I could never figure out the Kineticist class

[Ulthar]

In Kingmaker, by the time I got the Kineticist sisters I had already almost completed the game and didn't have room for them in my party anyway.

I tried using them and I could never figure them out. It seemed like I had to generate some sort of energy or something in order to use powers - but I couldn't figure out if I was supposed to equip a weapon, or not or what.

Would anyone be kind enough to write a short summary of how to use their basic powers (step by step)

[connelld1965]

I think you had to sprint down hill and do the flying head but move?

[ManDudely]

Basically, the Kineticist has supernatural 'blast' powers. Think 5e's Eldritch Blast, but they can be of many different elements, and even combine them. Fire/Earth, for example. Some of those blast powers will cause Burn, aka non-lethal damage, to Kineticist for casting it. There are features that let you mitigate that burn, one of them being 'spend a move action to gather power'.

If you think of the Kineticist as a DBZ/Avatar character, you're on the right track.

[Echo]

It's actually really cool but it's so different to other class mechanics it's like a different game... There are some good explanations on Youtube if you can be bothered with that.

[solthusx]

Kineticists has a Kinetic Blast as a default attack. You have the option of either a physical blast or energy blast depending on the element chosen. Physical Blasts do more damage but are usually harder to hit with due to targeting normal AC. Energy Blasts do less damage but targe touch AC, making it easier to hit most things reliably. However, energy blasts are subject to the targets spell resistance and energy resistance (very common in this game). However, the Spell Penetration feats and Elemental Ascendance Mythic Ability provide methods around these. Once you get a second element, you can also get composite blasts which do more damage.

Beyond the basic blast, Kineticists also have access to Infusions which change the properties of the Kinetict Blast and Wild Talents, spell-like abilities based on the element(s) that you have chosen. Both of these and composite blasts cost Burn, which is non-lethal HP damage that lasts until you rest.

What the Gather Power ability (the energy generation that you are referring to) does is reduce the Burn cost of the next ability used.

You don't need to equip weapons as a Kineticist since your weapons are built in. Armor selection is limited, but some elements do provide nice defensive abilities.

[Echo]

it was terribly strong in Kingmaker, too. Like it was the go-to class if you were attempting solo Unfair.

Think the main build is like earth style or earth mode coupled with some other elemental type like fire .. You end up with almost spammable aoe mega damage with a CC effect rolled in and spiffing single target dps that's all touch attacks etc. (touch attacks were desperately important in Unfair because of the massively inflated AC values)

And Dark elementalist, I think it was, had all that with rogue level skills.

[jlawleraz]

Beyond the mechanics part from the YouTube videos, I will just comment that by the end of Kingmaker the sisters were by far my most powerful characters. I usually had Kalikke with me because I liked her personality. I didn't care what she could do in combat. But by the end of the game, she and Kanerah independently were doing about as much damage as everyone else put together. It was amazing. So it is a good class to get enough of an understanding on that you feel comfortable playing it.

[Snefru]

Now I gotta go see if a companion is a kineticist. I’d like to Atleast have one with me.

[Raindustz]

Yeah Kine is very strong. In King they were hitting for 100+ each hit while my other dudes are hitting for like 12.

[Echo]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNXKPlZhJR8

This Youtuber seems like a nice man and this video is a good intro to the kineticists.

Sorry to link a video for something that should be text but this is not bad at all.

[Soul]

I remember hitting stuff in the late game Kingmaker for 200-400 dmg pretty consistently on attacks with my airbender themed kineticist. Pretty much didn't need any other damage dealers lol, just meatshields and a healer. When you can one shot lesser jabberwocks... I might just do a kineticist again mixed with lich. I know there were some crazy builds around the psychokineticist too that could hit for over 1400 in a round of attacks too. People got some crazy theory crafting min max builds man.

