Little help with barbarian

[Nissser]

Hello all! New here,so be gentle. I'm playing my first barbarian since 3ed,it's fun and all,but now i need some advice. Although my dear barb has very good surviving power,he is kind of meh at damage department.

Lets start with crunchy part

Beasthide shifter barbarian,lv 8,outlander background,Totem warrior path
Stats
Str 16 Dex 14 Con 16 Int 11 Wis 12 Cha 10

Half plate,arrow catching shield,longsword +1,maul

As you see,i play sword and board mostly,maul is for low ac guys

With sword i have +7 TH and 1d8+ 4 (6 in rage),two attacks per round
Maul +6 TH and 2d6 +3 (5R),two attacks per round

Any advice what to do at lv 8? Take the +2 str or maybe feat? Is there any way for me to boost that damage output?

If it helps,most of opponents in the campaign are armored and use shields,so they have high ac. Also,no cleric in party and paladin uses his spells to fuel his smite,so healing spells are limited.

[Ralanr]

You have 16 AC without that shield. Putting a +2 in con increases AC like crazy.

Sword and board barbarians aren't known for damage. They're known for not dying.

[Nissser]

15 AC without shield and armor,17 in armor without shield. I know s&b is not damage machine. I'm looking for suggestions if there is way to bump up that output a bit. I looked over GWM feat,but -5 is serious blow on to hit and i don't know is it worth taking it. For instance,paladin in party has same str score and is also s&b. He has better ac (20),better baseline damage (1d8+4+2 (+3 with spiritual weapon)) for 1d8+9,while my raging barb has 1d8+6. Oh,and he can go nova with smites and spells and has shield master feat to avoid damage from spells with dex save. On the contrast i can take tons of damage which is nice (in rage half from everything but psychic),but i guess i'm not used on the idea of a barbarian as a tank. Even if i use maul, 2d6+5 is kind a meh. Average is 12 damage per attack. With maul. In rage. Kinda sucks. Pally with sacred weapon has 13.5 average per attack. Using longsword. Without sacrificing AC.

So,bottom line is,is it better to switch full on to maul? Feat or +2 to str? Am i missing something or totem warrior barbarian really doesn't have any nova potential?

[Finieous]

Reckless Attack offsets the "power attack" penalty from GWM. It's pretty much always worth it as long as you're recklessly attacking, and you should be recklessly attacking anytime you're raging unless you're significantly outnumbered.

Option 1: Take Polearm Master and replace your maul with a halberd.

Option 2: If you really want to stay S&B for the extreme tankiness, at least take Shield Master. The defensive stuff is okay, but you want to be knocking opponents prone. You get advantage on Strength (Athletics) checks while raging, so you'll be really good at it.

ETA: And yes, you have no at-will nova ability. Your damage spikes will come from Reckless Attack (more chances to crit) and Brutal Critical.

[Ralanr]

15 AC without shield and armor,17 in armor without shield. I know s&b is not damage machine. I'm looking for suggestions if there is way to bump up that output a bit. I looked over GWM feat,but -5 is serious blow on to hit and i don't know is it worth taking it. For instance,paladin in party has same str score and is also s&b. He has better ac (20),better baseline damage (1d8+4+2 (+3 with spiritual weapon)) for 1d8+9,while my raging barb has 1d8+6. Oh,and he can go nova with smites and spells and has shield master feat to avoid damage from spells with dex save. On the contrast i can take tons of damage which is nice (in rage half from everything but psychic),but i guess i'm not used on the idea of a barbarian as a tank. Even if i use maul, 2d6+5 is kind a meh. Average is 12 damage per attack. With maul. In rage. Kinda sucks. Pally with sacred weapon has 13.5 average per attack. Using longsword. Without sacrificing AC.

So,bottom line is,is it better to switch full on to maul? Feat or +2 to str? Am i missing something or totem warrior barbarian really doesn't have any nova potential?

Crap...I looked at the numbers incorrectly.

[Tanarii]

my advice is: Always attack with the Maul when raging, always use Reckless attack when raging. Take GWM and always use it when raging, the damage bonus varies from great to ok (based on opponent AC) but it'll (almost) always be a bonus as long as you recklessly attack. GWM is basically a feat custom designed for Barbarians.

You probably want to seriously consider using reckless attack and Maul/GWM any time your HPs aren't low. Especially if you've already got a Paladin S&B in the same group. "Hulk SMASH" is basically what barbarians do, and they do it with two handed weapons and GWM.

On the math vs the paladin, don't forget that he hits about 60% of the time, you hit about 84% of the time. Your base damage with the same weapon. is about 25% higher. That's before he adds smite and you add Rage/GWM of course.

Also, I agree with the above: if you want to stay s&B take shield master. Also consider MC Fighter for Dueling or Protection Fighting Style (1st level), and action surge (2nd level). Three levels gets Battle Master gives you more tactical options, which go well with S&B mentality.

[Submortimer]

Reckless Attack offsets the "power attack" penalty from GWM. It's pretty much always worth it as long as you're recklessly attacking, and you should be recklessly attacking anytime you're raging unless you're significantly outnumbered.

Option 1: Take Polearm Master and replace your maul with a halberd.


This, along with GWM. Reckless attack + PM + Halberd = +30 damage a round. Reckless attack almost completely negates the downsides to GWM power attack.

Other option: This level, take Dual Wielder. Take a level of fighter. Pick up TWF and another longsword (Or a warhammer, or a battleaxe). Add 1d8+6 damage to your round
Third option: This level, take Shield master. Take a level of fighter. Pick up Dueling. Add 4 to your damage each round, and keep the enemy permanently on the ground.
Fourth option: Do the polearm thing, but still take a level of fighter to get GWF. Reroll those beautiful damage dice.

[Nissser]

Thank you so much people. I always stayed away from reckless attack since it gives all opponents advantage vs me until my next turn. I'll try next session and see how it goes. As i said,this is my first barbarian in 5e and second or third in these 10+ years of playing d&d. Me thinks i'll go for the polearm master. :) Multiclassing is nice,but i'm kind of gunning for the primal champion feature. Once again,thanks for suggestions. :smallsmile: