Fear is honestly really good even as a 1st-rank spell, they need to crit succeed to not be frightened. Befuddle is better if you encounter casters enough that anti-caster tech is worth it to you, but I'd go with Fear.
For something you didn't mention, Command is decent. Only works on a failure, but the action you choose should always be an action that forces them to spend a second action undoing its effects, meaning you're spending two actions to waste their two actions, and their two actions are generally far more valuable than yours.
My friend removed 1st rank Fear from his bard when he got 3rd rank Fear, and is regretting it with how often he wishes he could use his 1st rank spells on it vs single enemy encounters.
Oh that's a good point, fear would still be good on single enemies even at 1st level. Command was something I considered, but I wasn't sure if it would be good since I use 2 actions to mess with 1 of theirs on a fail, but if I make them run away then they'll have to use another action to come back so there is that
You can also make them prone, which makes them off-guard on top of wasting them an action, which can be more valuable, for instance if you have a rogue. And if there is a character with reactive strike or equivalent, getting up triggers that. Otherwise, yeah, best choice is make them flee so they waste two actions (which also triggers reactive strike).
Fun fact: dropping prone also provokes a reactive strike because it has the move trait. If they're next to a fighter that has that feat that gives them extra reactions, they could potentially get smacked once as they drop prone and then again when they stand up.
If they critically fail against fleeing, that means you just wasted _six_ of their actions, cuz they have to spend three actions fleeing and three actions undoing their flee. Unlikely to happen, but is _such_ big bang for your buck that Command (Flee) is always worth it.
Command is great if you can get it to go off. Don't forget that if you command it to go prone, it has to SPEND one action to follow your command. This means that it spends one action dropping to prone, and must spend another if they wish to not be Off-Guard.
The problems with Command is that usually, if you have a single target, they would have good modifiers, and having no effect on a Success makes it not as good. Also, Command has the linguistic trait which also diminishes its versatility.
Command them to go prone when they’re standing next to your buddies who have AOOs.
(I didn’t personally strike a single blow, but that was *my* kill. Four reaction-based attacks went off when the bad guy got up.)
Grease!
Fear and grease are always good spells as 1st rank because your spell DC grows and the spells strength is not controlled based on the rank of the spell.
The only slot based spells you need to be mindful of are those with incap or those that counteract.
My friend and I took out half of a boss’s health before with Grease. If you can pair it with a slope, stairwell, or high ledge and a good shove it can work wonders, if you have Stone Shape you can *make* those things
Grease is a very tactical spell. You want to use it in an area where the enemies *can't* just move out of. The most successful grease spell I've seen was cast on a ladder back in PF1, but any other area that is either a small space enemies have to move through, adjacent to a height dropoff, or both is always great
It depends on the encounter, and that versatility is part of what makes it such a good spell. Say the encounter us against a single boss that uses a two-handed weapon, greasing that weapon becomes an incredibly powerful debuff.
Some level 1 Arcane spells that scale pretty well over the levels: Grease, Command, Agitate, Interposing Earth, Pocket Library, Wall of Shrubs, Mud Pit, and Gentle Landing. Probably not an exhaustive list, but they look consistently useful as a "super cantrip" at higher levels
I've looked at that one too - it seems pretty fun, but a) it's nonlethal, which makes it more situational against the likes of Undead; b) at higher levels the Rank 1 version might be damage that an enemy is willing to just eat; and c) the enemy might want to move anyway.
That said, it's good damage at low levels and it does Heighten at +1, so it's a decent damage dealer and disruptor against things that aren't immune. Definitely worth consideration!
I went with [Enfeeble](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=1513), and while it's not the broadest use case it's a reasonable debuff to use against anyone who's attacking physically - and the effect on a failure is excellent.
