❌ You lose Canny Defense (INT to AC). Wear robes or bracers. ❌ Not using Spell Combat. You can cast Shocking Grasp AND full attack. Do it every round. ❌ Taking Power Attack. Your damage comes from crits and spell dice, not STR. ❌ Ignoring metamagic. Intensified + Empowered + Maximized turns a level 1 spell into a nuke. ❌ Picking a 20/x2 weapon. Scimitar or dueling sword only. No rapiers (bad uniques).
Sword Saint archetype specifics:
| Weapon | Why Pick It? | Verdict | |--------|--------------|---------| | | Best overall. Good crit range (18-20), one-handed, works with Slashing Grace . | S-Tier | | Scimitar | 18-20 crit range. Lower base damage. | A-Tier | | Estoc | 18-20 crit range, good damage. Rare drops. | A-Tier | | Falchion | 18-20, but 2-handed. Less AC (no spell combat). | B-Tier | | Bastard Sword | 19-20 base. Works, but worse crits. | C-Tier | pathfinder kingmaker magus sword saint guide