Oscillating Wave psychic's conservation of energy and mindshift abilites

[Xenocrat]

The Oscillating Wave conscious mind option for psychics requires that you to alternate using cold and fire energy with your spells. This is obviously a problem if you're fighting something immune to one or the other, as half your core spells are going to be wasted or you have to do backup options.

Conservation of Energy, the ability that allows you to shift fire/cold and requires you to alternate, speaks only of "spells" (your granted spells and psi cantrips) being bound by this reversal requirement. But it separately states how choosing fire/cold affects the underlying ability. Then it states that mindshift abilities, which are feat abilities that either inflict physical or mental damage, at your choice, can also inflict cold/fire if you choose.

I think it's clear from the language that mindshift abilities can freely choose fire/cold regardless of what your spells are locked into, and they don't reverse it for your spells. Since one of the mindshift actions is a free action and another a single action, if it were otherwise this would be a cheap way to cheat on this.

Anyone see it differently and think mindshift abilties are both bound by your current fire/cold cycle and flip it after used?

[Baarogue]

Xenocrat wrote:

The Oscillating Wave conscious mind option for psychics requires that you to alternate using cold and fire energy with your spells. This is obviously a problem if you're fighting something immune to one or the other, as half your core spells are going to be wasted or you have to do backup options.

Conservation of Energy, the ability that allows you to shift fire/cold and requires you to alternate, speaks only of "spells" (your granted spells and psi cantrips) being bound by this reversal requirement. But it separately states how choosing fire/cold affects the underlying ability. Then it states that mindshift abilities, which are feat abilities that either inflict physical or mental damage, at your choice, can also inflict cold/fire if you choose.

I think it's clear from the language that mindshift abilities can freely choose fire/cold regardless of what your spells are locked into, and they don't reverse it for your spells. Since one of the mindshift actions is a free action and another a single action, if it were otherwise this would be a cheap way to cheat on this.

Anyone see it differently and think mindshift abilties are both bound by your current fire/cold cycle and flip it after used?

The mindshift part says "Alter it as normal for adding or removing energy..." "As normal" is what's listed at the top, which is, "Whenever you use your magic to add or remove energy, you must then balance it with the opposing force."

"Whenever", "As normal", it's pretty clear it's supposed to always apply. So no, mindshift is not a loophole through the hot/cold flipping requirement

[Xenocrat]

But it later says spells, not magic. I think that first sentence is flavor, the Paizo bane.

[The Raven Black]

I will answer when the rules are widely available.

Just a note that IIRC most creatures immune to cold have a weakness to fire and vice versa. So the whole is likely balanced.

Makes me think of a concept I had from Rolemaster's Elemental Companion a long time ago of blasting with a mix of fire and cold energies because one of the two would surely hurt.