Default Essentials Feats?

[SlyFlourish]

Hi Folks,

If you were to list out the most straight forward feats you would use to build pregen characters, convention characters, or characters for players who don't spend the time working on their own characters, what feats would you choose at each level?

I'm looking for feats out of the two Essentials books: Heroes of the Fallen Lands and Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms.

Here's my list so far:

Master at Arms, Weapon Expertise, or Implement Expertise
Toughness
Superior Reflex (or Lightning Reflexes)
Superior Will (or Iron Will)
Superior Fortitude (or Great Fortitude)
Weapon or Implement Focus
Cold Adaptation
Heat Adaptation
Resilient Focus
Durable
Improved Initiative
Alertness
Aggressive Advantage
Eager Advance
Disciple Feat 1
Disciple Feat 2
Defensive Mobility

What feats would you pick as the "default" feats for a 4th edition Essentials+ pregen character?

Thanks!

Mike Shea

 

[lostingeneral]

For Encounters I almost always use Improved Defenses.

Also, maybe Melee Training, depending on the class?

 

[WalterKovacs]

Most of the flat bonus feats (improved init, the weapon/implement expertise feats, durable, toughness, improved defences or the individual ones, stat boosters, etc) are good in that they are mostly take it and forget it, feats, instead of adding something you have to remember (although most power cards are good now in that situational damage boosting, like the extra damage from light blade expertise, is listed at the bottom of the power card at least).

Things like "on the first turn of the encounter ..." or "when you are first bloodied ..." etc are things you have to remember to use, which becomes harder to do when it's your first time running a character, so I'd avoid those.

So, static effects that go right into the numbers and/or appear on the front of the character sheet (i.e. something that adds resitance, a modifier to saving throws, gives low light vision, etc) is probably best. Stuff that adds new powers, or will list it's situational benefits on the power cards (like say "do +x damage against targets that are prone"). Stuff that you need to remember to use either situationally (i.e. on the first turn of the encounter or the first time you get bloodied, or when you drop an enemy, etc) or something that you can do every turn, but have to remember, etc are a bit more troubling.

The feats which give situational combat advantage, for example, are very good, but it's something a person playing the character for the first time will have to keep track of on top of everything else, so those are probably not the best options for a pregen to have.