Eldritch Knight and Shadowdancer are both builds that start to come together around 8th level.
Mystic Theurge doesn't honestly shine at any level.
That being said, Rage Prophet might be a good example, though its hard to make it shine at any point as well.
Mystic Theurge doesn't honestly shine at any level.
That is not true. They suck for most of their career, but around level 15 they are quiet useful.
People who truly like playing a challenge do Ranger-Bard Mystic Theurges.
Eldritch Knight and Shadowdancer are both builds that start to come together around 8th level.
Not surprising, since the earliest you can possibly get those classes is level 6 for Shadowdancer and level 7 for Eldritch Knight...
But yeah, I'd say casters in general start to rock at those levels. But you knew that already did'nt you?
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Just about any wizard build. By about 8th-9th level, you actually have a supply of spells that should last you a full adventuring day, and you are starting to get some potent stuff. Most wizards are lucky to make it to 2nd level, but at 9th lvl if you've had no brakes in your spell casting you should be able to sling 5th level spell. If you have had a break in your casting you likely took a prestige class, so you'll get some good advantages out of that. My personal Fav at the moment is Sorceror 1 (Crossblooded Orc/Red Dragon)(Tatooed)/Wiz 4(Evoker (admixture School)/Pathfinder Savant 3/Cyphermage 1. Feats include bloatmage initiate, varisian tatoo, and pyromainiac gnome trait. You'd only have access to 4th level spells, and you'd have to find yourself some spell scrolls or spellbooks to have learned your last 2 levels of spells, but the version I put together can manage a 10d6+22 fire ball DC 20, I can scribe 2 scrolls per day, and any scroll read is at my caster level +1. If the enemy I'm fighting is immune to fire, I can switch out for cold, acid or electricity and only lose 10pt of damage = 10d6+12 DC 20. If I need to, that 9th level feat is intesify spell, I can slap that on the fireball for a 4th level slot to do 12d6+26. Sometimes it's not about how strong you are, but how well you use the tools at hand.
Elven kensai magus finesser, you get to skip the levels without dex to damage and insufficient canny defense.
Whipmaster arcane duelist bard (with magus dip 1 or 3 for truestrike spellcombat maneuvers), again skipping the levels without agile weapon and whip master feat prereqs.
Mounted archer scout rogue? You can afford sniper goggles, full sneak attack at any range while mount moves minimum 10'?
Sylvan/primal-fire pyromaniac wordcaster gnome sorceror. He rides a tiger!!! (Nothing special about level 8+, I just wanna play the little psycho but my tables hate fun.)
A few suggestions
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- Standard Wizard, Sorcerer, and Witch really get going at mid levels. 4th-5th level spells are pretty amazing.
- Cleric, Druid, and Oracle casting builds (rather than melee builds) also get much better in the mid levels, because of the 4th-5th level spells.
- A melee character can be built for mounted combat and use a special cohort mount during the mid levels. My favorite is a Pegasus, but your size and alignment will influence your choices.
- A melee character based on a long feat chain will likely be able to start with her special trick already in effect. For example, a dex based Dervish Dance build with Crane Style takes a lot of feats before that empty left hand is really working for you, but you can pull it all together by 9th level.
My current chacter is Seeker Crossblooded Orc/Elemental sorcerer. Starting at first level would have been really hard; even less spells known than a normal sorcerer, crappy saves across the board, trapfinding responsibilities combined with a small number if skill points, and of course horrible combat abilities.
Thankfully, I started at 7th level. ;)
Cleric of Desna with the Travel and Liberation domains and Channel Energy feat focus really hits its stride right at 8th, turning into a channeling machine that is almost impossible to pin down, and able to get the entire party out of some pretty sticky situations, but it is a good character at just about all levels.