What would it take to make the Shifter class viable?

[FaerieGodfather]

Just what it says on the tin: the Shifter class, from Ultimate Wilderness, is widely considered one of the worst classes in the game with Archetypes that only weaken it further.

Thing is, I really like this class, the concept of it, and I'd like to make it work.

So what can be done to bring the Shifter online with other Tier 4 martial classes?

[Kurald Galain]

...play a Hunter (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/hunter/) instead?

[exelsisxax]

The original shifter (http://spheresofpower.wikidot.com/shifter).

[Psyren]

...play a Hunter (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/hunter/) instead?

Specifically, the Feral Hunter (https://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/hybrid-classes/hunter/archetypes/paizo-hunter-archetypes/feral-hunter) archetype does Shifter better than Shifter.

[Aldrakan]

I think the obvious step one is to make minor forms unlimited, it's just irritating for them not to be (1 min/level is long enough for combat but a really short amount of time out of combat). A lot of people talk about giving them druid's wild shape but that means wasting a ton of material and I don't like it. Maybe give regular wild shape but not be able to use other forms with it - this gives the versatility of wild shape without just making major forms obsolete.

Grant Wild Speech as a bonus feat (quality of life), and allow a shifter to use their Strength or Dex in place of their Wisdom to qualify for feats with Wild Shape as a prerequisite so this frontline fighter isn't also trying to scrounge up 19 Wisdom. Also up the damage on shifter claws a bit, starting at 1d4 is just embarrassing.

You should get more aspects, especially with all the new ones they've added, and shouldn't have to wait so long to blend them. Say you get 1 aspect at 1st level, a 2nd at 2nd level then every 3 levels thereafter, and you also get the first chimeric aspect at 5th or even earlier.

Chimeric aspect or Chimeric Transformation or whatever means when you assume a major form you can also grab a starting ability granted by the major form of one of your other aspects. So at 5th level if you have say aspect of the bear and owl, you could assume the major form of a bear and gain the fly speed of the owl to become a flying owl-bear, which just seems like an obvious missed opportunity.
This also means you're not locked into cat/deinonychus major forms for pounce, which is important when early easy access to pounce is one of the only nice things shifters have.

As you level up you can grab additional abilities from other major forms to blend into the primary form you're assuming, and eventually can pick one of the 8th level abilities a form grants as well as the starting ones.

May not solve everything but I think it's a pretty significant boost in versatility and power and speaks a lot better to the "master of shapeshifting" concept, without throwing everything out and starting over.

[StSword]

You might want to check out the Legendary Shifter from Legendary Games, it got a five star review from Endzeitgeist.-"Honestly, just forget about the base class and use this one instead. The legendary shifter is, at least in my book, preferable in pretty much every way – this class does the dedicated shapeshifter, the one based on the magic-chassis, as well as you can probably do the concept (http://endzeitgeist.com/legendary-shifter/). "