Does Great Weapon Master Work with a Glaive? A Comprehensive Guide
The short answer is a resounding yes! The Great Weapon Master (GWM) feat absolutely works with a glaive. This powerful combination is a cornerstone of many martial builds in tabletop RPGs like D&D 5th edition and similar systems, and it translates well to video game adaptations like Baldur’s Gate 3. To fully understand why and how, let’s delve into the specifics of both the glaive and the GWM feat.
Understanding the Glaive
A glaive is a polearm weapon, characterized by a long shaft and a single-edged blade at the end. In most tabletop role-playing systems, it’s classified as a heavy, two-handed weapon with the reach property. This is vital because these properties are crucial for the Great Weapon Master feat’s mechanics.
- Heavy: The ‘heavy’ property means that the weapon is weighty and substantial, and it’s a key condition for many feats and abilities.
- Two-Handed: This indicates that the glaive requires both hands to wield effectively.
- Reach: The ‘reach’ property allows you to strike opponents from further away than most other melee weapons.
- Damage: Glaives typically deal a substantial amount of damage, often a d10 damage die, making them powerful weapons for martial characters.
The glaive, because of these specific characteristics, fits the bill for Great Weapon Master. It’s a versatile weapon that can hold its own in a number of situations.
The Great Weapon Master Feat
The Great Weapon Master feat is a powerful tool for any character wielding heavy, two-handed weapons, or even versatile weapons when wielded with two hands. It offers two main benefits:
- Power Attack: You can choose to take a -5 penalty to your attack roll to add +10 to the damage roll. This is a massive damage boost and is a staple of high-damage builds.
- Bonus Action Attack: When you score a critical hit or reduce a creature to 0 hit points with a melee weapon, you can make one melee weapon attack as a bonus action. This greatly increases the character’s overall damage output.
Why The Glaive And GWM Are A Powerful Combo
The combination of the glaive and GWM is potent for a few reasons:
- High Base Damage: The glaive’s higher damage die (typically d10) provides a strong foundation for GWM’s +10 damage boost.
- Reach Advantage: The glaive’s reach lets you keep your distance while still attacking, reducing the likelihood of taking damage while delivering powerful attacks.
- Synergy with Bonus Attacks: The bonus action attack from GWM, granted after a critical hit or killing blow, synergizes well with the glaive, allowing for more attacks in a single turn. This can snowball the damage output considerably.
The synergy here is undeniable. GWM boosts the glaive’s base damage, and the glaive’s reach keeps the wielder safer. The glaive, paired with GWM, creates a melee juggernaut.
Applying GWM to Glaives in Different Games
In games like Baldur’s Gate 3, the functionality of the GWM feat is quite similar to its tabletop counterpart. It works with two-handed weapons and versatile weapons used with two hands, and thus it directly benefits the glaive. The -5 attack penalty and +10 damage bonus are replicated, and the bonus action attack is available when conditions are met.
The ability to use a glaive to full effect is significant in both digital and table top games.
FAQs About Glaives and Great Weapon Master
Here are some frequently asked questions that will hopefully give an even more complete picture of the glaive and its interaction with GWM:
1. Does the Glaive Count as a Great Weapon?
While the term “great weapon” isn’t a formal classification, the glaive is usually classified as heavy and two-handed, which are the properties required to activate the Great Weapon Master feat. Therefore, for GWM purposes, it absolutely counts.
2. Can You Use Great Weapon Master on a Polearm Master Attack?
Yes! If you have both the Polearm Master and Great Weapon Master feats, you can indeed combine them. This means that you can use the GWM power attack on your bonus action attack gained from Polearm Master.
3. Does GWM Work with Versatile Weapons?
Yes! GWM will work with versatile weapons when they are held with both hands, even if they are not considered “heavy” by default.
4. Is the Glaive a Good Weapon?
Absolutely. The glaive is a powerful and versatile weapon. It provides good damage, reach, and is compatible with strong feats like GWM. The primary tradeoff of using a Glaive is that you can’t use a shield as it requires two hands to use.
5. What is the difference between Polearm Mastery and Great Weapon Mastery?
Great Weapon Master lets you take a -5 to your attack roll to deal an additional +10 damage, while Polearm Master grants an additional bonus action attack with the other end of your polearm and an opportunity attack when enemies enter your reach.
6. Does GWM work with a Lance?
While a Lance is a two-handed weapon, it is not a Heavy weapon and therefore does not benefit from the Great Weapon Master feat.
7. Is the Glaive a Strength or Dexterity weapon?
The glaive is a Strength weapon. Unless a weapon has the Finesse property, it uses Strength for its attack and damage rolls. The Glaive does not have the Finesse property.
8. Can you turn off Great Weapon Master?
In Baldur’s Gate 3 and other games with a similar system, you often can toggle GWM on or off. It allows you to choose when you want to take the hit to attack accuracy for damage.
9. What Perks Work Well with Glaive?
Aside from feats like GWM and Polearm Master, perks like increased strength, damage, and crit-chance are ideal for a glaive user.
10. Why is GWM so Good?
GWM is good because it can significantly increase damage, especially at lower levels when enemy AC is lower. The bonus action attack also provides additional opportunities to deal even more damage.
11. What Weapons are Similar to the Glaive?
Weapons similar to the glaive include the halberd, the naginata, the guandao, and the sovnya, which are all polearms with blades at the end.
12. Can a Druid use a Glaive?
Yes, a druid can wield a glaive as long as they are proficient with martial weapons. Druids that choose the Circle of the Moon subclass are often very effective with polearms.
13. Is There a Hydro Polearm User?
In Genshin Impact, while some characters have Hydro abilities they do not necessarily use polearms. Though as of leaks, there will likely be one added at some point in the game.
14. What Feats Pair Well with Polearm Master?
Sentinel is a feat that pairs exceptionally well with Polearm Master, allowing you to stop enemies who try to move past you with opportunity attacks.
15. Is Great Weapon Master Overpowered?
While GWM is strong, it is not necessarily overpowered. Its effectiveness is influenced by factors like enemy AC and your to-hit bonus. It can be very effective at lower levels, though at higher levels with high AC enemies, it might be better to turn the feature off as the +10 to damage may not be worth the -5 to hit.
Conclusion
The glaive and the Great Weapon Master feat are a powerful and versatile combination that should not be ignored. The glaive’s reach and damage, coupled with GWM’s bonus damage and additional attacks, make for a formidable force on any battlefield. Whether you’re playing D&D or a digital adaptation like Baldur’s Gate 3, mastering this combination can lead to incredibly potent martial characters. Be sure to consider all of the synergistic options and the related feats that allow for even more devastating damage output.