Striking Resurgence, Redoubled Efforts and Defensive Weapon

[Prestidigitalis]

So let's say I have a Defensive Weapon and the feats Striking Resurgence (Paragon, Fighter, MP2) and Redoubled Efforts (MP2). I can use second wind to: use a healing surge to heal, get a free MBA and also a +2 bonus to attacks until the end of my next turn (including the free MBA), and gain the defensive bonus from the Defensive Weapon, but forgo the standard +2 defensive bonus from second wind.

Does that sound right? It could be especially powerful for a melee-based character who has access to free or minor-action second wind.

Minor (or free) action: Second Wind and get +2 attack bonus
No action: MBA at +2
Standard action: attack at +2
Action point action: attack at +2

It could be a lot of fun for a character that gets extra bonuses for bloodying or reducing an opponent to 0 hit points, or bonuses or attacks for critical hits, etc. The bonus from Defensive Weapon bonus could help reduce the risk of moving into a dense array of opponents in order to maximize the effect of the nova. But is it worth two feats and a special-purpose weapon?

 

[MrMyth]

Builds focused around Second Wind can be pretty powerful - I've seen some Warden builds that are pretty ridiculous, and allow someone to use their Second Wind several times per encounter, each time gaining enormous healing, bonuses to defenses and attacks, etc.

The weakness is that it is directly powered by surges. Which means you may often be in a situation where you want the effects, but don't actually need the healing. Or using it too often might leave you low on surges, etc.

I'd say if you think it will make a cool character, feel free to invest in the two feats and the item - I don't think you'll be too overpowered, but it will lead to regular moments of being awesome. You just will need to time it carefully - since it gives you defense, offense and healing, you may often find yourself in situations where you only need two of those things. You need to either wait for the right moments, or be willing to use it even when you won't be able to take advantage of the full benefits.

 

[keterys]

Some DMs might interpret 'you can forgo the bonus to defenses to make a melee basic attack as a free action.' to mean you don't get the bonus from the defensive weapon.

But yeah, you can make your second winds no longer suck I personally would go with a different weapon choice - something that helps more than once per combat, maybe.

 

[Prestidigitalis]

Some DMs might interpret 'you can forgo the bonus to defenses to make a melee basic attack as a free action.' to mean you don't get the bonus from the defensive weapon.

Actually, that question was the initial motivation for my post, but after reading the exact definition of Defensive Weapon, I concluded that there would be no problem. The definition says "add the enhancement bonus of the weapon as an item bonus to your defenses"; it does NOT say "add the enhancement bonus of the weapon to the defensive bonus from second wind" or anything like that.

But yeah, you can make your second winds no longer suck I personally would go with a different weapon choice - something that helps more than once per combat, maybe.

That is true. In this case, I'm asking on behalf of my beloved Barbarian character, who has a Defensive Fullblade because that's what fell into her furry Bear Warrior hands. If she had the Jagged Fullblade that she covets, it would be a different story entirely.

 

[keterys]

Actually, that question was the initial motivation for my post, but after reading the exact definition of Defensive Weapon, I concluded that there would be no problem. The definition says "add the enhancement bonus of the weapon as an item bonus to your defenses"; it does NOT say "add the enhancement bonus of the weapon to the defensive bonus from second wind" or anything like that.

As long as the DM is on board, it's all good. It's more a warning - defensive kicks in when you get a bonus to defense from something. If you're using something that tosses that bonus to defense, some rare DMs will just end up saying "Defensive gives you a bonus to defense when you second wind. Striking Resurgence has you forgo bonuses to defense when second winding. You can't have both."

Such a rare DM might even be well on track from an intent perspective (second wind basically being a 1/enc total defense plus surge, so striking resurgence dropping the total defense aspect), if not a written one, so if it were said to me, I wouldn't bother arguing.

That is true. In this case, I'm asking on behalf of my beloved Barbarian character, who has a Defensive Fullblade because that's what fell into her furry Bear Warrior hands. If she had the Jagged Fullblade that she covets, it would be a different story entirely.

Understandable that As a random other option, you could see if it's possible to remove the defensive enchantment so it's just Magic, then get someone to enchant it to Jagged.

 

[Mr. Teapot]

Our Warden refers to his Second Wind as "Hulking out" because he's basically untouchable for a round when he does so. (I'll probably pick up the Endurance skill power "Swift Recovery" at 6th level to help with this.)

 

[Prestidigitalis]

As long as the DM is on board, it's all good. It's more a warning - defensive kicks in when you get a bonus to defense from something. If you're using something that tosses that bonus to defense, some rare DMs will just end up saying "Defensive gives you a bonus to defense when you second wind. Striking Resurgence has you forgo bonuses to defense when second winding. You can't have both."

I don't know. The definition of Defensive Weapon is very specific: "When you take the total defense or the second wind action". It doesn't say anything about "get the defensive bonus from the second wind action". Obviously, a DM could interpret anything in any conceivable way, but truthfully, I would fight it.

 

[kerbarian]

Striking Resurgence doesn't work with minor- or free-action second winds. It specifically says "When you use second wind as a standard action, ...". I was excited for the possibilities with dwarves when I read the summary in the feats table, but the full description shot me down.

 

[Prestidigitalis]

Striking Resurgence doesn't work with minor- or free-action second winds. It specifically says "When you use second wind as a standard action, ...". I was excited for the possibilities with dwarves when I read the summary in the feats table, but the full description shot me down.

Oops, missed that. Thanks.