Tactical question

Okay, I'm a Bard and building a Battlebard at the moment. But I thought the Fighter forums might be able to give me a better answer to my question.

I was thinking of taking Stunning Blow as my 9th level Feat. I am using a Carnifex at the moment and given how good the Sword of Shadows is- is it worth respeccing Blunt instead of Slashing for my WF if I take Stunning Blow. Obviously Stunning Blow works best with Blunt due to weighted, but Slashing weapons have the best base 2H damage.

If I stay Slashing, assume I'll have 28 Str self-buffed, +1 DC from Fighter (Stunning Blow) and +1 DC from Warforged Tactics. So that's what 10+9+2=21 DC. Is that enough, or would I need another +4 from a Weighted item. Or to blow more AP on WF Tactics Enhancements? I just wanna get a feel for if Stunning Blow is worth it as Slashing, or if I should go Slashing without Stunning Blow, or Blunt with Stunning Blow.

Stunning Blow works fine without a Weighted weapon if you have a high STR. (IMO, Weighted 5% is for characters without Stunning Blow feat). And you certainly don't need to be Bludgeon specced if you want to use a Bludgeon weapon once in a while for Stunning Blow. Just remember to use it on low STR mobs, like Casters and Rangers.

My fighter usually sits at 34-36 str has dwarven tactics 3 and stunning blow 2 so his DC is 10 +12 +3 +2 = 27 DC and you will have to be selective on who to use it on effectively (high con/fort save mobs will save quite frequently) casters fail their save frequently but its hardly a "only save on a 20" from what I can tell... where as fighter/barb types will save almost everytime (especially minos/giants/trolls/ogres etc...)

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Originally Posted by Mad_Bombardier

Stunning Blow works fine without a Weighted weapon if you have a high STR. (IMO, Weighted 5% is for characters without Stunning Blow feat).

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To use it against specific enemies, you don't need Weighted. It does, however, generate a LOT more stuns than relying on the feat alone and increases your DC too. There are very few times when I don't use the Hammer of the Leaden Clouds any more on my fighter. IMO they're far more effective than paralyzers against anything that can be stunned.

From what I've seen using it roughly doubles the amount of stuns I land. Add in x3 crits with warhammers & mauls, and you're doing comparable damage to the highly acclaimed SoS - you won't be as high in peak critical damage, but the majority of my attacks with the Hammer are criticals, and it's not too uncommon to see 120 damage + Thundering with a Bloodstone on. I picked up a nice Weighted Maul the other day, but haven't had many opportunities to try it out yet.

If it's not on a warhammer/maul though, I'm not sure I'd bother with Weighted. The Tenderizer sounds nice, but at x2 crits, I'd rather stick with the Hammer of the Leaden Clouds

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Originally Posted by vyvy3369

If it's not on a warhammer/maul though, I'm not sure I'd bother with Weighted. The Tenderizer sounds nice, but at x2 crits, I'd rather stick with the Hammer of the Leaden Clouds

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you are correct on the tenderizer, it lands often but my guys doesnt always kill the opponent while he is stunned with it on elite quests.

Alright, I'm going to play around with it. I'll keep Slashing focus for now and see how it goes. As a Bard I was kind of drawn to the Hammer of Leaden Clouds (it seems to fit in story-wise) but was put-off by the 1h factor. I guess as a stunner it'd be okay to use that, and then switch back. Lack of Quick Draw will make switching a pain. I'll play around with it and see how it goes. I'm not a Tactical Fighter, and if it's not viable for my build then I'm sure I can find something else beneficial :D