Here Are The Most Popular D&D Feats (War Caster Leads The Pack!)

It's time for some more D&D Beyond stats! This time we take a look at the most popular feats! War Caster, Tough, Lucky, and Sharpshooter lead the pack. We recently looked at stats for adventures, classes by tier, subclasses, and multi class combinations.

The last time DDB looked at this, the number of characters using feats was lower than it is now. Once feats come in properly at levels 4-7, over a third of characters choose a feat. By the time they reach 8th level, half of characters are using feats.

These are the most popular feats across all classes. A year ago, the dev says that Great Weapon Master was in the top four.

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And here we have the top feats broken down by class.

See the full dev video here.

 

[Swarmkeeper]

That's rude. Assuming I didn't grasp your post because I pointed out the optimizers perspective that takes the same initial evidence as you and results in the opposite conclusion.

The simplest reason I responded to your post is not because you optimized for fun and I failed to grasp that but because I disagreed with a fundamental premise of your post:

you claimed that your ability to play such a character was evidence your playstyle was right. Additionally​

you used the buzzwords that are used to belittle optimizers "robotically pursuing DPR, that's what I'm supposed to do, white room theories" and that meant your post went to far.

My ability to play a fun character is evidence that “my” playstyle is right? Yes, I agree.

Of course, if you find playing your DPR machine of a character to be fun, then you are also saying “my“ playstyle is right. It would seem we’re after the same goal in the end. If that offends you in some way, there really is not anything else to say.

You see, at our table, we’ve shaken off the yoke of “DPR or Bust optimization” as the only means to have fun. And that has made all the difference.

 

[ClaytonCross]

Pact of the Tome seems an odd choice for that role. I'd think Pact of the Chain would make more sense. A flying, invisible imp familiar with 120 foot darkvision and 100 foot telepathy seems like a better scout.

Which is largely why I didn't take that. "I enjoy finding a role, then finding away to perform that role in away that mechanically works but no one has seen." I am pretty sure pact of the chain scouts are pretty common. Also, I want to scout not have my familiar do it for me. Me scouting means I am actual danger if I get ambushed, step on a trap, or can't get back to the party. I don't want to live in safety having a great scout companion. I want to play the scout and risk the danger. Taking tome with devils sight lest me see in the darkness without alerting people with a light, cast guidance for disarming a trap I find, an use ritual detect magic for those magic inclined trapped dungeon. As a human with Devi's sight I could urchin background (thieves' tools and stealth) and originally as variant human observant making me pretty good at spotting traps and ambushes. My GM did not like my high passives (despite them being lower than a rogues with expertise) so I changed it to alert and picked up misty step so when I do get ambushed don't suffer a round of surprise and I can misty step move back to the party. Also as scout your in a pretty reasonable position to be alert so it seemed like the next logical choice for my goal. I am level 8 now and its been working great.

 

[ClaytonCross]

Yes but you cannot do BOTH on your turn. You get ONE object interaction and he's talking about dropping the weapon (free action) and then picking it up (single object interaction on your turn). If you sheath your weapon as part of spellcasting, you no longer have it in your hand after the spellcasting. So for example you will not be able to make an opportunity attack with that weapon if it comes up, until you draw your weapon again on a later turn. And of course if you draw it, you won't be able to sheath it on that turn. The only way to really avoid this is the war caster feat.

But again that implies paladins cast alot of spell instead of smiting while in melee range where they could get opportunity attacks. Almost all paladin spell that require empty hand for somatic components but don't have material components (18/19 Cure wounds being the only exception for all paladins) are special condition spell or are pre/post battle spells. Unless your GM magically ambushes with enemies starting battle within 30ft when your walking through the forest, roads, or down hallways where you should see them in advance and know they are coming with 1 round prep as the ranged fighter engage... then you should typically have 1 round for the concentration battle prep spell of your choice then use lay on hands to keep people up in battle not needing cure wounds.

If I am wrong?... (which I could be, this is the question of my confusion) ... if so what paladin spell that requires a somatic component and not a material component are they casting in battle regularly that makes war-cater useful to a paladin other than spell concentration check where reliance (CON) is simply better and that the worst they have to do is sheath or drop their weapon as a free action then use the once a turn item interaction with the move rotating 5ft around and enemy (Not even forfeiting opportunity attacks) to pick it up on the same turn?

