I haven't played for over a decade(in fact since 2E) and I just bought the pathfinder RPG. I see a lot of posts about how you have to take certain feats for fighters, etc. to be effective. Could anyone share 2 or 3 builds for a fighter from level 1-12 to give me an idea of how the feats actually make these must have chains? What makes them so much better than other builds?
Thanks, Dan
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Archery Fighter
Human, ability bonus on Dexterity
15 Point Buy: Str 14, Dex 15 (17), Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 8
20 Point Buy: Str 14, Dex 16 (18 ), Con 14, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 8
25 Point Buy: Str 14, Dex 17 (19), Con 14, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 10
Out of simplicity, I will use the 25 point buy build
Feats Point Blank Shot, Deadly Aim, Rapid Shot
Skills Handle Animal, Ride, Intimidate, Perception
Equipment Scale Armor, Buckler, Longbow
Ranged Longbow +2/+2 (1d8+2)
[AC] 20 [Touch]14 [Flat Footed]16
2: Weapon Focus (Composite Longbow)
3: Precise Shot
4: Weapon Specialization
5: Shield Focus
6: Manyshot
At 6th Level, the character would have the following full attack (with a Mwk +2 Composite Longbow)
RangedMwk +2 Composite Longbow +10/+10/+5 (1d8+9), with the first attack dealing damage two times because of manyshot
7: Dodge
8: Greater Weapon Focus
9: Iron Will
10: Greater Shield Focus
11: Improved Precise Shot
12: Greater Weapon Specialization
So, at 12th level the character would have a full attack of
RangedMwk +2 Composite Longbow +23/+18/+13 (1d8+8)
RangedMwk +2 Composite Longbow +21/+21/+16/+11 (1d8+8) with Rapid Shot
RangedMwk +2 Composite Longbow +17/+17/+12/+7 (1d8+16) with Rapid Shot and Deadly Aim
Although he would probably have some stat boosters and a magic bow by now. The damage of the first attack is again applied twice because of Manyshot.
With a mithral fullplate and a buckler, he would have an AC of 29, although this again doesn't accounts for any magic items the character might have.
SavesFortitude +10, Reflex +10, Will +6
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Well, there's a lot of builds for 3.5 Fighter characters... the issue is that now Pathfinder characters get more feats than a 3.5 character did (One every odd level, instead of 1st level and then 3rd, 6th, 9th, etc.) so the builds are still being developed a bit.
It really depends on what you want to do. Two-handed, sword and board, finesse, archer, crossbowman, two-weapon fighting... About the only constants I can recommend are Weapon Focus at 1st level, Weapon Specialization at 4th, Improved Critical or Greater Weapon Focus at 8th (taking the other at 9th), and Greater Weapon Specialization at 12th level.
That leaves you regular feats (which can be combat feats if you want) at 1st level, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 11th level, and combat feats at 2nd, 6th, and 10th levels to play with.
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Well, there's a lot of builds for 3.5 Fighter characters... the issue is that now Pathfinder characters get more feats than a 3.5 character did (One every odd level, instead of 1st level and then 3rd, 6th, 9th, etc.) so the builds are still being developed a bit.
It really depends on what you want to do. Two-handed, sword and board, finesse, archer, crossbowman, two-weapon fighting... About the only constants I can recommend are Weapon Focus at 1st level, Weapon Specialization at 4th, Improved Critical or Greater Weapon Focus at 8th (taking the other at 9th), and Greater Weapon Specialization at 12th level.
That leaves you regular feats (which can be combat feats if you want) at 1st level, 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 11th level, and combat feats at 2nd, 6th, and 10th levels to play with.
Some feats work differently than they did in 3.5 and weapon training changes things a bit, too. Therefore, there are some differences between builds for 3.5 and builds for Pathfinder.
