Idk if I'm just worrying over nothing, but I think Treantmonk's Temple didn't mention to which level "reliable talent" was being moved to, because of the NDA and because JC didn't mention it in their official video. Like I said I don't know if I'm just worrying over nothng, but I just wanted to let you know.
@@SadBoi_1066 I know that it's level 7. I just wasn't sure if Colby was allowed to share it. I was probably just worrying uselessly, because neither JC nor Treantmonk'S Temple mentioned it (I thought that Chris didn't say it, because of the embargo/ NDA).
You didn't specify a specific background that you used for Alert and ability mods..assuming this was intentional (not approved) or did you use a custom background?
Just watched the Rogue Update on the official DnD channel and immediately saw your video and came here for your run down. Very responsible of you to hold off until today. Keep up the great work. Love your channel.
"Nor do I have access to Jeremy Crawford if I need to clarify something" Am I the only one annoyed that Crawford has managed to escape the little cupboard at d4 headquarters that Colby kept him in? We trusted you Colby
A series of single class builds exploring a baseline for nova and sustained damage using the 2024 PHB rules would be no bad thing. Possibly interspersed with revisions of your favourite, or most popular, old builds. Alternatively, if you wanted to make changes to your baseline assumptions for The Almighty Spreadsheet, then the publication of the 2024 PHB would seem an ideal opportunity to do so - your basis of comparison is already being changed, after all. Oh, and some of us *do* remember your surprise attack during Treantmonk's 20th level one shot. :)
Not sure if you caught this, but wanted to mention that Envenom Weapons is a damage over time (DOT) ability. They take damage every time they fail the save so that's pretty cool.
I do think the idea to have the D&D content creators review certain parts of the new PHB is a pretty great marketing strategy tbh. It allows the content of the new book to get out to more people and makes it feel like a big event.
Agreed! I do hope though that they listen to the reviews/reactions of the community and adjust things accordingly. Don't even get me started on the Ranger and Hunter's Mark...
Having just gotten into DnD a few years ago. I really appreciate what you do. I have spent more time with character creation than actual game play, and the truth about DnD that I have come to realize is, you don’t know what your character is truly capable of, until it is put into action. Traditional roles like tank, damage dealer, controller…. They are all ideal situations, and the fact that you focus your builds on those roles, makes me think about the game from ideal situations. This has helped me create some amazing characters and backstories, and helps me think of new ways to redefine those traditional roles. My favorite character so far is a Goliath abjuration wizard named Roran. He has proven to be the hardest character in any game that I have played in to go down. He is currently a level 14 and has only had his hp drop below half once since level 12. When I made him, I had no idea what he was actually capable of, even after watching your video on Abjuration wizard. Thank you for your spreadsheets, your restraint in sticking with them, and your knowledge.
With the addition of the nick propery. Magic items like a scimitar of speed are a much more attractive magic item. Get your nick attack intergraded into your attack action and you still get the bonus action attack it provides.
Re: Infiltration Expertise and Steady Aim You can take the bonus action before your action, then move and then attack. It really doesn't limit you at all, Colby.
In my next high level campaign i'm planning on making a 11th lvl 4 elements monk/6th level storm cleric. Push on electric damage + flight means an insane electric shoryuken as i launch enemies into the sky for some crazy damage.
Glad to have confirmation that youll be spliting the spreadsheets for the 2024 rules. Some build ideas for 2024 release - The baseline: I think every class should get the same treatment rogue just got. A straight class build to serve as a baseline - Skill monkey: Rogue getting Reliable Talent at 7th level is just begging to be combined with some bard and maybe ranger or fighter levels to see just how high and how many skills you can have - Padlock: Warlock and Paladin, a classic, but with lots of new options if pacts are still invocations - The Bladesinger 5.24: Time to test out how legacy subclasses feel in a new system - The feat master - Just a build focused on taking as many feats and feat-like abilities as possible
Baseline is so interesting to DMs IMO. Let's us know what we can boost and what should be left alone. One for each subclass would be amazing but even just one per class (always going for the most optimal option) would be enough to set a baseline for DPR per class.
I'm an avid weapons and armor nerd, and your pronunciation of scimitar barely registered a blip in my brain. As you said, both are perfectly fine and common.
One interest bit of synergy between reliable talent and the new alert feat is that since initiative rolls count as dexterity ability checks, if they were to gain a boost equal to your proficiency modifier, that would mean reliable talent would work with initiative rolls as well. Which would be a huge buff to Rogues
I don't think that works. Pretty sure reliable talent requires you to be making an ability check with a *skill* you are proficient in. Initiative is not a skill
@@unholyxeras8182 "By 11th level, you have refined your chosen skills until they approach perfection. Whenever you make an ability check that lets you add your proficiency bonus, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10." No mention of it only working on skill checks
@@bigsmoke8816 that's the 2014 version. In the play test it had updated language to clarify that it worked when "making an ability check that uses one of your skill or tool proficiencies". As that was always the intended interaction, and making things more clear has been a design goal for the 2024 PHB, I think they'll be sticking with that language
Haven’t finished the video yet, but I was starting to rest my eyes a bit and got hit with the impeccably timed “hey you! wake up!” And holy crap that perfectly timed fourth wall break was like an intravenous espresso shot.
This was super cool! I'm glad WotC let you go this in depth. Also, weird and sad not to have the artwork as usual, though I get that is because you had the PHB art for assassin to show off! Thank you for being such a great voice and positive voice in the community!
JC said the intent of the level 9 steady aim, speed not =0, was to turn your character into John Wick. So the intent is to allow character to move before before and after attacking and still have steady aim.
Even if you couldn’t move before Steady Aim, using Steady Aim doesn’t mean you attack immediately; it would only force you to decide how to spend your bonus action before using your movement. That said, the difference is so minimal that while it may be rare for a DM to enforce, it shouldn’t even be much of an inconvenience as a player anyway.
Been listening to a lot of the older builds recently and Colby talks SO much faster now! I had to check the playback speed to see if I accidentally had it at 1.5. Makes it harder to fall asleep to the episodes, but so much more info packed in that hour!
So glad to see you get invited to do this. Sounds like one of the things your spreadsheet can’t track - a fun score - is getting a nice boost with the new rules.
Okay, so, looking over this build, it occurred to me that I don't think the Assassin is getting a ton as a burst damage build, so I decided to crunch the numbers and see how it performs as a sustained damage dealer. I've listed the AC in between --these-- and listed the level to the left. Some caveats: I included the same assumptions you did (Sentinel is triggered 25% of the time and enemies always fail saves against poison). I also assumed that the rogue has advantage on all of the attacks on its turn between Vex and Steady Aim, which isn't exactly accurate, but is relatively close and saved me a lot of math. I also wasn't able to find a satisfactory way to account for damage die rerolls from Piercer, so I left them out of the build as penance for my always-advantage crimes. In conclusion: this build is still hovering around Tier 4 as a sustained damage dealer. That being said, you built for burst damage, so an assassin built for sustained damage could very well do better. Additionally, like the Baseline, this requires no resources or setup and in fact will hit the ground running with its burst turn. I would love to see how well a rogue could keep up with sustained damage dealers in the future. Behold, the numbers: -14- 3- 16.695 -15- 4- 19.84 -16- 5- 24.215 6- 24.215 7- 28.59 -17- 8- 31.725 -18- 9- 36.017 10- 38.56 11- 42.935 12- 42.935 -19- 13- 51.684 14- 51.684 15- 56.06 16- 56.06 -20- 17- 60.435
47:32 Your friendly banter with @TreantmonksTemple gets me every time 😂 Taking Resilient Con at level 12, Skilled wouldn't be a bad feat at level 16 to raise Con to 18 and get another Expertise and Skill Proficiency for Reliable Talent.
