Cleave · Game Mechanic Compendium

Definition

Cleave carries a melee blow against one chosen target over to foes beside or behind it, either as a share of the damage spilling onto them or as an extra attack that the first blow triggers. A whirlwind strikes all around the user in one action with no target choice; chain lightning hops from target to target at range. Execute rewards striking a foe at low health; cleave’s payoff lands on a different foe, even where dropping the first is the trigger. Adjacency is settled by grid movement on squares and by hit points when a drop is the trigger.

Behaviour

The user picks only the first target; the rule picks the rest. In Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd edition, an attack that drops a creature grants an extra attack against “another creature in the immediate vicinity”, with no step first. World of Warcraft’s Cleave hits the target “and his nearest ally”; Dota 2 spreads a share of each attack through a cone that widens past the target. The spill is usually weaker than the blow: half damage in Baldur’s Gate 3, no ability modifier in the 2024 rules, 30% to 90% splash in Warcraft III and Dota 2. Counterplay is spacing: enemies kept apart, or a pet kept at an enemy’s back as World of Warcraft guides advise, leave nothing to cleave.

Variations

Kill-triggered extra attack (Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd edition): the second attack comes only when the first drops a foe; Great Cleave chains it without limit.
Hit-triggered extra attack (Dungeons & Dragons, 2024 edition): any hit allows one attack on a neighbour, once per turn.
Passive splash (Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne; Dota 2): every attack spills a percentage onto nearby enemies, with nothing to activate.
Item cleave (Dota 2): Battle Fury lends the splash to any melee hero, weaker against creeps.
Arc swing (Baldur’s Gate 3): one action sweeps the target and up to two neighbours at half damage.
Timed cleave buff (World of Warcraft): the Arms talent Sweeping Strikes lets attacks hit extra targets for a short time on a 30-second cooldown.

Gating

Most cleaves cost nothing to use and are paid for in access. The 3rd edition feat needs Strength 13 and Power Attack and fires once per round; the 2024 property belongs to the greataxe and halberd and needs a feature that unlocks weapon masteries. Warcraft III and Dota 2 make it passive, gated by hero choice, skill points, or an item’s price. World of Warcraft is the exception that spends a shared pool, 20 rage per swing. Baldur’s Gate 3 restores a tabletop rhythm: an action, then a wait for a short rest.

History and provenance

The Cleave and Great Cleave feats of Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd edition (2000) are the earliest documented form cited. The antecedent is the fighter’s one attack per level against creatures of under one hit die in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1978), separate attacks rather than one blow carried over; earlier tabletop systems remain unsurveyed. In video games the earliest form cited is the Pit Lord’s passive Cleaving Attack in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne (2003), the splash shape that Dota 2’s Great Cleave keeps. World of Warcraft (2004) took the name for an activated swing, and Baldur’s Gate 3 and the 2024 rules returned it to weapons.

Notable examples

Notable examples, in chronological order. Notes describe how the ability behaves in each game; gating is what limits its use there; the latest reference is a widely played game from 2020 or later.
Game	Year	Medium	Gating	How the ability behaves
Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd edition Wizards of the Coast	2000	Tabletop RPG	At will	The Cleave feat (Str 13, Power Attack) grants an immediate extra melee attack against another creature in the immediate vicinity when an attack drops a creature, with the same weapon and bonus and no 5-foot step, once per round; Great Cleave removes the limit.
Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne Blizzard Entertainment	2003	Video	At will	The Pit Lord's passive Cleaving Attack damages multiple enemies with each of his attacks, splashing 30%, 55%, or 80% of the damage by skill level, with no mana cost or cooldown.
World of Warcraft Blizzard Entertainment	2004	Video	Mana	A Warrior ability from level 20, usable in all stances, that costs 20 rage and replaces the next melee swing with a sweeping attack dealing weapon damage plus a bonus to the target and its nearest ally; the Fury talent Improved Cleave raises the bonus.
Dota 2 Valve	2013	Video	At will	Sven's passive Great Cleave deals 60% to 90% of each attack's damage to enemies in a cone that widens past the target; the Battle Fury item gives melee heroes a weaker cleave in the same shape, reduced further against creeps.
Baldur's Gate 3 Latest Larian Studios	2023	Video	Per rest, Action cost	Cleave is a weapon action of heavy slashing weapons such as the greatsword, open to a proficient wielder; it takes an action and sweeps an arc that strikes up to 3 enemies, each for half the weapon's usual damage, and recharges on a short rest.
Dungeons & Dragons, 2024 edition Wizards of the Coast	2024	Tabletop RPG	At will	Cleave is the mastery property of the greataxe and halberd, usable with a feature such as Weapon Mastery; a melee hit allows an attack on a second creature within 5 feet of the first and within reach, dealing weapon damage without the ability modifier, once per turn.

