What are fun builds to dip Pyrokineticist with?

[CyberThread]

AM not sure how many levels, I want to dip into Pyrokineticist yet but how much can you safely step into it, and then back out, and what sort of builds are doable?

I am open to the variant kineticist, like acid and sound.


My "tier" goal is between 3 and 4.

[A_S]

Well, sneak attack builds do well with touch attacks. Unfortunately, whips don't threaten, so AoO/trip builds are probably out.

A Daring Outlaw build (Rogue/Swashbuckler) with some good sneak attack feats (Craven, Staggering Strike) and some way of generating sneak attacks (maybe some ToB dips for maneuvers that make opponents flat-footed or make it easier to flank) would be effective, and around the tier range you're looking for.

I don't think there's much reason to dip more than 1 level into Kineticist. The lash is the best thing it gets.

*edit* Actually, come to think of it, I'd skip Rogue entirely and qualify for Daring Outlaw with Assassin's Stance. First 6 levels look like:

1 - Swordsage 1
2 - Swashbuckler 1
3 - Swashbuckler 2
4 - Swashbuckler 3
5 - Swordsage 2
6 - Kineticist 1

Pick up Assassin's Stance at level 5 and Daring Outlaw with your level 6 feat, and the build is basically done. Mix and match Swashbuckler and Swordsage as you see fit from there on out. The former gets you sneak attack progression; the latter gets you tasty maneuvers. I'd try to stagger my Swordsage levels to time them for grabbing good high-level maneuvers.

[Psyren]

If you're willing to play or dip into PF, Improved Whip Mastery will let you threaten (and thus take AoOs, flank etc.) with a whip.

[Flickerdart]

Vae School is usable with the energy lash, as is Deadly Defense. You can pile on feats like Cobalt Expertise to make a vaguely competent tripper build that has great AC thanks to Combat Expertise optimization, but don't expect anything spectacular from it.

[ShneekeyTheLost]

A two-level dip in Pyro also nets you Hands Aflame, so if you are using unarmed attacks as your primary weapons, it deals an additional 2d6. Depending on the build, that might be pretty useful.

If you are using regular weapons, you'll have to go a 4 level splash, but that will also include a 4d6 ranged touch attack with a 60' range.