[PF] Please optimize / critique my "shoot first, shoot big" gunslinger build

[Phyxion]

This is a build for a possibly upcoming Wrath of the Righteous campaign, which is expected to go to level 20 (and mythic tier 10, although I'm not accounting for that yet). The character concept was sparked by the Fallout New Vegas companion Boone, who was all the time headshotting enemies before I knew they were present.

Class build: Gunslinger (Musket Master) 7 / Ninja (Bandit) 11 / Fighter 2.
Feats: Deadly Aim, Hellcat Pounce, Improved Vital Strike, Quick Draw (and all their prereqs)
Ninja Talents / relevant class abilities: Ambush, Dead Shot, Fast Musket, Gunslinger Initiative, Invisible Blade, Minor Magic (Mending), Opportunist, Surprise Attacks
Gear: Sniper Goggles, Far-Reaching Sight, Distance enchanted large musket

The benefits from this are:

Always act in surprise round with standard / move / swift action available.
Draw gun as free action in surprise round if not already in hand
Opponents *always* flat-footed to me in surprise round, even if already acted
If I hit with sneak attack in surprise round, make second attack immediately (which is not a sneak attack)
Can shoot (maybe twice) and then move+stealth in surprise round, setting up SA for subsequent rounds
(2 * 3d6+25 + 6d6 (VS)) + 6d6 (SA) on surprise round, 3d6 + 25 + 12d6 as standard action snipe, 12d6 + 25 + 6d6 as full-round SA; all vs touch AC
Once per round, can spend AoO to shoot an enemy that just got hit in melee by an ally of mine
Few times per day, can use greater invis for ~1 minute, leading to SA + Dead shot several times per combat
Mending can remove broken condition (from misfire) 3/day in combat


This looks like a decent build for large damage single shots about twice per round, and should have very good survivability. Unfortunately, it is mediocre until mid levels (Ambush comes on line about level 9), requires a LOT of feats and ninja tricks, and some of the tricks don't synergize very well, or are open to interpretation. As an example, from reading the rules text it looks like the Far-Reaching Sight (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic-items/wondrous-items/wondrous-items/e-g/far-reaching-sight) can be used with Dead Shot (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/gunslinger#TOC-Deeds), as both of them state you spend a full-round action to make a single shot.

Any suggestions on how I can tighten this up, things I missed, better ways to make the concept work, etc? Thanks! :)

[Person_Man]

In general, multi-classing in Pathfinder is a bad idea, since you get access to your best abilities and a capstone after level 10ish. So consider using strait Gunslinger or Ninja instead.

Also, just be aware that Gunslinger and Ninja and Fighter are all Tier 4 classes. Not that there's anything wrong with that. You just have fewer options then a blasty spell caster, who can deal much more ranged damage while also having a lot of other options.

[Karoht]

You're Invisibility > Sneak Attacks trick is fine.
However, might I recommend something that will come online much earlier than Greater Invisibility trick?
Buy a wand of Obscuring Mist/Fog Cloud. Buy a Goz Mask. Later on, things can see through invisibility just fine. Fog is much trickier. But you'll be able to see through them thanks to the Goz Mask. Easy access too. 8750g for both together (8000 for the mask, 750 for the wand).
Also, I highly recommend the Ninja Trick "pressure points" as having a reliable means of dealing STR or DEX damage every sneak attack can be incredibly useful. Most things that are immune to Sneak Attack are often immune to stat damage anyway.

PS-A wand of mending is cheap, Minor Magic seems like a bit of a waste.
Consider perhaps a 1 level dip into Oracle, take the winter mystery. This way you can buy a wand of Sleetstorm, and be able to see through it yourself. In Pathfinder there are exactly 2 ways that I'm aware of to see through Sleetstorm and similar effects. Oracle with Winter Mystery (take Snowsight as your first relvelation), or Winter Witch (not a 1 level dip) who gets it.
First level of Oracle would get you Mending as a cantrip (among a few others) Cure/Inflict light wounds, and some other spells on top of that. I recommend Divine Power. It also makes UMD a bit easier for you.

Happy hunting.

[NightbringerGGZ]

Question, does WotR use a 25 point buy? I may be remembering that wrong.

