Wizard
100% wizard. It's already the strongest class in the game. It has an insane spell list. Prepared casting. Like...they're awesome at what they do and they can do anything
Are you asking about arena battles where a Wizard fights a Witch one-on-one? I suspect the answer is, whoever fails their save first will lose.
Or usefulness in a standard Pathfinder advemtire?
Wizards (if played well) tend to be the best in a campaign. They can prepare the spells needed for the situation they're facing. Stealth? Flight? Underwater adventures? They can handle it. Most situations in Pathfinder have a specific spell that makes them easy to deal with. In real play Wizard effectiveness varies a lot, based on how much the GM allows the players to guess what's coming up.
Sorcerers have the same excellent spell list as Wizards, but get their spells one level later, and don't have the ability to swap out their spells every day. Spontaneous casting is good, but not good enough to compensate for both of those factors.
Arcanist is roughly half way between Wizard and Sorcerer, I guess?
Witch has a worse spell list, and an overpowered Slumber Hex, which is an instant win in a lot of circumstances, and completely worthless the rest of the time.
And Psychics... are also a class in Pathfinder.
Wizard generally has the highest level of optimisation available. Besides their general power there's the odd rules element for anything which can improve the class and wizards have that like any other class, plus they've been around longer than most so there's more material they can use. It may be easier to make a sorcerer blaster or one whose spells always land or one with weird off-list spells, but wizards can do those too.
If you're going to set up an arena anyone can win depending on luck and how they're played, but I expect the wizard would have a statistical edge. In actual games prepared casting makes life easier.
The idea of a specialist in magic is the OP thing. Wizards are that idea and exploit it best.
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How do you define "most powerful"? The way I see it, the strength of a class is tied to how much the class can dictate and shape the game.
In combat, this means being in control of the fight, making the enemies do what you want before the enemies can make you do what they want. There are sorts of ways to do that (including killing!), but naturally, it requires being able to affect the enemy. For example a melee without flight can't be in control in a fight with flying enemies, because even when he has backup weapons, the opponent dictates the fight in such a situation.
Outside of combat, this is generally called narrative power, which is the ability to change the rules of the story the GM is telling to better suit your desires. Narrative power means bypassing challenges (or resolving them easier than intended), in other words being able to chose an easier path than normal. Examples would be flying over chasms, bypassing enemies with teleport, charming/controlling NPCs to have them take you to their king right away, stealthing into the royal chamber to just grab the item you're after, or removing a status condition yourself instead of having to do a quest to have some NPC do it.
By the very nature of it, a prepared caster has more narrative power than a spontaneous caster by being able to a) have way more different spells ready for a day than a spontaneous caster, and b) get the very best spell their list has if they can prepare for the situation. Naturally, the bigger and more varied the spell list, the more fitting a spell can be found.
For combat shaping power, the number of different spells usually isn't that important, unless a) you know forehand what you're going to fight, e.g. when venturing into a dragon's lair, or b) the fight requires a special spell, e.g. Dimensional Anchor. Being behind a spell level is obviously a huge damper to the power of spontaneous casters and Arcanists, one not offset by the higher number of spells per day.
So by going by the above, we can not only say who's the strongest, but even sort them all. First come the two casters who get new spell levels at odd class levels. Wizard has by far the biggest spell list in the game (65% bigger than a Witch's), which puts Wizard on top, and Witch behind that. Arcanist has the benefits of prepared casting, but is behind Witch not only because of the delayed spell progression, but also because hexes are more combat-powerful than both the bigger spell list, and exploits. Sorcerer and Psychic can't compete with the problem solving abilities or prepared casting, so they take the last to places. here it boils down to choices, as the Sorcerer spell list is much bigger and much strogner than the Psychic's, but the Rebirth Psychic Discipline's Mnemonic Esoterica gives them limited prepared casting. If the Sorc doesn't have something like that (e.g. from Paragon Surge or Razmiran Priest), a Psychic wih that Discipline is stronger. A psychic without Rebirth takes last place, period.
Note that all of this presumes normal conditions, like the once you'd find in Adventure Paths or PFS. If you're in a campaign with 20 fights per day and nothing else, or in a campaign where a Wizard can never copy spells form anyone, or a campaign where everyone is immune to mind-affectign effects, the sorting would change.
