Please Help With Silvanus Paladin Build

[Bellathor]

I'm looking for the fatal flaw in my idea/build.

I want to make a maul wielding paladin. PDK or Aasimar Scourge are fine (I haven't decided which). Silvanus religious feats. Strength build since CKT doesn't work with mauls and Feydark tree requires you to burn a feat for Magical Training. I'm happy going strength.

Points I've considered:

- Weapon availability - I understand there are fewer named mauls in the game than great swords but I don't have any cool named great swords available to me such as ESOS or Greensteel or anything. So, in regards to weapons, I feel like I'm starting from scratch on both fronts (Maul or GS). I'll farm up a Drow Maul of the Weapon Master or something to get me to the Morninglord's Maul so I can start raiding and get the maul out of Baba's raid.
- I plan to do a LR+1 to get rid of the first level of whatever Iconic I choose. I want to be a pure 20 Paladin.
- I like both PDK and Aasimar Scourge as a race and I'll be happy with either choice.

Here's my concern: Is there come kind of huge difference at cap between the dps of mauls vs the dps of great swords? I know the maul is 1D10 while the GS is 2D6. but once you get to 20, 25 or 30 is there a huge gap if all things were equal? I understand an ESOS or Reflection of Black Razor or (insert name of UBER great sword here) compared to a crappy random loot maul would show a considerable difference but what about a Morninglord Great Sword vs a Morninglord Maul if all else was equal?

I have a great sword paladin right now at 20. I will TR him a couple more times but in the end he will become the maul build. Let's make some assumptions moving forward....
- Let's assume my current great sword wielding 2HF KOTC paladin is built correctly.
- Let's assume I followed the standard paladin builds posted here on the forums by reputable posters.
- Let's assume I didn't use any crazy splashes of Wizard or Arti and I didn't chase a dragon mark line or anything like that. Just straight forward 2HF KOTC paladin.

That said...

When I buff my paladin (in a dungeon with self buffs) and he's holding a level 10 Barovian Great Sword he sits at 16-20 / X3

I created an Aasimmar Scourge Paladin using the same build. I did not remove the one level of ranger since it was only a test character but I did use the same points in the same spots for the KOTC tree. Fully buffed with the same buffs, with the blessing of Silvanus running and with a Barovian maul equipped, he is 16-20 / X4

I also created a PDK and had the same result.

I feel like I'm missing something. I feel like someone is gonna say "Oh yeah but maul's dps is terrible at cap so the X4 doesn't close the gap against GS or GA." or "Yeah but who wants to be a PDK? They have no necks or facial hair!" or "Yeah but you gotta use that heart of wood because if you ain't a pure pally you might as well wield a club."

What am I missing? What is the reason I don't see 16-20 X4 maul paladins running around?

Thanks for the help.

[Discpsycho]

Compared to Greatswords, Mauls have the better crit profile going for them.

The major reasons you see more iconic Greatsword paladins running around are:
- Greatsword doesn't require iconic. The capstone is excellent compared to the available one- or two-level splashes, and plenty of folks (myself included) aren't willing to use a +1 heart to lose that iconic level
- Greatsword + PDK = one-stat wonder (hit, damage, saves, CC) with absurd DCs. Cormyrean Knight Training stacks with Divine Might, giving you 1 + 1/2 + 1/3 of your Cha mod to stuns while wielding a sword. Even with modest 90 Cha, that's a base Dire Charge DC of 93 before any items. Anecdotally, I've heard of folks breaking 150 DC on first-life PDK Paladins or Bards
- Newer and/or shinier gear. Constellation is tougher to get and Blackrazor requires more investment, but both are better than Tremor. The players willing to burn a +1 heart to make a leet build are also more likely to have either of them. Even the un-Schism'ed Blackrazor is excellent

With Feywild Illusionist, pure paladins can now get Cha to hit and damage without CKT and via a relatively minor investment. You won't have the DC boost but will likely still hit viable values. If you go the Illusionist route, you will have to choose between Sacred Defense and Expose Weakness, or forgo the +10% Sacred HP from Sacred Defender Core #5. PDK + CKT doesn't run into this issue

[Soulfurnace]

Mauls dumpster greatswords are far as damage as concerned, so definitely do that if you're willing to eat the +1.
Most people just won't use a +1, so pure iconic paladins aren't common (and impure paladins aren't worth noting, sadly).

So most paladins you see must be greatsword OR staff - there's no other 2hf options for KOTC paladins (aka dps paladins). Mauls are better, but people won't pay for it.

And now, with WOOD ELF paladins, you can get 35% x3 mults with a falchion. And those don't require a +1 heart.