I'm not a fan of combining Rogue & Gunslinger, ranged sneak attack is a heavy investment on top of Gunslingers being pretty gear and build reliant. If it were me, I would go with a pure Pistolero build and pick up a Revolver ASAP.

For a Musket Master, Gunslinger 5 / Inquisitor 15 winds up being a very effective build. You'll have a really nice Initiative score, so you can fight first, and like most Gunslingers you'll wind up hitting hard with standard feats. You've got the option of using Wisdom for social skills with an Inquisition or an archetype. Plus you've got spell casting, and Mythic Spell casting can get to be pretty fun. Add on Judgements to that and there's no reason to look back.

Alternatively, Gunslinger 5 / Ranger 15 could do very well. Fewer spells, but you stay full BAB and you favored enemy bonuses would be nice. Bond with the party instead of an animal and use Instant Enemy to give everybody in the party half of your highest FE bonus on every boss =).

[Karoht]

For Ranged Sneak evil-ness, I recommend something very very silly.
Bard.
Yes, that's right. Bard.
Bard for 11 levels, then 3 levels Ninja/Rogue (I wanted Bewildering Koan until I found out later how not good it was), 1 level Oracle (Winter Mystery, for Snowsight) then 6 levels Arcane Trickster unless you want better Bard Buffs.
Bard Archetype? Soundstriker.
The campaign I'm currently in, each Weird Word bolt deals 1D8 + CHA Bonus (10) + 1D6 Sonic (Discordant Voice) +3D6 (soon be be 4 I think? Sneak Attack Damage. I get 10 bolts to divy how I want. Oh, and take 1 point of STR or DEX damage per bolt, my pick. All hitting (often flat footed) touch AC's.
Fort save for half, per bolt, the save does not cover the Sneak Attack damage as it is a separate source.

Most of my feats are based around being undetected in some way. Conceal Scent, Dampen Presence, you can't smell me and Blindsight won't find me. I fly so tremor sense is out. Still working on a way around that pesky Lifesense. I throw fog/smoke/sleet at people, I've got Nondetection up all day every day, I can virtually Flat Foot/Surprise pretty much anyone I want, hit their Touch AC's (attacking their Dex to make them even less dodgy, or attacking their hit to make them less hit-y)

As far as Gunslinging goes, poison ammo can be really effective in the low levels. But, it's all Fort saves, traditionally the highest saves around.
Still, if you use Craft Alchemy and take the feats, it can be very effective against casters.

[Nihilarian]

For Ranged Sneak evil-ness, I recommend something very very silly.
Bard.
Yes, that's right. Bard.
Bard for 11 levels, then 3 levels Ninja/Rogue (I wanted Bewildering Koan until I found out later how not good it was), 1 level Oracle (Winter Mystery, for Snowsight) then 6 levels Arcane Trickster unless you want better Bard Buffs.
Bard Archetype? Soundstriker.
The campaign I'm currently in, each Weird Word bolt deals 1D8 + CHA Bonus (10) + 1D6 Sonic (Discordant Voice) +3D6 (soon be be 4 I think? Sneak Attack Damage. I get 10 bolts to divy how I want. Oh, and take 1 point of STR or DEX damage per bolt, my pick. All hitting (often flat footed) touch AC's.
Fort save for half, per bolt, the save does not cover the Sneak Attack damage as it is a separate source.

Most of my feats are based around being undetected in some way. Conceal Scent, Dampen Presence, you can't smell me and Blindsight won't find me. I fly so tremor sense is out. Still working on a way around that pesky Lifesense. I throw fog/smoke/sleet at people, I've got Nondetection up all day every day, I can virtually Flat Foot/Surprise pretty much anyone I want, hit their Touch AC's (attacking their Dex to make them even less dodgy, or attacking their hit to make them less hit-y)This seems like a bad idea. How do you sneak when your attack is screaming at people?

I also think you might be missing an element because I'm not sure where the Str/Dex damage is coming from.

