. If that ability score is 17 or higher (excluding any ability increases from personal upgrades—see page 212), it increases permanently by 1. If it’s 16 or lower, it increases permanently by 2. You can’t apply more than one of these increases to the same ability score at a given level, but unlike at 1st level, these increases can make your ability scores go higher than 18.
Reading this I think the math on your ability scores is wrong. Can someone tell me if I am wrong or right?
Page 23:
Every 5 levels (at 5th, 10th, 15th, and 20th levels), you get to increase and customize your ability scores. Each time you reach one of these level thresholds, choose four of your ability scores to increase. If that ability score is 17 or higher (excluding any ability increases from personal upgrades—see page 212), it increases permanently by 1. If it’s 16 or lower, it increases permanently by 2. You can’t apply more than one of these increases to the same ability score at a given level, but unlike at 1st level, these increases can make your ability scores go higher than 18.Reading this I think the math on your ability scores is wrong. Can someone tell me if I am wrong or right?
Can you you give me an example of one the ability score increases that doesn't look right to you? Are we talking about one of the posts in this thread here, or one of the example builds in the guide?
Nevermind. I see the bold and I am assuming that is for the ability bonus upgrade.
i would like to note that weapon focus is better then 5% in increase in damage per round. if for example you have a 20% chance of hitting(very low) going to 25% chance of hitting is a 25% more damage and at the other end of the spectrum if you have a 70% chance of hitting(rather high) going to 75% chance is 5/70 more damage which in both cases is more then 5% more damage. in fact the only case its about 5% more damage is near the cap 90% to 95% is 5/90 and that is 5.5% more damage. now this does not take into count crits but if you do 20% chance to hit changes to 15% chance to hit and 5% chance to do double damage which works out to and expected value of 25% damage vs a 30% expected value which is still a 20% more damage multiplier and near cap it goes from 95% damage to 100% damage which is exactly that 5% increase in damage you note.
this is mostly semantics but more me commenting increase vs more and there common miss use.
Your analysis is basically correct, although you are neglecting critical hits. Going from a 20% chance of hitting includes the 5% chance of double damage in a critical, so the relative damage increase is only 20%, not 25%.
I.e. 1 time in 20 you get double damage, 3 times in 20 you get single damage, and 16 times in 20 you get no damage, becomes 1 time in 20 you get double damage, 4 times in 20 you get single damage, and 15 times in 20 you get no damage.
6/5 = 1.2 or a 20% increase.
This is why in the guide under weapon focus, I merely state that it affects 1 in 20 rolls. I.e. 19 out of 20 times, you won't notice a difference in the outcome. It changes a roll of 1 under their AC into exactly hitting their AC, so 1 in 20 times. Assuming you swing 6-10 times in a fight (say 6 rounds of combat), this will come up roughly 1 time every two to three fights. That description is easier for some people to visualize I feel, and also reinforces the fact that its a bursty increase as opposed to a constant increase.
I do mention a 5% increase is similar to the damage from weapon focus under the Penetrating Attack feat, but only meant it was of similar overall magnitude, not that weapon focus was an exact 5% increase in damage. Perhaps thats where you get the impression we're equating weapon focus with a 5% increase?
also i do have a question, do you really think that one RP at level 10 is worth more then 10 Stamina? 7 RP vs 8 RP at level 10 does not seam like much of a difference worth 10 stamina. also the same question could be noted again at level 15 with dex. more Im haveing trouble seeing how at higher levels chr is worth more then dex or con, at low levels going from 4 to 5 i think the point is very valid.
I think you're neglecting all the other benefits of Charisma beyond the fact that its resolve points. All 4 builds I presented have powers with Save DCs which are based off of Charisma. Keeping your save DCs up is important for them actually working against higher level enemies. Similarly, all 4 builds have Diplomacy as a skill. If you're playing the primary diplomat, keeping your charisma up for the skill is actually also important.
