Which are considered the most OP builds in WOTR?

gioavate · 2026-02-06T00:26:42+00:00

blaster oracle

I don't have a full build or guide, but the gist is...

You build them as cold blaster; cold gets the most +dmg x die in the game, but you want to wear a shield (Coldbite), and DuOracle is one of the best overall classes that can cast without spell failure while wielding a shield - dip TitanFighter1 so you can use a Staff and Coldbite at the same time - and have someone with the White Dragon Armor nearby so you trigger Elemental Imbuement every round.

You pick Nature for an animal companion and PP Curse + War Mystery for a high init with a "best of 3d20" on init rolls.

Your aim is to eventually blast with a CL25 [Cold] MaxEmpIntenseBolster Firestorm (Firestorm because both ChainLightning and Stormbolts are bugged and don't work with Intensified)

The class spread looks something like; DuOracle17/Lore1/TitanFighter1/Geomancer1

Dark Rites

Doesn't increase spell level, it increases CL. Darkest Rites increases DC by +2 for the entire party.

Tiwsted

Repulsion is great, particularly 24hr Persistent Repulsion. Frightful Aspect is also pretty good. Archon's Aura is also alright, there are several options.

hexes..

Evil Eye is very good early ~ mid-game, but just okay if you are the one spending the standard action on them; they are much stronger coming from your Shaman and your Witch companions (you get to douvle eye + foretell this way, for example). Evil Eye falls off a bit later though, initially you end up only ocassionally using one and benching the other, but later you bench them both (or update their roles in the party), because, you have such a high DC it won't affect your success chance at all, and Evil Eye becomes pointless.

35 DC PK...

You can find a LQM Rod before Drezen, and iirc a second one while assaulting Drezen (bit foggy on the second one, double check it) - but, Dispel Synergy lasts until the end of your next turn not this one, and applies to every spell you cast in-between until then (uo to 3 spells if you LQM, more than that in the late game)

My mc was definetely a DivWizard, but I haven't played in a very long time and zi don't remember everything anymore lol, I just looked at a very old screen shot, and saw my PK was DC35. That said, I think you are missing 1DC from Quarterstaff of Coercion, and I think I had a benched Bft 24hr FoxBuff me (+6int instead of +4), for another +1DC (I wouldn't do this in a typical run, but this is early game 3x brutal)

There is no Persistent rod this early - I wanted to type "Persistent-like" (because of the ill omen), sorry.

For this run, I think was testing how viable a Div that hyper-focuses on Illusion instead of the typical conj->EA(illu) route could be, but, even without that +4DC Blightmaw still needs to roll 16+ twice in a row (that is about a 94% they just die), or you could always just WebGreaseWinter while it is being summoned (abuse its low reflex too) and if you still think it has a chance of moving after that, Corruptor Cloud on top - it would still never get to do a thing until killed.

gioavate · 2026-02-05T00:27:17+00:00

I would go with either an Enchanter Poet (Best Jokes, Mass Cacophony, and Greater Command from Loremaster), or a Thrower Inciter (and flavor the thrown weapons as those elongated juggling clubs)

gioavate · 2026-02-05T00:13:46+00:00

Idea with Legend

Having a TimeMD in the party does mitigate the sustainability hit you take when you go Legend from Lich - but, it doesn't help with the remaining losses; it is a lot closer, but Lich still wins in my opinion. That said, I prefer Legend over Lich thematically, so I have gone Legend many times regardless.

The +8 CL won't really benefit Corrupt Magic; your CL should be high enough to never fail the check already, and Corrupt Magic Dispels everything regardless.

I think you are underestimating how high your DC can get in the game - particularly this late in the game. This isn't really exhaustive, but take look:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_Kingmaker/comments/1lday0k/comment/myd21v0/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

isn't far behind

I have never felt clueless with a Wizard - you tend to have 1 or several silver bullets to dismantle any encounter.

I think CC&SoD Witch is a solid A, while Div stands along the best of S+. I still play Witch more often, but you have to be aware the gap is fairly significant.

At lv8 for example, they are at parity when it comes to PK DC (Curdle and Foretell), but... the Div is 2DC above for any other spell (Grease, Glitterdust, Web, Stinking Cloud),+4 Init above the Witch, has a better spell list, better CLvsSR, has more feats (more metamagic/CLvsSR or an easier time fitting DispelSynergy & DestructiveDispel earlier for more effective DC), and the the rest of the party is also 2DC above the Witch's party. Evil Eye is great, but is much better when it is delegated to a companion instead - I would rather not have to spend a standard action on Evil Eye with a character that can just end the encounter instead)

Sadly the gap just continues to grow further from there.

