In v3.5, archer cleric were considered REALLY strong. Are they still powerful in Pathfinder and, if so, how should I go about making one?
Unfortunately the only race with a Dex and Wisdom bonus is one of the variant tieflings. But yes, either an elf or cleric of Erastil is a good place to start. Considering the feat investment required to not suck at archery, a human cleric of Erastil would be the route I'd go, to be able to grab both Point Blank and Precise shot at level 1, to nab Rapid Shot by level 3.
The Feather subdomain strikes me as being a great one for an archer, and is available to Erastil.
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You might also consider trying to get a domain that gives you a ranged touch attack for 1d6+half level damage (like Fire, Earth, Air, etc) so that you can take advantage of your archery aptitudes even during a surprise round when your bow isn't out or against opponents with DR.
Unfortunately the only race with a Dex and Wisdom bonus is one of the variant tieflings. But yes, either an elf or cleric of Erastil is a good place to start. Considering the feat investment required to not suck at archery, a human cleric of Erastil would be the route I'd go, to be able to grab both Point Blank and Precise shot at level 1, to nab Rapid Shot by level 3.
The Feather subdomain strikes me as being a great one for an archer, and is available to Erastil.
Grippli also have bonuses to dex and wis but penalty to strength and are in bestary 2 and are small.
What about Monk 3 / Cleric X ? Traits: Magical Knack and Heirloom Weapon.
In v3.5, archer cleric were considered REALLY strong. Are they still powerful in Pathfinder and, if so, how should I go about making one?
I would start with the weapon enhancement that lets you use wisdom for attack rolls, unless it is for melee weapons only. I would also go human since archery uses up a lot of feats.
I've heard people talk about this weapon quality (Guided, I believe it's called), but I can't seem to find it in any of the books or on the SRD. Is it a 3.5 enchantment?
In v3.5, archer cleric were considered REALLY strong. Are they still powerful in Pathfinder and, if so, how should I go about making one?I would start with the weapon enhancement that lets you use wisdom for attack rolls, unless it is for melee weapons only. I would also go human since archery uses up a lot of feats.
Which one is that?
Which one is that?In v3.5, archer cleric were considered REALLY strong. Are they still powerful in Pathfinder and, if so, how should I go about making one?I would start with the weapon enhancement that lets you use wisdom for attack rolls, unless it is for melee weapons only. I would also go human since archery uses up a lot of feats.
It is the guided weapon enhancement. It is in one of the supplemental books.
Source:Pathfinder 10: A History of Ashes.
It is a 3.5 feat, but it was made by Paizo for an AP.
PS:It does not specifically say it is for melee weapons, but the full description makes it seem that way so I guess you need a high point buy unless you going to go with a decreased wis and con to make the idea work.
I could see an archer cleric focusing on offensive ranged spells to supplement the archery (Searing Light and the like), as the archery feats would apply to a certain extent. Of course, there aren't a whole lot of 'blaster' spells on the divine list, and an Oracle would make a better offensive divine caster.
Of course, it all depends on the domain, as some domains might pull some blaster spells off the arcane list.
I suppose the advantage an archer cleric would have over an archer inquisitor is a heavier focus on spellcasting for utility spells, as well as some unique domain powers/spells. They lose the offensive output of stuff like Bane and Judgements, but make up for it in standard clerical utility.
I can also imagine Archery being a decent choice for a necromancer cleric, as they could just stand in the back lines while their undead minions do all the work.
I don't think this build is as good as it was in 3.5 mainly due to Persistent Spell and Divine Metamagic being gone. Those are what made this build good. If you can get your DM to allow them in Pathfinder then the build would still be fine. Without them I think the self-buffing archer is better made as a Bard or Inquisitor.
I don't think this build is as good as it was in 3.5 mainly due to Persistent Spell and Divine Metamagic being gone. Those are what made this build good. If you can get your DM to allow them in Pathfinder then the build would still be fine. Without them I think the self-buffing archer is better made as a Bard or Inquisitor.
What makes a Bard Archer better than an Evangelist Archer?
The Evangelist Archer has the better spells (and spellcasting in general), can cast in any armour without failure chance, has the same BAB, has a better casting attribute (wis is more valuable than cha), has the same inspiring song and even gets the proficiency for a longbow for free...
I don't think this build is as good as it was in 3.5 mainly due to Persistent Spell and Divine Metamagic being gone. Those are what made this build good. If you can get your DM to allow them in Pathfinder then the build would still be fine. Without them I think the self-buffing archer is better made as a Bard or Inquisitor.What makes a Bard Archer better than an Evangelist Archer?
The Evangelist Archer has the better spells (and spellcasting in general), can cast in any armour without failure chance, has the same BAB, has a better casting attribute (wis is more valuable than cha), has the same inspiring song and even gets the proficiency for a longbow for free...
This post was made before UC. Bards are still better due to Haste (far better than blessing of fervor), better support spells, more versatile performances, more skills, Arcane Strike, Good Hope (!!!), Heroism, etc.
After UC, the Guided Hand feat eliminates some of the need for dexterity for an Erastil bow cleric by making you use wistom for attacks with your deity's favored weapon. Keep in mind that it requires channel smite, which unfortunately does require a melee attack to use. Then again, that is what special weapons/artefacts are for. It sounds like a support character - sit back, plink away at stuff and throw support spells as necessary
A wood mystery oracle could work somewhat too due to their wood bond feature, but note that as a competence bonus it doesn't stack with inspire courage. The bonus to all wooden weapon and the creation of wooden weapons (talk to your DM if a bow and/or arrows could also work - seriously, why not if you can grow longspears) offsets some of the lost BAB. Still, you need to keep up quite a few stats, even though as an oracle you will have 2 more points/level than a cleric.
Overall, I'm not too keen on archer clerics because they'd likely be quite MAD. You need dexterity to meet the feat prerequisites, unlike rangers or monks, you need some strength, some wisdom/charisma, and intelligence and constitution, well I prefer not to drop those two too low - skills and HP are valuable. Is it really worth it playing that over a ranger, or even making a divine arcane archer to multiclass?
This post was made before UC. Bards are still better due to Haste (far better than blessing of fervor), better support spells, more versatile performances, more skills, Arcane Strike, Good Hope (!!!), Heroism, etc.I don't think this build is as good as it was in 3.5 mainly due to Persistent Spell and Divine Metamagic being gone. Those are what made this build good. If you can get your DM to allow them in Pathfinder then the build would still be fine. Without them I think the self-buffing archer is better made as a Bard or Inquisitor.What makes a Bard Archer better than an Evangelist Archer?
The Evangelist Archer has the better spells (and spellcasting in general), can cast in any armour without failure chance, has the same BAB, has a better casting attribute (wis is more valuable than cha), has the same inspiring song and even gets the proficiency for a longbow for free...
1. Haste for an archer is about as strong as blessing of fervor... not to mention that Divine Power already gives you an additional attack. Plus its a spell the party wizard will cast on the group anyway...
2. Better support spells? There is a better support spell than the Heal spell? Or better than Righteous Might?3. The most important performance for dealing damage still is courage
4. More skills don't really contribute to him being a better archer
5. Good hope doesn't stack with Inspire Courage
6. Neither does Heroism
7. Arcane Strike is easily countered by Divine Power
5. Good hope doesn't stack with Inspire Courage
6. Neither does Heroism
7. Arcane Strike is easily countered by Divine Power
5. Yes it does - somewhat. The attack and damage bonuses are competence, and they stack with any morale bonuses. Only the save bonuses from IC are morale.
6. See above7. Well, Divine Power does give better bonuses... but it's a standard action lvl 4 spell, not a swift action at-will buff.
5. Good hope doesn't stack with Inspire Courage
6. Neither does Heroism
7. Arcane Strike is easily countered by Divine Power5. Yes it does - somewhat. The attack and damage bonuses are competence, and they stack with any morale bonuses. Only the save bonuses from IC are morale.
6. See above
7. Well, Divine Power does give better bonuses... but it's a standard action lvl 4 spell, not a swift action at-will buff.
1. Oh you are right here... I didn't notice that one :)
2. Well... but it is arcane strike and the most useful thing out of haste in one spell. And using AS will use up every swift action you have, if you want the damage bonus.Plus DP will give you HPs and to hit as well. And in the end you will end up better than with Heroism & Arcane Strike with Divine Power...
And if you further want to up your DMG you could always use Righteous Might, too. But this is not optimal for a Archer Cleric.
3. We didn't take into account the Big Cat animal companion, yet :P
Especially with your inspire courage, a quickened bless and a righteous might he will be dealing damage like... big time...
