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Bladesinger - a criticism of its design
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<blockquote data-quote="James Gasik" data-source="post: 7238919" data-attributes="member: 6877472"><p>"High armor class isn't an issue, do something other than target their AC, problem solved". I'm not calling you out here, Waterbizkit, but I've heard this sort of comment a lot, and I want to point out a few problems with it.</p><p></p><p>Many enemies only really target AC. Even spells can target AC. So what you're saying is "force high AC guys to make saving throws". To do this, you have to start using more enemies that force people to make saving throws than target AC. Which is kind of unrealistic, as AC should be targeted pretty much all the time. Further, by doing this, you're not only making AC less useful (a buff for people with low AC), but you're also punishing a player's decision to have a good AC.</p><p></p><p>It's ludicrously easy to get high AC in 5e, and I see it happen more and more because, again, AC is targeted a LOT. There are no other defenses, so the game boils down to "attack AC, occasionally ask for saving throw". Most characters, by design, suck at saving throws, so skewing the game where saves are more common, having AC targeted less often is not going to end well. Anyways, knowing that AC is targeted a lot, players naturally decide they want higher AC. Which is pretty trivial.</p><p></p><p>The problem with the Bladesinger's AC is really that, while a Wizard can invest in higher AC, this usually comes at some cost. Higher Dexterity, Feats spent on armor proficiency, multiclassing, or playing a Mountain Dwarf. Or lol, you can be a Bladesinger and be rewarded for...investing in high Intelligence. </p><p></p><p>The bonuses on Concentration are more of the same. Normally a Wizard needs to invest in higher Constitution, spend Feats on Resilient or Warcaster, be a multiclassed caster by starting as a Fighter or Sorcerer...or again, lol, be a Bladesinger and have a benefit just handed to you. At fairly low level. Compare and contrast playing a Transmutation Wizard, a fairly weak specialty, which can net you Constitution save proficiency at...level 6.</p><p></p><p>Now as far as melee goes...yeah, the Bladesinger is far from top tier in melee. But it's an option now, where it wouldn't really be one for a standard Wizard. In addition, by giving the Bladesinger Extra Attack, it's an option for when the magic runs out. It's probably not a better option than, say, spamming Firebolt, but it is an option that can be improved (magic weapon) and that works just fine when you're forced into melee, or when the enemy is resistant to fire, etc..</p><p></p><p>Really, it's comparable to the Valor Bard...except you give up far less to be a Bladesinger than a Valor Bard does, when you look at how amazing the College of Lore is for the Bard. And you get better AC options right away, where the Valor Bard has to wait until level 3. </p><p></p><p>This isn't to say that the Bladesinger isn't giving up anything- you can't be, say, a Divination, Abjuration, or Evocation Wizard, which are pretty great choices. But the Bladesinger gives you a lot as well, and it's very front-loaded. You're getting more at level 2 than most other subclasses grant at level 3. </p><p></p><p>Again, let's compare a level 6 Bladesinger and a level 6 Eldritch Knight. Both have Extra Attack. The EK has Second Wind and Action Surge, the Bladesinger has two uses of Bladesong. The EK has standard Fighter-y goodness, such as all armor and weapon proficiency..the Bladesinger has light armor, a single martial one-handed melee weapon, and...Performance. The Bladesinger is able to cast 3rd-level spells and the EK is still only casting 1st. This gets a little better at level 7...oh wait, not really. 2nd level spells and War Magic are nice, but compared to 4th level spells...? </p><p></p><p>I don't have a problem with the Bladesinger, because you have to play one carefully to do anything in melee. You're still a primary spellcaster, and have fragile hit points. But at the end of the day, even if you find you can't do anything in melee, you're still...a primary spellcaster. With arguably the best spell list in the game. And you got a lot more free stuff from your subclass at level TWO, than most other subclasses. Hell, just that benefit on concentration- you're better at casting spells in melee than the Cleric, who is designed to cast spells in melee!</p><p></p><p>EDIT as Capn Zapp posted while I was working on this: Sure but isn't the complaint more that "if the game is balanced around the point-buy option, why is point-buy presented as an option"? Why say "hey you generate stats by rolling dice, but if you do, lol, the game is horribly unbalanced", THEN say "hey if you want a balanced game, use point buy instead, lol".