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Introduction
The purpose of this Pathfinder Arcanist Build Guide is to provide a “quick tips checklist” of things to do to when making a 13th level or lower hybrid class Arcanist build from the Pathfinder Advance Class Guide. It will start by reviewing the structure & the Strengths / Weaknesses of the class. It will follow by giving quick tips on how to take advantage of the structure / strengths of the class and make up for the weaknesses of the class. Leave helpful comments below critiquing and/or adding to the advice given below.
- Optibuilds’ Investigator Builds PDF Part 1 (18 build variations; only $7.99)
- Optibuilds’ Slayer Builds PDF Part 1 (10 build variations; only $7.99)
Class Structure: Strengths and Weaknesses
1. As with all classes, you can customize through the selection of leveling feats, skills, traits, race, multiclassing and items.
2. It allows for further customization through the selection/learning of wizard/sorcerer spells, and through the selection of Arcane Exploits at every odd level.
- At first glance, here is my quick impression of the Arcane Exploits available: Bloodline Development (if you dip Sorcerer and choose correctly), Dimensional Slide, Energy Shield, Familiar, Item Creation, Metamagic Knowledge, Metamixing, Potent Magic, Quick Study, School Understanding, Consume Magic Items, Force Strike, See Magic, Spell Tinkering, Spell Resistance, and Swift Consume. All other Arcane Exploits are just okay in comparison to the ones mentioned as blue;
- As for the Greater Arcane Exploits my thoughts are as follows: Alter Enhancement (if you build an ID Monster Arcanist and are changing weapons to Bane or Holy) and Greater Metamagic Knowledge. I will call every other Greater Exploit okay, though I maybe I am a little too kind.
3. The Arcanist Arcane Exploits are powered by points in its Arcane Reservoir equal to 3+ ½(Arcanist Level) that refresh daily. The Arcanist can add to this daily reservoir by expending a spell slot to gain additional points equal to the level of the spell slot consumed. The Arcane Reservoir can also be used to raise the DC or caster level of spells by one for 1 point.
4. The skill selection focuses mainly on intelligence based skills (Appraise, Craft, all Knowledges, Linguistics, Profession and Spellcraft) and Arcanist is an intelligence based class. The spell class receives 2+Int skill points per level. The class also has some Charisma based skills and Fly.
5. The Arcanist can cast any prepared spell any number of times a day until its level appropriate daily spell slots are consumed.
6. Like a wizard, the Arcanist gains access to spell by learning them and placing them into a spell book like a wizard. Theoretically, the Arcanist can learn all arcane spells. The Arcanist begins play with 3+Int first level spells and gains two new spells automatically at each level.
7. An Arcanist can either prepare or spontaneously cast a spell using a metamagic feat.
8. Arcanists are proficient with all simple weapons. They are not proficient with any type of armor or shield.
9. The Arcanist class is a 1/2 BAB class.
10. The Arcanist class is a full spellcaster class.
11. It has poor Reflex & Fort Saves and a strong Will Save.
12. The class has no alignment restrictions.
13. The class has the lowest hitpoint progression D6.
14. The Arcanist can be built with one main stat (Int) and one dump stat (Str).
The Archetypes are Horrible and Okay
The Blade Adept quite unsuccessfully tries to turn a ½ BAB, 1D6 hit die class into a melee fighter (LOL).
The Brown Fur Transmuter does a successful job at making the Arcanist an acceptable transmutation party buffer.
The Eldritch Font allows the Arcanist to increase its spell DC or caster level (and to do additional things at higher levels) at the expense of becoming fatigue and then exhausted, which can only be cured through rest. Given that it takes 8 hours of rest to recover from fatigue and 1 hour of rest to recover from exhaustion, this means you can use this ability twice a day. Even then, given the penalties to Strength and Dexterity these conditions cause, an Arcanist (naturally frail character likely) could be literally brought to his knees.
