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Conventional wisdom is fire is the worst, acid is the best. I’ve seen several posts to this effect but never much of an analysis. Below is an attempt to do the math based only on monster resist/immune stats. There are 2,293 entries in the dataset. 1,348 (59%) of the entries have no energy resistance / immunity. Conversely, 41% of the monsters present a potential challenge to an elemental specialist. (See “Sources:”)
RESISTANCE
Resistance will lower the damage you deliver so it is a consideration. The good news is the majority (~90%) of the resistances are 10 or less. A BLASTER CASTER will be matching 10 resistance in his preferred element at 4th level (+2 damage per die + ½ Wizard level). Generally speaking, at higher resistances it doesn’t much matter what your preferred element is – the numbers are close enough you’ll be seeing resistance come up with about equal frequency. The higher resistances generally are higher CRs and you’ll likely be matching the resistance with your extra damage. (See “Table: RESISTANCE:” )
IMMUNITY
Immunity is a critical consideration. Monsters immune to your energy type negate your elemental bonus and are often resistant (or immune) to other energy types as well. Acid is the clear winner, with cold being a secondary choice. Electricity is worse than fire. (See “Table: IMMUNITY:” )
RESISTANCE + IMMUNITY
Although electricity has fewer resistances it has the highest number of immunities. Resistance will lower the damage you do; immunity completely eliminates it. Acid has the lowest number of immune creatures and the overall lowest combined resist/immune count. (See “Table: RESISTANCE + IMMUNITY:” )
Some monsters are immune to two energy types. Fire has the lowest number and percentage of dual immunities but with 241 total immunities it’s still a poor choice. Acid is the strongest choice – only 69 of 218 creatures immune to acid are also immune to another energy type. (See “Table: TWO IMMUNITIES:” )
A limited number of monsters are immune to three energy types. Below is listed the single energy type that is not immune and the creatures it works against. Again, acid is the clear winner (equaling the others combined).
- Acid (5) – Advodaza Devil, Jade Idol, Oma, Rune Giant, Stone Idol
- Cold (1) – Dark Young of Shub-Niggurath
- Electricity (1) – Colour Out of Space
- Fire (3) – Demilich, Graveknight, Jubilex
NOTE: Four entries (Monadic Deva, Movanic Deva, Lhaksharut, Lead Skeleton) are immune to all four energy types. In this case it doesn’t matter what you chose.
Sorry for the table formatting. If you cut & paste into another program and change to a mono-spaced font they’ll look better.
----------------------------------------
-------|--------Resist---------|-Total-|
----------------------------------------
-------| 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 30 | xx% |
----------------------------------------
| Acid | 10 | 183 | 00 | 09 | 16 | 10% |
----------------------------------------
| Cold | 26 | 252 | 01 | 11 | 11 | 13% |
----------------------------------------
| Elec | 10 | 126 | 00 | 06 | 16 | 07% |
----------------------------------------
| Fire | 17 | 245 | 01 | 14 | 16 | 13% |
----------------------------------------
| Sonic| 01 | 025 | 01 | 02 | 06 | 02% |
----------------------------------------
--------------------
-------| Imm | Tot |
--------------------
| Acid | 174 | 08% |
--------------------
| Cold | 209 | 09% |
--------------------
| Elec | 247 | 11% |
--------------------
| Fire | 241 | 11% |
--------------------
| Sonic| 003 | 00% |
--------------------
--------------------------
-------| Res | Imm | Tot |
--------------------------
| Acid | 218 | 174 | 392 |
--------------------------
| Cold | 301 | 209 | 510 |
--------------------------
| Elec | 158 | 247 | 405 |
--------------------------
| Fire | 293 | 241 | 534 |
--------------------------
| Sonic| 035 | 003 | 038 |
--------------------------
The table shows energy type with immunity for one other type.
