What's youre hitroll at? Try upping that. Also, while its been a while since I've had a lvl 50 Dk I will say that I always went for a light weapon to cleave with (usually a sword for better parry) aiming to get the damage on the opener rather than sleep. It worked fairly well - though I generally only cleaved vs communers or mages.
L-A
I agree, lets bring back the instant kill! Put the fear back into the heart of Aabahran!
Well, to be honest it has like less than 1% chance to work anyway, the damage is not THAT great and if it puts you to sleep it is for 0 hours iirc, not to mention that you need to carry a weapon specially for this skill only. It is also a skill and has 2 rounds of lag and for such a low success rate 2 rounds of lag are just too much.
For me cleave is a waste of practice sessions.
Just my opinion.
Cleave can be extremely useful.
Cleaving to sleep is not that hard if you have the right weapon and armor.
Having a few extra combat rounds to cast things like veil, curse, plague, poison is always nice.
I wouldn't want to get cleaved.
I remember watching Cirous cleave four people in half- in a half an hour.
Gave him the title 'the Dark Cleaver'.
Sick.
Dey
I miss that one hit kill too.Back in 1.0 i did that a few times and I was amazed.
It's like assassinate with much more style. 
there were so many crazy ways to die in 1.0. for example, a mob would attack you if they caught a plague off you. i remember dying a couple times just recalling plagued, and being attacked by the pit healer (who was attackable back then).
NooB,
A very heavy non-rare axe can be found on the fire giant loggers in Elium Forest. It's called a double bedded axe and it weighs much more than 35.
I always carry one in my backpack as my zerk in case I need to whip out a shield cleave here or there.
It's like assassinate with much more style.
and no study... I want.
Aye Nekky thanks, ive found that one and another at the volcano thats just as heavy, it works well enough, cheers anyway. 
hey, you can still cleave people in half like the old dk cleave
just a different skill now
hey, you can still cleave people in half like the old dk cleave
just a different skill now
And it doesn't work like the old cleave either. It's just a cooler way of showing text without the real "assassinate" effect.
Actually, you don't actually have to die for it to 'change' the text like that, just be low enough on hp--but enough on that! !!
hey, you can still cleave people in half like the old dk cleave
just a different skill now
And by the Gods it is amazing when it happens! I have only done it once in pk the "new way".
I've always liked cleave because it adds a more dangerous factor to dk's (which they should have). But due to the difficulty of switching weaponry in the midst of combat and the skills' low percentage of success of an actual hit I would so much more love to have charge instead. So many times as Darrien, Drayson and Waojin would I have loved to have charge instead of cleave. In my battles against mages and esp healing communers have caught on to this and realize that I have absolutely no way to lag them. Knowing this they play incredibly passive just long enough to where my unholy strength or charm person expires.
Well, what other chance of fighting do they have? Outdamaging you perhaps? 
Charge instead of cleave would be a bit of an overkill I think, perhaps raise a bit the success rate and lower the damage of cleave, but a skill that lags for 2 rounds against a dual malform wielding DK + warlock is A LOT of pain.
Cleave Works Fine!!!!!!