[Karoht]

This seems like a bad idea. How do you sneak when your attack is screaming at people?And therein lies the amuzing part. Though I do find that a Wand of Ventriloquism (*tap* *tap* Is this thing on?) to disguise my location by having it originate from anywhere I want to be most fun. It may or may not alter where the bolts originate from (DM's call on that one) but the sound coming out of my mouth can come from anywhere in range of the Ventriloquism, which is 25ft minimum. I can make the sound come from the person's own mouth, while bolts hit from another angle. It's also a standard action, where possible I shoot before I move just to be safe.



I also think you might be missing an element because I'm not sure where the Str/Dex damage is coming from.Same as I suggested earlier, though I should have repeated it. Pressure Points Ninja Trick.

[FabulousFizban]

mysterious stranger will synergize better with ninja as it uses cha instead of wis for grit, allowing both your grit and ki to be derived from cha. Makes the character less MAD, you only need dex and cha, in that order.

[Karoht]

mysterious stranger will synergize better with ninja as it uses cha instead of wis for grit, allowing both your grit and ki to be derived from cha. Makes the character less MAD, you only need dex and cha, in that order.Mysterious Stranger also allows you to ADD your charisma bonus to damage. So you would be less MAD, and you can add another stat to damage for yet more blasty fun.

[Phyxion]

In general, multi-classing in Pathfinder is a bad idea, since you get access to your best abilities and a capstone after level 10ish. So consider using strait Gunslinger or Ninja instead.

Also, just be aware that Gunslinger and Ninja and Fighter are all Tier 4 classes. Not that there's anything wrong with that. You just have fewer options then a blasty spell caster, who can deal much more ranged damage while also having a lot of other options.
That's also part of the reason I'm doing this. Not all of the other players in the game are up on (or even interested in) optimizing. The person who pretty much always plays the wizard, for example, usually goes completely non-optimized blaster. I like to optimize when I can (and with this GM it seems necessary a lot of the time), so this way I get to be useful without completely stepping on toes.

You're Invisibility > Sneak Attacks trick is fine.
However, might I recommend something that will come online much earlier than Greater Invisibility trick?
Buy a wand of Obscuring Mist/Fog Cloud. Buy a Goz Mask. Later on, things can see through invisibility just fine. Fog is much trickier. But you'll be able to see through them thanks to the Goz Mask. Easy access too. 8750g for both together (8000 for the mask, 750 for the wand).
Also, I highly recommend the Ninja Trick "pressure points" as having a reliable means of dealing STR or DEX damage every sneak attack can be incredibly useful. Most things that are immune to Sneak Attack are often immune to stat damage anyway.

PS-A wand of mending is cheap, Minor Magic seems like a bit of a waste.
Consider perhaps a 1 level dip into Oracle, take the winter mystery. This way you can buy a wand of Sleetstorm, and be able to see through it yourself. In Pathfinder there are exactly 2 ways that I'm aware of to see through Sleetstorm and similar effects. Oracle with Winter Mystery (take Snowsight as your first relvelation), or Winter Witch (not a 1 level dip) who gets it.
First level of Oracle would get you Mending as a cantrip (among a few others) Cure/Inflict light wounds, and some other spells on top of that. I recommend Divine Power. It also makes UMD a bit easier for you.

Happy hunting.
Interesting. The ability damage on SA is a neat trick, but seems like it would be much more useful on someone who will get multiple SAs in a round. I'm only making 1-2 attacks per round, so by the time I apply any significant ability damage the target would likely be dead. I do really like your Snowsight idea, though to some extent it makes me a bigger target - the 40ft radius of it makes it pretty easy to target me with an AOE, plus I'd need some way to walk on ice without penalty. Definitely something for me to work on, though.

Question, does WotR use a 25 point buy? I may be remembering that wrong.

I'm not a fan of combining Rogue & Gunslinger, ranged sneak attack is a heavy investment on top of Gunslingers being pretty gear and build reliant. If it were me, I would go with a pure Pistolero build and pick up a Revolver ASAP.

For a Musket Master, Gunslinger 5 / Inquisitor 15 winds up being a very effective build. You'll have a really nice Initiative score, so you can fight first, and like most Gunslingers you'll wind up hitting hard with standard feats. You've got the option of using Wisdom for social skills with an Inquisition or an archetype. Plus you've got spell casting, and Mythic Spell casting can get to be pretty fun. Add on Judgements to that and there's no reason to look back.