Archetype access itself doesn't change much except for Razmiran Priest Sorcerer, which is ahead of Arcanist (presumign the game reaches double digit levels). Witch stays ahead thanks to Ashiftah,Invoker, or Scarred Witch Doctor, and the raw power of hexes. Pact Wizard is just ridiculous at higher level, more than enough to make Wizard defend the #1 spot (although even other archetypes like Shadowcaster and Exploiter Wizard do that). Arcanist has some nice archetypes (Blood Arcanist, School Savant, and especially Occultist), but those don't even come close to Razmiran Priest, and aren't enough to challenge Witch. Psychic has no archetypes that help it out.
Sorcerers are Cha based and have only 2 skill points per level. They obviously suck at melee. So they rely on magic for everything, bar the occasional bit of Face time. Wizards still suck at melee, but at least they have have enough skills to handle the other problems. And of course they're smarter so will have solved the problem before the Sorcerers know it exists.
Also, scrolls. A wizard really does have a spell for everything. And a familiar.
I'm going to second commoner.
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Sorcerer. Spontaneous Casting far outranks Prepared Casting.
I don't think Spontaneous casting "far outranks" prepared casting, but I do think prepaired casters are overvalued by theory-crafters on the forums.
Prepaired casters will always have the edge in the first encounter of the day since they have more options available to them. By the second encounter they've used up some of those options, so if a situation comes up where the same spell would be useful again they instead have to use something less optimal. Every encounter you have reduces the versatility of the prepaired caster and increases the value of spontaneous casting. As Derklord said, if you have 20 encounters per day a Sorcerer will win out, but you don't need 20 for the balance to tip (10 would certainly be enough, possibly 6).
There are some options that will change this balance - Pearls of Power, a Wizard's Bonded Object (spontaneously cast 1 spell/day) and some others. These tip the balance in favour of Prepaired casters since it emulates the benefits of a Spontaneous caster. However the same could be said in reverse with Scrolls/Wands/Staves being an easy way for a Spontaneous caster to have the versatility of a Prepaired caster, so this point is a bit if a wash.
If the only difference between casters was Prepaired vs Spontaneous then the difference in power would be minimal, more of a preference decision than anything else. Arcanists would be the clear winners since they have the best of both worlds.
But there are 2 other major power balances.
1. Spell-List: Wizards, Sorcerers and Arcanists are the clear winners here. Their spell-list is much bigger and more versatile than Witches and Psychics.
2. Early access to spells: Wizards and Witches (prepaired casters) get access to a new spell level earlier than their spontaneous counterparts. At levels 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17 the Prepaired casters have access to higher level magic than the other 9th level casters. This is a big enough boon that it really does push Prepaired casters ahead.
Conclusion: While I disagree with the reasoning others have presented (Spontaneous/Prepaired):
The Wizard still has enough obviously tangible benefits to put it ahead of the other classes.
Witch comes in second for early access to higher level spells, and their Hexes give them real staying power.
Arcanists would have won outright if not for the slower access.
Sorcerers have the best spell list.
Psychics are still 9th level casters, but can't compete with the benefits other classes have.
EDIT: And obviously archetypes/prestige-classes/etc could bump a class up or down a bit.
Some random stuff:
In actual play the d6 classes might get nerfed. To the point where it changes the ranking among them (because some suffer more than others) and where they become weaker than d8 etc. classes.
As I read the 2018 survey, the level played most is level 1. That's a level where you don't contribute much if you only have spells at hand. Having another class feature with some uses per day really helps here.
Guides about "god wizards" and forum talk about "caster / martial disparity" raise a (rather new) player's expectations how dominant their caster will be. This clashes both with reality (casters don't work perfectly out of the box) and the other people at the table - who don't want a game dominated by a(nother) single person.
Depending on the campaign, Use Magic Device can be the strongest skill in the game, undermining the concepts of restricted spell lists and restricted spells per day. So a commoner with enough UMD and consumables can actually contribute to a party's success. And while Pragmatical Activator exists for Int based casters, it puts the player a trait behind Cha based casters.
Personally, I judge the power level of a class based on how versatile it is first, and then their actual ability to shatter the rules second. To that end, I nominate the Arcanist as the most 'powerful'. Whether or not it lags behind another class at a different spell level now and then really doesn't matter to me.
I fully admit that I am entirely biased in my assessment. I tend to favor spontaneous casters more than prepared casters. I really don't care that a wizard has a better toolbelt than a sorcerer.
