Hey everyone so decided to play a fighter in a new campaign (well one thats in progress) So I will be starting at lvl 5. I like the maneuvers for battle master so am going to be playing a greatsword weilding variant human. ATM I have Great weapon master, alert and great weapon fighting. For maneuvers I'm going to take riposte and trip attack, my question kinda stems from a choice between brace or commander's strike.
There is a 3barb/2rogue in the party and he's going to be 3/3 at lvl 6 but than going barb the rest of the campaign. Other players are a monk and a druid (wildfire so not combat wildshaping) and a cleric.
Is the ability to have the barb/rogue attack with sneak attack worth the die and bonus action? should I go for brace over it? What are your thoughts?
He will end up at lvl 3 rogue so 2d6 sneak attacks, and out of curiosity why can't he sneak attack and rage? sneak attack just requires a finesse weapon it doesn't say you need to be using dex to make the attack?
Commander's Strike. You can already have Riposte for punishing enemies that engage you. Brace's effects are somewhat redundant, while Commander's Strike lets you deal damage from a distance and gives your teammates more opportunities to use their abilities.
Commander strike would enable a rogue to use sneak attack a second time in a round, but if they are raging, they can't use sneak anyway.
Sneak Attack doesn't require using Dexterity. The Barbarian can use a Finesse weapon using Strength to get both the Rage damage bonus and Sneak Attack.
Also if they are only going to level 2, you won't add too much damage.
The Barbarian's taking another level in Rogue which'll increase their Sneak Attack damage to 2d6, and they also have a Monk in the group that could potentially stun enemies with their reaction.
I've never really liked Commander's Strike. It uses up one of your Extra Attacks (or your single attack <5) and your bonus action and the other player's Reaction. All for 1 attack from the other player. Using it on a high level Rogue is good - but on a Barbarian who's only taking 3 levels of Rogue? I wouldn't call that worth it.
Sneak Attack doesn't require using Dexterity. The Barbarian can use a Finesse weapon using Strength to get both the Rage damage bonus and Sneak Attack.
Hmm so what about swapping maneuvers around for riposte, trip attack and precision strike to help offset GWM attacks? I could always get commanders strike at lvl 7
I’ve found distracting strike to be very helpful to my team. Commanding strike can be nice but like what was mentioned already it uses your bonus action and if you only have 2 attacks per round you need to hit the first attack to use it. I found missing that first attack much more annoying, but with distracting strike you are giving your barb/rog advantage so they can get sneak attack without using reckless.
I really like the commander's strike + rogue setup, but if your team mate is only going to invest three levels in rogue, I don't think you should build around it. If I were you I'd look into some of the more utility focused options. Being able to shiny in combat is great, but taking commanding presence or tactical assessment makes you useful in other areas, and could perhaps help round out your character a little more.
Commanding strike can be nice but like what was mentioned already it uses your bonus action and if you only have 2 attacks per round you need to hit the first attack to use it.
Commander's Strike doesn't require landing any of your remaining attacks.
I recently started out with a level 3 aasimar battlemaster. I went with trip attack, Riposte, and Precision attack. Seen a bit of combat, and I'm really happy with this selection. Since I only have 1 attack with my greatsword, precision attack helps me make sure it lands if I roll a bit bad. Trip attack is nice since 1. I can do more damage on a hit, and 2. I can use a action surge to attack with advantage on a now prone target, the same goes for my melee allies. Riposte is also sweet since it allows me the chance to attack more than once a round, and help me make sure it hits hard.
I've had good success with Menacing Strike. It doesn't steal from your action economy, you get the additional damage and your opponent has to make a pretty high DC Wisdom save to avoid being Frightened, which can be quite nice against bosses. You do need to land the attack to make it work though.
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Hey everyone so decided to play a fighter in a new campaign (well one thats in progress) So I will be starting at lvl 5. I like the maneuvers for battle master so am going to be playing a greatsword weilding variant human. ATM I have Great weapon master, alert and great weapon fighting. For maneuvers I'm going to take riposte and trip attack, my question kinda stems from a choice between brace or commander's strike.
There is a 3barb/2rogue in the party and he's going to be 3/3 at lvl 6 but than going barb the rest of the campaign. Other players are a monk and a druid (wildfire so not combat wildshaping) and a cleric.
Is the ability to have the barb/rogue attack with sneak attack worth the die and bonus action? should I go for brace over it? What are your thoughts?
Commander strike would enable a rogue to use sneak attack a second time in a round, but if they are raging, they can't use sneak anyway.
Also if they are only going to level 2, you won't add too much damage.
He will end up at lvl 3 rogue so 2d6 sneak attacks, and out of curiosity why can't he sneak attack and rage? sneak attack just requires a finesse weapon it doesn't say you need to be using dex to make the attack?
Commander's Strike. You can already have Riposte for punishing enemies that engage you. Brace's effects are somewhat redundant, while Commander's Strike lets you deal damage from a distance and gives your teammates more opportunities to use their abilities.
Sneak Attack doesn't require using Dexterity. The Barbarian can use a Finesse weapon using Strength to get both the Rage damage bonus and Sneak Attack.
The Barbarian's taking another level in Rogue which'll increase their Sneak Attack damage to 2d6, and they also have a Monk in the group that could potentially stun enemies with their reaction.
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I've never really liked Commander's Strike. It uses up one of your Extra Attacks (or your single attack <5) and your bonus action and the other player's Reaction. All for 1 attack from the other player. Using it on a high level Rogue is good - but on a Barbarian who's only taking 3 levels of Rogue? I wouldn't call that worth it.
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Sneak Attack doesn't require using Dexterity. The Barbarian can use a Finesse weapon using Strength to get both the Rage damage bonus and Sneak Attack.
I stand corrected
Hmm so what about swapping maneuvers around for riposte, trip attack and precision strike to help offset GWM attacks? I could always get commanders strike at lvl 7
I’ve found distracting strike to be very helpful to my team. Commanding strike can be nice but like what was mentioned already it uses your bonus action and if you only have 2 attacks per round you need to hit the first attack to use it. I found missing that first attack much more annoying, but with distracting strike you are giving your barb/rog advantage so they can get sneak attack without using reckless.
I really like the commander's strike + rogue setup, but if your team mate is only going to invest three levels in rogue, I don't think you should build around it. If I were you I'd look into some of the more utility focused options. Being able to shiny in combat is great, but taking commanding presence or tactical assessment makes you useful in other areas, and could perhaps help round out your character a little more.
Commander's Strike doesn't require landing any of your remaining attacks.
The Forum Infestation (TM)
I recently started out with a level 3 aasimar battlemaster. I went with trip attack, Riposte, and Precision attack. Seen a bit of combat, and I'm really happy with this selection. Since I only have 1 attack with my greatsword, precision attack helps me make sure it lands if I roll a bit bad. Trip attack is nice since 1. I can do more damage on a hit, and 2. I can use a action surge to attack with advantage on a now prone target, the same goes for my melee allies. Riposte is also sweet since it allows me the chance to attack more than once a round, and help me make sure it hits hard.
I've had good success with Menacing Strike. It doesn't steal from your action economy, you get the additional damage and your opponent has to make a pretty high DC Wisdom save to avoid being Frightened, which can be quite nice against bosses. You do need to land the attack to make it work though.