Third Level Psionic Powers...

[Variable Arcana]

Is it just me, or is there a dearth of good Powers at third level? I'm used to playing arcanists where 3rd level spells are exceptionally good -- haste, slow, fly, dispel magic, stinking cloud, arcane sight, suggestion, ray of exhaustion... It's always a challenge to pick which ones your particular 5th level wizard is going to want first.

I'm now playing my first psion (a seer, 4th level currently) and will at some point want to pick two third level powers. Escape Detection and Fate Link aren't particularly attractive, and most of the basic Powers don't seem useful for a knowledge-monkey. (Or appear to duplicate something other party members already do better -- like the healing Power or seeing in the dark...)

Supplementing his Energy Ray with a more battlefield-controlling Energy Wall might be useful. Otherwise, only Telekinetic Force seems to have much potential (unrelated question -- can Telekinetic Force and Solicit Psicrystal combine to allow a psion to fly?) -- am I missing some Powers of obvious usefulness?

I suspect that the problem is I just don't have the experience with these powers to really see the useful ones. What Powers have others found to be particularly useful?

[Fax Celestis]

Psionic Blast is pretty nice, as is Time Hop. Both have very decent applications in a variety of different ways.

As for Seer Discipline powers, Fate Link is fun: target an opposing caster and a meleer, and then blast the hell out of the meleer. The caster will die by association.

[Marius]

Dispel Psionics is an obvious choice. Time Hop is great, the rogue can't opnen that door? Send it to the future! Escape Detection is a good long term buff to have always on. Telekinetic thrust is fun and Touchsight allows you to ignore a lot of things that could bother you.
And if you have the-book-that-must-not-be-named Cerebral Phantasm is pretty cool

[Variable Arcana]

Wow. Totally missed the fact that Time Hop can target an object... that does make it a really interesting spell.

Does Dispel Psionics dispel magic as well. or is it only psionic powers that it affects?

[ShneekeyTheLost]

Wow. Totally missed the fact that Time Hop can target an object... that does make it a really interesting spell.

Does Dispel Psionics dispel magic as well. or is it only psionic powers that it affects?

With magic/psionic transparency, dispel psionics works quite effectively on magic and vice versa

[Truffles]

is ectoplasmic form or energy retort limited to their respective disciplines? if not i love those and the combination of them.

[Eikre]

Ectoplasmic Form is an Egoist power. So, yeah, don't spring for it.

[Variable Arcana]

Energy Retort's no good for this character -- if he's getting hit in melee, he's doing something very wrong.

[The_Snark]

Dispel Psionics is incredibly effective, more so than Dispel Magic, since you can augment Dispel Psionics to get a dispel check over the +10 max and over your level (not above +20, though). It's well worth it.

Other than that, I rather like Energy Wall. If you don't already have an energy power, Energy Line is handy. Time Hop and the mind blast-like power are both useful as well. Body Adjustment is nice for self-healing, but if you have a cleric that's probably not a problem.

[The Mormegil]

Can anybody explain me why noone's talking about Scism? I mean - the 3rd level spell that divides your mind in two parts that can both manifest in the same time? Don't tell me that they haven't printed it in 3.5!
P.S.: I love psionics: just think of what a 19th level psionic can do. Use a few Scism and Fissions and you'll manifest -like- 8 powers a round! Add the fact that Time Spee is 4 times better than Time Stop (You can't do anything for a few rounds after using it? Hah! One of your minds can't! Let the others manifest Time Speed again: you'll have all minds working at full speed before the end of the power!) Of course in a few rounds of fighting you'll end all your PPs, but it is a worthy feedback.

[The_Snark]

It sounds like you're going largely off 3.0 powers, which are different a lot of the time. Among other things, Schism is a 4th-level, telepath-only power; Time Speed is Temporal Acceleration (more like Time Stop now, but still better because it's available earlier); Fission and Schism create much less powerful versions of yourself and don't stack with multiple manifestings of themselves. The most you can get is five powers a round, using Quickened powers, Schism, and Fission. Still good, of course, but it burns the power points at an insane rate and takes a few rounds to set up.

[its_all_ogre]

energy retort does not only affect melee opponents. ranged or casters are also harmed by this power so it is useful.
i also find psi-powers at 3rd to be less awe-worthy than arcane spells.

[Black Hand]

That fate link looks pretty nasty. The possibilities on that look like fun.

I've always liked ectoplasmic form myself it's very versatile.

Mind blast though...just sounds like fun, could a multiverse of mindflayers be wrong?? :P

[Starbuck_II]

That fate link looks pretty nasty. The possibilities on that look like fun.

I've always liked ectoplasmic form myself it's very versatile.

Mind blast though...just sounds like fun, could a multiverse of mindflayers be wrong?? :P

Duration of Mind Blast is so low (1 round). Not worth it usually in my opinion.

[Marius]

Duration of Mind Blast is so low (1 round). Not worth it usually in my opinion.

I agree, it can be argumented to last longer but it save it's always the same.