Just started looking at this class and I am wondering if I am missing something. Burn seems like the worst class mechanic in the game. As you level it does not get better but worst.
Just seems around 10th level burn starts getting really bad. Disintegrating Infusion as a example cost 4 burn. Even if you gather for a full round that is 2 burn (24 damage at 12th level) for a disintegrate that a 12th level wizard can cast a few times without anything but using up those spell slots.
The Elemental Defense are set up to always use burn with them. So every morning you are starting the day off with one level worth of HP less then every char in the party.
I just don't see how having their blast makes up for always being down 10% - 40% of you total HP.
Burn works way better in practice than it looks like it would in theory; you want to boost your constitution for other reasons anyway, and a well-managed kineticist will not be spending very much burn at all. I personally find it much easier to use than the "point pool" systems other classes have to work with.
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Elemental overflow also helps with that, giving you a stacking bonus to your con (or other physical stats, but you're probably going with con), so while it feels like you're losing HP, you're probably gaining it back pretty quickly. Actually accepting burn from blast should be VERY rare, that's what gather power is there for, to help you simulate a full attack and such. It's less effective action economy wise, but you do have the ability to target more than one foe, which is the trade off.
It's best to think of Burn as a metacurrency that limits your ability to do really big blasts than anything else. Beyond what you need to do to get Elemental Overflow working for your normal blast, you will generally want to avoid taking burn unless it will put you over the top (e.g. end the combat a round earlier, say).
So gather power, rely on infusion specializations, use your internal buffer, etc. to avoid taking burn unless you absolutely have to. It's nice to be able to do the powerful stuff when you do have to though. Even though you'l be down some nonlethal HP, keep in mind that the nonlethal creates a buffer between unconsciousness and death, and that 3 of the 7 elements have really excellent defensive abilities. Shame there isn't an easier way to reduce burn costs on utility talents though.
So what everyone is saying that it a lot better in practice then it looks to me in theory... Ok next campaign I will give it a shot. thanks all
So what everyone is saying that it a lot better in practice then it looks to me in theory... Ok next campaign I will give it a shot. thanks all
The thing to keep in mind is that you don't need to accumulate burn to do your thing, gathering power is a move action and that will cover the burn cost for pretty much all of your level 1 infusions. So you hardly need to take burn until you have some experience with the class, so you can feel it out exactly how much burn you are comfortable taking.
I have a level 8 aether/earth kineticist and I usually start the day by assuming 2 burn to to power up force ward and top off my elemental overflow, which gives me 16 nonlethal damage, but gives me 16 temporary HP that regenerate at a rate of 2/minute, so it comes out even. So I'm trading 16 nonlethal for 16 regenerating temporary HP and +2 to hit and +4 to damage. I take on one more burn for any reason and I get a +2 bonus to DEX or CON, but Infusion Specialization lets me reduce the burn cost of blasts by 2 each, which means I can Kinetic Whip all day with impunity. So you can live with it by the time you that you need to be using it.