I've got an alchemist at level 6, focusing on bombs, and I'm trying to figure out what to do with him at higher levels. He's great with bombs, but I only get so many per day, and I'm getting to the point that poking with a masterwork longspear and 14 Str just isn't cutting it. Since there are no must-have feats for me at level 7, I'm thinking of how to keep him useful for more than a dozen rounds per day. Here's what I'm thinking:
1. Pick up Focused Shot at level 7, spend 5000 gp on Lesser Bracers of Archery and 2600 on a +1 Composite Longbow, and attack at +11 for 1d8+8. This would let me use a buckler for better AC, and maybe even pick up Deadly Aim at level 9 for more damage.
2. Pick up Focused Shot at level 7, and get a crossbow instead. This would save money, but I'd be doing slightly less damage, couldn't use a buckler, and it would take a big chunk out of my action economy.
3. Pick up some other feat (Extra Bombs? Toughness? Some other bomb discovery?) at level 7, and carry tons of alchemical weapons in a Handy Haversack. This would be the cheapest, and free up a feat, but then I'm only hitting for 1d6+5 damage.
Any suggestions?
Human Alchemist (Trap Breaker)
14/18/12/20/12/7
Feats: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot, Splash Weapon Mastery
Discoveries: Acid Bomb, Frost Bomb, Wings, Precise Bombs
RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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I advise option 3. Take Extra Bombs and blow some s&*% up.
Nothing wrong with 1d6+5 as a splash weapon, especially when you have the option of bustin' out the REAL bombs if you want more damage.
You might also consider Explosive Bomb as a future discovery, as it'll let you get more mileage per bomb.
MOAR BOMBS!
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I also have a level 6 bomber alchemist in PFS and I would go the alchemical weapon route. I have never had problems with running out of bombs at my level even in longer fights because I would use other alchemical weapons. Enemy wizard? Throw a thunderstone and deafen him. Swarms? Alchemist fire gets your INT mod to damage. You are the batman of pathfinder as you can have all kinds of alchemical weapons ready to go when they are needed.
That said, even I picked up a +1 bow just as a backup both because of bomb ammo, range, and fire immune demons with DR/Cold Iron.
Just do that and take Iron Will at 7 to boost your will saves or extra discovery and grab something like dispelling bomb or extra arm (so you can throw bombs and hold a bow at the same time.)
In all seriousness, having a decent bow as a backup is a very good idea, particularly since you already have Point Blank and Precise Shot. But I wouldn't really focus on that too much since it's not your bread-and-butter.
And I'm never going to scoff at someone taking Iron Will, particularly because a lot of Will Save spells can be brutal if you fail them.
The original advice from warcraft 2 characters.
Dwarves: Aye laddie
Ach
Bombs are great
Take one back with me thoua
Goblins: Yes, Boss?
We got explosives
KABOOMM!!!
OOOooooooh!! it's beautiful.
That's advice coming from the experts here ;)
If you need more than a dozen rounds a day as an alchemist you need more firepower. What is that saying? If you are leaving scorch marks you need a bigger gun?
Get rapid shot, it will work with your soon to be acquired fast bombs. Rapid shot + a good bow = more single target damage than your bombs do. What is a good bow? A +1 bow with some damage enhancement like frost or fire would work. Rapid shot makes it 2d8+whatever +2d6 eneregy.
My alchemist took a level of barbarian (drunken brute to chug a potion I held in my hand before combat) though, so I had the option of +4 rage strength + 4 mutagen + 4 bulls strength + 2 enlarge bonus and 3 natural attacks through feral mutagen. When ranged wasn't an option I managed a +14 increase in strength which is a nice increase to hit and damage. 24 strength post buffing from a 10 strength weakling start isn't bad at all.
I stopped playing the character at level 9 when i got fast bombs and my 9th level feat though, it just got too stupid to be fun. 2 nova combats from bombs a day, at least one nova melee combat, and if I HAD to my archery was only like 20 percent behind my melee DPR.