Theres a 3rd party feat i really like called backstab. Essentially it gives you a critical hit range of 19-20 and allows you to add your sneak attack damage to any critical hit.
BTW, the commercial you refer to at the end with the "shake it shake it shake it" was for Fruity Pebbles. I have no idea why that bit of trivia is stuck in my brain, but there you go.
Just wanted to share some insight on the comparison of this to Colby’s other builds because I know someone is going to hear “Tier 4” and immediately think “weak”. This was a straight build and Colby (he even admits this) is a notorious multiclasser. Those other builds utilized things like pally smites on crits while also using abilities from other classes as well. So him comparing it to the old builds should definitely taken with a grain of salt. I suspect he could have jacked those numbers way higher if he had free rein to go class hopping. And speaking directly to Colby here: Keep up the great work and enjoy the family vacation. You’ve more than earned it. Be seeing you in the next video you share. Much love brother.
Ooh, since you asked, I would be most excited to see you do updates to your series on underused weapons (Whippoorwill, Needler, whatever that slingshot/Crusher build was called, &c) as well as maybe a seperate video speaking on your opinions on which weapons got the biggest buffs and nerfs given Weapon Mastery, GWM being nerfed, how cool it is to have a 15 ft+ reach under easily achievable conditions &c &c. Have a really wonderful day, and thanks for making the world a little bit kinder by being in it! 💖
To DMs, give your rogues magic items that are tailored to sneak attack: 3 ideas 1) When you perform a sneak attack with this weapon, roll an additional 2d6, then drop the lowest 2d6 rolls. (Uncommon) 2) when a cunning strike is successful, the damage dice lost to use the cunning strike are turned into a flat +2 per die spent. (Rare) 3) when a sneak attack is performed with this weapon, you can have a blast of air target another creature with 15ft of the target, and if you hit, you deal slashing damage to that target using your sneak attack damage dice. (Rare)
regarding steady aim: the way i see it you can move before OR after you attack, you just have to use your bonus action to steady aim before you move. so you just gotta commit to do it.
Always love the videos. I can't wait to see what crazy fun combinations you come up with as more classes are released and the PHB officially releases later this year.
I just realized… Colby is like the D&D Mr Rodgers!!! With these sign-offs and then singing to us 😂 Anyone else seeing it?!? Gotta start wearing sweaters!
Drat, I've been so busy I keep forgetting to comment after watching the whole video! I'm just going to assume you did an incredible job as always and say "Wow, what a great build! That sounds super fun! So glad your hair is free from the shackles of the preceding videos!" 🤣
I might get to play in Dark Sun when the new PHB releases. I most often play mages, but this might be a great chance to play a martial. The Assassin (an Athasian Bard) and the Soulknife are two that are intriguing departures from everything I've played in the last decade. It's great that martials finally look interesting. It's been a long time since I've considered playing a character without spellcasting.
I get the reliable damage thing, but personally, I don't like the elimination of autocrit on a surprised opponent, since an assassin who successfully surprises their target SHOULD do massive damage. One way to partially mitigate that would be to use improved crit range during the first round against an opponent who hasn't taken a turn yet. I would go 18+ at Assassin-3 (because why wouldn't an assassin be as deadly as a 15th level Champion fighter), which would improve thereafter, capping at 11+ at Assassin-17. Now THAT would be a reason to stick with Rogue levels, and it's both more reliable and more realistic in terms of what a skilled Assassin SHOULD be able to do. What do you think?
Haha, as a European, understanding inches, feet, miles, ounces, and gallons has been the most challenging part of learning D&D 😅 I expected a Bugbear, but Goliath pays off at later levels.
Great video Colby! The biggest thing I want to point out is that I the new rogue seems to have good sustained damage potential. Especially with the consistent ways to get advantage. Along with all the other improvements it looks like they might be in a pretty good spot for overall experience at the table. I think a dip into another martial class to pick up some other damage buffs and extra attack would really help. I think with these improvements we will be able to see some very viable builds forming around something like 5 levels in a martial class with DEX along with more rogue levels. I for one love the idea of a rogue/ranger multiclass that actually seems like it would be quite potent. In general I think its just really opens up the possibilities for rogue and we will see some awesome builds coming out of it.
One thing that my group have been doing is for melee sneak attacks, we increase the damage die size by one and we're likely going to continue doing so after hearing how rogue is still.
I'm working on an Assassin rogue idea now trying to make use of Nick with Crossbow Expert and range, largely using Hand Crossbow and Daggers to throw. Needs level 4 to be even potentially reliable, and its not that long of a wait to get there, but struck me that shooting first with the hand Crossbow and hitting triggers Vex at range, which makes the dagger from 20 ft easier to hit and satisfies the qualifiers sneak damage. It's probably suboptimal, but liking the concept a lot, a Rogue who doesn't get too up close and personal but still applies all of the cool stunning strike conditions, or does the rogue damage with a little extra d6 from the Crossbow. Probably a build I'll be selfish with my Alert initiative with, but if my party controller also rolls high, all the better. I really hope that initiative swap from the playtests doesn't change, I really like it.
I love that you already emphasize how much better the game will be if the call of "should I multiclass or not" is a little harder. In 5e, many classes have early power spike levels that can just be chained onto each other with little opportunity cost. In other words: Improved stand-alone classes as well as less front loading of classes are good things for the balance of the game.
It would be awesome to see a bunch of 2024 single class builds to see what they're capable of. Its also nice to see that they are trying to make monoclassing more appealing with better scaling/higher level features.
Dont know if you picked up on it, but with the Envenom Weapons feature, its says they take the damage *whenever* they fail the saving throw. This means that when the enemy rolls to end the condition on *their* turn, if they fail they will take *another* 2d6 poison damage, and will keep doing so every turn until they succeed
@@DnDDeepDive did you add any additional damage from failing the saving throws on their turns in your sustained damage calculations? Because if they fail both your not getting 2d6 poison damage per round for sacrificing 1d6 sneak attack damage, your getting 4d6. Imagine if you could get a GOOlock to give them disadvantage on con saves with Hex for you. Don't think it's possible to multi-class and get both features yourself, I'm sure they come at too high of a level to combine, but it could make for a fun combo if they could. Maybe get someone else to hit them with bane as well. Shame you'd have a hard time getting those things on the enemy early enough to effect Death Strike as well, cos that would be nice
Going to look in your catalogue for the ‘gun-fu’ style character that I’ve always liked to bring to the table. Would love to see how these new features could synergize with the monk or other multiclass to fit that theme.
