WalterKovacs
First Post
Not sure I would take it without the to hit bonus.
Their are rare cases a character would benefit from both the reach and the OA protection.
For reach weapons there are better things out there than a staff (may be worthwhile for dual wielding) and close attacks don't draw OAs anyway (or shifting one sq away).
In Living Eberron in this forum you get the hit bonus for free and so I will probably skip the staff expertise feat.
Sentinel Druid is probably the one class that would grab it without the to hit bonus, being able to mix and match implement and weapon attack powers, not to mention that a d12 reach weapon is at least worthwhile. [And yeah, the dual wielding twin d8's with reach is the only alternative to chain spec, which would require a second feat to be used as an implement, and would use up your multiclass (which may prevent you from taking arcane implement prof].
Also, while there are ways to build around OA provoking powers ... a close attack is simply less useful than an area attack you can turn into a close attack. Maybe you don't intend to attack the person next to you, or you don't expect to always be in close, etc ... And shifting is a fine solution, as long as you never fight in difficult terrain, which isn't exactly something a player gets to choose (well, they can pick elves ...) Not to mention you may be using that move action to do other stuff, like double minor action effects.