Smite vs. Whirlwind: Weapons Master Cleanup.
Posted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 6:01 pm
The problem with Weapon Master is both simultaneously it's the greatest strength and greatest weakness. I didn't put this in the Arelith bug forum because ... it's just been an "accepted" part of Arelith for so long.
Default NWN's Whirlwind is a full-round action that would make it effectively useless given that most enemies in Arelith are effectively hitpoint sponges ... Arelith 'solves' this by making it a 'Free Action'. But it still acquires a 'random target' afterward (rather than the one you are already targeting), and it screws up initiative order...
Example:
Sometimes a weapons master gains what is essentially a 3 attack flurry doing 150 damage every hit. Sometimes a weapons master does a WW, and gets hit 6 times in a row without being able to attack back and has to move or jiggle before they can re-enter initiative. Any experienced weapons master player has seen this, and it's ... not exactly straightforward mechanical gameplay for new players who don't know Arelith or NWN's quirks.
Essentially the main use of Whirlwind is ... what I call: "Neutral Stick Whirlwind" ... drive-mode in like a guided missile with your keyboard to drop your target, stop touching drive-mode... and then Whirlwind.
You auto-acquire the nearest target, and I feel like it breaks your initiative order, as sometimes, you get "Whirlwind, Attack, Attack, attack, attack" (which can be 100+ damage PER attack) and sometimes you get "Whirlwind--" Get Attacked, Get Attacked, Get Attacked, Get Attacked.
The explanation for this may be: "Whirlwind is instant", "I get surprise round", "I got initiative afterward" ... but the effect is kind of devastating and anyone who's played Weapons Master long enough knows what this is and (ST)Ranger double-sword Weapon Master is effectively built to abuse this, moving it from 5 attack ambush from a crit-heavy class, to 6 attacks by effectively dual-wielding scimitars. (Double swords.)
And THIS issue.. is why I feel Weapons Master has just been mechanically the same since I came to Arelith. "Mastery" of abusing this against targets already swinging in Initiative Order is pretty much key to successful "weapons master" play, and I've had this discussion with a lot of weapons masters, (particularly half-orc meta-enthusiasts). And Arelith has grown comfortable with this because it's been in place so long... but I'd like to shake it up.
This isn't engaging game design and while it may be an interesting mechanic? The feedback on what is happening is anti-intuitive. At the same time? Smite is a lot of code, Whirlwind has a 10-second cooldown, and unlimited uses per day, and affects a lot of targets and not all people who have Whirlwind are weapons masters.
If Whirlwind cannot be fixed.. I propose the following, fully aware the Whirlwind code is ... 'simplistic' and hardcoded: DoWhirlwindAttack(TRUE, bImproved);
Linking the cooldown of "Ki-Strike" and "Whirlwind" (and potentially smites?)... and making Ki-Strike function in the same 'instant attack' method as Smite.
This way Weapons Masters don't get ADDITIONAL burst to use in tandem with Whirlwind, but there is also a cleaner single-target method. And potentially? Linking the cleaner, 'Instant Attacks' together in the future to prevent some weird build from utilizing them all at once.
As I said above; I am aware the Whirlwind code is ... 'simplistic': DoWhirlwindAttack(TRUE, bImproved);
Is there a way it could detect if you have a current combat target, and re-acquire your target after doing the whirlwind attack? Even if this basically, automatically created the initiative order bug that hurt a weapons master's functionality ... it could create good justification for Weapons Masters to use the above Ki-Critical in single target situations...
"Do I have a combat target? Record it in the variable. Do Whirlwind Attack. Is my target alive? Re-acquire saved target."
Doing this would INTENTIONALLY break Whirlwind's "Whirlwind/Surprise/Won Initiative" so that you basically automatically lose a flurry, which makes the above change to the 'Smite' system for Ki Strike ... basically mandatory for the normal functionality of the class.
And even if this combination of changes "hurt" weapons master's power by breaking their initiative so they ALWAYS lose a flurry It could still functionally work as a grounding axis on which to alter the class in the future for balance changes and at least forces them to utilize the Ki Strike that almost all weapons masters I've met ignore entirely.
