Quartz
Hero
Quite possibly, but I don't think so. The Fighter class only comes into its own at level 11 anyway, with the third attack.
D&D 5E Combat styles and multi-classing
Quite possibly, but I don't think so. The Fighter class only comes into its own at level 11 anyway, with the third attack.
Starting later on the chart doesn't improve the multiclass build to any great extent. You're behind at level 13 (since Action Surge has yet to come online - FrogReaver is 100% right that nobody in their right mind would MC just one level of fighter), you rule at 14, you're at parity from 15-16, move ahead again at 17, and then fall behind from 18-19 before coming in about even at 20.
And you're also not going to be stacking fighting styles any more... unless you want to go through 11 levels of paladin with the decidedly sub-par Defense or Protection style. So we have now moved from "stacking fighting styles" to "switching fighting styles."
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FrogReaver
As long as i get to be the frog
You definitely were. The chart covered what happened if you multiclassed at any level 1-20 and then what happens the levels thereafter. You read it assuming he was only showing what happened when multiclassing at a low level - but that's not the case. It covers multiclassing at level 14 the same as it covers multiclassing at level 3.
FrogReaver
As long as i get to be the frog
I have no idea what this has to do with any facet of the discussion.
FrogReaver
As long as i get to be the frog
Oh I have...
Assuming a Paladin has maxed his attack stat by this point (which is far from a given) then it +5 damage over a paladin that TWF's without the style. That equates to around +3 DPR. Just to give some comparisons. The TWF paladin at level 11+ will be doing 34 average damage - about 20 DPR. TWF increases that to 39 - about 23 DPR (Pre smite).
It's about a 15% increase in DPR - of course that's just looking at non-resource damage potential. The % increase lowers a bit when you calculate daily damage per round including divine smites. At that point the increase is only 10.4% (including level 1-3 slots). Is the delay in high level paladin abilities really worth +10.4% damage per day (that gets distributed evenly throughout the day).
That doesn't sound like something particularly useful to me and that's assuming
1) A Paladin even wants to change his fighting style - for many players weapon of choice is a core part of their pc identity
2) That a true optimizer hasn't already taken PAM and dueling style with a spear > TWF and style (at the cost of 1 additional feat)
3) That shield master isn't taken or is not planned to be taken.
4) That a paladin is willing to forego most bonus action spells
5) That a paladin maxed strength instead of charisma
The moment any of these factors aren't true then the fighting style pickup is either a no-go or flat out objectively worse than just staying paladin.
IMO The only people who think +5 damage per round is a huge gain at level 11+ for a primarily melee damage focused build are the ones who only like to look at the at-will damages of builds and ignore resource driven damage abilities.
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FrogReaver
As long as i get to be the frog
Your summary of the situation is spot on.
A small correction here. Defensive style and greatsword are fairly common together for any build.
Lots of people prefer defense style when using a two handed weapon with the paladin or two weapon fighting with one - which is Great for nova damage but less at-will damage till level 11. In either of those cases you could still stack both styles.
