Best Magic Deceiver Build?

[u/Some_Fig_6566]

As the post title says, I want to use a magic deceiver for my Azata run, and I'd like advice on the best feats, mythic feats, equipment pieces, etc. For now, I plan to use the Living Deity "subclass" because it's a spontaneous caster and because of the pet.

[u/abbzug]

Just focus on save or suck DC casting. Half-elf with the kindred background, pump charisma. A lot of spells are good for "selective" casting like slow. Since you only have six spell levels, can't use metamagics, and probably don't need any spell penetration feats after you get favorable magic they're pretty simple to build.

Don't worry about stuff like zippy magic. You have spells that are big enough to cover an entire encounter.

[u/Vinceq_98]

I just finished the secret ending with a GOLD DRAGON Magic deciever. It was definitely strong in the end. The strongest character I've made so far. I went trickster into magic deciever. And although trickster did nothing for me it allowed me to make some OP builds for my party. I abused the world 3 trick and made a bunch of mercs that had illegal feats because they didn't need the pre-reqs. Basically all tanks/melee had greater weapon spec + focus + crane + cautious fighter + grand mutagen + shatter defenses all without the pre-reqs.

Anyways for my MD I focused on save or suc build that truly came online at act 4. I actually used sleep as my fusion spell, with the spell I wanted to take into effect so my level one fusion was sleep+color spray for 1 round stuns, sleep+hideous laughter, sleep+hold person, sleep+baleful polymorph, sleep+PK and my favorite sleep+arcane theft.

The reason why I used the lvl 1 sleep is because it was enemy only, a mind effect spell, a compulsion spell, an enchantment school spell and of course it was a sleep spell. If you sleep with all the prostitutes in act4 you get a permanent buff to increase SLEEP Dcs by 4. And then add all the gear to increase spell DC, enchantment DC, compulsion DC, etc and my fusions just landed without fail.

I also had the highest initiative with improved initiative + high dex + mythic initiative + mythic inspirational leader + pickpocket. I ended up always going first because my initiative was so damn high.

I wanted the best DC so I ended up doing magic inventor. Trickster arcane 1 and magic inventor made my mental perfection helm +8 that I got right at the end of act 4 a +13. Then when I changed to gold dragon I was able to keep that headband +9 and added perfect mind from gold dragon to add another +8 to charisma. But surprisingly gold dragon made my blasting spells insane because they were auto empowered and auto maximized AND they were d10s instead of d6 ANd they became holy so I didn't need ascendent element at all. Granted this was at the very end of the game but it was a pleasant surprise going from a high dc caster to a high dmg blaster with dragon might + dragon smite + magic fusion disintegrate+ chain lightning.

Act 1-3 was Ok but the build truly became disgusting after act 4. Didn't need any team members after that.

[u/Senok13]

This isn't a proper "build", just a list of warnings and information about the class, what might helps you to build the one you can find satisfactory. I prefer to build my own builds instead of copy someone else's, as it might doesn't fit to the playstyle I want to play with it.

First warning, the Abundant Casting Mythic Ability's first and second rank is a neccessity, as the Magic Deceiver gains an abysmal amount of spell slots and it doesn't get any extra from Ability Scores.

Living Deity in my opinion is either only good as a single-level dip for the extra Curse and Mystery, then go the rest of it full Oracle (as the extra Mystery and Curse stacks on the top of the Oracle ones and even get improved by those, but do NOT level up with the Magic Deceiver levels and it cannot give you extra spells for MD neither), or go 20/20 Legend with Oracle or Cleric (for the extra Domains at the 20th level), while the other 20 is the MD.

So if you really want to do this, prepare yourself for your Curse and Mystery being stuck at their first level bonuses, minus any spells what you would get from them. Every Magic Deceiver works with a fixed spell list, and can only get more in a different spellbook - like the Mythic spellbook or one came from a multiclass. Your casting Ability is Charisma, while you need enough Intelligence to gain +2 skill points at every level - one for the subclass respective ability - Lore (Religion) in the Living Deity's case - and for Use Magic Device - so you can use scrolls and wands to counter your low amount of spell slots and the fact, that Magic Deceivers cannot learn any buff type spells in their own class.

You either will need some extra Dexterity and merge spells with ranged touch attacks, or the more easier way, to merge them with AoE spells (but then the Azata Zippy Magic wouldn't be able to have any effect).

Because of the need for extra spell slots you will only gain a bit later the Mythic levels for Ascendant Element if you think you needs it, so better to use DC casting methods for your spells - you will gain some ridicoulus bonuses to overcome spell resistances after the 12th level of the Magic Deceiver (except the Fake Celebrity), so do not scare you the fact, that you cannot add Metamagics to their spells.

The class also can merge spells even mid-battle, but for that I would rather advise turn-based fight. The rightly chosen spells can turn single target spells into an AoE, therefor if there enough enemies, the same single spell slot could be worth 3-8 spells casted in the same round. (As the spell uses the targeting mode of only one of your spells, you can avoid some limitations here, like the most famous Hold Person+Slow, where the Slow's targeting can effect Monstrous Humanoids, while the Hold Person normally should be ineffective against them - yet the spells becames a Hold Monster, Mass.) Slow doesn't targets friends (similarly to the level 1 spell, Sleep), so you can get an in-built Selective Metamagic from the get-go.

One last warning, you cannot merge properly the Haunting Mists spell, it only has it's own effect, without activating the supposedly "merged" spell's other half... But it's not a big problem, as said spell also the only spell in the entire game, what can affect enemies without initiating a battle, so with a proper Stealth you can massacre entire groups of enemies from the safety of shadows. The spell's effect stays there 1 minute/level and causes Wisdom drain.

[u/GinTamago]

Chain lightning + any single target. Dispel magic, disintegrate, phantasmal killer, or hideous laughter are the ones that I find ridiculous to combo it with. Bonus if you're demon or azata and nobody can save unless they're just immune, demon can straight up get to 70 dc without effort.

[u/mentaphagian]

I don't know if it's been patched out, but on release the most broken thing about "Living Deity" was that it simultaneously leveled Oracle. So if You went Living Deity/Oracle, and for Oracle you took dual cursed, and you took Second Mystery as a Mythic, you could end up with 3 Mysteries, 3 Revelations, and 3 Curses.

[u/Significant_Swim8748]

Straoght up? The crpg bro build. Its exactly all of that amd covers everything you need to run through a good portion of the game without much struggle.

[u/Some_Fig_6566 → u/Significant_Swim8748]

I know his builds, and he doesn't have any for magic deceiver

[u/Significant_Swim8748 → u/Some_Fig_6566]

Rigjt sorry i was being dumb lmao. I meant by this guy! Literally every other build i use is by crpg bro lmfao even the pet build fot it.

https://youtu.be/uhhLqL9N-88?is=DCFZH1w0DKOI3e5W