D&D 5E Are ranged attacks too good in 5e?

[FrogReaver]

It's also worth noting that it's often much easier to get advantage with melee characters than it is with ranged ones (prone is a common position and can be achieved in numerous ways).

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Hm, maybe merging STR and CON together would work? So the downside of going ranged is that you're now squishy.

Possible. But probably not going to happen. Looking at the concepts there is quite some overlap between strong and healthy, but not in all cases.
Making it a houserule would probably work well enough.

 

[FrogReaver]

So after 10 years of playing DnD I can say that even though dex looks stronger on paper, for fighter types str is more impcatful.

I think they are fairly balanced. Ranged is often preferred on paper but many benefits of str melee are under appreciated.

On a second note: it is of course possible to have decent dex and str, so if you go high dex and don't dump str to 8 you are ok and if you are a str fighter and you don't want to go last all the time and be halfway capable in ranged combat, don't dump dex to 8.

I've not yet found a build that it's really worth going dex and str with.

And to be perfectly clear: for non fightery/clericy characters that want to do their job of protecting their party dex is of course superior, but that is the way it has always been and is totally ok.

IMO, healing is typically the best way to protect the party. Having a melee tank is typically to help keep enemies from focus firing and to help keep concentration spells up and ranged attacks from having disadvantage (though XBE can mitigate that 2nd need).

 

[Garthanos]

The biggest benefit of a melee character is OA's - which is often one of the least focused on aspects for them in optimization discussions.

What tools does 5e offer to improve OAs?

 

[Garthanos]

I think they are fairly balanced. Ranged is often preferred on paper but many benefits of str melee are under appreciated.

The functional frequency of being swallowed by the sandworm seems low.

 

[Garthanos]

Possible. But probably not going to happen. Looking at the concepts there is quite some overlap between strong and healthy, but not in all cases.
Making it a houserule would probably work well enough.

instead of merging... one might give strength based buffs to the fighter in form of thps.
It would be one part of making the melee fighter better at dealing with multiple opponents couldnt hurt either.

 

[Rogerd1]

Part of the buff melee concept... nods.

And maybe allow some of the jedi-like powers, such force jump (or some DnD) equivalent, or something from Gurps Martial Arts, or Savage Worlds type powers. I mean the old Leap from Savage Supers would work in this to be honest. Each power point (chi or surge points) you put into it allow you to double your jump, length or height.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I've not yet found a build that it's really worth going dex and str with.

I would not go 20/20...

but a barbarian or ranger can well afford going 20/14, because both use medium armor. In the case of the ranger you probably can't easily afford going strength because you also need Con and Wis...
Except when you aim for a more defensive build without a fast 20, rather concentrating on taking feats like resilient con and combat casting.
Maybe as a Variant Human ranger you could go
16/14/14/8/14/8 and resilient constitution.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

instead of merging... one might give strength based buffs to the fighter in form of thps.
It would be one part of making the melee fighter better at dealing with multiple opponents couldnt hurt either.

I personally also like that better. I also would like cleave/damage on a miss depend on strength for the fighter.
I liked that in 4e. Could be added to two handed fighting style or just on top.

 

[Garthanos]

I've found Str to be useful in the "lifting and shifting" departments, but there are many ways of bypassing those, and the sort of physical obstacles where athletics is useful. Using rope and block & tackle, using a party mount, any Druid can shift into a form able to shift more weight than most fighters can, or simply having more party members join in.
Dex is a major save, and has three times the skills associated with it.

However the biggest factor is Initiative and ranged combat. Going before your opponent is always beneficial and is effectively getting an extra action in the combat. Outside of a few specific builds, damage in melee is pretty equivalent, but high Dex gives not only better damage, but also far superior range.

The only thing that Dex loses out on is a single point of AC generally.

A ranged combatant also does not have to move to get to the next enemy after downing one it can mean a full round of zero offense just moving for the str/melee combatant. A javelin throw is a delay of game which slows your closing to the next enemy and is much less effective than your multi attacks this is why having charge be a base maneuver helps by doubling the melee combatants ability to become in threatening reach ... if you could throw the javelin at the end of the charge for boosted effect even better.