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View Full Version : Why use cleave (in PF) if you have multiple attacks?



Fitch3k
2012-05-28, 05:53 PM
say a high level character can attack one monster 4 times why attack 2 or 3 monster 1 time? Also can't you designate your multiple hits against different monsters you threaten? So is cleave just a melee classes way of getting an extra attack early on but becomes a wasted feat when you get your 2nd attack? I understand full attack and standard attack, but it seem melee in PF is built around standing in place and swinging it out.

tyckspoon
2012-05-28, 06:02 PM
When you only have 1 attack, Cleave allows you to hit 2 enemies. That's useful. When you only have 2 attacks, Cleave allows you to hit 2 enemies at full BAB bonus, instead of one at full and then the other at your penalized iterative. Still useful. When you have 3-4 attacks, and multiples of them are likely at your highest BAB (via Haste/Speed effects, for example) then it becomes less useful- you want to be Full Attacking, and you probably want to be concentrating that damage into one enemy to drop it instead of doing a little damage to multiple enemies with Cleave/Great Cleave.

So yeah, it's a handy low-level feat that doesn't scale well. This is not especially uncommon in 3.5 or in the Pathfinder derivative.

Jeraa
2012-05-28, 06:08 PM
It allows you to move up to your speed as a move action, and still get off 2 attacks. Normally, you would be limited to only 1 attack in that instance.

And its never a wasted feat, as it is a requirement for Great Cleave. There are no limit to the number of attacks you can make with Great Cleave, except you can only attack each target in range once. If totally surrounded, thats up to 8 attacks on a standard action, which can be done at 4th level (Great Cleave also requires BAB +4)