tempest 3rd at-will?

[Lojaan]

Howdy folks,

I have a 1st lvl human tempest fighter, mc rogue. Originally I took footwork lure, dual strike and cleave, but with the change to dual strike cleave is redundant.

Any idea what to choose as a 3rd at will? He's a str/dex build (v. low con bonus) so brash strike and anything invigorating is pretty usless. Tide of iron is a no go as no shield, and reaping strike not tha useful without a 2h weapon.

That leaves sure strike which is... not that muck more useful than a basic attack.

Anyone else come across this problem?

 

[Mentat55]

A quick look at the Compendium yields the following powers that could be useful:

Brash Strike: +2 to hit and normal damage vs. giving up combat advantage, good when you're only facing one target and Dual Strike doesn't give any benefit. Useful even when your Con is low and you aren't using an axe/hammer/mace. Granting combat advantage is also a good way to bait enemies into attacking you -- an extra trick to add to your defender toolbox.
Knockdown Assault: vs. Fort attack that knocks targets prone and can be used when charging.

Cleave may still be situationally useful, since it does auto-damage and thus can clear out a minion without an attack roll.

 

[Psikus]

I'd take either Reaping Strike or Brash Strike. They are certainly not great in your build, but still have some uses (i.e. they hit harder than other at-wills) when you're against a single target, and don't necessarily want to move with Footwork Lure.

 

[Klaus]

Howdy folks,

I have a 1st lvl human tempest fighter, mc rogue. Originally I took footwork lure, dual strike and cleave, but with the change to dual strike cleave is redundant.

Any idea what to choose as a 3rd at will? He's a str/dex build (v. low con bonus) so brash strike and anything invigorating is pretty usless. Tide of iron is a no go as no shield, and reaping strike not tha useful without a 2h weapon.

That leaves sure strike which is... not that muck more useful than a basic attack.

Anyone else come across this problem?

Sure Strike.

The extra +2 to attack is great, and while you don't get to add Str to damage, you do add all the Tempest Technique bonuses. If you get proficiency in a superior weapon later on and take the Exotic Weapon Fighting feat, you get to add the weapon's proficiency bonus to damage, as well!

 

[Nifft]

Deft Hurler Style is a feat from Dragon that allows you to make a ranged basic attack with a heavy thrown weapon in place of dealing secondary auto-damage with Cleave. (And you don't provoke with the free ranged attack.)

Other than that, I'd take a look at Knockdown Assault and Brash Strike.

Cheers, -- N

 

[RyvenCedrylle]

Cleave and Dual Strike are NOT redundant for one very simple reason. You do not 'hit' the secondary target of Cleave, you simply deal damage. Therefore you can't mark two targets with Cleave, but you can with Dual Strike. I'd be very hesitant to drop it. If you really want to abandon Dual Strike, though, I suppose I'd go with Knockdown Assault.

 

[Nifft]

Therefore you can't mark two targets with Cleave, but you can with Dual Strike. I'd be very hesitant to drop it. If you really want to abandon Dual Strike, though, I suppose I'd go with Knockdown Assault.

He wants to drop Cleave.

Cheers, -- N

 

[Klaus]

Deft Hurler Style is a feat from Dragon that allows you to make a ranged basic attack with a heavy thrown weapon in place of dealing secondary auto-damage with Cleave. (And you don't provoke with the free ranged attack.)

Other than that, I'd take a look at Knockdown Assault and Brash Strike.

Cheers, -- N

While this is cool, are there any off-hand heavy thrown weapons? Otherwise it's not worth it to abandon the bonus damage from Tempest Technique.

Another option, depending on the character's Wisdom: Cruel Cut Style feat. If the target of your Cleave attack is alone, you can forgo the extra damage from Cleave and instead cause ongoing damage equal to Wis modifier.

 

[abyssaldeath]

While this is cool, are there any off-hand heavy thrown weapons? Otherwise it's not worth it to abandon the bonus damage from Tempest Technique.

Hand Axe and Throwing Hammer are both Heavy Thrown.

 

[Nifft]

Hand Axe and Throwing Hammer are both Heavy Thrown.

Also, the Drow Long Knife from the Eberron player's guide (superior heavy blade, off-hand, heavy thrown).

Cheers, -- N