[4E] Fighter: Talk to me of Feats and Powers

[Kiero]

I'm going to be playing a Fighter in an upcoming Planescape game. The concept is thus: ex-Sergeant and veteran of many battles, who acts as a mobile roadblock in a fight. Visually, he uses a pair of longswords in an "one is offensive, one is defensive" style. Mechanically he's a sword-and-board Guardian, though he uses a weaponshield.

We're a four-PC party, and will have all the roles covered. I got Defender this time (last time I was Striker with a melee Ranger). The only other character we're vaguely sure of at this point is a (probably Wemic) melee Cleric.

Some red lines so people are clear, the following are non-negotiable:

• I only play humans, this character will be human.
• I want to play a Fighter, none of the other Defender options appeal.
• I am well aware of the trade-offs I've made in my ability score choices. They will not change. I do not dump stats, and a starting 18 isn't worth the cost as far as I'm concerned.
• I will not have a character who uses double-weapons or spiked shields.
• I am not considering a shift to a lightly-armoured straight-up two-weapon combatant.
• We probably won't level up in the short run of the game, so anything that's based on getting better in a couple of levels time is probably a waste of time.

What I would appreciate commentary and advice on is my Feat and Powers choices. I've notionally gone thus so far:

level 8
Human, Fighter
Build: Guardian Fighter
Fighter: Combat Superiority
Fighter Talents: One-handed Weapon Talent
Background: Aglarond (Aglarond Benefit)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 18, Con 14, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 10.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 14, Con 14, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 10.


AC: 25 Fort: 23 Reflex: 21 Will: 20
HP: 76 Surges: 11 Surge Value: 19

TRAINED SKILLS
Heal +12, Perception +13, Endurance +9, Athletics +11

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +4, Arcana +4, Bluff +4, Diplomacy +4, Dungeoneering +7, History +4, Insight +7, Intimidate +4, Nature +7, Religion +4, Stealth +4, Streetwise +4, Thievery +4

FEATS
Human: Action Surge
Level 1: Toughness
Level 2: Weapon Expertise (Heavy Blade)
Level 4: Shield Push
Level 6: Against All Odds
Level 8: Battle Hardened

POWERS
Bonus At-Will Power: Dual Strike
Fighter at-will 1: Tide of Iron
Fighter at-will 1: Footwork Lure
Fighter encounter 1: Funneling Flurry
Fighter daily 1: Bristling Defense
Fighter utility 2: Full Extension
Fighter encounter 3: Probing Attack
Fighter daily 5: Rain of Steel
Fighter utility 6: Snagging Grip
Fighter encounter 7: Come and Get It

ITEMS
Magic Scale Armor +2, Fighting Shield Heavy Shield (heroic tier), Magic Longsword +2, Amulet of Protection +2, Magic Javelin +2

Magic items are placeholders right now, I'm hoping for a houserule in my favour for an enchanted fighting shield.

I'm fairly set on my at-wills, but otherwise I'm willing to be persuaded on everything else Feat and Power related.

[Galdor Miriel]

I like the concept, and the unwillingness to overly optimize, after all, having fun is the name of the game and I played a dwarven bard in a 3.5 game once whose charisma could have been better, but he was fun.

I think toughness is better in the low heroic tier levels, or low paragon. A better choice would be durable and get the extra surges to help keep you on your feat.

Another possible feat choice is a multi-class to a class that fits your character concept and then get the extra trained skill. Maybe your solider got some experience scouting enemy lines, and is multi class rogue with the stealth skill trained and a certain familiarity wit a bowie knife in the dark.

I do not know the fighter powers that well, but I am sure if you do not gimp yourself by choosing a power intended for intelligent or charismatic fighters you should be fine.

GM

[Kurald Galain]

Okay. One thing you should consider is using a reach weapon. It gives you better tactical options, and synergizes well with Footwork Lure. Note that dual Strike requires that you wield two weapons, not a weapon and shield.

Toughness is nice at levels 1-3 or 11-13, but unnecessary around level 8, even moreso for a high-HP class. I would recommend grabbing a multiclass feat, they're generally among the best choices.

Likewise, battle hardened is not needed considering how extremely rare it is to make a save against fear. The MP book has a feat that gives +5 save bonus vs immobilize, which is much more useful.

Action Surge is overrated. It gives you +3 to hit once every other combat. That means it gives you one extra hit roughly every fourteen combats. And Against All Odds is also a feat that triggers on a rather unusual condition.

