Ferghis
First Post
I think this is the crux of the disagreement. I was going to look up a few examples of powers that could dramatically change an encounter, but it occurred to me that the response could easily be that those powers were overpowered as well. I want to keep the discussion focused on this power, so I'm not going there.Abalach-Re is a 23rd-level solo controller. Should a 10th-level power have that much impact?
So, I'll address the question posed: yes, I think that a daily utility, of any level, should be able to have a dramatic impact on an encounter. I'll go as far as saying that I think that dailies should occasionally even be able to resolve an encounter outright. It's fun to have characters that really "shine" once a day. "Thank god so-and-so had still had that power to use, or else we would be toast," they would say. But that's my position on game design; let's discuss the specific example you raise.
The monster in question, specifically, is one that novas poorly, and instead of occasionally inflicting lots of damage, inflicts less damage more frequently (via aura and ongoing damage). These are the kind of enemies that are best confronted by resist and regeneration. So a character that can conjure those traits should be expected to do very well against them. This is not a situation specific to Enter the Crucible: it's normal tactics. There is nothing wrong with this power that isn't also wrong with bringing a fire resistance potion to a fight against fire elementals. If you really want another example, a shifter defender, at epic, would have regeneration 6 (or 8, if a warden with Longtooth Spirit Shifter) when bloodied and resist 2 when bloodied. That would easily negate 10 damage almost every bloodied round of every encounter with an encounter power. The power we're debating is a daily utility: it should do dramatically more, and remain good throughout the character's career. Normal damage for a level 23 enemy is 4d6+17, and reducing that by 10 still averages over 20 damage per hit - for at-wills. Solos can do more, let alone with rechargeable or encounter attacks. Insubstantial monsters halve almost ALL damage PCs inflict: there is something to be said for allowing characters to sometimes have a similar impact on a fight.
So, to answer your question again, yes, it occasionally should.