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It's a completely doable thing, but you have to be stingy with your big hitters, and your damage spells aren't really nearly as effective at taking scary badguys out of the picture as other kinds of Wizards/Sorcerers can be.
But if anyone tells you that you can't play an Evoker/Blaster Sorcerer, you tell them to deal with it. Play what you think is fun.
Is it the 'best' choice? No. You cant do as much damage as the big fighter with the big sword. Your area spells can be brutal but it can be a pain to keep from blasting said fighter also. BUT, it is fun to blast. And its not bad per say, just not your best option. For the most part though I'd recommend sorceror over wizard. Take the Crossblood Orc bloodline with one of the draconic bloodlines, and be a half orc. Suddenly your damage spells seem rather brutal.
But your problem will always be longevity. In the end to defeat a days encounters, you have to do X damage if you are focused on damage. A caster has only Y chances (your spell slots for your higher level spells) to do that damage. Most of the time in a 4 or more encounter day, the best designed blaster cannot do X damage. So you still need the fighter type in there to do the rest. Where as with support, the fighter CAN do X damage over the course of the day. He doesnt have Y attempts, he has as many attempts as he can survive.
Thats why control casters are favored in guides. Because if you are just doing damage, even if you succeed, you probably didnt overcome your foes, you just moved them closer to being overcome. Where as if a controller/buffer 'succeeds' chances are it takes just a spell or two to put the party in position to overcome the encounter.
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I made a one-shot sorcerer blaster specializing in evocation and electrical elemental energy. He was scary powerful, able to cast maximized electrical fireballs with a crazy high DC.
Blasting things was pretty much all he did, but he did it so well that I decided to put him out to pasture since the other players felt sort of useless.
In one encounter the rest of the party panicked and ran away. He was the last to leave the room, at a walk, and fired a maximized empowered electrified fireball in the room and killed all but one of the baddies.
"Hey, it's cool. You can come back now."
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Battlefield control is very powerful, but in the end, in most encounters, someone has to kill the monsters.
Pretty much, I find Treatmonk to be incorrect on tactics, he hies back to 3.5 too much. He thinks in-combat healing is always a bad move, he believes in a super min/max builds, etc. (But he writes very well).
I’d say a blaster build is fine, but it is at it’s best if there’s another Spellcaster that then does the control/buffing spells.
Spell Focus ([Evocation]—Replacing Scribe Scroll)
Is there something rule-wise that allows this? I see it done in a fair number of builds.
Is there something rule-wise that allows this? I see it done in a fair number of builds.Spell Focus ([Evocation]—Replacing Scribe Scroll)
In PFS crafting isn't allowed. So a wizard replaces scribe spell with spell focus. And if it's not PFS, it would be a house rule.
In PFS crafting isn't allowed. So a wizard replaces scribe spell with spell focus. And if it's not PFS, it would be a house rule.Is there something rule-wise that allows this? I see it done in a fair number of builds.Spell Focus ([Evocation]—Replacing Scribe Scroll)
Well there you go, mystery solved. Thanks mate.
The guide for Sorcerers, found here, has plenty of ways to make blasting fun.
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Check out brewers guide to the blockbuster wizard.
I am playing a 1 level crossblooded green dragon/orc and 13 levels of admixture wizard and am having a great time.
Traits magical lineage(fireball), varasian tattoo(fireball)
feats
S1 eschew materials, improved initiative
W1 Spell focus(evo)
W2 Varaisian tattoo(evocation)
W4 Heighten spell
W5 Empowered spell
W6 Intensified Spell
W8 Maximize Spell
W10 Spell Penetration, Quicken Spell
W12 Greater Spell Penetration
W14 Spell Perfection(fireball), Penetrating Spell
W15 Greater Spell Focus
Have Fun!
So, I like to make blasters that specialize on something like, fireball.
Wizards I tend to go Admixture so I can add things like Rime Spell to my fireball.
On Sorcerers, I prefer to Take Elemental Focus since it stacks with Spell Focus, and get even higher DCs. Elemental Spell lets you change the energy type, without changing the descriptor, which means you can keep your higher DCs and don't have to worry about pesky immunities and resistances.