Thanks for the build! Looking forward to seeing you build around some of the other 2024 classes when you can. I'm really curious to see you re-do an older rogue build and how they compare to a single class rogue. very curious to see the Assassin's Creed vs this build!
My main issue with the new Assassinate skill is: i think youre NOT supposed to endure or be good on long encounters. An Assassin tries to kill his victim in the shortest time possible, and the auto crit is just for that. You cant killed it with that? Now youre fucked. The problem is not change autocrit for flat damage, and yes for a very tiny flat damage. We gain 1d6 every two levels on sneak attack. In the autocrit, transforms to 1d6 per level, which gives us 7 plus dmg on average, or 3.5 dmg by rogue lvl. I'm up to 2*level all day, since we can now dip 2 fighter levels and just action surge. But for me, assassin rogue is maybe one of the worst subclasses by now. "Look What They Need to Mimic a Fraction of Our Power" - 5e Assassin
Glad that you were one of the people who were allowed to do a sponsored video from WotC. Completely agree that sacrificing your sneak attack dice really bites. I'd rather we got a pool similar to the battlemaster, or as you levelled up you no longer sacrificed sneak attack on certain choices and less d6's on other choices. It should be a scaling thing. I do wish we got another ribbon feature at level 6. Expertise is nice, but we need more at that level. Agreed that the assassin's weird sentence structure regarding Steady Aim and how to get around the movement limitation should have just been removed altogether. It's unnecessary to hamstring the PC like that.
A weird thing I noticed about the Rogue Assassin, and Thief subclasses is that they seem oddly backloaded in terms of damage. For comparison, with the UA Battle Master Fighter, at level 5 to 6 you should be able to get fairly easily get an average of 18 damage every time you spend your 4 Superiority Dice, by picking a maneuver you can decide to use after you have hit the target, and if you are getting a Short/Long Rest every 2 combat encounters that will be 72 damage over 8 encounters, and if you can get a Short/Long Rest after every encounter, and can spend all of your dice in each encounter, you would be getting 144 damage from the subclass. Then when the subclass maxes out at level 18, if you can trigger the 1d8 from relentless every turn, after 8 encounters you should be able to deal an average of 300 damage if you are getting a Short/Long Rest every 2 encounters, or if you can instead get a Short/Long Rest after each of those encounters you would be dealing 456 average damage over those same 8 combat encounters. While there are no direct damage bonuses from the Thief subclass in the 2014 version, and the UA6 version, with just the level 17 feature to take a second turn the first round of every combat Thief Rogues could be getting more damage out of their subclass than Battle Master Fighters gets out of theirs. A level 17 Rogue should be dealing at 39 to 41 per hit with Sneak Attack from just the base class (9d6 Sneak Attack damage + 5 Dex Ability Modifier + (1d4 to 1d8 weapon damage) ), and it should be easy to get Advantage, allowing you to reliably get 280 to 320 damage out of the subclass every 8 combat encounters with close to zero optimization, you just need 7 to 8 of your attacks from that extra turn hit an enemy. If you can set yourself up to reliably get reaction sneak attacks every time you get that second turn in the first round, you could instead be looking at getting 560 to 640 average damage out of that single subclass feature every 8 combat encounters. For the Assassin subclass, it is kind of weird in that I also think the damage seems a little low in tier 1, at level 5 you could be dealing 40 damage to 80 damage from your subclass every 8 encounters based on how many of those encounters you can get a reaction sneak attack that first round, which I think might be about half of what it should be going by the Battle Master subclass. However, at level 17 you could be getting up to 136, or even 272 damage every 8 combat encounters from the level 3 feature, while from the level 17 feature itself you could be looking at 57 damage every time an enemy fails the save throw (Damage calculation: 9d6 +5 +1d6 + 17), even if you are getting no damage outside of the base Rogue class, and Assassin subclass. If enemies will have an average of a 50% of passing the saving throw, after 8 encounters that should be an average of about 205 damage (assuming that thanks to Advantage you have a 90% chance to hit, and trigger the enemy needing to roll a Saving Throw), but if you can also get a reaction sneak attack at the start of every encounter, that could be up to 410 average damage (again assuming a 90% hit chance for the initial hit), for a total of 327 to up 654 damage damage out of the subclass at level 17 for every 8 encounters. This is excluding any potential damage boosts from the level 13 feature Assassin feature.
Fitting to this episode would be "Assassin" from their album Black Holes and Revelations ;D I could recommend every song of them, but if I had to name one: Pressure from Simulation Theory. Or Dead Inside from Drones... They are all amazing ^^
When it says they take 2d6 poison whenever they fail their saving throw, does that mean on subsequent turns as well assuming they fail against the poisoned condition at the end of their turn? If yes and assuming they fail it every time thats 20d6
Love your videos, your analysis of damage is always great. Especially love that you didn’t multi class on this build. Did your damage calculations include the fact that rogues can attack three times per turn because of two weapon fighting with light weapons, one of which has Nick? That is, attack action with scimitar; if hit, Nick attack with scimitar; bonus action attack with short sword. I watched until the end and you’re absolutely right that once you get the assassin out of the lab and into the real fictional world 😂 their utility and ability to open doors that martial classes cannot is where they shine, and are so much fun to play. I mean, could you imagine building your own assassin’s guild bastion? My assassin build used gnome which gives me Advantage on all INT, WIS, and CHA saving throws, which means that they're really just susceptible to martial damage.
Others have said it but I'd also be interested in a series of videos that creates a sort of baseline for a straight-classed build of each class. Doesn't have to be 24 videos in a row, but building a straight-classed sustained damage and burst damage build using only the options in the 2024 PHB would be very interesting I think! Also don't necessarily need to make a video out of every single one - could definitely cover multiple in one video. For example, during the sustained damage Barbarian build you could just say "Also, the Paladin version of this build looks very similar. Just move X stats around, choose Y subclass, and cast Z spells instead of raging. Its on the spreadsheet and the write-up is available to channel members. 😉"
If I remember correctly from the update video, the Assassin Rogue does not suffer the movement penalty from steady aim. In fact, they actually specifically referred to the way they can shot-n-move John Wick style 😎🎯 ~_~
As a paladin main I am sad about the divine smite changes, but from what I have seen so far most changes are pretty good! I would love to see a eldritch knight updated build! I think the EK can benefit a lot from the new weapon masteries and second wind changes.
