D&D 4E 4e Ranger: New God of Damage? Armor Splinter + Blade Cascade + High Wisdom Ranger

[Lore Raithbone]

You know, I think it might be easier to simply gives this power exploding dice. Make a 2[W] attack with the main hand and a 2[W] attack with the offhand, if you roll max damage on a die roll it again (exploding dice).

Do you feel this keeps a similiar feel to the power? I am trying to come up with something to replace it with for an upcoming game.

 

[ZombieRoboNinja]

I'd say just cap it at 4 hits, and if the last one hits it's an auto-crit. That way, you get the "tons of attacks" feel of the original, plus a nice burst at the end.

 

[Darth Cyric]

There's something weird about Ranger dailies.

At level 9 you have Attacks on the Run, also known as OMGWTFBBQ. It's 6[W]+2Stat.

At level 15, you have the current subject of conversation.

At level 19, you have Cruel Cage of Steel, which is 5[W]+3Str. Er, what??

At level 25, you have Bloodstorm: 4[W]+2Str. I AM PAST MY PEAK! HALP!

Real Rangers take Tiger's Reflex at 25 anyway, if they're going to swap anything at all.

 

[Mirtek]

I don't honestly see this coming up. Over the normal course of play, after months and months, maybe even years, I can't see someone saying, "Hahaha! Now I can do infinite damage to Orcus and kill him!"

Maybe not against Orcus, but as soon as the ranger hits lvl 15 and takes this power it will be attempted once per day against the strongest opponent they face. Even if it only works in half of the attempts, you will see one elite/solo slaughtered this way every two days.

 

[AllisterH]

Maybe not against Orcus, but as soon as the ranger hits lvl 15 and takes this power it will be attempted once per day against the strongest opponent they face. Even if it only works in half of the attempts, you will see one elite/solo slaughtered this way every two days.

Question though is, what's the chance of that in actual play? Unless it is a one shot game, wouldn't the standard TWF ranger place his stats as follows

STR, DEX, CON?

Basically, is this more of a pun-pun or a Natural Spell type of breakage?

 

[Mirtek]

The actual killing blows are str vs. con attack, aren't they?

While the set up relies on Wis, it does so only if we suppose the ranger does it all by himself. If he has enough allies giving him bonuses to hit it works just the same, in this case the ranger may not even need to spend an action point

 

[Khaim]

Question though is, what's the chance of that in actual play? Unless it is a one shot game, wouldn't the standard TWF ranger place his stats as follows

STR, DEX, CON?

Basically, is this more of a pun-pun or a Natural Spell type of breakage?

First of all, Natural Spell isn't exactly one of the hidden gems of optimization. It was in the PHB, for crying out loud! As is this.

Second, a TWF ranger actually doesn't need Dex. At all. Nor does he need Con for any of his powers; he might still want it for HP and surges, but he doesn't need it. Meanwhile, Wis is a clear secondary for both types of rangers, much more so that most other classes' secondaries. So Str/Wis/Con is not unreasonable.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

First of all, Natural Spell isn't exactly one of the hidden gems of optimization. It was in the PHB, for crying out loud! As is this.

Second, a TWF ranger actually doesn't need Dex. At all. Nor does he need Con for any of his powers; he might still want it for HP and surges, but he doesn't need it. Meanwhile, Wis is a clear secondary for both types of rangers, much more so that most other classes' secondaries. So Str/Wis/Con is not unreasonable.

How does he get his AC? Heavy Armor?
And, for this build to work perfect, you really want to win initiative.

 

[Mort_Q]

Don't hard cap it... if you must nerf it, give each subsequent attack roll a cumulative penalty. Give them the possibility of hitting on a natural 20.

That said, I don't think it needs to be nerfed.

 

[JesterPoet]

I still don't see that your average player is going to build this ranger at level one, and take him through 29 levels this way.

Sure, if you're letting your players build level 30 characters, then they can optimize their hearts out... but if this is the way they want to play, maybe they need to spend some time at lower levels for a while. Let them try to EARN this "game breaking" ability.