----------------------------
-------| Ac | Co | El | Fi |
----------------------------
| Acid | -- | 35 | 20 | 14 |
----------------------------
| Cold | 35 | -- | 36 | 22 |
----------------------------
| Elec | 20 | 36 | -- | 26 |
----------------------------
| Fire | 14 | 22 | 26 | -- |
----------------------------
| Tot# | 69 | 93 | 82 | 62 |
----------------------------
| Tot% | 40 | 44 | 33 | 26 |
----------------------------
------------------------------
----|---------RESIST---------|
------------------------------
|CR#| 05 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 30 |IMMU| N/A | Tot |
-----------------------------------------------
|1/8| 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 009 | 009 |
|1/6| 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 011 | 011 |
|1/4| 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 026 | 026 |
|1/3| 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 046 | 046 |
|1/2| 03 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 088 | 092 |
-----------------------------------------------
| 1 | 01 | 04 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 02 | 137 | 144 |
| 2 | 03 | 07 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 05 | 197 | 212 |
| 3 | 00 | 10 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 05 | 214 | 230 |
| 4 | 01 | 07 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 07 | 174 | 189 |
| 5 | 01 | 07 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 08 | 157 | 173 |
-----------------------------------------------
| 6 | 00 | 10 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 09 | 129 | 148 |
| 7 | 00 | 13 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 09 | 120 | 142 |
| 8 | 00 | 09 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 09 | 102 | 121 |
| 9 | 00 | 10 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 09 | 091 | 111 |
|10 | 01 | 10 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 13 | 065 | 090 |
-----------------------------------------------
|11 | 00 | 11 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 13 | 057 | 081 |
|12 | 00 | 09 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 10 | 056 | 075 |
|13 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 10 | 041 | 054 |
|14 | 00 | 09 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 10 | 029 | 048 |
|15 | 00 | 13 | 00 | 02 | 07 | 12 | 033 | 067 |
-----------------------------------------------
|16 | 00 | 08 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 09 | 023 | 041 |
|17 | 00 | 07 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 06 | 023 | 036 |
|18 | 00 | 04 | 00 | 01 | 01 | 10 | 014 | 030 |
|19 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 02 | 016 | 022 |
|20 | 00 | 06 | 00 | 01 | 01 | 06 | 024 | 038 |
-----------------------------------------------
|21 | 00 | 04 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 01 | 005 | 011 |
|22 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 009 | 013 |
|23 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 04 | 002 | 010 |
|24 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 02 | 00 | 002 | 004 |
|25 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 00 | 02 | 01 | 001 | 007 |
-----------------------------------------------
|26 | 00 | 02 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 002 |
|27 | 00 | 02 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 002 |
|28 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 001 |
|29 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 003 |
|30 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 000 | 001 |
-----------------------------------------------
|35 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 001 |
|37 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 000 | 001 |
|39 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 001 |
-----------------------------------------------
|Tot| 10 |183 | 00 | 09 | 16 |174 |1,901|2,293|
-----------------------------------------------
------------------------------
----|---------RESIST---------|
------------------------------
|CR#| 05 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 30 |IMMU| N/A | Tot |
-----------------------------------------------
|1/8| 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 009 | 009 |
|1/6| 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 011 | 011 |
|1/4| 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 026 | 026 |
|1/3| 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 045 | 046 |
|1/2| 07 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 084 | 092 |
-----------------------------------------------
| 1 | 04 | 03 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 05 | 132 | 144 |
| 2 | 03 | 10 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 12 | 187 | 212 |
| 3 | 04 | 11 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 10 | 205 | 230 |
| 4 | 05 | 17 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 16 | 151 | 189 |
| 5 | 01 | 12 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 13 | 147 | 173 |
-----------------------------------------------
| 6 | 01 | 15 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 12 | 119 | 148 |
