Lots of cool opportunities for the CR 2 tournament. This new CR introduces the were-people, Duergar, Ogres, Orcs, Mimics, Wyrmlings, a bunch of classics. I'm personally hoping to see an Allosaurus on the poll myself.
So many choices. CR 2 really starts to open things up in terms of advanced strategy too, looking forward to this one. Allosaurus (among others) is absolutely going on the list!
So...clearly, these two need have a rematch at some point, right? Give the Armor some weapons and a conscious mind upgrade, have the Imp upgrade into a higher level Devil, and have them once again meet on the fields of battle in the High CR Circuit.
Absolutely. The plan is to advance the armor through into S2 with a bit of an upgrade to see how far it can go! The imp was a favourite for sure. It’ll find a way back into the arena in some shape or form I would imagine!
This has been such a fun series and so excited for CR2 tournament there’s far more variety of abilities and I expect a lot more cheezy tactics and hax abilities from some of those creatures! I liked that you had the Imp take the optimal approach and cut the Animated Armors DPR in half another person commented about using invisibility which by RAW does work even against Blindsight but glad that didn’t happen I don’t know what the developers were thinking with that one 😂 This matchup was so one sided unfortunately if the Bugbear was in the finals I think it would’ve been closer but the Animated Armor was just built for this kind of contest with the Most HP and AC as well as decent damage Animated Armor: +4 to hit vs 13 AC 60% chance to hit (11x0.60)=6.6 Critical (7x0.05)=0.35 Imp had resistance Total DPR after resistance=3.47 Three rounds to kill Six rounds with Imp moving out of reach and requiring Dash action Imp: +5 to hit vs 18 AC 40% chance to hit (5.5x0.40)=2.2 Critical (2.5x0.05)=0.12 Animated Armor has immunity to poison damage Total DPR=2.32 Fifteen rounds to kill
Absolutely loved this series, seeing the different enemies and their unique strategies against each other really came to life with your fun commentary.
Well I did say this much much earlier in this series that the Animated armor was a shoein for a victor, and here we are. Predictions, correct! Rustie could have beaten him though...
With 40ft fly, an Invisiblilty action, 11 Int (roughly commoner int), and likely a cowardly mindset, I would expect an imp's reaction to being charged by a melee that launches a slam multiattack to be going invisible, then flying out of reach. Imp may be surprised the Armor can still see it with blindsight 60ft, but per Sage Advice, RAW says armor still has Disadv on its OA vs the retreating imp. Then the Imp lands again, far enough to force the Armor to Dash (Int 11 should be smart enough to think of using reach) and now its sting has Adv to hit (again, per Sage Advice, what with the "magical shimmer" that JC described). Same strategy, plus a couple extra steps to set up invisibility before each attack. With 1 Int, the Armor is easy to Kite and deny that multiattack. Might not change the outcome, but it seems pretty reasonable without breaking the rules.
I was about to mention the same that being said I don’t know of a single DM that runs that invisibly works against creatures with see invisibility and Blind/truesight it’s a dumb ruling by the creators that nobody follows
@@robertlavallee8358 I don't feel that it's a dumb ruling, just the less intuitive one. It doesn't bother me either way how people choose to run invisibility, but it does feel like it should be safe to assume RAW is being followed in videos about the game unless stated otherwise. Though to be fair, the contention around the rule might have been part of why OP chose to ignore the imp's invisibility action entirely, not wanting to bring it up at all, which is understandable. I just think this was one situation where the official ruling might have made the fight slightly better balanced.
