[Brainstorm] Fighters

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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Glim » Sat Mar 29, 2008 12:32 pm

Kind of old thread I know, but just wanted to ask, what has happened to fighters that have made them "broken" or worse? Have other classes just become more powerful in comparison or has something changed when it comes to fighters that have made them less so.

I am only saying this because when I think of really powerful characters on FK, I think of fighters. Just to name the ones off the top of my head: Tretch, Nivek, Timaeus, Agerlor, and even Selveem (well.... how he used to be :P). I think the majority of characters I would define as simply beasts would be fighters. So just trying to understand where all of this is coming from.
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Jaenoic » Sat Mar 29, 2008 3:16 pm

The thing about those characters is, they are all very old characters. They were made and played when fighters WERE really strong. They had enhanced damage, hitall, dodge and AC worked differently, and magical +'s to hit rolls were messed up. Take a fighter now and he is not nearly as good as fighters used to be. I am not saying it to complain, but the facts are that they had enhanced damage and hitall removed and dodge, AC, and magical +'s were fixed to work how they're supposed to.(Which is a good thing) The problem is, every other class has been worked on to become more powerful and some players who play fighters feel left behind. Spell casters(Including all wizards, priests, druids, rangers, and paladins, basically every class but rogues and fighters) got an enormous array of new spells, and rogues have a spiffy new sneak attack system.

These days when I think of a powerful character, high priests and accomplished wizards come to mind. They can cast a spell which kills in one go or burn you to a crisp with a fire column. They can raise the dead and beef you up to carry 4 ton rocks over your head. These days it seems like a fighter just kind of stands there and does a little bit of a damage.

To answer your question, Glim, I believe that is where everyone is coming from. That is how fighters have fallen behind in relation to everyone else stepping forward.
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Selveem » Sat Mar 29, 2008 5:23 pm

You know, I told myself I wouldn't post in this thread any further because my posts tend to be curt and to the point, but this is something so dear to me that I feel I need to comment in response to Glim's question.

It seems there are a lot of misconceptions about Fighters and why many of us feel fairly useless. A lot of people want to point to a single incident and say 'That was it!' but the truth of the matter is it was a number of things that caused the uselessness of fighters. For the record, I would like to say that I never used the known cheat that you could wield +hit/dam warhammer on your belt slot or brass knuckles on your hands to get additional bonuses. So, that change had absolutely no bearing on Selveem.

Jaenoic, you touched on many things. Please forgive me for putting them as line items to re-arrange:
Jaenoic wrote:Enhanced damage was removed.
Hitall was removed.
Dodge was changed.
AC no longer gives damage reduction.
Magical +'s were fixed.
Every other class has been worked on to become more powerful; spell casters (basically every class but rogues and fighters) got an enormous array of new spells
Jaenoic hit almost everything above. Forgive my editing (and giving a little more detail), if possible. I excluded the rogue sneak attacks because I don't believe a bit that this makes up for their loss of multiple dodge. I'm also not convinced it works better than backstab+circle from the responses I've gotten (albeit they are outdated now).

There was another major change, too, that hit melee combatants (specifically non-magic users): Aurazin armor was changed to exclude the usage by non-magic users. Again, basically every class except Thieves and Fighters. A lot of the resistance gear was made completely mundane (serpentine bracers, brass rings, etc).

Sidenote: I'm not petitioning to have the Aurazin set weakened/made mundane/or even changed. As you can see, I am not a fan of things being 'taken away.'

Fighters specifically receive penalties on each attack after the first. I'm not so certain this is the case with any other classes because many of my other characters seem very unaffected. Couple that with the fact that they get the penalties without the bonuses that a Fighter would normally get as they progress in levels.

Also, many of the potions available in the past via wizards and priests via brew, with the removal of brew quest, are now unavailable. The upgrade to remove spells higher than a certain level and exclude transport spells.

Melee damage does less than its magical counterpart. Whether that was the case in the past is irrelevant now with the increase in damage and/or power of magic spells combined with the increase of spells available to casters.

