Oh my god, lol. That opening! 😂 Can confirm, Necromantic magic has had no ill effects on me. Why is my skin room temperature and why am I not blinking? Um... coincidence. Pure coincidence.
Giant spider shooting enemies in a Jallarzi's Storm with web bolts sounds devastating. That's advantage to hit enemies who are Blinded without any saves and then they're stuck in the storm for an extra turn if they get hit.
I personally really like what they did with sleep and color spray, they are actually usable outside of the very first few levels of the game now and im thankfull for that.
Lowkey excited to see your thoughts on weapon use variety and 2 weapon fighting. There seems to be a lot of cool options outside just the 3 "meta" options in 2014.
@@isrlydonut8686it was a Monk Weapon with Push Mastery, which is a very specific interaction which I don't expect to come up often, but was important in that particular case.
I think that would probably fall under the backwards compatibility they mentioned, although maybe that book is recent enough to be considered differently.
I completely forgot that Rune Shaper exists, but yes. I would still consider that under the umbrella of backwards compatible though, which I'm avoiding for the most part in my videos.
So I've done the maths on Chromatic Orb, and I don't think it's that great. If you use your 4th level slot, that's a 92.31% chance to bounce, pretty good, but all bounces require an additional attack roll. That means that if you normally have a 65% chance to hit, advantage from Innate Sorcery or something results in it actually having an 81.00% chance to bounce. If you want to hit all 5 targets, that's just a 37.78% chance. If at any point you miss, or you don't roll doubles, the spell stops. This is all for 6d8 damage, which is less than a Fireball at 3rd level doing 8d6 half on save. If it was able to ping pong between the same two creatures repeatedly, I could see it, because that has the chance to rack up a huge amount of damage, but it specifies that each bounce must be a different target. It does have flexible damage type, no friendly fire, and a more forgiving targeting that Fireball (they don't all have to be clumped up), but the considerably lower expected damage and more expensive slot mean that I'm not convinced by it.
@@the_twig131 The big thing is how well it upcasts, like if you use 7th level slot or higher, your guaranteed to roll doubles. And by then you probably have some way to gain advantage on those attack rolls. The best upcasting spell is Searing Smite though, upcasting that even up to 3rd level your guaranteed to do at least 6d6 with it, and that's assuming the target makes the save. Every save they fail is another 3d6, and there is no concentration, it's just fire and forget.
One fun pedantic correction. People have been using “2014” to mean the current version of the game, but there’s a lot of rules and errata that are different now than they were when the game originally released in 2014. The version of the contagion spell that was in the original printing of the players handbook was actually incredibly broken, and it’s only the current version of the spell that’s so weak. It was 100% a writing error, but originally the contagion spell applied its effect right away when the attack hit, and then the three saves would end the condition or make it last 7 days. So as long as you hit the melee spell attack you could apply the diseases for at least 3 turns even if the enemy had a +10000 to all its saving throws and 500 legendary resists. And some of those diseases, like slimy doom, could stun the enemy without them getting a save, giving you a 3 turn stun as long as you just hit the melee spell attack roll. That spell was absolutely crazy and it makes me laugh whenever someone says “2014 contagion is weak” or something similar.
Yeah, I refer to even stuff in Tasha's as "2014 content". It's unfortunately because WotC decided to just not give this new version a name. Like, at all. It's called Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. There isn't an obvious way to differentiate between old and new content other than calling them 2014 and 2024. You are correct though, one of my first ever characters was a Bard with Find Familiar and Contageon. I do however, also have my own pedantic correction. You said that I'm using "2014" to mean the current version of the game, but I'm not, I'm using "2014" to mean the old version of the game.
@@the_twig131 Fair point, I personally plan on running 2014 until we at least get the new DMG, but you're right that it's probably more correct to call the new PBH the "current" version.
Chromatic Orb is really good at higher levels, if you cast it at 4th level there is a huge chance that it will bounce, and sorcerer can make the attack with advantage
So I've done the maths on this, and I don't think it's that great. If you use your 4th level slot, that's a 92.31% chance to bounce, pretty good, but all bounces require an additional attack roll. That means that if you normally have a 65% chance to hit, advantage results in it actually having an 81.00% chance to bounce. If you want to hit all 5 targets, that's just a 37.78% chance. If at any point you miss, or you don't roll doubles, the spell stops. This is all for 6d8 damage, which is less than a Fireball at 3rd level doing 8d6 half on save. If it was able to ping pong between the same two creatures repeatedly, I could see it, because that has the chance to rack up a huge amount of damage, but it specifies that each bounce must be a different target. It does have flexible damage type, no friendly fire, and a more forgiving targeting that Fireball (they don't all have to be clumped up), but the considerably lower expected damage and more expensive slot mean that I'm not convinced by it.