Disclaimer: just musing and opinion. Not trying to tell anyone they're wrong or have fun badly. I really enjoyed the video and am glad to have a place to talk about it. I've developed into a bit of a pessimist about weapon masteries. They've been virtually unchanged since the playtest, and while they were incredibly exciting at first, because of how they're best used and the choices of options wotc has selected to employ using the system, they essentially become static for each character (Fighter being the real exception). Like, your whole build is centered around two weapon fighting. When are you NOT going to choose a nick weapon? And if you are a rogue, why would you forgo a Vex weapon, which is an incredibly strong option for any class thst wants advantage on an attack (e.g. All of them. But rogues most especially). Very rarely does a Topple or Push weapon make sense for a rogue. Same with Graze. It feels weird to be bored by the new hotness when it's not even out yet. But I honestly think part of it is how samey the list is. With less than 10 weapon Masteries but like 30 weapons in the game, you get a lot of repetition. Like. For my money, they could bring back the Flex Mastery and put it on the Longsword if Flex said "When wielded in one hand, this weapon has the Light or Finesse property for you." Bam, there's a really cool way to get Drizzt builds back. It so makes the longsword unique among other versatile weapons as the *most* well rounded. If you're a master. What about a property for axe based weapons that lets their dice explode (the "Brutal" property maybe?) Or a Rapier property that makes you more accurate once per turn (call it Precision?). There was just so much opportunity in that design space and I'm bummed to see it basically go unchanged after a year of Playtesting it and already having the opportunity to get bored with it. Last, super nit picky and stupid: "Nick" is a terrible name for that weapon Mastery. "Deft." It means agile and quick. Nick, as a word, shares the same conceptual space with Graze.
Dying to see a 2024 EK Fighter, Valor Bard, and, moreso than any other, Bladesinger. I wanna see how you get weapon mastery (or if you do) and how you maximize the new True Strike, other buffed spells, and all the other new stuff!
I would love to see a series of "baseline" straight class builds focused on the subclasses that changed the most for each class. Like say, Champion Fighter, Great Old One Warlock, Devotion Paladin etc etc. Need to have some baselines before we go about seeing what the new sauce is for 2024. Maybe compare those builds to 2014 straight builds or near straight builds you've done before. Should also give you a good spread of Nova, Sustain, Healing and Support that way.
If I’m being honest, I’m not sure I’d disagree with him 😬. It kinda all depends on your definition of strong… I do think that they’ll have more debuff and control options than most martials, but if they do less damage, are they better or worse than those martials?
The updates to rogue are having me reconsider what to do past level 8 for my gloomstalker assassin. The current plan with the 2014 rules is 3 in rogue and the rest in ranger (with possibly a 2 level fighter dip for action surge). The new updates might have me go rogue 15 ranger 5
For Muse recommendations it's too difficult to pick even 2 or 3 tbh. I dont think you will regret spending the time to just listen to every single thing they have to offer and let it consume you. Because they are great! But off hand, the ones I can think of now, are Hysteria, Madness, Supermassive Black Hole... uhh just please listen to everything, they are great! Lol
I think the one thing you could have mentioned is that rogue has no resource expenditures for sneak attack, while paladins and fighters and barbarians all have limited uses of smites, action surges, and rages. Rogues cannot keep up damage-wise if there is only one combat encounter per day, but if the party is in an endurance challenge, fighting half a dozen times between rests, rogues would match up well with the martial classes.
Really not sold on many of these changes, though a bit more front/mid loading of the good features is nice to see as it does mean more Rouge will stay with it beyond level 3 or so. But I really like it when there is some class/subclass that has high risk, or harder to pull off but very high reward type moves - it keeps the game more tactical, rewards proper teamwork and creates those really epic moments when you do manage to pull off that move.
38:35 I might be wrong, but I don't actually think there's a problem with this wording of the alteration to Steady Aim. Unless the new version says you must immediately attack after using it, you should just be able to start your turn, BA Steady Aim, move, then attack. Likely they just didn't feel like being redundant by saying you can use it even if you've moved and also your movement doesn't become zero. All this to say that I'm pretty sure you can charge to your heart's content!
I just realised how well sentinel on the rogue will combo with the updated protection mastery, so the fighter or paladin protects the rogue with his shield, and the rogue backstabs the enemy when they turn away from her Very nice Also barbarians have a kind of soft taunt, giving enemies advantage to hit them, and they do more damage than the sneaky unassuming rogue Yeah I am a big big fan of this, especially with sentinel being a general feat (hello 18 dex) I am a very big fan of the rogue changes
I gotta see your take on the Daolock/Stars Druid combo, I’ve made my own version to level 8 that’s just an even split and it seems pretty powerful despite only a 13 Cha. The universal level 3 subclass change is so impactful on Cleric, Sorcerer, and warlock “dips”
![ละลาย (LALALYE) - DAOU PITTAYA ต้าห์อู๋ พิทยา [OFFICIAL MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/wo6r9TgausI/mqdefault.jpg)
Preorder the new Core Rulebooks here! marketplace.dndbeyond.com/category/core-rulebook-bundle
Idk if I'm just worrying over nothing, but I think Treantmonk's Temple didn't mention to which level "reliable talent" was being moved to, because of the NDA and because JC didn't mention it in their official video. Like I said I don't know if I'm just worrying over nothng, but I just wanted to let you know.
@@SomeRandomDude161 7
@@SadBoi_1066 I know that it's level 7. I just wasn't sure if Colby was allowed to share it. I was probably just worrying uselessly, because neither JC nor Treantmonk'S Temple mentioned it (I thought that Chris didn't say it, because of the embargo/ NDA).
@@SomeRandomDude161 Thanks for your concern :). WotC watched and approved of this vid before I released it, so I should be ok :).
You didn't specify a specific background that you used for Alert and ability mods..assuming this was intentional (not approved) or did you use a custom background?
Just watched the Rogue Update on the official DnD channel and immediately saw your video and came here for your run down. Very responsible of you to hold off until today. Keep up the great work. Love your channel.
"Nor do I have access to Jeremy Crawford if I need to clarify something"
Am I the only one annoyed that Crawford has managed to escape the little cupboard at d4 headquarters that Colby kept him in? We trusted you Colby
A wizard will have to be hired, to cast arcane lock in the future!
Ha ha... I wish! :)
@@shadowcrane2634 So you want Colby to not only kidnap Jeremy Crawford but also Ed Greenwood?
Can you imagine a miniturized Jeremy Crawford jumping out of the cupboard aka toy story style? It would scare the hell out of me...
A series of single class builds exploring a baseline for nova and sustained damage using the 2024 PHB rules would be no bad thing. Possibly interspersed with revisions of your favourite, or most popular, old builds.
Alternatively, if you wanted to make changes to your baseline assumptions for The Almighty Spreadsheet, then the publication of the 2024 PHB would seem an ideal opportunity to do so - your basis of comparison is already being changed, after all.
Oh, and some of us *do* remember your surprise attack during Treantmonk's 20th level one shot. :)
That poor child...
Just found out after watching from the OG bladesinger video that its called D4 because of the 4 D's in DnD Deep Dive
He did a collab with the Dungeon Dudes once. You should see what they did in that video
@@JamCliche do you have any link for what you're talking about? i'd love to see what u mean
@@JamCliche Twice, and a few oneshots.
@@onima1753 the Arcane Hand Monk video
Not sure if you caught this, but wanted to mention that Envenom Weapons is a damage over time (DOT) ability. They take damage every time they fail the save so that's pretty cool.
That's actually amazing!
Right - I forgot that the poison option from cunning strike lasts for a minute.
