weapon focus - > improved critical and all those different weapons

[['w']]

Amiri makes me crazy with her oversized bastard sword

I got the Flaming Earthbreaker with her, works far better, still afraid to takes feats for this weapon, because it's just a +2 one.

She is one of the few chars I have had no weapon focus or improved critical feat so far. I took weapon focus bastard sword right now for rp reasons. Weapon still sucks, still worse than Earthbreaker.

Instead I took cleave and I hardly use it... same as for example dazzling display, no idea when I ever used it and never saw it work at all...

Varnhold Act4 started and I replaced her few hrs ago with Nok Nok, right now he and Ekundayo are insane dmg dealers, focused. They got their weapon focus, their outflank and improved crit... nothing fancy and it works

I feel really starved of items, not that I've a lot of gold, but I really feel starved of a good second heavy crossbow for linzi for example, still no idea why I wasted 3 feats for it, to make her somehow a passable heavy crossbow user, but obviously she shines in her support role and not so much as dmg dealer. ... changed it to light crossbow via mod (flaming on from oleg)

---
short rant, I could have bought a Robe of the Wise 12k to get +3 in nature, world and arcane and religion lore, ofc I didn't....

[forkofspite]

Sounds right.

IMO - depends on playstyle and combat mode. My preferred method is for focused roles, each character invest heavily for that role, and invest in defense with whatever's left. For combat, that leads to almost everything not depending on resources. Buff and use other limited resources when needed (based on game knowledge). For real-time, put demoralize on auto for those that don't contribute to tanking or damage. In turn-based, there's nothing wrong with doing nothing and just ending the turn.

Re: dazzling display
Again IMO, three reasons a character would take it ...

1) Prerequisite for the next feat line in the progression - forgot the name, but it's the one where dropping an enemy gives a free dazzling display check. This character would not use the dazzling display action itself (just the free check with the follow-up feat).

2) Prerequisite for shatter defenses. This character would be unlikely to ever use dazzling display but someone needs to make the enemies shaken (or frightened) - better if someone else filled that role (such as dirge or frightful aspect - or someone else using dazzling display/demoralize).

3) Dedicated character to use dazzling display. I've had Linzi do that during a couple of runs, but it was less effective than I anticipated. The range isn't good, so it was typically too late to be meaningful.

[grognardgary]

Amiris giant sword gets better over time. Me I find I can make up the malus with other things and frankly two to sixteen damage plus strength bonus us awesome even if I hit 10 oercent less it more than makes up for it when it does hit, Note every thing in this game is some sort of trade off, Further I wouldn't give anyone more than two weapons a bow and whatever hand weapon is appropriate and by the time you get point blank master archers don't need another weapon.

[FunkyMonkey]

I often don't take Weapon focus for Amiri, it's not as crucial for her as it is for Fighter's for example. Often weapon focus is something that is a requirement for other things, like Dazzling display, it's not that exciting itself.

The oversized bastard sword she has is pretty poor unless you get your attack bonuses high enough since it has a inherent -2 penalty for being oversized.

Also, Cleave isn't strong by itself but is required for Cleaving finish, which is great and I always take both. I never take only Cleave and leave it there, and I never actively use Cleave, either. It's only a requirement for better things.

And for Linzi, I'd encourage you to take Spell focus: Enchantment on her, not archer feats. I just take Point-blank and Precise shot on her and leave it at that. After that, I like taking things like Spell focus: Enchantment, Improved initiative, Lingering performance and some additional skill focuses.

[biogoo]

Weapon focus feat is the worst thing that ever happened to DnD games since the 3rd edition. This game at least let's you respec, so it's not as bad. But the general idea is terrible.

I mean, in PnP, OK, DM decides what he gives the player on the go, but in a pre-determined game? Hell no.

[grognardgary]

Ir is a gate way feat for fighters in particular. getting you to weapon spec and other things and it partially offsets the cost of big ole sword, And sorry while +1 to hit isn't spectacular by itself parially or fully off setting the malus from power attack and other feats isn't a bad thing.

[FunkyMonkey]

Originally posted by grognardgary:

Ir is a gate way feat for fighters in particular. getting you to weapon spec and other things and it partially offsets the cost of big ole sword, And sorry while +1 to hit isn't spectacular by itself parially or fully off setting the malus from power attack and other feats isn't a bad thing.

The thing is, barbarians have other and much better ways to off-set the penalty from Power atack, namely Reckless stance. Reckless scales the same rate, or close to, as Power attack. So as your malus from Power attack increases, your bonus from Reckless stance increases.

Weapon focus really isn't a strong option for Barbs unless you need it for something else.

Edit. Sorry I meant Lethal stance, not Reckless stance. Reckless is pretty garbage :D Lethal is great.

[99Random]

Originally posted by biogoo:

Weapon focus feat is the worst thing that ever happened to DnD games since the 3rd edition. This game at least let's you respec, so it's not as bad. But the general idea is terrible.

