Building a Solarian: Blitz Soldiers need not apply.


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Okay, so I've seen the consensus in the forums that Solarians "have to start as Soldiers".

I reject your reality and substitute my own =)

Here is my tentative build for my Solarian:

Vesk Solarian 1
Theme: Priest

STR 14
DEX 14
CON 12
Int 8
WIS 11
CHA 14

HP (SP) 13 (8)
KAC 17 EAC 15 (maybe 16 with Vesk, but I'm not sure)
BAB 1
Init +2
RP 2

Fort +3
Ref +2
Will +2

Speed 30'

Assault Hammer +4 to hit; 1d6+2 damage
Needler: +3 to hit; 1d4P damage
Unarmed Strike: +3 to hit; 1d3+2 damage

Skills: Athletics +6, Diplomacy +6, Mysticism +4

Feats: Weapon Focus (Advanced Melee)

Class Features: Solar Armor, Skill Adept (Life Sciences, Cultures), Stellar Mode, Stellar Revelation

Equipment: Freebooter Armor I (+2 EAC, +3 KAC, Max Dex +4;-750), Assault Hammer (-95), Needler Pistol (-105), Personal Comms (-7), 43 credits

My levelling plan for stats are as follows:

5: STR: 16; DEX: 16; CON: 14; INT: 8; WIS: 11; CHA: 16
10: STR: 18; DEX: 18; CON: 16; INT: 8; WIS: 11; CHA: 18
15: STR: 19; DEX: 18; CON: 18; INT: 10; WIS: 11; CHA: 19
20: STR: 20; DEX: 18; CON: 18; INT: 10; WIS: 13; CHA: 20

Overall, I think he will be a pretty well rounded character. I took the Needler as a ranged weapon cause it was all I could afford. I plan to take Versatile Focus as my level three feat to keep my ranged options on part with my melee ones.

Feel free to criticize away!


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Strength 14 and Weapon Focus will almost always have accuracy and damage issues compared to Strength 18 and Weapon Focus.

I have never been a fan of Intelligence 8; it means being unable to take 10 on Intelligence-based skills to hit DC 10 and have common knowledge. Furthermore, having only 3 skill ranks per level is pathetic.

A level in soldier (blitz) beforehand still looks like the way to go.


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Excepting taking a look at the enemies in the first contact book with a CR of 1 or less, I hit most of them on an 8+, meaning that I'm more likely to hit then not hit.

I don't like the hit to Int either, but Vesk is as Vesk does. As for my skill points, I can cover alot of ground: I have a good social skill, I have a decent physical skill, and I know something about the mystic arts.

EDIT: Also, someone did not read the title of this thread =)


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Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber

A needler also means you can shoot your party with healing potions, although you don't have the funds to afford them yourself at starting. I like the build, at least in theory, and would be interested in hearing how it does in practice if/when you ever get around to playing them. :]

Of course, I may be biased, as a Vesk Priest Solarian is also my first character idea. A bit different from your build, but that is hardly a bad thing.

Also, where do you see this character in spaceship combat? I'd imagine either a gunner or captain?


The freebooter armor is a waste. You're paying three times the price for 1 point of AC, and the whole thing will be going in the trash in a level or two. Without it you can afford an upgrade to weapons and have some utility and healing gear.

Skills are a problem. Athletics is fine, but the others... You can pretty much expect to never use them, as someone else in the party will do it better. Since you're committing to light armor, perhaps stealth?

Grand Lodge

As full BAB I agree you can have a little lower Strength then normal.

Maybe take 12Dex and 16Str though? Unless you want to go full switch-hitter instead of a bit more melee focused?


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Vrog Skyreaver wrote:

Okay, so I've seen the consensus in the forums that Solarians "have to start as Soldiers".

I reject your reality and substitute my own =)

I reject you postulate that there is a consensus.


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Vrog Skyreaver wrote:
Excepting taking a look at the enemies in the first contact book with a CR of 1 or less, I hit most of them on an 8+, meaning that I'm more likely to hit then not hit.

Alternatively, you can take Strength 18 and hit on a 6+, for two more points of damage each time.

Vrog Skyreaver wrote:
I don't like the hit to Int either, but Vesk is as Vesk does. As for my skill points, I can cover alot of ground: I have a good social skill, I have a decent physical skill, and I know something about the mystic arts.

You will be mediocre at Diplomacy and Mysticism compared to the other PCs, you have only 3 skill ranks per level, and your character cannot take 10 for common knowledge.


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Colette Brunel wrote:

You will be mediocre at Diplomacy and Mysticism compared to the other PCs, you have only 3 skill ranks per level, and your character cannot take 10 for common knowledge.

That's making pretty categorical assumptions about who else will be in the party. (although personally, I would aim for 10 int, taking the hit to wisdom).


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Vrog Skyreaver wrote:
Okay, so I've seen the consensus in the forums that Solarians "have to start as Soldiers".

One person speaking very loudly and constantly does not a consensus make.

Colette Brunel wrote:
A level in soldier (blitz) beforehand still looks like the way to go.

Oh hello there.

Colette Brunel wrote:
Strength 14 and Weapon Focus will almost always have accuracy and damage issues compared to Strength 18 and Weapon Focus.

Accuracy issues: Looking at actual monsters that 1st level players are thrown against in Dead Suns of Absalom (as opposed to something a GM homebrewed) we see the following armor values:

KAC: 12, 12, 12, 12, 14
EAC: 10, 11, 10, 11, 12

Strength 14 with Weapon Focus will have a +4 to hit bonus. That gives them at worst a 75% chance of hitting to a 55% chance of hitting (while having a 65% of hitting most of the time). Hitting 65% of the time is not "having a problem hitting stuff".

Damage: Looking at the acutal monsters that 1st level players are thrown against in Dead Suns of Absalom (as opposed to something a GM homebrewed) we see the following HP values: 13, 17, 13, 20, 22

On average the person in the first post will deal: 5.5 damage on a hit (or 3.85 damage a round). That's 4 rounds to take down the lowest HP or 6 rounds for the highest HP (with it being 5 rounds on average). Your "damage, damage, damage" build would mean taking down enemies in 3 to 5 rounds. This is not the gigantic difference you try to paint it as.

Colette Brunel wrote:
I have never been a fan of Intelligence 8

Now this I agree with you on. I'd drop down the 10 CON (which is giving this person 1 whole extra stamina point) and buy 10 INT.

Liberty's Edge

Yeah, personally, my ideal stat line-up for Solarian would be more like:

Str 16 Dex 12 Con 10 Int 10 Wis 11 Cha 14

And probably Human for a Race. 5 skills really round out their out of combat options, and the extra Feat can be used for several interesting things (Heavy Armor Proficiency leaps to mind, as it'll be helpful eventually). Another possibility is going Lashunta (Korasha) and you can have Str 18 and Wis 9 on the above build.

The build you list would also work, of course (though going Str 16 Dex 12 still seems solid), but might feel weak or boring outside straight combat (though the AC and added Con will serve you well in combat, I admit).


Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Vrog Skyreaver wrote:
Colette Brunel wrote:
I have never been a fan of Intelligence 8
Now this I agree with you on. I'd drop down the 10 CON (which is giving this person 1 whole extra stamina point) and buy 10 INT.

Vesk, so he can't reduce Con to invest in Int.

Vesk start at 12 10 12 8 10 10.
Priest makes it Wis 11.

I would say live with it for 4 levels and up it at 5th.

I'm wondering if a higher Cha (taking from Dex) might be a good idea for the extra Resolve. It would allow you to recover Stamina one more time than you otherwise would.

Liberty's Edge

I'd go Str 16 rather than Cha 16. Extra Resolve is nice, but 14 gives you enough, IMO, and that extra Str will come up every turn.


Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

I think either could work, but the original poster was also investing in Diplomacy. At third level with Sidereal Influence he would be reasonably competent in it. Not as good as an Envoy, but not every table will necessarily have an Envoy.

Liberty's Edge

BretI wrote:
I think either could work, but the original poster was also investing in Diplomacy. At third level with Sidereal Influence he would be reasonably competent in it. Not as good as an Envoy, but not every table will necessarily have an Envoy.

Yeah, but Cha 14 still gives you a +8+1d6 at 3rd. That's not enough worse than a +9+1d6 that it usually matters.


Pathfinder Maps, Starfinder Maps, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber

At +9 without Sidereal Influence (presumably because you didn't have time), you can always Aid an Envoy or other Diplomancer if there is someone like that in the group.

It also allows you to get to 18 Charisma at 5th rather than 10th. Depending on what sort of a campaign it is, there is a chance of making it to 20 base (at 15th level). So few games go past that it doesn't matter.


