The general opinion on multiclassing in starfinder seems to be don’t, particularly with spellcasters. But when I look at things, it doesn’t seem too bad.
The DC’s are basically static, your level doesn’t really change anything except higher stats, and eventually the spell level itself gets higher. So half those numbers (the bonuses from personal stats) will continue to grow. A spell focus feat, spell penetration, etc, and you’re basically on par with any other caster for several levels, sans the higher level spells. I know that bonuses of 1’s and 2’s makes an impact, and maybe I haven’t really tracked things empirically, but I’ve never noticed much of a difference. Failures are just as epic in storytelling as successes.
I’ve personally moved away from min/max builds, and love creative, character driven builds; those often include dips or just complete pivots in character mechanics. I guess I still care about mechanically sound characters though, and just need help justifying multiclassing? The numbers don’t seem so bad.
I have a build for a kind of psychic assault specialist, styled after a psyker/librarian from warhammer 40k:
(Phrenic adept) aesthetic warrior, qi adept soldier 5/wrecking fists, devastator mystic x human with ESPer theme.
He can shoot scaling plasma blasts from his hands, fly around, make his fists hit even harder, and has spells. He’ll be lacking higher level spells, obviously, but I hope it’s not useless either. Thoughts?
Tl;dr
Multiclassing spellcasters doesn’t seem so bad, since DC’s are relatively static, ELI5.
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I mean, you're not wrong, in that, on paper, the save DC against a level 2 spell cast by a 4th level spellcaster is going to be same as the save DC against a level 2 spell cast by a 7th level spellcaster. (All else being equal, which probably isn't the case re: personal upgrades, lvl 5 stat bumps, etc etc - but, putting that aside,) There's more to spellcasting classes than just their DCs, though. The 7th level caster is going to have more spells known and more spell slots than the 4th level caster, of course. Plus, maybe even a handful of class ability (magic hacks, paradigm shifts, connection abilities, and what have you) that might interact with their spellcasting.
It's definitely possible to make a multiclass spellcaster: you just need to be okay with your spellcasting being less varied and less often than a single-class caster. (And, of course, the same being true of your other class, which is similarly less progressed.)
It's also worth pointing out, though, that if you just want a handful of spells, there's ways to accomplish that without hamstringing your other class: the various half-caster-ish feats (technomantic dabbler, connection inkling, and reality glimmer)(pour one out for the precogs) or any number of alternate class features: envoys' magical expertise or spell gem understanding, mechanics' spell chip understanding and/or program spell chip, nanocytes' eldritch array, biohackers' ampoule expertise and ampoule mastery, and so on. Heck, even just grabbing a spellthrower fusion or two can go a long way towards giving you some magical oomph! Of course you won't be the magical match to a dedicated spellcaster, but it sounds like you're very much okay with that :)
Ok cool thank you for such a comprehensive reply! That was great!
Ya those are all feats and routes I’ve taken with other builds, but now that I’ve played starfinder for a while, I’m digging a bit deeper and trying unconventional things. With how damage and weapon levels play out, contributing in combat doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch for any character. But I’m still learning, so I appreciate the input!
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It's very possible to do a multiclass caster; you just need to make sure that high level, high DC casting isn't your primary schtick.
For example, I had a dwarven xenoarchaeologist 4 operative/4 mystic, and her entire kit was dedicated to exploration and first contact. I could passively find traps in three different ways, share languages, heal, handle nearly all skill checks, and provide a bit of support combat utility. I wasn't a full mystic mind blaster, nor was I a devastating trick attacker, but I brought a lot to every team.
As a non-caster variant, my SRO, Dragonbot, is a Shock & Awe Soldier 5/Experimental Armor Prototype Mechanic 5, and his main thing is debuffing pretty much anything that moves while dispensing electricity and sonic damage while in his large or huge dragon-shaped power armor. No one ability really relies on being full level in either class, so he remains effective as long as he can keep his Intimidate high and his guns updated.
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Multiclassing in Starfinder is one of those "sometimes yes/sometimes no" considerations that really depends on what character capabilities you are looking for.
Most of the time, multiclassing should probably be limited to a "dip" (1-3 levels) in a second class before switching/returning to the character's "primary" class for the rest of their career. For example, just about any melee-focused character can gain a lot of benefits from a dip in soldier with the Blitz fighting style; also, a dip can be used if you really want a 2nd-level archetype ability but don't want to be locked into the rest of the archetype progression (such as 2 levels in the example Blitz soldier with the star knight archetype to pick up heavy armor proficiency from the class and Armor Mastery for 20% fortification in place of the soldier combat bonus feat)*.
