Angelus_dead
04-08-2010, 02:19 PM
The Problem
The Rogue class loses too much of its combat ability in epic mode. Rogues have three major combat features, all dependent on Sneak Attacks:
1. hitpoint damage (about 50)
2. strength damage (2 points, from Crippling Strike)
3. insta-kill (on 20s from Assassin III)
Two of those three features are essentially worthless in epic, even though they were highly powerful in a level 19 quest set to elite. That is too much of a change for going between those modes.
Why is Crippling Strike nearly worthless in epic? In a level 19 elite quest, the monster has about 1000 hp and 30 str, so it takes 15 sneak attacks to bring it to zero str, by which time he'd probably have died anyway. But you started to get a noticable reduction in the enemy's damage and attack from just one. In epic the monster has 5000 hp and maybe 34 str, but his Epic Ward negates about 95% of ability score damage (the exact percentage is hard to measure). It would take over 20 times as many attacks to reduce the strength, but only about 5 times as many to kill it. Thus, the power of Crippling Strike has shrunk to under 5/20 = 25% of what it was. Instead of seeing a lessening in enemy DPS from just one Sneak Attack, it'll now take 20.
Before epic, Crippling Strike was considered the best of the Rogue special abilities. Sure, Improved Evasion is good too, but that only triggered when you failed a save, which wouldn't happen much anyhow. But now Crippling Strike is looking like something to trade in for Skill Mastery or Defensive Roll.
Suggestions
1. Apparently Epic Ward provides a 95% chance to negate each instance of ability score damage. That percentage could be reduced, prehaps to the inverse of the ratio by which their hitpoints improved from a level 20 elite enemy. If the creatures have 5x hp, then it would seem logical they take 1/5th of ability damage.
2. As an alternative, when Epic Ward blocks a point of ability score damage, the monster could instead take hitpoint damage, such as at a 10:1 ratio.
3. Make Epic Ward only start blocking ability damage if the monster has already taken 2 points of damage to that stat. This way stat-damage attacks can have an immediate defensive effect, but not necessarily accumulate faster than hp damage does.
4. Whenever Epic Ward prevents an instant death effect, the creature instead takes an amount of hitpoint damage. Let's say 200 points, although more would be fine. (It could also suffer a Touch of Dulruh debuff for 30 sec)
The Rogue class loses too much of its combat ability in epic mode. Rogues have three major combat features, all dependent on Sneak Attacks:
1. hitpoint damage (about 50)
2. strength damage (2 points, from Crippling Strike)
3. insta-kill (on 20s from Assassin III)
Two of those three features are essentially worthless in epic, even though they were highly powerful in a level 19 quest set to elite. That is too much of a change for going between those modes.
Why is Crippling Strike nearly worthless in epic? In a level 19 elite quest, the monster has about 1000 hp and 30 str, so it takes 15 sneak attacks to bring it to zero str, by which time he'd probably have died anyway. But you started to get a noticable reduction in the enemy's damage and attack from just one. In epic the monster has 5000 hp and maybe 34 str, but his Epic Ward negates about 95% of ability score damage (the exact percentage is hard to measure). It would take over 20 times as many attacks to reduce the strength, but only about 5 times as many to kill it. Thus, the power of Crippling Strike has shrunk to under 5/20 = 25% of what it was. Instead of seeing a lessening in enemy DPS from just one Sneak Attack, it'll now take 20.
Before epic, Crippling Strike was considered the best of the Rogue special abilities. Sure, Improved Evasion is good too, but that only triggered when you failed a save, which wouldn't happen much anyhow. But now Crippling Strike is looking like something to trade in for Skill Mastery or Defensive Roll.
Suggestions
1. Apparently Epic Ward provides a 95% chance to negate each instance of ability score damage. That percentage could be reduced, prehaps to the inverse of the ratio by which their hitpoints improved from a level 20 elite enemy. If the creatures have 5x hp, then it would seem logical they take 1/5th of ability damage.
2. As an alternative, when Epic Ward blocks a point of ability score damage, the monster could instead take hitpoint damage, such as at a 10:1 ratio.
3. Make Epic Ward only start blocking ability damage if the monster has already taken 2 points of damage to that stat. This way stat-damage attacks can have an immediate defensive effect, but not necessarily accumulate faster than hp damage does.
4. Whenever Epic Ward prevents an instant death effect, the creature instead takes an amount of hitpoint damage. Let's say 200 points, although more would be fine. (It could also suffer a Touch of Dulruh debuff for 30 sec)