Wayfinder’s was an initial exploration, but the core idea was to differentiate. Wand/staff/rod is about ongoing damage, orbs are defensive, crystals are burst. A 2H weapon increases range but sacrifices a hand — rifle vs pistol.
— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) November 2, 2018
The common item effect in Wayfinder’s are quite minor, but it’s certainly exploring the idea that choice of arcane focus should be meaningful.
— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) November 2, 2018
Not… really? I just think that the situations where +range helps are very corner-case, and they’re about the staff-wielder establishing range while the wandslinger CAN’T. Which amounts to griefing the wandbro, and that’s not the shootout I wanna see.
— Harbinger of Doom (@BrandesStoddard) November 2, 2018
The wandbro has various advantages—versatility (Carry a different wand or orb in your other hand! Go wand & shield!) and concealability. You can tuck a wand in your boot… not so easy with a staff. So I’m fine with the staff user having the edge on range.
— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) November 2, 2018
But again: Wayfinder’s is just exploring the idea in 5E; there may be better ways to implement it. (“Implement” it — get it?) but I certainly like the idea of focus being an interesting choice rather than purely cosmetic.
— Keith Baker (@HellcowKeith) November 2, 2018