| 7 | 00 | 15 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 15 | 111 | 142 |
| 8 | 00 | 15 | 00 | 01 | 01 | 08 | 096 | 121 |
| 9 | 00 | 17 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 08 | 086 | 111 |
|10 | 01 | 15 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 16 | 058 | 090 |
-----------------------------------------------
|11 | 00 | 16 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 12 | 053 | 081 |
|12 | 00 | 15 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 16 | 044 | 075 |
|13 | 00 | 08 | 01 | 01 | 00 | 05 | 039 | 054 |
|14 | 00 | 08 | 00 | 02 | 00 | 12 | 026 | 048 |
|15 | 00 | 19 | 00 | 02 | 05 | 08 | 033 | 067 |
-----------------------------------------------
|16 | 00 | 09 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 07 | 024 | 041 |
|17 | 00 | 07 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 07 | 022 | 036 |
|18 | 00 | 05 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 07 | 017 | 030 |
|19 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 00 | 02 | 03 | 014 | 022 |
|20 | 00 | 06 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 11 | 020 | 038 |
-----------------------------------------------
|21 | 00 | 04 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 006 | 011 |
|22 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 010 | 013 |
|23 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 04 | 003 | 010 |
|24 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 01 | 002 | 004 |
|25 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 003 | 007 |
-----------------------------------------------
|26 | 00 | 02 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 002 |
|27 | 00 | 02 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 002 |
|28 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 001 |
|29 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 003 |
|30 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 001 |
-----------------------------------------------
|35 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 001 |
|37 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 001 |
|39 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 001 |
-----------------------------------------------
|Tot| 26 |252 | 01 | 11 | 11 |209 |1,783|2,293|
-----------------------------------------------
------------------------------
----|---------RESIST---------|
------------------------------
|CR#| 05 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 30 |IMMU| N/A | Tot |
-----------------------------------------------
|1/8| 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 009 | 009 |
|1/6| 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 011 | 011 |
|1/4| 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 026 | 026 |
|1/3| 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 046 | 046 |
|1/2| 05 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 03 | 084 | 092 |
-----------------------------------------------
| 1 | 02 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 03 | 139 | 144 |
| 2 | 02 | 10 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 13 | 187 | 212 |
| 3 | 00 | 05 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 14 | 211 | 230 |
| 4 | 01 | 06 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 11 | 171 | 189 |
| 5 | 00 | 08 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 12 | 153 | 173 |
-----------------------------------------------
| 6 | 00 | 09 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 15 | 124 | 148 |
| 7 | 00 | 11 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 11 | 119 | 142 |
| 8 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 02 | 01 | 17 | 098 | 121 |
| 9 | 00 | 09 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 14 | 088 | 111 |
|10 | 00 | 09 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 11 | 070 | 090 |
-----------------------------------------------
|11 | 00 | 08 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 15 | 057 | 081 |
|12 | 00 | 06 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 18 | 051 | 075 |
|13 | 00 | 02 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 11 | 040 | 054 |
|14 | 00 | 07 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 10 | 031 | 048 |
|15 | 00 | 12 | 00 | 01 | 06 | 09 | 039 | 067 |
-----------------------------------------------
|16 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 02 | 00 | 08 | 028 | 041 |
|17 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 09 | 023 | 036 |
|18 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 07 | 019 | 030 |
|19 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 01 | 07 | 013 | 022 |
|20 | 00 | 06 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 10 | 022 | 038 |
-----------------------------------------------
|21 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 05 | 005 | 011 |
|22 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 02 | 011 | 013 |
|23 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 03 | 003 | 010 |
|24 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 001 | 004 |
|25 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 02 | 005 | 007 |
-----------------------------------------------
