D&D 5E Desperately need help, trying to catch up to party.

[Greenstone.Walker]

although the other poster did say "+5 shield" which was misleading

Yep, my bad, sorry. As you've said, I meant a "shield +3" that gives "+5 AC".

 

[CubicsRube]

Not mucb more to say here. It seems like everyone is playing 5e with 3e numbers.

2 20s, a 19 and 2 15s in statis i have never ever seen in a 5e game. Pk
Lus to be honest, i find it boring having no weaknesses.

I've played games to level 11 and have not seen people pumping out 100dmg per round on a regular basis. Either they all have op weapons (possible) or some rules are being broken (also possible).

 

[Horwath]

1. Not using standard array or point buy? Check.

2. Giving out magic items 10 levels before they should be in game? Check.

No reason to complain about game balance.

Find a normal game, then we can discuss class/feat issues.

 

[Ancalagon]

I wish people would stop saying it's built around the Point buy/standard array. It is not people the rolling method is the rule, and the array is the optional methos, as written in the rule book.

4d6 dropped the lowest will, on average, give you scores in the same range as the standard array, so yeah, so balancing around 4d6 is the same as balancing around the standard array

...Yet somehow people end up with supper high stats. Interesting hmmm?

It's *not* balanced around 4d6 drop the lowest try 5 times in a row wink wink nudge nudge.

 

[ad_hoc]

I wish people would stop saying it's built around the Point buy/standard array. It is not people the rolling method is the rule, and the array is the optional methos, as written in the rule book.

The standard array is just as much the default rule as rolling is.

It is point buy that is listed as a variant.

The reason people say that it is built around the standard array is that having a max of +3 means that the character has somewhere to progress with ASIs.

If all the characters start with 20s there is nowhere to go. If a table rolls they should definitely not use feats because there is no real choice. Feats should be taken every time.

Also, with bounded accuracy even a +2 to all things is a huge deal. I used to love rolling for stats and HP. I won't do either in 5e. It just doesn't work. HP is even worse. A low HP character is KO'd very quickly, and their party will likely soon follow.

 

[Oofta]

I would say that your party is full of munchkins who are either cheating (knowingly or not) or have taken optimization to an extreme. For example most barbarians should top out at around 20 AC, damage should be at most around 60 (flaming greatsword with great weapon master) give or take a few points assuming they always hit and ignoring the occasional crit.

That's neither good nor bad. I wouldn't run a game like that and wouldn't find it fun to play in that game, but that's just a personal preference. What is bad is that you feel left behind in every way. As a sword-and-board champion fighter you should be more about consistency than DPR. You should have just about the best AC barring the occasional spell, same with damage. Yes other builds are going to be able to nova occasionally but slow and steady should equal out in the long run.

So you need to talk to your DM, we can't help you. Does the barbarian have a belt of cloud giant strength? Is he wearing armor while still adding in dex and con bonuses? Ask for those kind of things as well. If you're going to play a super-munchkin game, ask your DM what you can get to become a super-munchkin yourself.

Character classes in 5E are never going to be perfectly balanced, but the difference should be much less significant than what you're seeing. So talk to your DM, talk to your group. Let them know what the issue is and why and work with them to figure out how to fix it.

 

[BookBarbarian]

So I am trying to figure out why my character lacks so much damage in combat. I am well below the average of the rest of my party. I will add in below the classes we are playing and our average damage. I will also added my character sheet, hope it helps. Also I am fairly new to 5e, I have always played 3.5.

Me: Human Fighter (Melee), I usually average around 30 damage per turn.

Goliath Barbarian averages, about 100 damage per turn.

Human Fighter (Ranged), averages about 110 damage per turn.

Half-Elf rogue, averages about 70 damage per turn.

Half-elf ranger, averages about 65 damage per turn.

Human cleric, he usually just spends his time healing.

Hello! It seems you have some really powerful magic items enhancing your AC, perhaps the other players have really powerful items enhancing their damage?

Magic items are fiddly things. I prefer to have just a few really special ones in my game rather than toss out so much that they feel non-special.

 

[Steffen Haeuser]

Hmmm, about magic items... usually the DM has the choice what he throws at the party... he just needs to be careful there, and think this through... In worst case we occasionally redesigned the "stats" of an item (while leaving the style the same) if it turned out too powerful, especially in combination with other features.

 

[Caliban]

I wish people would stop saying it's built around the Point buy/standard array. It is not people the rolling method is the rule, and the array is the optional methos, as written in the rule book.

And I wish people would actually check the rules before saying this, since it's untrue.

If you care to read the rules in the PHB , both rolling and standard array are the default method (PHB, page 13, 2nd paragraph). Point buy is under "Variant: Customizing Ability Scores" on the same page.

The standard array is simply the average result of "roll 4d6, keep 3". If you have a party full of characters with ridiculously high stats, then it is incredibly unlikely they were generated with the default rolling method.

 

[redrick]

I think this is a good illustration of how super high ability scores can break the balance of the 5e.

Imagine a Barbarian with the ability array listed up top. 20 STR. 19 DEX. 20 CON. That character would have an Unarmored AC of 19, the same as a Fighter in plate with Defensive Fighting Style. The Barbarian doesn't have to worry about disadvantage on Stealth checks, doesn't have to invest a class resource into the extra point of AC, and gets Fighter level defenses with Barbarian-level HP.