The Kineticist math is so tight that even if it could fire on all cylinders 24/7, it still isn't that crazy compared to the standard archers.
Gaithlain has a really strong FCB though so that's neat. They need it though since they take a Con penalty. Gathlains have a fly speed though so most DMs probably ban them. A flying ranged damage dealer can basically destroy most early encounters with ease.
|
I'll start by politely disagreeing with your assertion, provide reasons why, and then answer as if assuming the original supposition was true.
The Gathlain FCB is very, very good. Zero burn composite blasts at 7th level is great. And zero-burn maximized composite blasts at 12th level is amazing. The only reason I'm not wholeheartedly agreeing is that for some builds the Extra Wild Talent FCB can be extremely useful. (The internal buffer capacity FCB could be useful except it doesn't scale fast enough and you can't even start taking it until 6th level.) As always, it depends on what kind of campaign you are playing, which segues nicely into...
The Gathlian FCB doesn't let you do anything that another kineticist can't do, it just lets you do it more times in a day. Kind of a makeup for having a smaller burn capacity than most races in the first place. If your campaign is Galaga (nothing but fighting endless waves of enemies) then yes, the Gathlian FCB is too strong compared to those other classes. But most published material (Adventure Paths, PFS scenarios, etc.) is balanced around the players having a few fairly easy small fights and only one or two fights a day where they need to go all-out. So the relevant question is probably your first one: would a normal kineticist keep up?
And the answer is: yes, the kineticist math is very good when it comes to combat. The nova potential is slightly lower than an alchemist or ranged magus but the non-nova damage is higher. The reverse is true compared to a ranger or slayer. Gunslingers have much bigger crits but the non-crit damage advantage goes to the kineticist. Inquisitors and Warpriests can do more than the kineticist, but it takes them a few rounds of self-buffing to get up to full power. As always there's going to be levels where one class has an advantage in a head-to-head comparison. A blaster sorcerer gets fireball at level 6 and the kineticist can't even use composite blasts yet. When the kineticist gets supercharge at level 11 it is a game-changer. But overall the math is well-balanced.
The only reason I'd be hesitant about allowing the Gathlian FCB is the party fun factor. If it doesn't cost you anything to throw a maximized magma blast, you might as well throw a maximized magma blast. Don't need to save it for later. Which means your other party members aren't going to get as much chance to shine (or even act) in combat.
Meh, Treeborn Gathlain do not have a Con penalty, so there's that. But it's just this one character with this specific race, and this specific alternative racial feature, and this specific class, and this specific playing style that happens to be able to do this one thing 1/6 more times per day... that's a reduction of three over the course of 18 levels. I say just let them blast.
Archery is strong, ranged characters with flight are strong, Kinetic Blasts can be strong... there are some strong options. Pish-posh...