How's the barbarian beta working out?

[Danger Mouse]

Yes characters being able to burn multiple dailies was the problem. Without rage strike the Barbarian's dailies were better balanced that other character dailies because they discouraged Nova-ing. Sadly rather than fix the problem starting with the barbarian, better late than never, Wotc decided the barbarian should have the same nova problem as everyone else.

What nova problem? From our play, we've found that the smart thing to do with daily powers is to save them for when you really need them. Yes, you can win even a tough encounter pretty quickly by having your party blow through all of them (assuming they don't all miss ), but unless you're in a fight for your life or you're 100% certain it's the last fight of the day, it generally isn't worth it. We generally try to have at least a couple PCs keep at least one daily in reserve for as long as possible.

 

[Newawd]

More than hack and slash...

One thing that nobody has addressed is the fact that D&D is more than just combat. The barbarian really has a chance to shine in combat compared to the other strikers... but outside of combat? Outside of combat he really falls short (IMHO) of pretty much *all* the other strikers. Even though some of his skills aren't bad, most that would be seen in skill challenges and whatnot are based on stats that will most likely be low for most barbarians. Anyway... just my two cents worth.

I wish we could see more comments from people who have actually *done* it, and less from people who are speculating and doing the math. :/.