dot repeat is the wrong comparison. A closer one would be macros, but even then a good multiple cursors implementation is often faster, more intuitive, and requires less cognitive overhead. One of the better examples of the usefulness of multiple cursors is from Emacs Rocks (link goes to 0:23):
replyWhat do you when the things you want to change don't all fit on the screen at once?
replyAt least in e.g. Emacs and sublime text, you can mark all occurrences throughout the entire file. Assuming the matches are similar enough that the same motions apply even if you can't see the cursor, you can perform those operations.
replyOtherwise, as a sibling comment said, incremental search/replace is your friend.
You do a search/replace which has a similar function, although applied differently.
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