Respec (also called character retrain in the game's difficulty options, or respecialization) is a gameplay feature in Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous that allows the main character and companions to be rebuilt. Respec is enabled by the Character Retrain option in the difficulty settings and is performed by speaking to a designated NPC at certain locations during the campaign.
Overview
Retraining allows the main character to be rebuilt from scratch, selecting new portrait, race, class(es), gender, voice, name, ability scores, feats, skills, and mythic abilities. Companions can be rebuilt only from a base state, which is usually the way they were when they joined the party. A respec preserves the character's total experience and final mythic rank; everything else — class composition, ability scores, feats, skills, selected spells, and mythic ability and feat choices — is reset and reselected through the level-up dialog. The first few respecs may be free; subsequent respecs cost gold on a fee that scales with character level and number of prior respecs.
Once a respec has been started, the full respec must be completed — all class levels and all mythic ranks spent — before play can resume. (This is different from recruiting a mercenary, where you can pause after intermediate levels.)
What is preserved
A respec preserves:
- Total experience points and the resulting final character level.
- Final mythic rank.
- The mythic path chosen at rank 3 and, if applicable, the path change at rank 8.
- Alignment, story flags, quest progress, and relationships.
A respec resets:
- Class composition (which classes and archetypes were taken at which levels).
- Ability score point-buy distribution and per-level ability score increases.
- Feat selections, skill point allocations, and class-feature choices.
- Known and prepared spells.
- Mythic ability and mythic feat selections at every rank.
Mythic path restrictions (WOTR)
- Mythic path is locked. The mythic path chosen at rank 3, and any subsequent path change at rank 8, cannot be altered through respec.
- Intermediate paths are skipped. A character who took a late-game path at rank 8 — Gold Dragon, Swarm That Walks, Devil, or Legend — will, on respec, advance directly from Mythic Hero (ranks 1–2) into the final path. Any features that came from the original rank 3–7 path are lost. In particular, Trickster feats granted by Trickster ranks 3–7, and merged-spellbook progression from Angel or Lich, do not carry through the rebuild.
Advancing mythic rank during respec (WOTR)
Unlike normal play, where mythic rank advances at scripted story events, respec advances each mythic rank through the level-up dialog. Each pending mythic rank past the first displays a "Required character level: N" prerequisite and remains unselectable until the character has reached that level through ordinary class advancement.
| Mythic rank | Minimum character level (respec only) |
|---|---|
| 1 | 6 |
| 2 | 7 |
| 3 | 9 |
| 4 | 11 |
| 5 | 14 |
| 6 | 15 |
| 7 | 16 |
| 8 | 17 |
| 9 | 17 |
| 10 | 19 |
These gates apply only during respec; during normal play, mythic ranks are granted by story events and have no character-level prerequisite. Reaching mythic rank 10 through respec is only possible in the Inevitable Excess DLC, in which characters are built at mythic rank 10 from the start.
Inevitable Excess
The Inevitable Excess DLC begins with the construction of a level 20 / mythic rank 10 character from scratch. This build is partly like character creation — any alignment can be chosen freely — but otherwise follows respec rules rather than normal character advancement:
- Mythic advancement is gated by character level, using the same table as a respec.
- The Legend mythic path is available at mythic rank 3. In normal play, Legend is reached only after taking rank 7 in a different path, so a Legend character may retain Trickster feats or merged-spellbook progression from Angel or Lich. In Inevitable Excess, Legend is taken at rank 3 from the outset, which is the same way it appears during a respec.
Known bugs and quirks
Behavior observed in patch version 2.7.0y.782. May differ in earlier or later versions.
- Trickster feats persist into level 1 of a respec. During the respec of a Trickster character who had the Knowledge (World) 3 greater trick or Perception 2 improved trick, the rebuilt character retains access at level 1 to the feats those tricks had unlocked. The feats cannot be selected again at higher levels until the corresponding mythic rank is reached and the trick is selected again. Respecs of mercenaries and companions can use the available feats at every level.
- Alignment can be temporarily masked during level 1. Alignment cannot be changed by a respec, but during the level 1 process the alignment can temporarily be treated as if it is different, allowing the selection of any class, alignment, and deity appropriate for that combination. This allows, for example, an LG character to respec into Bloodseeker, which normally requires a character to be evil. After the level 1 screen exits, alignment resets to its prior value. Some classes (such as Bloodseeker) only enforce alignment as a level 1 requirement, so this allows otherwise-inaccessible builds. Other classes (such as Druid and Shifter) enforce alignment at every level, so the character will be unable to advance past level 1 if the true alignment does not meet the class's requirement.