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Message: <blockquote data-quote="KarinsDad" data-source="post: 5162899" data-attributes="member: 2011">No. The tradeoff is already there.Instead of the 1/2 damage of a miss of Reaping Strike, Shield Feint gains +3 on the next attack against the same foe which may or may not help. 85% of the time, it will not change the outcome. And, it may or may not even occur, i.e. the foe is dead or the PC is incapacitated or the foe moves far away. This advantage will often not even materialize. It only helps some fraction of 15% of the time. The additional advantage or effect of most other At Will powers (over just the damage) are immediate and typically guaranteed once the Hit occurs.Instead of the extra damage on a second target of Cleave, Shield Feint gains +3 on the next attack.Instead of the grab of Grappling Strike, Shield Feint gains +3 on the next attack.Ditto for many other At Will powers. That's a tradeoff. You don't have some other At Will that might be helpful in the situation and you don't get the immediate gain of other At Will powers.But the trap is different. The trap is an unintended consequence of using the power that the player might not be aware of. In this case, deluding oneself into using Shield Feint often and early, and thinking that it is making the Fighter more effective when it is often making the Fighter less effective.Encounter powers are typically superior to At Will powers for every role, so using them later in an encounter is typically less effective and efficient. Sorry you don't get that.Who said anything about just damage. I was talking about often using Encounter powers later in an encounter because of the lure of +3 to hit and hence, often being less effective earlier in the encounter. Not everyone sees that right away (and some people apparently never see it, shrug). I won't try to convince you of the truth of this. I'm just trying to give some friendly advice to the OP and help him out. Not quite sure what you're trying to do besides argue.Maybe in your campaign. In our campaign, the Fighter often runs up and uses some Encounter power in round one to set the stage for defending. Come and Get It against multiple foes. Anvil of Doom against a tougher foe, whatever.Many of the players in the four 4E games I'm playing in use an Encounter power in round one. Not always, but often. DMs do it too for the NPCs.It's Tactics 101. Hinder the foes early before they can hinder you.There are always going to be situations in which that is not the best tactic, but it often is the best tactic. And setting up an Encounter power with Shield Feint will sometimes be the best tactic, even early in an encounter. But, relying on it nearly every single encounter as a power to use every other round is not going to be the best tactic. Many players won't see this right away. It's all about action economy.It's no different than using a Daily power early in a real tough fight. That's typically better than waiting until round six as a general rule. Using Encounter powers early in a normal fight is typically better than waiting as well.</blockquote>

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