Not to mention that mounted archery rocks in Pathfinder (no penalties if he only moves up to his normal speed) and there aren't many better mounts around than a Big Cat AC :P
You could fire your arrows and then have him pounce (not sure if it counts as a malus if he only moves as far as 40ft.)
If he grapples the enemy doesn't get AoOs anymore and you can make cheese out of him while the Tiger rakes him..
Or if someone moves up to you make the Cat Full Attack him and then a 5ft step back and then full attack with your bow...
You can then call it "Amazing Horse" and sing the amazing horse song all day...
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This post was made before UC. Bards are still better due to Haste (far better than blessing of fervor), better support spells, more versatile performances, more skills, Arcane Strike, Good Hope (!!!), Heroism, etc.I don't think this build is as good as it was in 3.5 mainly due to Persistent Spell and Divine Metamagic being gone. Those are what made this build good. If you can get your DM to allow them in Pathfinder then the build would still be fine. Without them I think the self-buffing archer is better made as a Bard or Inquisitor.What makes a Bard Archer better than an Evangelist Archer?
The Evangelist Archer has the better spells (and spellcasting in general), can cast in any armour without failure chance, has the same BAB, has a better casting attribute (wis is more valuable than cha), has the same inspiring song and even gets the proficiency for a longbow for free...
1. Haste for an archer is about as strong as blessing of fervor... not to mention that Divine Power already gives you an additional attack. Plus its a spell the party wizard will cast on the group anyway...
2. Better support spells? There is a better support spell than the Heal spell? Or better than Righteous Might?
3. The most important performance for dealing damage still is courage
4. More skills don't really contribute to him being a better archer
5. Good hope doesn't stack with Inspire Courage
6. Neither does Heroism
7. Arcane Strike is easily countered by Divine Power
1) Haste is a 3rd level spell, meaning it can be used with a rod of lesser quicken. BoF can't, so it will suck up your Standard action, until you get to level 15. My bard? He can do that at level 7, thankyouverymuch. Divine Power has the same issue. Let the wizard cast something else more useful.
2) I don't feel like linking these, but feel free to search them: Saving Finale, Solid Note (Why yes, I would like to be able to summon Unmovable Rods), Timely Inspiration, Gallant Inspiration (Immediate action +2d4 to any d20 roll!!!!), Versatile Weapon (acts as Greater Magic Weapon as well as the other benefits), Arcane Concordance (!!!), Good Hope (previously mentioned), Purging Finale, Heroic Finale (!!!!!!! By this level, starting a performance is a swift action), Viruoso Performance / Shadow Bard (Want two performances at a time? Go ahead!), Bard's Escape (!!!), Foe to Friend (Immediate action!!!), Song of Discord, Stunning Finale (whoa), Brilliant Inspiration, and Irresistible Dance.
Yea, I'd say that's better than Righteous Might and Heal. Those are just the awesome bard spells that support your party.
3) Since the Bard, and not the cleric, can have more than one performance up at a time, why not use Inspire Courage and Dirge of Doom or Frightening Tune? And you're totally forgetting about Suggestion, which is just phenomenal.
4) I suppose. Contributes to him being a more interesting character though.
5) Might want to read Good Hope and Inspire Courage again, mate.
6) Cast it before you go into a hostile area, and it'll be up for a long time. Then if you have to start fighting right away, you'll be able to shoot all your arrows at +2 to hit. Without having to spend a round doing Haste, Inspire Courage, and Good Hope.
Clerics don't have any great 3rd level or lower party buff spells. I mean, Prayer is OK. But Good Hope is much much better.
3) Since the Bard, and not the cleric, can have more than one performance up at a time, why not use Inspire Courage and Dirge of Doom or Frightening Tune? And you're totally forgetting about Suggestion, which is just phenomenal.
Not arguing, just wondering, how can they get two songs up at the same time?
And I'm in agreement that bards have some pretty awesome spells.
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3) Since the Bard, and not the cleric, can have more than one performance up at a time, why not use Inspire Courage and Dirge of Doom or Frightening Tune? And you're totally forgetting about Suggestion, which is just phenomenal.Not arguing, just wondering, how can they get two songs up at the same time?
And I'm in agreement that bards have some pretty awesome spells.
Virtuoso Performance and Shadowbard.
Virtuoso Performance will cost 3 rounds of bardic performance per round used, but is available early.
Shadowbard uses their own performances and rounds.
So you can effectively have 3 performances up at a time, using these spells.