Colby: Welcome to d4: D&D Deep Dive!
Also Colby: 15:20
lmao
I'm getting very excited for the new handbook. I especially love the weapon mastery features.
I do think the idea to have the D&D content creators review certain parts of the new PHB is a pretty great marketing strategy tbh. It allows the content of the new book to get out to more people and makes it feel like a big event.
Agreed! I do hope though that they listen to the reviews/reactions of the community and adjust things accordingly.
Don't even get me started on the Ranger and Hunter's Mark...
Having just gotten into DnD a few years ago. I really appreciate what you do. I have spent more time with character creation than actual game play, and the truth about DnD that I have come to realize is, you don’t know what your character is truly capable of, until it is put into action. Traditional roles like tank, damage dealer, controller…. They are all ideal situations, and the fact that you focus your builds on those roles, makes me think about the game from ideal situations. This has helped me create some amazing characters and backstories, and helps me think of new ways to redefine those traditional roles. My favorite character so far is a Goliath abjuration wizard named Roran. He has proven to be the hardest character in any game that I have played in to go down. He is currently a level 14 and has only had his hp drop below half once since level 12. When I made him, I had no idea what he was actually capable of, even after watching your video on Abjuration wizard. Thank you for your spreadsheets, your restraint in sticking with them, and your knowledge.
It's so awesome to hear that WotC reached out to you directly to do a build!! I love that you're getting the recognition you deserve ❤️
With the addition of the nick propery. Magic items like a scimitar of speed are a much more attractive magic item. Get your nick attack intergraded into your attack action and you still get the bonus action attack it provides.
Re: Infiltration Expertise and Steady Aim
You can take the bonus action before your action, then move and then attack. It really doesn't limit you at all, Colby.
I’d LOVE to see a 2024 updated version of the Four Elements Monk
Well they’ve already announced each of the subclasses being released, and it’s one of the 4 monk ones they’re doing, so, good news…
In my next high level campaign i'm planning on making a 11th lvl 4 elements monk/6th level storm cleric. Push on electric damage + flight means an insane electric shoryuken as i launch enemies into the sky for some crazy damage.
Dungeon Dudes made a “Way of the Arcane Hand” Monk that is what the FEM should’ve been
The word you say in the end of your videos aways touch me, specialy in hard days, thanks for that, you are a great man!
Glad to have confirmation that youll be spliting the spreadsheets for the 2024 rules. Some build ideas for 2024 release
- The baseline: I think every class should get the same treatment rogue just got. A straight class build to serve as a baseline
- Skill monkey: Rogue getting Reliable Talent at 7th level is just begging to be combined with some bard and maybe ranger or fighter levels to see just how high and how many skills you can have
- Padlock: Warlock and Paladin, a classic, but with lots of new options if pacts are still invocations
- The Bladesinger 5.24: Time to test out how legacy subclasses feel in a new system
- The feat master - Just a build focused on taking as many feats and feat-like abilities as possible
Baseline is so interesting to DMs IMO. Let's us know what we can boost and what should be left alone. One for each subclass would be amazing but even just one per class (always going for the most optimal option) would be enough to set a baseline for DPR per class.
I'm an avid weapons and armor nerd, and your pronunciation of scimitar barely registered a blip in my brain. As you said, both are perfectly fine and common.
Better than the SKIMitar I've occasionally heard from other creators.
@@Reepicheep-1 Yikes. That's humorous and mildly disappointing.
I'll say SKEE-mitar from now on just to annoy lol
Just finished the premiere and found this. Tis a glorious Monday.
One interest bit of synergy between reliable talent and the new alert feat is that since initiative rolls count as dexterity ability checks, if they were to gain a boost equal to your proficiency modifier, that would mean reliable talent would work with initiative rolls as well. Which would be a huge buff to Rogues
Getting to roll initiative with both advantage and reliable talent would be amazing! 😁
I don't think that works. Pretty sure reliable talent requires you to be making an ability check with a *skill* you are proficient in. Initiative is not a skill
@@unholyxeras8182 "By 11th level, you have refined your chosen skills until they approach perfection. Whenever you make an ability check that lets you add your proficiency bonus, you can treat a d20 roll of 9 or lower as a 10."
No mention of it only working on skill checks
@@bigsmoke8816 that's the 2014 version. In the play test it had updated language to clarify that it worked when "making an ability check that uses one of your skill or tool proficiencies". As that was always the intended interaction, and making things more clear has been a design goal for the 2024 PHB, I think they'll be sticking with that language
@@unholyxeras8182 alright thanks for that
Haven’t finished the video yet, but I was starting to rest my eyes a bit and got hit with the impeccably timed “hey you! wake up!” And holy crap that perfectly timed fourth wall break was like an intravenous espresso shot.
This was super cool! I'm glad WotC let you go this in depth. Also, weird and sad not to have the artwork as usual, though I get that is because you had the PHB art for assassin to show off! Thank you for being such a great voice and positive voice in the community!
My wife is a huge Muse fan, she swears by Knights of Cydonia.
Love how you added Sentinel to the rouge, and awesome it is now a half feat.
Red sentinel 😂
Todd Kenreck gave you a direct shout out at the end of the premier video on the rogue!
JC said the intent of the level 9 steady aim, speed not =0, was to turn your character into John Wick. So the intent is to allow character to move before before and after attacking and still have steady aim.
Indeed! I was happy to see that - mentioned it in the pinned comment 😉
Even if you couldn’t move before Steady Aim, using Steady Aim doesn’t mean you attack immediately; it would only force you to decide how to spend your bonus action before using your movement.
That said, the difference is so minimal that while it may be rare for a DM to enforce, it shouldn’t even be much of an inconvenience as a player anyway.
Just saw your message in the Rogue reveal chat, and I thought i would have to wait until tomorrow, but i guess i was wrong.
Been listening to a lot of the older builds recently and Colby talks SO much faster now! I had to check the playback speed to see if I accidentally had it at 1.5. Makes it harder to fall asleep to the episodes, but so much more info packed in that hour!
I think you might need to consider adding a lvl 19 check onto your builds due to the uber feats added in 2024 book
So glad to see you get invited to do this. Sounds like one of the things your spreadsheet can’t track - a fun score - is getting a nice boost with the new rules.
Thanks for the shade thrown at imperial measurement system, metric gang for great justice
10/10 agreed with the mentality of cunning strikes and voiced my concerns with the loss of damage in the playtests.
Okay, so, looking over this build, it occurred to me that I don't think the Assassin is getting a ton as a burst damage build, so I decided to crunch the numbers and see how it performs as a sustained damage dealer. I've listed the AC in between --these-- and listed the level to the left. Some caveats: I included the same assumptions you did (Sentinel is triggered 25% of the time and enemies always fail saves against poison). I also assumed that the rogue has advantage on all of the attacks on its turn between Vex and Steady Aim, which isn't exactly accurate, but is relatively close and saved me a lot of math. I also wasn't able to find a satisfactory way to account for damage die rerolls from Piercer, so I left them out of the build as penance for my always-advantage crimes.
