Quote Originally Posted by x3n0n View Post
And an important note it is!

Consider 2 hypothetical encounters:
* 3 40-HP enemies or
* 15 8-HP enemies

The 16 damage-per-target (half on save) AoE (think Fireball) is exceptionally good in the second case, and not great in the first.

The 48-damage single attack (think Sneak Attack or Divine Smite) is great in the first case, and not good in the second.

An attacker with 3 or 4 attacks of 10-12 damage each (think Fighter or Monk or Swift Quiver) is somewhere in between: almost as good as the Smite at stopping the big guys, and able to knock out several little guys per turn.
It's almost like these were taken into account when designing the game.

I won't say which one is objectively better, it kinda depends on how your DM tends to make encounters, but I will say that a party with a more diverse set of attack methods is a better one than one that relies solely on AoE's or ST-damage.

Having a party with an AoE character, a character with a spike (like smite or sneak attack), and a character with multiattacks can cover each one's weaknesses. Even better, a DM can introduce encounters where each combatant can uniquely contribute. Want the AoE to shine? Throw low-hp minions. Want smite to shine? Get a single brute. Want multiattackers to shine? Have multiple mid-HP enemies.