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On the Dodge Action
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<blockquote data-quote="Shiroiken" data-source="post: 7522571" data-attributes="member: 6775477"><p>As I have posted in the other Dodge thread, it is an underutilized action, mostly because players like dealing damage instead. I wouldn't say it should be used "all the time," but there are several situation where the Dodge action is the best choice.</p><p></p><p>The primary benefit is when you can force the enemy to only attack a single character. This can be a choke point against multiple enemies or a single enemy held by a Sentinel Feat. In addition, some unintelligent enemies (such as undead or constructs) may always focus on the enemy in front of them, even if they don't actually attack them.</p><p></p><p>Another good use is by melee characters starting combat at range. Most players use the Dash action, and get pounded by ranged attacks while they run up to get to melee. Sometimes they'll throw a weapon (often at disadvantage), which is only slightly better. If the character was to take the Dodge action and move forward (ideally moving from cover to cover), they are unlikely to take as much damage before getting into position. Depending on the party make up and the exact situation, it is very possible that the combat will be over before they get into melee, but this is not actually a problem if they managed to reduce the overall amount of damage taken.</p><p></p><p>If low on HP while in melee, using the Dodge action while waiting for the party to heal you can be worthwhile, since you don't want to take enough damage to drop to 0. </p><p></p><p></p><p>Unfortunately, it really depends on how the DM runs the enemy as to how useful it is. If the DM always has the enemy make the tactically best situation, then it's not that useful (unless you're low on HP), since they will almost never attack you. If the DM considers the intelligence of the enemy to determine the attacks, then it becomes a much better option, since you can get attacks to miss.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Shiroiken, post: 7522571, member: 6775477"] As I have posted in the other Dodge thread, it is an underutilized action, mostly because players like dealing damage instead. I wouldn't say it should be used "all the time," but there are several situation where the Dodge action is the best choice. The primary benefit is when you can force the enemy to only attack a single character. This can be a choke point against multiple enemies or a single enemy held by a Sentinel Feat. In addition, some unintelligent enemies (such as undead or constructs) may always focus on the enemy in front of them, even if they don't actually attack them. Another good use is by melee characters starting combat at range. Most players use the Dash action, and get pounded by ranged attacks while they run up to get to melee. Sometimes they'll throw a weapon (often at disadvantage), which is only slightly better. If the character was to take the Dodge action and move forward (ideally moving from cover to cover), they are unlikely to take as much damage before getting into position. Depending on the party make up and the exact situation, it is very possible that the combat will be over before they get into melee, but this is not actually a problem if they managed to reduce the overall amount of damage taken. If low on HP while in melee, using the Dodge action while waiting for the party to heal you can be worthwhile, since you don't want to take enough damage to drop to 0. Unfortunately, it really depends on how the DM runs the enemy as to how useful it is. If the DM always has the enemy make the tactically best situation, then it's not that useful (unless you're low on HP), since they will almost never attack you. If the DM considers the intelligence of the enemy to determine the attacks, then it becomes a much better option, since you can get attacks to miss. [/QUOTE]
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