In conclusion: this build is still hovering around Tier 4 as a sustained damage dealer. That being said, you built for burst damage, so an assassin built for sustained damage could very well do better. Additionally, like the Baseline, this requires no resources or setup and in fact will hit the ground running with its burst turn. I would love to see how well a rogue could keep up with sustained damage dealers in the future.
Behold, the numbers:
-14-
3- 16.695
-15-
4- 19.84
-16-
5- 24.215
6- 24.215
7- 28.59
-17-
8- 31.725
-18-
9- 36.017
10- 38.56
11- 42.935
12- 42.935
-19-
13- 51.684
14- 51.684
15- 56.06
16- 56.06
-20-
17- 60.435
47:32 Your friendly banter with @TreantmonksTemple gets me every time 😂
Taking Resilient Con at level 12, Skilled wouldn't be a bad feat at level 16 to raise Con to 18 and get another Expertise and Skill Proficiency for Reliable Talent.
18:20 it'd be cool if there was a feat that could add more dice to sneak attack? Call it "Dirty Fighting" or something?
Theres a 3rd party feat i really like called backstab. Essentially it gives you a critical hit range of 19-20 and allows you to add your sneak attack damage to any critical hit.
Wait, build video on monday? What a treat!
BTW, the commercial you refer to at the end with the "shake it shake it shake it" was for Fruity Pebbles. I have no idea why that bit of trivia is stuck in my brain, but there you go.
Just wanted to share some insight on the comparison of this to Colby’s other builds because I know someone is going to hear “Tier 4” and immediately think “weak”.
This was a straight build and Colby (he even admits this) is a notorious multiclasser. Those other builds utilized things like pally smites on crits while also using abilities from other classes as well.
So him comparing it to the old builds should definitely taken with a grain of salt. I suspect he could have jacked those numbers way higher if he had free rein to go class hopping.
And speaking directly to Colby here: Keep up the great work and enjoy the family vacation. You’ve more than earned it. Be seeing you in the next video you share. Much love brother.
Yeah, if Legendary Resistance still ends up a thing, some encounters will drop your damage a decent amount during your nova round.
Ooh, since you asked, I would be most excited to see you do updates to your series on underused weapons (Whippoorwill, Needler, whatever that slingshot/Crusher build was called, &c) as well as maybe a seperate video speaking on your opinions on which weapons got the biggest buffs and nerfs given Weapon Mastery, GWM being nerfed, how cool it is to have a 15 ft+ reach under easily achievable conditions &c &c. Have a really wonderful day, and thanks for making the world a little bit kinder by being in it! 💖
To DMs, give your rogues magic items that are tailored to sneak attack: 3 ideas
1) When you perform a sneak attack with this weapon, roll an additional 2d6, then drop the lowest 2d6 rolls. (Uncommon)
2) when a cunning strike is successful, the damage dice lost to use the cunning strike are turned into a flat +2 per die spent. (Rare)
3) when a sneak attack is performed with this weapon, you can have a blast of air target another creature with 15ft of the target, and if you hit, you deal slashing damage to that target using your sneak attack damage dice. (Rare)
A friend and I have been playing the Mount & Blade in our Curse of Strahd game and we LOVE it! I'd love to see an updates version of that.
As someone who has been listening to a lot of MUSE lately, I appreciated that outro. Knights of Cydonia is the best song.
Thanks Colby! ❤
First 2024 build! Love it. Also, haircut! 🎉
Muse is amazing. Favourite song is *Uprising* but there are so many good ones.
regarding steady aim: the way i see it you can move before OR after you attack, you just have to use your bonus action to steady aim before you move. so you just gotta commit to do it.
Of course they chose you to do the build. Your builds are the best on the web.
Always love the videos. I can't wait to see what crazy fun combinations you come up with as more classes are released and the PHB officially releases later this year.
I just realized… Colby is like the D&D Mr Rodgers!!!
With these sign-offs and then singing to us 😂
Anyone else seeing it?!?
Gotta start wearing sweaters!
Colby supports the metric system! I knew I loved you before but you always surprise me!
Oh my gosh! So awesome...so funny...only 18 minutes in and this is my favorite video so far!
Drat, I've been so busy I keep forgetting to comment after watching the whole video! I'm just going to assume you did an incredible job as always and say "Wow, what a great build! That sounds super fun! So glad your hair is free from the shackles of the preceding videos!" 🤣
I would love to see an updated assassin/gloomstalker build. I know that is a super popular subclass and definitely want to see if it still holds up
I might get to play in Dark Sun when the new PHB releases. I most often play mages, but this might be a great chance to play a martial. The Assassin (an Athasian Bard) and the Soulknife are two that are intriguing departures from everything I've played in the last decade.
It's great that martials finally look interesting. It's been a long time since I've considered playing a character without spellcasting.
2003's Absolution blew me away as a teenager and remains my favorite Muse album
I get the reliable damage thing, but personally, I don't like the elimination of autocrit on a surprised opponent, since an assassin who successfully surprises their target SHOULD do massive damage. One way to partially mitigate that would be to use improved crit range during the first round against an opponent who hasn't taken a turn yet. I would go 18+ at Assassin-3 (because why wouldn't an assassin be as deadly as a 15th level Champion fighter), which would improve thereafter, capping at 11+ at Assassin-17. Now THAT would be a reason to stick with Rogue levels, and it's both more reliable and more realistic in terms of what a skilled Assassin SHOULD be able to do.
What do you think?
10:30 You made my day with this comment, I burst into laughter in my car alone, and I had to stop and thank you. For everything, of course!
Haha, as a European, understanding inches, feet, miles, ounces, and gallons has been the most challenging part of learning D&D 😅 I expected a Bugbear, but Goliath pays off at later levels.
Great video Colby!
The biggest thing I want to point out is that I the new rogue seems to have good sustained damage potential. Especially with the consistent ways to get advantage. Along with all the other improvements it looks like they might be in a pretty good spot for overall experience at the table. I think a dip into another martial class to pick up some other damage buffs and extra attack would really help. I think with these improvements we will be able to see some very viable builds forming around something like 5 levels in a martial class with DEX along with more rogue levels.
I for one love the idea of a rogue/ranger multiclass that actually seems like it would be quite potent. In general I think its just really opens up the possibilities for rogue and we will see some awesome builds coming out of it.
One thing that my group have been doing is for melee sneak attacks, we increase the damage die size by one and we're likely going to continue doing so after hearing how rogue is still.
I'm working on an Assassin rogue idea now trying to make use of Nick with Crossbow Expert and range, largely using Hand Crossbow and Daggers to throw. Needs level 4 to be even potentially reliable, and its not that long of a wait to get there, but struck me that shooting first with the hand Crossbow and hitting triggers Vex at range, which makes the dagger from 20 ft easier to hit and satisfies the qualifiers sneak damage. It's probably suboptimal, but liking the concept a lot, a Rogue who doesn't get too up close and personal but still applies all of the cool stunning strike conditions, or does the rogue damage with a little extra d6 from the Crossbow. Probably a build I'll be selfish with my Alert initiative with, but if my party controller also rolls high, all the better. I really hope that initiative swap from the playtests doesn't change, I really like it.
