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View Full Version : Pathfinder Investigator Build - Help me optimize a concept and a build



NightbringerGGZ
2014-08-14, 07:47 PM
I've been playing an Investigator for a little bit now, but with ACG out it's time to see what can be done with it. The game is a set in the world of Spira from FFX, centuries after the events of the game. In case you're interested, we've seen a revival of Sin (though just how hasn't been figured out yet) and somehow Sin is able to create Sin-spawn out of mechanical constructs! Creature type has been quite varied so far.


Guado Scarred Witch Doctor: Uses a mix of crowd control and some blasting.

Ronso Ranger: Bashes people with shield that is being buffed up to have ridiculous damage dice. Plans on going with a TWF build once both shields are properly enchanted. Uses a Wolf animal companion. Might use the Skirmisher archetype at level 5.

Al Bhed Arcane Duelist Bard: Uses a Longbow for damage and has been the party buffer. Uses a CLW wand for out of combat healing. Plans to be more of a buffer / ranged support in the future.

Guado Rogue: Using a TWF build for shredding enemies, standard slice and dice build.

Al Bhed Investigator: My character. I'm focusing on Knowledge skills and some crafting skills. Planning on using Kirin Style down the road.


I generally act as a flanking buddy for the Rogue, our Ranger is taking on a tanking role and as we keep buffing up his shield he doesn't have any issues with holding the attention of monsters we face. The Witch either debuffs or casts offensive spells. The bard does pretty significant ranged damage via Arcane Strike and standard Bard Buffing has been very useful. We've got all skills covered by the party and everybody has focused on at least one social skill.



We're using a custom system for item enhancements. Instead of magical bonuses to items, you add Materia to equipment that confers status bonuses. Materia can be swapped out with either a Craft check or by various merchants. There are costs associated with adding sockets / slots for Materia on items. Selected Materia stack as well. Long term, this means that item enhancements will be much cheaper and we have the flexibility to swap out bonuses on weapon and armor as the situation demands.


My character is Cid, Ship's Engineer for the R.S. Travel Agency. He has extensive knowledge of mechanical engineering, weapons systems and various monsters one might encounter traveling the world of Spira. He's a bit of an ass and isn't entirely trusted by the party, but his vast experience and knowledge of many subjects has proven quite useful. In combat I use combat enhancing drugs to improve my physical abilities then skirmish alongside our party Rogue. Generally I get the enemies attention by bashing it with my Combat Wrench (refluffed Light Pick) then the Rogue pulls out the Sneak Attack damage.

Race: Al Bhed - +2 Dex, +2 Int, -2 Con. Racial abilities are: Elven Magic, Master Tinker, Poison Use, Scavenger, Bonus Feat: Skill Focus (player's choice).

Character Levels: Investigator 4

Str: 10
Dex: 17
Con: 12
Int: 18
Wis: 10
Cha: 7

Traits: Reactionary, Clever Wordplay: Bluff
Feats & Talents
1 - F: Weapon Finesse, F: Skill Focus - Bluff
3 - F: Piranha Strike, T: Alchemist Discovery - Mutagen

We'll be hitting level 5 after our next major adventure, and I'll have enough cash saved up to add Agile to my weapon. My current plan is to pick up Improved Unarmed Strike, Kirin Style and then Kirin Strike by level 9. I have no real plans after that. The game is lasting until at least level 18, we might just go to 20 since we'll be so close at that point and nobody has had a chance to play with Cap Stones yet.

So, does anybody have a better idea for a feat path? Could I benefit from any of the archetypes? How about Talents? Infusion AD: Infusion is always a good choice, and I could start tossing Blend (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/b/blend) Infusions at the Rogue next level, effectively giving him HIPS. Quick Study is also a good idea, letting me activate Studied Combat as a Swift Action when I need it. I'm also really tempted by the various status debuff Talents.

What does everybody think of this build?

5 - F: Improved Unarmed Strike, T: Alchemist Discovery - Infusion
7 - F: Kirin Style, T: Sickening Offensive
9 - F: Kirin Strike, T: Quick Study

This will be the halfway point for the game. I'll be able to buff up rapidly on turn 1, and can move into a steady 2 or 3 turn rhythm of activating Studied Combat & Kirin Style then pulling off a Studied Strike/Kirin Strike combo for massive damage. Possibly with a Piranha Strike from my Rogue buddy on top of that.

So how about the rest of my levels? Any ideas?

aen
2015-02-15, 03:23 PM
Take 1 level in monk or fighter and cheat in the Kirin Strike feat so save you getting a usless feat.

grarrrg
2015-02-15, 03:47 PM
Take 1 level in monk or fighter and cheat in the Kirin Strike feat so save you getting a usless feat.

I'm not sure which feat you think is "useless", Imp. Unarmed, or Kirin Style. But regardless of how you want to get Kirin Strike you are going to NEED Kirin Style (cause Strike doesn't work without it), and you are going to wind up with Imp. Unarmed anyway. So you can gain a bonus feat this way, but you won't be able to 'ditch' a useless feat.

For the sake of clarity, he's referring to 1 level of Unarmed Fighter (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/fighter/archetypes/paizo---fighter-archetypes/unarmed-fighter), which lets you get any one Style feat for free, and gives you Imp. Unarmed.
OR
You can use Master of Many Styles (http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/core-classes/monk/archetypes/paizo---monk-archetypes/master-of-many-styles) Monk. 1 Level will get you a Style feat (and Imp. Unarmed), 2 levels will get you a Style feat and a Style-Path feat (or 2 style feats and then you can Fuse Styles, or...).

NightbringerGGZ
2015-02-15, 09:32 PM
Wow this is a delayed response =P. My character is now level 5 (close to hitting 6) and I wound up not picking up Kirin Style. While the damage bonus is tempting, the other party members do more than enough damage so I chose to go for a stronger support role instead. On top of that, with how quickly enemies die I wind up using my swift actions to activate Studied Combat usually.

I might consider picking it up as part of a ranged build, especially along the lines of "1 shot, 1 kill" style builds. With an ok Strength and Focused Aim you could spend one turn studying a target and then deal a very large amount of damage on the next turn.