Garkos the Goblin Lord: “Ha, you can’t stand against me Fighte-“ Fighter: “I use second wind.” Garkos: “Wh- Well no matter, you still can’t-“ Fighter: “I use third wind.” Garkos: “Okay, what the fu-“ Fighter: “I use fourth wind.” Garkos: “Forget it!”
So I also thought Trip Attack would be redundant with Topple, but when I actually built my dex based battle master, I realized that Topple only works with Heavy, Reach, or Versatile weapons. The benefit of having Trip Attack is that it works with weapon builds that don't have those properties, like rapiers or hand crossbows. I like having it as an option to set up the rogue, who often needs any source of advantage they can get to deliver their sneak attack damage.
I actually like that Unconquerable has been replaced by extra uses of Indomitable at level 13 and 17. The Playtest 5 Unconquerable feature disincentivized you from using Second Wind for anything else (in case an important saving throw comes up, like how you might never use Inspiration), which was a shame. Especially now that Second Wind can be used pro-actively for Tactical Mind or Tactical Shift instead.
I think the reason that battlemaster was a fan favorite is the same reason so many of us liked magic users. It wasn't just the ability to cast spells. It was the fact that magic users always had meaningful choices to make at level up, meaningful choices in and out of combat tactically, and just generally had a lot of versatility. The battle master was the only one who did anything but swing swing swing in the phb and you got to choose maneuvers. Now they've made every fighter have more level up choices and the option for more battle tactics. It's a very welcome change, same as the rogue.
About the "turns outside of combat" topic - JC has confirmed that they actually happen outside of combat in a tweet regarding the "Survivor" feature of the Champion. Quote: "The benefit of the Survivor feature happens at the start of each of your turns, whether those turns are inside or outside combat." Also, there is PH 181. Now, I do have it for some reason in the back of my head that they have contradicted this in other places, especially when it comes to things like Surprise, but I can't find it right now. But, even if it was the case that turns outside combat exist, I don't think 1d8 to a Stealth check in the late game is gamebreaking. It's strong, but not overly so. I think it's gonna be more of a nice bonus for STR-based fighters, since dex-based ones will probably have good stealth.
Sure, like in the introduction of the rules where it explains "How to Play." Players don't need to take turns to act outside of combat. Maybe the feature is also optional. :)
@@awigg81003 I think this refers to something else. I think this means more like - outside of combat, you don't roll initiative and people don't RP one after the other like they fight in combat. Not that turns don't exist. They do, they're not just enforced the same way they are in combat.
@@awigg81003turns are an arbitration for your character’s ability to perform actions within a 6-second time frame. when something says “until the beginning of your next turn” that means that it lasts 6 seconds in-universe. “turns”, then, are happening interspersed with eachother in 6-second intervals, and everyone is free to “start their turn” whenever they perform an action, since the lack of initiative just means they don’t have to wait to see what other actors are doing.
Other classes may get ways to expend a combat resource to improve their out of combat utility, but it's still tied to a resource, whereas actual Expertise is resourceless and unlimited in usage, so skill experts still have their place. Fighters and Barbarians now get the opportunity to expend their formerly-combat-only resources in non-combat scenarios, allowing them to occasionally be better than the actual experts without constantly stepping on their toes.
The number of times you roll important ability checks between regaining resources is not significant enough to make resourceless expertise worth it. The way the skill system is designed right now makes the rogue, especially, underwhelming.
@@lapetitecuillereetlepaindo3005that just depends on on how your DM runs your campaign. I’ve had campaigns where there were easily 6-7 skill checks between rests.
gives fighters and barbarians something to do during shopping or social encounter "days" as well, whereas before they just had to occasionally got to make an intimidation check at +0, at least now they can throw a couple of resources around
For fun I did a quick calculation for how well a Duel Wielding fighter could do in the current playtest. An Eldritch Knight with Magic Initiate for Hex, Charger and max Dex, can consistently deal 57.96 damage while keeping their bonus action available to move Hex and use Second Wind. It’s really cool to be able to duel Wield without being actively punished by the system!
@@kongoaurius No. It forces you to use your casting stat for the True Strike attack which will almost always be lower than your dex. You want to use Booming Blade if it’s available at your table since it’ll deal good damage and discourage enemies from moving around. You can fallow that up with either a Tactical Shift to leave melee or using Bladeward to walk the opportunity attack, this’ll force the enemy to either take Booming Blade’s secondary damage or stay in place, both of which favor you. The only time I could see an Eldritch Knight using True Strike is if they wanted to focus on ranged combat. The system gives you far fewer ways to modify your ranged damage so taking a small hit to accuracy for 1-3 d6 of extra damage is a far more tempting deal in that case. The accuracy hit is also a far smaller concern for an archer since the Archery fighting style will still be active on your True Strike attack. Edit- I did a bit of quick math to check my hypothesis. Assuming you’re using a hand crossbow True Strike represents a minor damage buff at level 7. By level 8 though your Dex modifier will be 2 full points ahead of your Int. This means True Strike’s average damage is only 1.5 points higher than an unmodified hit before we factor in accuracy, once that’s accounted for True Strike only deals 0.23 more damage than a standard attack. If you concentrate on Hex however the added boost will push your attacks relative damage closer together without helping True Strike’s accuracy. This means from levels 8-10 True Strike will be *worse* than a standard attack while you’re concentrating on Hex. By level 11, when True Strike scales to 2d6 bonus damage it’ll once again be superior to a standard attack regardless of wether or not your concentrating on Hex.
Weapon Adept was my favorite feature and I’m sad it disappeared. While not necessarily being stronger than just carrying around 3 different weapons, I prefer not having to equip and unequip weapons to have tactical options. In fact, I would like to see it baked into the base Weapon Mastery feature gained at 1st level, which should allow you to choose between either using the Mastery Property of 3 different weapons or using 2-3 of the Mastery Properties with a single weapon. A player that chooses the first option has the flexibility of mastery with different weapons, while the latter option would allow tactical choices with every attack in combat without having to juggle different weapons like a silly video game. I believe most players subscribe to the fantasy of being able to perform different moves with your one signature weapon (especially if it’s magical).
It Really should be switched. People should be choosing Masteries they want to be able to use, and can use that mastery on any weapon that qualifies for the mastery they choose. Its weird that you instead are chosing a specific Weapon that has the mastery property unlocked on that weapon. Feels like they added unnecessary steps.
For a while there post first masteries playtests came out but pre the revising of them, I was writing up some house rules for my game, and I had every weapon had 2 masteries and if you got weapon mastery you got both for those weapons, so you'd have some flexibility. I used chris's video to actually pick which 2 might be the strongest that applied. I've now changed it to be much closer to the actual way it's done now.
In the survey, I asked them to just give every weapon 2 Mastery properties. Then you could let some classes use both, and some use only 1. I was also thinking about the 3 weapon juggling problem, and it occurred to me that it wasn't historically uncommon soldiers to carry a main weapon, a side weapon, and a ranged weapon pretty regularly. So I'm not as bothered by the 3 weapon issue, but I hope they consider letting a weapon do more than just one extra thing.
@@williamwalton9154 I've been using that combo in my group's campaign even with the bonus action version. It's already a really good combo, and removing the bonus action will only make it even better.
@@williamwalton9154 I suppose the distracting strike you'd use with relentless and burn a Superiority Die on the commanders strike so the rogue gets more damage?
My favorite change to Battle Master is the specification that Unarmed Strikes can be used instead of just weapons. I've always ruled Unarmed worked, but I've met some who havent. Also on that note the whole "topple" thing means that Unarmed can do it too. (Why Monks can't use weapon mastery with Unarmed strikes though, I have no clue)
They mentioning they will rework on Open Hand Monk is the only thing giving me hope they will do that next... I hope... Can't understand how they missed that opportunity...
I'm actually really happy to see champion being so close to eldritch knight. For the "bad" subclass to be sitting only 7 dpr lower (while not needing to burn any resources to coast there) is pretty great. There's something really cool I noticed going on under the hood is while their crits aren't impressive in a vacuum because they are only doubling weapon die, the interaction of heroic warrior and studied attacks giving advantage so frequently further boost their chance to get those crits really often. The most fun build I've personally workshopped for this is actually using vex because between vex, heroic warrior, and studied attacks at level 13, literally EVERY attack ends up being at advantage. This turns the humble sword and board rapier fighter into an actually pretty powerful character.
I love Menacing Attack. It is great at burning legendary resistances. Strong enough that the DM will often use one, but weak enough that it isn't too feels bad for the player. And it is great to let the fighter interact with that system. Otherwise it can often feel like it is a race between can you deal enough damage before burning all LR and whichever side loses effectively wasted a bunch of resources. This lets everyone be on one game plan.
I think it's VERY IMPORTANT to note that the Eldritch Knight's 'Eldritch Strike' was a feature that you could never benefit from on the turn you hit a creature because you could only make an attack as bonus action after casting a cantrip or spell, meaning the creature would only have disadvantage on the saving throw on your next turn, and that's if you hit your one attack. But now, the new 'War Magic' feature allows to potentially benefit from it on the same turn you attacked a creature. This means enemies will very often disadvantage against your cantrips, and at level 18, even your levelled spells. Meanwhile you're keeping your bonus action free for second winds and weapon summoning.
Yeah i was wanting the bladesinger for Eldritch knight, but figured they would never get it because of the extra extra attacks, so i'm real happy to see this version of it.
The improvised weapon rules would benefit, I feel, from having a few pieces of mundane equipment that state what their equivalent weapon would be in their rules text. Pathfinder 1e did this with some specific tools, like a sledge saying it's treated as an improvised earth breaker when used in combat. Maybe something like a miner's pick saying they're treated as an improvised war pick or some such.
Having a lot of options for weapon mastery might be overkill but I do like it for the fighter. My impression of a fighter has always been that of the martial classes, they're the one that is a master of weapons and combat, and the one who is most likely to pick up some other weapon and not miss a beat. But with "just" proficiency, all martials are good with all martial weapons. Giving the fighter so many weapon masteries means they're the greatest master of making the most of many weapons. That could just be a ribbon once getting past 2 or 3 weapons, but I still like the vibe.
Super excited to play the One DND Eldritch Knight in an upcoming campaign! The removal of school restrictions is especially nice - I’m planning on setting up Flaming Sphere plus Booming Blade: The enemy takes damage if they move and damage if they don’t move!
Fixing Eldritch Knights so they have the Bladesinger Extra attack from D&D 5e is an amazing change. Trying to cast spells or even cantrips on an Eldritch Knight in D&D 5e was painful. The only spells I could reliably cast in D&D 5e on an Eldritch Knight were reaction spells and Misty Step.
So..... Something that I just wanted to also say I love on the new EK just for the sake of it's existence, and that's actually getting to be a bit insane at level 20. You attack 4 times, that's up to 2 leveled spells per action unless I'm reading it wrong. I don't think it's broken at a level where wish is a thing, but a action surging fighter casting 4 spells in 6 seconds as the party wizard watches slack jawed just is marvelous to me.
@@samfish2550 I really like how War Magic works with the new extra attack. Level 20. Attack one, hit a creature with a weapon attack. Now that creature has disadvantage against your next spell. Next, give up two attacks and cast Hold Person/Hold Monster while the creature has disadvantage on their saving throw. Assuming the creature fails it's saving throw, now you 4th melee attack crits. Plus if you really want to, you can add Action Surge on top of this to get 4 more crit attacks on an incapacitated enemy.
my dm is allowing me to switch over to the playtest version of EK in our current campaign. we recently hit lvl 13 and man i was really feeling the martial-caster gap since the other players are all full casters. i was worried id just become an AC machine and not even be the best at it. we haven’t had a big combat encounter yet, but i’m excited knowing i’ll have a balance between defense and offense while having a unique character! also i’m also using booming blade with flaming sphere, it’s a great combo!
@@samfish2550 i believe the new improved war magic doesn’t just work for leveled spells, just spells that cost an action. that means you could use a cantrip like booming blade twice in one attack!
