D&D 5E Caster feats

[transtemporal]

I'm building an abjurer wiz for our new party and I was going to make him variant human for the feat headstart but there doesn't seem like there's any must-haves for casters. War Caster and Spell Sniper are the only ones that seem any good, and they don't jump out at me in the same way that Sharpshooter stands out for ranged characters. Are there any hidden gems I'm missing?

 

[Fanaelialae]

You'll probably want to pick up either War Caster or Resilient (Constitution) to help with concentration saves. Alert is nice for getting a fireball off in the first round before your allies close to melee range. I suppose that if you expect to be in melee, Crossbow Expert might be useful (since it negates the disadvantage for ranged attack rolls while in melee) though it's probably more practical to just stay out of melee. If you want to thematically specialize in a particular damage type (ie, a fire mage) Elemental Adept could be useful, although it's more practical to simply diversify your damage types. Toughness and Lucky are good for just about any character.

Overall though, there isn't a wealth of caster feats.

 

[thalmin]

Magic Initiate is nice. You get 2 more cantrips, and an additional 1st level spell (which can't scale. For this I like Mage Armor).
Resilient is good. I'd take Constitution, helpful for Concentration checks.

 

[transtemporal]

Good suggestions, cheers guys. I might actually grab Resilient, then Spellsniper. Our DM doesn't usually focus on Concentration but does remember cover in melee.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Remember that with Magic Initiate, in addition to the one free casting, you learn the spell, which means you can (usually, depending on how your DM interprets it) cast the spell with your regular spell slots also. This can let a caster access a 1st level spell they otherwise wouldn't be able to, and scale it all the way up to 9th level.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

I'm building an abjurer wiz for our new party and I was going to make him variant human for the feat headstart but there doesn't seem like there's any must-haves for casters. War Caster and Spell Sniper are the only ones that seem any good, and they don't jump out at me in the same way that Sharpshooter stands out for ranged characters. Are there any hidden gems I'm missing?

Not really. Mobile can be nice ("Run Away!") and also combines well with Booming Blade later on to give you a melee attack for pretty good damage, competitive with a non-GWM fighter. But it's not caster-specific.

War Caster will similarly give you a good opportunity attack, but it's mostly for gishes. A straight wizard probably doesn't care about war caster at all.

However. Make your guy a Fighter 1/Abjuror X (taking Fighter at 1st level for heavy armor and Con saves), and then give him War Caster at Abjuror 4, and now you've got yourself a fantastic tank. At first level you can take Heavy Armor Master or Resilient (Wis) or Lucky, since you're not eligible for War Caster until you can cast spells.

P.S. Ritual Magic: Cleric is always worth considering, for the sake of Augury/Divination/Commune.

 

[Saeviomagy]

Keen mind is an amazing feat for any wizard, because it lets you:
Create accurate illusions of anything that you have seen or heard within the last month. Instant illusory copies of any text, instantly convincing auditory illusions of people etc etc.

Greatly improve your chances to teleport anywhere you've been within the last month.

Copy spells from someone's spell book after a glimpse.

Memorize your spells without your spell book.

Carry an enormous pile of reference material in your head.

I also agree with the ritual magic: cleric, but only if you don't have a cleric in the party.

I mean lets face it - combat in 5e is pretty easy. Taking more combat feats tends to be a waste of time.

 

[FrogReaver]

Take healer. Fits with the arbjurer theme. You heal and protect your allies.

Alert is actually good too. Nothing like winning initiative and casting fireball before the enemies can do anything.

 

[NotActuallyTim]

There's always Tough. +2 HP per level can be helpful when dealing with the Wizards d6 Hit Dice. I know the Abjurer already has the Ward subclass feature, but it's not foolproof: big hits or concentrated attacks from multiple opponents can blow through it. On top of that, one of the Abjurers' later features is to split the Ward with a friend, leaving your character with even less protection.

 

[transtemporal]

However. Make your guy a Fighter 1/Abjuror X (taking Fighter at 1st level for heavy armor and Con saves), and then give him War Caster at Abjuror 4, and now you've got yourself a fantastic tank. At first level you can take Heavy Armor Master or Resilient (Wis) or Lucky, since you're not eligible for War Caster until you can cast spells.

Ohhh, now you're talkin! I like it! Whats the focus of this build - casting or melee? I'm just trying to imagine what it would be doing round to round.