I mean, in PnP, OK, DM decides what he gives the player on the go, but in a pre-determined game? Hell no.

It very much makes sense in PnP Pathfinder since adding enchantments to an existing weapon is a key part of the system. An example is a fighter I ran that found a +1 cold iron halberd early on and still had it as main weapon at level 20, although far more powerful with new enchantments.

Yes, in a game where all loot is pre-generated and choosing a specialization with very poor choices is not great.

[Radiac]

The Ginormous Sword is a Bastard Sword, which I think she had to use a Feat to be able to equip. You have options:

1. Give her Weapon Focus-based Bastard Sword feats. Unfortunately, this means she's competing with Valerie for the best Bastard Sword, or you have to buy a lot of Bastard Swords. Unless you're just not using Valerie. In any event, if you do this, you're giving Amiri Bastard Sword feats because of her Ginormous Sword, but not actually using that sword because there are better going to be options. Seems self-defeating, and definitely bad if you intend to use a bastard sword with your main.

2. Ignore the Ginormous Sword and use other stuff. Since you can't make your own custom weapons, I would avoid the Weapon Focus feats entirely and just have her use the most suitable two-handed weapon available for the mission at hand at any given time. This probably means using the Trollrender axe during the Trobold part, then switch to something like Second Execution for use against undead, etc. There are multiple axes, earthbreakers, and greatswords to be had. She could use her feats on other stuff and just haul around a golfcart full of different weapons. Pre-StagLord there's a +2 greatclub to be had. The Ginormous Sword is her trademark item and part of her storyline, but it's not the end-all be-all, and you can still use it for jobs that it might be good for without min-maxing her for it.

3. Take Weapon-focus feats in some other type of weapon and pray you get a good version of that weapon. Some people like to use a Reach weapon with her, at higher difficulties, to avoid the crack-back damage in melee. I think they go with Glaive or something for this, but you can;t always have a super tuned-up Reach weapon at all times, sometimes you're poking with a +1 Longspear while others might have +3 stuff. I would say there are probably a fair number of decent Greataxes to be had, I can't vouch for much of anything else, and you might still find that you've got a better earthbreaker for some amount of time, which is the problem you have now, which is what we we're originally went in to this discussion trying to solve.

They made the companions annoyingly non-optimized so as to avoid out-shining your main character. Valerie has high Cha but refuses to be a paladin, Harrim is a cleric with terrible Cha, Amiri has relatively low Strength for a Barbarian and is married to that goofy sword. This makes them more fun to try to build, to me, but they WILL be non-optimal as compared to a well-designed main character, which is what they're supposed to be. If you find that annopyingm, welcome to the club, but you can only optimize them to the degree that the game allows, so I would say it's counterproductive to complain about how bad they are and try to force a square peg into a round hole, just roll with it and try to make them as good as they can be, given their baked-in limitations as decided upon by the devs.

That or resort to mods that let you respec them completely, or just make 5 custom mercs and leave all the regular companions at home when you're not doing their personal quests.

[ptirodaktill]

Weapon focus is just a feat tax toward shatter defence. +1 to hit is extreamly weak and simply irrelevant past lvl 3, so you can pick it for any weapon you`re using in early game.

[grognardgary]

Originally posted by FunkyMonkey:

Originally posted by grognardgary:

Ir is a gate way feat for fighters in particular. getting you to weapon spec and other things and it partially offsets the cost of big ole sword, And sorry while +1 to hit isn't spectacular by itself parially or fully off setting the malus from power attack and other feats isn't a bad thing.

The thing is, barbarians have other and much better ways to off-set the penalty from Power atack, namely Reckless stance. Reckless scales the same rate, or close to, as Power attack. So as your malus from Power attack increases, your bonus from Reckless stance increases.

Weapon focus really isn't a strong option for Barbs unless you need it for something else.

But those stance show up regardless and at different levels than the every third level feats that every one gets, what is it a stance at every two levels or something like that Barbs tend to be something of a glass canon and reckless makes that more of a problem.

[FunkyMonkey]

Originally posted by grognardgary:

Originally posted by FunkyMonkey:

The thing is, barbarians have other and much better ways to off-set the penalty from Power atack, namely Reckless stance. Reckless scales the same rate, or close to, as Power attack. So as your malus from Power attack increases, your bonus from Reckless stance increases.

Weapon focus really isn't a strong option for Barbs unless you need it for something else.

But those stance show up regardless and at different levels than the every third level feats that every one gets, what is it a stance at every two levels or something like that Barbs tend to be something of a glass canon and reckless makes that more of a problem.

