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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kobold Stew" data-source="post: 9158671" data-attributes="member: 23484">Ranking Maneuvers.There are lots of good choices, I feel. There are twenty options, and they're not all gold, admittedly. Nevertheless, I feel there's good options (though some I've never seen played, marked untested). I'll rank them as Tier 1 (definitely consider for level 3), tier 2 (maybe take one at level 3, for a quirk or utility option; probably take one at level 7), and tier 3 (probably not consider unless central to character concept).[spoiler=combat]Bait and Switch (Tier 3, untested). Feels niche.Commander's Strike (Tier 1). Creates teamwork, makes you feel like the party leader. Synergizes with Rogue perfectly.Disarming Attack (Tier 2, but awesome). Won't be used all the time, but lets you do something not normally possible, and so very cool when fighting a big bad.Distracting Strike (Tier 3, untested). I've never liked this because it depends on the initiative. It should synergize with the Rogue, but the rogue usually has a higher initiative. Never played it.Evasive Strike (Tier 3, untested). Even with the slight buff it's got in PT7, why is the battlemaster leaving combat? Take the hit.Feinting Attack (Tier 1). Solid choice for any build.Goading Attack (Tier 2). Taunt! Fun to play, even if it's drawing fire.Lunging Attack (Tier 3). How often is that 10' going to matter?Maneuvering Attack (Tier 3, untested). Another teamwork option, but it uses up your ally's reaction for their positioning.Menacing Attack (Tier 1). Terrify!Parry (Tier 3). The Damage reduction is improved in PT7, but I'm not sure after level 5 or 6 if it's ever worth it.Precision (Tier 1). Even better after PT7, when you need to hit, here you go. You get to use it after you know you miss too, so it gives you a chance to connect when otherwise you wouldn't.Pushing Attack (Tier 1). Punch someone 15' away from you; hit them with your sling and cause them to fly back off a cliff. Whatever fantasy hit you think of, this lets you do it. Fun as all getout.Riposte (Tier 1). A bonus attack on your enemy's turn.Sweeping Attack (Tier 3, untested). Unlikely to tip any combat in your favour. It does seem to be a fun way to get rid of a spellcaster's familiar, but how often will that come up?Trip Attack (Tier 1). Knocks someone Prone.[/spoiler][spoiler=utility]Ambush (Tier 2). Bonus to Stealth. Always useful in Heavy Armor, even if not always worth a die.Commanding Presence (Tier 2). Bonus to Persuasion or Intimidation. Great out of combat option especially when people tend to use Charisma as a dumpstat. This belies that choice.Rally (Tier 3). Giving THP to a party member can be useful, but I'm not sure it's your job.Tactical Assessment (Tier 3). Bonus to History, Investigation, or Insight. Don't get me wrong; I think Investigation is hugely underrated, and it's useful if you think you are dealing with an illusion. I just wouldn't choose it on the chance I'd be running into an illusion.[/spoiler]So, by my ranking:COMBAT: 7 at tier 1, 2 at tier 2, and 7 at tier 3. I suspect that any battlemaster I've played has taken at least one of the tier 2 options. I'd say there are 9 good choice.UTILITY: 2 at tier 2, 2 at tier 3. Picking up one of the tier 2 options at level 7 makes sense to me; Commanding Presence would always be my choice, but I realize that's personal.I make that eleven good-to-great choices, and a level 10 character is likely to have anything they want, and will only get stronger from there. That feels solid to me. I'm happy to have any of these ratings challenged -- that's not the point of the exercise. The point is to show that throughout the battlemaster's career, there are always going to be reasonable choices available, and even if there's a maneuver that seems lame to me, someone will like it for them (as with Tactical Assessment, which I do like, even if I wouldn't choose it.)I'll add one more thing: Many of the maneuvers have been changed to any attack roll. That means they'll work with the new True Strike, if you want to make a character that attacks with Int, Wis, Cha. It won't work with Extra Attack, but it justifies a 3-level dip into Battlemaster for some fun combat options if that's what you are doing.All this is to say, I think Battlemaster remains very, very strong, and has solid (though perhaps not optimized) choices all the way through. My last Battlemaster was a pit-fighter/boxer using the Unarmed fighting style (and so before the Brawler was announced), and though the  game didn't last, it was a blast to play.</blockquote>

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