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Potent Potables - The Artificer Manual (by Zathis)
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<blockquote data-quote="Nibelung" data-source="post: 6704882" data-attributes="member: 74499"><p><strong>Originally posted by Zathris:</strong></p><p></p><p><u>Powers</u></p><p>Powers are all split rated, the first color is for Wis builds, the second color is for Con builds, in the event of just 1 color, that means I think it’s of equal use to both secondary builds. I’ll also make note if there’s a particular PP or feat which increases the value of the power.</p><p>In addition to this, I’ll be noting any damage keywords as well as if the power uses an implement (Imp), melee (M), or ranged (R) weapon. I've decided to focus the ratings to being based on having fairly optimized allies with the idea being to give Magic Weapon's bonus to as many allies as possible and all other powers either working toward that goal or a useful action when MW simply isn't an option.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: center"><span style="font-size: 15px"><strong>At-Will Powers</strong></span></p><p></p><p>Other than Magic Weapon, I’m really not sure what a Wis build should be taking, certainly you can do things with various elemental types, but generally that doesn’t kick in until Paragon. Con can use Static Shock. The new trap powers making having forced movement a better thing.</p><p><strong>Show</strong></p><p>[sblock]</p><p><span style="color: #800080">Aggravating Force</span> – Only gives a bonus to one ally against one target, generally not worthwhile unless you’re set up to use Force Powers. Force, M/R vs AC.</p><p></p><p>Ethereal <span style="color: #ff0000">Chill</span> – It’s a burst! Oh wait, no it’s not. This works decently when centered on a sticky defender, better if you (and the defender) have Permafrost going. Range kind of sucks. Useless for Con builds. Cold, Imp vs Ref.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff9900">Magic Weapon</span> – Bonus accuracy, versatile, and really your only true Leader power. M/R vs AC.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Static</span> Shock – Effectively hands out Con temps to the person attacked by your target, which is a very nice effect, but it doesn’t scale. Becomes <span style="color: #0000ff">better </span>if you have the wand (but you have to be careful of the timing). Useless for Wis builds. Lightning, Imp vs Ref.</p><p></p><p>Thundering Armor – +1 AC isn’t that good, and you don’t want to be pushing an enemy away from your Defender, so its main use is to get an enemy away from someone who doesn’t want to be in melee. The wand only makes it a little better for Wis builds. Also can be <span style="color: #0000ff">good</span> with a trap build. Thunder, Imp vs Fort.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Unbalancing Force</span> – Thundering Armor pushes better, and Aggravating Force is a better Force power. Force, Imp vs Fort.</p><p>[/sblock]</p><p><u>Heroic</u></p><p><strong>Level 1 Encounter</strong></p><p>Spike Wire and Burning Weapons are the top choices for Wis and Con builds respectively. Ice Shard Traps is your Striker option.<strong>Show</strong></p><p>[sblock]</p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Burning</span></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff">Weapons</span> – Useless for Wis Builds. I've re-evaluated my rating for this power because of it stacking with MW, and with a focus on offensive power, this is actually kept for quite a while. Fire, M/R vs AC.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Drain Speed</span> – This power just reeks of bad. Necrotic damage, slowing, bonus to speed for an ally, and 5 temps … Necro, Imp vs AC.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Halo of Thorns</span> – Useless for Con Builds, and rarely better than Ethereal Chill anyway because it’s poison damage. I really don’t think they ‘got’ that Encounter powers need to be clearly better than At-Wills when writing these powers. You need to be using a Superior Xbow for this to be any good. Poison, R vs AC.</p><p></p><p>Ice Shard Traps – It’s tricky to get an enemy to step on a specific square, even if the traps are invisible, so you’ll need forced movement. Very versatile, you can either hit one enemy twice for a ‘nova’, or 2 enemies to aid cold multi-attacks, or one enemy in subsequent rounds so they suffer the vulnerability longer. However, if you don’t trigger it yourself, not every ally will benefit from it, so it kind of suffers from Dazing Rebuke syndrome. Cold, Imp vs Fort.</p><p></p><p>Scouring Weapon – Burning Weapons is better if you’re a Con build, but this is just enough better than Magic Weapon in a weapon heavy party (since you can take advantage of their lower defenses) to make it worth using. Acid, M/R vs AC.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080">Shielding Cube</span> – Not enough better than Thundering Armor, the effect still isn’t that great. Force, Imp vs Ref.