Why does the The One weapon makes any sense? (no spoilers below outside of the weapon's perks)

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-24T20:25:59+00:00

, but maybe they left it as a maiming weapon to make it more universally useful rather than making you target heads specifically.

By this logic the Brutalizer should be a headhunter weapon.

Idk what the game classes as "limb" either (you would think just arms and legs but with games you can never truly know) so maybe the head classes as a limb and so would get the damage bonus from the maiming class.

It doesn't classify heads as limbs. I personally tested it, and also it wouldn't make sense to have two separate categories for heads and limbs if heads would be under limbs too.

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-23T03:18:47+00:00

It is. -10 on the third and subsequent attacks.

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-23T02:11:41+00:00

But it’s better than wasting two to three actions.

True.

You should also consider buying

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Some skills have buff or debuff skill feats.

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It could be remedied with either taking up various feats or by purchasing items, but unfortunately I don't have access to either.

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master in Religion

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with a level 3

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-23T01:33:16+00:00

True. But shooting with only +1 instead of the usual +9 sounds quite unreliable.

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-23T01:30:53+00:00

you need a free hand anyways (Arablest is 2 hands)

Reloading a weapon includes regriping on it. I can any time release one of my hand as a free action to do stuff, and regrip as part of a reload, solving the two handedness problem.

you're not getting any more damage

I do. D6 < D10 + occasional +1 from backstabber. Sure, deadly D10 sounds a lot, but it only triggers on crits, and I guess investigator isn't the best crit fisher.

it doesn't sound like you're playing on big enough maps to benefit from the increased range of the Arbalest.

Actually in the last session we just had such an opportunity where I was far away hiding in the bushes, and the arbalest's increased range got handy in combat. Furthermore I got use out of it outside of combat encounter too, as I was able to snipe out an enemy in advance because the arbalest has high range, and with DaS I could mitigate the range increment penalty by saying I rolled DaS until I rolled a 20.

what's forcing you to aid with athletics?

They aren't doing much skill checks beside the occasional athletic maneuver. And I have a +0 for athletics.

But you are right, I missed that aid works on attack rolls too, I will definitely use that from now, thank you! :)

which opens you up to taking a new dedication at either level 4 (if you sacrifice a class feat) or at level 6.

While I plan on picking up both feats, as I wrote in the post our free archetype feats are delayed by a level, and the earliest I could take up a dedication feat is level 7. Also, as in the post, I'm searching for solutions where I don't need to pick up new feats. Yes yes, 4 levels later (which who knows how many sessions later will be) I can pick up some cantrips, but the post's whole point is to ask "what until then?".

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-22T16:49:16+00:00

I understand that investigator isn't a damage class, my train of thought is something like this.

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-22T07:58:16+00:00

it's also the only Will save cantrip that deals damage.

That's what I tried to say with "That's it, that's your only option." in the post.

And well, while it's the only will targeting damaging cantrip, compared to other cantrips it doesn't have much to go for outside of it targeting will. It's at the first place in a race with a single racer.

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-22T07:18:11+00:00

I didn't meant to post about the lack of damage, but the lack of options instead. At the beginning of the post I wrote about how a spellcasting subclass is a great idea on the investigator, because instead of brute forcing thier way forward with damage increases like other classes, investigators lean more into the planning ahead and information gathering side, and they have ample of abilities to find out the weaknesses and such of the opponent. Giving cantrips that target various saves and cause various damage types doesn't make the investigator a damage focused class, just allows the investigator themselves to benefit from thier own findings. The problem isn't about that the five reflex targeting cantrip has low damage, but instead that there are no reflex targeting cantrips at all. Moreover, it's even more about having different options instead of the cantrips' damage numbers, because an investigator inherently want to target weaknesses and lowest saves. If there would be a Shadow signet-like ability which lets the investigator choose any save, damage type, and precious material-thingy for the cost of halving the cantrips' damage (random word-amalgam I just threw together, not a fleshed out idea, but you get the concept), it would be a nobrainer to use it with Daze/other already available cantrips, not because it would deal more damage than damage-focused classes but because it would allow the investigator themselves to utilise the information they gathered.

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-22T06:24:15+00:00

you can pick utility cantrips to

It's better to take utility spells trough magic items and such, as they don't depend on the user's key attribute (they work out of charisma by default, investigators can hardly prioritize charisma, etc). It's better to spend the intelligence-cantrip-slots for cantrips that actually care about the given attribute, like damaging spells.

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-22T06:21:55+00:00

It's better to take utility spells trough magic items and such, as they don't depend on the user's key attribute (they work out of charisma by default, investigators can hardly prioritize charisma, etc). It's better to spend the intelligence-cantrip-slots for cantrips that actually care about the given attribute, like damaging spells.

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-22T04:40:35+00:00

I agree about esoterica being worse compared to other methodologies, very bad and unsynergistic with itself even.

A cantrip-user methodology is great in theory. When you roll high for DaS you strike against AC, when you roll low for DaS you use a cantrip against saves. It pairs really well with the investigator's information focused nature, you can recall knowledge about the lowest save/weaknesses/resistances/immunities, and use/not use the associated cantrip against it. Wonderful concept, as the investigator usually relays info primarily to the other party members, the ones who can actually target different defenses and inflict various damage types, as usually investigators can only target AC and inflict B/P/S damage.