Probing Attack isn't all that great, I'd suggest Sweeping Blow. Also, I find that most fighter utility powers are underwhelming; I would recommend looking over the skill powers in PHB3.

You said your magic items were placeholders... generally the best bet for armor and neckslot are items that give resistances.

HTH!

[Kiero]

I'm getting the sense that Toughness isn't so great. Is Durable a better switch? My only concern is that Second Wind is invariably a turn not doing anything useful. Least that was my experience of it as a Striker, Second Wind was something you did between combat, or used when the Cleric healed you. Is that a big difference between the Defender and Striker expriences?

Dual Strike (and other two-weapon powers) works with a Fighting shield, which is considered a Heavy Blade. Not really interested in a reach weapon, sword-and-board is fixed. Full Extension gives reach every now and then anyway.

Battle-hardened I like for the incidental +2 Initiative as well as the fear bonus. Given the setting (Planescape) I think fear is a distinct possibility. The alternative I was considering was Quick Draw, which was invaluable for a previous two-weapon fighter.

Should I be thinking about Human Perseverence instead of Action Surge? I've just always seen it written that Action Surge is the reason you play a human at all (at least for the people who consider optimisation above all else).

I've got a fully updated CB, but don't have PHB3, any thoughts which skill powers I should specifically be looking at?

[Hal]

I have Action Surge on my human cleric, and I really like it; it's one of those things you use when you really want an attack to land (such as a daily).

If you were to abandon it, I've also got a soft-spot for Stubborn Survivor; +2 to saves when you have no action points is pretty useful if you tend to burn through them quickly.

[Kurald Galain]

I'm getting the sense that Toughness isn't so great. Is Durable a better switch?

Not really. It is pretty rare under most DMs for people to run out of healing surges, and even if they do, the low-surge low-defense character is much more likely to run out. You should already have many surges due to your class and constitution.

My only concern is that Second Wind is invariably a turn not doing anything useful.

That is correct: second wind is generally a waste of time, except if you're playing a dwarf. That is why you should carry a few healing potions, and drag a leader along.

Battle-hardened I like for the incidental +2 Initiative as well as the fear bonus. Given the setting (Planescape) I think fear is a distinct possibility.

Fear attacks, sure. But fear saving throws, not really. For comparison, Eladrin get +5 save bonus against charm. Now charm attacks are rather common; charm saves, I've encountered precisely once in two years of play.

If you want initiative, there's always Improved Initiative. Quick Draw is primarily useful if you want to use a lot of different backup weapons or items, which ironically is better for spellcaster characters.

Should I be thinking about Human Perseverence instead of Action Surge? I've just always seen it written that Action Surge is the reason you play a human at all (at least for the people who consider optimisation above all else).

That's because the charop boards, especially when the PHB1 first came out, grossly overestimated the power of conditional bonuses. Human Perseverance is decent, Stubborn Survivor (FRPG) is probably better.

I've got a fully updated CB, but don't have PHB3, any thoughts which skill powers I should specifically be looking at?

Hm... one that lets you stand up as a minor action. One that lets you push enemies by intimidating them. Endurance gets a very nice one that gives you general damage resistance for a short time. I'd suggest borrowing the book, there are some nice options there.

[Galdor Miriel]

Durable being useful depends on the dm and the class, as I think about it more. With our games we always have pressure to keep going, so most people have durable. But as a fighter it is probably not the best choice.

I agree with the other dude about action surge, not that great, and I had no idea what battle hardened was.

I was a bit confused about the shield or two weapon style. Sounds like one of your swords is a shield, shield defense is a good feat in that case maybe.


Have fun!

[Tengu_temp]

Is Action Surge overrated? Yes.
Is it still worth taking? Yes. Overrated doesn't automatically mean bad.

[Kiero]

For now, then, I'll stick with Toughness. Swapped out Battle-hardened for Improved Initiative. Action Surge for Human Perserverance (I prefer unconditional +1 to conditional +2).

Against All Odds needs a replacement (I guess unless we're swamped with minions it might be rare to have three opponents on me). Shield Defense?

Switched Probing Attack for Sweeping Blow (which is neatly a burst, not sure I had any before that change, I like bursts).

level 8
Human, Fighter
Build: Guardian Fighter
Fighter: Combat Superiority
Fighter Talents: One-handed Weapon Talent
Background: Aglarond (Aglarond Benefit)

FINAL ABILITY SCORES
Str 18, Con 14, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 16, Cha 10.

