Is Suden Roots Important for the Warden Anymore?

[Mistwell]

Before Primal Power, Sudden Roots (which slowed on an opportunity attack) was pretty important to the Warden in my opinion. Without it, foes could often ignore you if they wanted to.

But with the advent of Primal Power, I wonder if that is still the case. There are now a lot more options for powers that make shifting away from the Warden difficult or impossible.

For example (in addition to those in the PHB2, like Form of the Winter's Herald):

Guardian Shock Wave (Enc 3): Knocks marked foe prone when they try to leave their square;

Clutching Mire (Daily 5): Persistant blast 3 zone that is difficult terrain and slows;

Earth-Shaking Rend (Daily 5): Persistant blast 3 zone that is difficult terrain and knocks prone;

Rampant Forest (Daily 5): Targets space, and all adjacent spaces to it, are difficult terrain for enemies for the encounter;

Treacherous Ice (Utility 6): Stance - Enemies cannot shift in or out of your adjacent spaces;
etc..

There are many other powers that damage enemies marked by you even if they are no longer adjacent, or which react to an attack by a marked foe against your ally.

I still think sudden roots is a good feat for a Warden. But I am not so sure it's as important as it used to be.

Thoughts?

On a related note, the at-will power of Weight of the Earth from PHB2 now not only does 1[W]+Str+slow, but with the Crippling Crush feat and a hammer or mace, it also does +Con (since Crippling Crush adds Con to damage for any slowing or immobilizing attack with a hammer or mace). Seems like a striker-level at-will that is also defender-like with the slow aspect.

 

[Eric888]

Salve of Power is a major issue as well. Form of Winter's Herald remains strong through epic, where you can keep enough salves around to use the form several times a day.

I still think Sudden Roots is a great feat. Maybe not automatic anymore, but players who want to take different powers from those you mentioned would be wise to take it.

 

[Destil]

If nothing else I think it remains a pretty strong contender for two-feat multi-class combo for anyone who wants some extra stickyness...

 

[CapnZapp]

This wouldn't be the first case where original options are completely overshadowed by newer options.

 

[Thatwackyned]

As long as I don't need the newest book to keep up with everyone else I'm ok. But if I do, It'll just be like Rifts.

 

[Llamas Notsheep]

As long as I don't need the newest book to keep up with everyone else I'm ok. But if I do, It'll just be like Rifts.

I would say it's useful but not vital. If you're looking at extreme optimization, yeah, you need to have all the resources available. If you're looking at just making an effective build, you can do that pretty well with just PHB or PHB II.

The one exception, I'd say, is when fixes for WotC's broken maths show up, specifically the masterwork options for heavy armor in AV and the Weapon/Implement Expertise feats in PHBII.

Until Tuesday, I would've said that you need AV to be competitive in the damage output department, but thankfully they've done a fantastic job of fixing most of the abusable items.

What the extra books do well is increase your options. If you enjoy the character building aspect of the game, they're well worth getting. If you don't particularly like it, fortunately, they're not vital.

 

[Destil]

Also, sudden roots is still really good. You can just take that one feat and choose powers more inclined towards the leader or controller rolls, and still be fairly effective. (I really wish you couldn't slide while slowed, though).