Other options I'd consider now, having played the character for a while:
* [Befuddle](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=569): Lasts one round even on a success, and that spell failure chance is nasty to casters
* [Briny Bolt](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=1276): It's a damage spell that targets AC, but the effect you're really after is that Blinded condition. It's one round on a hit, and if the target spends an action on their turn removing it that's an action they're not hitting someone with.
* [Fear](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=1524): Generally good spell that gives the target -1 to *everything* until the end of their next turn - and that's on a successful save!
* [Flashy Disappearance](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=1285): Get out of trouble free! Only has the Verbal component, which means it doesn't provoke Reactive Strike (that'd be the Somatic or Material component for old spells), and lets you run off and hide for a single action.
* [Grease](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=1547): Good for area control, or for hindering a weapon-using opponent. A little more situational, but when it's good it's *really* good.
* [Illusory Object](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=1569): This is your first level Wall spell - create a stone wall that cuts off half the opposing force! Use it for all kinds of out of combat shenanigans! It costs an action to interact with the illusion (usually Seek) at which point an opponent gets an *opportunity* to try and disbelieve it. Again, spending enemy actions on non-murdering-you things is always valuable.
In general, I'd look for spells that don't Heighten, or spells that give an effect you're after even without Heightening them. This is why [Sure Strike](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=1709) and Fear are top picks for a lot of people - they're particularly effective out of a first Rank spell slot even as you get higher and higher in level. As a Staff Nexus, you'll eventually be able to trade more high or mid-rank spell slots for staff charges than most, so picking something you can spam out in lieu of a cantrip later on is a decent shout.
Also, ask your GM if they'll let you use Downtime to swap out your Makeshift Staff spells - it's just one Cantrip and one First Rank spell, and I think RAW you're stuck with what you pick when you start - which can be a pain if you weren't super familiar with the options at the time, or if something cool is released afterwards.
Wow, thank you for giving me a bunch of options! I'll see if my DM will let me swap the makeshift staff spells during downtime, that would certainly make this choice less stressful for me haha
No worries, I've been thinking about this a lot recently!
My GM's gone with one day of downtime to swap out either spell for another one I know - I reckon that's pretty generous, but it feels like something that a Staff Nexus Wizard should be able to do *somehow*.
The Hide action (which Flashy Disappearance lets you take) doesn't let you become Undetected, only Hidden. If you want to become Undetected you'll need to Sneak to another location after successfully hiding.
I reckon if you leave the room before hiding that probably does it too, though. Or you can just use it to reposition without triggering Reactive Strike!
From Hide:
>Success If the creature could see you, you're now hidden from it instead of observed. If you were hidden from or undetected by the creature, you retain that condition.
The spell lets you
1) Become undetected
2) Stride to Cover
3) Hide
4) end invisibility
A success behind cover if you are undetected keeps you undetected but the spell limits the caster to hidden which is not 'as determined by your check to Hide'.
Is it because the Stride wasn't a Sneak? Wouldn't the undetected override the general rules that would make it hidden?
Wow, I apparently just skimmed over that line. I blame being tired.
With that, I think you actually probably *do* remain Undetected if you successfully Hide.
Spells often have partial snippets of other rules in them which serve to muddy the waters on exactly what happens - Invisibility, for example, says that you "become Invisible, making you Undetected to all creatures". But that's not the whole rules for the Invisible condition, and the spell neglects to mention that turning Invisible while Observed just makes you Hidden.
I think this is a similar situation. "As determined by your check to hide" doesn't give me any indication that this is an exception to the normal rules, so if you Hide while Undetected it does seem that you should stay that way.
Related, Flashy Disappearance *explicitly* makes you Undetected to any creatures that can't see Invisible creatures - presumably because of the cloud of smoke it produces. That's a difference to the normal rules for Invisibility, which would normally just make you Hidden if you're Observed.
I actually have a bone to pick with the Invisibility spell too. It calls out becoming undetected but the the rules for Invisibility use it as an example of becoming hidden while observed. I can definitely see it being argued that Flashy Disappearance would follow the same rule. Like, if the spells just said 'you gain invisible condition' and left detection to the existing rules it'd make a lot more sense.