If you're running a build which doesn't take powers or skills affected by Charisma, then you might weigh Constitution and Charisma differently than these builds and it becomes a harder choice on which stats to increase every 5 levels and buy augmentations for.
with the dex vs chr trade and heavy armor for step up and then at 7 step up for Extra resolve. we see a net change:
+1 init
defense:
-1 EAC,-2 KAC,and +1 reflex,-1rp
Having 2 resolve points for levels 1-3 is going to be rough. Especially if you're also reducing your AC by 2 points. Which as noted earlier if you assume 50/50 hit chance, is like a 20% damage increase (although it is going to be more bursty). While that might not mean you drop to 0 from full hit points all that much more, it does mean you'll be typically be using 1 resolve after each fight or not going into the next fight at full stamina/health. Typical scenerios I've played in have a 3 or even sometimes 4 encounters between rests. 3 resolve is the bare minimum I would recommend for an expected 3 encounter adventuring day.
offence:
+5ft
-1 DC,+step up,+1 to hit on starknife
Note throwing a Starknife uses strength for to-hit (as well as adding to damage), so there's no net change there. Gunnery on a starship would be improved however, and is possibly a larger consideration depending on party composition.
Stats(irreverent)
Skills:+3 acrobatics,+2 Athletics ,-1 Diplomacy
Special Abilities:
+step up,-1 DC
feats:
-heavy armor,+step up
Equipment:
-Golemforged Plating III, +D-suit II
spending:+1,400 but still under expected value.
If you're dropping heavy armor, why not switch to Solar armor and grab the extra +1 to AC, and simply use an advanced melee weapon? Damage output is similar for similar cost, not exactly the same but it is close, and also add some flexibility in terms of things like reach or other modifiers. Step up by itself becomes relatively less valuable if you already have a reach weapon.
at this point not looking great but rather close.
lets try looking at level 12:
+1 init
defense:
-1 EAC(-2 with shield),-2 KAC,+10 temp hp,+3fast healing,-1 reflex,+1 will
Note rings of resistance apply to the lowest "base save". Base saves refers to what you get from your class only, not after modifiers are added (such as Dexterity or other rings) .Reflex is always the lowest base for a straight Solarian, so it will get the bonus, so its +1 reflex, not -1 reflex, +2 will.
offence:
+5ft
-1 DC,+step up,+1 to hit on starknife
By 12th, the melee build does have step up and step up and strike, so this shouldn't be a difference. Starknife is also strength based, as noted earlier.
Stats(irreverent)
Skills: +3acrobatics,+2 Athletics,-1 Diplomacy
Special Abilities:
-1 DC
feats:
-heavy armor,extra resolve
Skyfire armor, Exident (53,600), Graviton crystal, lesser (24,000), Sintered Starknife (9,810) plus Returning Fusion (2300), Personal Upgrade +4 Str (6,500), Personal Upgrade +2 Dex (1,400), Thermal Capacitor, MK1 (3,600), Haste Circuit (9,250), Forcepack (13,100), Infrared Sensors (200), Phase Shield (4,325), Dermal Plating Mk 1 (3,025), Standard Speed Suspension (8,800), Wide-spectrum Ocular implant (2,825), Tympanal cluster (2,150), Ring of Resistance +2 (4,200)
Spent: 149,085/150,000
vs
Equipment:
D-suit IV(45,800), Graviton crystal, lesser (24,000), Sintered Starknife (9,810) plus Returning Fusion (2300), Personal Upgrade +4 Str (6,500), Personal Upgrade +2 Dex (1,400), Thermal Capacitor, MK1 (3,600), Haste Circuit (9,250), Forcepack (13,100), Standard Speed Suspension (8,800),Tympanal cluster (2,150), Ring of Resistance +1 (735),Advanced(9000),Dermal Plating Mk 1 (3,025),Force field, black(10,500)
Spent: 149,970/150,000at this point they are very close, skills and force field vs a bit of Eac and kac, saves ballanced, vs strong reflex weaker...