Those are just a few things. I'm sure others more 'in the know' will have more info.

Edited to include: I would like to dispute one thing with Jaenoic. The age of the character wasn't as important in the past, it was the amount of effort put into the characters. Zhar was considered powerful, but he didn't put a lot of time into training his characters and Selveem bested him easily in a spar even with using plain weapons found in the training school.
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Sairaven » Sun Mar 30, 2008 1:30 am

Let us not forget also that some creatures are immune to melee attacks. Some are resistant, while others flat out don't get affected.

In a case like this, all a fighter can hope to do is rescue and have enough hit points to outlast the beastie while the more magical types make it all "s'plody".
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Kregor » Sun Mar 30, 2008 2:35 am

Selveem wrote:Fighters specifically receive penalties on each attack after the first. I'm not so certain this is the case with any other classes because many of my other characters seem very unaffected. Couple that with the fact that they get the penalties without the bonuses that a Fighter would normally get as they progress in levels.
All classes use the same BAB progression. And to be correct, it is not a penalty, it is less of a bonus. As you increase in level, your attack bonus increases, this adds to your d20 roll to hit an opponent. By the time you have second attack, your attack bonus will be at least +5, and your second attack will be +0. By the time you can train third attack, your attack bonus will be at least +10 with your first attack, your second at least +5, and your third +0. This continues with each attack, adding one to each of them as you reach a certain level, and as you are allowed to train another attack, you get that attack at +0 to hit, until your last attack will have a +5 bonus at 50th level, always a progressive 5 points behind its preceding attack.

Not only does this apply to ALL classes, but any classes with less attacks a round actually don't get as high an attack bonus. Paladins and rangers will have a maximum +20 on their first attack when they reach level 50, +15, +10 and +5 on the respective attacks. Rogues, bards and priests will all have a maximum of +15/+10/+5. Wizards will have a maximum of +10/+5. (Wizards should actually have two attacks when they reach level 25, but I'm willing to wait to worry about that until we lock out the ability to cast spells and still launch off all our melee attacks in the same round.)
Selveem wrote:Melee damage does less than its magical counterpart. Whether that was the case in the past is irrelevant now with the increase in damage and/or power of magic spells combined with the increase of spells available to casters.
The buzz about multipliers/power increases/etc of magic spells has been dispelled in at least two threads now, word from the top, that it is not the case, and should not be used as fodder for how the fighters are so much weaker than the spellcasters. And the number of spells isn't really such a consideration when you consider that there are still no trainers for most of the damage spells above 6th level. At least not for a PvP consideration... the NPC casters lob them off quite nicely.
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Rawlys » Sun Mar 30, 2008 6:38 am

As Selveem mentioned, there is not one particular thing that you can point your finger to and say "That's it".

Fighters seem weaker (and are, to a degree) because of the progression of the MUD. Because of the POSITIVE progression of the MUD, moving more towards an accurate 3.5 code. Let's face it: If one class gets the attention and effort to make it more accurate (code wise), then the rest of the classes feel the effects of that. If multiple classes get that attention, the 'ignored' classes seem less wonderful.

It's not possible to wiggle a nose or snap a finger and have all of FK set up perfectly on a 3.5 system. It's just not going to happen. What will happen and has been happening, is the slow evolvement. The slow and painfull evolving of adding new things, removing old (and comfortable) things, and the countless hours of troubleshooting along the way.