I love that you already emphasize how much better the game will be if the call of "should I multiclass or not" is a little harder. In 5e, many classes have early power spike levels that can just be chained onto each other with little opportunity cost. In other words: Improved stand-alone classes as well as less front loading of classes are good things for the balance of the game.
It would be awesome to see a bunch of 2024 single class builds to see what they're capable of. Its also nice to see that they are trying to make monoclassing more appealing with better scaling/higher level features.
They need to hire you TreantMonk and the dungeon dudes as consultants
Dont know if you picked up on it, but with the Envenom Weapons feature, its says they take the damage *whenever* they fail the saving throw. This means that when the enemy rolls to end the condition on *their* turn, if they fail they will take *another* 2d6 poison damage, and will keep doing so every turn until they succeed
Indeed - it potentially lasts for one minute :)
@@DnDDeepDive did you add any additional damage from failing the saving throws on their turns in your sustained damage calculations? Because if they fail both your not getting 2d6 poison damage per round for sacrificing 1d6 sneak attack damage, your getting 4d6. Imagine if you could get a GOOlock to give them disadvantage on con saves with Hex for you. Don't think it's possible to multi-class and get both features yourself, I'm sure they come at too high of a level to combine, but it could make for a fun combo if they could. Maybe get someone else to hit them with bane as well. Shame you'd have a hard time getting those things on the enemy early enough to effect Death Strike as well, cos that would be nice
Going to look in your catalogue for the ‘gun-fu’ style character that I’ve always liked to bring to the table. Would love to see how these new features could synergize with the monk or other multiclass to fit that theme.
" I love multiclassing." That is the understatement of the century.😅😅
Thanks for the build! Looking forward to seeing you build around some of the other 2024 classes when you can. I'm really curious to see you re-do an older rogue build and how they compare to a single class rogue. very curious to see the Assassin's Creed vs this build!
So cool!
I like the rpg elements of these new skills!
i can't wait to see what the new go to species for your builds is gonna be with the 2024 rules
My main issue with the new Assassinate skill is: i think youre NOT supposed to endure or be good on long encounters. An Assassin tries to kill his victim in the shortest time possible, and the auto crit is just for that. You cant killed it with that? Now youre fucked.
The problem is not change autocrit for flat damage, and yes for a very tiny flat damage. We gain 1d6 every two levels on sneak attack. In the autocrit, transforms to 1d6 per level, which gives us 7 plus dmg on average, or 3.5 dmg by rogue lvl.
I'm up to 2*level all day, since we can now dip 2 fighter levels and just action surge. But for me, assassin rogue is maybe one of the worst subclasses by now.
"Look What They Need to Mimic a Fraction of Our Power" - 5e Assassin
Glad that you were one of the people who were allowed to do a sponsored video from WotC.
Completely agree that sacrificing your sneak attack dice really bites. I'd rather we got a pool similar to the battlemaster, or as you levelled up you no longer sacrificed sneak attack on certain choices and less d6's on other choices. It should be a scaling thing.
I do wish we got another ribbon feature at level 6. Expertise is nice, but we need more at that level.
Agreed that the assassin's weird sentence structure regarding Steady Aim and how to get around the movement limitation should have just been removed altogether. It's unnecessary to hamstring the PC like that.
A weird thing I noticed about the Rogue Assassin, and Thief subclasses is that they seem oddly backloaded in terms of damage.
For comparison, with the UA Battle Master Fighter, at level 5 to 6 you should be able to get fairly easily get an average of 18 damage every time you spend your 4 Superiority Dice, by picking a maneuver you can decide to use after you have hit the target, and if you are getting a Short/Long Rest every 2 combat encounters that will be 72 damage over 8 encounters, and if you can get a Short/Long Rest after every encounter, and can spend all of your dice in each encounter, you would be getting 144 damage from the subclass. Then when the subclass maxes out at level 18, if you can trigger the 1d8 from relentless every turn, after 8 encounters you should be able to deal an average of 300 damage if you are getting a Short/Long Rest every 2 encounters, or if you can instead get a Short/Long Rest after each of those encounters you would be dealing 456 average damage over those same 8 combat encounters.
While there are no direct damage bonuses from the Thief subclass in the 2014 version, and the UA6 version, with just the level 17 feature to take a second turn the first round of every combat Thief Rogues could be getting more damage out of their subclass than Battle Master Fighters gets out of theirs. A level 17 Rogue should be dealing at 39 to 41 per hit with Sneak Attack from just the base class (9d6 Sneak Attack damage + 5 Dex Ability Modifier + (1d4 to 1d8 weapon damage) ), and it should be easy to get Advantage, allowing you to reliably get 280 to 320 damage out of the subclass every 8 combat encounters with close to zero optimization, you just need 7 to 8 of your attacks from that extra turn hit an enemy. If you can set yourself up to reliably get reaction sneak attacks every time you get that second turn in the first round, you could instead be looking at getting 560 to 640 average damage out of that single subclass feature every 8 combat encounters.
For the Assassin subclass, it is kind of weird in that I also think the damage seems a little low in tier 1, at level 5 you could be dealing 40 damage to 80 damage from your subclass every 8 encounters based on how many of those encounters you can get a reaction sneak attack that first round, which I think might be about half of what it should be going by the Battle Master subclass. However, at level 17 you could be getting up to 136, or even 272 damage every 8 combat encounters from the level 3 feature, while from the level 17 feature itself you could be looking at 57 damage every time an enemy fails the save throw (Damage calculation: 9d6 +5 +1d6 + 17), even if you are getting no damage outside of the base Rogue class, and Assassin subclass. If enemies will have an average of a 50% of passing the saving throw, after 8 encounters that should be an average of about 205 damage (assuming that thanks to Advantage you have a 90% chance to hit, and trigger the enemy needing to roll a Saving Throw), but if you can also get a reaction sneak attack at the start of every encounter, that could be up to 410 average damage (again assuming a 90% hit chance for the initial hit), for a total of 327 to up 654 damage damage out of the subclass at level 17 for every 8 encounters. This is excluding any potential damage boosts from the level 13 feature Assassin feature.
Colby!!! If you haven’t you gotta listen to Plug in Baby!!! My favorite Muse song for sure!
Boy oh boy I can’t wait for this book 🤩🤩🤩
Fitting to this episode would be "Assassin" from their album Black Holes and Revelations ;D
I could recommend every song of them, but if I had to name one: Pressure from Simulation Theory. Or Dead Inside from Drones... They are all amazing ^^
The baseline in Hysteria 🔥🔥🔥🔥
When it says they take 2d6 poison whenever they fail their saving throw, does that mean on subsequent turns as well assuming they fail against the poisoned condition at the end of their turn?