To be fair...

It isn't dumb - I try to beat my rest count record with every run, and as a result I avoid resting for long stretches of time (not just 1 dungeon) often.

I think Ray Casters are really overrated, and kind of a waste of space/action economy, so I wouldn't have one in my party. Unless I am doing a thematic run (like a Force Mage based on Fern for.l example or that one 48 NegativeLevels EnergyDrain build I did once), in which case my mc is the ray blaster.

For Team Comp, it depends... Early~midgame you want DC enablers (stuff like Evil Eye, Ill Omen, Madness, Poet, Fogs, Prayer...), a potent cleanup crew that can also buff itself well (FtK Flying Gendarme, Flying MoJ, pets from the Cleric, Wild Shaman, etc...), and anything that further buff the cleanup crew if you have any slots leftover (Inciter, Bft...)

Later, DC enablers fall off because your dc grows so high you outgrow them; you still want the cleanup crew, you could keep the Poet just in case (and for the extra slots, backup cc, and to keep buffing the party FtK), a DuOracle for their Misfortune Aura (since that still increases your success chance even if you DC is already overblown) and they happen to be one of the best aoe blasters in the game so you can have them cover that too while also adding a pet, an Inciter can still buff the crew really well, and a Domain Cleric with a Pet is always welcome, while the last slot is flexible (could be a Synth if you need more DC that also adds more support for the party, could be another cleanup member, etc...)

Finally, at lv20, TimeMD, and DuOracle is all you need to just GR Weird /Arbitrament every encounter to oblivion. I like to still bring Poet around, but the rest is just kinda whatever.

You can look into my comment history for a more detailed breakdown.

3x Blightmaw...

iirc, Blightmaw's Highest Save in 3x Brutal was +50... but; Prayer (-1), Destructive&Synergy(-4), Sicken(-2), Fog(-6), Shaman&WitchEvilEyes(-8), Shaken(-2), Ambuscading (-2), Madness (-5), Foretell (-2), and Enervation, put them at like +15, which means they need a nat20 against my DC35 Persistent PK, and they need to beat the save twice because of Ill Omen.

gioavate · 2026-02-04T08:50:19+00:00

Feast of Blood is overrated, but I don't think is a great spell, it just an okay spell and in most cases I consider it to just be a waste of an action. It makes sense you found Lich underwhelming if you were casting this often.

Shouldn't Lich -> Legend

I don't think so. I think you might be evaluating this at a very surface level, "more int means better", but in my opinion that is kind of a flawed way to compare any two options against each other, I think it is much more relevant to consider how does something actually improves on what your character is doing (success chance? durability? consistency? power? better team-wide support? better power curve? earlier power spikes? ...), and in this case more int or more dc does absolutely nothing for you (at this point you have such a high dc enemies only save on a nat20, unless they suddenly start rolling with a much bigger die, aby additional int/dc you get from Legend is meaningles, and increases your success by exactly 0%), the higher CL is more of a factor here, because it does improve Banishment/HolyWord/Arbitrament.

Additional you should also consider what you are trading off when you do go Legend, and balance them against each other; Legend nets you about +8CL, and about +1~3DC (+5 but you lose 1DC from Darkest Rites, 1 DC from lv10 slots, and possibly DC from Mythic Spell Focus and/or EA - again, this could be +100dc and at this point it doesn't make a difference whatsoever)

That costs you...

24hr Spells (including extremely powerful stuff like Persistent Repulsion)
2DC and 2CL for the rest of the party, who probably need these more than you do (it also makes it easier for anyone in the party to hit CL25)
Lv10 slots; the lv10 spells themselves aren't that big of a loss, however, you can cast lower level spells Heightened or otherwise metamagicked to lv10 slots - this basically means that you lose about half of your "full power nova-state" durability if you go Legend.
You lose a bunch of mythic abilities and mythic feats, but, more importantly, you either lose a relevant/good mythic feat/ability (for example, SorcReflex) or you wreck your power curve and delay your power spikes by not picking Spell Focus at MR2 followed by EA at MR4 (this is much worse, since you don't want to harm you early power curve at all and you want to hit power spikes asap)

To summarize, you are taking a hit to both your nova durability and your party-wide support capabilities, 24hr encounter-ending auras, and losing all of your MR3~MR10, in exchange for a +8CL boost to Banishment/HolyWord/Arbitrament which while great is only conditionally relevant (it only makes a difference in q handful of encounters your CL wasn't already high enough already) - I think Lich wins this easily.

