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Elemental Weapon is a little weird in wording as Elemental Blast could be read as either a noun or verb within the context of the thing.
The weapon is still the gathered element and can be used
for impulses, is expended for overflow impulses, and so on.
It can also be used for Elemental Blasts or standard Strikes
(provided they’re melee blasts or Strikes if you choose a melee
weapon or ranged blasts or Strikes if you choose a ranged
weapon)
It's not 100% clear whether you use the weapon for performing the Elemental Blast action and deal its dice or if you simply retain the ability to use regular blasts with their normal damage when you have the weapon in hand.
- The first line of the section says you can use impulses with it, and Elemental Blast is an Impulse so it would seem redundant if "It can also be used for Elemental Blasts" meant the same thing. Though it might be intended to clarify that your blast type is limited.
- Speaking of which it seems a little weird to limit you to Elemental Blasts of the same type as the weapon if they are just using regular blast stats in place of the weapons, though I suppose the weapon can have reach or long range and that might apply?
- However if you can use the weapon stats on the Eldritch Blast action that kinda makes a weird thing where you can take a feat to finesse bastard swords (the Elemental Weapon feat wording does not exclude weapons with the Two Hand trait) or brutal firearms as long as you use the Elemental Blast action instead of a normal Strike. Though I don't really think this is horribly broken.
I would appreciate some developer clarification on this.
The wording suggests if you make a Sword you cannot used ranged blasts or strikes. If you create a gun you cannot make melee blasts or strikes. No idea what is supposed to happen if you make a thrown weapon, maybe melee blasts or strikes only unless you throw it as a ranged thrown strike at which point it dissipates.
From what I get, you weapon uses the normal weapon stats except for damage type always matching your blast and using your unarmed attack prof. Then your blasts are limited to your weapon type [melee or ranged]: this means that combo weapons are your best bet if you want to swap types but this limits you to 1d6 melee and 1d4 [30' range increment] in ranged with a cane pistol.
Though you COULD just release your weapon, Gather again and just use your other type for the same action it takes to swap combo weapons so you might be better off just picking a weapon with better damage.
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Specifically calling out that you can make elemental blasts can only mean that you're making the actual blast, with the limitation based on whether you make a melee or ranged weapon.
So if you're a Geokineticist and you make a Whip you can choose between striking with your whip for 1d4 reach/disarm/trip/nonlethal or you can use an elemental blast to do 1d8 forceful instead, because that's what your elemental blast is.
I think the ability works like:
-When you gather, your element congregates into a weapon shape.
-This doesn't prohibit you from doing anything you would normally do with your gathered element.
-You can attack with the weapon too, which does the sort of damage your elemental blast would but otherwise has the stats of the weapon (except versatile, etc.)
The main reason you would use the elemental weapon instead of a melee blast is that a melee blast would provoke AoOs and similar, but "attacking with your fire sword" would not. But this is pretty narrow.
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The main reason you would use the elemental weapon instead of a melee blast is that a melee blast would provoke AoOs and similar, but "attacking with your fire sword" would not. But this is pretty narrow.
I'd say the main advantage is being able to have two sets of weapon traits you're wielding at the same time without having to juggle hands or buy separate runes.
If I understand it right if you choose a melee weapon you loose the right to do ranged Elemental Blasts:
The weapon is still the gathered element and can be used for impulses, is expended for overflow impulses, and so on. It can also be used for Elemental Blasts or standard Strikes (provided they’re melee blasts or Strikes if you choose a melee weapon or ranged blasts or Strikes if you choose a ranged weapon). If the weapon leaves your hand, such as with a thrown weapon, the element is expended. If you choose a ranged weapon that uses ammunition, you must still reload the weapon using the normal number of actions, though the only type of ammunition you can use with the weapon is elemental ammunition forged in your inner gate.
So choose a melee weapon solves the AoO problem but also removes you ranged attack option. So if you want to do ranged mode you have to Gather Element without the weapon shape (oh god another action tax) and if you already in no-shape element at hand and need to change it's shape at melee you have to Gather Element again creating another AoO situation due Manipulate trait of the Gather Element action (in this situation is probably better to just do a melee Elemental Blasts, at last when you trigger an AoO you can at least do some damage).