Something I tell people regularly: Saslae wins and loses fights either looking like a god, or looking like a moron. There's no middle-ground because of the wide range of non-dice-rolled results when you tap that Whirlwind button.
Having some mechanical control, and a resource (it's usable a limited number of times per day like smite, and could have a 10-second cooldown - or 6 seconds if WW successfully causes flurry loss, making it a guarenteed single target damage loss) to avoid this 'bug' would be great: Hense Ki-Strike rescripted as Smite
+ Reduce WM maximum top-end damage. ("I just got deleted by a weapon master while typing" - The WM "Big Win".)
+ Remove 'bugged' WM bottom-end damage. ("I am bugged, and got no attacks for a full round after using Whirlwind, what the hell?" - The WM "Big Lose" brought about by using Whirlwind against characters who have already rolled initiative.)
+ Damage the effectiveness of Whirlwind, preventing "Neutral-Stick Whirlwind" Initiative-Bugging (ab)used by weapons masters everywhere. ("So a STRanger/WM can't get 6 attacks on you before you get a single one." - The STRanger/WM "Bigger Win")
+ Make Ki-Strike a cleaner and more effective alternative to WW for single target damage. (Ki-Strike has limited uses per day and is currently ignored by Weapon masters to save hotbar space, creating consistent 3 attack flurries for an opener, but NOT allowing it to alter initiative order for the above "big win" or "big lose" in the initiative and forcing them to choose between multiple buttons.)
+ Link the two together so they can't be used together in the same 10-second window. ("Ki-Strike now has a cooldown between uses." - could be moved to 6 on WW if WW flurry-loss is successful.)
+ Link these attacks to Smite, so that they cannot be used to create an insane burst in some weird class combined with a Divine Dip. ("Ki-Strike, Smite, Ki-Strike, Smite, Ki-Strike, Smite, Ki-Strike!" - would be 7 attacks per round with a single 1-handed weapon without this consideration.)
+ Creating consistency of behavior makes it so that Weapon Master is easier to balance and alter in the future. (It has, aside from brief flirting with bonus feats - that have been reverted - remained unchanged for the 5 years I've been on Arelith in favor of altering the Fighter Class itself and this bug has remained a weird pillar of balance around which the rest of Arelith measures it's own class effectiveness: "That guy deleted me in one round!" - because of a bug Arelith balance has been orbiting around for what might be 5 years before I came to Arelith ... the inability to alter, or nerf this may be the core of Arelith's power creep as well, trying to keep up with a WW bug.)
Linking Disarm and Knockdown to this "instant strike" system may, also work in the future to make them more responsive than the existing action-que system that often loses moves if you don't spam it - though when this was suggested I had not considered the balance implications of that against combined 'Epic Dodge and Concealment' builds as only having it once per round and being unable to touch these guys might be a -terrible- idea since they're basically impossible to defeat unless you're spamming every attack and get lucky on a 20 that then knocks them down -- though maybe making them touch attacks that cause no damage might work if it is on an instant-strike cooldown? Unknown. The amount of damage dexers take when knocked down is concerning though so that level of predictability is probably bad - even if you're immune to KD for 30 seconds.
Dexers generally don't take Improved Whirlwind Attack: Could we reduce the dex requirement so it is useful and achievable in some builds, even if hard strength users still won't be able to make it? The way it is designed ... if you aren't going for weapons master, it isn't useful. And if you are going for dex ... you're often already feat-strapped. Weapons Masters spending another feat? Might be useful to spread their damage out a bit if its single-target damage is nerfed as per above and dilute their feat pool to get some of that damage back (though spread out over a wider area rather than single-target - or linking it to dual wield/Existing STRangers?
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::PLEASE READ THE FULL ARTICLE, INCLUDING THE BOTTOM BEFORE REPLYING::
Some of this is related to advanced 'beneath the hood' Neverwinter Nights hard-code mechanics.
Some of this is related to advanced 'beneath the hood' Neverwinter Nights hard-code mechanics.