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What I've learned from all these threads is that if your character isn't the best at everything, then it's a problem.

Take for example, this thread, where every aspect of the PC has been criticized as not good enough, for daring to be less than absolutely optimal.

However, the problem that always seems to be missed with that is for every ability that's maxed out, you have to trade for something (or many things) to be pathetic.

Good job, Vrog, for getting past the "must he perfect" mindset and making a PC that looks fun and is fairly well rounded. It got good AC for the level (better than I've seen in actual games), some solid skills that are useful all around, and can hold it there in a fight. He hits at least two pillars of gameplay.

The primary issue is that I'm not sure how useful he'll be on a ship crew - maybe captain with diplomacy or Gunner with the full BAB.


I'm going gunner, it worked for Luke Skywalker on the Millennium Falcon. :-)


Even if there's a dedicated face being competent at some social skill is useful. You can't always hand everything over to said face and most players IME don't want to sit out all NPC interactions anyway.

Though, I'm not sure that going for melee primarily in combat when you're only going to be moderately good at it is the way I'd choose. Ranged is easier to contribute with when you're not the best.


I think it's relatively unspoken but the Solar Armor is currently the best way to build a Solarian imho.

(And why I chucked the option in my houserules)


Unless you want higher int for roleplaying purposes, 8 int really isn't a big deal. You can't take a 10 on common knowledge, but anyone else in your party with 10 int will have access to that information. It's not like you need everyone to be able to make knowledge checks.

Of course it could get annoying having the party repeatedly (and, exasperatedly) telling you common information :P


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bookrat wrote:
What I've learned from all these threads is that if your character isn't the best at everything, then it's a problem.

I've built a generalist human soldier (equally good at shooting as they are at melee) vs a human solarion (favours melee over ranged).

The Solarion gets (in comparison to the soldier):
-2 resolve points (worse)
-2 initiative (worse)
-1 KAC, +1 EAC (same)
-1 reflex (worse)
-1 attack for +1 damage with longswords (worse)
-3 attack for +1 damage with ranged weapons (worse)
2 extra stellar revelations (which is better, but highly situational)
Same number of skills (same)
+6 Piloting (solarion) vs +8 Piloting (worse)
+6 Bluff (solarion) vs +7 Acrobatics (technically worse, but IMO better)
+6 Diplomacy (Solarion) vs +5 Intimidate (better)
+5 Stealth (Solarion) vs +5 Athletics (same)
+4 Cultural (Solarion) vs +4 Cultural (same)

I can understand why some people are having a knee-jerk reaction in condemning the Solarion. But this is only level 1. I'd want to have a much closer look at the class at later levels (and ideally see how it plays in the hands of a skilled player) before declaring the class is completely unusable and deserves to be purged from the book with holy fire.


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Having spent a fair bit of time wrapping my brain around Starfinder, I would make a few suggestions and comments.

First: Like in Pathfinder, not all classes are created equal. The Soldier is the most versatile and probably the most powerful of the classes, given the sheer amount of grunt it heaps on a character - especially at the low levels. If using a weapon of any kind is important to your character, dipping a level in Soldier is generally an improvement, regardless of your other class(es).

The Operative I would place as a close second.

Second: Multiclassing isn't mandatory. If there are class abilities you want to see on the table sooner rather than later, playing the long game and sticking to your chosen class is perfectly viable.

Third: Starfinder has a very heavy combat focus. Combat will happen a lot. Be competent at it. Remember though, that your character is also not simply a pair of limbs in a human centipede, and while they should be good at their shtick, they should also be vaguely functional as an individual. And the Solarian isn't bad at this, though they could use some more non-combat abilities.

Fourth: The Solarian is one of my least favourite of the Starfinder classes, and primarily because it is the least flexible, and one of the most finicky. You are forced to balance Light vs Dark (okay, Photon vs Graviton) rather than being able to pick your style statement, and have the frustrating mechanic of having to build up atonement points - similar to the beta-test inquisitor, though this time it made print.

That being said, I don't think the class is especially weak... just narrow in application and possessing some irritating mechanics. Still I don't feel they are an appropriate inclusion when only 7 classes were published. Were Paizo to hypothetically publish a new version of Pathfinder with only 7 base classes, I would likewise argue the paladin shouldn't be among them.

Fifth: Although at 1st level Charisma isn't that important, due to having only two zenith abilities which are tricky to make use of, it is important later as it drives the DCs of a solarian's powers.