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff">Spike</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Wire</span> – Useless for Con builds. Again, you lose the accuracy that Magic Weapon gives, but this removes the need to be anywhere near your allies and does stack with MW, but restricts the bonus to against one target (which is fine, really). Force, Imp vs Fort.[/sblock]</p><p><strong>Level 1 Daily</strong></p><p>You could probably set up Caustic Rampart with some Push powers, but Magic Weapon and Punishing Eye will probably still net you more damage. Con builds might want to take Icebound Sigil now to save on Action cost, and then Punishing Eye later<strong>Show</strong></p><p>[sblock]</p><p>Caustic Rampart – Wall 5 is small and you can never really block a Huge creature with this, it also only does damage on start of turns instead of entering, so even being DT, most enemies can just walk through it. Still, it’s a Wall at 1st level. Acid, Imp.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080">Flameburst Armor</span> – Fire is a common resistance, but also damage type. I really don’t see the At-Will it gives you being very useful, maybe for Minion Killing, but that’s not what Daily powers are for. Fire, Imp.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Icebound</span></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff">Sigil</span> – Useless for Wis builds. More stacking damage is very nice, and it affects attacks that lack a damage roll. That it works on any accessory is very nice for ranged strikers that aren’t likely to be next to you. Only better than Punishing Eye when dealing with ranged enemies and a Permafrost build. Cold.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Life-Tapping Darts</span> – I think this is actually worse than Drain Speed, 5 more THP and a little more damage doesn’t make a daily. Imp vs Ref.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080">Obedient Servant</span> – This thing’s aura is going to do about the same damage as Flameburst Armor. It enables you to OA decently and could substitute for a Defender since its OAs mark if it actually had good defenses. Imp vs AC.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff9900">Punishing Eye</span> – A great power all around unless your party finishes combats in 2 rounds or less. It's got a decent area, negates concealment (hey, it could matter!), and pings enemies with a separate damage instance so it works great with Vuln synergy. It even works on powers that lack a damage roll or don't deal damage at all (killing minions just by putting them to sleep: priceless). The action cost is pesky, but using it in T1 is worth the damage almost the entire game. Psychic, Imp.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">War Proxy</span> – Woo, a 3[w] power … that has a fairly useless effect. I guess you can shoot around corners, I just don’t see it being useful, much less necessary most of the time. M/R vs AC.[/sblock]</p><p><strong>Level 2 Utility</strong></p><p>Unless you’re not worried about saving throws, take Swift Mender.<strong>Show</strong></p><p>[sblock]</p><p><span style="color: #800080">Arcane Anchor</span> – Enemies generally don’t have significant forced movement, unless your DM really loves that sort of thing.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080">Arcane</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Springboard</span> – Useless for a Con build. It would be better if you could move it, or if it wasn’t only one square. As is, it’s really only good for the first rounds of combat to get your party into position, and you have better powers later on for that. Maybe if it was an encounter, or not a Standard action.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Bolster Armor</span> – The Shield effect doesn’t save this power from still just being +1 AC to 1 ally (your Resistive Formula does that). It needs to target multiple allies/yourself or have the Shield effect scale in order to compare to other leaders powers.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Reinforced Minion</span> – Your summons generally aren’t worth protecting to the extent of using a daily power.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Restorative Infusion</span> – This is pretty good until Resistive Formula becomes higher THP.</p><p></p><p>Shadowy Figurine – Kinda cool if you have allies that can stealth in partial concealment, and regardless it’s +2 Def against melee and ranged attacks. But it’s a daily that requires sustain minor, and isn’t Swift Mender.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff">Swift Mender</span> – Pretty much your only save granting ability, I only don’t list it gold because there’s a couple non-artificer ways of granting saves.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Use Magic Item</span> – Completely useless now, unless you never switched over to the rarity rules.[/sblock]</p><p><strong>Level 3 Encounter</strong></p><p>Both of the Interrupts here are fantastic, and Hypnotic Distraction scales into Paragon fantastically.