I think that it's probably quite a late dip. Likely level 10+. By that point, you have a very good selection of spells already, but I can understand not wanting to delay.
Giant Insect may be a tad too powerful. There are many monters that have no ranged attacks that get hit and can practically do nothing if the party just hangs back. The purple worm, for example, is a high CR monster with no ranged attacks or teleporation, so it just gets totally shut down by this no save immobilization. Even monsters immune to restrained, like ghosts, are affected by this.
Omg do the defense of the Ranger vid the stuff I’ve seen so much stupid stuff about it. Ranger is so good rn. I think people do not understand how it is functioning lv1-9 and while 9-20 I have some grips it’s still very solid.
Giant Insects is my favourite 4th level spell in 5e and one of my most casted spells (other is Wall of Stone). I'm glad they got rid of the dm-fiat parts of the spell, but really sad to see that some of the unique features of the spell are gone. Restrained has been removed from the spiders, Blindsight is gone in general, you can no longer summon multiple insects, and the insects no longer act simultaneously with you. I'm not sure if I'll like the new one as much. Do you have any experience or ideas with how to use the new Giant Insects that will make it stand out from the old?
I'm going to be completely honest, I think I've seen 2014 Giant Insect cast once. I don't really have a response here, because I simply don't know the spell well enough to understand its use cases.
@@the_twig131 Well the dm-fiat parts are pretty lame, but I like that the spell explicitly lets you choose the creatures as opposed to a lot of Conjure spells. I've used Centipedes to surround and overwhelm baddies with no AOE abilities, Wasps to grapple-fly teammates out of danger (works before legendary actions), Spiders with held webs to keep targets restrained, and scorpions to hunt down runners in heavy obscurement. Even at level 15 I still cast this spell on occasion, though it definitely has some fall-off. I also find that the spell is pretty balanced (unlike Conjure Animals) and strikes a nice balance between the QOL of Tasha summons and the variety and uniqueness of Conjure spells. Give it a try if you ever get the chance!
I'm down for Ranger defense. I think people, my previous self included, get confused because Ranger has a lot of bad features = bad. 90% of their power comes from a few features ‐ spellcasting, extra attack, fighting style:archery. Even if you have a bunch of useless tracking features a la 2014 Ranger, you can shoot a dude twice, accurately, from downtown while concentrating on summon beast or conjure animals and cast pass without trace to get safely to places and sometimes trivialize combats. While also having absorb elements perhaps the best scaling defensive spell for stuff like dragon fights. None of that is gone, so it's still good. The flavor/variety might not be amazing although I do think two weapon Ranger will finally be decent
To preface the ranger video, it is indeed a strong class - but it's fairly boring and uninspired, mainly with the way it (doesn't) use Hunter's Mark to create a unique playstyle with augmentations.
Oh my god, lol. That opening! 😂
Can confirm, Necromantic magic has had no ill effects on me. Why is my skin room temperature and why am I not blinking? Um... coincidence. Pure coincidence.
Twig's secretly your new Undead patron. Or Undying, but that's only if the corpses start ignoring you.
Giant spider shooting enemies in a Jallarzi's Storm with web bolts sounds devastating. That's advantage to hit enemies who are Blinded without any saves and then they're stuck in the storm for an extra turn if they get hit.
Yep, trapping people in any AoE is incredible.
I ADORE that Armor of Agathys is a Bonus Action now.
Makes using it after finding out you'll need it so much easier.
Yeah, it gives you a lot more flexibility.
I personally really like what they did with sleep and color spray, they are actually usable outside of the very first few levels of the game now and im thankfull for that.
I'm not too fond of them personally, but I do think that they're a lot better than they were.
@@the_twig131 oh? What don't you like about them?
Lowkey excited to see your thoughts on weapon use variety and 2 weapon fighting. There seems to be a lot of cool options outside just the 3 "meta" options in 2014.