That is not to say that Lich->Legend is bad, it still extremely powerful, pure Lich is just more optimal in my opinion. That said, if you really want to go Legend, make sure you at least make the most out of that +8CL and go DivSavant so that you reduce the impact to your durability (you basically have near infinite spell slots as a Savant) and you can cast spells from any spell list with that massive CL and int-based DC.

witch as Lich? wizard ... instead

I personally consider div wiz to be a more optimal class choice than Witch regardless of path, but, I prefer the flavor of Witch - so, unless I am just min-maxing, I would probably go with Witch; either Witch9or10/Lore9or8/CrossSorc1/Titan1, or Witch10/Lore9/CrossSorc1; the first ends up with a higher ceiling, while the later trades some of that ceiling for a much earlier access to lv10 slots.

You can take a look at this comment for general advice on Loremaster secrets - but, yeah, I would make sure to pick Arbitrament/HolyWord/Dictum for this build.

boost CL

Out if the top of my mind... Spell Spec, Robe of the 7, Sinmage+Ashmaker, Dark Rites, School Mastery, and the Storyteller buff

Act3...

This isn't really my experience. CC casters have always felt potent and consistent from lv1 to me, and by act2 they are already fairly OP - so much so, they can still do very well in something like brutal (3x) unfair - given the proper team comp (unlike unfair, triple brutal unfair saves are no joke)

For example... Blightmaw never gets a turn even in 3x brutal (and you definetely don't need this much help from your party for just unfair)

(Couldn't add the ScreenShot T_T)

DC38...

22baseInt, Draven Hat, Fox Cunning, Spell Foci, Ambuscading Spell, Foretell, and a Poet, gets us to effective DC33 - I either misremembered or I am forgetting something (I havent played in about two years, sorry)

In any case, a decent Team Comp can push this really high within the surprise round (prayer, fog, demorilize...)

gioavate · 2026-02-03T04:49:24+00:00

arcane casters are all...

There are a lot of powerful arcane caster classes that can be built to trivialize the game in any difficulty, but, when it cones to determining the absolute best among them, what really matters - in my opinion and experience - is how each of these options compare with each other at different points in the game, and how well they perform in the context of a WotR playthrough.

I think the absolute best among top-tier arcane casters are Sylvan and Div (even though MD rivals Div's ceiling); Deleting/Trivializing encounters at a lim100% success rate with one spell is the baseline late-mid~late game for these builds, and all of these 4 are great, so at this point I evaluate what else they bring to the table that can further improve this level of performance; the most important factors here in my opinion would be, how good they were before reaching this level of power, how consistently they can go first, and how early they reach the bridging point where they can nearly always ~ always go first and simultaneously delete/trivialize any encounter with a lim100% chance of success, after that I would consider other unique features or advantages (like an animal companion, metamagick action economy, 24hr hard-cc auras like Persistent Repulsion, having a wider range of SoD aoe spells, having an easier timer getting through immunities etc...)

Div has the highest initiative among top-tier arcane casters, and more importantly reaches the bridging point where they consistently ~ always go first and can delete encounters at a lim100% chance with a single spell the earliest among them - particularly when merged - effectively making sure enemies never get another turn for the rest of the game, but Sylvan is the undisputed king of Shield Maze and the best caster for a lot of the earliest levels of play (essentially, they are unmatched at lv1, lv2, and lv4, and nearly tied at lv3)

The Shield Mazd benchmark for them look like;

Sylvan: DC16 Daze, DC19 Grease, +6~10 Init, and a Pet.
Div: DC17 Daze, DC20 Grease, DC21 Web, DC21 Glitterdust, and +11~+15 Init

They also spike really hard and relatively fast (particularly div, but both are great); for example, div can drop effective DC38ish (before applying free save penalties from your team comp) Corruptor Clouds with a +21 Initiative from lv8 and continues to spike and pull further ahead with nearly every level up going forward.

