Question about Cleave

[GeneFrenkle]

How exactly does this feat work? I know it's active, so I assume you would turn it on, but then how long does it last? Do you only get one stroke with it, or can you whack away for a while?

[arcanehealer]

Cleave
Activate this ability to attack one or more enemies in an arc in front of you.
Prerequisite: Power Attack
cooldown: 5 seconds

basically you click it and cleave wait for it to cool cown click it and cleave again

[Arnya]

Think trip or sunder. It is a button you drag onto your toolbar.

NOTE: Cleave and Great Cleave have different cooldown timers

[GeneFrenkle]

Got it thanks. I just wasn't sure if it was a single swing, or a timer based thing. Sounds like it's a single swing between cool downs. The cool down time is relatively short though.

[Tharlak]

What do you folks think about this feat.

I have only been playing for three weeks and I just got this on my 6th level Paladin. I am unimpressed. With the intense mouse clicking of combat, the process of activating cleave makes me "feel" like i'm missing attacks. From your experience is this a worthwhile feat, with the few feats that non-fighters get, there is plenty of compition for the feat choices.

[Strakeln]

What do you folks think about this feat.

I have only been playing for three weeks and I just got this on my 6th level Paladin. I am unimpressed. With the intense mouse clicking of combat, the process of activating cleave makes me "feel" like i'm missing attacks. From your experience is this a worthwhile feat, with the few feats that non-fighters get, there is plenty of compition for the feat choices.

Cleave is cool... but I probably wouldn't take it if it weren't a pre-req for great cleave. Great Cleave is awesome, and it makes cleave better, since the two are on separate cooldown timers.

You are right that you will miss swings by cleaving (map it to an excellent location and the impact will lessen). But since the attack is at your highest attack bonus, it doesn't miss often. Also, special effects (like Vorpal) still take place during a cleave or similar attack.

Personally, while I use it all the time, there are two times when it is especially handy:

1) When blocking: you can cleave/GC/whirlwind without waiting for the shiel movement animation (go from block->attack->block in less time than it would take to release and press shift). Very cool for PvE when you need to turtle up but still want to try and make things die. Very cool for PvE vs High AC players... your attack bonus will be the highest possible, giving a good chance for it to blow through their AC. Hell, it's cool for melee PvE almost all the time.

2) When attempting to gather/maintain agro. You can maintain nearly perpetual agro by careful use of initimidate, cleave, and great cleave. All while blocking, if you wanted to.

[MrCow]

Edit: Strakeln beat me.

Cleave's usefulness ultimately is determined by your gameplay style. For some people it is fine and for others it is horrendous. Cleave is useful however for the following:

• Leading with your highest hit bonus from attack progression to make an accurate opening attack.
• Pulling off a cleave while shield blocking to retain shield block bonuses.
• Coupling a cleave with a weapon effect to quickly spread the effect, such as cursespewing.
• Using the large radius to whack a monster as it runs by you.
• And, the most common use, to hit multiple things for area of effect damage.

Simply put, if you don't click it, it isn't benefiting you.