Power Specific Feats, critique, ideas

With the 4e system of powers and the fact we get more feats, I think feats that specialize on a particular power are viable.

Heroic Tier Feats

Desperate Accuracy
Benefit: Once per day when bloodied, by spending a healing surge you can reroll an attack roll when using a daily power, but you must use the second roll even if its lower.

Energy Scholar
Prerequisites:Ability to use power with either the Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning or Thunder keyword.
Benefit: Choose an energy type: Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning, or Thunder. Any power you use with an energy keyword from this list will use your chosen energy instead. Your attack rolls with the chosen energy have a +1 bonus.
Special: You cannot take this feat if you have the Energy Substitution feat.

Energy Substitution
Prerequisite: Ability to use power with either the Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning or Thunder keyword.
Benefit: Once per encounter when using a power with either the Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning or Thunder keyword, you can substitute the original damage type with another damage type from this list you choose at the time of taking this feat.
Special: You cannot take this feat if you have the Energy Scholar feat.

Enlarged Burst
Prerequisite: Ability to use power with area burst
Benefit: Choose an encounter or daily power you can use that affects an area as a burst. From now on when you use that power, increase the size of that burst by 1 square.
Special: You can take this feat more than once. Each time you select this feat, choose another power you know.

Greater Cleave
Prerequisite: Ability to use Cleave exploit, Con 15.
Benefit: On a hit, one additional adjacent enemy takes damage equal to your Strength modifier.

Hideous Blow
Prerequisite: Ability to use Eldritch Blast spell
Benefit: Once per encounter you can add the damage of your Eldritch Blast to any basic melee attack.

Magic Missile Mastery
Prerequisite: Ability to use Magic Missile spell
Benefit: When you use the Magic Missile spell the damage increases to 2d6 + Intelligence modifier force damage and 4d6 + Intelligence modifier force damage at 21st level.

Reach Power
Prerequisite: Ability to use power that has a range farther than close.
Benefit: Choose a power you can use that has a range farther than close. From now on when you use that power, increase the range by 5 squares.
Special: You can take this feat more than once. Each time you select this feat, choose another power you know.

Infernal Sacrifice
Prerequisite: Ability to use Eldritch Blast spell
Benefit: Once per encounter when bloodied, by sacrificing a healing surge your next Eldritch Blast does an extra 1d10 damage. The extra damage granted by this feat increases to 2d10 at 11th level and to 3d10 at 21st level. You must decide to use this feat before you make your attack roll.

Seeking Missile
Prerequisite: Ability to use Magic Missile spell
Benefit: When you use the Magic Missile it ignores the penalties of cover and concealment, but not total concealment or superior cover.

Paragon Tier Feats

Equilibrant Savant
Prerequisite: Ability to use power with either the Radiant or Necrotic keyword.
Benefit: When using a power with either the Radiant or Necrotic keyword, you can substitute the original damage type with either the Radiant or the Necrotic damage type.

Energy Admixture
Prerequisite: Energy Specialization
Benefit: When using a power with either the Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning or Thunder keyword, you can mix the damage type of the original power and the damage type chosen from the Energy Specialization feat. The power deals both types of damage. This doesn’t increase the amount of damage you deal, but a creature must be able to resist or be immune to both damage types to reduce or ignore the damage. If a creature is vulnerable to either damage type, it is considered to be vulnerable to damage from your power.

Great Commander's Strike
Prerequisite:Ability to use Commander's Strike exploit.
Benefit:When you use the Commander's Strike power, an ally of your choice may use an at will attack power against the target instead of a basic attack.
Special: You do not add your intelligence bonus to damage when you use this feat.

Divine Guardian
Prerequisite: Ability to use Priest's Shield prayer, Cha 15.
Benefit:If you hit while using your Priest’s Shield at-will prayer you and one adjacent ally gain a +2 power bonus to AC and reflex until the end of your next turn.

Any suggestions would be appreciated. Think of any other feats and I'll add to the list.