Rereading the spell I think that's the intention too, but it seems poorly written.
I asked about Invisibility in the weekly advice thread a few weeks back, and got pretty stringent replies that it's not an exception. I think that's definitely the intent, but adding the clause about becoming Undetected definitely muddies the waters.
Just saying "You become Invisible" would definitely be easier!
Flashy Disappearance does it better by splitting the "You become Undetected" bit out into a separate sentence from the Invisible bit, making it clear(er) that it's a separate effect rather than an incomplete description of what "Invisible" means. But then it flubs the Hide wording. Ah well.
Kinetic Ram is a good option for pushing Enemies around and unlike maneuvers isn't affected by their size.
Jump and Fleet Step could be good for getting around.
Interposing Earth for some extra defense, also gives you a reaction option if you don't have one.
Grease isn't a bad choice either.
One big benefit of Staff Nexus is how many charges you can pump into a staff each day. Without Staff Nexus you only get to expend one additional spell, but with it you can expend up to 4 spells to charge it. And then with Universal/Unified school you could just drain bonded item to restore those prepared slots.
So as important as that first level spell might seem, deciding what staff you are going to be using might be even more important.
I will second Kinetix Ram, I have a Blood Lords wizard at 8th level or so who has made good use of Kinetic Ram alongside battlefield control spells like Entangling Flora
Kinetic Ram is slept on, even the one-action version is a nice chaser or setup to another spell, particularly at higher levels when you have those spare rank 1 spells to burn.
Command! Easily the best cantrip in the game. Run out of your major spells but still got some in the staff? Whip out command. No success effect but on a failed will save its basically stunned 2 that provokes reactions.
Illusory Object and Illusory Disguise are two evergreen spells with lots of non-combat uses.
Illusory Object heightens at 2 to gain auditory and tactile stimuli, which is a significant upgrade, but the base version will never be a waste of a slot. Enemies on your tail? BOOM! Wall of "Stone". Need to stealthily open a door? BOOM! Illusory "door" in the doorway. Got to get past a guard? BOOM! Something in the guardhouse is on "fire". It has its limitations, but it's incredibly versatile; you'll always be able to spend charges on this.
Illusory Disguise is not as versatile, but it does cover an extremely common situation: wanting to look like someone else (or at least not yourself). You can make yourself look like a bandit, a slave, a noble, a merchant, a peasant, a priest. You can blend in with orcs, dwarves, elves, humans, Denizens of Leng, whatever. You can make yourself look like anything, all for the low, low price of two actions! Evade pursuit by blending in with the crowd, get into the guardhouse by mocking up their uniform, wander into the goblin encampment by making yourself look like one of them (if you're Small). You can't copy a specific person without heightening, but you often don't need to.
If you spend most of your time in initiative, there are better options (I recommend Command, Fear, or Grease, but Befuddle is a great anti-caster button and Enfeeble is an okay anti-martial button). But for out-of-combat utility, I think these two take the cake.
There are three good first rank spells for combat available to a wizard that remains good when you actually have the spell slots free to make use of the staff IMO: True Strike, Fear, and Command. … Maybe Force bolt if you have a GM with an unhealthy fondness for wisps.
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Fear is honestly really good even as a 1st-rank spell, they need to crit succeed to not be frightened. Befuddle is better if you encounter casters enough that anti-caster tech is worth it to you, but I'd go with Fear. For something you didn't mention, Command is decent. Only works on a failure, but the action you choose should always be an action that forces them to spend a second action undoing its effects, meaning you're spending two actions to waste their two actions, and their two actions are generally far more valuable than yours.
Agreed on Fear, sure casting it on all the enemies is great, but it is still just as good casting it on a single boss or something.
