Pathfinder 2E Pace of fighting

[Nilbog]

We find it takes marginally less per combat than 5e, but there isn't much in it. I will caveat this by saying we have been playing 5e since day one and PF2 for about 6 months, so we aren't anywhere near as familiar with the rules as we are with 5e.

 

[zztong]

@Mistborn, I hope that cleared things up

My guess is it is the players. We had players would could play pretty quickly and those that could not. We're playing a another game now with fewer options and that seems to be faster for them.

 

[Retreater]

We've gotten to level 8 in Pathfinder 2e. Here are my impressions.
Combat is slower in PF2 than 5e.
Unless you're dealing with newbies who don't know what they're doing in 5e and veteran players in PF2.
But with the player experience being equal, 5e will run much faster - but probably will also be less tactical and interesting.

 

[FrozenNorth]

I think you are really asking whether combat feels like a slog or not. If the combat is fun, it doesn’t feel like a slog even if numerically it takes more time.

I can definitely see PF2 combat with 4 characters being really fun. We played with 6 players, over VTT, with no automation and several players who didn’t grasp the rules. Each round took 30 min at low level.

 

[nevin]

Really? I'm quite surprised to hear that given how the new iteration of Pathfinder has effectively removed save or die, and even the more punishing save or suck effects, from the game
they took away magical Save or die and replaced it with really swingy martial damage. So when it swings the wrong way you just die no save.

 

[Green Onceler]

Is that an improvement?

 

[CapnZapp]

Playing a warrior in PF2 feels awesome and deadly, and you got all sorts of ways to spend your three actions, so that's good.

 

[nevin]

Is that an improvement?

not in my book. they just replaced what they called over powered magic with random luck. Works the same though.

 

[Celtavian]

not in my book. they just replaced what they called over powered magic with random luck. Works the same though.

Not sure what you mean by this. PF2 combat is fast and furious, like 5E. Lots of damage both by the players and by the monsters accelerating the combat round. That's how both games accelerated combat. They made both sides hit real hard, so hit points for either side would last 3 or 4 rounds, maybe a little longer if it's a real tough enemy. Monsters normally don't have healing, but players do which often keeps them on top in those fights against really powerful enemies.

 

[ronaldsf]

Since "those higher level monsters will shake off the worst effects of your casters' best shutdown abilities pretty consistently" rational players simply cease to cast those spells. This leads to fewer choices, a poorer game.

I'm getting the impression Paizo and it's fan base entered collective hysteria. The very notion that a Wizard could ever win a fight by shutting down the big bad seems to fill the Paizo board with outrage and disgust. And this is reflected in the Incapacitation rule.

All this does is drive Wizard players away from using Incapacitation spells, specifically single-target ones, at all.

There's this great mismatch where the game seems to assume you'll still cast those spells even though you could use your high level slots for ... other high level spells? Why would I choose a spell nerfed into oblivion when I can choose another spell, say a damage spell, that isn't?

Inexplicably, Paizo then created a few spells with a decent effect even when the monster does save. This just makes it that much harder to get rid of Incapacitation as the clumsy ugly mechanism it is. Grrr...

I don't deny that players of casters would give up on casting those spells against higher-level creatures, but I do question whether that's wise. I've seen making a scary brute creature blind, even for just 1 round, negating 1 or 2 scary crits and hits and knockout on more than 1 occasion, and even -1s and -2s have some impact too many times to rule those spells out as "useless" against such creatures. Burning Hands, a 1st-level spell, making a Level 15 creature miss 20% of its attacks for 1 round is nothing to sneeze at.