Grading At-Will Powers

[CubeKnight]

I'm intending to take a pass through the book that this thread has become, so that I can summarize and recreate it, and also split off a PH2 (and beyond) thread. I'll be going through trying to see if I should adjust any ratings on the front page, and adding ones for, say, Martial Power as I do so, but I'd also like to justify ratings given. I'm thinking of adding a section something like this for the powers - can you let me know if it's useful, not useful, or any suggested changes.

Grade Justifications:

When listing notable advantages and disadvantages of a power I’ll tag each with a number of + or – signs. One (+/-) signifies a minor advantage or disadvantage, two (++/--) moderate, three major, four extreme. These are not intended to be equivalent in any way; a single moderate advantage or disadvantage might outweigh several minor ones and a minor advantage might outweigh a minor disadvantage.

*CLERIC*[sblock]Lance of Faith: B+
Damage – Average
Advantage – Radiant (+), +2 attack bonus to an ally (++)
Disadvantage – Short range (-)
Summary – Lance of Faith is a good staple power that will almost always be helpful for setting up encounter and daily powers, or stronger damage attacks from other allies.

Priest’s Shield: C-
Damage – Average
Perks - +1 AC bonus to adjacent ally (+)
Downsides – position requirement (adjacent) a downside for melee (forsakes flank, sets up area attacks) (--)
Summary – Priest’s Shield is slightly better than a basic attack, but not appreciably. Its bonus is actually minor enough that its chance of mattering is very small and it is easily forgotten.

Righteous Brand: A+
Damage – Average
Perks - +Str bonus to attack for ally within 5 (++++)
Summary – Righteous Brand is extraordinarily powerful in certain groups for setting up ally attacks. Because it’s a Str attack based on Str, it’s power level is fairly extreme for setting up status effect and large damage attacks, especially at higher level.

Sacred Flame: A-
Damage – Low (-)
Perks – Radiant (+), Saving throw or Cha+Lvl/2 temp to ally within sight (+++)
Downsides – Short range (-)
Summary – Sacred Flame is fantastic for obtaining saving throws for allies, and its temporary hp can be quite considerable compared to the damage output of many creatures.[/sblock]

I'm thinking it would go after what's already there in the first post - so the summary is still intact, but then you can dig deeper.

I think it'd be a good idea to do so. Some powers may be better suited for certain builds, so you may want to take a lower ranked power if the disadvantages don't mean much to you.

 

[yesnomu]

I like this idea. I'll give it a shot for the Shaman At-Wills. First the decided ones:
[sblock]
Stalker's Strike: B-
Damage – High (+)
Advantage – Attack bonus to bloodied (+), flanking (+)
Disadvantage – v. Fort (-), flanking moves the spirit away from allies (--)
Summary – A good way to finish a fight between the damage and flanking, but moving the spirit to the other side of a monster negates your very potent Boon. No reason at all to take this as a Bear.

Protecting Strike: A
Damage – Average
Advantage – v. Will (+), nice amount of THP (++)
Disadvantage – Allies need to be next to spirit when it attacks (possible -)
Summary – Even the Panthers might want this, if their Con's OK. High chance of hitting, gives allies a great buffer, and lets you stand a comfortable distance away from the action. Fantastic power.

Defending Strike: B-
Damage – Average
Advantage – AC buff (+), doesn't require adjacent allies on use (+), affects you (+)
Disadvantage – Small, forgettable bonus
Summary – Not bad, but a bit redundant if you have PS. The AC buff could be forgotten pretty easily, you might want to take down allies' AC so you can remember for them. Good choice for a poor-Con Panther.

Haunting Spirits: A-
Damage – Low (-)
Advantage – V. Will (+), Psychic (+ later on), CA (+), unlimited ally range (+)
Disadvantage – Short range (-), may be unnecessary
Summary – It sucks to have to leave your position of safety and isolation, but this is a pretty good reason to get up close. Psychic is a great damage type if you grab Psychic Lock in Paragon--it turns this into a pretty encompassing debuff. Being able to designate any ally for the CA is nice for the Ranger without Distant Advantage or the Rogue going after a guy without flanking. But if everyone is flanking already, this might not be needed at all. This is a better offensive power than SS if the enemy isn't bloodied, but since PS targets Will, a Bear might prefer some NAD variety. Still, of all the defenses to attack with both, Will's the one you'd want.

Watcher's Strike: B+
Damage – Average
Advantage – Attack bonus (+), high Perception bonus (+), doesn't require adj. allies on use (+), affects you (+)
Disadvantage – Small, forgettable bonus
Summary – This is the offensive Defending Strike, with a weird (but high) Perception bonus added in. (Ask your DM about using it on an ally when you need to find something well-hidden out of combat!) Despite the increased risk of PvP bear savagings, this is a good choice for a Bear who wants the NAD versatility. Just don't let your friends forget the bonus!

Wrath of Winter: C+
Damage – High (+)
Advantage – Cold damage (+ later on), may save a dismissal action (+)
Disadvantage – v. Fort (-), Short range (-)
Summary – Decent damage, but targeting Fort mostly negates that. The teleporting is nifty (saving minors is nice), but the range is too short and accuracy too low for it to be broadly useful. If you go Lasting Frost/Wintertouched, this becomes pretty vital--though Shamans don't have a whole lot of cold spells in the first place.
[/sblock]