Obryn
Hero
Rather than spam up an irrelevant thread, I figured I'd fork this discussion.DracoSuave said:Warden's can't really stop that tactic very well either. At best, they can pull a guy -after- he's charged and done his work. I wouldn't call Wardens non-sticky.
The party just needs to work with the battlemind in order to make his abilities work. I've heard of this 'The enemy shifts and charges the party' but most of the time, what is that guy doing away from the defender? And the battlemind, unlike the fighter (even with Combat Agility), paladin, swordmage, OR warden, can shift in response to -all- the foes he has marked, which is an advantage you've not noted.
Without a level of assistance from the party, a defender can expect to hold down one enemy, which in normal encounters, means everyone has an enemy to themselves... in other words, the defender isn't doing his job. The party works with the defender, or they get smacked.
Battlemind can be worked with, but requires tactics and positioning. But it's not difficult to give the enemy zero options. Stay within two squares of a battlemind, and that tactic you describe isn't gonna work so well.
AND, I figured I'd make it interesting. See below.
The chief difference with Paladins, Swordmages, and Wardens is that their mark whammy works at a distance. They have less of a need to be sticky than the Battlemind, because they can still punish at range. Battleminds have no such luck - they are the only Defender who is neither sticky, nor has a ranged mark.
Battleminds, put simply, are much better at their jobs if Blurred Step is a free action, timed as a reaction. Timed as an interrupt, it allows for cute tricks, but it doesn't make them any better at their job. I think it's kind of silly to assert that the way it currently works is the way it's supposed to work.
So, I'll put my money where my mouth is. WotC has two ways to deal with mistakes - errata and mechanical "pseudo errata" such as new class mechanics (Divine Sanction) and feats (Versatile Expertise). I have a strong suspicion Blurred Step will end up in the May errata. While there's a chance that Blurred Step will be fixed by an upcoming feat tax, I'm willing to take that risk. So...
If there is no errata on Blurred Step next update, I'll change my avatar and status to an image and phrase of Draco's choosing.... IF he agrees to do the same, if there is errata on Blurred Step in May. (All keeping within board rules, of course.) The new avatar and status would stay until the end of May.
What do you say?
-O