The mechanics and code in FK are set up very simular to the game play here. You never win. You can always improve. While this is a general overview of the situation and I did not go into any detail of things, I believe this is the mindset we should have of the situation.
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Selveem » Sun Mar 30, 2008 3:19 pm

Kregor wrote:Not only does this apply to ALL classes, but any classes with less attacks a round actually don't get as high an attack bonus.
While that may be how it works in D&D, you might want to have that suspicion confirmed. I don't have access to the code, but what I can tell you is that my fighter misses just as much as my wizard. :)
Kregor wrote:The buzz about multipliers/power increases/etc of magic spells has been dispelled in at least two threads now, word from the top, that it is not the case, and should not be used as fodder for how the fighters are so much weaker than the spellcasters. And the number of spells isn't really such a consideration when you consider that there are still no trainers for most of the damage spells above 6th level. At least not for a PvP consideration... the NPC casters lob them off quite nicely.
I mean this with all possible respect intended when I have to disagree with the 'word from the top.' I've already proven that magic missile is hyped damage and I'm very certain beyond doubt that other spells do far more damage than in D&D. What something "should be" and what it "is" are completely different things. While I may not be able to see specific numbers, I -can- see percentages. I -can- tell you that spells do a lot more damage percentage-wise to physical damage. What I -can- tell you is that a wizard struck by a fighter wielding a bastard sword or greater would be pretty much minced meat. That's not the case in FK. I'll do actual testing on it later. ~8 hits with a bastard sword should drop a wizard, pretty much. I'm certain my wizard survives far more than that.
Rawlys wrote:You never win. You can always improve.
This is definitely true for most classes. I'm not so sure about fighters, though. There's either one of two things happening here: fighters are being double penalized or progression in attack skills are worthless. Let me explain:

Previously, the number of attacks you get in was determined by your advancement in your skill. If you had GM fifth attack, the only thing that would stop you from hitting would be dodge, shieldwork, or under the effect of some spell like blind. Now, I can miss regardless. I'm thinking fighters are double-penalized based on observation. Even if you surpass the AC of the attack, there's a chance you fail your skill roll and miss, too.

In the past, though, these things seperated fighters. The fighters who worked and skilled up their attacks, dual wield/shieldwork, grip (though I've never, ever seen grip skill increase without a trainer), etc. had a huge advantage over those who only went to trainer limits. The fighters who took the time to get the stronger EQ had a slight advantage over those who did not. Now, equipment "feels" dumbed down or.. "nerfed" as some might call it. A lot of the things that were strong before are either worthless (made mundane) or seem to be far less effective. This is true in both fighting against mobs as well as other players.

Regardless of any claims presented, the irrefutable truth is these are things we are seeing as players.
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Enig » Sun Mar 30, 2008 9:37 pm

Selveem says...
What I -can- tell you is that a wizard struck by a fighter wielding a bastard sword or greater would be pretty much minced meat. That's not the case in FK. I'll do actual testing on it later. ~8 hits with a bastard sword should drop a wizard, pretty much. I'm certain my wizard survives far more than that.
If a warrior could knock down a wizard in less than two rounds (five attacks at maximum, right?), that would mean the fight would last, what, 2 RL seconds? If that?

I'm not super hip to the crazy DnD jive (hahah... 8) ), but I do know a few things. Ie. a fighter gets 1d10+(con) hp per level. Magic missiles do 1d4 per missile and a wizard can produce ten of them if they twin cast. Even by the book, that would mean an average of 20 hp damage, and off of a level 20 fighter with, say, 180 hp (average roll of 7 + 2 con bonus), that's around 11%. I'm not positive what a twinned MM *does* take off, but I'm pretty sure it's not 11%.

Not to mention, that's bottom of the barrel. Take the same fighter with 180 hp and use fireball against him, which maxes out at 10d6 damage per target. Unless I'm way off base, wouldn't that mean that three maximized fireballs should be able to blast away our poor test fighter? :P I'm certain that's not the case in the MUD.

