D&D 5E Is the two-weapon barbarian no longer a competitive class build?

[zoroaster100]

My group tried the playtest last year with the adventure "Reclaiming Blingdenstone" and one of my players made a barbarian character he loved, which wielded an axe in each hand. We started playing again with new characters using the Starter Set and the Basic rules, but he's been looking forward to the PHB release to again create a barabarian reminiscent of his play test character. Looking over the Barbarian preview today, and some comments I've seen posted about how a greataxe will shine in a barbarian's hands, it looks like the class's combat effectiveness might be built in significant part around adding weapon damage dice on criticals, which might significantly lessen the effectiveness of a two weapon wielding barbarian. Am I interpreting this right? I haven't seen the alpha playtest packet that was leaked, and I guess it is possible things got changed after that anyway. I'm just a bit concerned about my player's character concept disappearing as a viable option. I guess if I'm right he will end up either having to play a barbarian that doesn't dual wield or a fighter that does.

 

[jgsugden]

It does look like they are better suited to larger weapons, but if he likes the concept of a two weapon barbarian, and you feel that they're underpowered, tweaking is the right way to go. It is an easy enough adjustment to make only the main weapon be allowed to do the extra dice and for you to give it the extra dice that a large axe would get...

 

[Sacrosanct]

Maybe I'm not understanding, but what's the issue? If you roll an extra dice when scoring a crit, you still do that for both smaller weapons right? So you could actually do more damage dual wielding. Two weapons = twice the chance for a crit.

 

[jodyjohnson]

Critting more for less seems like a valid trade, especially if the Rage damage bonus applies to both.

Add in a little Fighting Style - Two Weapon and it looks respectable.

Depends on how balanced the Heavy Weapon Master feat ends up.

 

[zoroaster100]

Thanks for the responses. I guess it is too early to draw a conclusion until the PHB is in our hands and we can look at how the full Barbarian and the feats work together. Who knows, maybe when he sees the various character concepts in the book he will be drawn to something else anyway.

 

[the Jester]

It may not be the optimal choice for barbarians, but who cares if he does a point or two less average damage in most fights if he's having fun and playing what he wants to play? I know some groups are really conscious of those tiny differences, but I think "MOAR FUN" should win out over "tightly optimized" when the two are in conflict. And I doubt whether dual axes will be all that significantly worse than a great axe.

 

[Sacrosanct]

It may not be the optimal choice for barbarians, but who cares if he does a point or two less average damage in most fights if he's having fun and playing what he wants to play? I know some groups are really conscious of those tiny differences, but I think "MOAR FUN" should win out over "tightly optimized" when the two are in conflict. And I doubt whether dual axes will be all that significantly worse than a great axe.

i concur

 

[JC99]

TWF might even be the best way to go for halfling/gnome/goblin/kobold barbarians who are too small to use a Greataxe or Greatsword effectively.

 

[Sacrosanct]

TWF might even be the best way to go for halfling/gnome/goblin/kobold barbarians who are too small to use a Greataxe or Greatsword effectively.

One of my old playtest PCs did just that

 

[JC99]

One of my old playtest PCs did just that

Nice! Ever since Eberron came out I've wanted to play a dino-riding halfling barbarian, never had the chance though.