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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 4 ต.ค. 2022
- There are 5 subclasses for the Magus class in Pathfinder 2e! Which one is the best and which one is less the best?
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Honestly, I think the best part about the Twisting Tree subclass is the concept. You are a warrior-wizard fighting with an implement that is both a weapon and a magical tool. The flavor is just so great.
Agreed; I love the flavour of this one.
And loooooong stick go bonk
It's also fairly flexible, 'cause nothing stops you from using another weapon with it. You can be dual wielding a staff and sword Gandalf style ! Grab a few two weapon fighting feats while at it and I'm sure you can get something pretty darn neat.
I'm very new to this but if you could find a way to finaggle the whirlwind strike fighter feat into this you'd have a pretty crazy combo on your hands
I personally love being able to switch between one and two handed at will, meaning you can use healers tools after getting off your d8 hits or get an agile weapon while still being in arcane stance
I think the main benefits of Starlit Span come from using Expansive Spellstrike with it. Not only is it the only Magus subclass that can use Spellstrike with burst spells risk-free, but having the cone/line spells originate at the point of contact rather than just yourself opens up the possibilities for crazy trickshots.
The staff magus can use burst spells risk free, you get 5 foot added to your reach per spell level and you already have a reach weapon.
A third level spell gives a 20 foot reach melee strike.
@@spider0804 but not as much as Starlit Span do. they can do that with 60ft to 100ft range depend on what bow they use. this means they can use cone/line spells like fireball, and also 20ft can be easily get closer with 1 stride. so kinda hard to say it's completely risk free....
@@spider0804 This also requires a level 10 feat, whereas Starlit Span with Expansive Spellstrike comes online at level 2. So Twisting Tree has to go half their career without being able to safely use burst spells in their Spellstrike
@@SteveMan92 True, true.
I suppose it does not impact me as much.
With our group once we do the starting levels with a system we never do them again. So 5-20 with rapid leveling 5-10.
The lower levels are basically a tutorial and boring.
@@HelenCG None of what you said contradtics that they can still do it.
I did it ALOT.
Strength shadow is great, you just wear the armor and don’t worry about the speed boost
yea its just 10 speed, you still get half of that with armor
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Starlit Span has one bonus over Eldritch Archer IMO and that is that Starlit Span works with ALL ranged weapons (including thrown weapons if that tickles your fancy) were as Eldritch Archer needs to use a bow. Made a character who uses an arquebus to fire spell strikes. Also Twisting Tree can let you build a Sun Wukong build.
11:51 exactly!! I’m arming w a shortbow, daggers, and a spear
Starlit Span has much better spell slots than Eldritch Archer too
Yes, exactly. My GM let my Starlit Span have a three peaked tree, which is so fun in mixing things up from doing the same thing every turn with a bow. Only disadvantage is it makes splitting between DEX and STR a little awkward.
I wish there was a subclass (or even a class archetype) for making guns easier to spellstrike with. Action to recharge and reload is hefty.
A Gun/Crossbow Hybrid Study and a Dual-Wielding Hybrid study feel like options that might show up in a layer supplement. Hopefully. Maybe.
Gun magus (magunus? Ma-gat?) would be awesome - I can definitely see it as a class archetype, though I suppose it could be *quite* similar to the spellshot.
If you are using a starlin span it hefty indeed use range weapons with reload traits, but I think is more flavor to the bow side of the range where there is no reload, but for the other subclass with the focus point that allow you to recharge and do something else is not soo bad...
@@joehill6916 magnum-us
@@IronicCliche MAC-10us
Personally, Twisting Tree gets an S-tier. Yes, its feats and abilities don't really seem to mesh with each other, but that's pretty much the *point.* Picking any of the other Hybrid Studies is effectively a decision to specialize in something - damage output for Inexorable Iron, tricky positioning and better iterative attacks for Laughing Shadow, personal defense for Sparkling Targe, and reliable ranged options for Starlit Span.
