I just noticed that psychokinetic hold requires a move-action to actually use the effect each round, in addition to requiring the standard action every turn to concentrate on the effect and I don't see anything in the Gravity Hold revelation that removes this restriction.
Can someone tell me if there is something I'm missing? Since I was interested in playing a telekinetic gravity solarian until I realized it'd be using up both my move and standard actions each turn that can be negated easy by most opponents saves, and it just seems too costly for what you're getting?
From the description, I don't think you'd need to use a move action to simply immobilize the target, as long as your standard is spent on maintaining. The move action is just to move the target around.
Honestly, it seems like a reasonably powerful (if situational) crowd control ability to me. Primarily useful against targets that are stronger in melee than at range, sure, but spending a single party member's actions on nullifying a single enemy target (while the rest can fire away from range) would often be well worth it. Yeah, it can be negated by saves, but so can basically every detrimental effect.
Well, only the portion of the utility where you immobilize an enemy can be negated by saves. There is also some niche utility if you use it to move allies who voluntarily fail the save into full attack positions, or, for example, out of a pool of acid.
From the description, I don't think you'd need to use a move action to simply immobilize the target, as long as your standard is spent on maintaining. The move action is just to move the target around.
I suppose that is true, it does say "while under this effect" rather than saying you actually need to lift or move them for the immobilization.
Honestly, it seems like a reasonably powerful (if situational) crowd control ability to me. Primarily useful against targets that are stronger in melee than at range, sure, but spending a single party member's actions on nullifying a single enemy target (while the rest can fire away from range) would often be well worth it. Yeah, it can be negated by saves, but so can basically every detrimental effect.
Most of the time that isn't a 50% chance of failure though, since the target's it'd be best at (Melee combatants) are probably going to have very high fortitude saves, while something like Hold Person would only be a will save. Admittedly the hold person is a 2nd level spell, but it doesn't require not attacking or taking any standard actions at all for "as long as the person is affected + 1 round".
Well, only the portion of the utility where you immobilize an enemy can be negated by saves. There is also some niche utility if you use it to move allies who voluntarily fail the save into full attack positions, or, for example, out of a pool of acid.
Spending a full-action to move an ally 15 ft. sounds like a horrible waste of actions, if they were only 15 ft. away from the edge then there's no real difference from them just using their move action next turn and me just using my actual actions this turn to do things like attack as the martial character that I'm meant to be be.
Given the class doesn't have enough skill points to really do much outside of being good in combat, it sounds like you'd be really shooting yourself in the foot to turn your character into just "I move my mainly ranged allies who are probably already in cover after the first round 15 ft." instead of actually playing a martial character.
I did say it was a niche use, but if you're going to try to get as much value out of these revelations as you can, you should consider all possible uses.
I never said move a ranged ally, and there are parties that have multiple melee characters, as well as graviton focused solarians who are not melee characters.
The reason I used the acid example is because it has come up before, and lifting the ally out before they took massive damage on their turn from full immersion in acid (which probably would have rendered them unconscious, after the massive damage they took when they got thrown in) made a very large difference.
it can also be used to stop ranged combatants from running away from your parties melee characters; also, by RAW, forced movement provokes, so you can use this to trigger Aoo's from your parties melee characters.