Which Essentials class do you like the most?

[Mentat55]

I like the slayer and the hexblade the best. The slayer is simple, but hits hard, and with Martial Cross-Training and a non-Mythic Slayer PP, you can actually diversify quite a bit.

I think the hexblade's flavor is fantastic, and I really dig the summoned weapon.

 

[bganon]

I haven't played many E-classes, but I think the most fun so far for me has been the Blackguard. Defender durability + striker damage, and rewards some tactics with more damage without being super fiddly.

 

[Larrin]

Having played Mage, Hexblade, Scout, Cavalier and DeathPriest (death domain warpriest) I've enjoyed my death priest the most overall (half of that is RPing stuff), but the Hexblades playstyle fits me the best. For the hexblade i like being able to switch effortlessly from melee to range good damage, lots of teleports, lots of 'protect me' utilities. But the death priest has just stolen my heart. The only power i "need" to hit with is smite undead (and now that i'm level 3 i guess that power too) otherwise my at wills exist solely for their effects line, the damage is just gravy, and my encounter and daily don't require attack roles, so i'm almost always effective on my turn. I've also gotten into this character really well, holding funerals for slain comrades and enemies alike, etc.

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

I have to say that I like them all. I have not actually had a chance to play any of them myself, but I have been in games alongside or DMed for many of them. I've seen Hunter, a couple Slayers, Knight, several Thieves, Mage, and Sentinel in action, and they all seem decent and pretty well optimized right out of the box, which is especially good for newer players.

The thing that strikes me the most about them is just how versatile they are. I find that it's easier to twist the fluff of the E-classes to suit concepts compared to the classic 4e classes. Maybe it's the simplified structure, maybe it's the decreased stat dependency in the builds, I don't know, but whatever it is, it really works.

 

[Mummolus]

I'm playing an Executioner at the moment, and thoroughly enjoying it - it's a bit weaker in general than I'd like, but I enjoy it thematically and that's what really matters.

 

[Kzach]

I'm playing an Executioner at the moment, and thoroughly enjoying it - it's a bit weaker in general than I'd like, but I enjoy it thematically and that's what really matters.

It's strange because I think of myself as an advocate of the 'blank slate' approach, whereby you just give someone a +1 and they can call it whatever they want. And yet, I find myself really drawn to the flavour of the Essentials classes.

It's the little things they get as they level. Like the Executioner's disguise ability, or the Knight's extra weapon proficiencies or the Thief's extra skill. It's these little touches that I find really bring out the class's... I don't know, it's soul? Spirit? Intended purpose?

There's a lot to be said for flavour over crunch.

 

[babinro]

None of my players in any of our campaigns have tried an Essentials class yet. In about one month though, I'll be starting a new campaign for the group and we're slated to have an Executioner and a Vampire played within it.

While I don't care for the lack of options in an essential's character design...I very much look forward to seeing these characters in action. They have so much flavor in their powers from what I've seen from the character builder.

 

[Mummolus]

None of my players in any of our campaigns have tried an Essentials class yet. In about one month though, I'll be starting a new campaign for the group and we're slated to have an Executioner and a Vampire played within it.

While I don't care for the lack of options in an essential's character design...I very much look forward to seeing these characters in action. They have so much flavor in their powers from what I've seen from the character builder.

The vampire actually seems to play a bit like the Oassassin, at least at very low levels - they're both fragile, albeit for different reasons, and their powers function similarly aside from shrouds and such.

 

[Saracenus]

Right now I really miss my Human Vampire form season 5 of D&D Encounters. Fragile? Hardly. Sure I get smacked around like a red-headed-stepchild because my defenses are low but I regen when bloodied and my damage output made the Oassassin pale.

The other Vampire that was being played at another table was dubbed the "BAMB-pire" because she constantly blasted opponents.

When i got my level three encounter power, I was sacrificing surges every encounter to get that sweet-sweet 2d12 plus 2d8 plus 8 damage. Then I would action point and Vampire Slam them for an additional 1d10 and drain their "vital essence" for an additional 1d10 and a replacement healing surge.

Now, granted I took durable so I had 4 surges but I never dipped bellow 3 surges at the end of an encounter (I did feed on a fellow party member once though).

The absolute joy was the simplicity of the character. I slapped a cheezy eastern-European accent on him (wife says I sounded like Za-Za Gabor in male drag) and role-played the heck out him. Most-fun-ever!

I will say I have had fun with a Sentinel Druid of Spring (GO TEAM WOLF!) paired with my wife's Hunter Ranger (a deadly combo). The Bladesinger has been way cool so far. My wife is digging the Thief alot right now. Her Warpriest of Death was effective, but not really her bag. She is hungering to play a Pyromancer Mage in a new campagin and she hasn't played a wizard since 1e.

I truly can say I don't miss my Oassasin, Bard, Psion or Storm Sorcerer. All were good choices but I really had to work hard to make good builds. With Essentials I just plug and play.

 

[Bold or Stupid]

Run long term NPCs with my players with the following classes.


Mage - love the scholl specialisation.
Hunter and Scout - both fun ways of doing the ranger that feel more like wilderness guide than the non-essentials one.

I want to try the Hexblade, as I really like it's twist on Warlock story, and with the White Fountain pact I can play serious faerie romance.