Proficiency and relative success rate


Playing the Game


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The difficulty of challenges for a given level currently seems to take into consideration a player character's proficiency bonus, ability score, and item bonus. I don't think that your bonus due to level of proficiency (the bonus from trained/expert/master/legendary) should be taken into account when creating those difficulties. It should be ignored so that proficiency increases result in an greater success rate relative to challenges of your level.

There are two reasons I think this important. First, it makes the small numerical increases from proficiency feel more meaningful. If your fighter with Expert proficiency at first level had a 55% chance of succeeding with their first attack, they have a 65% chance of succeeding with their first attack when they become legendary. Those proficiency increases taking up important slots in your list of class features actually made you better at facing level appropriate challenges rather than simply moving you along the treadmill.

Second, it feels way better for the classes that don't get as many proficiency increases. If a class that gets many proficiency upgrades, like Fighter, is only keeping up with level appropriate challenges, that means everyone else is falling behind. Especially for martial classes like Barbarian and Rogue, that can feel really bad, where you're missing 10 percentage points more often than you were at first level or getting hit way more often. Becoming less effective at level appropriate challenges as you level up does not create a satisfying feel of becoming more powerful, even if you are more powerful relative to challenges from earlier levels.

If my understanding of the current math is incorrect and proficiency already increases your success rate relative to your level, then I apologize for the confusion. From various math threads, that was not my impression.


Agreed on the non-fighters falling behind very steeply just so Fighter is special with their proficiency and somehow having the game balanced around them.


Well, part of my point was that it doesn't make fighters feel special either. I don't think anyone wins by typical DCs following the highest possible proficiency.

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