| Phntm888 |
First of all, feel free to take this with a grain of salt - I haven't had the chance to do any actual playtesting, on account of COVID and an 11-month old. Second, these are my opinions, and I don't treat my opinions as facts. Third, some of this has been said by others on the forums, but I'd like to add my piece, as well.
After looking over the Magus and doing some character building, I feel that the Magus needs improvement. I really enjoyed playing a Magus in PF1, and I feel that it occupied a niche design space that was interesting and exciting. I was hoping to feel that same feeling for the one in PF2, but I'm feeling more let down by it than excited.
Here is what I like about the Magus:
1. I like the highly limited number of spell slots on the Magus. I think 4 spell slots is too few, but I like that their spellcasting is so different from other spellcasters, as it helps them feel a bit different.
2. I like that they get Master proficiency with weapons and Master proficiency with spells. That feels right for a class that's niche should be blending skill with weapon and spell.
3. I like how they use the Magus Synthesis feature to allow for different types of magi. I think that's a good way to help keep every Magus from being identical (like in PF1, where most magi were rapier or scimitar wielding Dex monsters).
Here is what I don't like about the Magus:
1. I don't like Striking Spell in its current form. I think requiring a separate spell attack on the spell slows down table play, and if you don't take the Slide Casting Synthesis, you might not even get the chance to use it the same round if you also have to Stride to get to your target. The delay in spellcasting proficiency also means that the spell attack is always going to be worse than the weapon attack. Further, I think that if you hit on the weapon attack but miss on the spell attack when you expended one of your limited spell slots, you can't help but feel a little let down by the result.
2. As said above, I don't like how few spell slots the Magus gets. I think that giving them 2 additional spell slots of a level 2 lower than the highest they can cast would be good, or some other way of automatically gaining additional spell slots (similar to the Martial Caster feat or an MCD, but built into the class progression instead of being a separate feat) would make the Magus feel more like the caster hybrid the class wants to be.
3. I don't like that the Magus has Strength or Dexterity as its key ability score, while also needing a good Intelligence for spell saves/spell attack rolls. This highly limits the Magus's ability to diversify into secondary and tertiary stats where other classes only need to focus on one stat and can treat other stats as Secondary. Using standard character creation rules, this also puts Ancestries that don't give a bonus to either Strength, Dexterity, or Intelligence, like Dwarves and Gnomes, behind the number curve on either weapon attacks or spell attacks unless they take Voluntary Flaws, which instead puts secondary or tertiary stats behind those of Ancestries that don't need to take Voluntary Flaws. This seems to run counter to Paizo's intent that any Ancestry can be good at any Class.
Following the standard character creation, applying the same non-Ancestry ability boosts to the same stats, here's a Dwarf and Human Comparison at Level 1.
Strength-based Human Magus:
Str 18, Dex 12, Con 12, Int 16, Wis 10, Cha 10
Strength-based Dwarf Magus:
Str 18, Dex 12, Con 14, Int 14, Wis 12, Cha 8
For 3 extra hit points and a +1 bonus to Perception and Will saves, the Dwarf has a -1 chance to hit with spell attacks and a -1 on all Charisma-based skills relative to the Human. While the boost to Perception and Will saves verse the -1 on Charisma-based skills is about fair, given that the Magus is built with a primary goal of dealing damage, 3 HP for -1 to spell attack rolls and save DCs doesn't seem worth it.
4. I don't like that the Magus appears to be a "fifth man" class. They don't have enough spell slots to be a primary caster, they don't get enough Skills to be the Skilled character, and they're too fragile to be the primary frontline combatant. While a hefty investment in Medicine/Battle Medicine can allow them to be an emergency healer, they really aren't designed for it, since they likely won't be able to invest too heavily in Wisdom until at least Level 10.
5. I think the Magus needs more Focus Spells, as well as the multi-Focus Point recharge feats that other classes get to recharge Focus Points. As currently written, if you use Magus Potency and Runic Impressions in the same fight, you can only use one of those Focus spells for the rest of the day, since you can only regenerate a single Focus Point when you Refocus.
6. The smallest quibble, but the Magus as it stands gets the fewest trained classes in the game. They are Trained in Arcana and 2+Intelligence modifier skills. This is identical to the wizard, except that Intelligence isn't their Key Ability and will likely be at least one point lower than the Wizard's, resulting in one fewer trained Skill.
Now, I'm not just going to come here and criticize it - I like the Magus, and I want it to be a great class that's fun and interesting to play. I don't think the Magus is too far away from where it needs to be, but it definitely needs work to get there. Here are some changes I think could work:
1. Change the Key Ability to Intelligence. This gives the Magus the same number of Skills as a Wizard, as well as giving all Ancestries an equal chance to be good at being a Magus.
2. Eliminate the need for the spell attack roll with Striking Spell, and only need the first roll to hit. If Paizo is truly married to the idea of a separate spell attack roll, then that attack roll needs a boost, like adding the weapon's item bonus to the spell attack roll. That also plays well with Magus Potency.
3. Make the Slide Casting's Stride a default action with Striking Spell, and have the Synthesis give you an alternative action, e.g. Sustaining Steel Synthesis can choose to Stride OR gain Temporary HP. That way the player can choose which action best suits the situation.
4. With Intelligence as the Key Ability, take a page out of the Investigator's book, and allow the Magus to substitute their Intelligence modifier for Strength or Dexterity when they attack with a weapon charged with a Striking Spell. Even if the number of spell slots isn't expanded, this provides incentive for using Striking Spell with cantrips, and feels like Striking Spell is actually a meaningful choice.
Anyway, these are just my thoughts the Playtest Magus. I know some of it's been said, but I felt the need to write it down, anyway.