AV2 Item power levels

[DracoSuave]

A character that is built for charging and gets big damage increases, while being unstoppable by defenders?

Good thing 'defender' isn't a monster role.

And this exists, it's called Barbarian. The neck item doesn't help them very much.

 

[keterys]

My paladin randomly got one of these in his first adventure... and boy is it nice for him, with ardent strike, so he can charge past whoever while sanctioning the target of his charge.

 

[FireLance]

The fact that they're a near-mandatory boring static bonus (which 4e was supposed to be deliberately avoiding) makes them broken enough in my eyes.

Boring and static, I'll give you. Near-mandatory, I'm not so sure. They may be popular because: (a) many players like simple, static bonuses instead of more complex conditional bonuses; or (b) many players like to do more damage, but popularity in itself does not necessarily mean that it's broken.

Take the Astral Fire feat vs. the Invoker's Blaze feat. An Invoker multiclassed Wizard might take the former instead of the latter even though the latter is likely to deal more damage on average simply because he prefers to just gain a flat damage bonus to all his fire and radiant powers, both arcane and divine, and finds that remembering to apply the additional damage to his divine powers when he is bloodied is more trouble than it is worth.

 

[DracoSuave]

Boring and static, I'll give you. Near-mandatory, I'm not so sure. They may be popular because: (a) many players like simple, static bonuses instead of more complex conditional bonuses; or (b) many players like to do more damage, but popularity in itself does not necessarily mean that it's broken.

Take the Astral Fire feat vs. the Invoker's Blaze feat. An Invoker multiclassed Wizard might take the former instead of the latter even though the latter is likely to deal more damage on average simply because he prefers to just gain a flat damage bonus to all his fire and radiant powers, both arcane and divine, and finds that remembering to apply the additional damage to his divine powers when he is bloodied is more trouble than it is worth.

Weapon Focus: Staffs. Less MAD. for the simple is better types.

But still, a very good point here.

 

[FireLance]

Weapon Focus: Staffs. Less MAD. for the simple is better types.

Now, this is where the matter of flavor comes in. To me, using Weapon Focus (Staffs) to add a damage bonus to a staff implement power may not be broken, but it does taste of cheese. So, I tend to avoid it. The small bit of bonus damage that I sacrifice is worth the improvement in flavor to me.

 

[mneme]

I think that like most splatbooks, AV2 has some items below the curve, some just right...and some above, possibly significantly so.

Worth notice to me was the Golden Crown of Battle Command.

This is a level 14 hat that gives an untyped +2 to hit and damage to allies when you grant them a melee basic attack. For a taclord, this is taking the TL's best at-will -- which is -already- being boosted by the item and weapons of their partner...and adding another +2 to hit and damage (and then also affecting any other abilities they have that give out MBAs).

Say what? Is there -any- item that gives a bonus on this level to an at-will (stacking on top of the normal bonuses you seek)? I guess the closest are the Masters Wands, but this is far better (as it should be, being l14..but still).

 

[DracoSuave]

Now, this is where the matter of flavor comes in. To me, using Weapon Focus (Staffs) to add a damage bonus to a staff implement power may not be broken, but it does taste of cheese. So, I tend to avoid it. The small bit of bonus damage that I sacrifice is worth the improvement in flavor to me.

To me, a Swordmage not being allowed to use a Weapon Focus in his Sword to increase the damage of his Swordmage attacks that require his Sword and use his Sword as a physical accessory without being Weapon-keyworded is inelegant.

I figure if you can use a sword to do magic in a swordy way for a sword-based class, a class that can use a staff can do so in a staffy way while still being magical.

As an example:

'You swing your staff in a semicircle before you, the end of your stick contacting one enemy, and an explosion of thunder knocks him and his cohort away from you.' (Thunderwave)

'You toss your staff into the fray, and as it spins it catches on fire, flashing against the defenseless armada before returning to your hand.' (Fireball)

'You turn and spin in the form of the crane before hitting your stick against the ground. A rumbling comes forth beneath the earth before exploding in a hail of sharp crystal erupts from the earth, hovering menacingly' (Cloud of Daggers)

See. Flavor. Weapon technique affecting magic spells. Totally 4E. Totally can make sense.

 

[Flipguarder]

To me, a Swordmage not being allowed to use a Weapon Focus in his Sword to increase the damage of his Swordmage attacks that require his Sword and use his Sword as a physical accessory without being Weapon-keyworded is inelegant.

I figure if you can use a sword to do magic in a swordy way for a sword-based class, a class that can use a staff can do so in a staffy way while still being magical.

As an example:

'You swing your staff in a semicircle before you, the end of your stick contacting one enemy, and an explosion of thunder knocks him and his cohort away from you.' (Thunderwave)

'You toss your staff into the fray, and as it spins it catches on fire, flashing against the defenseless armada before returning to your hand.' (Fireball)

'You turn and spin in the form of the crane before hitting your stick against the ground. A rumbling comes forth beneath the earth before exploding in a hail of sharp crystal erupts from the earth, hovering menacingly' (Cloud of Daggers)

See. Flavor. Weapon technique affecting magic spells. Totally 4E. Totally can make sense.

Sorry Draco, but I simply disagree that weapon focus, the way I see it, could be flavored to realistically demonstrate spell prowess.

If a swordmage whacks someone with his sword, sure Im fine with weapon focus affecting that attack, but I don't see how specializing in causing the most damage possible with a weapon (this is how I view Weapon Focus), such as learning how to twist a dagger at the exact right moment, or drive a hammer through a target instead of just into, could affect spell powers.

Again, just my opinion.

 

[FireLance]

To me, a Swordmage not being allowed to use a Weapon Focus in his Sword to increase the damage of his Swordmage attacks that require his Sword and use his Sword as a physical accessory without being Weapon-keyworded is inelegant.

Elegance is in the eye of the beholder. I know that you can flavor it to make it plausible (and you have provided some fine examples) but it still feels cheesy to me.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Boring and static, I'll give you. Near-mandatory, I'm not so sure. They may be popular because: (a) many players like simple, static bonuses instead of more complex conditional bonuses; or (b) many players like to do more damage, but popularity in itself does not necessarily mean that it's broken.

(b) is pretty much a given. Doing more damage is almost always good, for any class.

I think you've missed out

(c) is far, far better than any other damage-dealing item for the same slot

I think (c) is actually the answer.