So we all know when you crit it increases the results of your spell by one in your favorable direction, but the same thing happens when you crit a Disintegrate attack roll. So assuming you crit the Strike, then the Spell Strike, would it decrease the results of the targets save by two? Would there only be one decrease applied? Or would Striking Spell only apply to the Spell Strike and not the save?
It's probably one of the worst spells to Spell Strike with:
1. It's ambiguous whether the crit bonus applies to both the saving throw and the spell attack, but I suspect that if this issue is clarified, it will be clarified that it only applies to the spell attack for a spell with both.
2. You're not very good at spell attacks or save DCs as a magus, and disintegrate depends on both.
3. Disintegrate's saving grace is true strike, which is hard to pull off with Striking Spell's action economy, and which will never apply to your spell attack roll in any event since you roll your weapon attack first.
4. If you do pull off the double crit scenario, the two effects don't stack. This has come up before.
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Cordell Kintner wrote: ...would it decrease the results of the targets save by two? We don't have this info in a place that's easy to find right now, but you can't increase or decrease a save by more than one step. Something we need to FAQ when we have time.
1. Even if a crit only applies to the spell attack, that gives the attack a huge bonus to crit, thus giving the target a huge chance to fail their save.
2. You will literally have 1 less Int than a Wizard of your level. There's no issue here. And if you think it's an issue, then it's an issue for all casters, not just the Magus.
3. The action Economy is fine. You usually spend a round getting into position for a flank anyway, so there's no harm in doing so for a Disintegrate. And with Slide Casting that's two Strides to get to where you need to be.
4. This point was ninja'd lol
Finally, bosses are typically one level over the max level of that tier. This gives a 50/50 chance of striking with a weapon. This is before factoring in Flat Footed, and any bonuses or debuffs your teammates might apply before you strike. This is a team game after all, and not factoring in stuff like that is just disingenuous.
Logan Bonner wrote: Cordell Kintner wrote: ...would it decrease the results of the targets save by two? We don't have this info in a place that's easy to find right now, but you can't increase or decrease a save by more than one step. Something we need to FAQ when we have time. I assumed so. So the next question is, if you Crit with the Strike, then only get a success on the Spell Attack, would the save still be decreased by one level?
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Cordell Kintner wrote: 1. Even if a crit only applies to the spell attack, that gives the attack a huge bonus to crit, thus giving the target a huge chance to fail their save. True, but that requires (a) crit with weapon attack, (b) success or better with spell attack, (c) no critical success on save. So possible but a lot of things have to go right.
Quote: 2. You will literally have 1 less Int than a Wizard of your level. There's no issue here. And if you think it's an issue, then it's an issue for all casters, not just the Magus. Spell attacks are generally weak without true strike because AC is balanced against item bonuses and spell attacks don't get those. Magi are going to be a little worse because their proficiency doesn't scale as quickly and their Int is 1 behind. This problem is worse at high levels; you get expert at 11 and master at 19, while wizards get expert at 7, master at 15, and legendary at 19.
Quote: 3. The action Economy is fine. You usually spend a round getting into position for a flank anyway, so there's no harm in doing so for a Disintegrate. And with Slide Casting that's two Strides to get to where you need to be. But that means you can't Strike (or attack with a spell) that first round. And it means you use up two of your precious four spell slots. And true strike still only applies to your weapon attack, when the thing that needs boosting is the spell attack. (Yes, you might crit, but most of the time you won't.) It also means that if you don't land a weapon hit that second round, you waste the spell.
Quote: 4. This point was ninja'd lol
Finally, bosses are typically one level over the max level of that tier. This gives a 50/50 chance of striking with a weapon. This is before factoring in Flat Footed, and any bonuses or debuffs your teammates might apply before you strike. This is a team game after all, and not factoring in stuff like that is just disingenuous.
The problem isn't your weapon attack. It's your spell attack, which will be 3 points behind at level 11. And remember, you have to hit with both--and then the target also gets a save.
So far i like Electric Arc, because you won’t miss the attack roll or waste a slot, Vampiric Touch, because it doesnt miss, Harm, because it’s 1 action no miss, and Sudden Bolt, because if you do crit on the weapon attack, it blows up.
Lelomenia wrote: So far i like Electric Arc, because you won’t miss the attack roll or waste a slot, Vampiric Touch, because it doesnt miss, Harm, because it’s 1 action no miss, and Sudden Bolt, because if you do crit on the weapon attack, it blows up. These are good picks. Don't leave out chill touch, which has the same advantages as electric arc, and the main disadvantage of which (its touch range) is irrelevant given Striking Spell's limitation to melee. Having two basic save cantrips is nice too because it means you have some flexibility to pick low saves.
How do you expect to get harm--with a multiclass archetype?
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