I really want to know. Can someone give me a specific answer of why they are using it? What spell made it so this was worth the lose of feat/ASI for mechanical or cool character design reasons?

 

[FrogReaver]

My ability to play a fun character is evidence that “my” playstyle is right? Yes, I agree.

My point was that your ability to play a fun non-optimized character is also evidence to any optimizers that might play with you that his playstyle is "right".

If you want to make the it's more fun claim and that's all that matters I can't refute that and I'm not trying to. However, if you want to claim that your particular character is evidence your playstyle is right then I'm going to keep on pointing out that it's only right when someone already approaches that evidence from your perspective. The moment that same evidence is approached from the optimizers perspective, he can also use it to support the notion that his playstyle is right.

Anyways, I think a more honest assessment of what you are doing isn't simply playing whatever strikes you as fun. I mean we all play what strikes us as fun, but your choices have a specific method involved in your fun. Your stated goal was to want to know what feats are least used so you can use them. That to me implies that your fun comes simply from running underutilized and unoptimized options. That's fun for you but it's not what I'd describe as just playing what's fun. You also have just as much a focus on optimization as DPR optimizers have, it's just the goal of that optimization is different. The goal of your optimization efforts are so that you end up with a totally unoptimized character.

Of course, if you find playing your DPR machine of a character to be fun, then you are also saying “my“ playstyle is right. It would seem we’re after the same goal in the end. If that offends you in some way, there really is not anything else to say.

Fun for you is always right unless it overly impacts someone elses fun.

You see, at our table, we’ve shaken off the yoke of “DPR or Bust optimization” as the only means to have fun. And that has made all the difference.

See there you go criticizing another playstyle...

You can talk about your method of having fun without downgrading others. I get that you feel liberated from a mindset that you feel previously shackled you but that doesn't mean others don't genuinely enjoy the playstyle that mindset brings and don't feel shackled by it because they find it fun.

 

[FrogReaver]

But again that implies paladins cast alot of spell instead of smiting while in melee range where they could get opportunity attacks. Almost all paladin spell that require empty hand for somatic components but don't have material components (18/19 Cure wounds being the only exception for all paladins) are special condition spell or are pre/post battle spells. Unless your GM magically ambushes with enemies starting battle within 30ft when your walking through the forest, roads, or down hallways where you should see them in advance and know they are coming with 1 round prep as the ranged fighter engage... then you should typically have 1 round for the concentration battle prep spell of your choice then use lay on hands to keep people up in battle not needing cure wounds.

If I am wrong?... (which I could be, this is the question of my confusion) ... if so what paladin spell that requires a somatic component and not a material component are they casting in battle regularly that makes war-cater useful to a paladin other than spell concentration check where reliance (CON) is simply better and that the worst they have to do is sheath or drop their weapon as a free action then use the once a turn item interaction with the move rotating 5ft around and enemy (Not even forfeiting opportunity attacks) to pick it up on the same turn?

I really want to know. Can someone give me a specific answer of why they are using it? What spell made it so this was worth the lose of feat/ASI for mechanical or cool character design reasons?

The top 5 reasons paladins take it (in no particular order):
1. To do what they want while avoiding silly sheninigans like dropping weapons during combat
2. For a big early bonus to concentration saves
3. Because their DM rules that having the feat allows you to cast whatever spells you want while holding weapons or a weapon and shield in both hands
4. There's a spell they really want to be able to cast as a reaction, possibly booming blade picked up through multiclassing
5. They don't like the visuals of sheathing their weapon in combat to cast a spell

My guess is that some combination of those reasons are why most every player choose the feat.

 

[ClaytonCross]

Not that anybody on Enworld would do this, but I'm betting it drives some people BAT$#!~ CRAZY that most 5e players aren't optimizer and don't care about optimization.

Either that or they dismiss the data as being inaccurate and non-representative.