Alternatively, Gunslinger 5 / Ranger 15 could do very well. Fewer spells, but you stay full BAB and you favored enemy bonuses would be nice. Bond with the party instead of an animal and use Instant Enemy to give everybody in the party half of your highest FE bonus on every boss =).
Not sure about PB, but most often we use 20. I suppose 25 would be possible, since this is supposed to be a mythic campaign, but I wouldn't bet money on it.

Ranged sneak attack seems to be anathema to PF devs, it's silly how hard to set up it can be.

Revolvers are extremely likely to be outright unavailable due to GM bias against firearms in his campaigns.

I dipped Inquisitor on my Zen Archer recently, and while it's effective (+18 initiative) it feels cheesy. Might be because I just dipped it, and the actual class is good, I'll build it out and see how it looks. Ranger is definitely an option, though... Trophy Hunter was my original thought for how to build this.

For Ranged Sneak evil-ness, I recommend something very very silly.
Bard.
Yes, that's right. Bard.
Bard for 11 levels, then 3 levels Ninja/Rogue (I wanted Bewildering Koan until I found out later how not good it was), 1 level Oracle (Winter Mystery, for Snowsight) then 6 levels Arcane Trickster unless you want better Bard Buffs.
Bard Archetype? Soundstriker.
The campaign I'm currently in, each Weird Word bolt deals 1D8 + CHA Bonus (10) + 1D6 Sonic (Discordant Voice) +3D6 (soon be be 4 I think? Sneak Attack Damage. I get 10 bolts to divy how I want. Oh, and take 1 point of STR or DEX damage per bolt, my pick. All hitting (often flat footed) touch AC's.
Fort save for half, per bolt, the save does not cover the Sneak Attack damage as it is a separate source.

Most of my feats are based around being undetected in some way. Conceal Scent, Dampen Presence, you can't smell me and Blindsight won't find me. I fly so tremor sense is out. Still working on a way around that pesky Lifesense. I throw fog/smoke/sleet at people, I've got Nondetection up all day every day, I can virtually Flat Foot/Surprise pretty much anyone I want, hit their Touch AC's (attacking their Dex to make them even less dodgy, or attacking their hit to make them less hit-y)

As far as Gunslinging goes, poison ammo can be really effective in the low levels. But, it's all Fort saves, traditionally the highest saves around.
Still, if you use Craft Alchemy and take the feats, it can be very effective against casters.
I like the sound striker bard idea, though as a rule I dislike bards on general principle (too much support, not enough involvement - it's not fun when all you do is haste and sing every combat). I'll build this as well and see where it goes. I would imagine that silence or the 30ft range might be a problem, but maybe mobility is enough to make up for it. I'm also not sure this GM would allow SA dice to be added to each bolt, rather than split across each use of the ability; nor that the save would not apply to SA.

Demons are immune to poison as a type, so I don't see that as a good investment for a campaign focused on fighting them :)

It's an amusing image though, taking Deaf as the oracle curse and being a bard - I seem to remember a video of someone singing "All By Myself", badly, with the music muted...

Thanks for the ideas folks, gonna go build some of these and see how they turn out. Definitely open to any others that come up :)

[Karoht]

Interesting. The ability damage on SA is a neat trick, but seems like it would be much more useful on someone who will get multiple SAs in a round. I'm only making 1-2 attacks per round, so by the time I apply any significant ability damage the target would likely be dead.Why only 1-2 attacks? I mean yeah, initially, but 3 or 4 attacks becomes quite common place after a while.
Also, think about how many casters have a strength higher than 6? How many higher than 8? How about 10? Combo that with some STR poison ammo in your gun, good odds says you can cripple the target in a full-attack.
I did the math on a Ninja/Gunslinger build, I told my DM that if I get a pile of money, doing 30 STR damage in a round was highly doable. Oh, and then there were more saves the following round.
4 attacks + 1 from Haste + 1 from Rapid Shot (possibly +1 if dual wielding Revolvers or Pepperbox Pistols)


I do really like your Snowsight idea, though to some extent it makes me a bigger target - the 40ft radius of it makes it pretty easy to target me with an AOE, plus I'd need some way to walk on ice without penalty. Definitely something for me to work on, though.Sleetstorm isn't centered on you. You can target it where ever you want. Your enemies should be in Sleetstorm, there's no reason for you to be if you don't want to. And 40ft radius? Not a heck of a lot of effects can cover that much area. That's still decent odds for you. You can hide in it, if need be. You just need decent acrobatics (the DC is low, and Acrobatics is a Dex based class skill for you, I would be astonished if you ever failed it) and walking in it won't affect you.