Dual Wield Fighter
Human, Bonus ability points on dexterity
15 Point Buy: Str 14, Dex 15 (17), Con 14, Int 10, Wis 10, Cha 8
20 Point Buy: Str 14, Dex 16 (18 ), Con 14, Int 12, Wis 10, Cha 8
25 Point Buy: Str 14, Dex 16 (18), Con 14, Int 14, Wis 10, Cha 10
Feats Power Attack, Two Weapon Fighting, Weapon Finesse
Skills Acrobatics, Intimidate, ...
Equipment 2 Kukris, Scale Mail
As full round action he gets
Melee kukri +2 (1d4+4,18-20) and
Melee kukri +2 (1d4+2,18-20)
or Melee kukri +4 (1d4+4) as a standard action
His AC would be 18, not great but acceptable.
2: Weapon Focus (kukri)
3: Dodge
4: Weapon Specialization (kukri)
5: Two Weapon Defense
6: Improved Two Weapon Fighting
So, at 6th level his attacks would be
Melee mwk kukri +9/+4 (1d4+9,18-20) and
Melee mwk kukri +9/+4 (1d4+6,18-20)
7: Iron Will
8: Improved Critical
9: Critical Focus
10: Greater Weapon Focus (kukri)
11: Bleeding Critical
12: Weapon Specialization (kukri)
So, at 12th level his attacks would be:
Meleemwk kukri +16/+11/+6 (1d4+16,15-20) and
Meleemwk kukri +16/+11 (1d4+11,15-20)
or
Meleemwk kukri +20/+15/+10 (1d4+8,15-20) and
Meleemwk kukri +20/+15 (1d4+7,15-20)
without Power Attack
Also, each confirmed critical (the character gets a +4 on confirmation rolls) causes the victim to take 2d6 points of bleeding damage per round. Multiple criticals will stack with each other.
Dwarven Paladin
Str 14 Dex 10 Con 16 Int 7 Wis 14 Cha 16
(25 point buy)
Skills: (what skills? Favored class is for HP!) Perception
Feats: Power Attack, Toughness, Improved Initiative, Iron Will, Great Fortitude, lightning Reflexes
If it's a save, you make it. Hit with power attack, and get in way of your enemies.
Half Elf Diniver 4, Rogue 3, Arcane Trickster 5
Str 7 Dex 16 Con 14, Int 18, Wis 14, Cha 9
Skills: Perception, Spellcraft, Stealth, Bluff, Use Magic Device, Disable Device, Sense Motive, Acrobatics, Escape Artist, Sleight of Hand (keep Perception, Use Magic Device, Stealth, and Disable Device maxed IMO)
Feats: Skill Focus (perception), Scribe Scroll, Weapon Finesse, Combat Casting, Arcane Armor Training, Improved Initiative, Point Blank shot, Precise Shot
Class Features: Familiar (hawk), Trap Spotter
Note: Perception is where it is at for this guy, 12 ranks + 3 class bonus +2 Wis + 2 Racial, + 6 Skill focus + 4 Alertness (familiar) + 3 Hawk (familiar) = + 32 Perception check (get magic goggles to take it up to a +37!). Initiative is your friend too, you'll have +9 on it.
Thanks for all the replies.
Here are my thoughts on the other classes. Feel free to jump in and correct any misconceptions.
Cleric: Channeling feats seem popular plus maybe some item creation.
Wizard: Item creation feats in addition to a few combat related ones or the other direction with metamagic replacing the item creation.
Rogue: Kind of just what flavor you want with an emphasis on movement and sneakiness. Speed and reflexes seem important.
Paladin: Improving smite or hurting undead/demons, etc. and basic combat improvements. Mounted combat?
Rangers: Pick a direction with TWF or archery and run with it.
Sorcerer: Metamagic seems more important to get the most out of a limited spell selection. Must have spells?
Barbarian: Never cared for the class but rage combined with perception and initiative seem smart.
Druid: No idea but nature related. Should be intuitive when I get the book in a couple of days. (Amazon)
Monk: I could use some help with the selection but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out.