<strong>Show</strong></p><p>[sblock]</p><p>Altered <span style="color: #800080">Luck </span>– Mostly useless for a Con build. Your general lack of save ends powers makes this a strange power to have; the effect is not that bad, but it’s really not as good as other options. Imp vs Will.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Force</span></p><p><span style="color: #800080">Infusion</span> – Mostly useless for a Wis build. Other than that, it’s just an Upgraded version of Unbalancing Force. Granting your allies the ability to push things really isn’t that useful unless you’re both building around that ability. Force, M/R vs Fort.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Hypnotic</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Distraction</span> – Useless for a Con build. Considering it’s a Psychic vs Will power, it’s actually pretty good even in Paragon if you’ve got a high Wis. Psychic, Imp vs Will.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080">Lightning Sphere</span> – While this is your first real burst power (which is the only thing keeping this out of the red), the damage is low, and the effect isn’t that great overall. Lightning, Imp vs Fort.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Phantasmal Henchman </span>– Basically, you give an ally CA for an attack as an II, so it might make them hit, and then you can make a Minor Action attack on your turn for decent damage and another full round of CA (2 rounds of CA for at least one of your allies). Psychic, Illusion, Imp vs Will.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Repulsion</span></p><p>Strike – Useless for a Wis Build. The Con version of Hypnotic Distraction, but slightly worse since it only affects melee. Force, M/R vs Ref.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff">Shocking Feedback</span> – Decent damage, you can end up preventing a good deal of damage with the granted resistance. <span style="color: #ff9900"><strong>Great</strong></span> if you can take Mark of Storm, since it then can negate an attack. Lightning, R vs AC.[/sblock]</p><p><strong>Level 5 Daily</strong></p><p>Smokepowder Detonation is an obvious choice as the first (rare) enabling power. Warweaver’s Tether is a great mobility power for you.<strong>Show</strong></p><p>[sblock]</p><p><span style="color: #800080">Corrosive Sigil </span>– Ongoing 5 Acid isn’t that exciting considering Icebound does Bonus Con damage (which will be higher later on). I guess, at least, it doesn’t matter if you’re Con or Wis. The end effect is also pretty decent if you’re a Con build in a martial party. Acid.</p><p></p><p>Dancing Weapon – Minor Action attacking Summon that doesn’t cause you to lose hp if it dies, but you will need a backup weapon. Not a bad power, just not a Leader power. M vs AC.</p><p></p><p>Flameheart Defender – Better than Obedient Servant as a Defender summon. It’s Mark it automatic and doesn’t end, it can also attack at range (let’s see a Fighter do that!). The Death burst is unfriendly, but this guy wants to be surrounded by enemies anyway. Fire, Imp vs AC.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080">Predatory Shards</span> – Comparing this to Punishing Eye just seems insulting. It does have an attack, that’s ally friendly, but it’s just not enough to make it worth it. Force, R vs AC.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff">Smokepowder Detonation</span> – Decent damage, but more importantly guarantees an ally can make an MBA, hopefully with a large bonus to hit. Basically a no-brainer for Wis builds, but Con ones have to choose between this and whichever power they didn't take at level 1. <span style="color: #ff9900">Great</span> for Spell Commanders with Arcane allies. Fire, Imp vs Ref.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Thunderclap Armor</span> – 1 At-Will power + the effect of another = Daily Power? No. Thunder, Imp vs AC.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Warweaver’s Tether</span> – Negligibly less useful for Con builds. Pick your favorite striker, hurt an enemy and create some distance, and then be able to teleport next to that ally for the rest of the encounter. Considering you always want to be near your strikers to give them buffs, this is actually kind of sweet. This Should have the Teleportation Keyword. Force, R vs AC.[/sblock]</p><p><strong>Level 6 Utility</strong></p><p>Energy Conversion is the best of the bunch. Con builds may want to retrain for Regeneration Infusion at higher levels, or take a Skill Power.<strong>Show</strong></p><p>[sblock]</p><p><span style="color: #800080">Animate</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Helper</span> – Useless for Con builds. Situational for Wis builds. Skill checks just don’t come up enough in combat for this to be needed.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff">Energy</span> Conversion –Effectively 2x(5+Wis) THP for an ally, as an Interrupt. Still pretty good for Con builds until late Paragon when Surge/Bloodied values get high enough.