Decisive Strike - What ya think?
- Thread starter GralTok
- Start date
I think it's UNDERPOWERED. You heard me.
Not that it is weak, but the prerequisites are too high. Think about it. Between Improved Critical, which raises THREAT range, and Decisive Strike, which increases MULTIPLIER, which do you honestly think is more useful?
Improved Critical. Why? Simple. What use is decisive strike if you don't hit the threat range? DUH!
New Prerequisites:
Proficient with weapon
Base attack bonus +6 or higher
I know it's nasty, but no nastier, increment wise, then Weapon Focus + Weapon Specialization + Improved Critical.
If that doesn't work, replace Improved Critical with Decisive Strike, then make Improved Critical require a BAB +12, or something to that effect.
I like the Weapon Mastery ideas, but I think it could be rearranged.
Not that it is weak, but the prerequisites are too high. Think about it. Between Improved Critical, which raises THREAT range, and Decisive Strike, which increases MULTIPLIER, which do you honestly think is more useful?
Improved Critical. Why? Simple. What use is decisive strike if you don't hit the threat range? DUH!
New Prerequisites:
Proficient with weapon
Base attack bonus +6 or higher
I know it's nasty, but no nastier, increment wise, then Weapon Focus + Weapon Specialization + Improved Critical.
If that doesn't work, replace Improved Critical with Decisive Strike, then make Improved Critical require a BAB +12, or something to that effect.
I like the Weapon Mastery ideas, but I think it could be rearranged.
Anubis said:
Sorry to say, but this shows a fundamental lack of statistical analysis.
The only event where Improved Critical is better than this feat is for non-Keen x3 or x4 crit multiplier. In this event, IC does statistically more damage.
With non-Keen x2 or Keen x3 weapons, it works out to be statistically similar.
With any one configuration, this is much stronger.
Now, these seem to be a lot of qualifications, but the true danger is taking *both*. For x2 weapons, this effectively increases the amount of damage done on a crit by no less than 50%. And if you apply a Keen Scimitar Weapon Master with Improved Critical, the threat range is pretty large. As I have explained above, this can increase average damage by 33% by itself. In combination with IC, the net damage increment is roughly 50%.
So for the cost of two feats increases the avetage damage capability by no less than 50%. What other combination of two feats can do that?
Malin Genie
First Post
I think Al's statistical analysis nicely shows the problems with this Feat stacking with Improved Critical and Keen.
May I suggest the way of balancing the Feat is to have it only apply on a threat roll of 20, negating the benefit of 'stacking'.
Decisive Strike [Fighter]
Prq: Weapon Focus (chosen weapon), Power Attack, BAB +10
If you score a critical hit with your chosen weapon, and the threat roll was a natural 20, then the critical multiplier is increased by 1, and the damage dealt by the weapon (not including extra dice due to Sneak Attack, weapon enhancements etc) is maximum.
May I suggest the way of balancing the Feat is to have it only apply on a threat roll of 20, negating the benefit of 'stacking'.
Decisive Strike [Fighter]
Prq: Weapon Focus (chosen weapon), Power Attack, BAB +10
If you score a critical hit with your chosen weapon, and the threat roll was a natural 20, then the critical multiplier is increased by 1, and the damage dealt by the weapon (not including extra dice due to Sneak Attack, weapon enhancements etc) is maximum.
Malin Genie said:
If you "were" to take this approach you shouldn't limit only to 20's. It should then be limited to weapons natural critical threat range, like when vorpal kills only on a base critical range. "If" you take this route.
I also think that +6 is far to low a prerequiste to thate this fear.
Shirt Guy John
First Post
Good Crits, eh?
How 'bout a weapon master with keen Bladed Gauntlets and Improved Crit... that's like 7-20/x2 already. With this, he'd almost always be dealing hugantic damage. That would suck.
How 'bout a weapon master with keen Bladed Gauntlets and Improved Crit... that's like 7-20/x2 already. With this, he'd almost always be dealing hugantic damage. That would suck.
Whatever they corrected the bladed gauntlet to, I would highly suggest that people house rule the threat range to a balance of 18-20, otherwise the bladed gauntlet is no better than a rapier, which is a martial weapon. 17-20 may have been too much, but 19-20 is overcompensation.
As for Decisive Strike, I meant that it is better than Improved Critical "in and of itself". Meaning that a person who takes ONLY Improved Critical will do more damage on average than one who takes ONLY Decisive Strike. Any analysis otherwise is incorrect, because Improved Critical by itself doubles threat range, whereas Decisive Strike only increases multiplier by one under any circumstance.
As for Decisive Strike, I meant that it is better than Improved Critical "in and of itself". Meaning that a person who takes ONLY Improved Critical will do more damage on average than one who takes ONLY Decisive Strike. Any analysis otherwise is incorrect, because Improved Critical by itself doubles threat range, whereas Decisive Strike only increases multiplier by one under any circumstance.
Malin Genie
First Post
Valicor said:
The idea behind making it only on a natural 20 (rather than 'base range') is that IMHO you should get (roughly) the same mileage out of the Feat whether you choose a scythe or rapier or longsword. If you make it 'base range' then a rapier still gets 3 times the mileage out of the Feat than the Scythe does.