These are kinda cool. They're sort of like 4e metamagic feats.

Energy Substitution
Prerequisite: Ability to use power with either the Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning or Thunder keyword.
Benefit: Choose a power you can use with the Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning or Thunder keyword. From now on when you use that power it can do damage of the original energy type, or a different energy type (Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning or Thunder) you choose at the time of taking this feat.
Special: You can take this feat more than once. Each time you select this feat, choose another power you know.

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I don't think you should have to select a specific power. You might trade it away, and this allows one to be a "fire sorcerer" without having to give up versatility. I'd select a specific energy type, and allow the player to convert all powers to that energy type. Something about this feat (or my suggestion) seems to whisper paragon, but I'm not quite sure.

Magic Missile Master
Prerequisite: Ability to use Magic Missile spell
Benefit: When you use the Magic Missile spell the damage increases to 2d6 + Intelligence modifier force damage and 4d6 + Intelligence modifier force damage at 21st level.

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That's not too crazy. It's in line with other damage boosting feats. I'm not too fond of the name but I can't think of anything better.

Sacrificial Blast
Prerequisite: Ability to use Eldritch Blast spell
Benefit: By sacrificing a healing surge your next Eldritch Blast does maximum damage as though you rolled a critical hit. You must decide to use this feat before you make your attack roll.

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This one does seem a little powerful. You might actually roll a crit and sacrifice a healing surge for nothing, however. Perhaps paragon tier? And the name sounds more paladin than warlock. In fact, this type of feat might be more thematically appropriate to the paladin than the warlock in general.

Crashy75 said:

These are kinda cool. They're sort of like 4e metamagic feats.



I don't think you should have to select a specific power. You might trade it away, and this allows one to be a "fire sorcerer" without having to give up versatility. I'd select a specific energy type, and allow the player to convert all powers to that energy type. Something about this feat (or my suggestion) seems to whisper paragon, but I'm not quite sure.



That's not too crazy. It's in line with other damage boosting feats. I'm not too fond of the name but I can't think of anything better.



This one does seem a little powerful. You might actually roll a crit and sacrifice a healing surge for nothing, however. Perhaps paragon tier? And the name sounds more paladin than warlock. In fact, this type of feat might be more thematically appropriate to the paladin than the warlock in general.

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I think having the ability to substitute an energy for all ones powers would be too much. Maybe a "Energy Specialization" paragon level feat to do that.

Magic Missle Master is a cheeze name but I'm a sucker for bad alliteration. I'd take any advice on a better name though.

I think Sacrificial Blast is very Warlocky, sacrificing some of their health to harm someone else is selfish, while a paladin sacrifices some of his health to heal someone else. Your point about wasting a critical is spot on though. How about the blast does extra damage equal to the value of the healing surge. That would scale as the character gets more HP and would make this feat more attuned to Con based warlocks. It would be powerful but if you miss your down a healing surge with no benefit.

zaxzilla said:

I think having the ability to substitute an energy for all ones powers would be too much. Maybe a "Energy Specialization" paragon level feat to do that.

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Alternatively, it could work on any power, and into any element, but only once per encounter. Get a nice bit of versatility in exchange for the elemental specialist theme... that's what the elemental boosting feats are really for, anyways.

zaxzilla said:

Energy Substitution
Prerequisite: Ability to use power with either the Acid, Cold, Fire, Lightning or Thunder keyword. (...)

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Fine for Encounter and Daily spells, but NOT balanced for At-Wills.

zaxzilla said:

Magic Missile Master
Prerequisite: Ability to use Magic Missile spell
Benefit: When you use the Magic Missile spell the damage increases to 2d6 + Intelligence modifier force damage and 4d6 + Intelligence modifier force damage at 21st level.

