This is what I've pretty much settled on:
1st - Weapon Focus: Falchion, Power Attack, Cleave
2nd - Dodge
3rd - Mobility
4th - Weapon Sepcialization: Falchion
5th - Combat Expertise
6th - Spring Attack
7th - Whirlwind Attack
8th - Greater Weapon Focus: Falchion (retrain Cleave to Lunge)
9th - Improved Critical: Falchion
10th - Critical Focus
11th - Furious Focus
12th - Dazing Assault
13th - Deadly Aim or Sickening Critical
14th - Iron Will
15th - Greater Weapon Specialization: Falchion
16th - Stunning Assault (retrain Dazing Assault to Toughness)
17th – Improved Initiative
18th – Combat Reflexes
19th – Penetrating Strike
20th – Greater Penetrating Strike
Thoughts behind my selections:
I took Cleave initially because until level 6 and beyond it was the only way to get a semi-reliable second attack. I retrain out of it at 8th level in favor of Lunge to better utilize that Whirlwindy goodness. Clearly that combo (Whirlwind Attack + Lunge) was the impetus of the early build.
I wanted to take Dazing Assault as soon as possible (to add to the combo mentioned above), but wanted to be able to retrain out of it when Stunning Assault became available so I waited until my 12th level Fighter feat (11th was the soonest it could be taken).
I took Furious Focus when I did (11th) because whenever I am limited to a single attack action due to movement, conditions or whatever, I didn't want to have to choose between Dazing/Stunning Assault and Power Attack - and about level 12 is when those penalties begin to stack up a little too high for me to do both with impugnity.
I'm very much torn between Sickening Critical and Deadly Aim at 13. One the one hand I am a big fan of Sickening Critical's 1 minute duration and the synergy it has with Dazing/Stunning Assault (-2 on saving throws) as well as the attack penalty of -2 considering I expect to often be in the thick of things without a shield. On the other hand, Deadly Aim helps me not be Mr. Useless when melee isn't an immediate option and seems like a nice bullet to have in my gun, so to speak.
I know that Step Up and its follow-up feats are very popular and I considered them for that reason alone, but the truth is in our games it has very rarely seemed a necessity - not enough to justify removing anything early in the build, especially once you consider how many pre-req's are in there.
It was difficult to ignore my initial impulse to follow the critical tree further, but if I'm going to be using Dazing/Stunning Assault pretty much every attack, it would be redundant in my opinion. Since I'm not going that route, would a Two-Handed Sword be a better option?
I'd love to hear any and all advice from fellow Two-handers as the build is almost refined, but I've learned a lot when opening character builds up for discussion. I'm not a power-gamer by nature and never build characters around some specific 'uber combo', but within a character concept I certainly prefer for him to be as effective as possible.
[As an aside, I fully intend to acquire a Ring of Blinking as soon as possible as part of the character cnocept. We've been discussing some of the permutations of the effects it offers on another thread:
http://paizo.com/paizo/messageboards/paizoPublishing/pathfinder/pathfinderRPG/houseRules/soHowWouldYouHandleBlink&page=1#8 ]
| 1 person marked this as FAQ candidate. |
My personal opinion is to avoid the Spring Attack chain altogether, grab Combat Reflexes earlier, and get more Critical feats. The Dazzling Display into Deadly Stroke chain is quite nice as well.
I personally use Cleave/Great Cleave in my build, mostly to combine with being enlarged and using Lunge to cleave through a truly absurd number of enemies, but my campaign is also heavy on mass combat with large numbers of weak enemies. Never underestimate the power of the critical effects, especially on a 15-20 crit range with weapon enchantments that key off criticals.
If you do decide to pick up the Deadly Stroke chain, consider Cornugon Smash, as it lets you get a free Intimidate any time you Power Attack an enemy.
Step Up is popular because it's effective, essentially letting you stay all up in the grill of ranged enemies and screwing their spellcasting while being able to keep up full attacks.