The Elemental Master allows an Arcanist who wishes to specialize in casting spells and/or using Arcane Exploits of a particular element, to cast more of such spells and to be more damaging with such exploits while only sacrificing the ability to efficiently prepare elemental spells from the opposite elemental school.
The Occultist gives you an option to cast summon monster spells as a standard action, instead of a full round action that last for one minute a round. However, you have to spend 1 exploit point per spell level. Exploit points are precious. Further, the other abilities gained are monetarily expensive (i.e. Planar Ally) or GM dependent (i.e. Augury). Finally, you have to give up two Exploits. I do not like the Archetype, but some may call this class okay?
The School Savant allows you to gain the abilities of a wizard’s school/subschool of magic in exchange for having to choose two opposition schools and losing her 1st, 3rd and 7th level Arcanist Exploits. If the school of magic you choose is Divination (Foresight preferably), Necromancy (Undead preferably), or Illusion (standard preferably) then I say okay. Anything else and I say nay!
The Spell Specialist allows the Arcanist to specialize in the casting of selected spells. These spells become spontaneous spells, but they count against the number of spells you can cast per day. Further, you gain a +1 increase in DC and +2/+4 increase on concentration checks with these spells. Also, they can also be shaped through alternative Arcanist Exploits to avoid affecting allies or to hit additional enemies. However, the Arcanist loses 3 Exploits through 13th level. You are better off telling your allies to stay out of the way, getting your spells off first with a high initiative, staying away from attacks of opportunity, and living with a slightly lower DC.
The Unlettered Arcanist gains a familiar that she uses as her spellbook and operates off of the Witch Spell list rather than the Wizard/Sorcerer Spell list. Well, I say you can pick up a familiar as one of your Arcane Exploits that is not a moving” lose all of your known spells” target. After all, you can have backup spellbooks, but not a backup familiar-book. Further, if you want to learn new Wizard/Sorcerer spells you can just trade spell books with a Wizard. You can’t learn spells from a Witch’s familiar. Last, other than having access to cure spells, the witch spell list does not compete with the Sorcerer/Wizard spell list. Get a cleric in your life! If your group really needs a healer, wait until 7th level and pick up the leadership feat.
Finally, for the White Witch I say again, if your group really needs a healer, wait until 7th level and pick up the leadership feat.
Build Advice
Sure up your Will Saves. The poor Fortitude and Reflex Saves must be addressed with Greater Fortitude, Improved Reflexes, the proper selection of race traits, regular traits, physical stats, physical ability stat items, a one level dip into another class, and/or a Cloak of Resistance.
Skills: Trait, Racial Selection and/or a 1 level dip into another class can give an Arcanist some Charisma related class skills. If you do dip, choose wisely and try to get more than just the class skills out of it. For instance, you could take a dip that can also improve you a +2 to your Fortitude and/or Reflex Save.
Choose your Role & Spells to match your chosen role: See the following guides for advice on wizard and sorcerer roles and the selection of spells for those roles.
- Professor Q’s Guide to the Core+ Wizard (Core, APG, UM, UC) [Discussion]
- THE COMPLETE Professor Q’s Guide to the Pathfinder Wizard (Core, APG, ARG, UM, UC) [Discussion]
- The Blockbuster Wizard (Core, APG, UM, UC) [Discussion]
- Treantmonk’s Guide to Pathfinder Wizards [Discussion]
- ShakaUVM’s Methods for Necromantic Success [Discussion]
- Wannabe – Orthodox Banjoist’s Guide to the Transmuter Wizard [Discussion]
- The Spellslinger (A Pathfinder Wizard Archetype): A Guide [Discussion]
Choose the Archetype / Arcane Exploits that are effective and match your chosen Party Role.
Choose the Appropriate Starting Stats: For a 25 point build I would choose the following starting stats: Str (8), Dex (14), Con (14), Int (16 +2 racial bonus), Wis (12), Chr (14). For a 20 point build lower Int to 12 and lower Str to 7. This gives you a strong Charisma for casting and makes up for your lack of skills points, poor Fort Save, and poor Reflex Save. It also maximizes you AC, hitpoints, and initiative, while keeping your Will Save strong.
