Fixing True Strike

[Osuniev]

I'm looking for a minor way to make True Strike :
- useful from time to time, enough to make True Strike worthwile instead of other cantrips but not strictly better
- not overpowered
- similar flavourwise (you are trying to ensure your attack next turn will land)
- not too different from RAW.

Ideas I've had :
1. If your next attack hits, it's an automatic Critical.

I like it because it is really thematic. But...
I'm afraid this might make True Strike TOO powerful... Is the use of Concentration (and the risk of losing said concentration) + 1 of your precious Cantrips + 1 action enough of a cost ? Is there a way it can be abused ?

Maybe just increase the Crit Range of the next attack ?

2. True Strike gives +10 to hit instead of Advantage, ignores disavantage, Partial cover and 3/4 cover

This allows you to stack it with advantage, but it's still pretty meh. Maybe that's okay though ? It would make it worthwhile in an ambush scenario...

3. True Strike GUARANTEES your next attack will hit, unless the enemy has total cover
Makes it relevant against high AC enemy. Still VERY niche though, I think most Cantrips are still better.

4. True Strike gives you something in addition
Maybe one extra dice of damage ? Maybe it bypasses resistance ? Maybe it gives you information about the enemy AC ?
None of these really fit with the idea of the spell though...

[Asisreo1]

I'm looking for a minor way to make True Strike :
- useful from time to time, enough to make True Strike worthwile instead of other cantrips but not strictly better
- not overpowered
- similar flavourwise (you are trying to ensure your attack next turn will land)
- not too different from RAW.

Ideas I've had :
1. If your next attack hits, it's an automatic Critical.

I like it because it is really thematic. But...
I'm afraid this might make True Strike TOO powerful... Is the use of Concentration (and the risk of losing said concentration) + 1 of your precious Cantrips + 1 action enough of a cost ? Is there a way it can be abused ?

It wouldn't be all that good, tbh. Because you'd be doing double damage when you could've hit twice, but your modifiers are only applied once over the two rounds.

Maybe just increase the Crit Range of the next attack ?

2. True Strike gives +10 to hit instead of Advantage, ignores disavantage, Partial cover and 3/4 cover

This allows you to stack it with advantage, but it's still pretty meh. Maybe that's okay though ? It would make it worthwhile in an ambush scenario...

True strike is really only purposeful in ambushes anyways since it's a silent casting.

3. True Strike GUARANTEES your next attack will hit, unless the enemy has total cover
Makes it relevant against high AC enemy. Still VERY niche though, I think most Cantrips are still better.

4. True Strike gives you something in addition
Maybe one extra dice of damage ? Maybe it bypasses resistance ? Maybe it gives you information about the enemy AC ?
None of these really fit with the idea of the spell though...

One extra dice of damage runs into the same problem as crits, except it doesn't scale at all. Bypassing resistances means you're either doing half damage twice over two turns or full damage once over two turns. So it does nothing. Enemy AC is given handily in alot of games or can be figured out from players just throwing out attacks. You can also tell by how much armor they're wearing.

If anything, it should let you do triple the damage dice, or give advantage several times until concentration ends. There usually isn't enough noncantrip spells that can be cast multiple times that can take advantage of it, but at least you have advantage. A eldritch knight or arcane trickster might be overjoyed with the triple damage dice but it's probably not too big of a boost anyways.

[Osuniev]

It wouldn't be all that good, tbh. Because you'd be doing double damage when you could've hit twice, but your modifiers are only applied once over the two rounds.

I mean, if you have access to True Strike, you're probably a caster, and so the modifier doesn't matter anyway. With this, you can do a "critical" Inflict Wounds or Blight, WITH advantage, so an average better than double damage, costing only one spell slot.

On the other hand, it means the damage arrives one round later (so maybe the target could have been downed earlier), if you lose concentration you wasted an action, and it has opportunity costs since you do not have your other cantrip.

Edit : Bilght is a CON save not an attack. And Inflict Wounds is not on the spell list of the class which can cast True Strike.

[Mr Adventurer]

Make it a bonus action to cast it. Still a tactical choice since it restricts your spellcasting in the round you cast it. Still only applies to an attack on your next turn.

[Segev]

This spell... it comes up over and over in this context. They really didn't think it through.

I'm looking for a minor way to make True Strike :
- useful from time to time, enough to make True Strike worthwile instead of other cantrips but not strictly better
- not overpowered
- similar flavourwise (you are trying to ensure your attack next turn will land)
- not too different from RAW.