STARTING ABILITY SCORES
Str 14, Con 14, Dex 14, Int 10, Wis 14, Cha 10.


AC: 25 Fort: 23 Reflex: 21 Will: 20
HP: 76 Surges: 11 Surge Value: 19

TRAINED SKILLS
Heal +12, Perception +13, Endurance +9, Athletics +11

UNTRAINED SKILLS
Acrobatics +4, Arcana +4, Bluff +4, Diplomacy +4, Dungeoneering +7, History +4, Insight +7, Intimidate +4, Nature +7, Religion +4, Stealth +4, Streetwise +4, Thievery +4

FEATS
Human: Human Perseverance
Level 1: Toughness
Level 2: Weapon Expertise (Heavy Blade)
Level 4: Shield Push
Level 6: Shield Defense
Level 8: Improved Initiative

POWERS
Bonus At-Will Power: Dual Strike
Fighter at-will 1: Tide of Iron
Fighter at-will 1: Footwork Lure
Fighter encounter 1: Funneling Flurry
Fighter daily 1: Bristling Defense
Fighter utility 2: Full Extension
Fighter encounter 3: Sweeping Blow
Fighter daily 5: Rain of Steel
Fighter utility 6: Snagging Grip
Fighter encounter 7: Come and Get It

ITEMS
Magic Scale Armor +2, Fighting Shield Heavy Shield (heroic tier), Magic Longsword +2, Amulet of Protection +2, Magic Javelin +2

[Yakk]

Normalized Defences:
AC: 17 Fort: 15 Reflex: 13 Will: 12

FEATS
Human: Action Surge
-- Note that this is worse than Weapon Expertise, but what isn't?
Level 1: Toughness
-- 71/35/17 vs 76/38/19
Level 2: Weapon Expertise (Heavy Blade)
-- Feat tax.
Level 4: Shield Push
-- Requires that your DM ignore marks. Some DMs follow marks too much.
Level 6: Against All Odds
-- +1 situational (common) isn't bad.
Level 8: Battle Hardened
-- This is +2 initiative with a somewhat rare rider, you know?

-- Note that the PHB3 feat "skill power" is a kick ass feat you might want to fit in.
-- "Skill Swap" is also somewhat tempting.

POWERS
Bonus At-Will Power: Dual Strike
Fighter at-will 1: Tide of Iron
Fighter at-will 1: Footwork Lure
-- two 'move the target' powers.
Fighter encounter 1: Funneling Flurry
-- I really don't like fighter encounter 1s.
-- Shield Riposte is good (imm. reaction to being attacked)
-- The power you chose is a pair of slides. You have 2 at-will positioners already.
Fighter daily 1: Bristling Defense
-- Villians Menace is usually the auto-choice for level 1 fighters.
Fighter utility 2: Full Extension
-- Pretty meh.
-- I sort of like Battle Fury, Pass Forward, Defensive Stance.
Fighter encounter 3: Probing Attack
-- I <3 immediate powers
-- Immediate Vengence (interrupt weaken+damage), Shield Edge Block (note that -4 penalty is an Effect),
-- Another path is AOE attacks. Sweeping Blow is super accurate and a great follow-up to Come and Get It.
Fighter daily 5: Rain of Steel
-- Duh
Fighter utility 6: Snagging Grip
-- Daring Shot (keep yourself sticky), Unbreakable (7 more HP/fight), Rejoin the Fray (I'd rather be standing than having the opponent prone as well)
Fighter encounter 7: Come and Get It
-- Duh.

ITEMS
Magic Scale Armor +2, Fighting Shield Heavy Shield (heroic tier), Magic Longsword +2, Amulet of Protection +2, Magic Javelin +2
-- +2 Distance Javalin + Shield leaves you with 440 gp.
-- Then you get a L 9, 8 and 7 item.
-- Master's Weapon grants you a +1 to hit while in a stance, and a daily of 2 stances active.
-- Other options are also good.
-- You should be wearing MW Drakescale for +1 additional AC.
-- Ie, +2 Demonscale Drakescale (L 9) is good

[Tiki Snakes]

Relatively low strength, but high wisdom? I'd look at feats that boost your opportunity attacks. (Not to be confused with those from your combat superiority, admittedly).

Pretty sure that it's worth considering, with getting your Wis bonus to Opportunity attacks already.

