Pathfinder: WotR - Ranking 206 Classes Part 31: Shifter

greetings everyone hope all of you are having an absolutely fantastic day the last of the sikorians DLC is finally here and with that we have the brand new class shifter I know many of you have been excited to hear about the mechanics so I'm happy to add it into our overall class rankings before we get into that let me remind you that if I reference mechanics from another Base Class that you are unfamiliar with there is a link in the description to my 25 Base Class mechanics video that will provide more information also in case you were curious about my thoughts on other classes in the game there is a link to my list of all 199 classes subclasses and Prestige classes and Pathfinder wrath to the righteous starting at the top of course the base class is shifter they are masters of the wild but unlike Druids who get their power from the natural world a shifter focus is within the game Mastery over their forms the class has a high base attack bonus and is completely unable to cast spells it's class skills are Athletics Mobility stealth Lord nature and perception shifters come with Proficiency in all simple weapons light armor medium armor and shields except for Tower Shields to select this class you must have a neutral alignment to be clear that does not mean you have to be true neutral you can still choose lawful neutral or chaotic neutral but you cannot for example choose chaotic good shifters automatically gain shifter claws which allows you as a swift action to use claws on both hands as primary natural weapons that deal 1d4 points of piercing and slashing damage or 1v3 points of damage if you are small this damage increases until Level 13 where you deal one to ten points of damage or 1d8 if small these weapons are available both in your natural form and when you use an aspect's major form while morphed into a major form you could choose to use the base damage from your claws or the damage from that phone's primary natural attacks at level 17 the critical multiplier for your claws increases to 3 which could potentially be a massive damage boost at level 3 your claws bypass cold iron magic and silver damage resistance this bypass happens at a much faster rate compared to a class like monk whose fists cannot bypass silver until Level 7. it also means you can delay or perhaps completely ignore the Mythic ability brutality incarnate which makes your natural attacks ignore all damage reduction the only caveat to this is shifter claws are not able to bypass adamantine and flat damage reduction until Level 19. in comparison Monk Is the same Dr bypass at level 16. so technically this saves you a Mythic ability but there might be one or two levels where your attacks are not doing as much damage as they should if you use dexterity attack you might want to consider the new feat shifter's Edge if you have weapon finessing use your dexterity bonus for Attack rules along with the strength bonus for damage rolls then this fee will add half your shifter level to the damage you also might want to consider the new feat raking claws which will be available once your base attack bonus hits 8 when dealing piercing or slashing damage with a weapon your opponent will take 1d6 points of bleed damage at the start of their turn every round long term the damage is minimal so I wouldn't take this but it's something to consider shifters also automatically gain shifter aspect which lets you as a swift action take on the minor form of a creature some of these effects are very powerful such as the mammoth which gives you an inherent plus six bonus to strength the spider can give you a Dodge bonus of up to plus 6 to AC until Level 9 you can only have one minor form active at a time but then that number will increase it to level 20 when you can have all five of your minor forms active at one time this can be done for a number of minutes per day equal to 3 plus your shifter level the extended aspects feed lets you add your wisdom modifier to the number of minutes per day you can use this ability at level 4 you get the ability with the standard action to take on an aspect's major form a number of times per day equal to your shifter level plus your wisdom modifier at level 20 you can use both your minor and major aspects at will this form will last for one hour or if you have the master shapeshifter Mythic ability the chains will be permanent major forms gives you additional natural attacks and abilities such as the spider which gets the very useful trimmer sensibility or the Tiger which gets a grabber and possibility to use against enemies Feats that interact with wild shapes such as natural spell will work for your major forms as well you also get access to the shifter's rush feet which allows you once per round as a free action to activate your major form when charging or moving more than 10 feet if you have a base attack bonus of 6 and have a wisdom score of at least 19 you can select the energized wild-shaped feet which will provide a small amount of damage and resistance of one energy type with the same wisdom score but a base attack bonus of 9 you can select frightful shape which whenever you succeed on an attack forces enemies within 30 feet to pass a will save enemies who fail to save that have fewer HD than you become shaken they will become frightened if they have equal to or less than 4 HD obviously this feat is significantly cheaper than going the Dreadful Carnage route so it's something to consider even though it's not quite as useful there are 10 different creatures to choose from and they all have different minor and major mechanics so I won't review them here but I will release a video doing a detailed walkthrough of all the different options bottom line the aspect system is great stuff and will undoubtedly make you feel powerful at level 2 you get defensive instinct which adds your wisdom modifier to your armor class and combat maneuver defense as long as you are unarmored not using a shield and conscious if you are wearing non-metal armor then this bonus is cut in half this feature also grants a bonus of up to plus 5 to the shifter's armor class on top of the wisdom bonus you cannot stack this ability with the Monk's wisdom AC bonus obviously this class is meant for you to be upfront in the thick of things so the bonus is very helpful and wisdom is a useful stat to stack high at level 2 a shifter is also able to use their class level as a bonus on Lord nature checks at level 3 shifters can ignore movement penalties caused by difficult terrain they are immune to the entangled condition and they gain a plus two bonus to AC