First impressions of the Mystic are really good

[WatersLethe]

I love that they gave the mystic bond a 10 person limit right out the gate. I believe by the way it's worded you could have a bond with an important NPC back on Absalom station while you're out mining asteroids in another star system and if they get hurt you would know. Really interesting "I sense something is wrong, we must return" type scenes available just because there's enough headroom in your bond count to allow it.

I also really like the Healing connection focus spell. It's basically a slightly weaker Heal with all its useful action scaling.

The Healing connection's ability to heal Void-healing creatures right out the gate is SUCH a breath of fresh air. No jumping through hoops to make sure the healing character can actually heal everyone.

The vitality pool looks like it's going to be so much fun.

I'm planning on making a Baymax style automaton healer mystic, with high strength for carrying people around and grappling enemies to stop them from causing harm.

Looking forward to digging into this!

[Karmagator]

You sense a disturbance in the force :D

[Perpdepog]

I could be wrong but is the mystic the first class to gain all their special focus spells through features rather than feats? That's an interesting choice, especially coupled with their larger number of spell slots per day.

[Xenocrat]

Perpdepog wrote:

I could be wrong but is the mystic the first class to gain all their special focus spells through features rather than feats? That's an interesting choice, especially coupled with their larger number of spell slots per day.

Psychic, although technically the amplified cantrips aren't focus spells, in reality the totally are.

Witchwarper has the same treatment as Mystic, and with feats can pick up focus spells from other paradox subclasses (they can get two, the Psychic could do this once from another conscious mind).

[Perpdepog]

Xenocrat wrote:

Perpdepog wrote:

I could be wrong but is the mystic the first class to gain all their special focus spells through features rather than feats? That's an interesting choice, especially coupled with their larger number of spell slots per day.

Psychic, although technically the amplified cantrips aren't focus spells, in reality the totally are.

Witchwarper has the same treatment as Mystic, and with feats can pick up focus spells from other paradox subclasses (they can get two, the Psychic could do this once from another conscious mind).

Yeah I'd definitely count psychic, that's a good catch.

[pavaan]

i like the 4th level feat that lets them have a group bag of holding that you can just toss everything into and the party can take out items as if it was already on them. works neat for stealing things too.

[DMurnett]

I do have to question the fact that Akashic mystics don't get a level 12 feat. Like, of course they can choose a lower level feat or take a dedication or whatever else have you but all the other connections get a dedicated level 12 feat. Akashic should too. And ideally there should be one that's not subclass dependent at all probably. I'm also iffy on you needing to "cheat out" Xenodruid or pseudo cleric feats at level one, seems strange to me that only Humans (or otherwise very specific builds) have the ability to start out their adventuring careers mechanically benefiting from their devotion to the druidic ways or a deity (not to mention Akashic again gets the short end of the stick because there's no similar Occult "pseudo class" feat). Everything else about the Mystic is absolutely lovely though, it's a flavorful class that really has its own identity mechanically as well. I'd love to play one, but then again it's much shorter to list PF2/SF2 classes I'm not interested in playing.

[Xenocrat]

DMurnett wrote:

I do have to question the fact that Akashic mystics don't get a level 12 feat. Like, of course they can choose a lower level feat or take a dedication or whatever else have you but all the other connections get a dedicated level 12 feat. Akashic should too. And ideally there should be one that's not subclass dependent at all probably. I'm also iffy on you needing to "cheat out" Xenodruid or pseudo cleric feats at level one, seems strange to me that only Humans (or otherwise very specific builds) have the ability to start out their adventuring careers mechanically benefiting from their devotion to the druidic ways or a deity (not to mention Akashic again gets the short end of the stick because there's no similar Occult "pseudo class" feat). Everything else about the Mystic is absolutely lovely though, it's a flavorful class that really has its own identity mechanically as well. I'd love to play one, but then again it's much shorter to list PF2/SF2 classes I'm not interested in playing.

This is undoubtedly a result of the Akashic connection being hastily slapped together in response to field test feedback wondering why there wasn’t an occult connection. Time and space presumably only allowed so much.

(Shadow should be occult.)

[DMurnett]

Xenocrat wrote:

DMurnett wrote:

I do have to question the fact that Akashic mystics don't get a level 12 feat. Like, of course they can choose a lower level feat or take a dedication or whatever else have you but all the other connections get a dedicated level 12 feat. Akashic should too. And ideally there should be one that's not subclass dependent at all probably. I'm also iffy on you needing to "cheat out" Xenodruid or pseudo cleric feats at level one, seems strange to me that only Humans (or otherwise very specific builds) have the ability to start out their adventuring careers mechanically benefiting from their devotion to the druidic ways or a deity (not to mention Akashic again gets the short end of the stick because there's no similar Occult "pseudo class" feat). Everything else about the Mystic is absolutely lovely though, it's a flavorful class that really has its own identity mechanically as well. I'd love to play one, but then again it's much shorter to list PF2/SF2 classes I'm not interested in playing.

This is undoubtedly a result of the Akashic connection being hastily slapped together in response to field test feedback wondering why there wasn’t an occult connection. Time and space presumably only allowed so much.

(Shadow should be occult.)

Rhythm should be occult too. It's been pretty firmly established that art and music is occult magic. Otherwise I have a lot of questions about Bards and Psychics. Why is Mystic primal again? Oh right, because we have no other class to be primal and it was Xenodruid in 1e.

I do honestly believe that they should have doubled down on taking away occult from Mystic if they were gonna go this direction. Witchwarper would be fine as the sole occultist. It would for sure make Mystic feel less muddled, even if theoretically it makes sense for it to do occult. If it's back for good though they really need to give Mystic more Akashic/occult support, because what we have now is just sad.

