Whats the best race?
- Thread starter Crazy_Dragon
- Start date
In order by power and general effectiveness:
1: Elf. Okay, 4E elves are teh awesome. The extra movement is nice enough, but Elven Accuracy rules. Who here hasn't suffered the agony of missing with your most powerful daily? Elven Accuracy gives you a second crack at it. And since you're only going to be busting out that daily power when you need it to turn a battle... yeah. Plus, elves get Wild Step, which everybody always forgets about and is severely underrated. Shift unimpeded through difficult terrain? Yes please.
2: Human. I've always liked humans, and they remain a very solid race in 4E. They lack the flashy powers of some of the other races, but they make up for it with better all-around abilities. Everyone talks about the extra at-will, but to me it's the other human traits that make the difference; the extra feat, extra trained skill, +1 to Fort, Ref, and Will, and "wherever you want it" stat bonus all add up to make humans a very powerful race. Plus they have kick-ass feats *cough*ActionSurge*cough*, and if you plan on multi-classing for your paragon path, that extra at-will becomes a lot more useful.
3: Eladrin. A startlingly flexible race. Fey Step can be the bomb, depending on circumstances, although its limitations (line of sight, 25-foot range, only once per 5 minutes) keep it from being abused as easily as the martial adept teleport powers were in 3.X. Even so, it is tactically incredibly valuable, whether you're a wizard trying to get out of trouble, a fighter getting into position to block, or a rogue setting up a sneak attack. It also has many out-of-combat uses; and Fey Step isn't all that eladrin get. Eladrin Education is also quite good - an extra skill is nothing to sneeze at - and, of course, everybody loves having a party member who can stand watch in her sleep.
4: Dragonborn. Dragonborn are a very specialized race, but within that specialty - namely, tankitude - they are the unchallenged masters. Their healing surges are better, they hit harder (no other PHB race gets a Strength bonus except humans), and when swarmed by minions, they can belch fire and blow them away. Dragonborn Fury is icing on the cake, since tanks by definition take a lot of punishment and will therefore spend a lot of time being bloodied. Unfortunately, at anything besides tanking, dragonborn mostly suck, which is why they're not ranked higher for me.
5: Dwarf. Like dragonborn, dwarves are basically made to tank. The ability to use second wind as a minor action is a very big deal, my second favorite of all racial abilities (my favorite being Elven Accuracy). Sadly, they don't get a lot else. Resistance to being knocked around is nice, but kind of specialized. Encumbered Speed just means they aren't any slower than any other heavy-armor-wearing tank.
6: Halfling. Nothing real special here except Second Chance, which can sometimes be a lifesaver. But only sometimes. Because it's reactive - the opponent's actions dictate when it's useful, you can't plan for it - I rank it well below Elven Accuracy. And the rest of the halfling ability set is... bleh. Nimble Reaction is nice, but not great.
7: Half-Elf. They're no longer the weaksauce they were in 3.X, but half-elves are still the low end of the scale for me. Which is not to say I don't like them. I'm playing one, after all. The Dilettante encounter power has to be chosen carefully, but can be pretty dang handy - my warlord gets a lot of mileage out of eyebite. Still... not quite up to par. Their access to the Action Surge feat puts them above tieflings, but only by a hair.
8: Tiefling. Not a lot going on here. The +1 against bloodied foes is a good ability, but not the equal of Elven Accuracy, Dwarven Resilience, Fey Step, or even Second Chance. Tieflings do have one nice trick up their sleeves - fire resistance. A tiefling defender can wade into the middle of a bunch of minions and proceed to call down airstrikes from the party wizard without fear of getting fried in the process. Unfortunately, they don't have much else going for them.
1: Elf. Okay, 4E elves are teh awesome. The extra movement is nice enough, but Elven Accuracy rules. Who here hasn't suffered the agony of missing with your most powerful daily? Elven Accuracy gives you a second crack at it. And since you're only going to be busting out that daily power when you need it to turn a battle... yeah. Plus, elves get Wild Step, which everybody always forgets about and is severely underrated. Shift unimpeded through difficult terrain? Yes please.