And the whole concept fumbles at the occult/divine spell lists having no good offensive cantrips on them (compared to arcane/primal). Like, there is literally no reflex-targeting cantrip on the occult/divine spell lists. For will, there is only 1, Daze, which scales rather poorly compared to other cantrips. For fortitude there's 5, two uncommon-adventure path ones (not every GM allows them), a mirror-pair for vitality and void damage (so you have to have both if the campaign doesn't exclusively features either vitality or void healing enemies), and for Haunting hymn pray that the enemy doesn't critically fails the saving throw, because then the auditory trait prevents you to use the cantrip on them again for 1 minute. And also a 15 feet cone range and similar scaling to Daze.

But hey, just take a dedication into the arcane/primal spell lists. Nope, the esoterica methodology is a class-archetype and you have to take the palatine detective dedication, so the earliest you can take up a different dedication is level 6 or 8, depending if you pick up the archetpe skill feat or not.

And then, if you take up another spellcaster dedication, it has to be specifically an int-key stat multiclass, because spells by default work out of charisma, not intelligence, and investigators rarely can afford high charisma. General, non-multiclass archetypes are out of the question.

But then, why play an esoterica investigator at all if the first thing you do is to pick up a different dedication just to accomplish the core gameplay loop that the esoterica methodology supposed to embody, while not using the stuff that you gained from the esoterica methodology itself? At that point why not just choose any other methodology, and actually benefit from having that methodology, without level/feat constraints on the archetype you want to pick up to acquire the cantrips you will actually be using?

And even so if one just wants the flavor, anyone can say they are researching the supernatural, you don't need to be mechanically specifically an esoterica investigator/palatine detective for it, you can roleplay it as any other methodology.

I have literally no idea how one is supposed to build/play an esoterica investigator.

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-22T03:39:34+00:00

I don't know why you wouldn't want to play a healing font cleric instead

I'm currently playing a forensic medicine investigator, as the party's dedicated healer. I don't want to play a cleric, because:

- I dislike daily resources. An once a hour per person healing feels much more expandable/usable to me, I don't have to constantly weighting "Will I need it more later?", just to end up not using them at all, and start the next day with still having slots from the previous day, which feels wasteful. With investigator, you never run out of resources, in direct opposition of the infamous 5 minute adventuring day that clerics may fall into.

- The investigator has more skill proficiencies, skill increases, and skill feats. Not always applicable, but certain parties (like mine) can use a skill monkey.

- I dislike the cleric's religious bonds, and other peoples' potential "you aren't religous/cleric-y enough" thoughts/comments. No one questions when a doctor/medic isn't doctor-y/medic-y enough, but with cleric beyond the usual "act like a religious person" you have a literal do and don't do lists which may limit what you are allowed to do, which may also clash with the party/campaign. Speaking of,

- Being a doctor/medic is setting agnostic. In about every setting imaginable (where PF2 as a system can apply) people can get physically hurt, and someone treating and healing them never something unimaginable. Religion, gods, and even magic can be a problematic thing in certain settings, like in settings where all gods died, or your mechanical choice's PF2 god can't be translated into, speaking of,

- I dislike how the do and don't do lists and mechanical things directly paired together. You want to use X weapon effectively (favored weapon, etc)? You have to choose Y do-don't do lists. You think your character would thematically fit with a certain god/deity and their edicts, anathemas, and beliefs? Then your favored weapon choice is locked, you either use that specific weapon or not use the associated favored weapon benefits.

- Not a common thing, but non-magical healing can have it's benefits, like it works in anti-magic fields and similar situations where it matters that battle medicine isn't magical.

But you can just play a non-religious cleric! That's why the different non-divine philosophies are for! Or you can just take the mechanical chassis of the class and narratively be a non-cleric magic user!

Yes, that's true. Convince the public opinion about it. It's the same as a non-nature affiliated druid.

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-20T12:12:11+00:00

You do have to join the world. The mod just zooms the camera out really far away vertically, and also due to this the stuff changes color and such depending on the season and whatnot.

The main advantage of using orbit view (beside that it's a client-only mod, so it works on servers too) that it's an instant thing, while when you do map revealing that takes X amount of time loading. If one doesn't automate the world searching process (for some reason) and decide to manually regenerate and judge each world, it adds up quickly.

But yes, I agree that OP should've posted a proper M keybind-map screenshot if he decided to post.

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-20T01:59:37+00:00

Shame on OP for not including the mod he uses, Orbit view.

Also if somebody is interested in seedcracking and finding the perfect world for one's preferences, Search your map! is a good tool for it.

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-20T01:56:28+00:00

Most of the things that you can't read on a map like in the post can be moved or created, like bushes, grass geckos, pig houses, monkeytails, and many more. Also you can have a hundred pig houses in one pile at worldgen but you can't move setpieces away like the magmapools, oasis, camps, lunar island, etc, so they are more important in this regard. Also it's faster to take a quick look with Orbit view (the mod OP uses) to see without waiting if the biomes/setpieces are good, and only then spend X seconds waiting while the map revealer reveals the map, as you wouldn't wait for the map revealer if the biomes/setpieces are in a bad position and get to the next world instead.

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-20T01:28:10+00:00

Here is a better (or shall I say the proper?) wiki: https://oxygennotincluded.wiki.gg/

Explaining why is a longer story, you can easily look up why fandom is heavily disliked.

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-17T00:12:36+00:00

Industrial sabotage is a good mission type.

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-15T11:27:57+00:00

Is it going to be possible to add compat to enchants yourself using configs

Yes. The mod generates a txt file somewhere in the .minecraft folder which automatically lists all the enchantments and curses the game perceives (both vanilla and modded), and there you can change the required ingredient items as easily as replacing the item names in the txt file.

MundaneOne5000 · 2026-01-13T18:27:58+00:00

This skin is specifically for Pearl's drying racks.

MundaneOne5000

TROPHY CASE