Wizard or Arcane trickster (octavia)?

[The aTOMizer]

So i'm like over act 4, lvl 13 and stuff. I'm always keeping in the back of my mind if i rather keep her as an arcane trickster or reroll a mage (use a respec mod).

Right now she's ok...does some decent AoE with her spells and utility. Although most the utility i get from linzi, which is amazing.
She's not maxed on the arcane trickster and i know they get a good boost when they reach level 10, that's when they get their sneak damage added to their spells on flat footed guys.

What do you guys think?

[Mithrals]

https://steamcommunity.com/app/640820/discussions/0/1743353164095573846/

Heres an earlier thread about Octavia, maybe you can find your answers there.

[Bigun]

Right but the title of this thread begs a question that is bugging me. I am coming from a 3.5 background, and played all the other crpg's out there I think. So my question is for the pathfinder folks. Just looking at arcane trickster they lose no caster levels at all. So i looked at pathfinder pnp website, its correct. Looked at arcane archer, they get like 7 caster levels over 10 levels.

Doesnt all these prc's with that much casting power, cut down on players using core classes? I mean why roll a pure wizard anymore? Yes you will lose one cater lvl due to taking a level of rogue, but thats not very much looking at what you gain. And the core class wizard for this game would have to take pbs and precise anyway, due to lack of control spells, and the need to blast alot in a game like this one. PNP would be different I grant you, but still being down only one caster level would mean very few pure wizards in pnp I would think.

I know when pathfinder first came out and tested it, I thought it was basically 3.5 but inflated as if the players got to tweak the rules in their favor. I know my old 3.5 Arcane archer would have killed for 7 more caster levels. Wonder if pathfinder is not as popular as it could be because of this power creep?

[Entropie]

It should be noted that in comparison to PnP arcane trickster has an insane power boost in this game since:
- flanks are very easy to get.
- ranged sneak attack can be applied if the target is flanked (in PnP you have to be part of the flank to qualify for sneak attack)
- each ray of a spell deals sneak attack damage (in PnP only one ray may apply sneak attack damage)

[For_Science!]

Everything Entropie says is an excellent point, along with the fact that in PnP, direct damage isn't a very good use of a caster's talents; they often have more important things to do on the battlefield.

In practice, I never see a lot of arcane tricksters in PnP, unless it's part of the character concept for other reasons.

[Bigun]

What ya mean you have to be part of the flank? I cant sneak attack from rangein PnP ?

[Tanlaus]

The thing that makes arcane trickster so powerful in this game is the way flanking works and- more importantly, the way SA procs off multiple rays.

3.5 AT was kind of lame, so I get the desire to buff it for pathfinder. And while I think full spell progression is pretty powerful, if it weren’t for the two things listed above I’m not sure I’d bother with it.

[For_Science!]

Originally posted by Bigun:

What ya mean you have to be part of the flank? I cant sneak attack from rangein PnP ?

You can, because there is more than one way to qualify for a sneak attack. Flanking is one such way, but only for melee attacks.

You can do a ranged sneak attack (usually only out to a range of 30') if you are invisible to your target, or your target is flat-footed, or under a variety of other conditions that would deny them a Dex bonus to defense.

In this digital version of the rules, sneak attacks in general are easier to make, and ranged sneak attacks are much easier.

[Tanlaus]

Oh man, I’m the time it took to type my reply three other people said basically the same thing.,,

I'm so slow!

[Entropie]

Originally posted by Bigun:

What ya mean you have to be part of the flank? I cant sneak attack from rangein PnP ?

It means you have to be considered flanking the target which is very hard to do in PnP from a range, there is basically only a 3rd party feat called "Ranged Flank" with fairly high requirements which allows you to flank someone from a distance.

You can still get sneak attack damage based on the opponent losing their dex bonus, for example by being invisible. Though PnP limits you to a distance of 30 ft for applying sneak damage to ranged attacks as well.

[Bigun]

I got all that fellas, that was basic to 3.5. But an AT would get the drop on alot of things in the first round. But I guess pathfinder pnp may not be all bad then, if you are flanked in melee doesnt mean your a flanked period. So pathfinder still has facing then? you have to be oppsite to be flanked? If within 30 feet and in a flanking ranged position I cannot sneak attack, have to be in there to qualify?