SteelStar
Senior Systems Designer
Hello, everyone!
Preview 1 of Update 72 is here, and with it is your first hands-on look at the new Dragon Disciple Archetype! Things have changed a bit since the early look, so let's dive right in. Some guidelines for what to expect:
Dragon Disciples are Monks who have devoted themselves to the Way of the Mighty Dragon. While Centered, they can tap into Draconic magic.
Changes from the Base Monk Class:
You were a Dragon Disciple in a past life. Others find you strangely compelling when you speak or take to the battlefield. Each time you acquire this feat you gain +1 Attack and -1 to the Spell Point cost of the Maximize Metamagic. This feat can be stacked up to three times.
Spellcasting
Dragon Disciples have their own spellbook and spell progression.
Dragon Disciple Spells
The new Bursts and Breaths are generally similar, the primary differences in each suite being their element. New Poison spells on this list are Transmutation, while new Acid spells on this list are Conjuration. New Fire, Cold, and Electric spells use Evocation.
Dragon Disciple Enhancement Tree
Frequently Asked Questions:
Preview 1 of Update 72 is here, and with it is your first hands-on look at the new Dragon Disciple Archetype! Things have changed a bit since the early look, so let's dive right in. Some guidelines for what to expect:
- If something isn't mentioned specifically below, it is identical to the base Monk class.
- Check out the page about changes to the base Monk class in this Preview - Those changes also apply here (with the exception of Henshin Mystic).
Dragon Disciples are Monks who have devoted themselves to the Way of the Mighty Dragon. While Centered, they can tap into Draconic magic.
Changes from the Base Monk Class:
- Dragon Disciple's Enhancement Trees are Shintao, Ninja Spy, and Dragon Disciple. (They do not get Henshin Mystic).
- Dragon Disciples gain the Magical Training feat at level 1.
- Dragon Disciples do not gain the Abundant Step feat at level 12. Instead, they gain the Flight of Kings feat: Memories of flight lie within you. You are able to leap through the air to bring the fight to your enemies or traverse chasms that make normal adventure balk. Cooldown: 15 seconds. When you use Flight of Kings, you have a +20% Action Boost bonus to movement speed for 6 seconds.
- Dragon Disciples do not get Spot as a Class Skill, but gain Spellcraft instead.
- Dragon Disciples do not gain the following autogranted Monk feats:
- Quivering Palm
- Empty Body
- Perfect Self
- Diamond Body
- Diamond Soul
- Dragon Disciples have a Spellbook (see below).
- Dragon Disciples have the following options for Monk Bonus Feats (level 1, 2, and 6, Dragon Disciple exclusive feats in bold)
- Deflect Arrows
- Diehard
- Dodge
- Lightning Reflexes
- Mobility
- Power Attack
- Precision
- Single Weapon Fighting
- Spring Attack
- Stunning Fist
- Swords to Plowshares
- Toughness
- Two Handed Fighting
- Two Weapon Fighting
- Weapon Finesse
- Whirling Steel Strike
- Spell Focus: Evocation
- Spell Focus: Conjuration
- Spell Focus: Transmutation
- Combat Casting
- Mobile Spellcasting
- (Feats not on the Dragon Disciple list that are on the Monk's list are: Combat Expertise, Discipline, Great Fortitude, Improved Sunder, Improved Trip, Iron Will, Resilience, Shuriken Expertise, Ten Thousand Stars, and Zen Archery. Since Dragon Disciples are Monks, they can pick these up with regular feat slots, if they're so inclined.)
You were a Dragon Disciple in a past life. Others find you strangely compelling when you speak or take to the battlefield. Each time you acquire this feat you gain +1 Attack and -1 to the Spell Point cost of the Maximize Metamagic. This feat can be stacked up to three times.
Spellcasting
Dragon Disciples have their own spellbook and spell progression.
- Dragon Disciples use Wisdom as their casting stat.
- Casting spells from the Dragon Disciple Spellbook requires you to be Centered.
- Dragon Disciple spells cost Spell Points. They do not cost Ki (though some SLAs in their trees do).
- Dragon Disciples have four levels of spells.
- Dragon Disciples gain all of their spells at a level when they gain the first slot of that level, similar to Rangers.
