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So I really like the occultist and enjoy the variety of things I was able to do with my level 1. With all of my Pathfinder Society characters I sketch out what I will probably do for 12 levels and have some concern for poor Eliot the Occultist.
With an Intelligence of 16 Eliot has 7 Mental focus points at level 1. These are typically going to be used with the Intense Focus and Soulbound Puppet resonant powers for Evocation and Necromancy. The max points required to keep both full is 3 leaving me four points to use on Energy rays, spell shaping, and Mind Fear. This is great for a level one adventurer and felt equal to the casters I've built before.
At second level my MFP goes up to 8 but the options for abilities goes up much higher. Intense focus goes from needing 2 to maintain max to needing 4 points. The soulbound familiar still only needs one, but if I were to use the Spirit Shroud instead I would need 2. I'll be adding Illusion implements and the Distortion ability needs 2 to max out. So I'll have either 1 or no mental focus points to use freely before I start depleting my resonant powers. So I'll trade my four points to spend as I wish for a 10% miss chance, +1 to evocation damage and one free point. That feels like a weird jump.
At 5th level I'll have 11 MFPs. Intense Focus can max out at 6 points, my Soulbound puppet would need 3 to function at full capacity or my Spirit Shroud would need 5, and the Distortion would need 3. So I'm at -1 or -3 MFPs. Let's say I'd have 5 Intense focus, 3 familiar, and 3 distortion. That gives me a +2 to evocation damage (the same as level 2), level 5 familiar, and 15% miss chance with no free points to spend.
I understand that the class requires choosing between full implement resonant power and my focus powers, but I feel like there's just too little points to go around to make it compelling to play. I have all these neat toys, but they break very quickly. Level 6 will see a fourth implement added to the mix but only one more point that can be placed into it which the needs of the others go up. This problem just gets worse the more I get into the class.
At 12th level I would have FIVE implements that desire mental focus with only 19 points to give them. Intense Focus will take 8 points for a +4 to evocation spell damage, Distortion will have 5 points for a %25 miss chance, and my Necromancy implement and Transmutation implement will have to share the remaining 6 points. My fifth implement (I will take evocation twice) is just going to remain depowered. I'm not really sure how this compares to other level 12s but I know the reaction is that I have a lot of neat toys that can't be used.
Currently my only way to address this problem is to increase my Intelligence. I do plan on using 4th and 8th level to boost my Int, but the reason I didn't go higher at level 1 was because I did need bonus to other abilities to make sure my character could do other things. I'm sure the actual book will have a feat to added more, but I'm not sure 3 extra points or whatever it will be is enough to fix what feels like slow suffocation, and then even if it did it would feel like a Feat Tax to make the class functional.
I like the occultist and the flexibility it has, but looking at the future of my character does not make me excited to play him more. I love the feel of 1st level and want to keep more of that at higher level.
I helped with the resonant powers and can confirm that it wasn't meant for you to keep them all maxed once you start getting a lot of them. Maybe max your favorite few and spread a sprinkling into the others.
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I helped with the resonant powers and can confirm that it wasn't meant for you to keep them all maxed once you start getting a lot of them. Maybe max your favorite few and spread a sprinkling into the others.
I understand that. It would be overpowered to get +7 damage to evocation, 50% miss chance, level 12 familiar, and a +4 equivalent bonus to my longbow while also having unspent points left over at level 12. I do feel like where it stands currently is a little low. I'd rather only have three implements at level 12 with more points than five implements and an inability to use them all even close to decently.
I think while this post has the illusion of logical approach what it's really about is my emotional reaction to the class. It feels really fun at level one, but as I progress it feels more like I'm being taunted with all the neat stuff I can't quite do.
...It feels really fun at level one, but as I progress it feels more like I'm being taunted with all the neat stuff I can't quite do.
I'm working on a level 1 Occultist for an upcoming game, and I think your feedback is spot on.
Additionally, I would say that it feels strange for a character to become less effective as they spend their mental focus. All of the other class abilities like have their limited uses per day, but the character isn't penalized for spending them. As an Occultist, I am afraid to spend my mental focus, because my resonant powers are more reliable than single use focus powers.
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In the Occultist thread it was stated that they are looking at Resonant Powers not being depleted as you spend mental focus - so hopefully that makes it into the final class. I think this is key to making the Occultist work - as it allows you to actually spend all of your Focus rather than hoard it for resonant powers.
Similarly it's also been suggested that there will be an Extra Mental Focus feat that could be taken. Which could easily turn itself into a 'must take' feat.
My view on the class is that you cannot set yourself up only for one role - as in build it with implements and powers that funnel into a sole purpose, you need to keep yourself open to changing the Mental Focus split depending on what you expect to do for the day and keep the options open.
I'd wish voice my opinion that the spellcasting should be done away with and rolled into the implements from which they are granted (again cutting the duplicates, combining the scaling spells and just adding the remainder) as focus powers, then increasing the mental energy gained to compensate.
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I'd wish voice my opinion that the spellcasting should be done away with and rolled into the implements from which they are granted (again cutting the duplicates, combining the scaling spells and just adding the remainder) as focus powers, then increasing the mental energy gained to compensate.
It would be good if at least one of the classes from this playtest embraced low spell casting with a Full BAB. I'm not sure if it should be the Occultist but it would be nice to see at least one in the psychic magic line up.