Weapon Specialisation

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Why is the +2 damage from weapon specialization so useful. Is an extra 2 damage going to really change a battle??

 

Maybe not, but the way I've always looked at it is that every little bit helps. Also it will accumulate over hits.

 

It *is* a bit meaningless now that you mention it. 2 extra HPs damage isn't going to win you many more battles than you'd already win without it, and even when you have 4 attacks a round the enemies you face will have so many HPs that an extra 2 here or there won't make any difference.

 

Think of it this way: How much more strength would you need to get an additional +2 to damage dealt? Now, is it worth the cost compared to how difficult it would be to get that much more strength?

 

It depends. Some spells contribute directly to damage, too. IIRC Holy Power gives +4 damage for some prolonged time. Plus, Bull's Strength gets you +2-5 STR, which is +1-2 to damage. While Holy Power requires some good level from paladins to cast, it's available to clerics quite early. Bull's Strength is a simple level 2 spell and my solo paladin "wore" it Same to any clerics or wizards who offer frequent melee presence.

If you multiclass your warrior character with a caster class, +2 damage is insignificant next to the power of magic Magical weapons summoned by evocation spells, massive clerical bonuses, classics like Tenser's Transformation or purely morbid dark humour like Executioner's Eyes. The damage such characters deal is in the region of 20-30 without critical hits (more like 40 if you care to use all buffs), so 2 points are practically irrelevant. You're better off with what barbarian, ranger or paladin gives you - especially paladin/cleric is better than fighter/cleric, ranger/druid is better than fighter/druid and so on.

Weapon Specialisation is particularly useful to DEX-based warriors who typically deliver little damage. They, however, tend to have great to hit bonuses, which means that Power Attack combined with Weapon Specialisation gives +7 damage at a little cost to your dual small blade wielding fighter/rogue, fighter/bard, fighter/ranger or similar. It does matter, trust me - some folks have damage reduction. Some have crappy armour class and damage reduction. This means that you essentially hit, but deliver no damage. In short: you're screwed no matter how high is your to hit bonus.

Meatshields without any magic to cast will appreciate Weapon Specialisation, too, to the point of getting 4 levels in fighter solely for this purpose.

Fighters have too many feats on their hands anyway, so Weapon Specialisation doesn't go to waste. I would rather get it in longbow and one or two melee weapons of choice since Weapon Specialisation requires also Weapon Focus and makes two feat slots together. You're surely better off with your saves helped high, or with Great Cleave (well, it probably sometimes happens that you could use free Cleave attack more than once in a round), Blind Fight... heck, even Strong Back. Or those archery feats, or whatever. Just not Weapon Specialisation in all weapons you get. This way even fighters can run out of feats.