There are very few weapons which don't have a niche. Earlier today I was making an argument for giving a build a greatclub.
@the_twig131 greatclub huh? what niche does it fill?
@@isrlydonut8686it was a Monk Weapon with Push Mastery, which is a very specific interaction which I don't expect to come up often, but was important in that particular case.
Armor of agathys can also be learned from Rune Shaper feat from Glory of the Giants
I think that would probably fall under the backwards compatibility they mentioned, although maybe that book is recent enough to be considered differently.
I completely forgot that Rune Shaper exists, but yes. I would still consider that under the umbrella of backwards compatible though, which I'm avoiding for the most part in my videos.
You should take a look at the new Chromatic Orb and Searing Smite, those are the two most buffed spells imo.
So I've done the maths on Chromatic Orb, and I don't think it's that great. If you use your 4th level slot, that's a 92.31% chance to bounce, pretty good, but all bounces require an additional attack roll. That means that if you normally have a 65% chance to hit, advantage from Innate Sorcery or something results in it actually having an 81.00% chance to bounce. If you want to hit all 5 targets, that's just a 37.78% chance. If at any point you miss, or you don't roll doubles, the spell stops.
This is all for 6d8 damage, which is less than a Fireball at 3rd level doing 8d6 half on save.
If it was able to ping pong between the same two creatures repeatedly, I could see it, because that has the chance to rack up a huge amount of damage, but it specifies that each bounce must be a different target.
It does have flexible damage type, no friendly fire, and a more forgiving targeting that Fireball (they don't all have to be clumped up), but the considerably lower expected damage and more expensive slot mean that I'm not convinced by it.
@@the_twig131 The big thing is how well it upcasts, like if you use 7th level slot or higher, your guaranteed to roll doubles. And by then you probably have some way to gain advantage on those attack rolls.
The best upcasting spell is Searing Smite though, upcasting that even up to 3rd level your guaranteed to do at least 6d6 with it, and that's assuming the target makes the save. Every save they fail is another 3d6, and there is no concentration, it's just fire and forget.
Yes please do a Defense of the Ranger video! There's so much rabid hysteria out here
One fun pedantic correction. People have been using “2014” to mean the current version of the game, but there’s a lot of rules and errata that are different now than they were when the game originally released in 2014. The version of the contagion spell that was in the original printing of the players handbook was actually incredibly broken, and it’s only the current version of the spell that’s so weak.
It was 100% a writing error, but originally the contagion spell applied its effect right away when the attack hit, and then the three saves would end the condition or make it last 7 days.
So as long as you hit the melee spell attack you could apply the diseases for at least 3 turns even if the enemy had a +10000 to all its saving throws and 500 legendary resists.
And some of those diseases, like slimy doom, could stun the enemy without them getting a save, giving you a 3 turn stun as long as you just hit the melee spell attack roll.
That spell was absolutely crazy and it makes me laugh whenever someone says “2014 contagion is weak” or something similar.
Yeah, I refer to even stuff in Tasha's as "2014 content". It's unfortunately because WotC decided to just not give this new version a name. Like, at all. It's called Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition. There isn't an obvious way to differentiate between old and new content other than calling them 2014 and 2024.
You are correct though, one of my first ever characters was a Bard with Find Familiar and Contageon.
I do however, also have my own pedantic correction. You said that I'm using "2014" to mean the current version of the game, but I'm not, I'm using "2014" to mean the old version of the game.
@@the_twig131 Fair point, I personally plan on running 2014 until we at least get the new DMG, but you're right that it's probably more correct to call the new PBH the "current" version.
Nice thumbnail work
Lots of cool spell changes, but my favorite are probably to Blade Ward and Armor of Agathys. I guess I like my defenses!
Both are awesome, yeah.
Chromatic Orb is really good at higher levels, if you cast it at 4th level there is a huge chance that it will bounce, and sorcerer can make the attack with advantage
So I've done the maths on this, and I don't think it's that great. If you use your 4th level slot, that's a 92.31% chance to bounce, pretty good, but all bounces require an additional attack roll. That means that if you normally have a 65% chance to hit, advantage results in it actually having an 81.00% chance to bounce. If you want to hit all 5 targets, that's just a 37.78% chance. If at any point you miss, or you don't roll doubles, the spell stops.
This is all for 6d8 damage, which is less than a Fireball at 3rd level doing 8d6 half on save.
