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Some levels in Eldrich Archer from Magus line makes Linzi easier to fight with. Hard to get it wrong with using a bunch of passives, toggles, and one active switch then auto attacking. With 6 characters to manage and they are all on their own different timers for actions, some people in the back doing damage without having to be microed provides ease of life. Bard level powers fall off dramatically once you get the good stuff early on, so multiclassing 10 or more levels out of 20, outside the bard class, might be viable. It makes Linzi a lot more flexible for multiclass than other companions, although she is limited by Charisma. There is a Charisma Magus however, plus others. Eldritch Knight is a little bit... eh too high an investment, 10 levels for the good stuff, for a non damage caster or non melee. Her stats aren't geared for frontline combat, even with front line classes.
Why bow? She has negative str modifier, which reduces her damage with bows. She is also small, which further reduces the damage dice for her weapons. I would suggest going light/heavy xbow as you don't loose damage that way. As for multiclassing, I would suggest Eldrich Knight, which will boost her BAB making her able to hit things
The reason for bows is quite simple. The devs hate crossbow. Your never going to find a magical one. There is 1 magical light crossbow right at the start. After that you will never find another one. You will however find a lot of magical long and shortbows.
Can't you buy a decent Crossbow that does extra damage? I am sure you can buy at least ONE at Oleg's that does +1d6 FIRE damage. That's the one I bought and gave to Linzi. Not a TON of damage, sure, but every bit helps. And her BAB don't matter as much when she uses her song to buff herself and the whole team. Just don't let her think she is a meleer...she'll get CRUSHED.
Hey, im trying to retune my linzy according to this build, shes almost lvl 6. Since your guides don't really show the exact progression of skills etc, when am i supposed to be able to train Manyshot/Improved Crit? Seems i need a BAB of 6 / 8 for those skills. How/When do i reach that? Thx in advance
I think you should look at a couple FEATS; Augment Summoning and Superior Summoning (I think that is what they are called). The first is needed for the second, and the first requires Spell Focus Conjuration. If you take Linzi as a Summoner (granted, not my first choice), then these three FEATs are pretty decent for her most of her Monster summons (except the Level 1 Summon Monster I and any of the Summon Elemental spells, which would only benefit from Augment Summoning).
Well; Summoning as a Bard, with about two spell levels behind a full caster, is really rather ... meh. ;) It is Enchantments where you want to be. Also, the guide forgets about her best buff spell: Good Hope, at level 3 , which is Heroism for the whole party, albeit only for 10+ minutes, instead of for hours.But, you will likely have to rest after maximum two applications of that spell anyways. ;) Also, picking Freebooter is very much not advisable, as Bards already need every spell level they can possibly scratch.
I didn't think spell progression mattered for your summons. There's no DC associated with your summoned critters, is there? I mean, you can't get summons past level 6, so there is that I suppose, but they should be just as good as anyone else's summons. Reason I'd pick at least a few summons include: something to take the Alpha strike of the first, big attack; something to distract or pin down a caster type while my team rushes the mob; something to set up Flanking; something that is protected from a specific damage type (I think Elementals have innate energy resistance of one damage type, yes?); something to be my Meat-shield for us squishies in the back ranks for when my meleers are too far away from me to get the "surprise" enemy coming up from the back. I would assume most of my summons would get CRUSHED very quickly, but again, who cares that the summons took the poison/disease/fatal blow? I agree on Good Hope. Never used it yet but I plan on it. I am starting to rethink my love/hate relationship of Bard Enchantments though. I think there are definitely some utility there, I just hate the team Non-Friendly versions of spells. Hate when my team gets enchanted by my own party members.
@@brothermutant7370 What I meant is not DC for summons, but just that they come far later than for full casters, and that they cap at a crappy level 6. ;) They can only serve as one-shotable short-term fodder; for emergencies maybe. Would not be worth a valuable slot for me, when any Druid, Cleric, or Wizard could do far better. - Yeah, I also have an issue with stuff like e.g. Mind Fog ( lowers Will saves tremendously - especially for your own party :P) , and Enchantments in general are also obviously rather situational; - the targets in Kingmaker are, due to partly ridiculous enemy stats, somewhat few and far between. ;)
@Badbentham I thought Mind Fog was teammate friendly? I'll have to check that again. Thanks for the info. Yeah, while Enchantments are what I would focus on for a Bard if it was my MAIN character, I really feel the Enchantment spells need a bit of help. I even put a vid together on it. Check it out and tell me which spells you like/don't like.