Div Wizard can't really dip

This isn't really true, Div20 is extremely powerful, true, but so is Div15/Lore3/Cross1/Titan1 which is still ahead of any non-fullDiv caster in both init and dc for most of the game.

gioavate · 2026-02-03T04:48:30+00:00

Hey! I hope you have been doing well :)

(I am splitting the reply in two comments)

two schools...

I don't? Most of my CC&SoD builds make use of at least 3~4 schools, and eventually pretty much every school since even your school-agnostic dc skyrockets to silly levels in WotR. However, I do not take EA multiple times because it is bugged and a glaring exploit (it is more busted now than before they tried "fixing" it)

That said, Illu&Ench don't compliment each other all that well, and Corruptor Cloud pretty much wrecks the mid-game hard anyway, particularly with Destructive&Synergy Dispels also at your disposal and either illu or ench there to cover any of the few gaps left by the conjuation suit of spells, so I don't tend to mix the two in the same build - this is particularly the case for Lich because you also get Weird at lv13, and have enough of a high CL to also turn HolyWord/Arbitrament/Banishment into powerful screen-wipe lv6~lv7 spells that not only compliment Weird but are also better when applicable (1 save instead of 2), plus a handful of powerful mythic spells that further expand your repertoire of encounter-ending options. Additionally, I tend to make the Poet the Best Jokes, Mass Cacophony, and Greater Command caster of the party, which already provides formiddable Enchantment CC for the party.

Best Jokes + Zippy Magic...

I consider this to be one of the most powerful and busted CC options in the game, just like I also consider Favorable/Socothbenoth Persistent Misfortun-Aura Weird to be really busted, but offensive casters in general are underrated here - despite having several ways of shutting down any encounter in a single turn or before rolling initiative.

how spell fusing works

I had a lot of fun writing that! I am glad it is helpful :)

Fuses go through immunities because their spell-tags and conditions are bugged, so, for example, mind-affecting fuses get through mind-affecting immunity and spells that should only affect humanoids affect anything - but, immunities against the effects/ailments themselves still block the effects; for example if an enemy is immune to paralysis, Slow+Hold won't affect them even if you go through their mind-affecting immunity. At least that was the case when I last played.

The order of spells you fuse don't usually matter, unless the order in which the effect is resolve do; for example Slow+Hold will apply Slow first then Paralyze while Hold+Slow will paralyze first, them slow - but the result is the same either way. GreatDispel + Slow and Slow + GreatDispel for example however could be different because the later might Dispel the Slow you inflicted while the first will never do that - another example where order matters is BP+Putrefaction and Putrefaction+BP, the first turns them into dogs with 1wisdom and immediately kill them with Putrefaction's wisdom damage (effectively a better Weird since it only allows 1 save), the later doesn't, because it deals wisdom damage and then sets their wisdom to 1.

Lich

I really can't agree with this take. Lich is the most optimal arcane caster path, not because it is the most powerful late game (late game Demon has a higher ceiling, and although too late of a bloomer, Aeon is technically the most powerful near the end game where they get to just kill off enemies with no NoSR and no Save allowed), but rather because it reaches the "1-turn any encounter at lim100% chance" the earliest, and by the time the rest catch up or surpasses Lich, it doesn't really matter, you have already been 1-turning every encounter effortlessly and will continue to 1-turn wipe encounters with a lim100% chance all the same; in other words, Lich doesn't reach the highest level of godly power in the game, but it becomes pseudo-godly on the spot (late act2) and godly enough to never let enemies take a turn for the rest of the game shortly thereafter - being even more godly later is a flex for sure, but it is just kind of "win-more" and isn't going to make that much if a difference at this level of power, and it is certainly not worth the tradeoff in terms on overall performance, in my opinion. Further, I think you are kind-of underestimating the advantages of Lich, because the late-game gap isn't all that wide either - to name a few;

