Ray of Frost

[Falling Icicle]

An alternative is that all Wizards get Magic Missile at first level, similar to a Warlock's Eldritch Blast. I rather doubt that alternative, but it probably should be mentioned.

I hope not. When one only gets two at-will powers (excluding cantrips), I'd really hate to have one of them chosen for me. I don't think we know for sure that all Warlocks have to take Eldritch Blast, either.

ncc: Well, I'm sure that they wouldn't want Encounter powers to be a basic attack.

RoF is at-will, not an encounter power.

 

[Vaeron]

Why is Magic Missile allowed to function as a ranged basic attack, but Ray of Frost isn't? Since you only get to pick two at-will spells, this could be a problem for those who take RoF over MM.

Maybe because Ray of Frost automatically slows opponents that it hits, as well as does almost the same amount of damage as an MM?

 

[JohnSnow]

RoF is at-will, not an encounter power.

However, on Tira's character sheet, it's listed under her "per-encounter" powers. Yes, its writeup says it's a wizard "at-will" power, but that does not appear to be the case for Tira. We haven't yet seen it on a wizard's character sheet.

So for that character, it is an encounter power. As such, not being able to use it as a basic attack makes all kinds of sense.

 

[Ulthwithian]

RoF is an at-will power for a Wizard. The part you quoted, Icicle, was more in answer to ncc who pointed out (correctly) that the only place we see RoF on a character is on a half-elf who apparently was able to pick it up by a racial ability, but it was moved to Encounter Power rather than At-Will.

And whereas we don't know that the Warlock must have Eldritch Blast, what other option is there? Soul Rend (as I believe it's called) isn't accessible to a 1st-level Warlock, IIRC.

 

[Falling Icicle]

Maybe because Ray of Frost automatically slows opponents that it hits, as well as does almost the same amount of damage as an MM?

It also has half the range, yes HALF. It's also cold damage instead of force. Cold tends to be a much more common resistance than force.

 

[Falling Icicle]

And whereas we don't know that the Warlock must have Eldritch Blast, what other option is there? Soul Rend (as I believe it's called) isn't accessible to a 1st-level Warlock, IIRC.

We haven't seen all the powers yet. I'd assume (and hope) that there's more than 2 or 3 at-will power choices for each class.

 

[Falling Icicle]

However, on Tira's character sheet, it's listed under her "per-encounter" powers. Yes, its writeup says it's a wizard "at-will" power, but that does not appear to be the case for Tira. We haven't yet seen it on a wizard's character sheet.

So for that character, it is an encounter power. As such, not being able to use it as a basic attack makes all kinds of sense.

Odd, my Warlock sheet clearly shows it as an at-will power, as does the Pre-Release Rules Compendium.

 

[Ulthwithian]

Hmm. Given the general lack of data on 4E, I don't think we can say with any degree of accuracy how common various resistances are in 4E. Cold resistance certain is more common than Force resistance in previous editions of D&D. Whether that is still true remains to be seen, no?

Oh, granted, but I think that the Eldritch Blast is more of a class feature of the Warlock than it is a Power, per se. I don't think it would feel like a Warlock without Blasts.

 

[Falling Icicle]

Hmm. Given the general lack of data on 4E, I don't think we can say with any degree of accuracy how common various resistances are in 4E. Cold resistance certain is more common than Force resistance in previous editions of D&D. Whether that is still true remains to be seen, no?

True, we don't know for sure yet. It's just been my experience that people have a tendency to make cold and fire immune/resistance creatures, but rarely make creatures resistant or immune to force.

 

[Ulthwithian]

I would say that is due to conceits of the game, not any inherent issue with the damage types. Force damage in 3.X always did less damage than an equivalent amount of 'elemental' damage, but could hit incorporeal creatures. It also had the 'bonus' of generally being 'unavoidable' damage. Because of this, Force Resistance/Immunity would generally be quite rare.

As far as the character sheets are concerned, I checked the character sheet PDF linked in the compiled thread. It clearly lists RoF, an At-Will Wizard Power, under Encounter Powers for Tira, the Warlock. What I was saying is that because Tira has it as an Encounter Power, not an At-Will Power, it cannot be a basic attack. It very well might be allowed for a Wizard.