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I'd be very leery of anything that improves At-Will powers. Force damage is already quite good. This is a two-point damage improvement at Heroic tier (compare with one point for all the normal extra-damage feats), and four points at Epic (compare with three points for normal).

zaxzilla said:

Sacrificial Blast
Prerequisite: Ability to use Eldritch Blast spell
Benefit: By sacrificing a healing surge your next Eldritch Blast does maximum damage as though you rolled a critical hit. You must decide to use this feat before you make your attack roll.

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It'd be more of a sacrifice on a class that didn't use Constitution for its attacks. I might allow it for a Fey, but none of the others.

Cheers, -- N

Nifft said:

Fine for Encounter and Daily spells, but NOT balanced for At-Wills.

I'd be very leery of anything that improves At-Will powers. Force damage is already quite good. This is a two-point damage improvement at Heroic tier (compare with one point for all the normal extra-damage feats), and four points at Epic (compare with three points for normal).

It'd be more of a sacrifice on a class that didn't use Constitution for its attacks. I might allow it for a Fey, but none of the others.

Cheers, -- N

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I understand that Magic Missile Mastery gives an average of a 2 point increase in damage while some other heroic tier feats give a +1 to damage (excluding racial feats). But I think this is offset by the fact the extra damage is not guaranteed, and that you have no versatility with this feat. Weapon Focus works for a group of weapons, while something like Dark Fury works for a lot of different powers. This feat just works for one power, so there should some sweet benefit for taking it.

I agree about Energy Substitution and have made it for encounter and daily powers only.

I changed Sacrificial blast so the extra damage is only equivalent to 1/2 the value of the surge spent.

I added Enlarge burt to the list. A lot of the old metamagic feats could be converted like this. But I like how in 4E they can be applied to any classes powers. In 3E their benefit was offset by using a higher level spell, in 4E their benefit is offset is that they can only be used on one power per feat.

I'm thinking of one for Flaming Sphere, maybe reduce the action time when its sustained. Sustain minor as before, move the sphere as a free action, attack as a move action. Still I like the philosophy of an economy of actions, and if I did this the wizard could attack with Flaming Sphere as a move action and still make another attack as a standard action which would be two attack rolls a round.

I've been working on some 'meta-power' feats along the lines of the old meta-magic feats. In my case I said you could apply them to anything after taking the feat once but they where either perminent (i.e. energy substitution), cost AP (i.e. Twin Spell) or had a drawback (i.e. Focused Magic: +2 hit, -1 burst size).

I'll post them when I get more done.

zaxzilla said:

I understand that Magic Missile Mastery gives an average of a 2 point increase in damage while some other heroic tier feats give a +1 to damage (excluding racial feats). But I think this is offset by the fact the extra damage is not guaranteed, and that you have no versatility with this feat. Weapon Focus works for a group of weapons, while something like Dark Fury works for a lot of different powers. This feat just works for one power, so there should some sweet benefit for taking it.

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I'd compare it against Weapon Proficiency with a superior weapon instead of Weapon Focus myself, and the standard still seems to be a one die bump in damage. I think 1d4 + 1d6 increasing to 2d4 + 2d6 would be more balanced, if a little less neat.

I changed Sacrificial blast so the extra damage is only equivalent to 1/2 the value of the surge spent.

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As written, sacrificial blast seems almost too good, especially at high levels. There's a paladin prayer that requires you to sacrifice a healing surge to deal 4[W] damage, and it's a 5th level daily. I think it might be more balanced if:

1. It required the warlock to expend his second wind, which limits it to 1/encounter and leaves him dependent on other characters for healing if he gets badly injured; and

2. It deals extra damage equal to 1d10 per tier.

EDIT: I have similar feats on my blog here, but they're for my own created powers for my Holy Paladin specialized class here and here.

Magic Missile Mastery seems fine to me. Things like Weapon Focus and Superior Weapon Proficiency will provide a damage boost to nearly all your powers... and they multiply up for x[W] powers. MMM just adds an average of 2 (or 4) to one specific power.

Sacrificial Blast is overpowered though, nothing provides that kind of damage boost, even for healing surges.