@@eldinoor7072 I think it's been on the entire time! There has only been one UA for rolling a new character... the first one. There were a few updates to Dragonborn and the deletion of Ardlings in a later UA. But that remains the only source for character creation information, and every "background" was bundled with a Feat.
For Champion - if you already have advantage (e.g. youre attacking a creature who's restrained or has faerie fire etc) then your chances of being able to save your HA for a saving throw or opposed ability check are high
Fighter has been the first class I pick in every edition since I've started playing in Ad&d and because of that I'll always have a soft spot for the class - even if nowadays my favorite class, both mechanically and thematically is the wizard. Glad to see they're getting some much welcome love.
I absolutely do not understand the fear Wizards has of making Champion into something more than it is. Two mediocre things in the first 6 levels is wild.
Precision attack improved in that it only applies after you miss, which is clearer and new from the PHB, although I think the same as previous playtests
It's interesting to hear how others have such a different opinion on the maneuvers. I've seen trip attack used to great effect on flying foes, don't sleep on it.
I love the idea of Commander's Strike but without a single high damage weapon attacker like a Rogue or a Paladin on your team it is borderline useless due to the opportunity cost. Spending one Fighter attack, a bonus action, AND someone else's reaction is prohibitively expensive unless you can guarantee your ally is going to hit WAY harder than you would have with your own attack.
About battle master maneuvers: a lot of unusable options become passable if you can spam them every turn with a d8. How often I will be surrounded by a counjure animals mob? Rarely. But when it happens, having the option of using sweeping attack + 4 attacks with a polearm? A fighter can pretty much clear up a mob of spamming creatures and still use their more useful options after.
I do like generally new fighter and Barb, my main concern to use a pf2 term is the "niche Protection". I do get the need to make it so that non caster non rogues have something useful to do when abilities come up (exploration and social interactions) but i think they have gone a little to far. Also on the skill subject i really wish they brought back (as it was or with minor revisions) the conecpt of having extra starting skills based on INT. As of now INT is the most dumped stat of the game and by a far margin. Excluding wizards 99% of pcs can use it as dump stat. 5e and 5.5 is a game where either you area wizard or you are "stupid" and that i dislike very much.
Giving the combat oriented classes ways to use their combat resources in non-combat environments is such a massive improvement. I really really hope the design teams are looking at the positive responses to Fighters and Barbarians and will bring that creativity over to Monks (who need their combat stuff boosted first, but they also have no out-of-combat utility to bring to the table) and to Rangers who need more than Favored Terrain and a handful of free spells to make them true survivalist-warriors.
My last fighter had Commanding Presence because he was an enforcer for the mob and had to be good at threatening people. I like the skill-boosting maneuvers a lot as roleplay tools to help personalize your fighter’s identity, but they definitely can be hard to take over a powerful combat maneuver.
If a player shows up at my table wanting to play a Champion, I would give them something like Defy Death at level 7. BUT i would extend it to saves and ability checks as well. The fantasy is that you are the champion, the hero, the protagonist. There is always a chance that you will win.
I like how resilience is incorporated in the main melee classes in the game. Fighter has a better second wind. Barbarians have the biggest hit die and reduce damage taken when raging. Paladins can heal. Some party compositions may move on without having a cleric, or the cleric may use the spell slots for other effects than healing.
My biggest complaint about the new fighter is that their Weapon Mastery bonuses aren't that much more than any other martial. Adding more weapons has a dimishing return. The level 9 bonus comes on way too late to feel iconic. There are a couple of solutions. Choose one or more of the following: Move the level 9 feature to a lower level; add additional features that boost the fighter's Weapon Mastery; reduce other martials to only having mastery of a single weapon so that the fighter's multiple masteries actually mean something. Any additional features don't even have to be that powerful. They just need to feel like they are the master of Weapon Mastery, even at lower levels.
I used to find the Fighter class completely uninteresting. Now BG3 has taught me to love Battlemaster, the playtests are making base Fighter more interesting (love the Second Wind flexibility, and of course weapon masteries), and Brawler sounds so much fun! Cunning Strike completely turned my opinion around about Rogues too. Martials are looking really good! ... except for Monk of course...
I feel like it wouldn't be too big of a deal for Master of Armaments to allow not only to change masteries, but apply two masteries to the same weapon. It just feels like the fighter as the "weapon master class" doesn't really get too much else out of masteries than other 'warrior' classes, also they don't scale super well as the levels go on. Seems like a way to have fighters truly be the best at using weapons.
21:40 I think the battle master should have COMBO BLURBS in the maneuver Ie: Tripping attack, at the end say **COMBO:** if you have the topple mastery, the creature makes 1 save with disadvantage and you roll 2 supe die. Continue that tread with cleave+sweeping etc. or even include fighting style combos like riposte +protection
As someone who loves fighter and has EK as their favourite, these changes are absolutely fantastic, especially with the new True Strike cantrip, you’ll be a very reliable source of radiant damage. I’ve already thought of a fun themed fighter to play.
I don't think feats are optional anymore, so having the brawler reference it would be fine. For instance, 33:09 feats are mentioned specifically because fighting styles were moved to feats (and is even specifically mentioned in the Fighting Style level 1 ability of fighters). Also level 1 now gives you a feat through the selection of a background, so all characters will use feats from the very beginning
I’ve seen D&D game design theory that suggests that exploration is just as strong a component of a good game as sheer combat. Class features like Tactical Mind give fighters things to do other than hit stuff.
Playtest 7 Fighter is awesome. As an EK enthusiast I am beyond stoked at the changes. The only major con I have with Fighter are that Master of Armaments should let you use 2 or more weapon masteries on one weapon. If I'm a master of a longsword, I should be able to choose when i can Push, Topple, Sap, or Slow with it instead of needing to pull out a different weapon to do that. Another issue I have with feats in general is that GWM, PAM, XBE and SS all pidgeonhole you into using those specific weapons. If they are coming back in the 2024 players handbook I would love to see Sword/Axe/Mace Master feats as well.
Preaching to the choir, but Brawler being better at punching than the monk is irritates me so much. Monk will need improved by leaps and bounds in the next UA or no one will ever play it, because if you want an unarmed striker you go Brawler and that should not ever be the case.
Agreed. Though I think we should be hoping for monks to become more than just "the punching class." That's a flavor bias and mechanical bias which I think has unnecessarily influenced the self-imposed limitations which the design team has been working with - contributing to repeatedly failed playtests.
One example of a reconsidered class chassis: Grant monks the ability to enter martial art or ritual "stances," granting them a clearer and more variable class distinctiveness. Sacrifice all of your movement for a round to enter a unique defensive stance which helps you tank and optionally drawing aggro with a successful Dexterity (Deception) or Charisma (Deception) check contested by the enemies' Insight. Sacrifice half your current HP to enter a trance of ritual focus on one enemy within melee range, granting you guaranteed critical hits until the start of your next turn. Your vision clouds, making you unable to target other creatures during this time, but you can see the enemies' life force even while they are obscured or invisible. (That might not be the right balance of risk/reward, but you get the idea.) Big picture, I don't think the Monk needs to be about stances. But I also think the base class _as designed_ makes it unusually hard to make a class which is both balanced and distinctive (without being limited by a single trope).
Brawlers aren’t really better than monks at punching, monks get a BA unarmed strike which is a fairly significant DPR boost. At least up until level 11 when fighter get a 3rd extra attack
I think you’re a little too hard on the out of combat maneuvers Rally and Tactical Assessment Bilbron is a big fan of rally because you can give your allies temporary HP at the beginning of the day, or anytime you short rest with maneuver dice left over, short rest immediately, and they still have their temp HP. That’s a big boost at low levels Tactical assessment is also just a fine boost for non-combat days if you already feel you have enough maneuvers for combat. Wouldn’t be a top 3 pick by any means, but maybe more value by 10th level than your 7th combat maneuver.
These are also at-will assuming BM 15 can cash in their free d8s on any out of combat turn. That would make it a LOT stronger than the 2014 Inspiring Leader since you could reup every combat or even more if the party takes damage in exploration from traps, hazards, falls, etc. There's no reason why a Str based BM can't have a moderate (14-16) mental score early on either. This is potentially a very strong combat maneuver. Tactical Assessment and Commanding Presence could also combine with Tactical Mind I believe. Only the former should cost a Bonus Action. Adding a 1d8 with the ability to throw another 1d10 on top of a roll makes the Maneuver a lot more reliable. Even if we're spending a die, the opportunity to rest before we get out on an adventure, and Second Wind isn't expended if we still fail the check. So you'd never be risking much. I actually am wary of all this skill flexibility since the so-called Expert Classes do lose a good deal of identity from this. Expertise isn't a resource, but neither is the above most the time. Barbarians and Wizards will also be a lot better at many more checks than usual. I rather hate that for the latter since they're already the only Int based class in 2024. So Scholar is just telling all other classes to back off their Int checks. These changes are all great thematically, but Rogues always struggled to be anywhere near this reliable checks until...Reliable Talent. Way later on. Bards and Rangers never were struggling there since they have their own prowess, Spellcasting, and other supporting out of combat features. Fighters are winning out in a lot of ways, and while they needed some stuff like this I think it's currently overtuned versatility when compared to some other martials. The BM also is getting an extra free skill proficiency along with their Artisan's tool. Barbarians are getting the initial, optional Primal Knowledge skill from Tasha's. It adds up while the Monk watches the Fighter pick up Tactical Shift, and the Wild Heart Eagle get a better Step of the Wind than the one that just got buffed. Then there's the Brawler who needs a ton of work, but if improved threatens, the Monk's way of life! College of Dance doing so right out the gate... Oof. Three more Monk playtests (and a Bard), please!
I suspect most DM would make it consume a die for the stealth check from ambush - that check lasts for way more than a turn, especially if its out of combat - nobody wants to roll a new check for every 6 seconds of times that pass... So I'd suggest Relentless would normally be considered only functional in combat after initiative rolls. Though either way the initiative bonus part isn't a huge deal - going first can be nice, but equally you can be better off going dead last once you get to the levels where surviving that first round is nearly certain - not saying going earlier isn't usually preferred, but it doesn't help you use some skills so well - for bait and switch for example you probably want to go after the player that you are protecting.
I love coming back to this channel all the time to seek the wisdom and insight of mine, Treantmonk. Thanks for all the work and time you invested in this for us, brother. I'll pray for divine favor over you and your legacy.
I think that some people mark the Rune Knight down a little bit because of how few runes you get, how few times you can use them and they use up your bonus action and reaction. They both reset on a short or long rest. At lvl 3, the RK gets 2 runes, only get one use each and only 1 is a free add to attack. At lvl 15, you get 5 runes and only 2 uses each. At lvl 3, the BM has 3 maneuvers, 4 dice you can use on any maneuver in any combination, a feat and fighting style to get more of each and several maneuvers are free to add to attack or attack roll. At lvl 15, 9 maneuvers, 6 dice to use on any maneuver and a free die when you roll for initiative if you're out. And the new BM gets even more free dice.
"Turns can happen outside combat. For more information on time in D&D, see "Time" (PH, 181), which is not in the combat chapter. #DnD" ~Jeremy Crawford Mar 22 2018
Thanks for the video Chris. Regarding your comment about the capstone feature of Champion, I would like to point out that if there is a change in 2024 PHB which will prevent the yoyo healing from 0 hps to standing and fighting in the same combat, then only a 20 in a death save will do the job, so a death save with advantage and a range of 18-20 is not that bad if it ensures you will be standing again ready to fight and/or be healed by a party member or by using second wind, etc.
Bar the monk, I think they’ve done reasonably well with the pure martials. Rogues could always rp/do stuff with expertise, but needed more interesting fights. Fighters could fight well, though lacked some more interesting dynamics to their abilities and needed rp (pretty much the same with barb). I’m a big martial fan, so am really pleased. It isn’t going to close the martial caster divide, but I don’t need it to- I just need to feel like I can contribute to, and have some fun with, each pillar of play.