The fighter advantage is stacking up some pretty impressive static hit/damage bonuses. With the Two-Handed archetype, you're able to milk that even further. And you're not fighting solo in a vacuum, so the more debuffs you can throw down along with the massive damage, the better. The Dazzling Display chain and Blinding Critical are particularly awesome if you have a properly built archery rogue in the party, and things like Shaken, sickened, etc not only increase your own survivability by reducing the enemies chances to hit and damage, but also supports other party members by penalizing their saves, allowing spellcasters to be that much more effective with their Save or Suck spells.
13 INT required for Combat Expertise and thus the whirlwind chain just isn't worth it to me.
13 INT required for Combat Expertise and thus the whirlwind chain just isn't worth it to me.
Attacking everything within 10' of me at my full attack bonus is more than worth it to me - all those chances to crit and Daze aren't bad either. To be honest, Combat Expertise isn't the worst option a shieldless Fighter can have.
My character is put together with a 25 point build as follows:
Strength (+2) 20
Intelligence 12
Widsom 10
Dexterity 14
Constitution 14
Charisma 7
I take my first attribute point at level 4 in Intelligence to get the pre-req and the next four in Strength.
You can accomplish the same thing with Great Cleave + Lunge, and then you can afford to dump intelligence. In my opinion, the only time going for the Whirlwind chain is worth it is for trip fighters, so you can trip the whole enemy team. Wisdom > Intelligence for a fighter any day.
Hmmmm...
Playing around with a Greatsword and the Vital Strike attack chain rather than worrying about Crits at all. Still not sure its the way to go, but I like the idea of 1) having a wide range area attack with Whirlwind and Lunge, 2) having the option of a full attack action with multiple attacks against a single foe and 3) having a single devastating attack that I can use after a move action. that seems to pretty much cover all the bases, and when I utilize Dazing/Stunning Assault on top of them all, I can't imagine why I would need to worry about crits.
1st - Weapon Focus: Greatsword, Power Attack, Cleave
2nd - Dodge
3rd - Mobility
4th - Combat Expertise
5th - Spring Attack
6th - Whirlwind Attack
7th - Vital Strike
8th - Greater Weapon Focus: Greatsword (retrain Cleave to Lunge)
9th - Improved Critical: Greatsword or Deadly Aim
10th - Furious Focus
11th - Improved Vital Strike
12th - Dazing Assault
13th - Weapon Sepcialization: Greatsword
14th - Greater Weapon Specialization: Greatsword
15th - Iron Will
16th - Stunning Assault (retrain Dazing Assault to Toughness)
17th – Greater Vital Strike
18th – Combat Reflexes or Improved Initiative
19th – Penetrating Strike
20th – Greater Penetrating Strike
You can accomplish the same thing with Great Cleave + Lunge, and then you can afford to dump intelligence. In my opinion, the only time going for the Whirlwind chain is worth it is for trip fighters, so you can trip the whole enemy team. Wisdom > Intelligence for a fighter any day.
You do understand that by level 12 I won't be tripping everyone within 10', I'll be DAZING them. That means no actions at all if I hit and they fail their save. Every round.
Moreover, I would consider being able to attack everyone adjacent to you at your highest attack bonus a great deal better than having to have everyone adjcent to one another and then having to hit each time to continue the chain. I also think all of the pre-req's for Whirlwind Attack have thier own value and make you a lot 'safer' on the battlefield, considering that you're a shieldless fighter.
Okay, I've once again re-worked the build. I really started liking the idea of Vital Strike at first as a way to guarantee an effective standard attack - which in turn necessitated a shift to Two-Handed Sword. But then I began to have some misgivings about Vital Strike, particularly the number of feats I was investing into it - and then when I decided to switch to Weapon Master (a very under-utilized Fighter option IMO), I realized that Vital Strike wouldn't mesh with its penultimate Unstoppable Strike. So, back to the drawing board to once again re-imagine the character.
