Spelljamming Pathfinder Fire Kineticist for a new character assistance.

[Rerednaw]

All we know is that this will be Pathfinder in space.
However while the GM may use Starfinder, the PCs may not. We will be Golarian primitives on a spaceship. Androids, etc. are not allowed to players. Know(tech) is banned unless we take the technologist feat. No one can start with Know(tech) ranks at start in any case.

My friend is 100% new to d20/Pathfinder and she wanted a simple ranged fire-focused damage dealer.

Her only experience with fantasy rpgs is WoW. She didn't like vancian spellcasting.

I suggested a Kineticist.

20 point buy, 2 traits, paizo official sources allowed.
3rd level, standard wealth by level.

Looking for some build advice.
So far the only other character is a cleric.
Note that for myself I was thinking of maybe a utility kineticist (aether) since she will be focused on damage. I can go with a Tier 1 (wizard) but prefer the swiss-army knife with 5 blades I can use all day instead of the 300 in a book version. :) But that's for me, I'm looking for help with her build.

So far I've come up with:
=========================
Feats: Point Blank Shot, Precise Shot (may not be needed? since it is vs. touch? Spell Pen instead?)
Infusions: Fan of Flames
Fire blast (basic).

Suggestions and thanks!

[Egil Firehair]

I built my human Pyromancer with the following point spread

Str 10
Dex 14
Con 18 (16+2)
Int 12
Wis 12
Cha 11

His feats were (through 5th level)
1 Point Blank Shot
1 Precise Shot
3 Deadly Aim
5 Iron Will

Some people say that ranged touch is accurate enough without Precise Shot but I do not agree. I see no reason to impose a -4 to hit upon myself just because the melee guys are doing their thing.

Frex: at third level your opponent has a touch AC of 11. You have a BAB of +2, +2 from Dex and +1 from Point Blank Shot for a total of +5, so you need to roll a 6 to hit. Melee occurs, now you are -4 for soft cover, and -4 to shoot into melee. That 6 to hit just jumped to 14.
Why swallow the -4 that Precise Shot gets rid of? While it is true that you can often move to get a non-cover shot, that is not always the case. Worse, moving means that you can't Gather Energy, which is increasing important as a Kineticist levels up.

Note: I took in Kinetic Blade early, just in case I was forced into melee & never used it until 9th level. But the Kinetic Whip came in really handy any number of times at 13+. Paired with Combat Reflexes, it yields Attacks of Opportunity when people move through your 15' threat zone, even when flat-footed.

[Drakaar]

See if your GM will allow you to play a Hobgoblin; +2 Dex & +2 Con!

[Firebug]

Why Deadly Aim? It doesn't apply to energy blasts and the physical blasts don't need another penalty to hit.

[avr]

Doesn't fire create explosions when you're flying between the crystal spheres in Spelljammer? If you don't want this to blow up in your face (literally), check with your GM about whether such a fire focused character is a good idea.

Precise shot is still a good idea. -4 to attack is a pain even with touch attacks.

At level 3 a kineticist has two infusions and a wild talent, all 1st level. Extended range is an infusion I'd take and I'd probably get burning infusion rather than fan of flames. The utility 1st level fire wild talents don't do anything much, fire's fury is the one to take.

[Rerednaw]

Thanks for the advice I am going to present the options to my friend.

I agree with the thoughts on Precise Shot. Every time I delay it or not take it all, it's come up and bitten me on the behind. There are many many dungeons where it's choke-points and you always have soft cover in the way.

I do think Fan of Flames is underrated. The trick with a cone is to start it at the 5 foot square above the tank that is in front of you.

That way the spread hits the foes and not your ally in front. And instead of making attack rolls the GM makes saves, which is something I always prefer.

Yes 15 foot cone is a bit close. But it is one of the few at-will AoE options that any class has at start. And it's a long wait till Eruption at level 7.

Plus I'm picking Gathlain for the race. The variant without the con penalty. Fly, even clumsy at level 1 is the bomb. It gives the Pyro another escape button. And getting an effective supercharge 5 levels earlier will mean she can throw a composite every round. Which will be great until the devils and fire elementals show up.

[PCScipio]

Goblins work well for Kineticists, and what goblin doesn't like fire? :)