as long as this.. "Attacks too so he's often hitting twice for 2d8+18." means two attacks each doing 1d8+9 each ...it looks good ...and yes EAC for weapons that do ONLY energy damage(even melee weapons) ....except when using a kinetic melee weapon with a ability that turns its damage to energy ..that's probably gonna be KAC(plasma sheath, solarian)
Looks right.
And he also needs to be swinging at -4 (a net +4) on those full-round attacks.
Blitz Soldiers do a lot of damage. That's their shtick.
I also play a Blitz soldier and used a Flame Doshko for quite a while and yes, they can do an enormous amount of damage in a single round if their attacks connect. This is right in line with what I have been doing.
My lvl 8 Vesk uses a Dragonglaive 2d8 with an attack modifier of +15. 8 for being a soldier, 6 more for having a 22 Str, and 1 more for Weapon Focus (as your friend will soon find, getting bonuses to attack rolls in this game is exceptionally difficult without help from allies).
I do +17 damage. 6 for having a Str of 22. 8 for Weapon Specialization and 3 more for Melee Gear Boost.
2d8 + 17 is quite good. It dwarfs my allies attack damage rolls by a considerable amount. Only spell casters can hope to do similar amounts of damage.
However, this is ALL I do. I suck at everything else in the game. I can do some Athletics... a little acrobatics.. and intimidation in this game is a anything but intimidating. I am a passable pilot (not great). And that's it. Nothing else. Brosni hits things and that's all.
My Vesk is a hammer looking for a nail. He can't talk his way through anything. He can't persuade anyone to do much of anything. He can't bluff, sneak, build, craft, heal, or perceive. I fight and I generally go first in the fight.
Wait until your Soldier figures out grenades. If he has the money he can deal an enormous amount of damage very reliably past lvl 11. In order to "hit" with a grenade all you have to do is target a grid with AC 5. This means you can make 3 attacks with a -6 penalty to each attack. However you are level 11, so you can't possibly miss unless you roll a 1.
A lvl 10 shock grenade does 3d12 damage which means 9d12 possible damage in a 15ft radius with no save. Only grenades that have additional effects allow a save against those affects, not the damage. It's expensive no doubt. But it's a TON of damage which dwarfs almost anything anyone else can do. At level 20, you can toss 3 frag grenades doing a whopping 60d6 damage in a 15 ft radius with NO SAVE. Yea, it's gonna cost you 600,000 + credits, but really isn't that a small amount to pay for a localized nuclear explosion?
??? all grenades (and all explode weapons in general) are save for half damage .....multiple grenades as full attack is a good idea though
??? all grenades (and all explode weapons in general) are save for half damage .....multiple grenades as full attack is a good idea though
You are correct. Explode weapons do offer a save for half damage. I misread the Explode property. Thanks for pointing it out. Still, 60d6 averages about 200 damage per roll. That's a LOT of damage even should the opponent save.
Too bad it's very cost prohibitive and that crafting in this game system is non-existent so you can't hope for a discount even should you make them.
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I am a 7th level Armor Storm Soldier now and I attack at +13 AB (7 from BAB and 6 from 23 Str - believe it or not I don't have room in my build for Weapon Focus); I have two main weapons:
1. A Called Throwing Holy Opportunistic Yellow Star Nova Lance that does 3d4+16 Electricity and Fire damage (6 from Strength, 3 from Melee Striker Gear Boost, and 7 from Specialization) at Reach. If I'm making an Attack of Opportunity, it goes up to +15 AB and +19 damage. I can make this attack at range with a 20' increment, thanks to the Throwing fusion and my armor's Thrower Arms (Melee Striker only specifies that it applies to melee weapons, not melee attacks).
2. Vesk Natural Weapons that do 1d3+19 physical damage (6 from Strength, 3 from Melee Striker, and 10 from the vesk's Natural Weapons specialization. This is what I switch to if I need to do nonlethal damage (while vesk claws CAN do lethal, they don't have to and there's no penalty for switching). Next level I'm picking up Improved Unarmed Strike and my damage shoots up to 2d6+21 and it is bonkers.
I COULD use the Hammer Fist Armor Storm class feature (and it used to be my main weapon) to do 1d4+18 (6 strength, 3 striker, 7 spec, 2 for class feature bonus for having Melee Striker), but it was eclipsed by the natural weapons. I may go back to it when it upgrades to 2d8 base damage at level 10, but Hammer Fist is a little less flexible, as I can't choose nonlethal damage on the fly. I play Society games and will probably retire before then, but at 13th level the attack becomes absurd: 3d10+1d6+27 (+13 spec, +8 str, +4 striker, +2 class feature, +1d6 Mobile Army class feature).
So... yes. Specialized melee does a ton of damage in this game, because of the risk/reward of having to usually stand out in the open when almost all enemies have ranged weapons. I typically fight alongside another vesk soldier, and between us we drive the GM crazy for wrecking every encounter. But... we have trouble tying our shoes in skill challenges. We typically need an operative with us to handle all the precision work. That's the trade-off.
I would postulate that crafting is actually extremely important. If you're out of touch on a far-off world in the Vast, you're not likely to have access to Uncle Altronus's Ship Stop and Gunnery Shop. Using UPBs and repurposing 10% of your gear to make other stuff is how you get new equipment when you are incommunicado.
And he also needs to be swinging at -4 (a net +4) on those full-round attacks.
Blitz Soldiers do a lot of damage. That's their shtick.
It is their compensation for bringing large flaming sticks to a gun fight.
??? all grenades (and all explode weapons in general) are save for half damage .....multiple grenades as full attack is a good idea thoughYou are correct. Explode weapons do offer a save for half damage. I misread the Explode property. Thanks for pointing it out. Still, 60d6 averages about 200 damage per roll. That's a LOT of damage even should the opponent save.
Too bad it's very cost prohibitive and that crafting in this game system is non-existent so you can't hope for a discount even should you make them.
It is why the bombard spec soldiers are nice. You basically have one free grenade nearly every fight so if you use those and buy a few extra "real grenades" you can really ruin some monsters parade if you catch them clumped.
I would postulate that crafting is actually extremely important. If you're out of touch on a far-off world in the Vast, you're not likely to have access to Uncle Altronus's Ship Stop and Gunnery Shop. Using UPBs and repurposing 10% of your gear to make other stuff is how you get new equipment when you are incommunicado.
Yup and it also allows you to make what you want when you want to at the normal price so you don't have to worry about getting gouged or have the item be unavailable. If you wind up with a target that requires some speciality damage type to fight and you know this in advanced it gives you a good way to use down time on way to the target world to craft appropriate items. It also is why getting UPB's as loot is super super nice. That pile of UPB's is basically whatever item you really want for that cost without having to look for a store or vendor if you have somebody on the team with the right crafting skills.