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Healing Reserve</span> – Energy Conversion just beats this so easily. Healing.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Phantom</span></p><p><span style="color: #800080">Structure</span> – That’s actually a really short distance (at most 7 squares when you can take this, and 12 by the end of epic) for a daily “bridge” power. I’d actually say Arcane Springboard is more useful, unless you’re a Con build and really want a “bridge” power.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Regeneration</span> Infusion – Useless for Wis builds. Really not better than Energy Conversion for Con builds at this level, but it scales better and is a source of actual healing (as opposed to THP). Healing.[/sblock]</p><p><strong>Level 7 Encounter</strong></p><p>There are 3 really good options at this level. Unless your DM miraculously doesn’t use a lot of enemies that cause (save ends) effects, take Arc Infusion. Vampiric Weapons is decent healing since you don’t have much in the way of actual healing yet. Lastly is the other II from level 3 (You did take one of them, right?)<strong>Show</strong></p><p>[sblock]</p><p><span style="color: #00ccff">Arc</span> Infusion – Not as useful for Con builds. Another encounter save, with a Wis bonus on the roll pretty much makes this a must-have for Wis builds. Bonus damage and Daze if they save (and they should). I don’t particularly like that you have to hit for them to get a save, and they have to save to daze the target, something should have been an effect there. Lightning, M/R vs AC.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080">Debilitating Intercession</span> – Attempts to prevent enemies from ganging up on an ally, but it can’t prevent the initial hit. Necro, R vs AC.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Gale-Force</span></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff">Infusion</span> – Not as useful for Wis builds. A large area control power (which is supposedly your secondary role) with a very nice defensive bonus for an ally. Imp vs Ref.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Icy</span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Weapons</span> – Useless for Wis builds. Only affecting adjacent allies makes this only really useful for Nova rounds, but being an Effect line, adding Slow, and working with slightly more implement attacks (Permafrost is more common than Fire builds) makes it at least a valid upgrade over Burning Weapons. Cold, M/R vs AC.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080">Runic</span></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Resistance</span> – Not as useful for Con builds. This is a very nice power for elemental fights, but it’s a bit too small an area for my tastes. Varies, Imp vs Ref.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Sphere of Reality</span> – Like with War Proxy, I just don’t see the point of being able to change your origin square for a class that fairly specializes in using attacks that are “ranged or melee”. Thunder, Imp vs Will.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080">Vampiric</span></p><p>Weapons – Not as useful for Wis builds. The bonus isn’t restricted to the target you hit, and will pretty much affect all your allies. With a couple items, this can dish out a decent amount of surgeless healing. Healing, Necro, M/R vs AC.[/sblock]</p><p><strong>Level 9 Daily</strong></p><p>Lightning Motes is probably the best choice here as your first real control power, nothing against Healer’s Momentum, I just think it’s better to prevent attacks than heal the damage.<strong>Show</strong></p><p>[sblock]</p><p><span style="color: #800080">Brittle-Skin Missile</span> – A ranged attack that gives vulnerability to melee attacks to one target? Maybe if your party is Melee heavy. R vs AC.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Healer’s Momentum</span> – Can’t say much bad about this power, off-turn is good, guaranteed to heal an ally that just took damage and grant lots of THP to other allies is also good. Healing, R vs AC.</p><p></p><p>Lightning Motes – A nice, friendly, Dazing power with guaranteed delayed damage. Lightning, Imp vs Ref.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080">Radiant</span></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Sigil</span> – Mostly useless for Wis builds. This is a good way to enable radiant damage and heal yourself or an ally. Probably get more healing out of Healer’s Momentum. Healing, Radiant.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #ff0000">Relentless Harrier</span> – There’s nothing special about this power, which is a nice way of saying it sucks and isn’t worth taking. Imp vs AC.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #800080">Static Shell</span> – Weak resist for this level, but it lets you do a mini burst pull on enemies around the resist target, which can help out your defender a lot. There are just so many other things you should be doing with your Standard Actions though. Lightning, Imp vs Fort.