Im playing a life oracle/bloodrager and would like some suggestions for feat progression. My build is focused on Healing>damage though obviously id like to do both. We have fighters but I want to play my character to be able to defend themselves well when the moment comes or if enemies slip past my friends while im trying to heal or buff or what have you. My stats are str: 14, dex: 10, con:14, int: 10, wis: 11, and cha: 17 and my current progression plan is as follows:
1:Selective Channeling
3:Power attack
5:Mad magic
7:Reach spell
9:Furious focus
11:Heavy armor proficiency
13:Cleave
15:Heighten spell
17:Great Cleave
19:Maximize spell.
The order will most likely change depending on my needs and ive considered swapping furious focus out for toughness as this would let me deal with life link better while my friends are in combat. Ive also considered swapping a feat somewhere for quicken spell because its so useful but being feat starved isnt that weird for what im playing I suppose. Im already passing up on Extra Channel, Extra rage and Extra Revolation so im struggling to make it work in my favor for how I have fun playing. Im adamant about my class choices and some of these feats, most of which being the heavy proficiency and the power attack/cleave line unless a better set of combat feats are suggested.
Sorry if it seems like I'm stalking you!
I usually try to plan the feat-like abilities at the same time as the feats. If you go with the spirit guide archetype you get revelations at oracle levels 1, 11 & 19. If you take no archetype then 1, 3, 7, 11, 15 & 19. Various other archetypes remove one or more revelations. Assuming the first you might take revelations at these character levels (assuming L1 Oracle, L2 Bloodrager):
1: Channel
12: Life Sense
20: Energy Body
If you want life link with those you'd probably need to spend a feat. A ring of revelation is also an option, but an expensive one at the levels life link is useful at.
With the base oracle... there really aren't enough good life mystery revelations to take. Maybe:
1: Channel
4: Life Link
8: Energy Body
12: Life Sense
16: Spirit Boost?
20: Whatever...
If the fighting abilities are for use only as a sometimes thing, then Furious Focus is probably unnecessary. I don't quite understand Cleave and Great Cleave so late in the game - they're mostly useful at low levels. Cleaving Finish is probably better than Great Cleave too. Empower Spell is normally better than Maximise as it improves static bonuses as well as the dice rolled. What do you plan to use Heighten Spell for?
avr wrote: Sorry if it seems like I'm stalking you!
I usually try to plan the feat-like abilities at the same time as the feats. If you go with the spirit guide archetype you get revelations at oracle levels 1, 11 & 19. If you take no archetype then 1, 3, 7, 11, 15 & 19. Various other archetypes remove one or more revelations. Assuming the first you might take revelations at these character levels (assuming L1 Oracle, L2 Bloodrager):
1: Channel
12: Life Sense
20: Energy Body
If you want life link with those you'd probably need to spend a feat. A ring of revelation is also an option, but an expensive one at the levels life link is useful at.
With the base oracle... there really aren't enough good life mystery revelations to take. Maybe:
1: Channel
4: Life Link
8: Energy Body
12: Life Sense
16: Spirit Boost?
20: Whatever...
If the fighting abilities are for use only as a sometimes thing, then Furious Focus is probably unnecessary. I don't quite understand Cleave and Great Cleave so late in the game - they're mostly useful at low levels. Cleaving Finish is probably better than Great Cleave too. Empower Spell is normally better than Maximise as it improves static bonuses as well as the dice rolled. What do you plan to use Heighten Spell for?
No no you are fine! I wasnt planning to pick up an archetype as it seems like way too much to keep track of on a "daily" basis for in game. Id prefer to keep it as simple as possible. My original plan for heighten spell to maximize use on weak spells that scale so that Im getting more out of them at higher levels rather than just switching to really high level spells for everything and abandoning most of my low level spells. This makes some orisons a little more useful when they can apply. I chose cleave and great cleave out of a lack of ideas for combat feats for this class. It loses out on additional attacks so these feats were to help me pick up slack. They are indeed better at low levels but as this class gets no bonus feats it has trouble dealing with picking up feats that are good early on.
To be completely honest with you, I despise playing casters with extreme malice. Though, I want to make playing one fun for me and it has to be a very specific type of chaster from very specific classes that I can use due to the character im playing and the campaign so fighting to work in a little bit of decent damage and melee is my way of trying to make the class fun for me. I typically play monks, fighters, paladins, etc and hate doing little to nothing in a combat situation. It makes me want to bang my head off the table. Im not accustomed to picking feats for casters, nor am I use to not having very many feat slots to use.
If you don't like casters all that much:
I'm very surprised no one has mentioned:
Hospitaler Paladin VMC Cav order of the star.
Lots of new mercies and the alternative bonds (angelic) you can make a badass healer now.
Benefits: Full Bab, D10, martial weapons, heavy armor, amazing saves, channeling, LoH, smite + challenge, tactician. You get an awesome Healing + fighting package. Heck a gnome has FCB of add 1/2 to amount healed with LoH.
Very viable healer.
You only need 3 feats: Power attack, greater mercy, ultimate Mercy. On your off days you can raise the dead for free.
You can easily manage 16d6+30 LoH by 20th level. And with capstone it heals for MAX.
Louise Bishop wrote: If you don't like casters all that much:
I'm very surprised no one has mentioned:
Hospitaler Paladin VMC Cav order of the star.
Lots of new mercies and the alternative bonds (angelic) you can make a badass healer now.
Benefits: Full Bab, D10, martial weapons, heavy armor, amazing saves, channeling, LoH, smite + challenge, tactician. You get an awesome Healing + fighting package. Heck a gnome has FCB of add 1/2 to amount healed with LoH.
Very viable healer.
You only need 3 feats: Power attack, greater mercy, ultimate Mercy. On your off days you can raise the dead for free.
You can easily manage 16d6+30 LoH by 20th level. And with capstone it heals for MAX.
Its a cool class with cool abilities, im playing a hospitaler paladin vanilla style in another campaign, but whats this about raise the dead? Im playing a full holy caster in the hopes of getting res spells later game because our warpriest in our other campaign is ok but the lack of res spells sucks.
Ultimate Mercy is a raise dead without components
Louise Bishop wrote: Ultimate Mercy is a raise dead without components Thats pretty neat but isnt that level 20?
Wow that is a really nice feat and no level requirement cha 19 is rough though.
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Ultimate Mercy. It's a neat trick for a paladin. Oddly enough a divine herbalist oracle could pick it up too, but you'd have to pick a couple of Extra Lay on Hands feats, and you'd lose two early revelations.
Back to the oracle. With the right spells you should be able to do something every round with those alone past the earliest levels. Having the ability to rage and hit someone with a greatsword or polearm is an OK option even without feats.
There's plenty of other options for combat feat use. The feats at 9, 13 & 17 might be replaced with
Lunge, Weapon Trick (polearm) & Strike Back; (ready attacks and maybe strike from outside reach)
Channelling Force, Improved Critical & Critical Focus; (damage)
Weapon Focus, Critical Focus and Staggering Critical; (criticals)
Improved Bull Rush, Rhino Charge & Dazing Assault; (charging)
Bloody Assault, Blood Spurt & Raging Vitality. (make people bleed and blind others with your blood)
As examples only, there's certainly more such combos around.
Persistent Spell is better value for keeping spells with saves relevant than Heightened Spell. There are a few odd tricks you can do with Heightened e.g. continual light spells which overwhelm any darkness spell, or for prepared casters it's a prereq for Preferred Spell. It doesn't sound like that's what you're after though.
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