At-Will damage scaling too slow?

[keterys]

I don't know about his, but the one I group with with Brash Strike is something like:
2d6b1 = 8 + 5 (Str) + 5 (Con) + 3 (Enh) + 2 (Item) + 2 (Feat) + 9 (Bloodclaw), which turns into 34 damage.

Around 16th you'd be looking at another 6 or so damage (+1 Str/Con, +2 Item, +1 Enh, +3 Wis)

Edit: Oops, and I forgot Marked Scourge, that's another +3 on top of all that...

 

[RickVigorous]

Could you post the specifics of this?

Obviously, I can't speak for Markn, but here's one way to do it: take a dwarf fighter 16 with the battlerager technique and the pit fighter paragon path. Use Brash Strike. Starting stats are 16 Str, 16 Con, 16 Wis, with stat bumps going to Str and Con. Assume a +4 weapon. On a hit with Brash Strike, you'll do [W] + Str + Con + Wis + 4, or [W] + 17. Let's assume the weapon is a maul, so the [W] is 2d6, average 7. Battlerager adds 2 damage whenever you have temps. Average damage on a hit is now 26. Add in any of the following: iron armbands of power, weapon focus, marked scourge. Heck, add them all: let's say +2 for the armbands, +2 for weapon focus, and +3 for marked scourge. Average damage is now 33.

I have a 15th level warlord whose average damage on a hit with an at will is 32.5 (bloodclaw fullblade +4 and +4 iron armbands of power are his only damage boosts). A fighter with the same gear could easily get damage in the 40s.

 

[LightPhoenix]

I've recently started DMing paragon tier with my party and it seems that when a battle lasts long enough to resort to at wills...that the combat really starts to drag. While there are things I can do to help with this (monster fleeing, adjusting HP of monsters in favor of damage...etc)

I feel compelled to direct you to Stalker0's excellent thread on grind here, even if Stalker0 won't do it himself.

 

[DracoSuave]

Disregard, forgot racial mods.

 

[babinro]

I'm wondering if almost all damage builds simply use Bloodclaw's based on the crazy damage output.

Anyway, some solid advise, particularly StalkerO's grind article. I tend to keep battles at the same level at the party but my terrain could use work based on some of the examples posed in that thread.

In the end I'll likely do the 20-30% hp drop +1/2 damage houserule for monsters like soldiers,solo's, elites. I was kind of hoping to avoid that extra work, little though it may be.

 

[DanmarLOK]

One way to boost damage across the board is to apply +1/2 level to damage to the first damage roll of all powers for both PC and NPC. It's a fairly simple and trivial thing to implement. It does need a corresponding +1/2 level to healing mechanisms as well though to keep it moderately balanced.

 

[keterys]

I'm wondering if almost all damage builds simply use Bloodclaw's based on the crazy damage output.

I use Reckless on my barbarian... because I'd had my wife's character take bloodclaw and I didn't want to have the same equipment. The crit-based character in the party has Bloodiron.

Radiant can be a decent pick if you get dragonshards to boost radiant damage.

Staff of Ruin is popular too, of course.

I know a bard who PMC-ed into Sorcerer and despite PMC's rumors of being unplayable he's dealing quite solid damage.

In the end I'll likely do the 20-30% hp drop +1/2 damage houserule for monsters like soldiers,solo's, elites. I was kind of hoping to avoid that extra work, little though it may be.

You can always boost the PCs damage instead, if you want to avoid the work (and possibly make your players happier). Just be wary of how it works with multi damage roll powers (Flame Spiral, Hellish Rebuke, etc)

 

[Obryn]

I've done the "Drop HP by 1/3, increase damage by 50%" trick on a few encounters, and I both like and dislike it. On the upside, battles can go more quickly. On the downside, battles with fewer rounds have fewer chances for status effects to matter. I have decided to use it for battles where pacing is critical, and ditch it for major encounters. I don't think I have to be consistent here.

-O

 

[keterys]

That is one upside of doing it all DM-side, yes... I actually often only apply that kinda solution to certain monsters that I want to have an impact then go away, while leaving another as is.

 

[Markn]

Obviously, I can't speak for Markn, but here's one way to do it: take a dwarf fighter 16 with the battlerager technique and the pit fighter paragon path. Use Brash Strike. Starting stats are 16 Str, 16 Con, 16 Wis, with stat bumps going to Str and Con. Assume a +4 weapon. On a hit with Brash Strike, you'll do [W] + Str + Con + Wis + 4, or [W] + 17. Let's assume the weapon is a maul, so the [W] is 2d6, average 7. Battlerager adds 2 damage whenever you have temps. Average damage on a hit is now 26. Add in any of the following: iron armbands of power, weapon focus, marked scourge. Heck, add them all: let's say +2 for the armbands, +2 for weapon focus, and +3 for marked scourge. Average damage is now 33.

Karinsdad,

This is pretty close to my players build. I don't have his sheet handy as he has his own DDI account but he uses a Mordenkrad which is 2d6 and Brutal 1. So you have 2d6 + 5 Str + 5 Con + 4 Enh + 4 Item bonus + 3 Wis (dirty fighting) + 2 Feat Bonus (Dwarven Weapon Training) + 1 (Versatile Weapon used 2 handed) + 2 for temp HP + anything else I can't think of. He is 16th level at the moment. So that is 2d6 + 26 if my math is correct. Based on our experience the average result of a Brutal weapon with 2d6 is 9 instead of 7 and you get 35 points of damage.