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Tin.
Any class, ancestry, free archetype or not.
I've always loved the idea of the 2H dex melee weapon character. I even did it once or twice in 1E, when dex was king.
In 2E, I haven't thought of a character that doesn't feel hampered by that weapon choice. Not so much a trade-off and a trade down. So I'm soliciting ideas.
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The Spirit warrior archetype is a very good use case for the elven curved blade. You won't get much use out of your forceful trait but overwhelming combination makes up for that with sheer efficiency.
It's redundant on monk and fighter can't choose more than one weapon group but most other martials will get a lot of use out of it.
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The Spirit warrior archetype is a very good use case for the elven curved blade. You won't get much use out of your forceful trait but overwhelming combination makes up for that with sheer efficiency.Isn't Overwhelming Combination 1-handed weapon + free hand?
It's one handed weapon or a weapon with the finesse or agile trait which can be two handed.
You can make fist attacks with any part of your body too.
i had a neat idea. Don't know if its the best one but it could get some use out of the forceful trait on the elven curve blade.
Go with ranger for flurry.
At levels 8 and 10 get Monk dedication and Monk's flurry.
Thats the basic idea but another cool synergy for an elf ranger is you can easily have the int to get wizard for civic school.
The focus spell earth works can be cast for one action to create difficult terrain in an opponents square, since you get natures edge its like having a no save 1 action spell that makes foes offguard to you until they leave the square.
Depending on the base class, the mauler archetype might give access to some useful options (even for a Dex-focused character; e.g., Brutal Finish and Avalanche Strike; other feats work better if the character also invests in Str and the Athletics skill).
For a Dex and Str focused character, I would recommend kitsune ancestry with the aiuvarin versatile heritage: Kitsune for the Foxfire ancestry feat (a ranged unarmed attack not requiring a free hand or draw/reload actions) and aiuvarin for access to equipment with the Elf trait.
Dex +4 and Str +2 or +3 at 1st. Increase Dex to +6 and Str to +5 by 20th level. Other ability scores as you wish.
Getting the most out of forceful means getting as many attacks in a round as possible, and hitting with those attacks. You also need to stay toe-to-toe a lot, so HP matters quite a bit. I think Flurry Ranger is the best mix for this, with a dash of rogue to get sneak attacker (to make up for the smaller damage die than other 2handers) and mobility to get into position to maximize off-guard up-time.
* Ancient Elf for movement speed and rogue dedication
* Ranger for flurry, better HP than rogue
* Go for action and movement efficiency abilities to let you spend as few actions on movement and setup as possible. (Nimble Elf, Elf Step, Quick Draw, Mobility, Reactive Pursuit)
* Focus on getting survival and stealth up so you can Hunt Prey outside of combat, and get closer before combat. (Terrain Stalker, Quiet Allies, Warden's Step)
* Find a way to get quickened reliably
Although it's a bit of a shame to have high strength as well, the only way out of that is really to go Thief rogue and you end up needing to move around too much and being to squishy to spend all your actions on more attacks.
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I'm not sure why overwhelming combination would mention two handed weapons as an option if it weren't allowed.
One handed weapons or weapons with the finesse or agile trait.(The only relevance of this specificity is two handed weapons with finesse/agile) If they wanted it to be a free hand ability, it would just say you need a free hand.
I think trying to maximize Forceful is problematic, but if I did I'd go w/ Fighter. It takes a few swings for the Flurry Ranger to catch up, plus a Flurry Ranger needs 3+ attacks/round to break even with the damage of a Precision Ranger, so it kinda needs to wield two weapons (or a bow). And with Monk, it's several feats to match the equivalent of one unarmed Stance feat which IMO puts it in the "feels bad" category. So as usual, if leaning into using a specific weapon, it's hard to outdo a Fighter. If there's more to your concept than "guy w/ this weapon" though, then other classes contend more.
Myself, I'd go with a Thief Rogue and get the most out of my Dex, though more as a skirmisher so kinda ignoring Forceful, but appreciating the d8. Or maybe a Swashbuckler w/ 14/+2 Str to pick up Mauler because that's funny, though that would exclude some good defensive feats (and essentially be making a Fighter w/ damage spikes instead of accuracy).
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If there's more to your concept than "guy w/ this weapon" though, then other classes contend more.
By and large, there really isn't.
I think that Paizo's signature 2H Finesse weapon is cool enough to want to build a character around, but with the PF2 design space/constraints, I'm not sure that it's ever going to be even as good as a comparable strength build.So I'm desiring to build a character that benefits both from using a 2H weapon, while utilizing the dex investment as much as possible.
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It is a bit more challenging to go for dex melee than strength melee for classes who aren't monk or the precision damage classes.
You can lean on the inherent advantages dex has over strength, such as having decent ranged attack options. That's more difficult with both your hands occupied. You could go soul forger to have a throwable weapon, or as mentioned above, find some way to use ranged unarmed attacks. Monk is probably the best bet either way. exemplar can put the thrown trait on weapons too if you have the option.
If there's more to your concept than "guy w/ this weapon" though, then other classes contend more.By and large, there really isn't.
I think that Paizo's signature 2H Finesse weapon is cool enough to want to build a character around, but with the PF2 design space/constraints, I'm not sure that it's ever going to be even as good as a comparable strength build.
So I'm desiring to build a character that benefits both from using a 2H weapon, while utilizing the dex investment as much as possible.
The Dex Fighters' advantages are in Dex skills, Ref Saves, & being able to swap to ranged attacks. Str will have Athletics, greater die size weapons (including Reach w/ Reactive Strike), and greater damage bonus. Since Fighters get accuracy rather than straight damage, I feel it's too costly unless you're accessing all the great free hand or shield feats, which you wouldn't be.
So yeah, I'd go Thief Rogue. The sword syncs up better, even if Forceful will see less use. And those skills support so many party needs (at the cost of a Fighter's sturdiness). It's still kinda costly to give up your free hand, so much so I'd prefer the short sword. But building on the "must use Elven Curve Blade" premise, Thief Rogue seems best, though I'd build some wonky Swashbuckler builds to double check (perhaps w/ Mauler).
It's easy enough to make sample builds to compare, see which feats appeal to your intended playstyle.