against a tax of opportunity and it means using entanglements or difficult terrain against you is not particularly common but immunities are always nice to have and the AC bonus might be useful to be lined towards a soft target at level 6 you can shifter's Fury which allows you to make a full attack with one natural weapon as opposed to using all of your available natural weapons this is very powerful because most builds do not have room for you to get weapon focused and improve critical for multiple weapon types your major forms get some combination of bite claw hoof and Gore attacks but you won't be competent with all of them this ability lets you hone in on what you are best at it's also worth noting that at level 6 you can select the new feat shifter's multi-attack which lets your secondary attacks from natural weapons take a negative 2 penalty as opposed to a negative five penalty this will help you connect with multiple attacks in one round overall I rank this class in S Plus My Level 20 character who uses the bare major form activates five minor aspects and has taken the master shapeshifter Mythic ability gets a plus 14 bonus to strength plus a to dexterity plus 10 Constitution and plus 13 to AC he also automatically receives the awesome blow feet gets a plus six damage bonus to all natural attacks and is critical multiplier for claw attacks is increased by one that's one possible combination out of many different options and it is absolutely bananas the major forms are very interesting and having five forms at your disposal so you can switch things up at will makes this class even more appealing shifter is insanely powerful and I think it's hard to argue that it's not an S level class the first archetype on the list is child of the Manticore you lose access to shifter claws along with major and minor forms but they are direct alternative mechanics that are provided at level one you get gross bikes which allows you to make a natural throwing Rings Attack this attack progresses in damage and damage reduction at the exact same rate as your shifter claws would so you don't technically lose anything it just allows you to attack from range you also automatically gain Manticore aspect which provides bonuses the way minor forms do as a shifter by level 20 you get a plus 8 inherence bonus to strength and dexterity your first attack in each round throws four spikes instead of one and you can use your minor and major form at will the bonus is to strength and dexterity are larger than what you can get from shift or minor forms and obviously four types of one is incredibly powerful so this is very nice to have at level 4 you gain Manticore shape which essentially is your major form by level 20 this form provides a plus 10 foot speed bonus the scent ability within 30 feet four natural range attacks that do 1d6 damage immunity to ground-based effects a plus 4 bonus on damage rolls with natural attacks and the improved natural attack ability with your Spike attack which will increase his damage obviously most of that is great stuff you can use this ability a number of times per day equal to your shifter level plus your wisdom modifier unfortunately that one minute duration you see in the tool tip is not a typo for whatever reason a shifter's major form lasts one hour whereas the Manticore shape only lasts a minute unless you take the master shapeshifter feed obviously that makes this ability significantly less useful until Mythic level 1 which is still one to two levels away when you pick this up overall I give this class in a plus it lacks a lot of the versatility shifter provides but for the play style you are obviously meant to use it's clearly very effective and being able to transform into a manticore at will is super cool next on the list is Dragonborn shifter you lose access to minor and major forms but they are replaced with an alternative mechanic at level 1 you get draconic aspect selection which as a swift action lets you select a dragon type which will provide an elemental resistance and a breath attack that does 1d6 points of Elemental damage per shifter level in a 30 foot cone enemies can pass a reflex safe to take half damage when you resist damage of the type selected you will also heal an equal amount of hit points at level 20 your spell resistance will increase up to 10 plus your shifter level your alignment determines what type of dragon you have access to is all of this cool sure yeah it's not terrible does it make up for losing a plus six inherent bonus to strength dexterity and Constitution along with other minor form bonuses I don't think it does at all at level 9 you get worm shifter which is essentially your major form by level 14 this ability will function like Dragon kind 2 giving you a plus six size bonus to strength a plus four size bonus to Constitution a plus six form natural armor bonus to AC immunity to difficult terrain a breath weapon that does 88 points of damage several natural attacks and your movement speed is increased by 10 feet size bonuses do not stack with what you get from the legendary proportion spell which all Frontline Fighters should be using and therefore those bonuses are significantly less useful than the polymorph bonuses that shifter provides at level 20 you become immune to sleep and paralysis effects and you can shift into a dragon at will overall I give this class A C you lose some pretty amazing shifter mechanics in exchange for features that aren't terrible but don't really measure up to what you are letting go of next up we have faith form shifter you lose access to major and minor forms but again alternative mechanics are provided at level 1 you get Fae aspect which allows you as a swift action to take on fade traits by level 20 you will have a plus 6 inherent bonus on saving throws against mind-effecting effects damage resistance 10 against attacks from all sources except for cold iron spell resistance 10 plus your shifter level and concealment which provides a 20 Miss chance in addition as you level up you'll be able to choose three shifter minor forms and these bonuses will stack on top of what they aspect provides obviously all of this is very nice you can maintain this form for a number of minutes equal to three plus your shifter level at level four you can shift it to an ankle which is essentially this class's major form by level 20 this form will provide a 20 foot speed bonus immunity to ground-based effects several natural attacks sneak attacks that use your shifter level as your Rogue level to determine damage evasion and two Rogue talents like Manticore this ability to last for one minute but it