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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AntiStateQuixote" data-source="post: 2244877" data-attributes="member: 30770">It's crazy talk, man . . . I can't believe you hate Improved Initiative Augh! What feat guarantees anything in combat? Rapid shot lets you take an extra attack at the expense of reducing your chance to hit, but it does NOT guarantee that the extra attack will hit. Power Attack lets you do more damage IF you hit with an attack that has a reduced chance to hit when you use the feat, but it does not guarantee that you will hit or do extra damage. Weapon Finesse increases your chance to hit because (presumably) you are using a better ability score to determine your chance to hit, but it does not guarantee that you will hit even though you are using your better ability score to modify the d20 roll. None of these feats "guarantees" anything.   Assuming there is more than one round of combat . . . yes, this feat will be used more often than Improved Initiative in a given combat, but it is debatable if this is more useful.  Well, when these high-DEX critters (Rogue with Sneak Attack?) face other high-DEX critters (Rogue with Sneak Attack?) then the one with Improved Initiative is most likely to win initiative. There are plenty of critters that have high initiative modifiers. Getting a +4 to your initiative increases the chance that you will go before ANY critter (regardless of their modifier) by 20%.  Actually, given a large enough random sampling of combats with critters with various initiative modifiers that are evenly distributed above and below the initiative modifier of another critter (before accounting for Improved Initiative) EXACTLY 20% of all encounters should begin with the critter having Improved Initiative winning iniative BECAUSE the critter had improved initiative. I don't think that 20% is a rather low percentage . . . maybe you do.  Wow, not played much high level combat where a single save or die effect TOTALLY determines who lives or dies? Not played much high level combat where a well-timed grapple (preferably on the first round of combat) totally incapacitates the enemy wizard? Not played much high level combat where the ability to flee via magic BEFORE you get crushed saves your life on the first round? I can think of a TON of situations where who goes first completely determines success or failure in a given mission. Someone said before to track situations in which your enemy wins initiative. AFTER he's dead, calculate the damage he did on his last action. If YOU had one initiative instead of your enemy, that's damage you wouldn't be healing after the fight. I think that's a pretty good argument for going first. Save resources for later use by going first and taking down the enemy that much faster. And again I must say Improved Initiative is the only feat left in the pool that can benefit EVERY character in the game regardless of class, focus, etc.</blockquote>

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