Ideas I've had :
1. If your next attack hits, it's an automatic Critical.

I like it because it is really thematic. But...
I'm afraid this might make True Strike TOO powerful... Is the use of Concentration (and the risk of losing said concentration) + 1 of your precious Cantrips + 1 action enough of a cost ? Is there a way it can be abused ?

Maybe just increase the Crit Range of the next attack ?

2. True Strike gives +10 to hit instead of Advantage, ignores disavantage, Partial cover and 3/4 cover

This allows you to stack it with advantage, but it's still pretty meh. Maybe that's okay though ? It would make it worthwhile in an ambush scenario...

3. True Strike GUARANTEES your next attack will hit, unless the enemy has total cover
Makes it relevant against high AC enemy. Still VERY niche though, I think most Cantrips are still better.

4. True Strike gives you something in addition
Maybe one extra dice of damage ? Maybe it bypasses resistance ? Maybe it gives you information about the enemy AC ?
None of these really fit with the idea of the spell though...

My preferred solution is to have it say, "Your next attack against the target cannot have Disadvantage and gains Advantage." Otherwise, leave it alone. Same casting time, duration, targeting, etc. What this does is allow you to have Advantage even if you would otherwise have Disadvantage. Rather than the two negating out, true strike flat-out guarantees Advantage.

Even attacking somebody you can't see who's at long range on your ranged weapon, as long as you can target them at all, you do so with Advantage.

[Kane0]

What i've been using is:

True Strike
Divination Cantrip
Casting Time: 1 Action
Range: Touch
Components: S
Duration: Concentration, up to 1 minute

You touch one willing creature. Once before the spell ends the target can roll 1d4 and add the result to an attack roll of their choice. The spell then ends.
The die rolled increases in size when you reach 5th level (1d6), 11th level (1d8) and 17th level (1d10).

[Osuniev]

"Your next attack against the target cannot have Disadvantage and gains Advantage." Otherwise, leave it alone. Same casting time, duration, targeting, etc. What this does is allow you to have Advantage even if you would otherwise have Disadvantage. Rather than the two negating out, true strike flat-out guarantees Advantage.

I agree that, worded this way, it can be useful sometimes... But would you pick it ? Would you pick it over Firebolt, or Minor Illusion, or even Light ?
Because I wouldn't. Heck, I still wouldn't pick it over Mending !

[Nifft]

Let me find that old post... ah here it is:

True Strike
Divination Cantrip

Casting Time: 1 action
Range: Self
Components: S
Duration: Instantaneous

As part of casting this spell, you make a single special melee or ranged attack.
- The defender does not gain a benefit to AC from half or three-quarters cover against this attack.
- This attack does not suffer Disadvantage from any environmental effect, including inability see the target due to heavily obscured vision, heavy wind, etc.
- If you are at least 5th level, this attack does not suffer Disadvantage from any Illusion effect, including Blur, Invisibility, etc.
- If you are at least 11th level, you gain a +1 bonus on the attack roll. At 17th level, the bonus increases to +2.

In this form, it's comparable to an SCAG melee cantrip -- it's an Attack-action replacement, not augmentation -- but it works on ranged attacks, and it's a bit more niche since it mostly just removes Disadvantage and Cover.

It also scales up like a good cantrip should.

[Segev]

I agree that, worded this way, it can be useful sometimes... But would you pick it ? Would you pick it over Firebolt, or Minor Illusion, or even Light ?
Because I wouldn't. Heck, I still wouldn't pick it over Mending !

Depends on the build. For an Arcane Trickster it could be golden.

[Zhorn]

for a good discussion I recommend having a read of this thread

True strike is your 5e equivalent of building a better mousetrap, everyone want to take a shot at it once in a while

Spoiler: an exerpt from those threads

Show

I ended up coming to the conclusion there was no fixing it. Easy advantage is too powerful, and by the time you put a bunch of constraints around it it's just not worth it for a caster, who has so few attack roll spells.

It's fairly weak on the typical caster, but if you make it powerful enough to be worth it, it's ridiculously broken on a GISH

Yep, I remember getting to that conclusion in the other thread

Agreed. As advantage, true strike is a lost cause. Trying to balance a cantrip that grants advantage requires too many conditionals that it becomes either too convoluted or unusable.

With some back and forths (suggest reading the other thread for context, quotes kept to jump to relevant sections) these were the two versions I feel comfortable standing by a year later.

