The mystery of SHADOW WASP STRIKE, Ranger3 Encounter Power

[half-dragon dragon]

Honestly, I don't buy it being there for a ranger who wants to use a two-handed weapon or such. That's not what you play a ranger for, you play the ranger because you want to play a two-weapon fighter, or because you want a ranged warrior. Yes, I'm aware that we don't really have a two-handed weapon striker, but that's not to say one won't come out. In the end though, this doesn't excuse shadow-wasp strike from being a poor power compared to others. I mean seriously, isn't it one of the only, or a few, powers that doesn't require the ranger to have two weapons or a ranged weapon?

 

[Seolfor]

There is another use that i thought of for SWS - for people multi-classing INTO the Ranger class ... the powers that DONT require a ranged or two weapons are priceless.

A cleric for instance, has fairly LOW damage level 3 encounter powers - so if you were multi-classed into Ranger, you could pick up the swap-feat and pick up Shadow Wasp Strike .... now you can do 2d10 + Str mod (morningstar 2H) as an encounter damage ...

This doesnt make it a decent power .. it still SUCKS .. but thats another use for it.

 

[Gloombunny]

There is another use that i thought of for SWS - for people multi-classing INTO the Ranger class ... the powers that DONT require a ranged or two weapons are priceless.

A cleric for instance, has fairly LOW damage level 3 encounter powers - so if you were multi-classed into Ranger, you could pick up the swap-feat and pick up Shadow Wasp Strike .... now you can do 2d10 + Str mod (morningstar 2H) as an encounter damage ...

This doesnt make it a decent power .. it still SUCKS .. but thats another use for it.

No, that's not a use for it at all. Such a cleric would take Evasive Strike instead, since Evasive Strike is better in every way.

 

[Seolfor]

I concede - you are 100% correct - in fact with a FAT Wisdom bonus, the cleric would RULE the field with 'Evasive Strike'.

We NEED Shadow Wasp Strike to CHANGE!! Such a waste of a L3 encounter power slot ...

 

[Arbitrary]

I wouldn't worry about it. There are a number of level 3 encounter powers that are equal to level 1 encounter powers, and some that are actually worse.

You should just be jazzed to have more encounter powers~

 

[Samurai]

Shadow Wasp Strike also requires that the target be under the effect of his Hunter's Quarry, so I decided to tie the "cookie" to that, as well as play off of the description. I said that the Hunter's Quarry dice for Shadow Wasp Strike are not rolled, and instead automatically do maximum damage.

 

[bardolph]

Until WotC publishes errata on this Power, I'm not going to assume it's an error. I don't think Shadow Wasp Strike is good. However, there are plenty of powers to choose from at that level, so it's not a big deal.

That said, there are players who will always without fail pick the power that allows you to roll the most dice for damage. Shadow Wasp Strike is one of these powers. These players will take it simply for the [2W] and for no other reason.

Also, if the party runs across some big ole magical Greatsword or Greataxe, and the Ranger just HAS to use it, he will probably be happy to get one extra [2W] on that weapon, assuming that the level 1 [2W] was already taken.

It's a different kind of power for a different kind of player. Believe it or not, there are players who will drool over something like Meteor Swarm, because it grants the most dice of damage. These are the same players who will happily take Shadow Wasp Strike.

 

[bardolph]

Actually, when taking a good look at this power, it really isn't that bad. The 2-handed Ranger is a pretty viable build.

Let's assume +4 STR, Two-Blade Style, Hunter's Quarry and compare maul vs twin warhammers:

At-Will

Maul - Hit and Run: 2d6 + 1d6 (Hunter's Quarry) + 4 = 14.5 average
Twin Hammer - Twin Strike: 2d10 + 1d6 (Hunter's Quarry) = 12.5 average

In that At-Will category, the maul is 2 points ahead of twin hammers, and gets better mobility in the bargain. Also note that the maul does better damage with a basic attack, and so gains the edge in Opportunity Attack situations.

Level 1 Encounter

Maul - Evasive Strike: 4d6 + 1d6 + 4 = 21.5 average
Twin Hammer - Two Fanged Strike: 2d10 + 1d6 + 8 = 22.5 average.

Now wait, you say. What about the cookies? Evasive Strike gives a free shift, while Two-Fanged strike gives a damage bonus for hitting twice. Both are nice, and both are keyed off of Wisdom, so for simplicity's sake, let's count them as equal.

Level 1 Daily

Maul - Hunter's Bear Trap: 4d6 + 1d6 + slowed + 5 ongoing (save ends), miss: 1/2 + slowed (1 turn). If we count average 9 damage from ongoing, this comes out to 30.5, on average.

Twin Hammer - Jaws of the Wolf: 4d10 + 1d6 + 8 = 33.5 average, but without the slow effect.

Level 3 Encounter

Maul - Shadow Wasp Strike: 4d6 + 1d6 + 4 = 21.5 average.
Twin Hammer - Thundertusk Boar Strike: 2d10 + 1d6 + 8 = 22.5 average + push.

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Looking at the numbers, you can see that twin hammers edges out the maul in Encounter/Daily powers, but that the maul comes out ahead in At-Will.

This means that the twin-blade style can get some nice spike damage, but when it comes to long-term sustainable damage, the "big blade" ranger actually out-damages the "twin blade" ranger. So be careful houseruling powers like Shadow Wasp Strike, and take a look at the big picture. Even though Shadow Wasp Strike may look "gimpy," when placed into context, it can be a great part of a "big-blade" ranger's arsenal.

EDIT: to fully round out the "big-blade" ranger, I would arm him with twin javelins, to gain access to "two-weapon" STR-based powers at range. The twin javelins would cover the big-blade ranger's hole at level 5, by opening up Frenzied Skirmish.