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Is the Kineticist's Fire Blast considered a "ranged weapon"? In other words, do I still need Precise Shot to use it against characters in melee? If so, would any feat that augments a "ranged weapon" also augment my blast then? Here is the relevant text:
You can shoot or throw ranged weapons at an opponent engaged in melee without taking the standard –4 penalty on your attack roll.
At 1st level, a kineticist chooses one of her element's simple blast wild talents. The kineticist can unleash her kinetic blast at a range of 30 feet at will. A kineticist blast requires at least one hand free to aim the blast. All damage from a kineticist blast is treated as magic for the purpose of bypassing damage reduction.
You unleash a gout of flickering fire to burn a single foe as a ranged touch attack. If you hit, the target suffers an amount of fire damage equal to 1d6 + 1/2 your Constitution modifier. This damage increases by 1d6 for every 2 kineticist levels you possess beyond 1st. Spell resistance applies.
As the others have said, it is a ranged attack as usual.
However...
do I still need Precise Shot to use it against characters in melee?
No, you just take a -4 penalty if you don't have Precise Shot and an ally is in melee with your target.
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As the others have said, it is a ranged attack as usual.
However...
do I still need Precise Shot to use it against characters in melee?No, you just take a -4 penalty if you don't have Precise Shot and an ally is in melee with your target.
Yes sorry that was a typo on my part, mainly wondering if I still take the minus. Thanks guys! So next question then, do other feats that augment "shooting a ranged weapon" work? Rapid Shot?
When making a full-attack action with a ranged weapon, you can fire one additional time this round. All of your attack rolls take a –2 penalty when using Rapid Shot.
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Yes. Ranged attacks have a -4 penalty against targets engaged in melee unless they have precise shot. It doesn't matter if it's a weapon, spell, SLA, or EX, if it had a ranged attack roll, the penalty applies.
Targeting Touch AC tends to offset this though.
Precise shot only negates the minus for "shooting or throwing ranged weapons". Does that mean this ability is considered a weapon? Or does it mean that I can't negate the minus with Precise Shot, and take it regardless? Feats that augment other Ranged Weapons, do they work? The logistics of that is screwing me up I guess.
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do other feats that augment "shooting a ranged weapon" work? Rapid Shot?
When making a full-attack action with a ranged weapon, you can fire one additional time this round. All of your attack rolls take a –2 penalty when using Rapid Shot.
Not in this case, because Kinetic Blast is an (Sp) ability, which requires a Standard Action, thus preventing you from taking a Full Attack Action.
Rapid shot doesn't work, because its a standard action to shoot, not an attack action.
Other ranged weapon feats will work just fine. Deadly Aim works (provided you dont have the touch attack blast), Point blank shot, precise shot, improved precise shot, etc
Just pretend its a weapon that takes a standard action to use, like an alchemist bomb. works very much the same
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Per this FAQ, Rays and other weapon like spells are treated as weapons for feat purposes.
I would absolutely rule that a Kinectist blast is a weapon-like effect.