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Grading Encounter Attack Powers
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<blockquote data-quote="keterys" data-source="post: 4498975" data-attributes="member: 43019"><p><strong>Encounter 17 Analysis</strong></p><p></p><p>*CLERIC*</p><p>B- / Blinding Light</p><p>A- / Enthrall</p><p>C / Sentinel Strike</p><p>B / Thunderous Word</p><p></p><p><strong>Blinding Light </strong>Weapon attack vs Fort and blind is still a great condition.</p><p><strong>Enthrall </strong>is a very large area of enemies only that immobilizes and prevents attacks against the caster. Damage is quite respectable and it's against Will.</p><p><strong>Sentinel Strike </strong>decent damage, but its special is unlikely to be terribly useful.</p><p><strong>Thunderous Word </strong>Good area of enemy only with a large push and your allies can shift 1. Interesting to compare to the level 13 Wizard Thunderlance.</p><p></p><p>*FIGHTER*</p><p>C- / Exacting Strike</p><p>B+ / Exorcism of Steel</p><p>C / Harrying Assault</p><p>C / Mountain Breaking Blow</p><p>B / Vorpal Tornado</p><p>B- / Warrior's Challenge</p><p></p><p><strong>Exacting Strike </strong>Fairly reliable damage, but not that much and no riders make it fail to compare well to many powers at this tier.</p><p><strong>Exorcism of Steel </strong>Unfortunately a very hit or miss power. In some circumstances, it's just a low damage attack vs Ref so just scraping by, but in certain fights it's completely decisive. Against some solos, it's practically a fight ender. </p><p><strong>Harrying Assault </strong>Two attacks are always better than one, though the move is unlikely to be more than a couple squares and it provokes. It's a bit sad to compare this to the level 3 Ranger Cut and Run, which is very similar but two weapons, more versatile and a shift.</p><p><strong>Mountain Breaking Blow </strong>Solid damage and push, plus shift after. </p><p><strong>Vorpal Tornado </strong>Very similar to Cheetah's Rake (Ranger 17) - low damage close burst, but knocking prone is helpful especially combined with the push that can force an enemy to either lose its turn or crawl a square to attack.</p><p><strong>Warrior's Challenge </strong>I'm probably overrating the usefulness of marking all enemies within 2 squares of the target, but it's on top of an acceptable effect (a bit worse than Mountain Breaking Blow) so it seems a decent option.</p><p></p><p>*PALADIN*</p><p>C / Enervating Smite</p><p>C / Fortifying Smite</p><p>A / Hand of the Gods</p><p>B- / Terrifying Smite</p><p></p><p><strong>Enervating Smite </strong>weapon attack vs Will, but damage is fairly low and weaken 1 round is only okay.</p><p><strong>Fortifying Smite </strong>Decent damage, nice bonus but unfortunately MAD.</p><p><strong>Hand of the Gods </strong>Small enemies only burst. Damage is solid and radiant and it marks all enemies. Added kicker is that all allies in the area gain +Wis to attacks. Oh, and do note that it's been errata-ed to standard action.</p><p><strong>Terrifying Smite </strong>Slightly worse rating if the paladin can't manage to have good Charisma and Strength, but that's potentially a big push and the special power can often effectively immobilize.</p><p></p><p>*RANGER*</p><p>A- / Arrow of Vengeance</p><p>B / Cheetah's Rake</p><p>B+ / Triple Shot</p><p>C / Two-Weapon Eviscerate</p><p></p><p><strong>Arrow of Vengeance </strong>Basically guaranteed to come up in any fight, this lets you frontload damage faster by using an immediate for extra damage. The attack is also almost guaranteed to hit given you can add Wis to the attack roll. This plus Twin Strike should result in higher damage than Triple Shot, but they are close enough that I'm slightly bothered with the grading.</p><p><strong>Cheetah's Rake </strong>Small enemy only burst for low damage, but immobilize and knock prone sets up other attacks and, assuming the Ranger moves at least one away, really makes many creatures lose their turn.</p><p><strong>Triple Shot </strong>Versatile firing options, can really pile the damage onto target. Very good power.</p><p><strong>Two-Weapon Eviscerate </strong>Barely better than the level 1 Two Fanged Strike (less versatile and for demigods at higher level possibly worse than TFS). Still better damage potential than many options from other classes due to the power of multiple attacks.