- Dragon Disciple spells that use Material Components use Ranger components.
| Dragon Disciple Level | Spell Points | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th |
| 1st | 20 | 1 | - | - | - |
| 2nd | 35 | 1 | - | - | - |
| 3rd | 50 | 2 | - | - | - |
| 4th | 65 | 2 | - | - | - |
| 5th | 80 | 2 | - | - | - |
| 6th | 95 | 2 | 1 | - | - |
| 7th | 110 | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| 8th | 125 | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| 9th | 140 | 2 | 2 | - | - |
| 10th | 155 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - |
| 11th | 170 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - |
| 12th | 185 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - |
| 13th | 200 | 2 | 2 | 1 | - |
| 14th | 215 | 2 | 2 | 2 | - |
| 15th | 230 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 16th | 245 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 17th | 260 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 18th | 275 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 19th | 290 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| 20th | 350 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Dragon Disciple Spells
The new Bursts and Breaths are generally similar, the primary differences in each suite being their element. New Poison spells on this list are Transmutation, while new Acid spells on this list are Conjuration. New Fire, Cold, and Electric spells use Evocation.
- Level 1
- Lesser Draconic Burst: Fire: Centered Ki Breath Attack: You channel ki to bring forth your Dragon's element in a small burst, hitting all enemies very close to you. Deals 1d6+1 Fire damage per caster level (max 10d6+5 at caster level 10). A successful reflex save reduces damage by half. 2 SP, 5 second cooldown.
- Lesser Draconic Burst: Cold
- Lesser Draconic Burst: Electric
- Lesser Draconic Burst: Acid
- Lesser Draconic Burst: Poison
- Shield
- Obscuring Mist
- Jump
- Longstrider
- Pass Without Trace
- Resist Energy
- Cause Fear
- Level 2
- Acolyte's Breath: Red: Centered Ki Breath Attack: You channel ki to bring forth Draconic power in a small burst, hitting all enemies very close to you. Deals 1d6+3 Fire damage per caster level (max 30d6+90 at caster level 30). A successful reflex save reduces damage by half. 10 SP, 12 second cooldown.
- Acolyte's Breath: White
- Acolyte's Breath: Blue
- Acolyte's Breath: Black
- Acolyte's Breath: Green
- Elemental Weapons
- Protection from Energy
- Water Breathing
- Gust of Wind
- Blur
- Level 3
- Draconic Burst: Fire: Centered Ki Breath Attack: You channel ki to bring forth your Dragon's element in a small burst, hitting all enemies close to you. Deals 1d6+3 Fire damage per caster level (max 20d6+60 at caster level 20). A successful reflex save reduces damage by half. 20 SP, 5 second cooldown.
- (Known Issue: Text for this spell currently lists it at MCL 30. It's functionally 20, and is intended to be 20.)
- Draconic Burst: Cold
- Draconic Burst: Electric
- Draconic Burst: Acid
- Draconic Burst: Poison
- Greater Elemental Weapons
- Protection from Elements
- Haste
- Displacement
- Fear
- Cyclonic Blast
- Draconic Burst: Fire: Centered Ki Breath Attack: You channel ki to bring forth your Dragon's element in a small burst, hitting all enemies close to you. Deals 1d6+3 Fire damage per caster level (max 20d6+60 at caster level 20). A successful reflex save reduces damage by half. 20 SP, 5 second cooldown.
- Level 4
- Draconic Devastation: Red: Centered Ki Breath Attack: Cone that deals 1d6+6 Fire damage per caster level (max 30d6+180 at level 30). A successful reflex save reduces damage by half. Affected enemies who are Shaken become Afraid and have their movement speed reduced by 90% for 6 seconds. 25 SP, 12 second cooldown.
- Draconic Devastation: White
- Draconic Devastation: Blue
- Draconic Devastation: Black
- Draconic Devastation: Green
- Protection from Elements, Mass
- Freedom of Movement
- Death Ward
- True Seeing
- Howl of Terror
- Chain Lightning
- Cone of Cold
- Delayed Blast Fireball
- Black Dragon Bolt
- Poison Breath
Dragon Disciple Enhancement Tree
- Core 1: Draconic Studies: While you are centered, you can use your Wisdom modifier to hit. You are centered with one-handed Clubs and Sceptres. Each core ability in this tree grants you +3 Melee Power, +3 Universal Spell Power, and +3 MRR.