I don't think Spontaneous casting "far outranks" prepared casting, but I do think prepaired casters are overvalued by theory-crafters on the forums.
Overvalued? Theory Crafting? This isn't like a big concept to understand.
Any situation you are able to prepare for = Wizard +
Any situation you can bring a generalized list to = Wizard Neutral
Any situation you prepared for but prepared completely incorrectly = Wizard -
The third situation is very rare in my experience. However, having a hint of the challenges to come is very frequent.
As Derklord said, if you have 20 encounters per day a Sorcerer will win out, but you don't need 20 for the balance to tip (10 would certainly be enough, possibly 6).
I would argue there are few times where a Sorcerer slight advantage in spell slots make so much a greater difference over the Wizard getting it's higher level slots sooner.
There are some options that will change this balance - Pearls of Power, a Wizard's Bonded Object (spontaneously cast 1 spell/day) and some others. These tip the balance in favour of Prepaired casters since it emulates the benefits of a Spontaneous caster. However the same could be said in reverse with Scrolls/Wands/Staves being an easy way for a Spontaneous caster to have the versatility of a Prepaired caster, so this point is a bit if a wash.
I disagree. Pearls of Power let you reprepare the same spell cast and Bonded Object is significantly better on the Wizard than it is on the Sorcerer. Scrolls, Wands and Staves are better in the hands of a Wizard because they can select generally useful spells to store in them and save their slots for higher impact, but possibly more niche spells. Scrolls in particular are especially better in the Wizard's hands since they have their full selection to choose from rather than just another spell slot from the Sorcerer. They also save a feat on Scribe Scroll.
Another understated benefit to Wizards is getting to Megaman enemy wizard's spellbooks.
But I think a lot of people would agree when it comes to encounter staying power
Witch > Sorcerer
Hexes are extremely good. So good that in the Carrion Crown(A game where their power is mitigated significantly) campaign I just finished, I would put our Winter Witch/Winter Witch on par with a good Wizard.
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But I think a lot of people would agree when it comes to encounter staying power
Witch > Sorcerer
I've found it's exceedingly rare for a wizard or sorcerer to run out of spells, so any limitations to their "staying power" are largely hypothetical.
And spells are generally better than hexes (that's why you get limited spells and infinite hexes), with the notable exception of Slumber. Given that the sorcerer spell list is clearly better than the witch's, I would say that in practice Sorcerer > Witch. In forum theory where sorcerers run out of spells (seriously, when does that ever happen?), well, the party has bigger problems than figuring out which caster is superior.
Otherwise, yeah, ExploiterWizard > Wizard > Arcanist > Sorcerer > Psychic; which is what people said already.
I would argue there are few times where a Sorcerer slight advantage in spell slots make so much a greater difference over the Wizard getting it's higher level slots sooner.
As Derklord said, if you have 20 encounters per day a Sorcerer will win out, but you don't need 20 for the balance to tip (10 would certainly be enough, possibly 6).
I think you misunderstood my post.
Let's look at 6th level casters rather than 9th level casters. A Magus vs an Occultist, or a Warpriest vs an Inquisitor. In the first encounter of the day the prepaired caster has the advantage, they have more spells available to them, so their list of options is greater. As the day wears on the spontaneous caster has the advantage, since they can re-cast their useful spells as needed, rather than having to use the utility spells that were prepaired but never came up. The utility spells are probably still useful, but they're not the first choice for the scenario, they're a sub-optimal backup option.
If Spontaneous vs Prepaired was the only difference between the classes it would be much more even ... but that's not the oy difference. Paizo unfortunately over-values spontaneous casting, and as such the Prepaired casters get new spells a level earlier, giving them a HUGE advantage. I ranked Wizards and Witches as the highest rated 9th level casters because of this. If they didn't get this advantage though I think there would be more discussion on this topic.
So yes, Wizards have the advantage over Sorcerers - the Sorcerer's adaptability can't match the Wizard's higher level spells - but that's not a product of the Prepaired spell-casting class feature.
Also, I don't really understand why you think Wizards are better at scrolls ... Sorcerers can use scrolls too.
I've found it's exceedingly rare for a wizard or sorcerer to run out of spells, so any limitations to their "staying power" are largely hypothetical.But I think a lot of people would agree when it comes to encounter staying power
Witch > Sorcerer
While I generally agree with you - 9th pevel casters never run out of spells, but they DO run out of their highest level spells. Hexes may not be as powerful as high level spells, but the DC for Hexes scales, while the effect may not match a high level spell, the likelyhood of having an effect matches them.