I really think Weapon Mastery is all backwards in its implementation. Characters with the Weapon Mastery feature should choose properties, not weapons, and be able to use those properties with any weapon that fits its prerequisites. The Fighter’s advantage with this system should be that they get more properties than anyone else, and that at higher levels they can apply multiple properties to the same attack.
You can get booming blade proc 100% of the time unless an enemy has ranged attack or is bigger than large size. Because one of the weapon properties allows you to push an enemy by 10 feet. And this is just one attack every turn at level 7 (the forced movement doesn't trigger booming blade) and even then there's always the bonus action to heal and move half your movespeed without provoking opportunity attacks, so you could still get booming blade off almost 100% of the time so long as the enemy doesn't have reach or a ranged attack. Another thing I wanna mention is you can also deal A LOT of crowd damage now with just your attacks because one of the weapon properties allows you to make a second (free) attack against an enemy within 5 feet of the original, dealing the weapons damage dice excluding your ability modifier (unless it's negative), combine this with green flame blade and you're hitting the second target for a nice amount of damage at least every turn Then let's talk about crowd control, one of the weapon properties applies a -10 to movespeed, and there is a cantrip (forget which one) that also gives a -10 to movespeed. So if you attack cast the cantrip, and then somehow trip them. They're stuck to you permanently since you can do this every turn Then let's talk defensively, one of the weapon properties applies disadvantage on the enemies next attack, combine this with something like blade ward for resistance then use a reaction to cast shield if they even manage to hit you. And well, you're not gonna get hurt all too much All in all, Eldritch Knight got the biggest buff of all the fighter archetypes imo
Heroic Warrior should trigger at the *end* of your turn. That way you can see if you need it for a saving throw throughout the round, and if not, you can spend it on your next turn for advantage on an attack. You lose access to it at the beginning of combat through your first turn sure, but I think the trade off is worth it. They could also say 'When you roll initiative and when you end your turn without heroic advantage...' if they wanted the player to have access to it on their first turn.
I love the BM Fighter. The real fix for maneuvers would be that you learn more as you level up, and you 'prepare' a certain number of them after a long rest. Perfectly reasonable thematically and some of those lesser used ones would come out in situtation specific planning.
War magic on the Eldritch Knight really makes me want to play that Fighter. There are a lot of fun cantrip weapon property combos to use, especially since the cantrips dont have to be attack cantrips. Imagine using mold earth to make a whole behind an enemy and then pushing them in with a war hammer, or slowing down a target with ray of frost and with the slow property. Attacking and then casting minor illusion can block a targets vision to let you disengage. Topple an enemy and cast bonfire to give them disadvantage on their dex saves. Artificer initiate can get you thorn whip that uses your intelligence modifier.
Trip attack is actually really good for archer fighter builds, especially when fighting flying creatures. I have used that one often enough where I would recommend it being taken, even with topple existing since topple can't be used on a ranged weapon.
@@TreantmonksTemple yes but you might not want that Mastery on there since you would have disadvantage on ranged attacks vs the prone creature. Trip is nice to have in the pocket if you would rather have Vex.
Being able to topple a creature with a maneuver and slow it with a weapon property is a a nice combo. A creature uses half its movement speed to stand up, so reducing it by ten as well can really slow down a target.
I will say that arguably Evasive footwork does have a small niche use case for scenarios where you as a melee fighter are going to find yourself isolated from your party members and therefore unable to constantly switch spots with someone. For example, if you're trying to run some kind of Sentinel type build where you are trying to lock down someone particularly dangerous and keep them away from other party members.
25:18 they kind of did in the first UA for "tavern brawler" feat. "Furniture as Weapons. You can wield furniture as a Weapon, using the rules of the Greatclub for Small or Medium furniture and the rules of the Club for Tiny furniture." I think that was an initial plan to replace Improvised weapon completely with this.
I feel you on the complexity of math with the UA stuff, juggling Studied Attacks, Heroic Warrior, and then testing models with Vex or Topple. OneD&D math is way more complicated. Also, EK can increase DPR significantly with a single 3rd-level spell with massive uptime: TCoE summons. Quick math on Summon Fey seemed to add about 11.214 DPR, and with 3 spell slots that's up to 3 hours of uptime, and since it's an hour long, there is no opportunity cost since you just cast it before combat (only voided when ambushed). Regarding Superiority Dice turn usage, I would say everything except Ambush's initiative bonus should work since you have to be taking a turn to do them, even if it's not a combat turn. So with that one exception, Relentless should be valid unless WotC rewords it to only work in combat. Ambush's initiative aspect still isn't valid because initiative rolls don't happen on anyone's turn. But Relentless does make Parry, Riposte, and Opportunity Attacks so much better since it's just a free bonus.
Champions with vex property weapons means unlimited advantage for every attack...every turn assuming no misses. The crits are gonna be constant. Flame tongue is about to pop off!
Dirty Fighting: When you attack a creature you have grappled your Unarmed Attacks cause an additional 1d6 damage. This damage increases to 1d8 at level X, and 1d10 at level X.
Or just give the brawler the ability to do something (even just more damage) with unarmed strikes that isn't locked behind grappling in general. Easy fix to both the issues with unarmed strike features of the Brawler just not being good and the grappling features conflicting with the Grappler feat: take out the grappling features and replace them with actual features to support unarmed strikes in general; leave grappling options to the feat meant for it.
@@Mrryn Who better to take advantage of grappling though with head butts, knees, elbows? Just eliminate the redundancy and it's fine. It does need a damage boost badly.
@@Tusitala1967 Not every brawler is a grappler though. And any time that grappling is either impossible due to enemy size or not feasible (due to facing a spiked enemy or something like an ooze or fire elemental), you just have two completely dead features. I'd rather see more ubiquitous on-theme abilities with specific things like grappling expertise saved for feat specialization which is the point of the fighter having so many ASIs. Like imagine if Champion had a Shield Bash-esque feature as a straight feature - not only does it conflict with the Shield Master feat, it's either dead or pigeonholing into shield builds.
@@Mrryn I just think an unarmed, strength based fighter is incomplete without some grappling ability. Maybe you are thinking Marquess de Queensberry rules and I'm thinking more like Pankration; a mix of boxing and wrestling. When I think of an entire class dedicated to unarmed combat I don't think of just striking. I think your Shield feature analogy misses the mark, because it's clearly about using a dedicated technique with a singular implement, not a body of knowledge designed to allow you to survive against guys with swords when you are unarmed. No effective unarmed fighting style leaves out grappling from its repertoire. However, our differences in vision for the subclass could easily be accommodated if the subclass was better designed. lol
@@Tusitala1967 Possibly. I do think that grappling is a notable part of unarmed combat, it isn't necessarily a necessity. There are bare-knuckle fighters, boxers, or even just barroom brawlers that don't implement grappling. Or if they do, it's very limited and hardly a keystone of how they operate. I don't disagree that grappling can be a part of this, and I'm not even against it. But the subclass, as a result of how its spread out and with parts lacking and/or locked behind others, feels disjointed by trying to do all 3 - unarmed, improv, and grappling - in a build with 5 levels of abilities, and that's even with them doubling up at level 3. Off the top, beyond just removing grappling from this, my fix would be like this: Level 3 - Unarmed Expert essentially gains the Grappling Expert feature straight up, still called Unarmed Expert since grapples are a part of unarmed strikes. (Also unrelated, but Improv Expert plainly gives a damage die to both sizes of weapons, in the same way it does for Unarmed Expert. I would say d4 for one handed, 1d8 for two handed to balance it being able to use masteries with them) Level 7 - New ability: Roll with the Punch. Basically, when you use Tactical Shift, you can either make an unarmed strike as part of the same bonus action if you end your movement next to an enemy, or otherwise gain temp HP equal to the roll of your Second Wind. Level 10 - Unarmed Specialist 8 levels early. Also the damage to grappled enemies increases to a d8. Level 15 - No change aside from increasing one handed damage to a d6 and two handed to d10 (now that we have a defined damage die from level 3) Level 18 - New ability: Unarmed Master. Damage die of all dice from Unarmed Expert increase again (so d10, d12 if no shield, d10 when grappling). And now when you use a bonus action to make an unarmed strike, you can make an additional unarmed attack (that isn't a grapple or shove) as part of the same bonus action.
@@M9Seradon I know you are just talking about making quarter staffs a finesse weapon, but I like to think you associate hitting people with sticks with edge lords
I'm like 90% sure I remember J-Craw saying that feats are no longer an optional part of the game, since "Feat" has replaced "ASI" in each class's standard progression table.
For the Heroic Warrior feature at level 10 for Champion, I think a neat tweak for that feature would be to just have it just say "you gain Heroic Advantage at the start of your turn every turn in combat". With the rule that a character can only have Heroic Advantage once at a time, but can grant it to other players if they would otherwise gain it again, this would turn the feature into a way to potentially be able to buff the rest of the party if you are doing well.
Overall, I think Fighter came out much better in this playtest and only really needs a bit a tweaking (that we won't get...) to be perfect. That said: please, for the love of all that is holy, *stop* recommending they increase the damage of martials as your first recommendation. I understand when a class/subclass is significantly behind the curve compared to other martials, those are exeptions, but Brawler *does not need more damage* to fix it's issues. It's overlap with Grappler (though I kinda hate it being shoehorned into that role), how improvised weapons work, and losing Weapon Mastery for Unarmed Strikes are *much* bigger issues than +1 damage at all levels. I'm even in the camp that Monks didn't need the damage bump at level 1, they needed to push the unique advantages of unarmed attacks, but I'm not going to lose my mind over it since I still think there is plenty of power budget left to do both. Letting them choose from a small list of masteries when they attack with Unarmed Strikes (like their Improvised Expert feature) would instantly fix many issues for both Brawler and Monk since *that* is the real tragedy of Unarmed Strikes right now. WotC literally created a whole system to give martials their own niche and then *excluded* Monk and somewhat Brawler from this change. I'd happily give up 1 average damage per attack for a suite of weapon masteries on every punch, kick, or headbutt, but if everyone says they need more *DAMAGE*, that's all WotC is going to give them. Anyways, I loved the video Chris, but "more damage" is the only take I'm seeing everywhere and it's really pissing me off.
For the "grappler feat" problem: just like the feats that already exist that gives you certain classes' feature, the grappler feat could simply state that "you gain the Dirty Fighting class feature of the Brawler fighter" or something like that (much like the feats that give manouvres, invocations and metamagic). In that feat you could then just write: If you ever get the Dirty Fighting feature through you class, you may immediately replace this feat with another feat (and they could reuse this wording for other similar feats).
At level 20 an Eldritch knight fighter could take the attack action and use both war magic and improved war magic, and then action surge to do it again. So in one turn you could potentially: - Replace one of four attacks with booming blade, triggering Eldritch Strike - Use tactical shift to move into range of another creature, attacking said creature and triggering Eldritch Strike again. - Retreat and replace the last two attacks with a fireball centered on both creatures (both would have disadvantage on the dex save) - Use action surge and arcane charge to teleport back towards another creature. - Take the attack action again, repeat previous steps. By the end of the turn the Eldritch Knight would have cast fireball twice, booming blade twice, made four weapon attacks, and imposing disadvantage on the saving throws against the fireball spell. Also you would have teleported 30 feet, regained 1d10+20 hit points, and only imposed one opportunity attack. Side note: If arcane charge could be used at any point during the additional action, you could potentially never take an opportunity attack.
For the Eldritch Knight, I would personally like to see Improved War Magic let you trade in a number of attacks equal to the level of the spell you want to cast.
@@josequiles7430I could see that. Maybe just have a War Magic feature at level 7 that says when you take the attack action, you can forgo a number of those attacks equal to the level of the spell you cast (with cantrips requiring 1 attack). You could then get a different feature at 18th level.