Clearly, one of the Weapon Master's strengths is critical attacks and the effects that can potentially go with them - which brought me back to the Falchion. I really like the ability to Mez as much as possible with a Fighter's attacks, so I took both critical options and assault options to do that, synergizing as much as possible along the way.
Feats:
1st - Weapon Focus: Falchion, Power Attack, Cleave
2nd - Dodge
3rd - Mobility
4th - Combat Expertise
5th - Spring Attack
6th - Whirlwind Attack
7th - Lunge
8th - Greater Weapon Focus: Falchion (retrain Cleave to Weapon Specialization: Falchion)
9th - Improved Critical: Falchion
10th - Critical Focus
11th - Sickening Critical
12th - Dazing Assault
13th - Furious Focus
14th - Staggering Critical
15th - Greater Weapon Specialization: Falchion
16th - Stunning Assault (retrain Dazing Assault to Toughness)
17th – Stunning Critical
18th – Step Up
19th – Following Step
20th – Step Up and Strike (retrain Furious Focus to Critical Mastery)
Retraining choices presume that - at the moment of retraining - you may select any feat you currently qualify for rather than only feats you would have qualified for then. As always, I'd love thoughts and comments to further my refinement of both build and playstyle.
Vital StrikeChain sux. Dazzling Display will get shaken on everyone that fails a save within 30ft of you (-2 to hit and saves), benefits wholeparty. Shatter Defences let's you treat shaken foes as.flat footed (easier to hit, no.dex to.AC)
Deadly Stroke let's you Double Base weapon damage and all static mods (str, Wpn enhancement, Wpn train etc.), it also ADDS CON bleed every round!!
With Conrugan smash you can intimidate as a free action when you power attack.
So for 4feats vs 3 you can either role bade Wpn damage 3 times OR
Debuff: Shaken
Debuff: Flatfooted (the lower AC will help with your.Dazing Assault)
Do around 95ish damage off a standard attack (deadly stroke)
Up to you.....
My character is put together with a 25 point build as follows:Strength (+2) 20
Intelligence 12
Widsom 10
Dexterity 14
Constitution 14
Charisma 7I take my first attribute point at level 4 in Intelligence to get the pre-req and the next four in Strength.
Here's something you want to redo..
You're paying 4 points for that 20 STR instead of a 19, right? Then you are bumping INT at 4th level.
Go with the following:
STR 19 (17+2racial) 13pts
INT 13 3pts
WIS 13 3pts
DEX 14 5pts
CON 14 5pts
CHA 07 -4ptsAnd by 4th level you'll just be 3WIS ahead! I think that 3 levels with a -1 to hit and damage is worth +1 (or +2 via wishes) WILL saves for your entire 20 levels.. let alone the skill benefits.
Not going to comment on the feats as I haven't gone through it.. but you might want to figure out some basic questions (perhaps you know, but you should tell us as it will effect the critique):
1. What level are you starting at?
2. How fast will you advance?
3. What level will you end at, and how long will you be there?You've plotted to 20th, do you intend to be there for a while? If so then some of the capstones might be worth an earlier sacrifice.
-James
Thanks for your response. I've been toying with the attributes as well and came up basically with what you show above and for the same reasons... but I do feel compelled to make one point - so many of the abilities that this build relies on (Dazing/Stunning Assault, Power Attack, combat Expertise, etc.) rely on reducing my attack bonus, so I was doing all that I could to elevate it as high as I could. I doin't just lose the +1/+1 for three levels - I lose it 1st - 3rd, 8th - 11th and 16th - 19th, assuming in both cases that I continue to select Strength at each attribute bonus level. Plus the additional damage from Power Attack which is admittedly minor.
What made the decision for me was dropping Iron Will from the build and the fact that the earlier Weapon training bonuses from Weapon Master helped offset those losses. Still looking at it though.