But with Twisting Tree, you're not picking *anything.* You can 2H your staff to get a d8 Reach weapon, just a die size down from many martial polearms, and Deadly d6 at Level 4 makes your crits hurt *a lot.* You can 1H it for a d6 Agile weapon, giving you the option to use Athletics actions and consumables while getting better iterative attacks. You get the Parry trait in case you want to boost your personal defense, and at Level 10 you get the only ranged option outside the Starlit Span subclass. You might not be as good at any given thing as the specialists, but by a certain point in the game you'll be able to do a little bit of *everything* reasonably well.
Not only that, but their unique feat Student of the Staff does more than just buffing your Deadly damage and allowing you to make better use of staffs. First, you get access to the club group's critical specialization - most magus don't even *get* their weapon's critical specialization, and this pairs extremely well with Attack of Opportunity at Level 6 and your ability to have Reach. When you crit, you can deal a ton of bonus damage, push the enemy out of your reach, and then get *another* attack at your full bonus if they try to close the gap. But *also,* there's no limitation on how many property runes you can put in your spellbook, and you get to choose which runes to apply at the start of the day. Most people have to pick and choose runes and stick with them, but *you* get to swap them out daily to adjust to your needs!
All in all, if Sparkling Targe gets an S-Tier for extremely potent defense, then I contend that Twisting Tree deserves an S-Tier for unmatched versatility. It's got a learning curve for sure, but if you can figure out how to make good use of all its options, you'll be able to do so many ridiculous things!
so much of this. Twisting tree is all about versatility. Of the 5 studies it takes the most player skill but the pay off is being able to fill many the cracks in your party comp. Between having different property runes to changing out your staff, or even making you own personal staff, they can adjust to help the party. My default damage staff is divination. Taking the full turn to true strike a shocking grasp spell strike at 30ft on a boss is one of the most satisfying things I've done in a game.
One thing that I think people sleep on A LOT is that in actual tactical combat, most melee magi are not spellstriking every turn, and having options on those off turns is really crucial, which is where TT shines since it does have those options. A third attack after a sweeping strike is basically a garanteed whiff, but a trip against a low ref might actually land due to skills scaling faster and saves often being lower than AC (bonus if you have something with a super low ref save and you just assurance it); parry is a decent action filler on these off turns as well. Being able to use a magic staff itself gives options, since you can cast a low level support spell like Illusory Object or True Strike on one of these off turns to burn enemy actions, enhance your damage, etc
Reach combos well with AoO, and a twisting tree staff is basically just as good as an Inorexible Iron glaive or what have you, which gives you some minor passive control as well.
Also, while there aren't THAT many slotted spells you can prep, just being able to launch off an extendo reach spellstrike is a very potent tactical option that can't be ignored
Ive played some inexorable iron and the damage is insane, you're like a slot machine. It's really fun but also really simple.
I made a dual class monk/magus grippli with the Starlit hybrid study, focusing on water spells and shooting stars.
Basically, I made a greninja!
Twisting tree is a high player skill subclass as its essentially martial control + wizard. So almost always your gonna be wanting to look at what's gonna be most disrupting rather than the straight damage of the other subclasses. But if you like that deep tactical options, this class definitely delivers.
Yes, that's what I'm building up to with my Conrasu build. I've even been think of eventually getting a little champion archetype as well.
Gonna add to the choir here. Currently playing a TT magus at level 4. Haven't picked up the property rune feat yet. The damaging runes, which is what most are gunning for, are mostly level 8 and i had other priorities in my feats.
Namely getting investigator strategems and free recall knowledge checks online via free archetype. It's like a bargain bin true strike bundled with a knowledge check at this point (known weakness is a cool investigator feat).
Best part is, spell attacks aren't strikes, meaning if your strategem rolls poorly, just throw a cantrip on its own without the spellstrike. Or trip/grapple.
It's definitely a weird fit for the already action hungry magus, I admit. On the plus side, the whole investigators deal with cases has gotten me involved in the exploration/social pillars of the game in a different way. Really fun.
