The Most Underpowered Class?

[BASHMAN]

So which class in 4e is the most underpowered in your opinion? In 3.5, many people thought that the Fighter was underpowered (I wasn't among them)- what in 4e is the equivilent?

You can consider all of the classes from the core books that have been released to date- but not the Monk, Assassin, or any others that haven't been published in a dead tree book yet.

You also of course, should explain why you think that class is underpowered.

 

[Thanee]

Well, it sure ain't the Fighter.

Pre-DP it was the Paladin, I'd say.

Now with all classes on a level (all have their <Source> Power book released), I don't really know... maybe the Warlock?

Bye
Thanee

 

[Dice4Hire]

Ratcatcher.

 

[Baumi]

I have seen quite powerful Warlocks and no warlock Player in my Groups has complained about his Class, so I don't think they are really weak.

4E has a great balance, the only class I would consider weak is the Druid but I'm not sure if this is true anymore with the AV2 and the Primal Power book.

P.S.: Forgot an explanation why I think the Druid is "weak": I GM two Groups with Druids in it (one went from level 1 to 8 the other from 1 to 2) and they were the only Characters that I could simply ignore. Their Damage was lackluster and I felt no real Controlling (weak Status-Effects and only a few multi-target Powers).

 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

I would go warlock, or at least starlock - I tried playing one for 5 levels and it was hair-tearing frustration.

 

[FireLance]

Nothing leaps out to me as being particularly underpowered, even pre-Divine Power paladins and warlocks. I played a paladin pre-Divine Power and I didn't feel underpowered compared to the other PCs. I've never played a warlock myself, but I've seen a fairly effective one in a paragon campaign I played in.

I'm sure that with enough math or Monte Carlo simulations, one class might be shown to be underpowered by whatever metric you might decide on: damage, conditions inflicted, defenses, ability to heal or help allies, or some weighted index of all the above. However, I don't think that it becomes obvious in play, even to fairly experienced gamers.

And that, I would say, is one key strength of 4E.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I think it must be Rogue. I mean, no lightning keyword at all? That must mean they lack any form of electric power!

I am not sure if it's underpowered, but at least some types of Warlock (Star Pact) are hard to build effectively. It is not immediate obvious what would be the best route - I am still not certain, actually.

 

[Destil]

Most likely the Psion, Monk and Seeker, just as a support issue.

PHB3 and the 2nd round of power books will most likely even them out, though.

You can build a really bad hybrid, for what it's worth. It's the easiest 'class' to make underpowered.

 

[Ryujin]

I would go warlock, or at least starlock - I tried playing one for 5 levels and it was hair-tearing frustration.

Starlock can suffer from MAD, but you don't have to take both CON and CHA powers.

I would say that while Feylocks are hard to nail down, they just don't have the punch of other classes. Many of the 'controlerish' powers are of limited, situational use. The damage tends to lag. In order to get back on track you have to wait until Paragon, then add another pact.

 

[Thanee]

Nothing leaps out to me as being particularly underpowered, ...

And that, I would say, is one key strength of 4E.

Yeah, the balance between the classes is pretty well done.
The balance between monsters and PCs is another issue, of course.

What does seem to make a lot of difference, however, at least in my experience, is the primary attribute. If there is a difference of 2 points in modifier between two similar PCs, that is definitely felt in the game.

Bye
Thanee