Anyone tried a fighter with reach yet?

[Stalker0]

I'll be honest, I'm pretty biased against reach weapons right now. You give up a decent amount of damage, you no longer get reach outside your turn, and the fighter has to be adajacent to his enemies in order to get use his defenderish abilities anyway.

Still, I recognize that tactical movment is very important, and perhaps that extra square you don't have to get to, to hit a target makes a difference.

I'm thinking about trying one out, I was curious if anyone has any experience with them yet.

 

[Whimsical]

I'm playing an eladrin warlord, and I use a long spear as a secondary weapon. Normally, I use a sword and shield since +1 to attacks and AC are precious to me, but at certain points, I switch to the long spear. I even took the Quickdraw feat so that I can switch weapons faster, as I need to use my minor action to unready my shield or sheathe my sword.

During the final encounter of our adventure, the big bad evil guy was in a danger zone, where he was immune to the effect. So, if you engaged in melee you would be in terrible danger. So, that was one point where having reach was helpful.

Another time, we were in a 10' hallway and only two people could frontline. So, out comes the long spear for me.

Yet another time we are fighting hellhounds that have a heat aura. Since I'm not a tiefling, I used my long spear. I was sad that I couldn't be the flank buddy for the fighter on the other side, though.

I hope there will be a feat that will allow me a threatening reach in the Martial Power accessory.

 

[ac_noj]

Polearms have their uses, they're just a bit specific:

1. Too many melee characters in the group? Give one a polearm and you can fit more into the combat.
2. Polearm Gamble build. Anyone with the right stats can become a mobile hazard. Push monsters into them for extra damage.
3. Polearm Gamble Paladin trick: Divine Challenge a monster without reach and it has to either move closer and take damage or attack someone else and take damage.

Personally I don't like the Polearm Fighter build, you're supposed to keep your enemies close as a Fighter not keep them away. However, a Polearm Gamble Paladin or Cleric seems like it would be pretty cool.

 

[brehobit]

Having tried to build one, i think there are a very limited number of good reasons to do this until you get the polearm gambit thingy. Then it becomes a real option.

 

[ac_noj]

Having tried to build one, i think there are a very limited number of good reasons to do this until you get the polearm gambit thingy. Then it becomes a real option.

Yes, and the trouble with that is that the stat requirements are too high unless your character can use Str AND Wis.

This is how I'd do it: http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheets/view.php?id=76064
The +hit is a bit low though so maybe Dragonborn is a better way to go.

 

[tiornys]

I'm playing one at paragon tier, and I've found he makes a solid secondary defender with some interesting control effects on the battle. He's quite good at tying down 1-2 enemies without nearly as much threat of being ganged up on, as he's above average at fighter stickiness (high wis, potent challenge) and non-adjacent enemies have difficulty closing on him. In restricted spaces he can create a no-go area for enemies, which is also quite valuable.

As far as non-paragon reach fighters, I think you're correct; without polearm gamble, the character isn't quite getting enough out of reach to justify the downsides. I think the character can still be effective, but he's probably better off with a non-reach two-hander until he hits paragon tier.

t~

 

[Gloombunny]

I think spiked chain has potential, but that's really just because Rain of Blows is awesome and the higher your chance to hit with the first two attacks the better. The reach is kind of an afterthought in that case.

Polearm Gamble doesn't help a fighter maintain their stickiness, but in some cases it could be really helpful in conjunction with Combat Superiority. If the terrain is such that a melee-based enemy can't easily get to any other PC, then halting their movement when they try to approach the fighter is almost like stunning them.

 

[Gloombunny]

Oh, another reason to use reach weapons at paragon: if you like axes, Deadly Axe makes the difference between a halberd and a greataxe less severe, and Giant's Wake might let you attack more enemies if you have reach.

 

[Henrix]

I have a player whose fighter tries to use a halberd, and so far (lvl 2) there seems to be little point to it, except roleplaying, of course.

 

[HenryBlatbugIII]

I've been looking at a reach fighter build that uses powers that knock prone or immobilize the target, so it can't attack him on their turn. At paragon tier, he of course immediately gets Polearm Gamble and switches to powers that push the enemy, so they have to come back through another Polearm Gamble attack in order to attack him. With Combat Superiority (and boosting Str and Wis), it's very difficult for the enemies to even approach him.

You do have to give up some stickiness with this build, since you can't rely on opportunity attacks to prevent monsters from attacking your allies. Of course, you still have your marking ability, which is probably sufficient in some cases.