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 Post subject: Power in Assisting Others
PostPosted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 8:04 pm 

Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 6:45 pm
Posts: 639
So I've come to discover that Distract Opponnet and Assist Ally is quite powerful. Has anybody else noticed this as well? Both actions seam to be under utilized by players and I am curious as to why. Perhaps it is the fact that you don't roll your own dice when performing these actions?

So here are some thoughts. First, Distract Opponnet and Assist Ally breaks the "Golden Rule of PC buildings". In neither case do you need to attack the MOB's defenses. You can even be non-proficent with the weapon you are using and get the full benefit of the action. Since it is the speed of the weapon you are using for the assist that determains the speed of assist ally, a lot of folks with big slow weapons shy away from this tactic. But they shouldn't. Just use an unarmed assist ally. Since it is not an attack, it will not provoke and you can always threaten with a boot to the shin if your hands are full.

The plain old Bull Whip is a great weapon to use for this role. It is a one handed REACH weapon, speed three. Since you are not going to do your own damage with this tactic anyhow, the mear +! damage is not a negative. This makes the bull whip a great weapon for casters to use while bleeding strain. IF you are profient witht the bullwhip, then you just have more options.

Tnoughts?

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 Post subject: Re: Power in Assisting Others
PostPosted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 11:37 pm 
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Joined: Fri Sep 27, 2013 3:59 am
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Location: Ontario, Canada
You are correct, they are very useful. My priest is built largely as a support character, and I've given serious consideration to Distract Opponent. We play periodically with another character who uses it as well, comes in very handy.

Ultimately, I think it would be less optimal for too many people at a table to be doing this. The best use is when you are fighting a really tough enemy with high avoidance, and you are able to give your heavy hitter a bit of a boost.

At the end of the day it breaks down to a +1 attack and damage per tick. This means that in 6 ticks (standard attack speed for a heavy weapon) you can effectively do 6 damage, compared to an easy 15-20 damage for a heavy melee character. For regular threats, it is sub optimal. As I said above though, if you are having a hard time hitting an enemy, or if you are trying to burn off a little bit of recovery/strain, it can be a great ability to have.

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aka Raseri 'Crash' val'Emman - Master of the Incandescent Flame (Martial 3.7)
aka Leif - Skohir Warped One (Martial 2.6)
aka Rurik - Nol Dappan War Priest (Divine 2.3)
aka Karthik - Tultipetan Stonemason (Expert 1.4)


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 Post subject: Re: Power in Assisting Others
PostPosted: Mon Feb 23, 2015 3:55 pm 

Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 6:45 pm
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Certainly if everybody is Assisting then nothing happens. So somebody has to do the heavy lifting.

But it is more than just a 1 damage per tick benefit. Distract Opponent gives you 2/3 of a tier in skill for just a speed 2. Assist other does grants a full Tier for a speed three if you have a passive PR of 3. More than a Tier if your passive PR is 4. With tactical edge, and an assist from a PR-8(4) pc, it is like bumping that heavy hitter up two Tiers. If the attacker adds a fate score of at least 3, then a Tier 5 mob is even on with a Tier 2.5 PC. Fate+Coopperation has advantages in this system that was not there in 3.5.

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Eric Hughes

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But rather than wed,
She drowned him instead,
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 Post subject: Re: Power in Assisting Others
PostPosted: Wed Feb 25, 2015 8:30 pm 
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Location: Southwestern Ohio
My fighter Ursula val'Holryn is more than happy to do the heavy lifting. Given she uses a Tralian Hammer which is slow in the best of times she would welcome anything that increases the odds of her hitting when her turn comes up.

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Haakon val'Ishi, Beltinian Exorcist 2.7 [Divine]
Ursula val'Holryn, Grand Master of the Tralian Hammer 2.2 [Martial]
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 Post subject: Re: Power in Assisting Others
PostPosted: Thu Feb 26, 2015 8:14 am 
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Location: Portland OR
I assume it's unpopular as a tactic for the same reason "clerics" are supposedly unpopular in D&D...people generally want to be in the "spotlight" and not in a supporting role. Certainly mileage varies a lot from player to player & character to character. I use Assist Other sometimes, but only against foes our table is having a hard time hitting. Last time I used it was against some crazy/scary undead assassins...thanks Henry. :P But usually my main PC casts a buff spell first thing and then futzes bad guys or "wades in."

Given that PCs in Arcanis are a lot less pigeonholed into a single "role" in combat I also tend to find that there is less emphasis on elaborate group tactics beyond focusing fire. It's not "this one thing" is what i do super well, and if my thing doesn't work against these creatures then all I can really do is help a team mate "whose one thing" is like Kryptonite to them.

Finally I'd note that they aren't really obvious options that are prominently displayed. I love A:RPG but there are all sorts of small fiddley rules half buried in different sections. A lot of players may never read on a first or second pass through the rules.

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