I would absolutely second Deadmanwalking's suggested statline of Str 16 Dex 12 Con 10 Int 10 Wis 11 Cha 14 as a good starting point for a melee solarian. Having +1 to attack and damage from Str 18 is nice at 1st level, but not something that I feel is worth sacrificing the utility gained at higher levels, nor the resolve and DCs at lower levels.

As for damage, the Solarian doesn't get the Blitz Soldier's ability to add 1.5 Str to melee damage... but they instead get to add additional fire damage equal to half their level via Plasma Sheath, albeit requiring a move action. Numerically the Soldier will work out ahead, but frankly the argument of "which does the most damage?" is largely a waste of time, as the important questions are "is this class fun to play?" and "do they deal sufficient damage that we can beat the encounters?". At 3rd level dealing 1d6+8 looks pretty solid, given the numbers around.

Sixth: Making the first two abilities a solarian gets zenith powers is a mistake in my opinion. Zenith powers are much more situational and hard to pull off, and having PCs start with only that and a basic attack is likely to have the same effect as the Investigator - that you don't feel like you're really playing the class until you have a few levels under your belt.

The solarian abilities aren't overwhelmingly powerful, but the fact the majority of them are basically at-will gives them some staying power. Indeed, my greatest criticism of the revelations is that there aren't enough of them, and characters are pushed to balance their photon vs graviton powers in order to enforce the singular intended thematic of the class, rather than what the player actually wants their character to be.

That's my 2c on the matter anyway.

Liberty's Edge

Raynulf wrote:
Having spent a fair bit of time wrapping my brain around Starfinder, I would make a few suggestions and comments.

Some responses:

#1: Eh. Soldier is good at combat (and should be), and an excellent combat generalist (though other classes can be better at very specific combat tasks...Mechanic getting more AC or Solarian doing more damage, for example). It's the worst class at non-combat stuff in the game, though. It is very front-loaded, but that's not such a big deal as levels go up.

#2: Agreed entirely.

#3: What's this based on? I'm legitimately curious, since I haven't found anything that proves this one way or the other. I'm inclined to believe you, but remain curious.

#4: You don't actually have to balance your stuff at all if you don't want to. You can go full on Graviton or Photon. It makes your Zenith Revelation stuff less common, but only to the extent of making it a max of every four rounds rather than every three. That's...not actually a super big deal. Honestly, you often just don't want to use Zenith Revelations at all anyway.

#5: To be clear, analysis of the math indicates that The Soldier's 1.5 Str gives him +4 damage at most. The Solarian can get +14 from Photon Mode + Plasma Sheath. The Solarian is unambiguously better at dealing the highest raw damage.

#6: Yep. Solarian has a few very neat tricks. Being able to Jedi Mind Trick people at 6th level as often as you like leaps to mind...


Agreed. Plasma sheath and stellar rush are incredibly useful early on. Ditching the graviton powers and being unbalanced from 4th-5th level isn't actually a problem.

@Soldier being the most versatile and most powerful. Eh. They're very customizable at first level, but they lock in really tightly to whatever combat style they've picked. Once that decision is made, they're not really versatile at all. Outside of shooting or chopping fools they.... Uh. Well, they exist.

As far as power goes. They'll always have solid damage numbers without a lot of investment, which is useful. But damage is about grinding in SF, not about taking care of threats quickly. The other classes can solve specialty problems entirely, each with their own range of specific strengths. (Mystic is great against people, techno and mech against machines)


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Wow, that's quite a bit of response in like 8 hours. Okay, let me parse some of this:

Fyrm wrote:
A needler also means you can shoot your party with healing potions, although you don't have the funds to afford them yourself at starting.

I didn't know that about healing potions, but I haven't dug too deep into equipment yet.

Fyrm wrote:

I like the build, at least in theory, and would be interested in hearing how it does in practice if/when you ever get around to playing them. :]

I'm going to be playing him on the boards in a PBP game, so we'll see how it goes.

Fyrm wrote:
Of course, I may be biased, as a Vesk Priest Solarian is also my first character idea. A bit different from your build, but that is hardly a bad thing.

Great minds and what have you.

Fyrm wrote:
Also, where do you see this character in spaceship combat? I'd imagine either a gunner or captain?

I hadn't really considered that yet, as I haven't really jumped into that section of the book. I'll probably be a gunner (since it looks like I'm the only full bab character in the group), but we'll see what happens.