16:54 Perhaps they could make Evasive Footwork something like this: "When you move at least 5 feet on your turn, you can expend one Superiority Die, rolling the die and adding the number rolled to your AC until the start of your next turn. While your AC is increased in this way, whenever an attack misses you, you can use your reaction to move up to half your speed. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks." I like the idea of evasive footwork letting you move around while dodging attacks and weaving in and out of melee range, it feels very flavorful to me and I might take it on more skirmish-y characters. If this is too strong, you could make it a reaction when an attack hits you to add the superiority die to your AC for this attack only and then let you move half your speed. (Or if that's too much of a nerf, then the AC could last until the start of your next turn.)
Unarmed strikes have always been included when they say “weapon attacks”. That particular wording was only meant to differentiate from “spell attacks” It’s confusing. But true. There’s usually specific “Attacks with a (melee/ranged) weapon” wording when a weapon is required.
I could see tripping attack get a rework to something new. -Low Blow * you roll your unarmed die, add this damage to your attack and fource you target to make any saving through associated with the attack at disadvantage. (Alternatively way of doing this) After hitting a creature with this attack that creature must roll your superiority die the next time it makes a saving throw before the start of your next turn, and subtract the number rolled from their roll.
Could you use Fey Touched for the EK so they learn Hunter's Mark? Just an idle thought though, as I don't remember if that feat will still be featured in One DnD Great stuff as always!
You get a free first level feat with all characters. The ones that do not have a +1 to an ability score are typically first level feats including magic initiate. You can grab it at level 1 with magic initiate.
I do wonder what your thoughts on the Bastion system will be. Will you be covering that? And if so, when can we expect it? I would love to see your interpretation of it use and what reworks it would need, if any.
I'm imagining a funny scenario where a Brawler has a chair using Topple and smashes it over someone's head, breaking the chair, but now giving him two chair legs as One-Handed Light weapons. His second attack is then made with two weapon fighting.
I always hated features that only exsist to improve previous features. Take all the superiority dice improvement, and shove it into the level 3 feature. "When you reach X level in this class, you superiority dice become d10s. When you reach level Y, they become d12s." Same for champion. "When you reach level 7 in this class, you crit in a 18. When you reach level 15, you crit on a 17" They did this correctly with psi knight, did they forget it or something?
Champion should get a lower critical threshold at every subclass feature level in addition to what the current PT7 subclass features, and the original improved critical features could do something to increase critical hit damage. Boom, the champion fighter is no longer the worst, and it stays on theme, and it is still pretty simple.
I did notice on error with the champion damage from Great Weapon Master feat. The chance to hit at least once is actually even higher, since studied attacks gives advantage after you miss (assuming that you don't switch targets, and you would switch if the target went down due to damage from graze and it could happen in a few other niche situations). This means that since you assumed the first attack had heroic advantage, the chance that you miss with every attack is generally going to be the chance that you miss when all 4 attacks have advantage (not the general-case chance of hitting - that considers the chance of hitting with a previous attack, and if that occurred, then you've already hit with at least 1 attack). So the math would actually be 100% - (16%)^4 = ~99.9% chance for ~4.997 dpr (once again, assuming you don't switch targets). Doesn't make much difference, but it looks really hard to miss with all 4 attacks. You'd practically need to have something imposing disadvantage (canceling out advantage) or facing an opponent with an extremely high AC (preferably both).
I would love to see Treantmonk build around a 1 Genie Warlock and the rest of the levels in either Clockwork Soul/Bladesinger/Abjuration/War Wizards. Combining Glyph of Warding and the Genies vessel leaves an endless combination of absolutely broken possibilities as you could enter your vessel, say a magic word triggering every glyph, and exit the vessel all in a single turn. And with the Glyph of Warding, you could theoretically stack an endless number of Concentration spells active at once. The limiting factor is you essentially have to have 2 spell slots of any given level when making the Glyph, so you are limited to 5th level spells until you are level 20 essentially. But you could get 5th level glyphs by PC level 11. It is a strategy that would be costly in terms of gp and would only work once until you set it up again, but it would be the ultimate "Break glass in case of emergency" strategy possible without homebrew imo.
If they want to improve the brawler its features should ADD not REPLACE unarmed damage/unarmed features. That way they would stack with the unarmed fighting style, or a monk multiclass. Agree with level 10 making grappler feat redundant. Or at least partially. Maybe instead they can a defensive feature at that level instead like foregoing the grapple damage from level 7 to get that 1d6 as a bonus to AC while you ate grappling that target. Kind of like you using them as an improvised shield...
I honestly want a fighter subclass that doesn't require a monk multiclass at all and still has all the tools to be an unarmed fighting expert. The Brawler fully has that capability but feels like it's trying to do too much and locking any unarmed strike damage behind either grappling (which isn't always feasible) or level 18 features like they don't want to step on the monk's toes by just letting a brawler brawl. Grappling should be an option tied to the Grappler feat imo. I'd rather see more progression of the unarmed striking nature of the Brawler and adding in a bonus rider to a base Fighter feature, like giving temp HP or a free unarmed strike if you use Tactical Shift. Something with more general usability that fits with the theme and synergizes with the other features in the subclass as well.
You mentioned you’ve seen a playtest battle master use commanding strike, but that was specifically to give a rogue sneak attack damage a second time during the same round. Not saying that means the maneuver needs another buff, but I think that’s worth noting.
Weapon masteries for each weapon as a whole should be available ALL THE TIME depending on category and only be usable once per turn each. Since not all weapons are versatile, heavy or light something like this.: * One-Handed: Vex, Sap, Push, Slow * Two-Handed: Graze, Topple, Push, Slow * Light: Nick * Heavy: Cleave
I’ve always felt like sweeping attack should deal the sd damage to the target of the attack and then any target of your choice within 5 feet. It’d still be one of the weaker maneuvers but could at least provide a niche for clearing out mooks.
Level 9: Indomitable: fighters can theoretically add this bonus to death saving throws. Which is really good. Not just good as in powerful, but I think good for the class and as a result the game. It adds to the idea that the fighter is the traditional frontline tank and while they may not always be in the fight, they won’t die easily, either. Makes them extremely reliable. Level 9: Master of Armaments: I think they should be able to swap properties on the fly. Using creativity on the battlefield with what you’ve got. It would give Fighters more options with their damage than just the one attack multiple times a turn all the time. I like the mechanics within Studied Attacks because I see the flavor intent behind it. It makes Fighter feel like the “wizard” equivalent for martial characters: the smart, versatile and tactical character. In addition, I think the Battlemaster is the “Fightery” Fighter more so than the Champion. I think of the Champion as a simpler offshoot of the Fighter. Someone who is good at fighting, certainly, but isn’t as smart. I think of the Fighter as the “wizard” of the Martial class family, a versatile, tough martial combatant that fights smarter and harder. Champion fights harder, and doesn’t do anything else, while the Battlemaster fights much smarter and harder. The Eldritch Knight fights so much smarter it becomes supernatural, but doesn’t really fight harder. They don’t need to. They fight as hard as any normal fighter without a subclass. But they fight smarter than even the Battlemaster.
precision was buffed actually. previously you had to decide if you used it before knowing if you hit or missed but now its to be used once you know youd miss without it
The fact that there is no power attack to offset anymore really moves the niche of Battle master to use maneuvers that are not precision attack. This might sound good, but with weapon mastery they basically just have a higher chance of shoving prone. There's some interesting options to use your attack as a reaction, tho, especially after relentless
I really enjoy how bait and switch works, but I don't particularly love the thematics, even if the feature itself is actually really solid. I completely get that the idea is like oh you are swapping places with someone and you are giving either them or you a bonus to your AC because essentially you are defending them or they're defending you, kind of like a tag team defense type thing. But because the feature does last until the start of your next turn (which is a good thing), thematically if you give yourself the AC boost, I can kind of see it working because you are defending and prepared in this like more aware and defensible state and all that, but if you give someone else the AC boost, and they move away, it feels weird for them to still have an ac boost, like how are they getting better defended? To me them being switched out is like the fighter is giving them a bonus because the fighter is essentially deflecting and protecting them, but it makes less sense when they move away. I could be misinterpreting how it's supposed to work from a thematic point, I do like the mechanics a lot, it's fairly similar to giving you or a friend a slightly better or worse shield and shifting them out of harms way, which I think is great, but it just doesn't make sense thematically to me.
I think Brawler (and monk) should be allowed to apply mastery properties to unarmed strikes. Not only is this a necessary buff mechanically but thematically its badass. Have it come online at level 3 for fighters and maybe level 3/4 for monks.
The new lunge is awesome The way I'm reading it, it sounds like it can proc multiple times AND you can pile on other superiority dice too. There's a nova build in there somewhere… But there was some situational benefit to extending your reach. Maybe an enemy is standing across a stream 5 feet too wide.
Fix: Level 10 Dirty Fighting - Choose Pocket Sand or Grappler. Pocket Sand allows you to [something or other, meant for those with the feat]. Grappler allows you to [reprint all of the text from the Grappler feat]. // This would not only keep them from needing to force feats on you, but it gives you another way to get the feat without taking the feat, and it also presents you with a good option if you already took Grappler.
What do you think about Grappling (and Shoving) in 1DnD? In 5e my favorite build was a Strength Rogue/Barbarian with a shortsword and a free hand for grappling but in 1DnD it just feels like a waste of a turn. Granted it was a bit too strong before but right now I can't see myself replacing an attack for it. And I hate how they are trying to make it a thing for the new Brawler subclass, this should be a thing for any strength character. Strength is already weak enough of a stats as it is. Dex has Stealth, let Str have Grappling and Shoving, don't shoehorn-it in a single subclass.
Wouldn't champion damage be 10% chance to crit without advantage? They don't get improved crit until level 15.
You are correct, I didn't realize that the 18-20 should be removed from the PT 7 champion at level 13 until it was pointed out to me.
😊
Such a drastic nerf! Whatever should I do!
Genuinely this does affect it's placement ranking
Garkos the Goblin Lord: “Ha, you can’t stand against me Fighte-“
Fighter: “I use second wind.”
Garkos: “Wh- Well no matter, you still can’t-“
Fighter: “I use third wind.”
Garkos: “Okay, what the fu-“
Fighter: “I use fourth wind.”
Garkos: “Forget it!”
😂😂
Fighter: "I can do this all day"
"I'm not done yet!" - Asta from Black Clover
I mean this is every Shonen Jump's fan dream power.
"Seven Heavenly Breaths!"
"That's not even the right franchise, for Bahamut's sake!"
Halfling fighter: yes we've had second wind, but what about elevensies? Brunch? Afternoon tea?
So I also thought Trip Attack would be redundant with Topple, but when I actually built my dex based battle master, I realized that Topple only works with Heavy, Reach, or Versatile weapons. The benefit of having Trip Attack is that it works with weapon builds that don't have those properties, like rapiers or hand crossbows. I like having it as an option to set up the rogue, who often needs any source of advantage they can get to deliver their sneak attack damage.
Good point.
I actually like that Unconquerable has been replaced by extra uses of Indomitable at level 13 and 17. The Playtest 5 Unconquerable feature disincentivized you from using Second Wind for anything else (in case an important saving throw comes up, like how you might never use Inspiration), which was a shame. Especially now that Second Wind can be used pro-actively for Tactical Mind or Tactical Shift instead.
I think the reason that battlemaster was a fan favorite is the same reason so many of us liked magic users. It wasn't just the ability to cast spells. It was the fact that magic users always had meaningful choices to make at level up, meaningful choices in and out of combat tactically, and just generally had a lot of versatility. The battle master was the only one who did anything but swing swing swing in the phb and you got to choose maneuvers. Now they've made every fighter have more level up choices and the option for more battle tactics. It's a very welcome change, same as the rogue.
About the "turns outside of combat" topic - JC has confirmed that they actually happen outside of combat in a tweet regarding the "Survivor" feature of the Champion. Quote: "The benefit of the Survivor feature happens at the start of each of your turns, whether those turns are inside or outside combat." Also, there is PH 181.
