PHB Classes: What needs love?

[mlund]

I wish the Archery Ranger had a little bit more incentive to pick that path over the Two-Blade Ranger path. Even when you do all Archery Powers you've still probably going to take the Bonus Toughness feat and the ability to off-hand a one-handed weapon over Defensive Mobility.

Other than that, the classes are great. The age of the Wizard obsoleting the Skill Monkey and the CODzilla overshadowing the Martial types has come to an end. Ding dong the witch is dead!

- Marty Lund

 

[MrGrenadine]

I definitely DON'T want to see more wizard spells UNLESS all other classes get an equal amount of new powers. The equality of classes is one of the best changes that 4E brought to D&D.

Couldn't disagree more. The wizard pays for his or her versatility with lower hp and AC. You can't equate fighter powers with wizard spells--one is rooted in the physical abilities, knowledge and training of the fighter him or herself, and the other is based on the wizard's mental ability to control a form of energy present in the universe.

They should have distinctly different powers and flavors, because they are distinctly different concepts.

MrG

p.s. I know--my fighter/ wizard definitions are subjective. I agree.

p.p.s. Of course, the system should be robust enough to handle a hardy melee oriented wizard, and a smart swashbuckling fighter, or any gish-type concept you can come up with. But the original 4--fighter, cleric, rogue, wizard--should be significantly different and distinctive.

 

[Rith the Wanderer]

I think there are plenty of feats for people who are willing to spread out their stats a little. If you max your attack stat for a 20, then no, you aren't going to have many feats available. I think this is probably intended to force people to spread out the stats a little, but it might've just ended up with people not taking class feats, because very few are able to offset that +1 attack and damage alone.

 

[Zurai]

I think there are plenty of feats for people who are willing to spread out their stats a little.

Try building a physical ranged attacking character (ranger or rogue). There aren't even any Epic feats applicable to ranged weapons.

 

[Lord Sessadore]

Yeah, that was an oversight, in my opinion. Are there even any Paragon ranged weapon feats? (No books with me)

 

[Zurai]

Yeah, one for bows and one for crossbows.

 

[Ziana]

Distant Shot (no -2 penalty at long range), Point Blank Shot (ignore cover/concealment within 5 squares), Sly Hunter (+3 bow damage to isolated target), Steady Shooter (+3 crossbow damage if you don't move), Devastating Critical (general crit improvement). All pretty limited in value.

 

[cdrcjsn]

I wish the Archery Ranger had a little bit more incentive to pick that path over the Two-Blade Ranger path. Even when you do all Archery Powers you've still probably going to take the Bonus Toughness feat and the ability to off-hand a one-handed weapon over Defensive Mobility.

- Marty Lund

Just because the two-weapon path offers something unique (wield a larger weapon in your offhand), it's still of marginal value when you never use it...

At that point, you only consider the bonus feat that each path offers.

 

[Felon]

Anybody notice any other holes which should be addressed in a future product or Dragon article?

Sure. How about giving dextrous, non-spellcasting characters an incentive to invest in Intelligence?

Or, if you wanted something more specific, a way for rogue's to milk a good Int score.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

I want (and hope martial power provides) a new path for warlords that make them go more off wis, and a Path for Rangers that have animal compainions (see merls teaser in rebuilding old class articule)