Hello, title. I have been playing pf2e coming on 2 years now. Unfortunately, I have never enjoyed character creation or progression in this system. I like playing with my group, but would rather never again make a decision when it comes to character options.
I am surprised because it seems like there are very few written resources or videos which just make a build with feats/spells chosen, retraining recommendations by level, etc. Any recommendations?
Hmmm… I see. Unfortunately it’s not that simple to give a “library” because unlike other games, there are very few clear choices in PF2e characters. Most of the time, the thing that has the biggest impact on what choices you should make is the makeup of your party, the specific adventure you are playing, and the character concept you are trying to realize. It’s hard to do the same sort of “white room” theorycrafting that you see in games like D&D 5e for example.
I’m surprised you feel useless though. As long as you make some basic decisions in character creation like maxing out your primary stat and picking one or two actions you plan to do during combat, you should be okay. Pathfinder is tough but it doesn’t really punish bad choices in character creation. Can you maybe give an example of an encounter where you didn’t feel like you contributed a lot (and why you felt that way)?
I’ll use our Strength of Thousands game as the example. We are level 8, and our party consists of a wizard, a witch, a ranger, and an oracle (me). I have her built as a support character because that made sense with the party comp and oracular curse (cosmos).
Needle darts and electric arc are my two reliable damage cantrips, but they are outperformed by the other caster’s spells and the ranger’s weapon attacks. My noteworthy leveled damage spells are inner radiance torrent (signature) and Ymeri’s mark, but their damage never seems worth the cost when compared to supporting my allies. Particularly because my best damage is less than other players’ average.
Most of my turns usually focus on buffing and debuffing, or healing when necessary. Some frequent options off the top of my head are:
*Protective Ward
*Fear (+3)
*Bon mot
*Heal (Signature)
Often I try to apply a status only to learn the target already has a status so mine doesn’t matter. I guess it’s just frustrating because no matter what niche I try to occupy in the party, I’m always outperformed by someone else.
This was also the case with 2 different druids I’ve made and a barbarian in other campaigns.