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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 4913761" data-attributes="member: 82106">I have to agree that it is Oath of Enmity that is the real core feature of the Avenger. Just like Sneak Attack, Curse, and Hunter's Quarry are the core features of other striker classes. They're what define how you fight. Getting those extra dice of damage, and in the case of the avenger effectively a +4 to-hit is the key to damage dealing. Just like it is up to the rogue to get combat advantage, it is up to the avenger to move into a position where he can get the double die roll from OoE. It really isn't any harder either. The other players know how your character works, and they can position themselves accordingly. They can also apply forced movement to the enemy in order to help you out. You can shift, you can move, you can use powers like Angelic Alacrity, feats, items, etc to give you extra capability there. Its really the same story as with the rogue trying to get CA, just kind of in reverse. There are a dozen ways to maximize a rogue's chances to get CA and a dozen ways to maximize the avenger's chances of being non-adjacent to enemies that aren't his oath target.The Censure is a fairly nice extra bonus, but I see it as being a bit like the rogue's weapon talent feature. Sure it helps a lot and you try to use it as best you can, but compared to the advantage granted by OoE it is fairly trivial. An effective +4 to hit and an almost doubled crit frequency beats the TAR out of any static damage bonus. Plus even if your censure NEVER triggers you still forced the enemy to do something that you wanted them to do. It is a no lose proposition. Maybe avenger powers are considered mediocre, but the odd thing about it is that the avenger is the one striker class that isn't built around "big-bang" styles of offense. Their whole shtick is that they just keep hitting round after round. They don't need a power that does mega-damage or anything super incredible. They really are pretty much a walking class feature. Notice too, their powers are not really sub-standard, they are just supportive of the use of the oath more than an end in themselves. You fire of an Aspect of Might and do 3[W] + WIS damage (not actually bad at all for a level 1 daily) but the till end of encounter effect is what's nice because it goes right along with the oath, tossing in an extra +2 damage and making it just that much easier to move around and get that thing working and keep it working.Honestly if I have a negative on the avenger it isn't mechanical at all. Its more in the nature of the class. It is so incredibly focused on its "thing" that the character is a bit one-dimensional as a result. You can play to that and make a fun character, but I do feel like its one of those classes someone will likely only play once. You could play wizards for years and not touch all the RP possibilities, avenger not so much.So it is an oddball class and probably not the pinnacle of 4e classes, but lets face it, not every new class is going to occupy such a key place in the game as the big 4.</blockquote>

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