Geremy Buss's page

I tried an experiment, after noticing the extreme similarity of the Shaman and the Oracle... and rebuilt my Oracle instead by using the Shaman class.

The result? Nearly an identical character. The only difference is that he has access to two mysteries instead of just 1(Which he can SWITCH OUT every day, omg the versatility...), and higher level spells, and prepares instead of casts spontaneously.

Pretty much just a straight up upgrade in every conceivable way.

Is this class supposed to completely render the Oracle irrelevant?

I think that Jason and many others have pointed out that this class looks GREAT on paper, but plays out slightly different than you expect. Yes, it looks great, the best of both worlds, but practice dictates that it falls flat against that expectation.

Is it more versatile than a sorcerer on a day to day basis? Sure. Is it ever going to cast as many spells as a sorcerer? Not a chance, oh and a sorcerer is going to learn to make the absolute most out of their choices, where an arcanist will pick something and then sometimes use it poorly (You know how it is the first time you cast that complicated spell...you forget something or you fire it off wrong...sorcerers don't often worry about something silly like that, they are the masters of their handful of spells).

Does this class have more spells than a wizard? Well, yes. Is it ever going to have the versatility of a wizard? No, it's not, but it is very, very close. I think that the wizard ends up winning the overall versatility war by having more spells selected (even if they decide to rack several of the same spell) and they have nearly the same number of castings at the end of the day.

That said, both of these comparisons are incomplete because both classes have class abilities that are amazing. Insane in some cases to the point that people will splash one level of the other to get a specific ability. If an ability is so good that you are willing to slow your overall progression, then it is probably worthwhile. Arcanist does not have something you can do that with AND it has nothing that you can splash a couple of levels to get. You will simply stay Arcanist, which is fine, but it isn't screaming "AHHHH, The sky is falling, the sky is falling" like it seems a lot of people are feeling it does.

What practice are you referring to? You have extensive practice with this class already huh?

It matches and exceeds the wizard's versatility. Why?

Well, it might have a smaller array of spells it could cast in any particular day, it can freely cast each of them a higher number of times. Toss in the fact that they can premetamagic a spell and prepare it that way, yet if the situation calls for it be able to cast multiple reiterations of it...and the versatility is explosive.

It is versatility nestled in versatility. Multiplicative versatility.

With Sorc, the versatility was if you needed 1 magic missile or 12, you could do it fine. With Wizard it was that if you needed a dozen different spells, you had it covered.

Arcanist does BOTH those kinds of versatility. Need a dozen different spells? Got it. Oh drat, needed a couple extra casting of a couple of em? No prob bro, got it covered. Stuck in a room that has been silenced with the BBEG? Good thing he thought to prep a silenced magic missile...he's going to be casting a whole lot of that today.

You add metamagic, and it layers in a whole new level of versatility that is simply unrivaled by any other class option in the game.

Personally, for simplicity sake of how this class interacts with other terms and defined words. I would change how some of it is worded.

Change the 'prepared' to 'known'. It streamlines everything. And instead of 'preparing' spells per day from their spellbook, they can 'relearn' spells 'known' from their spellbook every day.

Then change the wording of the Spellbook section so that they simply add the bloodline spells to their books for free in addition to the 2 gained per level at the appropriate level.

Simplifies how the class interacts with everything else.

If the capability of 'preparing metamagic'd spells' is somehow balanced and desirable... just clarify that an arcanist can 'learn/have known' a metamagic version of any spell in their book combined with any metamagic feat they have. Etc.

Again, simplifies how it interacts with already printed material. Would save a whole lot of FaQ posts later...

That is essentially what is going on anyway, but as it is written it has unnecessary complication because there is too much redefining of term usage.

It is not like the class has open access to every spell that is in the spellbook.

So why are you worried about a class that can spontaneously never have the right spell ready?

If you don't respond it is becuase you have nothing legitimate to add, and everyone knows what is OP is subjective, well if they are open-minded that is.

Well, they do have access to every spell in the spellbook... all the wizard/sorcerer ones anyway. Learning all spells and inscribing them isn't so expensive that they couldn't afford literally every spell of every level they could cast. Wizards can, so can arcanists then.

And they CAN spontaneously have exactly the right spell. In the best ways of both a Wizard and Sorc. They can prep it ahead of time, and then cast it however many times they need of it. Best of both.

And your last comment is just.. out of place. A very strange compound sentence of disparate ideas.

First of all, you don't know why someone replies or doesn't reply. Maybe he has better things to do.

And second, what is OP isn't nearly as subjective as you seem to think everyone knows it is. (Again with the presupposing of unknowable knowledge of inner states of other minds) People can disagree about all kinds of things, there can be hundreds of opinions about how tall a building is, for example. But... it has an 'actual' height, that doesn't change simply because you think it should. If something is OP, even if you don't think it is... well, it still is.

Anyone who thinks this isn't the most powerful class ever isn't paying attention to what happens when an Arcanist starts mixing metamagic into his arsenal. Period.

Being able to prep metamagic'd spells and then cast them spontaneously at the normal casting speed is a huge advantage. Being able to still further metamagic anything on the fly is a monstrous advantage.

When you compare the spell prep'd from an arcanist and a sorcer, the numbers are surprisingly close. Using a FCB in a comparison to a class that doesn't have FCBs yet isn't a fair comparison...

So, lets take another look at level 10s of a sorcerer and an arcanist. Assuming a 28 primary stat. Not including zero level.

Sorcerer
Known/prepared: 6/5/4/3/1 total 19
Per day: 9/8/8/7/5 total 37

Arcanist
Known: any/all
Prepared: 5/4/3/2/1 total 15
Per day: 8/7/7/6/4 total 32

By the numbers, the arcanist has less per day, and less prepared each day. But gains versatility of being able to freely switch out ANY/ALL of their spells each day. Gains versatility to prepare spells with metamagic and cast it without increased casting times, all while retaining the versatility to chain cast whenever it is necessary.

Ultimate flexibility AND power. The makings of the newest god tier class. The one to bump all the others down a step as the new reigning champion.

Don't get me wrong... I like it. The munchkin in me very much approves of having an option available to play an arcane caster with all the awesome spellcasting goodness, with none of the silly restrictions in place for the sake of balance.

But honestly, if I ever 'actually' played one of these abominations I would have to self regulate in order to tolerate the degree of cheesy OPness. Something silly, like roll dice to see what spells I prep for the day or something absurd.