Kinetic Knight Advice.


Advice


I am working on a Kinetic knight currently, I took him through gallows to get him to a higher level faster, so I can actually tinker with him. He is a Human, 5th level hydro-kineticist, With:
10 str, 16 Dex, 18 Con, 10 Int, 10 Wis and 13 Cha.
His current feats are: Kinetic Counter, Weapon Finesse, and Weapon Focus (Kinetic Blast).
His traits are Reactionary and, Soul-Searchers strength (Will).

I'm trying to find ways to boost his to hit, or his damage. I was thinking death from above might help, but I read it and it specifically calls out, flying, or charging from higher ground, Which I don't think the Infusion: Blade Rush, Can do.

Any advice will help! Thanks in advance!


Swap dex and con, the higher to hit is better than more damage. Are you charging up their elemental overflow, that's their accuracy fixer


Chess Pwn wrote:
Swap dex and con, the higher to hit is better than more damage. Are you charging up their elemental overflow, that's their accuracy fixer

Yes, but until I hit my next level, it will be an extra +1 to hit, and +2 to damage.

I'm trying to find feats and such that will allow me to get higher to hits, and weapon focus is useful, but not giving me the "Unf" that I need


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A weapon finesse user who ends up in plate mail is kind of odd to me. At 4th level, when you get your elemental defense you need to wear heavy armor to use it, so you'll be getting as much bonus AC from 12 dex as you will from 18 dex (but you're down a feat to get weapon finesse.) Weapon finesse shines on normal kineticists but much less so on knights (who get heavy armor and are obligated to use it.)

With a 10 str, can you even carry your plate mail let alone wear it?


If you're using cold blast then entangling infusion is an option to debuff the enemy and so effectively increase accuracy. Similarly with the slick wild talent, whichever blast you use.

If you can get an ally to take outflank then you can both reap the benefits. You won't have the BAB to do so just yet of course. Precise strike would be possible now though. Battle cry could help if teamwork feats aren't possible.

Though - if you don't have a plan for that extra feat, why play a human? You could go for a half-orc and add a secondary bite attack for example.


PossibleCabbage wrote:

A weapon finesse user who ends up in plate mail is kind of odd to me. At 4th level, when you get your elemental defense you need to wear heavy armor to use it, so you'll be getting as much bonus AC from 12 dex as you will from 18 dex (but you're down a feat to get weapon finesse.) Weapon finesse shines on normal kineticists but much less so on knights (who get heavy armor and are obligated to use it.)

With a 10 str, can you even carry your plate mail let alone wear it?

Yes I can carry, and wear the full plate. My AC sits at 27 currently, where as my Touch is 11, and FF is 26. I didn't take the strength route because, I don't understand how to make a fighter that way, I'm used to rogues, and wanted to try something new for once.


avr wrote:

If you're using cold blast then entangling infusion is an option to debuff the enemy and so effectively increase accuracy. Similarly with the slick wild talent, whichever blast you use.

If you can get an ally to take outflank then you can both reap the benefits. You won't have the BAB to do so just yet of course. Precise strike would be possible now though. Battle cry could help if teamwork feats aren't possible.

Though - if you don't have a plan for that extra feat, why play a human? You could go for a half-orc and add a secondary bite attack for example.

Cold is my Blast type, but if I'm reading it right, Kinetic knights can't use any infusion that doesn't have Kinetic blade as a prerequisite.


Octavian Virdoc wrote:
Cold is my Blast type, but if I'm reading it right, Kinetic knights can't use any infusion that doesn't have Kinetic blade as a prerequisite.

Not quite, although the wording is a bit confusing. ^_^

You can't use any form infusion except the blade chain, but substance infusions are still on the table. Otherwise, the kinetic knight would have even less use for their infusion slots.

That said, if you're using an energy blast, you shouldn't have to worry too much about connecting. Touch attacks are quite the thing - ask any gunslinger.


Isabelle Lee wrote:


Not quite, although the wording is a bit confusing. ^_^

You can't use any form infusion except the blade chain, but substance infusions are still on the table. Otherwise, the kinetic knight would have even less use for their infusion slots.

That said, if you're using an energy blast, you shouldn't have to worry too much about connecting. Touch attacks are quite the thing - ask any gunslinger.

So, I can still use my Cold blast? (The original blast I was given)


Octavian Virdoc wrote:
So, I can still use my Cold blast? (The original blast I was given)

Indeed. Among other things, that's a basic blast, not an infusion.

