Non-Essentials:Best class for a solo game?

[Howler Dagger]

I'm curious, what does the playground think would be the best class fit for a solo game, assuming PHB 1-3+All X Power books? I'm thinking a damage oriented leader would work best, but I don't know which class could be that.

[Mando Knight]

Depends on what you want... many Leaders have effects that boost your allies, so they may not be the best choice. LazyLord is by definition out since it requires an ally with a decent MBA to function.

A sturdy Striker or Controller could possibly shut down the opposition before their lack of allies becomes a problem. A Rogue would be alright if he took a lot of powers and such to obtain Combat Advantage without a flanking buddy. Wizards can shut down opponents, and Druids can be very tough for their role due to having a lot of melee powers. Rangers will perform well, as always, due to their multiple attacks per round.

A Defender is a tough nut to crack, and if you're worried about survivability, may be the best choice. Paladins have the easiest access to self-healing, Fighters deal a lot of damage even without people setting off their marks, Wardens can shrug off conditions more easily, and so forth.

Regardless, at Paragon or higher, I'd recommend Paladin (even by Multiclass) with high Strength: the Champion of Order Paragon Path is the easiest way to tank anything due to the crushing might of Certain Justice. Except enemies who can negate a Daze or Weaken that's imposed without a saving throw.

[Emongnome777]

Go with a dwarven fighter (battlerager). Between the easily-accessible healing surges (with the right equipment) and temp hit points being thrown around, he can take a beating. They also seem to deal above-average damage for a defender, but I may be wrong on that point.

[MeeposFire]

Oddly vampires are decent solo characters but since that is out I like bards. You can do almost anything with enough effort with a bard.

[Treblain]

Avenger, with Censure of Retribution. You can take care of single enemies easily, and if others attack you, you deal extra damage. Best race would probably be dwarf or deva.

[Dimers]

I'd say monk. They can take Stealth to help pick when to fight and when not to, they can take Thievery to deal with traps, they don't have weak defenses, they move around more easily than most classes, and flurry frequently lets them damage more than one foe a round so they're not disproportionately disadvantaged by minions.

Otherwise, I'd say an extra tough and resilient defender (warden), a tough striker (avenger) or a tough controller (druid). The druid can summon allies sometimes, and Treblain's point about censure avengers is a very good one.

A different way to go might be putting more bodies on the field, say with a beastmaster ranger or a shaman.

[The_Snark]

Avenger, with Censure of Retribution. You can take care of single enemies easily, and if others attack you, you deal extra damage. Best race would probably be dwarf or deva.

The censure is good, but Oath of Enmity stops working when you have more than 1 enemy adjacent, and without allies it may be tough to avoid being surrounded and cut off from your target. The stealth skills and high defenses are nice, but it's definitely risky.

A Warlock build that focuses on Hellish Rebuke might work; normally, enemies can avoid triggering the extra damage just by attacking someone else, but not here. You'll be awfully fragile for a solo game, but you'll also deal a lot of damage.

[Leolo]

At higher levels Wizard.

There is not much a flying character with speed 20 cannot solve. Especially not if he has enough options for ranged combat, forced movement effects and terrain altering effects. Wizards also have enough options out of combat and can solve some of the problems where you'd normally need a group with magic and rituals.

For the solo game i am playing in i have chosen an (original) assassin, though.

Fragility is not that much a problem, because when playing a solo game it is all about avoiding the attacks and less about surviving them. Plus the tactic "Sneak in and place as many shrouds as you can, before you get away" can work pretty good.

[INDYSTAR188]

Dwarf Fighter; One Handed Weapon Talent:

Because you will be extremely tough. You'll do decent damage (think Dwarven Weapon Training here and grab a Craghammer; Adventurers Vault), can get yourself out of some sticky situations, and will have a good AC. Lots of HP/Surges and with a set of Dwarven Scale your already on the road to self reliance!

[kyoryu]

Go with a dwarven fighter (battlerager). Between the easily-accessible healing surges (with the right equipment) and temp hit points being thrown around, he can take a beating. They also seem to deal above-average damage for a defender, but I may be wrong on that point.

I'd second this as an option. Fighters do pretty good damage for a defender. So long as you stick with invigorating powers, you'll be getting temps whether you hit with an attack, or not.

