Explain the Warlock to me.

[Andor]

The Warlock is supposed to be the arcane striker, right?

My understanding of the striker role is such that he should be doing a pile of damge, right? But very few of his powers seem to be really heavy hitters. I'm just not seeing the heavy output that the ranger and rogue can dish out.

When I read through the Warlock I notice he has two basic tricks:

1) He can attack any defense he pleases, so he should be about the most reliable hitter in the group.

2) A lot of his powers let him add 2 stats to his damage which will make his damage very consistant.

So is reliable and consistant damage really the same as larger but slightly less reliable and swingier damage?

 

[Yaezakura]

Warlock's Curse allows the Warlock to deal extra damage to every cursed enemy.

The heavy-hitting Warlock is generally the Infernal Pact one, who likes to sit in the middle of enemies and soak up hits while dealing them back stronger.

The Star and Fey Pact Warlocks focus a bit more on mobility and crippling enemies.

But they all do the job of a Striker admirably, even if they don't seem to at a glance.

 

[Mengu]

So is reliable and consistant damage really the same as larger but slightly less reliable and swingier damage?

Yes?

It really just depends on the expected damage output. If you do 1 damage every round for 20 rounds, your expected damage output is the same as someone doing 20 points of damage, once every 20 rounds. Obviously neither is ideal.

While this isn't as well advertised as it should be, the Warlock's abilities also seem to make the warlock more survivable than the other strikers. Every at-will attack other than Eldritch Blast has a defensive element. Dire Radiance discourages the enemy from approaching you, Eyebite makes you invisible to them, and Hellish Rebuke makes the enemy not want to hurt you. Two of the three pact boons are also quite defensive. And your attacks tend to give penalties, or do unpleasant things to the enemy.

So the warlock is more of striker who strikes the enemy's will to fight back. He doesn't quite match the raw damage output of the Ranger or Rogue, but he is almost more fun with all the perks you get from a successful hit.

 

[Deadstop]

Well, he's got the Curse, which is his "add extra d6s" damage boost along the lines of the Rogue's Sneak Attack and the Ranger's Hunter's Quarry.

He's the only one of the Strikers who can place that damage boost on multiple enemies at the same time (though I don't know how many area-effect powers he has to actually use it more than once).

I'll admit, though, that I haven't looked hard at the raw damage on his powers as compared to the other Strikers'.


Deadstop

 

[corwyn77]

Well, he's got the Curse, which is his "add extra d6s" damage boost along the lines of the Rogue's Sneak Attack and the Ranger's Hunter's Quarry.

He's the only one of the Strikers who can place that damage boost on multiple enemies at the same time (though I don't know how many area-effect powers he has to actually use it more than once).



Deadstop

You can still only apply curse damage once per round anyway. However it still allows Pact Boon to kick in when anyone kills your cursee.

 

[Felon]

Honestly, I wonder about this myself. I don't see where the extra little bit of damage from the curse makes him a "striker". Feel the same way when comparing fighters and rangers. If you're all averaging 2W and 3W damage, getting an extra d6 and d8 on a given attack really isn't making a world of difference. Not when you're fighting level 1 kobolds with 36 HP, and HP just skyrocket from there.

 

[WOLead]

Don't forget the various "Sustain: Minor/Standard" Daily powers under the Warlock's command. At times, depending on luck and the roll of the dice, he can use the same power consistently against his targets. So while a Warlock's Daily might have less initial damage, Curse of the Bloody Fangs or Curse of the Black Frost could last a couple rounds instead doing damage.

 

[hairy stinkeye]

Honestly, who really cares about a couple points of average damage when you can light someones mind on fire or make them walk off a cliff because they think they're covered with scorpions?

 

[VannATLC]

Star Pact warlocks do an amazingly good job of erasing undead.

I'm DM'ing, and hadn't realised just how many of their powers are 'radiant' damage.

*shrug* We have a rogue and a Warlock, and they seem to come out about even, in the end of an encounter, for damage dealt.

 

[Mengu]

Assuming Rogue has combat advantage, Ranger is attacking Hunter's Quarry, Warlock is attacking cursed target, Paladin is attacking his mark. Ranger and Warlock do not have Prime Shot.

Expected damage vs Kobold Dragonshield:
Level 1 Human Trickster Rogue with 18 Dex, 14 Cha, Sly Flourish, Weapon Focus Dagger: 9.1
Level 1 Human Archer Ranger with 18 Dex, Twin Strike, and Weapon Focus Longbow: 8.0
Level 1 Human Greatweapon Fighter with 18 Str, Reaping Strike, and Weapon Focus Maul: 8.0
Level 1 Human Warlock with 18 Con, Eldritch Blast: 7.8
Level 1 Human Avenging Paladin with 18 Str, 14 Wis, Holy Strike, and Weapon Focus Maul: 6.3

The Warlock, using one of his other powers, has a chance of doing more damage during the round, but I'm unable to assign a probability for that, and so can't calculate a solid value, but will be a bit higher. The Rogue is going to be a more challenged gaining combat advantage, compared to the other strikers gaining their bonus damage, so his average damage will be a bit lower.

I think the Greatweapon Fighter should be dubbed at least a part time striker.