True Strike (modified)
Divination cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: -
Components: V, S, M (a weapon capable of dealing damage)
Duration: Instantaneous

As part of the action used to cast this spell, you make one successful regular attack with your currently equipped weapon against one creature within the that weapon's range/reach, otherwise the spell fails. When hit, the target suffers weapon damage and effects as if hit by a regular attack.

Basic concept is a guaranteed weapon hit, no attack roll means no crit chance, and the further intent of not being able to apply the -5 to hit penalty it disqualifies use with GWM and SS.

The other version reintroducing attack rolls

True Strike (modified)
Divination cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: -
Components: V, S, M (a weapon)
Duration: Instantaneous

As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a weapon attack with your currently equipped weapon against one creature within the that weapon's range/reach, otherwise the spell fails. As a benefit of this spell, you add 1d4 to the roll to hit.
This spell's bonus to hit increases by 1d4 when you reach 5th level (2d4), 11th level (3d4), and 17th level (4d4).

This reintroduces both a chance to miss into the attack with the chance to crit.
Levels 1 to 4: +1 to +4 bonus to hit.
Levels 5 to 10: +2 to +8 bonus to hit.
Levels 11 to 16: +3 to +12 bonus to hit.
Levels 17 to 20: +4 to +16 bonus to hit.

Both are using BB / GFB as the basic structure, but intentionally not including any additional damage component as part of the cantrip (avoiding power creep).
Taking an action means classes with Extra Attack will still favour multiple chances to hit for more damage, but when getting A hit is more important, this is where it comes in.
Action Cantrip gives EK compatibility with War Magic
Not being a Bonus Action allows AT to still dash/disengage/hide etc
Sorcerer based gish builds can meta magic quicken + twin to get off 3 attacks in a round
Warcaster compatible
Concentration free
Immediate payoff

lots of discussion about building these versions in the old thread.

[MaxWilson]

I'm looking for a minor way to make True Strike :
- useful from time to time, enough to make True Strike worthwile instead of other cantrips but not strictly better
- not overpowered
- similar flavourwise (you are trying to ensure your attack next turn will land)
- not too different from RAW.

Ideas I've had :
1. If your next attack hits, it's an automatic Critical.

I like it because it is really thematic. But...
I'm afraid this might make True Strike TOO powerful... Is the use of Concentration (and the risk of losing said concentration) + 1 of your precious Cantrips + 1 action enough of a cost ? Is there a way it can be abused ?

Maybe just increase the Crit Range of the next attack ?

2. True Strike gives +10 to hit instead of Advantage, ignores disavantage, Partial cover and 3/4 cover

This allows you to stack it with advantage, but it's still pretty meh. Maybe that's okay though ? It would make it worthwhile in an ambush scenario...

3. True Strike GUARANTEES your next attack will hit, unless the enemy has total cover
Makes it relevant against high AC enemy. Still VERY niche though, I think most Cantrips are still better.

4. True Strike gives you something in addition
Maybe one extra dice of damage ? Maybe it bypasses resistance ? Maybe it gives you information about the enemy AC ?
None of these really fit with the idea of the spell though...

One minor fix to True Strike that's probably in keeping with RAI is to eliminate the unnecessary delay:

You extend your hand and point a finger at a target in range. Your magic grants you a brief Insight into the target's defenses. On your next turn, you gain advantage on your first Attack roll against the target, provided that this spell hasn't ended.

Eliminate that clause and it becomes useful for e.g. an Eldritch Knight retiarius trying to land a Net attack on an enemy without suffering the normal Net disadvantage. (True Sight + War Magic: Net attack, to restrain the enemy.) It could also then be useful for niche scenarios like True Sight + Quickened Plane Shift, or True Sight + Quickened Contagion.

[Skylivedk]

Make True Strike a bonus action. Isn't that the simplest solution? It seems to match with the Aim bonus action from the UA rogue alternative feature. It still takes a concentration slot, so not great most of the time, but now occasionally useful.

And remove the pointing. It's impolite and also I'm certain players can find cooler description than that.

[Osuniev]

Make True Strike a bonus action. Isn't that the simplest solution? It seems to match with the Aim bonus action from the UA rogue alternative feature. It still takes a concentration slot, so not great most of the time, but now occasionally useful.

And remove the pointing. It's impolite and also I'm certain players can find cooler description than that.

But it means for someone who doesn't have another use for concentration and bonus action (not that unusual), True Strike is costless. I feel it makes it a no-brainer, instead of an interesting trade-off.

[Chronos]

My fix would be to make it a bonus action, but also make it a first-level spell instead of a cantrip. Maybe also make it apply to all attacks in the same round, instead of just one, to make it more appealing to slightly-magical martials.

