Best build for learning as much of pf2e as you can?


Advice


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

I am looking for a character build that would be good for learning pf2e. Specifically, my hope for this character is to try out as much of pf2e as I can, so that I understand how all the subsystems work, and I can hopefully pick up any future characters easier since I will get the basic gist of how they function.

My best ideas so far are a warpriest with the herbalist dedication or an alchemical investigator with the wizard/witch multiclass. Either way you get experience with spellcasting, martial strikes, and alchemy. The warpriest also seems pretty simple, so there wouldn't be much slowing you down from learning the basics.

Any other recommendations?


The issue I find with this is that the magic and martial playstyles are very different and trying to do the all-in-one thing isn't really something you want to do before understanding how the game math works.

That said, my choice would probably be the summoner as they are both at the same time and don't require action economy optimization like the magus. It strikes, casts spells and uses cha so you can familiarize yourself with strong skill actions. The only place you lose out is on archetyping for alchemy because the summoner needs its feats for the eidolon, but if you're playing with free archetype that's moot.

If you aren't going free archetype and crave that alchemy, then I'd say to look up how to deal with magus and build a simple ranged/dex magus which will give you (spell)strikes, alchemy dedication, arcane spells and the wonderful world of recall knowledge.

Just note that the above two are really limited on spells. I will also go as far as to warn you off the warpriest and alchemist altogether, but please refer to older threads for the battles fought over those before asking anything about it.


A literal jack of everything.

I would go with Wild Shape Druid with Alchemist dedication. Full casting, some martial combat ability, and alchemical items.


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So you don't understand the mechanics, yet want to play a PC that requires learning as much of the mechanics as possible? As in that would be the most complex and thus difficult PC to run, much less master, even for a veteran. And you want to do this as a rookie? All so future PCs are simpler to run? (Which would be true, I suppose.)

As gesalt mentioned, casters & martials differ a lot plus there's much variation among them. This "one PC" idea is a poor method to achieve your stated goals. And note that building an effective Warpriest, much less running one, is actually harder than it seems mostly because it's tempting to try to do too much. The gish classes, Magus & Summoner, do this better, yet neither's straightforward.

What you can do is come in with an effective PC and watch your fellow players at a table of diverse PCs that cover a breadth of party roles, i.e. blaster, tank, healer, etc. Ask questions afterward.

To participate in most non-combat moments of play you'll want a social skill, most likely Diplomacy though knowledge skills work well too. And to understand tactics you'll want a PC that has to monitor positioning and its effects. To this end I'd recommend a Fighter. It's pretty much the baseline warrior in the best way, as in it has many of the bread-n'-butter abilities other warriors want and often go out of their way to get. (And running a caster should wait simply because of all the spells one must learn and how much more fragile casters are.)

So yeah, that's the opposite build of what you're asking for!
But, IMO it's the best first step in learning PF2.

Build a Fighter, give it 18 Strength, heavy armor, a weapon w/ Reach, a decent Wis (as Will is your poorest save), and a dash of Charisma (to take part in roleplaying). And observe. Simply learning how effective (and thus dangerous to you too) Attacks of Opportunity are is an important lesson. Alongside that would be how to time pressing forward and holding still, coordinating which is best w/ one's allies. Table choices matter a lot in PF2.

I was about to suggest scouring the Fighter guides then realized it might be information overload...and that's just for one class, much less some hybrid + spells.

Liberty's Edge

My thoughts ended up somewhat similar to the above post.

The first key element of PF2 is the 3-actions system. But if you try to do too much with a given character, you will only find frustration.

To really get a feeling for it, you need to play a Martial. Because most spells eat 2 actions out of 3.

However, a Fighter is the Martial who benefits most from attacking more than once thanks to their higher attack proficiency. So, I would advise playing a Champion. This way you get to also experiment with the reaction. And you get a focus spell.

Champion is also good for getting heavy armor so you can get a feel for the impact of +1 to AC. As well as the impact of reduced speed.

To get a feeling for other parts, play other characters : a Monk to better understand mobility, MAP and the impact of high defences, both AC and saves. A Fighter to experiment with the higher attack proficiency. A caster to get a feel for cantrips, attack spells and save spells. A Rogue or Investigator for the many skills and skill feats...


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I'd thought about Champion, and endorse most of the reasons you've listed, Raven. I'd balked because it might spoil him! A Champion's defense begins where other defensive builds aspire to (and some cannot reach). But it is good for a new player as there's room to make tactical mistakes and survive. A Paladin might be best to learn the value of Strikes from Reactions.

And like a Fighter's innate offense gives it space to take a Dedication, so does a Champion's innate defense.


Pathfinder Lost Omens, Rulebook Subscriber

Alright thank you for the feedback! Maybe not the best idea then.

What about a paladin champion with the warrior background, a meteor hammer, and the domain initiate feat? The domain would give me one spell, not enough to overwhelm but enough to at least try it out.

Does that seem decent? Is so, are there any domains you would recommend? (Or gods that would give those domains?)

People on another site recommended an eldritch trickster racket rogue with the telekinetic maneuver spell. What do yall think of that option?

Btw this character would be for society play if that changes anything.

Liberty's Edge

If it is for PFS, IMO you should freely take advantage of the total rebuilds you can do on your PC as long as they are 1st level.

Keeping the same name, play a Champion the first scenario, a Rogue the second and a caster the third (a Bard for example). Even better if you can play some Quests or Bounties for even more opportunities of trying different builds before reaching level 2 and having to finalize this PC's build.

The Pathbuilder app for PF2 is an invaluable (and free) help for building PF2 PCs. Use it.

Just pay attention on Archives of Nethys about what options are OK in PFS and which are not.


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Rfkannen wrote:
People on another site recommended an eldritch trickster racket rogue with the telekinetic maneuver spell. What do yall think of that option?

I'm personally not a fan of the Eldritch Trickster Racket. It doesn't provide enough benefit compared to the other options once you get to level 4. And since it is your subclass, you can't retrain out of it at that point.

I would second the idea of Pathbuilder2. Great app. The free version doesn't have support for minions (including Eidolon). But it should do the job of letting you throw together a ton of character concepts.

As for learning the intricacies of the system: Print out 3 of your characters onto paper character sheets, grab 2 monsters from the bestiary and have a quick context-free battle. Or maybe against a hazard. Or a skill challenge. You could grab a friend or two, or just run all of the component characters yourself.

Grand Lodge

My advice is...play a character that you'll enjoy, and study it so you'll be prepared to play it well. While you're playing, pay attention to how the other characters in your game work. As you go, talk to the other players about the unique mechanics of their characters. Most players I have ever played with are happy to discuss their characters, and if they are more experienced, will gladly pass on their knowledge of the game.
I was able to do this early on in PF2 because I followed and played in the original playtest.


One option to consider: take a martial character like a champion or fighter, then use your feats to multiclass into a spell caster, probably a prepared one. Your spell levels and proficiency will lag behind too be very effective in combat, so don't bother. Just use your basic martial tool kit in combat, and then use your spells to provide out of combat utility.

This gives you a straight forward combat strategy, and preparing utility spells is a good way to learn what the spell lists are.

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