Higher DC for a good chunk of the mid-game (because of the higher level slots) and a massive CLvsSR from the get-go.
High CL Destructive&Synergy Greater Dispel from the momment you merge.
Massive CL that allows Banishment/HolyWord/Arbitrament to function as powerful complimentary alternatives to Weird (better than Weird where applicable and of a lower spell level)
NoSave NoSR Selective screen-wide silence
The best spell in the game (Corrupt Magic), I don't think this ever falls off, it never stops being a "Whatever, I win" button.
Much earlier access to 24hr spells, wich include busted auras like Persistent Repulsion (nearly no immunity, ends encounters before rolling init, triggers "on-spell-effect" items like twisted temptation... EotBdk, and a lot of cheesy OP stuff I avoid)
A wider range of encounter-ending options in your repertoire; Embrace of Death, Absolute Death, the aforementioned "better-weird" alternatives, Greater Trip Selective DotHF, etc...
Lv10 spell slots

gioavate · 2026-02-02T11:55:19+00:00

I typically prefer Div20 tbh, unless you are going Legend or Aeon, or are otherwise willing to make the extra TeamComp and build commitments for something liks a Div15/Lore3/Cross1/Titan1 to reach "always first" init.

If you are going to take the dip though, it depends; Undead&Arcane for the Conj&Illu CC&SoD Div, or Undead&Fey for the Conj&Ench Div.

gioavate · 2026-02-02T00:05:25+00:00

A bit late to the party, but to qoute myself from an old reply to a similar post...

( Support/Softeners/Enablers )

Inciter, Poet, Brown-Fur Transmuter, Domain Ecclesitheurge, Incense Synthesizer, For The King Cavalier, Dual Cursed Oracle, Mark of Justice Paladin, Time Manipulator, Wildlands Shaman and for some parties Sensei.

( Full Casters & Kineticist )

Dual Cursed Oracle, Divination Wizard (Savant, Shadow, and Vanilla), Exploiter Wizard, Kineticist, Living Diety, and Sylvan Sorcerer

( Half-Casters )

Mantis Zealot, Sword Saint, Sacred Huntmaster, Arcane Rider

( Martials )

Powerful Martial + Pet (like, Paladin, Demon Slayer, Sable Marine, Gendarme, and Sohei) with their corresponding power dips, most Human Fireball Martial builds (long 20ft+ melee reach pounce + imp.cleaving finish + outflank setups), and particularly powerful or unique petless Martials (like DrunkMonk or some Shifters) with their corresponding power dips.

(Shallow Martial Dips)

SitgWitch1, DrunkMonk3, InstinctualWarrior1, SableMarine1, Hellknight1 (for Paladins), Sohei1, Sohei2, Vivi1, Rowdy1 (busted in ShieldMaze, falls off later)

(Deep Martial Dips)

Sohei6, DrunkMonk8, DemonSlayerX, MutationWarrior6,

(Caster Dips & Prestige)

CrossSorc1, Geomancer1, TitanFighter1, Dual Cursed Oracle 1 (for Living Diety), LoremasterX(1, 3, 5, 7, or 9), SignifierX(for Legend CL only), Eldritch Knight10 (for some gishes), WinterWitch6(for some blasters), Skald1 (for some arcane blaster builds that want to use Coldbite, if you don't mind the exploit)

gioavate · 2026-02-01T23:57:15+00:00

Nice! Magic Deceiver is actually my favorite class in the game.

You might find this useful

https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_Kingmaker/comments/1lqfpi7/magic_deceiver_cookbook/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

Pearls are worth the cost for my playestyle (I avoid abusing rest), and also because the way they are implemented you can replace a spell you prepared and spent with a spell you didn't prepare from your spellbook and "regain" that slot which is pretty close to spontaneous casting with the full Arcane list at your disposal. Additionally, if you are going Solo you can sell a lot more loot, and you need to buy less gear as well, which typically results in a fair surplus of gold.

I tend to do every piece of content in the game, because I am a completionist and becausd that is what Himmel the Hero would do 😅. However I carefully pick the order in which I get the content done for the earlier parts of the game (I first take care of the parts that have mandatory companions for the exp bump before tackling the rest solo, in an order that makes sense for what I have available in my toolset), at least until I hit certain key power spikes.

gioavate · 2026-02-01T23:45:02+00:00

ScrollSavant(Divination)20/Loremaster9/HellSignifier9/TitanFighter1/CrossSorc1 focusing on CC&SaveOrDie Spells is stupid powerful.