- Core 3: Way of the Mighty Dragon I: Like a Dragon, your power is undeniable. You gain +2 to your Spellcraft skill and +2 to Attack. At Dragon Disciple levels 9 and 15 these bonuses increase by +1. While you are Centered, you can use your Wisdom modifier to damage.
- Core 6: Way of the Mighty Dragon II: Your Way of the Mighty Dragon now includes +2% Doublestrike. At Dragon Disciple levels 9 and 15 this bonus increases by +1. You gain True Seeing.
- Core 12: Fist of the Dragon: Centered Melee Attack: Channel Draconic strength and the power of your weapons into your fist, hitting a single target+50% Damage. If you have a Power in Practice Imbue enabled, you deal 1d4 damage per Character Level of that imbue's element that scales with 100% Spell Power. (Uses Rune Arm Slam animation). Cooldown: 12 seconds.
- Core 18: Way of the Mighty Dragon III: Your Way of the Mighty Dragon now includes +3 Critical Confirmation and Critical Damage and +3 Imbue Dice. +10 Maximum Caster Level with Lesser Draconic Burst.
- Core 20: Draconic Apotheosis: Active: For 20 seconds, you take 50% less damage from Fire, Cold, Electric, Acid, and Poison, gain +2 to all Ability Scores, gain immunity to Sleep and Paralysis, +1 Critical Multiplier on a 19-20, +5% Spell Critical Damage, and Acolyte's Breath and Devastation both deal double damage. Cost: 100 Ki. 2 minute cooldown. Passive: +4 Wisdom, +3 Imbue Dice, +12 Melee Power, and +12 Universal Spell Power. +10 Maximum Caster Level with Lesser Draconic Burst and Draconic Burst.
Tier 1:
- Lesser Draconic Burst: You gain five SLAs, each in one of the Draconic elements, which all share a single cooldown. You channel ki to bring forth your Dragon's element in a small burst, hitting all enemies very close to you. (See spell above.) 4 second cooldown, costs 5 ki, must be Centered to use.
- Power in Practice: You gain five Imbue Toggles, each in one of the Draconic elements, which all share a single cooldown. Imbue Toggle: While you are Centered, your Draconic Studies embolden your weapon strikes, which deal 1d6 [fire, cold, electric, acid, or poison] damage on each hit. This damage scales with 100% of the relevant Spell Power.
- Study of Scales: +1/2/3 Fortitude Saving Throws.
- Draconic Devotion I: While Centered,+8 Universal Spell Power.
- Skills: +1/2/3 Spellcraft, Heal, and Listen. Rank 3: +3 MRR
Tier 2:
- Acolyte's Breath: You gain five SLAs, each in one of the Draconic elements, which all share a single cooldown. (See spell above). Activation Cost: 10 ki, must be Centered. Cooldown: 25 seconds
- Power Begets Power: Your melee strikes with weapons generate +2 Ki.
- Discipleship I: +1 Imbue Dice.
- Innate Arcana: Your studies have increased your maximium Spell Points by 30/60/90.
- Action Boost: Doublestrike
Tier 3:
- Draconic Burst: You gain five SLAs, each in one of the Draconic elements, which all share a single cooldown. You channel ki to bring forth your Dragon's element in a small burst, hitting all enemies close to you. (See spell above). 4 second cooldown, costs 5 ki, must be Centered to use.
- Way of the Dragon: Multiselector:
- Light Path: Channel the Enlightened Dragon: Activate: You and nearby allies become immune to daze, stun, and sleep for 60 seconds. (90 second cooldown, costs 10 ki) (Prereq: Light Philosophy)
- Dark Path: Channel the Raging Dragon: Activate: Nearby allies gain a +2 untyped bonus to attack, saves, and skills for 60 seconds. (90 second cooldown, costs 10 ki) (Prereq: Dark Philosophy)
- Clear Your Mind: Battle Trance: While Centered, you gain an Insight bonus to Attack, Damage and the DC of Tactical feats equal to 1/2 of your Wisdom modifier for 30/60/120 seconds. Every six seconds you spend Meditating using the Meditation feat restores 1 charge of this ability. Cooldown: 20 seconds. Activation Cost: 30 Ki. The effects of this Trance are dispelled if you are no longer Centered. Antirequisite: This ability can not be trained if you have any other Battle Trance ability (e.g. Know the Angles).