Looks like you've already picked powers that work well with your having a dex bonus, too. Generally I'd say it seems pretty solid. Between weapon expertise and focusing on swords, you're probably still packing reasonable chances to hit. Just keep the powers to ones that benefit from your generally high secondary and teritiary scores and you're pretty sorted really.

Personally, as a straight classed fighter with a decent Con, I wouldn't worry about toughness OR Durable, and pick up something more fun, or at least offensively minded, but Your Mileage May Vary.

[Kurald Galain]

Level 6: Against All Odds
-- +1 situational (common) isn't bad.

I disagree that it's a common situation. In any fight without minions, it strikes me as unlikely to come up. In any fight with minions, well, if your party can't handle minions then it's got bigger issues.

Fighter at-will 1: Tide of Iron
Fighter at-will 1: Footwork Lure
-- two 'move the target' powers.

That is actually a good point; TOI and FL are at least somewhat redundant.

There is an at-will in MP that deals more damage but lets you grant combat advantage (Brash Strike, IIRC). This is very useful if for whatever reason you already grant combat advantage. If enemies flank you, sucks to be them.

-- I sort of like Battle Fury, Pass Forward, Defensive Stance.

Of those three, I'd vote for Battle Fury, but there's probably a better skill power out there.

[Swordgleam]

I disagree that it's a common situation. In any fight without minions, it strikes me as unlikely to come up. In any fight with minions, well, if your party can't handle minions then it's got bigger issues.

My party's defender routinely gets surrounded by that many enemies, especially when the bard is marking them for him. Perhaps it just depends on your party's style. You can always retrain stuff if you're even going to level up once (or your DM is understanding).

[Tehnar]

For feats I would go, I would replace shield push, shield defense and improved initiative with stubborn survivor, a warlord multiclass and a bastard word proficiency is pretty good if it goes with your character. Weapon focus would be a good feat to take at level 10.

[Kiero]

I'll try to deal with a number of points.

Still undecided on the Action Surge/Human Perseverence front. While the +3 to hit is nice for making sure a daily hits, I still remember a few times in the last game where even that wasn't enough to ensure unloading a daily did what it was supposed to.

Toughness; if there's a better Feat (or a more colourful one) then I'm open to suggestions. Plump for Weapon Focus for a bit more damage?

Shield Push; if the GM follows marks, I win. If the GM ignores marks, I win.

Against All Odds changed for Shield Defense.

Battle Hardened changed for Improved Initiative.

Tide of Iron and Footwork Lure; I thought the whole point here was some controller-y stuff to shunt enemies to where I want them (so the other PCs can take advantage of them)?

Funneling Flurry. Shield Riposte sounds useful if only because I don't think I have many reaction-powers.

How does Villain's Menace compare to Bristling Defense? Seems more damage with one attack, rather than two attacks.

I'll check out Battle Fury in place of Full Extension. I kind of like the thought of Pass Forward, not least because it's a mobility at-will (and done on move action) which makes my character more versatile.

Same goes alternative utility 6s. Both Unbreakable and Rejoin the Fray are kind of tasty. What about Vigilant Protector, for that teamwork thing?

In our last game minions tended to get blitzed fairly quickly between the Wizard and my Ranger's longbow Twin Strike (then he switched to get stuck into melee). So unless the GM takes a completely different approach, I don't think being outnumbered and alone will be that common. Don't forget there's at least a melee Cleric for other PCs.

I prefer Human Perseverence to Stubborn Survivor, because always-on beats conditional for me.

[Thajocoth]

Since you've already got Come and Get It, I thought I should mention that Come and Get It, Action Point, Sweeping Blow is a common tactic that's quite good if there's more than one enemy on the field. These also mark a lot more enemies. For extended marking, Come and Get It one turn, marking 5-7 enemies usually, and the next turn Sweeping Blow to keep them marked. Sure, you can only react to one of them disobeying the mark, but they all still get -2 to hit your allies while marked. -3 if you take the Dragonmark feat that changes your marks from -2 to -3.

Any enemy you attack is marked, so adding more attacks in a round, whether it's by bursts, minors, immediates or whatever else, adds to how well you can protect your allies.

[Tehnar]

The good thing about stubborn survivor is that you choose when you want the bonus to kick in, and it stacks with human perseverance. A fighter needs good saves so he can get out of those crowd control effects, so he is free to mark.

I wouldn't go for shield push because your mark is pretty good already, you don't have to boost it further.

