❌ 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).
If you want to delete bosses from existence in one round while maintaining sky-high AC without armor, this is the class for you. pathfinder kingmaker magus sword saint guide
Since the Sword Saint has fewer spell slots, focus on self-buffs and "touch" delivery: Shocking Grasp Mirror Image (Level 2). Displacement Greater Invisibility ❌ You lose Canny Defense (INT to AC)
Powers your AC (Canny Defense), Arcane Pool, and bonus spells. Primary (18+) You can cast Shocking Grasp AND full attack