Conclusion
Okay, I think the class is that simple. You will have a Standard Arcanist or reasonable Arcanist Archetype with viable saves, hitpoints, AC, initiative, and skill points. You will also have a defined and effective party role.
Other Pathfinder Hybrid Guides
Arcanist Build Guide
Brawler Build Guide
Bloodrager Build Guide
Hunter Build Guide
Slayer Build Guide
Investigator Build Guide
Edited: I agreed with some of the comments you made and incorporated them into the guide. The ones that I am still not convinced by I have left in the comments below. Thanks for the input.
Alakallanar wrote, in part,
-Bloodline Development is almost surely not worth the dip
-School Understanding is also not worth dipping and weak otherwise
-School Savant should be blue/purple depending on the choosen school, not purple/red.
“The class has the second lowest hitpoint progression D6.”
I’m pretty sure there isn’t a single class (or monster type) in Pathfinder with a D4 Hit Die, which makes D6 the lowest hit point progression in the game.
Also, dipping is never a good option for a full caster unless there is a very specific gimmick build you’re aiming for. There are virtually no abilities that are worth lagging behind with your spell levels.
Yes, d6 is the lowest. Will change that.
I do not agree, however, that dipping is never a good idea for a full caster. Quincy Horcawich from the Witches PDF Part I would oppose statement. Also, the wizard blaster build on this site would counter that statement as well. Then there is always the possibility of making an Arcane Archer and likely other reasons for dipping.
In general, for typical builds, your statement is likely correct. But then, this is an optimization site and the builds are rarely typical for optimizers.
The Blade Adept is meant to be built into an Eldritch Knight. For this particular build, it is nice.
Calling the White Mage “horrible” for giving up 2 out of 10 exploits in exchange for access to Cure spells and Breath of Life seems extreme. It’s a fairly low cost to become a good backup healer.
I find the Arcanist to be in the unique position to be an anti-magician, with the counterspell and dispell exploits, plus their relatives. I find it to be an interesting build option.
I hate counterspelling in general. Waiting around to see what someone else will do is not generally ideal. Do you have a build concept in mind? If you do, don’t be afraid to share it.
With the mentioned exploits, counterspelling would be an immediate action and thus not loose you your turn at all.
The cost is:
1 or 2 exploits (2nd must be greater exploit)
Equal spell lvl +1 (Or +0 with the greater exploit)
Immediate action (meaning no swift on next turn)
1 arcane resevoir point to activate it.
Dispel check (with +5 extra if you have the spell prepared)
This can be extremely strong if you are using it against particularly nasty spells.
Your tips and advice aren’t for an optimal build. You overlooked an Archetype, which impacts a reason to take the Bloodline development exploit. You’re build tips, and example builds are also off.
Archtype overlooked: Blood Arcanist, it was released in the Advanced Class Guide. This archetype essentially removes the need to take the Bloodline Development exploit to access sorceror bloodlines. You loose the class skill and the bonus spells/ feats, but you get the arcana and powers, which is all you would really be wanting from the sorcerer.
Bloodline Development is worth taking if you are wanting to access something a little more, especially if you’ve taken an archetype that prevents taking the the Blood Arcanist archetype. You could try and stack this with Bloodrager, or another archetype that allows you to select a bloodline, to add levels for effect bloodline effect. It’s a flavor choice, or a gimmick choice since you only get the 1st level bloodline ability. If you were thinking about dipping into Sorceror I would recommend taking the Blood Arcanist instead.