[/sblock]</p><p><strong>Level 10 Utility</strong></p><p>Several really good choices at this level, which is a real pity considering how sparse the previous levels were.<strong>Show</strong></p><p>[sblock]</p><p><span style="color: #800080">Dancing Shield</span> – The biggest problem here is you have to stay within 5 of the target, +4 AC/Ref is a huge bonus, but one person at a time and it’s a daily …</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #0000ff">Healing</span> Figurine – The Standard Action hurts, as well as having the drawbacks of a Summon. The big deal is that 3 allies can spend a minor to make a save and get surgeless healing. Not a power you want to need to use, but it can swing a tough fight, which is exactly what a leader daily should do. Healing.</p><p></p><p>Recuperative Enchantment – On average, this grants less healing per day than Healing Figurine, and no saving throws, which doesn’t make up for the better action type. (This Should have the Healing Keyword but Doesn’t)</p><p></p><p>Sigil o<span style="color: #0000ff">f Luck</span> – Not as useful for Wis builds. It’s like an Encounter-long Magic Weapon (and the damage bonuses stack). Ending the effect to remove a condition is very nice when needed.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: #00ccff">Slick Concoction</span> – Great for getting allies into position and it doesn’t cost you your own move action (unlike most other leaders’ similar powers). The Ref bonus is just icing.[/sblock]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Nibelung, post: 6704882, member: 74499"] [b]Originally posted by Zathris:[/b] [u]Powers[/u] Powers are all split rated, the first color is for Wis builds, the second color is for Con builds, in the event of just 1 color, that means I think it’s of equal use to both secondary builds. I’ll also make note if there’s a particular PP or feat which increases the value of the power. In addition to this, I’ll be noting any damage keywords as well as if the power uses an implement (Imp), melee (M), or ranged (R) weapon. I've decided to focus the ratings to being based on having fairly optimized allies with the idea being to give Magic Weapon's bonus to as many allies as possible and all other powers either working toward that goal or a useful action when MW simply isn't an option. [CENTER][Size=4][b]At-Will Powers[/b][/size][/CENTER] Other than Magic Weapon, I’m really not sure what a Wis build should be taking, certainly you can do things with various elemental types, but generally that doesn’t kick in until Paragon. Con can use Static Shock. The new trap powers making having forced movement a better thing. [b]Show[/b] [sblock] [COLOR=#800080]Aggravating Force[/COLOR] – Only gives a bonus to one ally against one target, generally not worthwhile unless you’re set up to use Force Powers. Force, M/R vs AC. Ethereal [COLOR=#ff0000]Chill[/COLOR] – It’s a burst! Oh wait, no it’s not. This works decently when centered on a sticky defender, better if you (and the defender) have Permafrost going. Range kind of sucks. Useless for Con builds. Cold, Imp vs Ref. [COLOR=#ff9900]Magic Weapon[/COLOR] – Bonus accuracy, versatile, and really your only true Leader power. M/R vs AC. [COLOR=#ff0000]Static[/COLOR] Shock – Effectively hands out Con temps to the person attacked by your target, which is a very nice effect, but it doesn’t scale. Becomes [COLOR=#0000ff]better [/COLOR]if you have the wand (but you have to be careful of the timing). Useless for Wis builds. Lightning, Imp vs Ref. Thundering Armor – +1 AC isn’t that good, and you don’t want to be pushing an enemy away from your Defender, so its main use is to get an enemy away from someone who doesn’t want to be in melee. The wand only makes it a little better for Wis builds. Also can be [COLOR=#0000ff]good[/COLOR] with a trap build. Thunder, Imp vs Fort. [COLOR=#ff0000]Unbalancing Force[/COLOR] – Thundering Armor pushes better, and Aggravating Force is a better Force power. Force, Imp vs Fort. [/sblock] [u]Heroic[/u] [b]Level 1 Encounter[/b] Spike Wire and Burning Weapons are the top choices for Wis and Con builds respectively. Ice Shard Traps is your Striker option.[b]Show[/b] [sblock] [COLOR=#ff0000]Burning[/COLOR] [COLOR=#00ccff]Weapons[/COLOR] – Useless for Wis Builds. I've re-evaluated my rating for this power because of it stacking with MW, and with a focus on offensive power, this is actually kept for quite a while. Fire, M/R vs AC. [COLOR=#ff0000]Drain Speed[/COLOR] – This power just reeks of bad. Necrotic damage, slowing, bonus to speed for an ally, and 5 temps … Necro, Imp vs AC. [COLOR=#ff0000]Halo of Thorns[/COLOR] – Useless for Con Builds, and rarely better than Ethereal Chill anyway because it’s poison damage. I really don’t think they ‘got’ that Encounter powers need to be clearly better than At-Wills when writing these powers. You need to be using a Superior Xbow for this to be any good. Poison, R vs AC. Ice Shard Traps – It’s tricky to get an enemy to step on a specific square, even if the