@@brothermutant7370 Yeah, the descriptor to Mind Fog said "Enemies" when I scienced it with my first character, a Thassilonian Enchantress, who encountered some major bugs in Chapter 4. ;) - However, the graphics to the spell shows Friend and Foe; and your party will have to make the save: Making the spell only viable when facing no casters. In general, mind control CC is king in cRPGs; e.g. Pillars of Eternity; something the guys from Owlcat failed to fully appreciate, and made it so that only few NPCs have beatable saves;- with greater spell focus and full progression as a wizard, that is. Raging Barbarians for instance do not belong to them... - Yet another reason why I have now alot of fun as an Aldori Dex tank. :P - Still, it is about the best bet for a focus on a Bard in general; especially if one is a peacefully minded as Linzi, with virtually no significant attack to boot.
Freebooter combo? An interesting idea. I never really know what to do with pure bards in these games since most other roles are filled and they offer little outside of support.
I dunno if Freebooter is the right way to go with this one... delaying spell progression just doesn't seem worth it. I tried it - she still doesn't hit very hard and she still missing with her bow - seems like a waste of 2 levels. I'd rather be using her for songs and spells. Light crossbow is good enough.
Hey this comment is pretty old but just to say to anyone who might look here, the spell progression delay is a bit annoying and takes a while to payoff, but when it does it's worth it, linzi legit does a lot of damage while buffing like crazy, going full bard is always good but i recommend trying out this build as well
I would multi class Linzi with 1 lvl of Alchemist (vivisectionist) or rogue for sneak attack and one lvl of sorcerer for 0 lvl spells and take accomplished sneak attacker. It gives you 1d3 acid, electricity, cold or 1d6 vs undead + 2d6 sneak attack (same damage type) as a touch attack(only dex bonus to Armor class) You can also cast sense vitals for extra damage. Edit: Corrected error, thanks to Brother Mutant73
Touch Attacks should get Dex bonuses to AC, the target shouldn't get actual Shield or Armor AC though, which is a HUGE dip in most target's total AC. Doesn't Linzi get access to the Sense Vitals spell? I'd use that for every serious fight, plus give her a decent bow/crossbow with a couple of FEATs they mention in this vid to up her usefulness in combat (besides buffing the team I mean).
Its all good. I like what you did with Vivi, but you should also mention how badass the self buff is: Mutagen will buff her Dex, Str or Con for at least 10 minutes for free. I wonder if that effect can be dispelled though? I wouldn't think so as its not a spell, but an ability, but who knows.
Pretty sure most of this is personal choice but I chose to do it immediately after level 1 to get both levels quickly as later experience levels take longer to attain.
Late to answer but the reason is that bows have no reload time (it's a free action essentially) which allows for multiple shots in a round. Light cross bows CAN get to the same place but it takes a couple of feats to get there, so feats like manyshot and rapid shot don't work with crossbows.
It is. Still buggy, but they are putting out a HUGE patch in 2-3 weeks which should fix a bunch of later content. Honestly, you should be reasonably fine playing it for 40-80 hours of playtime without even seeing any game-breaking bugs.
Depends on your taste tbh. It is very linear. One could wish for some better option to customizing the party and NPC's without having to use cheats for the 40k+ gold.
Can't you just power-level them like I do my main character? Get your character's to Oleg's without leveling your MAIN toon up, sell everything after the outpost fights, then buy the team you want. Problem I have is not the gold, its the fact my MERCs only get 20 Attribute points to spend, instead of 25 like me. I can work around it, but it really makes for a sub-par team (unless you just make them all Assimars, lol).
@@brothermutant7370 the features of the game looks good to me. Haven't seen it though. If you would rate Pillars of Eternity 5/10 as basis. How much would you rate Pathfinder?
Well, all I can say is...I have both games. Played Pillars of Eternity 2 for like 20 hours. I've played Pathfinder: Kingmaker for like 100! I really like the way Pathfinder plays and the spells are D&D so they feel familiar, what with me liking Neverwinter Nights and Neverwinter nights 2. Take a look at my channel if you want to see a couple of builds I like. But after they release the newest version of the game (mostly bug fixes), I think I'd rate the game around an 8 to a 9 at least.
⚔️ The written version: fextralife.com/pathfinder-kingmaker-builds-linzi-the-bard/
⚔️ Pathfinder Kingmaker Wiki: pathfinderkingmaker.wiki.fextralife.com/Pathfinder:+Kingmaker+Wiki
💸 Sponsor us for more great content! goo.gl/yyPtda
💖 Become a Fextralife VIP fextralife.com/Be-a-vip/
Some levels in Eldrich Archer from Magus line makes Linzi easier to fight with. Hard to get it wrong with using a bunch of passives, toggles, and one active switch then auto attacking. With 6 characters to manage and they are all on their own different timers for actions, some people in the back doing damage without having to be microed provides ease of life. Bard level powers fall off dramatically once you get the good stuff early on, so multiclassing 10 or more levels out of 20, outside the bard class, might be viable. It makes Linzi a lot more flexible for multiclass than other companions, although she is limited by Charisma. There is a Charisma Magus however, plus others.
