Great Weapon Fighter - underpowered??

catsclaw227

First Post
My search-fu is messed up, but I recall a lot of smoke about how the Great Weapon fighter is underpowered or something like that.

Can someone give me a link to a thread that supports this claim? Is it generally understood that this is the case?

I am curious, because I am considering this build for fighter as part of an online campaign.
 

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The Great Weapon Fighter is fine.

Basically, it comes down to this.

Those who think its underpowered argue as follows.

For the cost of 1 feat, you can get a bastard sword, and wield it along with a shield. Then you have W= 1d10, AC +2, and Reflex +2, and you can use Tide of Iron. It did cost you a feat, but there is nothing that a Great Weapon Fighter can spend a feat on that will be as good as +2 AC and Reflex.

The counterargument goes,

That's just an argument against using a greatsword. It doesn't speak to the balance of a fighter using a maul or an ax. Besides, your shield is giving you a penalty of 2 on Acrobatics, Athletics, Stealth, and several other important physical skills. Plus, getting the full advantage out of Reaping Strike is a pretty nice bonus for the Great Weapon Fighter, certainly one that's equal to using Tide of Iron, if not better.

That's pretty much it. Everything else is smoke and mirrors.
 

As Cadfan mentions, great weapon fighters (even using a greatsword) are fine. As long as you pick reasonable feats and don't hamper yourself with Str 10 or something you should be able to perform your role with minimal adjustments from the DM.

Same goes for most classes and combos -- as long as your stat array is decent and you pick feats that seem good you should be fine.
 


Power Attack is as good as Proficiency: Bastard Sword, so I'd say even Greatswords are balanced.

If you are the primary Defender of a group, losing your shield will really hurt. A 2H fighter is more like a Striker with marking ability than a true Defender.
 

Party composition is rather important too. If the Fighter is the only defender in your party, you want a Guardian Fighter. However if you have say, a Protecting Paladin in the party, a Greatweapon Fighter works great. A Tactical Warlord in the party will also make a Greatweapon Fighter shine.

The amount of damage a bloodied charging Dragonborn Fighter does, with a Greataxe, Dragonborn Frenzy, Powerful Charge, Weapon Focus, Bracers of Mighty Striking, and a Horned Helm is quite striker-like. And your BBG will not be happy if the fighter gets a crit on that charge with his +2 Terror Axe (yes, this is from experience).
 


I have to agree with the general consensus here. The great weapon fighter trades off some of his "defender" ability for more damage. he doesn't become a striker, but something in between stiker and defender.

its not underpowered, its just different.
 

Party composition is rather important too. If the Fighter is the only defender in your party, you want a Guardian Fighter. However if you have say, a Protecting Paladin in the party, a Greatweapon Fighter works great. A Tactical Warlord in the party will also make a Greatweapon Fighter shine.

I think you're right about the importance of party composition. It may be the most important thing. If you had a party with a warlord and a cleric, and your striker(s) is(are) good at avoiding damage (something that is a lot harder now), you really only had to worry about protecting maybe one other party member, so your guardian fighter could go all damage all the time and suck up a bunch of hits without a lot of trouble.
 

A two handed weapon fighter is viable as the only defender in a group. I wouldn't necessarily run one as the only melee combatant, but I'm already running one as the only defender and I'm doing just fine. I built for durability, selecting Comeback Strike, Boundless Endurance, and Toughness as early level selections. Its working out fine.

Party composition is Fighter, TWF Ranger, Rogue, Ranged Cleric, Wizard. So three people on the battle line.
 

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