Voss wrote:
The freebooter armor is a waste. You're paying three times the price for 1 point of AC, and the whole thing will be going in the trash in a level or two.

It's also no ACP and a point of EAC, which given the relative commonality of energy weapons, I figured that having both ACs as high as possible was a good idea.

Voss wrote:
You can pretty much expect to never use them, as someone else in the party will do it better.

I like my character to be able to effectively speak for themselves, without having to rely on others to be their mouthpiece. Besides, having a social skill means that there are more parts of the adventure to participate in.

As far as stealth goes, why would my proud priest of Sarenrae in shining armor hide?

Varun Creed wrote:
Maybe take 12Dex and 16Str though? Unless you want to go full switch-hitter instead of a bit more melee focused?

I generally tend to think that being more well-rounded pays dividends in the long run, and not having a ranged weapon violates my tenets regarding adventuring.

Fardragon wrote:
I reject you postulate that there is a consensus.

Do a search of the forums for Solarian, and that's a lot of what you see.

Colette Brunel wrote:
Alternatively, you can take Strength 18 and hit on a 6+, for two more points of damage each time.

It's really one point of difference to hit, unless you're looking at taking Weapon Focus instead of Heavy armor proficiency; Yes, and two points of damage difference is not huge, especially since every class gets to add their class level to class weapons eventually.

Colette Brunel wrote:
You will be mediocre at Diplomacy and Mysticism compared to the other PCs, you have only 3 skill ranks per level, and your character cannot take 10 for common knowledge.

Mediocre in diplomacy compared to who exactly? Also, are you saying that you only like to play characters who have to rely on others for their information? Having skill overlap is good, not bad, and I have a decent chance of being the best diplomat at the table.


I have not gotten more then a a quick look at the Solarian.

It seems very interesting, but it seems weird that you have to choose either only the Armor or the Weapon at 1st level. I think it seem whole appropriate that they should have booth powers, for which only one can be active. I have no idea if that would be over powered or not. I am a lousy at maximization.


Plasma Sheath is obsolete at lvl 4. You can get a Photon crystal, least at lvl 4 and it does the same thing Plasma Sheath does. IMO


HunterWulf wrote:

I have not gotten more then a a quick look at the Solarian.

It seems very interesting, but it seems weird that you have to choose either only the Armor or the Weapon at 1st level. I think it seem whole appropriate that they should have booth powers, for which only one can be active. I have no idea if that would be over powered or not. I am a lousy at maximization.

It would be. I have done the math. People who are crying are only looking at a limited scope of numbers and I was one of them a week ago when I first read the Solarian. Reading more and playtesting I have changed my mind.

Liberty's Edge

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JetSetRadio wrote:
Plasma Sheath is obsolete at lvl 4. You can get a Photon crystal, least at lvl 4 and it does the same thing Plasma Sheath does. IMO

Making the damage fire is indeed obsolete very quickly. Adding +1/2 level to damage is never obsolete, since it stacks with everything and is one of the biggest damage boosts in the game.

Scarab Sages

JetSetRadio wrote:
Plasma Sheath is obsolete at lvl 4. You can get a Photon crystal, least at lvl 4 and it does the same thing Plasma Sheath does. IMO

If you are photon attuned, plasma sheath adds half your level to your melee attacks. That stacks with the bonus damage from a photon crystal, and works with normal melee weapons if you took solar armor.

It's a major component of solarion damage.


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John Lynch 106 wrote:


Strength 14 with Weapon Focus will have a +4 to hit bonus. That gives them at worst a 75% chance of hitting to a 55% chance of hitting (while having a 65% of hitting most of the time). Hitting 65% of the time is not "having a problem hitting stuff".

Damage: Looking at the acutal monsters that 1st level players are thrown against in Dead Suns of Absalom (as opposed to something a GM homebrewed) we see the following HP values: 13, 17, 13, 20, 22

On average the person in the first post will deal: 5.5 damage on a hit (or 3.85 damage a round). That's 4 rounds to take down the lowest HP or 6 rounds for the highest HP (with it being 5 rounds on average). Your "damage, damage, damage" build would mean taking down enemies in 3 to 5 rounds. This is not the gigantic difference you try to paint it as.

You are not quite taking into account that the lower Strength results in both a lower attack bonus and a lower damage bonus

By your own logic, the increase in defensive capacities would provide likewise as marginal an improvement to survivability. Putting down enemies helps a character survive far more than many would like to assume.


