Clarify when cleave works?[]
Can anyone verify this for me:
Cleave ONLY works when you have Power Attack mode activated.
Thanks! Mori Behn-Aiki 20:12, December 30, 2011 (UTC)
The 3.5e Description should be deleted and maybe the question above, it just confuses the feat. NWN2 can have more than one cleave a round and at full BAB, but the animations may have issues if a large number of sequential Great Cleaves occur.
Proposed description
Cleave
Type of Feat: General
Prerequisite: Str 13+, Power Attack
Required For: Great Cleave
Specifics: When the character kills an opponent in melee, he could recieve a free full BAB attack against any opponent who is within weapon reach.
Use: Automatic.
NWN2 Tip
If selected, take as early as possible. Why miss out on free attacks, especially at low levels. However with level progression (considering the increasing number of attacks and more attacks needed to kill opponents) this feat will decrease in its ratio of free attacks against normal attacks.
Testing for DPR
Due to the 7' touch range many hostile creatures may be outside melee reach of many shorter reach weapons, recommend using weapons with 6.5' reach or more for Cleave.
After spending time trying to get odds for Cleave verses attacks, It does takes longer to get kills at higher levels but generally also have more attacks. So it's better to just get odds for cleave attempts after each kill.
Against creatures using unarmed 7' attacks, less likely to get a Cleave attempt after each kill and this will be even worse if using a shorter weapon. But against creatures using shorter reach weapons the odds improve.
So the number of Cleaves is effected by hostile creatures choice of weapon as well the characters weapon reach, plus the number encountered. Recommend using weapons with good reach (the cleave attack also has a bonus to reach, allowing attacks much further reach than normal).
Then finally, considering the number of last to kill, occassions not surrounded and just bad luck; maybe on average 30% after each kill seems appropriate for DPR; cleave attempt.
Although would welcome more statistics, including ECL, weapon choice and the percentage of cleave attempts after each kill. Ragimund (talk) 12:01, December 10, 2018 (UTC)