Now, I do have it for some reason in the back of my head that they have contradicted this in other places, especially when it comes to things like Surprise, but I can't find it right now.
But, even if it was the case that turns outside combat exist, I don't think 1d8 to a Stealth check in the late game is gamebreaking. It's strong, but not overly so. I think it's gonna be more of a nice bonus for STR-based fighters, since dex-based ones will probably have good stealth.
Sure, like in the introduction of the rules where it explains "How to Play." Players don't need to take turns to act outside of combat. Maybe the feature is also optional. :)
@@awigg81003 I think this refers to something else. I think this means more like - outside of combat, you don't roll initiative and people don't RP one after the other like they fight in combat. Not that turns don't exist. They do, they're not just enforced the same way they are in combat.
@@awigg81003turns are an arbitration for your character’s ability to perform actions within a 6-second time frame. when something says “until the beginning of your next turn” that means that it lasts 6 seconds in-universe. “turns”, then, are happening interspersed with eachother in 6-second intervals, and everyone is free to “start their turn” whenever they perform an action, since the lack of initiative just means they don’t have to wait to see what other actors are doing.
Other classes may get ways to expend a combat resource to improve their out of combat utility, but it's still tied to a resource, whereas actual Expertise is resourceless and unlimited in usage, so skill experts still have their place. Fighters and Barbarians now get the opportunity to expend their formerly-combat-only resources in non-combat scenarios, allowing them to occasionally be better than the actual experts without constantly stepping on their toes.
The number of times you roll important ability checks between regaining resources is not significant enough to make resourceless expertise worth it. The way the skill system is designed right now makes the rogue, especially, underwhelming.
@@lapetitecuillereetlepaindo3005that just depends on on how your DM runs your campaign. I’ve had campaigns where there were easily 6-7 skill checks between rests.
@@adamstadick2044 keyword is important, meaningful
gives fighters and barbarians something to do during shopping or social encounter "days" as well, whereas before they just had to occasionally got to make an intimidation check at +0, at least now they can throw a couple of resources around
Also makes multiclassing better
For fun I did a quick calculation for how well a Duel Wielding fighter could do in the current playtest. An Eldritch Knight with Magic Initiate for Hex, Charger and max Dex, can consistently deal 57.96 damage while keeping their bonus action available to move Hex and use Second Wind. It’s really cool to be able to duel Wield without being actively punished by the system!
Would you use the new true strike with that build?
@@kongoaurius No. It forces you to use your casting stat for the True Strike attack which will almost always be lower than your dex. You want to use Booming Blade if it’s available at your table since it’ll deal good damage and discourage enemies from moving around. You can fallow that up with either a Tactical Shift to leave melee or using Bladeward to walk the opportunity attack, this’ll force the enemy to either take Booming Blade’s secondary damage or stay in place, both of which favor you.
The only time I could see an Eldritch Knight using True Strike is if they wanted to focus on ranged combat. The system gives you far fewer ways to modify your ranged damage so taking a small hit to accuracy for 1-3 d6 of extra damage is a far more tempting deal in that case. The accuracy hit is also a far smaller concern for an archer since the Archery fighting style will still be active on your True Strike attack.
Edit- I did a bit of quick math to check my hypothesis. Assuming you’re using a hand crossbow True Strike represents a minor damage buff at level 7. By level 8 though your Dex modifier will be 2 full points ahead of your Int. This means True Strike’s average damage is only 1.5 points higher than an unmodified hit before we factor in accuracy, once that’s accounted for True Strike only deals 0.23 more damage than a standard attack. If you concentrate on Hex however the added boost will push your attacks relative damage closer together without helping True Strike’s accuracy. This means from levels 8-10 True Strike will be *worse* than a standard attack while you’re concentrating on Hex. By level 11, when True Strike scales to 2d6 bonus damage it’ll once again be superior to a standard attack regardless of wether or not your concentrating on Hex.
Could you showcase the build? I'd be interested in seeing it.
The Battle Master maneuver rundown was really helpful for me, especially pointing out the changes between the UA and 2014, kudos!
Weapon Adept was my favorite feature and I’m sad it disappeared. While not necessarily being stronger than just carrying around 3 different weapons, I prefer not having to equip and unequip weapons to have tactical options.
In fact, I would like to see it baked into the base Weapon Mastery feature gained at 1st level, which should allow you to choose between either using the Mastery Property of 3 different weapons or using 2-3 of the Mastery Properties with a single weapon. A player that chooses the first option has the flexibility of mastery with different weapons, while the latter option would allow tactical choices with every attack in combat without having to juggle different weapons like a silly video game. I believe most players subscribe to the fantasy of being able to perform different moves with your one signature weapon (especially if it’s magical).
It Really should be switched. People should be choosing Masteries they want to be able to use, and can use that mastery on any weapon that qualifies for the mastery they choose. Its weird that you instead are chosing a specific Weapon that has the mastery property unlocked on that weapon.
Feels like they added unnecessary steps.
For a while there post first masteries playtests came out but pre the revising of them, I was writing up some house rules for my game, and I had every weapon had 2 masteries and if you got weapon mastery you got both for those weapons, so you'd have some flexibility. I used chris's video to actually pick which 2 might be the strongest that applied. I've now changed it to be much closer to the actual way it's done now.
In the survey, I asked them to just give every weapon 2 Mastery properties. Then you could let some classes use both, and some use only 1.
I was also thinking about the 3 weapon juggling problem, and it occurred to me that it wasn't historically uncommon soldiers to carry a main weapon, a side weapon, and a ranged weapon pretty regularly. So I'm not as bothered by the 3 weapon issue, but I hope they consider letting a weapon do more than just one extra thing.
They should find someway to let martials use multiple weapon masteries without having to swap weapons all the time. That’s annoying.
Commander strike could be far more viable with the relentless feature. Giving the rogue another sneak attack per rou d is always good
That's what I saw it used for in when I playtested, and it was impactful for sure.
Especially coming after a Distracting Strike for advantage.
@@williamwalton9154 I've been using that combo in my group's campaign even with the bonus action version. It's already a really good combo, and removing the bonus action will only make it even better.
@@williamwalton9154 I suppose the distracting strike you'd use with relentless and burn a Superiority Die on the commanders strike so the rogue gets more damage?
@markloeffler85 that feels like you'd burn through Superiority dice really quickly though?
My favorite change to Battle Master is the specification that Unarmed Strikes can be used instead of just weapons. I've always ruled Unarmed worked, but I've met some who havent. Also on that note the whole "topple" thing means that Unarmed can do it too. (Why Monks can't use weapon mastery with Unarmed strikes though, I have no clue)
They mentioning they will rework on Open Hand Monk is the only thing giving me hope they will do that next... I hope... Can't understand how they missed that opportunity...
Because they hate monks
I'm actually really happy to see champion being so close to eldritch knight. For the "bad" subclass to be sitting only 7 dpr lower (while not needing to burn any resources to coast there) is pretty great.
There's something really cool I noticed going on under the hood is while their crits aren't impressive in a vacuum because they are only doubling weapon die, the interaction of heroic warrior and studied attacks giving advantage so frequently further boost their chance to get those crits really often.
The most fun build I've personally workshopped for this is actually using vex because between vex, heroic warrior, and studied attacks at level 13, literally EVERY attack ends up being at advantage. This turns the humble sword and board rapier fighter into an actually pretty powerful character.
I think WoTC should do to EK what Larian did. Weapon Bond simply returns to your hand automatically, so you can use throwing weapons.
Not everyone would like to play a boomerang guy.
I love Menacing Attack. It is great at burning legendary resistances. Strong enough that the DM will often use one, but weak enough that it isn't too feels bad for the player.
And it is great to let the fighter interact with that system. Otherwise it can often feel like it is a race between can you deal enough damage before burning all LR and whichever side loses effectively wasted a bunch of resources. This lets everyone be on one game plan.
I think it's VERY IMPORTANT to note that the Eldritch Knight's 'Eldritch Strike' was a feature that you could never benefit from on the turn you hit a creature because you could only make an attack as bonus action after casting a cantrip or spell, meaning the creature would only have disadvantage on the saving throw on your next turn, and that's if you hit your one attack. But now, the new 'War Magic' feature allows to potentially benefit from it on the same turn you attacked a creature. This means enemies will very often disadvantage against your cantrips, and at level 18, even your levelled spells. Meanwhile you're keeping your bonus action free for second winds and weapon summoning.
Yeah i was wanting the bladesinger for Eldritch knight, but figured they would never get it because of the extra extra attacks, so i'm real happy to see this version of it.
The improvised weapon rules would benefit, I feel, from having a few pieces of mundane equipment that state what their equivalent weapon would be in their rules text. Pathfinder 1e did this with some specific tools, like a sledge saying it's treated as an improvised earth breaker when used in combat. Maybe something like a miner's pick saying they're treated as an improvised war pick or some such.
Having a lot of options for weapon mastery might be overkill but I do like it for the fighter. My impression of a fighter has always been that of the martial classes, they're the one that is a master of weapons and combat, and the one who is most likely to pick up some other weapon and not miss a beat. But with "just" proficiency, all martials are good with all martial weapons. Giving the fighter so many weapon masteries means they're the greatest master of making the most of many weapons. That could just be a ribbon once getting past 2 or 3 weapons, but I still like the vibe.
Monk needs a buff so they can hang
Super excited to play the One DND Eldritch Knight in an upcoming campaign! The removal of school restrictions is especially nice - I’m planning on setting up Flaming Sphere plus Booming Blade: The enemy takes damage if they move and damage if they don’t move!
Fixing Eldritch Knights so they have the Bladesinger Extra attack from D&D 5e is an amazing change. Trying to cast spells or even cantrips on an Eldritch Knight in D&D 5e was painful. The only spells I could reliably cast in D&D 5e on an Eldritch Knight were reaction spells and Misty Step.
So..... Something that I just wanted to also say I love on the new EK just for the sake of it's existence, and that's actually getting to be a bit insane at level 20. You attack 4 times, that's up to 2 leveled spells per action unless I'm reading it wrong. I don't think it's broken at a level where wish is a thing, but a action surging fighter casting 4 spells in 6 seconds as the party wizard watches slack jawed just is marvelous to me.
@@samfish2550 I really like how War Magic works with the new extra attack. Level 20. Attack one, hit a creature with a weapon attack. Now that creature has disadvantage against your next spell. Next, give up two attacks and cast Hold Person/Hold Monster while the creature has disadvantage on their saving throw. Assuming the creature fails it's saving throw, now you 4th melee attack crits. Plus if you really want to, you can add Action Surge on top of this to get 4 more crit attacks on an incapacitated enemy.
my dm is allowing me to switch over to the playtest version of EK in our current campaign. we recently hit lvl 13 and man i was really feeling the martial-caster gap since the other players are all full casters. i was worried id just become an AC machine and not even be the best at it. we haven’t had a big combat encounter yet, but i’m excited knowing i’ll have a balance between defense and offense while having a unique character! also i’m also using booming blade with flaming sphere, it’s a great combo!
@@samfish2550 i believe the new improved war magic doesn’t just work for leveled spells, just spells that cost an action. that means you could use a cantrip like booming blade twice in one attack!
In the playtest 1, they said feats aren't an optional thing anymore.
This puts the Dirty Fighting->Feat back on the table.
Feats back on the menu boys!
Interesting! I would like to see that change implemented in the next playtest.
@@eldinoor7072 I think it's been on the entire time!
There has only been one UA for rolling a new character... the first one. There were a few updates to Dragonborn and the deletion of Ardlings in a later UA.
But that remains the only source for character creation information, and every "background" was bundled with a Feat.
