Joseph
08-24-2010, 05:38 PM
**UPDATED***
This post deals with two items - Armor Class and Damage, and then Damage Reduction and Feats.**
In DDO, few argue that Sword and Board (S&B) is outpaced by Two Handed Fighting (THF) and Two Weapon Fighting (TWF) styles, and no one argues that Damage Per Second (DPS) is superior to Armor Class (AC). This leaves S&B as situational at the best of times, and more often relegated to a 'flavor' choice, with many groups outright declining S&B users (particularly in high end elite and epic content).
----------------------------------
ARMOR CLASS AND DAMAGE
----------------------------------
Note: This entire premise is based on 'skill' - and not abilities (strength, dexterity, etc.). It is meant to represent learned ability and expertise applied equally across all classes based on the experience Base Attack Bonus (BAB) is intended to represent. I am on no way advocating adding any bonuses based on ability scores - that system is already in place and WAI to the best of my knowledge.
I would like to propose the following suggestion to help bring Sword and Board (S&B) more in line with other fighting styles, while allowing those other styles to maintain their individuality, flavor, and appeal.
Simply have all shields, regardless of type, give a bonus to Armor Class and Damage based on Base Attack Bonus (BAB) that is at least equal to the following (this would apply to active shield bashing as well):
(+AC/+DAMAGE)
BAB 05: +1/+0
BAB 10: +2/+1
BAB 15: +3/+2
BAB 20: +4/+3
The reasoning is that a shield in the hands of an experienced character will be used to greater defensive advantage, and also provide an increased opportunity for damage or counter attack from either the shield or weapon - as represented by the very minor increase to damage the numbers proposed above would generate.
For a comparison between the damage of GTWF vs. S&B, consider the numbers below (subject to the following assumptions):
Assume the +DAMAGE of S&B is treated as additional damage - not base/seeker type damage
Assume BAB 20
Assume no Strength Bonus (strength bonuses apply equally to main hand damage, and only serve to increase off hand damage, further favoring the GTWF)
Assume no feats, enhancements, racial modifiers, or any modified other than the BAB 20 comparison of the proposed S&B modification (i.e. one GTWF compared to one S&B)
Assume Basic Khopesh - no Weapon Bonuses or Effects (5.4 per swing average damage including critical hits as per the compendium)
Assume 100 attacks
Assume GTWF
Khopesh average damage before critical multipliers is 1d8, which is 4.5, and after critical multipliers it is 5.4:
GTWF:
100 Main hand attacks (100*5.4) - 540 damage from main hand.
80 Off hand attacks (80*5.4) - 432 damage from off hand.
972 Raw Base Damage from GTWF
S&B:
100 Main Hand Attacks (100*5.4) - 540 damage from main hand.
100 Shield Attack Damage Bonuses (100*3) - 300 added damage.
840 Raw Base Damage from S&B
As expected TWF is still the clear leader - but by a small amount, and at the expense of the AC bonus that S&B gains.
However, this changes the instant any feat, stat, or weapon bonuses are added to the equation, as they add to the TWF off hand. To give the example of +5 strength damage bonus and +5 weapon damage bonus (total +10 damage per swing):
In this case, the Main Hand Khopesh average damage before critical multipliers is 1d8+10, which is 14.5, after critical multipliers it is 17.4; Off Hand Khopesh average damage before critical multipliers is 1d8+7.5, which is 12, after critical multipliers it is 14.4:
GTWF:
100 Main hand attacks (100*17.4) - 1,740 damage from main hand.
80 Off hand attacks (80*14.4) - 1,152 damage from off hand.
2,892 Raw Base Damage from GTWF
S&B:
100 Main Hand Attacks (100*17.4) - 1,740 damage from main hand.
100 Shield Attack Damage Bonuses (100*3) - 300 added damage.
2,040 Raw Base Damage from S&B
Factor in burst effects or increased threat range and the TWF pulls even farther ahead of the S&B due to off hand damage increases - yet the S&B is still able to do acceptable damage - benefiting from increased armor / ability to survive.
The armor class increase of 4 is insignificant to a BAB 20 character (it could actually be raised to an AC increase of 2 per level), but serves to add to the overall 'survivable' and thus 'desirable' aspect of a S&B character (aggro magnet, acceptable damage, great ability to survive and minimize resource consumption of the party).
----------------------------------------
DAMAGE REDUCTION AND FEATS
----------------------------------------
Stacking Damage Reduction (DR) has been an issue since the very beginning of DDO. For game balance purposes, the only real form of stacking damage reduction should come from shields (which should stack with anything).
All shields should offer Passive (not actively blocking) and Active (actively blocking) DR, as follows (this DR should stack with all other forms of DR):
(Passive DR/Active DR)
Buckler: +0DR/+1DR
Small Shield: +1DR/+1DR
Heavy Shield: +1DR/+2DR
Tower Shield: +2DR/+4DR
Shield feats should be modified as follows (this DR should also stack with all other forms of DR):
(Passive DR/Active DR)
Shield Mastery: +1DR/+3DR
Improved Shield Mastery: +1DR/+3DR (stacks with Shield Mastery)
The Improved Shield Bash feat with the bonuses, feat changes, and shield changes detailed herein, this feat becomes more effective.
It is my belief that these changes would be relatively simple to add to the game for the following reasons (benefits have already been outlined above):
Stacking DR already exists in the game (when you press +SHIFT to block) - it should be fairly straightforward to add
The suggested BAB shield bonuses I listed could be attached to the 'Shield Proficiency (General)' feat (requiring no real change to game play or character use)
The suggested static shield bonuses could be easily updated (much like Bastard Swords and Dwarven Axes were recently updated)
To those of you who have made it this far in reading, thank you for the time and effort, and thank you in advance for any comments or constructive criticisms. ;)
This post deals with two items - Armor Class and Damage, and then Damage Reduction and Feats.**
In DDO, few argue that Sword and Board (S&B) is outpaced by Two Handed Fighting (THF) and Two Weapon Fighting (TWF) styles, and no one argues that Damage Per Second (DPS) is superior to Armor Class (AC). This leaves S&B as situational at the best of times, and more often relegated to a 'flavor' choice, with many groups outright declining S&B users (particularly in high end elite and epic content).
