Will CON become a dump stat?

[Cadfan]

That said, my 3.x play style is usually pretty good at keeping me alive, so for the pure enjoyment of watching the people I play with wince, many of my characters have used Con as a dump stat. I can't count the number of 8-11 Con characters I've played... Its hillarious.

If you didn't dump con, you wouldn't go through so many characters.

 

[phil500]

That's the beauty of the math...because the value of a healing surge is always 1/4 total HP, what is true about surges at level one remains true at level 30. Effectively, every time a character gains a +1 to con bonus, they gain 25% of their HP total added to their daily pool.

ah thanks. i knew something musta been missing from my OP, it cant be that easy to find a hole in stats.

I am still not totally sure defenders and strikers wont be dumping con tho. the amount of HP that CON gave in 3.5 was in combat, and no potions or wands could substitute for that.

in 4E i see a potential problem with consumables balancing because of at will and encounter powers.

 

[Chibbot]

If you didn't dump con, you wouldn't go through so many characters.

Curiously, my characters that seem to die the fastest are the ones with a HIGH Con.

I think it lulls me into a false sense of security. "Oh, I have a Con of 17 this time! I'm practically invincible!"

 

[xAndurilx]

Ranged Strikers/Controllers/non-meleers will mostlikely use Constitution instead of Strength.

When totalling HP, Healing Surges should be added to this number as they increase your character's overall HP. This is why Defenders should have a higher Con.

If the DM is worth his salt, this shouldnt be an issue

 

[Andur]

Healing surge is only = 1/4 max hp for DDM, and NPC's/Monsters. For PC's it is a different mechanic entirely. It involves a base roll of the die, and then can be affected by modifiers (Healing Word for example).

This thread has good examples of PC's using healing surges.

 

[Larrin]

I think the main idea is that in 4e Con will be a POSSIBLE dump stat. If you need Con for powers/feats/class stuff or just want the extra hp, its there for you, if not, feel free to put a 12 or (gasp) 11 in it (or even an 8). Simply put Con is now optional, just like every other stat. 3e punished anyone brave enough to play with low con mercilessly, it was the hardest penalty to take. Any other stat you could work around (wizards for low str, heavy armour for low dex, fighter/barbarian for low int,wis,cha). I've seen 6 str wizards be very effective, i've never seen 6 con anythings do anything. I'm sure there will plenty of Con builds that desire a high score, it won't be the new CHA (or whichever you feel was the 3e dump, i completely agree with you), but if you say, 'Hey i feel like playing a fighter with a con of 10" you won't be as horribly crippled as you would in past years

 

[DM_Blake]

Ranged Strikers/Controllers/non-meleers will mostlikely use Constitution instead of Strength.

When totalling HP, Healing Surges should be added to this number as they increase your character's overall HP. This is why Defenders should have a higher Con.

If the DM is worth his salt, this shouldnt be an issue

What does that mean, "If the DM is worth his salt, this shouldnt be an issue"?

Are you saying that a DM "worth his salt" should intervene and tell the player to increase his CON score if he used it as a dump stat? Should a DM "worth his salt" suggest, or even demand, characters are generated with certain minimum CON values?

If the game system allows a character to be created a certain way, then what does a DM have to do to be "worth his salt"?

 

[Chibbot]

Healing surge is only = 1/4 max hp for DDM, and NPC's/Monsters. For PC's it is a different mechanic entirely. It involves a base roll of the die, and then can be affected by modifiers (Healing Word for example).

This thread has good examples of PC's using healing surges.

Thats not entirely true. A Healing Surge heals a PC for 1/4 their max HP as well (from what we've seen/been told). There are just certain powers, such as Healing Word, that increase this value.

 

[mach1.9pants]

You've never played in the DerrenWorld (tm) setting? There, even the most ridiculous things are commonplace, if they make a point.

QFT, though please stop quoting him it makes my ignore list irrelevent

 

[Blackbrrd]

I am quite sure strength will be a dump stat before con in most cases. It i just not the case with the Fighter who has various abilities that are str dependant. (AoO, Cleave, etc). I could see a fighter with 12 con in 4e, something you would NEVER see in 3e. 2hp less and 1 healing surge less than 14 con isn't a big deal.

I love the new rogue who has dex as primary focus and either cha or str as the secondary stat. All my previous rogues has had as high str as dex, or higher. Two-handed sword and sneak attack is just too good... I like the new dagger wielding rogue