Hello Pathfinder people!
Hello!
and I wanted to get some advice on what I should multiclass into after 5th level since I heard that the class is dead after that level.
Level 5 is when you get your second aspect, so you can have a flying form and a battle form. Not much else is needed so multiclassing is a good idea.
I'd however take the Weretouched archetype in place of vanilla Shifter (and multiclass after your 4th level) so that you can use a Hybrid form instead of fully transforming. You'd still get all the benefits of your major form, but can use armor and wield weapons while doing so.
Idk how this would synergize, but I feel like going into Rogue, Slayer, or Swashbuckler would be really fun, but I don't know how it would work. What should I do if I want to focus on Dexterity?
Rogue (unchained, please) and Slayer works well with natural attack builds, but Swashbuckler needs a manufactured weapon to use their Precise Strike damage so that won't work. Dex-based natural attack builds often buy an Agile Amulet of Mighty Fists which allows you to replace your strength with dexterity for damage.
I want to excel at Stealth, so I'm probably gonna take the Owl Aspect, which is making me lean more towards Rogue.
Keep in mind that the +4 competence bonus to stealth from your minor aspect only lasts for a couple minutes per day, must be activated, and doesn't stack with the most common magic items for increasing your stealth bonus. Owl is still an okay choice because it has a fly speed and a Weretouched Shifter would have four natural attacks with it.
You should decide if you want to fight primarily with natural attacks or a manufactured weapon, and if you want your Aspect to give you pounce or a fly speed.
A fly speed is generally easier to come by with spells, but you'd get it very early as a Shifter which is important to consider.
I heard that the class is dead after [5th] level.
"Dead" in this case is shorthand for "whatever you want from future Shifter levels, you could get the same, only better, from multiclassing".
You want a regular combat form and a flying form, hence 5th level. Everything the class grants afterwards is too weak to justify spending class levels on. Shifter's Fury sucks on any aspect with multiple attack (which includes the ones with pounce, mechanically easily the best ones). The scaling damage on only some of your attacks is a pathetic joke. A third form isn't needed for major aspect, and thus only grants the minor aspects - most of which are non-stacking ability score increases, something akin to Skill Focus (for a few minutes per day). The 8th and 15th level upgrades to major forms just can't save it.
If you want to be good with natural attacks, you need multiple of them, and to use those multiple natural attacks, you need pounce. There are only two major forms with pounce, and none is small, but that can't be helped. Your combat form should thus be Deinonychus, with a flying form of your choice at 5th level (Owl works, but for aerial combat, Falcon would be notably better). There are small forms, which would come with a dex bonus, but pounce reigns surpreme.
This of course presumes you want both a form with pounce (i.e. good damage), and flight. If you only want one of these (or are fine with other methods of flight, which might include from the multiclassing), four levels of Weretouched Shifter would be much better, as you could have two more natural attacks, could wear armor, and could access equipment. And, well, have hands, in case you want to pick locks, or something. I definitely recommend the archetype, and it saves a level, as you have gotten everything it has to offer at 4th level.
Idk how this would synergize, but I feel like going into Rogue, Slayer, or Swashbuckler would be really fun, but I don't know how it would work.
As usually, it depends on what you actually want. Swashbuckler has the issue that Precice Strike doesn't work with natural weapons, and Slayer has the issue that going in four levels late kills most of the benefit of both Studied Target and Ranger bonus feats. A Scout Rogue however synergizes very well - add in the feat Accomplished Sneak Attacker and you deal notable amounts of Sneak Attack damage on every pounce attack.
You don't need to take any of these classes, however - there're plenty of other options. Since the Rogue's Finesse Trainign doesn't help that much (only with one type of natural weapon until way to high level), you need an Agile Amulet of Mighty Fists. That and Weapon Finesse is basically all you need, meaning you don't need to take a traditional dex based class! The by far best increase to stealth is Invisibility, thus multiclassing into a class that grants it as a spell (or extract) is definitely something to think about. Getting bonus to attack and damage is nice, and there's a lot of classes that can do that. Investigator (possibly Jinyiwei with Quick Study, Alchemist, Urban Barbarian, Urban Bloodrager, Warpriest, or even Cleric all work (the last two possibly worshipping Thamir Gixx for Invisiblity + Greater).There're other fun combinations, too, e.g. a Spiritualist with the Phantom Ally feat (melee tag team, and when you stealth, just hide the phantom in your mind, a Despair or Fear phantom would even grant Skill Focus: Stealth).
It's easy to overdo optimization in Pathfinder. When you bring a combat mech to knife fights, you will have some fun on the short run, but annoy both your fellow players and your GM. Even if they let it fly, the easy victories will become stale.
So, my first question is: What's the power level of the campaign? More precisely: Does your GM lead for a long time now? Are they (in)famous for tough encounters? Do your fellow players profit from many years of experience? Do they pull ideas from guides and forums on a regular base?
If the answer is rather "yes" to these questions, then go on with powerbuilding. If it's rather "no", then better stick with something which you like instinctively, and ignore that the character could be stronger. They don't have to, in such a case.
It's easy to overdo optimization in Pathfinder. When you bring a combat mech to knife fights, you will have some fun on the short run, but annoy both your fellow players and your GM. Even if they let it fly, the easy victories will become stale.
So, my first question is: What's the power level of the campaign? More precisely: Does your GM lead for a long time now? Are they (in)famous for tough encounters? Do your fellow players profit from many years of experience? Do they pull ideas from guides and forums on a regular base?
If the answer is rather "yes" to these questions, then go on with powerbuilding. If it's rather "no", then better stick with something which you like instinctively, and ignore that the character could be stronger. They don't have to, in such a case.
Honestly, this. Pathfinder isn't hard, and the game does most of its breaking down when you pursue bleeding edge optimization.
edit: For a dex based shifter, pick tiger or deionychus as your main combat form. Pick up shifters edge. Tiger is good for a grapple build in which case you'll probably want agile maneuvers and also does chargepouncemaul, the dinosaur is good for win initiative chargepouncemaul.
Make sure your strength is high enough to take powerattack, get shifters edge, make sure your base saves and AC are maintained and your shifter will do fine. They have an inelegant design but good enough damage output to fill the role of a martial