Wait people don't use twisting tree ? the thing is insane. Slap on an inventor dedication with Deadly Simplicity to increase the two handed damage and add a custom versatile damage and have a staff-sword !
The main appeal of the starlit span is that they don't have problems spellstriking every turn, and benefit the most from expansive spellstrike due to interesting aoe placement and just safer aoe's in general.
You see, every other subclass needs to have an "intermission turn" between spellstrikes, where your enemy gets away so you chase them and spell strike.
But that stride action means that you didn't charge your spellstrike. The only exception is laughing shadow who can teleport with their focus spell.
But starlit span has a 100 ft range. Every single turn they can spellstrike, recharge, spell strike, recharge, spell strike, recharge. THAT'S what makes them so good.
Edit: twisting tree can have ranged too but only on non-focus leveled spells, which the magus only has 4 of discounting the utility spells and spellcaster dedications. The point is everyone may be able to consistently spellstrike sometimes, but the starlit span is dishing out spellstrikes all day every day.
I've been having a lot of fun with Starlit Span and Eldritch Archer in tandem. The reason to have both is that Starlit Span (with Expansive Spellstrike) has a lot of versatility in spell choice, but is limited to the first range increment. Eldritch Shot goes the entire range of the bow, but is limited to just spells with a spell attack. The archetype also has a number of feats to make fancy magical shots that *don't* require spell slots - including making magical ammunition. Makes me really feel like ranged artillery!
I like Starlit Span because it is range. Magus are usually glass cannon, and they have to face many situation like "I don't hit I go down". yes they deals ridiculous amount of damage but if they stay unconscious half of time of the encounter it lowers overall damage output significantly. Starlit Span have slightly less damage output than other subclasses but they stay on battle stably more longer, and also make healer's job easier to save heal spells because they don't get hit often.
I have played twisting tree, just for the fun times of being staff magus from pf1e. Randomly extending the staff to spellstrike out to range thematically is really cool. Thinking of a magus with a staff of power, deadly d6, stretch spellstrike bop an enemy? yes please.
we have a twisting tree magus in our abomination vault campaign, it seems to be a rly cool subclass, our old dwarf hits everyone with his cane. To the runeinscribing: Its even better then normal runes, because the magus can change each morning which runes are on the staff, they only have to inscribe them in their spellbook first.
Magus is one of my favorite classes, I've got a dual class character built around staves (wizard staff nexus, twisting tree magus) that has shield and true strike in my staff so I can have all the true strikes during the day
One day I made a 5th lvl Fireball Scroll and tied it around an Arrow to use later. Then during a boss fight Spell Striked another 5th lvl Fireball using that arrow...
So, I'd say Starlit Span is pretty usefull!
I’ve recently started my very first Pathfinder 2e game and am currently playing a sparkling targe magus, and I must say it’s waaay more fun than I even expected. Crazy damage, great versatility, but the action economy is crazy tight.
Inexorable iron is better when you combine it with wizard dedication, because you can use your wizard spell slots to fuel sustaining steel.
What would make it even better is if you could get the universalist wizard spell Hand of the Apprentice to use you focus points to chuck you your weapon 500ft
@@keskarader4837 this blade empty
H Y E E T
The same idea could actually apply to Twisting tree to make almost every attack be made at 20 foot reach.
@@keskarader4837 I like hand of the apprentice, but on a magus it's not as good compared to a wizard due to the focus on either strength or dex as their key ability score. It would be a nice ranged option in your back pocket though
Twisting tree is such a cool concept that I can forgive the abilities not synergizing perfectly. Theme is most important to me for a subclass
Twisting tree is awesome, and free archetype opens up so many cool possibilities to combine with it
Laughing shadow unarmored benefit is JUST a +10 movement speed. You still get +5 with armor anyways too so I don't see why laughing shadow maguses can't wear medium armor
The big advantage I see of Starlit Span Magus over Eldritch Archer (besides simplicity in building by not having to deal with figuring out the feat progression to come online at 6th...and having to wait five levels for your concept to come online) is that the Eldritch Shot equivalent can be split up into a two action segment and a one action segment instead of being an all-in-one-turn three action activity. The action flexibility gives you more options while still using your signature ability.
