What should my next greatsword upgrade be?


Advice


Melee-focused paladin, currently wielding a +1 shock greatsword. When I get enough gold for a new upgrade/quality, which ability would you advise I buy? Or is it better to just get a simple +1 enhancement?
I'm the main damage dealer/tank in the party.

Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

How does your GM interpret energy enhancements? Can you turn them all on with one word, so that a frost, flaming, shock weapon could be usefuly and provide 3d6 extra damage?

Have you considered "Holy?" It's a very popular enhancement among Paladins. Axiomatic is also an option, but not quite as amazing.

What sort of campaign are you playing?

If it's Dragonlance, maybe dragon-bane?

If it's Against the Giants, maybe giant-bane?

Is it an AP? If so, check the Player's Guide and see what Favored enemies are recommended for Rangers, and those might be other decent Bane options.

You can't go wrong with just another +1.


It a standard action to activate each element. that not an interpretation that is the rules. But some GM will allow you to activate them at start of day and leave them going all day, other dms will not allowing you to only have the active in dangerous area, such as dungeons ect. Because you don't always have your weapons drawn while walking in town and other places less dangerous. you would scare off all the pesents and surely get thrown in jail. They are mostly useless in the long run because of that and energy resistance in monsters build up quickly and it basically = out to almost no damage and a waste of 3 rounds to get started, best bet is to go straight to +5 weapon then dr becomes a non-issues, you are also more accurate with that allowing you to hit more often and power attack into the mix. Add keen speed or holy or even bane depending on what you been fighting in AP.

Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

KainPen wrote:
It a standard action to activate each element. that not an interpretation that is the rules. But some GM will allow you to activate them at start of day and leave them going all day, other dms will not allowing you to only have the active in dangerous area, such as dungeons ect. Because you don't always have your weapons drawn while walking in town and other places less dangerous. you would scare off all the pesents and surely get thrown in jail. They are mostly useless in the long run because of that and energy resistance in monsters build up quickly and it basically = out to almost no damage and a waste of 3 rounds to get started, best bet is to go straight to +5 weapon then dr becomes a non-issues, you are also more accurate with that allowing you to hit more often and power attack into the mix. Add keen speed or holy or even bane depending on what you been fighting in AP.

I wasn't looking for a discussion on how you interpret the situation, only how the OP's GM does. This is clearly a subject with a good amount of table variance to it, so no need to argue it.


1 person marked this as a favorite.

Keen is always good. Increase your Crit range to 17+.


Impact is good, especially if combined with Vital Strike and you have access to Enlarge Person.

Silver Crusade

At lower level? That +1 to hit (and damage) really can't be overlooked. Especially if one is, say, using Power Attack.

Impact + Vital Strike (+ Enlarge Person!) is always a fun one. Built a mythic paladin around Mythic Enlarge Person and Impact/Vital Strike once. Was great fun smashing things, but that was more of a higher level of play then I think the OP means.


Sorry, where does it say activating the elements is a standard action? I thought it says "on command".

Good question on what baddies I expect to chase. Recently we've been putting down a human rebellion in the city, which aside from the ringleaders were all CN. Now we're in exile going to a long-lost city, so Iomedae knows what's there! There are reports of a dragon finally stirring in the mountain at the centre of the world, so I'm thinking that will be the final boss.
Oh there's also an evil wizard.
I'll ask my GM if he can give me any hints or advice, thanks, guys. :)

Impact looks pretty incredible, never noticed that one before! If I chose that, would you advise my next feat to be Vital Strike? I currently have Arisen, Furious Focus, Power Attack and Improved Sunder. I was going to follow the sunder line but I won't if there's clearly better options. :)

Keen does look good. Silly question I know, but how does it make the range 17+? :) I though it would make it 18-20 for a greatsword. :/


Vital Strike is only worth it if you can get Mythic Vital Strike. Otherwise, I'd take Cornugon Smash next, if you have skill ranks in Intimidate. Since you already have Furious Focus, you might as well take Dreadful Carnage when you can (again, provided you can invest full skill ranks into Intimidate).

Keen effects double your crit range. So a 19-20 weapon (10% threat chance) becomes 17-20 (20% threat chance). That's why you see people use the 18-20 base weapons so often, because Keen makes it 15-20.


Mathwise, once you get a +10 to 15 (and especially more!) bonus damage on each hit, a flat +1 enchantment is the best bang for your buck. The 5% better chance to hit will increase your DPR by more than keen, even on an 18-20/x2 1d10 Nodachi or the 19-20/x3 1d8 Falcata. Unless of course you're hitting on 2's, then the battle wasn't really challenging anyway lol. However, if you're already at +5, Keen's a natural choice for damage increase.

Aside from the flat +1 bonuses and Keen, the other suggestions here are solid. I usually play magic users and only used fighters on low level one-offs, so I don't have too many specific suggestions. Patriotic sounds like it could be used for roleplaying even if it's not all that powerful, and Runeforged has some pretty cool effects imo. It sounds like you're playing a homebrew so these enchantments might fly just a TAD better than organized play.

Hope that helps!


toxicpie wrote:

Sorry, where does it say activating the elements is a standard action? I thought it says "on command".

Keen does look good. Silly question I know, but how does it make the range 17+? :) I though it would make it 18-20 for a greatsword. :/

On command means you take an action to activate it, and that action is a standard action - not a free action.

Keen doubles the threat range. A greatsword has a threat range of 2 "pips" (20, 19); double that, you get 4 pips (20, 19, 18, 17)


Keen would be my first one. Impact is not bad, but I'm pretty sure you'll see much more of a dpr increase with keen due to the number of static damage bonuses you have.

I would not get vital strike, unless like others have said you are using mythic rules. For a strength based melee twohander, it's usually much more powerful to get multiple attacks for a full round, making the normal vital strike line only useful when you have to devote a move action to something in a round.

If you really want to use sunder, greater sunder is awesome. I used the tactic on my pfs rage prophet and using one attack a round to sunder was often more accurate than full standard attacking. Typically I'd target the armor with my first swing in the round, destroy it, then just attack with my second attack, netting an accuracy bonus on my secondary attack equal to the ac of their armor. The only thing you need to worry about is potentially destroying wealth. This advice is even stronger if your weapon is adamantine, because the ignoring of hardness makes sundering the most effective attack action.

Silver Crusade RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16

Impact? Really? The jump from M to L weapon is probably worth 2 points of damage, sure, but you're giving up the +2 to hit. As well as the ability to overcome some DR.


Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan wrote:
KainPen wrote:
It a standard action to activate each element. that not an interpretation that is the rules. But some GM will allow you to activate them at start of day and leave them going all day, other dms will not allowing you to only have the active in dangerous area, such as dungeons ect. Because you don't always have your weapons drawn while walking in town and other places less dangerous. you would scare off all the pesents and surely get thrown in jail. They are mostly useless in the long run because of that and energy resistance in monsters build up quickly and it basically = out to almost no damage and a waste of 3 rounds to get started, best bet is to go straight to +5 weapon then dr becomes a non-issues, you are also more accurate with that allowing you to hit more often and power attack into the mix. Add keen speed or holy or even bane depending on what you been fighting in AP.
I wasn't looking for a discussion on how you interpret the situation, only how the OP's GM does. This is clearly a subject with a good amount of table variance to it, so no need to argue it.

it is not debatable see the development team made a ruling a while back see this thread and SKR post.

SKR Post in it he explains exactly how elemental weapons work, turning them on and off, and that activating each one is a standard action. It also explains that they do not turn off until you make them turn off. which is GM territory and common sense of making sure a player turns off weapon. It is a lot easier to assume your player turns them off in these situations, instead of asking them to every time. Such as you don't leave the weapon active while sleeping at night or you don't run around with the weapon active while in town. Meaning encounters in those areas are going to require you to spend a standard action to activate each one of the elemental abilities. Now if a GM wants to player to tell them every time they turn it off it can lead to some interesting things that will teach players to turn the weapon off. Such as maybe that flaming sword you put down in your tent you forgot to turn off catch the tent on fire. It just easier on GM and player to assume they turn them off.

Silver Crusade

Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan wrote:
Impact? Really? The jump from M to L weapon is probably worth 2 points of damage, sure, but you're giving up the +2 to hit. As well as the ability to overcome some DR.

Um, please read the entirety of what was posted? Impact is useful if combined with Vital Strike. The greatsword goes from 2d6 to 3d6 with impact, an average of 3.5, then Vital Strike doubles that again. That +2 enchantment, with a feat that was already going to be taken? Becomes 7 damage. Combine Enlarge Person, and add another 3.5 (3d6 becoming 4d6), so one is at, with one spell, one feat, and a +2 value enchantment, +14 average damage. Take Improved/Greater Vital Strike, and those 3 feats, the same first level spell, and the +2 enchantment became +28 average damage increase on that greatsword. A +2 enchantment for what can end up being a lot more then 2 damage is worth it, if that's the build of the character.

Throw in mythic versions and, well, I don't think I'm the only one who recalls mythic Vital Strike builds one-shoting anything in the bestiary, even Great Old Ones... With (mythic variants) Greater Vital Strike and Power attack, and not taking the two-handed Fighter archetype, I recall breaking 600 damage a turn with a single attack. *shrug* And it was a theme character, not a powergaming campaign. Powergaming, with mythic rules, one can easily break ten or even twenty thousand damage with the combination.

As was said. It's a bit more for a higher level of play then the OP is speaking off, and really is only amazing with mythic rules, however it is unbelievably devastating with the mythic rules. It's not the end-all be-all of two handed builds, but it is one that ends up being impressive in its devastating capability.


Okay, thanks everyone, great advice. :)
I think I'll go for keen then continue with enhancement bonuses. By the time I'm at +4/5 I should have a better idea regarding the enemies, and pick holy, bane, axiomatic etc. And if we come across multiple jabberwocks then vorpal ahoy!

Community / Forums / Pathfinder / Pathfinder First Edition / Advice / What should my next greatsword upgrade be? All Messageboards

Want to post a reply? Sign in.