|26 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 002 | 002 |
|27 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 000 | 002 |
|28 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 000 | 001 |
|29 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 001 | 003 |
|30 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 000 | 001 |
-----------------------------------------------
|35 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 000 | 001 |
|37 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 001 |
|39 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 001 | 001 |
-----------------------------------------------
|Tot| 10 |126 | 00 | 06 | 16 |247 |1,888|2,293|
-----------------------------------------------
------------------------------
----|---------RESIST---------|
------------------------------
|CR#| 05 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 30 |IMMU| N/A | Tot |
-----------------------------------------------
|1/8| 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 009 | 009 |
|1/6| 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 011 | 011 |
|1/4| 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 026 | 026 |
|1/3| 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 045 | 046 |
|1/2| 03 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 02 | 086 | 092 |
-----------------------------------------------
| 1 | 02 | 02 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 05 | 134 | 144 |
| 2 | 02 | 13 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 05 | 192 | 212 |
| 3 | 02 | 14 | 00 | 02 | 00 | 16 | 196 | 230 |
| 4 | 03 | 15 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 11 | 160 | 189 |
| 5 | 01 | 18 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 10 | 144 | 173 |
-----------------------------------------------
| 6 | 00 | 16 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 11 | 120 | 148 |
| 7 | 00 | 15 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 21 | 106 | 142 |
| 8 | 00 | 14 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 20 | 087 | 121 |
| 9 | 02 | 14 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 13 | 082 | 111 |
|10 | 01 | 14 | 00 | 02 | 00 | 15 | 058 | 090 |
-----------------------------------------------
|11 | 00 | 14 | 00 | 02 | 00 | 09 | 056 | 081 |
|12 | 00 | 14 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 10 | 050 | 075 |
|13 | 00 | 10 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 05 | 038 | 054 |
|14 | 00 | 10 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 11 | 027 | 048 |
|15 | 00 | 20 | 00 | 01 | 06 | 11 | 029 | 067 |
-----------------------------------------------
|16 | 00 | 08 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 10 | 020 | 041 |
|17 | 00 | 06 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 09 | 021 | 036 |
|18 | 00 | 04 | 00 | 01 | 01 | 06 | 018 | 030 |
|19 | 00 | 01 | 01 | 01 | 03 | 06 | 010 | 022 |
|20 | 00 | 05 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 12 | 020 | 038 |
-----------------------------------------------
|21 | 00 | 03 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 03 | 005 | 011 |
|22 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 08 | 005 | 013 |
|23 | 00 | 05 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 03 | 002 | 010 |
|24 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 02 | 01 | 001 | 004 |
|25 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 04 | 001 | 007 |
-----------------------------------------------
|26 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 02 | 000 | 002 |
|27 | 00 | 02 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 002 |
|28 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 001 |
|29 | 00 | 02 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 000 | 003 |
|30 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 001 |
-----------------------------------------------
|35 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 001 |
|37 | 00 | 01 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 000 | 001 |
|39 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 00 | 01 | 000 | 001 |
-----------------------------------------------
|Tot| 17 |245 | 01 | 14 | 16 |241 |1,759|2,293|
-----------------------------------------------
The analysis includes Sonic for reference. The d20PFSRD.com Monsters DB (6-23-2013) contains entries from the following sources:
PATHFINDER ROLEPLAYING GAME: Core Rulebook, Bestiary, Bestiary 2, Bestiary 3, Ultimate Magic.
PATHFINDER CAMPAIGN SETTING: Artifacts and Legends, Book of the Damned Volume 2: Lords of Chaos, Book of the Damned Volume 3: Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Chronicle Of The Righteous, Distant Worlds, Dungeons Of Golarion, Fey Revisited, Inner Sea Bestiary, Inner Sea World Guide, Irrisen Land Of Eternal Winter, Isles Of The Shackles, Lands Of The Linnorm Kings, Lost Cities Of Golarion, Lost Kingdoms, Magnimar City Of Monuments, Misfit Monsters Redeemed, Mystery Monsters Revisited, Undead Revisited.
PATHFINDER PLAYER COMPANION: Animal Archive.
PATHFINDER CHRONICLES: Book of the Damned Volume 1: Princes of Darkness, City of Strangers, Heart of the Jungle.