I'm building this character with the intent to start somewhere 1st - 3rd and play it as long as a group would let me. I know that many here play only til 6th or 12th, but I don't build characters that way unless I know ahead of time that my group will be specifically doing that.
Again, thanks for your responses.
Vital StrikeChain sux. Dazzling Display will get shaken on everyone that fails a save within 30ft of you (-2 to hit and saves), benefits wholeparty. Shatter Defences let's you treat shaken foes as.flat footed (easier to hit, no.dex to.AC)
Deadly Stroke let's you Double Base weapon damage and all static mods (str, Wpn enhancement, Wpn train etc.), it also ADDS CON bleed every round!!
With Conrugan smash you can intimidate as a free action when you power attack.So for 4feats vs 3 you can either role bade Wpn damage 3 times OR
Debuff: Shaken
Debuff: Flatfooted (the lower AC will help with your.Dazing Assault)
Do around 95ish damage off a standard attack (deadly stroke)Up to you.....
If you look later in the discussion, you will see that I've done away with the Vital Attack chain, and am now focusing on secondary mez effects to better utilize Weapon Master's critical strength.
I'm not as big a fan of the Deadly Stroke attack as you are though I can readily admit that its excellent. Dazzling Display is a full round action which is a huge waste of time in my opinion and with my charisma at 7, Intimidate isn't going to be quite as easy for me, whether its a full round action OR a free action. I can certainly see DS as a more practical choice than Vital Strike I, II and III, but I think I'll be happy with Dazed, Sickened, Staggered and Stunned foes until my own standard action attack - Unstoppable Strike - becomes available at level 19.
With a Falchion, and the feats as selected, the Weapon Master eventually crits on a 15+, has a +4 to confirm those crits, can elevate his critical damage multiplier and his foes suffer -4 on saves vs. the sickening/staggering/stunning effects from a critical, -6 if already sickened. On top of Dazing/Stunning Assault, I'm pleased with its potential to stop things in their tracks. Being unable to act for a round is almost as good as being dead in my opinion.
One of my concerns is the ordering of some of my feats. I had to reconsider adding the Step-Up chain because the Weapon Master loses his Armor Training and with it, a good bit of his speed. I thought Step-Up and following Step might be a good way to offset that lack, but I did end up takign them awfully late...
I doin't just lose the +1/+1 for three levels - I lose it 1st - 3rd, 8th - 11th and 16th - 19th, assuming in both cases that I continue to select Strength at each attribute bonus level. Plus the additional damage from Power Attack which is admittedly minor.
Umm.. yes you do only lose at 1st-3rd, because you're not bumping STR at 4th! You're bumping INT.
At 4th level your stats could be:
STR 20
INT 13
WIS 10
DEX 14
CON 14
CHA 07
Or they could be:
STR 20
INT 13
WIS 13
DEX 14
CON 14
CHA 07
At which point at 8th, 12th, 16th and 20th I assume you're bumping STR.
Whenever you bump a stat, it should be from those that cost you the most to buy in the first place if you are planning this out for the long term.
As to what level do you expect to go to and for how long, this is a question of pay now or pay later. If you decide to suffer for levels 1-10 and then flourish at 11+ but the campaign doesn't have a chance to make it that high.... Does that make for a good decision?
-James
Alright, let me reset this so that you can understand what I'm saying.
At the moment, this is how I'm currently planning my attributes:
Str (+2)19
Int 13
Wis 13
Dex 14
Con 14
Cha 7
Strength will be taken at every four level attribute bonus, eventually finishing with 24.
This is how I had been planning to do it up until you made the suggestion:
Str (+2)20
Int 13
Wis 11
Dex 13
Con 14
Cha 7
I had dropped Dexterity from 14 to 13 so that I wouldn't have to take Int at 4th level after all, with plans on selecting Str at 4th, 8th, 12th and 16th and finally either Wis or Dex at 20th. Dex was easier to give up once I decided not to take Combat Reflexes or Deadly Aim, but the AC bonus will still be missed. I haven't been keeping this thread up-to-date on all of my musings, but I thought I had - hence our misunderstanding. To be honest, I'm still somewhat torn.
