Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gavin O." data-source="post: 7519594" data-attributes="member: 6941440">The question really boils down to: Do you have something else to do with your bonus action?If not, then dual wielding shortswords or scimitars gets you the same damage dice as a greatsword (2d6 + Ability), plus you can use your Dexterity to attack and you can apply two divine smites. If you do, then the oppertunity cost of giving up that ability or spell to use your off-hand attack might not be worth it. However, once you get extra attack the numbers start looking worse: A greatsword deals a total of 4d6 + 2 x Ability damage, while two scimitars deal a total of 3d6 + 2x ability (for a loss of 3.5 damage). Your chance to land a critical hit with three hits is about 3/20, where your chance to land one in two hits is about 2/20 (that makes a 1/20 chance that the scimitars crit and the greatsword doesn't), so assuming you have a smite available to use, the extra crit chance increases your damage by 1 20th of 1d6 + the damage of the smite you use. With a level 2 smite, that works out to 1/20 * (3.5+13.5) = 17/20, or less than 1 more DPR, not enough to compensate for the 1d6 less damage you're doing. How about when you get improved divine smite?At level 11, you get +1d8 damage to all of your weapon attacks. You're still making the same number of attacks per round as you did at level 5, so assuming you have you attacking stat at 20 by now,  a greatsword is dealing 4d6+2d8+10 damage (average of 33), while scimitars are dealing 3d6+3d8+10, (average of 34), so disregarding the great weapon fighting style, the scimitars have caught up in damage again, plus they have a higher chance to crit. So to summarize: At levels 1 to 4 it can be worth it, assuming you have nothing else to use your bonus action forLevel 5 to 10 it's not worth it even if you don't have anything to use your bonus action forLevel 11 to 20 it can be worth it, again assuming you're not using your BA for anything else. So what things would a Paladin use their bonus action for?-Polearm Master. If you have this feat, you can use a bonus action to make an attack with the butt of your polearm, which only has 1d4 damage dice but allows you to add your strength modifier unlike dual wielding. -Spells. On the stock paladin list, Shield of Faith, Magic Weapon, Holy Weapon, and Banishing Smite are all strong spells that only require your bonus action. Misty Step is available to Ancients and Vengeance Oaths, and the incredible Spiritual Weapon is available to Conquest. With the exception of Spiritual Weapon, none of these spells require your bonus action every round, so losing one attack to set them up isn't the worst thing in the world. If you're a level 20 oath of the ancients paladin, your transformation lets you cast all of your paladin spells as a bonus action, but that comes in super late. -Vow of Enmity: Uses a bonus action to set up, gives you advantage against one target for a minute. Also not a deal breaker since it only takes one turn to set up and recharges on a short rest, but it's there.</blockquote>

Verification