What does a slayer fighter lose in the trade-off?

[Felon]

I don't have Heroes of the Fallen Lands. From reading the previous, I gather that they essentially lose little more than the ability to mark, and in exchange they effectively gain a bonus to damage comparable to a sorcerer. They continue to retain their defender AC and HP. Given that the fighter was already pretty insanely damage-heavy already, with multiple attack powers, 4[W] damage powers, close bursts, and pretty much anything else a melee striker could want for, it seems a bit much from where I'm sitting. With that Dex bonus, superior weapons, and access to weapon feats (like Weapon Focus), he should pretty handily trump the sorcerer's damage output, and I'm not sure what a barbarian has to offer in comparison. Seems like he would even overshadow a ranger in the striking department, unthinkable as that might be.

But like I said, I'm just going off sketchy details. Anyone tried this class out? What's the deal?

 

[Timeboxer]

Slayers don't have access to the same power structure as Fighters, so the powers that you describe are not accessible to them. Instead, they enter MBA-modifying stances and attack using MBAs.

 

[Felon]

They don't get at-wills or dailies, right? Do they get encounter powers? That's where the multiple attacks and close bursts come in. I believe they substitute a dialy with increasing their [w] damage, so that's their route to 4[w] comes in.

Do PP's and epic destinies still work the same for m?

 

[Njall]

They don't get at-wills or dailies, right? Do they get encounter powers?

Nope, just power strike.

 

[Felon]

OK, gues I'll look forward to checking it out in the character builder.

 

[MrMyth]

They don't get at-wills or dailies, right? Do they get encounter powers? That's where the multiple attacks and close bursts come in.

Note they do get At-Will powers. Sorta.

Instead of having actual At-Will attacks, they can enter At-Will stances that modify their melee basic attacks. So instead of having a power "Cleave", they have "Cleaving Stance" that works similarly on all melee basic attacks.

Overall, they look to be fairly effective and straightforward strikers with good defenses and hp. But no marking powers, and only occasional bursts in damage from their encounter power (Power Strike) rather than the versatility to drag in multiple targets, throw out huge 4W attacks, etc.

They may have a few tricks in place of dailies, but they don't look too unbalanced thus far compared to either existing fighters or existing strikers.

 

[Kralin Thornberry]

No ability to mark either.

 

[Styracosaurus]

The PHB fighter can mark, halt movement and has more options for pushing and pulling. The Slayer will get in the way and deal damage, but the slayer has very little control over his enemies otherwise.

If terrain or pinch points can provide an advantage then the PHB fighter would be more useful than a slayer. If you need raw damage, then the slayer deals higher average damage/round.

 

[Kralin Thornberry]

The PHB fighter can mark, halt movement and has more options for pushing and pulling. The Slayer will get in the way and deal damage, but the slayer has very little control over his enemies otherwise.

If terrain or pinch points can provide an advantage then the PHB fighter would be more useful than a slayer. If you need raw damage, then the slayer deals higher average damage/round.

Yeah, what he said. Once an encounter it's basically 2[W] damage, but on average is probably only 2 or 3 points more per hit (if using comparable weapons).

 

[Styracosaurus]

It will likely be more than two or three points of damage per hit in the damage compared between the two.

Slayer gains:
Dexterity modifier to damage, and increasing damage for this feature as well as the increasing bonus from improving the Dexterity modifier.

All attacks are basic attacks, so items and feats that modify basic attacks will give greater effect to the Slayer.

The Slayer has special damage that you can choose to apply after confirming the hit so you never waste your encounter ability on the chance that you miss with your big attack.

The Slayer's damage is applied at a steady rate rather than having a large bolus applied at one time. A PHB fighter will have a nice daily thump, but it must be applied at the right moment in order to not waste extra damage.