I'm certainly not saying that wizards should be able to push over a fighter like he's nothing, but I don't really agree that the opposite should be true either. Fights have basically got to be slowed down compared to normal DnD, I think, or else, based on their fast pace, they'd be over before the average player had a chance to blink.
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Selveem » Mon Mar 31, 2008 1:37 am

Enig wrote:Ie. a fighter gets 1d10+(con) hp per level. Magic missiles do 1d4 per missile and a wizard can produce ten of them if they twin cast. Even by the book, that would mean an average of 20 hp damage, and off of a level 20 fighter with, say, 180 hp (average roll of 7 + 2 con bonus), that's around 11%. I'm not positive what a twinned MM *does* take off, but I'm pretty sure it's not 11%.
Actually, I did do the math on this already (each missile does 1d4+1). If you read this post:

http://www.gallwey.com/fk/board/viewtop ... f=1&t=8004

What I am saying is that a bastard sword does plenty more damage than a magic missile. It does more than double a magic missile's damage! It does 1d10 per hit + strength bonus and this is not represented here in FK. If you take that same example and change it for a bastard sword, the average for a level 50 Fighter on FK would be 5+4(str mod). That is 9 damage per hit - being modest and not taking into consideration the high critical rate a bastard sword has.

But, you know, I like playing around with numbers too, so let's use your same example and modify it for FK standards:

Bastard Sword's average damage is 5. Str mod is +4. That means damage is 9 per successful hit.
5 hits/round = 45 damage.
Average wizard would have 2 hp/level. The average wizard on FK is going to have a +2 con bonus. After 20 levels, they'd have 80 hp.
45 damage/80hp = 56%.
1 round of combat = 56% of their health.

Sure, no one likes to get one shot, Enig, but wizards CAN hold that over any fighter's head on FK. I'm not asking to one-shot anyone (mob, nor player). I'm asking that things be measured fairly. As it stands, people play priests and wizards BECAUSE the physical damage is skewed. I, personally, dislike playing casters. But as fighters stand currently, I have to be honest when I admit that my interest has waned playing them for anything except an occasional RP.
Last edited by Selveem on Mon Mar 31, 2008 4:00 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Glim » Mon Mar 31, 2008 3:44 am

[Edited because im an idiot who needs to read better]
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Kregor » Mon Mar 31, 2008 3:56 am

Selveem wrote:
Kregor wrote:Not only does this apply to ALL classes, but any classes with less attacks a round actually don't get as high an attack bonus.
While that may be how it works in D&D, you might want to have that suspicion confirmed. I don't have access to the code, but what I can tell you is that my fighter misses just as much as my wizard. :)
*I* can see the numbers, and therefore, I do, in fact, know what I'm talking about. I can see my to hit rolls on the testport, with a rogue, with a wizard, with a warrior, etc. I can see each iterative attack bonus dropping by 5 points in a round. I can see what my dice rolled, yes, it IS a 20 sided die. I can see the armor class of my opponent, it doesn't change or wack out, same number every time. I can see that I rolled <X>, my hit bonus is <Y>, and whether I beat an AC of <Z> or not. So you see, it was never a suspicion for me, I already knew the numbers. So I would kindly appreciate if my explanations of such weren't simply waved off as sophomoric ignorance.

As for the rest, I'm done. I'm not debating anymore as I've hardly got the intestinal fortitude these days to stay logged for 30 minutes at a time and deal with all the OOC crap flying around the game, let alone try to take a side in the lobby against the mean imms who would dare nerf our characters.
Last edited by Kregor on Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Selveem » Mon Mar 31, 2008 4:16 am

Re: Kregor,

I apologize that you felt anything I stated there was personal or a jab at you. However, if you've a problem with me, keep it off the forums and leave it personal.

My beliefs are based solely on my experience. The reason I was asking you to check was for the reason I outlined.

I'm glad you feel confident that the numbers are all accurate and have access to validate your questions. Bear in mind I and the majority of players do not. I apologize that you felt slighted that I would dare question you or anyone else, including the purported 'mean imms who would dare nerf our characters.'

At any rate, I'm a player. I play the same game you do. I am bound by the same mechanics you are (or should be?). Perhaps my weapons are not set properly? Perhaps my characters are buggy? I don't know any of these things. What I do know is what I experience and I am relaying what I, myself, have experienced. I apologize I don't have the luxury of assigning physical numbers to these experiences. I suppose you'll just have to forgive me of that. :)
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Grafghur » Mon Mar 31, 2008 5:30 am

No need to discuss this any further as it's hard to know what can be done without actually having access to the game mechanics.