Regardless, wasting a whole feat for only +1 to hit just isn't worth it anyway. Barbarians don't get any bonus feats and for me at least, even weapon focus can be hard to fit in. I do take Improved critical later on in the game, though, that bonus crit range is pretty powerfull and it stacks again with barbarians Lethal stance when you upgrade it. And yeah, Barbarians are pretty much only damage, they don't really tank. That is why a two-handed weapon and Enlarge person are a must for them, IMO, through the whole game so they don't get focused too hard. At the very end-game they pretty much kill stuff fast enough so that they don't go down.

My go-to build for barbarians always goes both Lethal stance line and Beast totem line. This nets in total:

Lethal stance line:
- +6 competence bonus (lvl 20) on melee attacks, off-setting Power attack (Lethal stance)
- +12 bonus to confirm criticals (Deadly accuracy)
- crit range increase by 1, stacks with improved critical (Lethal accuracy)

Beast totem line:
- Lesser beast totem is useless, it gives two unarmed claw attacks but I'm never going to go unarmed, but it's required to get the later ones
- Beast totem gives +6 natural armor bonus (lvl 20) that stacks with natural armor enhancements, like those from necklaces
- Greater beast totem gives Pounce, i.e. full attacks at the end of charge, instead of only 1. Absolutely amazing to just run in to the backline, enlarged, enraged and watch everything just die, especially if you took Cleave into Cleaving finish.

Barbarians do need a proper tank in front of them and both want Outflank, often Combat reflexes too. Then there is Power attack, Cleave, Cleaving finish and Improved critical which are all important. That is already 6 feats out of 10 that barbarians get. If you then want for example teamwork feats, Improved initiative or things like that, it gets really hard to fit in something like Weapon focus.

[['w']]

Originally posted by forkofspite:

Sounds right.

IMO - depends on playstyle and combat mode. My preferred method is for focused roles, each character invest heavily for that role, and invest in defense with whatever's left. For combat, that leads to almost everything not depending on resources. Buff and use other limited resources when needed (based on game knowledge). For real-time, put demoralize on auto for those that don't contribute to tanking or damage. In turn-based, there's nothing wrong with doing nothing and just ending the turn.

Re: dazzling display
Again IMO, three reasons a character would take it ...

1) Prerequisite for the next feat line in the progression - forgot the name, but it's the one where dropping an enemy gives a free dazzling display check. This character would not use the dazzling display action itself (just the free check with the follow-up feat).

2) Prerequisite for shatter defenses. This character would be unlikely to ever use dazzling display but someone needs to make the enemies shaken (or frightened) - better if someone else filled that role (such as dirge or frightful aspect - or someone else using dazzling display/demoralize).

3) Dedicated character to use dazzling display. I've had Linzi do that during a couple of runs, but it was less effective than I anticipated. The range isn't good, so it was typically too late to be meaningful.

1.) dreadful carnage ... I got it with Valerie, no idea if it helps but it triggers at least, was fighting only undead so far, where I won't help obviously

and greater beast totem for amiri.

some kind of holy dmg / vs chaos dmg blade enchanment costing 2 points by activation for my sword saint, wonder how this switches depending on the alignment of my enemies, because right now you can't change what kind of dmg it does contrary to the tooltip

[Drake]

Originally posted by 99Random:

Originally posted by biogoo:

Weapon focus feat is the worst thing that ever happened to DnD games since the 3rd edition. This game at least let's you respec, so it's not as bad. But the general idea is terrible.

I mean, in PnP, OK, DM decides what he gives the player on the go, but in a pre-determined game? Hell no.

It very much makes sense in PnP Pathfinder since adding enchantments to an existing weapon is a key part of the system. An example is a fighter I ran that found a +1 cold iron halberd early on and still had it as main weapon at level 20, although far more powerful with new enchantments.

Yes, in a game where all loot is pre-generated and choosing a specialization with very poor choices is not great.

Yeah, the problem with the video games is the crafting and enchanting part is missing. But at the same time it's core feature of the system, you're supposed to upgrade and look for stuff, not wait until the GM gives you something.

They really is where they messed up the most.

[Frostfeather]

I'd just use Bag of Tricks to give a different Weapon Focus Feat as needed without abusing that too much. Saves the trouble of a full respec, which is totally worth it.

[Decius Brutus]

Originally posted by Radiac:

The Ginormous Sword is a Bastard Sword, which I think she had to use a Feat to be able to equip. You have options:

1. Give her Weapon Focus-based Bastard Sword feats. Unfortunately, this means she's competing with Valerie for the best Bastard Sword, or you have to buy a lot of Bastard Swords. Unless you're just not using Valerie. In any event, if you do this, you're giving Amiri Bastard Sword feats because of her Ginormous Sword, but not actually using that sword because there are better going to be options. Seems self-defeating, and definitely bad if you intend to use a bastard sword with your main.

Having Valerie multiclass into Kinetic Knight frees up the bastard swords and lets her get attacks that target touch AC. Then Amiri can use a medium bastard sword and heavy shield, so that they can both use shield wall and have almost a good enough AC.