My group is going to do the Playtest this week (finally), and I have no idea what to put on my sorcerer. I figured a handful of scrolls at various levels would be alright for their item slots (we're starting at level 5) but it seems spells and class feats/features eliminate a lot of what else I would've thought to grab back in Pathfinder 1e.
So magic armor is very important, and items with bonuses to skills are necessary to keep up with the math, and there aren't really any interesting items, so getting those and maybe a wand or two?
I don't recall to well what-all there was of interest back at that level, I'll have to look later. There is definitely a lot of cool stuff but a lot of it is higher level. If there's a staff with spells you like (That are on your list of course) that's a great choice.
Two questions: What list does your Sorcerer cast from? (Or what Bloodline are they, that answers the same question)
And are you doing a homebrew campaign or Doomsday Dawn? I assumed the latter but none of the DD chapters play at level 5.Also it would be good to know what your GP budget or item level allotment is.
Draconic Bloodline. So that would be the Arcane caster list. I also am taking Arcane Evolution, though that's not set in stone.
We're playing something called Arclord's Envy. According to the info our GM posted it was released at a convention.
Budget and items are standard for a level 5 character according to the wealth table on page 348 of the Playtest rulebook. So... 50 gp; one 4th level, two 3rd level, one 2nd level, and two first level permanent items.
For the level 4 item Bracers of Armor (2nd) is probably a good choice.
I would disagree; Bracers of Armor (and Mage Armor) give far too little AC for their excessive cost. It's much better to just sink a feat for armor proficiency and a suit of +1 armor. The extra AC alone from upgrading from bracers of armor to a suit of +1 armor is worth the feat, but it also means your armor is less expensive (3rd level item instead of 4th level). Mage Armor and Bracers of Armor are only really worthwhile for characters with 22 dexterity or higher, which is impossible for a caster class to attain until very high levels.
4th: +1 weapon, mandatory. Yes, you're a sorcerer. Using a weapon is still better in most cases. You've got plenty of feats to burn on an effective weapon.
3rd: +1 armor, mandatory. Same. Either by multiclass or burning a general or ancestry feat, whichever.
Healing stuff. (Staff of healing is a good option for your other level 3 choice)
Quirky things if you can find anything useful or usable from the lower level magic items.
4th: +1 weapon, mandatory. Yes, you're a sorcerer. Using a weapon is still better in most cases. You've got plenty of feats to burn on an effective weapon.
He's a draconic sorcerer, so he can spend spell points to gain magical claw attacks. A +1 weapon is still not a bad idea, but you'd probably want it to be a ranged one since your bloodline power covers melee.
With Cantrips being 1dx+Cha at this level they should be fine.
Cantrips are 2 actions to cast; they cannot be used alongside 2-action spells, nor can you cast two cantrip spells in a turn. Strikes with weapons are 1 action, allowing you to use them alongside other such items as part of your complete 3-action turn. Electric Arc doesn't incur MAP, either, making it ideal for cantrip/strike turns.
Strikes fulfill a different role from cantrips due to their lower action cost, and can be more easily worked into your turns. This is why they're so good to have; they can be used in addition to cantrips, or in situations where you don't have enough actions for a cantrip.