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Arelith's unique alteration to Whirlwind Attack:Default NWN's Whirlwind is a full-round action that would make it effectively useless given that most enemies in Arelith are effectively hitpoint sponges ... Arelith 'solves' this by making it a 'Free Action'. But it still acquires a 'random target' afterward (rather than the one you are already targeting), and it screws up initiative order...
Example:
Sometimes a weapons master gains what is essentially a 3 attack flurry doing 150 damage every hit. Sometimes a weapons master does a WW, and gets hit 6 times in a row without being able to attack back and has to move or jiggle before they can re-enter initiative. Any experienced weapons master player has seen this, and it's ... not exactly straightforward mechanical gameplay for new players who don't know Arelith or NWN's quirks.
=========================
The issue currently with it is that.. it is both janky, and screws up initiative order, AND overpowered. Smite is amazing. Kalopsia did ... insane code-work and it functions in a really cool way. Is there a way something similar can be done to make Whirlwind feel less clunky and more predictable?
=========================
Whirlwind Explaination:Essentially the main use of Whirlwind is ... what I call: "Neutral Stick Whirlwind" ... drive-mode in like a guided missile with your keyboard to drop your target, stop touching drive-mode... and then Whirlwind.
You auto-acquire the nearest target, and I feel like it breaks your initiative order, as sometimes, you get "Whirlwind, Attack, Attack, attack, attack" (which can be 100+ damage PER attack) and sometimes you get "Whirlwind--" Get Attacked, Get Attacked, Get Attacked, Get Attacked.
The explanation for this may be: "Whirlwind is instant", "I get surprise round", "I got initiative afterward" ... but the effect is kind of devastating and anyone who's played Weapons Master long enough knows what this is and (ST)Ranger double-sword Weapon Master is effectively built to abuse this, moving it from 5 attack ambush from a crit-heavy class, to 6 attacks by effectively dual-wielding scimitars. (Double swords.)
And THIS issue.. is why I feel Weapons Master has just been mechanically the same since I came to Arelith. "Mastery" of abusing this against targets already swinging in Initiative Order is pretty much key to successful "weapons master" play, and I've had this discussion with a lot of weapons masters, (particularly half-orc meta-enthusiasts). And Arelith has grown comfortable with this because it's been in place so long... but I'd like to shake it up.
This isn't engaging game design and while it may be an interesting mechanic? The feedback on what is happening is anti-intuitive. At the same time? Smite is a lot of code, Whirlwind has a 10-second cooldown, and unlimited uses per day, and affects a lot of targets and not all people who have Whirlwind are weapons masters.
If Whirlwind cannot be fixed.. I propose the following, fully aware the Whirlwind code is ... 'simplistic' and hardcoded: DoWhirlwindAttack(TRUE, bImproved);
=========================
The First Change of my Proposition:Linking the cooldown of "Ki-Strike" and "Whirlwind" (and potentially smites?)... and making Ki-Strike function in the same 'instant attack' method as Smite.
This way Weapons Masters don't get ADDITIONAL burst to use in tandem with Whirlwind, but there is also a cleaner single-target method. And potentially? Linking the cleaner, 'Instant Attacks' together in the future to prevent some weird build from utilizing them all at once.
=========================
The Second Change of my Proposition:As I said above; I am aware the Whirlwind code is ... 'simplistic': DoWhirlwindAttack(TRUE, bImproved);
Is there a way it could detect if you have a current combat target, and re-acquire your target after doing the whirlwind attack? Even if this basically, automatically created the initiative order bug that hurt a weapons master's functionality ... it could create good justification for Weapons Masters to use the above Ki-Critical in single target situations...
"Do I have a combat target? Record it in the variable. Do Whirlwind Attack. Is my target alive? Re-acquire saved target."
Doing this would INTENTIONALLY break Whirlwind's "Whirlwind/Surprise/Won Initiative" so that you basically automatically lose a flurry, which makes the above change to the 'Smite' system for Ki Strike ... basically mandatory for the normal functionality of the class.
