| DMurnett |
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
A lot of people see these new classes as some combination of redundant, underwhelming, or unnecessary. I don't want to diminish these opinions, but let it be know that I like these classes, and here's why.
On a general level, these classes are very well put together and functional even in their playtest iterations, compared to the Starfinder 2e playtests we've had it's a breath of fresh air. Not touching on balance, their mechanics support the fantasy they try to sell nearly perfectly. Now, whether said fantasies are too close to/easily achievable with existing options, or whether other harder to achieve fantasies should be a priority over these ones, is open for debate; There's a lot that these classes aren't, but I am happy with what they are
Daredevil I don't have a lot to say about, it's just a fun looking class that feels just different enough from Swashbuckler that I think it justifies its existence. Extra shoutout to Stunt Driver for being one of the extraordinarily few vehicle based feats in the game, love seeing underused mechanics get love.
Slayer on the other hand really impresses me, it perfectly captures what I want out of a theoretical Monster Hunter class. It could definitely do with more class power, but the gathering of trophies from your marks to attach to gear is a very compelling mechanic that's executed very well. It has Combination/Modular weapon support which is not only fitting because Monster Hunter, but also generally quite rare and so good to see! I love the extra tools you can get from feats, I love the Field-Forged Tools feat, Consecrated Panoply... Needs a lot more sauce actually, but like, I love Slayer. I've never played a Witcher game does it show?
| TheTownsend |
| 4 people marked this as a favorite. |
Definitely glad to get on the hype train with you. Obviously they need some work, it's a playtest, that's what its for. But I'm genuinely jazzed about the opportunities these classes present and I can't wait to see what sort of book they come out in (my money's on a dungeoneering/darklands theme, but I could also see urban intrigue).
Daredevil fills out the narrative space between Monk and Swashbuckler nicely, for all those concepts that weren't performative or charismatic enough for the latter or too Jackie Chan for the former. A play cycle that centers athleticism and rapid-fire, frantic maneuvers sounds so much fun in a way no class has quite emulated mechanically yet. I could see it as a confident, parkouring combattant or a bumbling lout crashing through their environment and taking out the monster practically by accident, or a dozen things inbetween.
Slayer, my main complaint is that a lot of its options feel too prescriptive, like you can see exactly which features are supposed to make you Geralt and which are supposed to make you a Belmont, and they do exctly those things. Like Chymist's Vials feels like it should be a more versitile option than it is. Smooth those out a bit and you've got a really solid class fantasy here that interacts with a lot of fringe rules in specific and fun ways.
Both are admittedly situational -- a Daredevil isn't gonna have much to bounce off of in a desert exploration campaign -- but that true of any class. If you bring a combat-minmaxed fighter to what you were told was a courtly intrigue game, that's on you!
| Teridax |
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Although I'm keen to make note of issues I see crop up in playtesting (that's what it's for!), I'm honestly not too concerned about the balance or even the design being rough around the edges. Playtests are meant to try things out and see what needs to be improved, and classes like the Guardian went from being awful to amazing from playtest to release, so Paizo absolutely can and does refine content based on feedback.
I'm also a big fan of the Daredevil's core concept, as well. It's not just that the class differs from the Swashbuckler in practice, the Daredevil is really chaotic in a way that feels fun and responsive to what's going on in-game (when it works!). With the right improvements, I think the class could turn out extremely fun, and able to pinball around battle maps looking for opportunities to deal environmental damage to enemies.