Bard: Another class I am not fond of. Increasing performance seems smart.
Fighter: Already have enough ideas from above.
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@Toxik_CYB0RG: Super-simple super-effective giant-slayer DPS option:
STR > DEX > CON > WIS > CHA == INT
Weapon: big two-handed reach weapon. Dwarven longhammer is a great choice.
Feats: Power attack, Combat Reflexes, Furious Focus, *choose more feats*
Many refinements are possible, but with that basic approach you won't go wrong. Work to increase your reach from 10' to 25' asap. That build covers the basics. Perhaps add a layer of Intimidate debuffing on top of the massive damage from the basic build.
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I haven't played for over a decade(in fact since 2E) and I just bought the pathfinder RPG. I see a lot of posts about how you have to take certain feats for fighters, etc. to be effective. Could anyone share 2 or 3 builds for a fighter from level 1-12 to give me an idea of how the feats actually make these must have chains? What makes them so much better than other builds?
Well, to start with, is the core rulebook the only thing you have? Are you making a character merely as a thought-exercise, or for someone else's campaign (and if so, what sourcebooks are they permitting)? Are traits permitted? Are you (and/or your GM) comfortable with multiclassing? (Some really fantastic combinations are possible with, especially, Hybrid classes such as Brawler and Warpriest.)
~ ~ ~
IMO, the best fighters gear to be solidly dependable in every situation: They have Quick Draw, they have a lot of different weapons, they choose feats that are overly broad instead of hyper-specializing, they do not shirk their armor class or saving throws, and they plan to win battles of attrition with minimal bandaid requirements. Dwarves are arguably best at this sort of thing, especially if they multiclass a single level of Cleric with the Travel domain.
Stats: for 20pt-buy, the pre-racial starting array of 15,15,14,14,10,7 is really, really good. Raise one 15 at 4th, the other at 8th, and then at 12th, raise whichever one you put your racial bonus in, and read a Manual of Gainful Exercise.
STR: 15
DEX: 14
CON+ 17 (dwarf, with 20pt array listed above)
INT: 10
WIS+ 16
CHA- 5
Traits: Birthmark, Glory of Old
01 Fighter1 [core][feat:Combat Reflexes], Steel Soul
02 Cleric1 [Kurgess:Community/Travel]
03 Fighter2 [feat:Shield Focus], Additional Traits(Defender of the Society, Magical Knack)
04 Fighter3 [Armor Training], STR>16
armor and weapon bucket-list: fullplate, light quickdraw shield or buckler, adamantine longhammer or dwarven giant-sticker (pick one), cold iron waraxe, light crossbow, silver morningstar, Adaptive longbow (at 6th)
Feats that I like: Quick Draw, Additional Traits, Combat Reflexes (*if* you use a polearm, or have some other AoO-granting mechanic), Shield Focus. And, if you're a dwarf, Steel Soul right at 1st level.
Feats that I consider overrated: Power Attack (and Furious Focus to make it suck less), Weapon Focus (and Specialization). --Just get your licks in and avoid overly taxing the party's healer/head-unscrambler. You'll have plenty of time and feat-slots for specialization in the mid-levels.
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@Slim: Decade long thread necro
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Toxik_CYB0RG's comment was new, and to his credit, he used the search-function to post in an existing thread.
I just want to point out that it is not always necessary to necro 10 year old threads. It is all well and good if you want to make a new thread (though "help me make this character" is better suited to "Advice" than "General Destruction.")
I just want to point out that it is not always necessary to necro 10 year old threads. It is all well and good if you want to make a new thread (though "help me make this character" is better suited to "Advice" than "General Destruction.")
I'd concur; there is nothing wrong with creating a new thread to ask for character build advice. Bumping an old thread just causes people to mistakenly respond to the old posts and miss your question.
"General Destruction" ... <mad cackle>