Am I overlooking good feats?

[No, I'm not, You are!]

I've played to lvl 8 so far, so I had multiple looks at the feat list by now (and on wiki ;p)... Am I overlooking good feats, or is taking +2 ability almost always better? Remembering other 5e DnD games I've played in the past and comparing to that... I find feats in bg3 to be quiet underwhelming.

PS: Not a hate post! I am genuinly trying to figure out if I am overlooking one or more feats.

Thanks <3

[Hobocop]

5e feats are great and basically always worth taking over ASIs since they've added newer ones in newer books.

The problem is that BG3 doesn't have those newer feats, only what's in the PHB with a few tweaks, and PHB feats are basically all universally amazing (Great Weapon Master/Sharpshooter) or complete trash (Keen Mind, Skilled, Weapon Master).

[KRON]

Originally posted by Lil' Botchling:

I've played to lvl 8 so far, so I had multiple looks at the feat list by now (and on wiki ;p)... Am I overlooking good feats, or is taking +2 ability almost always better? Remembering other 5e DnD games I've played in the past and comparing to that... I find feats in bg3 to be quiet underwhelming.

PS: Not a hate post! I am genuinly trying to figure out if I am overlooking one or more feats.

Thanks <3

Depends on your build. As a barbarian or a figher, Great Weapon Master is a good feat. Monk benefits massively from Tavern Brawler and strength elixirs combo. Spell casters benefit from War Caster. And pretty much everyone benefits from Alert.

[FunkyMonkey]

Originally posted by KRON:

Originally posted by Lil' Botchling:

I've played to lvl 8 so far, so I had multiple looks at the feat list by now (and on wiki ;p)... Am I overlooking good feats, or is taking +2 ability almost always better? Remembering other 5e DnD games I've played in the past and comparing to that... I find feats in bg3 to be quiet underwhelming.

PS: Not a hate post! I am genuinly trying to figure out if I am overlooking one or more feats.

Thanks <3

Depends on your build. As a barbarian or a figher, Great Weapon Master is a good feat. Monk benefits massively from Tavern Brawler and strength elixirs combo. Spell casters benefit from War Caster. And pretty much everyone benefits from Alert.

I would also add Resilient to this list. I like Resilient WIS on Fighters and Barbarians if I can fit it in, and Resilient CON is excellent on spell casters like Wizards and Clerics, Sorcerers don't need it and can take War caster instead.

[Thorak]

Sharpshooter (archer), Tavern Brawler (thrower/monk) and Alert (caster first feat, most other chars, second feat) are the strongest feats.
Great weapon master (non-paladin 2 hander) or Savage attack (paladin only) are strong as well.
After that I would say ability score improvement is likely your best bet.

I play honour mode only (8 playthroughs or so) which is what I am basing my opinions on. Alert might be weaker on lower difficulties or if you run weak builds.

[Raz]

I'm of the camp that the +2 is only good at either Lv8 or Lv12 unless for some ungodly reason you absolutely need the improved score which generally can be offset by gear, especially when you're Lv8 and have access to some of the best gear that usually isn't replaced even in Act 3.

Casters
- War Caster, easier to keep concentration. So many times I have had Shadowheart Concentrating on Spirit Guardians and spent the entire fight just succeeding on Saving Throws on her concentration with the only real way to stop her is to knock her prone/unconscious/paralyzed/sleep.

- Resilient: Constitution, easier to keep concentration. Usually paired with War Caster.

- Spell Sniper, Eldritch Blast. Grabbing this primarily for the -1 to rolls for a critical chance. Eldritch Blast learned this way use whatever your Spellcasting Modifier is for you most recent multiclass. If you haven't multiclassed, then whatever your class uses to cast spells.

- Elemental Adept ignores enemy resistance to whatever element you elect. Fire is the biggest resisted element in the game with I believe lightning being the next and you can never roll a 1 or 2.

- Alert, gods Alert is leagues above Ability Score Improvement. If you don't pick this because of how Initiative works on DnD 5e proper, know that Initiative does NOT work the same here. in 5e, it's a 1d20. In BG3, it's a 1d4. Getting a +5 on a 1d4 means you're almost always guaranteed to be going first over your enemies. Massive game changer. Who cares if your Spell Save DC is missing a +1 or Spell Attack roll when you're going ahead of the enemy and can just CC/Burst them before they get a turn.

Melee
- Tavern Brawler if you're a Barbarian who throws crap, or a Monk. This breaks either classes, but primarily Monk. Monks can end up having Flurry of Blows that deal 50 damage, easy at Lv8, and that's the low end of damage.

- Great Weapon Master + Savage Attacker; these paired together is almost always better than ASI because of all the Advantage sitting around everywhere, weapon oils that give +1 / +2 to your Attack Rolls, all the gear that gives a +1 to Attack roll at Lv8. Savage Attacker re-rolls ALL damage die associated with your attack and uses the highest one. So if you have a 1d4 Fire damage (Flawed Helldusk Gloves), 1d4 Thunder from Phalar Aluve, 1d8 from a Poison coating, they ALL will get re-rolled along with your melee hit to go with the highest roll. Great Weapon Master is just a flat +10 damage added to any damage you do with your weapon.

- Alert, same reasons as for the caster.

- Polearm Master if you run Glaives, Halbreds, Spears on your frontliner. It triggers Opportunity Attacks on enemies just getting near them, not just running away and if they land the hit it sends the enemies movement speed to 0. You can stop people wholesale in their tracks, and you get a bonus attack in case you take this before Great Weapon Master (I usually do).