[Osuniev]

My fix would be to make it a bonus action, but also make it a first-level spell instead of a cantrip. Maybe also make it apply to all attacks in the same round, instead of just one, to make it more appealing to slightly-magical martials.

Yes, that would work... But I'm tryng to keep it a cantrip (because I feel my PCs have enough interesting choices with lvl 1 spells, not so much with Cantrips).

[nickl_2000]

This was my solution personally.

True Strike
Divination cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: S
Duration: Conc. 1 round
You extend your hand and point a finger at a target in range. Your magic grants you a brief insight into the target’s defenses. Until the end of your next turn, you gain advantage on all your attack rolls against the target.


You get advantage on AoOs and with multiple attacks. It naturally gains power as you level since you get more attacks.

[Osuniev]

This was my solution personally.

True Strike
Divination cantrip
Casting Time: 1 action
Range: 30 feet
Components: S
Duration: Conc. 1 round
You extend your hand and point a finger at a target in range. Your magic grants you a brief insight into the target’s defenses. Until the end of your next turn, you gain advantage on all your attack rolls against the target.


You get advantage on AoOs and with multiple attacks. It naturally gains power as you level since you get more attacks.

I guess that makes it ok for Eldritch Knights, Arcane Tricksters, Valor Bards...
But it still sucks for full casters who only have one attack and not much AoO. Or do you think granting advantage on a higher level spell makes it worthwhile on it's own ?

(Just thinking outloud, not saying it's a bad idea.)

How would someone abuse it if it granted a Critical Hit (IFF the attack worked) ? I really like it but I'm afraid I missed an exploit.

[Segev]

But it means for someone who doesn't have another use for concentration and bonus action (not that unusual), True Strike is costless. I feel it makes it a no-brainer, instead of an interesting trade-off.

It's not costless; they still paid a Cantrip known for it.

[nickl_2000]

I guess that makes it ok for Eldritch Knights, Arcane Tricksters, Valor Bards...
But it still sucks for full casters who only have one attack and not much AoO. Or do you think granting advantage on a higher level spell makes it worthwhile on it's own ?

(Just thinking outloud, not saying it's a bad idea.)

How would someone abuse it if it granted a Critical Hit (IFF the attack worked) ? I really like it but I'm afraid I missed an exploit.

There are a fair amount of subclasses that get multiple attacks.

Stone Sorcerer, Warlock (bladelock), Bladesinger, Valor Bard, Swords Bard, EK (definitely), AT. However, it also applies to all attack rolls not just weapon attacks. So, you get advantage on your Eldritch Blast or your spell attack that you just need to hit.


As for critical, just think of the case where you roll the most die and that is where it will be effective. Rogues will dream about it (especially AT who use booming blade). A fighter 2/ AT X will take it for action surge and burn that like crazy in the first round, often dropping someone hard in that first attack. For others, honestly it probably isn't worth it.

[MrCharlie]

To be fair to 5e true strike, it never really saw much use in previous editions. I seem to remember it only being used when cover/concealment and other such effects were limiting vision and someone wanted to spam out a really strong spell, or someone had the ability to cast it for free without spell slots or actions (in which case it was, of course, great for a gish).

The real problem with true strike is that there aren't enough high level attack roll spells that do damage. If something like disintegrate required an attack roll, then true-strike would matter because one attack roll would actually be more important than another. But outside of low-level clerics, no caster gives two craps about their attack roll spells, as they either attack multiple people (steel wind strike), are cantrips, or suck. If we had worthwhile attack spells you'd consider using true-strike to decrease the chance you waste a slot, because in that circumstance casting the spell twice really isn't an option.

This is the real problem with true-strike, and if it were remedied it would work, more or less, like the spell in other editions.

Hence the only changes I'd make to true strike are as follows.

1. It removes disadvantage from darkness, distance, and all non-magical sources, as well as all cover bonuses to AC for the next attack except full cover.

2. If you cast True strike on a target, you "see" the target even if it is invisible, in cover, or you are blinded, as long as it is within line of sight.

Bullet 1 brings it in line with its intended effect. Bullet 2 gives it a usage on par with other cantrips-situationally, you can use it to bypass a few annoying tactics involving sight blockers and spells which require sight to target, at the cost of an action each turn. That's more or less on-par with what cantrips can do.

[jas61292]

How would someone abuse it if it granted a Critical Hit (IFF the attack worked) ? I really like it but I'm afraid I missed an exploit.