</p><p></p><p>*ROGUE*</p><p>C+ / Dragon Tail Strike</p><p>B / Hounding Strike</p><p>C+ / Stab and Grab</p><p></p><p><strong>Dragon Tail Strike </strong>vs Fort. Basically a heavily upgraded Riposte Strike that can be done at ranged. Given you can make the interrupt attack ranged and at a significant bonus to hit, it's also good for area attack prevention.</p><p><strong>Hounding Strike </strong>vs Will, solid damage, gives combat advantage for a followup sneak attack, and a massive defense bonus for artful dodgers.</p><p><strong>Stab and Grab </strong>vs Reflex, decent damage. Not sure how often a grab is useful here, but it has some interesting synergy with garrote at least.</p><p></p><p>*WARLOCK*</p><p>A / Strand of Fate</p><p>C+ / Thirsting Tendrils</p><p>C- / Warlock's Bargain</p><p></p><p><strong>Strand of Fate </strong>Sets up immense damage powerplays. </p><p><strong>Thirsting Tendrils </strong>Attacks which heal are always welcome, and a double Int kickback might be sizable though Star Pact is potentially a little MAD.</p><p><strong>Warlock's Bargain </strong>Very good damage, especially if you lead in with a hellish rebuke first, but the range is quite short and the damage taken is sizable.</p><p></p><p>*WARLORD*</p><p>B+ / Battle On</p><p>A- / Hail of Steel</p><p>A- / Thunderous Fury</p><p>B- / Warlord's Rush</p><p></p><p><strong>Battle On </strong>Potentially a lot of saves given and with Cha added, they're almost guaranteed. Very nice at this level since effects increasingly bear saves.</p><p><strong>Hail of Steel</strong> Potentially severe amount of damage.</p><p><strong>Thunderous Fury </strong>Good damage, and daze + Int to hit for all allies is a serious powerplay.</p><p><strong>Warlord's Rush </strong>A ton of allowed movement. Very nice, even if poor compared to all of the other Warlord options at this level.</p><p></p><p>*WIZARD*</p><p>B- / Combust</p><p>A / Crushing Titan's Fist</p><p>B+ / Force Folley</p><p>A / Ice Tomb</p><p></p><p><strong>Combust </strong>Solid damage, good range, okay area.</p><p><strong>Crushing Titan's Fist </strong>Solid damage, good range, okay area... and a ton of control. Serious lockdown on its area. The target at the center of the area has to move _10_ just to get through 2 squares to exit so that's effectively a stun even if used single target on many melee monsters. On a miss.</p><p><strong>Force Volley </strong>Low damage, but very versatile targetting or a nice bonus to attack if you need to hit one target, and daze is a good effect.</p><p><strong>Ice Tomb </strong>Stuns, good damage, good range - its line of effect disadvantage keep it out of A+ territory.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="keterys, post: 4498975, member: 43019"] [b]Encounter 17 Analysis[/b] *CLERIC* B- / Blinding Light A- / Enthrall C / Sentinel Strike B / Thunderous Word [B]Blinding Light [/B]Weapon attack vs Fort and blind is still a great condition. [B]Enthrall [/B]is a very large area of enemies only that immobilizes and prevents attacks against the caster. Damage is quite respectable and it's against Will. [B]Sentinel Strike [/B]decent damage, but its special is unlikely to be terribly useful. [B]Thunderous Word [/B]Good area of enemy only with a large push and your allies can shift 1. Interesting to compare to the level 13 Wizard Thunderlance. *FIGHTER* C- / Exacting Strike B+ / Exorcism of Steel C / Harrying Assault C / Mountain Breaking Blow B / Vorpal Tornado B- / Warrior's Challenge [B]Exacting Strike [/B]Fairly reliable damage, but not that much and no riders make it fail to compare well to many powers at this tier. [B]Exorcism of Steel [/B]Unfortunately a very hit or miss power. In some circumstances, it's just a low damage attack vs Ref so just scraping by, but in certain fights it's completely decisive. Against some solos, it's practically a fight ender. [B]Harrying Assault [/B]Two attacks are always better than one, though the move is unlikely to be more than a couple squares and it provokes. It's a bit sad to compare this to the level 3 Ranger Cut and Run, which is very similar but two weapons, more versatile and a shift. [B]Mountain Breaking Blow [/B]Solid damage and push, plus shift after. [B]Vorpal Tornado [/B]Very similar to Cheetah's Rake (Ranger 17) - low damage close burst, but knocking prone is helpful especially combined with the