Warlord equipment advice

[cmbarona]

I'm currently playing a level 12 Dragonborn Inspiring Warlord, and I'm weighing my weapon options.

I'm currently using a longsword for the +3 proficiency. I'm not too concerned with damage, as that's the job of strikers, so I won't spend a feat to upgrade to a bastard sword.

I'm interested in a single, do-it-all weapon. Specifically, I'd like a main weapon that also has the heavy thrown property. To give a little context, I'm looking toward War Master's Assault at 15 and Relentless Assault at 25, which allow me to make R/MBAs as well as my allies. Plus, having a good RBA that doesn't require switching weapons is always a nice option to have.

I've been contemplating the tratnyr, but that infernal +2 proficiency bonus has been holding me back. Then I considered the drow long knife, but the range obviously doesn't stack up to the tratnyr. (Plus the damage die downgrade sucks, despite my lack of concern over damage expressed earlier. Honestly, I may have gone for it already if it were a d8 instead of off-hand, but whatev.) I'm not really worried about Dex requirements for a Mastery feat, as I'm already going to qualify for Heavy Blade by 21, and I'm prepared to pump Dex another 2 points to qualify for Spear by 21.

What are the pros and cons of these (and other) heavy thrown weapons?

What are some good enchantments for a Warlord with a heavy thrown weapon? I know of Grasping for the tratnyr, and that does look awesome, but I want to weigh some other options as well.

 

[1of3]

What about a Dynamic Weapon? That's a real do-it-all weapon.

 

[jontherev]

Well, the key is using a +3 proficiency weapon. Not sure why you're so hung up on using a heavy thrown weapon, but if that's non-negotiable, then I don't think you'll satisfy both of these conditions. I might be wrong, but I don't think there's a heavy thrown +3 proficiency weapon available. That's a very specialized niche using heavy thrown for a warlord, who is usually stuck in melee most of the time. Most of your powers are usable only in melee. Tratnyrs are nice, but not as nice as the greatspear.

The Myrdroon's spear is quite awesome, especially if you convince your DM that it should be a greatspear instead of a longspear (the normal is fine, but the artifact says it is a longspear...BOOOOOO!).

Also, why pump Dex unless you're bound and determined to use a heavy blade? As you said yourself, damage is not your bag, so why use up so much of your resources pumping what should be a dump stat, just so you can crit on 19+? IMO, you're better off dumping dex altogether to help out your Con/Int/Cha. Plus, you could always use a Jagged weapon to get that 19+ crit range. Leave the direct damage to the strikers and defenders.

And, you did take the Hurl Breath feat right? Awesome feat for dragonborn.

I'm not trying to discourage you on the whole heavy thrown deal, but I just think it might be too specialized for a warlord (for MY tastes). I prefer using reach and staying in melee next to a striker and defender. But, if it does work well for you and you like it, that's all that really matters.

 

[cmbarona]

Good points I'm going to mull over for a while.

But FYI, the Drow Long Knife (Eberron Player's Guide) is a +3 heavy thrown.

 

[kerbarian]

If you want heavy thrown with +3 proficiency, I believe the drow long knife is the only weapon that inherently has both. However, you can go for specific weapon enchantments to get both with other weapons.

In AV2, they added the Farbond Spellblade and Hungry Spear (set item, p.98*). They both start at level 2; Farbond Spellblade adds heavy thrown 5/10 to any heavy or light blade, and Hungry Spear adds heavy thrown 10/20 to any spear (e.g. greatspear for +3 proficiency).


* I can't believe they didn't add some sort of useful index for set items. I can understand the reasons behind the layout, but it really makes me want to get an OCR'd pdf just so I can find set items without having to flip through 50 pages every time.

 

[DracoSuave]

Heavy Thrown with utility? You need two weapons then.

If you have feat room for the proficiencies, Grasping Tratnyr as your thrown weapon, and a Greatspear for your main work. If you're not concerned about damage so much, the Grasping Tratnyr is the best utility sidearm you can have, and Greatspear is also a spear, and it has +3 to hit, and reach. Reach is what you're -really- after if you want Warlord + Utility.

Then at Paragon level, grab yourself some of that Eldritch Knight stuff from the AV2, specificly the 'Sword has reach of 5 with your powers' sword, so you can retrain out of Greatspear.

 

[cmbarona]

Hmmm... Greatspear with the Hungry Spear enchantment looks very promising. Granted, I'd be giving up my shield bonus, but I think I could manage...

Any particularly useful Warlord bracers to go with that?

I'm working on powers and feats that focus on buffing allies and granting them Basic Attacks whenever possible. I've gotten to the point where my healing is at a good balance, so it's time to get some more offense.

 

[BASHMAN]

IMO the best weapon for a warlord is some spear of Myrdoon's Shard. A greatspear would let you hit foes/tag allies 3 squares away- a trantyr would only give a reach of 2- but also can be thrown.

Of course, if you are set on a 1H weapon, there is always a shield of throwing (don't remember the actual name of it). So even if the weapon isn't thrown, you can still chuck the shield.

 

[jontherev]

IMO the best weapon for a warlord is some spear of Myrdoon's Shard. A greatspear would let you hit foes/tag allies 3 squares away- a trantyr would only give a reach of 2- but also can be thrown.

Thirded (I already mentioned it ). The only possible issue with the artifact version (you can get a non-artifact version as well) is that it is a longspear. I think that is an oversight though, because this came out before the stats for the greatspear existed. Cool DM's would change this to a greatspear. It's also a pretty cool side adventure because the "regular" shards are actually formed from the artifact itself. Awesome weapon for warlords (for greatspear version). Reach 3? Sure, I'll take it.

 

[Turtlejay]

* I can't believe they didn't add some sort of useful index for set items. I can understand the reasons behind the layout, but it really makes me want to get an OCR'd pdf just so I can find set items without having to flip through 50 pages every time.

There is such a thing on the Character Builder. Go to the Shop tab, and one of the choices (towards the bottom) will be item sets.

My soon to be played Warlord|Fighter is using a Hugry Spear Greatspear. I am a little disappointed that the set is for Barbarians ultimately. I'd like to see a lot more item sets, for a lot more types of characters.

Really, Tratnyr and Drow Long Knife are your best bets if you want to chose your own enchantment. If you are fine being tied to one enchantment your entire career, there have been several good suggestions made in this thread.

Jay