3) Since the Bard, and not the cleric, can have more than one performance up at a time, why not use Inspire Courage and Dirge of Doom or Frightening Tune? And you're totally forgetting about Suggestion, which is just phenomenal.Not arguing, just wondering, how can they get two songs up at the same time?
And I'm in agreement that bards have some pretty awesome spells.
Virtuoso Performance and Shadowbard.
Virtuoso Performance will cost 3 rounds of bardic performance per round used, but is available early.
Shadowbard uses their own performances and rounds.
So you can effectively have 3 performances up at a time, using these spells.
Wow, that's no joke. Virtuoso with an arcane duelist with a bow would be amazing.
In v3.5, archer cleric were considered REALLY strong. Are they still powerful in Pathfinder and, if so, how should I go about making one?
They are still strong, but most of what made battle clerics broken in 3.5 has been subtly altered or is just plain gone.
Persistant Spell Metamagic. For a +3 spell level adjustment you changed a spell's duration to 24 hours. Get some prayer beads(+4 caster level for 10 minutes) to use them when you buff in the morning, and all your buffs are now +4 caster level and last for 24 hours. Very broken, and no longer available in pathfinder.
Divine metamagic. Sacrifice your mostly useless turn undead attempts for free metamagic. Made it so that you would use persistant spell and extend spell on your highest level spells. No longer available in pathfinder.
In 3.5, most of the really good cleric buffs stacked. The benefits of Divine favor, divine power, haste, and righteous might all stacked, and they all worked with archery. In pathfinder, DF and DP are both the same bonus type and thus no longer stack, the extra attack from DP is identical to haste and thus doesn't stack, and the size increase from righteous might does not increase ranged damage.
Finally, the 3.5 cleric has a couple of ways to break wealth by level. Greater magic weapon on a mundane bow, Magic vestment on mundane armor, persistant shield of faith replaces the need for a ring of protection, persistant resistance replaces the need for cloak of resistance. This allowed the cleric to focus their wealth on the few items they could not duplicate with spells. You still have greater magic weapon and magic vestment that last for hours/level, but without persistant spell, you will cannot replace a ring of protection or cloak of resistance.
So in 3.5 at level 8 with a prayer bead(+4 caster level), you could cast righteous might(+2 strength, +2 natural armor, large size, damage reduction), Divine favor(+4 luck bonus to hit and damage), Divine Power(+2 BAB, +6 strength, +12 temp hp), haste from a domain spell, fly from a domain spell, shield of faith(+5 deflection bonus to AC), Resistance(+4 enhancement bonus to saves), greater magic weapon(+3 weapon), magic vestment(+3 armor). Between persistant spell, divine metamagic, and extend spell, all of these buffs would last 24 hours. Throw in the travel domain's freedom of movement(belongs to the freedom domain in pathfinder) ability, and you were basically unstoppable.
In PF, you can still make a solid cleric archer, but they take a round or 2 to get their buffs up, and without those buffs they will lag behind the fighter in damage. Once you can use quicken spell on divine favor they start to be a lot more fun.
In PF, you can still make a solid cleric archer, but they take a round or 2 to get their buffs up, and without those buffs they will lag behind the fighter in damage.Not that there's anything wrong with lagging behind a fighter in damage. (Fighters would complain, and rightly so.)
And I guess nobody really has a problem with that.
But still in terms of group playability if you don't really need a skill monkey the archer shouldn't go bard but cleric in my eyes.
Sure the bard has some amazing spells. But naming all the amazing spells that the cleric gets which the bard doesn't have would also take a lot of lines. In terms of group buffing the bard may get slightly ahead (but only if you don't count in the level difference he needs to cast those because his progression is so bad).
In the end a Heal, Mass Heal, Breath of life alone will save your teammates often enough to justify the giving up of some performance types and a few really good spells you can't cast this way.
Comparing an archer Cleric to some other class archer build isn`t really the point.
I`d say that going with archery as a Cleric is probably over-all EASIER and less MAD than trying to go melee.
When attacking with your bow isn`t the best thing, you will be doing your Full Caster schtick.
I like the Feather domain alot...
Not least that you still get the Animal Companion on top of everything. (although you lose Anti-Life Shell)
WIth Erastil, you could either go with Archon Sub-Domain (Aura of Menace) or the regular Good Domain (Holy weapon quality),
or the Plant Domain has good buffs and control spells, along with Plant-creature specific spells.