I agree with a great deal withbfobar, but I would reccomend a two level dip into diabolist (you need to be ln, and have summoned a feind with a scroll) do this asap then you get hellfire bypass fire immunity/resistance cha mod times per day! the main drawback for being a blaster is gone! Also you don't have to be draconic, the extra damage is nice, but not absolutely nessesary.
I don't know if diabolist is pfs legal, you would have to check
[edit] I looked it up, it's legal
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Brewer's Guide to the Blockbuster Wizard is a nice guide to building blasters.
These days you can even play a blaster cleric, thanks to the Theologian archetype. Take Arson Domain, now you can prepare Burning Hands, Flaming Sphere, Fireball, etc..
Go human, take Spell Focus-Evocation, Spell Specialization-Burning Hands, and the Gifted Adept trait. 4d4 burning hands at first level, and you've got Cleric AC and hit points to actually survive casting that close up.
Focus on Ice, take rime spell, dip crossblooded sorc and take marid or rime-blooded - a little less damage but you gain more controll what is just great or you can cold-blast all day. Add dazing sometime and also pick snowball for single-target-stuff. You will have good damage and good controll. Add some of those cool ice spells, dazing spell of course and take all those 4 DC-increasing fetas.
a really, really "cool" and versatile blaster build!
There's an arson domain!? ❂.❂
It's a Fire subdomain that a single goblin deity grants.
I am playing a 1 level crossblooded green dragon/orc and 13 levels of admixture wizard and am having a great time.
Traits magical lineage(fireball), varasian tattoo(fireball)
Tin Foil Yamakah, can you point me at that varisian tattoo trait? I'm only aware of the varisian tattoo feat.
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The spirit of the game is play what you enjoy. If you want to blow things up, do it! As Treatmonk says, sure Haste deals more damage over time, but you know what else does? Your enemies! Blow them to smithereens first. Plus, you chose this RPG because some small part of you loves the roll of dice. The pitter-patter of ten d6s dropping to the tabletop is much more satisfying than handing another player a condition card.
I'm GMing a campaign with an 8th level evoker, and he's been solid. The players adapt to one another's combat styles, and they know he's their go-to man for pesky fliers, incorporeal attackers, and mass of minions who hit hard but die easy. With the greensting scorpion, he's generally a lock to go first and set the stage.
Since 3rd edition and Pathfinder, he's the first Evoker I've gamed with, and it's refreshing and nostalgic (referring to 2nd edition wizardry).
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This is totally the guide to start with, if you want to create a blaster caster:
Brewer's Guide to the Blockbuster Wizard is a nice guide to building blasters.
For a magical blaster, I recommend this:
Human Wizard (Evocation [Admixture]) with a single level in Tattooed Crossblooded Sorcerer [Draconic [White]/Orc]
Level 1 feats are:
Spell Focus ([Evocation]—Replacing Scribe Scroll)
Verisian Tattoo ([Evocation] — Tattooed Sorcerer Feat)
Arcane Bond (Wizard starting Feat and Tattooed Sorcerer ability, but they stack)
Spell Specialization ([Burning Hands]—Level 1 Feat)
Alertness (Familiar)I went with a human for an extra feat and took Irrisian Ice Mage so my damage would be a D4+2 or a D6+2 higher for appropriate spells.
At level 1 with Burning Hands you do 4D4+9 damage, and your damage only becomes better, especially if you start working with Intensify Spell and the Traits Magical Lineage and Spellhunter.
Although you lose a level of spell progression, at character level 6, you'll get access to Fireballs that will be doing 8D6+20 (you've changed Fireball to your Spell Specialization spell at this point). And more if you take Feats like Irrisian Ice Mage and Bloat Mage.
I am confused by your level 1 calculation. it looks like you are getting 2 levels at level 1?
Also some DMs may look down on this kind of Powergaming even if it can be fun.
So to the OP findout what kind of Optimisation level your GM expects and use your own good sense and pehaps somthing like Brewers guide in the link above to start you off.
Clerics make the best blasters!
Check 'divine scion' prestige class!!
Just looked at it. What's so great about it exactly?
It certainly makes for a strong blaster, but I fail to see how it makes "the best" blaster.
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Blasters are 'not good' because, unlike a controller build, you MUST have the requisite build in place.