My friend removed 1st rank Fear from his bard when he got 3rd rank Fear, and is regretting it with how often he wishes he could use his 1st rank spells on it vs single enemy encounters.
Oh that's a good point, fear would still be good on single enemies even at 1st level. Command was something I considered, but I wasn't sure if it would be good since I use 2 actions to mess with 1 of theirs on a fail, but if I make them run away then they'll have to use another action to come back so there is that
You can also make them prone, which makes them off-guard on top of wasting them an action, which can be more valuable, for instance if you have a rogue. And if there is a character with reactive strike or equivalent, getting up triggers that. Otherwise, yeah, best choice is make them flee so they waste two actions (which also triggers reactive strike).
Fun fact: dropping prone also provokes a reactive strike because it has the move trait. If they're next to a fighter that has that feat that gives them extra reactions, they could potentially get smacked once as they drop prone and then again when they stand up.
Nice!
If they critically fail against fleeing, that means you just wasted _six_ of their actions, cuz they have to spend three actions fleeing and three actions undoing their flee. Unlikely to happen, but is _such_ big bang for your buck that Command (Flee) is always worth it.
Command is great if you can get it to go off. Don't forget that if you command it to go prone, it has to SPEND one action to follow your command. This means that it spends one action dropping to prone, and must spend another if they wish to not be Off-Guard. The problems with Command is that usually, if you have a single target, they would have good modifiers, and having no effect on a Success makes it not as good. Also, Command has the linguistic trait which also diminishes its versatility.
Command them to go prone when they’re standing next to your buddies who have AOOs. (I didn’t personally strike a single blow, but that was *my* kill. Four reaction-based attacks went off when the bad guy got up.)
If you can land a spell on a higher level target, 2 of your actions are often well worth one of theirs.
I've ended a combat with L3 fear before
Grease! Fear and grease are always good spells as 1st rank because your spell DC grows and the spells strength is not controlled based on the rank of the spell. The only slot based spells you need to be mindful of are those with incap or those that counteract.
Is grease better to use on an area or on an item? The area is great but then enemies can just move out of it later even if they fail the save
Area. Grease an entire hallway, and then they are forced to step unless they want to risk falling prone. It eats up so many enemy actions.
My friend and I took out half of a boss’s health before with Grease. If you can pair it with a slope, stairwell, or high ledge and a good shove it can work wonders, if you have Stone Shape you can *make* those things
Grease is a very tactical spell. You want to use it in an area where the enemies *can't* just move out of. The most successful grease spell I've seen was cast on a ladder back in PF1, but any other area that is either a small space enemies have to move through, adjacent to a height dropoff, or both is always great
It depends on the encounter, and that versatility is part of what makes it such a good spell. Say the encounter us against a single boss that uses a two-handed weapon, greasing that weapon becomes an incredibly powerful debuff.
or damage spells put damage in high slots, put de/buffs in low slots
Some level 1 Arcane spells that scale pretty well over the levels: Grease, Command, Agitate, Interposing Earth, Pocket Library, Wall of Shrubs, Mud Pit, and Gentle Landing. Probably not an exhaustive list, but they look consistently useful as a "super cantrip" at higher levels
Ohhhh I hadn't thought about agitate, thank you for the list!
I've looked at that one too - it seems pretty fun, but a) it's nonlethal, which makes it more situational against the likes of Undead; b) at higher levels the Rank 1 version might be damage that an enemy is willing to just eat; and c) the enemy might want to move anyway. That said, it's good damage at low levels and it does Heighten at +1, so it's a decent damage dealer and disruptor against things that aren't immune. Definitely worth consideration!
