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<blockquote data-quote="eamon" data-source="post: 4974372" data-attributes="member: 51942">Using multiple implements and/or weapons is hard to pull off and usually sub-optimal as is simply due to class features/powers, weapon focus and/or other weapon/implement specific feats, and the expense of magic implements and weapons.&nbsp; Expertise pushes things even further in that direction, where each character is strongly pushed towards specialization.&nbsp; This also impacts the usability of otherwise fun attacks such as the minotaur's gore and the dragonborn's breath weapon.&nbsp; Anything outside of the extremely narrow focus that expertise and the rest of the feats provide quickly becomes laughable sub-optimal.It's especially frustrating to want to design an interesting, flavorful PC with feats that support that flavor, and then to discover that there are a few feats that are hugely more powerful than the norm for all characters.&nbsp; The expertise feats are overpowered at level 1, and there's just no question of taking them at high epic levels.So, the problem isn't just that they force (boring) specialization and make things difficult for otherwise fine multi-weapon or implement builds, it's that the feats are an absolutely non-optional choice if you intend to make a character balanced with other characters that do take the feat.&nbsp; It doesn't matter what the intent was here; the result matters, and that's that it introduces a non-optional, inflexible balance fix via the feat system.So yeah, it's just a poorly implemented math fix.&nbsp; I'd be absolutely thrilled if WotC were to errata these feats into non-existance and simply hand out the appropriate bonuses to everyone for all attacks and defenses in question.&nbsp; The &quot;weak&quot; NAD each character posseses is an unfortunate flaw - but I don't think that forcing each character to have a small weak spot is particularly problematic.&nbsp; Different characters will have different weak spots, and it's certainly not nearly as problematic as the current situation, and could indeed be remedied by a feat.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="eamon, post: 4974372, member: 51942"] Using multiple implements and/or weapons is hard to pull off and usually sub-optimal as is simply due to class features/powers, weapon focus and/or other weapon/implement specific feats, and the expense of magic implements and weapons. Expertise pushes things even further in that direction, where each character is [I]strongly[/I] pushed towards specialization. This also impacts the usability of otherwise fun attacks such as the minotaur's gore and the dragonborn's breath weapon. Anything outside of the extremely narrow focus that expertise and the rest of the feats provide quickly becomes laughable sub-optimal. It's especially frustrating to want to design an [I]interesting[/I], [I]flavorful [/I]PC with feats that support that flavor, and then to discover that there are a few feats that are hugely more powerful than the norm for [I]all[/I] characters. The expertise feats are overpowered at level 1, and there's just no question of taking them at high epic levels. So, the problem isn't just that they force (boring) specialization and make things difficult for otherwise fine multi-weapon or implement builds, it's that the feats are an absolutely non-optional choice if you intend to make a character balanced with other characters that [I]do[/I] take the feat. It doesn't matter what the intent was here; the result matters, and that's that it introduces a non-optional, inflexible balance fix via the feat system. So yeah, it's just a poorly implemented math fix. I'd be absolutely thrilled if WotC were to errata these feats into non-existance and simply hand out the appropriate bonuses to everyone for all attacks and defenses in question. The "weak" NAD each character posseses is an unfortunate flaw - but I don't think that forcing each character to have a small weak spot is particularly problematic. Different characters will have different weak spots, and it's certainly not nearly as problematic as the current situation, and could indeed be remedied by a feat. [/QUOTE]

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