Need help with my weapon master

[Psifon]

I am working on a Fighter/Mercurial Greatsword Weapon Master. He will have all the whirlwind attack etc. feats by 6th level, and I can take my 1st level of weapon master at 7th. I want to take the following feats:

Specialization
Improved Critical
Power Critical
Power Attack
Cleave
Great Cleave

The problem I am having is that I get 6 feat slots (with 10 levels of WM, and 4 more levels of fighter, and I am having trouble prioritizing the feats. Here are two options I have considered:

Human Str 18, Int 14, Dex 17

1 Ftr 1 Dodge, Mobility, Combat Reflexes
2 Ftr 2 Expertise
3 Ftr 3 EWP Merc. Greatsword
4 Ftr 4 Spring Attack
5 Ftr 5
6 Ftr 6 Whirlwind Attack, Weapon Focus Merc. Greatsword
7 WM 1 Ki Damage 1/day/lvl
8 WM 2 Increased Multiplier 1/day
9 WM 3 Superior Weapon Focus, WEAPON SPECIALIZATION
10 WM 4 Increased Multiplier 2/day
11 WM 5 Superior Combat Reflexes
12 WM 6 Increased Multiplier 3/day, IMPROVED CRITICAL
13 WM 7 Ki Critical
14 WM 8 Increased Multiplier 4/day
15 WM 9 Ki Whirlwind Attack, POWER CRITICAL
16 WM 10 Increased Multiplier 5/day
17 Ftr 7
18 Ftr 8 POWER ATTACK, CLEAVE
19 Ftr 9
20 Ftr 10 GREAT CLEAVE



1 Ftr 1 Dodge, Mobility, Combat Reflexes
2 Ftr 2 Expertise
3 Ftr 3 EWP Merc. Greatsword
4 Ftr 4 Spring Attack
5 Ftr 5
6 Ftr 6 Whirlwind Attack, Weapon Focus Merc. Greatsword
7 Ftr 7
8 Ftr 8 POWER ATTACK
9 WM 1 Ki Damage 1/day/lvl CLEAVE
10 WM 2 Increased Multiplier 1/day
11 WM 3 Superior Weapon Focus
12 WM 4 Increased Multiplier 2/day GREAT CLEAVE
13 WM 5 Superior Combat Reflexes
14 WM 6 Increased Multiplier 3/day
15 WM 7 Ki Critical, IMPROVED CRITICAL
16 WM 8 Increased Multiplier 4/day
17 WM 9 Ki Whirlwind Attack
18 WM 10 Increased Multiplier 5/day, POWER CRITICAL
19 Ftr 9
20 Ftr 10 SPECIALIZATION


Ok, so you can see the dilemma: Either I make my weapon all it can be, and live without some of my favorite feats (power attack and cleave) until I am in the highest levels, or I take power attack, cleave and great cleave, and postpone my uber-critical attacks, and live without the extra 2 points of damage from specialization.

What I think is that great cleave realy supports the whirlwind attack at medium levels, but not so much at higher levels when the creatures you are fighting can't be dropped with just two hits.

On the other hand, the increased mutlplier is moot at low levels, because you ARE going to kill anything that you crit with a X4 critical with the Merc. Greatsword anyway, so that ability is not really useful until higher levels, when you face foes that can take 60+ points of damage.

Do you guys have any advice or solutions you can offer? How would you build this guy? Should I postpone the weapon master levels untill level 11+?

Finally, would I be better off taking a normal greatsword? I know that both do 2d6 since the eratta, so the only difference is that the normal greatsword does a X2 Crit on a 19-20 and the Merc Greatsword does a x4 crit on a 20. This is actually the SAME average damage, and it stays the same until I get the Ki Critical ability (because it adds a flat +2 to each crit type). This would save me a feat.

 

[RogueJK]

I'd stick with the normal greatsword. As you said, it would save you a feat, and you're much more likely to find a magical greatsword than a magical mercurial greatsword.

Also, I'd recommend against waiting until 18th & 20th level to take Power Attack, Cleave, and Great Cleave. By then, you will be facing smaller numbers of more powerful creatures. Cleave and Great Cleave are better for low-mid levels, where you are fighting many, weaker enemies.

You might consider taking one more level of Fighter before you take any levels of Weapon Master. Something like:

1 Ftr1: Dodge, Mobility, Power Attack
2 Ftr2: Cleave
3 Ftr3: Weapon Focus: Greatsword
4 Ftr4: Combat Reflexes
5 Ftr5
6 Ftr6: Great Cleave, Expertise
7 Ftr7:
8 Ftr8: Spring Attack
9 Ftr9: Whirlwind attack
10 WM1: Ki Damage 1/day/lvl
11 WM2: Increased Multiplier 1/day
12 WM3: Superior Weapon Focus, WEAPON SPECIALIZATION
13 WM4: Increased Multiplier 2/day
14 WM5: Superior Combat Reflexes
15 WM6: Increased Multiplier 3/day, IMPROVED CRITICAL
16 WM7: Ki Critical
17 WM8: Increased Multiplier 4/day
18 WM9: Ki Whirlwind Attack, POWER CRITICAL
19 WM10: Increased Multiplier 5/day
20 Ftr10: Toughness ( )

 

[Aryes]

Great Cleave

I really don't think Great Cleave is all that it's cut out to be. I've been running a game for 10 levels, and two of the fighters have GC, neither has had the opportunity to use it more than one additional attack (i.e. cleave). At mid to higher levels you'll seldom find several opponents immediately around you that can be felled by a single hit and cleaved through. They complain all the time that they wasted their feat getting GC.