----------------------------------
ARMOR CLASS AND DAMAGE
----------------------------------
Note: This entire premise is based on 'skill' - and not abilities (strength, dexterity, etc.). It is meant to represent learned ability and expertise applied equally across all classes based on the experience Base Attack Bonus (BAB) is intended to represent. I am on no way advocating adding any bonuses based on ability scores - that system is already in place and WAI to the best of my knowledge.
I would like to propose the following suggestion to help bring Sword and Board (S&B) more in line with other fighting styles, while allowing those other styles to maintain their individuality, flavor, and appeal.
Simply have all shields, regardless of type, give a bonus to Armor Class and Damage based on Base Attack Bonus (BAB) that is at least equal to the following (this would apply to active shield bashing as well):
(+AC/+DAMAGE)
BAB 05: +1/+0
BAB 10: +2/+1
BAB 15: +3/+2
BAB 20: +4/+3
The reasoning is that a shield in the hands of an experienced character will be used to greater defensive advantage, and also provide an increased opportunity for damage or counter attack from either the shield or weapon - as represented by the very minor increase to damage the numbers proposed above would generate.
For a comparison between the damage of GTWF vs. S&B, consider the numbers below (subject to the following assumptions):
Assume the +DAMAGE of S&B is treated as additional damage - not base/seeker type damage
Assume BAB 20
Assume no Strength Bonus (strength bonuses apply equally to main hand damage, and only serve to increase off hand damage, further favoring the GTWF)
Assume no feats, enhancements, racial modifiers, or any modified other than the BAB 20 comparison of the proposed S&B modification (i.e. one GTWF compared to one S&B)
Assume Basic Khopesh - no Weapon Bonuses or Effects (5.4 per swing average damage including critical hits as per the compendium)
Assume 100 attacks
Assume GTWF
Khopesh average damage before critical multipliers is 1d8, which is 4.5, and after critical multipliers it is 5.4:
GTWF:
100 Main hand attacks (100*5.4) - 540 damage from main hand.
80 Off hand attacks (80*5.4) - 432 damage from off hand.
972 Raw Base Damage from GTWF
S&B:
100 Main Hand Attacks (100*5.4) - 540 damage from main hand.
100 Shield Attack Damage Bonuses (100*3) - 300 added damage.
840 Raw Base Damage from S&B
As expected TWF is still the clear leader - but by a small amount, and at the expense of the AC bonus that S&B gains.
However, this changes the instant any feat, stat, or weapon bonuses are added to the equation, as they add to the TWF off hand. To give the example of +5 strength damage bonus and +5 weapon damage bonus (total +10 damage per swing):
In this case, the Main Hand Khopesh average damage before critical multipliers is 1d8+10, which is 14.5, after critical multipliers it is 17.4; Off Hand Khopesh average damage before critical multipliers is 1d8+7.5, which is 12, after critical multipliers it is 14.4:
GTWF:
100 Main hand attacks (100*17.4) - 1,740 damage from main hand.
80 Off hand attacks (80*14.4) - 1,152 damage from off hand.
2,892 Raw Base Damage from GTWF
S&B:
100 Main Hand Attacks (100*17.4) - 1,740 damage from main hand.
100 Shield Attack Damage Bonuses (100*3) - 300 added damage.
2,040 Raw Base Damage from S&B
Factor in burst effects or increased threat range and the TWF pulls even farther ahead of the S&B due to off hand damage increases - yet the S&B is still able to do acceptable damage - benefiting from increased armor / ability to survive.
The armor class increase of 4 is insignificant to a BAB 20 character (it could actually be raised to an AC increase of 2 per level), but serves to add to the overall 'survivable' and thus 'desirable' aspect of a S&B character (aggro magnet, acceptable damage, great ability to survive and minimize resource consumption of the party).
----------------------------------------
DAMAGE REDUCTION AND FEATS
----------------------------------------
Stacking Damage Reduction (DR) has been an issue since the very beginning of DDO. For game balance purposes, the only real form of stacking damage reduction should come from shields (which should stack with anything).
All shields should offer Passive (not actively blocking) and Active (actively blocking) DR, as follows (this DR should stack with all other forms of DR):
(Passive DR/Active DR)
Buckler: +0DR/+1DR
Small Shield: +1DR/+1DR
Heavy Shield: +1DR/+2DR
Tower Shield: +2DR/+4DR
Shield feats should be modified as follows (this DR should also stack with all other forms of DR):
(Passive DR/Active DR)
Shield Mastery: +1DR/+3DR
Improved Shield Mastery: +1DR/+3DR (stacks with Shield Mastery)
The Improved Shield Bash feat with the bonuses, feat changes, and shield changes detailed herein, this feat becomes more effective.
It is my belief that these changes would be relatively simple to add to the game for the following reasons (benefits have already been outlined above):
Stacking DR already exists in the game (when you press +SHIFT to block) - it should be fairly straightforward to add
The suggested BAB shield bonuses I listed could be attached to the 'Shield Proficiency (General)' feat (requiring no real change to game play or character use)
The suggested static shield bonuses could be easily updated (much like Bastard Swords and Dwarven Axes were recently updated)
To those of you who have made it this far in reading, thank you for the time and effort, and thank you in advance for any comments or constructive criticisms. ;)