LittleElvis
First Post
I'm mainly into Paladins thus far, and I have to disagree a bit with some of the rankings I've seen on these.
A-/9 for Holy Strike
B+/8 for Valiant Strike
(when you have both Holy and Valiant, then Valiant's value goes up to A-/9)
B-/6 for Enfeebling Strike
B-/6 for Bolstering Strike
First, I think the STR-based at-will are, per se, far better than the CHA-based ones. I've playtested with both types and the STR based ones are more effective and definitely more fun.
Holy Strike is the King. It gives Paladins a way to become effective DPR dealers, and only gets better with age; you can still benefit from it at high levels. It benefits from either Weapon Focus or Astral Fire feat and your WIS (at Epic level that's +3 and +WIS), and critters vulnerable to radiant take more damage. And you can make a critter vulnerable to Radiant 5 with a 5th level Daily power. Basically, if you want to feel like you're helping the party deal damage, you really need this one.
However, Valiant Strike is about equal to Holy Strike, especially in Heroic before you've pumped your WIS.
Basically, Holy Strike is almost always better than Valiant Strike against one adjacent opponent as long as you have at least +1 from WIS and as long as the opponent isn't either a Minion or real low on hp (do the math, and you will find this). Yes, the +1 to damage is mathematically better than the +1 to hit at low levels in DPR against all level-appropriate opponents (if it wasn't, there wouldn't be a feat that gives you +2 damage for -2 to hit called Power Attack--it would be worthless). With a WIS mod of +2 or higher, Holy Strike really tends to outpace Valiant against 1.
Valiant Strike is almost always better against 3 or more adjacent opponents, until maybe later with a high WIS mod to go with Holy. Holy can be roughly equivalent to Valiant vs 3 if you maximize your Holy Strike potential, though; in that case, the DPR might be about equal, but the +15% to hit is more attractive. Against 4 or more opponents, it's always advantage Valiant. However, Holy would obviously best Valiant against 3+ if the target is vulnerable to Radiant and your Holy bonus damage is decent, or if you have a Holy Avenger.
Against 2 adjacent opponents, Holy and Valiant are about equal. It depends on the weapon type, magic enhancement, WIS bonus, if you have Weapon Focus or Astral Fire, etc. The closer your two attacks are in damage dealt, and the higher the damage dealt by the two, the better Valiant is vs. Holy Strike vs 2 adj opponents. And the reverse is true for Holy being better than Valiant vs. 2. It depends. If you don't want to do the math, flip a coin. If you maximize the Holy Strike potential, it is probably better vs 2, though.
So they are about equal, but Holy Strike has a very nice potential to give you much better DPR, and thus it shines a little brighter (wah, wah). They make a great team, though, as you can pick and choose which one fits the situation and your stats and items.
Bolstering is okay if your WIS mod is at least +3, and in some cases it can even be a life-saver. But offensively it has no special value at all. If you're surrounded by strikers (and without much in the way of healing from the rest of the party) and you are THE party's tank, then Bolstering's value goes way up. But you can still be a tank without it. And its value really drops as you gain in levels and hp.
Enfeebling ... oh man, that is a boring one. But it can help keep you or an ally from getting hit, and thus has some value. Again, no particular offensive value whatsoever, so Holy/Valiant are better overall. It's okay. It's best against a controller who is about to AoE your party, or an opponent with a really nasty effect to its attacks that you want to avoid at all costs. It can be useful. But I feel sorry for anyone playing a CHA-Paladin that has to use it all the time until you get a bunch of Encounter and Daily powers that you can replace it with. Unless it's an attack that you really want to avoid or you desperately need to stall your death, you would've been better off getting the extra damage of Holy Strike or the + to hit from Valiant Strike against most opponents. But it's not bad at all against a really tough opponent.
A-/9 for Holy Strike
B+/8 for Valiant Strike
(when you have both Holy and Valiant, then Valiant's value goes up to A-/9)
B-/6 for Enfeebling Strike
B-/6 for Bolstering Strike
First, I think the STR-based at-will are, per se, far better than the CHA-based ones. I've playtested with both types and the STR based ones are more effective and definitely more fun.
Holy Strike is the King. It gives Paladins a way to become effective DPR dealers, and only gets better with age; you can still benefit from it at high levels. It benefits from either Weapon Focus or Astral Fire feat and your WIS (at Epic level that's +3 and +WIS), and critters vulnerable to radiant take more damage. And you can make a critter vulnerable to Radiant 5 with a 5th level Daily power. Basically, if you want to feel like you're helping the party deal damage, you really need this one.
However, Valiant Strike is about equal to Holy Strike, especially in Heroic before you've pumped your WIS.
Basically, Holy Strike is almost always better than Valiant Strike against one adjacent opponent as long as you have at least +1 from WIS and as long as the opponent isn't either a Minion or real low on hp (do the math, and you will find this). Yes, the +1 to damage is mathematically better than the +1 to hit at low levels in DPR against all level-appropriate opponents (if it wasn't, there wouldn't be a feat that gives you +2 damage for -2 to hit called Power Attack--it would be worthless). With a WIS mod of +2 or higher, Holy Strike really tends to outpace Valiant against 1.
Valiant Strike is almost always better against 3 or more adjacent opponents, until maybe later with a high WIS mod to go with Holy. Holy can be roughly equivalent to Valiant vs 3 if you maximize your Holy Strike potential, though; in that case, the DPR might be about equal, but the +15% to hit is more attractive. Against 4 or more opponents, it's always advantage Valiant. However, Holy would obviously best Valiant against 3+ if the target is vulnerable to Radiant and your Holy bonus damage is decent, or if you have a Holy Avenger.
Against 2 adjacent opponents, Holy and Valiant are about equal. It depends on the weapon type, magic enhancement, WIS bonus, if you have Weapon Focus or Astral Fire, etc. The closer your two attacks are in damage dealt, and the higher the damage dealt by the two, the better Valiant is vs. Holy Strike vs 2 adj opponents. And the reverse is true for Holy being better than Valiant vs. 2. It depends. If you don't want to do the math, flip a coin. If you maximize the Holy Strike potential, it is probably better vs 2, though.
So they are about equal, but Holy Strike has a very nice potential to give you much better DPR, and thus it shines a little brighter (wah, wah). They make a great team, though, as you can pick and choose which one fits the situation and your stats and items.
Bolstering is okay if your WIS mod is at least +3, and in some cases it can even be a life-saver. But offensively it has no special value at all. If you're surrounded by strikers (and without much in the way of healing from the rest of the party) and you are THE party's tank, then Bolstering's value goes way up. But you can still be a tank without it. And its value really drops as you gain in levels and hp.
Enfeebling ... oh man, that is a boring one. But it can help keep you or an ally from getting hit, and thus has some value. Again, no particular offensive value whatsoever, so Holy/Valiant are better overall. It's okay. It's best against a controller who is about to AoE your party, or an opponent with a really nasty effect to its attacks that you want to avoid at all costs. It can be useful. But I feel sorry for anyone playing a CHA-Paladin that has to use it all the time until you get a bunch of Encounter and Daily powers that you can replace it with. Unless it's an attack that you really want to avoid or you desperately need to stall your death, you would've been better off getting the extra damage of Holy Strike or the + to hit from Valiant Strike against most opponents. But it's not bad at all against a really tough opponent.
Last edited: