That's a hard question to answer, in part because many of the most potent powers are also situational (the "when used correctly" corollary you mention...ever used Assassin's Strike when you're not Hidden? 
). There are powers that are very useful but not very sexy, and powers that are more style than substance (not that that's a bad thing), and powers that will completely revolutionize gameplay for a character and make you wonder what you did before you took that power.
For my part, I'll put forth Stygian Circle as an example of a power from this third category. It'll change your Warshade's life, I promise you.
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I would have to go with stamina as being up there for one of the most powerful powers.
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Stamina is very notably not one of the most powerful powers.
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Originally Posted by Lucky666
I would have to go with stamina as being up there for one of the most powerful powers.
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Yup, lots of caveats on this one. However, I personally always liked a crit on Headsplitter from the broadsword set on a scrapper. Slotted well, even without buildup, and you're really, REALLY nailing a single-target.
Others I like? For damage strictly? Lightning Rod and Shield Charge. Nice AoE damage, but also just an AWESOME visual effect on each.
Bitter Ice Blast is also pretty freakin' cool, straight outta the box. I'm thinking specifically here of lots of damage without Buildup or Aim. Just what you can do with it, with some slotting. Blazing Bolt (I think that's it-or is it just Blaze?) from the Fire blaster primary is similar. Fast animation, big single-target damage.
Now, to completely change your original point-if I had to say my absolute favorite high-damage roundup on a character? Running Assault, hit with Fulcrum Shift, running at full Fury, with Rage double-stacked...then hit Knock-out Blow. Or Footstomp. Proceed to clean self up, then repeat. :^) Good times.
Basically too many 50's to count, but I'm generally a brute/scrapper/tank kind of guy.
Fearsome Stare is incredibly potent.
Most Potent goes to Hasten, with Stamina coming in second only because it requires 2 filler powers before you can select it. There's a reason they're practically considered mandatory by power gamers.
As far as single-target attacks, Energy Transfer is probably on top of the heap. The most damaging AOE attacks would be the nukes - IIRC Blizzard is the hardest-hitting nuke on average, provided all the ticks hit. Rain of Arrows is probably the best nuke overall, since it's up every pack and doesn't tank your damage for 15s after use.
As far as attacks that require conditions, I'd say a Corrupter's Ignite patch on an immobilized enemy is probably the highest DPS, especially pre-nerf. IIRC it used to do more damage overall to spam Ignite than to use every other power in the set combined, thus the nerf.
I vote for Air Superiority. While it doesn't have the awe inspiring one hit, one kill damage of the big attacks, it makes up for it in a couple of ways. First off, it is available for almost every character I have. The only exception is Warshade. 
Secondly, its (almost) guaranteed knock down has saved my characters butts numerous times. It is always ready to go and it performs well with only a couple of Accuracies slotted. It can be used as an offensive or a defensive action. I trust it. I rely on it. I can't think of any other power that can compare.
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Two of the most potent powers I've ever used in the game are from 'Cold Domination'. I'm talking about Infrigidate (available at level 1! So freaking nice) and Benumb (All your regen are belong to me, and don't even think about healing or buffing anyone).
Infrigidate because it makes pretty much any enemy up to Elite Bosses into snail-slow little pussycats while making it much easier to hit them.
Benumb just weakens the enemy in so many different ways it's hard not to love. Reduces their damage drastically, weakens any buffs or heals they think they are gonna throw out there, and just takes their Regen down massively. It's even good on AVs, though mostly just for the regen.
Seeds of Confusion
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I like Snap Shot as a blaster - with relatively little effort it cycles every second so the damage it does is its DPS, does good damage if you slot for it (I haven't to any great degree and it takes two shots to take down most even-con minions), and you can use it while asleep, held, or any other condition besides dead. I still toss in Blazing Arrows when they recharge, but unless you are perma-hasted Snap Shot does a lot more damage over time than does Blazing Arrow.
If you can get the recharge time down enough, Aimed Shot is actually better than Snap Shot, but it is a lot easier to get 100% recharge bonus (the maximum for Snap Shot, barring a -recharge effect) than 167% recharge bonus (approximately the break-even point for Aimed Shot) or 300% (the maximum for Aimed Shot, barring a -recharge effect). Especially if you want to have comparable damage bonuses from your slotting.
As mentioned before, Rain of Arrows is probably the best nuke due to the combination of recharge time and lack of endurance crash. On the other hand, you aren't going to take down bosses with it alone... and against reasonably lethal-resistant mobs you might not even get the minions.
Flares is even better than Snap Shot, especially when you factor in enemy resistances, but since it has been nerfed in other ATs I am expecting it to be nerfed in blasters fairly soon. Thunder Kick for martial arts scrappers is better still purely in terms of damage output, but it is a melee attack and sucks your endurance at a much higher rate. And of course with a brute the first level attacks are usually the best - being faster they build rage much more quickly. Don't forget the value of attacking faster when you have proc IOs slotted; more attacks in a given time means getting more times that proc fires off.
I suspect that the lower-level powers were deliberately chosen to be the best overall since they are the only ones you can start with. But with other attacks doing damage to multiple targets, more damage to a single target, some having more or greater secondary effects, there is no good reason to stick with a single attack power even when you can get away with it. Attack chains are always better since time spent making attacks counts towards recharge time for everything. If you're a blaster, though, don't forget to give some enhancement love to your 'weakest' powers - I have killed a Rikti Mesmirist three levels higher than me while being held or slept the entire time.
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fixt
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Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison
Stamina is very notably one of the most powerful powers.
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I would put Illusion's Phantom Army and Plant's Seeds of Confusion in with the same category as Stygian Circle. But I think the OP was asking for the highest damage powers.
Energy Transfer for the Energy Melee set is certainly up there.
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Blaze.
Highest DPA (and probably DPS too) in the game. It being a ranged attack is also a plus.
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I'll add Howling Twilight & Footstomp to the list.
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Possibly so, but it didn't specify and read "most potent." The most potent powers in the game happen to be the ones that don't deal any damage.|
Originally Posted by Local_Man
I would put Illusion's Phantom Army and Plant's Seeds of Confusion in with the same category as Stygian Circle. But I think the OP was asking for the highest damage powers.
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Several of the ones I've seen listed here I was considering, but I think I'll go with Seeds of Confusion.
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Originally Posted by Dechs Kaison
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Basically too many 50's to count, but I'm generally a brute/scrapper/tank kind of guy.
Brawl 6 slotted. lol jk.
I like Air Sup. and Ice Patch (when not with a fire troller with cages)
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Oh yeah, THIS (partially because it's available so freaking early).
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Originally Posted by Lemur Lad
Seeds of Confusion
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Currently working on my first Stalker and just love the Assassin's Strike. I cannot believe how powerful this is when used correctly. In its description for damage it is labeled as "Special". This got me thinking because I know that powers are labeled based on their overall potential damage as:
Minor
Moderate
High
Extreme
Superior
Special
I may have left some out and these might not be in the right order based on their overall damage potential. With that being said, based on "overall" damage either melee or ranged attacks, which Alt with which power is considered by most as the most damaging either in group attacks and/or single attacks? I know there will be some bias out there as everyone has their little special toons that can probably knock the socks off other toons, such as my Blaster with her Nova..heh..heh.
Knowing that there will most likely be more than one power, I am looking for some kind of compilation of these deadly kills so when I build my next toon, I can get some kind of idea what they might be capable of in the heat of battle. Thanks in advance to all those who reply.