If it was otherwise the same as it is currently it would be hard to abuse it too much. Guys with bonus damage dice like doubling them on a crit, but if it means not getting them at all the previous turn, its pretty much a wash, and only useful if you can set up an ambush. If those bonus dice cost a resource, this could let you save resources, but typically the ones for whom that is the case are guys like paladins, and when you have two attacks per round, one critting once is not worth giving up two normal attacks the previous round.

The only real advantage of getting the crit that I can see would be for spellcasters using it to get far more bang for their buck on leveled spells. While there is always an advantage of doing damage faster, if a creature is unlikely to die in one round, doing double damage round two is the same as doing normal damage in both rounds, and if the former uses fewer spell slots, it is the better strategy. That said, this will hardly have much impact on balance in my opinion.

Now in terms of actually exploiting this, the only real way to do that would be if you have a very limited resource to boost damage, and thus by use of True Strike, could guarantee that boost aligns with a crit. The best example I can think of for this would be a Tempest Cleric that dips a level in Sorcerer/Warlock/Wizard for True Strike and Chromatic Orb/Witch Bolt. At level 3 (Cleric 2 / Other Class 1), you could cast True Strike and then throw a Chromatic Orb out of a level two slot. If it hits, you channel divinity to do straight up 64 damage. At higher levels the damage potential could become absolutely crazy, especially if you nabbed Witch Bolt for those 5th level and above slots. Now obviously this kind of damage is something that could already be done with some luck, but a true strike that grants crits lets it be fairly reliable. And it doing so allows single spell slot damage that dwarfs other options by comparison.

Whether this is a real issue is hard to say, but its the biggest potential abuse that I can think of.

[Skylivedk]

But it means for someone who doesn't have another use for concentration and bonus action (not that unusual), True Strike is costless. I feel it makes it a no-brainer, instead of an interesting trade-off.

And whom do you have in mind?

Most of the time, I'd take create bonfire and most of the level one buffs/debuffs over true strike. If it is then giving an edge when tank is on E and took a cantrip choice; no biggie. Better than it just being a waste of space and innocent tree.

If you don't like the bonus action version, you can keep the action cost and change the amount of attacks it affects (ie by lasting till end of next turn as suggested above), remove the concentration cost or go for some of the other suggestions :)

[Garfunion]

The simplest fix I can think of would be to change “on your next turn” to “you next attack roll”. This means the spell will be active on the same turn it is cast.

Allowing for sorcery point use, opportunity attack, and/or more cinematic/tactical commander’s strike.

[Segev]

Could just make it count your next attack roll as a 20, or, if you don't want an auto-hit, a 19.

[Democratus]

I think an auto-hit (but not a crit) is a reasonable result of the spell.

[olskool]

How about making True Strike...

1) Provide ADVANTAGE to ALL strikes in the following round and it ignores DISADVANTAGE provided for all conditions.
2) Be able to strike creatures only hit by magical weapons starting with a +1 Resistance and increasing the Resistance to be hit by 1 every time the caster's Proficiency Bonus [by Level] increases? This would allow low-level characters to hit magical creatures without having to resort to magical weapons.
3) Allow it to be cast on anyone by touch.

I would then take away CONCENTRATION on the Magic Weapon/Enchanted Weapon Spell (I cannot remember its name and my book isn't handy) as a higher level Spell in 5e. This gives players without magic weapons the ability to hit creatures hit only by magical weapons.

[Democratus]

I would then take away CONCENTRATION on the Magic Weapon/Enchanted Weapon Spell (I cannot remember its name and my book isn't handy) as a higher level Spell in 5e. This gives players without magic weapons the ability to hit creatures hit only by magical weapons.

Not sure I follow this bit. You can use Magic Weapon to hit creatures that have resistance to non-magical weapons whether or not it is a Concentration spell.

Magic Weapon is a staple spell in most of our campaigns, as D&D 5e has no guarantees of magic weaponry. It's a fantastic buff spell for when you face these kinds of creatures.

[Chronos]

Taking away the concentration on Magic Weapon means that the caster can keep on being a caster while also enabling the fighter to be a fighter. As-is, yeah, you can use it, but it means saying "I'll suck so you don't have to".

[Tanarii]

What if it gave your opponent disadvantage on saving throw spells as well? OP?

[Asisreo1]

What if it gave your opponent disadvantage on saving throw spells as well? OP?

Probably, yeah. It takes a sorcerer 3 sorcery points to do that but why would they if they can do it at the cost of a cantrip?

Especially since they have an extra cantrip that no other class gets innately (without investing in a branching path).