Gold’s Guide to Shifter

Created by Gold Zephzellian

Summary

A Werewolf. A Transformer. A Moon Circle Druid. An Elemental. These are just a few of the possibilities of the Shifter, master of many transformations and changing their strengths and weaknesses on a dime.

The Shifter is a master of shifting between forms to fit whatever situation is demanded of them. Through their various Transformations, a Shifter is an unstoppable force of possibilities that can theoretically fill almost any role you could desire. While they may not be as good as a dedicated one of them, they can often fill most roles quite well. However, this flexibility comes with a few costs: it’s one of the hardest playstyles in the game to master (though definitely the easiest of the Transformation specialists), can be quite costly in terms of WP expenditure, heavily limits your Talent choices if you truly want to specialize into Transformations as your main gimmick, and is restricted by GM fiat.

If you can, though… a Shifter is a force of nature that can fill whatever must be done… if your GM allows it.

Sub-Archetype Statistics

Ease of Use – ★☆☆☆☆

Offensive Ability – ★★★★★

  • Single Target – ★★★★★
  • AOE – ★★★★★
  • Disabling – ★★★★★

Defense – ★★★★★

  • Passive Defense – ★★★★★
  • Active Defense – ★★★★★
  • Healing – ★★★★★

Support – ★★★★★★

  • Offensive Support – ★★★★★
  • Defensive Support – ★★★★★
  • Miscellaneous Support – ★★★★★

Skills – ★★★★★

  • Social – ★★★★★
  • Physical – ★★★★★
  • Mental – ★★★★★
Use this Sub-Archetype if you want to…
– Be good at a lot of things at once, with no field you truly can’t access.
– Master one of the game’s hardest systems and become the ultimate tactician.
– Just be really, really cool… (you really want to be a Werewolf, huh?)
Consider avoiding this Sub-Archetype if…
– If you can’t take on the admittedly massive skill floor. Shifter is hard, y’all.
– If you want to specialize in a given role; Transformations are generally weaker than a specialist.
– You don’t want an early game where your Talent pool for each Transformation is limited.

Features

Tier 1 – Quick Shift

Transform Abilities that need 1 to 3 AP that you use that target yourself cost up to 2 AP less and their WP cost is reduced by 1. You can use this feature once per turn.

Transform Abilities cost 2 less (so long as they cost anywhere between 1-3AP) and cost 1 less WP once per turn.

A great first feature for Shifter, allowing you to easily shift between Transformations with relative speed and ease, thanks to making all the Form Abilities cost no AP! The discount on Transformations is nice too. Not much more to say, this just offers you an easy in on starting your Transformation game.

Tier 2 – Regenerating Transformation

You gain Temporary Vitality equal to twice your Primary Stat Bonus whenever you target yourself with a Transform Ability. You gain four times your Primary Stat Bonus instead if you transform into an Elite or Boss creature.

Gain more Temporary Vitality when you Transform, especially into Elites and Bosses.

More Temporary Vitality on Transformation? Don’t mind if I do! This will make you substantially more durable, something Transformers can generally struggle with if they don’t invest in extra Vitality. Consider investing in a larger Temporary Vitality Pool to help stretch how much you can get out of this!

Tier 3 – Transform into Greater Form

The Level of the forms you gain by targeting yourself with Transform Abilities can be 1 Level higher than your normal limit.

Transformations you take on are 1 Level higher.

Increases to any sort of Summon or Transformation level is rare, and this is one of the very few sources of it. Lucky you! Elites coming at this level makes this doubly valuable, providing even more Talents for each Transformation to play with. Very fun!

Tier 4 – Forever New

Your Transform Abilities that target yourself last as long as you want.

Your Transformations that target yourself last until dismissed.

Duration? What’s THAT? Now you don’t have to worry about it; your Transformation will last as long as you need it to, making Elite Summons the clearly optimal choice, now!

Tier 5 – Final Form

You regain all of your Vitality whenever you target yourself with a Transform Ability. You gain the option to upcast any Transform Ability that targets yourself by 4 WP to increase the Level of the transformation by 1.

Fully heal yourself when you cast a Transform Ability on yourself. Transform Abilities on yourself may be upcast for 4WP to increase the level of the form by 1.

A double feature capstone! Firstly, obviously the full heal on use of any Transform Ability is very powerful, and can save you in a pinch. The real star, though, is the ability to increase the level of your transformations through upcasts. That… THAT! That is crazy. 

This could give you an enticing reason to go back to Normal transformations, as they could potentially achieve Level 15 right as you hit this Tier… but I still think Elites will appreciate Level 14 (or more, if you invested in Upcast shenanigans). It’s a very strong capstone feature that will keep you strong for endgame.

