Shattered Kingdoms

Pole-axe is also incredibly slow. With my dex and all mastered at GM I get 1-2 attacks a round, of which I see enough dodge/parry messages that I switch to something else. This is not a huge boon. The materials that pole-axe have is pretty limited and you have to compete with shaman now because they all want a pole-axe in the first place.

A spellcaster has always needed fear reach weapons. What gets me is a single harm can drop someone 1/3 their life. A good spellcaster should never have to fear. Preists/Shaman/Warlocks can all heal. Necros should have at least one if not two undead in front of them. Wizards shouldn't be Pking without a charm and pet. And if they don't have a charm? Petrify/Ethform/teleport ect ect the list goes on. I feel less bad for wizards even though they have the weaker set up, simply because they get all the detects and are able to see a hellion invis and hidden.

What? You want a cookie or something?

My real point is this:

1. Big slow Pole-axes hit harder, thus raising the Hellion initial cleave average. A cleave average (as you have pointed out) that is already deadly.

2. Many spell casters do not have good dex. That makes them easier to hit with big slow weapons.

3. Because spell casters don't have high dex, and the hellion cleave average just went up, it makes it more likely that the spell caster class will die to a hellion foe. I think that it changes the already well balanced game mechanics that is already very deadly to low HP characters. I think we may see spell casters participating even less, only being present in large Gank squads- which of course affects the balance in another way.

4. Yeah, I know that with preparation any class can be bad [REDACTED]. Sure. But who holds high level spells up all the time? Sorcs don't walk around mirrored imaged or etherial all the time, Shamans are not that phylically tuff, Priests don't hold sanc up 24/7, warlocks have mage HP, and Necros would only be well off at higher levels with bigger undead, and with alot of annoying preparation.

Hellions just gotta type "cleave Slayne".

As a sorc I am very excited for this change.

I can now charm a NPC hellion, make it size huge/haste/GS and give it a cold-iron pole-axe and thwomp elf/delfs.

I see both sides. But what we are really talking about is the initial cleave damage average and how it will affect the gaming. Not to make a list of other class abilities. Any class can whoop in the right situation.

Case and point.

Your welcome for making your case.

EDIT:

Be it known that I am against switching it back, I really am looking forward to doing what I said.

A landy is still far superior to the pole-axe. Go ahead Lucius and wonder around with your pole axe charmie.

It doesn't make sense to me that non-reaching categories outrank all the actual polearms for reaching cleave damage. FTL

I'd have to say balance issues.

It's not just for cleave, there is almost no reason to ever use any polearm. Outside of a lance for one specific ability you're better off with one of the reaching spears. Hell, the ahlspiess is as strong or stronger than every polearm, more accurate than every polearm, and faster than all of them except for the pike. It's ridiculous that a single weapon is better than an entire class of weapons, especially when it's the class that's supposed to be the primary reaching weapon and is, I think, the most limited in terms of what classes can use them.