|
So ability scores in pf2 are pretty much starfinder, but start a little higher. With the 4 boosts/5 levels, it seemed like something to plan out ahead of time to get the most of your ability scores. So I started a little math and I found the results to be a bit wonky.
Lets assume non-human, so here's a couple starting spreads:
1: 18 16 14 12 19 8 or 16 16 16 12 10 8
5: 19 18 16 14 10 8 or 18 18 18 14 10 8
10: 20 19 18 16 10 8 or 19 19 18 16 12 8
15: 21 20 19 16 12 8 or 20 20 18 18 14 8
20: 22 20 20 18 14 8 or 21 21 18 18 16 10
In this example you start level 1-4 with a different spread, but end up with the first one being better at levels 10-14 and 20, while the second one is better at levels 5-9 and 15-19.
It seems now that starting ability score choice will be based upon what level you intend to play to, or what levels you will spend the most play time at. It will of course vary from character to character whether having higher 4th and 5th stats will actually have any effect or not, so starting with 18s might still be the best even when your total stat modifiers are lower. It seems a little odd, and a new layer of character creation you need to plan out to get the most of a build.
Yeah it's really annoying that some are better levels 1-4 10-14 & 20 and some are better 5-9 & 15-19
It's seems like a huge flaw to me, but I guess the designers really liked decreasing gains past 18, and felt this flaw was worth that.
I wish classes had to start with an 18 to resist against the worst of this.
| 3 people marked this as a favorite. |
Doesn't seem like flaw to me, the person who prioritizes broader stats instead of maxing top priorities is better at lower priority stats but not better at top priorities. That some levels there is no benefit from odd stats is the same as 3.x/1e obviously. But in the bigger picture there isn't much difference between the two approaches... So maybe just relax about the stat spread and pick broad array of stat boosts via the thematic avenues Paizo provided? (or technically, your preference in Background Feat itself shapes 1st/3rd stat distribution)
One difference is they also seem to have recalibrated power curve so they intend to actually go 1-20 for all their full length APs, so playing at 20 (and above 15) should be more normalized.