Help con retraining a 1st Level Power

[sfedi]

I´m a Human Fighter, multiclassed with Cleric in a party of 2 Wizards and 1 Warlock.

I had Covering Attack as an Encounter Power, but since my buddies aren´t usually in melee, I don´t find it useful.

Now I´m 2nd level and I´m planning to retrain it.

My problem with the other encounter powers are these:

Passing Attack: good power, but useless vs one foe. I´d rather have a power to beat one enemy faster. All in all, my best option so far.

Spinning Sweep: being prone, impose penalties to ranged attacks, which my buddies do plenty. Even if I delay until I´m last in my turn, I can´t see how much of a hindrance is to be prone since you can get up as a moev action without provoking AoO

Steel Serpent Strike: I like this power, but I can´t seem to find what it adds to my repertorie, since my Combat Challenge + Combat Superiority is better than this. In fact, if I want to keep an enemy close to me, Spinning Sweep seems a better choice.

So, Passing Attack seems the better power so far, but I can´t find how/when the other powers could be useful.

Opinions/Help?

 

[pallen]

I´m a Human Fighter, multiclassed with Cleric in a party of 2 Wizards and 1 Warlock.

With three vulnerable companions, your primary job is going to be to tie up one or two melee opponents while your allies mop up the rest. They are probably going to go down quickly if they find themselves toe-to-toe with anyone.

With that in mind...

Passing Attack: good power, but useless vs one foe. I´d rather have a power to beat one enemy faster. All in all, my best option so far.

This power lets you mark two opponents. That's two opponents that will take penalties to hitting your friends and draw extra attacks from you if they try to shift away or take a swing at an adjacent ally.

Spinning Sweep: being prone, impose penalties to ranged attacks, which my buddies do plenty. Even if I delay until I´m last in my turn, I can´t see how much of a hindrance is to be prone since you can get up as a moev action without provoking AoO

This will allow you to keep a single opponent tied up. If you hit an opponent with it, he has to waste his move action to stand up, which makes him more likely to stand still and keep attacking you.

Steel Serpent Strike: I like this power, but I can´t seem to find what it adds to my repertorie, since my Combat Challenge + Combat Superiority is better than this. In fact, if I want to keep an enemy close to me, Spinning Sweep seems a better choice.

If you've got an enemy who's determined to shrug you off and attack an ally, this would probably be your best choice. However, it's probably not the best choice for your situation.

 

[Kordeth]

Passing Attack: good power, but useless vs one foe. I´d rather have a power to beat one enemy faster. All in all, my best option so far.

Given that you're the only defender in the group and 4E fights are usually against multiple enemies, I'd submit that this is probably the best encounter power for you. the ability to tag two targets with a mark is very handy indeed, and good for the kind of crowd control you need.

Spinning Sweep: being prone, impose penalties to ranged attacks, which my buddies do plenty. Even if I delay until I´m last in my turn, I can´t see how much of a hindrance is to be prone since you can get up as a moev action without provoking AoO

Being prone grants anyone in melee combat advantage, which is nice for you, and you're basically forcing the target to waste most of its next round if it wants to engage anybody but you (move to stand up, standard used as a move to shift away).

Steel Serpent Strike: I like this power, but I can´t seem to find what it adds to my repertorie, since my Combat Challenge + Combat Superiority is better than this. In fact, if I want to keep an enemy close to me, Spinning Sweep seems a better choice.

Combat Superiority does not let you make OAs, it lets you make immediate interrupt melee attacks. Combat Superiority only works with OAs. Steel Serpent Strike keeps the target from shifting away from you, which it can otherwise do.

So, Passing Attack seems the better power so far, but I can´t find how/when the other powers could be useful.

 

[sfedi]

Thanks, I didn´t realized that I could mark more than one enemy at a time.

 

[The Grackle]

I'd go with SSS. The target can't shift, so it would have to move to get away from you, and would draw an OA. That means you could save that rounds Combat Challenge for some other creature trying to shift past. Plus slow lasts at least one round, and possibly a couple more, so it seems better than spinning sweep to knock a guy prone. (now if you had a rogue, it might be different)