It doesn't both me at all if a character is not optimized. I take feats like tavern brawler because I want to my barbarian to through his weapon on the floor and beat the crap out of NPC that disrespected his mom, etc. That said, while not optimal it has a purpose. I would hate to think paladin players are taking warcaster and its not really doing anything for them mechanically or for flavor. That's not a desire for optimization, its just not wanting players or GMs pushing a feat when they could be having fun with a new feature they want instead of a "class tax" that is not required for any reason I can see. ... I also totally recognize their my be a truly valid reason having this feet would make play more fun for players but as of yet... the only answer I have seen amounts to "so I cast cure wounds while hold my weapon that I could have sheathed or dropped and picked when I moved or just use lay on hands" ... I don't understand taking a useless feet when you could get a new toy. So if someone sees a "new toy" aspect I don't I want to see... maybe I want that toy and I never new. Maybe it would be my new favorite toy. Right now (I could have missed the answer trying to go back through) I very simply feel like players are taxing themselves a feat they don't need to because they missed the parts of the rules and the fact they lack an actual use for it... and if thats true I feel kind of sad for their missed opportunity as I always get happy when I level up and improve some way. If I found out (and I have) I wasted a known spell, feat, or attribute increase on some thing ... their is a sadness for well crap... then I talk to my GM to see if I could be allowed to fix it. Sometimes yes and sometimes no. So if talking about that hear means we ether find a legitimate fun reason, mechanical improvement reason, or just realize its an unnecessary tax players are putting on themselves and we can warn them for a chance of avoiding that regret. I feel like we all won. I really don't care which but base on the post I have read so far... I am starting to see a pattern.

 

[Dessert Nomad]

But again that implies paladins cast alot of spell instead of smiting while in melee range where they could get opportunity attacks. Almost all paladin spell that require empty hand for somatic components but don't have material components (18/19 Cure wounds being the only exception for all paladins) are special condition spell or are pre/post battle spells. Unless your GM magically ambushes with enemies starting battle within 30ft when your walking through the forest, roads, or down hallways where you should see them in advance and know they are coming with 1 round prep as the ranged fighter engage... then you should typically have 1 round for the concentration battle prep spell of your choice then use lay on hands to keep people up in battle not needing cure wounds.

I sometimes wonder if people posting actually play D&D or if they just do white room analysis. You seriously expect that every fight you will have a round to prepare, you will know exactly what will be in the fight so you know whether you want to buff or not, never have a fight where there is a delay of a minute from 'I think we'll fight' to 'the fight starts', never have a fight that turns out harder than you expected at first, never have a boss that brings in allies partway through a fight, and so on. That's a pretty specific set of circumstance that in my experience is rare, even in published AL modules which are rather constrained in what they do.

that the worst they have to do is sheath or drop their weapon as a free action then use the once a turn item interaction with the move rotating 5ft around and enemy (Not even forfeiting opportunity attacks) to pick it up on the same turn?

No, not everyone plays with your specific house. RAW you get one object interaction per turn, you don't get this 'drop, action, pick up' sequence; "drop their weapon as a free action" isn't part of the core rules. It's a common online attempt to get by a restriction in the game, buy isn't supported by RAW and is pretty goofy looking to picture.

 

[ClaytonCross]

If you have a DM who always lets you know that combat is coming up in exactly a few rounds but not many rounds and exactly what you'll be fighting, then you can pre-cast one minute buffs before combat. I have never met a DM who always tells you when the next combat will be, and never has the bad guys run away, talk, activate something that takes time to deal with before you can get to them, or call in allies after combat is joined, however, so I certainly wouldn't count on never casting one minute buffs during combat. Similarly, if you have a DM who never gives you nasty magical effects that you want to dispel in combat, more injury than your LOH alone can cure, or any kind of curse or restorable condition that you want to remove during combat, then you'll never cast those in combat. But, again, it's not reasonable to assume that every DM avoids those conditions all the time. (The 'you can always pre-cast 1 minute buffs' sounds a LOT more like white-room theorycrafting than play experience, BTW)

I have never played D&D without someone wanting to be "the scout" and even if they fail to spot the enemy they are always about 30ft forward meaning that any character moving 30ft and attacking would be 60ft away from the paladin and would likely double move for their turn not getting a chance to attack. If your saying you never use scouts I am sure you have these problems.

I would also say it only takes 1 turn to cast such a buff then the 1-10 minute buff last the rest of the fight as a rule ...
https://www.sageadvice.eu/2017/03/29/what-are-the-rules-on-dropping-weapons/
The intent is that letting go of something requires no appreciable effort. But picking it up does.
"You can also interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action." PHB p190 Example listed: • pick up a dropped axe

Scenario 1: Player characters are not engaged in combat they can cast the buff on the first turn even if engaged and as part of the action of casting that spell ... draw their weapon for opportunity attacks.
So even if they have Zero warning...How does that impact anything? This does not require warcaster.