For Champion - if you already have advantage (e.g. youre attacking a creature who's restrained or has faerie fire etc) then your chances of being able to save your HA for a saving throw or opposed ability check are high
Fighter has been the first class I pick in every edition since I've started playing in Ad&d and because of that I'll always have a soft spot for the class - even if nowadays my favorite class, both mechanically and thematically is the wizard. Glad to see they're getting some much welcome love.
I absolutely do not understand the fear Wizards has of making Champion into something more than it is. Two mediocre things in the first 6 levels is wild.
Precision attack improved in that it only applies after you miss, which is clearer and new from the PHB, although I think the same as previous playtests
It's interesting to hear how others have such a different opinion on the maneuvers. I've seen trip attack used to great effect on flying foes, don't sleep on it.
Commander's strike has been very used on our rogue when our fighter is not at melee range, which happens very often when enemies are far, flying, etc.
I love the idea of Commander's Strike but without a single high damage weapon attacker like a Rogue or a Paladin on your team it is borderline useless due to the opportunity cost. Spending one Fighter attack, a bonus action, AND someone else's reaction is prohibitively expensive unless you can guarantee your ally is going to hit WAY harder than you would have with your own attack.
@@NonRegnumDei1934 totally agree, very situational. Sometimes also on a polymorphed PC or on an OP NPC that eventually joins a battle.
About battle master maneuvers: a lot of unusable options become passable if you can spam them every turn with a d8. How often I will be surrounded by a counjure animals mob? Rarely. But when it happens, having the option of using sweeping attack + 4 attacks with a polearm? A fighter can pretty much clear up a mob of spamming creatures and still use their more useful options after.
28:53 remember that feats are core rules now. In fact, the new warlock invocation Lessons of the first ones does give you feats.
I do like generally new fighter and Barb, my main concern to use a pf2 term is the "niche Protection". I do get the need to make it so that non caster non rogues have something useful to do when abilities come up (exploration and social interactions) but i think they have gone a little to far. Also on the skill subject i really wish they brought back (as it was or with minor revisions) the conecpt of having extra starting skills based on INT. As of now INT is the most dumped stat of the game and by a far margin. Excluding wizards 99% of pcs can use it as dump stat. 5e and 5.5 is a game where either you area wizard or you are "stupid" and that i dislike very much.
Giving the combat oriented classes ways to use their combat resources in non-combat environments is such a massive improvement. I really really hope the design teams are looking at the positive responses to Fighters and Barbarians and will bring that creativity over to Monks (who need their combat stuff boosted first, but they also have no out-of-combat utility to bring to the table) and to Rangers who need more than Favored Terrain and a handful of free spells to make them true survivalist-warriors.
My last fighter had Commanding Presence because he was an enforcer for the mob and had to be good at threatening people. I like the skill-boosting maneuvers a lot as roleplay tools to help personalize your fighter’s identity, but they definitely can be hard to take over a powerful combat maneuver.
If a player shows up at my table wanting to play a Champion, I would give them something like Defy Death at level 7. BUT i would extend it to saves and ability checks as well.
The fantasy is that you are the champion, the hero, the protagonist. There is always a chance that you will win.
I like how resilience is incorporated in the main melee classes in the game. Fighter has a better second wind. Barbarians have the biggest hit die and reduce damage taken when raging. Paladins can heal.
Some party compositions may move on without having a cleric, or the cleric may use the spell slots for other effects than healing.
My biggest complaint about the new fighter is that their Weapon Mastery bonuses aren't that much more than any other martial. Adding more weapons has a dimishing return. The level 9 bonus comes on way too late to feel iconic.
There are a couple of solutions. Choose one or more of the following: Move the level 9 feature to a lower level; add additional features that boost the fighter's Weapon Mastery; reduce other martials to only having mastery of a single weapon so that the fighter's multiple masteries actually mean something.
Any additional features don't even have to be that powerful. They just need to feel like they are the master of Weapon Mastery, even at lower levels.
I used to find the Fighter class completely uninteresting. Now BG3 has taught me to love Battlemaster, the playtests are making base Fighter more interesting (love the Second Wind flexibility, and of course weapon masteries), and Brawler sounds so much fun!
Cunning Strike completely turned my opinion around about Rogues too. Martials are looking really good! ... except for Monk of course...
A monk cares not for appearances! (You can tell they care not for math either, because they rolled a monk…) 😂
Imo Barbarian also needs more love, but I do think the Fighter and the Rogue actually got overall good improvements in this playtest process
I feel like it wouldn't be too big of a deal for Master of Armaments to allow not only to change masteries, but apply two masteries to the same weapon. It just feels like the fighter as the "weapon master class" doesn't really get too much else out of masteries than other 'warrior' classes, also they don't scale super well as the levels go on. Seems like a way to have fighters truly be the best at using weapons.
I feel like the inclusion of Unarmed Strikes to most of the manouvers makes this a fun option for a Monk multiclass
the ideal monk multiclass of just being a pure battlemaster and maybe a 1 level monk dip
21:40 I think the battle master should have COMBO BLURBS in the maneuver
Ie: Tripping attack, at the end say **COMBO:** if you have the topple mastery, the creature makes 1 save with disadvantage and you roll 2 supe die.
Continue that tread with cleave+sweeping etc. or even include fighting style combos like riposte +protection
As someone who loves fighter and has EK as their favourite, these changes are absolutely fantastic, especially with the new True Strike cantrip, you’ll be a very reliable source of radiant damage. I’ve already thought of a fun themed fighter to play.
I don't think feats are optional anymore, so having the brawler reference it would be fine. For instance, 33:09 feats are mentioned specifically because fighting styles were moved to feats (and is even specifically mentioned in the Fighting Style level 1 ability of fighters). Also level 1 now gives you a feat through the selection of a background, so all characters will use feats from the very beginning
I’ve seen D&D game design theory that suggests that exploration is just as strong a component of a good game as sheer combat. Class features like Tactical Mind give fighters things to do other than hit stuff.
Yay!!! They fixed EK!!! Im so damn happy i have always wanted to play the subclass into late game but it felt like such a drop off at level 11
Playtest 7 Fighter is awesome. As an EK enthusiast I am beyond stoked at the changes. The only major con I have with Fighter are that Master of Armaments should let you use 2 or more weapon masteries on one weapon. If I'm a master of a longsword, I should be able to choose when i can Push, Topple, Sap, or Slow with it instead of needing to pull out a different weapon to do that.
Another issue I have with feats in general is that GWM, PAM, XBE and SS all pidgeonhole you into using those specific weapons. If they are coming back in the 2024 players handbook I would love to see Sword/Axe/Mace Master feats as well.
Preaching to the choir, but Brawler being better at punching than the monk is irritates me so much. Monk will need improved by leaps and bounds in the next UA or no one will ever play it, because if you want an unarmed striker you go Brawler and that should not ever be the case.
Agreed. Though I think we should be hoping for monks to become more than just "the punching class."
That's a flavor bias and mechanical bias which I think has unnecessarily influenced the self-imposed limitations which the design team has been working with - contributing to repeatedly failed playtests.
One example of a reconsidered class chassis:
Grant monks the ability to enter martial art or ritual "stances," granting them a clearer and more variable class distinctiveness.
Sacrifice all of your movement for a round to enter a unique defensive stance which helps you tank and optionally drawing aggro with a successful Dexterity (Deception) or Charisma (Deception) check contested by the enemies' Insight.
Sacrifice half your current HP to enter a trance of ritual focus on one enemy within melee range, granting you guaranteed critical hits until the start of your next turn. Your vision clouds, making you unable to target other creatures during this time, but you can see the enemies' life force even while they are obscured or invisible. (That might not be the right balance of risk/reward, but you get the idea.)
Big picture, I don't think the Monk needs to be about stances. But I also think the base class _as designed_ makes it unusually hard to make a class which is both balanced and distinctive (without being limited by a single trope).
Brawlers aren’t really better than monks at punching, monks get a BA unarmed strike which is a fairly significant DPR boost. At least up until level 11 when fighter get a 3rd extra attack
Yup. Dunno why WOTC hates monks
I think you’re a little too hard on the out of combat maneuvers Rally and Tactical Assessment
Bilbron is a big fan of rally because you can give your allies temporary HP at the beginning of the day, or anytime you short rest with maneuver dice left over, short rest immediately, and they still have their temp HP. That’s a big boost at low levels
Tactical assessment is also just a fine boost for non-combat days if you already feel you have enough maneuvers for combat. Wouldn’t be a top 3 pick by any means, but maybe more value by 10th level than your 7th combat maneuver.
These are also at-will assuming BM 15 can cash in their free d8s on any out of combat turn. That would make it a LOT stronger than the 2014 Inspiring Leader since you could reup every combat or even more if the party takes damage in exploration from traps, hazards, falls, etc. There's no reason why a Str based BM can't have a moderate (14-16) mental score early on either. This is potentially a very strong combat maneuver.
Tactical Assessment and Commanding Presence could also combine with Tactical Mind I believe. Only the former should cost a Bonus Action. Adding a 1d8 with the ability to throw another 1d10 on top of a roll makes the Maneuver a lot more reliable. Even if we're spending a die, the opportunity to rest before we get out on an adventure, and Second Wind isn't expended if we still fail the check. So you'd never be risking much.
I actually am wary of all this skill flexibility since the so-called Expert Classes do lose a good deal of identity from this. Expertise isn't a resource, but neither is the above most the time. Barbarians and Wizards will also be a lot better at many more checks than usual. I rather hate that for the latter since they're already the only Int based class in 2024. So Scholar is just telling all other classes to back off their Int checks. These changes are all great thematically, but Rogues always struggled to be anywhere near this reliable checks until...Reliable Talent. Way later on. Bards and Rangers never were struggling there since they have their own prowess, Spellcasting, and other supporting out of combat features. Fighters are winning out in a lot of ways, and while they needed some stuff like this I think it's currently overtuned versatility when compared to some other martials. The BM also is getting an extra free skill proficiency along with their Artisan's tool. Barbarians are getting the initial, optional Primal Knowledge skill from Tasha's. It adds up while the Monk watches the Fighter pick up Tactical Shift, and the Wild Heart Eagle get a better Step of the Wind than the one that just got buffed. Then there's the Brawler who needs a ton of work, but if improved threatens, the Monk's way of life! College of Dance doing so right out the gate... Oof. Three more Monk playtests (and a Bard), please!
I suspect most DM would make it consume a die for the stealth check from ambush - that check lasts for way more than a turn, especially if its out of combat - nobody wants to roll a new check for every 6 seconds of times that pass... So I'd suggest Relentless would normally be considered only functional in combat after initiative rolls. Though either way the initiative bonus part isn't a huge deal - going first can be nice, but equally you can be better off going dead last once you get to the levels where surviving that first round is nearly certain - not saying going earlier isn't usually preferred, but it doesn't help you use some skills so well - for bait and switch for example you probably want to go after the player that you are protecting.
I love coming back to this channel all the time to seek the wisdom and insight of mine, Treantmonk. Thanks for all the work and time you invested in this for us, brother. I'll pray for divine favor over you and your legacy.
I think that some people mark the Rune Knight down a little bit because of how few runes you get, how few times you can use them and they use up your bonus action and reaction. They both reset on a short or long rest.
At lvl 3, the RK gets 2 runes, only get one use each and only 1 is a free add to attack. At lvl 15, you get 5 runes and only 2 uses each.
At lvl 3, the BM has 3 maneuvers, 4 dice you can use on any maneuver in any combination, a feat and fighting style to get more of each and several maneuvers are free to add to attack or attack roll. At lvl 15, 9 maneuvers, 6 dice to use on any maneuver and a free die when you roll for initiative if you're out. And the new BM gets even more free dice.
"Turns can happen outside combat. For more information on time in D&D, see "Time" (PH, 181), which is not in the combat chapter. #DnD" ~Jeremy Crawford Mar 22 2018
Heroic Warrior + Studied Attack + Vex is effectively always advantage
Thanks for the video Chris. Regarding your comment about the capstone feature of Champion, I would like to point out that if there is a change in 2024 PHB which will prevent the yoyo healing from 0 hps to standing and fighting in the same combat, then only a 20 in a death save will do the job, so a death save with advantage and a range of 18-20 is not that bad if it ensures you will be standing again ready to fight and/or be healed by a party member or by using second wind, etc.