Provenance

Earliest documented use: Dungeons & Dragons, 3rd edition (2000), tabletop rpg. Confidence: medium. The Cleave and Great Cleave feats are the earliest cited form of an extra attack on a neighbouring foe triggered by the first blow; the text is cited from the 3.0 System Reference Document. The fighter's one attack per level against creatures of less than one hit die in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1978) is a set of separate attacks and counts as an antecedent. Earlier tabletop systems remain unsurveyed. The earliest video form cited is the Pit Lord's Cleaving Attack in Warcraft III: The Frozen Throne (2003).

Sources

Wizards of the Coast. System Reference Document 3.0, Feats. Wizards of the Coast. Rulebook Feats, Cleave [General]; Great Cleave [General]. Accessed 2026-10-25. The trigger on dropping a creature, the extra attack against another creature in the immediate vicinity, the once-per-round limit, and its removal by Great Cleave; Wayback snapshot of 2004.
Gary Gygax. (1978). Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Players Handbook. TSR. Rulebook p. 25, note to the Fighters', Paladins' & Rangers' Attacks per Melee Round table. Accessed 2026-10-25. The antecedent of one attack per level against creatures of less than one hit die.
Blizzard Entertainment. Warcraft III: Pit Lord. Website Cleaving Attack (Passive). Accessed 2026-10-25. The passive Cleaving Attack and its splash percentages by level.
Blizzard Entertainment. (2006). World of Warcraft: Warrior spells. Website Cleave. Accessed 2026-10-25. The sweeping attack on the target and a nearby ally, and the warning that it wakes a slept second monster.
BradyGames. (2006). World of Warcraft Master Guide, 2nd edition. BradyGames. Book Warrior chapter, Berserker abilities, Cleave; Fury talents, Improved Cleave; Warlock chapter, Succubus. Accessed 2026-10-25. The level, stance, rage cost, next-swing timing, and rank table of Cleave, the Improved Cleave talent, Sweeping Strikes and its 30-second cooldown, and the advice to keep a pet at the enemy's back to avoid cleaves.
Valve. Dota 2 hero data, Sven (hero 18). Website abilities, Great Cleave. Accessed 2026-10-25. The passive Great Cleave, its damage share by level, and the cone's radii and distance.
Valve. Dota 2 item data, Battle Fury (item 145). Website abilities, Cleave. Accessed 2026-10-25. The item's melee-only cleave in a cone around the target and its reduced share against creeps.
Gamer Guides. Baldur's Gate 3: Greatsword +1. Website Accessed 2026-10-25. The Cleave weapon action, a sweeping arc striking up to 3 enemies for half the weapon's usual damage each.
Gamer Guides. Baldur's Gate 3: Weapons guide. Website Accessed 2026-10-25. Weapon actions as usable by proficient wielders, mostly costing an action and recharging on a short rest.
bg3.wiki. Cleave (Weapon Action). Wiki The weapons that grant Cleave, its cone and three closest targets, and its short-rest recharge.
Wizards of the Coast. (2025). System Reference Document 5.2.1. Rulebook Equipment, Mastery Properties, Cleave, p. 90; Weapons table, p. 91. Accessed 2026-10-25. The 2024 Cleave mastery property, its unlocking feature, and the weapons that carry it.

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Updated: 2026-10-25
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West, James, Jr. (2026). "Cleave." Game Mechanic Compendium, updated 2026-10-25. http://localhost:4321/abilities/cleave

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