Just being Devil's advocate.
But I think a lot of people would agree when it comes to encounter staying power
Witch > Sorcerer
I've found it's exceedingly rare for a wizard or sorcerer to run out of spells, so any limitations to their "staying power" are largely hypothetical.
And spells are generally better than hexes (that's why you get limited spells and infinite hexes), with the notable exception of Slumber. Given that the sorcerer spell list is clearly better than the witch's, I would say that in practice Sorcerer > Witch. In forum theory where sorcerers run out of spells (seriously, when does that ever happen?), well, the party has bigger problems than figuring out which caster is superior.
Otherwise, yeah, ExploiterWizard > Wizard > Arcanist > Sorcerer > Psychic; which is what people said already.
I agree, it is pretty rare for casters to run completely dry. I do think the Witch gets a significant advantage in that sometimes a Wizard or Sorcerer don't want to cast a spell when the enemy is almost defeated or doing clean up.
And sometimes they just win the encounter instantly when they stick a Misfortune or Slumber right off the bat.
The most recent example of prepared casting being better that I saw was simply that the spontaneous spellcasters present couldn't pull out a comprehend languages spell. They had time, it was mentioned as a possibility. It doesn't make spontaneous spellcasting undoable, it's just an edge to those that have prepared spellcasting.
Wizards get scribe scroll for free (outside PFS) and usually have a spellbook with more spells than they can actually prepare at once. This gives them a reminder to make and use scrolls which other classes tend not to have - it's not a difference in power, it's a difference in how people tend to play them.
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I agree, it is pretty rare for casters to run completely dry. I do think the Witch gets a significant advantage in that sometimes a Wizard or Sorcerer don't want to cast a spell when the enemy is almost defeated or doing clean up.
Seems to me that when you're already doing clean up, then using a witch hex is not actually a "significant advantage" but simply flavor for the player.
I would argue there are few times where a Sorcerer slight advantage in spell slots make so much a greater difference over the Wizard getting it's higher level slots sooner.
As Derklord said, if you have 20 encounters per day a Sorcerer will win out, but you don't need 20 for the balance to tip (10 would certainly be enough, possibly 6).I think you misunderstood my post.
Let's look at 6th level casters rather than 9th level casters. A Magus vs an Occultist, or a Warpriest vs an Inquisitor. In the first encounter of the day the prepaired caster has the advantage, they have more spells available to them, so their list of options is greater. As the day wears on the spontaneous caster has the advantage, since they can re-cast their useful spells as needed, rather than having to use the utility spells that were prepaired but never came up. The utility spells are probably still useful, but they're not the first choice for the scenario, they're a sub-optimal backup option.
Bad example(Occultist is so damn good by virtue of being a Full BAB 6 caster with an awesome spell list and getting free Big 6 items and the Warpriest looks kind of like a chump compared to the Inquisitor except for niche builds), but I understand where you are coming from. I addressed this argument about "utility spells" earlier though. Typically, you don't prepare niche spells you're not expecting. That's what Scribe Scroll is for.
Also, I don't really understand why you think Wizards are better at scrolls ... Sorcerers can use scrolls too.
Access to more spells = Scrolls are more varied and niche spells can be made into spells that don't need as much Caster Level like See Invisibility, Knock, Resist Energy, Heroism, etc. A sorcerer can only craft scrolls that reflect their spells known whereas a Wizard expands not only the number of spells they can cast, but also the options they have available each day.
I pack something like 5-6 scrolls in between adventures and craft more during.
I always felt the benefit of hexes was not needing spells to cover whatever your hexes cover. It's not like you run out of spells, but never needing to worry about preparing spells for single target low will encounters means you don't need to include spells for that situation in your preparation. Slumber and Swamp's Grasp together cover a bunch of situations you'd normally need to prepare for.
Sorcerer doesn't make up for versatility of wizard, they just don't have enough extra spells and you always need to leave something behind. There's a few exceptions where I think they do compete, like a vestige sorcerer in a post apocalypse setting, but a bloodline arcanist would be better in that situation anyway. Sorcerers do get some nice damage output benefits from stacking +damage per dice bloodlines(orc/dragon crossblooded was it?), but that's not enough for me to really take an interest.