When playing a fighter, I never considered action surge for him. A lot of times I was using the extra action to get into better position, and I was playing a fighter with a starting 20 STR, so he hit often anyway. Well at least until the DM started throwing creatures 5+ levels above us, then my guy was hitting 40% of the time. Anyway that is a big issue for the fighters mark. For it to be effective, your fighter needs to be able to hit reliably (and deal respectable damage too).

When you can do that some fun options include allies intentionally provoking AoO's from marked creatures, or you just completely locking down ranged striker/controler monsters.

For the utilities, they are pretty crappy but here are the two I suggest. At level 2 take the one that can negate CA. Lots of monsters get extra stuff when they have CA against you, this is a good way to say no to that. At level 6 there is on that gives you +2 to hit vs a enemy. Its good when dealing with very tough creatures.

For the level 1 power I prefer Comeback strike. When the encounter is tough you need ways to spend healing surges to stay up. Combined with the cleric/warlord multiclass you can last even in the toughest encounter.

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

Villain's Menace is the best fighter lv1 daily, use that.

[Kiero]

While it is kind of neat that Comeback Strike allows me to spend a surge, that's what Clerics are for.

Do I need Blade Opportunist?

FEATS
Human: Human Perseverance
Level 1: Weapon Focus (Heavy Blade)
Level 2: Weapon Expertise (Heavy Blade)
Level 4: Shield Push
Level 6: Shield Defense
Level 8: Improved Initiative

POWERS
Bonus At-Will Power: Dual Strike
Fighter at-will 1: Tide of Iron
Fighter at-will 1: Footwork Lure
Fighter encounter 1: Shield Riposte
Fighter daily 1: Villain's Menace
Fighter utility 2: Endure Pain
Fighter encounter 3: Sweeping Blow
Fighter daily 5: Rain of Steel
Fighter utility 6: Unbreakable
Fighter encounter 7: Come and Get It

ITEMS
Magic Scale Armor +2, Fighting Shield Heavy Shield (heroic tier), Magic Longsword +2, Amulet of Protection +2, Magic Javelin +2

[Chainsaw Hobbit]

Improved Initiative sucks, put durable in it's place. (no one takes Improved Initiative)

[Kiero]

Improved Initiative sucks, put durable in it's place. (no one takes Improved Initiative)

Durable is pretty worthless in my group. From my experience with them, almost no one ever used up all their surges. The 11 surges I already have are plenty.

[Tehnar]

Comeback strike is your safety net. If the encounter is so tough that the cleric uses all his healing, and there are still monsters around, Comeback strike might be what will save the day. And it comes with a reliable tag.

[herrhauptmann]

If you like action surge, there's two other feats you might like, I just can't remember their names. Though they're in either MP2 or PHB3.
1- lets you shift 1 when you stand from prone.
1- Gives you a shift when you action point.

The regeneration utility is very nice. Only takes effect while you're bloodied though.
Cloak of walking wounded lets you second wind for 2 surges instead of 1 while bloodied. Obviously worthless if you're not expecting to second wind during a fight.
Belt of vigor increases your surge value by 1.
Acrobatic boots, make standing from prone easier.
Boots of adept charging let you shift after a charge. Greatly enhances battlefield mobility.


What is the fighting shield? Grants shield bonus, but lets you choose to fight dual weapon if you wish?
AV1 has a weapon enchantment that lets you, as a minor action, change the shape of your weapon. Another minor lets you change it back again.
It sounds useless, but it's good if you get immobilized or slowed too far away to hit enemies. Burn a minor action, and your magic sword is now a magic javelin. Magic thrown weapons are returning weapons. Or you can turn it into a reach weapon. It lasts until the end of the encounter. Though you can only change it from sword to X and back again once per encounter.
Costs the same as a generic magic weapon as well. So you really lose nothing vs owning a standard +2 sword.

[Kurald Galain]

Costs the same as a generic magic weapon as well. So you really lose nothing vs owning a standard +2 sword.

What you lose is this: as soon as you hit level 7 or level 8 and have a bit of spare cash, you can upgrade your "standard +2 sword" to a "+2 sword of coolness". You can't do that with a polymorphic sword, so you end up paying a lot more for a weapon with a powerful property (unless you happen to find one).

Most fighters get little benefit from having more than one melee weapon and a heavy thrown for backup, anyway.

[Epinephrine]

While it is kind of neat that Comeback Strike allows me to spend a surge, that's what Clerics are for.