The imp going invisible in response to the animated armor's initial charge would have a been a fun interaction, but I was playing the imp more along the lines of it welcoming its opponent getting into melee range. Historically through the combats, the imp has had great success with quickly downing its opponents with poison damage, and while it quickly found out that that wasn't going to work this time around, I like to think that the imp started out with a 'I'm not stuck here with you, you're stuck here with me', type mindset! (A flash of invisible after that interaction could have been cool though). With the blindsight / invisible trade-off, I was aware of the contention surrounding the rule and didn't want to put a particular spotlight on it. Saying that, I do aim to keep the rules RAW unless otherwise specified, and this one is just so murky that I thought best not overcomplicate things. It is a very interesting rule in and of itself though, and having listed to Jeremy Crawford talk about it, it always seemed like he was trying to justify WHY this one piece of RAW randomness works, as opposed to admitting there was a slight design mistake, which seems to be the general consensus. When a spell such as 'See Invisibility' falls into the territory of not removing the advantages of invisibility, you begin to question things... The example used to explain this away was 'Faerie Fire' specifically stating that a creature cannot benefit from being invisible while under its effects, thus cancelling out all benefits of being invisible. This is not because the creature is no longer invisible though, and instead because it is now outlined in a colour of the casters choosing (should the spell hit of course). This then means everyone in visible range can see the now 'outlined' creature, even though the invisibility is still technically active. 'Faerie Fire' does not outright remove the invisible condition, which could very much remain active if it outlasts the duration of 'Faerie Fire'. (Whereas 'Dispel Magic' for example, would just get rid of the invisibility completely). What doesn't make a massive amount of sense to me is that a creature with blindsight / truesight / etc... does not get the benefit of removing the advantages imposed upon them by an invisible creature. In my opinion, these 2 RAW rulings cancel each other out: Blindsight - A monster with blindsight can perceive its surroundings without relying on sight, within a specific radius. Invisible - An invisible creature is impossible to see without the aid of magic or a special sense. An invisible creature gains its advantages from a creature NOT being able to see it, therefore a creature that can perceive its surroundings without needing sight, would therefore not be affected by the negatives imposed by a creature with the invisible condition attacking it, or at least that's how I see it. Truesight steps this up even more, even declaring specifically that this sense can see invisible creatures, and goes as far to state that creatures with truesight automatically succeed on saving throws against illusions, and can see into the Ethereal plane. I think I read somewhere that the new 2024 rules may be fixing this for blindsight and truesight, but I can't quite remember where I heard about that, so don't want to say that it'll happen for sure. That's just my thought anyway, and that would have been way too much information to interject into the middle of a Death Battle, so I left that specific interaction out! (Maybe I'll this subject into a video of its very own, it is super interesting how some rules can carry so much contention... great topic, always enjoy a D&D rulings discussion!)
@@DungeonBoy-TTRPG oh I totally get wanting to avoid the topic, it's a thorny issue. It just seemed the jucier side to the strategic options available to these monsters. I do suggest you consider some supplemental videos on oddball rules like this which you can link to when they come up in future battles, because monsters are generally going to become more mechanically complex going forward. Many standard monsters are ambush predators who rely on hit and run tactics and may not be well represented in tournaments where combatants stand in place and hit each other.
Absolutely, and that’s without even mentioning the tactics of more prominent spell casters! I think it’s a good shout to have videos prepared that talk about some of the more odd ability interactions, the invisibility vs blind/truesight mechanics being a solid starting block!
I’m glad the imp finally used its brain to avoid the multi-attack range. Only on round 2 tho oof, I’m still watching though hope it doesn’t have my boy losing for it.
The imp did put up a great fight and was a crowd favourite, so much so that it was voted in for a return in season 2, with the addition of a promotion making it a Spined Devil! You’ll have to give that combat when it drops this weekend! 😈
This has been great fun! Looking forward to the next season. BTW, does the Animated Armor (and future champions) earn a spot in the next league to see how they fare against tougher opponents?
Really glad you've enjoyed it! Yes, the animated armor will be receiving a bit of a buff to level it up to CR 2 standard, and will be taking a spot in season 2! I like the idea of the challengers having the opportunity to rise up to the very top!
Great to have you back in the comments! I’ve seen lots of comments, so I’ll try condense replies to here 😂 Reddit, no I haven’t. I’ve never really used Reddit to be honest, where would you recommend shouting about it? The victor from last tournament, animated armor, will indeed be riding up into seasons 2 arena, with a small buff to make sure it fits into CR 2 nicely. I mentioned that the Patreon has a free tier in my recent update video, but I’ll certainly shout more about it, as I’m not sure how many people will see that vid. The idea going forward is to keep voting for seasonal combats free, with an additional paid tier for some bonus content outside of the regular viewing :)
Lots of cool opportunities for the CR 2 tournament. This new CR introduces the were-people, Duergar, Ogres, Orcs, Mimics, Wyrmlings, a bunch of classics. I'm personally hoping to see an Allosaurus on the poll myself.
So many choices. CR 2 really starts to open things up in terms of advanced strategy too, looking forward to this one.
Allosaurus (among others) is absolutely going on the list!
So...clearly, these two need have a rematch at some point, right? Give the Armor some weapons and a conscious mind upgrade, have the Imp upgrade into a higher level Devil, and have them once again meet on the fields of battle in the High CR Circuit.
Absolutely.
The plan is to advance the armor through into S2 with a bit of an upgrade to see how far it can go!