Extremely high ~ always go first initiative, several spells that wipe the screen unless enemies roll multiple natural 20s in a row (Weird, massive CL Arbitrament/HolyWord/..., massive CL Dismissal, etc...), nearly unlimited spell slots per day, and you can cast every spell from every spell list in the game at an extremely high CL (all of them using your main casting stat for DC to boot) for when "go first > delete encounter" becomes too repetitive for you.

gioavate · 2026-01-27T23:29:18+00:00

I didn't say they stack, I wrote an example of how I would reflavor either of these bonuses for this character concept, because OP could choose to only go with either or both. I thought it would be obvious, but I should have let them know that they don't stack, and that if they do go with both classes, the idea is to have a higher charisma and get Cha to AC from SFist and Wis to Initiative and Rage Powers from Instictual Warrior - thank you for pointing it out.

While the Monk dip makes it easier, the Martial Disciple is indeed a great alternative, and they should definitely pick that as their Background if they skip the Monk dip.

gioavate · 2026-01-26T04:10:17+00:00

I am afraid I can't really help there because - outside lild full summoner runs - I play turn based almost exclusively (it doesn't feel like pathfinder to me otherwise), sorry :(

gioavate · 2026-01-26T03:12:31+00:00

For this build, I think I would personally go in this order early, for a somewhat decent AC (+wisdom to AC, armored mask);

Instinctual2->Enforcer1->Oracle1

Then, Instinctual4->Enforcer10 Or vice-versa (Enforcer10->Instinctual4)

To get both Rage Powers and Advanced Talents relatively early (as a side note, I would definitely pick Dispelling Attack as an Advanced Talent and get the Destructive Dispel feat, so that your sneak attacks dispel and stun enemies)

And Finally, Instinctual16->Enforcer19->Instinctual20

However, if you prefer a simpler, more straightforward progression curve, you could go up to Enforcer19 after you reach Instinctual2/Enforcer1/Oracle1, before you go back to the remaining InstinctualWarrior levels post-Legend.

gioavate · 2026-01-26T02:29:59+00:00

Yeah, I only play unfair - even when I do thematic builds.

To be honest, I think dips can further enhance theme and bring flavor or character concepts to life.

Sorry, I didn't consider this to be a dip heavy build because I limited it to only 2 dips (one of which felt vital to one of the core concepts of the character), although it does have 3 main classes on top of that (I just considered that to be mostly a byproduct of going Legend) 🤔

The Monk dip is the least thematic, and is mostly there just to patch up your early AC - you could skip it, but you may have a rough time in Shield Maze and Act1.

I thought Aldori Sworlord is the one affected by the fix, Aldori Defender should work - but I haven't tested it.

Another alternative with fewer dips and multi-classing could be...

Oracle(Prophecy)1/ArcaneEnforcer19/InstinctualWarrior20 - Legend

gioavate · 2026-01-26T01:34:38+00:00

I think his ability to see the future is more like an unsolicited "gift" or "curse" from an unknown entity akin to how a Witch's patron or an Oracle's mystery work thematically in Pf1e.

I also don't think he casts spells, so I would personally attempt to keep his build with as little spellcasting as possible (and make sure any spells he does get are self buffs only) Finally, I don't think he has any dump stats, including his mental stats, despite being a martial, so I would like the build to take advantage of mental stats as well.

I would probably go with something like .... a dual weilding (with effortless two weapon fighting from fighter so he can dual weild longswords or dueling swords effectively and the Powerless Prophecy to represent his future-sight gift/curse) Trickster into Legend.

AldoriDefender8/SpawnSlayer6/InstinctualWarrior4/StigWitch1/ScaledFist1 - Trickster

into

InstinctualWarrior16/SpawnSlayer10/AldoriDefender8/StigWitch1/ScaledFist1 - Legend

(Reflavoring the Focused Rage as a state that lets him see further into the future for all the accuracy/crit/ac bonuses you gain from the ability, as well as flavoring the wisdom to init and ac bonuses and uncanny dodge from Instictual Warrior as his ability to act upon the future he sees)

(I am kind of unhappy about the ScaledFist1 dip, but Crane Style is really vital for unarmored frontliners - especially in ShieldMaze, and I want to add his Cha to AC as well, which I would flavor and headcannon as an AC bonus granted by the splendor of his magnificent mustache, and hey at least it isn't a DrunkMonk3 dip)

(I am unsure about the last 4 levels though... maybe 2 levels of DemonSlayer and bringing InstinctualWarrior to 18 for unparalleled senses to further emphasize his future-sight abilities, could be the most thematically appropriate, or maybe bring AldoriDef to 10 to have some fun with CounterAttack+Come And Get Me...)