can become permanent with the master shapeshifter Mythic ability overall I give this class an S the form versatility of shifter is still missed but getting sneak attacks on a high base attack bonus character who also has permanent concealment is bananas the spell resistance and resistance to mind affecting effects also obviously doesn't hurt either next on the list is fiend flesh shifter once again you lose access to major and minor forms but they are replaced with alternative mechanics you also lose defensive instinct which definitely makes your character less tanky in exchange you get infernal claws which allows your shifter claws to automatically bypass the damage reduction of any evil Outsiders as mentioned before shifter gets a lot of Jr bypass early but this is still very nice to have especially at those higher levels where you would usually be waiting for the adamantium bypass you also automatically get fiendish aspect which allows you as a swift action to change it to a form that by level 20 will grant you a Gore attack immunity to ground-based effects immunity to electricity and fire a plus four inherent bonus on reflex saving throws spell resistance 15 plus your shifter level and damage resistance against attacks from all sources except good you can maintain this shape for a number of minutes per day equal to three plus your shifter level nice stuff but definitely nowhere near as good as what minor forms from shifter provides at level 2 you get fiendish resistance which provides a bonus of up to plus five to AC along with up to resistance 25 to electricity and fire damage you should have a character who is constantly providing protection spells against elements so I think losing the wisdom bonus to AC is overall a downgrade at level 9 you get generic fiend which will provide additional bonuses to your aspect based on one of three abilities you select by level 14 Damon will provide a plus for inherent bonus to Constitution acid resistance and Immunity to disease demon will provide a plus for inherent bonus to strength cold resistance and it will increase the damage die of all natural attacks by one category finally devil will provide a plus 4 inherent bonus to dexterity a plus for Dodge bonus to AC a plus 4 bonus to reflex saving throws and Immunity to blindness at level 20 you can assume these minor forms at will overall I give this class A B all of this is solid but I don't think the mechanics match up well against what major amount of forms from chifter provide you the next archetype is Rage shaper in addition to the neutral alignments you could choose as a shifter rage Shapers can also select chaotic good or chaotic evil you lose access to shifter claws major and minor forms but you receive alternative Mechanics for all of them you also lose defensive instinct which again makes you less tanky at level 1 you get terrible slam which funds is exactly the same as shifter claws except your natural weapons are treated as slam attacks and you get increased damage against constructs constructs are not very common in this game so the extra damage doesn't really help you much but you are not losing anything either you also gain devastating form which allows you as a with action to enter a state similar to a barbarian's rage for one minute when in this state you gain the benefits of Barbarians rage increased by one size category and you get to use a ground slam attack that does 1d6 points of bludgeoning damage per shifter level plus 1v6 points of bludgeoning damage for every enemy hit by this ability to All Enemies within 20 feet and it knocks them prone a reflex save halves the damage and negates the prone effect obviously this is an extremely powerful attack but again you are limited to only using it once every time you rage by level 20 this form increases You by two size categories your rage is treated as greater Rage which increases the bonuses you get and you get a plus four racial bonus to strength the damage to have your ground slam attack increases to d10 and you get improved natural attack for your slam attack which will increase the damage once this form ends you you become fatigued for five rounds and cannot enter the form during this period you can use this form a number of times per day equal to your shifter level unless you have the Limitless rage Mythic ability which removes this restriction at level 2 you get invulnerable defenses which while in your devastating form grants a natural armor bonus about the Plus for the AC and a flat damage resistance bonus of 10. this is pretty clearly inferior to what shifters get overall I give this class A B plus part of that rating is thematic since this is pretty clearly a perfect option to play as the Hulk outside of that I think the rage components are very limiting compared to your other options quick note before we review wild Effigy if you enjoyed this video I would appreciate you hitting the like button this information lets me know which videos a community is enjoying if you want to support this kind of content please consider becoming a member of the channel I really appreciate all of the support last on the list is wild Effigy you lose defensive Instinct and track but they are both both replace What alternative mechanics at level 2 you get armor plating which provides damage resistance in flat where n is your shifter level I don't particularly value Lord nature as a skill so I think this is a beneficial trade-off in 20 damage resistance against all weapon sources is nothing to sneeze at at level 4 you get heart of Earth which provides a chance of up to 75 percent for you to ignore critical hit and precision damage while also making you immune to bleed effects stacking AC is a superior defensive tactic than getting immunity to Critical Hits and sneak attacks so I consider this to be a downgrade from what shifter provides at level 6 Stone claw strike will allow you as a swift action in one minute increments to turn your claws into adamantine allowing them to ignore damage resistance equal to your level overall I ranked this class to C because I don't see a reason to take it the damage resistance and damage resistance bypass is not worth losing the AC bonus or the ability to convert your wisdom bonus into additional AC that completes my ranking of shifter and all of its archetypes to recap our rank shifter S Plus child of the Manticore a plus Dragon Blood shifter C freeform shifter s Fame flash shifter B raid shaper B plus and while effigyc hope all of you enjoyed this video take care

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Length: 20min 20sec (1220 seconds)

Published: Tue Mar 07 2023