In this adventure, the Radio Free Hommlet crew talks about the DDI exclusive class Assassin and the new Shadow power source.
This adventure uses the following music: "Legions (War)" by Zoe Keating
Adventure 40 - From the Shadows
Wednesday, January 13 2010 - Podcasts
- #1 Sandy on 1.14.2010 at 6:27 PM
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Hello
I've enjoyed many of your podcasts over time, however I wish to take issue with the idea that warlocks suffer in the damage department in comparison to other strikers.
I play a 16 level infernal warlock which is more than able to keep up the halfling dagger master rouge in the damage department. The key is magic item selection. Which given warlocks are arcane in nature this makes sense.
Sandy
- #2 Malnacht on 1.15.2010 at 2:16 PM
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Assassins really come into their own when going against enemies with high defenses. WARNING: Math Crunch ahead.
The following comparison is without feats, additional powers, action points, or warlord interference. just straight unmodified abilities.
The average damage you do per round is your average damage roll multiplied by your chance of hitting. A 1st level rogue can do 2d6 extra damage. 2d6 has an average die roll of 7. If you have a 50% chance of hitting, you multiple the 7 by .50 and come up with 3.5 additional damage per round.
An assassin, if it expends his shroud every turn, only does 1d6 extra damage if he hits. 1d6 has an average roll of 3.5. If he only has a 50% chance of hitting, then it turns into a measly 1.75 extra damage per round over time.
Rogue is better than assassin as dealing damage against enemies with a low defense.
But look what happens when you increase the difficulty of hitting and the number of rounds an assassin layers on the shards. Let’s look at two rounds and only a 25% chance of hitting.
If the character needs to roll a 16 to hit, then the chance of hitting is only 25%. Multiply the rogue’s average damage of 7 by 0.25 and you come up with only 1.75 damage per round.
So at 1.75 damage a round, over two rounds he does 3.5 damage.
Now look at an assassin. He spends the first round layering on shrouds so no additional damage that round. On the second round he activates the two shards. Of the 2d6 damage, it is guaranteed that 1d6 will get through no matter if the attack succeeds or not. That means the first 1d6 is 3.5 damage times 100% chance for a total of 3.5 damage. The other 1d6 only has the 25% chance of hitting so only does an average of (3.5 time 0.25) 0.875 damage. Add the guaranteed 1d6 to the averaged 1d6 and you come up with a two round total of 4.375.
So, two rounds, with a 25% chance of hitting a rogue does 3.5 extra damage. An assassin in the same situation who hold his shroud for the first round and uses it on the second does an average of 4.375 extra damage.
With no other considerations, against creatures with low defenses, rogues do more damage. Their initial 2d6 is better than the assassin 1d6. Against a creature with high defenses, and which will require multiple rounds to kill, an assassin does more damage because most of it automatically hits.
I think my math is right.
