Barbarian with PAM, GWM or Sentinel at Level 4?

[RaynorReynolds]

I am playing a human barbarian with Polearm mastery. We just reached level four and I am wondering if I should take GWM or Sentinel. Current stats are: Str - 16, Dex - 15, Con - 16. The rest are low :)

Any reason to pick one over the other at lvl 4 vs waiting for level 8?

[Corran]

Sentinel's value greatly depends on if you have an ally that fights next to you on a regular basis, and on if that ally of yours tends to get targeted by enemy attacks a lot or not.

I would assume that GWM is the better choice for a str barbarian though. And unless having a melee ally that can match you in drawing the enemies' attention (ie a very attack-minded melee ally who fights next to you) who also wont take sentinel, I wouldn't take sentinel on a recklessly attacking GWM barbarian.

[WereRabbitz]

I assume your going totem or the like? Beserker contends with your PAM bonus action is why i ask.

Personally straight out damage is king early on and PAM + Extra Attack is nice.


If it was me I would pick PAM at 8 & GWM at 12


This gives you a damage boost every few levels to look forward too.


If you think you won't make past level 12 or impatient.


Level 4 PAM

Level 8 GWM

Level 12 Sentinel


Get that big Damage early on with imp crits at 9 you should be rocking pretty hard.

[MintyNinja]

I've always wanted to run a Totem Barbarian with Shield Master. Rage gives you Advantage on all those shield maneuvers and your melee buddies will love having prone enemies at their feet.

[RaynorReynolds]

I wouldn't take sentinel on a recklessly attacking GWM barbarian.

Well that is just for one of the two benefits of the feat. Dropping creatures speed to 0 on AoO is still really nice. Just about my entire party is melee so I think I should be OK, no?

[RaynorReynolds]

I assume your going totem or the like? Beserker contends with your PAM bonus action is why i ask.

Personally straight out damage is king early on and PAM + Extra Attack is nice.


If it was me I would pick PAM at 8 & GWM at 12


This gives you a damage boost every few levels to look forward too.


If you think you won't make past level 12 or impatient.


Level 4 PAM

Level 8 GWM

Level 12 Sentinel


Get that big Damage early on with imp crits at 9 you should be rocking pretty hard.

I am a little confused. I already have PAM (v. Human). I am trying to decide whether to take GWM or Sentinel at lvl 4.

[RaynorReynolds]

I've always wanted to run a Totem Barbarian with Shield Master. Rage gives you Advantage on all those shield maneuvers and your melee buddies will love having prone enemies at their feet.

Probably better to just do a dip from fighter for that?

SM combined with the barbarian's advantage on dex saves is really good too.

[Specter]

Great Weapon Master. Control and tanking aside, a barbarian is about damage, and you have advantage as a class feature to negate that -5. Plus, bonus attack when you drop a foe (which should happen a lot with +10 damage). And when you crit!

[SillyPopeNachos]

Frankly, I'd stay away from feats as much as possible playing a Barbarian. Ability score increases, especially to CON and STR, will do you loads more good in the long run.

[RaynorReynolds]

Frankly, I'd stay away from feats as much as possible playing a Barbarian. Ability score increases, especially to CON and STR, will do you loads more good in the long run.

Why? +2 Strength gives me 1 more damage and 1 more on my to hit. +2 Con gives me 1 extra HP. I see these feats as far more benficial that a mere +1 to an ability/attack/saving throw.

[smcmike]

I've always wanted to run a Totem Barbarian with Shield Master. Rage gives you Advantage on all those shield maneuvers and your melee buddies will love having prone enemies at their feet.

Probably better to just do a dip from fighter for that?

SM combined with the barbarian's advantage on dex saves is really good too.

No, the correct way to build a Shield Master Barbarian adds Rogue or Bard.

[Tanarii]

Frankly, I'd stay away from feats as much as possible playing a Barbarian. Ability score increases, especially to CON and STR, will do you loads more good in the long run.GWM is almost always a superior choice to a STR ASI for a barbarian, due to reckless attack.

[GoodbyeSoberDay]

A "problem" with a PAM/Sentinel Barbarian is that Reckless Attack only applies to attacks on your turn, so the reaction attacks are marginally less valuable than they would be otherwise. That said, if your entire party is melee, adding Sentinel to PAM moves the needle from "usually gets a reaction attack" to "almost always gets a reaction attack," which can be quite nice. And that's before mentioning the 0 movement on a successful attack of opportunity. The one significant drawback of you taking Sentinel is that it might be better on one of your melee buddies, and it's much worse if someone else already has it. Coordinate with them.

GWM is very nice, and it will add more damage than Sentinel in expectation as long as you're comfortable using Reckless Attack most turns. Its secondary benefit is a bit muted by already having PAM, but full damage dice is nice; just make sure to do the PAM attack at the end of your routine, after you're sure you didn't crit that round.

Honestly, you can't go wrong with either; one is your best option for pure offense, and the other is an incomparable blend of offense and control. I would personally go Sentinel first, because it spices up combat for me more than the blood fountain of overkill that GWM provides. I would strongly disagree with any notion that you should be taking stat boosts before either one.

[RaynorReynolds]

Well thank you everyone! I will check with my party before making a final decision. Someone else in the party might be interested in Sentinel.

[Lollerabe]

GWM is strong as hell, sentinel is fun as hell. I played next to a PAM + sentinel barb as a shieldmaster pala - maaan did we annoy our dm with our shove + reach OA that stops movement combo.

But overall GWM is really that strong on barbs, and unless you get a cool flaming helbard soonish your damg might start feeling a bit lackluster without it ( not that it actually is)

[djreynolds]

GWM is strong with reckless attack, as sharpshooter is for fighters and rangers because of archery style.