Grading At-Will Powers

[Thordain]

I think Commander's Strike is one of the most underrated at-wills: It's granting an extra attack (incl. Bonus) for the cahracter with the best damage output and it's very variable.

I totally agree. I think commander's strike is very strong. An 18 int taclord using commander's strike with a 20 str fighter is a very strong combination.

 

[keterys]

Commander's strike is quite good - it is very comparable to Sly Flourish. Add a stat to damage and all that. Its restrictions are more severe but it's got great perks if you sacrificed Str some or have certain allies (not cha pallies or trickster rogues generally)

 

[eamon]

This is a bit of thread necro here, but I was wondering if anyone thought it worthwhile to discuss the additions in martial power? (I guess the same goes for the encounter and daily threads, but I'll keep my necrotic action to a minimum ;-) )

 

[Mengu]

Here is my take for the new stuff since this list was initially made.

*ARTIFICER*
B+ / Aggrevating Force
B- / Thundering Armor

*BARBARIAN* (it's hard to judge these because eventhough they are at-will powers, they have some daily power effects built into them, which are hard to ignore when making a selection)
B / Howling Strike
B / Pressing Strike
B+ / Recuperating Strike

*CLERIC*
B+ / Lance of Faith
C- / Priest's Shield
A+ / Righteous Brand
A- / Sacred Flame

*DRUID*
C- / Call of the Beast
B+ / Chill Wind
B / Flame Seed
B / Grasping Claws
B+ / Pounce
B+ / Savage Rend
B / Storm Spike
B- / Thorn Whip

*INVOKER*
B- / Avenging Light
A- / Divine Bolts
B- / Grasping Shards
B+ / Sun Strike
A+ / Vanguard Lightning

*FIGHTER*
B- / Cleave
B- / Reaping Strike
F / Sure Strike (could be worked into a build that lets you use at-wills for OAs or purely as a minion killing maneuver)
B / Tide of Iron
B+ / Brash Strike
A / Crushing Surge
A- / Dual Strike
B+ / Footwork Lure

*PALADIN*
B- / Bolstering Strike
B / Enfeebling Strike
B+ / Holy Strike
B / Valiant Strike

*RANGER*
F / Careful Strike
C- / Hit and Run
B / Nimble Strike
A+ / Twin Strike
B / Circling Strike
C / Predator Strike

*ROGUE*
B- / Deft Strike
B+ / Piercing Strike
B- / Riposte Strike
B- / Sly Flourish
B+ / Disheartening Strike

*SWORDMAGE*
B / Booming Blade
B- / Frigid Blade
B / Greenflame Blade
C+ / Lightning Lure
B+ / Swordburst

*WARLOCK*
B+ / Dire Radiance
B- / Eldritch Blast
B+ / Eyebite
B+ / Hellish Rebuke
B- / Spiteful Glamor

*WARLORD*
B- / Commander's Strike
B+ / Furious Smash
B- / Viper's Strike
B / Wolf Pack Tactics
D / Brash Assault
C / Opening Shove

*WIZARD*
B+ / Cloud of Daggers
B- / Magic Missile
B- / Ray of Frost
A / Scorching Burst
A / Thunderwave
B / Illusory Ambush

 

[keterys]

Yay, Mengu I'll update the first post if people discuss the values.

 

[Zelc]

Forgive me if this has already been answered. Where would Sure Strike and Careful Attack be if they added Str/Dex to damage, and where would they be if they added Wis to damage? Probably slightly below the add 2 attributes to damage powers, right?

@Mengu: Why do you have Dual Strike as A- when Twin Strike is A+? They're the same power, and the only thing fighters are missing are Hunter's Quarry and only 1 die size of damage on each hand thanks to double weapons. It's still really good for pumping out damage.

 

[Mengu]

@Mengu: Why do you have Dual Strike as A- when Twin Strike is A+? They're the same power, and the only thing fighters are missing are Hunter's Quarry and only 1 die size of damage on each hand thanks to double weapons. It's still really good for pumping out damage.

Main reason is because with Dual Strike, you can't target two opponents, you must attack the same target. Secondly, the reason Twin Strike is so good is because it makes it much more likely to deal the Hunter's Quarry damage once per round. If fighters had such a feature that applied once per round to a target that's hit, this would bump the power up to an A (not an A+ because twin strike still has the advantage in minion clearing). The fighter's schtick is being able to mark things, and dual strike does not let them mark multiple targets. If it did, that alone might have pushed the power to an A+. As it stands, I think Dual Strike is an A- compared to Twin Strike which we graded an A+.

 

[BASHMAN]

I think I just came up with a decent fix for Careful Attack and Sure Strike to at least upgrade them to Cs or Bs, without being unbalanced.

+2 to hit, -2 to damage. Essentially it is an inverse power attack.

Lets look at it now. You have 18 dex using a longbow. Normally you have +6 hit 1d10+4 damage. Careful attack gives you +8 hit for 1d10 dmg. -4 damage for +2 to hit? The higher your dex, the worse it sucks. Lame.

Now the fixed version. Careful attack gives you +8 hit for 1d10+2 dmg. Compare to twin striking giving +6 to hit twice, each doing 1d10 dmg.

Assume an enemy has AC 17. A regular attack does an average of 4.5 damage. The Careful attack does an average of 3 damage. The Fixed Careful attack does an average of 5 damage. Twin Strike does an average of 5 damage as well.

Now lets take a higher level example. The character is level 20, has a +6 dex bonus, and a +3 weapon. he has +21 to hit and does 1d10+9 dmg with a regular attack. With Careful attack (RAW) he has +23 to hit and does 1d10+3 damage. Fixed Careful Attack he has +23 to hit and does 1d10+7 dmg. Twin Strike has two +21 attacks each doing 1d10+3 damage.

Assume the enemy has an AC of 32. His regular attack does an average of 7 damage. Careful attack (RAW) does 4.8 damage. Fixed Careful Attack does 7.2 damage. Twin Strike does 8 damage.

This fix keeps them relatively balanced, makes the at will still better than a regular attack, and continues to be useful even at level 20.

 

[burntgerbil]

Disheartening strike feels like it should be an A. A- at least. If you are a ruthless ruffian it is patently better than sly flourish. The -2 to all attacks the enemy makes is enormous. I will follow up after more play.

 

[Evilhalfling]

and for the Druid?