To answer your last question again, I am planning this character as if he will be played from 1st to 20th as I do all my characters. Obviously, if my group makes other decisions I shall tweak it.
I do have to say though, having Whirlwind Attack with Lunge as a TH Fighter is about as impressive a low level melee character as I've ever seen. Adding Dazing Assault in there at my highest attack rating at 12th makes the combo that much stronger - I don't feel as if this build will suffer at all during it advancement through all levels.
Vital StrikeChain sux. Dazzling Display will get shaken on everyone that fails a save within 30ft of you (-2 to hit and saves), benefits wholeparty. Shatter Defences let's you treat shaken foes as.flat footed (easier to hit, no.dex to.AC)
Deadly Stroke let's you Double Base weapon damage and all static mods (str, Wpn enhancement, Wpn train etc.), it also ADDS CON bleed every round!!
With Conrugan smash you can intimidate as a free action when you power attack.So for 4feats vs 3 you can either role bade Wpn damage 3 times OR
Debuff: Shaken
Debuff: Flatfooted (the lower AC will help with your.Dazing Assault)
Do around 95ish damage off a standard attack (deadly stroke)Up to you.....
You'd probably want Intimidating prowess as well since most fighter would drop Cha as a dump stat, so 5 feats to be optimal with that chain.
You'd probably want Intimidating prowess as well since most fighter would drop Cha as a dump stat, so 5 feats to be optimal with that chain.Vital StrikeChain sux. Dazzling Display will get shaken on everyone that fails a save within 30ft of you (-2 to hit and saves), benefits wholeparty. Shatter Defences let's you treat shaken foes as.flat footed (easier to hit, no.dex to.AC)
Deadly Stroke let's you Double Base weapon damage and all static mods (str, Wpn enhancement, Wpn train etc.), it also ADDS CON bleed every round!!
With Conrugan smash you can intimidate as a free action when you power attack.So for 4feats vs 3 you can either role bade Wpn damage 3 times OR
Debuff: Shaken
Debuff: Flatfooted (the lower AC will help with your.Dazing Assault)
Do around 95ish damage off a standard attack (deadly stroke)Up to you.....
Just to verify one aspect of Deadly Stroke - Con bleed's primary benefit is primarily a loss of 1 HP/HD every other round, as well as suffering a drop in Fort saves at the same time, yes?
Let's also recognize some of the drawbacks of that chain. Deadly Stroke can ONLY be used against Stunned or Flat-footed foes, Dazzling Display eats up a full round action, all of the Shaken and Flatfooted debuffs have to actually succeed on their checks to work an so on.
I can recognize the feat as a nice one certainly, but I was just fine with having 4d6/6d6/8d6 as my base damage for every standard attack (Greatsword) regardless of circumstance. The reason I eventually chose to drop Vital Strike is because I went with Weapon Master who's strengths are Critical hits and I discovered I couldn't use Vital Strike as part of the Weapon Master's Unstoppable Strike, which makes it almost useless for my character from 19th level on. Still think its a solid feat that gets a bad rap. Sure its situational, but most feats are't.
In my opinion, the easy fix is simply to change the wording to something like 'when making a Standard Attack action'...
In reality, you use Cornugon Smash (free action) as part of your power attack to start the chain out. Dazzling Display is simply a pre-req for the chain unless it would benefit you to take a round out to do a AE demoralize.
To be clear, I am not judging any build choice. I see Vital Strike as a solid feat chain option and it basically 3 feats versus 5 to really make the Deadly Stroke work in addition to satisfying the conditions of deadly stroke. I am having the same debate in my fighter. Currently, I have opted for the Cornugon/Deadly Stroke Chain.