traps are invisible, so you’ll need forced movement. Very versatile, you can either hit one enemy twice for a ‘nova’, or 2 enemies to aid cold multi-attacks, or one enemy in subsequent rounds so they suffer the vulnerability longer. However, if you don’t trigger it yourself, not every ally will benefit from it, so it kind of suffers from Dazing Rebuke syndrome. Cold, Imp vs Fort. Scouring Weapon – Burning Weapons is better if you’re a Con build, but this is just enough better than Magic Weapon in a weapon heavy party (since you can take advantage of their lower defenses) to make it worth using. Acid, M/R vs AC. [COLOR=#800080]Shielding Cube[/COLOR] – Not enough better than Thundering Armor, the effect still isn’t that great. Force, Imp vs Ref. [COLOR=#00ccff]Spike[/COLOR] [COLOR=#ff0000]Wire[/COLOR] – Useless for Con builds. Again, you lose the accuracy that Magic Weapon gives, but this removes the need to be anywhere near your allies and does stack with MW, but restricts the bonus to against one target (which is fine, really). Force, Imp vs Fort.[/sblock] [b]Level 1 Daily[/b] You could probably set up Caustic Rampart with some Push powers, but Magic Weapon and Punishing Eye will probably still net you more damage. Con builds might want to take Icebound Sigil now to save on Action cost, and then Punishing Eye later[b]Show[/b] [sblock] Caustic Rampart – Wall 5 is small and you can never really block a Huge creature with this, it also only does damage on start of turns instead of entering, so even being DT, most enemies can just walk through it. Still, it’s a Wall at 1st level. Acid, Imp. [COLOR=#800080]Flameburst Armor[/COLOR] – Fire is a common resistance, but also damage type. I really don’t see the At-Will it gives you being very useful, maybe for Minion Killing, but that’s not what Daily powers are for. Fire, Imp. [COLOR=#ff0000]Icebound[/COLOR] [COLOR=#00ccff]Sigil[/COLOR] – Useless for Wis builds. More stacking damage is very nice, and it affects attacks that lack a damage roll. That it works on any accessory is very nice for ranged strikers that aren’t likely to be next to you. Only better than Punishing Eye when dealing with ranged enemies and a Permafrost build. Cold. [COLOR=#ff0000]Life-Tapping Darts[/COLOR] – I think this is actually worse than Drain Speed, 5 more THP and a little more damage doesn’t make a daily. Imp vs Ref. [COLOR=#800080]Obedient Servant[/COLOR] – This thing’s aura is going to do about the same damage as Flameburst Armor. It enables you to OA decently and could substitute for a Defender since its OAs mark if it actually had good defenses. Imp vs AC. [COLOR=#ff9900]Punishing Eye[/COLOR] – A great power all around unless your party finishes combats in 2 rounds or less. It's got a decent area, negates concealment (hey, it could matter!), and pings enemies with a separate damage instance so it works great with Vuln synergy. It even works on powers that lack a damage roll or don't deal damage at all (killing minions just by putting them to sleep: priceless). The action cost is pesky, but using it in T1 is worth the damage almost the entire game. Psychic, Imp. [COLOR=#ff0000]War Proxy[/COLOR] – Woo, a 3[w] power … that has a fairly useless effect. I guess you can shoot around corners, I just don’t see it being useful, much less necessary most of the time. M/R vs AC.[/sblock] [b]Level 2 Utility[/b] Unless you’re not worried about saving throws, take Swift Mender.[b]Show[/b] [sblock] [COLOR=#800080]Arcane Anchor[/COLOR] – Enemies generally don’t have significant forced movement, unless your DM really loves that sort of thing. [COLOR=#800080]Arcane[/COLOR] [COLOR=#ff0000]Springboard[/COLOR] – Useless for a Con build. It would be better if you could move it, or if it wasn’t only one square. As is, it’s really only good for the first rounds of combat to get your party into position, and you have better powers later on for that. Maybe if it was an encounter, or not a Standard action. [COLOR=#ff0000]Bolster Armor[/COLOR] – The Shield effect doesn’t save this power from still just being +1 AC to 1 ally (your Resistive Formula does that). It needs to target multiple allies/yourself or have the Shield effect scale in order to compare to other leaders powers. [COLOR=#ff0000]Reinforced Minion[/COLOR] – Your summons generally aren’t worth protecting to the extent of using a daily power. [COLOR=#0000ff]Restorative Infusion[/COLOR] – This is pretty good until Resistive Formula becomes higher THP. Shadowy Figurine – Kinda cool if you have allies that can stealth in partial concealment, and regardless it’s +2 Def against melee and ranged attacks. But it’s a daily that requires sustain minor, and isn’t Swift Mender. [COLOR=#00ccff]Swift Mender[/COLOR] – Pretty much your only save granting ability, I only don’t list it gold because there’s a couple non-artificer ways of granting saves. [COLOR=#ff0000]Use Magic Item[/COLOR] – Completely useless now, unless you never switched over to the rarity rules.[/sblock] [b]Level 3 Encounter[/b] Both of the Interrupts here are fantastic, and Hypnotic Distraction scales into Paragon fantastically.[b]Show[/b] [sblock] Altered [COLOR=#800080]Luck [/COLOR]– Mostly useless for a Con build. Your general lack of save ends powers makes this a strange power to have; the effect is not that bad, but it’s really not as good as other options. Imp vs Will. [COLOR=#ff0000]Force[/COLOR] [COLOR=#800080]Infusion[/COLOR] – Mostly useless for a Wis build. Other than that, it’s just an Upgraded version of Unbalancing Force. Granting your allies the ability to push things really isn’t that useful unless you’re both building around that ability. Force, M/R vs Fort. [COLOR=#0000ff]Hypnotic[/COLOR] [COLOR=#ff0000]Distraction[/COLOR] – Useless for a Con build. Considering it’s a Psychic vs Will power, it’s actually pretty good even in Paragon if you’ve got a high Wis. Psychic, Imp vs Will. [COLOR=#800080]Lightning Sphere[/COLOR] – While this is your first real burst power (which is the only thing keeping this out of the red), the damage is low, and the effect isn’t that great overall. Lightning, Imp vs Fort. [COLOR=#0000ff]Phantasmal Henchman [/COLOR]– Basically, you give an ally CA for an attack as an II, so it might make them hit, and then you can make a Minor Action attack on your turn for decent damage and another full round of CA (2 rounds of CA for at least one of your allies). Psychic, Illusion, Imp vs Will. [COLOR=#ff0000]Repulsion[/COLOR] Strike – Useless for a Wis Build. The Con version of Hypnotic Distraction, but slightly worse since it only affects melee. Force, M/R vs Ref. [COLOR=#00ccff]Shocking Feedback[/COLOR] – Decent damage, you can end up preventing a good deal of damage with the granted resistance. [COLOR=#ff9900][b]Great[/b][/COLOR] if you can take Mark of Storm, since it then can negate an attack. Lightning, R vs AC.[/sblock] [b]Level 5 Daily[/b] Smokepowder Detonation is an obvious choice as the first (rare) enabling power. Warweaver’s Tether is a great mobility power for you.[b]Show[/b] [sblock] [COLOR=#800080]Corrosive Sigil [/COLOR]– Ongoing 5 Acid isn’t that exciting considering Icebound does Bonus Con damage (which will be higher later on). I guess, at least, it doesn’t matter if you’re Con or Wis. The end effect is also pretty decent if you’re a Con build in a martial party. Acid. Dancing Weapon – Minor Action attacking Summon that doesn’t cause you to lose hp if it dies, but you will need a backup weapon. Not a bad power, just not a Leader power. M vs AC. Flameheart Defender – Better than Obedient Servant as a Defender summon. It’s Mark it automatic and doesn’t end, it can also attack at range (let’s see a Fighter do that!). The Death burst is unfriendly, but this guy wants to be surrounded by enemies anyway. Fire, Imp vs AC. [COLOR=#800080]Predatory Shards[/COLOR] – Comparing this to Punishing Eye just seems insulting. It does have an attack, that’s ally friendly, but it’s just not enough to make it worth it. Force, R vs AC. [COLOR=#00ccff]Smokepowder Detonation[/COLOR] – Decent damage, but more importantly guarantees an ally can make an MBA, hopefully with a large bonus to hit. Basically a no-brainer for Wis builds, but Con ones have to choose between this and whichever power they didn't take at level 1. [COLOR=#ff9900]Great[/COLOR] for Spell Commanders with Arcane allies. Fire, Imp vs Ref. [COLOR=#ff0000]Thunderclap Armor[/COLOR] – 1 At-Will power + the effect of another = Daily Power? No. Thunder, Imp vs AC. [COLOR=#0000ff]Warweaver’s Tether[/COLOR] – Negligibly less useful for Con builds. Pick your favorite striker, hurt an enemy and create some distance, and then be able to teleport next to that ally for the rest of the encounter. Considering you always want to be near your strikers to give them buffs, this is actually kind of sweet. This Should have the Teleportation Keyword. Force, R vs AC.[/sblock] [b]Level 6 Utility[/b] Energy Conversion is the best of the bunch. Con builds may want to retrain for Regeneration Infusion at higher levels, or take a Skill Power.[b]Show[/b] [sblock] [COLOR=#800080]Animate[/COLOR] [COLOR=#ff0000]Helper[/COLOR] – Useless for Con builds. Situational for Wis builds. Skill checks just don’t come up enough in combat for this to be needed. [COLOR=#00ccff]Energy[/COLOR] Conversion –Effectively 2x(5+Wis) THP for an ally, as an Interrupt. Still pretty good for Con builds until late Paragon when Surge/Bloodied values get high enough. [COLOR=#ff0000]Healing Reserve[/COLOR] – Energy Conversion just beats this so easily. Healing. [COLOR=#ff0000]Phantom[/COLOR] [COLOR=#800080]Structure[/COLOR] – That’s actually a really short distance (at most 7 squares when you can take this, and 12 by the end of epic) for a daily “bridge” power. I’d actually say Arcane Springboard is more useful, unless you’re a Con build and really want a “bridge” power. [COLOR=#ff0000]Regeneration[/COLOR] Infusion – Useless for Wis builds. Really not better than Energy Conversion for Con builds at this level, but it scales better and is a source of actual healing (as opposed to THP). Healing.