Swordmage: Isn't it a little bit unbalanced?

[Drakan lord]

Hi everyone, one of my players has done a Swordmage, they are at 12th level, and he has a total AC of 32:

+6 level
+6 characteristic
+3 swordmage warding
+5 leather armor (+2 and +3 magic)
+1 improved swordmage wardind (Arcane power)
+1 greater swordmage warding (Arcane power)
While charging with the marauder's armour he reachs 34 AC for 2 turns . . .

Isn't it a bit unbalanced? If I look at a monster of the same level as the foulspawn hulk I hit him with only 17 or more on the dice; 19 when he charges! Or with a Norker (Soldier +17) I would hit him only from 15)
You could tell me to use higher level monsters but I don't think this could be considered a "balanced" game, just because my other players are ok with statistics for their level, some more, some less, with strong and weak points; only this one is tragically out of numbers.

The two feats should stack toghether cause in the description of the improved swordmage warding it is not written "feat bonus", it is written only in the greater swordmage warding, is there a rule I am forgetting?

Any advice?

 

[the Jester]

Nah, he's fine.

Use a few monsters that target Fort, Reflex and Will.

Really, though, since he's a defender, he should be tying up a bunch of bad guys anyway, so having solid defenses is a good thing.

 

[RangerWickett]

Hi everyone, one of my players has done a Swordmage, they are at 12th level, and he has a total AC of 32:

+6 level
+6 characteristic
+3 swordmage warding
+5 leather armor (+2 and +3 magic)
+1 improved swordmage wardind (Arcane power)
+1 greater swordmage warding (Arcane power)
While charging with the marauder's armour he reachs 34 AC for 2 turns . . .

Defenders are supposed to have high AC. As a fighter he could have AC 30:

+6 level
+2 heavy shield
+12 full plate (+9 and +3 magic)

And that's just off the top of my head, without looking at any feats.

I bet the Swordmage's Fortitude sucks, though, and probably his Will too. Target his non-AC defenses, or have monsters gang up on him to gain combat advantage. Maybe send something after him that can steal or break his sword, like kuo-toa or mimics (but only a few times, or else it gets lame).

 

[RangerWickett]

Use a few monsters that target Fort, Reflex and Will.

And roll higher. That helps.

 

[Mentat55]

Swordmages tend to have very high ACs; this is not terribly unusual for defenders. A level 12 paladin with +3 gith plate armor, armor specialization (plate), and a heavy shield would also have an AC of 32 (+6 level, +13 armor, +1 feat, +2 shield).

I would guess, however, that among the swordmage's other defenses - Fortitude, Reflex, and Will -- that maybe Fortitude and Will might be a bit weak.

Thus, you can (1) accept that your swordmage has a high AC because he is a frontline defender, and spent two feats on it, and (2) attack his non-AC defenses sometimes, just to keep him honest.

Edit: Ninja'ed by the Ewok!

 

[im_robertb]

Also keep in mind that a defender has to do 2 things to be effective:
1) Have HP and defenses high enough that they can take the enemy's attacks (in this case, done).
2) Have enough punishment/control to keep the enemies from attacking the rest of the party.

If he doesn't have #2, start ignoring those marks.

 

[Nahat Anoj]

The swordmage in our group had an awesome AC/Ref and solid Fort. But Will? Oh man, his Will was awful.

Kick your swordmage in the Will. That'll make him cry.

 

[captainspud]

He's 1 higher than a Paladin in plain magic armor would be without spending any feats (16 + 10 + 2 + 3).

Also keep in mind: if he's just standing there and only marking one enemy, every other enemy in the fight should be ignoring him. It's his job to make the other monsters care about him.

 

[Mengu]

Level 12 Paladin or Knight would have AC 31 out of the box, 32 with Plate Specialization which the Knight can easily manage, same as the base for your swordmage. So in a comparative sense, the swordmage is fine.

However I feel your pain with not being able to hit defenders. That's part of why they fixed the brute attack bonus. At paragon levels I think it's best to use a lot more aura damage, ongoing damage, environmental damage, etc. And taking cues from Monster Vault, I've been giving a lot more half damage on miss to monster powers, especially soldiers and elites. And I do tend to use artillery with slightly higher attack bonuses vs AC or targeting FRW.

I also try to include leaders in fights where I want to make things a bit more challenging without increasing monster levels that increases their hit points. And I give those leaders powers that boost attack bonuses, give rerolls etc. To give an example, I had a leader type with an aura 5 around him where allies gained +2 attack and damage. Another example, I gave a witch (elite leader controller) the ability to take 5 damage to have an ally reroll an attack or save by spending a blood token, which she started with 5 blood tokens. Yet another example, in an upcoming encounter I have a small group of chanter minions who don't hit too hard, but run around chanting to aid attack rolls of their allies.

I sometimes use monsters that are even lower level than the PC's so have to come up with creative ways to boost their attack, give them combat advantage, etc.

 

[Prestidigitalis]

Also keep in mind: if he's just standing there and only marking one enemy, every other enemy in the fight should be ignoring him. It's his job to make the other monsters care about him.

That's why Double Aegis is so important. Two creatures marked, and one (or the other) of them almost completely neutered in any given round, unless both attack the Swordmage.