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Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
Any decent wizard encounter 1's?
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<blockquote data-quote="KarinsDad" data-source="post: 5082078" data-attributes="member: 2011"><p>Winged Horde is definitely in the lead over Divine Bolts, but not by a lot. At least in our campaigns, the party pulls the melee foes in and Winged Horde would be 2 or 3 foes nearly every round until near the end of the encounter. For example, there are many rounds where foes will try to flank a PC. Bang. Instant 2 foes minimum in burst.</p><p></p><p></p><p>Hand of Radiance, on the other hand, is also basically broken. PHB 2 is power creep over PHB and DP is power creep over PHB 2.</p><p></p><p>Just because a power exists in a splat book doesn't mean it isn't broken. I consider Divine Bolts to be borderline broken and Hand of Radiance broken. Hitting 3 foes anywhere on the map for 1 less damage each compared to Scorching Burst's limited close burst 1?</p><p></p><p>Compare it to a Ranger's Twin Strike at mid-heroic (arguably one of the best At Will powers). 2 attacks at D12+ (assuming a Greatbow) and an additional 1D8 (with feat) if one hits. Best shot (if both hit), 2D12+2 + 1D8 = 19.5 damage on average per round (with 3 feats, weapon focus, weapon proficiency and Lethal Hunter). Compared with 3D4 +12 (3xWis) = 19.5 with no feats. Not to mention the fact that a +2 proficiency weapon hits against AC slightly less often (on average) than a power does against Reflex.</p><p></p><p>No contest. That's major power creep. Add one domain Power of Winter to Hand of Radiance and you've added a potential for 6 more damage per round over Twin Strike with 3 feats. Now, one could argue that Invokers get crappy Encounter and Daily spells, but that's not totally true either.</p><p></p><p>And, there are ways to make Hand of Radiance good too. Moon domain. Winter domain (Power of Winter, Lasting Frost, etc.). Plus, any synergy that helps with criticals like Just Presence. With 3 attack rolls on many rounds, that's a lot of criticals, especially when combined with the proper items, feats, and/or paragon path.</p><p></p><p>The only two advantages Twin Strike has over Hand of Radiance is that a) it averages more critical damage, and b) it can be done on the same foe, so it helps Action Economy faster. Granted, area attacks can often hit multiple foes. But, it is rarely 3 guaranteed targets in the equivalent of close burst 10 on most rounds.</p><p></p><p>Compare Hand of Radiance to Blazing Starfire. Yup, when Blazing Starfire hits 3 foes, it does more damage. When it hits 2 foes, it does slightly more damage (2D4+16 maybe without feats if both hit). But how many rounds can Blazing Starfire be used? Not every round like Hand of Radiance without sometimes being limited to one foe. There are going to be rounds where the Sorcerer decides to attempt 13.5 damage (with a different At Will without feats) to one foe while the Invoker is still attempting 6.5 (without feats) to 3 foes.</p><p></p><p>One might say: so what? The Sorcerer sometimes does more damage and sometimes does less. But, the Invoker is not a Striker. The Invoker is putting out nearly as much (and in some cases more) damage as the Striker and still considerably more damage than the Wizard, and can still control well when he wants to control and damage well when he wants to damage.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="KarinsDad, post: 5082078, member: 2011"] Winged Horde is definitely in the lead over Divine Bolts, but not by a lot. At least in our campaigns, the party pulls the melee foes in and Winged Horde would be 2 or 3 foes nearly every round until near the end of the encounter. For example, there are many rounds where foes will try to flank a PC. Bang. Instant 2 foes minimum in burst. Hand of Radiance, on the other hand, is also basically broken. PHB 2 is power creep over PHB and DP is power creep over PHB 2. Just because a power exists in a splat book doesn't mean it isn't broken. I consider Divine Bolts to be borderline broken and Hand of Radiance broken. Hitting 3 foes anywhere on the map for 1 less damage each compared to Scorching Burst's limited close burst 1? Compare it to a Ranger's Twin Strike at mid-heroic (arguably one of the best At Will powers). 2 attacks at D12+ (assuming a Greatbow) and an additional 1D8 (with feat) if one hits. Best shot (if both hit), 2D12+2 + 1D8 = 19.5 damage on average per round (with 3 feats, weapon focus, weapon proficiency and Lethal Hunter). Compared with 3D4 +12 (3xWis) = 19.5 with no feats. Not to mention the fact that a +2 proficiency weapon hits against AC slightly less often (on average) than a power does against Reflex. No contest. That's major power creep. Add one domain Power of Winter to Hand of Radiance and you've added a potential for 6 more damage per round over Twin Strike with 3 feats. Now, one could argue that Invokers get crappy Encounter and Daily spells, but that's not totally true either. And, there are ways to make Hand of Radiance good too. Moon domain. Winter domain (Power of Winter, Lasting Frost, etc.). Plus, any synergy that helps with criticals like Just Presence. With 3 attack rolls on many rounds, that's a lot of criticals, especially when combined with the proper items, feats, and/or paragon path. The only two advantages Twin Strike has over Hand of Radiance is that a) it averages more critical damage, and b) it can be done on the same foe, so it helps Action Economy faster. Granted, area attacks can often hit multiple foes. But, it is rarely 3 guaranteed targets in the equivalent of close burst 10 on most rounds. Compare Hand of Radiance to Blazing Starfire. Yup, when Blazing Starfire hits 3 foes, it does more damage. When it hits 2 foes, it does slightly more damage (2D4+16 maybe without feats if both hit). But how many rounds can Blazing Starfire be used? Not every round like Hand of Radiance without sometimes being limited to one foe. There are going to be rounds where the Sorcerer decides to attempt 13.5 damage (with a different At Will without feats) to one foe while the Invoker is still attempting 6.5 (without feats) to 3 foes. One might say: so what? The Sorcerer sometimes does more damage and sometimes does less. But, the Invoker is not a Striker. The Invoker is putting out nearly as much (and in some cases more) damage as the Striker and still considerably more damage than the Wizard, and can still control well when he wants to control and damage well when he wants to damage. [/QUOTE]
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Any decent wizard encounter 1's?
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