| Data Lore |
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So, I was making a DMPC to help my party through part two and settled on a Fighter.
One of the things I like about PF2e is all the disparate weapon effects. I especially like the idea of mixing and matching weapon types. However, mastery class abilities poopoos on this a bit since being really good with one means that I am disincentivized from using another.
For example, I made a combat grab build. I liked the idea of a bastard sword in the main hand and a spiked gauntlet in the offhand. He could swing his sword and use the gauntlet, an agile weapon, to do the grab. Maybe not to most optimal build, but I liked the flavor.
Sadly, mechanically, I was just better off using the bastard sword to do the combat grab maneuver and the spiked gauntlet was kinda useless thanks to my bastard sword being at master (sword group) and everything else being at expert.
My suggestion: consider having Weapon Mastery (and similar proficiency features for other classes) apply to two weapon groups to allow some more flexibility.
| Data Lore |
I went ahead and built out a few fighters to 20 in Fantasy Grounds. "Mixed weapon" builds didnt start to feel ok until about level 10 with Agile Grace and there only with the combat grab build. Standard TWF still seemed incentivized to stay with their same weapon group until level 19.
The more I toyed with this, the more of a shame it seemed since it felt cool to outfit TWF characters with, for example, a rapier and dagger or a sword and handaxe. These made cool visuals but the system, thanks to its tight math, did not do enough to reward this.
| Data Lore |
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By the end, all weapon groups (basic/martial) go legendary for the fighter. I would just make it so the journey there isn't so limiting. This selecting two weapon groups thing could also apply to a Ranger's Weapon Expertise ability and other similar class abilities.
Its a small change, two weapon groups instead of one, but it would make it more engaging to make builds that use all these different weapon properties and weapon specialization effects. By limiting it to two groups, you keep characters unique and all that too.
This is especially true for the fighter. You expect a fighter to be using a bunch of different weapons and what not. But by making him better in one type, he is not incentivized to use different weapons. That doesn't feel right to me.