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nice 5 year necro.
Maybe a Tengu Crusader with a sensei dip for WIS to attack.
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Why shoot things yourself when you can cast Animate Thread and have them shoot for you?
Channel Smite + Guided Hand gives you Wis to attack at least.
Then you have Variant channel Hunting for ranged attacks or Weapons for Deity favored weapon attacks that last until the end of your next turn. ( Basically you give yourself your bonus for 1 turn, but it also applies on your allies )
Then you have Divine Favor/Power (+1 up to +6 with Fate's favored ) and Channel Vigor ( +4 to ranged attacks ) as your ways of getting your attacks to hit.
Personally i went with a Crusader Cleric for my concept, but the generic setup is Channel Smite + Guided Hand ( If Wis to attack is your thing, and Crusader get bonus feats after all ) followed by the massive requirements for bows being Precise Shot, Point Blank Shot and the like, but hey at least you can more or less negate the attack penalty of Rapid + Many Shot with a single cast of Channel Vigor.
Archery is fairly feat intensive, the best archery feats (many shot) cannot be taken without sufficient dex. Not sure why you would advocate a wis build to archer clerics. Rapid shot requires 13 dex, manyshot - 17.
It was merely a note of option if that was the point, but you are completely right, so you would have a very hampered archer build if you dont have the dex.
The negative about a cleric is their lack of cat's grace as a spell, but you have too many options to boost your attack rating already ( Bless, Divine Favor, Channel Vigor, Blessing of Fervor etc. )
Archery is fairly feat intensive, the best archery feats (many shot) cannot be taken without sufficient dex. Not sure why you would advocate a wis build to archer clerics. Rapid shot requires 13 dex, manyshot - 17.
Archery isnt really a focus for Clerics. It uses alot of feats, requires high dexterity, and likely multiclassing for proficiency.
Clerics are more about support casting such as summoning monsters, casting buffs, and damaging with spells. If you go for Offense, its probably going to be based around some combat spells such as Harm rather than feats.
Its not impossible as you can buff yourself, but eventually you reach the point where using spells is better in a turn than making lots of sacrifices to fire a bow.
The is the Inquisitor which is like a Cleric with less spellcasting, but more combat ability.
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Disagree =) I've a nice happy archer cleric. If you're doing nothing but buffs and summoning monsters, you don't need a high wis score. Choosing Erastil as your deity gives you longbow proficiency off the bat.
Lets say human cleric:
Lv 1: Point blank, precise shot
Lv 3: Rapid shot
Lv 5: Deadly Aim
Lv 7: Clustered shots
Lv 9: Many shot
Any multiclassing? No. Viable archer, sure.
Damaging with spells is unoptimal unless you do some serious blaster tweaks. If I really wanted to blast, I'd be an admixture wizard. Cleric blasting is unsatisfactory unless you're a fire domain theologian or eccelestheurge. Your decent blssts came 2 spell levels later(flame strike) as opposed to fireball.
Some of the best cleric control spells do not require any saves (wall of stone).
Inquisitors and clerics have the same bab really, only difference is inquisitors can use bane and judgememt. Me? I'd rather have the (eventual) 9th lv casting.
Dont leave out the Inquisitors Solo Tactics. Take a real good look at that list and you'll find yourself Friendly Fire Maneuvers. At level 3 the Inquisitor can get the important half of Improved Precise Shot.
Lets say human cleric:Lv 1: Point blank, precise shot
Lv 3: Rapid shot
Lv 5: Deadly Aim
Lv 7: Clustered shots
Lv 9: Many shot
Youre trading alot of feats just to be good with a bow.
Spell Focus, Augment summoning, superior summoning, quicken spell, combat casting, etc. Toughness, Improved Initiative
An Inquisitor is actually made with casting and combat more balanced. You only need Wisdom 16 while a cleric needs wisdom 19.
I dont why you would invest so heavily as an Archer and still try to keep tier 9 spells. You cant do them at the same time. The Inquisitor is more themed about using buff spells and abilities to augment its damage, while the Cleric is more about supporting the whole group.
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Lets say human cleric:Lv 1: Point blank, precise shot
Lv 3: Rapid shot
Lv 5: Deadly Aim
Lv 7: Clustered shots
Lv 9: Many shotYoure trading alot of feats just to be good with a bow.
