New Errata/Updates at Wotc

[Ryujin]

It is frequently possible to obtain a static bonus that doesn't stack with, but performs the same function as, a situational bonus. From a strictly mechanical standpoint why would anyone take the latter, if the former was available?

 

[Jhaelen]

Of course, I am a German, we like taxes.

Wha...?

This is all wrong!

Noone in Germany likes taxes (well maybe collecting taxes is fun, but I wouldn't know about _that_). I'm already behind again with my annual tax declaration. These days I just don't seem to be able to send them in in time.

I guess, I'm hanging around in online forums too much...

 

[Mengu]

I'm playing an invoker and was looking for some of those interesting conditional damage options. I combined Gauntlets of Blood with Bloodthirst, figuring with multi-target attacks I could often find a bloodied target. In the last 4 encounters we had, that extra +4 damage came into play twice I think, and I am always on the lookout for bloodied targets so I can use that little bonus. but bloodied targets die so fast, I rarely get a shot at them (and about a third of the time when I do, it misses). So a feat and an item slot yields +4 damage every other encounter, that seems very poor. Perhaps tactically I could just hold my actions until something got bloodied, but that doesn't seem very economical.

Bonuses on opportunity attacks, or combat challenge attacks, or when you are critted, are not very controllable conditions. So even if an item gave me +10 damage on opportunity attacks, I'm not sure if it would be enough of an attraction.

Things that can be tactically attained, such as flanking, attacking with combat advantage, attacking a marked target, attacking a target with no adjacent allies, etc, are the better conditions for such bonuses, and I'd like to see more bonuses for these controllable conditions.

 

[keterys]

Of course. But the more controllable it is, the less effective it should be.

Of course, you _could_ redo all of the items so that the armbands are the norm and things grow from there, but that seems highly unlikely to happen since it would mean redesigning, what, 95%+ of the items.

Which is why the armbands get brought up as a problem. They're the outliers.

 

[Doctor Proctor]

Bonuses on opportunity attacks, or combat challenge attacks, or when you are critted, are not very controllable conditions. So even if an item gave me +10 damage on opportunity attacks, I'm not sure if it would be enough of an attraction.

Actually, things like OA's and Combat Challenge are controllable...by the DM. I would be very wary about taking something like a +10 damage on an OA, because that's one sure fire way to make sure I never get an OA again! (My DM already hates giving me OA's and CC attacks anyway, due to my habit of killing the guys...especially when I crit for 30 damage!)

Things that can be tactically attained, such as flanking, attacking with combat advantage, attacking a marked target, attacking a target with no adjacent allies, etc, are the better conditions for such bonuses, and I'd like to see more bonuses for these controllable conditions.

These things are controllable by the players, which is why they would come up more. Also, note that many of these things already have bonuses associated with them...they're just feats.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Of course, due to working far more universally, and especially in passive instead of once per encounter or day roles, those items should be much less powerful than other types.

Exactly: if people want their iron armbands, then the iron armbands should be a lot weaker than they are. At present there is no damage dealing alternative that's anywhere near as good, and since there are lots of damage dealing alternatives, it suggests that the armbands are overpowered.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Wha...?

This is all wrong!

Noone in Germany likes taxes (well maybe collecting taxes is fun, but I wouldn't know about _that_). I'm already behind again with my annual tax declaration. These days I just don't seem to be able to send them in in time.

I guess, I'm hanging around in online forums too much...

I should have written "we like complex tax systems", but that doesn't really fit, I think, and so I had to resort to lies.

 

[AllisterH]

Exactly: if people want their iron armbands, then the iron armbands should be a lot weaker than they are. At present there is no damage dealing alternative that's anywhere near as good, and since there are lots of damage dealing alternatives, it suggests that the armbands are overpowered.

Not true.

Radiant Weapons don't stack with iron armbands and you can actually exceed iron armbands with proper feat and power selection.

 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

We've had the armband argument multiple times before in multiple threads - is this really the place to rehash it, and wouldn't it be better to discuss the actual erratta changes rather than whether armbands should or should not have been erratted too?

 

[keterys]

Not true.

Radiant Weapons don't stack with iron armbands and you can actually exceed iron armbands with proper feat and power selection.

Summer Weapons stack with them just fine, at the same level. And I'm not entirely sure what either it, or radiant, or any feat or power, has to do with arm slot items