[They do, you can for instance decide to go for a reverberation variant of a tiger barbarian or a radiant orb stacking open hand monk. You can basically derive a specific version of a class that builds around a mechanic. I'd call that build enabling. Sure Heat is just damage but i could make a build around that mechanic and fullfil the conditions to be rewarded with extra fire damage.
I mean... Your build still functions. You still are playing Tiger Barbarian or Open Hand Monk even without these items.
All these items do, it make it so that when your build is doing what it does, it is also stacking a nifty debuff effect.
It's not making you be able to play Tiger Barbarian. It's not making you able to play Open Hand Monk. It's not even having a demonstrable difference in your gameplay, it's just "Oh, look, a nifty debuff alongside everything I'd normally be doing"
Not like a Returning weapon is making you able to play Throw Barbarian. Or Sparkswall and Watersparkers make you able to play Water Cheese Tempest Cleric.
I agree but i just don't think that making items boring in order to achieve that is the right way. Imagine exploring the world and all you get are items that are just statblocks without any interesting ability, it would feel so underwhelming especially if you defeat a boss and want to loot them or get a piece of gear as a quest reward.
I'm an old school MMO player. Much of my formative years was literally chasing statblock gear. It was never "Underwhelming" as it was always an enhancement to my character, making them perform better.
And, as I've pointed out several times, it doesn't necessarily have to mean "Gear is just statblocks" just that gear shouldn't have massively game changing abilities.
You can still have cool stuff. Effects that make you want to build a certain way to utilise them and neat interactions with skills and effects. But they shouldn't be so defining that there's a felt need to rush and acquire such items in order to have your character's build "Function".
No its not it depends on the amount you get The two items you mentioned are bad and good but not broken.
Being able to freely dump a stat is massive.
Even more so Gloves of Dexterity which sets you to 18. Which means that casters can run with 16 CON + 18 DEX and still have spare points to spread around for saves and skillcheck stats (Which for the player character, being able to nudge up CHR can help a lot in BG3)
There is not one build that becomes broken due to those two items. I don't think ive seen a single top tier build that uses one of them either.
Part of that is because top tier builds are often abusing Elixirs of Strength and so already get to dump a stat.
There's severe diminishing returns on using multiple stat setting items, because you run out of places to put the stat points you save (Especially so in BG3 where you're severely limited in stat point allocation)
which could have been helldusk, spell might or craterflesh gloves, where would you put those points to get a bigger benefit then wearing one of the better gloves like the aforementioned ones. Sure increasing wisdom might be nice for saving throws in case you get hit by a spell that requires it. But i would much rather do guranteed 3-6 times 1d6 extra damage with every single normal attack on every single turn for instance.
Honestly, I'd rather have Gloves of Dexterity over any of those (Well, Helldusk are neat for casters due to the +1 spell attack rolls and spell save DC). Even without the actual Dexterity modifying aspect. Damage is more available than attack. Especially when you factor in the meta feats like Great Weapon Mastery and Tavern Brawler.
+1 attack rolls > a single dice of damage on attacks (Or "Some attacks" as with Spell Might and Craterflesh)
Yes but the differences here are 1. the amount you gain 2. the fact that those are consumables that take up the elixier slot not a gear slot 3. the fact that tavern brawler is broken and scales with strength. Not every single item is MASSIVE just because it puts one of your stats to a fixed amount, but if you gain 21 or 27 strength with hill and cloud giant yes thats signifikant. But even than you would give up your elixier slot, which could have been bloodlust, so you still have a drawback by doing so.
Setting a stat to a fixed amount is a very potent effect. It always has been and always will be. Especially if the value it is set to is at all relevant (I.e. Club of Hill Giant Strength is less notable because 13 STR is not particularly relevant. While 18 DEX is above what a non-DEX based build will have)
Being able to duplicate items like this, can cause severe balance issues by enabling your entire party to get much higher stats by facilitating stat dumping. Hence them being problematic (In a way that's shown by Strength Elixirs and their ease of applying them to multiple characters in a party and thus allowing stuff like Tavern Brawler and Great Weapon Mastery go to town, while such characters can then shove all their stat points into DEX and CON making them not sacrifice any defences while getting everything out of their damage stat)
