Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Gladius Legis" data-source="post: 7037126" data-attributes="member: 68748">V. FeatsWith heavy reliance on just one stat (Strength or Dexterity), plus 2 more ASIs than most other classes, the Fighter is extremely flexible on feat selection after capping that STR or DEX at 20. The main exceptions there are Eldritch Knights who actually care about their INT and Arcane Archers, who will probably be limited to around 2 or 3 feats at best.Crossbow Expert: Mandatory if you're using crossbows, especially hand crossbows. With hand crossbows, you get a bonus-action attack every round ... which just so happens to be another chance for Sharpshooter's damage bonus to happen. Ignoring loading means you can execute your full Extra Attacks with a crossbow, too. The damage can get outright obscene with this one. You also no longer suffer disadvantage for firing in the thick of melee, which applies on any ranged attacks, not just crossbows, also a tremendous benefit. Obviously, melees ignore.Great Weapon Master: Mandatory for great weapon Fighters; obviously, don't bother otherwise. If you don't plan on taking this feat, you might as well just go sword-and-board. This feat makes up nearly all of the damage advantage using a great weapon has, thanks to the -5/+10 hit/damage trade. You're most likely to use that when you have advantage or have your attack rolls buffed via Bless or similar, in which case your damage goes through the roof. Bonus-action attacks on crits or death blows are also good against BBEGs and hordes alike.Polearm Master: Mandatory if you’re going to use a polearm as a main weapon; no need to bother if you’re not. The butt-end attack adds your STR-modifier and makes for a better version of dual-wielding that’s compatible with Great Weapon Master’s hit/damage trade, and the opportunity attacks against enemies entering your reach makes this amazing when combined with Sentinel.Resilient (WIS): Always at least a good idea, though your staple offensive feats and a 20 in your attack stat will likely be a higher priority early. But nasty things like stun, fear, charms, Suggestion, Hold and dominated will test your WIS save more and more as you gain levels. With the extra ASIs you get in your progression you really have no excuse not to take this some time in your teen levels, when those effects become more frequent and harder to save against. You’ll get a +1 WIS, too, so if you’re planning a Fighter for the long-term, you’ll want to start with an odd WIS score. Unless you’re a Samurai, who is lucky enough to get WIS-save proficiency for free and won’t need this feat.Sentinel: Reminiscent of the 4e Fighter’s two main defender abilities, this one can make you very hard to escape. It’s especially deadly (and mandatory) in the hands of the melee Battle Master, who should’ve picked the Riposte maneuver as soon as it was available, all but guaranteeing an extra reaction attack against an enemy. If the Marking rule (DMG p. 271) is in effect, this becomes even better, and at Lv. 11 you get to mark more enemies than any other class. This also has fantastic synergy with Polearm Master, letting you stop enemies at reach with OAs. (Obviously, ranged Fighters ignore this one).Sharpshooter: For ranged weapon Fighters, it's a matter of when, not if you're taking this. And ignoring any cover short of full may have you taking this before your first DEX bump. Nixing disadvantage at long range is nice, too. And then there's the infamous -5/+10 hit/damage trade, which Archery Fighting Style substantially mitigates the negative effect of. Woo. Obviously, don't take if you're melee.Alert: +5 initiative is good for just about everyone. Getting in your Action Surge nova before an enemy gets to act is pretty nice. Can't be surprised is helpful, too.Defensive Duelist: Only DEX-melees need apply, this one stands a really good chance at turning melee hits against you into misses once every round once your proficiency bonus is around +4 or better. Wouldn't take it before Lv. 8, though. Obviously STR-Fighters and archers ignore.Heavy Armor Master: Fantastic at early levels (ESPECIALLY if a Variant Human takes it at Lv. 1). The damage reduction’s impact lessens somewhat as you get higher