User:HarveyPekar/Differences between Tactician and Balanced

Tactician difficulty, as a harder difficulty option, carries with it many differences gameplay. Chief among these are enhanced statistics and abilities for creatures. These can be increased ability scores, new passives, permanently applied conditions, or even new or improved actions. This is a list of all such noted differences.

Flat increases

These are clearly defined changes that are implemented across races of creatures, subsets within those races, or upon individual creatures.

Racial bonuses

These are bonuses implemented to every member of a specific playable or non-playable race. Some specific creatures or characters encountered within those races may gain additional bonuses, as detailed later.

Racial Bonuses on Tactician

Race	Bonuses
Intellect Devourers	Synaptic Discharge
Phase spiders	24 +1  24 +1
Goblins	Fury of the Small
Ogres	24 +1
Bugbears	Savage Attacker
Minotaurs	Savage Attacker  Brutal Critical
Kobolds	24 +2  Evasion
Merregon	Sentinel: Vengeance  Sentinel: Opportunity Advantage  Sentinel: Snare
Meenlocks	24 +1  24 +4
Githyanki	Psionic Empowerment

Group Bonuses

Some bonuses are applied to subsets of creatures within a race. This can include named NPC's, as long as the group they belong to can be easily generalized. For example, githyanki NPC's who wield a crossbow - generically called a "Githyanki Raider" even if their name is Hi'So'Ka or Ki'Lua - in Act One can expect to get the same Tactician bonuses. These apply in addition to any other racial or individual bonuses.

Group Bonuses on Tactician
Group	Bonuses
Githyanki Raiders (Level 5)	Archery
Githyanki Gish (Level 5)	War Caster: Concentration  War Caster: Opportunity Spell
Githyanki Warriors (Level 5)	Great Weapon Fighting
Githyanki Ardent (Level 5)	Potent Cantrip
Redcap Blood Sage	Wisdom +3  War Caster: Concentration
Agile Guardian	Colossus Slayer
Robust Guardian	Improved Critical Hit

Unique individual bonuses

For any uniquely named NPC that gets their own bonuses. If a named NPC doesn't neatly fit into a generic group, as described above, they'll be included here.

Group Bonuses on Tactician
Group	Bonuses
Commander Zhalk	Extra Attack  Opportunity Attack
Gandrel	Scar of the Dunes
Hyena	Alert and additional +4 initiative, for a total +11 Initiative
Dror Ragzlin	Extra Attack
Buthir	Buthir's Wrath provides physical resistances
Ancient Giant Eagle	24 +2  24 +2  Signalling Cry summons 5 Giant Eagles, instead of 3
Kith'rak Therezzyn	War Caster: Concentration  War Caster: Opportunity Spell
Ur'uth and D'hak	Extra Attack
Varsh Ko'kuu	Affected by  Mage Armour  Crossbow Expert: Point-Blank  Crossbow Expert: Wounding
Sa'varsh Kethk	Archery
Ghustil Stornugoss	Affected by  Mage Armour
Death Shepherd	No Rest for the Wicked revives targets with full HP

Act 1

• Bulette: phys rezzes, dual acid res? (or is this honour?)
• Mimic: phys rezzes
• merregon legionnaire: sentinel passives (possibly racial?)
• Death Shepherd: No Rest for the Wicked revived with full HP

Act 2

Act 3

• Viconia DeVir: Sentinel buffs + protector, Tenacity 5
• Houndmaster Pol, Zina, Rocky, and Gordis: Hunter's Camouflage. The dogs also get Evasion.

Cross-Act

• Voss: +2 str, +1 dex

Exception(s)

The enemies in one specific encounter, the goblin raiding party at the Druid Grove gate, are exempt from buffs. The goblins, led by Za'Krug, and the bugbear are missing the passive bonuses that are found elsewhere on otherwise identical creatures on Tactician. They retain, however, the Tactician HP bonus.

Variable increases

These are changes that are implemented to varying or uncertain degrees across enemies in the game.

Health

It's all over the place man it's just all over the place

Behavior Changes in AI

Is there any actual documentation on this or is it hearsay