*</p><p></p><p>*This sentence is not intended to imply that the writer thinks point buy is balanced, but instead, that the writer acknowledges many people feel that this is the case.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="James Gasik, post: 7238919, member: 6877472"] "High armor class isn't an issue, do something other than target their AC, problem solved". I'm not calling you out here, Waterbizkit, but I've heard this sort of comment a lot, and I want to point out a few problems with it. Many enemies only really target AC. Even spells can target AC. So what you're saying is "force high AC guys to make saving throws". To do this, you have to start using more enemies that force people to make saving throws than target AC. Which is kind of unrealistic, as AC should be targeted pretty much all the time. Further, by doing this, you're not only making AC less useful (a buff for people with low AC), but you're also punishing a player's decision to have a good AC. It's ludicrously easy to get high AC in 5e, and I see it happen more and more because, again, AC is targeted a LOT. There are no other defenses, so the game boils down to "attack AC, occasionally ask for saving throw". Most characters, by design, suck at saving throws, so skewing the game where saves are more common, having AC targeted less often is not going to end well. Anyways, knowing that AC is targeted a lot, players naturally decide they want higher AC. Which is pretty trivial. The problem with the Bladesinger's AC is really that, while a Wizard can invest in higher AC, this usually comes at some cost. Higher Dexterity, Feats spent on armor proficiency, multiclassing, or playing a Mountain Dwarf. Or lol, you can be a Bladesinger and be rewarded for...investing in high Intelligence. The bonuses on Concentration are more of the same. Normally a Wizard needs to invest in higher Constitution, spend Feats on Resilient or Warcaster, be a multiclassed caster by starting as a Fighter or Sorcerer...or again, lol, be a Bladesinger and have a benefit just handed to you. At fairly low level. Compare and contrast playing a Transmutation Wizard, a fairly weak specialty, which can net you Constitution save proficiency at...level 6. Now as far as melee goes...yeah, the Bladesinger is far from top tier in melee. But it's an option now, where it wouldn't really be one for a standard Wizard. In addition, by giving the Bladesinger Extra Attack, it's an option for when the magic runs out. It's probably not a better option than, say, spamming Firebolt, but it is an option that can be improved (magic weapon) and that works just fine when you're forced into melee, or when the enemy is resistant to fire, etc.. Really, it's comparable to the Valor Bard...except you give up far less to be a Bladesinger than a Valor Bard does, when you look at how amazing the College of Lore is for the Bard. And you get better AC options right away, where the Valor Bard has to wait until level 3. This isn't to say that the Bladesinger isn't giving up anything- you can't be, say, a Divination, Abjuration, or Evocation Wizard, which are pretty great choices. But the Bladesinger gives you a lot as well, and it's very front-loaded. You're getting more at level 2 than most other subclasses grant at level 3. Again, let's compare a level 6 Bladesinger and a level 6 Eldritch Knight. Both have Extra Attack. The EK has Second Wind and Action Surge, the Bladesinger has two uses of Bladesong. The EK has standard Fighter-y goodness, such as all armor and weapon proficiency..the Bladesinger has light armor, a single martial one-handed melee weapon, and...Performance. The Bladesinger is able to cast 3rd-level spells and the EK is still only casting 1st. This gets a little better at level 7...oh wait, not really. 2nd level spells and War Magic are nice, but compared to 4th level spells...? I don't have a problem with the Bladesinger, because you have to play one carefully to do anything in melee. You're still a primary spellcaster, and have fragile hit points. But at the end of the day, even if you find you can't do anything in melee, you're still...a primary spellcaster. With arguably the best spell list in the game. And you got a lot more free stuff from your subclass at level TWO, than most other subclasses. Hell, just that benefit on concentration- you're better at casting spells in melee than the Cleric, who is designed to cast spells in melee! EDIT as Capn Zapp posted while I was working on this: Sure but isn't the complaint more that "if the game is balanced around the point-buy option, why is point-buy presented as an option"? Why say "hey you generate stats by rolling dice, but if you do, lol, the game is horribly unbalanced", THEN say "hey if you want a balanced game, use point buy instead, lol".* *This sentence is not intended to imply that the writer thinks point buy is balanced, but instead, that the writer acknowledges many people feel that this is the case. [/QUOTE]
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