Synergies & Tips

Synergies

  • Path of Transformation: Cutting the cost of Transformations in half helps ease the WP costs you could face transforming on the regular. A great standard choice. Stack this with Discounts to reduce Transformation costs to as low as 1 WP!
  • Resource Talents: Not much from your base form carries over to transformations, but these do! Increasing your overall Resource pools is a good call for dedicated Transformers, as it offers them a bigger supply of them to play with in different transformations.
  • Polymorpher: Yes. All of it. These features can allow you to carry over some of your base form’s capabilities to your Transformations. It can be quite the investment, but it can be worth the hastle if you’ve got space.
  • Anything That Carries Over to Transformations: Most options don’t carry over to Transformations, but a few do! These are worth considering, but are generally somewhat niche.
  • Enhanced Duration: Only good through ‘till Tier 4, but until then, it serves as a good means to extend the duration of your Transformations if you intend to remain in a transformation long-term when used alongside WP Limit and Upcast Limit increases.
  • On Transformation Talents: There are a handful of these, and they can provide some useful tricks if you intend to transform regularly. Some prefer when you transform a lot (Explosive Transformation), and others don’t mind as much (Ultimate Transformation).
  • Off-and-On Transformation: This. This one Talent opens up a unique playstyle for Transformers I like to call the Hybrid Transformer. More on this in the Experimental Build, but this can allow you to build for not only your Transformations, but yourself too. Combine this with Multi-Action to really get those gears turning!
  • Infused Transformation: One of the most useful tools for a Transformation specialist, Infused Transformation allows you to ensure access to a Greater Talent (or two Lesser Talents!) in your Transformations. Very handy for a wide range of builds.
  • Back From The Death: I don’t like building around the idea of falling unconscious, but you will eventually, and Back From The Death is admittedly really useful for Shifter in particular thanks to Tier 2 and especially Tier 5.
  • Panicked Manifestation, First to Act, Ambusher T1: A variety of useful options for ensuring you’ll be able to get a transformation off before you get hit, something a Transformer (who likely doesn’t have superb defenses) would appreciate.

Tips

  • In general, it’s wise to use Elite transformations over Normal transformations once you hit Tier 3, and especially Tier 4, as they have more Talents and better overall stats than Normal transformations do. Normal Transformations do have the duration advantage before Tier 4, though, which can be handy for Crafter transformations. Additionally, if you haven’t taken Path of Transformation, Normal Transformations are substantially cheaper, which can help save on WP.
  • Be sure to prepare your transformations in advance. Know what your different transformations are capable of and their weaknesses. Run them by your GM too; they’re an important part of running a Transform user of any kind.
  • Try to coordinate with the rest of your party to ensure your transformations are not only useful for the party, but not stepping on anyone’s toes. They may have specialized in a specific role, and you probably don’t need to focus on filling it (at least, as a primary one).
  • You don’t retain much of your base form when transforming by default: only your Vitality, Willpower, Temporary Vitality, and Narrative Momentum are retained. As a result, increasing your other values isn’t too useful if you’re focusing in on your Transformations… at least normally.
  • DO NOT BE FOOLED LIKE I WAS! A recent change in Patch 2.4.0 has changed how Form Abilities work. They now only cost 1AP (yay!) but can now only target yourself. As a result, Self-Centered no longer works on Form Abilities, which really stings for Hybrid Transformers. I’d still generally call it an overall buff, but the rewrite has made it a bit weaker for Hybrids.

Sub-Archetype Build Showcase

Simple Build

This is just about the simplest build a Shifter (and Transformers in general!) can make. With a plentiful supply of all 4 core resources, a 3WP discount alongside Path of Transformation on transformations, and reasonable utility in base form, this build can basically do whatever you need for Transformations. I went with Animal Form by default, but any Transform Ability works! Just take Extended Arsenal over Hard to Kill for whatever Form Ability you need if it isn’t available within Nature. Straightforward, yet effective!

Experimental Build

THIS is what I described earlier with the Hybrid Transformer. A Hybrid Transformer is a Transformer that opts to not take Path of Transformation to heavily reduce the cost of Transform Abilities, but instead take another Path (in this case, Path of Healing) AND the Lesser Talent Off-And-On Transformation, allowing them to switch between your base form’s capabilities and whatever form you choose to activate. As a result of the higher costs of Forms, there is a case to be made for using Normal Forms over Elite Ones, but both can remain available, should you need it.

WHEW, with all that preamble out of the way… the base form excels in a Healing role, with Path of Healing and the range of Healing Abilities, you’ve got healing covered nicely, alongside a bit of extra utility to keep you and your party safe. When you really want to get it on, you can take on a powerful Mystical Form, transforming into either an Ice Wyvern or Lightning Dragon, both powerful transformations that make you into more of an aggressive threat. Overall, this allows you to be more flexible, thanks not only to Off-and-On Transformation, but also Infused Transformation (No Time to Stop) and No Time to Stop ensuring that changing forms will STILL allow you to use your best actions while reserving 1AP for other uses.

This build does have a few tradeoffs, though; I opted to sacrifice the Archetype Feature of Nature for Caster Affinity and More Willpower, ensuring we have good reserves… at the cost of our durability, though Durable does give some back. Transformations are also expensive, so use them wisely. We’ll also want to keep range whenever possible, but this build can be truly devastating under the right circumstances.

This is merely only one possibility of a Hybrid Transformer, and you can build them honestly however you want! It’s that flexible.

Conclusion

The Shifter is one of the hardest Sub-Archetypes in the game, but at the end of the road… awaits almighty strength and flexibility. Thanks for reading! If you have any fun builds that could help show off Shifter more, feel free to send them to me on Discord at goldzephzellian!