[Ziegander]

Originally Posted by gkathellar

I personally say that Factotum is Tier 2 solely because it combines that limited not-very-limited-spellcasting with severe action economy abuse and nigh-infinite resources.

It has, at most, eight total SLAs per day which can be up to 7th level. At level 10 it has four 4th level SLAs per day. At 15th it has six 6th level SLAs.

Compared to a Sorcerer who at 10th level has (not counting cantrips or bonus spells per day) 26 spells per day, five of which are 4th level and three of which are 5th; at 15th level has 40 spells per day, six of which are 6th level and four of which are 7th; at 20th level has 54 spells per day, six of which are 7th level, six of which are 8th, and six of which are 9th.

At the same levels, and counting bonus spells per day, a Sorcerer can always out cast the Factotum with spells of the Factotum's maximum spell level and will always have at least a handful of spells of one or more levels higher than the Factotum's maximum spell level. Not only that, the Factotum is stuck using spell-like abilities, while the Sorcerer casts real spells. The differences when it comes to options to optimize are astoundingly vast.

I'm not arguing that Factotums aren't at the top of Tier 3. I am arguing that they are not Tier 2.

So yeah, those are the two ways to get up to Tier 1-2: spells and absurd numbers of actions.

Maybe with both combined, but I assure you, if you tacked amazing action abuse on to a Fighter it would be Tier 3 at best if it climbed a Tier at all.

As a matter of fact...

Spoiler

THE FIGHTER
Action Hero Variant

A thought experiment in action economy more than a serious fix. But seriously... take a look. It goes a long way.

Alignment: Any
Hit Die: 1d10

Level	BAB	Fort	Ref	Will	Special
1st	+1	+2	+0	+0	Bonus Feat
2nd	+2	+3	+0	+0	Bonus Feat
3rd	+3	+3	+1	+1	Always Ready
4th	+4	+4	+1	+1	Bonus Feat
5th	+5	+4	+1	+1	Superior Reactions
6th	+6/+1	+5	+2	+2	Bonus Feat
7th	+7/+2	+5	+2	+2	Snap Decision
8th	+8/+3	+6	+2	+2	Bonus Feat
9th	+9/+4	+6	+3	+3	Array of Stunts I
10th	+10/+5	+7	+3	+3	Bonus Feat
11th	+11/+6/+1	+7	+3	+3	Decisive Strike
12th	+12/+7/+2	+8	+4	+4	Bonus Feat
13th	+13/+8/+3	+8	+4	+4	Tide of Battle
14th	+14/+9/+4	+9	+4	+4	Bonus Feat
15th	+15/+10/+5	+9	+5	+5	Array of Stunts II
16th	+16/+11/+6/+1	+10	+5	+5	Bonus Feat
17th	+17/+12/+7/+2	+10	+5	+5	Surge of Effort I
18th	+18/+13/+8/+3	+11	+6	+6	Bonus Feat
19th	+19/+14/+9/+4	+11	+6	+6	Surge of Effort II
20th	+20/+15/+10/+5	+12	+6	+6	Combat Supremacy, Bonus Feat

Class Skills (2+Int per level, x4 at first level): Climb (Str), Craft (Int), Handle Animal (Cha), Intimidate (Cha), Jump (Str), Ride (Dex), and Swim (Str).

Weapons and Armor Proficiency
A fighter is proficient with all simple and martial weapons and with all armor (heavy, medium, and light) and shields (including tower shields).

Bonus Feats
A Fighter gets a bonus feat drawn from the list of Fighter bonus feats at 1st level, at 2nd level, and once every even level thereafter.

Always Ready (Ex): Starting at 3rd level, a Fighter cannot be surprised, though he may still be flat-footed. Additionally, he doesn't provoke attacks of opportunity for retrieving items stowed on his person. Furthermore, he may spend an immediate action at any time to move up to his speed. If he does, he loses his move action on his next turn.

Superior Reactions (Ex): Starting at 5th level, a Fighter cannot be flanked and retains his Dexterity modifier to AC even while flat-footed. Furthermore, whenever an enemy provokes an attack of opportunity from the Fighter, instead of taking the attack he may perform any standard or move action (including, but not limited to, using a standard action to attack any other creature). If he does, this action counts against his number of attacks of opportunity for the round.

Snap Decision (Ex): Starting at 7th level, a Fighter no longer loses his next move action when he uses Always Ready to move as an immediate action. Furthermore, he may spend an immediate action at any time to perform a standard or move action. If he does, he loses his standard action on his next turn.

Array of Stunts I (Ex): Starting at 9th level, a Fighter may take a free 5ft step at any time in the round regardless of any other movement he has made that round. Additionally, he does not give up his next swift action when he uses an immediate action. Furthermore, his reach extends by 5ft.

Decisive Strike (Ex): Starting at 11th level, anytime a Fighter makes an attack against a creature when it isn't his turn (such as with an attack of opportunity or through Snap Decision) that attack resolves before any actions being performed by the targeted creature and is treated as if it were readied to interrupt that creature's actions, such that if the Fighter's attack hits the creature's actions utterly fail.

Tide of Battle (Ex): Starting at 13th level, a Fighter may move up to his speed as part of any standard or full round action he performs. Furthermore, he no longer loses his next standard action when he uses Snap Decision to perform a standard or move action as an immediate action.

Array of Stunts II (Ex): Starting at 15th level, a Fighter may take one free 5ft step at any time in the round per five Fighter levels regardless of any other movement he has made that round. Additionally, his reach extends by 5ft per ten Fighter levels. Furthermore, he may take one additional swift or immediate action each round per fifteen Fighter levels.

Surge of Effort I (Ex): Starting at 17th level, a Fighter may spend a swift action to gain either one full round action or a move action and a standard action. If he does, he is Fatigued after he completes his turn and may take no actions in the next round.

Surge of Effort II (Ex): Starting at 19th level, when the Fighter uses Surge of Effort he is still Fatigued, but he may take actions in the next round.

Combat Supremacy (Ex): Starting at 20th level, a Fighter may spend an immediate action to gain either one full round action or a move action and a standard action. If he does he is not Fatigued and may act normally in the next round.

New Feat
Combat Superiority
Prerequisites: Base Attack +6, Combat Expertise, Combat Focus, Combat Reflexes
Benefit: You may make a full attack as a standard action or at the end of a charge.
Normal: You may make a single attack as a standard action or at the end of a charge.