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"Math glitch" -- explanation or pointer?
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<blockquote data-quote="kaomera" data-source="post: 4973630" data-attributes="member: 38357"><p>IMO: masterwork <em>is</em> a math fix. Without MW armors (or an equivalent scaling bonus that only applies to heavy-armor wearers) you have to either dump having ability bonuses add to the AC of light-armor wearers, or dump scaling ability scores. As long as you have a variable bonus (because ability scores go up) to some characters' ACs and not others, there is going to be a discrepancy over the course of leveling.</p><p></p><p>Expertise feats where a reaction to complaints about attacks getting less likely to hit as you reached higher levels. I think, personally, that there may have been a deliberate attempt to make higher levels "harder" (especially since things like "save-or-die" where largely taken out of 4e), but also the designers seemed to feel that players would work to get around the discrepancy. There are a lot of miscellaneous bonuses that players have access to that monsters don't, which in theory would close the gap. IMO the problem is that WotC balanced things too well, such that actually getting +4 in bonuses isn't really that workable.</p><p></p><p>Feedback proved that players weren't completely happy with this result (to put it mildly in at least some cases), and so they installed a "fix". The main issue with Expertise feats is that pretty much everyone is going to take them. Much like the Iron Armbands and such, including an option that is "the best" (or even perceived as such) works to limit flexibility. As such many groups simply hand out an Expertise feat as a bonus feat.</p><p></p><p>The system assumes a certain amount of min-maxing. It has to in order to achieve the kind of balance the designers wanted with 4e. The real problem with this, I feel, is that it creates a situation where "bonuses" aren't; they're necessities... Just staying on an even level requires the player to dedicate a lot of their resources to keeping up. And again, that limits flexibility.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="kaomera, post: 4973630, member: 38357"] IMO: masterwork [i]is[/i] a math fix. Without MW armors (or an equivalent scaling bonus that only applies to heavy-armor wearers) you have to either dump having ability bonuses add to the AC of light-armor wearers, or dump scaling ability scores. As long as you have a variable bonus (because ability scores go up) to some characters' ACs and not others, there is going to be a discrepancy over the course of leveling. Expertise feats where a reaction to complaints about attacks getting less likely to hit as you reached higher levels. I think, personally, that there may have been a deliberate attempt to make higher levels "harder" (especially since things like "save-or-die" where largely taken out of 4e), but also the designers seemed to feel that players would work to get around the discrepancy. There are a lot of miscellaneous bonuses that players have access to that monsters don't, which in theory would close the gap. IMO the problem is that WotC balanced things too well, such that actually getting +4 in bonuses isn't really that workable. Feedback proved that players weren't completely happy with this result (to put it mildly in at least some cases), and so they installed a "fix". The main issue with Expertise feats is that pretty much everyone is going to take them. Much like the Iron Armbands and such, including an option that is "the best" (or even perceived as such) works to limit flexibility. As such many groups simply hand out an Expertise feat as a bonus feat. The system assumes a certain amount of min-maxing. It has to in order to achieve the kind of balance the designers wanted with 4e. The real problem with this, I feel, is that it creates a situation where "bonuses" aren't; they're necessities... Just staying on an even level requires the player to dedicate a lot of their resources to keeping up. And again, that limits flexibility. [/QUOTE]
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"Math glitch" -- explanation or pointer?
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