I’m also confused on your build advice. Why would you do a 25 pt build when the AP’s are designed with 15 pt and Society Play at 20 pt? You did do a 20 pt setup but you tanked their casting stat, Int, in favor of Dex, Con, and Cha. I would want their casting attribute as high as possible. Dropping Wis by 1, Dex by 1, and Con 1 you can easily get your Int up to 15, and then add 2 for racial bonus to get 17. This keeps you at a 14 Cha. You can use exploits to assist with damage reduction/prevention from magical sources. Counterspell, Energy Shield, Spell Disruption, and Spell Resistance will all work well with that, but natural saves like Poison or Disease aren’t able to be bolstered so you would need to look at Race options or magic items to help get them up.
Saying that I missed an Archetype and made a 25 point build for stats doesn’t equal that I did not offer advice for optimizing. It just means I missed an Archetype and offered advise on a 25 point build.
That said, when I get the time, i will look at the new Archetype.
Three quick comments about the archetypes:
1) You laugh at a 1/2 BaB, 1d6 hp class being a melee fighter? While tough to pull off it can be done and can result in some really memorable characters. I’ve seen a draconic bloodline sorceress shred a fighter in melee combat and I myself have a transmutation specialist wizard that has gone toe-to-toe with barbarians in melee and won. On another note, try spellstriking an intensified shocking grasp through a keen spellstoring rapier that has another intensified shocking grasp stored in it. Seen it done. Killed a boss in the first round (1st initiative as well).
2) The Occultist. I’ve played an Occultist. You don’t hurt for reservoir points anywhere close to what you imply unless, of course, you are prone to wasting your resources. The thing to remember is that when playing an Occultist your main gimmick is, obviously, your summons. Take the feats to buff the beasts up and (for instance, “Summon Good Monster” provides an alternate list to pick from, and picking one off that list gives the creature the diehard feat. Or Superior Summoning: when your spell summons more then 1 of a creature add 1 more to the mix.) and either watch them do all the work or join in the fun with the blasting spells that Summoners only wish they had. My GM actually cheered the first time he brought down one of my summons, and that was after months of playing. Planar Ally is there if you need the extra punch for an upcoming fight and Augury/Contact other Plane is there if you’re stuck and need a hint or two at what to do next. Sure, they’re expensive or GM dependent but it was never intended that you spam them. This archetype is only weak if you aren’t committed to the idea that you summon monsters to deal with your problems.
3) White Mage: You really aren’t giving up much to become a competent backup healer as well as a passable main healer. And selecting leadership can be either A) Infeasible, as if the party really needed a healer then just surviving to 7th level is highly unlikely or B) Undoable, as in PFS Leadership cannot be selected and in homebrew I’ve seen many GM’s outright ban players from taking Leadership for various reasons, flooding the battlefield being the most often one cited.
I can’t say much about the others as I have no experience with them but for the above three archetypes I know for a fact do not deserve the “Horrible” rank you give them. You just have to know how to build into the gimmick they are going for.
That is just too much for me to respond to. I appreciate the comments, but when the come in the form of multiple paragraphs and concerns, it becomes too time consuming for me. I will leave the comments for others who have time to consider them.
That said, if you feel that strongly about the builds you have had in the past, submit those in the Comments. Builds speak louder than hypotheticals and they can be critiqued. I can’t critique an unsubstantiated concept.
I think you not looking at the Occultist properly. Sure your reservoir points are precious but:
Consume Spells (Su): At 1st level, an arcanist can expend an available arcanist spell slot … Doing this adds a number of points to her arcane reservoir equal to the level of the spell slot consumed.
So every spell can be a summon monster of the level of the spell & you can burn 2 3rds to make 1 6th. Plus you summon monsters last longer are only a standard action. Even if you did not prepare for the burn you can Consume as a move & then summon as a standard & be faster then the full round action that summons normally require.
In many ways you get Spontaneous Super Summon Monster like a Druid get Summon Nature
Ally.
I’d burn 2 expoits for that any day since I’d have 8 levels of use before the second hit & super summons are fantastic.
It doesn’t seem like you put a lot of effort into this guide. There is a lot of poor advice here for optimizing. Also, I’ll try to keep things brief, as paragraphs are apparently too hard for you to respond to.
