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Tension in combat
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<blockquote data-quote="Chzbro" data-source="post: 5416237" data-attributes="member: 83964"><p>Here's what I don't get about the thread: the "problem" of alpha striking parties that is "inherent" in the system seems to hint that the parties who do this take only encounters and dailies that do a lot of damage.</p><p></p><p>What about all the powers that push, pull, slide or otherwise affect the encounter area? Do alpha striking parties not have any of these powers? And does this lack not ever adversely affect them? Because if the players are able to consistently finish encounters easily purely by virtue of doing a lot of damage, then I think the advice of "build better encounters" is pretty useful.</p><p></p><p>If the PCs only choose to do damage as hard and as fast as they can because that's all they've ever needed to do to be successful, how is that a failing of the game rather than a failing of the encounters?</p><p></p><p>Likewise, why is it more tense to use "big" powers later in the fight rather than earlier? Isn't it just as tense to be out of heals, out of encounters, and trying to knock off the last few guys with at-wills before they kill you? Tension comes from depleting you resources and still having to fight on. Getting to round 3 with all your encounters and dailies does not equal more tension; it equals less. I have more options available to me.</p><p></p><p>Some of the ideas here are interesting, but I don't think I buy into the basic premise of the "problem." Saying the game is broken based on an out of context quote is a shaky foundation, but on top of that, I've never seen any evidence of this phenomenon in any of the games I've played. If it was a shortcoming inherent in the system, this wouldn't be true.</p><p></p><p>I recognize that it's possible that I've just been lucky in this regard, but honestly, if your players only choose powers with high damage expressions at the expense of battlefield control and succeed by doing so, the problem isn't with the game.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Chzbro, post: 5416237, member: 83964"] Here's what I don't get about the thread: the "problem" of alpha striking parties that is "inherent" in the system seems to hint that the parties who do this take only encounters and dailies that do a lot of damage. What about all the powers that push, pull, slide or otherwise affect the encounter area? Do alpha striking parties not have any of these powers? And does this lack not ever adversely affect them? Because if the players are able to consistently finish encounters easily purely by virtue of doing a lot of damage, then I think the advice of "build better encounters" is pretty useful. If the PCs only choose to do damage as hard and as fast as they can because that's all they've ever needed to do to be successful, how is that a failing of the game rather than a failing of the encounters? Likewise, why is it more tense to use "big" powers later in the fight rather than earlier? Isn't it just as tense to be out of heals, out of encounters, and trying to knock off the last few guys with at-wills before they kill you? Tension comes from depleting you resources and still having to fight on. Getting to round 3 with all your encounters and dailies does not equal more tension; it equals less. I have more options available to me. Some of the ideas here are interesting, but I don't think I buy into the basic premise of the "problem." Saying the game is broken based on an out of context quote is a shaky foundation, but on top of that, I've never seen any evidence of this phenomenon in any of the games I've played. If it was a shortcoming inherent in the system, this wouldn't be true. I recognize that it's possible that I've just been lucky in this regard, but honestly, if your players only choose powers with high damage expressions at the expense of battlefield control and succeed by doing so, the problem isn't with the game. [/QUOTE]
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