Hey all.
So this is a PFS question.
I am looking for things I may have forgotten to up my AC.
Character is a Magus (Kensai,Bladebound) 10/ Freehand Fighter 1
I use Mage armor and always fight defensively using full Crane Style tree.
Equipment is
Belt of Str/Dex +4
Headband of Int +4
Amulet NA +2
Ring prot +2
Armor is a no-go as I have to be unarmored.
Weapon enchants dont work as i cant add to my weapon
I do get Int to AC if that helps.
Thanks
Dusty Rose Prism comes to mind 5,000gp for +1 AC and if you resonate it with a wayfinder you get +2 untyped bonus to CMB & CMD.
A ring of Force Shield since it can be deactivated, swing, reactivated.
You should be using Mirror image. You have the Ability to Layer your defenses and you SHOULD layer them. Pure AC is always a poor way to go.
I really appreciate the advice guys, yeah I do Mirror Image and Shield, I was just looking for other Statics I may not have thought of.
The Stone + wayfinder is awesome.
Boots of Haste could help as well. +1 Dodge AC stacks with any other dodge bonus you may be getting. On-Demand haste is always good especially when not always on hand, being PFS and not know who or what will be in your group.
There is no requirement that a kensai must be unarmored. Canny Defense works with light armor.
Silken Ceremonial Armor of +4 or better will offer additional protection without arcane failure.
Consider carrying a couple scrolls of Elemental Body II for those really tough fights. There is no roll for your character to use them and with Air you would gain a +4 size bonus to DEX and a bonus to natural armor.
Dusty Rose Prism, +1 insight bonus
I'm not sure what benefit you are getting from dipping 1 level in Freehand Fighter, but if that were a 1 level dip into standard fighter at 11th level you could have taken Shield Focus and Unhindering Shield. This would allow you to use a buckler with both Crane Style and Spell Combat. A +2 or better enhancement bonus on a buckler would be better than the Shield spell.
Boots of Haste could help as well. +1 Dodge AC stacks with any other dodge bonus you may be getting. On-Demand haste is always good especially when not always on hand, being PFS and not know who or what will be in your group.
Casting Haste on the entire group is usually far more effective than simply hasting yourself. As is using Dimension Door to transport a party full of martials adjacent to their primary opponent.
Simply enhancing yourself is rarely the most efficient tactic.
Round 1: Spell Combat -> Dim Door, full attack. Rest of melee can full attack without wasting a round moving into position.
Round 2: Spell Combat -> Haste, full attack. All melee get +1 AC, +1 to-hit, extra attack.
If you want nothing else but to prepare Haste 4x and always spend round 1 buffing.
In a boss fight, sure. But against mooks I would rather use other spells and STILL get haste without having to waste every one of my 3rd level spells on haste.
If you want nothing else but to prepare Haste 4x and always spend round 1 buffing.
Zero rounds were spent buffing in my example. Ever round, including the first, includes a full attack.
And yes, with 2-3 melee in the group, Haste is, by far, the most efficient means in the game to increase party DPR.
In a boss fight, sure. But against mooks I would rather use other spells and STILL get haste without having to waste every one of my 3rd level spells on haste.
At this level in PFS, you will seldom face more encounters/day than you have Haste spells.
Even if you felt the need to display your personal superiority by overkilling mooks while leaving the rest of the group behind, why are you spending that much WBL on boots when you have Hasted Assault?
If you want nothing else but to prepare Haste 4x and always spend round 1 buffing.Zero rounds were spent buffing in my example. Ever round, including the first, includes a full attack.
And yes, with 2-3 melee in the group, Haste is, by far, the most efficient means in the game to increase party DPR.
In a boss fight, sure. But against mooks I would rather use other spells and STILL get haste without having to waste every one of my 3rd level spells on haste.At this level in PFS, you will seldom face more encounters/day than you have Haste spells.
Even if you felt the need to display your personal superiority by overkilling mooks while leaving the rest of the group behind, why are you spending that much WBL on boots when you have Hasted Assault?
Diminished Spellcasting. Since he is a 10th level Magus he gets 2 + Int 3rd level spells a day. And 0+ INT 4th level spells.
I don't know what discoveries he has But I tend to go with burning fewer resources and finding Items that provide things I want on a regular.
Without burning arcane points or your 3rd level spells BoH can provide haste for every encounter in PFS while allowing you to pick other spells. Yes, I KNOW casting haste on the team is good. But people do not roll Magus to be the Support caster. They want to get in and Spell Strike those 10d6 shocking grasps or Rime touch spells.
It's less of "Displaying your personal superiority" and more of using Gold to fill an item slot so you can use your class resources better for the character that you developed. Instead of defualting to a haste monkey just because you can cast it.
Diminished Spellcasting. Since he is a 10th level Magus he gets 2 + Int 3rd level spells a day. And 0+ INT 4th level spells.
Part of the reason I questioned the dip into fighter. He should have 3+ 3rd levels spells available. Without the dip, 4+
For the cost of those Boots of Speed you could have a Pearl of Power III and Pearls of Power I x3. This allows for Haste on the entire group + an extra three Shocking Grasps, without limiting versatility.
Hasted Assault burns no WBL
I don't know what discoveries he has But I tend to go with burning fewer resources and finding Items that provide things I want on a regular.
Resources are seldom a limiting factor at this level in PFS. Even if they were, hasting the entire group instead of just yourself is, by far, the most efficient usage of resources.
Without burning arcane points or your 3rd level spells BoH can provide haste for every encounter in PFS while allowing you to pick other spells. Yes, I KNOW casting haste on the team is good. But people do not roll Magus to be the Support caster. They want to get in and Spell Strike those 10d6 shocking grasps or Rime touch spells.
The wonderful thing about Spell Combat. You can support the group, buff yourself, and full attack. All in the same round.
It's less of "Displaying your personal superiority" and more of using Gold to fill an item slot so you can use your class resources better for the character that you developed. Instead of defualting to a haste monkey just because you can cast it.
If is about showing off your personal abilities. Getting the rest of the party in position and hasted is going to deal far more damage than a 10d6 (avg. 35) Shocking Grasp. Usually several times as much.
And that's just on round 1 of the fight. With a little luck and good teamwork, the fight may very well not involve a round 2.
For the curious yes he does have 1 4th level spell a day Most days its Dimension door.
3rds are normally 2x Vampiric touch for some in combat healing and a fly.
Sadly due to 2 archetypes only one arcana (6th level) and that was enduring blade.
Not the most optimal choice ill admit, but its worked fairly well
Anyway here is the character, feel free to look it over.
Consumables are not tracked on this sheet.
https://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=106837
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I tend to get 3 or 4 fights out the boots of haste and they are a free action to activate so there is not really a good comparison between boots and a pearl of power. You can also use the boots to haste yourself when your formation is imperfect allowing others to be hasted.
If you are worried about running out of damaging spells use frostbite more often and shocking grasp less.
I do agree with how you are discribing playing a magus. It is more effective to play them like you would play a wizard, bard, skald or sorcerer. If there is an absence of any of these classes. If any of these classes are there let them play this role as they are optimized for and the magus should focus on damage a role that the other classes likely won't fill.
In pfs this means understanding your local meta and gauging your table.