It's obvious there are enough players that think something needs to be looked into. This thread alone is proof of that. Players form the base of this mud, they go hand-in-hand with the imms to make this all work.

I think what most of us are looking for is a simple post from an admin saying they will eventually look into this. That alone will make us happy ;)
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Lathander » Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:21 am

Bear in mind I and the majority of players do not.
..in reference to seeing actual numbers. True, most players do not. Imms do and so do some players who are permitted to work with FK code. It comes down to trust. You either trust that we are being fair and doing what we identify as best for the game, or you don't trust us and believe that we are at best disinterested or at worst actively trying to ruin an entire class of character.
I think what most of us are looking for is a simple post from an admin saying they will eventually look into this. That alone will make us happy
As for looking into the numbers, Kregor summed it up well enough. The attack numbers are working as designed and the design is in keeping with d20 rules where warrior classes have at least a +5 advantage over other classes, depending on skill level. As for looking into ways to improve the fighter class with wondrous feat trees and other positive things, to be perfectly honest, that may have to wait. The imms with the most ability and desire to affect change in that area were very put off by the ruination of the thread designed for just that purpose. Their efforts are now focused elsewhere, but still on subjects that have to do with bettering the game. There is no shortage of suggested improvements in any of the multitude of things that make up our mud. Just as every player has the inclinations of which PC in their account to play based on their own, specific motivations, imms have similar inclinations of what to work on within the make-up of the game. Our motivations change just like yours, and the motivation for looking into improving the fighter class is low at this time because of the way some things were handled on that earlier thread. If you are a newer player, or one who is returning to the game and coming a little late to this discussion, please take some time to read the other thread and you will, hopefully, see the reason for the current lack of motivation in this regard.

I am not saying that fighters will not be improved. I am saying two things. One, they are not broken - the numbers work and they have the advantage. And two, their improvement is low on the current priority list of improvements. Which means that they will eventually be looked into.
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Selveem » Mon Mar 31, 2008 1:37 pm

Lathander, that's completely understandable and I'm certain each of us can appreciate that. I doubt anyone wants something put into the game that you just don't have your heart in. I do have a question, though. I don't understand what you meant in the below quote. Could you elaborate, please? Thanks.
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Lathander » Mon Mar 31, 2008 3:10 pm

Kregor's post above outlays the +tohit modifiers of each successive attack. It shows that a warrior classed PC would get +20/+15/+5/+0 in each of four attacks respectively while a wizard would receive only +5/+0 for two attacks. He explains it pretty clearly.
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Selveem » Mon Mar 31, 2008 3:52 pm

Ah, I understand.

I was only explaining above how my wizard hits just as easily as my fighter. I'm not sure if the AC on mobs is just very low or what. Maybe it's changed again since I last played as my wizard. I'm not sure. I never had a problem with wizards hitting a mob anyhow. The only problem regarding hitting mobs I can say I definitely have had was with is hitting the golems in the training area of Swordspoint Hall. I'm not concentrating on that as that appears to just be a very high AC issue. The issue was with the actual damage after hitting mobs/players in comparison to that of magic damage.

I can see this is an issue that doesn't appear to want to get much attention.
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Kregor » Sat Apr 05, 2008 12:45 am

On a side note, when this matter does come back around to coding attention. Note that one of the first classes tackled by Paizo in their upcoming 3.75e game system is the Fighter.

http://www.gallwey.com/fk/board/viewtop ... =74&t=8220

The alpha release has some interesting fighter class features, as well as new combat feats that would make for good discussion fodder ultimately.
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Re: [Brainstorm] Fighters

Post by Belose » Sat Apr 05, 2008 6:39 pm

You know.. after reading these posts... I realized that the fighters need a good fight and quit thinking so hard.. maybe it's time for another fighter's tournament..hehehe
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