Bladesinger Preview!

[Journeymanmage]

Int/Dex so it's already fail right from the start.

Don't boost Dex then ....

Buy up to a 12 or use a racial +2. Never boost. The "2ndary" at-will, no action effect does "dex damage and a carrier". If you use the 2ndary on a minion, 1 or 100 points of damage, it doesn't matter, the minion is gone. If you use the 2ndary on a non-minion, the carrier (-x to hit, slowed, combat advantage) can be more important than the extra damage.

Story-wise, Dex/Int makes sense. They're a Bladesinger. Elven agility and grace (dex) combined with their ancient knowledge of the Arcane (int).

 

[Ryujin]

It should be a paragon path for arcane classes, period. Trying to shoe-horn the concept into the wizard as a sub-class is all sorts of fail.

You mean like the way that the Hexblade was shoe-horned into the Warlock? Seems to work OK and I'm liking this one, too. It's built sort of like an extended Paragon Multi-classed character.

 

[Mummolus]

Mmmm, wizard utilities...

 

[Stalker0]

I think its a neat blend of concepts:

1) I really enjoy the at-wills. Firstly, they don't replace my basic attacks. I can buff my basics and still use them in conjuction with my at-wills.

Further, they are flexible. I can compound damage on a single target or spread it to two.

2) I think using wizard spells is a great idea. This way we don't have to write huge new lists of powers for each and every class. The wizard list has had a lot of time to gain polish with erratas, so putting it to use for new classes seems fine to me.

3) The lack of dailies is a good think imo. Wizard Dailies would be too good with all the other advantages this class gets. However, getting more flexibility in encounter powers is a good thing imo.

 

[shamsael]

has anyone checked to see where that patch code leads?

Personally, I don't see why I should trust the authenticity of this.

 

[Spatula]

Wand Expertise.

Hmm, I suppose that means that we aren't getting all-purpose expertise/focus feats. Bummer for the bladesinger, who has to choose between boosting the at-will melee attacks or the daily implement attacks. Too bad for them that they can't use staves.

I really don't understand WotC's reluctance on this front. Before Essentials, the only real issue was that there was no implement focus feat, making weapon implements a superior choice. Now... bleh.

 

[The Little Raven]

The thing is, the original bladesinger was a kit for the 'demibard' in the Complete Book of Bards... demibards being 'How to get around barding racial restrictions.'

It was also considered broken as hell.

Besides... look at the name itself. Bladesinger.

The iconic bladesinger was in the Complete Elves' Handbook, and every iteration thereafter (3.0 bladesinger, 3.5 bladesinger, 4.0 Swordmage) has been based on that one, which was a fighter/mage.

I can't even find a reference to bladesinger in the Bard's Handbook, and it explicitly lists 4 bard kits for races (Dwarven Chanter, Elven Minstrel, Gnome Professor, and Halfling Whistler), as well as giving a table of bard kits that demihumans can take w/level limits.

And the bladesinging refers to the sound the sword makes when you are wielding it, with the implication that your smooth and constant motions with it make it sing.

 

[Obryn]

I think its a neat blend of concepts:

1) I really enjoy the at-wills. Firstly, they don't replace my basic attacks. I can buff my basics and still use them in conjuction with my at-wills.

Further, they are flexible. I can compound damage on a single target or spread it to two.

2) I think using wizard spells is a great idea. This way we don't have to write huge new lists of powers for each and every class. The wizard list has had a lot of time to gain polish with erratas, so putting it to use for new classes seems fine to me.

3) The lack of dailies is a good think imo. Wizard Dailies would be too good with all the other advantages this class gets. However, getting more flexibility in encounter powers is a good thing imo.

I agree 100% with all of the above.

Judging the class on its own, I think it will work. I mean, yeah, it's not necessarily a perfect controller. And making it a Wizard is weird. But when you look at how it works with the other stuff it's trying to do, it basically looks like it will work.

I'm a lot more interested in neat stuff that works than in preserving some sense of unnecessary symmetry or illusory sensibility.

I may be a minority here, but much as I love the Swordmage, giving this guy Swordmage powers would give it a wildly inappropriate flavor.

-O

 

[Obryn]

I'd be more concerned why it isn't a bard. That's its pedigree after all.

...fighter mage indeed....

Nope. It was a Fighter/Wizard kit under 2e. And their shtick was ... hitting things with swords and casting Wizard spells.

Bards in 2e kinda did that, too, mind you, but they weren't Bladesingers.

There were no Bladesingers in 1e, and 1e bards cast Druid spells, not Magic-User spells. Now, Rangers on the other hand, cast both Magic-User and Druid spells.

-O

 

[Walking Dad]

Maybe this is the reason why they gave the wizard miss effects for their encounter powers in the last class playtest -> so the bladesinger isn't the only class with dailies that are neither reliable, nor have a miss effect