In reality, you use Cornugon Smash (free action) as part of your power attack to start the chain out. Dazzling Display is simply a pre-req for the chain unless it would benefit you to take a round out to do a AE demoralize.
To be clear, I am not judging any build choice. I see Vital Strike as a solid feat chain option and it basically 3 feats versus 5 to really make the Deadly Stroke work in addition to satisfying the conditions of deadly stroke. I am having the same debate in my fighter. Currently, I have opted for the Cornugon/Deadly Stroke Chain.
I still have to plug in the Whirlwind Attack + Lunge combo, especially once you throw in Dazing/Stunning Assault. For a two-handed fighter to be able to attack everyone within 10' at his highest attack bonus by level 7 will spoil you. Being able to add a crippling mez on top of it is just icing on the cake.
fWhat BOsh1 said,
With Conrugan Smash, you make the opponent flatfooted as a free action on your first strike (dropping his AC) and can Deadly Stroke away.
Really I'd choose between the Deadly Stroke line OR the whirlwind line.
Both have high preqs. Both have big payoffs.
Whirlwind (with Dazing Assault on) is great vs mobs.
Deadly Stroke is great vs single tough foes.
Only real reason I would not bother with whirlwind is not the preqs, but because after you cop a friendly buff a fighter(with lunge) can split his full attack against whomever he threatens with, nearly the same result.
Consider a Whirlwind fighter can hit every square he threatens with a attack at his highest bonus. (36 hasted, 31 with Dazing Assault)
Attack: Taking weapon Training and full power attack into account Final Full Attack is
BAB20 +2(Gtr Wpn Fcs)+ 4(Weapon Training) + 5(STR) +3(Belt of Physical Perfection) +5(wpn enhancement) +2(Dueling Gloves)-6(PA)
Full Attack 35/30/25/20
Hasted 36/36/31/26/21
The same fighter who only took lunge can divide his Hasted full attack (with Dazing Assault on) for 31/31/26/21/16
vs MULTIPLE CR appropriate foes (which is rare, mobs are nearly always mooks) he'll only miss thefirst 2 attacks on a 1or 2, The 3rd needs a 7 or better. So he'll likely hit AT LEAST 3 of his 5 attacks.
That's with only haste on (from boots of speed).
With a party caster doing his job. Heroism or Aura of Wrath etc the odds are better. Also if your fighting a mob, again they won't have awesome AC.
The whirlwind fighter is much better at this tactic and would likely hit EVERYONE he threatened. In my games at least it's rare that a regular fighters full attack couldn't hit 3 or 4 opponents.
If you are CONSTANTLY getting surrounded, you are:
Either in a party not properly supporting you or
Your deliberately doing it (using appropriate tactics eg cleric has protection from energy on you. "Hey wizard, I'll hit em and pin em, you fireball us, I can take it"
fWhat BOsh1 said,
With Conrugan Smash, you make the opponent flatfooted as a free action on your first strike (dropping his AC) and can Deadly Stroke away.
Really I'd choose between the Deadly Stroke line OR the whirlwind line.
Both have high preqs. Both have big payoffs.Whirlwind (with Dazing Assault on) is great vs mobs.
Deadly Stroke is great vs single tough foes.Only real reason I would not bother with whirlwind is not the preqs, but because after you cop a friendly buff a fighter(with lunge) can split his full attack against whomever he threatens with, nearly the same result.
