Heroic Feats: where are the "gimmes"?

[amysrevenge]

OK, here's my situation. I'm building four warforged characters. A fighter (sword/board), a cleric (battle), a wizard, and a warlock (infernal).

I'm planning out the whole heroic tier for all four.

I can fill out all the feats and wish for more with the fighter. For all three of the others, I'm grasping at straws and picking stuff at random - there just aren't enough feats that jump out at me as necessary.

I mean, for the cleric I'm taking three proficiency feats (bastard sword, scale armor, light shield) and three warforged feats. For the wizard and warlock I'm taking Improved Init, two warforged feats, and Toughness, plus two more forgettable choices each.

Why am I grasping? Am I missing something, or are defenders the only one who really need all their feats?

 

[Gloombunny]

It's not defenders, it's melee characters. Rogues and rangers have no problem filling up their feat selections, for instance.

Incidentally, leather armor proficiency is very much a "gimme" feat for a wizard. The improved pact boons are kinda nice for the warlock, as is skill training in Stealth, and depending on deity choice the cleric might want to take the appropriate divinity feat (some are pretty good, others not so much). Also, don't be afraid to multiclass. Any character should be able to find an initial multiclass feat with a useful benefit, and you get a skill training too.

 

[jaelis]

Weapon Focus would be decent for the cleric.

I think the Improved Pact feats are pretty good for the warlock, and it seems like you can often find one of the energy damage feats (Burning Blizzard, etc) that works a warlock, depending on the powers you are taking.

The wizard should definitely take leather armor proficiency.

edit- and I'll second Gloombunny's suggestion of multiclassing.

 

[Stalker0]

If these guys do anything but combat, jack of all trades is a gimme to the wizard and probably the warlock if it meets the int requirement. +2 to all untrained skills is solid gold.

 

[eamon]

Linguist can be quite fun, depending on the campaign. For the low, low cost of a feat which you otherwise wouldn't spend usefully anyhow, you learn three languages.

 

[Gort]

In my experience, every character should pick up skill training in Athletics. My party blew about 30 healing surges drowning at the bottom of a river because nobody could swim very well.

 

[Prestidigitalis]

I keep seeing this line of thinking, and I just don't get it. I would kill for more feats for my favorite class, the Wizard.

Armor Proficiency (Leather), Durable, Improved Initiative, Initiate of the Faith, Jack of All Trades, Linguist, Quick Draw (I know, it doesn't stack with Imp. Init.), Toughness, Wintertouched.

As many of the "plus damage" feats as I qualify for: Astral Radiance, Burning Blizzard, Dark Fury, Raging Storm.

Then come the racial feats: Action Surge and Human Perseverence, Elven Precision, or Hellfire Blood, depending on the race.

More? Skill training in Perception, Stealth, Athletics, Acrobatics. Throw in Nature and Heal (I get Arcana automatically and Religion from Initiate of the Faith), and all the Ritual skills are covered.

Wouldn't it be nice to be *really* good at Perception and Stealth? Always have surprise, never get surprised? Skill Focus in both.

That's more than 20. And while some of those are less exciting than others, I want every one.

On a side note, I laugh when I read that the extra feat humans get at Level 1 doesn't matter because everyone gets 18 feats. You don't get all 18 at Level 1, now do you? At Level 1, humans have twice as many as anyone else. At Level 2, they have 50% more, etc. The lack of slots to fill with lovely, lovely feats is nowhere felt more profoundly than at Level 1.

 

[Mr. Teapot]

Wintertouched.

As I recall, Wintertouched is in fact completely useless at Heroic levels, as there are no monsters in the MM that are vulnerable to cold. It's only useful once you can get the Paragon feat that gives monsters vulnerability to cold.


For a warforged wizard (or the warlock), they might qualify for Hide armor, which is another good feat. Light Shield proficiency, too. But Leather Armor is a clear gimme for all wizards.


I'd also reccomend the multiclass feat, even if you just take the first initiate feat. Swapping powers for other powers may or may not be worth a feat, but Healing Word once per day plus free skill training definitely is. Multiclassing into Ranger beats Skill Training in Perception, etc.

Of course, skill training and skill focus are also good filler feats. I'm less enthused by Jack of All Trades than some people are, but it depends on what character you put it on and what skills they already have: Eladrin and humans might already be trained in all the skills they'd actually be good at, even with an extra +2.

 

[Prestidigitalis]

As I recall, Wintertouched is in fact completely useless at Heroic levels, as there are no monsters in the MM that are vulnerable to cold. It's only useful once you can get the Paragon feat that gives monsters vulnerability to cold.

Sure, so you don't take it until Level 12, or even later -- or maybe never. I came up with over 20 feats that I wanted to take, so if Wintertouched isn't useful yet, there are plenty of others to take instead.

My Heroic Tier feats are probably:

1 Toughness, Armor Profiency (Leather) [ for humans]
2 Improved Initiative
4 Initiate of the Faith
6 Action Surge
8 Human Perseverence
10 Durable

At 11 I retrain Durable or Human Perseverence into Spell Focus, and add either Second Implement or Arcane Reach (if I qualify).

I might be happy if I got a new feat every level -- maybe.

 

[Rechan]

For the cleric, Astral Fire. (Hell, for a paladin Astral Fire is good). Although it's better for a Wis-focused Cleric, who's always doing radiant damage of some kind.

Am I the only one who likes Alertness?