If it was able to ping pong between the same two creatures repeatedly, I could see it, because that has the chance to rack up a huge amount of damage, but it specifies that each bounce must be a different target.
It does have flexible damage type, no friendly fire, and a more forgiving targeting that Fireball (they don't all have to be clumped up), but the considerably lower expected damage and more expensive slot mean that I'm not convinced by it.
Armor of Agathys on a Moon Druid would be fun but I don’t know if delaying your spell progression is worth it to just get that.
I think that it's probably quite a late dip. Likely level 10+. By that point, you have a very good selection of spells already, but I can understand not wanting to delay.
Giant Insect may be a tad too powerful. There are many monters that have no ranged attacks that get hit and can practically do nothing if the party just hangs back. The purple worm, for example, is a high CR monster with no ranged attacks or teleporation, so it just gets totally shut down by this no save immobilization. Even monsters immune to restrained, like ghosts, are affected by this.
Yeah, that's a fair point.
Omg do the defense of the Ranger vid the stuff I’ve seen so much stupid stuff about it. Ranger is so good rn. I think people do not understand how it is functioning lv1-9 and while 9-20 I have some grips it’s still very solid.
Yeah, it's a lot better than people are giving it credit for.
Some of the legacy content is Extra Banned at most tables now when playing with the 2024 PHB, I imagine. :P
Giant Insects is my favourite 4th level spell in 5e and one of my most casted spells (other is Wall of Stone). I'm glad they got rid of the dm-fiat parts of the spell, but really sad to see that some of the unique features of the spell are gone. Restrained has been removed from the spiders, Blindsight is gone in general, you can no longer summon multiple insects, and the insects no longer act simultaneously with you. I'm not sure if I'll like the new one as much. Do you have any experience or ideas with how to use the new Giant Insects that will make it stand out from the old?
I'm going to be completely honest, I think I've seen 2014 Giant Insect cast once. I don't really have a response here, because I simply don't know the spell well enough to understand its use cases.
@@the_twig131 Well the dm-fiat parts are pretty lame, but I like that the spell explicitly lets you choose the creatures as opposed to a lot of Conjure spells. I've used Centipedes to surround and overwhelm baddies with no AOE abilities, Wasps to grapple-fly teammates out of danger (works before legendary actions), Spiders with held webs to keep targets restrained, and scorpions to hunt down runners in heavy obscurement. Even at level 15 I still cast this spell on occasion, though it definitely has some fall-off. I also find that the spell is pretty balanced (unlike Conjure Animals) and strikes a nice balance between the QOL of Tasha summons and the variety and uniqueness of Conjure spells. Give it a try if you ever get the chance!
But will they fix that typo?
I expect so, when they get to the first round of errata. If I remember correctly, the original printing of Summon Construct had the same issue.
I'm down for Ranger defense. I think people, my previous self included, get confused because Ranger has a lot of bad features = bad. 90% of their power comes from a few features ‐ spellcasting, extra attack, fighting style:archery. Even if you have a bunch of useless tracking features a la 2014 Ranger, you can shoot a dude twice, accurately, from downtown while concentrating on summon beast or conjure animals and cast pass without trace to get safely to places and sometimes trivialize combats. While also having absorb elements perhaps the best scaling defensive spell for stuff like dragon fights. None of that is gone, so it's still good. The flavor/variety might not be amazing although I do think two weapon Ranger will finally be decent
Yes, they have a few incredible features, and the rest are sort of whatever. Those incredible features certainly pull their weight though.
I am pissed at all the summon spells not being creatures any more. I like having minions.
ty . tweet at wotc too many people are happy with crummy spirit guardians let them know some of us like summoning.
Minions were nice, but they were genuinely disruptive. The Tasha's Summons are all in now though, and they're a lot better in my opinion.
To preface the ranger video, it is indeed a strong class - but it's fairly boring and uninspired, mainly with the way it (doesn't) use Hunter's Mark to create a unique playstyle with augmentations.
I disagree. It's certainly not more limited than a Fighter or a Rogue, and I think it has a lot of interesting options both in and out of combat.
You acting like we wouldn’t watch a full video about you talking about a single spell you wanted to talk about is laughable.
It's more that I don't want to make that video, unless I have a lot of interesting stuff to say, like I did with Magic Stone and Locate Object.