[/sblock] [b]Level 7 Encounter[/b] There are 3 really good options at this level. Unless your DM miraculously doesn’t use a lot of enemies that cause (save ends) effects, take Arc Infusion. Vampiric Weapons is decent healing since you don’t have much in the way of actual healing yet. Lastly is the other II from level 3 (You did take one of them, right?)[b]Show[/b] [sblock] [COLOR=#00ccff]Arc[/COLOR] Infusion – Not as useful for Con builds. Another encounter save, with a Wis bonus on the roll pretty much makes this a must-have for Wis builds. Bonus damage and Daze if they save (and they should). I don’t particularly like that you have to hit for them to get a save, and they have to save to daze the target, something should have been an effect there. Lightning, M/R vs AC. [COLOR=#800080]Debilitating Intercession[/COLOR] – Attempts to prevent enemies from ganging up on an ally, but it can’t prevent the initial hit. Necro, R vs AC. [COLOR=#0000ff]Gale-Force[/COLOR] [COLOR=#00ccff]Infusion[/COLOR] – Not as useful for Wis builds. A large area control power (which is supposedly your secondary role) with a very nice defensive bonus for an ally. Imp vs Ref. [COLOR=#ff0000]Icy[/COLOR] [COLOR=#0000ff]Weapons[/COLOR] – Useless for Wis builds. Only affecting adjacent allies makes this only really useful for Nova rounds, but being an Effect line, adding Slow, and working with slightly more implement attacks (Permafrost is more common than Fire builds) makes it at least a valid upgrade over Burning Weapons. Cold, M/R vs AC. [COLOR=#800080]Runic[/COLOR] [COLOR=#ff0000]Resistance[/COLOR] – Not as useful for Con builds. This is a very nice power for elemental fights, but it’s a bit too small an area for my tastes. Varies, Imp vs Ref. [COLOR=#ff0000]Sphere of Reality[/COLOR] – Like with War Proxy, I just don’t see the point of being able to change your origin square for a class that fairly specializes in using attacks that are “ranged or melee”. Thunder, Imp vs Will. [COLOR=#800080]Vampiric[/COLOR] Weapons – Not as useful for Wis builds. The bonus isn’t restricted to the target you hit, and will pretty much affect all your allies. With a couple items, this can dish out a decent amount of surgeless healing. Healing, Necro, M/R vs AC.[/sblock] [b]Level 9 Daily[/b] Lightning Motes is probably the best choice here as your first real control power, nothing against Healer’s Momentum, I just think it’s better to prevent attacks than heal the damage.[b]Show[/b] [sblock] [COLOR=#800080]Brittle-Skin Missile[/COLOR] – A ranged attack that gives vulnerability to melee attacks to one target? Maybe if your party is Melee heavy. R vs AC. [COLOR=#0000ff]Healer’s Momentum[/COLOR] – Can’t say much bad about this power, off-turn is good, guaranteed to heal an ally that just took damage and grant lots of THP to other allies is also good. Healing, R vs AC. Lightning Motes – A nice, friendly, Dazing power with guaranteed delayed damage. Lightning, Imp vs Ref. [COLOR=#800080]Radiant[/COLOR] [COLOR=#0000ff]Sigil[/COLOR] – Mostly useless for Wis builds. This is a good way to enable radiant damage and heal yourself or an ally. Probably get more healing out of Healer’s Momentum. Healing, Radiant. [COLOR=#ff0000]Relentless Harrier[/COLOR] – There’s nothing special about this power, which is a nice way of saying it sucks and isn’t worth taking. Imp vs AC. [COLOR=#800080]Static Shell[/COLOR] – Weak resist for this level, but it lets you do a mini burst pull on enemies around the resist target, which can help out your defender a lot. There are just so many other things you should be doing with your Standard Actions though. Lightning, Imp vs Fort.[/sblock] [b]Level 10 Utility[/b] Several really good choices at this level, which is a real pity considering how sparse the previous levels were.[b]Show[/b] [sblock] [COLOR=#800080]Dancing Shield[/COLOR] – The biggest problem here is you have to stay within 5 of the target, +4 AC/Ref is a huge bonus, but one person at a time and it’s a daily … [COLOR=#0000ff]Healing[/COLOR] Figurine – The Standard Action hurts, as well as having the drawbacks of a Summon. The big deal is that 3 allies can spend a minor to make a save and get surgeless healing. Not a power you want to need to use, but it can swing a tough fight, which is exactly what a leader daily should do. Healing. Recuperative Enchantment – On average, this grants less healing per day than Healing Figurine, and no saving throws, which doesn’t make up for the better action type. (This Should have the Healing Keyword but Doesn’t) Sigil o[COLOR=#0000ff]f Luck[/COLOR] – Not as useful for Wis builds. It’s like an Encounter-long Magic Weapon (and the damage bonuses stack). Ending the effect to remove a condition is very nice when needed. [COLOR=#00ccff]Slick Concoction[/COLOR] – Great for getting allies into position and it doesn’t cost you your own move action (unlike most other leaders’ similar powers). The Ref bonus is just icing.[/sblock] [/QUOTE]
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Potent Potables - The Artificer Manual (by Zathis)
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