I'm not planning on picking up Rapid Shot or Fast Bombs. I'd rather be judicious in my use of bombs, in case I need the energy damage at some point (like fighting fire elementals). Plus, with only medium BAB and prioritizing Int over Dex, my attack bonus just isn't high enough to justify the extra penalty from Rapid Shot.
Nah, it will be fine. Enemies AC doesn't keep up with even 3/4 BAB and a good ability score + typical buffs. A dex of 18 is still really good for archery. -2 for rapid shot isn't a big deal, especially compared to 2 chances at hitting and possibility of double the damage. By rapid shooting you increase your chance of doing damage each round. Only at very specific ACs is rapid shot actually bad. IIRC its at needing an 18 to hit since it drops you to needing a 20 to hit on 2 dice which means you only have 2 results that work instead of 3. At 19 its very similar, 2 results that work, at 20 RS is strictly better. At 17 and lower its strictly better to rapid shot 17 has 4 results that matter, RS is the same, while lower to hit requirements mean it is much better to RS, for instance at level 8 with 18 dex you have a +10 to hit with NO buffs AC 20 is pretty common, with that there is 11 no RS results that work (with 9 no damage results) and 18 RS results that work with a good possibility that you get 2 hits and a lower probably that no hits result.
As for conservation of bombs, who cares? In PFS you will still have plenty of bombs to finish the module even if you go 3 bombs a round at 8th level. 3 bomb in a round end combats quicker which results in less overall resources spent by the party. Damage is damage, taking 1 round to do your damage instead of 3 is just strictly better. Once you nova the enemy mobs round 1 with bombs you can use single target damage from your bow to finish off the still living targets.
Conservation of resources should be done as curve. Only when you start running out should you worry about conservation. There is even a game theory that shows that (the you have x bottles of wine for special occasions, how do you allocate those bottles without failing to use the resource and without wasting them on everything and running out, iirc 10 bottles over 5 years, you use 3-5 the first year, then 2-3 year 2 and 3, and 1 per year the last 2 years).
With bosses usually at the end its probably a good idea to save a little be for reserve, but honestly I've never had that problem as an alchemist. Boss encounters are rarely the hardest in a dungeon and if you attack the earlier encounters aggressively you actually have more left over at the end than if you were conservative the entire time.
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For race, I recommend Gnome. The favored class bonus of an extra 1/2 a bomb per level is nice. Also, the Pyromaniac racial trait is a must.
For feats, I'm a fan of Splash Weapon Mastery.
I would get the Fast Bombs discovery and Rapid Shot since you're going after Touch AC.
I'm also a fan of the Breath Weapon Bomb discovery for the times when you're threatened.
For race, I recommend Gnome. The favored class bonus of an extra 1/2 a bomb per level is nice. Also, the Pyromaniac racial trait is a must.
For feats, I'm a fan of Splash Weapon Mastery.
I would get the Fast Bombs discovery and Rapid Shot since you're going after Touch AC.
I'm also a fan of the Breath Weapon Bomb discovery for the times when you're threatened.
I'm pretty sure its too late to change race at this point... Generic gnome alchemist advice isn't really what the OP is after. Actually it looks like he isn't really interested in being especially effective at higher levels.
I'm pretty sure its too late to change race at this point... Generic gnome alchemist advice isn't really what the OP is after. Actually it looks like he isn't really interested in being especially effective at higher levels.For race, I recommend Gnome. The favored class bonus of an extra 1/2 a bomb per level is nice. Also, the Pyromaniac racial trait is a must.
For feats, I'm a fan of Splash Weapon Mastery.
I would get the Fast Bombs discovery and Rapid Shot since you're going after Touch AC.
I'm also a fan of the Breath Weapon Bomb discovery for the times when you're threatened.
Maybe a Wish or Polymorph can fix that ?
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Maybe a Wish or Polymorph can fix that ?I'm pretty sure its too late to change race at this point... Generic gnome alchemist advice isn't really what the OP is after. Actually it looks like he isn't really interested in being especially effective at higher levels.For race, I recommend Gnome. The favored class bonus of an extra 1/2 a bomb per level is nice. Also, the Pyromaniac racial trait is a must.