I honestly think divination wizard and smoke/air wizard are the best start to finish. I think arcanist can compete, but I haven't worked out how well and what to do about charisma in an arcanist build.
psychic is just tedious. I can barely read through it and any time I come across some interesting archetype, amplification or discipline, it's so limited in uses that I couldn't expect to have it available for as long as needed. It relies too much on targeted abilities for a caster and can be locked out of casting too easily.
I addressed this argument about "utility spells" earlier though. Typically, you don't prepare niche spells you're not expecting. That's what Scribe Scroll is for.
Right, but I don't just mean utility spells. Maybe you prepaired a Cone Of Cold, but you haven't fought any groups of enemies, you've just been fighting single target encounters all day. Cone Of Cold isn't a terrible option vs single creatures (it still does damage) but it's not as good as Hold Monster. The Sorcerer (or Arcanist) has both theses spells, and they can use whichever is best in the first encounter, whichever is best in the second encounter ... etc.
Also, I don't really understand why you think Wizards are better at scrolls ... Sorcerers can use scrolls too.Access to more spells = Scrolls are more varied and niche spells can be made into spells that don't need as much Caster Level like See Invisibility, Knock, Resist Energy, Heroism, etc. A sorcerer can only craft scrolls that reflect their spells known whereas a Wizard expands not only the number of spells they can cast, but also the options they have available each day.
I pack something like 5-6 scrolls in between adventures and craft more during.
Right, but that's not because one class is better, that's just how you play it.
Scribe Scroll is good, but scrolls are cheap. You can absolutely have a bajillion scrolls on your Sorcerer.
EDIT: I messed up my quotes, it should be fixed now.
Scribe Scroll is good, but scrolls are cheap. You can absolutely have a bajillion scrolls on your Sorcerer.
Yes, but scrolls ameliorate the small issues Wizards have in preparing their niche spells and the difference in spell slots.
Vs
A sorcerer just gets another spell slot.
Scribe Scroll is good, but scrolls are cheap. You can absolutely have a bajillion scrolls on your Sorcerer.Yes, but scrolls ameliorate the small issues Wizards have in preparing their niche spells and the difference in spell slots.
Vs
A sorcerer just gets another spell slot.
I don't get it.
Sorcerers/Wizards usually have spells that'll be useful 90% of the time.
When they're in a situation where they can't use those spells and need another one they can use Scrolls.
If they have 15 minutes of prep time the Wizard can often prepair the necessary spell (advantage wizard). This saves money on a scroll.
If they're in a situation where they've used their good spell and don't have 15 minutes of prep time to re-prepair it the Wizard can either use a Scroll or pick a less optimal spell. The Sorcerer can just cast the good spell again (advantage Sorcerer). This can potentially save more than a scroll.
I want to make 2 things clear:
1. I'm not saying Spontaneous casting is better. I'm saying they both have their advantages. I think in hypothetical situations the prepaired casters always win out because they have Schrodinger's Spell, but in reality that doesn't work.
2. I DO think Wizards beat Sorcerers, but for other reasons (namely earlier access to spells and bonus spell-slots). The class as a whole is stronger, but not because they're prepaired casters.
It's not that Wizards are overpowered... it is the fact that Wizards have been given the Skeleton Key... or at least they have the easiest access to it. Essentially every situation in the game can be solved with the Wizard's toolbox. Give them a minute (well, 15 minutes), and they will Wizard the problem/encounter/game away... PF1 might as well been called "wizards and the rest of them", but "Pathfinder" was shorter and easier to market...
Wizards are more plot devices than playable characters, because they can literally change the narrative with the flick of their wrist... or even without a flick of their wrist with the proper feat or rod... the design team failed to design situations outside the scope of the Wizard. It is a failure of the game's overall design, not the Wizard class. They designed a game that a single class has all the answers to. And/or they gave all the answers to a single class. Either way, the outcome is the same.
Wizards are adorable, though, because they make it believable that anyone can access/conquer magic with the proper amount of dedicated study. You don't need some strange magical bloodline to be a Wizard, any clown can do it if they are willing to study and practice.
I really like spontaneous casters, personally... no accidentally picking the wrong spells for day... it is cool that YOU are actually magical, not just studying ambient magic... you know what you know, which is a fun limitation to owning your own magic... and, I generally see NOT needing to carry around/protect a bunch of stupid books as a good thing.
