I'm new to the game and have been leveling up different heroes with different powers and one thing that doesn't make sense is as you get new moves, it seems all the moves you get do nearly the same damage but just have different animations. Take quantum for example. I just hit 22 today and I unlocked a move that does the exact same thing as the level 1 move you get but it just looks different. Is that how the powers work in this game? Just get unlock multiple versions of the same skills but choose the animation you like?
Different powers have different power interactions and different effects. Some are also effected by the role you are in. You tend to also see a much bigger damage gap between certain abilities the higher your combat rating is. So no, there are a variety of different things each of the abilities in a powerset do and the role they play in a loadout. I suggest checking out ObsidianChill’s videos on YouTube for tons of information on the powersets and loadout advice
To clarify, all powers will have different abilities that do different things. For example while 1 ability you use might to 1000 damage to a st (single target), another might do the same but hit aoe (area of effect or multi target). You may see similarities but if you look closely there’s always something different. Some powers like quantum also have 2 different PI (power interactions) so even if 2 do similar damage one might be for one PI and the other for the other PI. Speaking of PI you might also have 1 ability that does 1000 damage and sets up PI while the other does 1000 but takes advantage of PI. And if you set up the correct PI it will do more damage.
Complementing what Deitysupreme said, Quantum have 2 interactions: Graviton-Charged and Destabilized. Essentialy powers themed around Gravity and Time, respectively. You have a couple powers that grant enemies these stats (which CAN stack) and others that will do bonus damage when said enemies have said effects. also some powers have extra effects if you're in the controller role, mostly debuffs (Anomaly reduces healing while Distortion Wave simply stuns in a larger area). Plus its a matter of aesthetic, some powers do look cooler! I especialy LOVE using Distortion Wave by how badass it look and hearing that "bwoonwoonwoooooing!" and seeing dozens of adds stunned <3.
