As a developer (not for D&D Beyond, but as a career), I can only speculate about all the moving parts. If they are going to implement a solution, it's not going to be *just* Mage Armor. That's like saying I'm only going to come up with a solution for 2x2 square Lego Bricks. All the other Lego Bricks will need to create a different solution.
Instead, they need to create a solution that handles not just Mage Armor, but all spells. And not just all spells, but features, feats, magic items, and a slew of other temporary changes to a character's stats.
But let's just stick with Mage Armor for the moment.
Just considering the UI, when casting a spell, there is a button next to the spell to use the spell slot; that would turn on the effect. But what would you click to turn it off? Mage Armor is not a Concentration spell, so you could cast it multiple times and have them all active. That rules out changing the "Cast" button to say "Active" and then click it again to turn off the feature. And because this one situation won't work, it shouldn't be used for any spell as it would confuse the user. And because the spell can be cast on someone else, it would need to be a button on every character sheet (not just the spell caster). So now you need to need to change around every UI to have a Mage Armor toggle. Or at the very least, an "AC modifier" dropdown. But how do you know all the features that will be in that drop down? Mage Armor, sure. But what about Shield of Faith? What about homebrew spells? And that's just a small sample of the development just to make one spell work so you don't have to use the other built-in, DIY solutions (modify the AC manually, homebrew wondrous items).
And that's UI. Now add in the logic of what happens when you cast the spell on someone that is wearing armor. Or while the spell is active dons armor? Walks through a magic suppression area?
Which also means that they need a way to store this information inside of the spell's data. And it can't be a one-off as there are lots of other spells that can affect character stat's like AC, and also to-hit, hit points, ability scores, etc.
What you see as a simple change has *HUGE* ramifications in how the page works, the UI, the UX (user experience), and updating how all spells, features, feature, magic items, and everything else are stored in the database.
The main issue, beyond Mage Armor, is that D&D beyond is riddled with issues like this. This is simply the one that sparked my ire enough to post after dealing with numerous bugs that have never been fixed for years on end. The underlying code is a janky mess that's horribly unoptimized and basically a mess of patchwork "solutions"
So yes, Mage Armor, as an individual issue is fixable through homebrew, DIY, methods, but when people have to cobble together dozens of tweaks and fixes while shelling out for a substandard product. It's just vexing to see people defend a billion dollar corp that would gladly find any reason to take more money from everyone here.
The main issue, beyond Mage Armor, is that D&D beyond is riddled with issues like this. This is simply the one that sparked my ire enough to post after dealing with numerous bugs that have never been fixed for years on end. The underlying code is a janky mess that's horribly unoptimized and basically a mess of patchwork "solutions"
But you are asking for another "patchwork solution".
And I understand the frustration; I've had an issue with customizing attacks since 2018 that's never been addressed. In a nut shell, you can add custom attacks to a character sheet; either as a weapon, a spell, or "general". But there are drop downs in one type that needs to be in the other. And fields that do exist that shouldn't be required. In my case, I was trying to make Shillelagh work on a magical staff. There is no way to combine magical bonuses, using Wisdom as the attack modifier, and changing the damage dice all in one go.
As another example, for Green-flame Blade, the damage that jumps to a second target, you cannot add the proficiency bonus to the damage, unless you make it an attack. Which means it has a "roll to attack" button, when one is not needed.
These are not things that can be fixed with wondrous items. But I make do. I'd rather they revamp the whole system then patchwork in small things.
As another example, for Green-flame Blade, the damage that jumps to a second target, you cannot add the proficiency bonus to the damage, unless you make it an attack. Which means it has a "roll to attack" button, when one is not needed.
You mean, like this?
Just use the fixed value. I mean you'd need to edit it whenever you increase your Spellcasting Ability but it's not like that happens often and it merely takes seconds.
Also, it uses your Spellcasting Ability for the initial extra damage to secondary target. You don't add your proficiency bonus to the damage.
Honestly, there's better ways, which I might make a video on, but this will do the job you want. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Yeah, I just customize it on my sheet, that’s what customization is for.