Also, technically any Magus can take advantage of magic staves for additional Spellstrikes with the eighth level feat Fused Staff, but Twisting Tree Magi can do that from fourth level AND use the staff for utility or buff spells without a one-action tax.
Honestly, all the subclasses but Inexorable Iron inspire me to make characters.
Thanks for another amazing video! You're one of my favorite creators on this platform. Keep rolling high on those Performance checks!
Best subclass is easily the staff one, I embarrased our fighters damage with it.
Being able to truestrike spellstrike with a staff of divination is just so great and loaded, at later levels you can pretty much do it every time.
The staff also has the ability to be agile / deadly / reach with free swapping between one and two hand and you can essentially be ranged with spellstrikes.
Played staff, currently playing shield which can do the equivilent of 14 actions in a single turn if you take Bastion.
Spellstrike (3) Focus for raise shield / attack / recharge spellstrike (3), and 2 block reactions that are shield block (1) / essentially color spray (2) / disarm (1) for each block.
I agree on both of the two I have seen in play. Twisting Tree is damn weird but can be good, while Sparkling Targe is great but runs out of actions REAL QUICK.
It is very much worth noting that activating spellstrike triggers AoO. This give the ranged characters a definite advantage. Wielding a ranged two handed weapon might keep you alive longer than holding a shield if you are taking an extra attack at the bosses highest attack multiplier every round. While, unlike DnD, not every monster or boss has it if you do try and tank against a strong boss or even a couple of average monsters that do, you could easily be rolling up a new character.
It's worth noting that, from what I've heard, AoO is fairly rare on monsters. The number i last heard was like 18 - 20% of available monsters or so. One in 5 monsters statistically has AoO.
Meaning 4 in 5 don't.
It's definitely worth keeping in mind but i don't think spellstrike provoking is the dealbreaker some make it out to be.
@@jon9828 Maybe fairly rare, but that's among all monsters. All lot of the bosses do seem to have it, and even some creatures, like some dragons go. I would actually like to see the numbers on common boss monsters at different levels.
Giving them an extra strike a round at their full attack bonus seems like a big minus. Not a deal breaker, but if I were rating sub classes, it would definitely factor in. Maybe bump all the ranged attacks up a grade? Certainly worth mentioning.
I wouldn't enjoy making a character, filling in a cool background, only to find out that I am a crit. magnet for ever boss mob because I am literal standing in front of it encouraging it to hit me.
@@waldowallace9102 Fair.
Though what is and isn't a boss monster is mostly a matter of its level compared to the party no? Meaning it's relative right?
If not, what makes a monster into a boss monster?
Having played a Twisting Tree Magus, I can confirm that it is fun, but you have to remember to change up your staff a lot, whether you're one handing or 2 handing, and whether you're in Arcane Cascade or not
For the twisting tree, I think it's main role is a more magic focused magus if you want to have some melee elements but more spellcasting. This is almost complete opposite of the iron one where it focuses more on the weapon then the spells
My dude. Why are you saying that most of the Laughing Shadow's benefits are relient on not whereing armor. There is litteraly only 5ft of movement difference between a Str Laughing shadow and a Dex laughing shadow. One is going to deal WAY more damage with their strikes.
Just started playing a Twisting Tree magus in a Blood Lords campaign. I like the versatility of the weapon changing, meaning I can sometimes get of acid splash without taking splash damage.
I play a Twisting tree in psf. And is an easy s tier for me , it's also a ton of fun and the most casty of the magus
Yay! Magus video. Love to see it, but color me biased, Magus is in my top 3 for favorite classes.
My only substantive observation is something (minor) that was left out: the Studious spells that each subclass gets. I completely understand why- it's laid out in the section for Studious Spells, so that's a layout thing; I'm not blaming NoNat for that. Given that Magi have to stretch for every spell slot they can get, though, having a few extra casts of utility magic can really help out. Plus it's a feature they all get, so it bears mentioning.