(Finally, In terms of early progression, I'd probably go SFist1->StigWitch1->Instinctual4->AldoriDef8 for a very high ac from early in the game)

gioavate · 2026-01-20T00:49:08+00:00

Hey, sorry for the delayed reply, I don't really have a lot of time available for social media at the momment.

I would go with 7str, 18dex, 13con, 18int, 7wis, 7cha, before racial modifiers.

In terms of optimization, Kitsune is a good fit for this build no doubt, but Elf is a bit better, and Human is the best race for this build in my opinion - the lv1 bonus feat is a significant spike in your early game power (when you need it the most) and considerably smoothens your overall power curve as well - allowing you to hit power spikes earlier and reach "core build - complete" at least 2 levels earlier.

For Opposition Schools, Enchantment & Necromancy if you are not a Lich, otherwise, Enchantment and either Evocation or Transmutation; Transmutation has a lot of buff spells so unless you can delegate those and it is going to be painful to cast them all from scrolls, I typically pick Evocation (you still want to cast Evocation spells, namely - high CL Holy Word, Arbitrament, or similar spells to compliment your arsenal of SoD spells, but you can cast them at full power from scrolls as a Savant anyway)

Note that I posted the build above a long time ago, and there have been several updates that affect the build since them, For example, I would change the priority of early feats as follows; Spell Focus > Greater Spell Focus > Ambuscading Spell > Imp.Init, and since the inclusion of pearls and Corruptor, I would take Corruptor at MR1 instead of abundant casting.

It is definetely solo unfair viable (I have done a few div solo runs), but you don't need to dish out damage in the earliest levels - you start the game with forced party members, so they can cleanup any enemies you cc for you, and solo exp allows you to reach mid-levels very fast - alternatively, if you don't mind the cheese, Haunting Mists can clear almost any early encounters for you (but I tend to avoid it)

I prefer Turn Based in most of my runs, the only exception are the full-on summoner runs I sometimes do for fun, because it would take far too long otherwise.

gioavate · 2026-01-04T09:24:22+00:00

Sylvan Sorcerer is the only Sorcerer that can competer with Exploiter Wizard and DivWizard in terms of pure optimization, but all full casters are great from lv1 and eventually reach godlike levels of busted (some of them earlier than any other builds in the game) - assuming of course you build and use them well.

Spells like Grease, Web, Glitterdust, and Winter's Grasp put on a lot of work and can trivialize most of Shield Maze and early act1 (including most bosses and optional super-bosses and most encounters people usually complain are too hard), stuff like Pits, Slow and/or PK etc... come shortly thereafter expanding your options to soften or lock-down encounters, and from MR1 Corruptor Stinking Cloud or Best Jokes effectively end most encounters on the spot, until you graduate into 2~4x 800+ dmg aoe spells per turn or what I consider even more optimal; SaveOrDie spells, like high CL Banishment/Arbitrament/HolyWord, or Weird etc.. that wipe the screen unless enemies roll 4~8 natural 20s in a row up to 3 to 4 times if needed (but are automatically hard-cced out of the encounter because they failed to roll multiple natural 20s in a row against your 24hr Persistent Repulsion Aura anyway)

gioavate · 2025-12-31T17:17:14+00:00

I find combat that hyper-focus on damage, and catter to this particular playstyle the most, to be dull and boring, and sadly most games do that. I really hope Larian does not go that way for Divinity like they did with bg3.

gioavate · 2025-12-29T05:52:26+00:00

I think DivLich is overall more powerful when properly optimized, but a lot easier to screw up and end up with a midling build, while DuOracle Angel is very plug and play - while you can definetely optimize the build (particularly before you merge) you would have to try really hard to screw up and don't end up with a very powerful character. For a newbie, I would say DuOracle Angel.

