Warlock Ranged Touch Attack power level check

[Particle_Man]

My DM is worried that the ranged touch attack of the eldritch blast is too powerful (at 7-8th level, this would be 4d6 once per round, 60' range, in an attack that bypasses armor, and an infinite supply of "shots"). The range can be modified, as can other things, but that costs an invocation slot, of which there are a very limited supply).

So, all you number crunchers, how does this stack up against the other "lots of shots" guys, like archers, fighters, rogues, etc. (as opposed to comparing them to spellcasters, who run out of "shots")? Is the ability too powerful? Too weak? Just about right?

I am not looking for the super-twinked out versions of any of these, just how they stack up on average, if that is possible.

 

[UltimaGabe]

This has been discussed several times all over the place. You see, the Eldritch Blast ability, at first glance, looks really powerful. When it really comes down to it, however, the Warlock (as a class) is kinda underpowered.

True, a Warlock can keep blasting all day- but that's all he can do. He's got incredibly little versatility (even compared to the Sorcerer, which is saying something), but he's got no abilities that help anybody else but himself. Also, his Eldritch Blast can do a bunch of damage at higher levels, but it's still nowhere near as much damage as a Fighter will be doing with multiple attacks, and a Wizard or Sorcerer is going to have much more powerful spells than the Warlock's Eldritch Blast (such as save-or-die spells, or area effects doing 15d6 and whatnot). Also, true, spellcasters run out of spells, but honestly, how many rounds of combat do your characters go through in a given day? From my experience, Sorcerers already blast every round as it is, and the only times they're not blasting they're doing something more useful (such as casting Fly or Dimension Door or Hold Monster or whatever), so it's really not an issue.

Tell your DM to calm down. I felt exactly the same when I first saw the class, but after thinking about it, the Warlock's cool flavor-wise, but it's perfectly balanced.

 

[DanMcS]

My DM is worried that the ranged touch attack of the eldritch blast is too powerful (at 7-8th level, this would be 4d6 once per round, 60' range, in an attack that bypasses armor, and an infinite supply of "shots"). The range can be modified, as can other things, but that costs an invocation slot, of which there are a very limited supply).

So, all you number crunchers, how does this stack up against the other "lots of shots" guys, like archers, fighters, rogues, etc. (as opposed to comparing them to spellcasters, who run out of "shots")? Is the ability too powerful? Too weak? Just about right?

Well, let's see, your 7th level barbarian will have two attacks at +7/+2. Power-attacking for full with a nonmagical greataxe (at 7th level- yeah, right), Strength 22 while raging, he'll be doing 1d12+23 or so depending on strength, with two attacks at +6/+1. Crits do 3d12+69. Not power attacking at all, he'll have two attacks at +13/+8 that do 1d12+9 or so. Average damage on 4d6 is 14; average on 1d12+9 is 15.5. He has to hit a higher armor class because he's not making a touch attack, but I think he'll do ok.

Your 7th-level archer will have maybe a +2 flaming mighty bow that does 1d8+1d6+5 damage on a hit, and will have three attacks (due to rapid shot) at around +10/+10/+5.

 

[Altamont Ravenard]

What can other 8-level characters do, damage-wise?

8th level rogue with improve feint can do weapon+4d6 sneak attack damage every round
8th level dual wielding flanking rogue can do 3 X weapon + 12d6 sneak attack damage
8th level ranged specialist fighter can do 3d8+damage mods with a mighty composite bow
8th level melee specialist can do 4d6+damage mods with a greatsword
8th level sorcerer can do 4d4+4 for at least 20 rounds straight.
etc.

I don't think it's that bad.

AR