2: Human. I've always liked humans, and they remain a very solid race in 4E. They lack the flashy powers of some of the other races, but they make up for it with better all-around abilities. Everyone talks about the extra at-will, but to me it's the other human traits that make the difference; the extra feat, extra trained skill, +1 to Fort, Ref, and Will, and "wherever you want it" stat bonus all add up to make humans a very powerful race. Plus they have kick-ass feats *cough*ActionSurge*cough*, and if you plan on multi-classing for your paragon path, that extra at-will becomes a lot more useful.
3: Eladrin. A startlingly flexible race. Fey Step can be the bomb, depending on circumstances, although its limitations (line of sight, 25-foot range, only once per 5 minutes) keep it from being abused as easily as the martial adept teleport powers were in 3.X. Even so, it is tactically incredibly valuable, whether you're a wizard trying to get out of trouble, a fighter getting into position to block, or a rogue setting up a sneak attack. It also has many out-of-combat uses; and Fey Step isn't all that eladrin get. Eladrin Education is also quite good - an extra skill is nothing to sneeze at - and, of course, everybody loves having a party member who can stand watch in her sleep.
4: Dragonborn. Dragonborn are a very specialized race, but within that specialty - namely, tankitude - they are the unchallenged masters. Their healing surges are better, they hit harder (no other PHB race gets a Strength bonus except humans), and when swarmed by minions, they can belch fire and blow them away. Dragonborn Fury is icing on the cake, since tanks by definition take a lot of punishment and will therefore spend a lot of time being bloodied. Unfortunately, at anything besides tanking, dragonborn mostly suck, which is why they're not ranked higher for me.
5: Dwarf. Like dragonborn, dwarves are basically made to tank. The ability to use second wind as a minor action is a very big deal, my second favorite of all racial abilities (my favorite being Elven Accuracy). Sadly, they don't get a lot else. Resistance to being knocked around is nice, but kind of specialized. Encumbered Speed just means they aren't any slower than any other heavy-armor-wearing tank.
6: Halfling. Nothing real special here except Second Chance, which can sometimes be a lifesaver. But only sometimes. Because it's reactive - the opponent's actions dictate when it's useful, you can't plan for it - I rank it well below Elven Accuracy. And the rest of the halfling ability set is... bleh. Nimble Reaction is nice, but not great.
7: Half-Elf. They're no longer the weaksauce they were in 3.X, but half-elves are still the low end of the scale for me. Which is not to say I don't like them. I'm playing one, after all. The Dilettante encounter power has to be chosen carefully, but can be pretty dang handy - my warlord gets a lot of mileage out of eyebite. Still... not quite up to par. Their access to the Action Surge feat puts them above tieflings, but only by a hair.
8: Tiefling. Not a lot going on here. The +1 against bloodied foes is a good ability, but not the equal of Elven Accuracy, Dwarven Resilience, Fey Step, or even Second Chance. Tieflings do have one nice trick up their sleeves - fire resistance. A tiefling defender can wade into the middle of a bunch of minions and proceed to call down airstrikes from the party wizard without fear of getting fried in the process. Unfortunately, they don't have much else going for them.
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Mistwell
Crusty Old Meatwad
Well I guess I will go over them and see where we are differing.
Mengu said that Dragonborn is a better choice for every class other than Wizards.
I think the make a good choice for Fighter, Paladin, and Warlord. For every other class, there is another race that is a better choice, sometimes a MUCH better choice.
Cleric: Dwarf is better.
Ranger: Elf is better, and Strength Rangers are not that great period.
Rogue: Halfling is better
Warlock: Half-Elf and Tiefling is better
Wizard: Eladrin and Human are better
Dragonborn make fairly decent wizards too, enlarged dragon breath, plus burning hands in a single round is always nice.
Same reason why the Tiefling isn't as bad as it appears at first glance, any time you can use one of your attack powers (including dailies) at an additional +1 to hit plus charisma to damage.
I was disappointed in the Half Elf and Halfling though. The halfling is way to reactive in my opinion, everything they get is a reaction, the enemy scores a hit, use second wind, the enemy makes OA, get +2 to AC, enemy uses a fear based attack suffer the initial effect from the power, but get a +5 to end it at the end of your next turn, highly situational and is only useful vs ongoing effects. Even their feats are not that great, if you are using lost in the crowd, there is a good chance you are being flanked or only a shift away from one, which is usually not an optimal place to be.
And small, in 3rd being small had it's positives and negatives, now being small is just negative.
The Half Elf, why is there even still a half elf in the first place, why no half eladrin. Or instead why not make rules for Half race instead (my preference). That being said mixed heritage isn't bad since it gives 4 more feat options at heroic level (which is really just two more since they only got one racial feat of their own, and since they don't have elven accuracy the other elf feat won't work). Group Diplomacy and Low Light aren't bad.
Dilettante, I love the Idea, but why not make it an additional at-will like the humans ability. The humans ability is restricted by the fact it is from your class, while Dilettante is restricted in the since that since it has to come from another class, there is a greater chance of suffering from MAD.
In the Spirit of Fourth Edition, the Halfling killed the Half Elf and took it's stuff for my games. Basically I compared the Halfling to the Human.
+2 Dex, +2 Cha
+2 to any ability score
I'll call this even, the human gives up +2 to a second ability for greater flexibilty.
+2 Acrobatics, +2 Thievery
Bonus class skill
I'll call this even as well, maybe a slight edge to the human, but only if the class has a decent list of class skills. Basically It's a plus four bonus spread between two skills to a +5 bonus to one (from being trained).
Nimble reaction
Bonus Feat
Bonus to the Human here. Nimble reaction is essentially a feat given for free, which isn't nearly as nice or flexible as being able to choose any feat of your choice.
Second Chance
+1 Fortitude, +1 Reflex, +1 Will
Big bonus to the Human here. Second chance is nice, but only usable once per encounter, and can easily be wasted if used against an opponent with a high probability to hit. In contrast the Humans bonuses to defense are always active, and are essentially a half strength version of three paragon level feats.
Bold
Difference in power from the above
Not really the greatest of Powers. Only works after the initial effect, and only against save ends fear effects (only 3 class powers from the PHB, Astral Whirlwind a Paladin Paragon lvl 20, Dread Star a Warlock lvl 1 daily, and the will effect of Prismatic Spray a lvl 25 wizard power). Even in the Monster Manual there are not a ton of monsters with save ends effects, there are some though. Basically chalk this one up to being highly situational, and does nothing to prevent the initial effect. So basically closes a bit of the gap between the Human and Halfing, but the Human still has the lead.
The Human still has the bonus At-Will Power from his class, and the Halfling is still small. So my solution, the Halfling kills the Half Elf, heck they both have half in theirs names anyway, and takes an improved Dilettante and group diplomacy. Group Diplomacy to help make up for being small and close the gaps from above. That leaves
Dilettante (probably renamed)
Bonus at will power from class
I call this even for the following reasons. The humans versions is restrictive, but will trigger off of one of the classes three primary abilities. Dilettante on the other hand restricts the Halfling from choosing one of his classes powers, which means Mad can be a real issue in choosing a power, especially for powers that benefit from two scores instead of just one.
Besides both abilities make a lot of sense with the Halflings fluff as Nomadic River people. Group diplomacy shows how they had to learn to get along with the various cultures of big folk they encounter during their travels, and Dilettante illustrates how they big up a little here and there along the way.
Same reason why the Tiefling isn't as bad as it appears at first glance, any time you can use one of your attack powers (including dailies) at an additional +1 to hit plus charisma to damage.
I was disappointed in the Half Elf and Halfling though. The halfling is way to reactive in my opinion, everything they get is a reaction, the enemy scores a hit, use second wind, the enemy makes OA, get +2 to AC, enemy uses a fear based attack suffer the initial effect from the power, but get a +5 to end it at the end of your next turn, highly situational and is only useful vs ongoing effects. Even their feats are not that great, if you are using lost in the crowd, there is a good chance you are being flanked or only a shift away from one, which is usually not an optimal place to be.
And small, in 3rd being small had it's positives and negatives, now being small is just negative.
The Half Elf, why is there even still a half elf in the first place, why no half eladrin. Or instead why not make rules for Half race instead (my preference). That being said mixed heritage isn't bad since it gives 4 more feat options at heroic level (which is really just two more since they only got one racial feat of their own, and since they don't have elven accuracy the other elf feat won't work). Group Diplomacy and Low Light aren't bad.
Dilettante, I love the Idea, but why not make it an additional at-will like the humans ability. The humans ability is restricted by the fact it is from your class, while Dilettante is restricted in the since that since it has to come from another class, there is a greater chance of suffering from MAD.
In the Spirit of Fourth Edition, the Halfling killed the Half Elf and took it's stuff for my games. Basically I compared the Halfling to the Human.
+2 Dex, +2 Cha
+2 to any ability score
I'll call this even, the human gives up +2 to a second ability for greater flexibilty.
+2 Acrobatics, +2 Thievery
Bonus class skill
I'll call this even as well, maybe a slight edge to the human, but only if the class has a decent list of class skills. Basically It's a plus four bonus spread between two skills to a +5 bonus to one (from being trained).
Nimble reaction
Bonus Feat
Bonus to the Human here. Nimble reaction is essentially a feat given for free, which isn't nearly as nice or flexible as being able to choose any feat of your choice.
Second Chance
+1 Fortitude, +1 Reflex, +1 Will
Big bonus to the Human here. Second chance is nice, but only usable once per encounter, and can easily be wasted if used against an opponent with a high probability to hit. In contrast the Humans bonuses to defense are always active, and are essentially a half strength version of three paragon level feats.
Bold
Difference in power from the above
Not really the greatest of Powers. Only works after the initial effect, and only against save ends fear effects (only 3 class powers from the PHB, Astral Whirlwind a Paladin Paragon lvl 20, Dread Star a Warlock lvl 1 daily, and the will effect of Prismatic Spray a lvl 25 wizard power). Even in the Monster Manual there are not a ton of monsters with save ends effects, there are some though. Basically chalk this one up to being highly situational, and does nothing to prevent the initial effect. So basically closes a bit of the gap between the Human and Halfing, but the Human still has the lead.
The Human still has the bonus At-Will Power from his class, and the Halfling is still small. So my solution, the Halfling kills the Half Elf, heck they both have half in theirs names anyway, and takes an improved Dilettante and group diplomacy. Group Diplomacy to help make up for being small and close the gaps from above. That leaves
Dilettante (probably renamed)
Bonus at will power from class
I call this even for the following reasons. The humans versions is restrictive, but will trigger off of one of the classes three primary abilities. Dilettante on the other hand restricts the Halfling from choosing one of his classes powers, which means Mad can be a real issue in choosing a power, especially for powers that benefit from two scores instead of just one.
Besides both abilities make a lot of sense with the Halflings fluff as Nomadic River people. Group diplomacy shows how they had to learn to get along with the various cultures of big folk they encounter during their travels, and Dilettante illustrates how they big up a little here and there along the way.
Adding in the Monster Manual races...
1: Elf. Okay, 4E elves are teh awesome. The extra movement is nice enough, but Elven Accuracy rules. Who here hasn't suffered the agony of missing with your most powerful daily? Elven Accuracy gives you a second crack at it. And since you're only going to be busting out that daily power when you need it to turn a battle... yeah. Plus, elves get Wild Step, which everybody always forgets about and is severely underrated. Shift unimpeded through difficult terrain? Yes please.
2: Kobold. This race is bad-ass. While they're ideally suited to play melee strikers - they leave halflings in the dust - the Shifty power is useful for absolutely anybody. I mean, really, really useful. As far as combat goes, there is no racial movement power in the game that holds a candle to Shifty. Not even Fey Step or Telekinetic Leap... because Shifty is usable at freakin' will. That means you can disengage from melee whenever you please, without provoking OAs. You can flank anyone, anytime, anywhere. By the same token, you yourself are very hard to keep flanked. You can slip right through enemy lines. The mind boggles.
3: Human. I've always liked humans, and they remain a very solid race in 4E. They lack the flashy powers of some of the other races, but they make up for it with better all-around abilities. Everyone talks about the extra at-will, but to me it's the other human traits that make the difference; the extra feat, extra trained skill, +1 to Fort, Ref, and Will, and "wherever you want it" stat bonus all add up to make humans a very powerful race. Plus they have kick-ass feats *cough*ActionSurge*cough*, and if you plan on multi-classing for your paragon path, that extra at-will becomes a lot more useful.
4: Doppelganger. An unusual case of a race specializing in non-combat utility. Their at-will shapeshifting is truly fearsome - this isn't 3.X where everybody and his brother has true seeing or some sort of anti-illusion magic going on. Combine with a Charisma boost and a racial bonus to Bluff, and you have the ultimate infiltrator. Doppelgangers aren't particularly bad-ass in combat, but out of combat they're scary as hell.
5: Eladrin. A startlingly flexible race. Fey Step can be the bomb, depending on circumstances, although its limitations (line of sight, 25-foot range, only once per 5 minutes) keep it from being abused as easily as the martial adept teleport powers were in 3.X. Even so, it is tactically incredibly valuable, whether you're a wizard trying to get out of trouble, a fighter getting into position to block, or a rogue setting up a sneak attack. It also has many out-of-combat uses; and Fey Step isn't all that eladrin get. Eladrin Education is also quite good - an extra skill is nothing to sneeze at - and, of course, everybody loves having a party member who can stand watch in her sleep.
6: Githyanki. Telekinetic Leap is awesome, in some ways even better than Fey Step since you can use it on allies. It does provoke OAs, of course, but you can always take advantage of the 4E diagonal rules to just fly up and over a foe without losing any movement. Githyanki don't have a lot else going for them, but how much else do they need?
7: Minotaur. Holy melee brute, Batman. These guys only do one thing, but they do it really freakin' well. The Goring Charge covers a common weakness among melee warriors - the fact that you can't use most of your melee powers on a charge - and Oversized is always handy for a bit of extra damage. And Ferocity is just sweet. Ever notice that a typical defender goes negative once or twice a fight? That's right, you get to make that Ferocity attack every single time. With your Oversized weapon, yet. Fear the minotaur.
8: Dragonborn. Dragonborn are a very specialized race, but within that specialty - namely, tankitude - they are masters. Their healing surges are better, they hit harder (no other PHB race gets a Strength bonus except humans), and when swarmed by minions, they can belch fire and blow them away. Dragonborn Fury is icing on the cake, since tanks by definition take a lot of punishment and will therefore spend a lot of time being bloodied. Unfortunately, at anything besides tanking, dragonborn mostly suck, which is why they're not ranked higher for me.
9: Dwarf. Like dragonborn, dwarves are basically made to tank. The ability to use second wind as a minor action is a very big deal, my second favorite of all racial abilities (my favorite being Elven Accuracy). Sadly, they don't get a lot else. Resistance to being knocked around is nice, but kind of specialized. Encumbered Speed just means they aren't any slower than any other heavy-armor-wearing tank.
10: Drow. As of this writing, drow are the only playable race in the game with darkvision. This is potentially huge, although it's best in an all-drow party where you can bait foes into lightless places and then murder them in the dark. The Lolthtouched powers are also very solid. Not the best MM race, but still quite good.
11: Bugbear. Bugbears are the quintessential melee striker race. The Strength/Dexterity combination is very good for either a brutal rogue or a dual-wielding ranger. Plus they can stack their Predatory Eye with Sneak Attack... and the extra damage from Oversized weapons never hurts. Rather specialized though.
12: Gnome. Sneaky, sneaky. Potentially a very effective striker, what with all the "you can't see me" mojo. Their stat bonuses don't synergize too well with that, though. It's a bit hard to judge how good these powers are without seeing them in use.
13: Halfling. Nothing real special here except Second Chance, which can sometimes be a lifesaver. But only sometimes. Because it's reactive - the opponent's actions dictate when it's useful, you can't plan for it - I rank it well below Elven Accuracy. And the rest of the halfling ability set is... bleh. Nimble Reaction is nice, but not great.
14: Goblin. These guys make pretty vicious rogues. Goblin Tactics helps them maintain a flank, and the Stealth and Thievery bonuses go well with their Dexterity boost. As with so many MM races, though, they're kind of specialized.
15: Orc. Minotaur wannabes. The self-healing shtick is extremely handy for a defender, but it doesn't stack up to the combination of Goring Charge, Oversized, and Ferocity.
16: Shadar-Kai. This is essentially an eladrin variant. Shadow Jaunt is more specialized than Fey Step - more concentrated on defense - but it's damn good for all that. Pity they separated Insubstantial from Phasing - no walking through walls. Sadly, shadar-kai don't have a lot else to offer.
17: Hobgoblin. Okay, so this is the tough, bad-ass, super-disciplined warrior race, right? And anybody knows that the perfect class for such a race is... warlock? Yup, that's right, Con and Cha bonuses, a boost to initiative - always helpful to land that crippling debuff before the bad guy gets to go - and a defensive ability that's just as useful in the back line as it is in the front. Hobgoblins also make fairish paladins, which is just bizarre. Nothing spectacular here.
18: Gnoll. Gnolls get some nice damage boosts, but that's about it. They don't get a Strength bonus, which hurts them some as melee fighters; but their special power is only usable in melee. Lack of synergy. The damage bonus would actually be most effective for a wizard, but wizards generally try to avoid getting bloodied. Gish maybe?
19: Half-elf. They're no longer the weaksauce they were in 3.X, but half-elves are still the low end of the scale for me. Which is not to say I don't like them. I'm playing one, after all. The Dilettante encounter power has to be chosen carefully, but can be pretty dang handy - my warlord gets a lot of mileage out of eyebite. Still... not quite up to par. Their access to the Action Surge feat puts them above tieflings, but only by a hair.
20: Tiefling. Not a lot going on here. The +1 against bloodied foes is a good ability, but not the equal of Elven Accuracy, Dwarven Resilience, Fey Step, or even Second Chance. Tieflings do have one nice trick up their sleeves - fire resistance. A tiefling defender can wade into the middle of a bunch of minions and proceed to call down airstrikes from the party wizard without fear of getting fried in the process. Unfortunately, they don't have much else going for them.
21: Longtooth Shifter. Aaaand, we have yet another melee brute race. Longtooth Shifting is decent, but not spectacular. The Strength/Wisdom combo is interesting and makes these guys good as either fighters or paladins.
22: Warforged. Meh. Taking 10 on death saves is nice for a front-liner, as is the +2 to save against ongoing damage. Warforged Resolve is useful in a small sort of way. But all these abilities are defensive, and defensive abilities need to be extra-good if they're to compare with offensive ones. These aren't.
23: Razorclaw Shifter. I think these guys are supposed to be the melee striker counterpart to the Longclaw Shifter defender. Unfortunately, Razorclaw Shifting isn't nearly as good as Longtooth. And nothing special from the ability bonuses either.
24: Githzerai. Okay, so, these guys are like githyanki, but instead of the uber-awesome-tastic Telekinetic Leap, they get... Iron Mind. Whee. Can you feel the love? Neither can I. These guys are the suckage.
1: Elf. Okay, 4E elves are teh awesome. The extra movement is nice enough, but Elven Accuracy rules. Who here hasn't suffered the agony of missing with your most powerful daily? Elven Accuracy gives you a second crack at it. And since you're only going to be busting out that daily power when you need it to turn a battle... yeah. Plus, elves get Wild Step, which everybody always forgets about and is severely underrated. Shift unimpeded through difficult terrain? Yes please.
2: Kobold. This race is bad-ass. While they're ideally suited to play melee strikers - they leave halflings in the dust - the Shifty power is useful for absolutely anybody. I mean, really, really useful. As far as combat goes, there is no racial movement power in the game that holds a candle to Shifty. Not even Fey Step or Telekinetic Leap... because Shifty is usable at freakin' will. That means you can disengage from melee whenever you please, without provoking OAs. You can flank anyone, anytime, anywhere. By the same token, you yourself are very hard to keep flanked. You can slip right through enemy lines. The mind boggles.