I like the sound striker bard idea, though as a rule I dislike bards on general principle (too much support, not enough involvement - it's not fun when all you do is haste and sing every combat). I'll build this as well and see where it goes. I would imagine that silence or the 30ft range might be a problem, but maybe mobility is enough to make up for it. I'm also not sure this GM would allow SA dice to be added to each bolt, rather than split across each use of the ability; nor that the save would not apply to SA. Your DM can rule whatever way he wants but the rules state that you can in fact do everything I just described. As for involvement, it's touchy up until you hit 6th level Bard. After that? There is very little reason NOT to be using Weird Words every round. Eventually you get to use Weird Words (it is a performance) and combo it with another performance of yours (Shadow Bard is one such effect that handles this).
Sadly yes. Silence will stop you cold. A level 2 spell. Admittedly, your DM could stop your gunslinger with Windwall, also a level 2 spell, if I'm not mistaken.


Demons are immune to poison as a type, so I don't see that as a good investment for a campaign focused on fighting them :)Ah, I was unaware of that detail. Consider the previous remarks about poison as just food for thought. :smalltongue:


It's an amusing image though, taking Deaf as the oracle curse and being a bard - I seem to remember a video of someone singing "All By Myself", badly, with the music muted...I just pictured this Gnome Gninja walking up to someone and shouting (with 10 Weird Words Bolts) "Bird Bird Bird Bird Bird Bird Is The Word!"


Thanks for the ideas folks, gonna go build some of these and see how they turn out. Definitely open to any others that come up :)Happy hunting.

Randomly, whatever build you choose, highly recommend a wand of Spit Venom. Touch AC, no save Blind. Also poison's someone (that is what the fort save is for according to the spell). And a wand of Glitterdust almost never goes amiss.

[grarrrg]

mysterious stranger will synergize better with ninja as it uses cha instead of wis for grit, allowing both your grit and ki to be derived from cha. Makes the character less MAD, you only need dex and cha, in that order.Mysterious Stranger also allows you to ADD your charisma bonus to damage. So you would be less MAD, and you can add another stat to damage for yet more blasty fun.

Yes and no.
While the Grit running off of CHA would be nice, you LOSE DEX to Damage.
So "gaining" CHA to Damage isn't all that much of an advantage, especially since you now have to PAY a Grit to get CHA to damage, whereas DEX was free/always active.
Stranger also loses the Quick Clear deed.

Overall, I'd say skip Mysterious Stranger.

And for what it's worth, the only other Gunslinger archetype that gets a CHA-Grit pool ALSO loses DEX to Damage, and ALSO loses the Quick Clear deed.

Going back to the original build, instead of Gunslinger 7/Ninja 11/Fighter 2, why not just go Gunslinger 8/Ninja 12?
Same Bab, Gunslinger gets a bonus feat at 8, which makes up for the lost Fighter feats. And you also gain another MASTER Ninja Trick (which you can always trade for a feat). You also get another point of Ki by evening off your Ninja levels.

[NightbringerGGZ]

Yes and no.
While the Grit running off of CHA would be nice, you LOSE DEX to Damage.
So "gaining" CHA to Damage isn't all that much of an advantage, especially since you now have to PAY a Grit to get CHA to damage, whereas DEX was free/always active.
Stranger also loses the Quick Clear deed.

Overall, I'd say skip Mysterious Stranger.

And for what it's worth, the only other Gunslinger archetype that gets a CHA-Grit pool ALSO loses DEX to Damage, and ALSO loses the Quick Clear deed.

Going back to the original build, instead of Gunslinger 7/Ninja 11/Fighter 2, why not just go Gunslinger 8/Ninja 12?
Same Bab, Gunslinger gets a bonus feat at 8, which makes up for the lost Fighter feats. And you also gain another MASTER Ninja Trick (which you can always trade for a feat). You also get another point of Ki by evening off your Ninja levels.