Colette Brunel wrote:
John Lynch 106 wrote:


Strength 14 with Weapon Focus will have a +4 to hit bonus. That gives them at worst a 75% chance of hitting to a 55% chance of hitting (while having a 65% of hitting most of the time). Hitting 65% of the time is not "having a problem hitting stuff".

Damage: Looking at the acutal monsters that 1st level players are thrown against in Dead Suns of Absalom (as opposed to something a GM homebrewed) we see the following HP values: 13, 17, 13, 20, 22

On average the person in the first post will deal: 5.5 damage on a hit (or 3.85 damage a round). That's 4 rounds to take down the lowest HP or 6 rounds for the highest HP (with it being 5 rounds on average). Your "damage, damage, damage" build would mean taking down enemies in 3 to 5 rounds. This is not the gigantic difference you try to paint it as.

You are not quite taking into account that the lower Strength results in both a lower attack bonus and a lower damage bonus

By your own logic, the increase in defensive capacities would provide likewise as marginal an improvement to survivability. Putting down enemies helps a character survive far more than many would like to assume.

And that is acceptable for some.


Imbicatus wrote:
JetSetRadio wrote:
Plasma Sheath is obsolete at lvl 4. You can get a Photon crystal, least at lvl 4 and it does the same thing Plasma Sheath does. IMO

If you are photon attuned, plasma sheath adds half your level to your melee attacks. That stacks with the bonus damage from a photon crystal, and works with normal melee weapons if you took solar armor.

It's a major component of solarion damage.

IMO means "In my opinion." 1/2 character damage doesn't mean anything to me if you are dead. I would rather pick up a defensive ability or utility ability. I have played walking weapons before and they aren't fun after a while.


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Sobokazhet wrote:
And that is acceptable for some.

Is it?

A 1st-level solarian with Strength 18 and Weapon Focus has an attack bonus of +6. With a tactical pike, they deal 1d8+5 damage in photon mode. Against an HP 17-18-ish enemy (e.g. a CR 1 akata), it will take them two regular hits to take down the enemy.

A 1st-level solarian with Strength 14 and Weapon Focus has an attack bonus of +4. With a tactical pike, they deal 1d8+3 damage in photon mode. Against an HP 17-18-ish enemy (e.g. a CR 1 akata), it will take them *three* regular hits to take down the enemy.

The former also has an attack bonus 2 higher than the latter, or 10% more overall chances of landing a hit.

In the case of the latter, I would say that the extra turn spent trying to take down the enemy is non-negligible, which could very well be *two* extra turns spent attempting to fell the opponent in the event that the character misses by only 1 or 2. Action economy is king, after all, and an enemy that stays up for one or two more rounds is an enemy that threatens the party for that much longer.


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It is, because it is acceptable to me and the two other people I know who are going to play a Solarian. And probably more people.


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Colette Brunel wrote:
Sobokazhet wrote:
And that is acceptable for some.

Is it?

A 1st-level solarian with Strength 18 and Weapon Focus has an attack bonus of +6. With a tactical pike, they deal 1d8+5 damage in photon mode. Against an HP 17-18-ish enemy (e.g. a CR 1 akata), it will take them two regular hits to take down the enemy.

A 1st-level solarian with Strength 14 and Weapon Focus has an attack bonus of +4. With a tactical pike, they deal 1d8+3 damage in photon mode. Against an HP 17-18-ish enemy (e.g. a CR 1 akata), it will take them *three* regular hits to take down the enemy.

The former also has an attack bonus 2 higher than the latter, or 10% more overall chances of landing a hit.

In the case of the latter, I would say that the extra turn spent trying to take down the enemy is non-negligible, which could very well be *two* extra turns spent attempting to fell the opponent in the event that the character misses by only 1 or 2. Action economy is king, after all, and an enemy that stays up for one or two more rounds is an enemy that threatens the party for that much longer.

I would like to point out that this assumes that you're the only one hitting said enemy. Normally I wouldn't run off and split the group, fighting enemies one on one, I'd be working with my group to take down monsters. In your example, odds are no matter if you're the first or second solarion you used, that enemy will probably be dead in just one round if you have a competent party.