[Vendle]

I second Leolo's suggestion of the assassin. I've seen it work very effectively, as the one in our party was already soloing encounters by working a room or two ahead of the noisy members. Much of the time, success is determined by waiting for the most advantageous time to strike, and then fade away again.

[Hiro Protagonest]

Barbarian. Mark is useless to you, but barbarians have the HP of defenders (although less healing surges).

Also, you can do this:
*brandishes maul*
"This is mah boomstick!"
"What?"
*hits wall*
BOOM

[kyoryu]

Barbarian. Mark is useless to you, but barbarians have the HP of defenders (although less healing surges).


... and generally poor AC. Barbarians just aren't as sturdy as a defender, given similar optimization levels.

[MeeposFire]

... and generally poor AC. Barbarians just aren't as sturdy as a defender, given similar optimization levels.

That is not exactly true. Your standard decently optimized barb should have a dex of 16 which means their AC is equal to the great weapon fighter at the same optimization level (of just using a race with a bonus to the secondary and no feat cost). At higher levels it will be better. Barbarians are quite sturdy even compared to defenders. Still I would not recommend them for a solo game. Too limited (poor if stuck at range and low skills) in the long run in my opinion.

[Mando Knight]

Your standard decently optimized barb should have a dex of 16
...
...No...? (Unless everyone just ignores the Barbarian's secondary stat for every build except the Whirling...?)

[Dimers]

...
...No...? (Unless everyone just ignores the Barbarian's secondary stat for every build except the Whirling...?)

Personally, I haven't been able to build a straight barbarian I feel is viable aside from Whirling. The defenses are just too low. They start out low and they get (relatively) lower the higher level you are. The right party can mitigate, but it feels like everybody buffing the fighter and monk in 3.5 ...

A hybrid barbarian|paladin, on the other hand, that I can make work okay. :smallsmile:

[tcrudisi]

...
...No...? (Unless everyone just ignores the Barbarian's secondary stat for every build except the Whirling...?)

Basically. It's not that one ignores the listed secondary, it just requires the realization that Dexterity is the real secondary and what is listed is closer to a tertiary.

My wife played a Rageblood Barbarian in LFR. She started with Dex 16. Ironically, at the same time we started our new characters, another guy showed up with a Rageblood. He had Con 16 instead. Over the couple of months we got to play with these lowbies, the other Barbarian was the epitome of a glass canon. He would often finish each module with 0 healing surges (as Con secondary!) and it was more common for him to go unconscious than to stay up through the entire fight. Compared to my wife, who never went unconscious and never got focus-fired, either.

I know, this is anecdotal evidence. But where I used to live, we had some DMs who liked to make the game as challenging as possible. Once they realized that his defenses were so low, there was nothing I could do (as the defender) to keep him up. However, my wife's defenses were high enough that she had no problem staying up.

You might think that he was the juicier target, but she consistently did more damage than he did. In terms of threat, she was the bigger one. Yet, he was the one that was targeted simply because his AC might as well have been 0. Those few temp hps he got every turn just didn't mitigate enough damage.

/edit - To answer the initial question, I think I'd do a hybrid Avenger|Runepriest. Very accurate, access to heals, solid defenses.

[MeeposFire]

...
...No...? (Unless everyone just ignores the Barbarian's secondary stat for every build except the Whirling...?)

Dex is the real secondary stat for all barbarians. Dex gives you better AC which is important. Con and cha give you some nifty benefits but they pale in comparison. You do want to try to get your con high enough for any feats you want but after that dex all the way improving every chance you get.

[Surrealistik]

Dwarf/Half-Elf Battlemind multiclassed into Shaman/Bard (encounter heals!) should give you _plenty_ of survivability for reasons that are obvious. There's also plenty of abilities that allow you to spend more of your effectively unlimited surges like Grit and Spittle, Reactive Surge and the Amulet of Life.

With Cheese Barrage and Forceful Reversal they can also put out serious damage.

[WickerNipple]

...
...No...? (Unless everyone just ignores the Barbarian's secondary stat for every build except the Whirling...?)

Almost everyone who plays a Barbarian ignores the "secondary stat" for Barbarians post the Hide Armor Expertise nerf. You desperately need Dex, and want just enough Con/Cha to qualify for feats and minimal riders.

Personally I've always found the Rogue best suited to solo play. You need a build that specializes in constant combat advantage, but that isn't hard these days.