Please rate Off-Hand Parry

[smetzger]

Please rate the usefulness/must have of Off-Hand Parry.

Off-Hand Parry [General]
REQ: Base Attack bonus +3, Ambidexterity, Dex 13+, Two-Weapon Fighting, Proficiency with weapon
When fighting with two weapons and using the full attack action, on your action decide to attack normally or to sacrifice all your off-hand attacks for the round in exchange for a +2 dodge bonus to your AC. If you are also using a buckler, its AC bonus stacks. You can use only bladed or hafted weapons of a size category smaller than you with this feat. Sword and Fist, pg 7.

 

[Jeremy]

If you want your offhand to be giving you AC, wear a shield. They are cheaper to enchant than weapons and will give greater benefit anyways.

You can always add spikes or the bashing enchantment to it if you don't want to give up the option of occasionally double swinging.

Ambidexterity, Two Weapon Fighting, Offhand Expert, Weapon Focus, Weapon Specialization, Frenzied Attack, Power Attack, Cleave... There are already plenty of feats that a dual wielder needs, this one just doesn't have enough benefit at a measly +2 AC.

 

[Destil]

As written it's perhaps one of the most useless feats in existance (nearly eclipsing Skill Focus(Knowlage:Nothing)), as you need to make off hand attacks to use it, thus giving you a -2 penelity to all attacks... so it's Expertise, only set at -2 and only usable when taking a full attack... and it dosn't let you take Improved Trip or any such feat, as well...

May have some slight use for someone with 12 or lower Int, however.

 

[Elder-Basilisk]

Good points from the other posters--I hadn't considered it before but you're right, this isn't a very effective feat. It also suffers even more since feats are at a premium for any two weapon fighter--a human fighter could use the following progression:

1. Ambdex/TWF/Weapon Focus (or exotic weapon for a double weapon)
2. Weapon finesse or weapon focus (for the exotic weapon)
3. Iron Will
4. Weapon specialization
6. Power Attack, Cleave
8. Improved TWF
9. Improved Critical
10. Blindfight?
12. Power Critical, Close Quarters fighting?

As you can see, even for a human fighter there are only five feats not dedicated to two weapon fighting with a particular weapon available by level 12. For non-humans, or characters who wish to take prestige classes, feat availability is even tighter. Consequently, like a monk feat, two weapon fighting feats need to be more competitive in order to be worthwhile--taking them involves a higher opportunity cost.

 

[Chun-tzu]

Two more 2-weapon feats a Fighter or Ranger might be interested in are Twin Sword Style and Pin Shield.

 

[maddman75]

I agree with the other posters. There is nothing this feat does that Expertise doesn't do, and Expertise does several other things. If it didn't apply the -2 to your primary attacks, then it would get all the way up to 'marginally useless'. As written I couldn't see any reason to take it over expertise, unless you have a two weapon fighter that wants to boost his AC and doesn't have Int 13.

 

[Destil]

Sheild expert is also quite usefull for two-weapon fighting, and makes this feat even more useless in compairson, since you can get a large spiked shield which functions as a second weapon and gives a +2 to AC at all times, even when you're not two weapon fighting...

 

[phadian]

Off-hand parry

I think off-hand parry is useful. IOC, we are currently facing an NPC that enjoys making use of anti-magic, and while you may sacrifice with your attacks, +2 to your AC with no other magic is handy. It really stacks well with the Duelist features. Figure you have eight levels in Duelist and Off-hand Parry, you can throw 13 (2 for fighting defensively, 2 for off-hand parry, 8 from the duelist, and 1 from the dodge feat) extra AC against a target (and 12 AC against everyone else), and when no magic is involved, that's a lot.

 

[MThibault]

Low intelligence fighters and rangers (and even rogues) are common enough to make this a useful feat in my opinion.

For a lightly armored ranger *with* a high intelligence, an extra +2 to expertise might be worth a feat. Especially if you are having trouble getting through an opponent's DR with your secondary weapon. Having the option of a +7 to AC in a pinch is nothing to scoff at. IMHO.

Not for everyone, obviously, but there you have it.

 

[warpmind]

I simply think it shouldn't be a feat but an attack option available to everyone using two weapons, stackable with fighting defensively.