Firstly, why would you dump a primary casting stat with your 20-point build? That is a very poor decision, especially with the Arcanists lower amount of daily spells compared to sorcerers.
Also, you recommended CHA as a good stat, but only 3 of the exploits you marked blue use charisma for anything (School Understanding, Bloodline Development and Alter Enhancements).
You talk of of reservoir points as extremely precious, yet you mark the Consume Magic items exploit, which is an extremely easy and relatively cheap way of regaining points, as a very poor choice. Are reservoir points that valuable or not?
I also disagree with giving up caster levels. The cited Prof Q’s guide explicitly recommends against giving up caster levels, and as an Arcanist, you already get spell levels a level behind wizards. Two levels behind is nearly devastating. Though there may be some specific gimmicks worth giving up caster levels for, I don’t see any specifics that you recommend.
I disagree with your choices regarding School Savant. It is a great archtype, but Necromancy (Undead) and Illusion are not great choices to specialize in. I agree with the Divination (Foresight) and would add Conjuration (Teleportation) as the two best options.
Overall, I’d give your guide a 4/10. Quality level: Seventh grade book report.
I sincerely hope you actually read my critiques and don’t brush it off as too long to read.
I agree with everything except the dip. A one level Sorcerer dip for a blaster is amazing. It hurts if you dip early, but once you hit 6th level, it’s totally worth it. Crossblooded Orc Draconic, with Blood Havoc means at 10th level your fireball is doing 10d6+30.
BTW blaster is considered a very sub par choice for an arcane caster. If you dip, you will have fireball at level 7… Lots of creatures at that level have resistance to fire, but if you were focussing on summons, you would not only do more damage, it would repeat every round and would give you a big tactical advantage (see my post below)
At level 7, if you planned your feats right, you could summon 4 celestial cheetah. If all of their attacks hit and applying smite, it has the potential to do a whopping total damage of 4d6+8d3+96 every round. Now it’s unrealistic to think that all of their attacks will hit, but they don’t have to, to overcome 10d6+30 for one single spell slot and at level 10. Granted, against a lot of enemies, then sure, but usually you don’t fight against hordes in pathfinder. You don’t want me to tell you what you can do at level 11 with 4 bralani azata lol. Hint : 24d6 area dmg x2 rounds and 12d8+24 healing x2 rounds… Disgustingly OP.
As others have said, your 20 point buy is a horrible option. CHA is next to useless. I would start with a 20 INT on a 20 point buy let alone a 25 point buy. Dimensional Slide will keep you from getting hit a lot of the time so the +1 to AC from DEX or the +1 hit point from CON isn’t going to make that much of a difference
Spell Tinkering is AMAZING. It’s a near unlimited Rod of Extend.
You didn’t mention race but the Elf (and Half-Elf) favored class bonus of +1 to their pool is strong
I would like to point out that your 20-point build is actually a 15-point build. And it SUCKS. Intelligence is the most important stat for an arcanist. If you’re putting it on the same level as dexterity, constitution, and charisma, then I’m not trusting a single other thing that you said in this guide. The comments below seem to be helpful, since those are from people who seem to have actually played the class.
Arcanist occultist is more than okay… Summoning creatures as standard actions litterally breaks the action economy in your favor. If you focus your feats into your summons you can have a huge tactical advantage in area controll, extra HP on the board, extra actions for your team, flanking, damage and later on summons have spells. Every attacks made against your summons are lost because of the expendability of the summons.
For an example at level 5 : You can summon up to 4 small earth elemental putting 45 extra HP on the board, they all attack at the end of your turn. Power attack with 20str and slam is considered 2 handed weapon : +7(1d6 + (5 str + 2 power attack)x1.5) = +7(1d6+10) + 1 dmg (earth mastery)
So all in all, 4 attacks at +7 and if all hit doing up to 4d6+44 total. They will continue doing this every round and if they die, you summon them back with a standard action. Still consider this bad?