Eldritch Knight is a little bit... eh too high an investment, 10 levels for the good stuff, for a non damage caster or non melee. Her stats aren't geared for frontline combat, even with front line classes.
Why bow? She has negative str modifier, which reduces her damage with bows. She is also small, which further reduces the damage dice for her weapons. I would suggest going light/heavy xbow as you don't loose damage that way.
As for multiclassing, I would suggest Eldrich Knight, which will boost her BAB making her able to hit things
The reason for bows is quite simple. The devs hate crossbow. Your never going to find a magical one. There is 1 magical light crossbow right at the start. After that you will never find another one. You will however find a lot of magical long and shortbows.
Can't you buy a decent Crossbow that does extra damage? I am sure you can buy at least ONE at Oleg's that does +1d6 FIRE damage. That's the one I bought and gave to Linzi. Not a TON of damage, sure, but every bit helps. And her BAB don't matter as much when she uses her song to buff herself and the whole team. Just don't let her think she is a meleer...she'll get CRUSHED.
There are a lot of equipment that can buff her strength. You actually get up to +6 strength items around mid game.
that aren't actually true Gharn Fo - you can find +5 heavy crossbow
I dont think that she will get negatv Damage with normal Bows.. that is olny with composit..
Hey, im trying to retune my linzy according to this build, shes almost lvl 6. Since your guides don't really show the exact progression of skills etc, when am i supposed to be able to train Manyshot/Improved Crit? Seems i need a BAB of 6 / 8 for those skills. How/When do i reach that? Thx in advance
When should you give here the freebooter levels after level 1 of Bard or later??
Thank you for this guide!
I think you should look at a couple FEATS; Augment Summoning and Superior Summoning (I think that is what they are called). The first is needed for the second, and the first requires Spell Focus Conjuration. If you take Linzi as a Summoner (granted, not my first choice), then these three FEATs are pretty decent for her most of her Monster summons (except the Level 1 Summon Monster I and any of the Summon Elemental spells, which would only benefit from Augment Summoning).
Well; Summoning as a Bard, with about two spell levels behind a full caster, is really rather ... meh. ;) It is Enchantments where you want to be. Also, the guide forgets about her best buff spell: Good Hope, at level 3 , which is Heroism for the whole party, albeit only for 10+ minutes, instead of for hours.But, you will likely have to rest after maximum two applications of that spell anyways. ;) Also, picking Freebooter is very much not advisable, as Bards already need every spell level they can possibly scratch.
I didn't think spell progression mattered for your summons. There's no DC associated with your summoned critters, is there? I mean, you can't get summons past level 6, so there is that I suppose, but they should be just as good as anyone else's summons.
Reason I'd pick at least a few summons include: something to take the Alpha strike of the first, big attack; something to distract or pin down a caster type while my team rushes the mob; something to set up Flanking; something that is protected from a specific damage type (I think Elementals have innate energy resistance of one damage type, yes?); something to be my Meat-shield for us squishies in the back ranks for when my meleers are too far away from me to get the "surprise" enemy coming up from the back.
I would assume most of my summons would get CRUSHED very quickly, but again, who cares that the summons took the poison/disease/fatal blow?
I agree on Good Hope. Never used it yet but I plan on it. I am starting to rethink my love/hate relationship of Bard Enchantments though. I think there are definitely some utility there, I just hate the team Non-Friendly versions of spells. Hate when my team gets enchanted by my own party members.
@@brothermutant7370 What I meant is not DC for summons, but just that they come far later than for full casters, and that they cap at a crappy level 6. ;) They can only serve as one-shotable short-term fodder; for emergencies maybe. Would not be worth a valuable slot for me, when any Druid, Cleric, or Wizard could do far better. - Yeah, I also have an issue with stuff like e.g. Mind Fog ( lowers Will saves tremendously - especially for your own party :P) , and Enchantments in general are also obviously rather situational; - the targets in Kingmaker are, due to partly ridiculous enemy stats, somewhat few and far between. ;)
@Badbentham I thought Mind Fog was teammate friendly? I'll have to check that again. Thanks for the info.
Yeah, while Enchantments are what I would focus on for a Bard if it was my MAIN character, I really feel the Enchantment spells need a bit of help. I even put a vid together on it. Check it out and tell me which spells you like/don't like.
@@brothermutant7370 Yeah, the descriptor to Mind Fog said "Enemies" when I scienced it with my first character, a Thassilonian Enchantress, who encountered some major bugs in Chapter 4. ;) - However, the graphics to the spell shows Friend and Foe; and your party will have to make the save: Making the spell only viable when facing no casters. In general, mind control CC is king in cRPGs; e.g. Pillars of Eternity; something the guys from Owlcat failed to fully appreciate, and made it so that only few NPCs have beatable saves;- with greater spell focus and full progression as a wizard, that is. Raging Barbarians for instance do not belong to them... -
Yet another reason why I have now alot of fun as an Aldori Dex tank. :P
- Still, it is about the best bet for a focus on a Bard in general; especially if one is a peacefully minded as Linzi, with virtually no significant attack to boot.
Freebooter combo? An interesting idea. I never really know what to do with pure bards in these games since most other roles are filled and they offer little outside of support.
I dunno if Freebooter is the right way to go with this one... delaying spell progression just doesn't seem worth it. I tried it - she still doesn't hit very hard and she still missing with her bow - seems like a waste of 2 levels. I'd rather be using her for songs and spells. Light crossbow is good enough.
Hey this comment is pretty old but just to say to anyone who might look here, the spell progression delay is a bit annoying and takes a while to payoff, but when it does it's worth it, linzi legit does a lot of damage while buffing like crazy, going full bard is always good but i recommend trying out this build as well
I would multi class Linzi with 1 lvl of Alchemist (vivisectionist) or rogue for sneak attack and one lvl of sorcerer for 0 lvl spells and take accomplished sneak attacker. It gives you 1d3 acid, electricity, cold or 1d6 vs undead + 2d6 sneak attack (same damage type) as a touch attack(only dex bonus to Armor class)
You can also cast sense vitals for extra damage.
Edit: Corrected error, thanks to Brother Mutant73
Touch Attacks should get Dex bonuses to AC, the target shouldn't get actual Shield or Armor AC though, which is a HUGE dip in most target's total AC. Doesn't Linzi get access to the Sense Vitals spell? I'd use that for every serious fight, plus give her a decent bow/crossbow with a couple of FEATs they mention in this vid to up her usefulness in combat (besides buffing the team I mean).
@@brothermutant7370 Right ! I wrote no dex instead of only dex ... My bad
Its all good. I like what you did with Vivi, but you should also mention how badass the self buff is: Mutagen will buff her Dex, Str or Con for at least 10 minutes for free. I wonder if that effect can be dispelled though? I wouldn't think so as its not a spell, but an ability, but who knows.
@@brothermutant7370 Thank you!. i don't know if it can be dispelled, but it does stack with Belt boosts.
Grease OP
I just beated Curse rotted greatwood in Dark souls 3 with your help thank a lot I liked and subscribed :)
i cant give linzi the longbow weapon focus... not even the shortbow... why?
because of weapon specialisation, bow are Martial
@@jnwarnotte2479 ty very much =)
at what level do you choose freebooter ranger?
Pretty sure most of this is personal choice but I chose to do it immediately after level 1 to get both levels quickly as later experience levels take longer to attain.
heeyyy im late to the party.. Noob question : why longbow is better that heavy crossbow for linzi?
I don't know
Because of the weight, bows are much lighter than crosbow, allowing to place all the necessary items leaving it with the light load
Late to answer but the reason is that bows have no reload time (it's a free action essentially) which allows for multiple shots in a round. Light cross bows CAN get to the same place but it takes a couple of feats to get there, so feats like manyshot and rapid shot don't work with crossbows.
Is this game good?
It is. Still buggy, but they are putting out a HUGE patch in 2-3 weeks which should fix a bunch of later content. Honestly, you should be reasonably fine playing it for 40-80 hours of playtime without even seeing any game-breaking bugs.
Depends on your taste tbh. It is very linear. One could wish for some better option to customizing the party and NPC's without having to use cheats for the 40k+ gold.
Can't you just power-level them like I do my main character? Get your character's to Oleg's without leveling your MAIN toon up, sell everything after the outpost fights, then buy the team you want. Problem I have is not the gold, its the fact my MERCs only get 20 Attribute points to spend, instead of 25 like me. I can work around it, but it really makes for a sub-par team (unless you just make them all Assimars, lol).
@@brothermutant7370 the features of the game looks good to me. Haven't seen it though.
If you would rate Pillars of Eternity 5/10 as basis.
How much would you rate Pathfinder?
Well, all I can say is...I have both games. Played Pillars of Eternity 2 for like 20 hours. I've played Pathfinder: Kingmaker for like 100! I really like the way Pathfinder plays and the spells are D&D so they feel familiar, what with me liking Neverwinter Nights and Neverwinter nights 2. Take a look at my channel if you want to see a couple of builds I like. But after they release the newest version of the game (mostly bug fixes), I think I'd rate the game around an 8 to a 9 at least.