Monte Carlo versus Monster Manual 3

[OchreJelly]

And here I was, thinking you were debating buying a classic car vs an RPG supplement.

And I read the title and thought it said "Monte Cook versus Monster Manual 3" and I was like "what?" Clearly I need more coffee.

 

[eamon]

Extremely minor nitpick: I see you don't end the battle when ragnarok drops, but only once's he's really dead - but while he's dying, he's takes a -5 penalty to all defenses and grants combat advantage, which isn't accounted for.

What's the cause of the major jump at level 11? Hammer Rhythm? Marked Scourge? Some paragon path feature? An extra item use? All of the above?

 

[keterys]

I think most characters see a jump like that at 11th, but if you look at the original thread, he actually gave the % difference from adding each element. If I recall, Hammer Rhythm was a very big deal.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

I think most characters see a jump like that at 11th, but if you look at the original thread, he actually gave the % difference from adding each element. If I recall, Hammer Rhythm was a very big deal.

Yeah, miss damage was a pretty big factor from what I remember. Its not a lot of damage but when you're dealing with higher defense opponents it contributes a pretty decent chunk to your DPR.

 

[Truename]

Extremely minor nitpick: I see you don't end the battle when ragnarok drops, but only once's he's really dead - but while he's dying, he's takes a -5 penalty to all defenses and grants combat advantage, which isn't accounted for.

Oops! Nice catch. I doubt it affects the results--in all the examples I've looked at, once Ragnarok goes down, he dies, even when he rolls multiple natural 20s to bounce back. (It's happened.)

What's the cause of the major jump at level 11? Hammer Rhythm? Marked Scourge? Some paragon path feature? An extra item use? All of the above?

Each half-tier sees a major jump in survivability, for some reason. At level 6, it's the even-level AC boost combined with Meliorating Plate armor. At level 11, it's Hammer Rhythm. Here's my archived results from that run:

Level 10 Ragnarok (vs. Level 11 challenges): 2.2% +/- 0.9%
Add level 11: 6.2% +/- 1.5%
Upgrade Plate to +3 Meliorating Gith Plate Armor: 24.4% +/- 2.7%
Add Dwarven Durability feat: 30.2% +/- 2.8%
Retrain Improved Initiative feat to Hammer Rhythm: 94.6% +/- 1.4%
Add Enduring Warrior (Iron Vanguard feature): 95.8% +/- 1.2%
Add Ferocious Reaction (Iron Vanguard feature): 96.1% +/- 1.2%
Add Frontline Surge (Iron Vanguard power): 95.9% +/- 1.2%

Keep in mind that I had Ragnarok facing level + 5 opponents in order to get survivability down below 90%. He misses way more often than he hits, which is probably why Hammer Rhythm mattered so much.

 

[Truename]

Combat Length--brute vs. soldier

Here's how the brute affects combat length (in rounds):

Lvl  Soldier  Brute  Diff
1    4.8      4.3    -0.5
2    6.4      5.4    -1.0
3    7.4      6.4    -1.0
4    6.5      5.4    -1.1
5    7.0      5.9    -1.1
6    8.4      7.1    -1.3
7    8.3      7.1    -1.2
8    8.0      6.8    -1.2
9    8.2      7.0    -1.2
10   9.1      7.7    -1.4
11   8.2      8.0    -0.2
12   7.5      7.3    -0.2
13   8.5      8.1    -0.4
14   7.2      7.0    -0.2

 

[keterys]

So, a mild but consistent improvement in that respect at least.