3: Human. I've always liked humans, and they remain a very solid race in 4E. They lack the flashy powers of some of the other races, but they make up for it with better all-around abilities. Everyone talks about the extra at-will, but to me it's the other human traits that make the difference; the extra feat, extra trained skill, +1 to Fort, Ref, and Will, and "wherever you want it" stat bonus all add up to make humans a very powerful race. Plus they have kick-ass feats *cough*ActionSurge*cough*, and if you plan on multi-classing for your paragon path, that extra at-will becomes a lot more useful.
4: Doppelganger. An unusual case of a race specializing in non-combat utility. Their at-will shapeshifting is truly fearsome - this isn't 3.X where everybody and his brother has true seeing or some sort of anti-illusion magic going on. Combine with a Charisma boost and a racial bonus to Bluff, and you have the ultimate infiltrator. Doppelgangers aren't particularly bad-ass in combat, but out of combat they're scary as hell.
5: Eladrin. A startlingly flexible race. Fey Step can be the bomb, depending on circumstances, although its limitations (line of sight, 25-foot range, only once per 5 minutes) keep it from being abused as easily as the martial adept teleport powers were in 3.X. Even so, it is tactically incredibly valuable, whether you're a wizard trying to get out of trouble, a fighter getting into position to block, or a rogue setting up a sneak attack. It also has many out-of-combat uses; and Fey Step isn't all that eladrin get. Eladrin Education is also quite good - an extra skill is nothing to sneeze at - and, of course, everybody loves having a party member who can stand watch in her sleep.
6: Githyanki. Telekinetic Leap is awesome, in some ways even better than Fey Step since you can use it on allies. It does provoke OAs, of course, but you can always take advantage of the 4E diagonal rules to just fly up and over a foe without losing any movement. Githyanki don't have a lot else going for them, but how much else do they need?
7: Minotaur. Holy melee brute, Batman. These guys only do one thing, but they do it really freakin' well. The Goring Charge covers a common weakness among melee warriors - the fact that you can't use most of your melee powers on a charge - and Oversized is always handy for a bit of extra damage. And Ferocity is just sweet. Ever notice that a typical defender goes negative once or twice a fight? That's right, you get to make that Ferocity attack every single time. With your Oversized weapon, yet. Fear the minotaur.
8: Dragonborn. Dragonborn are a very specialized race, but within that specialty - namely, tankitude - they are masters. Their healing surges are better, they hit harder (no other PHB race gets a Strength bonus except humans), and when swarmed by minions, they can belch fire and blow them away. Dragonborn Fury is icing on the cake, since tanks by definition take a lot of punishment and will therefore spend a lot of time being bloodied. Unfortunately, at anything besides tanking, dragonborn mostly suck, which is why they're not ranked higher for me.
9: Dwarf. Like dragonborn, dwarves are basically made to tank. The ability to use second wind as a minor action is a very big deal, my second favorite of all racial abilities (my favorite being Elven Accuracy). Sadly, they don't get a lot else. Resistance to being knocked around is nice, but kind of specialized. Encumbered Speed just means they aren't any slower than any other heavy-armor-wearing tank.
10: Drow. As of this writing, drow are the only playable race in the game with darkvision. This is potentially huge, although it's best in an all-drow party where you can bait foes into lightless places and then murder them in the dark. The Lolthtouched powers are also very solid. Not the best MM race, but still quite good.
11: Bugbear. Bugbears are the quintessential melee striker race. The Strength/Dexterity combination is very good for either a brutal rogue or a dual-wielding ranger. Plus they can stack their Predatory Eye with Sneak Attack... and the extra damage from Oversized weapons never hurts. Rather specialized though.
12: Gnome. Sneaky, sneaky. Potentially a very effective striker, what with all the "you can't see me" mojo. Their stat bonuses don't synergize too well with that, though. It's a bit hard to judge how good these powers are without seeing them in use.
13: Halfling. Nothing real special here except Second Chance, which can sometimes be a lifesaver. But only sometimes. Because it's reactive - the opponent's actions dictate when it's useful, you can't plan for it - I rank it well below Elven Accuracy. And the rest of the halfling ability set is... bleh. Nimble Reaction is nice, but not great.
