Great Weapon Master 5e: How the 2024 Feat Works (and What Changed)
Great Weapon Master is a level 4 General feat (Strength 13+) that adds +1 Strength and lets each hit with a Heavy weapon during the Attack action deal extra damage equal to your proficiency bonus. A melee crit or kill grants a bonus action attack. The 2014 version used -5 to hit for +10 damage instead.
What does Great Weapon Master do in 2024?
The 2024 Player's Handbook rebuilt Great Weapon Master from the ground up. It is now a General feat you can take at level 4 or later, and you need a Strength score of 13 or higher. It gives you three things:
- Ability Score Increase: +1 Strength, to a maximum of 20.
- Heavy Weapon Mastery: when you hit a creature with a Heavy weapon as part of the Attack action on your turn, you can add extra damage equal to your proficiency bonus. That is +2 at levels 1–4, +3 at 5–8, +4 at 9–12, +5 at 13–16 and +6 at 17–20.
- Hew: right after you score a critical hit with a melee weapon, or drop a creature to 0 hit points with one, you can make one more attack with that weapon as a bonus action.
Heavy weapons include the greatsword, greataxe, maul, glaive, halberd, pike and lance. You can add up your exact damage with the dice calculator: a level 5 greatsword hit with Strength 18 is 2d6 + 4 + 3, an average of 14.
How was Great Weapon Master different in 2014?
The 2014 feat had no prerequisite and no ability bonus. Its famous option let you take -5 to hit for +10 damage on any melee attack with a Heavy weapon you were proficient with. The bonus attack worked the same way as Hew. That trade made 2014 GWM the strongest damage feat in the game when you could stack advantage or Bless on top, and a liability against high-AC targets.
| Part of the feat | 2014 PHB | 2024 PHB |
|---|---|---|
| Prerequisite | None | Level 4+, Strength 13+ |
| Ability score | None | +1 Strength |
| Damage boost | Optional -5 to hit, +10 damage | +proficiency bonus damage on Heavy weapon hits, no penalty |
| When the boost applies | Any melee attack with a Heavy weapon | Hits during the Attack action on your turn |
| Bonus attack | After a melee crit or a kill | Same (Hew), melee weapons only |
How much damage does Great Weapon Master add?
Here is the expected damage per round for a fighter with a greatsword (2d6), no fighting style, no advantage, counting critical hits. Level 5 is two attacks at +7 with +4 Strength; level 11 is three attacks at +9 with +5 Strength. The 2014 column assumes you use -5/+10 on every swing. Hew and the 2014 bonus attack are left out because they depend on crits and kills.
| Target AC | No feat | 2014 GWM (-5/+10) | 2024 GWM (+PB) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Level 5 fighter, 2 attacks, proficiency bonus +3 | |||
| 13 | 17.20 | 21.70 | 21.70 |
| 15 | 15.00 | 17.50 | 18.90 |
| 17 | 12.80 | 13.30 | 16.10 |
| 19 | 10.60 | 9.10 | 13.30 |
| Level 11 fighter, 3 attacks, proficiency bonus +4 | |||
| 13 | 31.65 | 40.65 | 41.85 |
| 15 | 28.05 | 34.05 | 37.05 |
| 17 | 24.45 | 27.45 | 32.25 |
| 19 | 20.85 | 20.85 | 27.45 |
Two things jump out. First, without advantage the 2024 version matches or beats the 2014 power attack at every AC in the table, because it never costs you hits. Second, 2014 GWM at AC 19 was a trap at level 5: you lost damage by using it. The old feat only pulled far ahead when you had advantage (reckless attack, a prone target) or a flat bonus like Bless to offset the -5. At level 17, with a +6 proficiency bonus, the 2024 feat adds about 12 to 17 damage per round across these ACs.
Is Great Weapon Master worth it in 2024?
For a two-handed melee character, yes, and it is usually the first General feat to take. The +1 Strength means it costs you nothing if your Strength is odd (taking a 17 to 18), and the damage boost works on every hit with no decisions to make. Compared with a plain +2 Strength ASI, which adds +1 to hit and +1 damage, GWM's +3 to +6 damage per hit is much larger.
It is less exciting than the 2014 version at tables that love advantage, and barbarians lose a bit of their old Reckless Attack combo. But it is no longer a feat you have to turn off against armored enemies.
Who should take it
- Fighters: the best fit. Extra Attack plus Action Surge means many Attack actions, and every hit inside them gets the bonus.
- Barbarians: great with Rage damage stacking on top. Reckless Attack also raises your crit chance, which feeds Hew.
- Paladins: good, but compete with the bonus action for spells. In 2024 Divine Smite also uses your bonus action.
- Avoid it if: you fight with a one-handed weapon, a shield, or finesse weapons. It does nothing for a longsword.
How do Great Weapon Master and Polearm Master work together?
A glaive or halberd is Heavy, so the extra damage applies to your main attacks. The Polearm Master butt-end strike is a bonus action attack, not part of the Attack action, so it does not get the GWM bonus. It does still trigger Hew if it crits or kills, but you only have one bonus action per turn. Still, the pair gives a polearm fighter an extra attack almost every round plus bigger main hits, which is why it remains a classic level 4 and 8 combo. Pair it with the Graze or Cleave weapon mastery for even more value.
Quick build: Great Weapon Master fighter
- Pick a greatsword or maul (2d6) for the best average damage, or a glaive if you plan on Polearm Master.
- Take the Great Weapon Fighting style; it pushes the greatsword's average from 7 to 8 per hit.
- Start with 17 Strength so GWM rounds you to 18 at level 4.
- At level 6, take Polearm Master or an Ability Score Improvement to reach 20 Strength.
FAQ
Does Great Weapon Master still have -5/+10 in 2024?
No. The 2024 version removed the -5 to hit, +10 damage option. Instead, hits with a Heavy weapon during the Attack action deal extra damage equal to your proficiency bonus, with no attack penalty.
Is Great Weapon Master still good in 2024?
Yes. It is still the top damage feat for greatsword, greataxe, maul and polearm users, and it is now reliable: you never trade accuracy for damage, so it helps even against high-AC enemies. It also gives +1 Strength.
Does Great Weapon Master work with a longbow in 2024?
As written, the extra damage applies to any weapon with the Heavy property, and in 2024 the longbow and heavy crossbow are Heavy. You still need Strength 13 to take the feat, and the Hew bonus attack only works with melee weapons. Check with your DM.
Does the Hew bonus attack get the extra damage?
Not by the 2024 wording. The proficiency bonus damage only applies to attacks made as part of the Attack action, and Hew is a bonus action attack.
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Contains content from the System Reference Document 5.1 and 5.2 by Wizards of the Coast LLC, used under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.