In fact, I enjoy making NPC's that can specifically target such nonsense as Familiars, Holy Symbols, Ioun Stones, and Spellbooks... Sundering archers that target your precious toys... spontaneous casters can survive in a world with such obnoxious enemies easier than most other casters.
Anyways, the answer is probably Wizard. Then Arcanist, because it's half Wizard. And then, well, there's the rest of them...
I can't really disagree with the concensus of the thread if we are looking at the classes as a whole over all levels. However, specifically at level 18, 19, 20. Assuming equal access to spellbooks, scrolls, and other ways to add spells known, at that point, doesn't the Arcanist bypass the Wizard? All the same spell versatility, and still the pseudo-spontaneous advantage. Just at the high level (often unreadced) stage of play, doensn't the Arcanist win then? What am I missing/overlooking if not?
Probably.
Wizards get an extra spell-slot per level than their chart indicated thanks to school specialization, and with a bonded object they get another spell of (probably) their highest level as well.
I haven't played an Arcanist, but can they replicate that many spell-slots with their Arcane Reservoir?
Besides that I'd say the pseudo-spontaneous casting of the Arcanist is probably worth more than the extra spell-slots anyway, so I'd give it to them. The problem is that's 3 levels that almost never get played.
Meanwhile the Wizard has higher level spells that the Arcanist can't replicate at levels 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15 and 17 (8 levels).
But yeah at the extreme high levels I'd probably give it to the Arcanist.
There's wizard tricks which get terrifyingly powerful in the late game; the HHH pact wizard or the chronomancer archetypes, the divination school power. Though at those levels the game only exists because the arcanist or the wizard is choosing not to break it.
Isn't the 'wizard so OP' analysis the reason they used to be d4?Nah. Most d6 classes in Pathfinder had a d4 in earlier editions, and mos d8 classes had a d6. Like, rogue used to be 1d6, and surely you're not thinking that the 'rogue so OP'? ;)
Yeah PF generally gave things a boost. D4 to d6, d6 to d8. Feats every 2nd level instead of every 3rd level. Ability Score increases every 4th level instead of every 5th level (I think).
I think the reason for this is so players didn't think they were getting nerfed when converting to the "new edition".
But yeah all the classes in this thread would have been d4 classes in 3.5 (if they'd existed).
One of the edges that spontaneous casting has over prepared casting is that if you frequently need to recast the same spell, you lose a lot of the versatility of a prepared caster for having to prepare the same spells multiple times (or get a paranoid number of Pearls of Power, using money that a spontaneous caster could have been spending on Pages of Spell Knowledge or spell trigger/completion items).
And Half-Elf Sorcerers have the easiest access to one of my favorite cheeses (warning: this is weapons-grade Limburger(*)): Shapechanger Bloodline 3rd level Bloodline Power eventually extends 1 minute/level Transmutation spells to 1 hour/level, and Paragon Surge is 1 minute/level Transmutation, and lets them get any feat they qualify for, including Item Creation feats, and their 3rd level Bloodline Power makes it last long enough for choosing an Item Creation feat to be of use. Craft anything you and/or the rest of your want, including any Staves you want for filling in holes in your narrative casting repertoire.
(*)Probably should be banned. Proposed quick and easy fix: Make Paragon Surge Enchantment instead of Transmutation.
As Derklord said, if you have 20 encounters per day a Sorcerer will win out, but you don't need 20 for the balance to tip (10 would certainly be enough, possibly 6).
Actually, with many fights per day, Witch wins out hands down. Also, at odd levels, the two are pretty much on par when it comes to the highest level spell slots. For example, at 11th level at 26 int or cha, a Wizard has 13 spells of 4th level or above (6/4/3), while a Sorcerer has... also 13 such spells (8/5/0). That's without the Wizard's Bonded Object. It's also ignoring the greater power of higher spell slots, which can save spells, or the Wizard being possibly able to prepare (or Bonded Object-cast) silver bullets, which also save spells.
In the first encounter of the day the prepaired caster has the advantage, they have more spells available to them, so their list of options is greater.
It doesn't actually have to be the first encounter, though - if you know you're gonna fight the BBEG that day (or any kind of boss, really), you can save your best spells for that combat, mainly using the multiple copies of some lower level spell you've prepared for the encounters beforehand.
Guides about "god wizards" and forum talk about "caster / martial disparity" raise a (rather new) player's expectations how dominant their caster will be.