Ranged
- Sharpshooter, same reason as Great Weapon master, straight +10 damage to your bow shots and unlike melee, its even easier to get advantage and free Attack Roll increases due to High Ground, and with you usually outta range of enemies you can use Hide mechanics for free Advantage if you don't have the high ground assuming you're running Gloomstalker, Rogue, or Monk as your sniper.

There is a list of optional ones that would be better than the ASI but honestly, that requires knowing the game in and out, and having very specific builds you're going for. Listed above is the general head above shoulders better than ASI Feats.

[The Yeen Queen]

+2 ability is almost always the WORST choice.

[Lisan al Gaib]

Alert is probably the best feat in the game. Having your entire party roll high initiative and all going first in battle AND not triggering surprise on yourself are huge mechanics.

[Dimlhugion]

The only objectively correct answer is: it depends.

Biggest factor is what mods you run, if any, followed by what difficulty you play on, followed by your playstyle and character choices and whether you like to focus on combat vs dialogue. LOTS of variables to consider.

Though, I'd have to mirror what everyone is saying about Alert. Even if you mod your game to specifically make it less useful - there's one that makes initiative rolls a true D20 instead of the default D4 - it's still never going to "hurt" because there WILL be combats you can't avoid. So Alert is always going to help no matter what you do to this game.

Other than that, it's a giant "question mark" because of mods + playstyle differences. It doesn't matter what feats "make monks OP" if you don't use a monk. You know what I mean? It really does depend.

[seeker1]

The feats get even better when you start adding things like Essential Feats and Feats Extra. They add additional 5E source feats Larian didn't implement. Now you can start taking feats like Everybody's Friend (increases persuasion/charisma), Metamagic Adept (lets non sorcs take metamagic), Eldritch Adept (lets non warlocks take invocations), War Magic (really good for your gishes), and Strike of the Giants which is like a smite for everybody (LOL).

That's even before you start looking at the homebrew feat mods like Ghost's Feats or Stormsong's Feats. BTW, once your feat list starts getting real long, you'll notice each list of feats is only internally alphabetically sorted ... it's impossible to alphabetize the entire thing, and that's a mod I wish somebody would do. But you're also probably gonna wanna look at the mods that increase the rate of feat progression so you can try them all. With many of the expanded feats, they offer an ASI AND some other benefit all at once.

It's just weird that there is no 5E feat I know of that specifically benefits monk's unarmed strikes. Tavern Brawler does, but only in an indirect way. Stormsong's Feats, for example, has an Unarmed Expert feat, which is specifically for that.

[freaky.ashes]

Alert is a must for anything but a high DEX character.

[Chaosolous]

Depends on your build/playstyle.

[Mike Garrison]

Alert is great on anybody.

Savage attacker gets better and better the more dice you roll, which makes it really good on something like a greatsword-swinging 11th level fighter or a smiting paladin.

However, given that I don't like to just gulp down strength elixirs each day, I really like the ASI increases also. Increases damage *and* to-hit chances.

Like, my typical Lae'zel build is Alert, +2, +2, Savage Attacker.

My typical Gale is a magic missile evoker build, which means that a 20 INT is a damage increase for each missile, so it is well worth it to invest in ASI for him.

I'm playing a monk right now, and his AC and to-hit and damage are all improved by DEX, so investing in DEX is a good choice for him.

Etc.

I typically end up with at least the primary stat at 20 for most of my characters.

[DeMasked]

The Feat System isn't implemented in a good way due to bad balance.

Imo at certain levels you should get a Minor Feat and other levels you get a Major Feat, this way you don't have to deal with competition between clearly good Feats and clearly bad Feats.

Like 12 Levels you'd get 3 Major Feats and 2 Minor Feats or maybe 3 Minors and 2 Majors. Solasta Crown of the Magister was a lot worse with Feat Selection until the Unfinished Business Mod came out and changed / added a lot.

Generally speaking all the offensive feats are really good a few defensive ones and then everything else is meh / utility which is a waste of a feat.

[Detective Costeau]

It's worth noting that an ASI is never a bad choice if your class' primary stat is below 20.

But as others have pointed out, that doesn't rule out a bunch of the other feats being very good.

One thing I'll chip in is that while Great Weapon Master and Sharpshooter both get recommended a lot- and for good reason!- they're much more useful if you have ways of counteracting the -5 to hit they give you. Stuff like party members with Bless, Oil of Accuracy, and especially anything you can get to give yourself Advantage on attack rolls is good for this. Archery Style from a Ranger or Fighter is also great for Sharpshooter.

(this is why I like GWM on a Bearheart Barbarian so much- Reckless Attack is advantage whenever you want it, and while it gives enemies Advantage on their rolls to hit you, I consider that a good thing here- it makes them more likely to attack the barbarian, and I'd much rather enemies attack the character that takes half damage from everything and has a huge HP pool)

Another of my favorite combinations is Half Orc Paladin plus Savage Attacker plus the auto-crit Tadpole power. It's more or less a once per long rest 'you die now' button.

[Mosey]

+2 stats is a good pick, for sure, but there are a lot of good options depending on what you want to do and what items you're planning on using.

For example, I like taking Athletics on a STR build rogue to get to 18 STR and to jump like mad. That might not be most people's choice, but I like it and I don't really care what other people think about the choice.

After 4000 hours in the game I like to do weird things that aren't the 'meta' because the 'meta' is boring and decidedly not creative.