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AFS
2010-05-19, 10:00 PM
I'm looking over the character builder and I am confused about something.
I don't have phb3.

For example:
Mind Thrust
Aug 0 = 1d10 + int mod damage
Aug 1 = 1d10 + int mod damage and target takes a penalty on will equal to cha mod
Aug 1 = 2d10 + int mod damage and target takes a penalty on all def equal to cha mod

Am I missing something?
Why would anyone want to use augment 0?

tyckspoon
2010-05-19, 10:02 PM
You have a limited amount of augmentation points available. Augment 0 is effectively your at-will; Aug 1 is roughly equivalent to an Encounter power, and Aug 2 is Daily-level.

AFS
2010-05-19, 10:03 PM
Thanks

I'll have to get that book and read up on it.

Mando Knight
2010-05-19, 10:05 PM
You have a limited amount of augmentation points available. Augment 0 is effectively your at-will; Aug 1 is roughly equivalent to an Encounter power, and Aug 2 is Daily-level.

Aug2 is more of a somewhat strong encounter to a weak daily, and Aug1 is closer to a weaker Encounter power. Since you get 2 PP per short rest at level 1, it's somewhat balanced with the other classes. Augmentable powers tend to run on the weaker side, though, so don't fret if you're not able to deal stratospheric damage like a strikery controller can.

Inyssius Tor
2010-05-20, 01:49 AM
You have a limited amount of augmentation points available. Augment 0 is effectively your at-will; Aug 1 is roughly equivalent to an Encounter power, and Aug 2 is Daily-level.

Since that would essentially give psions the ability to use an extra daily power per encounter at first level, I think you might want to recalibrate your scale. :smallwink: Try something more like Aug 0 = at-will, Aug 2 = encounter, Aug 1 = somewhere in between.

The New Bruceski
2010-05-20, 01:57 AM
Where things get confusing is when some psionic powers do very different things with their augments. Ardent powers tend to do this; Augment 0 is one effect (a debuff triggering off the foe's next attack, or resistance 2 to damage), Augment 1 is a bigger buff but conditional effect (bigger debuff off a Will attack, resistance 1+Wis to one of three kinds of energy), and Augment 2/4 is the bigger buff but old effect.

It makes being aware of your team/foe's abilities rather critical, and keeping track of what conditionals you can do. Fortunately the class only gets three at-wills at a time (four as a human yadda yadda etc).

Kurald Galain
2010-05-20, 02:30 AM
Am I missing something?
Why would anyone want to use augment 0?
As soon as you've got enough power points, you will never want to use the augment-0 again. At high paragon and epic tier? You can just use the augment-2 at will and never run out. I would expect this to become errata'ed in a month or two, because WOTC never expected epic psions to keep spamming a level-1 power at maximum augment, and yet this is the best strategy for one.

Theodoric
2010-05-20, 05:31 AM
As soon as you've got enough power points, you will never want to use the augment-0 again. At high paragon and epic tier? You can just use the augment-2 at will and never run out. I would expect this to become errata'ed in a month or two, because WOTC never expected epic psions to keep spamming a level-1 power at maximum augment, and yet this is the best strategy for one.
It's fully expected. Unlike other classes, the damage doesn't increase to 2[W] or something similar at epic level; it wouldn't be balanced without it.

It works a bit differently than other classes, but it works out to about the same, if more slanted towards effects rather than damage (as is typical for the psionic power source).

Kurald Galain
2010-05-20, 05:42 AM
It's fully expected. Unlike other classes, the damage doesn't increase to 2[W] or something similar at epic level; it wouldn't be balanced without it.
No, it is not. The rules suggest that you trade out your low-level at-wills for higher level ones. However, it turns out that two of the level-1 powers are straightforwardly more powerful than everything else you get for the remaining 29 levels.

Mind Thrust is a good example. At epic? You can give a group of enemies a -7 to all defenses, at will. No other class comes even close to that, certainly not with at-will powers. More importantly, the recent errata has been very strict on eliminating any effect that gives attack bonuses (or defense penalties, which is really the same thing) equal to your ability modifier, precisely because how messed up these become at high levels.