Near Space new spell Defrex Hardiness--crazy good?

[Bongo BigBounce]

1st level spell range touch target one creature duration one minute per level. Grants target DR/- = caster level and retributive damage on each adjacent melee attack vs target = CL.

7th level caster grants his tank DR7/- and 7 points of retributive damage against each adjacent melee attack for 7 minutes.

1st level spell. Crazy good. Too good? If a caster boss is putting that on his mooks it could be a tough encouter.

[Ascalaphus]

Yes, it's crazy good.

[Micheal Smith]

So the downfall I see to this is it is considered Piercing damage.

[Garretmander]

I'd probably peg that spell as 3rd level.

[Cellion]

I don't have the text of the spell, but it certainly sounds busted from your description. Just compare it to the Resistant Armor line.

Lesser Resistant Armor is a 3rd level spell. It lasts 10 mins per level and grants DR 5/- if you use the DR half of the spell. It has no retributive aspect. Meanwhile, this spell grants more DR, has the retributive damage, and takes only a 1st level slot? That pegs it at a 3rd level spell, trading duration for the feedback damage.

At 16th level, greater resistant armor is a 6th level spell. It grants DR 15/- for 10/mins per level. This spell is 1st level but grants more DR! Consider again that you trade duration for feedback damage. So this spell should really be 6th level?
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My point is that the CRB spells tend not to grant scaling benefits of this kind. This spell doesn't fit into the Starfinder spell design philosophy. As a result I'm not sure ANY spell level is an appropriate home for it. And 1st level is definitely way out of line.

[ZandrXI]

This is the text of the spell from the book

DEFREX HARDINESS
School abjuration
Casting Time 1 standard action
Range touch
Targets one creature
Duration 1 minute/level
Saving Throw none; Spell Resistance no

The target becomes infused with the resilience of a defrex and sprouts bristling spines. It gains DR/— equal to your caster level, and any creature adjacent to the target that hits it with a melee attack takes piercing damage equal to your caster level.

[SITZKRIEG!]

Which classes have access to the spell?

[Nyerkh]

Mystic only, I believe.
It seems good, but not that far ahead of the resistant armor line (past the lesser iteration) and that lasts ten times longer.
So trading duration and versatility for slightly better DR and some retaliation.

The crazy part is the level.
A level one spell has no business competing that closely with a level six.
It really feels like it was supposed to be a line of a 3 to 6 spells , but slipped through as a single scaling level 1 somehow.
I expect a fast, fast errata, either splitting it into several or drastically slowing down the scaling.

[SITZKRIEG!]

That's exactly what my mystic character wanted to hear if someone confirms it! I agree though that it's a bit much for a level 1 especially compared to existing spells. Independent to that argument though is the possibility that DR5 isn't worthy of a 3rd level spell slot either which compounds how good this spell feels. Ymmv.

[The Ragi]

Nerf that duration to round/level and it gets better.

[DougSample]

It's fantastically good. Prolly too good for the balanced tone that Paizo is trying to strike with SF. But it's nice for mystics who've been feeling underpowered.

[Ixal]

DougSample wrote:

It's fantastically good. Prolly too good for the balanced tone that Paizo is trying to strike with SF. But it's nice for mystics who've been feeling underpowered.

Especially now after the nerf to Enhanced Resistance.

[Cellion]

Banned in SFS for a reason.