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Message: <blockquote data-quote="anonystu" data-source="post: 984799" data-attributes="member: 10897">Luckily, things like average damage calculators exist (check the Electronic aids) section.+20/+15 (2d6+14, 17-20/x2)versus+15/+10 (2d6+24, 17-20/x2)yields a break even point of AC 23: when the enemy is AC23: he's indifferent to power attacking or attacking normally: he'll do an expected 39.06 damage per round.Anything below AC23, and he's better, but anything more, and he's best off attacking normally. At AC30: not power attacking does 21.42 points a round, and power attacking gets him only 12.79 points a round.People tend to underestimate the value of having a high hit percentage: it is precisely because two-handed wielders do so high amount of damage on individual strokes that power attack needs to be x2: otherwise, it makes little sense at any time. (Under old style power attacking, the break even point is little old AC19: at AC25, he's already giving up 8 points of expected damage to power attack.)And it gets worse, the higher you level: if your half-orc picks up a few levels, going to +25/+20/+15 versus +20/+15/+10, (with expected damage of 2d6+20 versus 2d6+30, by adding flaming or something), the break even point is a lowly (at that stage) AC 25. There are times to use power attack: when DR reduces your damage to low values, when you have absolutely ludicrous chances of missing: but people who are toned for damage are ironically, the ones who benefit the least from power attack: when you're doing 30 damage, even 10 extra doesn't compensate you for a 25% drop in hit chance.It still is of course, quite nice as a way to get to cleave, or to increase the chances of cleaving when you absolutely need to. It's just rarely worth it in expected damage terms.</blockquote>

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