level, but it’s never a waste even then. You also get +1 STR.Lucky: THE can't-go-wrong feat of the bunch when you can't think of anything else to take.Magic Initiate: A good way for a non-Eldritch Knight to get a useful cantrip. Taking Warlock is appealing for a 1 per day casting of Hex, which adds d6s of damage to all hits and penalizes enemy ability checks. Or take Wizard for Find Familiar.Shield Master: One of the more controversial feats recently. The newest Sage Advice isn’t perfectly clear, either, but it at least seems to allow for you to bonus-action shove after making one attack with your action (and thus committing to taking an Attack action), and then making your other attack(s) after. Which makes this pretty good from Lv. 5 onward, as you can at least get one attack with advantage after shoving prone. Becomes even better if your DM rules that you can shove before all your attacks as long as you declare you’re taking the Attack action. Becomes rather third-rate if your DM rules you can only shove after making all attacks of your Attack action. The two DEX-save benefits are pretty nice, too, but let’s face it, that’s not what you’re really here for.War Caster: Mandatory for sword-and-board Eldritch Knights. They need this to bust out Shield and Absorb Elements fully armed and shielded. Not nearly a necessity for other EKs, though the advantage on concentration saves and ability to use Booming Blade on Opportunity Attacks will always be welcome.Durable: OK if you need to round off an odd CON score. Hit Die minimum is nice, but not a priority.Inspiring Leader: Someone in the party needs this feat. Most likely, that won't be you. Unless you're a "Rally Master" or a PDK, then you might in fact be the one.Mage Slayer: Good if you fight a lot of spellcasters, but prioritize other feats first.Mobile: Extra speed and free disengagement from enemies you attack. Decent.Mounted Combatant: Worth a pick if you're in a war campaign or any other campaign conducive to mounted combat. Taking all hits aimed against your mount is good in that case since you don't have anything like the Paladin's Find Steed spell to easily replace your mount if it gets whacked. Evasion for the mount and advantage against Medium and smaller are also great.Ritual Caster: Even the Fighters who aren’t one of the INT-subclasses will possibly have a 13 WIS to qualify. This feat is one of the better ways to add some out-of-combat utility to the Fighter.Skilled: Well, if you want more out-of-combat utility, here you go. You certainly have the ASIs to spare for it. I'd recommend spending all three picks on skills, since tool proficiencies can be trained during downtime but skills can't.Tavern Brawler: Another path besides Shield Master for grapplers to get a useful bonus action. Your unarmed strikes are at least a factor now in dealing damage, you get to grapple for a bonus action after if you hit with an unarmed attack or improvised weapon, and you don’t have to deal with any fiddly shield dropping and weapon drawing in your grapple routine. You also get +1 STR or CON, always nice.Dual-Wielder: +1 to AC when dual-wielding ... but dual-wielding is weak for single-class Fighters. Might be worth it if multiclassing Rogue, in which case using 2 rapiers, or rapier + dagger might be appealing.Healer: Good healing with a kit, but best left to a Thief with the Fast Hands ability.Martial Adept: One more Superiority Die alone isn't worth a whole feat for Battle Masters. Most BMs will also wind up with more maneuvers than they know what to do with, so two more are diminishing returns. And non-BMs shouldn't bother; one d6 SD per short rest is weaksauce.Observant: Bonus to passive Perception and Investigation are probably more of a Rogue thing. Also +1 to WIS or INT.Spell Sniper: Only relevant application: War Caster + Polearm Master + glaive/halberd + Booming Blade. This extends Booming Blade to a 10-foot reach and forces the approaching enemy to take the extra damage in the process when finishing their move from 10 feet to 5 away from you. The rest of this feat means nothing to you, so consider if that application is worth it alone.Tough: ONLY take at all if you already maxed out CON at 20. Not before.Athlete: +1 STR or DEX and a few benefits you