That also is a lot in the perception of power, not the actual power. First, many people grossly overvalue combat when it comes to rating a class's power, so much that even though a caster may solve all the problems out of combat, that doesn't get recognition. Second, in combat, people often grossly overvalue damage done, ignoring the impact of buffs debuffs, and crowd control, so even if the casters uterly dominated the fight, if the martials do the mop-up, the casters aren't seen as dominant (even though they were vital while the martial could've been replaced by an animal companion or Warrior NPC). I cone calculated the effect of my Summoner's Haste to be on par with that of a full damage dealing character - that shows how powerful a caster can be in effect, even though that extra damage show up in the other players' damage meter, metaphorical speaking.
Also, the term "god wizard" has nothing to do with power, but merely describes a playstyle. If people too stupid to understand that (or to lazy to inform themself) are disappointed when their new character isn't godmode, I say they deserve to suffer.
(*)Probably should be banned. Proposed quick and easy fix: Make Paragon Surge Enchantment instead of Transmutation.
Proposed quick and easy fix: Just ban crafting...
Also, I don't really understand why you think Wizards are better at scrolls ... Sorcerers can use scrolls too.
The reason Wizards are better at scrolls is they get the scribe scroll feat for free. Being able to make your own scrolls at half cost means you will have more of them. This also allows Wizards to create scrolls for utility spells that may not come up, and use all their memorized spells for combat.
And Half-Elf Sorcerers have the easiest access to one of my favorite cheeses (warning: this is weapons-grade Limburger(*)): Shapechanger Bloodline 3rd level Bloodline Power eventually extends 1 minute/level Transmutation spells to 1 hour/level, and Paragon Surge is 1 minute/level Transmutation, and lets them get any feat they qualify for, including Item Creation feats, and their 3rd level Bloodline Power makes it last long enough for choosing an Item Creation feat to be of use. Craft anything you and/or the rest of your want, including any Staves you want for filling in holes in your narrative casting repertoire.
Buff it up with a Ring of Continuation and Emergency Attunement and you can have any spell you want a mere standard action away.
(*)Probably should be banned. Proposed quick and easy fix: Make Paragon Surge Enchantment instead of Transmutation.
That's not a fix, just a cobblestone to overcome:
Even the nature of magic is susceptible to your powerful transmutations. You can spend this boon as a swift action to declare a non-transmutation spell you are casting to be “changed magic.” This spell becomes a transmutation effect, and benefits from any abilities or feats that influence your transmutation spells and can be applied to the spell you cast (such as Spell Focus).
Classes have their pros and cons, but a GM needs to play to/against these as well to make them count: Prepared casters are great when you can properly prepare - your GM can drop misleading/false hints and confusing rumors about what is to come during the next encounters. If the villagers tell the party about the "dark place with ghosts and walking skeletons" your party prepares against undead - only to discover they're up against shadow creatures and a cunning illusionist.
Half-Elf wizards have an easy way out: Just take the Spell Specialization and Greater Spell Specialization feats, and then you can add another Spell Specialization of any spell you need with Paragon Surge to cast it spontaneously.
A sorcerer can expand his capabilities a lot with Pages of Spell Knowledge and crafting them requires a mere Ampoule of False Blood (Impossible bloodline). Or be a Mongrel Mage right from the very beginning: Nothing beats the versatility of having 50+ bloodlines to choose from every day.
In the end there are many ways to mitigate your class' disadvantages.
The only class I'd really put at the bottom is the Psychic; there's just not enough stuff out there to support psychic magic and his abilities. If you want to play a Psychic, make a Psychic bloodline Sorcerer instead (and use the Esoteric Dragon bloodline arcana during level-up). You'll lose out on the special schools and phrenic amplifications, but have all the support material for a core class at hand.
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Having played wizards extensively, including from 1st to 9th and 13th-17th, not to mention dozens of NPC wizards - it's easy to talk a good game about playing a wizard and something else entirely to actually play one.
To be clear, because I was the worst I played mega optimized summoning focused conjurerors and stupid always go first diviners. EFS, all that jazz. Still nearly died many times, ran into many scenarios where I was ineffective - especially because you cannot rely on the 15 minute adventuring day. Or always having a endless supply of consumables on hand.
I've also played brutally efficient sorcerers - crossblooded shenanigans and just the plain old broken arcane bloodline. Overall, I ran into fewer situations where I didn't have anything to add, but it definitely happened. Generally, the sorcerer was more flexible but less overwhelmingly devastating as a wizard given prep time and intel.
