is there a way to preview a power sets abilities before you dive in and select one at start?

[punahou]

thank you

[Spaghetti Betty]

The costume creator lets you preview (and customize) each power in your primary and secondary, but if you want to see how they work in gameplay, you can always hop over to Brainstorm and try them all with no commitment!

Edited January 20 by Spaghetti Betty

[biostem]

You also get respecs fairly regularly as you level up, and even as part of the post-50 "Veteran levels", not to mention that you have 3 builds to play around with at 50, which while confined to the same primary & secondary sets, can have different regular or ancillary/patron power pools and enhancement slotting, so don't feel like one wrong pick ruins the character.

[DukeGude]

With a bit of time and intention to delve in the powerset you plan on using, you can also create a mock PVP character which will start you at L50. See details in screenshot - allowing you to get a feel for the specifics/how powers would fit into your tray slots etc.
Check off "Temporal Warrior (PVP only)". After you checked the powersets out, you can return to char creation and create a normal one (and start grinding!)

[JasperStone]

You can also access the Test Server.

Also MIDS can help you see what a build is doing.

[Water]

Yes there is.

 

This link is to the wiki page for POWER SETS.

 

[Clave Dark 5]

Depending on what kind of "previewing" you're going for, I would recommend reading up on the power set(s) on these forums.  You'll find out if people think one looks dumb, or is too slow, or is super fun and flashy, etc.  Of course that might not apply 100% for you, everyone has an opinion, but it's not a bad start.

[Scarlet Shocker]

If you're previewing in the costume creator, note that you can not only change the power colours, you can also darken and lighten the background to see how they look in different lighting conditions. Obviously the CC background reflects the side you've chosen to play on, so you can get a reasonable approximation of what they will look like by tweaking those combos.

 

The Sun and Moon symbols give you background brightness adjustment

[nzer]

I would say the best way to "preview" a powerset is to just start playing with it. Leveling is quick, respecs are a thing, and you have 1000 character slots. It's not a huge deal if you don't end up liking something.