Bar the monk, I think they’ve done reasonably well with the pure martials. Rogues could always rp/do stuff with expertise, but needed more interesting fights. Fighters could fight well, though lacked some more interesting dynamics to their abilities and needed rp (pretty much the same with barb). I’m a big martial fan, so am really pleased. It isn’t going to close the martial caster divide, but I don’t need it to- I just need to feel like I can contribute to, and have some fun with, each pillar of play.
I really think Weapon Mastery is all backwards in its implementation. Characters with the Weapon Mastery feature should choose properties, not weapons, and be able to use those properties with any weapon that fits its prerequisites. The Fighter’s advantage with this system should be that they get more properties than anyone else, and that at higher levels they can apply multiple properties to the same attack.
You can get booming blade proc 100% of the time unless an enemy has ranged attack or is bigger than large size. Because one of the weapon properties allows you to push an enemy by 10 feet. And this is just one attack every turn at level 7 (the forced movement doesn't trigger booming blade) and even then there's always the bonus action to heal and move half your movespeed without provoking opportunity attacks, so you could still get booming blade off almost 100% of the time so long as the enemy doesn't have reach or a ranged attack.
Another thing I wanna mention is you can also deal A LOT of crowd damage now with just your attacks because one of the weapon properties allows you to make a second (free) attack against an enemy within 5 feet of the original, dealing the weapons damage dice excluding your ability modifier (unless it's negative), combine this with green flame blade and you're hitting the second target for a nice amount of damage at least every turn
Then let's talk about crowd control, one of the weapon properties applies a -10 to movespeed, and there is a cantrip (forget which one) that also gives a -10 to movespeed. So if you attack cast the cantrip, and then somehow trip them. They're stuck to you permanently since you can do this every turn
Then let's talk defensively, one of the weapon properties applies disadvantage on the enemies next attack, combine this with something like blade ward for resistance then use a reaction to cast shield if they even manage to hit you. And well, you're not gonna get hurt all too much
All in all, Eldritch Knight got the biggest buff of all the fighter archetypes imo
Heroic Warrior should trigger at the *end* of your turn. That way you can see if you need it for a saving throw throughout the round, and if not, you can spend it on your next turn for advantage on an attack. You lose access to it at the beginning of combat through your first turn sure, but I think the trade off is worth it.
They could also say 'When you roll initiative and when you end your turn without heroic advantage...' if they wanted the player to have access to it on their first turn.
I love the BM Fighter. The real fix for maneuvers would be that you learn more as you level up, and you 'prepare' a certain number of them after a long rest. Perfectly reasonable thematically and some of those lesser used ones would come out in situtation specific planning.
War magic on the Eldritch Knight really makes me want to play that Fighter. There are a lot of fun cantrip weapon property combos to use, especially since the cantrips dont have to be attack cantrips. Imagine using mold earth to make a whole behind an enemy and then pushing them in with a war hammer, or slowing down a target with ray of frost and with the slow property. Attacking and then casting minor illusion can block a targets vision to let you disengage. Topple an enemy and cast bonfire to give them disadvantage on their dex saves. Artificer initiate can get you thorn whip that uses your intelligence modifier.
Trip attack is actually really good for archer fighter builds, especially when fighting flying creatures. I have used that one often enough where I would recommend it being taken, even with topple existing since topple can't be used on a ranged weapon.
Fighters can put topple mastery on a longbow because it is a heavy weapon.
@@TreantmonksTemple yes but you might not want that Mastery on there since you would have disadvantage on ranged attacks vs the prone creature. Trip is nice to have in the pocket if you would rather have Vex.
Being able to topple a creature with a maneuver and slow it with a weapon property is a a nice combo. A creature uses half its movement speed to stand up, so reducing it by ten as well can really slow down a target.
I will say that arguably Evasive footwork does have a small niche use case for scenarios where you as a melee fighter are going to find yourself isolated from your party members and therefore unable to constantly switch spots with someone. For example, if you're trying to run some kind of Sentinel type build where you are trying to lock down someone particularly dangerous and keep them away from other party members.
25:18 they kind of did in the first UA for "tavern brawler" feat. "Furniture as Weapons. You can wield furniture as a Weapon, using the rules of the Greatclub for Small or Medium furniture and the rules of the Club for Tiny furniture." I think that was an initial plan to replace Improvised weapon completely with this.
I feel you on the complexity of math with the UA stuff, juggling Studied Attacks, Heroic Warrior, and then testing models with Vex or Topple. OneD&D math is way more complicated. Also, EK can increase DPR significantly with a single 3rd-level spell with massive uptime: TCoE summons. Quick math on Summon Fey seemed to add about 11.214 DPR, and with 3 spell slots that's up to 3 hours of uptime, and since it's an hour long, there is no opportunity cost since you just cast it before combat (only voided when ambushed).
Regarding Superiority Dice turn usage, I would say everything except Ambush's initiative bonus should work since you have to be taking a turn to do them, even if it's not a combat turn. So with that one exception, Relentless should be valid unless WotC rewords it to only work in combat. Ambush's initiative aspect still isn't valid because initiative rolls don't happen on anyone's turn. But Relentless does make Parry, Riposte, and Opportunity Attacks so much better since it's just a free bonus.
Champions with vex property weapons means unlimited advantage for every attack...every turn assuming no misses. The crits are gonna be constant. Flame tongue is about to pop off!
Dirty Fighting: When you attack a creature you have grappled your Unarmed Attacks cause an additional 1d6 damage. This damage increases to 1d8 at level X, and 1d10 at level X.
Or just give the brawler the ability to do something (even just more damage) with unarmed strikes that isn't locked behind grappling in general. Easy fix to both the issues with unarmed strike features of the Brawler just not being good and the grappling features conflicting with the Grappler feat: take out the grappling features and replace them with actual features to support unarmed strikes in general; leave grappling options to the feat meant for it.
@@Mrryn Who better to take advantage of grappling though with head butts, knees, elbows? Just eliminate the redundancy and it's fine. It does need a damage boost badly.
@@Tusitala1967 Not every brawler is a grappler though. And any time that grappling is either impossible due to enemy size or not feasible (due to facing a spiked enemy or something like an ooze or fire elemental), you just have two completely dead features. I'd rather see more ubiquitous on-theme abilities with specific things like grappling expertise saved for feat specialization which is the point of the fighter having so many ASIs. Like imagine if Champion had a Shield Bash-esque feature as a straight feature - not only does it conflict with the Shield Master feat, it's either dead or pigeonholing into shield builds.
@@Mrryn I just think an unarmed, strength based fighter is incomplete without some grappling ability. Maybe you are thinking Marquess de Queensberry rules and I'm thinking more like Pankration; a mix of boxing and wrestling. When I think of an entire class dedicated to unarmed combat I don't think of just striking. I think your Shield feature analogy misses the mark, because it's clearly about using a dedicated technique with a singular implement, not a body of knowledge designed to allow you to survive against guys with swords when you are unarmed. No effective unarmed fighting style leaves out grappling from its repertoire. However, our differences in vision for the subclass could easily be accommodated if the subclass was better designed. lol
@@Tusitala1967 Possibly. I do think that grappling is a notable part of unarmed combat, it isn't necessarily a necessity. There are bare-knuckle fighters, boxers, or even just barroom brawlers that don't implement grappling. Or if they do, it's very limited and hardly a keystone of how they operate.
I don't disagree that grappling can be a part of this, and I'm not even against it. But the subclass, as a result of how its spread out and with parts lacking and/or locked behind others, feels disjointed by trying to do all 3 - unarmed, improv, and grappling - in a build with 5 levels of abilities, and that's even with them doubling up at level 3.
Off the top, beyond just removing grappling from this, my fix would be like this:
Level 3 - Unarmed Expert essentially gains the Grappling Expert feature straight up, still called Unarmed Expert since grapples are a part of unarmed strikes. (Also unrelated, but Improv Expert plainly gives a damage die to both sizes of weapons, in the same way it does for Unarmed Expert. I would say d4 for one handed, 1d8 for two handed to balance it being able to use masteries with them)
Level 7 - New ability: Roll with the Punch. Basically, when you use Tactical Shift, you can either make an unarmed strike as part of the same bonus action if you end your movement next to an enemy, or otherwise gain temp HP equal to the roll of your Second Wind.
Level 10 - Unarmed Specialist 8 levels early. Also the damage to grappled enemies increases to a d8.
Level 15 - No change aside from increasing one handed damage to a d6 and two handed to d10 (now that we have a defined damage die from level 3)
Level 18 - New ability: Unarmed Master. Damage die of all dice from Unarmed Expert increase again (so d10, d12 if no shield, d10 when grappling). And now when you use a bonus action to make an unarmed strike, you can make an additional unarmed attack (that isn't a grapple or shove) as part of the same bonus action.
You missed the other change from battle masters Know Your Enemy, in that now it actually gives you lot more useful information than before as well.
Would love you to see you do a comparison video of the Playtest Brawler vs the Tasha's Battlemaster Brawler Build
Make Sickles a finesse weapon or give me death! Let us live out our edgy mcedgelord fantasies. Love the content, keep up the good work.
This but for quaterstaffs.
@@M9Seradon I know you are just talking about making quarter staffs a finesse weapon, but I like to think you associate hitting people with sticks with edge lords
We've got to add these thoughts to the, "is there anything else you'd like to say," par of the survey.
@@andrewh.9937 sticks are secretly super edgy, why do you think mages keep putting spikes on them?
I'm like 90% sure I remember J-Craw saying that feats are no longer an optional part of the game, since "Feat" has replaced "ASI" in each class's standard progression table.
That makes sense, almost every table runs feats.
For the Heroic Warrior feature at level 10 for Champion, I think a neat tweak for that feature would be to just have it just say "you gain Heroic Advantage at the start of your turn every turn in combat".
With the rule that a character can only have Heroic Advantage once at a time, but can grant it to other players if they would otherwise gain it again, this would turn the feature into a way to potentially be able to buff the rest of the party if you are doing well.
Overall, I think Fighter came out much better in this playtest and only really needs a bit a tweaking (that we won't get...) to be perfect. That said: please, for the love of all that is holy, *stop* recommending they increase the damage of martials as your first recommendation. I understand when a class/subclass is significantly behind the curve compared to other martials, those are exeptions, but Brawler *does not need more damage* to fix it's issues. It's overlap with Grappler (though I kinda hate it being shoehorned into that role), how improvised weapons work, and losing Weapon Mastery for Unarmed Strikes are *much* bigger issues than +1 damage at all levels. I'm even in the camp that Monks didn't need the damage bump at level 1, they needed to push the unique advantages of unarmed attacks, but I'm not going to lose my mind over it since I still think there is plenty of power budget left to do both.
Letting them choose from a small list of masteries when they attack with Unarmed Strikes (like their Improvised Expert feature) would instantly fix many issues for both Brawler and Monk since *that* is the real tragedy of Unarmed Strikes right now. WotC literally created a whole system to give martials their own niche and then *excluded* Monk and somewhat Brawler from this change. I'd happily give up 1 average damage per attack for a suite of weapon masteries on every punch, kick, or headbutt, but if everyone says they need more *DAMAGE*, that's all WotC is going to give them.
Anyways, I loved the video Chris, but "more damage" is the only take I'm seeing everywhere and it's really pissing me off.
For the "grappler feat" problem: just like the feats that already exist that gives you certain classes' feature, the grappler feat could simply state that "you gain the Dirty Fighting class feature of the Brawler fighter" or something like that (much like the feats that give manouvres, invocations and metamagic). In that feat you could then just write: If you ever get the Dirty Fighting feature through you class, you may immediately replace this feat with another feat (and they could reuse this wording for other similar feats).