All in all, dug the video. Looking forward to playing either a Twisting Tree or Sparkling Targe magus once I scale Mt. Forever-GM.
Hey, I have a conrasu Twisting Tree magus. I really like how it plays and I'm looking forward to making melee attacks from 40' away. The other great thing is using a staff of divination as your weapon. Getting to use true strike 1 time for every odd level you have is awesome because you really want to crit with your big spells.
And it's in Strength of Thousands, so I get a free archetype's worth of extra spell slots.
Plus a a conrasu, he made his staves from his exoskeleton.
I'm playing Strength of Thousands with my Twisting Tree Ancient Elf. I took Sorcerer Dedication at level 1 and Wizard as my free Dedication at 2. So I am on my way to having 2 dedications to add spells. With a couple low level items I have 12 cantrips at level 4. So I can do every damage type with spellstrike cantrips. I am saving up for that Staff of Divination for the same reason you've mentioned. Great minds think alike I guess :)
@@daemorootg8693 It's definitely a great adventure path for character development too. During the interview I had some moments where I had the answers immediately and a few that made me think a bit.
Magus was one of my favorite classes in PF1E. I'm not a fan of them only getting 4 spell slots a day. I feel it limits it being a melee/spell caster.
Feel u….
I’m playing right now one, but we changed this part!
We use arcane as spellslot …
intelligence bonus (min 1) + 1/2 PC lvl.
Example:
Int (bonus 3) + pc lvl 5 .
3+ 2=5
5 spells a day.
And we changed spellstrike….
If I wanna deal arcane damage I hav to spend 1 arcane point…and can increase the damage by spending more arcane points
I love the Magus and I want to try my hand at all of these. A Starlit Span using a slingshot sounds flavorful.
Sustaining Steel at lv10 makes IE one of the best sustain tanks. It procs off bonus slots from rings of wizardry, endless grimoire, and multiclass casting. The lower level slots you'd save for buffs, utility, or true strike add up so if I dump my load for the day it's over 1/3 my total hp. It's not gonna tank groups like a champion but it's fantastic as a 1v1 duelist. I also dipped soulforger with the healing ability for an extra pool of regen to tap.
An NPC I run in one of my games is a STR based Laughing Shadow. Do note that they can still wear armor, and get a speed boost, it's just a smaller boost than if they had no armor.
Coming from PF1e, I practically assumed that Dex Magus was going to be the best due to the ubiquity of Dervish Dancing Magi in PF1e 😅 But good to know they aren't even the best one, I'll definitely add a Sparkling Targe to my short list of concepts to check out.
The first Magus I ever created was a Twisting Tree Magus, and I still have a soft spot for the subclass
I used a Twisting Tree Magus against my players and surprisingly did really well. I used Expansive Spellstrike to hit one PC with a strike and stacked on a Cone of Cold to get others. Then hit the druid with a Disintegrate from 30 feet away. I love the flavor of TT because it adds so much and I want to actually play one in a game as a player.
Currently playing a L6 Twisting Tree after starting out as an Inexorable Iron Magus that wielded a fauchard. It definitely feels more versatile being able to use a Magic Staff and switch grips at will. Super agree that the limitation on the conflux spell is frustrating and I might talk to my DM about allowing it to work on single targets. I don't feel like it gives too much power creep given that you still increase your MAP as normal.
You can still use it on a single target you just lose the second attack.
I did this when I needed a quick recharge.
You also have reach and if there is not two targets within 5 foot of either side of you there are a lot of ranged enemies or you are positioned badly.
Starlit Span improves the Magus's action economy. Having to move means you won't be able to recharge spellstrike that round unless you're quickened. If you don't have to move, you can recharge spellstrike and use spellstrike on every round unless you're slowed or something. If you're not playing with the free archetype rule, this is the Magus's best subclass, because you'll want to take the psychic archetype to improve the magus's damage. If you build a Starlit Span Magus properly, it might be the best archer in the game. Amped imaginary weapon and true strike push its damage through the roof.
