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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FireLance" data-source="post: 5663990" data-attributes="member: 3424">It may seem strange to you, but some find that choosing not to switch when there is no reason to change is easier (and faster) than choosing between two options that are presented as apparently equal. The need to spend a minor action to change stances is actually a benefit to (quickly) deciding to just keep doing what you were doing the last round, because it takes more "effort" to change. It prevents a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buridan's_ass" target="_blank">Buridan's Ass</a> type scenario by making the choices slightly unequal. Yes, you can have rules of thumb that advise the player to choose a default at-will attack, but the core way in which the slayer plays already avoids the need for that.Now, encounter powers are a different matter. At low (1st and 2nd) levels, the decision is more when to use an encounter power rather than which encounter power to use. The potential problem is that the player ends up not using an encounter power at all because he is unsure what would be a good time to use it. (There is a related joke about women and a 5-storey hotel that I will SBLOCK at the end of this section.) By creating a trigger that prompts the player to use his encounter power (when he hits) the process of choosing when to use an encounter power is made easier and faster (at least, for some people). [SBLOCK]5-Story HotelA group of girlfriends is on vacation when they see a 5-story hotel with a sign that reads "For Women Only", and they go in.The bouncer explains to them how it works. "We have 5 floors. Go up floor by floor, and once you find what you are looking for, you can stay there. It's easy to decide since each floor has a sign telling you what's inside."They start going up and on the first floor the sign reads, "All the men on this floor are short and plain." The friends laugh and without hesitation move on to the next floor. The sign on the second floor reads, "All the men here are short and handsome." Still, this isn't good enough, so the friends continue on up. They reach the third floor and the sign reads, "All the men here are tall and plain." They still want to do better, and so, knowing there are still two floors left, they continue on up. On the fourth floor, the sign is perfect. "All the men here are tall and handsome." The women get all excited and they realize that there is still one floor left. They head on up to the fifth floor. On the fifth floor they find a sign that reads, "There are no men here... and there is no way to please a woman."[/SBLOCK]Yes, there are individually more decision points, and sometimes the number of options increases because there previously was no decision point. However, the overall process of making decsions becomes easier and faster (again, for some people). Really, you have to look at the big picture. It sometimes seems that you are so focused on finding fault with individual components that you fail to see how it all fits together.The same argument could apply to changing stances (if you don't "have to" decide every round whether to use a daily power, you don't "have to" decide every round whether to change your stance, either). The need to change stances will not be considered in most rounds of combat, and the decision on when to use encounter powers is made easier by having them trigger on a hit. Now, choosing simpler powers during character is one way to make a character that is easier to play, but choosing to play a slayer is another option that is equally viable or even better for some. I really wonder why you seem to be so unwilling to acknowledge that.From Level 3 onwards, a psionic class with the augmentation class feature has enough power points to fully augment his highest-level at-will attack at least twice. The only exception is between levels 13 and 16, and even then only if he does not take a paragon path that grants bonus power points. You could argue that a psionic character cannot do it as often as a slayer, but arguing that he cannot makes it look as if you had not done the research."Better" in what sense? If you are talking in terms of straight damage, then of course! A slayer is a striker, and a weaponmaster fighter is a defender. A slayer ought to be doing more damage. In addition, a slayer also has to make up for the lack of daily attack powers. A weaponmaster fighter's powers also give it access to better conditions to inflict on opponents than a slayer's Weapon Specialization, including stunned, dazed, blinded, immobilized and penalties to AC and other defenses. So yes, if you focus on straight damage, the slayer does better (and it should). But if you look at the entirety of the class abilities, it is not so clear-cut that one is better than the other. It's like they are, you know, balanced.Again, from previous editions. The druid didn't just have cure light wounds - in 3E, he had access to the entire range of cure X wound spells, including the mass versions, and the heal spell. Among the classes in the core PH, he was the next best healer after the cleric. As for weapons, the scimitar and the club (or at least, the shillelagh spell) were iconic druid weapons. Remember, in earlier editions, few classes had at-will spell attacks, and spellcasters had few daily spells at low levels. Hence, low-level clerics, druids and wizards would be attacking with weapons most of the time. Did you actually forget this? Or have you never played any edition of D&D except 4E?</blockquote>

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