And then, the dirty fighter feature should be all those things listed in the grappler feat.
At level 20 an Eldritch knight fighter could take the attack action and use both war magic and improved war magic, and then action surge to do it again. So in one turn you could potentially:
- Replace one of four attacks with booming blade, triggering Eldritch Strike
- Use tactical shift to move into range of another creature, attacking said creature and triggering Eldritch Strike again.
- Retreat and replace the last two attacks with a fireball centered on both creatures (both would have disadvantage on the dex save)
- Use action surge and arcane charge to teleport back towards another creature.
- Take the attack action again, repeat previous steps.
By the end of the turn the Eldritch Knight would have cast fireball twice, booming blade twice, made four weapon attacks, and imposing disadvantage on the saving throws against the fireball spell. Also you would have teleported 30 feet, regained 1d10+20 hit points, and only imposed one opportunity attack.
Side note: If arcane charge could be used at any point during the additional action, you could potentially never take an opportunity attack.
I’m with you. I don’t think anyone is realizing how broken that is.
For the Eldritch Knight, I would personally like to see Improved War Magic let you trade in a number of attacks equal to the level of the spell you want to cast.
That and it being waaaaay lower level
@@josequiles7430I could see that. Maybe just have a War Magic feature at level 7 that says when you take the attack action, you can forgo a number of those attacks equal to the level of the spell you cast (with cantrips requiring 1 attack). You could then get a different feature at 18th level.
YES, as a 18th LEVEL FEATURE this is not much to ask, and is impossible to full spellcaster make multiclass abuse on this because of the high level
16:54 Perhaps they could make Evasive Footwork something like this:
"When you move at least 5 feet on your turn, you can expend one Superiority Die, rolling the die and adding the number rolled to your AC until the start of your next turn. While your AC is increased in this way, whenever an attack misses you, you can use your reaction to move up to half your speed. This movement doesn’t provoke opportunity attacks."
I like the idea of evasive footwork letting you move around while dodging attacks and weaving in and out of melee range, it feels very flavorful to me and I might take it on more skirmish-y characters.
If this is too strong, you could make it a reaction when an attack hits you to add the superiority die to your AC for this attack only and then let you move half your speed. (Or if that's too much of a nerf, then the AC could last until the start of your next turn.)
Unarmed strikes have always been included when they say “weapon attacks”. That particular wording was only meant to differentiate from “spell attacks”
It’s confusing. But true.
There’s usually specific “Attacks with a (melee/ranged) weapon” wording when a weapon is required.
I could see tripping attack get a rework to something new.
-Low Blow
* you roll your unarmed die, add this damage to your attack and fource you target to make any saving through associated with the attack at disadvantage.
(Alternatively way of doing this) After hitting a creature with this attack that creature must roll your superiority die the next time it makes a saving throw before the start of your next turn, and subtract the number rolled from their roll.
Could you use Fey Touched for the EK so they learn Hunter's Mark? Just an idle thought though, as I don't remember if that feat will still be featured in One DnD
Great stuff as always!
You get a free first level feat with all characters. The ones that do not have a +1 to an ability score are typically first level feats including magic initiate. You can grab it at level 1 with magic initiate.
I do wonder what your thoughts on the Bastion system will be. Will you be covering that? And if so, when can we expect it? I would love to see your interpretation of it use and what reworks it would need, if any.
I'm imagining a funny scenario where a Brawler has a chair using Topple and smashes it over someone's head, breaking the chair, but now giving him two chair legs as One-Handed Light weapons. His second attack is then made with two weapon fighting.
Relentless should honestly be part of the base Fighter class.
I still don't know why fighter doesn't get 3 extra attacks at level 17
I always hated features that only exsist to improve previous features.
Take all the superiority dice improvement, and shove it into the level 3 feature. "When you reach X level in this class, you superiority dice become d10s. When you reach level Y, they become d12s."
Same for champion. "When you reach level 7 in this class, you crit in a 18. When you reach level 15, you crit on a 17"
They did this correctly with psi knight, did they forget it or something?
Champion should get a lower critical threshold at every subclass feature level in addition to what the current PT7 subclass features, and the original improved critical features could do something to increase critical hit damage. Boom, the champion fighter is no longer the worst, and it stays on theme, and it is still pretty simple.
I did notice on error with the champion damage from Great Weapon Master feat. The chance to hit at least once is actually even higher, since studied attacks gives advantage after you miss (assuming that you don't switch targets, and you would switch if the target went down due to damage from graze and it could happen in a few other niche situations). This means that since you assumed the first attack had heroic advantage, the chance that you miss with every attack is generally going to be the chance that you miss when all 4 attacks have advantage (not the general-case chance of hitting - that considers the chance of hitting with a previous attack, and if that occurred, then you've already hit with at least 1 attack). So the math would actually be 100% - (16%)^4 = ~99.9% chance for ~4.997 dpr (once again, assuming you don't switch targets). Doesn't make much difference, but it looks really hard to miss with all 4 attacks. You'd practically need to have something imposing disadvantage (canceling out advantage) or facing an opponent with an extremely high AC (preferably both).
I would love to see Treantmonk build around a 1 Genie Warlock and the rest of the levels in either Clockwork Soul/Bladesinger/Abjuration/War Wizards. Combining Glyph of Warding and the Genies vessel leaves an endless combination of absolutely broken possibilities as you could enter your vessel, say a magic word triggering every glyph, and exit the vessel all in a single turn. And with the Glyph of Warding, you could theoretically stack an endless number of Concentration spells active at once. The limiting factor is you essentially have to have 2 spell slots of any given level when making the Glyph, so you are limited to 5th level spells until you are level 20 essentially. But you could get 5th level glyphs by PC level 11. It is a strategy that would be costly in terms of gp and would only work once until you set it up again, but it would be the ultimate "Break glass in case of emergency" strategy possible without homebrew imo.
If they want to improve the brawler its features should ADD not REPLACE unarmed damage/unarmed features. That way they would stack with the unarmed fighting style, or a monk multiclass. Agree with level 10 making grappler feat redundant. Or at least partially. Maybe instead they can a defensive feature at that level instead like foregoing the grapple damage from level 7 to get that 1d6 as a bonus to AC while you ate grappling that target. Kind of like you using them as an improvised shield...
I honestly want a fighter subclass that doesn't require a monk multiclass at all and still has all the tools to be an unarmed fighting expert. The Brawler fully has that capability but feels like it's trying to do too much and locking any unarmed strike damage behind either grappling (which isn't always feasible) or level 18 features like they don't want to step on the monk's toes by just letting a brawler brawl.
Grappling should be an option tied to the Grappler feat imo. I'd rather see more progression of the unarmed striking nature of the Brawler and adding in a bonus rider to a base Fighter feature, like giving temp HP or a free unarmed strike if you use Tactical Shift. Something with more general usability that fits with the theme and synergizes with the other features in the subclass as well.
You mentioned you’ve seen a playtest battle master use commanding strike, but that was specifically to give a rogue sneak attack damage a second time during the same round. Not saying that means the maneuver needs another buff, but I think that’s worth noting.
Weapon masteries for each weapon as a whole should be available ALL THE TIME depending on category and only be usable once per turn each. Since not all weapons are versatile, heavy or light something like this.:
* One-Handed: Vex, Sap, Push, Slow
* Two-Handed: Graze, Topple, Push, Slow
* Light: Nick
* Heavy: Cleave
I’ve always felt like sweeping attack should deal the sd damage to the target of the attack and then any target of your choice within 5 feet. It’d still be one of the weaker maneuvers but could at least provide a niche for clearing out mooks.
Level 9: Indomitable: fighters can theoretically add this bonus to death saving throws. Which is really good. Not just good as in powerful, but I think good for the class and as a result the game. It adds to the idea that the fighter is the traditional frontline tank and while they may not always be in the fight, they won’t die easily, either. Makes them extremely reliable.
Level 9: Master of Armaments: I think they should be able to swap properties on the fly. Using creativity on the battlefield with what you’ve got. It would give Fighters more options with their damage than just the one attack multiple times a turn all the time.
I like the mechanics within Studied Attacks because I see the flavor intent behind it. It makes Fighter feel like the “wizard” equivalent for martial characters: the smart, versatile and tactical character.
In addition, I think the Battlemaster is the “Fightery” Fighter more so than the Champion. I think of the Champion as a simpler offshoot of the Fighter. Someone who is good at fighting, certainly, but isn’t as smart. I think of the Fighter as the “wizard” of the Martial class family, a versatile, tough martial combatant that fights smarter and harder. Champion fights harder, and doesn’t do anything else, while the Battlemaster fights much smarter and harder. The Eldritch Knight fights so much smarter it becomes supernatural, but doesn’t really fight harder. They don’t need to. They fight as hard as any normal fighter without a subclass. But they fight smarter than even the Battlemaster.
precision was buffed actually. previously you had to decide if you used it before knowing if you hit or missed but now its to be used once you know youd miss without it
You do basically already know that in current. You should know the ac or at least within a point or two before the end of round 1
The Lich final boss watching the Fighter menacingly towards them after face-tanking every one of their spells without breaking stride:
The fact that there is no power attack to offset anymore really moves the niche of Battle master to use maneuvers that are not precision attack. This might sound good, but with weapon mastery they basically just have a higher chance of shoving prone. There's some interesting options to use your attack as a reaction, tho, especially after relentless
I really enjoy how bait and switch works, but I don't particularly love the thematics, even if the feature itself is actually really solid. I completely get that the idea is like oh you are swapping places with someone and you are giving either them or you a bonus to your AC because essentially you are defending them or they're defending you, kind of like a tag team defense type thing. But because the feature does last until the start of your next turn (which is a good thing), thematically if you give yourself the AC boost, I can kind of see it working because you are defending and prepared in this like more aware and defensible state and all that, but if you give someone else the AC boost, and they move away, it feels weird for them to still have an ac boost, like how are they getting better defended? To me them being switched out is like the fighter is giving them a bonus because the fighter is essentially deflecting and protecting them, but it makes less sense when they move away. I could be misinterpreting how it's supposed to work from a thematic point, I do like the mechanics a lot, it's fairly similar to giving you or a friend a slightly better or worse shield and shifting them out of harms way, which I think is great, but it just doesn't make sense thematically to me.
I think Brawler (and monk) should be allowed to apply mastery properties to unarmed strikes. Not only is this a necessary buff mechanically but thematically its badass. Have it come online at level 3 for fighters and maybe level 3/4 for monks.
We should ask the team to clarify the description of RELENTLESS in the final version of the ability, how it works outside of combat.
The new lunge is awesome
The way I'm reading it, it sounds like it can proc multiple times AND you can pile on other superiority dice too. There's a nova build in there somewhere…
But there was some situational benefit to extending your reach. Maybe an enemy is standing across a stream 5 feet too wide.
Fix: Level 10 Dirty Fighting - Choose Pocket Sand or Grappler. Pocket Sand allows you to [something or other, meant for those with the feat]. Grappler allows you to [reprint all of the text from the Grappler feat]. // This would not only keep them from needing to force feats on you, but it gives you another way to get the feat without taking the feat, and it also presents you with a good option if you already took Grappler.
Monks: you can make an unarmed strike for 1d4. Brawler: hold my beer
As much as a train wreck as the playtest 6 Monk is, they don't do a d4 anymore, even at level 1
At level 3 Brawlers make only one attack tho, while monks do 2-3...
What do you think about Grappling (and Shoving) in 1DnD?
In 5e my favorite build was a Strength Rogue/Barbarian with a shortsword and a free hand for grappling but in 1DnD it just feels like a waste of a turn. Granted it was a bit too strong before but right now I can't see myself replacing an attack for it.
And I hate how they are trying to make it a thing for the new Brawler subclass, this should be a thing for any strength character. Strength is already weak enough of a stats as it is. Dex has Stealth, let Str have Grappling and Shoving, don't shoehorn-it in a single subclass.