Agreed. Magus's biggest weaknesses are it's action economy and fragility. Starlit span completely fixes this. And it's class feats being so underwhelming is almost a boon, because it means you can dip into (like you said) Psychic Dedication for Imaginary Weapon and lose, basically, *nothing*.
Saying 'all you get from Starlit Span is ranged spellstrikes. That's it.' is underselling the subclass to an almost criminal degree. In terms of raw combat power, there's an argument to be made that it's the best dex class in the game.
@@TheLandau1894 Yeah, the Starlit Span build has better DPR than any other ranged build I can think of, and allows the Magus to recharge Spellstrike without drawing opportunity attacks. And Paizo should redesign the whole class so subclasses other than Starlit Span are more attractive and the Magus feats are at least somewhat tempting to pick. The other Magus subclasses can be good if you have a party member that always quickens you, but that means that party member will be drastically less effective in combat and won't have as much fun unless he enjoys always doing the same thing in the first round of each combat, which makes these subclasses AWFUL in terms of optimizing the party's effectiveness in combat...and I can't think of anything more important than optimizing the party's effectiveness in combat.
@Nadine Markus I hold a slightly different opinion. I think all the other Magus subclasses are fine, and very balanced. The tight action economy is the cost for incredibly class features like Spellstrike.
Starlit Span is just nutty. And access to Imaginary Weapon pushes it into borderline broken territory.
@@TheLandau1894 Yeah, Imaginary Weapon is too strong on this build.
I'm playing a lvl 18 Twisting Tree Magus and I've found the secret to really pushing it is a divination staff. It doesn't need a greater or major staff even. But at my current level being able to have 9 extra casts of true strike a day is absurd. I can always reliably haste myself, run in and for 3 actions spell strike with advantage.
That's not even throwing in the Fused Staff feat that allows me to turn my staff into a d12 weapon with it's own property runes. With a +2 staff I can have access to a staff with electricity and fire runes and an axe with cold and poison runes so I have complete versatility to exploit my enemies weaknesses.
Changing from two handed to one handed grip is a free action.
I have a lvl 13 Catfolk Monk Magus (Monastic Archer, Sparkling Targe) with the fighter dedication (shieldish), then the bastion dedication. Shield cantrip, Quick shield, shield wall, aggressive block, deflect arrows, prevailing position, arrow snatching, good god this is my first pathfinder character and I love him so much. Flurry of blows into telekinetic projectile or gouging claw spell strike is the only offense you need really
Only thing laughing shadow loses by wearing armor is 5 ft speed while using arcane cascade, STR laughing shadow is waaaaay more viable than dex laughing shadow just because of the sheer amount of weapon options it gets compared to a dex based one. Also you can simply pick up alchemist dedication and feed on drakeheart mutagens and go STR with 14 dex, this gives you decent unarmored AC even when going STR without losing the 5 ft speed bonus. Another thing thats really strong about laughing shadow is that it gets shift blame as a studious spell. It is not a great spell on its own, but its a reaction enchantmen spell that you can cast on your turn without adding anything to your action economy and this is very important at high levels because of the feat Arcane Shroud. By basically attacking once, using shift blame as a reaction and using arcane shroud as your 2nd action, you will have heroism for the duration of the entire combat, need i remind you which also boosts your feint checks from distracting spellstrike.
I am also about to start the 2nd book of Fist of the Ruby Phoenix with my human sylph str based laughing shadow. Took both witch and wizard dedications with free archetype for an absurd amount of spell slots. Familiar from the witch has independent and partner in crime as familiar abilities so it can aid me for feint once per turn even without me spending an extra action. Between 2 spellcasting dedications, ring of wizardry, extra spell slots from the familiar abilities, racial flight and focus spell invisibility laughing shadow is a menace. My weapon of choice was a katana just for the aesthetic reasons but with str as the main stat of choice, i can see it getting even stronger than what i am currently playing with weapons like flickmace, pick and alike.