PATHFINDER ADVENTURE PATH: Return of the Rune Lords (Anniversary Edition), Council of Thieves, Kingmaker, Serpent’s Skull, Carrion Crown, Jade Regent, Skull & Shackles, Shattered Star, Reign Of Winter Player's Guide, Reign of Winter (Parts 1-4 of 6).
PATHFINDER MODULE: Academy Of Secrets, Broken Chains, Carrion Hill, City of Golden Death, Cult Of The Ebon Destroyers, Godsmouth Heresy, Masks Of The Living God, Murder's Mark, No Response From Deepmar, The Feast Of Ravenmoor, The Harrowing, The Moonscar, The Ruby Phoenix Tournament, The Witchwar Legacy, Tomb Of The Iron Medusa.
PATHFINDER SOCIETY SCENARIO: Voice in the Void (#35), Echoes of the Everwar—Part I: The Prisoner of Skull Hill (#36).
THIRD PARTY (Frog God Games): Tome of Horrors Revised, Tome of Horrors 1, Tome of Horrors Complete. NOTE: This was kept in the dataset since Paizo likes to use Tome of Horrors monsters often.
I always thought it was acid, but I never did an actual count. Thanks for the information..
wow thanks for the work
What about sonic...?
fewest spells or abilities same as force in 3.5 force was possible but still hard to keep in the theme.
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I think your numbers are great, but I believe that your conclusion (that Acid is the best element) is flawed.
Acid can't be the best for the Draconic or Primal bloodline, because of two reasons:
1) There are significantly fewer Acid damage spells than Fire. Instead of the Burning Hands -> Scorching Ray/Burning Arc -> Fireball progression, you get Corrosive Touch -> Acid Arrow -> Nothing. You don't get a "staple" Acid spell until 4th level spells, and then you only get Lines (Acid Spray and Dragon Breath) which is the weakest AoE shape, in my opinion. Now, Caustic Eruption is great at high levels, but it's high enough level that it's tricky to apply Metamagic to, weakening your blasting overall.
Electricity isn't really better off, since they get Shocking Grasp -> Nothing -> Lightning Bolt, but Lightning Bolt is probably better than Acid Wave just because of the lower spell level. Plus, Ball Lightning at 4th is sweet and Arc Lightning at 5th is devastating in the right enemy formation.
Cold is probably the worst early on--low level cold spells are rare on the Sorcerer List. That said, their Dragonbreath options are at least Cones, and Cold Ice Strike is something every blaster wants.
Yes, I know the Elemental Bloodline gives you Burning Hands and Scorching Ray in your element, and that helps, but the lack of Fireball, I think, is just devastating.
2) You looked at resistance and immunity, but not vulnerability, nor how common the immune/resistant enemies actually are.
I would wager that Cold and Fire would lead the Vulnerability list by a mile, and 50% more damage is huge.
So, ultimately, I believe, due to the flexibility in AoE shapes, the best overall blast (Fireball), and the likelihood of vulnerability, Fire is the best element, not the worst.
Acid, I think, is probably second best, though, with Cold taking up third. Electricity really is the worst, I agree with that.
Just make sure you have Dragon Breath, so you can switch to another kind of damage on the fly, if you face a Fire Immune guy.
Yar!
What about sonic...?
Well, assuming the basic assumption of the OP still holds, sonis is NOT even an option. The Draconic and Elemental Bloodlines (and the Primal WildBlood of Elemental) only give you the options of Acid, Cold, Electricity, and Fire. Sonic doesn't even come into the equation here.
On other points, while Draconic and Primal don't get it by default, the Elemental Bloodline (which is the parent blood for Primal) does get this wonderful little arcana: Whenever you cast a spell that deals energy damage, you can change the type of damage to match the type of your bloodline. This also changes the spell's type to match the type of your bloodline.
So if spell versatility is the issue, then perhaps just Elemental is better that Elemental (Primal).
