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<blockquote data-quote="Doctor Proctor" data-source="post: 4670863" data-attributes="member: 78547">The way I read Swordmages is that they're probably a secondary Defender.&nbsp; Basically, if your party doesn't have any Defenders, then a Fighter should probably be your first choice.&nbsp; They're sort of the archetype for that role...&nbsp; They can mark anyone at any time, rather than only doing so through powers, and they can mark for an entire encounter or mark whole groups simultaneously.A Swordmage can't compete with that...but by the same token, a Fighter can't compete with the rest of the abilities that the Swordmage brings to the table.&nbsp; They can reduce damage to allies with certain encounter and daily powers, but not on an At-Will basis, and they certainly can't teleport to enforce their mark!In a party where the Swordmage is the primary Defender though, I don't think you'll really get to see them shine.&nbsp; They won't be able to hit and run as easily, because they'll be busy forming a wall to protect allies.&nbsp; With another Defender, like a Fighter or Paladin, on point though they can feel free to flit around the battlefield striking here and there and leaving their mark on people.&nbsp; This in turn will leads to lots of damage mitigation or teleporting to the enemies to enforce the mark.&nbsp; They're just not a &quot;stand still and hold the line&quot; class like the other Defenders.&nbsp; I wouldn't say they're underpowered though, as they combine the best qualities of a Defender (High AC and ability to mark) with the best qualities of a Wizard/Warlock (ability to target NADs and use ranged, burst and blast powers to hit multiple enemies).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Doctor Proctor, post: 4670863, member: 78547"] The way I read Swordmages is that they're probably a secondary Defender. Basically, if your party doesn't have any Defenders, then a Fighter should probably be your first choice. They're sort of the archetype for that role... They can mark anyone at any time, rather than only doing so through powers, and they can mark for an entire encounter or mark whole groups simultaneously. A Swordmage can't compete with that...but by the same token, a Fighter can't compete with the rest of the abilities that the Swordmage brings to the table. They can reduce damage to allies with certain encounter and daily powers, but not on an At-Will basis, and they certainly can't teleport to enforce their mark! In a party where the Swordmage is the primary Defender though, I don't think you'll really get to see them shine. They won't be able to hit and run as easily, because they'll be busy forming a wall to protect allies. With another Defender, like a Fighter or Paladin, on point though they can feel free to flit around the battlefield striking here and there and leaving their mark on people. This in turn will leads to lots of damage mitigation or teleporting to the enemies to enforce the mark. They're just not a "stand still and hold the line" class like the other Defenders. I wouldn't say they're underpowered though, as they combine the best qualities of a Defender (High AC and ability to mark) with the best qualities of a Wizard/Warlock (ability to target NADs and use ranged, burst and blast powers to hit multiple enemies). [/QUOTE]

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