I think starlit span has its place mainly for dual class or as a dedication on another class that already uses ranged weapons. Being a gunslinger and being able to shoot your enemies with vampiric feast just sounds awesome to me. Or a ranger and adding telekinetic projectiles along side your arrows.
On top of that im imagining a dual class psychic magus using the "tangible dream" consious mind with the sparkling targe hybrid study. Maybe even taking the mindsmith dedication. Just completely driping with FLAVOR in my opinion.
I've played a strength based laughing shadow! I didn't really like inexorable iron so i ended up with a two handed laughing shadow character. Even with the arcane cascade bonus damage with one handed weapons, you still do more damage with a two handed weapon in the end, and a 5 foot speed bonus instead of a 10 foot speed bonus isn't really that bad. Besides that, i could use the conflux spell normally, and the only thing i couln't really use was the 4th level feat Distracting Spellstrike, which requires you to have a free hand. I ended up with a really cool character in the end, and didn't sacrifice any utility in combat!
If you're in a campaign where the GM allows Dual Classing, Laughing Shadow with Rogue is literally devastatingly high damage. Spellstrike + Sneak Attack.
Another thing about starlit span is that you do not receive the benefits of arcane cascade since arcane cascade only works on melee attacks
Uh, Laughing shadow still gets a +5 bonus to movement speed even if you are wearing armor. My Laughing shadow magus wears breastplate and does just fine. Also Laughing shadow is the only one that synergies with arcane fists, so my magus runs around punching people to death with spellstrike produce flame. Works pretty well, just ignore the slight bit of extra mobility you would have gotten for going armorless.
I really like dex monk / dex laughing shadow magus combo.
Something you failed to mention is that starlit span will never pro AoO do to spellstriking
YEEEEEEEEES! MORE MAGUS CONTENT PLEASE!
As someone looking at a sparkling targe magus, I just wish it would work with a throwing shield
Laughing shadow doesn’t have enough action economy to run/hide mid fight without falling way behind on damage.
Also can’t afford charisma desperation for feints
I had one killing stuff in my hand but he was always first to fall and is the only dead character so far
8:04 A bit confused about Laughing Shadow's first level Focus Spell. Does the existence of Dimensional Disappearence and the "You can choose not to make the strike that is normally part of Dimensional Assault" means that I can't use Dimensional Assault without attaccking?
Normally this is correct. The way it is worded, when you Dimensional Assault you teleport and strike... you can't just teleport.
@@daemorootg8693 yup, I've reread Dimensional Assault. It *specifically* requires you to teleport within striking distance of a creature, meaning it's less mobile than I remembered.
I mean you can so long as you teleport to a space with no adjacent enemies
This is why you don't grade a subclass solely by it's unique features, you end up with some very poor grading.
Sparkling Targe being S-Tier is a complete lol to me. A tank class stuck with medium armor, average armor scaling, no shield feats aside from reactive shield at lv 4 (LOL), and a class feature that provokes opportunity attacks just by using it.
Inexorable Iron and Starlight Span are much stronger when you take in the entire Magus class into consideration. Inexorable Iron has better use of spells like Enlarge, Better use of existing Magus feats like Attack of Opportunity and Spell Swipe. As for Starlight Span, talk about how much action economy is saved from Targe? How much do you think Starlight Span saves from not moving? Far more. There's also nothing stopping Starlight span from using a finesse weapon, or spell striking with things like bombs to double dip energy weaknesses.
I loved the sword saint in pathfinder 1E, does anyone know what would be the closest you can get to that kind of character in 2E'
Intro gag with an added "Release the shorts!"
I've landed myself in a Strength of Thousands run, so I've built a Desert Rat Laughing Shadow Brawling Magus.
Ayyyyye! Luigi!
Remember, starlit span doesn't require a bow, any ranged strike weapon will do even guns while eldrich archer needs a bow.
