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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Asisreo" data-source="post: 9211219" data-attributes="member: 7019027">I think we understand that the general consensus is that ranged is superior than melee for all except damage that is guaranteed to land. But when distances larger than 30ft are involved, ranged tends to be superior. While there are many downsides to ranged options, feats tend to cover those weaknesses while keeping pace with the melee options, pushing ranged to an even greater tier of damage.But there is still one thing ranged attacks cannot overcome: the affects of being prone. If an opposing force finds themselves under fire by ranged enemies, the optimal strategy is to go prone at the end of your turn, then pop back up to retaliate (or dash if you don't have ranged options), then go prone again if you aren't within melee distance. A melee character, in theory, prevents this from being an optimal strategy as a melee character would then have advantage and could even grapple the enemy to force them to stay on the ground. However, even this isn't really enough. If the ranged PCs have Crossbow Expert, then can take the role of a melee character without losing out on anything. Meaning that even within a melee character's own niche, the ranged character is still practically just as effective. However, if prone were to be buffed defensively, then melee characters could reinforce their position as a welcome niche in a party. One way to buff proned is to make it so that all ranged attacks, not just those over 5ft away, have an accuracy debuff. And, rather than disadvantage, you could use a debuff equal to the proned character's proficiency modifier or dex modifier, to show that they're not just getting low, but they're actively getting low in order to avoid ranged threats. Finally, we could actually nerf proned against melee characters by giving them disadvantage to avoid or free themselves from grapple checks.</blockquote>

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