D&D 5E Best 1st level feat for human warlock?

[Snapdragyn]

Medium Armor Mastery - free up the need to raise Dex beyond 14, & shield for an extra +2 on AC.

Resilient (Con) - So hps. Much save.

Spell Sniper - All your cover are belong to... well, no one, actually, since I disregard it. Ha!


On the defensive side, I'm starting to think MAM & Res(Con) just about balance out. Maybe? Hmm.

Offensively, my thinking is whether I want to spend the feat on offense or defense at 1st level, & also on whether I want to specialize so much toward blasting early on when I'm planning a more crowd control build (Misty Visions cantrip for illusions, plus heavy focus on cc in spell choice).

Thoughts, ENWorlders?

 

[Zardnaar]

Probably war caster to help maintain hex since you only get 1 or 2 spells per short rest until level 10 or so IIRC and hex lasts 1 hour.

 

[Paraxis]

Probably war caster to help maintain hex since you only get 1 or 2 spells per short rest until level 10 or so IIRC and hex lasts 1 hour.

+1 to that. Hex is most likely your best spell at the start and maintaining it is important. Also being able to cast spells as an attack of opportunity is pretty cool ability.

 

[ranger69]

There are nice choices but I would go for War Caster. The advantage on concentration is always useful, and the reaction spell is nice.

 

[was]

I'd go with Spell Sniper: extra cantrip, doubled range and ignoring 1/2 and 3/4 cover. Being a blaster early on keeps you out of melee while you're still pretty squishy. It doesn't, however, exclude you from diversifying down the road.

 

[ForumFerret]

Plus, doubled range with your CC spells later on is nothing to scoff at.

 

[Snapdragyn]

Plus, doubled range with your CC spells later on is nothing to scoff at.

Spell Sniper only works on spells that require an attack roll - so not the vast majority of CC spells, sadly.

 

[Snapdragyn]

I'm surprised no one is comparing the strengths of Resilient (Con) vs. War Caster for the 'maintaining concentration' idea.

Resilient would give me Proficiency on that roll (&, in some builds, could even bump the Con up into the next + mod). For the more difficult rolls to make, that can actually be worth more than advantage. In fact, for the MOST difficult rolls, it can be the difference between 'well, I can make it if I roll a 20' & 'oh, nothing I roll would allow me to make that'.

With the added benefit of helping me make those dreadful Con saves to resist some of the most dire effects in the game (plus potential hp boost if my Con were odd before the feat), I'd lean more towards that than advantage + spell AoOs.

Still not sure between that & the 'just don't get hit' of better AC, though.

 

[Paraxis]

At lower levels, and we are talking about human bonus feat here so level 1-3 when getting the most use out of it.

Resilient (Con) will give you a +2 maybe a +3 to your save. Warcaster gives you advantage.

At lower levels the DC is most likely a 10, because if you are taking 20+ damage you have much greater problems than maintaining concentration.

Assume the warlock has a 13 Con score,
With Warcaster he makes a DC 10 concentration roll 84% of the time.
With Resilient (Con) and thus also a 14 Con score, he makes it 75% of the time.

I would take warcaster at level 1, and Resilient (Con) at 4th and then never worry about concentration.
A 14 Con and +3 prof bonus is advantage with a +5 modifier, making a 10 96% of the time, a 16 75% of the time, and a 20 51% of the time.

 

[Snapdragyn]

At lower levels, and we are talking about human bonus feat here so level 1-3 when getting the most use out of it.

Resilient (Con) will give you a +2 maybe a +3 to your save. Warcaster gives you advantage.

At lower levels the DC is most likely a 10, because if you are taking 20+ damage you have much greater problems than maintaining concentration.

Assume the warlock has a 13 Con score,
With Warcaster he makes a DC 10 concentration roll 84% of the time.
With Resilient (Con) and thus also a 14 Con score, he makes it 75% of the time.

I would take warcaster at level 1, and Resilient (Con) at 4th and then never worry about concentration.
A 14 Con and +3 prof bonus is advantage with a +5 modifier, making a 10 96% of the time, a 16 75% of the time, and a 20 51% of the time.

Oooh, thanks for the analysis!

This leads into another concern I have (in my own build plans as well) - taking a feat at level 4 (& then running behind a bit on casting mod) vs. later (& then not benefiting from that feat at lower levels).