Just don't select any substance infusions (other than those that the archetype grants you automatically) and you should be just fine. ^_^


Isabelle Lee wrote:
Octavian Virdoc wrote:
So, I can still use my Cold blast? (The original blast I was given)

Indeed. Among other things, that's a basic blast, not an infusion.

Just don't select any substance infusions (other than those that the archetype grants you automatically) and you should be just fine. ^_^

Thanks alot! Now I can look for feats that will make it easier to hit, with ranged attacks, like "Point-Blank shot" as well. This opens so many things for me.


Octavian Virdoc wrote:
Thanks alot! Now I can look for feats that will make it easier to hit, with ranged attacks, like "Point-Blank shot" as well. This opens so many things for me.

Not quite, I'm afraid.

When it says you can't use the blast without kinetic blade or a form infusion that lists it as a prerequisite, that includes the normal ranged blast. You essentially have to use blade/whip/etc. with every attack. Give me a moment to try to lay it all out...


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So you're fifth level. That means you should have:

-Your basic blast (cold).
-Kinetic blade (costs zero burn), blade rush, and kinetic whip.
-Two other infusions: one you picked up at first level, and one you gained at 5th. Looking over your options, I'd suggest draining infusion (which sadly appears to be your only first-level choice) and entangling infusion.

Whenever you want to make a kinetic blast attack, assemble it in the following order:
-Start with cold blast. Until 7th level, this will always be the foundation of your blast.
-Add one of your three form infusions (kinetic blade, blade rush, or kinetic whip). Unlike a normal kineticist, you cannot opt out of this step.
-Optionally, add one of your substance infusions (draining infusion or entangling infusion). You don't have to do this.
-Total up the burn cost, then reduce that total by 1 thanks to your infusion specialization class feature. Accept the appropriate amount of burn and attack. Since you're using cold blast, you'll be making a touch attack, and since you're using kinetic blade or one of its variants, you won't add twice your elemental overflow bonus to damage.

Note that, as a 5th-level kineticist, you can only accept 1 point of burn in each round; this means you'll have to use gather power as a move action if you want to combine certain infusions.

Most of your combat rounds will probably be one of the following:
-Move into position normally, then attack with kinetic blade + cold blast (0 burn).
-Gather power as move action, then use either kinetic whip + cold blast or blade rush + cold blast (0 burn thanks to gather power).
You can accept burn if you want to do things in fancier ways or without gathering power, but the above sequences should serve you well.

Does this make sense? ^_^


Also, if you're looking for feats to take, consider Combat Reflexes. You can set up a kinetic whip every round without accepting burn if you gather power, and the whip's reach and lifespan let you threaten every square within 10 feet. Anyone trying to close into melee or get past you will provoke a full-strength kinetic blast, which you can do up to five times a round with your Dex modifier.


I wouldn't rush to Combat Reflexes. That reach isn't super wide enough to draw a ton of AoO in a single turn. You'll be surprised how rare it is to get more than 1 AoO per round. And the main benefit of Combat Reflexes is that you can make AoO when flat footed, which is useless to the Kinetic Knight, since they'll almost never have their blade out when flat footed.


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Combat reflexes is nice in the late game though when you can get Kinetic Form going for a 20' threatened area, you still only get one AoO per enemy moving but you are more likely to catch spell casters or incidental enemies trying to move around you since your 10' base with your 20' threat means you can cover a 50' total swath of whipping. If you really, really want to play up that angle you could look at going for trip attempts to completely cancel out some enemy turns.


Combat Reflexes does get better if you can push your reach higher, but my bloodrager frequently has 15 foot reach, and it's still rare for me to get more than 1 AoO in a turn. It probably depends on campaign and level. For instance, at higher levels you may face more casters.


Melkiador wrote:
Combat Reflexes does get better if you can push your reach higher, but my bloodrager frequently has 15 foot reach, and it's still rare for me to get more than 1 AoO in a turn. It probably depends on campaign and level. For instance, at higher levels you may face more casters.

Yes, its not a garuntee but it does become an option. If your biuld is normally go large and do a whip hurricane against all enemies within that 50' range than being able to get two or 3 incidnetal AoOs is a nice add on, it wont be every round but it shouldnt be a waste eithers snf your investment is only the one feat which a Kineticist has the budget for.

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