[RPG] Average Damage Output in 4e

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Is there a resource that lists the average damage output for each role (Defender, striker, leader, controller) that is divided into ADO per level or at the very least ADO per tier? I am really just looking for the base ADO not augmented by feats to try to balance a custom class I am working on. It can even be subdivided into separate classes, although I am really just looking for an across the board average.

Best Answer

My answer here has the relevant equations.

Functionally speaking, you should probably look at the optimisaation boards for the class handbooks.

To summarize the relevant portion: a striker should do between a quarter and half of a standard mob's health per round. And everyone else should bottom out at an eighth (if there are significant benefits otherwise gained). Most classes should aim for a quarter. Controllers should aim for half spread out over multiple creatures, and strikers should aim for half. It's also a function of which item chassis can be applied to the build, as a great majority of damage comes from item/feat synergy, rather than class features.

To address the "not augmented by feats." part of your question, that is absolutely the wrong way to do it. Feats are an integral part of character build, and all the math messes up if they're not there. The beauty of the thing is, however, that there are standard patterns of feats. (Just look at the handbooks to get a feel for what they are). Which means you can copy-paste feat chains from other classes to take care of the math-fixes, and you can spot the feats that are considered "necessary" for each class such that you can design in similar options for yours.

At the end of the day, looking at "average damage" is not quite the right way to do power and class feature design.

You should have "iconic" builds at levels 1,6,11,16,21, and 30. These iconic builds should represent the various "things that the class is best at." Since no class exists in a vaccuum, however, you should also have "competing builds" (best taken from the handbooks so as to not force you to do hundreds of builds (though that can be fun...)) and you should do a gut check of "is one of these obviously better than the other at the same task." That way, instead of looking at average damage, you can use the iconic examples of each class to situate your design decisions, and make sure that you (or your focus group) don't favour a class all the time.

You can then look at the fully suited up capabilities of your iconic versus custom classes and add in class features or feats to redress any problems you find.

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