"Fixing" Damage Boosting Items / Armbands of Power, Bloodclaw etc.

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

A lot of people see this items as "too good" or "too important".

Banning is the easy fix. I prefer complicated approaches, so here is mine:

The damage bonus granted by such items cannot exceed +1 point per tier.

So, a +4 Radiant Weapon or Staff of Ruin adds +2 to damage (Paragon Tier).
The Armbands of Iron Power (or what they are called) or Bracers of Perfect Shot add +1 instead of +2 at Heroic Tier, +2 at Paragon Tier, and +3 at Epic Tier.
For weapons one could compensate a little with a higher critical damage die, if there is still one higher available.

I think this restriction might not be necessary for bonuses that only apply to basic attacks. Using a basic attack is typically a suboptimal solution anyway, and you will always end up using non-basic attacks. (Even if you have some at-will powers that count as basic attacks.)

The Bloodclaw weapon is slightly differently:
Use this power before making a melee attack on your turn. You take 1 point of damage (2 points at paragon tier, 3 points at epic tier) . This damage cannot be reduced or prevented in any way. If you hit, increase the damage your target takes by 2 points (4 points at paragon tier, 6 points at epic tier) or 4 points (6 points at paragon tier, 8 points at epic tier) with a two-handed weapon.



An additional "fix" might be to ensure that all these bonuses are declared item bonuses. So you can pick how you get your bonus, if you feel you must have it, but there is no stacking and you still have some slots free for other options.

 

[keterys]

You just buffed +1 Bloodclaw for 2H users. I suspect not intentionally?

So lately I've come to an odd mixed feeling on these items. I hate that they're ubiquitous, effectively required, far better than all other options.

On the other hand, I like the game playing faster.

 

[ZzarkLinux]

The Bloodclaw weapon is slightly differently:
Use this power before making a melee attack on your turn. You take 1 point of damage (2 points at paragon tier, 3 points at epic tier) . This damage cannot be reduced or prevented in any way. If you hit, increase the damage your target takes by 2 points (4 points at paragon tier, 6 points at epic tier) or 4 points (6 points at paragon tier, 8 points at epic tier) with a two-handed weapon.

This does not fix the problem where:
: I own BloodClaw weapon A
: Activate BloodClaw on weapon A
: Quickdraw another powerful weapon B
: Attack with weapon B

This fix would be to change it to:
Use this power before making a melee attack with this weapon on your turn.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

You just buffed +1 Bloodclaw for 2H users. I suspect not intentionally?

So lately I've come to an odd mixed feeling on these items. I hate that they're ubiquitous, effectively required, far better than all other options.

On the other hand, I like the game playing faster.

No, not intentional, but I think not necessarily problematic either. Maybe Blood Claw weapons now become "mandated" at the first 5 levels or so...

If you like faster gameplay, how about giving everyone a free Weapon/Implement Focus/Expertise?

As you say, your issue is that they feel "required" to you, but they give a positive benefit. Just give the benefit for free and give players back their options to choose style over substance.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

This does not fix the problem where:
: I own BloodClaw weapon A
: Activate BloodClaw on weapon A
: Quickdraw another powerful weapon B
: Attack with weapon B

This fix would be to change it to:
Use this power before making a melee attack with this weapon on your turn.

See, that's what happen if you ignore the character optimizations board and miss the real cheese. I think that abuse is "theoretical" - should it happen, the solution is Core Rulebook to the head. I might even get Pathfinder for that purpose.

 

[eriktheguy]

This does not fix the problem where:
: I own BloodClaw weapon A
: Activate BloodClaw on weapon A
: Quickdraw another powerful weapon B
: Attack with weapon B

This fix would be to change it to:
Use this power before making a melee attack with this weapon on your turn.

It also doesn't fix the problem where a ranger says
I activate my +6 bloodclaw weapon
I activate my +6 reckless weapon
I wear by +6 iron armbands
I get the +30 bonus to damage on my next attack
Rinse, repeat

I would consider basically nerfing all three items, or perhaps removing them altogether. I made a high level priest once and focused on a set of feats and powers that synergized to give him high damage for most of the fight, then my little sister made a barbarian with a bloodclaw weapon that got an even higher damage bonus all the time.

Would there be any problem with turning the bonus from bloodclaw and reckless into an item bonus in addition to nerfing them? I say "of course not".

 

[Holy Bovine]

It also doesn't fix the problem where a ranger says
I activate my +6 bloodclaw weapon
I activate my +6 reckless weapon
I wear by +6 iron armbands
I get the +30 bonus to damage on my next attack
Rinse, repeat

I would consider basically nerfing all three items, or perhaps removing them altogether. I made a high level priest once and focused on a set of feats and powers that synergized to give him high damage for most of the fight, then my little sister made a barbarian with a bloodclaw weapon that got an even higher damage bonus all the time.

Would there be any problem with turning the bonus from bloodclaw and reckless into an item bonus in addition to nerfing them? I say "of course not".

Oooo sounds cool. I don't know if 30 extra points of damage is all that broken at 30th level. Hell it'd probably make the combat end in a reasonable length of time

 

[RangerWickett]

I'm personally fond of the bloodclaw spiked gauntlet, which you can wear while still wielding a two-handed weapon.

 

[keterys]

If you like faster gameplay, how about giving everyone a free Weapon/Implement Focus/Expertise?

As you say, your issue is that they feel "required" to you, but they give a positive benefit. Just give the benefit for free and give players back their options to choose style over substance.

For the game I'm running, I gave out better than free expertise _and_ reduced the hp of mobs by 20%, while quietly ensuring they didn't get those options.

For games I'm playing in... I'm just going to use Reckless or Bloodclaw or whatever. And Iron Armbands for all. And shards. And dual-wielding staff of ruin. All the stupid.

I would not try, and would advise against the DM allowing, stacking of their benefits by activating one then using another, via spiked gauntlet or otherwise. Isn't there a rule from AV or FAQ that gets around that (something about 'with the weapon wielded' or some drivel). Meh, whatever.

 

[Saeviomagy]

For games I'm playing in... I'm just going to use Reckless or Bloodclaw or whatever. And Iron Armbands for all. And shards. And dual-wielding staff of ruin. All the stupid.

And some classes will have a lot of fun, while others will get left in the dust. Which is the real problem.