The imp was a favourite for sure. It’ll find a way back into the arena in some shape or form I would imagine!
NOOOOO MY FAVOURITE EXPENDABLE MINION!
-the Pit Fiend
Rumour has it the pit fiend sees a shred of potential in this one…
This has been such a fun series and so excited for CR2 tournament there’s far more variety of abilities and I expect a lot more cheezy tactics and hax abilities from some of those creatures!
I liked that you had the Imp take the optimal approach and cut the Animated Armors DPR in half another person commented about using invisibility which by RAW does work even against Blindsight but glad that didn’t happen I don’t know what the developers were thinking with that one 😂
This matchup was so one sided unfortunately if the Bugbear was in the finals I think it would’ve been closer but the Animated Armor was just built for this kind of contest with the Most HP and AC as well as decent damage
Animated Armor:
+4 to hit vs 13 AC
60% chance to hit
(11x0.60)=6.6
Critical (7x0.05)=0.35
Imp had resistance
Total DPR after resistance=3.47
Three rounds to kill
Six rounds with Imp moving out of reach and requiring Dash action
Imp:
+5 to hit vs 18 AC
40% chance to hit
(5.5x0.40)=2.2
Critical (2.5x0.05)=0.12
Animated Armor has immunity to poison damage
Total DPR=2.32
Fifteen rounds to kill
Wonderful breakdown as always, do enjoy some post fight stats!
Absolutely loved this series, seeing the different enemies and their unique strategies against each other really came to life with your fun commentary.
Thank you, really happy to hear it!
Season 2 will open up even more options, looking forward to hyping up some even more dynamic battles!
Well I did say this much much earlier in this series that the Animated armor was a shoein for a victor, and here we are. Predictions, correct! Rustie could have beaten him though...
The rust monster is sat backstage seething with the thoughts of what could have been 😂
Loved the series and can't wait for season 2.
Thanks!
Shouldn’t be too long of a wait for s2 to begin.
With 40ft fly, an Invisiblilty action, 11 Int (roughly commoner int), and likely a cowardly mindset, I would expect an imp's reaction to being charged by a melee that launches a slam multiattack to be going invisible, then flying out of reach.
Imp may be surprised the Armor can still see it with blindsight 60ft, but per Sage Advice, RAW says armor still has Disadv on its OA vs the retreating imp. Then the Imp lands again, far enough to force the Armor to Dash (Int 11 should be smart enough to think of using reach) and now its sting has Adv to hit (again, per Sage Advice, what with the "magical shimmer" that JC described). Same strategy, plus a couple extra steps to set up invisibility before each attack. With 1 Int, the Armor is easy to Kite and deny that multiattack.
Might not change the outcome, but it seems pretty reasonable without breaking the rules.
I was about to mention the same that being said I don’t know of a single DM that runs that invisibly works against creatures with see invisibility and Blind/truesight it’s a dumb ruling by the creators that nobody follows
@@robertlavallee8358 I don't feel that it's a dumb ruling, just the less intuitive one. It doesn't bother me either way how people choose to run invisibility, but it does feel like it should be safe to assume RAW is being followed in videos about the game unless stated otherwise.
Though to be fair, the contention around the rule might have been part of why OP chose to ignore the imp's invisibility action entirely, not wanting to bring it up at all, which is understandable.
I just think this was one situation where the official ruling might have made the fight slightly better balanced.
The imp going invisible in response to the animated armor's initial charge would have a been a fun interaction, but I was playing the imp more along the lines of it welcoming its opponent getting into melee range. Historically through the combats, the imp has had great success with quickly downing its opponents with poison damage, and while it quickly found out that that wasn't going to work this time around, I like to think that the imp started out with a 'I'm not stuck here with you, you're stuck here with me', type mindset!
(A flash of invisible after that interaction could have been cool though).
With the blindsight / invisible trade-off, I was aware of the contention surrounding the rule and didn't want to put a particular spotlight on it. Saying that, I do aim to keep the rules RAW unless otherwise specified, and this one is just so murky that I thought best not overcomplicate things.
It is a very interesting rule in and of itself though, and having listed to Jeremy Crawford talk about it, it always seemed like he was trying to justify WHY this one piece of RAW randomness works, as opposed to admitting there was a slight design mistake, which seems to be the general consensus.
When a spell such as 'See Invisibility' falls into the territory of not removing the advantages of invisibility, you begin to question things...