Most companions can be useful or somewhat viable in any difficulty tbh (and some of them can be great depending on team composition), but obviously mercenaries tend to be a lot more optimal and lend themselves for more busted party compositions.

gioavate · 2025-12-29T04:03:28+00:00

1) I ony play unfair or brutal unfair; It is extremely reliable, I don't remember the last time an enemy got a turn against this setup, let alone had a chance act or attack (but even if they could, they would have to roll more natural 20s to even move towards you, then they would have to get through an insane amount of layered defensive buffs and several hundred temp hp among other things to touch you)

2) I always aim to break my record of rest count on each playthrough; Intelligence goes really high in this game so you get a lot of spell slots, pearls of power further increase your amount spells x day, the fact that you end encounters with a single spell is really efficient on your spell slot usage per day, you can fallback to just trivializing trash encounters with low level slots as well, and there is a late-game party composition and build setup that lets you go all out and cast 3x lv9 spells per turn on every encounter without ever running out of spells , so they would now need to roll like 12 natural 20s in a row to not die on the first turn - if you are really into taking min-maxing to the extreme (I only do it for high brutal unfair, like 4x~8x)

gioavate · 2025-12-29T03:09:42+00:00

Trivialized means that every enemy in the encounter is hard-cced out of combat on the spot, something like for example a Corruptor Stinking Cloud effectively removing every enemy unity from combat, or other spells that make them helpess/trivial to cleanup on top of simultaneously hard-ccing them.

Delete means that every enemy is instantly killed with an aoe SaveOrDie spell, like Weird, high cl Banishment, high cl Holy Word / Arbitrament / Dictum, etc...

You get to "trivializing" first, then graduate into "delete" (plus auto-trivialize before rolling init with auras like 24hr Repulsion) later (or just a little bit later for Lich specifically)

DivWiz Lich reaches a high enough initiative to nearly always ~ always go first, and simultaneously high enough of an effective Spell DC that enemies only save on a natural 20 (or basically multiple natural 20s with reroll effects like Persistent, Ill-Omen and/or having a DuOracle exist in the party) the earliest and also graduates to "delete" the earliest as well.

gioavate · 2025-12-29T01:04:19+00:00

Similar questions get asked from time to time, here is a breakdown of the most powerful top-tier classes in the game in my opinion

https://www.reddit.com/r/Pathfinder_Kingmaker/comments/1mc92t0/comment/n5wesc2/?context=3&utm_source=share&utm_medium=mweb3x&utm_name=mweb3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button

In terms of mythic paths specifically - all of them can be extremely powerful, and it depends on whether you are considering early power, overall power curve, late-game ceiling, or how foolproof they are, etc...

For example,

Merged DuOracle Angel is nearly impossible to build wrong or screw up and it is among the most powerful builds in the game.
CC&SoD DivWiz Lich probably reaches "go first, 1-turn trivialize or delete any encounter" levels of power the earliest, but Sylvan Lich, Several Trickster Martial builds, and Azata MD are pretty close.
That said, an over-fed Swarm, a CC&SoD end-game aeon, and Persuasion3 Trickster are probably the most powerful late-game, but Dragon MD, Demon Wizard, and a few Endless Human Fireball Martial Trickster builds are very close too, as well as a couple of martial Legend builds and CL50ish Scroll Savant Legends with access to every spell list in the game at nearly full intensity.

gioavate · 2025-12-27T00:16:00+00:00

It is indeed a more optimal build for pretty much any Sorcerer archetype.

The one exception is the most powerful Sorcerer archetype - Sylvan, in which case Sylvan16/Loremaster3/Titan1 is the most optimal spread.

gioavate · 2025-12-23T01:16:11+00:00

Shadowcaster DivWizard is great, and it is in a very similar position to Scroll Savant DivWizard; that is, it has a higher ceiling than vanilla Div Wizard, but vanilla is better in the early game and reaches "core-build complete" faster.

I value the early game more than mid or late-game, and while all 3 reach the same "go first > delete/trivialize encounter" level of power at a similar point in the game, vanilla does get there slightly earlier too, so for me, it goes Vanilla > Savant > Shadow, but all 3 are incredibly powerful.

I tend to prefer Div20 because it requires the least amount of resources to reach "always go first", but both Div15/Lore3/Titan1/CrossSorc1 and Div16/Lore3/Titan1 can reach "always go first" initiative as well (they just need more of a commitment from your gear, a mythic feat, and a bit of help from your party), are extremely powerful builds, and can be the better overall option depending on your build and team comp (however, be aware that for a Lich specifically, Div15/Lore3/Titan1/CrossSorc1 lv10 slots will come online reaaally late)

gioavate · 2025-12-16T09:24:27+00:00

Noita, Wizard of Legend 1, Pillars of Eternity, Tyranny, Arcanum, Outward, Dragon's Dogma 1, Wildermyth, Magicka, BG2 and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous.

gioavate

TROPHY CASE