Originally Posted by
MaxWilson
Personally I believe it's ideal for all four party members to have both nova capability (for emergencies) AND at-will DPR capability (for efficiently solving non-emergencies).
The way I evaluate a party is to look at the party and count up how much coverage it has on a variety of roles that I consider important.
E.g. Alert Shadow Monk 11, Paladin 9/Wild Sorc 3 [Extended Spell, Quicken Spell], Hexblade 2/Lore Bard 9 [Aura of Vitality, Conjure Animals; Stealth, Perception Expertise], and Cthulock 2/Necromancer 9 [Inspiring Leader, Spell Sniper]:
I see
3 Tanks (Paladin, Monk w/ Darkness, Hexblade)
2 Recon specialists (Monk and Bardlock)
3 at-will ranged damage specialists (Bardlock, Necrolock, plus Shadow Monk and Wild Sorc put together sort of equals three)
2 Summoners (Bardlock, Necromancer)
2 single-target controllers (Monk Stunning Strike, Paladin with Wrathful Smite or grappling)
2 area controllers (Bardlock and Necromancer with spells like Hypnotic Pattern and Confusion)
2.5 Healers (Paladin and Bardlock are both amazing, and the Necromancer's self-healing via Grim Harvest is sort of an extra 0.5)
3 teleporters (monk (Shadow Jump), Necrolock and Bardlock (Dimension Door))
Minimal nova capability here (Monk nova with Flurry + Stunning Strike is merely okay, and the paladin can dual-wield for smiting but it's nothing special compared to e.g. a Hexvoker) so I'm calling that zero.
TL;DR having both at-will and nova capabilities doesn't require having separate characters.