Consider a Whirlwind fighter can hit every square he threatens with a attack at his highest bonus. (36 hasted, 31 with Dazing Assault)
Attack: Taking weapon Training and full power attack into account Final Full Attack is
BAB20 +2(Gtr Wpn Fcs)+ 4(Weapon Training) + 5(STR) +3(Belt of Physical Perfection) +5(wpn enhancement) +2(Dueling Gloves)-6(PA)
Full Attack 35/30/25/20
Hasted 36/36/31/26/21The same fighter who only took lunge can divide his Hasted full attack (with Dazing Assault on) for 31/31/26/21/16
vs MULTIPLE CR appropriate foes (which is rare, mobs are nearly always mooks) he'll only miss thefirst 2 attacks on a 1or 2, The 3rd needs a 7 or better. So he'll likely hit AT LEAST 3 of his 5 attacks.That's with only haste on (from boots of speed).
With a party caster doing his job. Heroism or Aura of Wrath etc the odds are better. Also if your fighting a mob, again they won't have awesome AC.
The whirlwind fighter is much better at this tactic and would likely hit EVERYONE he threatened. In my games at least it's rare that a regular fighters full attack couldn't hit 3 or 4 opponents.If you are CONSTANTLY getting surrounded, you are:
Either in a party not properly supporting you or
Your deliberately doing it (using appropriate tactics eg cleric has protection from energy on you. "Hey wizard, I'll hit em and pin em, you fireball us, I can take it"
Generally speaking, when I plan a Fighter, I do so as if he will not have presumed access to any specific magic items, nor with the expectation of any particular support, be it from certain classes or from certain buffs. Whenever I DO have access to those things, I certainly try to make the most out of them, but I want to be able to do my job equally well in a party made up entirely of melee types as I would in a party where I'm the only one.
Ultimately, the numbers I look at are from the straight build and that alone, which is why the whirlwind attack option seems to work out so much better for me. Again, especially early on - running those numbers without buffs at level 7 when the combo becomes available shows a pretty clear disparity between WW Attack and a normal full attack action. I don't need to be 'constantly surrounded' - from level 7 til 11 all I need is 3 or more foes within 10' of me to have a marked advantage, and 4 or more from 11 to 16. its the same as being able to deal out Are of Attack damage Wizards would kill for every round.
Also, I consider Deadly Stroke great against single target foes when you're making a standard action attack. Presumably you'd be making a full action attack as often as possible, and I'd usually prefer 3-5 attacks against a foe than just one, however potent. That's another reason I consider it less valuable.
Case in point:
At 8th level (3 levels before Deadly Stroke even becomes available), with a full attack action you can either make your standard full attack with the following bonuses (discounting any magical items, weapon bonuses or buffs):
+8/+3 (base), +6 (Str 22), +2 (training), -3 (power attack), +1 (Focus), +1 (Greater Focus) for a total of +15/+10 attack bonus against one or two foes
or
+8 (base), +6 (Str 22), +2 (training), -3 (power attack), +1 (Focus), +1 (Greater Focus) for a total of +15 attack bonus against against every foe within 10'
In both instances, a successful hit would deal weapon base +22 damage - again discounting item or weapon bonuses or external buffs. Figure in just a +3 Greatsword, you're talking about +18 attack for 2d6+25 damage. Every round, against every foe in a 10' radius. I'll take that ALL day, especially at 8th level. By the time 11th level rolls around, I'm probably Dazing whatever targets I don't kill outright, which is just evil.
The only time the first option is preferrable is when you are facing a single foe - with two foes in range you're already better off with WW, but with three or more you're exponentially increasing your effectiveness on the battlefield whether you're 'constantly surrounded' or not. Considering how many people rarely see their characters get above 12th level, this seems like the no-brainer option if forced to choose between the two.
For me, its not a choice between the Deadly Stroke and Whirlwind Attack. I say take WW regardless and then decide between using your remaining feats to pursue either the Vital Strike chain, the Deadly Stroke chain or focus more on criticals and their ancillary effects. I'll certainly grant that Deadly Stroke is the more effective option ahead of Vital Strike and in most cases should be more reliable than going with crits - except when it comes to the Weapon Master who not only offers much more potent critical benefits, but also gives you a superb standard attack action at level 19 which cannot be used with either Deadly Stroke or Vital Strike.