D&D 4E 4e Ranger: New God of Damage? Armor Splinter + Blade Cascade + High Wisdom Ranger

[Lore Raithbone]

Well, what I was GOING to say before ppl RUDELY INTERRUPTED ME, was, using Armor Splinter effectively puts the tactical onus on the defender. They have 1 round to get out of dodge, before they get smacked. This could mean they move away, forcing the ranger to chase after them, and if Blade Cascade couldn't be used on the same turn that you move, well.... But as it turns out, no more FRAs.

Action points let you make that attack right away; granted we are using an encounter power + a daily + an action point here to pull off this combo.

 

[That One Guy]

Apologies, sir. (I just sort of assumed the combo was based on using an action point...)


Edit: Ninjas are mammals.

 

[mmaranda]

That does initially sound really gross. But (and this is a big but) the ranger is a striker and therefore should have the potential for massive damage output.

 

[Lore Raithbone]

That does initially sound really gross. But (and this is a big but) the ranger is a striker and therefore should have the potential for massive damage output.

There is a difference between massive damage output and "I can one-shot Orcus with this combo" however.

edit: to clarify, I am refering to the normalized limited damage table in the DMG in the combat section under unusual circumstances. That table provides a rough level by level guide to damage, with 4d10+3 being "high limited", i.e. very high but a once-off thing, roughly equivalent to an encounter power but closer to a daily. The power stands fine by itself, when you are looking at a 50% chance to hit anyway. When comboed with favorable conditions, however, it gets progressively better.

For what its worth, note that you need to fail on a 1 for the power to be truly broken. If you miss on a 1-3, you have a 44.37% chance of landing 4 hits (.85 x .85 x .85 x .85). If you miss on a 1-4, that chance drops to 32.77% to get 4 hits.

 

[Someone]

It's more like "I killed orcus in under 6 seconds and now my arms feel like jelly"

 

[wedgeski]

Would it be fair to say that anything that you don't want to be one-shotted by a Paragon or Epic Ranger will have powers and/or immediates that kick in before it'll ever happen. I don't have the MM yet so I couldn't say.

 

[Mort_Q]

Blade Cascade having no limit of attacks is kinda silly.

One bad roll and you stop. That's a limit.

Seriously, to hit a serious number of multiple targets the ranger needs to be flanked...

... seems balanced enough.

 

[Engilbrand]

You're talking about what level by this point? Against enemies with what outlandish abilities and ridiculously high AC? The Wisdom-focused Ranger then throws STR against their AC? You're using an action point, encounter and a daily to do it? Where's the problem?
Seriously. It doesn't seem like that big of a deal. A first level Dragonborn Fighter, if lucky, can dish out a little over 70 damage. I haven't even seen the books and I figured that out. It's no big deal. If you have to use up that much to do it, it should be crazy.


I don't need answers to those questions. They're meant to be that way.

 

[Nifft]

Even without Blade Cascade, the Ranger is the new god of damage.

Keep in mind Orcus can tail-slap you prone as an interrupt just for moving or shifting next to him, so he's not exactly helpless.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Mort]

There is a difference between massive damage output and "I can one-shot Orcus with this combo" however.

I would like to see how it actually plays before jumping to massive conclusions. There are some serious limiting factors here:

1) After getting hit by armor splinter the target gets a full round to act before you go again. So for example you armor splinter Orcus (lowering his AC but for the moment doing around 2(W) damage) he's either going to get away - or more likely he's going to focus all his attacks on your lightly armored not so high HP self.

2) You then have to blade cascade - which if you're lucky - massive damage (I'd like to see the math - I bet it's highly unlikely even against a lowered AC that hitting more than 5 times in a row is statistically likely). If you're not - congrats your daily just did 2(W) + strength damage.

[edit: hadn't considered using an action point. still if you're using an encounter power, an action point and a daily on one creature that combo should be nasty]

3) Considering the team nature of D&D other 15 level dailys may actually be nastier with Armor splinter. Consider both with confounding arrows and stunning steel you have multiple chances to stun or even immobalize your target (which is very nasty when others then have a go at him).