I somewhat disagree. There are fights in which things start to go wrong - when the cleric is going to need to be healing more than usual, and when it'd be swell if you had a way to self-heal without wasting a round on a second wind.

Invigorating attacks help, since they can add a bit of staying power, but I don't think it's bad to have a way of healing yourself. The notion that all healing should come from the cleric doesn't reflect reality - my job as a defender is to keep the party safe, and that includes allowing the cleric to keep a striker up.

[Kiero]

I somewhat disagree. There are fights in which things start to go wrong - when the cleric is going to need to be healing more than usual, and when it'd be swell if you had a way to self-heal without wasting a round on a second wind.

Invigorating attacks help, since they can add a bit of staying power, but I don't think it's bad to have a way of healing yourself. The notion that all healing should come from the cleric doesn't reflect reality - my job as a defender is to keep the party safe, and that includes allowing the cleric to keep a striker up.

That's what Endure Pain is for if things are going really badly, I get damage resistance for long enough for the Cleric to sort out the Striker then get to me. Otherwise I could always switch it for Boundless Endurance, and get regeneration when I become Bloodied.

I want a Daily that lets me do damage, not do the Cleric's job for him. In the last game, our Defender only went down once, having lots of hit points and a high AC is enough.

[Tehnar]

When playing a fighter I had comeback strike, dwarven armor and the inspiring word via warlord multiclass.

Dwarven armor was mostly a fire and forget ability. I used it when I needed it, and after that encounter was over I equipped my fighter with another type of armor.

Inspiring word was hoarded carefully. If things go wrong and your cleric gets taken down early, you need a way to get him up. Another situation that comes up often is when there are a lot of status effects / walls thrown around the cleric might not be in a position to reach your fighter with healing. A range of 5 is not exactly great.

A 3W power against a 2W power is not that much difference, with a longsword it is maybe 5-6 damage extra. The rider effect with VM is not that great in practise, as it is useful for only solo monsters, which are not that difficult to deal with.

[Kiero]

Comeback Strike doesn't do anything on a miss, Villain's Menace does.

Our Cleric is a melee cleric, he's not likely to ever be far from my character.

[Epinephrine]

I want a Daily that lets me do damage, not do the Cleric's job for him. In the last game, our Defender only went down once, having lots of hit points and a high AC is enough.

I guess as defender I don't concentrate on damage with my dailies; I tend to leave that to the party's two strikers, while I use my dailies to control the board or to tank it up better.

Spoiler

Show

To be fair, it's my first time playing a defender, and I'm a warden, but the principles are the same. I'm perfectly willing to take a total defense action and just soak while the strikers drop the target.

At this level, it consists of pulling everyone around me and slowing or immobilising them, then using my second wind etc. to survive the beating (as a warden I mark as a free action, so I can even total defense and mark them). My second wind is awesome (+Con to AC, on top of the +2 from second wind), boosting my defenses like crazy, so it's a heal and defenses while the enemy trapped next to me get pounded on. A pinning weapon is amazing at low-level. I can get next to a big nasty, pin him, and let the ranged strikers rip him to pieces while I turtle.

Later, I am thinking of adding a Ring of Personal Gravity to pin them in place while adjacent to me, and possibly Parry Gauntlets or a Ring of Vigilant defense, to get a +2 or +4 bonus to defenses when doing a total defense.

It may not seem very glamourous to sit there tanking their hits (to be fair, I also often attack them - but total defense is an option, too), but it is working so far. I'm not saying your method won't work, too; I just thought you might like an alternate perspective. If your party has only one striker, picking up some striker-like power might be wise, but if your cleric is going to be in melee and looking at some offensive powers you may need to be more self-sufficient.

[Kiero]

I guess as defender I don't concentrate on damage with my dailies; I tend to leave that to the party's two strikers, while I use my dailies to control the board or to tank it up better.

It may not seem very glamourous to sit there tanking their hits (to be fair, I also often attack them - but total defense is an option, too), but it is working so far. I'm not saying your method won't work, too; I just thought you might like an alternate perspective. If your party has only one striker, picking up some striker-like power might be wise, but if your cleric is going to be in melee and looking at some offensive powers you may need to be more self-sufficient.

We'll only have one Striker. We have four players and by common agreement we always have one of each Role. I strongly suspect that just like last time mine will be the only Martial character.

We're 8th level if that makes any difference.