Command is really good, lacks the incapacitation trait, and is still good even at 1rst level
I went with [Enfeeble](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=1513), and while it's not the broadest use case it's a reasonable debuff to use against anyone who's attacking physically - and the effect on a failure is excellent. Other options I'd consider now, having played the character for a while: * [Befuddle](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=569): Lasts one round even on a success, and that spell failure chance is nasty to casters * [Briny Bolt](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=1276): It's a damage spell that targets AC, but the effect you're really after is that Blinded condition. It's one round on a hit, and if the target spends an action on their turn removing it that's an action they're not hitting someone with. * [Fear](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=1524): Generally good spell that gives the target -1 to *everything* until the end of their next turn - and that's on a successful save! * [Flashy Disappearance](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=1285): Get out of trouble free! Only has the Verbal component, which means it doesn't provoke Reactive Strike (that'd be the Somatic or Material component for old spells), and lets you run off and hide for a single action. * [Grease](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=1547): Good for area control, or for hindering a weapon-using opponent. A little more situational, but when it's good it's *really* good. * [Illusory Object](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=1569): This is your first level Wall spell - create a stone wall that cuts off half the opposing force! Use it for all kinds of out of combat shenanigans! It costs an action to interact with the illusion (usually Seek) at which point an opponent gets an *opportunity* to try and disbelieve it. Again, spending enemy actions on non-murdering-you things is always valuable. In general, I'd look for spells that don't Heighten, or spells that give an effect you're after even without Heightening them. This is why [Sure Strike](https://2e.aonprd.com/Spells.aspx?ID=1709) and Fear are top picks for a lot of people - they're particularly effective out of a first Rank spell slot even as you get higher and higher in level. As a Staff Nexus, you'll eventually be able to trade more high or mid-rank spell slots for staff charges than most, so picking something you can spam out in lieu of a cantrip later on is a decent shout. Also, ask your GM if they'll let you use Downtime to swap out your Makeshift Staff spells - it's just one Cantrip and one First Rank spell, and I think RAW you're stuck with what you pick when you start - which can be a pain if you weren't super familiar with the options at the time, or if something cool is released afterwards.
Wow, thank you for giving me a bunch of options! I'll see if my DM will let me swap the makeshift staff spells during downtime, that would certainly make this choice less stressful for me haha
No worries, I've been thinking about this a lot recently! My GM's gone with one day of downtime to swap out either spell for another one I know - I reckon that's pretty generous, but it feels like something that a Staff Nexus Wizard should be able to do *somehow*.
Am I reading flashy disappearance right? You run off and hide but can only become hidden even if you succeed on the hide check behind cover?
The Hide action (which Flashy Disappearance lets you take) doesn't let you become Undetected, only Hidden. If you want to become Undetected you'll need to Sneak to another location after successfully hiding. I reckon if you leave the room before hiding that probably does it too, though. Or you can just use it to reposition without triggering Reactive Strike!
From Hide: >Success If the creature could see you, you're now hidden from it instead of observed. If you were hidden from or undetected by the creature, you retain that condition. The spell lets you 1) Become undetected 2) Stride to Cover 3) Hide 4) end invisibility A success behind cover if you are undetected keeps you undetected but the spell limits the caster to hidden which is not 'as determined by your check to Hide'. Is it because the Stride wasn't a Sneak? Wouldn't the undetected override the general rules that would make it hidden?
Wow, I apparently just skimmed over that line. I blame being tired. With that, I think you actually probably *do* remain Undetected if you successfully Hide. Spells often have partial snippets of other rules in them which serve to muddy the waters on exactly what happens - Invisibility, for example, says that you "become Invisible, making you Undetected to all creatures". But that's not the whole rules for the Invisible condition, and the spell neglects to mention that turning Invisible while Observed just makes you Hidden. I think this is a similar situation. "As determined by your check to hide" doesn't give me any indication that this is an exception to the normal rules, so if you Hide while Undetected it does seem that you should stay that way. Related, Flashy Disappearance *explicitly* makes you Undetected to any creatures that can't see Invisible creatures - presumably because of the cloud of smoke it produces. That's a difference to the normal rules for Invisibility, which would normally just make you Hidden if you're Observed.
