And this is a nonsensical response, since we've already established that in featless games having extra ASI gives +1 to 3-5 skills each and therefore boost fighter even when feats are't used.
Please note that I did list ASI/feats, not just feats.
In other words, my original was a perfectly sensible response that you failed to understand.
I already addressed ASIs. (EDIT: you may have missed it, since it was one line in a lengthy post, IIRC) The two extra ASIs taken together, equal either +1 modifier to two sets of skills, or some +1s from adding 1 to multiple odd stats, or +2 modifier to a single set of skills. That isn’t particularly meaningful. Certainly not enough to dismiss the people who were trying to have a discussion about how best to address what they experience as a deficiency in the fighter’s out of combat repertoire.
<unneeded snark removed>
EDIT: The reason I say it isn't that meaningful is that it's going to make much less of a difference than training the skill would, and I don't buy the whole "just don't roll dice that much" that someone else was suggesting. In most games I've ever seen, people roll. FOlks may just narrate through some scenes, but even those still are partly determined by some dice rolls. And they should be! You can't just say that you're stone faced and unreadable! Roll that deception check!
I'm all for letting Fighters get away with a bit more than others in terms of using non-standard atributes for skills, but they simply have less than other classes out of combat, unless a player wants to use feats, and feats
should be optional. It's good that you don't need them! Why should a player who wants to play a very non-magical knight gladiator have to take feats over ASIs in order to have more out of combat utility than a wizard in an anti-magic zone? Fighters don't surpass other warrior classes in combat, so why do they simply get less outside of combat? IF a group isn't happy with fighters having to rely more than any other class on improv and lenient ability check rulings to contribute out of combat, why the hell do some folks feel the need to tell them they're wrong? What even is that impulse? WHy not just either offer advice within the scope of the OP, or move on?
/rant, i guess