Warlord: Knight's Move vs. Aid the Injured

[cmbarona]

Here's my dilemma:

I'm the only leader in our merry little band, and I'm an Inspiring Warlord. We recently got a new player, taking us up to 4 PCs, including myself, and we have no defender. Well, healing in battles is starting to get spread a little thin. I get the feeling my experience comes from an encounter which was poorly planned on our part (lesson learned: Warlords are not good when separated from allies). I currently have Knight's Move as my level 2 Utility. Should I retrain this to Aid the Injured to give us another healing surge in battle?

 

[blargney the second]

My warlord uses Knight's Move to help our rogue get to flanking. However, if your healing is sparse and you don't have a defender to soak up damage more efficiently, then Aid the Injured can certainly be worthwhile.

 

[Stalker0]

I'll be honest, I think aid the injured is the only warlord utility at that level worth a damn. Its awesome, its far better the cure light wounds (for the cleric) in my opinion.

So yes, I would retrain.

 

[Solodan]

Aid the injured until, say, level 6ish. Its a pretty poor combat heal, but at the early levels a part needs all it can get.

To be honest though, I feel that a well placed Knight's Move provides more healing than aid the injured. Avoiding blows is better than getting hit in the first place.

Your party is probably pretty different - without a defender moving a fragile character a way isn't nearly as effective as it is for most parties.

 

[Stogoe]

I'm playing a Warlord in a party that also has a Cleric, so I took Knight's Move because we had enough healing. I think KM is a ton of fun, but if you think you need more healing, Aid the Injured is probably better.

 

[Dreadstorm]

I think it depends on your skill selection a bit. Most people overlook the fact that the heal skill lets you make a check (dc 10) to let an adjacent ally spend his second wind without taking his action. Now the ally won't get the +2 to all defenses, so it's just as good as aid the injured once you know you can make the check. It really comes down to how often people actually use their second winds, and your skill total, so I think that knight's move is going to be the superior choice, or will be in a few levels.

Also dc 15 heal check to give someone an immediate saving throw. Standard action, but well worth it sometimes.

 

[cmbarona]

Thanks for all the advice, folks.

We just reached level 5, so I decided to retrain Knight's move for Aid the Injured after all. And at level 6 I'll take training in Heal for those really gritty fights. After I get some better healing powers and healing equipment (thank you, AV!), I'll either retrain or, by that time, replace the Utility power in that slot with something better entirely.

Edit: D'oh! Utility powers aren't replaced as you level up, Encounter and Dailies are! Well, the point stands: I may go back to Knight's Move when my healing is better at higher levels.

 

[Nail]

It really comes down to how often people actually use their second winds, and your skill total, so I think that knight's move is going to be the superior choice, or will be in a few levels.

Heal is a good skill, no doubt.

...but usually the person "in need of healing" is the same person that's already used his/her Second Wind. So having the Heal skill isn't going to help that guy.

If the OP is still looking for advice (I doubt it): Take "Aid the Injured", then retrain it to "Knight's Move" once you hit 6th level (and can pick up Inspiring Reaction, Warlord Utility 6: Healing with an Immediate Reaction? Yes please!).

Personally, I'm in the same boat as a previous poster: My party has a Cleric as well as my Genasi Taclord. ....So I've got Knight's Move already at 2nd.

 

[Nail]

I'll be honest, I think aid the injured is the only warlord utility at that level worth a damn. Its awesome, its far better the cure light wounds (for the cleric) in my opinion....

...because it's an Encounter, rather than Daily?

Dunno. I kinda like that Cleric Utility 2's power of "as if you spent a Healing Surge....".

 

[James McMurray]

I'll be honest, I think aid the injured is the only warlord utility at that level worth a damn. Its awesome, its far better the cure light wounds (for the cleric) in my opinion.

How is Aid the Injured anywhere near as good as Cure Light Wounds, let alone better? CLW doesn't use up their surge, ATI does. Apart from ATI being able to heal any creature instead of just you or an ally, that;s the only difference. Do you really find yourself wanting to heal enemies often enough that it matters?