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Warlord Tactics
2 years ago  ::  Sep 25, 2008 - 11:57AM #1
Alphastream1
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Date Joined: 01/31/06
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Warlords have some great tactics they can employ, bringing strategy to the actions of the whole party. I wrote a bit about this here, but I'll rehash and add some more for discussion.

Unlike anything in 3.5 outside of wizards and above most 4E classes, a Warlord can really use tactical thinking to vastly change combat.

Some examples, just at low levels:

- The obvious: Encourage everyone to use their Action Points to the right effect (when hurt or when using a Daily or strong Encounter power, depending on Inspiring vs Tactical).
- Knight's Move combined with an important tactical action by another player. Rogue readies to disarm/disable the trap once they are standing in front of it. Rogue readies to unlock the door once in front of it. Any ranged combatant readies to attack once in range of a enemy. Melee readies to attack when in front of a creature. Then the Warlord goes, uses Knight's move, then the other PC resumes their turn.
- Knight's Move combined with delay to move a Defender into the room first, so as to start combat in the most advantageous way possible.
- Melee combatants can benefit greatly from readying in conjunction with using action points and a warlord using Warlord's Favor and/or Commander's Strike. The number of attacks that a PC can make, many at a very high bonus, is absurd. This is especially true with Action Points (yours and the other PC's).
- Another PC readies to attack when they are flanking (or when you attack), you then use Wolf Pack Tactics. They now act before you finish, attack, then you complete Wolf Pack tactics with a flank bonus. A nifty way to get two PCs to benefit from flanking.
- For some benefit, PCs near the Warlord in inititiative could gain an extra round of bonuses from delaying until the PC uses Lead the Attack
- For many of these, the Warlord uses Delay. They could also use ready.
- Using Warlord healing powers for light healing or for healing the PC that has lots of surges, while using a cleric's healing for the big wounds or with PCs that have fewer surges.

Some may seem obvious, but it takes the Warlord (and the Warlord's player) really acting as a leader to help make these types of strategies something the party employs often. Playing this way is also great fun.

Teos
Drom Battlecaller, Dwarven Warlord of the East Rift
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2 years ago  ::  Oct 10, 2008 - 8:49AM #2
Manrikigusari
Posts: 10
Date Joined: 10/08/08
The only thing about delaying an action for a Warlord is how delays are treated. If you have an effect that ends during your turn this round, when you delay, that effect ends. If you attempt to make an action during your initiative in the round, that effectivly puts you in your action sequence, and delaying is not allowed. Of course, using immediate and free actions do not trigger your action sequence, which would allow you to use abilities with those keywords and allow the delay.

Playing a warlord poorly really makes it a useless class. Playing it well makes it really fun and powerful class. Have you checked out the artificer? It's pretty fun and allows for a lot of flavor along with a little tactic making, especially when you MC warlord.
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2 years ago  ::  Oct 16, 2008 - 10:38PM #3
matthra
Posts: 81
Date Joined: 09/02/04
I've also put down some ideas on tactical uses of warlords powers, which can be viewed here, and I'm always on the look out for feedback.

A few ideas that bear repeating:

Defend via diagonals and attack via horizontal or vertical vectors.

Use defenders/low priority targets to block charge lanes.

The better your defenses are the more each point of defense reduces the damage you take. So stack up since leaders are a high priority target for intelligent monsters, and warlords tend to be on the front lines.

Offense is preferable to defense, offense can end an encounter and defense can only prolong it.
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