As noted, your saves won't balance, just have a slightly higher reflex.
You can't install a Thermal Capacitor, MK1, Haste Circuit, Forcepack, and Black Force field since the D-suit IV only has 4 upgrade slots. Forcefields take 2 upgrade slots, and the other three take 1 each. On the other hand, if you grabbed Solar Armor, you'd have 10 Fire or Cold resist available instead of 5/5 from the Thermal Capacitor.
I'm still not convinced the 2 resolve points at low level is a good idea, especially combined with a reduction in AC - that feels like compounding disadvantages. Having Step Up for levels 1-6, and 1 higher resolve point at levels 7 and up doesn't feel like a fair trade to me. Switching it up to Solar Armor and a reach weapon looks better though. I'd still probably drop strength to 16 instead of charisma to 12 to get Dex to 14.
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With the February 9th update to the FAQ, there's an interesting clarification for Solarians:
Blazing orbit: "Creatures take the fire damage for every square they enter that is part of the trail of flames."
Black Hole + Blazing Orbit is officially not a terrible idea. Might not be a great idea, but its not terrible.
Supernova is still much easier to use and more likely to deal damage to multiple targets. However this combo does provide a fairly straight forward way to get some damage out of Black hole if you want to be in graviton mode anyways and position some enemies. This assumes the target doesn't have fire resistance or immunity (which can also cause problems for Supernova anyways).
The combination starts off pretty lack luster, doing at most 2d6 three times, for 6d6 damage at 6th level with a fort save for none, where as Supernova would be 7d6+2, reflex save for half. By 9th its 3d6 four times for 12d6 with fort save for none versus 10d6+2 reflex save for half. Supernova's average damage assuming 50/50 odds of saving is still significantly better.
However, around 13th level something strange happens. 5d6 five times is 25d6. Supernova does 14d6+3. If you assume 50/50 saving throw odds, it results in Blazing Orbit + Black hole versus a single target averaging slightly more damage than Supernova. 25*3.5*0.5 = 43.75. (14*3.5+3)*0.75 = 39. Weapons are doing around 5d8 or 7d6 base, plus level plus strength and possibly Plasma Sheath, so this damage is better than a standard attack but less than a full attack once chance to hit is factored in.
By the time you've gotten to 20th, its 9d6 six times for 54d6 and fort save for none. Admittedly, by that level, many enemies will have fire resistance which gets multiplied by the number of squares they're pulled through. And a full attack melee will average to more damage (~100 damage per successful hit versus ~189 on a failed save), but it does provide some tactical options in addition to the damage.
This clarification also makes Blazing Orbit really, really good for ranged Solarians with high movement speeds. They can move directly away from a melee enemy and still shoot. If they move far enough such that the enemy would need to charge them, the enemy would run through every single fire square to reach them.
Alternatively, a 50 foot move speed (fleet feat and a minimal speed suspension) makes it possible to move 3 forward, 2 right, 1 back, 1 left, 1 back, 1 right, 1 diagonal back-left. This results in being one square to the right of where you started with a 15' by 15' fire wall in front of you. If the ranged Solarian is in photon mode, to charge through such a wall would be 6d6+6 fire damage plus 1d6 burning (30.5 average damage). Consider a typical CR 6 combatant has 90 hit points.
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Blazing orbit dos not specify what type of movement you must use, only that you move your speed. This opens up a very interesting combo when combining a fly speed and stellar rush. move directly towards the targets and fly just to the other side of them then bull rush them back along the path you jsut came through. I haven't done the numbers, but if you had mobility combined with the concealment blazing orbit provides you aren't too likely to get hit on the AoO you provoke, and could possibly do a lot of damage.
True, but if you were planning on doing this, and frankly it's something that would take a lot of planning, you'd take improved bullrush so that it's effectively only kac +4. It's still rough, but not unachievable.