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Ranged Defender: Doable?
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<blockquote data-quote="Rechan" data-source="post: 4594039" data-attributes="member: 54846"><p>As I worked on that, a few thoughts generally came to me.</p><p></p><p>First being I can imagine a ranged defender could pick between dex attacks (for ranged weapons), or Str based for heavy thrown weapons. </p><p></p><p>But more from a design perspective, I can see a lot of places to look for inspiration. The Barbarian is a mobile melee striker who just screams 'HIT ME'. He has benefits for being attacked (one of which is doing more damage on a particular power if a target makes a basic attack against him). The Bravura Warlord also gives monsters reason to attack (granting them basic attacks); if he's attacked, others get bonuses. Both of these classes emphasize the enemy punishing the target, and in general making themselves very big fat targets. The Battlerage Vigor fighter gains a benefit from being hit, in a very defendery fashion (he gets temp HP instead of more damage or benefits his friends). The trick here is linking range, defenderness, and getting hit together somehow. </p><p></p><p>To address the ranged defender making ranged attacks in melee (and doing things once he's managed to get targets to pursue him), I can see effects that constitute 'enemy can make an OA against you, but if it does, it gets penalized or you get a benefit'. Just like any other effect in the game, the monster should be aware of what's coming (the book says that the target of a power, like a mark, or any other effect, understands what's happening to it). </p><p></p><p>For the <strong>Martial</strong> ranged defender, the mark that transfers damage doesn't make as much sense. Aside from a marking mechanism like Combat Superiority, allowing the RD to make a ranged attack if a target doesn't attack him, I can't think of one. But I think that an auto-ranged attack if the RD isn't targeted is too powerful because it has no limitation; the Fighter has to be in melee to benefit, so he is limited by foes being adjacent. The RD would dominate the field if he could just attack anyone for not attacking him. One solution might be to reduce the damage that a RD would do; a flat 1[W] instead of 1[W]+Dex. This might put it a little closer in the neck of the woods to the Paladin's divine challenge. Although, the Swordmage does get to port over and get a free attack, but he's still limited by having to mark someone in a burst 2 to begin with, and he ends up completely moved, too, exposed to the monster. </p><p></p><p>A possibility beyond the Transference mark for a non-Martial Ranged Defender would be an effect that 'If target does not attack you, and it hits someone else, it must make an immediate second attack. If this second attack hits your AC (or other relevent defense), the attack is resolved to have hit you instead.' </p><p></p><p>Other potential powers I do like would be basically taking a condition that an ally is suffering and transfer it to yourself. (This is different from Leaders who let PCs make extra saving throws.) Finally, a Martial Ranged Defender class feature could be an encounter power that is as follows: Immediate Reaction, when bloodied from a melee attack, make a basic ranged attack that does not provoke OAs.</p><p></p><p>Edit: The more I think about it, the more a Martial Ranged Defender might not work, simply due to contriveness. Simply because I can't think of an efficient way for a MRD to pull a target towards him/an elegant method for a mark. An Arcane/Divine ranged Defender can get away with more close bursts and blasts in melee (to avoid OAs) as well as ranged attacks. But if the class can use several Close attacks, there's less incentive to use straight Ranged powers to cause OAs in order to gain benefits.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Rechan, post: 4594039, member: 54846"] As I worked on that, a few thoughts generally came to me. First being I can imagine a ranged defender could pick between dex attacks (for ranged weapons), or Str based for heavy thrown weapons. But more from a design perspective, I can see a lot of places to look for inspiration. The Barbarian is a mobile melee striker who just screams 'HIT ME'. He has benefits for being attacked (one of which is doing more damage on a particular power if a target makes a basic attack against him). The Bravura Warlord also gives monsters reason to attack (granting them basic attacks); if he's attacked, others get bonuses. Both of these classes emphasize the enemy punishing the target, and in general making themselves very big fat targets. The Battlerage Vigor fighter gains a benefit from being hit, in a very defendery fashion (he gets temp HP instead of more damage or benefits his friends). The trick here is linking range, defenderness, and getting hit together somehow. To address the ranged defender making ranged attacks in melee (and doing things once he's managed to get targets to pursue him), I can see effects that constitute 'enemy can make an OA against you, but if it does, it gets penalized or you get a benefit'. Just like any other effect in the game, the monster should be aware of what's coming (the book says that the target of a power, like a mark, or any other effect, understands what's happening to it). For the [B]Martial[/B] ranged defender, the mark that transfers damage doesn't make as much sense. Aside from a marking mechanism like Combat Superiority, allowing the RD to make a ranged attack if a target doesn't attack him, I can't think of one. But I think that an auto-ranged attack if the RD isn't targeted is too powerful because it has no limitation; the Fighter has to be in melee to benefit, so he is limited by foes being adjacent. The RD would dominate the field if he could just attack anyone for not attacking him. One solution might be to reduce the damage that a RD would do; a flat 1[W] instead of 1[W]+Dex. This might put it a little closer in the neck of the woods to the Paladin's divine challenge. Although, the Swordmage does get to port over and get a free attack, but he's still limited by having to mark someone in a burst 2 to begin with, and he ends up completely moved, too, exposed to the monster. A possibility beyond the Transference mark for a non-Martial Ranged Defender would be an effect that 'If target does not attack you, and it hits someone else, it must make an immediate second attack. If this second attack hits your AC (or other relevent defense), the attack is resolved to have hit you instead.' Other potential powers I do like would be basically taking a condition that an ally is suffering and transfer it to yourself. (This is different from Leaders who let PCs make extra saving throws.) Finally, a Martial Ranged Defender class feature could be an encounter power that is as follows: Immediate Reaction, when bloodied from a melee attack, make a basic ranged attack that does not provoke OAs. Edit: The more I think about it, the more a Martial Ranged Defender might not work, simply due to contriveness. Simply because I can't think of an efficient way for a MRD to pull a target towards him/an elegant method for a mark. An Arcane/Divine ranged Defender can get away with more close bursts and blasts in melee (to avoid OAs) as well as ranged attacks. But if the class can use several Close attacks, there's less incentive to use straight Ranged powers to cause OAs in order to gain benefits. [/QUOTE]
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