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So I want to make a Bombard soldier, wielding 2 handed "unwieldy" weapons and tossing an occasional grenade. Action economy makes this tricky but I want to see if I understand the worst case scenario for RAW. I think Quick Draw is helpful to make this work well (lots of people seem to say it’s a useless trap, but…) So I have a bunch of scenarios here with what I think I can do in a turn, can someone help me out and let me know if they are allowed RAW or if there is a faster way to do it?
1) Start of combat, I’m unarmed. I can throw a grenade, then move and draw a 2 handed weapon and now be wielding it. I even have a swift action to spare. (quickdraw lets me freely draw a grenade as part of attack, and I can draw 2h weapon as part of move if I have BAB +1) But I can't move before the attack and make this work.
2) I’m wielding 2 handed weapon and want to throw a grenade. Swift to free up a hand, standard to draw and throw the grenade, move action convert to swift to put hand back on 2 handed weapon to be wielding it. (RAW here, I don’t think I can move at all this turn, the swift action to put my hand back on cannot be combined with a move, and even quick draw does not help. Lameness.)
3) I’m wielding my 2 handed melee weapon and want to switch to my 2 handed heavy weapon. I sheathe the melee weapon as a move action (and that’s as efficient as it ever can be). Then I can draw as a swift action, only if I have Quick Draw. Then I can make one attack, and that’s not too much of a problem if I’m using unwieldy weapons. Just I would miss out on the Bombard’s Heavy Fire bonus in this turn.
4) Regarding extra limbs, I think a third (cybernetic) arm would allow me to move in #2, and also as a separate full action allow a full attack with one attack from the grenade and a one from a (non-unwieldy) 2 handed weapon.
5) And a fourth arm from Kasatha or cybernetic pair would allow wielding both the 2 handed melee and 2 handed heavy weapon. They could be combined in a full attack if they were not unwieldy. If I am wielding Two 2-handed weapons, the action economy of #2 is the same as when I had 2 arms.
So If I’m using unwieldy 2 handed weapons, the extra hands help some, but not a whole lot. And I do think Quick Draw is very helpful. Thoughts?
1. Mostly correct. You could move, draw/throw as standard w/ Quick Draw, then swift to Quick Draw new weapon. Also, with more hands, you could do this by drawing on move and keep your swift.
2. Yes, lame. It's almost better to have your weapon stowed so you can move. Again, if you have more arms...
3. Yes.
4. Yes, three arms would mean one's free to throw grenade. Yes, you could full attack that way too. Assume your opponents will save vs. the grenade, as the -4 for the full attack carries over into a save DC penalty.
5. Yes and yes. If you have your Bombard grenade out, you likely don't need the ranged weapon out (unless distances have been >2 rounds to close with enemy).
Also note that Bombard's Heavy Fire is a full action, not a full attack action. This means you can't pull a grenade (or anything else) in the same turn even via Quick Draw (which only does it as swift or part of thrown attack/full attack). Since damage grenades past 1st/2nd need that extra damage to be worthwhile (even if free!) keep a grenade in hand.
Of course, if you find yourself usually needing to move that first round and your opponents scattering or getting adjacent to allies too fast, then stow the grenade.
ETA: Oh, and don't use an unwieldy melee weapon. Full Attacks are nearly always better, and opportunity attacks are a nice bonus.
Thanks Castilliano!
The point about Quick Draw grenades with Heavy Fire isn't one I had thought about, good point. I also was thinking that the crowd control grenades would hold up better at higher levels than damage ones.
Also great point about the unwieldy melee weapons. I had forgotten or not noticed they can't be used for opportunity attacks.