Gear Boosts

At 3rd level and every 4 levels thereafter, soldiers learn a trick called a gear boost that make you better with a particular type of weapon or armor. Choose from the gear boosts listed below. Some gear boosts require you to reach a certain soldier level to select them; this level is indicated in parentheses after the boost’s name.

Armored Advantage
When you are wearing armor, you gain a +1 insight bonus to your Kinetic Armor Class.

Brutal Blast
You gain a +2 insight bonus to damage rolls with weapons that have the blast special property (such as a scattergun). This extra damage applies only to creatures within 10 feet of you; creatures farther away take the normal amount of damage. This bonus increases by 1 for every 4 soldier levels you have.

Blazing Strike
When you hit a creature within 30 feet of you while using a weapon with the bright weapon special property, the radiance partially blinds the target, giving it the dazzled condition for 1 round. If you hit multiple creatures at the same time (such as with an automatic, blast, or explode weapon), only the creature nearest to you or at the center of the explosion (your choice if multiple creatures are equidistant) is affected.

Bullet Barrage
You gain a +1 insight bonus to damage rolls for weapons in the projectile category. This bonus increases by 1 for every 4 soldier levels you have.

Caustic Burns
When you score a critical hit with a weapon from the disintegrator category, you increase the damage of its corrode critical hit effect (Core Rulebook 182) by 1d6. If it does not have a corrode critical hit effect, the weapon gains corrode 1d6 as a critical hit effect, which functions even if the weapon already has another critical hit effect.

Deflecting Smash
Your weapon’s energy deflects incoming attacks. When you make an attack with a melee weapon that has the powered weapon special property, you gain a +1 insight bonus to your EAC until the beginning of your next turn. If your attack is a critical hit, the insight bonus increases to +2.

Electric Arc (7th)
When you hit a target with a weapon in the shock category, electricity arcs out from your original target to deal electricity damage to a secondary subject within 10 feet of the original target. This damage is equal to the weapon’s level. The secondary subject must be the creature nearest to the original target (your choice if multiple creatures are equidistant).

This gear boost does not function for weapons that have the explode or blast special property. If you use this gear boost with a weapon with the arc critical hit effect (see page 182), your secondary subject for electric arc must be the same as your secondary subject for the arc critical effect.

Finesse Striker
You add half your soldier level to damage rolls using weapons with the operative special property.

Flash Freeze (7th)
When you hit a creature with a weapon in the cryo category, that creature’s speeds are reduced by 10 feet for 1 round, to a minimum of 10 feet.

Heavy Onslaught (11th)
Your attacks with heavy weapons bypass part of the target’s damage reduction. If your heavy weapon does not already overcome the target’s damage reduction, treat the target’s damage reduction as though it were 5 lower. At 15th level, treat the target’s damage reduction as 10 lower.

Laser Accuracy
You gain a +1 insight bonus to attack rolls with weapons in the laser category.

Massive Momentum
The massive weapons you carry give you more heft when pushing others around. When you successfully perform a combat maneuver to bull rush or reposition a target while wielding a melee weapon with the unwieldy property, increase the result of your melee attack roll by 5 when determining how far you move your target.

Melee Striker
Add an additional bonus equal to half your Strength bonus to damage rolls with melee weapons.

Nimble Juggernaut
Whenever you’re wearing armor (including powered armor), you reduce your total armor check penalty by 1 (minimum 0) and total speed adjustment by 5 feet (minimum adjustment 0 feet). The armor check penalty reduction increases by 1 at 7th level and every 4 levels thereafter. At 11th level, you reduce the armor’s speed adjustment by 10 feet (minimum adjustment 0 feet). These benefits stack with similar effects, such as from the guard fighting style’s 1st-level style technique.

Plasma Immolation (7th)
You are expert at setting things on fire with plasma. If your attack roll with a weapon in the plasma category is a 19 (the d20 shows a 19), and the attack hits your target, the target gains the burning condition. The condition deals 1d4 fire damage if the weapon has an item level of 1st-6th, 1d8 if its item level is 7th-14th, and 2d8 if its item level is 15th or higher.

Powerful Explosive (7th)
When you attack with a weapon with the explode special property and a radius of 10 feet or greater, you can increase the radius of the explosion by 5 feet.

Raw Lethality
When wielding weapons with the archaic weapon special property, the damage you deal is never reduced as a result of that property. Archaic weapons you wield gain bleed 1d8 as a critical hit effect (Core Rulebook 182). If the weapon already has a critical hit effect, when you score a critical hit, you can apply either the weapon’s normal critical hit effect or this bleed effect. The bleed damage increases by 1d8 at 11th level and every 4 soldier levels you have beyond 11th (maximum bleed 4d8 at 19th level).

Sonic Resonance (7th)
When you hit a creature within 30 feet of you using a weapon in the sonic category, the sonic energy continues to resonate within that creature, giving it the flat-footed condition for 1 round. If you hit multiple creatures at the same time (such as with an automatic, blast, or explode weapon), only the creature nearest to you or to the center of the explosion (your choice if multiple creatures are equidistant) is affected.

Steady Sniper (11th)
When you use a move action to aim a weapon with the sniper weapon special property, you can make two attacks with that weapon as a standard action before the end of your turn; you take a –6 penalty to each of these attacks and must attempt both attacks against the same target. This counts as a full attack for the purpose of any abilities that reduce your penalties to attacks.

Twinned Threat
While wielding at least two one-handed melee weapons, when you successfully attack and deal damage with one of those weapons, you gain a +2 insight bonus to damage with all other one-handed melee weapons you wield until the end of your turn. This bonus increases by 1 for every 4 soldier levels you have. Additionally, if you are wielding two identical one-handed melee weapons and make a full attack using both, increase the DC of those weapons’ critical hit effects by 1 until the end of your turn

Unarmed Mauler
Your unarmed strikes gain the wound critical hit effect and are treated as having an item level equal to your soldier level for the purpose of determining save DCs. You can take this gear boost twice. The second time you take it, your unarmed strikes instead gain the severe wound critical hit effect, and the DC to resist this effect increases by 1. If your unarmed strikes already have a critical hit effect, when you score a critical hit, you apply either the unarmed strike’s normal critical hit effect or the wound (or severe wound) critical hit effect granted by this gear boost.

Unburdened Shield
Whenever you’re wielding a shield, you ignore the shield’s armor check penalty and speed adjustment (if any). If the shield has a maximum Dexterity bonus, you also ignore its maximum Dexterity bonus.

Unstoppable Strike (7th)
Your attacks with weapons that deal energy damage slice through part of your target’s resistances. If your attack with a weapon does not already overcome the target’s energy resistance, treat the target’s energy resistances as though they were each 5 lower. At 15th level, treat the target’s energy resistances as 10 lower.

Unyielding Bulwark
While wearing heavy armor or powered armor, you gain a +4 insight bonus to your AC against bull rush, reposition, and trip combat maneuvers.