Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 drizheim May 17, 2012 13:38:33	Alright, so my initial plan was to do a fighter/weapon master but I am taking a different direction now and want to try to optimize a pure fighter. My dm has introduced a prestige class of his own make for the story, a dragonslayer/vassal of bahamut variant. With that in mind, I fully intend to go the full 10 levels into it, so assuming a 20th level campaign, I was going to do 10 Fighter / 10 Dragoon Knight (dm's prestige class). I want the 10 levels in fighter to maximize his ability with a greatsword and I figured Weapon Focus, Weapon Spec, Melee Weapon Mastery, and eventually Slashing Flurry are a good start. Here are my stats. Human Fighter 8 Str 18 Dex 17 Con 16 (lvl 4 ability point used) Int 13 Wis 14 Cha 14 Have not used 8th lvl ability point yet. Feats: Power Attack, Weapon Focus (Greatsword), Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack (I used this a LOT in combat), Weapon Spec. (Greatsword), Melee Weapon Mastery (Slashing), Iron Will (requirement for the Dragoon Knight), Improved Critical (Greatsword). I am primarily trying to build a solid damage dealer with a two-handed greatsword, those are my only solid guidelines for thischaracter and our dm allows feat retraining.
#2 Krusk May 17, 2012 15:03:19	dungeon crasher fighter variant is the typical optimization route for pure fighter.  I also recomend you take lots of power attack boosting feats, and power attack. Drop dodge, mobility, and spring attack. Its not a good feat, and using it is probably lowering your potential.
#3 drizheim May 17, 2012 15:34:11	The only feat I can think of for making power attack better is Shock Trooper, to negate the minus to hit. I found an Improved power attack feat online but it seems to be homebrewed. DM is extremely reluctant to add anything homebrewed by other campaigns.
#4 ObsidianConspiracy May 17, 2012 16:36:58	Overpowering attack substitution, combat reflex style and lots of power attack. I'd consider a wand chamber for wraithstrike and weapon supremacy at high levels. Maybe karmic strike or robilar's gambit... maybe. I dunno, but AoO's are a strong way to go
#5 Tempest_Stormwind May 17, 2012 16:49:48	dungeon crasher fighter variant is the typical optimization route for pure fighter.  I also recomend you take lots of power attack boosting feats, and power attack. Agreed wholeheartedly. Drizheim, examples of feats that directly boost Power Attack are: -Shock Trooper (on charging) -Combat Brute (repeated charging) -Knockback (combines Power Attack and position control, requires Powerful Build or Large size) -Leap Attack (on charging; this changes the base return on PA and multiplies very well) -Spirited Charge (mounted charging) -Not a feat, but Improved Power Attack / Supreme Power Attack on the Frenzied Berserker work similarly to, and stack with, Leap Attack. -Not a feat, but the Decisive Strike or Overwhelming Attack variants in PHB2 (former for monk, latter for fighter) give up your unlikely-to-hit iterative attacks in exchange for dealing double damage with every attack this turn. If you're built to use attacks of opportunity, that's a LOT of double-damage attacks, and that's a LOT of doubling up on Power Attack. Power Attack also benefits from anything that improves your attack bonus directly. For instance, you wouldn't think Deft Opportunist was a good feat for Power Attack - +4 to hit with attacks of opportunity? - but when you realize that this translates to your AoOs being as accurate as usual, but having +8 damage? That's a good feat. Power Attacking for -3 gives you +1 attack, +6 damage on AoOs (and you've spent one other feat to facilitate this, Combat Reflexes) - compare to Weapon Focus / Weapon Specialization, which gives +1 attack / +2 damage on all attacks. (With Combat Reflexes and a reach weapon, you will easily get more AoOs than you will get basic stock attacks, particularly if you're moving, so that's a clear winner! The only reason to go Spec is if you're going all the way up to Supremacy, which really is an awesome feat.) Good examples of other attack-bonus-booster feats are: -Improved Trip (prone target: +4 to hit) -Stormguard Warrior (Channel the Storm variant gives +4 attack and +4 damage per AoO you give up, works very well with Robilar's Gambit)  -Deft Opportunist (Described above) -Strike the Weak Point skill trick (deliver an attack as a touch attack - lower AC, thus effectively higher attack bonus to turn into Power Attack.) Note: With the right team, this can be devastating. My current team involves a bard/crusader with Song of the White Raven and lots of Inspire Courage optimization, and I'm playing a hexblade who specializes in lowering enemy stats. Put the two together and I frequently find that my optimal power attack is "all of it" even without charging, and it's not uncommon for me to be dishing out 50+ damage a round without a sweat at level 6-7. (This also works well with the rest of the team, since my hexblade lowers enemy ability checks (and thus our swordsage can throw people further) and enemy saves (which makes our two spellcasters delightfully happy; both specialize in efficiency, either through DoT/save-or-die effects or through remarkable power-point economy with high save DCs.)) Power Attack can also be improved by simply getting more attacks at a high bonus.  -Combat Reflexes + reach is the usual cheap trick. --This combines with other AoO infrastructure feats, such as Mage Slayer, Martial Stance (Thicket of Blades), Hold the Line, and Defensive Sweep. Basically you want them to be provoking an AoO no matter what they do. See also Stormguard Warrior. -Not a feat, but the Lion Totem substitution level in Complete Champion Cheatyface lets you take a one-level barbarian dip and be able to make full attacks on a charge. Each hit gets the power attack benefit; this works quite well on Shock Trooper, since they're likely to hit.)  This sets aside Martial Study. Several maneuvers give dramatic bonuses on attack rolls (Steely Strike), attack the typically-much-lower touch AC (Emerald Razor), or apply a multiplier (Ruby Nightmare Blade). And all that's just off the top of my head!  Drop dodge, mobility, and spring attack. Its not a good feat, and using it is probably lowering your potential.  In general I'd agree, but there are places where it works. None of them tend to apply to your usual big-tough-warrior-guy concept, though: they usually work on rogue-types. The best example I know of is a rogue employing Staggering Strike and Gloom Razor; this basically lets you appear from nowhere, smack a person and deny them their move or their standard action, and then move away and disappear again round in and round out. (Manage to work in that ambush feat for knocking targets prone, or a collection of mean Shadow Hand maneuvers, and this gets downright devastating.) Spring Attack is also a required feat for the cornerstone of Shadow Pouncing, Teflammar Shadowlord (also not a warrior, btw).  Plus, there's this classic.
#6 Uknits May 18, 2012 22:50:48	If you use spring attack alot, you probably aren't charging as much.  Mage Slayer would probably be more your style for complete battlefield control over casters.  Also, combat expertise/improved trip since you have 13 int.  You can make a trip attack with your hand and then make the follow up attack with your greatsword (free action to switch from one hand to two handed grip).  You can rush in, knock somebody over, smack them, and then move away, leaving them on the ground.  You can also lead into knockdown for free trip attacks every time you do over 10 damage, which should be often.