How important is the Mysterious Stranger's ability to ignore misfire?


Advice

Sovereign Court

I want to go the MS 1/ Paladin of Vengeance 4 route, but after that I am torn on whether I should pick up 4 more levels of MS or just keep going with Paladin. Obviously, you can see that firearms and lots of smites are important to me. Another reason to get more levels of MS is that this character will be an Ifrit and I wouldn't mind getting some extra initiative bonus from the initiative deed you get at level 3. I can also make up most of the smite damage lost with Bracers of the Avenging Knight.

As for dealing with misfires, early on I will have to do it by carrying extra weapons. I should be able to get a Pepperbox pistol midway through 2nd level from a special PFS boon. That will cover early reloading issues while leaving me a back-up pistol for the inevitable misfires.

Advice from people who have leveled and played a gunslinger are appreciated.

Lantern Lodge

I have a level 11 Pistolero in FPS.

Go either Pistolero or Musket Master. The ability to quick clear isn't absolutely necessary, but the benefits of mysterious stranger as a whole do not out-weigh what you'll receive as either of those two archetypes. Being a paladin, it might be cool to go Pistolero with a double pistol and buckler (since you can reload while still wielding a buckler).

If you want to optimize, then you should probably do 2 levels in Paladin, then 5 in Pistolero, then the rest Paladin.


You misfire as much as you crit, which while not that often, it definitely gets in the way. I was able to actually sit back and relax and play my mysterious stranger without stress after I got the Stranger's Fortune class ability. Believe me, you're gonna want it. Ignoring a misfire is MUCH better than having to draw another gun, unless you've got quickdraw, or were planning on moving that round.

Grand Lodge

Stranger's Fortune is very useful if you make a lot of attacks in one round as you do not have to worry about your attack routine being disrupted by misfires. It also allows you to hit on a 2 or 3 if that would otherwise be a misfire. I have a Mysterious Stranger 7/Paladin 3 in PFS who uses a double-barreled pistol. Admittedly you don't have this problem either when you hit 11th with a Pistolero, but you have to hit 11th. If you are only going to take 5 levels of Gunslinger, then Mysterious Stranger is definitely a good idea.

FYI, I started with a bow as a backup weapon, added a double-barrel pistol when I could afford it, then added a dragon pistol as an additional backup. I have had to go through 3 guns at least once due to misfires. I also find a dragon pistol to be a very useful backup as it lets you deal with swarms, concealment and can do non-lethal damage, which, for a Paladin in PFS can be very critical.

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