If yes and assuming they fail it every time thats 20d6
Been wandering this too
They only just finished the rogue video! The speed of this! :p xx
Love your videos, your analysis of damage is always great. Especially love that you didn’t multi class on this build. Did your damage calculations include the fact that rogues can attack three times per turn because of two weapon fighting with light weapons, one of which has Nick? That is, attack action with scimitar; if hit, Nick attack with scimitar; bonus action attack with short sword. I watched until the end and you’re absolutely right that once you get the assassin out of the lab and into the real fictional world 😂 their utility and ability to open doors that martial classes cannot is where they shine, and are so much fun to play. I mean, could you imagine building your own assassin’s guild bastion? My assassin build used gnome which gives me Advantage on all INT, WIS, and CHA saving throws, which means that they're really just susceptible to martial damage.
Love rogues, love assassins, so this was a must watch video… although i still wait for the promised sepent monk build…lol
Ooooo, treat on a Monday! Love it! 👍
Others have said it but I'd also be interested in a series of videos that creates a sort of baseline for a straight-classed build of each class. Doesn't have to be 24 videos in a row, but building a straight-classed sustained damage and burst damage build using only the options in the 2024 PHB would be very interesting I think! Also don't necessarily need to make a video out of every single one - could definitely cover multiple in one video. For example, during the sustained damage Barbarian build you could just say "Also, the Paladin version of this build looks very similar. Just move X stats around, choose Y subclass, and cast Z spells instead of raging. Its on the spreadsheet and the write-up is available to channel members. 😉"
I would have thought you would get the Warlock. But I am happy for this as well.
If I remember correctly from the update video, the Assassin Rogue does not suffer the movement penalty from steady aim.
In fact, they actually specifically referred to the way they can shot-n-move John Wick style 😎🎯
~_~
As a paladin main I am sad about the divine smite changes, but from what I have seen so far most changes are pretty good!
I would love to see a eldritch knight updated build! I think the EK can benefit a lot from the new weapon masteries and second wind changes.
Disclaimer: just musing and opinion. Not trying to tell anyone they're wrong or have fun badly. I really enjoyed the video and am glad to have a place to talk about it.
I've developed into a bit of a pessimist about weapon masteries. They've been virtually unchanged since the playtest, and while they were incredibly exciting at first, because of how they're best used and the choices of options wotc has selected to employ using the system, they essentially become static for each character (Fighter being the real exception).
Like, your whole build is centered around two weapon fighting. When are you NOT going to choose a nick weapon? And if you are a rogue, why would you forgo a Vex weapon, which is an incredibly strong option for any class thst wants advantage on an attack (e.g. All of them. But rogues most especially). Very rarely does a Topple or Push weapon make sense for a rogue. Same with Graze.
It feels weird to be bored by the new hotness when it's not even out yet. But I honestly think part of it is how samey the list is. With less than 10 weapon Masteries but like 30 weapons in the game, you get a lot of repetition.
Like. For my money, they could bring back the Flex Mastery and put it on the Longsword if Flex said "When wielded in one hand, this weapon has the Light or Finesse property for you."
Bam, there's a really cool way to get Drizzt builds back. It so makes the longsword unique among other versatile weapons as the *most* well rounded. If you're a master.
What about a property for axe based weapons that lets their dice explode (the "Brutal" property maybe?) Or a Rapier property that makes you more accurate once per turn (call it Precision?). There was just so much opportunity in that design space and I'm bummed to see it basically go unchanged after a year of Playtesting it and already having the opportunity to get bored with it.
Last, super nit picky and stupid: "Nick" is a terrible name for that weapon Mastery. "Deft." It means agile and quick.
Nick, as a word, shares the same conceptual space with Graze.
Dying to see a 2024 EK Fighter, Valor Bard, and, moreso than any other, Bladesinger. I wanna see how you get weapon mastery (or if you do) and how you maximize the new True Strike, other buffed spells, and all the other new stuff!
The flex with the Sanderson leatherbounds in the background tho
I would love to see a series of "baseline" straight class builds focused on the subclasses that changed the most for each class. Like say, Champion Fighter, Great Old One Warlock, Devotion Paladin etc etc. Need to have some baselines before we go about seeing what the new sauce is for 2024. Maybe compare those builds to 2014 straight builds or near straight builds you've done before. Should also give you a good spread of Nova, Sustain, Healing and Support that way.
Awesome video! I’m glad to hear you see rogue as strong, treantmonk said they might be the new weakest class
If I’m being honest, I’m not sure I’d disagree with him 😬. It kinda all depends on your definition of strong… I do think that they’ll have more debuff and control options than most martials, but if they do less damage, are they better or worse than those martials?
The updates to rogue are having me reconsider what to do past level 8 for my gloomstalker assassin. The current plan with the 2014 rules is 3 in rogue and the rest in ranger (with possibly a 2 level fighter dip for action surge). The new updates might have me go rogue 15 ranger 5
For Muse recommendations it's too difficult to pick even 2 or 3 tbh.
I dont think you will regret spending the time to just listen to every single thing they have to offer and let it consume you. Because they are great!
But off hand, the ones I can think of now, are Hysteria, Madness, Supermassive Black Hole... uhh just please listen to everything, they are great! Lol
I think the one thing you could have mentioned is that rogue has no resource expenditures for sneak attack, while paladins and fighters and barbarians all have limited uses of smites, action surges, and rages. Rogues cannot keep up damage-wise if there is only one combat encounter per day, but if the party is in an endurance challenge, fighting half a dozen times between rests, rogues would match up well with the martial classes.
Do a Thief utilize action build! 🎬
Really not sold on many of these changes, though a bit more front/mid loading of the good features is nice to see as it does mean more Rouge will stay with it beyond level 3 or so. But I really like it when there is some class/subclass that has high risk, or harder to pull off but very high reward type moves - it keeps the game more tactical, rewards proper teamwork and creates those really epic moments when you do manage to pull off that move.
I would've liked better options for cunning strike to set up traps, aoe effects, etc. But we can already poison enemies with poison dipped weapons
38:35 I might be wrong, but I don't actually think there's a problem with this wording of the alteration to Steady Aim.
Unless the new version says you must immediately attack after using it, you should just be able to start your turn, BA Steady Aim, move, then attack. Likely they just didn't feel like being redundant by saying you can use it even if you've moved and also your movement doesn't become zero.
All this to say that I'm pretty sure you can charge to your heart's content!
I just realised how well sentinel on the rogue will combo with the updated protection mastery, so the fighter or paladin protects the rogue with his shield, and the rogue backstabs the enemy when they turn away from her
Very nice
Also barbarians have a kind of soft taunt, giving enemies advantage to hit them, and they do more damage than the sneaky unassuming rogue
Yeah I am a big big fan of this, especially with sentinel being a general feat (hello 18 dex)
I am a very big fan of the rogue changes
Crusher, Piercer & Slasher being in the PHB is a big deal! That will really help to cement & differentiate the weapons & the weapon damage types.
I gotta see your take on the Daolock/Stars Druid combo, I’ve made my own version to level 8 that’s just an even split and it seems pretty powerful despite only a 13 Cha. The universal level 3 subclass change is so impactful on Cleric, Sorcerer, and warlock “dips”
The obscure I will always roleplay “POCKET SAND!! Shi Shia!!”