[.11] Unified Blow

How does Unified Blow interact with bow users?

Can't be done? Has to be from the back? Can be done from the front?

Thanks,
-Joe

edit nvm, found it in the packet. Works from anywhere, so that's real real good.

 

Follow-up, does gaining the body carrier, imply I cannot use the carrier of the signature spell?
SILF for Celestial users for instance.

 

Additionally, can flexible casting be used with unified blow and combined strike to make a prison spell into the 8th level strike/blow? (I recognize that that is a terrible choice)

 

oh man I hope so, that was the build idea. 8 level spell for 70 damage packet throw. Sure weapon over spell, but with meditate blocking is not a huge issue.

 

5.3.3 New Stealth Skills
Note that, unless otherwise specified, a "from behind" skill will, as today, work with ranged weapons from any direction.


So yeah, you could use United Blow at range.

 

Does Flexible Casting work with Unified blow?

 

I would assume so, though I guess FC specifies “casting” while UB would be “expending.” So it would depend on whether they intended that to be systematically equivalent, because it’s technically different things.

@Polare ?

 

What someone from our chapter said is: Flexiable casting says "convert a spell in memory", where United Blow says "expend any signature spell...from memory"

So maybe they don't work together, since the Signature Spell isn't technically from memory? Either way, would love clarification one way or the other (since it will decide if I pick up flex casting at all)

 

I asked polare about this and he said it didn't synergize that way for Combine blow atleast.

 

Well that's too bad. Just means one less thing I need to spend build on (but then I have to be more careful with my spell selection)

 

Sadly it makes Flex casting and combined strike/unified blow a nonbo.

As a 40th earth templar I would prefer flex casting, personally. I would rather have the massive flexibility in memorizing then swinging a few heals as blockable damage against undead. For Earth Combined Strike feels pretty narrow use.

 

It's a strike, isn't it? So it wouldn't be blockable.

 

Yup my bad, was thinking unified blow. Still not that interesting, How much healing are you really going to memorize? I would rather Flex cast, personally so I can memorize more dooms, paralyze, confine etc, and have healing as needed.

 

Combined Strike and United Strike are explicitly intended to encourage memorizing Signature Spells. Flexible casting is intended to give access to Signature Spells while allowing broader memorization. The two are not intended to work together; instead, they should be seen as a choice the caster needs to make to gain access to different things at different times.

 

Or, another way to think about it: Flexible Casting may be used with "batteries" (Spell Store, Memory Strike) but not additional "conversions" (United Strike, Expanded Strike, Warrior's Incantation).

 

So, the way this ends up being read, are Archers with spell trees intended to be much more powerful than Celestial Casters? Why would I incant, and then throw 40 Spell Flame, when I can not incant, and throw 80 Body?

 

Continuing this thought:

Why channel when you can arcane Archer?

 

Shields.

Edit: Also, defenses. Weapon attacks are far cheaper and easier to negate than Elemental attacks.

 

Weapon strike will also ignore a shield.

 

The downside is that you have to memorize signature spells (ie, you can't use flexible casting) which means you are only memorizing damage. You are trading away flexibility. And as Draven pointed out, there are more defenses that work against it.

Its also a lot of build to get to that point - you need both formal magic and 60 points in stealth skills. So its probably starts being viable at around 200 points. So to be an adept with a bow, you are probably giving up 20+ formal magic levels over a straight celestial caster. At that level of build, you could also possibly be channeling and throwing 30 damage elemental packets for significantly more times than you have spell slots.

I'm not arguing you aren't correct about the power. It also feels like something that keeps getting stronger the higher build totals you get.