KoriCongo's page

So I was recently spurred on by both the main playtest and the fact that the General Survey doesn't give us the option to ask "Remove some features for a proficiency bump" to write an entire Reddit post appealing to Paizo and the community for Legendary Unarmed/Legendary Blasts, soon turning into asking what if we could make them more like Fighters. It has been...incredibly popular! Much more than I ever could imagine! If you would like to read it in full, I have the link ready:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder2e/comments/wm69ms/kineticist_as_the_fig hter_of_blasters_a_modest/

But to quickly go over the points for those that don't want to read it all:
A) Designing them around the ideas and structure of Fighter/Gunslinger will justify their lower damage output and wide applications in battle. They wouldn't need some assumed first turn action or even increasing the damage of their blast that take away from the action economy; the players can focus on blasting and leaving themselves open to use their Overflow feats if needed.

B) Feats could be designed closer to the Infusions of old: multi-action activities that apply a variety of effects or metamagics when the Kineticist lands attacks using their blasts, whether for single-target or AoE. Different Elements' Blasts would introduce their own effects, such as Earth allowing to knock people prone, Air to push people around, Water to slow, and Fire to burn. Alternative Blast options could be provided by feats, both for the basic elements or for possible combinations of them. More feats like Cyclical Blasts, Blast Barrage, or Fusion Blast, things that interact with and provide utility and power to blasts; less stuff like Usurp the Lunar Reigns or All Shall End in Flames (We can keep the kickass names, though).

C) Legendary Class DC, while sounding like it would be unique, wouldn't really help the power output of the class and just make them play more like Druids or other casters. We have evidence of such of the power issues: its called being a caster with Legendary Spell DC...

D) Maintaining a CON-Key Ability Score will keep them below Gunslinger and give them some wiggle room in the raw power budget for utility options like the Wall spells or Flinging Updraft: things that may not deal direct damage but have a lot of supportive utility.

E) To make CON more relevant of a stat, you can have an Elemental Charge system that is the fuel for Overflow feats, the amount of charges you can hold within is equal to your CON modifier. Charges can be gained through Gather Elements, Extract Elements, or getting Critical Hits with your Blasts. Holding a charge of any element will let you form it into your hand and let you wield your blasts, letting you maintain them after an Overflow if you still have a charge left. Overflow Feats can be designed around requiring different number of charges, whether a number of the same element, a number of elements in general, or a combination of elements (1 Fire, 2 Metal for example). This should let the designers add power or create unique Hybrid Blasts while keeping the novelty of a CON-based Key Ability Score, all without overcomplicating the class, giving it a resource it can't regain in battle and ruining the nigh-infinite sustain appeal, or relying on self-penalizing mechanics like Burn.

F) Kineticist should be the "single-target elemental blaster" class both because it is a niche that is just missing for so long despite it being so desired since launch; and that for as many elemental things a Kinet COULD do, they always been a more condensed around fighting by the elements. I want their in-combat fighting capabilities to be powerful, yet simple enough that they can work as a bridge for newer players to go into full martial or full caster classes.

G) We are already quite close, by things like the feat-swapping feats, the focus on unique weapons that others could acquire but Kinet does it best, and their unique Critical Specialization Effects with their blasts.

At the very least, I do feel like it would be fair for Paizo to go back and add the poll question of "Would you like us to decrease some options for more versatility?" to the surverys, especially so I don't have to do the rather embarrassing act of linking to a Reddit post in the Open Response sections~! I am hoping that Kineticist would be much stronger and more focused as a Legendary-Proficiency Switch-Hitting Elemental Fighter than they already are, and I hope you all would at least humor my dreams, if not fully rally behind them~.