For the purposes of interacting with various abilities and effects, are kinetic weapons created with Weapon Infusion considered weapons?
For example, if a pyrokineticist attempted to shoot a "fire arrow" through an aerokinericist's Air Shroud, would they take a penalty to hit? If the aerokinetcist returned fire with a thrown "spear of lightning," would they gain the benefits of weapon specialization?
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aobst128 is correct, they just get weapon traits. This means they are not weapons for things that trigger on weapon attacks, and still magic effects for thing that trigger on those.
It's very helpful to be able to add your full STR mod to damage at a range of 20ft, or increase your short range blasts to 50-100ft, or have an agile blast.
And the most helpful part, doing physical damage with a Fire blast against something that's resistant to Fire.
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From what I am seeing almost every Kinenticist should want Weapon Infusion to get an alternate damage type, and to add Strength to damage inside range 20 and half Strength inside range 50.
Basically every Kineticist can use Strength.
Am I right in this?
Of the four fully fleshed out kineticists I've created and intend to play, only one will not be taking Weapon Infusion.
It's a mighty good feat.
and to add Strength to damage inside range 20 and half Strength inside range 50"
Just to be clear, those are range increment not range so they can add strength outside the 20'/50'.
and to add Strength to damage inside range 20 and half Strength inside range 50"Just to be clear, those are range increment not range so they can add strength outside the 20'/50'.
While true, the accuracy loss beyond that first increment means missing more and critting less, effectively causing you to lose damage far exceeding your Strength attribute anyways.
The real benefit of the ranges being increments is that you can attack to 100' without penalty and up to 600' if circumstances call for engaging at that range. Weapon Infusion is excellent for the sheer versatility it offers.
While true, the accuracy loss beyond that first increment means missing more and critting less, effectively causing you to lose damage far exceeding your Strength attribute anyways.and to add Strength to damage inside range 20 and half Strength inside range 50"Just to be clear, those are range increment not range so they can add strength outside the 20'/50'.
I mean, if you're Earth and your 40' away from your target, a -2 is better than out of range and a -0 is even better: Str bonuses are the icing on the cake. So the situations you can use it in are more dictated by range than +str damage, but it's still important to recall that the feat changed range to range increment and all that implies.
From what I am seeing almost every Kinenticist should want Weapon Infusion to get an alternate damage type, and to add Strength to damage inside range 20 and half Strength inside range 50.
I also see Versatile Blasts for giving different damage types so that the Fire Kineticist has something to use against a Devil.
It won't add strength damage or agile trait, or increase range though. So Weapon Infusion looks overall better. Not quite to must-pick levels, but it does stand taller than the other options.
I do like Versatile Blasts for style though. A Fire Kineticist with cold flame, maybe even coloured midnight black... that's fun in and of itself.
Weapon Infusion is definitely the feat to go for if you like being a tactician though, and particularly adds style if you go melee. I see some real appeal in making my melee Earth blasts as a big hammer... :D
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The real benefit of the ranges being increments is that you can attack to 100' without penalty and up to 600' if circumstances call for engaging at that range. Weapon Infusion is excellent for the sheer versatility it offers.The only way you're scoring hits consistently in the fifth range increment is with Gunslinger's feat to ignore range penalties entirely. -8 to hit basically brings you down to a 20% chance at best against meaningful targets.
Second increment covers out to 200' though and that's basically the entire map and still has useful hit chances. Of course, that kind of range is unusual for fights to stay at anyways, so.
While this is all true, tiorynys isn't wrong either. If you find yourself engaging at super long range for whatever reason, being able to attack is better than not even with penalties. You might need to get lucky to deal damage, but that's basically free damage while the enemy closes.
And Weapon Infusion does so much else for you, too.
I think weapon infusion is fine. I do not think it is a must-have by any means. I think it has a ton of flavor, and is very cinematic.
But, what does it really give? It gives an extra physical damage type, but I'd rather have another elemental damage type from Versistile Blast.
It gives a trait, which is ok if you are making two or three single blast attacks, but I'd rather have a single 2 action blast which adds Con, my main stat, to damage, and a flexible thrid action.
Again, it is a good feat. I'm not trying to say it's bad in any way. I'm just saying it's mandatory by any means.
I'm also not seeing how you can add strength bonus at range, since Elemental Blast specifically says strength only applies to melee blasts. Maybe I'm missing something though.
Overall, I don't think you are wrong if you take it, and I don't think you are wrong if you don't. If it fits your character concept, take it and have fun with it.
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I'm also not seeing how you can add strength bonus at range, since Elemental Blast specifically says strength only applies to melee blasts. Maybe I'm missing something though.
The Thrown trait adds your Strength attribute to damage while the Propulsion trait adds half your Strength attribute to damage. Both are traits that can be added to your ranged elemental blasts via Weapon Infusion.
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I think weapon infusion is fine. I do not think it is a must-have by any means. I think it has a ton of flavor, and is very cinematic.
But, what does it really give? It gives an extra physical damage type, but I'd rather have another elemental damage type from Versistile Blast.
It gives a trait, which is ok if you are making two or three single blast attacks, but I'd rather have a single 2 action blast which adds Con, my main stat, to damage, and a flexible thrid action.
Again, it is a good feat. I'm not trying to say it's bad in any way. I'm just saying it's mandatory by any means.
I'm also not seeing how you can add strength bonus at range, since Elemental Blast specifically says strength only applies to melee blasts. Maybe I'm missing something though.
Overall, I don't think you are wrong if you take it, and I don't think you are wrong if you don't. If it fits your character concept, take it and have fun with it.
It does an awful lot.
-- Huge range increase. Turns a 30 foot range blast that can suddenly fire 100 feet without penalty.
-- Let's you avoid triggering Reactive Strike with reach.
--Let's you add strength to damage at range as RD outlined.
-- Gives you an agile option if you want to blast twice or three times.
-- Gives you every physical damage type, not just one additional. Most of the elements only have one physical by default and fire has none.
That is an awful lot for a first level feat. If you're trying to focus on damage with blasts it is mandatory. If you're trying to go more skill/utility focused or use overflow/channel routines that prevent you from using infusions, it is less so.
The only reason I can justify not making it a 1st level feature is that it adds a fair amount of complexity, making it a better opt-in choice.
Thank you for the clarifications. They were helpful. But, I still don't see it as mandatory.
There can be a huge range increase, from 30 or 60 to 100. That can be very useful and is a solid reason to choose the feat.
The reactive strike doesn't matter. Elemental Blast does not have a trait that draws one. It's not a spell. It doesn't have the manipulate trait. It's just an attack.
It does not give every physical damage type. It gives the physical damage type/types of the weapon you are emulating. So. it does give you incredible flexibility over what damage type you can deal, and that is very good. But, in many cases, having a different element is just as good, and maybe better.
I like weapon infusion. I think it's good, and flavorable. It's a feat I can easily see a player taking and loving. But, it's not mandatory.