This make the currently situation of Elemental Weapon complicated. Probably is better just do what
aobst128 sugested take an Ancestry normal material weapon like a longsword/axe/hammer/pike and keep the Gathered Element in the other hand to do ranged Elemental Blasts (but you cannot do this with a gauntlet as aobst128 sugested because it's a melee weapon so it prevents ranged blasts)
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The best use of this I've thought of is bastard sword on fire/air kineticists who want to do some real damage in melee. Bastard sword is one handed, applying a second hand (at an action cost) doesn't seem to change anything.
But even a longsword would be a boost for these elements if you didn't want to go dual gate as a way to get a d8 melee attack.
(Comic option is air kinetecist with clan pistol firing air bullets and investigator dedication. Just fly around, study an enemy, if it's a crit shoot him, if it's not plink someone else with your elemental blast at extreme range.)
The problem of use an Elemental Bastard Sword it's that to use others Impulses then back to 2H melee safely you will use a lot of actions.
For example. To use Whisper On The Wind to sent an important message you need to Step to prevent an possible AoO then use the Impulse then step back if you want to return to range. If you need to use a 2-action you cannot step back, if you try to use a Overflow you will loose your weapon until next turn and will need to use another action to put your second hand on it.
Basically to fight melee safely you have to sacrifice most of your Impulses possibilities or hope that the opponent is unable to AoO.
In the currently situation a melee Kineticist is just a meme.
My suggestion was to use the gauntlets free hand trait to use a bow and still have access to your class abilities.If I understand it right if you choose a melee weapon you loose the right to do ranged Elemental Blasts:
The weapon is still the gathered element and can be used for impulses, is expended for overflow impulses, and so on. It can also be used for Elemental Blasts or standard Strikes (provided they’re melee blasts or Strikes if you choose a melee weapon or ranged blasts or Strikes if you choose a ranged weapon). If the weapon leaves your hand, such as with a thrown weapon, the element is expended. If you choose a ranged weapon that uses ammunition, you must still reload the weapon using the normal number of actions, though the only type of ammunition you can use with the weapon is elemental ammunition forged in your inner gate.So choose a melee weapon solves the AoO problem but also removes you ranged attack option. So if you want to do ranged mode you have to Gather Element without the weapon shape (oh god another action tax) and if you already in no-shape element at hand and need to change it's shape at melee you have to Gather Element again creating another AoO situation due Manipulate trait of the Gather Element action (in this situation is probably better to just do a melee Elemental Blasts, at last when you trigger an AoO you can at least do some damage).
This make the currently situation of Elemental Weapon complicated. Probably is better just do what
aobst128 sugested take an Ancestry normal material weapon like a longsword/axe/hammer/pike and keep the Gathered Element in the other hand to do ranged Elemental Blasts (but you cannot do this with a gauntlet as aobst128 sugested because it's a melee weapon so it prevents ranged blasts)
You would have to burn extra feats to use the bow though, they get to cheat for Elemental Weapons but otherwise only have Simple and Unarmed proficiency.
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The problem of use an Elemental Bastard Sword it's that to use others Impulses then back to 2H melee safely you will use a lot of actions.
For example. To use Whisper On The Wind to sent an important message you need to Step to prevent an possible AoO then use the Impulse then step back if you want to return to range. If you need to use a 2-action you cannot step back, if you try to use a Overflow you will loose your weapon until next turn and will need to use another action to put your second hand on it.
Basically to fight melee safely you have to sacrifice most of your Impulses possibilities or hope that the opponent is unable to AoO.
In the currently situation a melee Kineticist is just a meme.
I mostly want a bastard sword to do real damage as an air or fire elementalist, not because of the AOO issue. I'm just putting up an aura and wading in once the ranged/utility stuff is over in the first round or two.
Don't you use the weapon's damage rather than your blast damage? For example, a fire longsword would deal 1d8 fire damage.
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I have two questions:
First, it's clear that the weapon's damage type mirrors your element (I.E. Bludgeoning, for Earth), but the weapon's number of dice are unclear to me. Is an Elemental Bastard Sword's damage always set to 1d8/1d12, or does it increase to 2d8/2d12 when you have Striking Handwraps?
Second, can you manifest your Bastard Sword in two hands? Or must it be a one-handed weapon first, and then spend the action to regrip? We're only told "you can shape that element into the form of a weapon you wield in the hand you used to gather"; couldn't that just be one of the two hands required to wield it?