push that can force an enemy to either lose its turn or crawl a square to attack. [B]Warrior's Challenge [/B]I'm probably overrating the usefulness of marking all enemies within 2 squares of the target, but it's on top of an acceptable effect (a bit worse than Mountain Breaking Blow) so it seems a decent option. *PALADIN* C / Enervating Smite C / Fortifying Smite A / Hand of the Gods B- / Terrifying Smite [B]Enervating Smite [/B]weapon attack vs Will, but damage is fairly low and weaken 1 round is only okay. [B]Fortifying Smite [/B]Decent damage, nice bonus but unfortunately MAD. [B]Hand of the Gods [/B]Small enemies only burst. Damage is solid and radiant and it marks all enemies. Added kicker is that all allies in the area gain +Wis to attacks. Oh, and do note that it's been errata-ed to standard action. [B]Terrifying Smite [/B]Slightly worse rating if the paladin can't manage to have good Charisma and Strength, but that's potentially a big push and the special power can often effectively immobilize. *RANGER* A- / Arrow of Vengeance B / Cheetah's Rake B+ / Triple Shot C / Two-Weapon Eviscerate [B]Arrow of Vengeance [/B]Basically guaranteed to come up in any fight, this lets you frontload damage faster by using an immediate for extra damage. The attack is also almost guaranteed to hit given you can add Wis to the attack roll. This plus Twin Strike should result in higher damage than Triple Shot, but they are close enough that I'm slightly bothered with the grading. [B]Cheetah's Rake [/B]Small enemy only burst for low damage, but immobilize and knock prone sets up other attacks and, assuming the Ranger moves at least one away, really makes many creatures lose their turn. [B]Triple Shot [/B]Versatile firing options, can really pile the damage onto target. Very good power. [B]Two-Weapon Eviscerate [/B]Barely better than the level 1 Two Fanged Strike (less versatile and for demigods at higher level possibly worse than TFS). Still better damage potential than many options from other classes due to the power of multiple attacks. *ROGUE* C+ / Dragon Tail Strike B / Hounding Strike C+ / Stab and Grab [B]Dragon Tail Strike [/B]vs Fort. Basically a heavily upgraded Riposte Strike that can be done at ranged. Given you can make the interrupt attack ranged and at a significant bonus to hit, it's also good for area attack prevention. [B]Hounding Strike [/B]vs Will, solid damage, gives combat advantage for a followup sneak attack, and a massive defense bonus for artful dodgers. [B]Stab and Grab [/B]vs Reflex, decent damage. Not sure how often a grab is useful here, but it has some interesting synergy with garrote at least. *WARLOCK* A / Strand of Fate C+ / Thirsting Tendrils C- / Warlock's Bargain [B]Strand of Fate [/B]Sets up immense damage powerplays. [B]Thirsting Tendrils [/B]Attacks which heal are always welcome, and a double Int kickback might be sizable though Star Pact is potentially a little MAD. [B]Warlock's Bargain [/B]Very good damage, especially if you lead in with a hellish rebuke first, but the range is quite short and the damage taken is sizable. *WARLORD* B+ / Battle On A- / Hail of Steel A- / Thunderous Fury B- / Warlord's Rush [B]Battle On [/B]Potentially a lot of saves given and with Cha added, they're almost guaranteed. Very nice at this level since effects increasingly bear saves. [B]Hail of Steel[/B] Potentially severe amount of damage. [B]Thunderous Fury [/B]Good damage, and daze + Int to hit for all allies is a serious powerplay. [B]Warlord's Rush [/B]A ton of allowed movement. Very nice, even if poor compared to all of the other Warlord options at this level. *WIZARD* B- / Combust A / Crushing Titan's Fist B+ / Force Folley A / Ice Tomb [B]Combust [/B]Solid damage, good range, okay area. [B]Crushing Titan's Fist [/B]Solid damage, good range, okay area... and a ton of control. Serious lockdown on its area. The target at the center of the area has to move _10_ just to get through 2 squares to exit so that's effectively a stun even if used single target on many melee monsters. On a miss. [B]Force Volley [/B]Low damage, but very versatile targetting or a nice bonus to attack if you need to hit one target, and daze is a good effect. [B]Ice Tomb [/B]Stuns, good damage, good range - its line of effect disadvantage keep it out of A+ territory. [/QUOTE]
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