[Cleric] Bastion of Health vs. Cure Serious Wounds

[keterys]

I think it boils down to how many encounters you have per day in general. For my group, unless the daily provides a benefit throughout the encounter, I go with encounter utilities over dailies any day of the week. I'll often get 4 uses out of the encounter vs the 1 daily.

For groups that do fewer, CSW is a lot better. However, I think both powers are useful, I wish more powers in 4e were like this, too many levels have automatic winners for powers imo.

For groups that do fewer, CSW is less useful because they won't run out of surges.

Both powers are good, but I think _most_ people will be happier with bastion due to the range, action cost, and frequency of use.

I do know a certain suicidal rogue who never has enough surges that I'd bank CSW for, though

 

[nittanytbone]

Do you fight few encounters every day?

Do your fellow PCs tend to run out of healing surges before the rest of the group?

If so, CSW is a good bet.

Otherwise, Bastion of Health FTW -- minor action and encounter renewable. Divine Vigor is great in a part of dwarves, and Holy Lantern is passable if you are maxing perception/insight and/or are missing a wizard with his handy Light spell.

 

[Stalker0]

For groups that do fewer, CSW is less useful because they won't run out of surges.

To me the advantage of CSW isn't the healing without surges (it doesn't come up often enough in my opinion). I think its the mega bump in hitpoints it can give you. In any given fight you only get access to so much healing, so one that can give you 50% of your health back is pretty attractive.

 

[RefinedBean]

Well...I like Holy Lantern. A fun, useful, and potentially combat-changing at-will (fights in dark caves, under magical darkness, during a magical "brown-out") that grants a fairly sweet bonus to two skills that come up often in Skill Challenges?

Awesome power. Definitely overlooked.

 

[Ander00]

While it has nothing on being a Divine Oracle, a +2 bonus to Perception for the whole party is nothing to sneeze at. If you actually need the light, moving the thing around in combat is a bit of a hassle though (as it ceases to be if you move farther than 3 squares away from it).


cheers

 

[Thanee]

And if there's a Wizard around, there's no real need for it. Otherwise it might be useful, of course.

Bye
Thanee

 

[James McMurray]

At 5th level (the level before you get Holy Lantern), the lowest value treasure parcel is 110gp. You can set aside 20gp of that and get 80 hours worth of light in a 20 square radius. Or use 50gp of it to get an everburning torch and have the same light radius permanently. Unless you're in an incredibly skill challenge heavy campaign, a campaign with far less than average treasure, or have multiple healers so the extra combat healing isn't needed there's really no point in Holy Lantern.

 

[Nifft]

My multi-class Wizard was prepared to LURVE Bastion of Health. It turns his 1/day healing into 1/encounter + 1/day, and that's huge. For a large party, it might be great too, since it turns the Cleric's 2/encounter healing into 3/encounter.

Now that we have a real leader (Warlord), though, I'm thinking of trading that feat in...

Cheers, -- N

 

[Ander00]

Stuff

Yes, Holy Lantern really isn't worth it as a light source. I wouldn't put much value in its relevance to skill challenges either. The reduced chance to be surprised or fail to spot a lurker isn't too bad though, if you already have all the healing you'll need. Like if there's a paladin and two characters multiclassed into cleric in the party, and one of them has taken CSW - leading back to the point about things depending on your party composition.


cheers

 

[RefinedBean]

At 5th level (the level before you get Holy Lantern), the lowest value treasure parcel is 110gp. You can set aside 20gp of that and get 80 hours worth of light in a 20 square radius. Or use 50gp of it to get an everburning torch and have the same light radius permanently. Unless you're in an incredibly skill challenge heavy campaign, a campaign with far less than average treasure, or have multiple healers so the extra combat healing isn't needed there's really no point in Holy Lantern.

You make very good points. But still, CSW and Bastion of Health are fairly vanilla, and I like the fact that the Cleric gets access to a fun and useful at-will that can be refluffed to something quite fun, like a small holy servant or somesuch.

Ultimately, though, I completely agree: It depends on party composition and campaign design.

I just like to make sure the FUN powers don't go overlooked.