And even if this combination of changes "hurt" weapons master's power by breaking their initiative so they ALWAYS lose a flurry It could still functionally work as a grounding axis on which to alter the class in the future for balance changes and at least forces them to utilize the Ki Strike that almost all weapons masters I've met ignore entirely.
Something I tell people regularly: Saslae wins and loses fights either looking like a god, or looking like a moron. There's no middle-ground because of the wide range of non-dice-rolled results when you tap that Whirlwind button.
Having some mechanical control, and a resource (it's usable a limited number of times per day like smite, and could have a 10-second cooldown - or 6 seconds if WW successfully causes flurry loss, making it a guarenteed single target damage loss) to avoid this 'bug' would be great: Hense Ki-Strike rescripted as Smite
=========================
The intention of these changes:+ Reduce WM maximum top-end damage. ("I just got deleted by a weapon master while typing" - The WM "Big Win".)
+ Remove 'bugged' WM bottom-end damage. ("I am bugged, and got no attacks for a full round after using Whirlwind, what the hell?" - The WM "Big Lose" brought about by using Whirlwind against characters who have already rolled initiative.)
+ Damage the effectiveness of Whirlwind, preventing "Neutral-Stick Whirlwind" Initiative-Bugging (ab)used by weapons masters everywhere. ("So a STRanger/WM can't get 6 attacks on you before you get a single one." - The STRanger/WM "Bigger Win")
+ Make Ki-Strike a cleaner and more effective alternative to WW for single target damage. (Ki-Strike has limited uses per day and is currently ignored by Weapon masters to save hotbar space, creating consistent 3 attack flurries for an opener, but NOT allowing it to alter initiative order for the above "big win" or "big lose" in the initiative and forcing them to choose between multiple buttons.)
+ Link the two together so they can't be used together in the same 10-second window. ("Ki-Strike now has a cooldown between uses." - could be moved to 6 on WW if WW flurry-loss is successful.)
+ Link these attacks to Smite, so that they cannot be used to create an insane burst in some weird class combined with a Divine Dip. ("Ki-Strike, Smite, Ki-Strike, Smite, Ki-Strike, Smite, Ki-Strike!" - would be 7 attacks per round with a single 1-handed weapon without this consideration.)
+ Creating consistency of behavior makes it so that Weapon Master is easier to balance and alter in the future. (It has, aside from brief flirting with bonus feats - that have been reverted - remained unchanged for the 5 years I've been on Arelith in favor of altering the Fighter Class itself and this bug has remained a weird pillar of balance around which the rest of Arelith measures it's own class effectiveness: "That guy deleted me in one round!" - because of a bug Arelith balance has been orbiting around for what might be 5 years before I came to Arelith ... the inability to alter, or nerf this may be the core of Arelith's power creep as well, trying to keep up with a WW bug.)
=========================
Unrelated Side Note:Linking Disarm and Knockdown to this "instant strike" system may, also work in the future to make them more responsive than the existing action-que system that often loses moves if you don't spam it - though when this was suggested I had not considered the balance implications of that against combined 'Epic Dodge and Concealment' builds as only having it once per round and being unable to touch these guys might be a -terrible- idea since they're basically impossible to defeat unless you're spamming every attack and get lucky on a 20 that then knocks them down -- though maybe making them touch attacks that cause no damage might work if it is on an instant-strike cooldown? Unknown. The amount of damage dexers take when knocked down is concerning though so that level of predictability is probably bad - even if you're immune to KD for 30 seconds.
=========================
Unrelated Side Note: Unrelated to the others, but something I've noticed in the meta..Dexers generally don't take Improved Whirlwind Attack: Could we reduce the dex requirement so it is useful and achievable in some builds, even if hard strength users still won't be able to make it? The way it is designed ... if you aren't going for weapons master, it isn't useful. And if you are going for dex ... you're often already feat-strapped. Weapons Masters spending another feat? Might be useful to spread their damage out a bit if its single-target damage is nerfed as per above and dilute their feat pool to get some of that damage back (though spread out over a wider area rather than single-target - or linking it to dual wield/Existing STRangers?