PHB2 multiclassing uneven-ness?

[Plane Sailing]

I'm looking at the multiclass feats in the PHB2, and the benefits seem rather uneven to say the least:

Invoker is just like wizard - get one at-will as a per-encounter
Bard is just like warlord/cleric - get a daily use of healing power.


Sorcerer gets... +2 to damage once per encounter. Scales to +3/+4. Big wow, eh?

Barbarian gets once per day +2 to damage for a whole encounter (which seems somewhat better). Surprising it isn't limited to [W] attacks.

Druid gets... wildshape(!) and an at-will as a per-encounter.
Shaman gets... call spirit companion, one spirit at-will as a per encounter and speak with spirits as a daily power.


Did some of the sorcerers love get misplaced and accidentally given to the Shaman, who seems to get a particularly sweet multiclassing deal?

Help me see why these are reasonable!

Cheers

 

[Asmor]

Frankly, I think the shaman stuff isn't all that hot.

You've got to waste a standard action to summon your spirit. Unless you're paragon multiclassing, you probably only have one or two powers which use it. While it's out there, it only gets one opportunity attack per encounter, meaning that it's completely useless on its own when that attack is used, and almost entirely useless on its own before then. And on top of it all, if the spirit gets destroyed, you lose some HP.

Totally agree that the sorcerer gets el shafto, though.

 

[doctorhook]

The Druid multiclass seems more powerful than it probably is. Wild shape/Beast form is pretty much just window dressing without more Beast form attacks.

The Shaman multiclass seems overpowered for the same reason some feel that the Shaman class is underpowered, I believe: people have a hard time estimating the actual usefulness of the Shaman's class features, especially his Spirit Companion.

The Sorcerer multiclass is dull, but that sort puts it in the same class as marking once per encounter, like many of the older Defender multiclass feats; it's a bit weaker than Curse/Quarry/Sneak Attack once per encounter, too. Perhaps it ought to be a damage bonus to all attacks until the start of your next turn? It's not great as it is, but we don't want to break it. (Incidentally, has anyone else noticed how well Sorcerers multiclass with Paladins?)

 

[Psikus]

Sorcerer gets... +2 to damage once per encounter. Scales to +3/+4. Big wow, eh?

Although this is certainly one of the weakest multiclass feats, it's not without its uses, either. The bonus "to your next damage roll" gets a lot better when you consider area effects. For a controller who uses it when hitting 3-4 guys on a burst, the damage boost would be slightly below that of ranger or rogue multiclass.

Barbarian gets once per day +2 to damage for a whole encounter (which seems somewhat better). Surprising it isn't limited to [W] attacks.

I think this one is pretty good, and dual wielding characters in particular would love it, if they could afford the feat.

Druid gets... wildshape(!) and an at-will as a per-encounter.
Shaman gets... call spirit companion, one spirit at-will as a per encounter and speak with spirits as a daily power.

The druid and shaman cases are special. You get at-will use for some awesome, class defining features. However, you will lack the tools for properly exploiting them. Wild Shape spam allows 'free' shifts every other turn, but without at-will beast basic attacks, you will lose the ability to make OAs or other immediate powers. The spirit companion, on the other hand, is much less interesting without at-will OA powers.

Why should druid and shaman offer those features, by the way? You have to look at each class' power selection for the answer. One of the main points of multiclassing is gaining access to new powers. Both druid beast powers and shaman spirit powers are impossible to use without the appropiate feature. And roughly half the powers for each class have those keywords! Overall, I think it was a nice solution.

Also, as we are commenting iregularities on multiclass feats, I can't help pointing out the Avenger one as the most potentially broken. Two turns of rerolled attacks in melee can wreak real havoc, if you try hard enough.

 

[Charwoman Gene]

(Incidentally, has anyone else noticed how well Sorcerers multiclass with Paladins?

Ah, a retained 3eism!

 

[Orius]

I'm looking at the multiclass feats in the PHB2, and the benefits seem rather uneven to say the least:

~ Participate or not at your choice, but ditch the snark - PS~

 

[Nightchilde-2]

I think this is one of the cases where, like many other things in 4e, it reads different than it actually plays. Sure, it looks like the druid is getting a buttload of stuff, for example, but..really...it's not all THAT great.

 

[Plane Sailing]

Although this is certainly one of the weakest multiclass feats, it's not without its uses, either. The bonus "to your next damage roll" gets a lot better when you consider area effects. For a controller who uses it when hitting 3-4 guys on a burst, the damage boost would be slightly below that of ranger or rogue multiclass.

That is an excellent point, and one that I'd missed. Thanks!

 

[Nymrohd]

The druid and shaman multiclass feats had to be like this for rules reasons. If they did not give wild shape and summon spirit companion, you would not be able to take encounter and daily powers with the Beast Form and Spirit keywords.
Wild shape is arguably just a flavor tool without said powers.
The spirit companion is arguably a powerful tool when you can summon it as a minor, so it had to be weakened somehow to avoid constant summoning and dismissing it to place an obstacle, but you gain iy as a standard. You essentially spend two standard actions to use an at-will power and create an obstacle that if destroyed will damage you. The Speak with Spirits power was needed (it is nice but not particularly powerful) to balance the feat out.

 

[billd91]

I have to say that given the hit point inflation that you see in 4e, little bits of bonus damage (less than at least 1d6) seem particularly lame to me. They don't help you against minions since any damage kills them and the impact they have on elites and solos pales in comparison to the amount of hit points they have.