Powers that weren't as good as you thought or were better.

[Kzach]

What powers did you go, "Ooh, cool!" when you read about them in the book and then decided after playing with the power in a game, wasn't as cool as you expected?

Or, on the flip-side, what powers have you discovered are really good that you thought sucked when you read them?

This is an entirely subjective issue. What one person thinks is great, another might think sucks. So not looking for arguments, just looking for what has been people's impressions of powers in actual game-play.

 

[Samp]

Dire Radiance and eye bite were two that in my mind were not going to get much use. It ended up that they both are not proud parts of my arsenal.

To be honest i have yet to be disappointed with any of my warlocks abilities yet. The only one i would maybe mention would be frigid darkness because it never seems to hit.

 

[babinro]

In terms of feats, Improved Misty Step turned out to be far better than I thought it would be. My friend who is playing a warlock has made a lot of good use out of it thus far.

As for powers, I find the Wizards Thunderwave At-Will to be worse than initially expected. Its hard to use the power without causing problems with your party, and you typically don't want to go running into a fray of monsters to use it as a wizard. I can only speak for the early game here though, it may get better as you access more feets/items/levels.

I agree with Eye Bite, I thought it was solid, but in play its proven to be extremely powerful and will likely continue to be this way throughout most of the game.

 

[Klaus]

Disappointment-wise, two of the PCs in my group (now 2nd level) traded away Villain's Menace (for Comeback Strike) and White Raven Onslaught (for Bastion of Defense).

 

[NorthSaber]

Sure Strike (Fighter At-Will 1) - I thought it might be a good option since attack bonuses are pretty rare, but then I did the math and realized how badly it sucks. Especially since my group also has a Paladin who gets Valiant Strike. Fortunately both Cleave and Reaping Strike are awesome (I use a longspear), so I don't mind.

Spinning Sweep (Fighter Encounter 1) - I thought tripping an opponent with the butt of my spear would be a cool maneuver, but I just ended up giving the enemy +2 to AC against our Ranger for a round as he just stood up on his turn (without provoking OA) and attacked me just like he would've anyway. Right now I think I have Passing Attack which has slight synergy with my reach weapon and provides extra mobility, which is fun.

Boundless Endurance (Fighter Utility 2) - So far I haven't been in a single fight where this has seen much use; usually by the time I'm Bloodied, I don't have time to wait for Boundless Endurance to heal me up, and even at 50% there's still a big chance to be cut down with a single strike. I'll get Rain of Steel soon, anyway, so it's no biggie to trade this for Unstoppable.

 

[Cadfan]

Effects which knock an enemy prone seemed way better than they turned out to be. Its easy for an enemy to stand back up, and the players in my group keep forgetting to delay their action until right after their enemy, THEN knock them prone, to maximize the team's ability to beat on the prone target.

 

[Pielorinho]

Our group's ranger just took "Yield Ground". Given his low wisdom (13, I think), I didn't think it was a great choice. But then the party got attacked by a couple of swarms, with their Don't Start Next To Me Or I Will Get All Up In Your Business aura 1. Things were looking bad for him on his next turn...

....oh, look! He yielded ground!

That utility may have kept him from going down. It was a great use of a power.

Daniel

 

[Mengu]

More than once, I heard the fighter say he would have used Sure Strike if he had it. Some encounters he never used Cleave. Cleave is certainly more useful at lower levels, but at higher levels, Sure Strike sure is nice. But perhaps grass is just always greener on the other side of the fence. Also, I was hesitant about his choice of No Opening. It turned out incredibly useful, preventing a bit of extra damage almost every encounter.

I thought Evasive Strike would be good for the ranger to get out of sticky situations. Whenever she used it (with one exception out of 6 encounters), it was not for the shift, just for the extra damage, and as such, Two Fanged Strike would have been much better.

I thought Bigby's Icy Grasp was great on paper. But whatever was grabbed managed to get out of it every time, so I was a bit disappointed with it, though that could just be dice rolls. The wizard also never used Dimension Door. Invisibility or Dispel Magic would have seen more definite use. Dispel Magic may not get used much, but when you need it, boy do you need it.

 

[Danceofmasks]

Effects which knock an enemy prone seemed way better than they turned out to be. Its easy for an enemy to stand back up, and the players in my group keep forgetting to delay their action until right after their enemy, THEN knock them prone, to maximize the team's ability to beat on the prone target.

Man, that's .. giving the enemy an extra turn!
Bad joss all round .. better to make the rest of the party delay until after you.

 

[Jeven]

I thought Yield Ground (Ranger Utility 2) was going to be great...then I ended up not using/needing it for like almost 4 sessions. I was going to trade it away at 4th level but then last session it saved my life..LOL. If it hadn't been for it, I would have been crit'ed twice instead of just once. So, Yield Ground will get to stay.