I haven't played a psychic but I've seen one in play at high levels, and they're pretty terrifying - effectively a sorcerer with overall better class abilities and some very strong psychic spells.
I guess what I'm saying is there's just a big gulf between theorycraft and actual play.
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I guess what I'm saying is there's just a big gulf between theorycraft and actual play.
My experiences are very similar to your own on this matter. By the numbers, some classes appear to be objectively better than others. In actuality, the highly volatile nature of actual game play changes things immensely.
I guess what I'm saying is there's just a big gulf between theorycraft and actual play.My experiences are very similar to your own on this matter. By the numbers, some classes appear to be objectively better than others. In actuality, the highly volatile nature of actual game play changes things immensely.
UC rogue is supposed to be trash. In play, our UC rogue eviscerated encounters until he met a series of very bad failed will saves...
The unoptimized party fighter saved our hides against a savage AP encounter with a massive x3 crit while the paladin and mesmerist flailed and my "god wizard" just sort of tried not to die while confused and nauseated...
Obviously, the plural of anecdote is not data. But conversely, I find the broadly accepted data to be poor at predicting how things will go at the table.
After more than a decade of play, I'm really starting to question the conventional wisdom.
EDIT: Commoner is still the best d6 class, with Truenamer as a close second.
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But I think a lot of people would agree when it comes to encounter staying power
Witch > Sorcerer
I've found it's exceedingly rare for a wizard or sorcerer to run out of spells, so any limitations to their "staying power" are largely hypothetical.
And spells are generally better than hexes (that's why you get limited spells and infinite hexes), with the notable exception of Slumber. Given that the sorcerer spell list is clearly better than the witch's, I would say that in practice Sorcerer > Witch. In forum theory where sorcerers run out of spells (seriously, when does that ever happen?), well, the party has bigger problems than figuring out which caster is superior.
Otherwise, yeah, ExploiterWizard > Wizard > Arcanist > Sorcerer > Psychic; which is what people said already.
A few notes:
Without the 15 minute adventuring day, it's still unlikely for a caster to run completely out of spells at mid-high levels, but it is very possible to run out of mid-high level spells. Having played sorcerers rather effectively, I have absolutely run into this situation. And I was a snotty powergaming optimizer at the time.
Don't undersell psychic. Some of their spells and amplifications are ridiculously good. I'd put them about equal with a well-built sorcerer.
Arcanist's mix of versatility, staying power, and ability to prepare makes it amazingly effective at the table. Possibly the strongest showing in the hands of a skilled player.
Witch indeed has a pretty bad spell list, but some of the hexes can really make up for it. Lower levels are where a witch really shines, and they never get bad - they just lag especially in defensive spells. But there's obviously ways around that.
Basically, I think the consensus is less certain than some would claim. My answer would be "it depends".
None of these have the pure power of commoner, so that's still my vote.
I disagree. Pearls of Power let you reprepare the same spell cast
I'd say a Metamagic Rod (Echo) is way better than a Pearl of Power in terms of raw power: rod is ~50% more expensive but gives you 3 spells instead of 1. However, the sorcerer is better at utilizing the rod, since he can use it for frequently needed spells and thereby save his slots for less frequently needed spells.
and Bonded Object is significantly better on the Wizard than it is on the Sorcerer.
This you have to explain, or do you mean "the Bonded Object is significantly more useful to the wizard than the sorcerer"? Because otherwise the bonded object is the exact same for both casters: Sorcerers can use spellbooks for this feat as well, not just wizards.
Scrolls, Wands and Staves are better in the hands of a Wizard because they can select generally useful spells to store in them and save their slots for higher impact, but possibly more niche spells.
Can you please elaborate? I don't understand what you mean.
Proactive vs Reactive. You have to choose to use the Echoing Rod when you cast the spell, vs afterwards at any time (but a standard action) to recharge the spell with the pearl of power.
Yeah, you use Echoing on spells that you use again: can't go wrong echoing a Fireball (Summon Monster, ... or whatever primary spells you use a lot). That way you don't even need a Pearl/Runestone because you still have the spell-slot left, that would have gone into a second Fireball.
Instead, the wizard prepares a Fireball and later uses a Pearl to cast it a second time? Less than efficient.Echoing is immensely efficient in keeping your primary spell-slots afloat.