For feats, I'm a fan of Splash Weapon Mastery.
I would get the Fast Bombs discovery and Rapid Shot since you're going after Touch AC.
I'm also a fan of the Breath Weapon Bomb discovery for the times when you're threatened.
Maybe, but since this is for PFS it is unlikely that will happen by level 12 (which is where most PFS caps out).
Well my recommendation would have been:
Lvl 7 - Rapid Shot
Lvl 8 - Fast Bombs
So with Haste you could Nova +6/+1 w/Haste & Rapid Shot is +5/+5/+5/-1 and as you have both Precise Bombs and Splash Weapon Mastery I think it would still be a solid choice...
Otherwise:
Getting some Bracers of Archery & Rapid Shot would let you be useful with a bow (especially as you already have Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot)
Or:
As a trap breaker: Skill Focus (Perception) or (Disable Device) would also be solid choices.
I'm definitely getting Force Bombs at level 8; that's not changing. My level 9 feat is still up in the air, though.
Nothing quite like sacrificing lots of power for a little versatility (one that is a false choice since you can just ghost touch bow to do the same thing).
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I'd suggest checking out my guide...
A longbow is a VERY strong choice for you, although instead of picking up a +X strength rating bow, instead splurge on a +1 Adaptive Composite Longbow, so you never have to worry about your strength rating again. Also I don't know if some of the fun arrows are available for purchase in PFS, but I'd take a look at those too in order to increase your versatility.
Focused Shot is worth picking up, and I can understand your issue with throwing your bombs too fast to the point of running out. But don't discount carrying a ton of misc alchemical items on you. Purchase a Hybridization Funnel to double the fun of them, so that at the least you're doing 2d6+5 per toss, which really isn't terrible for 25 gold (Acid+Alkali Flask), and lets you stretch out your bombing against more targets.
I'm not planning on picking up Rapid Shot or Fast Bombs. I'd rather be judicious in my use of bombs, in case I need the energy damage at some point (like fighting fire elementals).
In that case, I'd suggest Smoke Bomb/Stink Bomb. Stink Bomb is pretty sweet.
I'm playing a bomber (Grenadier) Alchemist, and my recommendation is to pick up more discoveries with your feats. There are so many good ones out there that you won't run out options to take for discoveries and also the Extra Discovery feat.
Good choice in taking Force Bomb, but if you are going to a 'bomber', then I would recommend some more offensive bomb discoveries. Explosive Bomb, Concussive Bomb and Blinding Bomb are all good choices. I also like taking some of the base elemental discoveries like Acid Bomb and Frost Bomb in case you run into those creatures resistant to fire (and you will). Concussive Bomb is also good for this, as it does sonic damage.
Being level 6, I assume you have Precise Bombs? If not, definitely pick that up as that is basically a Discovery/Feat tax for an Alchemist. Just something that you need, unless you like to annoy your party members.
Infusion is also excellent. The Alchemist can be a buffing machine for your party members, and they will love you for it. Shield, Resist Energy, Barkskin, See Invisibility, Haste and Stoneskin, just to name a few, are great choices to hand out to others. Just be sure if you are making extracts that require an expensive component (like Stoneskin), ask those in the party if they would to 'buy' the component and you will make them the extract.
You don't need to take Rapid Shot, but I would rethink on taking Fast Bomb. You don't need to go nova on your bombs, but having the option to throw two in a round is a good idea as you can really deal out some high damage, especially with Targeted Bomb Admixture, and you can still be conservative. At higher levels, throwing 2 a round isn't going to have you run out all that quickly, especially when you are getting at least 14-15 bombs a day.
One last thing, I have my reservations on taking the area of effect bombs like Smoke Bomb, Stink Bomb, Inferno Bomb or Plague Bomb. The effects are nasty and effective, but I don't like that you have no way to avoid hurting your party members. And I haven't really heard any good solutions. "Hitting an intersection that doesn't affect your party members" or "just make sure you go first" are suboptimal solutions, IMO.
Good luck and let us know how he turns out!
