Need help finishing a low-level Shaper

[ttkoshi]

Hi everyone- first time on the forum, and I'm stuck with my shaper and selecting a final feat. Here is what I have so far, as well as the blanks I'm left with:

Elan Psion (Shaper)
Level 3

STR 13
DEX 16
CON 16
INT 17
WIS 15
CHA 10

Feats:
Boost Construct
Psi-Crystal Affinity
[______________]

Powers:
Astral Construct
Minor Psionic Creation
Control Flames
Energy Ray
Force Screen (Since i'm going with an elven chain shirt)
Mind Threat
Psionic Repair Damage

Weapons:
[______________] (I'm going to spend most of my time behind my construct, so not sure what weapons to take).

I've thought of the meta feats, but they push the cost of powers beyond what I can pay at level 3 without hitting the cap. Any ideas would be helpful! Thanks!

[Keld Denar]

Overchannel + Talented is a pretty good combo. That lets you get a tiny bit extra out of your Astral Construct, and ever little bit helps. Other than that, I kinda like Ectopic Form (Emerald Gyre) from Complete Psionic. It gives your construct a 3rd arm which effectively gives it the Improved Grab feature, which, IIRC, is a free Menu B option. Free menu options are ALWAYS nice, especially when you start getting to large+ constructs with tasty tasty size bonuses to grapple!

Otherwise, you are Elan, so Improved Elan Resiliance isn't a terrible investment. Not QUITE as efficient as Share Pain + Vigor shared with pet rock, but almost.

For a weapon, go crazy. Nets are really fun. You don't need proficiency, really, since they are a touch attack. Even with the -8 penalty from throwing a non-proficient weapon into melee, if you have an OK dex and a point or 2 of BAB, you'll still hit 40% of the time. Netted foes are pretty screwed, as the penalties for entangle are rather severe at low levels.

[Biffoniacus_Furiou]

As he said, Ectopic Form: Emerald Gyre has Improved Grab, a Menu B ability. With Boost Construct, it gets one additional ability from a menu it already has one from, so it will get a second Menu B ability, or two Menu A abilities, even on a 1st level Astral Construct.

Psicrystal Affinity is particularly good if you keep Share Pain on it. Its Hardness 8 means it won't take any damage at all unless you're hit for 18 or more in a single hit, and you can share Vigor with it so you each get +5 HP per powerpoint spent. That gives you considerably better survivability at all levels.

Be sure to get the Personal Construct (http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/psm/20070411a) ACF at Psion 5.

[Zaq]

You can say that one of your first-level feats was Hidden Talent. +2 PP and a free power known from any list? I don't know about you, but I'm sold! Take something fun from a discipline list, a mantle, or even the PsyWar or Lurk lists. Dimension Hop is a great choice, but there's plenty of good stuff to nab.

Expanded Knowledge, taken at 3rd, can give you the same power, but Hidden Talent comes with bonus PP.

[erikun]

If you are planning on taking metapsionic feats in the future, now might be a good time to take Psionic Meditation (or Psicrystal Containment). The focus won't help you much now, but it will be very helpful for activating those metapsionics later. (You can do it without the feat, but it basically limits your metapsionics to once per combat.)

I like the Entropic forms as well, although they aren't popular with everyone. Overchannel is nice at keeping your construct around for another round, as an increase in manifester level also increases the duration, even if you don't spend any extra PP.

Vigor is very handy, and the 5:1 temp HP rate is one of the best deals you can get from psionics. I'm not sure what Mind Threat does. Force Screen might not be the best deal, as spellcasters/manifesters generally work best behind the barbarian rather than behind +4 AC. I'm not sure how much Repair Damage will help out the constructs either, given that they're rather bulky at this point, but it can be very useful on the environment. (Crumbling, collapsable stairs? Unstable bridge? Fix them up before trying to cross.)

[Chilingsworth]

I'm guessing when he said "Mind Threat," he meant "Mind Thrust?"