- Draconic Devotion II: While Centered, +8 Universal Spell Power and +1% Universal Spell Critical Chance. Your Breath Attacks apply Shaken to affected enemies for 6 seconds.
- Ability Score: +1 Str / Dex / Con / Int / Wis / Cha
Tier 4:
- Secret Power: Your Lesser Draconic Bursts now apply 2 stacks of Vulnerability to affected targets. Your Draconic Bursts now apply a stack of Weakened Will, Feeble Fortitude, and Reduced Reflexes to affected targets.
- Tranquility in Strife:Pick a weapon set to become Centered with.
- Dragon's Tooth: You are now Centered with Light and Heavy Pick
- Dragon's Tail: You are now Centered with Light Hammer and Warhammer
- Dragon's Claw: You are now Centered with Handaxe, Battle Axe, and Sickle.
- Discipleship II: +2 Imbue Die and +3 to Breath Weapon DCs.
- Draconic Devotion III: While Centered, +8 Universal Spell Power and +2% Universal Spell Critical Chance.
- Ability Score: +1 Str / Dex / Con / Int / Wis / Cha
Tier 5:
- Draconic Devastation: You gain five SLAs, each in one of the Draconic elements, which all share a single cooldown. Scales with 100% of spell power. Activation Cost: 15 ki, must be Centered. Cooldown: 25 seconds.
- Peace in Destruction: While Centered, you gain +1 Competence Bonus to Critical Threat Range and Critical Multiplier. Passive: You gain a +25% Competence bonus to maximum hit points.
- Perfect Disciple: +2 Breath Weapon DCs, +2 Evocation DCs, +2 Conjuration DCs, and +2 Transmutation DCs.
- Shining Scales: You gain +30 MRR cap.
- Perfect Breathing: +4% Universal Spell Critical Chance. Your Acolyte's Breath and Draconic Devastation SLAs have their cooldown reduced by 33%.
Frequently Asked Questions:
- Why does Dragon Disciple get Flight of Kings instead of the clearly-better Abundant Step?
- Dragon Disciple has quite a few other features going for it (like AOE spellcasting) that reduce its need to close the gap between the player and the enemy before initiating combat. Flight of Kings is thematic, still helps with traversal, but helps provide a counterbalance to the greater AOE potential here.
- Why did Dragon Disciple drop several Monk feats (Quivering Palm, etc) between the First Look and Preview 1?
- Because they gained a spellbook and a lot of power with it, there needed to be more counterbalancing vs. core Monk.
- Why did Dragon Disciple drop Metamagics from the Monk Feat List between the First Look and Preview 1?
- They were there in the first preview to help juice up your SLAs and make them more worth casting at early levels. However, with the addition of the spellbook, having them in the Feat List led them to be relatively overpowered compared to other low-level casters. The overall balance is still something we're working on.
- Why only two spell slots per level / four spell levels?
- While there's likely enough tools in the Dragon Disciple's toolbox to rely heavily on casting, given all the other Monk abilities and access we didn't want to put them on par with core Spellcasters that don't have those tools. Additionally, they gain quite a bit of power out of the SLA grants in the trees. Yes, they're going to have trouble dealing with Liches using their spells - Thankfully, they have access to their fists. And other ki weapons.
- Can we add (insert existing spell here) to the spell list?
- Potentially. In looking for spells for this list, we're primarily considering:
- Spells that have Draconic themes (fear, claws, wind, breath)
- Spells that can support the hybrid nature of Dragon Disciple
- Potentially. In looking for spells for this list, we're primarily considering:
- Can we add (insert Druid Animal Form spell here) to the spell list?
- No, it doesn't work and wouldn't without significant retooling or recreating the spell from scratch.
- Can we add (insert brand-new spell that doesn't currently exist here) to the spell list?
- Probably not. We've got balance and polish to do on this, the core Monk changes, the raid loot, and the Raid itself.
- What happened to Dragon's Divinity from the First Look?
- It just didn't work on a tech level, and we decided the balance implications would have taken Dragon Disciple in a different direction than we'd ultimately intended it for.
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