I am going to play a Zariel Tiefling who is going to become a Conquest Paladin. Her stats are 16 10 14 8 10 16. I have got all nice and ready, but I can't really make up my mind when it comes to her weapons and fighting style between dueling and defense. Since she was raised by a war priest, I picture her as a weapon master, capable of switching arms in order to gain tactical advantages everytime is needed.
On paper, I really like Defense and it seems best suited for a tank/controller, with the option to switch between a maul / SnB (well, not really once the fight has started, since it eats a whole action donning off a shield), but in practice I have the feeling that a mere +1 to AC doesn't make all that difference playing the game. On the other hand Dueling seems the most well-rounded option for a battle veteran. It locks my belowed maul out of the equation, but suddenly whips, daggers and javelins are more than viable options (even without the smites). Plus, I gives me the illusion that my damage is always next to "maul tier" along with a respectable defense ( actually better than an actual maul user!).
I don't think I will have room for GWM on this paladin (need to max CHA first and foremost), so SnB becomes even more appealing.
+1 AC is nothing to sneeze at. Say you have ring mail (AC 14) and a shield (+2)
That's an AC of 16. Most baddies have a +5 to hit (at least) so they can roll 11 or higher and tag you. That's 50% of the time. Raise your AC by one and it drops their chances to 45%.
In the moment it doesn't feel like much, but over the course of an extended campaign (or even just an extended battle) that's a significantly lower chunk of damage you're taking. On the other hand, 2 extra points of damage every time you hit is big at lower levels, but it doesn't scale as you level up. AC is a percentage that has an increasingly significant effect as the enemies start dishing out more damage per hit.
In the moment it doesn't feel like much, but over the course of an extended campaign (or even just an extended battle) that's a significantly lower chunk of damage you're taking.
The same argument applies to Dueling Fighting Style; over the course of an extended campaign that extra 2 damage per hit adds up.
On the other hand, 2 extra points of damage every time you hit is big at lower levels, but it doesn't scale as you level up. AC is a percentage that has an increasingly significant effect as the enemies start dishing out more damage per hit.
The increased damage per hit from monsters is offset by your increased max HP. In fact, level 1 is the deadliest level because your max HP is disproportionately low compared to CR 1 monster damage.
It comes down to, how versatile of a fighter is your character. Cause if they are like some characters who only use a simple type of weapon then it would be good to gain that weapon style bonus, but if (you're like me) you like to have your characters use multiple kinds of weapons then defense would help you out in the long haul.
As of right now, my fighter is going through a change of his main weapon, from long sword and shield to a great sword. If I would've gone with dueling I would be straight up all the damage because I already chose my style, but because I chose defense this actually benefits me because the ac reduction isn't as bad as it could've been while still gaining the higher damage of weapon. I know I probably could've asked my DM if I was able to change my style, but I've been using defense for so long on that character it would just seem weird to me.
I am going to play a Zariel Tiefling who is going to become a Conquest Paladin. Her stats are 16 10 14 8 10 16.
I have got all nice and ready, but I can't really make up my mind when it comes to her weapons and fighting style between dueling and defense. Since she was raised by a war priest, I picture her as a weapon master, capable of switching arms in order to gain tactical advantages everytime is needed.
On paper, I really like Defense and it seems best suited for a tank/controller, with the option to switch between a maul / SnB (well, not really once the fight has started, since it eats a whole action donning off a shield), but in practice I have the feeling that a mere +1 to AC doesn't make all that difference playing the game.
On the other hand Dueling seems the most well-rounded option for a battle veteran. It locks my belowed maul out of the equation, but suddenly whips, daggers and javelins are more than viable options (even without the smites). Plus, I gives me the illusion that my damage is always next to "maul tier" along with a respectable defense ( actually better than an actual maul user!).
I don't think I will have room for GWM on this paladin (need to max CHA first and foremost), so SnB becomes even more appealing.
+1 AC is nothing to sneeze at. Say you have ring mail (AC 14) and a shield (+2)
That's an AC of 16. Most baddies have a +5 to hit (at least) so they can roll 11 or higher and tag you. That's 50% of the time. Raise your AC by one and it drops their chances to 45%.
In the moment it doesn't feel like much, but over the course of an extended campaign (or even just an extended battle) that's a significantly lower chunk of damage you're taking. On the other hand, 2 extra points of damage every time you hit is big at lower levels, but it doesn't scale as you level up. AC is a percentage that has an increasingly significant effect as the enemies start dishing out more damage per hit.
The same argument applies to Dueling Fighting Style; over the course of an extended campaign that extra 2 damage per hit adds up.
The increased damage per hit from monsters is offset by your increased max HP. In fact, level 1 is the deadliest level because your max HP is disproportionately low compared to CR 1 monster damage.
If you want to swing the maul, you go defense. Simple :D. The +1 AC has saved me a lot on my fighter. 5% extra avoidance is noting to sneeze at.
Dueling is nice too, don't get me wrong, but it locks out the weapon you mention :D.
It comes down to, how versatile of a fighter is your character. Cause if they are like some characters who only use a simple type of weapon then it would be good to gain that weapon style bonus, but if (you're like me) you like to have your characters use multiple kinds of weapons then defense would help you out in the long haul.
As of right now, my fighter is going through a change of his main weapon, from long sword and shield to a great sword. If I would've gone with dueling I would be straight up all the damage because I already chose my style, but because I chose defense this actually benefits me because the ac reduction isn't as bad as it could've been while still gaining the higher damage of weapon. I know I probably could've asked my DM if I was able to change my style, but I've been using defense for so long on that character it would just seem weird to me.
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