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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Veep" data-source="post: 6708000" data-attributes="member: 6793297">Heroic Tier Attack Powers: Learning your lessonsLevel 1 EncounterMost of you will go for Roots of Stone, though there's a lot of good options. Lifespirit might favor Warden's Sacrifice.Level 1 Encounter Earth Spikes (PH2): Creates an enemies-only damage zone. Decent, not special.Gale Strike (PP): Highest damage output at this level, though if you're Stormheart the battlefield just changed a good bit.Grasping Winds (PP): Good way to make sure everyone is close to you right before marking them all.Hungry Earth (PH2): Burst 1, and accurate. The effect doesn't stack with your forms, however.Rending Fury (PP): Roll two attack rolls and use either. It also inflicts a huge penalty to attacks that don't include you, by a huge amount for Wildblood. If someone else is marking the target, you've just created a lose-lose situation.Roots of Stone (PP): An enhancement to your stickiness. The damage kicker is just icing for Earthstrength, the 'stay or fall over' on those it hits is enough to make it awesome.Stinging Nettles (D 392): I've come down against Blast 2 attacks before. You'll rarely get more than 2 enemies in a Blast 2, and the power is completely wasted against solos.Thunder Ram Assault (PH2): Why are you pushing targets away? You want them close. If an Earthstrength can get ahold of a Controlling Weapon (polearm only) to make the big primary push into a slide, it gets a lot better.Tremor Slam (D 383): I see the situation where this is useful often: you mark 2 guys, one walks away to take on your ally. You pound on the remaining guy, and it freezes the guy who walked away in place. Damage kicker is off your primary too instead of a secondary.Warden's Sacrifice (PH2): Good damage output, and you turn into a Temp HP turret. If you're a Lifespirit, that's a heck of a lot of Temp HP. If you have a Smart DM, however, this isn't as useful, because it will cause the enemies to go find another target.Wildblood Frenzy (PP): Multitarget attack, so static damage bonuses abound, especially for Wildblood. Just damage though.  Level 1 DailyAll the powers here are Polymorph keyword forms. They have a Minor action entry fee, then an Encounter attack while you're in the form. With a few exceptions you'll probably want Form of Winter's Herald.Level 1 Daily Form of Mountain's Thunder (PP):If you're multiclassing Barbarian this is an option to get some damage out there. The toughness and defense boost is nothing to sneeze about.Form of the Dread Serpent (PP): Easily outclassed by Mountain's Thunder.Form of the Faultless Tracker (PP): The form is marginally useful, but the attack that goes with it is pretty decent.Form of the Fearsome Ram (PH2): Good attack power, and the form allows you to push people all over the place. If you're of a race that likes to charge, it's even better.Form of the Laughing Killer (PP): Granting CA against adjacent enemies is decent, but it doesn't give you the ability to keep them adjacent. Your ranged allies probably have ways of getting CA without your help.Form of the Relentless Panther (PH2): The form makes you more mobile, and the attack is decent, but not special.Form of the Swamp Hunter (PP): The form is decent, if situational. The attack can be 3[W], hard to find at level 1.Form of the Walking Conflagration (D 383): Your marks gain fire vulnerability (or partially negates fire resistance), and the attack dazes.Form of the Willow Sentinel (PH2): Now non-dwarves can negate forced movement. The encounter is an interrupt that causes a penalty to the triggering attack roll, hit or miss.Form of Winter's Herald (PH2): Difficult terrain in burst 2, so your marks are probably not shifting away. And it travels with you. That's pretty awesome. The attack immobilizes in burst 1. That's pretty awesome too. Oh, you gain cold resistance too. I'm loathe to give an attack power gold, but this comes close.  Level 3 EncounterEarthstrength will probably want Rough Strike, and Lifespirit will likely choose Strongskin Clash, but other builds have several good choices.Level 3 Encounter Breath of Chaos (D 383): Close Blast 2? You'll be lucky to get two guys in the zone. The damage against marked foes doesn't really make up for the lack of Strength. The move + insubstantial makes it a decent choice. Mark the BBEG, hit him with this, then walk around behind him.Burst of Earth's Fury (PH2): Clost Burst 1, anything hit can't shift. If you have Sudden Roots, they aren't going anywhere.Earthgrasp Strike (PH2): It's not a lot different from a 2[W] attack that prones, except the second half is delayed until they stand up again. Unless you're an Earthstrength, in which case you can go find another target, because the melee striker's already licking his lips.Guardian Shock Wave (PP): Creates a prone zone around the target, and that's decent, but I want more here.Predatory Guardian (PH2): You get to use the Battlemind's Blurred Step once per encounter, except at a more reasonable distance. Burst of Earth's Fury prevents them from shifting. Go for that instead.Pressing Attack (PP): So you move, then attack. But without the +1 from charging. At least it's decent damage, or this would be red. For Wildbloods though, the distance moved will eventually be considerably higher than you could charge, so until you swap it out at level 13 or 17, it's decent.Rough Strike (PP): Earthstrength + Crippling Crush makes this 2[W] + Str + 2xCon. Oh, and they're slowed, which makes this good for everyone else too.Storm Throw (D 379): I originally thought that you needed a ranged weapon, and was shown my mistake. You can throw your Mordenkrad if you really want to. Useful if you really really want a ranged attack power, but you're better off just buying a throwing hammer, javelin, or some other heavy thrown weapon, because this power isn't special.Strongskin Clash (PP): Burst 1 attack that grants a bit of resistance to allies within. Unless you're a Lifespirit, in which case your allies will love you.Thundering Strike (PH2): A standard attack that dazes. Well, and deafens, but no one cares about that really.Violent Bolt (PP): A power where the kicker for having a certain build actually makes it worse. Someone else is given a choice between prone and damage. The kicker piles on more damage to both options, so no non-minion is going to choose prone over a few HP worth of damage.  Level 5 DailyOther powers were better options until Boiling Cloud showed up and knocked most of them down a notch.Level 5 Daily Boiling Cloud (D 383): This power is very reminiscent of the daily forms you get at other levels, but without the Polymorph keyword, so they stack. The ally-friendly zone does damage, grants concealment, and can be expended to do a fairly accurate and damaging attack that is both close blast 3 and clost burst 1. I'm hesitant to rate a power gold, but this one comes close.Clutching Mire (PP): A fairly controllery blast that slows and can create a sustainable zone that slows. Unlike boiling cloud, though it requires a minor action to keep around, but you don't have a lot of uses for your minor, so it could be worse. Since it slows, though, the initial attack can do a lot of damage with Crippling Crush, so that's something.Earth-Shaking Rend (PP): This is exactly like Clutching Mire except that it prones instead of slows.Hail of Thorns (PH2): Another close blast 3 attack that slows, except this one adds poison damage. And doesn't persist.Lifebind Attack (PP): Hit or miss, the penalty inflicted by your mark for not including you in an attack just became much bigger. Good damage too.Rampant Forest(PP): If you're facing a lot of enemies, that can be an awful lot of difficult terrain. If you're facing one big guy, that's still a lot. Decent damage, and it's somewhat accurate.Storm Strike (PH2): Yet another close blast 3, this one slides the targets hit or miss. It's hard not to find situations where this could be useful.Thunder Step (PH2): Teleport, make an accurate swipe, then daze hit or miss. Very flashy. If you have Echoes of Thunder, even better.Wellspring Strike (PP): If you're a Lifespirit, you'll probably love the secondary leader ability this grants.Winter's Grip (PH2): It's a lot like Clutching Mire, except that it's cold damage. If you or someone in your party is into that sort of thing, the damaging zone can be a pretty good source of extra damage.  Level 7 EncounterGuardian's Pounce is a no-brainer for Wildblood, and a good option for everyone else too. Earthstrength will go for that or Mountain Hammer. Lifespirit wardens will likely want Sheltering Storm. Stormheart are the only ones who would consider Winter's Claws, though I would probably still take Guardian's Pounce.Level 7 Encounter Angry Spirits (PP): Close burst 2, enemies only, targets will. But it's only damage.Earth Gift (PH2): A decent 2[W] swipe, with some surgeless healing tacked on if you hit.Forge of Fire and Smoke (D 383): So, a decently damaging power that grants the blast area concealment. This is a trap, as it's likely your enemies and not your allies that get to take advantage of that fact.Guardian's Pounce (PP): A solo or an elite walks over to an ally with intent to smash, you walk over and impose a hefty penalty to all that enemy's attacks that round. If you're a Wildblood, you don't even need to be close.Limbs of a Tree Spider (D 379): A small amount of damage to two creatures within three squares. Boring.Mountain Hammer (PH2): Somewhat accurate, decent damage, and impose a -2 to hit. For the Earthstrength the penalty becomes huge.Mountain's Stature (PP): For most wardens, this is Thorn Strike vs 2 targets (I find pulling to you more useful than proning). For Earthstrength polearm users, this is a significant upgrade.Sheltering Storm (PP): Ally-friendly close burst 1, and an effect that seriously raises your defender capital for a round. If you're a Lifespirit, you'll love this.Stalker's Positioning (PH2): Reposition a couple enemies with a slight damage kicker for Wildblood. There are much better options for rearranging the board.Thorn Burst (PH2): Accurate strike, and a damage splash (that doesn't autohit).Winter's Claws (PP): If you're a Stormheart, it becomes pretty decent, as the target has to attack you or will cause some damage to his allies. Add in Lasting Frost and watch hilarity ensue.  Level 9 DailyBack to the polymorph forms. This time we have another clear winner, in Form of the Oak Sentinel.Level 9 Daily Form of Paradise's Bounty (PP): The burst healing this form grants is pretty decent, as you do go through a lot of surges. The attack power also dazes and slows. Not special, but not bad.Form of the Flame Snake (PP): This form is all about fire damage. Since fire resistance is fairly common, this one just isn't as useful as it could be.Form of the Frenzied Wolverine (PH2): If you are a dwarf, stay away, but everyone else will love second winding as a minor that encounter (or twice that encounter, starting at level 10).Form of the Hunting Shark (PP): The form is only partially useful if there's no water on the battlefield, and the damage kicker on the attack if they're bloodied doesn't really add to your ability to defend.Form of the Oak Sentinel (PH2): Wow, where to begin? You gain reach, and enemies who hit you take damage. The attack is an interrupt that triggers when an enemy targets an ally that does 2[W] and then forces the triggering attack to target you instead.Form of the Sirocco (PP): Untyped resistance, boosts to mobility, and an attack that blinds make for a solid option.Form of the Stalwart Mastadon (PP): Good for those wardens that like moving enemies around the battlefield.Form of the Stone Sentinel (PH2): A huge boost to durability, which is enough to make it blue. Nothing else to look at though.Form of the Storm Eagle (PH2): I would feel better about this power if it didn't say that you "must land at the end of the action", which I interpret to mean that you can't use an action to attack after flying up to where the bad guy is hovering. Which leaves charge actions and the attack power granted by the form against that guy.Form of the Vengeful Storm (D 383): The flight just isn't as useful as it could be due to the altitude limit, but the enemy sliding can be fun. The attack is just decent.</blockquote>

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