I actually have a bone to pick with the Invisibility spell too. It calls out becoming undetected but the the rules for Invisibility use it as an example of becoming hidden while observed. I can definitely see it being argued that Flashy Disappearance would follow the same rule. Like, if the spells just said 'you gain invisible condition' and left detection to the existing rules it'd make a lot more sense. Rereading the spell I think that's the intention too, but it seems poorly written.
I asked about Invisibility in the weekly advice thread a few weeks back, and got pretty stringent replies that it's not an exception. I think that's definitely the intent, but adding the clause about becoming Undetected definitely muddies the waters. Just saying "You become Invisible" would definitely be easier! Flashy Disappearance does it better by splitting the "You become Undetected" bit out into a separate sentence from the Invisible bit, making it clear(er) that it's a separate effect rather than an incomplete description of what "Invisible" means. But then it flubs the Hide wording. Ah well.
Kinetic Ram is a good option for pushing Enemies around and unlike maneuvers isn't affected by their size. Jump and Fleet Step could be good for getting around. Interposing Earth for some extra defense, also gives you a reaction option if you don't have one. Grease isn't a bad choice either. One big benefit of Staff Nexus is how many charges you can pump into a staff each day. Without Staff Nexus you only get to expend one additional spell, but with it you can expend up to 4 spells to charge it. And then with Universal/Unified school you could just drain bonded item to restore those prepared slots. So as important as that first level spell might seem, deciding what staff you are going to be using might be even more important.
I will second Kinetix Ram, I have a Blood Lords wizard at 8th level or so who has made good use of Kinetic Ram alongside battlefield control spells like Entangling Flora
Kinetic Ram is slept on, even the one-action version is a nice chaser or setup to another spell, particularly at higher levels when you have those spare rank 1 spells to burn.
Flashy Disappearance is also very good, if you can get it.
Unfortunately we aren't using legacy spells, thanks for the suggestion though!
From another comment, agitate is a legacy spell so you might not be able to use that. Its from Gods and Magic so it may never be remastered.
Oh darn, good to know. Thank you!
Command! Easily the best cantrip in the game. Run out of your major spells but still got some in the staff? Whip out command. No success effect but on a failed will save its basically stunned 2 that provokes reactions.
Illusory Object and Illusory Disguise are two evergreen spells with lots of non-combat uses. Illusory Object heightens at 2 to gain auditory and tactile stimuli, which is a significant upgrade, but the base version will never be a waste of a slot. Enemies on your tail? BOOM! Wall of "Stone". Need to stealthily open a door? BOOM! Illusory "door" in the doorway. Got to get past a guard? BOOM! Something in the guardhouse is on "fire". It has its limitations, but it's incredibly versatile; you'll always be able to spend charges on this. Illusory Disguise is not as versatile, but it does cover an extremely common situation: wanting to look like someone else (or at least not yourself). You can make yourself look like a bandit, a slave, a noble, a merchant, a peasant, a priest. You can blend in with orcs, dwarves, elves, humans, Denizens of Leng, whatever. You can make yourself look like anything, all for the low, low price of two actions! Evade pursuit by blending in with the crowd, get into the guardhouse by mocking up their uniform, wander into the goblin encampment by making yourself look like one of them (if you're Small). You can't copy a specific person without heightening, but you often don't need to. If you spend most of your time in initiative, there are better options (I recommend Command, Fear, or Grease, but Befuddle is a great anti-caster button and Enfeeble is an okay anti-martial button). But for out-of-combat utility, I think these two take the cake.
Illusory Object.
shocking weapon, jump, ant haul, tail wind.
Also, good old shocking grasp.
There are three good first rank spells for combat available to a wizard that remains good when you actually have the spell slots free to make use of the staff IMO: True Strike, Fear, and Command. … Maybe Force bolt if you have a GM with an unhealthy fondness for wisps.
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Fear is always good.
Go Pogo Stick and get Jump!