In what situations can one NOT use a power?

[Llamas Notsheep]

I'd probably go with a delay instead of forcing them to make a basic attack... mostly since there will be situations where you either can't or don't want to attack. Delaying their turn lets them do what they want... but not until they're ready to do it

And yeah, pretty much everything that's not either on your turn or used via an immediate action is going to be a basic attack.

Also, note Overwhelming Strike doesn't force you to shift/slide. It's optional.

 

[Mad Hamish]

When he wants to cause more damage (twin strike vs. basic attack)

Twin Strike will do more damage than a basic attack.
I suppose it's possible that a basic attack might do more damage after damage reduction

 

[BarrelRider]

Twin Strike will do more damage than a basic attack.
I suppose it's possible that a basic attack might do more damage after damage reduction

Except twin strike doesn't benefit from your strength/dex bonus. Damage is simply 1[W]. Basic attacks get 1[W]+str bonus or 1[W]+dex bonus. If you have a bonus to attack, which will only affect your first roll, you might want to use the basic and deal more damage with the one attack that's more likely to hit.

 

[Mad Hamish]

True that Twin Strike doesn't get Dex/Str damage however it does get all the other static modifiers

depending upon the situation my 18th level archer ranger does
d12 + 10 to d12+17 per attack with twin strike versus
(using feats that give +2 to damage with combat advantage, +2 to damage if used prime shot, +3 to damage versus isolated opponents)
d12 +17 to d12 + 24 with a basic attack (+quarry damage once a round for either of them)

I think the highest dex modifier you can get short of epic tier is +7 so twin strike is doing more damage

 

[Storminator]

Our Warlord has been Basic Attacking a lot. He had Opening Shove and Commander's Strike, so to get a [W] required a Basic. He's retrained Opening Shove to Wolf Pack, so he'll probably stop doing so many Basic Attacks.

Our Dragon Sorcerer does Basics a lot. His at-wills are close blast and ranged single target, so when he's in melee and needs to hit a single target he Basics. He has a huge strength so it's not too bad, but it's definitely situational.

My cleric does a few Ranged Basic attacks each level. I have Sacred Flame for the extra save it grants but if no one needs that throwing hammers does more damage and hits more reliably (STR cleric). I'm also a prime Commander's Strike recipient, so I make Melee Basic attacks fairly regularly.

Our fighter obviously uses them for his class feature attacks and Commander's Strikes.

But mostly we use powers.

PS

 

[BarrelRider]

True that Twin Strike doesn't get Dex/Str damage however it does get all the other static modifiers

depending upon the situation my 18th level archer ranger does
d12 + 10 to d12+17 per attack with twin strike versus
(using feats that give +2 to damage with combat advantage, +2 to damage if used prime shot, +3 to damage versus isolated opponents)
d12 +17 to d12 + 24 with a basic attack (+quarry damage once a round for either of them)

I think the highest dex modifier you can get short of epic tier is +7 so twin strike is doing more damage

True, but at lower levels the difference is more significant (d12+4 or d12). Besides, I'm not saying it's the best choice all the time, but there are situations where it makes sense. Say your warlord gives you a +5 bonus to your next attack vs. enemy. If you attack with twin strike, you'll probably hit with the first attack, dealing d12+10, but you're more likely to miss with the second. Using a basic ranged, you'll probably hit with the attack dealing d12+17. I think I might go in that direction.
Also, what about monsters with DR? Two hits dealing less damage means the DR counts twice, rather than once, and the basic will likely wind up dealing more damage. A monster with DR 15 takes two d12-5 hits or one d12+2, for example. Again, the basic ranged is the better option.

 

[Skallgrim]

FIghters, in particular, might use a lot of basic attacks. This is for two reasons, largely:

Fighters have two abilities that result in basic attacks, their opportunity attacks and their combat challenge attacks. Both of these class features are pretty good, and both can be boosted substantially by feat selection. Fighters will often be deliberately maneuvering into positions where they can use as many opportunity and combat challenge attacks as possible, and not all fighters use Heavy Blades (and HBO).

A fighter has a wide variety of at will Exploits to choose from, and it is possible to select two at-will Exploits that don't cover the same ground as a basic strike. For example, you might play someone with Brash Strike and Wicked Strike. This fighter has an accurate attack (+2 to hit, grant combat advantage) and an inaccurate attack (-2 to hit) that both add CON to the damage done. Then the basic attack is another good third option, which does less damage, but doesn't make you vulnerable OR inaccurate.

The same can be said for several other classes, I suspect.

 

[Dr_Ruminahui]

I have a friend with an oddly built dwarven fighter whose wisdom is higher than his strength (due to having them roll for stats rather than point buy - I think he rolled 2 17s, one which went in str., the other becoming a 19 in wisdom due to racial).

He took melee training wisdom, so his base attack bonus is actually better than it is for his powers - he uses basic attacks whenever he doesn't want one of the specific advantages of his at wills (he has tide of iron and something that gives him temp HPs).

Of course, this situation is unlikely to occur with point buy.

 

[Max1mus]

Don't forget for the simple reason of just not having a ranged/melee attack power. A fighter might only be able to hit an enemy with a throwing hammer and a wizard might not want to use a ranged attack up close so he will wack someone with his staff instead.