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Message: <blockquote data-quote="clearstream" data-source="post: 8448629" data-attributes="member: 71699">At 5th level they gain an extra attack, at 11th level they gain an extra attack. These are the step increases I am thinking of. Can you clarify what you don't understand?Perhaps it will be clearer if I introduce the term reference-structure? So we desire diversity, but the diversity is cohered - balanced a-priori - against the reference structure.It's true that the picture in detail is more complicated, I am precising the general structure the designers are using. There is a progression in DPR, and it is steppy, with noticeable steps for for all classes at 5th and 11th level (and later of course, but I am focusing on the most played tiers.)An extra attack is a step. Rogues do spread their increases out more than other classes, but the overall transition (increase in DPR) is by design about the same.Take a look at this baseline versus the monk from a Treantmonk video. This is how a monk using their flurry of blows looks against a warlock using EB+AB+Hex (Treantmonk's baseline). When you graph expected DPR you will see something similar to this for every class. Look where the 'step increases' are occurring - 5th and 11th.[ATTACH=full]146227[/ATTACH]I think it is important to call out that the designers are attempting to create a varied game, with many possible approaches to play, so we do not see uniformity. I am giving a general description of the structure, to which there is variation that can be best understood with reference to the general structure. Let's look at the five you listLong Death - not dying is expected to improve your DPR. You'll often see with monks the designers being tricksy with defences that are also somehow offences.Mercy - Flurry of Healing and Harm. The free Hand of Harm means you get your martial die + Wis mod on every flurry. In play that is a damage boost as you now have 11 ki and can regularly flurry (it seems expected by the maths that you will do). However, the sub-class is intended to give monks a healing role and so some of the power that could have been given in damage has instead been given in healing.Open Hand - this is one of my favourite monk sub-classes and shows a case where a class is given a defence in place of stronger attacks. The designers again have traded part of the DPR step expectation for something else. That is very common across class and sub-class features. You often see that at the point where the reference-structure would suggest a DPR increase, a defence is gained instead. The point is that there is consistency to this across classes.Shadow - on effect of invisibility is advantage on attacks against creatures that cannot see you, so the 11th level feature for shadow monks is expected to increase their DPR. Not all designs are equally successful, and the designers did something here that you see across the monk class far more than others IMO, which is to inadequately consider the action economy. I think they hoped to provide a defence that would also be a damage boost, and prenerfed it by costing an action.Ascendent Dragon - I don't see how the Aspect of Wyrm destructive waves and the 11th level scaling on Breath do not count as a damage boost. Remember that these are in theory only half the monk's step at 11th. The other half is in their martial die.I believe you are taking what I am saying in very much the wrong way. Yes, 5e is diverse. How do designers manage such diversity? They work to rubrics or reference-structures. The variation that exists varies in reference to that structure. To give just one case, think about how Treantmonk uses the warlock as his baseline for evaluating classes. The reason that is so effective is because EB gains more bolts (aka extra attacks) and adds the ability modifier, which is itself scaling (agonizing), and has an easy to predict boost (Hex). He could have used the fighter, but then you have to consider different weapons, fighting styles, action surges and so on. Treantmonk's warlock baseline works because it makes visible the 'steppy' reference-structure. That provides the context for other features to be better understood.</blockquote>

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