D&D 5E Damage thread

[GMforPowergamers]

I think that you might have shortchanged Rogues a little. I've found that sneak attack is much more common than 3/4 of the attacks that rogues make.

tbh I think I can count on 1 hand the number of times I remember per campaign (not night of play year long campaign) that each rogue failed to find a way to sneak attack... but I figured we just let more get it...

 

[FrogReaver]

I don’t know how I missed this thread. Wizard damage is way too dependent on number of targets you can hit. Fighter damage is way too dependent on getting in position to hit
and also on enemy AC’s and also on specific builds.

Based on these assumptions I can skew the numbers anyway you want to see them.

 

[Ancalagon]

Tonight we had a fight.

5 PCs, level 4.

The wizard did the least amount of damage - I don't remember the exact value, but it was 2d6. The rogue did 32 (acted twice), the cleric about 15, the ranger 12 (both only one action) and my PC (the apothecary, with a "hulk" subclass) did 29. We were fighting a manticore, killed it when it tried to run away and my PC slammed him with an AOO (so one action, one reaction).

The manticore was doomed. It's CR2, we're level 4, and we lured it in a bad position... BUT... What did the wizard do to do 2d6 dmg? He cast phantasmal force and completely messed up the manticore. Turned an easy fight into a cakewalk.

If you don't like the manticore example, replace it with a more powerful, low intelligence monster like say a hill giant. I suspect the result would have been the same.

What I'm trying to say is that damage is necessary to win a fight (the wizard needed the rest of the party to do some clobbering), but it's often not what really achieves victory.

 

[delph]

Biggest DPR do sorcere with Twined haste on barbarian with GWM and on Paladin - and count all of their dmg in those attack from extra action. And +2 AC and advantage on dex save, saves theyr HPs.... So he could chill with cantrips...
And there are non lethal spells with a bigger impact than just "big dmg" - banishment, polymorph etc and you erease one enemy with 160 HP and 3 attacks per round in one action...

 

[FrogReaver]

Biggest DPR do sorcere with Twined haste on barbarian with GWM and on Paladin - and count all of their dmg in those attack from extra action. And +2 AC and advantage on dex save, saves theyr HPs.... So he could chill with cantrips...
And there are non lethal spells with a bigger impact than just "big dmg" - banishment, polymorph etc and you erease one enemy with 160 HP and 3 attacks per round in one action...

I don’t find it ‘fair’ to count all the damage from haste as the sorcerers. Some of that damage is dependent on having a damage focused barbarian and Paladin in the party.

 

[Clint_L]

Wizards aren't great because of damage; they are a mediocre damage class except in certain circumstances. But they are a fantastic utility class. They should not be anywhere near to the DPR of a fighter if both are just blasting away at a single target round after round, because a wizard has so many more options.

 

[FrogReaver]

Wizards aren't great because of damage; they are a mediocre damage class except in certain circumstances. But they are a fantastic utility class. They should not be anywhere near to the DPR of a fighter if both are just blasting away at a single target round after round, because a wizard has so many more options.

Starting at level 7 a summon Fey + firebolt will out damage a CBE+SS+Precision attack using fighter (except when using action surge).

 

[GMforPowergamers]

Wizards aren't great because of damage; they are a mediocre damage class except in certain circumstances. But they are a fantastic utility class. They should not be anywhere near to the DPR of a fighter if both are just blasting away at a single target round after round, because a wizard has so many more options.

the problem I was showing is that where wizard wont win the top spot on damage (levels of optimization being equal) it is possible to keep up with and come close to the damage of a fighter any day you choose damage... days you choose utility you will blow the fighter away in usefulness... and after a few levels you can choose to prep for both and decided on the fly.

 

[delph]

I don’t find it ‘fair’ to count all the damage from haste as the sorcerers. Some of that damage is dependent on having a damage focused barbarian and Paladin in the party.

That shouldn't be fair. But that is how parties should work - together and not as a group of single damage dealers.

 

[Baldurs_Underdark]

Any analysis of only DPR is flawed because it ignores the fact that the wizard won't survive in combat without the tanks protecting it from melee attacks. If you assign a value of zero to that protection-role, then wizards gonna look much better than fighters...