Expanding beyond the bloodline basics, there is also the ELemental Spell Mentamagic feat to help increase spell type versatility, or you could be an Wizard with a Focused School of Admixture which does this: "When you cast an evocation spell that does acid, cold, electricity, or fire damage, you may change the damage dealt to one of the other four energy types. This changes the descriptor of the spell to match the new energy type."
(not really taking position, just pointing out other options to take into consideration)
~P
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I think your numbers are great, but I believe that your conclusion (that Acid is the best element) is flawed.
You points are valid. I was looking at brute forcing the numbers and assuming equal "spawn" chances. The other factors add in to what's "best" and would make a better general analysis. Pirate addressed the other points.
The exercise was specifically for the use in the BLASTER CASTER build. With admixture, the limited spell selection of various energy types goes away.
I agree with the vulnerability point. The d20PFSRD database didn't do a good job of breaking out specifics (it was some cleanup to get what I got). Maybe I'll try vulnerabilities next...
I wonder how this list looks vs the standard roster of Summon Monster. Those would be the 'most common' creatures to be encountered with resistances.
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About the only other thing to consider is that some creatures also get other effects out of some energy types. For instance, Clay golems heal from Acid damage, and Shambling Mounds really like electrical damage.
Also, some energy types are good for other uses - for instance, Fire and Acid for stopping regenerating.
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I would wager that Cold and Fire would lead the Vulnerability list by a mile, and 50% more damage is huge.
I did a very rough analysis (for example, I counted "slowed by cold" as being vulnerable to cold), and you're right:
- Acid – 2
- Cold – 111
- Electricity – 16
- Fire – 102
- Sonic - 20
As you suspected, cold/fire far outweigh acid/electricity in number of vulnerabilities. +50% damage (or whatever effect from the vulnerability) is great, but most casters won't be eliminated from using cold/fire in these situations and will gain the same benefit. I think the magnitude of cold/fire resistance and immunities outweighs the occasional (~4%) benefit of a +50% increase to +2 damage/die (if crossblooded; less otherwise).
...some creatures also get other effects out of some energy types...
Valid point, but I don't have the "energy" to explore. Choosing acid doesn't prevent using other elements when it makes sense; you'll only loose the +2 damage / die.
As you suspected, cold/fire far outweigh acid/electricity in number of vulnerabilities. +50% damage (or whatever effect from the vulnerability) is great, but most casters won't be eliminated from using cold/fire in these situations and will gain the same benefit. I think the magnitude of cold/fire resistance and immunities outweighs the occasional (~4%) benefit of a +50% increase to +2 damage/die (if crossblooded; less otherwise).
You have to realize, based on the title, I was coming at this from the viewpoint of a Sorcerer, not an admixture wizard with a single level of sorcerer.
A Sorcerer built for blasting really couldn't switch on the fly, because they are unlikely to have the spells known for that. In all likelihood, their only back up choice for other damage types would be Dragonbreath.
In fact, a normal wizard would be equally screwed in the process, too, since they would have had to prepare for other damage types. Really, the one and only character that isn't in trouble in these circumstances is the Admixture wizard.
You might want to change the title of the thread to something like "Best Crossblooded Bloodlines for an Admixture Blaster" or something like that.
Remember that a elemental metamagic rod can change your fireballs into cold balls or acid balls as needed, for only 3000gp.
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Remember that a elemental metamagic rod can change your fireballs into cold balls or acid balls as needed, for only 3000gp.
Doesn't change the spell type however for the effects of...say rimed spell. Just the damage type. You need the elemental water bloodline to change the spell into a cold spell. Then you can elemental rod it if they are immune/resistant and still apply rimed :P .
Force +1 no creatures are immune..... or so few for it to matter
Another consideration that I think is mostly in Acid's favor is spell resistance, though on the other hand a lot of those are conjuration rather than evocation to the extent that matters.
Re: Mplindustries - People of the North, for those that allow it, added decent level 1 and 2 blasts of the cold type (snowball and flurry of snowballs), though snowball is again conjuration.