[faolanthehedgehog]

1. Kineticists make use of their basic kinetic blasts to deal damage, which can be modified by Infusions.
1b. Infusions come in two types: substance and form. Substance infusions add additional effects to your kinetic blast (like pushing the target back or knocking them prone), while form infusions affect the targeting parameters (such as a line, a cone, or a fireball-like burst). You toggle which infusions you're using in the same manner you activate Power Attack or Combat Expertise.
1c. Adding infusions to your kinetic blast increases the Burn cost of the final attack (see 3 below).
1d. There are also composite kinetic blasts which deal more damage and can deal mixed damage types, but cost Burn to use.

2. In addition to kinetic blasts, kineticists have Wild Talents, which operate basically like at-will spell-like abilities or provide constant benefits. Some have a Burn cost, others do not.

3. Burn is a mechanic that represents the kineticist straining themselves by using a lot of their power in a single burst of elemental energy. Each point of Burn sustained causes the kienticist to take 1 point of nonlethal damage per character level. This damage and the Burn cannot be healed except by sleeping.
3a. By default, a kineticist can accept only 1 point of burn per round, which increases as she gains levels.
3b. The maximum amount of burn a kineticist can take is equal to 3 + Con modifier, so it's literally impossible for a kineticist to cause themselves to fall unconscious from Burn.
3c. It is possible to reduce the Burn cost of kinetic blasts (but not wild talents) in multiple ways.

First, the Gather Power ability effectively allows you to increase the "casting time" of a blast or wild talent to reduce Burn (to a minimum of 0). Spending a move action reduces the cost by 1, spending 1 full round reduces the cost by 2, and spending 1 full round + move action the next turn reduces the cost by 3.

At 11th-level, Gather Power becomes even better, with a move action reducing by 2, and full-round reducing by 3.

Thus, you can effectively apply infusions to your blast without accepting burn if you spend additional time before using the blast. Like Infusions, Gather Power is a toggle-able ability.

However, you can ONLY use Gather Power if both hands are empty. Thus it's best to have kineticists not holding any weapon.

The other way to reduce Burn cost is the class ability Infusion Specialization, which automatically reduces the Burn cost of Infusions as the kineticist gains levels.

3d. Despite the fact that Burn effectively reduces a character's max hp temporarily, it also provides the kineticist with some bonuses for accepting it, thanks to the Elemental Overflow class feature. This gives the kineticist a bonus on attack rolls with kinetic blasts equal to the total points of Burn she has, as well as a bonus on damage rolls equal to double the burn taken.

Furthermore, at higher levels, having more burn even grants the kineticist a size bonus to physical ability scores and a chance to ignore critical hits!

4. Other Class Features to take note of:
Metakinesis is like the metamagic of kinetic blasts, allowing the kineticist to accept burn to treat her blast as though affected by Empower Spell, Maximize Spell, or Quicken Spell. This is gained automatically through advancing in the kineticist class, and the burn costs for metakinesis can also be reduced through Gather Power, but not through Infusion Specialization.

4b. Internal Buffer allows a kineticist to accept burn to add points to the buffer. Later on, when she would otherwise accept burn, she can spend points from the buffer instead.

[Quarex]

And they are so ridiculously powerful that when I was having trouble with the final boss of the "Beneath the Stolen Lands" expansion, I changed my strategy from "throw the full might of my party and a bunch of summoned monsters at it" to "just turn on my Kineticist's 'Deadly Earth' power and wait 30 seconds" and everything died. Absolutely astounding how devastating they are if you read about how they work.

[Arne]

Instead of opening another thread, I will ask here:

Do you know whether
a) "Swords of Heaven"
b) "Zippy magic"
synergices with kinetic blade?

[diegentarodie]

Hi! I read this topic. Has anyone a build in mind for wotr?

[Echo]

It's simple, earth trip feat and one other element for touch attacks, everything else is your play style. Dark Kineticists have the best skills for solo play though.

You generally take your element first then get earth +trip at later levels.

You just need to make sure you're playing the class properly using your burn and your burn offset abilities.

-edit:
- remember they're not spellcasters exactly so don't take feats like spell penetration etc.
- while you might be tempted to load up con as a secondary stat often it's far more important to have dex so you can actually hit with your blast (depending on difficulty and how high their AC will be)
- might edit with more tips if i remember any...