Scenario 2: Weapon draw engaged in a fight they drop their weapon (which does not use their free action), cast a spell and Pickup their weapon as part of the action to cast the spell.
...How does that impact anything? This does not require warcaster.

Sure their are times when might want this as feature casting reaction spells like absorb elements and shield but paladins don't typically use any of those that I know of. (Did alittle research and oathbreaker has Hellish Rebuke but that one subclass doesn't seem enough to account for this being the #1 paladin feat). As a rule the other 2 aspects of warcaster are more useful:

1.You have advantage on Constitution saving throws that you make to maintain your concentration on a spell when you take damage.
- But Resilience (con) is better for paladins and does the same thing, so why is Warcaster the #1 pick instead of it? I mean I don't care I am just trying to make since of it.

2. When a hostile creature's movement provokes an opportunity attack from you, you can use your reaction to cast a spell at the creature, rather than making an opportunity attack. The spell must have a casting time of 1 action and must target only that creature.
- So I was thinking it was something to do with this but "Blinding smite" is the best use of this I can think of and you don't get it until level 13 I believe... so why are paladins taking Warcaster at level 4?
- These feature justifies the other like a cleric casting Sacred Flame using this reaction not wanting to drop their weapon to do so as a reaction would not let them pick it back up.

So if your an Oath Breaker Paladin with Hellish rebuke, expecting to play past level 13 and pick up Blinding smite... then this makes a bit more since, but that still doesn't seem to account for it being #1 for paladins. I would have expected something like great weapon master or something fun like actor... but warcaster on a paladin? Just seems weird to me.

Based on this post and a lot of others at this point, it seems like a paladin tax for not knowing you just pick up your weapon after you cast. I mean I get casters including clerics because of the opportunity attack with spell and advantage on concentration saves, the casting with a weapon usually only being useful to clearics but ... they all want the other 2. Its really surprising to me all the posts saying they are taking warcaster because they have weapon and a shield which seems like the lest useful aspect of the feat. Also, all those two handed weapon paladins just need to let go of the weapon with one hand and cast because they are just carrying the two-handed weapon with one hand (over their shoulder perhaps) and you only need two hands to wield it. Since any adult could realistically carry a 18lbs or less item in one hand for 6 seconds and carry weight would not change if your just holding it and not fighting with it, you might think two handed weapon paladins alone would make this feat less common than heavy weapon master that has comes in second by a 10% lead...

 

[ClaytonCross]

I sometimes wonder if people posting actually play D&D or if they just do white room analysis. You seriously expect that every fight you will have a round to prepare, you will know exactly what will be in the fight so you know whether you want to buff or not, never have a fight where there is a delay of a minute from 'I think we'll fight' to 'the fight starts', never have a fight that turns out harder than you expected at first, never have a boss that brings in allies partway through a fight, and so on. That's a pretty specific set of circumstance that in my experience is rare, even in published AL modules which are rather constrained in what they do.



No, not everyone plays with your specific house. RAW you get one object interaction per turn, you don't get this 'drop, action, pick up' sequence; "drop their weapon as a free action" isn't part of the core rules. It's a common online attempt to get by a restriction in the game, buy isn't supported by RAW and is pretty goofy looking to picture.

Its not a house rule:

https://www.sageadvice.eu/2017/03/29/what-are-the-rules-on-dropping-weapons/
Jeremy Crawford "The intent is that letting go of something requires no appreciable effort. But picking it up does."
"You can also interact with one object or feature of the environment for free, during either your move or your action." PHB p190 Example listed: • pick up a dropped axe

They left drop weapon of the list of free actions because dropping stuff doesn't cost a free action. It takes that little effort to let go.

Its also not that goofy to imagine someone stabbing the sword into the ground or dropping a hammer on its head to cast a spell that is urgent enough to not be smiting as a paladin generally does, then take that second that is needed to retrieve your weapon before moving on. It would be more silly if that were not the case. In my opinion. You want another turn just to pick up your weapon?

 

[Dausuul]

I have never played D&D without someone wanting to be "the scout" and even if they fail to spot the enemy they are always about 30ft forward meaning that any character moving 30ft and attacking would be 60ft away from the paladin and would likely double move for their turn not getting a chance to attack. If your saying you never use scouts I am sure you have these problems.

You never encounter foes that lurk in ambush and let the scout go past so they can attack the entire party? Or ambush with ranged attacks? Or teleportation, invisibility, or shapechanging to look like an ally?

...All I can say is, your DM is very, very nice to you.