14: Goblin. These guys make pretty vicious rogues. Goblin Tactics helps them maintain a flank, and the Stealth and Thievery bonuses go well with their Dexterity boost. As with so many MM races, though, they're kind of specialized.
15: Orc. Minotaur wannabes. The self-healing shtick is extremely handy for a defender, but it doesn't stack up to the combination of Goring Charge, Oversized, and Ferocity.
16: Shadar-Kai. This is essentially an eladrin variant. Shadow Jaunt is more specialized than Fey Step - more concentrated on defense - but it's damn good for all that. Pity they separated Insubstantial from Phasing - no walking through walls. Sadly, shadar-kai don't have a lot else to offer.
17: Hobgoblin. Okay, so this is the tough, bad-ass, super-disciplined warrior race, right? And anybody knows that the perfect class for such a race is... warlock? Yup, that's right, Con and Cha bonuses, a boost to initiative - always helpful to land that crippling debuff before the bad guy gets to go - and a defensive ability that's just as useful in the back line as it is in the front. Hobgoblins also make fairish paladins, which is just bizarre. Nothing spectacular here.
18: Gnoll. Gnolls get some nice damage boosts, but that's about it. They don't get a Strength bonus, which hurts them some as melee fighters; but their special power is only usable in melee. Lack of synergy. The damage bonus would actually be most effective for a wizard, but wizards generally try to avoid getting bloodied. Gish maybe?
19: Half-elf. They're no longer the weaksauce they were in 3.X, but half-elves are still the low end of the scale for me. Which is not to say I don't like them. I'm playing one, after all. The Dilettante encounter power has to be chosen carefully, but can be pretty dang handy - my warlord gets a lot of mileage out of eyebite. Still... not quite up to par. Their access to the Action Surge feat puts them above tieflings, but only by a hair.
20: Tiefling. Not a lot going on here. The +1 against bloodied foes is a good ability, but not the equal of Elven Accuracy, Dwarven Resilience, Fey Step, or even Second Chance. Tieflings do have one nice trick up their sleeves - fire resistance. A tiefling defender can wade into the middle of a bunch of minions and proceed to call down airstrikes from the party wizard without fear of getting fried in the process. Unfortunately, they don't have much else going for them.
21: Longtooth Shifter. Aaaand, we have yet another melee brute race. Longtooth Shifting is decent, but not spectacular. The Strength/Wisdom combo is interesting and makes these guys good as either fighters or paladins.
22: Warforged. Meh. Taking 10 on death saves is nice for a front-liner, as is the +2 to save against ongoing damage. Warforged Resolve is useful in a small sort of way. But all these abilities are defensive, and defensive abilities need to be extra-good if they're to compare with offensive ones. These aren't.
23: Razorclaw Shifter. I think these guys are supposed to be the melee striker counterpart to the Longclaw Shifter defender. Unfortunately, Razorclaw Shifting isn't nearly as good as Longtooth. And nothing special from the ability bonuses either.
24: Githzerai. Okay, so, these guys are like githyanki, but instead of the uber-awesome-tastic Telekinetic Leap, they get... Iron Mind. Whee. Can you feel the love? Neither can I. These guys are the suckage.
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NorthSaber
First Post
I was thinking about what monoracial party might be the best, which is at least somewhat on topic.
Bye
Thanee
I would like to play in an all-Eladrin group! You could all 'step across pits and crevasses and traps and through thickets or bars or whatever, and with Eladrin Education your group would be ready for anything regardless of the classes you chose.
Eladrins aren't great paladins or clerics (or warlocks), though, but I find that the versatility is just awesome. Plus there must be some Eladrin clerics, too!
Edit: actually, I think any mono-racial group would be awesome. I would really like to play a non-typical race/class combo if the campaign story supported it - like a halfling wizard, one of the few survivors of a halfling massacre, out to get vengeance with his fellow survivors.
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I was thinking about what monoracial party might be the best, which is at least somewhat on topic.
Bye
Thanee
I'm a big fan of the all-drow party. Especially if you can find a reliable way to extinguish enemy light sources. Death in the dark, baby.
Out of the PHB races, all-dragonborn does have potential. It would be awfully melee-heavy though. I actually think human would be the best pick, just because humans are so good at filling any role.
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