Actually the Ultimate Combat Eratta updated Stranger's Fortune so it only replaces Gun Training 1. You still gain Gun Training at later levels, though waiting till level 9 for Dex to damage is pretty rough.

[Phyxion]

Why only 1-2 attacks? I mean yeah, initially, but 3 or 4 attacks becomes quite common place after a while.
Musket takes longer to reload (for the early levels), Snipe (SA + re-stealth) allows only a single attack, and Vital Strike only works with standard action attacks.

Sleetstorm isn't centered on you. You can target it where ever you want. Your enemies should be in Sleetstorm, there's no reason for you to be if you don't want to. And 40ft radius? Not a heck of a lot of effects can cover that much area. That's still decent odds for you. You can hide in it, if need be. You just need decent acrobatics (the DC is low, and Acrobatics is a Dex based class skill for you, I would be astonished if you ever failed it) and walking in it won't affect you.
Yeah, you're right. Dunno how I missed that.:smallredface:

Randomly, whatever build you choose, highly recommend a wand of Spit Venom. Touch AC, no save Blind. Also poison's someone (that is what the fort save is for according to the spell). And a wand of Glitterdust almost never goes amiss.Very nice, aside from the 1-round duration on the blind effect. Still, I can see that being useful quite a lot.

[Karoht]

Musket takes longer to reload (for the early levels), Snipe (SA + re-stealth) allows only a single attack, and Vital Strike only works with standard action attacks.Going for a big shoota instead of more dakka? Go for it. Enlarge person, you are going to want it.


Very nice, aside from the 1-round duration on the blind effect. Still, I can see that being useful quite a lot.If you are fighting something that relies on vision, like an enemy caster? It is an awesome way to go "no line of sight for you" as well as have them make a fort save, typically the weaker save for most full casters. Sadly, won't work on those demons though.

Gunslinger 9/Ninja 12 would be what I would "aim" for given what you want to accomplish with this build.
At Gunslinger 7 you probably want the Deed known as Dead Shot. It makes Vital Strike a bit redundant unless you are going with Improved Vital Strike and such afterwards. This may free up a feat for you. Or do you plan on taking Targeting instead?
Startling Shot is not great. It only lasts until the start of the target's next turn, so you won't get to shoot at a flat footed target, though your friends can now attack a flat footed target.

Gunslinger 11 gets Bleeding Wound. Strength Dex or Con, they take 1 point of stat damage per round until the Bleed is patched up. Combo'd with Pressure Points, that will add up quickly. Target Dex on Dragon's and they will fall over as soon as they take 10 or more dex damage, Target strength on casters and they fall over pretty quick. Target con if you want, every 2 points of con lost is 1*HD in damage, along with lower fort saves (for things like poison on those bullets, for the stuff that isn't immune to it of course). This combo's well with you making a single shot per round.

Lightning reload is pretty awesome as well.

[grarrrg]

Actually the Ultimate Combat Eratta updated Stranger's Fortune so it only replaces Gun Training 1. You still gain Gun Training at later levels, though waiting till level 9 for Dex to damage is pretty rough.

There's been ACTUAL errata for Ultimate Combat for a WEEK now and no one told me???


In that case, Mysterious Stranger 9/Ninja 11 doesn't look too bad.
Of course, Stranger 11/Ninja 9, grabbing Signature Deed for CHA to damage ALL THE TIME is pretty good as well.

[NightbringerGGZ]

The question is whether you want Cha & Dex to damage all the time, or Sneak Attack Dice all the time (Invsible Blade ftw).

You should also consider that the adventure starts at level 1 and uses they mythic rules. If you alternate levels for each class you won't be adding a stat to damage until near the end of the game.

