D&D 5E Your top 5 feats

[Zaioh]

The strongest feats:
1. Polearm Master ("You gain 1-2 additional attacks every turn")
2. Crossbow Expert ("You gain 1 additional attack every turn")
3. Sentinel (There are many types of enemy that this feat shuts down completely)
4. Sharpshooter (Powerful damage at range, has built-in compensation with the Archery Style)
5. Magic Initiate (Get a familiar, a Scag Cantrip and a utility spell, or get Hex and two good cantrips, or become SAD for Wisdom with Shillelagh)

(Honorable mention to number 6, Resilient, which is very powerful for a specific subset of builds. And number 7, Great Weapon Master. After this I think there is a severe drop in power level in a hypothetical 8th best, so these 7 are what I consider the highest tier of feats.)

The feats I like the most:
1. Mobile (Really changes your options, the way you think about combat, and how you narrate moving across the battlefield)
2. Great Weapon Master. (I love the aestethic of the two-handed sword, doing boatloads of damage is fun, too)
3. Inspiring Leader (Roleplay opportunity. Can also use this as an "excuse" to take a higher cha than your class would normally take, I have a planned build for a barbarian that serves as the party Face that I really look forward to try.)
4. Healer (You can use it a lot, and you can also trick it out with the Thief Rogue. It goes a long way to fascilitate parties with little to no magic or healing, which I relly enjoy playing in.)
5. Prodigy (There are very few D&D characters who would not want this feat. Most ficitonal characters excel at something, and this feat goes a long way in to fulfilling that for the characters who can take it.)

 

[FrogReaver]

Combat:
1. Sharpshooter

Social:
1. Lucky

Exploration:
1. Observant (depends on DM though)

Survivability:
1. Healer / Inspiring Leader (Inspiring leader I like better if I have the charisma for it, otherwise healer)

Honorable Mention:
1. Lucky

 

[Mr. Wilson]

If we're talking pure power level, I'd say:

1. Sharpshooter
2. GWM
3. Crossbow Expert
4. Lucky
5. Inspiring Leader

Honorable Mention: Resilient, Polearm Mastery, Sentinel, Warcaster

 

[Yunru]

Everyone who doesn't list Actor has never had a Charlatan Actor in their campaign/party.

 

[smbakeresq]

Well, depending on class obviously, things that have the most effect on the group dynamic are the most important IMO. In no particular order but numbers for clarity:

1. Inspiring leader - essentially a pre-cast, life cleric, mass healing word every short rest. Healer is in same category, I use Medicine skill instead of straight +4 to make medicine skill mean more.

2. Shield Mastery - for those that can use it, shoving people prone (or into something) as a bonus action means they will be subject to a variety of effects, including doubled smites, doubled backstabs, Spirit Guardians etc. Your group will build around this and will help you use it, using spells like Cloud of Daggers and Evards to much greater effects. Most people who use it will have not very good dexterity so will also appreciate the bonuses to defense.

3. Warcaster - would be good even it only included the first sentence, like before booming blade and the like, pretty much essential afterwards. Great for those who use booming blade and dissonant whispers or command (flee) or are in a party that does. You can take OA on your own turn.

4. Observant - I still cant figure out how to passively investigate something but +5 to passive perception is huge considering the people who take it will have most likely have a decent perception anyway. Trained passive perception score of 20+ are there for the taking. I would use the bonus to investigation on active checks. As Frog says though its highly dependent on DM.

5a. Sharpshooter - hilariously broken if you think about it. You are as accurate shooting at a moving target behind 3/4 cover at max range then the GWF standing next to them is. Dependent on campaign though and table size, you want to be as far as possible and many DM don't have a mat big enough for you to be 30+ squares away. Great to use against players with funny things like advanced Stone Giants with 4 levels of Ranger tossing rock barrages at +6 to hit for 4d10 + 16 damage.

5b. Great Weapon Fighting - great for players as they will just make a chart to know when to use it to max damage all the time based on their to-hit chance. Great for DMs who will advance monsters or just let them use it intelligently. Hobgoblin Captains are certainly smart enough and organized enough to use GWF when a goblin minion uses the help another action to take the first swing of their multi-attack with a greatsword at -1/2d6+12. As a DM its also funny to see how many times a player will use his bonus action for something and then immediately roll a crit or get a kill but cant use the bonus attack.


Since 5e isn't about AC so high you cant be touched and more about HP, I like 5a and 5b to shorten combats from being a grind. As a DM I HIGHLY recommend you use 5a and 5b against the players, good players will think its great and get what you are doing. You have to track you players HP, as you don't want to one shot them (that's not fun for anyone) but taking a big blow and coming back to win is. Just be careful, I sort of ruined an encounter with my kids with a Frost Giant using GWF, 3d12 +16 with hot dice can take large chunks out of players rapidly.

 

[CTurbo]

In no order...

alert
mobile
sentinel
heavy armor mastery
inspiring leader
lucky
magic initiate



That's only 5 right? lol

 

[Michael Blommaert]

I assume we are going for power-level here, or just overall usefulness anyways, in no order;
Tough
Heavy Armor Master
Crossbow Expert
Polearm Master
Magic Initiate

Tough gives you the hp of a +4 in con in one asi, can be great to get after that 20 con on a tank or instead of 2 +2 con asi on a meaty melee fighter, 16 con+tough is the same hp as 20 con and it saves you an asi.

Heavy Armor Master is great for tanking, a flat reduction to most incoming damage and a boost to your offense is crazy valuable. Fun exercise, tally up how much damage you reduced(or would have) over one adventuring day, it's surprisingly high.

Xbow expert and Polearm master are old standbys that I really shouldn't have to explain. But to put it shortly; getting an attack for your bonus action is real good.

Magic initiate really shores up a lot of classes shortcomings while not costing a multiclass. My usual suggestions are for Paladins to get thunderclap and firebolt because they have no real aoe or ranged options standard. Other good ones are for reducing MAD on Clerics and Rangers with Shilelagh, grasping vines is real good too. Honestly the level 1 spell could be totally removed from this feat and I would still use it just as much, the cantrips are the important part.

Exactly this!

 

[Gavin O.]

IMO, the best feats in the game are the ones which give you a bonus action attack every round:
Crossbow Expert and Polearm Master

After those, Alert, Lucky, and Shield Master are all great for virtually any build.

But I don't think discussing feats in a vacuum is very useful. There are a multitude of feats that are very effective in specific situations, such as:

-The Tiefling racial feat Flames of Phlegethos is phenomenal for a Cha-based fire build, starting with 17 Cha at level 1 allows you to increase your modifier while also giving you the ability to reroll 1s for all of your fire spells.
-Sentinel and Polearm master go exceptionally well together. When an enemy enters your 10-foot reach, you make an opportunity attack against them, and if you hit, their speed drops to 0 and they can't reach you.
-The Elf/Half-elf racial feat Elven Accuracy is great if you can consistently manufacture advantage. (Warlock for Darkness+Devil's sight, Paladin for Vow of enmity, Mounted Combatant) Rolling 3 d20s on each attack means your odds of missing are extremely low, and together with expanded crit range you can crit almost every round.
-Sharpshooter can add a lot of damage if you can increase your chance to hit (archery fighting style, consistent advantage) Likewise for Great Weapon Master

 

[Galvaneal]

warcaster nr 1 and then resilience