I have a Rune Knight 7/Artificer 2 character where next level Booming Blade may outperform the Fighter's Extra Attack feature. Let's say I use a Warhammer +1 as the weapon for Booming Blade, my damage is:
1d8+7 bludgeoning damage (+4 STR, +2 Dueling fighting style, +1 weapon) +1d6 (Giant's Might) All of this is bludgeoning.
Repeat for +9 to hit, 1d8+7 damage (no +1d6 due to Giant's Might being once per turn)
Average damage here is 26.5 Bludgeoning damage (11.5 per attack, 3.5 for Giant's Might)
As a single Booming Blade cantrip:
+9 to hit (Let's say I put Enhanced Weapon on my Thunder Gauntlets to keep up with my +1 Warhammer. Does Booming Blade consider a +1 weapon as an attack bonus?)
2d8 thunder damage (do I add STR modifier? Dueling fighting style? +1 weapon? If I add this is it bludgeoning or thunder?) + 1d6 (Giant's Might. Is this bludgeoning or thunder?) +2d8 thunder damage if the enemy moves
Considering Mobile feat/Boots of the Winding Path to encourage enemy movement for the extra Booming Blade damage
Average damage 20 thunder? damage, or 29 thunder damage if the enemy moves
So my questions are:
At next level, do I Booming Blade or attack twice? Does it depend on the Thunder Gauntlet passive (enemies are at disadvantage if they attack a different target)?
Against a single target, assuming they don't move, is a double attack better?
Also, none of this is considering two attack rolls vs one attack roll vs a specific AC, so while two attempts at hitting a high AC may be better than 1 all-or-nothing attack I can do that math on my own.
So are you using the warhammer for booming blade, or the gauntlets?
Let's go with the hammer, just because it makes the comparison simpler. So basically you get your normal attack, 1d8+7+1d6 of bludgeoning damage, plus 1d8 thunder, and if the enemy moves, additional 2d8 thunder. If you have a consistent way of making sure the enemy moves, 3d8 (average 13.5) is statistically more than the second attack of 1d8+7 (average 11.5) you are giving up. Magical bludgeoning damage might be slightly better than thunder damage, but this is obviously situational. If the enemy doesn't move, you're obviously missing out on damage, but might be gaining control.
This is already true now, so I'm not sure why are you asking about the next level. I think the gauntlets disqualify you from getting the dueling bonus, as you are technically wielding a weapon in each hand. They do get the strength modifier, just like any other weapon attack, and if you infuse them with enchanted weapon, they also gain +1 to damage . All of this is true either if you are using them for the usual extra attack, or with booming blade.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Booming Blade gives you a single attack roll against a single target. Using Extra Attack gives you two opportunities... two chances to roll higher than AC, two chances to land a critical hit... although that's also two chances to miss or even get a nat 1. But you can also target multiple creatures. I think, based on some of the analysis I've read so far, it seems less like using Booming Blade is going to be necessarily better than just attacking, but it also gives you some battlefield control options. I don't think you should consider it as a replacement for the attack action, but rather, another option that you can take in situations where it will be more valuable.
In general with a sword & board character Booming Blade is better if you trigger the second set of thunder damage but worse if you don't trigger that second round of thunder damage. So it is down to you to try and guess whether you will or won't be able to trigger the movement based thunder damage or not.
If you're a caster, maybe take the War Caster feat. It allows you to cast spells with your hands full, and you can cast Booming Blade as part of an opportunity attack.
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I have a Rune Knight 7/Artificer 2 character where next level Booming Blade may outperform the Fighter's Extra Attack feature. Let's say I use a Warhammer +1 as the weapon for Booming Blade, my damage is:
(Stats are 18 STR, 10 DEX, 16 CON, 16 INT, 10 WIS, 8 CHA)
As a normal attack:
As a single Booming Blade cantrip:
So my questions are:
Also, none of this is considering two attack rolls vs one attack roll vs a specific AC, so while two attempts at hitting a high AC may be better than 1 all-or-nothing attack I can do that math on my own.
Thanks for the consideration!
So are you using the warhammer for booming blade, or the gauntlets?
Let's go with the hammer, just because it makes the comparison simpler. So basically you get your normal attack, 1d8+7+1d6 of bludgeoning damage, plus 1d8 thunder, and if the enemy moves, additional 2d8 thunder. If you have a consistent way of making sure the enemy moves, 3d8 (average 13.5) is statistically more than the second attack of 1d8+7 (average 11.5) you are giving up. Magical bludgeoning damage might be slightly better than thunder damage, but this is obviously situational. If the enemy doesn't move, you're obviously missing out on damage, but might be gaining control.
This is already true now, so I'm not sure why are you asking about the next level. I think the gauntlets disqualify you from getting the dueling bonus, as you are technically wielding a weapon in each hand. They do get the strength modifier, just like any other weapon attack, and if you infuse them with enchanted weapon, they also gain +1 to damage . All of this is true either if you are using them for the usual extra attack, or with booming blade.
Another thing to keep in mind is that Booming Blade gives you a single attack roll against a single target. Using Extra Attack gives you two opportunities... two chances to roll higher than AC, two chances to land a critical hit... although that's also two chances to miss or even get a nat 1. But you can also target multiple creatures. I think, based on some of the analysis I've read so far, it seems less like using Booming Blade is going to be necessarily better than just attacking, but it also gives you some battlefield control options. I don't think you should consider it as a replacement for the attack action, but rather, another option that you can take in situations where it will be more valuable.
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In general with a sword & board character Booming Blade is better if you trigger the second set of thunder damage but worse if you don't trigger that second round of thunder damage. So it is down to you to try and guess whether you will or won't be able to trigger the movement based thunder damage or not.
If you're a caster, maybe take the War Caster feat. It allows you to cast spells with your hands full, and you can cast Booming Blade as part of an opportunity attack.