Dragon is really nice for a Barbarian/Martial Artist, or a Strength-based Monk build. Gives some save bonuses, allows movement/charging through hindering terrain, gives an insane damage boost. Works well for a high mobility vital strike build.
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It depends on the character. There can be no universal answer, because styles do vastly different things. Likewise, a style feat guide makes no sense because there simply is no common reference point that could be grounds for a comparison.
Standout styles:
Pummeling Style (up to Charge) is by far the best style for damage-minded Brawlers and cMonks, because pounce reigns surpreme.
Ascetic Style (up to Form) is awesome for unMonk, combining the best of weapon and unarmed.
Dragon Style (up to Ferocity), Jabbing Style (up to Master), and Pummeling Style (up to Charge) are all perfectly viable for unMonk.
Crane Style (standalone these days q_q) for defense-minded Monks.
Demonic Style (standalone) is interesting for pounce builds, especially natural attack ones.
Kitsune Style (full) is great for a Dirty Trick character.
Mobile Bulwark Style (full) is amazing defense.
Startoss Style (full) makes for a good throwing build.
Grapplers probably want either snapping turtle (at least 2 feats) or kraken style (as many as possible).
Improvised weapon users almost require all 3 feats of shikigami style.
Sisterhood style is great for teamwork feat use, though it requires you to use a longsword and shield.
Honestly most of the styles have a use case, if possibly a weirdly narrow one. Any character with bonus feats & planning on melee should consider allocating feats to some style.
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Original crane style full chain was amazing for magi. Then came nerf after nerf after nerf after nerf.
I wonder if it is possible to build an archer with styles feat? (no overwatch)
I always thought of putting together something neat using Shield Gauntlet Style. My thought is using it with an Avenger Vigilante with their talents that boost unarmed combat, finesse combat, and signature weapons.
I wonder if it is possible to build an archer with styles feat? (no overwatch)
There's a style about beating people over the head with your bow (empty quiver) but that's probably not what you mean. Elven battle focus gives int to damage instead of str but that's three feats in (the other two don't help) and archers want their feats. Lantern style works with thrown weapons but eh, thrown weapons.
Dwarven hatred style might actually be the most use. Attack/damage bonuses after an enemy hits you.
Improvised weapon users almost require all 3 feats of shikigami style.
How could I have forgotten that for my list? Shikigami Style is super powerful, both with and without actually using Shikigami Manipulation.
Original crane style full chain was amazing for magi. Then came nerf after nerf after nerf after nerf.
It was really just one nerf, just a devastating one. The subsequent changes were to fix that the nerf had made Crane Riposte literally impossible to use.
I wonder if it is possible to build an archer with styles feat? (no overwatch)
Well, Monkey Style is good on a Zen Archer Monk to stand up from prone. But I guess that's not what you're after...
There are no style feats (apart from Overwatch and Empty Quiver) that specifically work with bows. The original batch was for unarmed builds, and most others are for melee weapons or combat maneuvers. Crane Style and Dwarven Hatred Style work just as well with bows, but that's pretty much it.
I like the ones with immediate benefits and no prerquisite BS... like Stick Fighting Style.
I did base an entire build around Panther Parry fused with Crane Riposte, on a Swashbuckler with Opportune Parry & Riposte. Mainly due to alliteration... I liked the way it sounded... panther PARRY & crane RIPOSTE.. it made sense to me at the time. The build was a discombobulated mess, encompassing Swashbuckler 1, Monk 4, Ranger 1, and finally settling in Magus 6+. Loads of fun. So much Panache. Definitely had ALL the parrying & ALL the riposting.
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Outslug sprint is a 3 feat chain
If only it was. Sadly, in addition to the three style feats, it also needs Lunge and Weapon Focus, plus Combat Expertise on non-Brawlers. The chain allows full attacking enemies enemies 20ft away (25ft if you Versatile Design a reach weapon into the group), which would be very good... if it didn't take 5 or 6 feats.
This is actually symptomatic for style feat chains: There a lot of interesting stuff there, but the cost is often way too high. This doesn't just go for prereqs, but also for action cost - too many styles have interesting options that require a standard action, yet can't compete with a full attack. Even more extreme are feats like Panther Style, which basically begs you to spend your turns running around provoking AoOs (which works really well, until your GM remembers that taking AoOs is voluntary). Lastly, there's the cost of preventing the use of another style (similarly how some archetypes are bad because they prevent taking a certain good archetype). For example, for a Brawler and cMonk, every style feat chain has to compete with Pummeling Charge/Pounce, and that's an almost impossible battle to win.
I like the ones with immediate benefits and no prerquisite BS... like Stick Fighting Style.
