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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nifft" data-source="post: 3254516" data-attributes="member: 6562">It's my opinion that the Fighter is the weakest of the Core classes, starting around level 5 (perhaps level 3). IF you allow feats from PHB-II and Complete Warrior, they may get a bit better -- I haven't looked at PHB-II very hard.IMHO, the Bard makes the Fighter look pathetically weak, starting around level 7. And that's sad.Weapon Specialization is VERY weak for a Warblade -- even weaker than it would be for a normal greatsword Barbarian. Why is it so weak?1/ Weapon Spec sucks for melee combat. Power Attack + Weapon Focus do the same job much better (and you can use them at 1st level). (For an archer, Weapon Spec is great. For a TWF tumbler whose MO is to get a lot of full attacks with light weapons, it can be okay.)2/ Weapon Spec sucks even more for a Warblade, who will most often NOT take a full attack -- he will prefer to use his Maneuvers, which tend to be single attacks. (The very notable exception to this is Time Stands Still, which actually makes Weapon Spec shine almost as brightly as it does for an archer.)3/ Changing Stance, or using a Boost or Counter, will eat your Swift action. So, the Warblade's recovery mechanism is actually not that great -- particularly if your opponents know this fact. Basically, if you use your Will save counter, you can't do so again for 2 rounds.We agree about Barbarian > Fighter for sure! <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />The thing about a Barbarian is, his Rage is a free action. He has all these unused Swift actions lying around. If you can find some tactical feats to give you Swift things to do -- particularly ones that allow you to use your Intimidate -- I think you'll find that the Barbarian is all caught up to the Warblade. (Now, I only think this -- I can't actually back it up -- but that's what I've heard about the new stuff in the PHB-II.)I'll do some reading in the PHB-II and the Tactical feats in Comp.War and get back to you on this, if that's okay. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />The Warblade can pull off about two rounds worth of maneuvers, then he needs to recharge.  And in the round that he does his recharge, he's a Fighter with fewer feats and no heavy armor proficiency. (I figure he's got one Counter, one Boost, and two Strikes; or two Counters, two Strikes.)Absolutely. Both are very melee-centric, and that's why they look so strong: being limited to melee is a weakness.The Barbarian gets a speed boost though, so he can close the distance faster; also, Barbarians are proficient with composite longbows. (Is there a bow special ability that adjusts its "Mighty" bonus when your strength changes? If so, Barbarians may become excellent archers... <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /> )Cheers, -- N</blockquote>

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