JetSetRadio wrote:
Imbicatus wrote:
JetSetRadio wrote:
Plasma Sheath is obsolete at lvl 4. You can get a Photon crystal, least at lvl 4 and it does the same thing Plasma Sheath does. IMO

If you are photon attuned, plasma sheath adds half your level to your melee attacks. That stacks with the bonus damage from a photon crystal, and works with normal melee weapons if you took solar armor.

It's a major component of solarion damage.

IMO means "In my opinion." 1/2 character damage doesn't mean anything to me if you are dead. I would rather pick up a defensive ability or utility ability. I have played walking weapons before and they aren't fun after a while.

That isn't what people are arguing with you about. Nothing about a photon crystal makes plasma sheath obsolete. That isn't an 'IMO' thing- it is simply incorrect.

Whether you want to prioritize damage is up to you, but completely unrelated to your claim.

Grand Lodge

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Pathfinder Starfinder Adventure Path, Starfinder Society Subscriber

Stop setting that poor Solarion on his own against a CR 1 creature.

If you want to have him go solo, let him take on a CR 1/4 creature, as that's what his APL is when he's alone. (Okay, you can make it CR 1/3, because that's easier, with the first contact goblin).


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lordofthemax wrote:
I would like to point out that this assumes that you're the only one hitting said enemy. Normally I wouldn't run off and split the group, fighting enemies one on one, I'd be working with my group to take down monsters. In your example, odds are no matter if you're the first or second solarion you used, that enemy will probably be dead in just one round if you have a competent party.

Hitting accurately and hitting hard is no less important in a party context. If anything, it is even more important.

A missed swing and/or not dealing *quite* enough damage could spell the difference between a fellow party member having to expend an extra turn to take down an enemy (if they fail, yet another PC has to step up to the task), and the rest of the party being saved their turns, which they can then use to engage other opponents.

Liberty's Edge

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JetSetRadio wrote:
IMO means "In my opinion." 1/2 character damage doesn't mean anything to me if you are dead. I would rather pick up a defensive ability or utility ability. I have played walking weapons before and they aren't fun after a while.

Having the highest DPR in the game is never 'obsolete', which is what you claimed it was. It's not necessarily a must-have for every Solarian build by any means (DR=1/2 level is at least as awesome in many cases, and the two are mutually exclusive), but it's a useful and impressive option.

It's also one option out of many. You can pick purely utility powers aside from that one and hardly be relegated to 'walking weapon' status.

Colette Brunel wrote:
Is it?

Self-evidently yes, since some are advocating it.

Colette Brunel wrote:
A 1st-level solarian with Strength 18 and Weapon Focus has an attack bonus of +6. With a tactical pike, they deal 1d8+5 damage in photon mode. Against an HP 17-18-ish enemy (e.g. a CR 1 akata), it will take them two regular hits to take down the enemy.

Yeah...and a CR 1 foe is, in fact, supposed to be harder to kill than that for one opponent. Heck, a CR 1 foe is probably encountered alone for that very reason.

Colette Brunel wrote:
A 1st-level solarian with Strength 14 and Weapon Focus has an attack bonus of +4. With a tactical pike, they deal 1d8+3 damage in photon mode. Against an HP 17-18-ish enemy (e.g. a CR 1 akata), it will take them *three* regular hits to take down the enemy.

How horrible, a whole one more attack to kill a dangerous foe!

Colette Brunel wrote:
The former also has an attack bonus 2 higher than the latter, or 10% more overall chances of landing a hit.

Indisputably true. Not always necessary, but true.

Colette Brunel wrote:
In the case of the latter, I would say that the extra turn spent trying to take down the enemy is non-negligible, which could very well be *two* extra turns spent attempting to fell the opponent in the event that the character misses by only 1 or 2. Action economy is king, after all, and an enemy that stays up for one or two more rounds is an enemy that threatens the party for that much longer.

It's a cost. Nobody is saying it isn't. Some people feel it's a cost worth paying. Personally, I'd usually go with Str 16 instead as a midpoint between the two, but some people are willing to go with the 14, since there are indeed long-term benefits that some feel are worth the price.


Deadmanwalking wrote:
JetSetRadio wrote:
Plasma Sheath is obsolete at lvl 4. You can get a Photon crystal, least at lvl 4 and it does the same thing Plasma Sheath does. IMO
Making the damage fire is indeed obsolete very quickly. Adding +1/2 level to damage is never obsolete, since it stacks with everything and is one of the biggest damage boosts in the game.