Stick Fighting Style is indeed an interesting one. The first feats is very minor, and the second one is probably only situational useful (unless you combined it with Crane Style...), but the third one is aweseome, being an outright bonus attack for maneuver builds, with no downsides. Since there're no pesky prereqs, the cost is actually affordable, even if you have to spend feats on other stuff (like making the maneuver usuable).
Sorry for being a bother, This thread was mostly started because I discoverd style feats and wanted to know poples opinions on them and what ones people like! Sorry!
No need to apologize!
I have a Fighter that uses Shikigami Style Feats with a Sledge Hammer. Sledge Hammers do 2d6 normally, and Each Shikigami Feat lets you use a bigger hammer. So, dip a level in Ranger for Lead Blades. Dip a level in Living Monolith for Enlarge Person, so that's 5 Size increases! Vital Strike Feats for single opponents; Great Cleave for multiple opponents. 48d6, anyone? His name is Gallagher, of course.I dont think that style and lead blades stack as they are both virtual size increases.Whoops: 4 Size Increases.
To get that 5th Size Increase, the character needs to take levels in the Titan Fighter Archetype. That lets him use a weapon 1 size bigger than himself, so that is a weapon 1 size too big + 3 Vitural Size Increases + Enlarge Person as a Swift Action. for I think 12d6 Base Damage.
Hmm, Tiefling with Oversized Limbs...
Meh, the whole gigantic weapon thing isn't for me, personally. Nothing about the concept appeals to me. I mean, damage is cool and all, but literally everything else about it bores me. I am not impressed when I see it in other media, either... anime and video games always have someone swinging something abnormally sized for the character... It's just not my style.
Being a Tiefling with Oversized Limbs is not to wield an even larger weapon as a Titan Fighter/Mauler... it's to wield a size Large weapon WITHOUT PENALTY... that is the key feature of Oversized Limbs.
A Titan Fighter takes an additional -2 on top of the normal -2 penalty for using an inappropriately sized weapon... but with Oversized Limbs, you don't have a -2 penalty for using Large weapons... therefor you only suffer the -2 Titan Fighter adds, because the original -2 doesn't exist for you.
Not that any of that matters.
Pummeling is good up to a certain point on Unchained Monks but it starts dropping off pretty fast once you hit 30ft fast movement and can bypass most DRs.
Snake Style is probably the the strongest style chain since Crane Wing was taken out back and shot in the head.
Dragon Style is strong but kinda boring.
Blinded Blade Style is my low-key favorite style. Blindsight 30ft! This style makes you immune to anything sight based which is a surprising lot! Illusions, a lot of fear effects, Gaze attacks!
I have been waiting for Blinded Blade to be mentioned. Lol. Deep Lurker UnRogue is solid for this style. Stack it up with Bandit and Kidnapper, grab the Strangler feat...
It's not like weapon focus is a feat tax though.
It's still a feat you have to take, and when you also need five other feats, that hurts. Apart from Combat Expertise, all the feats actually do something useful, but you need to take so many of them that don't really have much room left for anything else.
Pummeling is good up to a certain point on Unchained Monks but it starts dropping off pretty fast once you hit 30ft fast movement and can bypass most DRs
It doesn't, actually. There's still plenty of DR that can't be bypassed by the ki pool (slashing, piercing, untyped, alignment until you can afford a +5 weapon), but the main draw is Pummeling Charge. Not only does it mean your style strike can be Elbow Smash instead of Flying Kick, so you basically get a bonus attack, it's also still a charge, so you get +2 to attack rolls, which is useful on a class lacking them. Not using Flying Kick also means benefitting more from handwraps. I had actually pretty much overlooked Pummeling Style for unMonk for pretty much the same reason you did, but it's actually on par with Dragon Style and Jabbing Style (at least for turns where you have to move).
Blinded Blade Style is my low-key favorite style. Blindsight 30ft!
Takes 6 feats, though. And it only works against creatures, so you couldn't charge while using it.
Stick Fighting Style is indeed an interesting one. The first feats is very minor, and the second one is probably only situational useful (unless you combined it with Crane Style...), but the third one is aweseome, being an outright bonus attack for maneuver builds, with no downsides. Since there're no pesky prereqs, the cost is actually affordable, even if you have to spend feats on other stuff (like making the maneuver usuable).
If I am not mistaken, nowhere is it forbidden to use this styles with dirty tricks maneuver?
It isn't, and you can make the maneuver at any point in the full attack. If you make the bonus maneuver attack first, and blind the opponent, all your regular attacks are made against the reduced AC (flat-footed AC -2).