BendKing's page

Greetings!

I've been working on a houserule doc for the last few months which attempts to balance the different classes and options of the game, with a high priority on getting the most "bang for your buck" in terms of changes.

This means I mostly did not go into changing various class feats, but tried focusing on the most core aspects of the different classes.

Keep in mind that this document is written from a perspective of an optimizer, but is also meant to make the classes more fun to play.

I've also included my rationale for most of the changes so you could understand where I'm coming from.

Lastly, this document is a work in progress and likely to change and have things added to it.

Feedback is welcome, though I would highly prefer feedback on the changes themselves, and not whether they necessary or not, since the point of this thread is not to argue class balance :)

Without further adieu, the document:
Pathfinder 2.5e

10th-Level Dark Archive Playtest (Link)

This document includes feedback for both the Psychic and the Thaumaturge, so I posted it in both forums.

For the record, I did not write these results myself, but have received them from an anonymous source. However, this analysis resonated so much with me that I am posting it here.

Also note that this doc is a constantly-updated work in progress, and will be updated every Thursday night, close to midnight EDT.

10th-Level Dark Archive Playtest (Link)

This document includes feedback for both the Psychic and the Thaumaturge, so I posted it in both forums.

For the record, I did not write these results myself, but have received them from an anonymous source. However, this analysis resonated so much with me that I am posting it here.

Also note that this doc is a constantly-updated work in progress, and will be updated every Thursday night, close to midnight EDT.

So, I really wanted to make a Van Helsing type Thaumatruge, especially because the description of the Thaumaturge says a Thaumaturge might use a Hand Crossbow.

Unfortunately, this weapon does not work well with the Thaumaturge, because the class forces you to have both hands taken (one for an implement, the other for your weapon), which means you can't reload your hand crossbow after one shot.

Then I thought to myself - hey, at least you could use a Repeater Hand Crossbow! Alas, even weapons with Reload 0 require an open hand, as far as I can tell from Reload's text: "Reloading a ranged weapon and drawing a thrown weapon both require a free hand".

Thus, the only way to use a 1-handed ranged weapon with Thaumaturge is... Wait for it... Juggler. Yes, indeed. If you want to play Van Helsing (or any other ranged Thaumaturge concept), he has to be a Juggler. You would also be pressed to take Focused Juggler so you wouldn't waste an action each turn juggling your gun/hand crossbow in the air.

This seems... Off-theme, to say the least.
The easiest and best solution to this in my estimation is to errata Reload 0 forcing you to have a hand open, and make it be possible to reload even with both hands taken.

This would also fix dual wielding Pistoleros not being able to use their Slinger's reload due to it not working with Dual-Weapon Reload (since they are different specific actions), and allow archetypes such as the Bullet Dancer to actually wield 2 guns as the sketch implies they are imagined to do.

To summarize:
Errata reload 0 to allow repeating guns to be reloaded without a free hand, and you will easily allow 3 fan-favorite concepts (Dual Pistolero Gunslinger, Van Helsing Thaumaturge, Gun Kata Monk) which currently all require 2 archetype feats from Juggler to work properly.

Design
The design of the class itself is great. Amps are cool, original, and distinctive.

Amps
The power of the amps is way too low. All of the amps should be as good as Message and Mental Scan.

Class Feats
Almost all of the feats are terrible. They are worse than the average full caster feats, which is the opposite of what they should be aiming for (better than average) because of your lower versatility compared to other casters.

Nitpick
Paizo, I don't know if you've realized this or not, but... Blasting spells don't scale well in this game due to the rate of HP advancement on monsters. This makes control spells much more effective once you start hitting level 7-8 onwards. Thus, all of these class abilities and feats that focus on blasting seem wrong-headed to me and will almost undoubtedly end up weak the more you level.

This post is dedicated to the submission, discussion, and publication of top-tier optimized builds in PF2e.

The intention is to understand the power balance between the classes by posting and discussing the most optimized builds possible for each class.

I will attempt to keep up with the comments and update this original post with new submissions for each class while listing their creator.

As for the rules:
1. All ancestries are allowed (including uncommon/rare).
2. All feats are allowed (including uncommon/rare).
3. All archetypes are allowed (including uncommon/rare).
3. Only common weapons unless accessed via a feat/ancestry.
4. Only common spells unless accessed via a feat/ancestry.

Special cases:
1. If used, Heaven's Thunder is assumed to work according to Paizo's suggested rework.

If your build doesn't follow these rules, just list in a 'Requirements' section which assumptions you're working with and provide alternative options.

To kick this off, here are Exocist's Optimal Builds.

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Alchemist

To be added.

Barbarian

To be added.

Bard

To be added.

Champion

To be added.

Cleric

To be added.

Druid

To be added.

Fighter

To be added.

Investigator

To be added.

Monk

To be added.

Oracle

To be added.

Ranger

To be added.

Rogue

To be added.

Sorcerer

To be added.

Swashbuckler

To be added.

Witch

To be added.

Wizard

To be added.

Build Collections

Exocist's Optimal Builds

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I look forward to future submissions and discussions!

I'm not sure if this is the correct board to post this question to, but since this seems to be the de-facto optimization board, I figured I'd go ahead and post here instead of general.

Free Archetype to me seems like it makes both the game and the optimization mini-game to be deeper and just plain more fun. I personally intend to allow it in my upcoming game.

However, it seems to me like the optimization meta trends towards making builds without this optional rule, and I was wondering whether this is true, and if so, why.

Hi there! I'm new to PF2e, coming from a heavy 5E optimization background.

My observation regarding optimization thus far is that while the gap between optimized and non-optimized builds is smaller in PF2E compared to 5E, there is still a gap.

Thus, I'm wondering what are some of the build options that are considered must-haves for any optimized table.

Note, I'm not asking what are THE most optimized builds in each class, just which options are considered a must to be considered optimized for each class if any exist at all.

For example, Attack of Opportunity seems like a no-brainer for Barbarians, considering they don't have much else to do with their reaction.