A recent update to the Core Set FAQ clarified that characters that gain the Arcane or Divine skills should also gain proficiency, which is great; however, it also did the same for Melee and Ranged, and granted proficiency in those traits to any older characters with the corresponding skills.
I of course don't know what thought process lead to this ruling, but looking at it without that context, it just seems incorrect. There are tons of characters that have the Melee or Ranged skills without weapon proficiency, or with proficiency only as a power feat, deliberately, for balance or flavor reasons. There's three of them in the Core set, even! (Fumbus, Kyra, and Sajan)
Especially given the post-Core design philosophy for weapons that call for proficiency - where it allows you to activate a secondary power rather than adding difficulty to the check if not proficient - I don't see that there are any characters that are actually improved by this ruling. (Made more powerful, yes; improved, no.) So I would ask the developers to please explain the reasoning behind this change, and also maybe consider reversing it.
I agree, and I'm not sure why this was done.
Incidentally, pre-Core characters that used to be able to spend a power feat for Light Armor proficiency have been errata'd to no get a hand size feat instead, because "Light Armor" is no longer a meaningful proficiency.
I would argue this is just about true for a lot of characters and weapon proficiency now, too, at least if they're being played with Core Set cards. In the base sets alone, there's plenty of characters with Melee or Ranged (like Clerics, Rogues, etc) without weapon proficiency, and there's also plenty more when you count the "gain melee skill when invoking finesse" mechanic which appears on another few characters.
Now, to my understanding of the rules*, this doesn't really impact play with them without Core cards. If you're proficient with Melee, then any card with the Melee trait that has a line "If proficient, do X" has that work. However, pre-Core weapons specifically ask if you're proficient with weapons, not "if proficient", so I don't think you can suddenly use pre-Core weapons better.
Now, to my understanding of the rules*, this doesn't really impact play with them without Core cards. ... pre-Core weapons specifically ask if you're proficient with weapons, not "if proficient", so I don't think you can suddenly use pre-Core weapons better.
Good point; I hadn't thought about it, but that does seem to be the correct reading, as there isn't an FAQ changing "proficient with weapons/heavy armor" to just "proficient".
I doubt that we'll see the weapon proficiency feats changed, even if such an FAQ comes out, though, given that even with (say) Melee proficiency it's not a fully dead feat, as the character still lacks proficiency with Ranged weapons. (It's pretty low value though!)
A recent update to the Core Set FAQ clarified that characters that gain the Arcane or Divine skills should also gain proficiency, which is great; however, it also did the same for Melee and Ranged, and granted proficiency in those traits to any older characters with the corresponding skills.
FWIW, the FAQ you link talks about "When characters GAIN the Melee or Ranged skill..."
In your post, you're talking about characters who HAVE the Melee or Ranged skill (innate).
I would've never assumed those are one and the same and would've never thought of applying the FAQ to characters who start with those skills.
This is the FAQ item that refers to characters who start with melee/ranged: link.
But even that I'm not sure of, because presumably pre-Core spells now explicitly require proficiency to recharge...
Discarding/recharging now depends on proficiencies, allowing characters like Hakon and Mother Myrtle to discard/recharge instead of banish their pre-Core spells.
This is from the conversion guide: (emphasis added)
On all spells except those noted below, replace the first “discard“ or “reveal” with “banish” or leave the first “display” alone, then change any kind of discard and/or recharge text to “DURING RECOVERY If proficient, discard this card; you may succeed at (whatever specific check is listed) to recharge it instead.”
Note that the example directly above this statement in the conversion guide is incorrect, however, as it refers to skills instead of proficiencies when recharging (link) .
Also this FAQ only applies to converted characters
Does not apply to new Core Characters
I agree. Some characters should be only proficient in only Melee weapons or only Ranged weapons, and some should be proficient in both, or neither.
I would think that this could be easily changed to be something like:
"If a character with the Weapon proficiency has the Melee, or Ranged skill, they should instead be proficient with the corresponding trait”.
I agree. Some characters should be only proficient in only Melee weapons or only Ranged weapons, and some should be proficient in both, or neither.
I agree with this...
I would think that this could be easily changed to be something like:
"If a character with the Weapon proficiency has the Melee, or Ranged skill, they should instead be proficient with the corresponding trait”.
But not with this. There are a number of characters that have only one skill but should have both proficiencies. Fighters spring to mind; many of them are most skilled with melee weapons but should be able to use ranged weapons for support. (Actually, I think the characters with one or the other of the skills might be the least likely to be proficient with only one kind.)
Chief Technical Officer
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Two FAQ entries gave proficiency with Ranged and Melee to characters that have those skills; that was incorrect. The first entry has been modified to apply only to Arcane and Divine, and the second entry has been deleted altogether.