Given that Plasma Sheath requires a move action and has a duration of 1 round, I would argue that it is not always the incredible boon it appears to be, even at low levels. The simple reason being that it basically means you need to be stationary and perform a single attack, but with bonus damage, which is only superior to performing a full attack against foes with fairly high AC (or if you have a low attack bonus).

For example: For a 2nd level solarian in photon mode with an attack line of +6 (1d6+4), Plasma Sheath would only be (on average) a bonus over using a full attack against a KAC of 18 or higher.

The gulf gets wider as a solarian levels and increases both their base damage and the number of attacks they can make.

For example: For an 8th level solarian in photon mode with an attack line of +13 (2d6+13), Plasma Sheath's +4 to a single attack is only superior to two attacks at -3 when facing a KAC of 26 or higher.


It doesn't have a duration of one round if you use it in combat, IIRC. There's a section on durations.


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QuidEst wrote:
It doesn't have a duration of one round if you use it in combat, IIRC. There's a section on durations.

True. I had missed where they explained that they weren't following standard logic in the revelation text.

"This benefit lasts for 1 round or until you leave photon mode." would be better written as "This benefit lasts until you leave photon mode, or 1 round if unattuned."

At which point, don't mind the earlier math, Plasma Sheath is simply awesome.


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Colette Brunel wrote:
Sobokazhet wrote:
And that is acceptable for some.

Is it?

A 1st-level solarian with Strength 18 and Weapon Focus has an attack bonus of +6. With a tactical pike, they deal 1d8+5 damage in photon mode. Against an HP 17-18-ish enemy (e.g. a CR 1 akata), it will take them two regular hits to take down the enemy.

A 1st-level solarian with Strength 14 and Weapon Focus has an attack bonus of +4. With a tactical pike, they deal 1d8+3 damage in photon mode. Against an HP 17-18-ish enemy (e.g. a CR 1 akata), it will take them *three* regular hits to take down the enemy.

The former also has an attack bonus 2 higher than the latter, or 10% more overall chances of landing a hit.

In the case of the latter, I would say that the extra turn spent trying to take down the enemy is non-negligible, which could very well be *two* extra turns spent attempting to fell the opponent in the event that the character misses by only 1 or 2. Action economy is king, after all, and an enemy that stays up for one or two more rounds is an enemy that threatens the party for that much longer.

Seems like you want to play a soldier. Id much rather have an actual solarian


GM Xan Nes wrote:
Seems like you want to play a soldier. Id much rather have an actual solarian

I could have both: soldier (blitz) 1/solarian 19, or soldier (blitz) 3/solarian 17.


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Played a Solarian tonight in our first session, along with a Soldier, Mechanic, and Mystic. I was the best combatant and was the most useful with skills. I found Black Hole and Supernova extremely useful and the class was very fun to play.

So, I think it's a perfectly fine class, and mileage will vary depending on things that you cannot adequately predict simply by math.


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Pathfinder Rulebook, Starfinder Roleplaying Game Subscriber
Colette Brunel wrote:
GM Xan Nes wrote:
Seems like you want to play a soldier. Id much rather have an actual solarian
I could have both: soldier (blitz) 1/solarian 19, or soldier (blitz) 3/solarian 17.

But if you you look up at the title of the thread, that's not really the point of this thread... And if anyone had been reading the forums the past couple of days you've made your opinion clear, possibly painfully so.


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Sedoriku wrote:
Colette Brunel wrote:
GM Xan Nes wrote:
Seems like you want to play a soldier. Id much rather have an actual solarian
I could have both: soldier (blitz) 1/solarian 19, or soldier (blitz) 3/solarian 17.
But if you you look up at the title of the thread, that's not really the point of this thread... And if anyone had been reading the forums the past couple of days you've made your opinion clear, possibly painfully so.

Emphasis on painfully I actually at this point only read replys and ignore direct posts. I am just tired of reading the same thing over and over.


Pathfinder Rulebook Subscriber
Sobokazhet wrote:

Played a Solarian tonight in our first session, along with a Soldier, Mechanic, and Mystic. I was the best combatant and was the most useful with skills. I found Black Hole and Supernova extremely useful and the class was very fun to play.

So, I think it's a perfectly fine class, and mileage will vary depending on things that you cannot adequately predict simply by math.

Think you could post some more detailed play data? I think people would be interested in what choices you made/maybe a general idea of what the party was like, and also what they were up against. I know I would be interested. If you have the time of course.

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