Spell Focus, Augment summoning, superior summoning, quicken spell, combat casting, etc. Toughness, Improved Initiative
An Inquisitor is actually made with casting and combat more balanced. You only need Wisdom 16 while a cleric needs wisdom 19.
I dont why you would invest so heavily as an Archer and still try to keep tier 9 spells. You cant do them at the same time. The Inquisitor is more themed about using buff spells and abilities to augment its damage, while the Cleric is more about supporting the whole group.
For my part, I would take Quicken Spell at level 7 so that I could start quickened divine favor (with magical lineage and fate's favored). But there are a lot of reasons to spend feats that way.
1. You don't want to play a summoner or other offensive spellcasting focused cleric. Nothing wrong with that. Summoning isn't always optimal and is often a time and fun suck at the table.
2. You played the character all the way up rather than starting at level 9 or so. Playing a low-level cleric who has to make all his contributions through spells is an exercise in frustration. Having some personal combat ability whether through melee or archery helps to make things a lot more fun. At level 1, having Point Blank and Precise Shot rather than Toughness and Improved Initiative is clearly a defensible choice. At level 3, taking Rapid Shot rather than Improved Initiative is clearly a good choice. By level 5, you're starting to get enough spells to make that a strategy of primary spellcasting contribution fun, but deadly aim still makes you a lot better as an archer.
Now why play a cleric rather than an Inquisitor if that's what you want to do? Again, there are a lot of reasons:
1. Your party doesn't have a cleric. Inquisitors are great and so are warpriests but they won't substitute for a cleric. At level 11, it's nice for the party to have heal, banishment, and hero's feast. A cleric gives you that, an Inquisitor doesn't. Even at low levels where the difference between a cleric and an inquisitor is at its lowest, a cleric packs at least double the inquisitor's healing ability(largely thanks to channel energy) and that can make the difference between a TPK and a cakewalk.
2. You want the ability to "switch hit" between group buffing and personal damage. An archer cleric can cast prayer in round 1 to give the whole group +1 to everything and then unleash arrows in round 2 (with +2 /+2 because he has fate's favored to boost his luck bonuses). An Inquisitor isn't nearly as good at that kind of thing. Really, there's a big spectrum of personal combatant to spellcaster and while it's clear that Warpriest and Inquisitor hold down the personal combatant side of the spectrum and the kind of cleric who dumps physical stats and focuses all his feats on spellcasting holds down the spellcaster side of the spectrum, there's a lot of room in the middle where more spellcasting focused Inquisitors and personal combat focused clerics live. Inquisitor and warpriest let you go further to the personal combatant side if you want, but that doesn't mean the middle of the spectrum is pointless. The focused archer cleric still brings more spellcasting to the table than the spellcasting focused inquisitor.
3. You are playing in a core campaign. (PFS Core comes to mind). In that case, cleric is all you've got since Inquisitors and Warpriests aren't core.
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Quickened divine favor to me is a waste of a spell slot, since I generally have a long ahead of me. I'd rather use it on something that gives long term benefits, like magic circle against evil. Or a timely dispel magic.
But you're right on other points as that character was crafted with PFS core campaign rules in mind. Clustered shot can be switched out for other feat. PFS runs to lv 12. Harm? You'll get max 2 uses a day unless you're playing past seeker level.
All those groovy control spells, murderous command, burst of radiance, terrible remorse, hallucinogenic smoke? Do not exist. There is little incentive to make an offensive casting cleric.
Hear me out. Low level control spells for clerics - cause fear (nice sure, until GM decides to get a running monster to pull a train on you). Also HD limited. Command - Sure...does everything have a lauguage? Try the leopard pouncing on you. Hold person - nice when it works, but PFS does not always give you humanoids only. Calm emotions - RAW as written, an attack on any calmed targets will break for all targets. So all the GM has to do is to get anyone who did not fail the save to attack his ally. Spell broken. And if no one failed the save, you can't damage them either. So whats the point since PFS gets you murderhoboing everything?
Soundburst, Blindness. I've noticed most creatures in PFS have a good fort save. You're pitting your spell DC against monsters that are large, huge and have crazy constitution bonuses? Or a raging barbarian? Seriously?
Fear has same caveats as cause fear except no HD limitations.
It changes the playstyle, sure. But that's something I'm willing to work with. And sometimes, the best spells need no DC. A well placed silence, for one. Shuts down casters. No save(because you cast it on the floor/on the person engaged with the caster) and there's no way for enemy caster to get out of silence radius.