don’t really need. Pass.Actor: +1 CHA if you care. You’re not a Bard and Deception and Performance are likely not your thing. Pass.Charger: Beyond useless. Next.Dungeon Delver: Leave the trapfinding and trap handling to the Rogue.Elemental Adept: You’re not a Wizard or Sorcerer (and it’s not all that great for them, either).Grappler: Useless even for characters who actually grapple. Grapple + shove accomplishes everything this feat does but better. Pin is beyond worthless as written.Heavily Armored/Lightly Armored/Moderately Armored/Weapon Master: You’re already proficient in all armor, shields, and weapons.Keen Mind: Boosts a dump stat with marginal benefits attached.Linguist: +1 INT, three languages and a secret writing code. Whatever.Medium Armor Master: A DEX-Fighter could get 1 more AC with this feat than from studded leather, but that’s hardly worth an entire feat.Savage Attacker: Damage reroll only applies to weapon dice, so no Superiority Dice or Booming Blade benefits. And it's just once a turn regardless. Weaksauce.Skulker: The first benefit post-errata is of questionable worth even for DEX-Fighters who care about Stealth. And the rest of it is isn’t much better.Racial Feats (XGTE)A new concept introduced with the XGTE, Racial Feats can only be taken by characters of a certain race. To be honest, only a few of these are really worth taking in general on their own merits (though many of them come with a +1 to an ability score that may be useful for rounding out your stats at even numbers).Elven Accuracy (Elf or Half-Elf): Incredible for DEX-Fighters (STR-Fighters need not apply), particularly those who can manufacture their own advantage (e.g. Battle Masters with Trip Attack, Eldritch Knights with familiars, Samurai). It gives you a sort of “super advantage” when you have advantage on attacks with DEX. You also get +1 to DEX (or WIS, INT or CHA).Prodigy (Human or Half-Elf or Half-Orc): Free skill proficiency, tool proficiency, language and, the best part, Expertise of one skill. Can actually be a worthwhile pick, particularly Expertising Athletics for grapplers and Shield Masters so their craft can be that much more irresistible.Bountiful Luck (Halfling): Basically extend your Lucky trait to an ally. Eh.Dragon Fear (Dragonborn): You probably won’t have the CHA to put this to good use. At least you get +1 STR, CON or CHA.Dragon Hide (Dragonborn): Natural armor and natural weapons for unarmed strikes. Typically not worth it, but at least you get +1 STR, CON or CHA.Drow High Magic (Drow): Detect Magic at will and Levitate and Dispel Magic (CHA-based) with 1/day slotless casting. Still not really worth a feat.Dwarven Fortitude (Dwarf): +1 CON, and a modicum of healing attached to your Hit Dice and Dodge action. Hardly a staple, but if you need to even out CON at late levels, it’s there.Fade Away (Gnome): DEX-based Gnome EKs may appreciate the +1 to DEX or INT, with a decent but hardly staple invisibility reaction.Fey Teleportation (High Elf): Misty Step 1/short rest, and also +1 CHA or INT and extra language. One of the better racial feats, but still not your thing.Infernal Constitution (Tiefling): Resistance to cold and poison damage and advantage on saves vs. poison. Still not really worth a precious feat slot. +1 CON, too, which is nice at least.Orcish Fury (Half-Orc): 1/short rest modest damage boost and a highly conditional extra attack when you’re about to get KO-ed but use Relentless Endurance. Again, hardly a staple ability, but at least it also comes with +1 STR or CON.Second Chance (Halfling): 1/short rest make an enemy reroll an attack against you when you get hit. Not enough by itself, but coming with +1 DEX, CON or CHA helps.Squat Nimbleness (Dwarf or Small race): +1 STR or DEX, faster walking speed to match other races, free Athletics or Acrobatics proficiency and easier grapple escapes. Not really inspiring, but if you need to even out STR or DEX, you could do worse.Wood Elf Magic (Wood Elf): Free Druid cantrip and Longstrider and Pass Without Trace as slotless casts 1/long rest. Eh.Flames of Phlegethos (Tiefling): You don’t have that many quality fire spells, or fire spells at all. There's a glut of other +1 INT or CHA feats that are more worthwhile for you.</blockquote>

Verification