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As a developer (not for D&D Beyond, but as a career), I can only speculate about all the moving parts. If they are going to implement a solution, it's not going to be *just* Mage Armor. That's like saying I'm only going to come up with a solution for 2x2 square Lego Bricks. All the other Lego Bricks will need to create a different solution.
Instead, they need to create a solution that handles not just Mage Armor, but all spells. And not just all spells, but features, feats, magic items, and a slew of other temporary changes to a character's stats.
But let's just stick with Mage Armor for the moment.
Just considering the UI, when casting a spell, there is a button next to the spell to use the spell slot; that would turn on the effect. But what would you click to turn it off? Mage Armor is not a Concentration spell, so you could cast it multiple times and have them all active. That rules out changing the "Cast" button to say "Active" and then click it again to turn off the feature. And because this one situation won't work, it shouldn't be used for any spell as it would confuse the user. And because the spell can be cast on someone else, it would need to be a button on every character sheet (not just the spell caster). So now you need to need to change around every UI to have a Mage Armor toggle. Or at the very least, an "AC modifier" dropdown. But how do you know all the features that will be in that drop down? Mage Armor, sure. But what about Shield of Faith? What about homebrew spells? And that's just a small sample of the development just to make one spell work so you don't have to use the other built-in, DIY solutions (modify the AC manually, homebrew wondrous items).
And that's UI. Now add in the logic of what happens when you cast the spell on someone that is wearing armor. Or while the spell is active dons armor? Walks through a magic suppression area?
Which also means that they need a way to store this information inside of the spell's data. And it can't be a one-off as there are lots of other spells that can affect character stat's like AC, and also to-hit, hit points, ability scores, etc.
What you see as a simple change has *HUGE* ramifications in how the page works, the UI, the UX (user experience), and updating how all spells, features, feature, magic items, and everything else are stored in the database.
The main issue, beyond Mage Armor, is that D&D beyond is riddled with issues like this. This is simply the one that sparked my ire enough to post after dealing with numerous bugs that have never been fixed for years on end. The underlying code is a janky mess that's horribly unoptimized and basically a mess of patchwork "solutions"
So yes, Mage Armor, as an individual issue is fixable through homebrew, DIY, methods, but when people have to cobble together dozens of tweaks and fixes while shelling out for a substandard product. It's just vexing to see people defend a billion dollar corp that would gladly find any reason to take more money from everyone here.
But you are asking for another "patchwork solution".
And I understand the frustration; I've had an issue with customizing attacks since 2018 that's never been addressed. In a nut shell, you can add custom attacks to a character sheet; either as a weapon, a spell, or "general". But there are drop downs in one type that needs to be in the other. And fields that do exist that shouldn't be required. In my case, I was trying to make Shillelagh work on a magical staff. There is no way to combine magical bonuses, using Wisdom as the attack modifier, and changing the damage dice all in one go.
As another example, for Green-flame Blade, the damage that jumps to a second target, you cannot add the proficiency bonus to the damage, unless you make it an attack. Which means it has a "roll to attack" button, when one is not needed.
These are not things that can be fixed with wondrous items. But I make do. I'd rather they revamp the whole system then patchwork in small things.
You mean, like this?
Just use the fixed value. I mean you'd need to edit it whenever you increase your Spellcasting Ability but it's not like that happens often and it merely takes seconds.
Also, it uses your Spellcasting Ability for the initial extra damage to secondary target. You don't add your proficiency bonus to the damage.
Honestly, there's better ways, which I might make a video on, but this will do the job you want. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
My Homebrew: Races | Subclasses | Backgrounds | Spells | Magic Items | Feats
Need help with Homebrew? Check out this FAQ/Guide thread by IamSposta
See My Youtube Videos for Tips & Tricks using D&D Beyond
6 years and waiting.... DnDBeyond sucks
I ended up adding a rare an item to my inventory, customized it, and added to my equipment— not perfect, but it’ll do for now lol
For anyone who needs it, See Post 61 in this thread for a video on how to do this.
My Homebrew: Races | Subclasses | Backgrounds | Spells | Magic Items | Feats
Need help with Homebrew? Check out this FAQ/Guide thread by IamSposta
See My Youtube Videos for Tips & Tricks using D&D Beyond