Other classes, such as biohacker and envoy, concentrate the "most useful" class options within the first 6-8 class levels and allow a more even split when multiclassing.
Depending on what exact capabilities you want, there may be other ways to pick them up via a specific theme, alternate class abilities, and/or an archetype without needing to multiclass.
*- another example would be an astrazoan dipping 2 levels in a class (possibly operative for the skill boost) with the phrenic adept archetype to pick up the limited telepathy from Phrenic Awakening so they can more easily pass as a lashunta or shirren
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I've only multiclassed once in Starfinder, for much the same reason that I've only used archetypes 2-3 times: most higher-level class features tend to be too valuable to sacrifice, unless the alternative is essential to the character's build/concept.
My gnome envoy dipped xenodruid mystic after acquiring a creature companion, partly for mechanical reasons (being able to use improvisations on his pet) and partly for roleplaying reasons (exploring the ways of his "beast-speaker" ancestors). His middling Wis means he's never going to be a super-effective mystic, which is fine. His spells are all strictly defensive, so save DCs don't matter, and he only really wants or needs the lowest-level class features, which he has now.
I think the one hard and fast rule I would ever follow for multiclassing would be to not do it before you're at least 3rd level in your first class. Weapon Specialization is just too darn useful. Even if you're not built for weapon attacks, a point or two every time you do hit adds up.
Awesome, thanks all for the input! Any other fun/weird combinations you all have done?
Any horrible experiences multiclassing?
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Dips work really well. biohacker, soldier blitz/bulletrain/sharpshooter depending on your fighting style.
I have a ysoki solarion 2. Vanguard 4 thats looking at blitz soldier after level 5 named Cueball. She runs to the far side of the map and then bull rushes bad guys back toward the party for AOO conga lines
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Lyther is Envoy 10 / Operative 2. They ram people with vehicles or use sniper rifles, both of which were helped by the operative levels.
Sunny is Solarian 10 / Soldier 1. Soldier granted better weapons and armor, and Sharpshooter style is great for getting around cover.
Zythia is Vanguard 9 / Biohacker 1. Since her theme is rotting things, and vanguards can use their entropic strike through their weapons, she wields injection weapons that also deliver AC-dropping biohacks on the same hit. Note that biohacker has been repeatedly nerfed so that most of the Fields of Study don't work well for dips any more.
Askolak is a Soldier 7 / Operative 1. Stunt & Strike makes Operative a fantastic dip that I at least look at for every character (Lyther was made before it was written). In this case, it's granting Selective Explosives, allowing me to shape blast weapons (his focus) around his allies better.
Gråsugga is the complicated one. They bounce back and forward between soldier and envoy, will eventually get to Soldier 4+ / Envoy 4. While they work like a soldier, the envoy levels grant Combat Expertise and Maneuver Expertise, aiding in their focus of Bull Rush and Reposition. Bolidas love rolling into a ball and charging things.
Benedrii is a biohacker that is currently 8, and I'm considering giving them some levels of soldier as there's not much more in biohacker to get, but I haven't done it yet.
BoDiRAte is a mechanic at 7 that I might eventually give a level of Solarian to just for the +1 armor. But probably not.
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2 other dips I've considered, but don't have anyone I want to apply them to yet.
1 level of envoy with Spell Speaker lets you spend your standard to boost someone else's spell. But it only helps level 1 spells - you'd have to be 6 levels in to boost level 2 spells.
1 level of operative with heavyweight skirmisher allows a WIDE range of weapon with 'trick attack'. But instead of adding extra dice to your damage, you can reroll one of your damage dice if you like. There ARE d20 based weapons out there... But more likely you'd use it on a d10 or d12 weapon.
Wow that’s a nice list. I want to dig mine out now haha.
Any horrible experiences multiclassing?
Not necessarily horrible, but rather frustrating: My wife's Bluff-focused envoy dipped operative, but she ended up retraining back to envoy (via mnemonic enhancer) after a couple levels because clever feint and trick attack directly competed with each other.
[The character was largely based on a favorite 3.5 PC she played ages ago, a charismatic rogue who had dipped into fighter and sorcerer. Most of her schtick could be done with just a single-classed rogue in PF1, but she had a hard choice between envoy and operative in SF.]
Ah ya, seems like Starfinder you really have to build around your multiclassing to take advantage of class abilities. Attacking seeks a little more homogenized with weapon levels, but class abilities are all pretty nuanced.