Barbarian is up!!!

[Wonka]

Also, on the mention of orcs (well, ok half-orcs), IMO far and away the coolest art in the whole article is the dwarf surrounded by the orcs. The look on the dwarf's face is priceless. Anyone else feel like those orcs are in for a surprise?

 

[MkaY]

Hhmmm.. I don't even know where to start. I had a fool's hope that there WOULD be barbarian multiclass feat included but "surprise surprise" there was not.

I would like to hear some opinions what kind of multiclass feat it could be? Any suggestions? Since we are currently using homebrew multiclass barbarian version in our group and we decided that we can use that until the playtest arrives. Any suggestions?

I know that it actually isn't easy task this time

 

[Belphanior]

If you cant use it until level 5, dont give it out until level 5. Problem solved, and the mechanic (which I happen to like) still works.

I also like Rage Strike, but not giving it until level 5 would be worse. It's a class feature. This isn't the era anymore where you need to level up in order to get your class features; you have them all at level 1. If it's something you get later it's a power, feat, or PP/ED feature.

Now that said, I think Rage Strike is absolutely fine on every account. It's simple, effective, an innovative way of breaking out of the default striker build, and it doesn't discourage people from going nova anymore (which every other class can do).

 

[TerraDave]

And the mighty barbarian is: overcomplicated and fiddly?

There is rage(strike), there is needing to remember when to get your temp hp, there is needing to remember your extra crit attack....

...by themselves, ok, but put them together, and Conan's head starts to hurt.

 

[TerraDave]

Also:

thaneborn=cheifly?

 

[Wonka]

I also like Rage Strike, but not giving it until level 5 would be worse. It's a class feature. This isn't the era anymore where you need to level up in order to get your class features; you have them all at level 1. If it's something you get later it's a power, feat, or PP/ED feature.

Now that said, I think Rage Strike is absolutely fine on every account. It's simple, effective, an innovative way of breaking out of the default striker build, and it doesn't discourage people from going nova anymore (which every other class can do).

I personally have no issue with it not being usable until 5th level, I was merely offering a potential solution to someone who did find the idead clunky. I actually like the mechanic as its written. I think to many people are going crazy without doing any playtesting, some stuff that people think seems broken might not be so much when playtesting is done. There is no possible way any of these are anymore than just theoretical problems. By this I mean they are perceived problems. They might not actually be as big a deal in playtesting, or they will be as bad as thought. Just saying give the class a playtest And I do hope people are sending feedback to the developers about their concerns. Im hoping we get the developers behind this to post their thoughts on why they did things, that always helps to get a sense of what their basis for design choices were.

And the mighty barbarian is: overcomplicated and fiddly?

There is rage(strike), there is needing to remember when to get your temp hp, there is needing to remember your extra crit attack....

...by themselves, ok, but put them together, and Conan's head starts to hurt.

Just cause Conan has a low Int, doesnt mean the controlling player does

 

[Baumi]

Since my post got ignored (besides Jack99 ... thx ) I wanted to repeat my suggestion since I think that this would clear all the problems with the Rage At-Will:

I think the Rage-At-Will is ment to spent the rage (so you are no longer in that "stance") you are in, instead of expending another Daily.

So if you are raging you gain your typical bonuses from that daily until you decide to put your whole (leftover) rage into one strike but are exhausted afterwards (rage ended).

This would make more sense IMHO since you could use it from level 1 onward and would give you a meaningfull tactical choice (much damage now or rage bonuses for a few rounds more...).

 

[Jack99]

Since my post got ignored (besides Jack99 ... thx ) I wanted to repeat my suggestion since I think that this would clear all the problems with the Rage At-Will:

Yeah. Problem was that I was still half asleep. While it makes total sense (Unleash your fury in one great hit), the power states that it must be a unused rage power you expend.

 

[Wonka]

Since my post got ignored (besides Jack99 ... thx ) I wanted to repeat my suggestion since I think that this would clear all the problems with the Rage At-Will:

Yes it did get lost Its a nice idea on the surface, however, there is a slightly hidden problem with that. Doing it that way, you are basically getting an "extra" use of your daily that way. First you use the daily to deal the listed damage/effect and enter your rage. Then, you lose your rage and deal the damage based on the level of the rage. So for a level 1 daily rage, you are getting the initial 3[W] for using it, then another 3[W] for expending your rage, getting a total of 6[W] from one daily power. Seems slightly out of balance to me. Level 25 ones get 7[W] + 8[W] for 15[W], just seems a but too much to me.

 

[Mengu]

I'll start by saying I like most of what I see, but I feel a few tweaks are needed.

My initial concern after reading it was, why wouldn't a barbarian's first feat be chain armor? Since they don't rely on Dex or Int, it seems odd. Most barbarians will feel obliged to get this feat, and even possibly follow it up with light shield and scale. That's such a boring path of feats. Since 4e is trying to get away from the auto-pick feats, I think this issue needs to be addressed.

I also don't like Rage Strike at all. It's a waste of space. There is no way I want to encourage a character to give up a daily power to nova in one encounter.

I would gut out Rage Strike (don't see any need for it), and replace it with a class feature that allows the barbarian to use their constitution or charisma as an AC bonus instead of dexterity or intelligence, if they are wearing light armor. This puts them on par with two weapon rangers and warlocks.

If the intent was to make it so Barbarians are easier to hit, but can absorb more damage (as the class description seems to indicate), then the class is not going to work as is. Chain armor is way too tempting to resist, though I guess this isn't terribly different than the wizard and leather armor.

I don't have a problem with the way Howling Strike works aside from paragon multiclassing concerns. That part can easily be fixed by imposing some sort of requirement without changing the mechanics.

This class also suffers from "everyone can do it but dragonborn can do it better" syndrome.