If they're taking either of those feats, they're ranged characters and the rapier is for show only. Finesse is a non issue.
Dex characters, unlike Str characters, don’t have to dedicate themselves to being melee or ranged only, since they use the same mod to hit and do damage with both. This is
more of a reason that finesse is INBA, not less.
No, they're not. Firstly, you need Str 13 to MC as a Barbarian or Paladin.
...so? Who multiclasses?
Secondly Dex based barbarians miss out on Rage damage with dex.
And in exchange they get significantly higher AC and become competent at range. That’s well worth 2 measly damage per hit.
They miss out on using reckless attack + advantage to land GWM hits.
And they miss out on ranged attacks and AC with Str, what’s your point?
Their capstone becomes half useless.
Never in my life have I seen a campaign last long enough for capstones to matter. Even in a game that actually goes to 20, it’s only relevant for 1/20 of your character’s career. Not a big deal.
The advantage on Strength checks when raging becomes meh.
Actually it becomes far more useful, because it makes up for the low Strength mod, instead of being superfluous.
They can use Dex based ranged weapons, but why would they?
...To hit enemies from a distance? Is this a trick question?
Youll never see Sharpshooter or Crossbow expert on a Paladin or Barbarian. Ever.
Hasnt stopped me from seeing more Dex based Paladins than Str based. Barbarians I do tend to see more Str based, but I’ve seen a few Dex based ones.
Paladins cant smite at range, putting them into melee combat. Again V-Paladin and D-Paladin get oath abilities that grant big bonuses to hit (mitigating GWM's -5 to hit) - either advantage to hit or +Charisma to hit. Even A-Paladins get to restrain their target with their oath ability also granting a bonus to hit (and making GWM much better).
GMW isn’t that great on Paladins, for the same reason Sharpshooter isn’t that great on rogues. When you have a class feature like Sneak Attack or Smite that can do buckets of extra damage dice on a hit, -5 to hit for +10 static damage becomes a much worse trade off against opponents of a much wider range of ACs. And dual-wielding becomes a much better option as it gives you an additional opportunity to potentially apply those extra damage dice.
Paladins are also highly MAD - Charisma is vital, as is Con. Dumping Wisdom is a no-no, leaving only 2 stats to dump. Intelligence or one of Dex or Strength.
Seeing as you're proficient in Heavy armor from level 1, and need a minimum of Str 13 to multi-class later, its a no-brainer to dump Dex.
If you plan to multiclass.
They're not better than longswords.
Yes they are. If you’re planning to fight with a weapon in 2 hands anyway, then you’re better off with a greatsword or a halberd than a longsword. If you’re not, then the option to use the same stat for melee attacks that you use for ranged attacks and AC is much better than the option to use your weapon that you didn’t plan to use in 2 hands 2 handed.
Screw that. You cant dump Strength on a Paladin or Barbarian and multi-class. Dumping Strength on a Paladin or Barbarian also rules you out of GWM and Heavy weapons which is a bad idea on those classes generally.
The fact that you need one of two classes, multiclassing, a specific fighting style, and a specific feat to make Str more appealing than Dex is a problem.
Im pointing out that your 'problem' is illusory, and that there is no need to do it.
Just because it’s not a problem for you doesn’t mean the people for whom it is a problem are delusional. Believe it or not, different people have different experiences playing and running D&D. I promise, I won’t force you to use the fixes I come up with for problems I experience in my games. Would you kindly return the favor and not try to force me not to fix things that you don’t experience problems with?
That's not the DMs job, that's the players job.
And I guess If you're allowing players to dump Strength willy nilly and never bothering to deal with encumbrance, then that could be a problem.
But that's not a problem with finesse weapons; its a problem with you ignoring the rules.
The same can be said for Hexblades and Charisma to hit and damage (plus medium armor). I lol every time I see one with Strength 8 and Halfplate and shield.
He's moving at 20'.
You’re talking about the optional variant encumbrance rule. If you’re using that, dumping Strength becomes a bit less appealing of a proposition, but that fix comes at the cost of significantly more bookkeeping. If you’re using the default rules for carrying capacity, a 120 lb. limit on characters with 8 strength is pretty manageable.