[QuidEst]

Honestly, I'm on board with the Primal/Rhythm combo. It takes primal, and gives it a bunch of occult stuff. I just built two characters for friends using it- in one case, Occult would have been better, and in the other, Primal was a perfect fit (building a siren-like character).

I still want more Occult options, so I agree on that part.

[Candlejake]

Elemental Mystics first focus spell feels quite unwieldy. You kinda have to do this before combat, because your ally needs free hands. Honestly id rather it enhances an existing weapon

[Dargoth876]

Mystic is a nice class, the Vitaity Network is a nice thing, but I do have some problems...

The Mystic Bond limits a lot the capacity of a Mystic to be useful. Imagine a work group at the job, and a mystic comes and say "let's bond together and i'll know where you'll be anytime on this plane". Hardly welcomed beside the most bonded group... So if you do not accept the unknown mystic bond, well forget the usage of the vitality network, except for self healing. Normally that affects the value of the mystic in the group at the beginning of a campaign.

Still, having played many healers, the Mystic has a nice ring to it, though i would never touch the "Healing Connection". First, the Infusion Focus Spell is a weaker version of Heal, by necessiting a bonded target, by making the target immune for the next 10 minutes, and by giving d6 (or d6+6) rather than d8. With not any bonuses to compensate to that triple gating. You cannot even use it as an attack against undead. That makes the focus spell not the first choice for healing (it would rather be a Heal signature spell), and for me is contraty to the point of the focus spell. The only advantage would be to use it out of combat, by refocusing and recasting.

I suppose that it is still better than the focus spell from the Healing Domain (which is a dud), but still... At the very least, Infusion should be quicker than Heal (maybe a reaction touched, 1 action ray and 2 action burst). I'd remove the "10 minutes immunity to the spell", since you are limited by focus point, it is not a cantrip.

Also, the other focus spells necessitate a transfer from the vitality network, so to be able to use them just in case, you have to refrain from healing with the vitality network at some point. Again, conterproductive for a healer.

Rather than the Healing Connection, i'd take another connexion, with a Signature Heal spell and Battle Medicine and Sprayflesh... That's sad, as per Galactic Magic, healing should be the domain where magic is better than technology. The healing equipment available is now very good.

I also agree that the pseudo cleric or druid feat should be available at 1st level in some way.

[25speedforseaweedleshy]

mythic are strong but doesn't have much overpowered option until high level

feel like the most official release ready class in playtest

does vitality nova refund half hp if mythic are in the aoe

that would be very overpowered

infusion have 3 less healing than heal per level

4 less with healing hand

still very powerful as focus spell

[ElementalofCuteness]

Rhythm being Primal does in-deed fight for Bard being occult but that could easily be a basic errata to Bard in a future update of Pathfinder 2E where it is basically either an Errata or a Archetype for Bard that switches them to being Primal, that's just the thought on the intriguing nature of Primal Music Mystic.

If you were to go Divine/Occult you could go Arcane/Primal for Witchwarper but then again what is a paradox but interfering with the nature world? It is hard to explain why this could make sense but maybe the real issue is the Starfinder 2e needs more caster classes at lunch?

[DMurnett]

Xenodruid bothers me. Why does Viral order get a full skill proficiency while the others only get a lore? To be clear I think the answer here is to make Viral take a lore too (Life Science maybe?), but if that's not kosher then give the other orders a real order skill. Not to mention Starfinder does enough handing out non-advancing lores as is now that I think about it, so make them give it to you via Additional Lore while we're at it.

[Verement]

It definitely makes sense for Rhythm to be primal. Bard being occult has nothing to do with Mystics. Music and rhythm are universal in their reach and application and I don't see how (or even why) music would be limited to a single tradition. I can think of plenty of music from various cultures here on Earth that I would consider to be primal.

It is just like healing spells appear on both divine and primal. Healing can come from divine sources (such as the gods) but there is also natural healing, which is primal. Music and rhythm can extend across traditions.

[AnimatedPaper]

I've no objection to other traditions dipping into music, and heartily enjoy primal's themes broadening, but I think it's fair to say that since SoM, music is linked to the narratives occult is supposed to represent, such as imitation (as opposed to Arcane's duplication), passion, and people in general.

Again, I've no objection to that changing, but I also don't think it's unfair to see it as a deliberate change from the metaphysics of pathfinder/starfinder so far.

ElementalofCuteness wrote:

If you were to go Divine/Occult you could go Arcane/Primal for Witchwarper but then again what is a paradox but interfering with the nature world? It is hard to explain why this could make sense but maybe the real issue is the Starfinder 2e needs more caster classes at lunch?

I'm starting to get curious about technomancers, which I think they're planning to playtest relatively soon. I approach technology in my actual life from an almost Animist perspective, half believing in ghosts in the machine. I would find it cool if at least some, but not all, technomancers saw tech as sentient beings to be bargained with, while others took a crafter's perspective on combining tech with magic.

[Perpdepog]

AnimatedPaper wrote:

Again, I've no objection to that changing, but I also don't think it's unfair to see it as a deliberate change from the metaphysics of pathfinder/starfinder so far.

That is totally fair, yeah. I'd like to point out that said change doesn't need to be a negative though. SF1 already showed us that attitudes about magic had changed post-Gap, with divisions along arcane and divine casting lines having eroded since PF1. Stretching a concept from one tradition to another allows Starfinder to retain the sense of magical understanding having progressed without needing to ditch the tradition system, an important bit of rules if a goal is backwards compatibility with PF2.

[Undying One]

Overall, I like the Mystic. I do miss the Star Shaman version. Will you bring it back?