[Phyxion]

So, I think I found a pretty good combo option for murderizing demons and other assorted evil entities...
Alchemist 8
Explosive Bomb (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo---alchemist-discoveries/explosive-bomb) (bomb splash radius becomes 10' instead of 5')
Immolation Bomb (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo---alchemist-discoveries/immolation-bomb) (bomb does only 1d6+Int mod, but target takes continuing damage for 1 round per original bomb damage dice)
Explosive Missile (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo---alchemist-discoveries/explosive-missile) (turn bomb into arrow/bolt/bullet for more range; no effect at all on a miss, but on a hit "deals damage normally and detonates as if the alchemist had thrown the bomb at the target")
Holy Bomb (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo---alchemist-discoveries/holy-bombs) (bomb now does divine damage instead of fire, which means there is no energy resist, DR, or SR that applies, plus there's a chance to stagger for 1 round)

Then (or at some point during the 8 levels of Alchemist) get proficient with 1-handed firearms, so you keep the touch AC targeting. Bows/crossbows would work but are much harder to hit with.
Finally, add sneak attack and other abilities to taste. SA is the same damage type as the source it's attached to (in this case, divine).

From my reading of the rules, what this comes out to is Pistol damage (1d8+8) + bomb damage (1d6+Int mod) + SA (6d6+12) on hit, then Bomb damage each round for 4+ rounds, all delivered against touch AC to the original target. Anyone within the 10' splash radius when the hit occurs will take 1+Int Mod (no SA, of course) for the same number of rounds. Enemies have to save or be staggered (arguably, this could repeat each round with the damage) if they're evil, as well.

This is a standard action, so can be used in the surprise round or to snipe, and you'll get at least 8 of these per day (more likely 12+ if you pump Int or use lots of Alch levels). The original hit also appears to get critical range and multiplier based on the pistol ("deals damage normally") - likely 19-20/x4.
Nice? On top of THAT, if you're not fighting Evil critters much (or you have an extra feat to spare), pick up Force Bomb (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/base-classes/alchemist/discoveries/paizo---alchemist-discoveries/force-bomb) - pretty much nothing is immune to Force damage either, although it drops the base bomb damage down to d4s instead of d6s.

It's not quite as big a hit as I've been able to get with some other builds, but it's a really nice flavor, the damage is unresistable, crittable, decent AOE, gives a (pretty nice) status effect, and lingers for several rounds. All that without even touching mythic!

[NightbringerGGZ]

An Explosive Missile Alchemist with a 1 level dip into Gunslinger works very well for strong burst damage attacks. For more fun, run a strict RAW interpretation of the effects by your GM.

"As a standard action, the alchemist can infuse a single arrow, crossbow bolt, or one-handed firearm bullet with the power of his bomb, load the ammunition, and shoot the ranged weapon."

Pathfinder does not differentiate between one-handded and two-handed firearm bullets. They are completely interchangeable. The phrase "and shoot the ranged weapon" doesn't have any requirement for which specific weapon is fired. So, infuse a "Pistol Bullet", load it into your Musket and fire.

=)

[Phyxion]

LMAO, found another one. No need for optimizing, all I need is Mythic Vital Strike and a multiple-dice weapon (like a large musket for 3d6 base). MVS is poorly worded, seems like they didn't take multi-dice weapons into consideration.

Vital Strike (https://sites.google.com/site/pathfinderogc/feats/combat-feats/vital-strike-combat---final) says "Roll the weapon’s damage dice for the attack twice and add the results together before adding bonuses from Strength, weapon abilities (such as flaming), precision-based damage, and other damage bonuses."

And then, Mythic Vital Strike (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/mythic/mythic-feats/vital-strike-mythic) says "When you use VS, IVS, or GVS, multiply (everything that's not weapon base damage but would normally be multiplied on a crit), by the number of weapon damage dice you roll for that feat."

If I have a base damage of say 2d6+10, then with just VS it's 4d6+10, IVS 6d6+16, and GVS 8d6+10. Pretty clear so far, then MVS shows up and turns that into VS+MVS is 4d6+40, IVS+MVS = 6d6+60, and GVS+MVS at 8d6+80, because "the number of weapon damage dice you roll" is the number before the "d6" there. It's pretty clear it should actually say "the number of times you roll your weapon damage dice", and it gets utterly ridiculous with larger weapons. Large musket with 3d6+27 base ends up as 12d6+324 with Greater and Mythic. Jumpin' jeepers...

Of course, even if they fix the wording to actually match what the intent seems to be, 12d6+108 isn't a bad standard action...