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Message: <blockquote data-quote="SabreCat" data-source="post: 5499120" data-attributes="member: 76245">I've had the opportunity to create new paragon tier characters a few times recently, and found that feats are a surprisingly scarce resource. There are so many fantastically powerful, everybody-wants-'em feats in the post-Essentials world that the choices that actually help differentiate character concepts can be hard to squeeze in. Getting all your attack, defense, and damage boosts pretty much sucks up all your heroic tier picks, and it stings to pass them up. So I'm wondering... might it be worthwhile to make all the must-have feats part of the level progression somehow, and give more breathing room for character-defining feats in the usual "slots"? Characters would be more powerful overall, but it'd level the playing field in that non-optimizers wouldn't overlook crucial feats, and you're not penalized in the skirmish game by making RP decisions.The way I see it...Everyone Wants<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Expertise</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Focus</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">+Fort/Ref/Will (Superior if possible)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Resilient Focus</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Straightforward numeric upgrades to class features (Backstabber, Improved Armor of Faith)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Superior weapon or implement (with rare exceptions, like dagger Rogues who want two enchantments usable at range)</li> </ul>These are the things I'd like to work into the level progression. Rather than spend a feat on Expertise, you get that automatically at level X. Rather than take Backstabber, your Sneak Attack dice would go up to d8s at some point in your career. You could choose when to take one thing over another, but not have to worry about being able to fit them all in.Maybe Must-Have?<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Feats everyone wants but which have high prereqs (Crit range feats)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Armor Specialization/Finesse/Agility</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Unarmored Agility for cloth wearers</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Upgrades to racial powers (Rigged Chance, Versatile Master)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Action point upgrades (Dooming Action, Slaying Action)</li> </ul>I don't have the same strong sense with these of "everybody takes this" that I do with the big ones above, but they seem like things that might be worth making part of the progression. Should all strikers with rolled bonus damage get the ability to do it again on an action point (maybe at paragon tier when your APs get upgraded by your path)? Should everybody crit on 19-20 at Epic?Could Use Incentivizing<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Skill Training</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Skill Focus</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Circumstantial non-combat bonuses (Expert Ritualist, Animal Empathy)</li> </ul>In my experience, these are the first things jettisoned in favor of combat effectiveness. Perhaps they could be put onto a separate feat track, so that choosing one of these doesn't have an opportunity cost against combat badassery? (Utility powers have the same issue, but that's a story for another day.)Perfect Fit for Feat Picks As-Is<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Multiclass feats (though power swaps maybe ought to be retrains, feat-cost-free)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Dragonmark feats</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Boosts to specific keywords or damage types (Psychic Lock, Lasting Frost)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Fighting style feats (Two-Weapon Defense, True Arrow Style)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Buy off penalties (Distant Shot, Blind-Fight)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Circumstantial bonuses (Defensive Mobility, Improved Initiative)</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">New capabilities or tricks (Skill Power, Channel Divinity feats)</li> </ul>Those are the sorts of feats I'd like to see people spend their RAW picks on. Fun, combat-oriented, distinctive. The more it lines up with the plain-English meaning of the word "feat," the better.That's all a brainstorm. What do people think? Have others already done overhauls like this? Did I miss things in the must-have category? Any suggestions on implementation?</blockquote>

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