Just curious our Alchemist decided the best turns for an Alchemists is just Throw a Bomb + Electric Arc. Which means if no monsters attack him that he feels that is just the best thing to do.
I am not to familiar with the Alchemist other than the basic skill actions like recall knowledge/demoralize is there any other fun in combat offensive options he can do.
I know he can hand out consumable items before combat but I don't think many people find that too "fun". He opted out of the familiar so I really am just not sure what else he can do.
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Depends on what skills he is good in to be honest. Also, level and field, I suppose.
We created the character when we were new, so most people weren't aware of the "combat" skills.
he character doesn't really have any combat skills other than diplomacy, which he can get bon mot. Other than that I see recall knowledge as an action.
Any offensive alchemical items he can make or are they all pretty much get effected by MAP?
We created the character when we were new, so most people weren't aware of the "combat" skills.
he character doesn't really have any combat skills other than diplomacy, which he can get bon mot. Other than that I see recall knowledge as an action.
Any offensive alchemical items he can make or are they all pretty much get effected by MAP?
A lot of skills have combat uses if you look hard enough though. Occultism has a feat that you lets inflict Frightened or Confused, for example. What skills are they putting increases in?
That is kind of what I was thinking. At least he has like 4 different bombs to "strike" with. Handing out items pre combat might be "good" but I don't think that really helps him enjoy combat.
The alchemist "crafting" seems actually seems really cool mechanic but since the bombs are one action and effected by MAP the player feels that the second/third bomb is almost always worst than electric arc. Oddly I actually have no idea if that is actually the case.
A lot of skills have combat uses if you look hard enough though. Occultism has a feat that you lets inflict Frightened or Confused, for example. What skills are they putting increases in?
I am not the GM so I don't know his sheet. In general I know he is focused in Crafting but not sure what else he is planning on being above trained in. I know he is missing intimidation/athletics/medicine which imo are the "big combat actions".
Other than that the only option I see is Bon Mot / Recall Knowledge but it is tough for me to explain damage isn't everything. Hopefully we can have a strategy session and I can help explain some tactics and thoroughly explain what they can do.
Our combats have just been melee running in and attack>attack>raise shield and alchemist bomb/electric arc. I admit PFS that is all melee characters do most the time which is a little sad. Our last PFS session every play was melee and just attack>attack>attack and raised a shield if they had it.
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Well, that is also OK if that's all the player wants to do. I would try and guide those players towards flurry rangers who really just want to mash the attack button like a turret or passive feats.
Throwing a bomb followed by Electric Arc is perfectly viable if the player is mixing up their bomb use. Opening with an Acid Flash on a strong enemy, followed by Lightning Flasks or one of those Frightened bombs to debuff or Alchemist Fire for raw damage naturally leads to variety, and there are elixirs if they are needed in the moment.
Stealth is also a decent skill use. Hiding is one of the few ways to make enemies flat-footed to range attacks.
If uncommon options are available, they could also snag an Alchemical Crossbow.
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Alchemists aren't that fragile; if they have Shield Block, they can get up and flank if needed. Alchemists can easily pick up Battle Medicine to heal. Bon Mot (Diplomacy), Demoralize (Intimidation), and Feint (Deception) are okay, but alchemists don't often have good Charisma. Hide (Stealth) is a possibility, too, to help bombs hit, and alchemists often have good Dexterity.
But overall, if most combats consist of characters standing in place and making three combat actions (Strike-Strike-Strike or Strike-Cast), I think something is awry. PF2 allows more mobility and if enemies aren't taking advantage of that (e.g., fast enemies backing up after Striking, or stealthy enemies using Hide themselves), your GM is robbing you of some very interesting strategy.
Our GM tries to "roleplay" the creatures correctly so if they are dumb they just attack non stop. I actually asked him about using skill actions for the monsters instead of just attacking three times every round and he said that is "not optimal and the monster description dont say they do anything but attack".
I admit PFS most GMs just do that too, they will just use whatever special ability they have an attack as many times as possible. Is that all monsters are supposed to do?
No matter what I say players/gm think the best thing to do is attack/attack/attack or raise shield. The alchemist also views bomb/electric arc as most optimal... it kind of makes me want to cry.
The melee have attack of oppurtunity so the GM pretty much feels moving isnt a good thing to do.. I am trying to make sure everyone has fun, which I can only influence so much as a player.
In PFS, the combat strategies are elucidated well beyond "strike three times."
There's two reasons why GMs may end up Striking 3 times - one is that they're lazy, but also two is that because of the way the rewards system works, it's really not in the GMs best interest to try their hardest to TPK the party.
In my family game, I frequently switch to Strike 3x when it's getting close to bed time and we need to end the session. The dragon that's been circling the party blasting with breath weapons gives up its massive aerial advantage and gets murdered in a round. The ogre on top of the hill rolling boulders downhill pulls out a greataxe and charges the party. The PCs have a massive action economy advantage when the enemy just Strikes. I mean, it has its place, because my kids feel great when they Step up into flanking and just whale on the meatbag I've plopped in front of them, but it's my way of wrapping things up.
Our GM tries to "roleplay" the creatures correctly so if they are dumb they just attack non stop. I actually asked him about using skill actions for the monsters instead of just attacking three times every round and he said that is "not optimal and the monster description dont say they do anything but attack".
I admit PFS most GMs just do that too, they will just use whatever special ability they have an attack as many times as possible. Is that all monsters are supposed to do?
No matter what I say players/gm think the best thing to do is attack/attack/attack or raise shield. The alchemist also views bomb/electric arc as most optimal... it kind of makes me want to cry.
The melee have attack of oppurtunity so the GM pretty much feels moving isnt a good thing to do.. I am trying to make sure everyone has fun, which I can only influence so much as a player.
Your GM is correct that dumb monsters should use dumb tactics. What those are precisely is up to their discretion, but they're juggling a lot so they're going to often go for simple. Lots of creatures don't have the skills to utilize in combat either. You'd be surprised how many big scary monsters aren't trained in intimidation.
Movement should probably be occurring, but not much past the point any given enemy eats an AoO.