A sparkling targe orc magus with the orc superstition ancestry feat can get plus 3 to saving throws against spells at level 1. Do you want with this information
This was a GREAT Magic : The Gathering video(good job categorizing TH-cam)!!!
You could have put a call to like/subscribe/bell during the algorithm chat. It would have both been funny, and effective!
Wait for Vanaras to come out, twisting tree will be the go to sun wukong
Nice!
The strongest Magus subclass is psychic.
Was this the best intro to a video????
Yes, yes it was.
Twisting tree makes me want to build a monk with the archetype or vice versa
You just released this the day after I started playing a magus?!??!
Sorry for posting a 2nd comment in a rush but sparkling targe i believe should not be S tier just for a simple reason: action economy. Once you are out of your focus points, you can not spellstrike, raise shield and recharge consistently. Even if you cast haste on yourself to be able to move, you are able to spellstrike only once in every two turns rather than every turn, which every other subclass gets to. I guess you can always choose not to raise your shield for action economy related reasons but then whats the point of going sparkling targe if you are not gonna use your shield that often...
I would contend that action economy is the bane of all the Magus subclasses.
@@daemorootg8693 well magus sucks in terms of action economy, but sparkling targe adds another action tax, no other subclass does that
@@daemorootg8693what classes have great action economy in comparison? I'm new to pf2e and just curious
Inexorable Iron with Sentinel dedication, gets at 6th level, 3hp per turn, plus the damage reduction from spec. 6hp/round is very close to the Champions 8hp with retributive strike reaction. And the extra damage of Thunderous Strike is like a better alchemist bomb on fail. And this type of Magus, deals the most stupid damage.
Hoping Sparkling Targe carries my first Pathfinder experience. Always enjoyed caster-fighters.
Looking for help trying to build a laughing shadow magus with reanimator dedication. I want him to be a necromancer but able to fight.
Whats a good free archetype to go with a Sparkling Targe Magus?
Bastion if you really want to be defensive. Gives you another reaction so you can shield block and another option.
No factoring in the Studious spells?
Yo I have that same Ramen shirt!!!
My three daughters and I My three daughters and I. Are going to start a campaign. We’re all four of us are members of a magi strike force.
Inexorable Iron: *ESTUANS INTERIUS IRA VEHEMENTI intensifies*
Laughing Shadow: "I'm going to be the Hokage someday, believe it!"
Sparkling Targe: "SNS mains rise up!"
Starlit Span: "Listen or be shot, fail to listen and you'll be shot even harder. Starlight BREAKER!!!!!"
Twisting Tree: "You get a spellstrike! And you get a spellstrike! Everybody gets a spellstrike!"
Um actually..... yes i know... Corebook 592 says that you can use runes on spell staffs.
I know NoNat said in the beginning that it was for the algorithm, but what is the actual point of a tier list with more tiers than entries and STILL never ranking anything below B?
Lol the persona 4 music
For Al Gors Rythm!
Not interested in the magus - but if I were I would definitely explore Twisting Tree. (this comment doesn't say much - but hopefully helps the algorithm)
All praise the holy algorithm.
Am sold on Sparkling Targe. Tbh I never fancied it basically cos of its weird name 😅
Shadow can't augment its ac
Laughs in drakeheart
"The Targer"
is it really pronounced "mag-us"? i always sage "may-gus" like the long A in "mage". i suppose it doesn't matter, i've just never heard it said that way lol
Either is fine, or so I’ve heard. Personally also prefer may-gus though.
Nothing against Nonat, but am I the only who hates tier lists?
Nonat probably does them the best, but I just feel like it's a over complicated version of a "top ten" list.
commenting to appease the almighty algorithm.
algorithm, algorithm, algorithm
Shooting stars big benefits are that you can use weapon strikes for ranged spells instead of spell attack. Weapon attack rolls are much higher.
Also they have great action economy since they don't need to move around much, making it easy to spell strike every turn, which the melee ones can't often do without haste.
😊
laughing shadow literally shaco from League of legends.
Medium, the class thAt can't be small...