Blaster
Well-known member
Playing some Mindcleaver of late has me interacting with the Kensei tree, and something that has always stood out to me is how convoluted the weapon focus line is within the tree itself. Currently there's nine options, with several combining different weapon types, IE piercing, ranged, bludgeoning, etc all in one line. As good as that may sound it's actually rather confining.
Fighters are supposed to be masters of weapons, and yet, depending on the focus line you take, you're usually locked into a single weapon, while barbarians or dragonlord archetypes for instance can use any weapon they want, usually only limited by what improved critical feat they take. Classes like monks and paladins are typically similarly set into one weapon type but that's because they have unique mechanics like being centered or deity restrictions. Kensei-focused fighters shouldn't have similar narrow restrictions, but rather more broad ones.
Since you have to take a weapon focus and weapon specialization feat in order to progress up the focus line in the Kensei tree, why not set the options in the tree to match the focus/specialization line, reducing clutter and simplifying the line to 5 options instead of 9. The focus and specialization feats already align with the improved critical/overwhelming critical feat line, so a natural path towards simplification is already there.
Something else I've bought up during a previous balance pass, and that's removing the charge/recharge part of Opportunity Attack. The attack already has a cooldown, so why limit it with 2 charges? You want Kensei to be more competitive with other trees, why not make it so an attack -- which costs 2 ap to get -- is always available when not on cooldown like other attacks in the tree? SSG already removed the charge/recharge from Adrenaline years ago, and it's one of the more powerful single attacks in the game, so it can't be because you think Opportunity Attack being available more than 2 standing charges would be OP.
None of the above changes I think would bring Kensei up to a level where it would overpower other trees, in fact it still lags heavily behind fighter's own archetype and other melee trees, but just simplify it a little and align it with already existing systems in the game.
Fighters are supposed to be masters of weapons, and yet, depending on the focus line you take, you're usually locked into a single weapon, while barbarians or dragonlord archetypes for instance can use any weapon they want, usually only limited by what improved critical feat they take. Classes like monks and paladins are typically similarly set into one weapon type but that's because they have unique mechanics like being centered or deity restrictions. Kensei-focused fighters shouldn't have similar narrow restrictions, but rather more broad ones.
Since you have to take a weapon focus and weapon specialization feat in order to progress up the focus line in the Kensei tree, why not set the options in the tree to match the focus/specialization line, reducing clutter and simplifying the line to 5 options instead of 9. The focus and specialization feats already align with the improved critical/overwhelming critical feat line, so a natural path towards simplification is already there.
Something else I've bought up during a previous balance pass, and that's removing the charge/recharge part of Opportunity Attack. The attack already has a cooldown, so why limit it with 2 charges? You want Kensei to be more competitive with other trees, why not make it so an attack -- which costs 2 ap to get -- is always available when not on cooldown like other attacks in the tree? SSG already removed the charge/recharge from Adrenaline years ago, and it's one of the more powerful single attacks in the game, so it can't be because you think Opportunity Attack being available more than 2 standing charges would be OP.
None of the above changes I think would bring Kensei up to a level where it would overpower other trees, in fact it still lags heavily behind fighter's own archetype and other melee trees, but just simplify it a little and align it with already existing systems in the game.
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