Heroic Feats: where are the "gimmes"?

[Dausuul]

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.

Seconded on this. The PCs in my campaign have already run into linguistic troubles more than once - can't read the writing in the dwarven ruins (they solved that one with a ritual), can't impersonate a goblin in the goblin-infested castle (yes, they have a way to look like one, but they can't say anything, which limits the usefulness), can't spy on the orcs in the advancing horde. I've been pretty generous about letting all the various creatures know Common, but that doesn't help when you're trying to understand what they're saying among themselves.

Do not underestimate the power of Linguist in a campaign that involves anything beyond combat.

 

[KarinsDad]

What is your list?

1: Armor Proficiency: Leather Armor
1: Toughness
2: Improved Initiative
4: Initiate of the Faith
6: Action Surge
8: Linguist
10: Durable (retrain to Astral Fire at level 11)
11: Spell Focus
12: Great Fortitude
14: Action Recovery
16: Iron Will
18: Combat Anticipation (I realize that this does not stack with GF and IW, but as a Wizard, this PC really does not need the Reflex boost of Lightning Reflexes, I'm taking this for the AC boost)
20: Solid Sound?
21: Irresistible Flame
22: Spell Accuracy
24: Arcane Mastery
26: Linguist
28: Jack of All Trades?
30: ?

Durable is just a one level placeholder that does not significantly impact the observable abilities of my PC (since my PC will gain another healing surge at level 11 and again at level 18 anyway). My PC does not qualify for Astral Fire until level 11.

I don't ever want to replace feats like Linguist since I don't like the concept of "I could speak Goblin yesterday, but not today".

I also tend to take defensive feats over other types. Sure, one could uber out an Orb, but I find that to be kind of like using cheat codes for a computer game. Fun for a while, but soon boring. So, I focus more on staying alive than wiping out the opposition. That's what the other PCs are for.

 

[doctorhook]

I don't think it's possible to achieve an absolute, Platonic-ideal level of balance, but one can certainly strive to get as close as possible. For what it's worth, I think 4e is a significant improvement over 3.x when it comes to balancing feats and avoiding "must haves". Even the best feats in 4e are rarely as crucial or as strong as 3.x feats like Precise Shot or Quicken Spell.

You make a good (and reassuring!) point, Gloomy.

 

[Prestidigitalis]

21: Irresistible Flame
22: Spell Accuracy
24: Arcane Mastery
26: Linguist
28: Jack of All Trades?
30: ?

I get the bit about not wanting to retrain certain feats like Linguist, but I'd like to point out that you could retrain a feat at Level 21 in order to sneak Spell Accuracy in at 21 instead of 22, and then take Arcane Mastery at 22.

 

[Scholar & Brutalman]

You people lack any imagination! Here's my totally innovative list of feats my Wizard is taking:

1: Toughness, Leather Armour prof.
2: Initiate of the Faith
4: Improved Initiative
6: Action Surge
8: Acolyte Power (Swap 6th level utility for Bastion of Health - I like healing.)
10: Linguist, Jack of All Trades, Human Perseverance or Skill Prof, depending on what my experience of play to 10th lvl has been.

Really, the Wizard is not lacking for feat choices. I think they should have given Wizards leather armour proficiency, since every Wizard I've seen takes the feat.

 

[Rechan]

Anyone else think Escape Artist is a nice little feat? Given the monsters which, if they grab you, are going to do nasty nasty things to you?

 

[Old Gumphrey]

I'm beginning to wonder if Toughness is too good...every one of my players has it, and when they survive a blow with 1-5 HP, they just grin and say "Who's tough? I'm tough!"

I'm pretty sure they have some sort of bet or plan going on behind my back, now that I think about this situation. =)

 

[Scholar & Brutalman]

Toughness looks to me to be pretty much a gimme for most classes, at least at at the low heroic levels. At higher levels I could see one of the defender classes swapping it out; I'm not sure my Wizard will ever want to.

 

[KarinsDad]

I get the bit about not wanting to retrain certain feats like Linguist, but I'd like to point out that you could retrain a feat at Level 21 in order to sneak Spell Accuracy in at 21 instead of 22, and then take Arcane Mastery at 22.

Thanks for the suggestion. I really want to keep all of the feats that I took with the possible exception of Solid Sound, so I could retrain SS.

 

[KarinsDad]

8: Acolyte Power (Swap 6th level utility for Bastion of Health - I like healing.)

Giving up Dimension Door, Disguise Self, Dispel Magic, Invisibility, Levitate, and/or Wall of Fog is a pretty hefty price to pay for one additional healing per encounter that uses up a Healing Surge anyway.