The example used to explain this away was 'Faerie Fire' specifically stating that a creature cannot benefit from being invisible while under its effects, thus cancelling out all benefits of being invisible. This is not because the creature is no longer invisible though, and instead because it is now outlined in a colour of the casters choosing (should the spell hit of course). This then means everyone in visible range can see the now 'outlined' creature, even though the invisibility is still technically active. 'Faerie Fire' does not outright remove the invisible condition, which could very much remain active if it outlasts the duration of 'Faerie Fire'. (Whereas 'Dispel Magic' for example, would just get rid of the invisibility completely).
What doesn't make a massive amount of sense to me is that a creature with blindsight / truesight / etc... does not get the benefit of removing the advantages imposed upon them by an invisible creature. In my opinion, these 2 RAW rulings cancel each other out:
Blindsight - A monster with blindsight can perceive its surroundings without relying on sight, within a specific radius.
Invisible - An invisible creature is impossible to see without the aid of magic or a special sense.
An invisible creature gains its advantages from a creature NOT being able to see it, therefore a creature that can perceive its surroundings without needing sight, would therefore not be affected by the negatives imposed by a creature with the invisible condition attacking it, or at least that's how I see it.
Truesight steps this up even more, even declaring specifically that this sense can see invisible creatures, and goes as far to state that creatures with truesight automatically succeed on saving throws against illusions, and can see into the Ethereal plane.
I think I read somewhere that the new 2024 rules may be fixing this for blindsight and truesight, but I can't quite remember where I heard about that, so don't want to say that it'll happen for sure.
That's just my thought anyway, and that would have been way too much information to interject into the middle of a Death Battle, so I left that specific interaction out!
(Maybe I'll this subject into a video of its very own, it is super interesting how some rules can carry so much contention... great topic, always enjoy a D&D rulings discussion!)
@@DungeonBoy-TTRPG oh I totally get wanting to avoid the topic, it's a thorny issue. It just seemed the jucier side to the strategic options available to these monsters.
I do suggest you consider some supplemental videos on oddball rules like this which you can link to when they come up in future battles, because monsters are generally going to become more mechanically complex going forward. Many standard monsters are ambush predators who rely on hit and run tactics and may not be well represented in tournaments where combatants stand in place and hit each other.
Absolutely, and that’s without even mentioning the tactics of more prominent spell casters!
I think it’s a good shout to have videos prepared that talk about some of the more odd ability interactions, the invisibility vs blind/truesight mechanics being a solid starting block!
Loved the series man! Would love to see either the Gibbering Mouther or the Cultist Fanatic in CR2 😁
Thank you, glad you enjoyed it!
Noted!
I’m glad the imp finally used its brain to avoid the multi-attack range. Only on round 2 tho oof, I’m still watching though hope it doesn’t have my boy losing for it.
The imp did put up a great fight and was a crowd favourite, so much so that it was voted in for a return in season 2, with the addition of a promotion making it a Spined Devil!
You’ll have to give that combat when it drops this weekend! 😈
Great season. Can't wait for the next one!
Thank you 🙏
Great season. Congrats to the robot.
🤖
sad for the imp, i was really rooting for my boi.
It had a great run. Never know, it performed well enough that a promotion may well be on the cards…
Let's gooooo
I'm looking forward to season 2. There are some dragons in the CR 2 level. I will be voting for my favorite: the silver dragon wyrmling.
So many great monsters for Season 2!
We’re getting into dragon vs dinosaur territory…
This has been great fun! Looking forward to the next season. BTW, does the Animated Armor (and future champions) earn a spot in the next league to see how they fare against tougher opponents?
Really glad you've enjoyed it!
Yes, the animated armor will be receiving a bit of a buff to level it up to CR 2 standard, and will be taking a spot in season 2! I like the idea of the challengers having the opportunity to rise up to the very top!
Also also, have you posted this series on Reddit, I’m sure you’d get a lot more traction on there as well as RUclips
Great to have you back in the comments!
I’ve seen lots of comments, so I’ll try condense replies to here 😂
Reddit, no I haven’t. I’ve never really used Reddit to be honest, where would you recommend shouting about it?
The victor from last tournament, animated armor, will indeed be riding up into seasons 2 arena, with a small buff to make sure it fits into CR 2 nicely.
I mentioned that the Patreon has a free tier in my recent update video, but I’ll certainly shout more about it, as I’m not sure how many people will see that vid.
The idea going forward is to keep voting for seasonal combats free, with an additional paid tier for some bonus content outside of the regular viewing :)
my bets are on animated armor
A solid choice
@@DungeonBoy-TTRPG hé was just too tanky