Let me put it this way: ANYONE can be a buffer/controller. Buffers and controllers frequently don't have to mess with Spell Resistance, Elemental Resistance/Immunity, or even saving throws. They drop in creatures, walls, cast buffs, move stuff here and there.
Their power is in the SPELLS. A 'God' Wizard needs only the right spells and playstyle, and literally can have NO FEATS and do his job just dandy.
a Blaster MUST have the right feats. You simply can't make direct damage work without increases in damage, increases in caster level, and the ability to switch elements.
BFOBAR: Metamagic'd spells are considered spells of the higher level when using Rods. So you can't use an Intensified Empowered Fireball with a lesser quicken Rod, it's considered a 6th level spell (you have to use the slot it's cast from as the qualifier for the Rod). This was a new FAQ ruling to cut down on Metamagic abuse.
Blasters are HARD TO BUILD - they eat every precious feat that you have.
But guess what?
A blaster wizard can turn around and change his load out, and guess what? He can play 'god'. All he needs is the spells to play god.
No God Wizard can turn around and be an effective blaster. They don't have the build to do it.
And you know something? The best way to control a battlefield is to make all the enemy suddenly and abruptly dead. And the Blaster is definitely the wizard for that.
==Aelryinth
Wasum wrote that there were 4 dc increasing feats, I know spell focus, what are the other 3?
Clerics make the best blasters!
Check 'divine scion' prestige class!!
Just looked at it. What's so great about it exactly?
It certainly makes for a strong blaster, but I fail to see how it makes "the best" blaster.
To me, it looks like wasting two feats to get the +1 damage / die against one alignment subtype. I guess it might be worthwhile for a Fire Domain Theologian in a worldwound campaign, but generally I just don't see a blasting focused cleric having the feats to spare; especially Iron Will.
Blasters are 'not good' because, unlike a controller build, you MUST have the requisite build in place.
Let me put it this way: ANYONE can be a buffer/controller. Buffers and controllers frequently don't have to mess with Spell Resistance, Elemental Resistance/Immunity, or even saving throws. They drop in creatures, walls, cast buffs, move stuff here and there.
Their power is in the SPELLS. A 'God' Wizard needs only the right spells and playstyle, and literally can have NO FEATS and do his job just dandy.
a Blaster MUST have the right feats. You simply can't make direct damage work without increases in damage, increases in caster level, and the ability to switch elements.
BFOBAR: Metamagic'd spells are considered spells of the higher level when using Rods. So you can't use an Intensified Empowered Fireball with a lesser quicken Rod, it's considered a 6th level spell (you have to use the slot it's cast from as the qualifier for the Rod). This was a new FAQ ruling to cut down on Metamagic abuse.
Blasters are HARD TO BUILD - they eat every precious feat that you have.
But guess what?
A blaster wizard can turn around and change his load out, and guess what? He can play 'god'. All he needs is the spells to play god.
No God Wizard can turn around and be an effective blaster. They don't have the build to do it.
And you know something? The best way to control a battlefield is to make all the enemy suddenly and abruptly dead. And the Blaster is definitely the wizard for that.
==Aelryinth
I was about to respond with "Blasters can be effective controllers, but the reverse isn't true"--then I read the second half of your post... :P
Could you give me a direct link to that FAQ please?
Blasters are fun to play but they really depend on GM playstyle. If your GM plays with a ton of mooks that can be fried with various blast effects they do pretty well but if you GM uses a small number of really tough monster with lots of defenses and HPs then blasters tend to struggle because they simply have a hard time keeping up with the high single-target DPR that high-end martial types can do.
The optimal encounter design seems to be a mix of weaker mobs that go down quick to AoE spells anchored by a limited number of high HP, high defense monsters that Fighters and Single-target casters excel at handling.
It came second hand, I don't reference the FAQ much, but it caused much moaning from those of us that thought it was mega cool to Meta a FIreball to the moon and then use a Lesser Rod to maximize or Quicken it...
Anyone have a link to it?
===Aelryinth
http://paizo.com/threads/rzs2nn33&page=3?Evocation-optimization#144
Here's the link to the "Blaster Mage" build worked out by the boards, which I keep handy for just these circumstances.
Just favorite it and refer back to it for build clues.
==Aelryinth