So my most recent character is a Hexblade and Paladin. The feats I'm taking are Polearm Master, Sentinel, and probably GWM.
Since I'm going to be using a glaive as my main weapon I won't have the +2 AC from a shield, so I'm considering Defense, but since polearms are 2-handed I could still take the Great Weapon Fighting style.
I'm fairly certain that Great Weapon Fighting doesn't apply to smites (divine or eldritch), so I'm not sure if it's better than a straight +1 to AC.
Any math help on what would be better, I would appreciate.
GWF style is really good in the hands of a greatsword fighter, it's my absolute favorite fighting style. It's so-so in everyone else's hands. Fighters make multiple attacks either from action surge or their lvl 11 extra attack, making that boost much more significant to them than for others. But as a paladin, you're making two attacks, maybe 3 at most if you're not using your bonus action that turn (unlikely as you have a bunch of bonus actions from your class features). That said, using a polearm means you're going from 5.5 average to 6.3, or an average of 1.6 extra damage a round. You could just as easily go from 16 to 17 AC, or 17 to 18, or what have you. Each point in AC does make a significant contribution due to bounded accuracy, yadda yadda etc etc, and so forth. consider the following
POV: you're lvl 7 and you've laid down your hexblade's curse, and you go to town with defense fighting style. You attack twice with your halberd, boom, boom. Wow, Critical hit! Time to double smite with your pact slots, whoa, you dealt 102 damage in a single turn! Oh wait, but if you had GWF, you would have dealt 104 damage.
You see how silly that boost looks by comparison? Meanwhile, that boost in AC could mean you'd dodge a hit you normally would have eaten. That's saved concentration. That's more HP in the long run. That's making your shield spell even more handy-dandy.
Now, if your goal is to deal good sustained damage ontop of good burst damage, I'd suggest either increasing your CHA, or taking up GWM sooner, as that +10 will absolutely make a difference in your every day combats where you DON'T want to smite.
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So my most recent character is a Hexblade and Paladin. The feats I'm taking are Polearm Master, Sentinel, and probably GWM.
Since I'm going to be using a glaive as my main weapon I won't have the +2 AC from a shield, so I'm considering Defense, but since polearms are 2-handed I could still take the Great Weapon Fighting style.
I'm fairly certain that Great Weapon Fighting doesn't apply to smites (divine or eldritch), so I'm not sure if it's better than a straight +1 to AC.
Any math help on what would be better, I would appreciate.
Go with defense, and here's why:
GWF style is really good in the hands of a greatsword fighter, it's my absolute favorite fighting style. It's so-so in everyone else's hands. Fighters make multiple attacks either from action surge or their lvl 11 extra attack, making that boost much more significant to them than for others. But as a paladin, you're making two attacks, maybe 3 at most if you're not using your bonus action that turn (unlikely as you have a bunch of bonus actions from your class features). That said, using a polearm means you're going from 5.5 average to 6.3, or an average of 1.6 extra damage a round. You could just as easily go from 16 to 17 AC, or 17 to 18, or what have you. Each point in AC does make a significant contribution due to bounded accuracy, yadda yadda etc etc, and so forth. consider the following
POV: you're lvl 7 and you've laid down your hexblade's curse, and you go to town with defense fighting style. You attack twice with your halberd, boom, boom. Wow, Critical hit! Time to double smite with your pact slots, whoa, you dealt 102 damage in a single turn! Oh wait, but if you had GWF, you would have dealt 104 damage.
You see how silly that boost looks by comparison? Meanwhile, that boost in AC could mean you'd dodge a hit you normally would have eaten. That's saved concentration. That's more HP in the long run. That's making your shield spell even more handy-dandy.
Now, if your goal is to deal good sustained damage ontop of good burst damage, I'd suggest either increasing your CHA, or taking up GWM sooner, as that +10 will absolutely make a difference in your every day combats where you DON'T want to smite.