Uh... you're getting pretty confused there, "+X equivalent" is only ever invoked for weapon enchantments that aren't enhancement bonuses but which are costed as such, e.g. Flaming/Flaming Burst. Under the old rues, a +4 Flaming Burst weapon was +6 equivalent but only had +4 enhancement bonus. Under the old rules, a +4 Bane weapon was +5 equivalent but had a +6 enhancement bonus vs it's Bane targets (and +4 vs everybody else).
I never noticed the rules in general caring about "normal" enhancement bonus. Paladin Divine Bond has it's own internal limit that prevents increasing enhancement bonus beyond +5 (only equivalent abilities are OK, up to +10 equivalent), but that is a specific rule, not the general rule. If there were such a general rule, then the Paladin limit which is worded different than similar 'enhancement bonus augmentations' would be wholly superfluous, but since there isn't any such general rule there actually is a reason for the Paladin rule to exist in order to enforce a discrete difference. When the rules and FAQ say it "has a +7 bonus", I expect that it "has a +7 bonus" for any game function that cares about that.
BTW, AFAIK, there's no ruling on what you do when multiple abilities would take it beyond +10 equivalent.
When activating one ability then the other, the second one can just not work (beyond +10), but when they are continual and simultaneous it isn't clear.
No, I'm not confused. I'm just failing to express myself adequately. I understand what +x equivalent enhancements are. Until mythic adventures they made no difference at all to DR.
Before Mythic Adventures, the rules was you needed a +6 enhancement bonus to bypass DR. Per the rules you could not enchant a weapon with a flat +6 bonus, you could only go up to +5 (and up to an effective +10 bonus with other enhancements). It has been questionable since the FAQ ruling about Furious/Bane/etc that allowed for them to go above the normal +5 cap whether or not this actually counted for the purposes of bypassing DR epic.
Everybody with me? That's all I was trying to say.
Obviously it doesn't EXACTLY equally affect everybody, but it seems to be useful for any "mundane" combatant so that by mid/upper-levels they can deal with facing DR/epic. The point of the change is so that DR/Epic is now something that can be routinely overcome by all mid/upper-level characters, using just standard non-unique magical weapons (of +6 equivalence), even if they don't do so at the exact same level.
I see no evidence to say that Epic is more common than other DR including Alignment, so nobody should really care that much about this change to the point it changes character or gear decisions... If it did sway your gear decisions away from vanilla Enhancement to Equivalent Special Abilities (say, you already have plenty of to-hit) you would be gimping yourself vs. more common DR types like Alignment. I don't feel that this substantially changes my decision on whether or not to have a Weapon Bond or Paladin Mount, because the number of cases it matters is so few while the Mount has it's value in so many more cases... and if we're talking about uncommon cases, Smite already bypasses any DR.
The question is not what minimum level one class/build could overcome DR/epic compared to the 'norm' for doing so, but what level and CR is DR/epic commonly found at, because before then it just doesn't really matter. Even if you can overcome the DR, you probably aren't going to win an encounter vs. something whose CR massively outclasses you. If one character can overcome DR vs. the over-CR'd enemy but others can't, you're likely to end with a dead or bypassed party and the living character facing the enemy 1v1 and losing, even with bypassing DR/epic.
Besides more examples of DR/mythic at mid-high CR tiers, I expect this change might mean a few more usages of it at lower CR but with less amounts of DR: PCs may or may not overcome that DR depending on their build, but not doing so is less of a game changer with less amount of DR.
Funny part is, I've actually always run games with Mythic Adventure's definition of DR/Epic and was surprised to find that it wasn't true.
Didn't unbalance things honestly, and this came up in a high powered game I was running with a Paladin and Fighter.
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"Smite already bypasses any DR." vs evil targets.
And that only show that paladins don't need extra help.
You really feel that the mount is better than the bonded weapon for a paladin (at least for a medium sized paladin)? A large creature his limited in his capability to enter a lot of locations.
The question is not what minimum level one class/build could overcome DR/epic compared to the 'norm' for doing so, but what level and CR is DR/epic commonly found at, because before then it just doesn't really matter. Even if you can overcome the DR, you probably aren't going to win an encounter vs. something whose CR massively outclasses you. If one character can overcome DR vs. the over-CR'd enemy but others can't, you're likely to end with a dead or bypassed party and the living character facing the enemy 1v1 and losing, even with bypassing DR/epic.
As I see it:
before:- being capable of dealing massive level of damage with one attack was useful to overcome the DR/epic.
after:
- being capable to self enhance your weapon is more useful.
Funny part is, I've actually always run games with Mythic Adventure's definition of DR/Epic and was surprised to find that it wasn't true.
Didn't unbalance things honestly, and this came up in a high powered game I was running with a Paladin and Fighter.
What level? "High powered" seem to point to a level where the fighter will have a weapon with a total equivalent bonus of +6, so the class disparity will mostly disappear.
My problem is with the middle levels, level 7-13, where some classes will be capable to enhance their weapon when needed and allow it to overcome the Dr/epic, while the fighter will not have access to a weapon worth 72.000 gp.
AFAIK Core Rules > Splat. Assuming so, this is an error.
The core rules say that you need a +6 enhancement bonus to bypass DR/Epic.
Magic weapons have enhancement bonuses ranging from +1 to +5. They apply these bonuses to both attack and damage rolls when used in combat. All magic weapons are also masterwork weapons, but their masterwork bonuses on attack rolls do not stack with their enhancement bonuses on attack rolls.
Weapons come in two basic categories: melee and ranged. Some of the weapons listed as melee weapons can also be used as ranged weapons. In this case, their enhancement bonuses apply to both melee and ranged attacks.
Some magic weapons have special abilities. Special abilities count as additional bonuses for determining the market value of the item, but do not modify attack or damage bonuses (except where specifically noted). A single weapon cannot have a modified bonus (enhancement bonus plus special ability bonus equivalents, including those from character abilities and spells) higher than +10.
It would be very, very sad if this were errata'd. DR/Magic is already a sick joke as it is, and it's already so very easy to overcome or ignore virtually every DR type out there either by throwing more enhancement bonus or using a different type of inexpensive weapon material.
DR/Epic is the last non-DR/- reduction that actually means something. You need a powerful weapon designed to slay the creature (such as a dragon bane weapon which can allow you to reach a +6 enhancement bonus) or a weapon of legendary quality (such as the Axe of the Dwarfish Lords).
I can't see this being a good idea in the least.
Gross. >.<