Devastating spell strike is objectively better than spell strike because you can spend the same actions and resources and deal 3-5 splash damage that only hits foes.
But for some reason I still feel it sucks.
The splash doesn't hit the target. The splash scales PITIFULLY. And the single thing I thought it could be good for, hitting multiple targets with a weakness. Is incredibly unwieldy.
Do you take this feat? How do you feel about it.
I didn't take it. Low priority feat in my book. It's not the worst feat I've seen, but definitely situational. Magus has a very narrow band of high quality feats and I could not fit this in.
More of a situational one in my book. At level 4 the Inexorable Iron Magus doesn't really have many better options to take in the first place so it won't really hurt.
Having said that, if there's a lower-level class feat you want or if you're pursuing an archetype then you might have better options after all.
More of a situational one in my book. At level 4 the Inexorable Iron Magus doesn't really have many better options to take in the first place so it won't really hurt.
Having said that, if there's a lower-level class feat you want or if you're pursuing an archetype then you might have better options after all.
To my mind, strikers scroll is very good for inexorable iron. Provided your GM let's you purchase shocking grasp scrolls.
In principal I think it will come up more often than you imagine. I can think of a few scenarios where it has merit/benefit:
- Large or bigger monsters (more adjacent squares, so more splashing)
- Freebie AOE for things that have splash weakness (e.g., swarms)
- Weakness Triggering (if arcane cascade is the right damage type, which was easier to do with spell schools but I'm not sure how you pick arcane cascade damage now in a post-remaster world so YMMV)
- General mob clearing (what AOE is really intended to do in PF2e)What makes it weak is that it truly isn't passive. It relies on you entering your arcade cascade stance and won't stack with other spell strike feats like spell swipe (whereas things like expansive spell strike apply to all spell strike options -> not that I endorse that feat specifically). Entering arcane cascade is almost always a DPR loss across the combat because the class is so action economy tight that that 1 action (+ all the actions to cast a spell to enter it during your setup round) will often be the latent reason you have to miss/delay a downstream spell strike (e.g., you had to move and recharge but would have moved or recharged earlier if you had that spare action it takes for entering the stance). Note I have seen a few attempts at a 'no-spell-strike' magus, but if that is your build you wouldn't want devastating spell strike anyways.
I don't feel like any of the L4 feats are 'must haves'. The meta for the class is grabbing as many focus spells as you can so you can either recharge your spell strike more effectively or spell strike with a focus spell to alleviate burning spell slots on spell strike. So grabbing the L2 force fang or a archetype that gives another focus point (e.g., psychic, blessed one, etc.) will be 'evergreen' useful in every combat instead of only useful in certain situations when you wasted an action on arcane cascade.
Maybe if/when they remaster the magus they will treat arcane cascade as more of a 'barbarian rage' ability so you can...
I originally wanted it to trigger weakness on adjacent creatures but I realized soon after just how unwieldy that is.
I need to figure out it's weakness. Or someone in my party.
I need you use the appropriate cantrip or spell and enter cascade. That's at best one round. Which means you won't be able to leverage devastating spell strike to trigger weakness on adjacent creatures until round two at the earliest.
I still think strikers scroll for inexorable iron is pretty good. Sure you burn a consumable but often scrolls are not something you will otherwise be using in combat as a two hand magus.
Paizo avoids abilities that add generic numbers onto actions players already take. Generally there's a cost, like using a smaller-die weapon or an extra action or spreading out damage. And even then the bonus is typically small (or just enough to balance vs. the cost incurred). So in that sense the feat's pretty normal, even good; it's bonus damage on an already top-notch attack.
Except yeah, it's spread to other enemies, not added directly on top, so that feels minute. And it requires Arcane Cascade, an action many don't find worthwhile (especially on one's first Spell Strike, when there's a crowd). And a Magus will often have better crowd/AoE effects on tap.
So it's about as good as one might expect for its level for what it does (add damage), but feats which instead add breadth, defense, or versatility are (and IMO should) be better. (And I'd usually pursue an MCD anyway.)
To my mind, strikers scroll is very good for inexorable iron. Provided your GM let's you purchase shocking grasp scrolls.More of a situational one in my book. At level 4 the Inexorable Iron Magus doesn't really have many better options to take in the first place so it won't really hurt.
Having said that, if there's a lower-level class feat you want or if you're pursuing an archetype then you might have better options after all.
Striker's Scroll is even more situational than Devastating Spellstrike. The mileage you get out of that feat depends entirely on consumables, which requires money, a generous GM, or another means of regularly getting scrolls with specific traits like the Scroll Trickster Archetype.
Honestly, it is a very terrible feat, even an archetype feat offers more than this.
Even if we made the splash damage affect the original target as well, and increased its range to 10 or even 15 feet (such as if you are wielding a Reach weapon), it would be a hard sell, since you have to spend actions to get into stance and its bonus damage doesn't really scale that well.