Guide to Fighter Feats

By Scathe and Ralsu

Revised by Nuitaran 11/07/06



The biggest bonus of being a href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=141">fighter
is the amount of Feats available. This luxury becomes a chore when the
uninitiated player tries to sort through so many choices. Some of those
possible Feats are good, some are OK if you have room and want to be
better at something outside the fighter's box, and some are utterly
useless. One bad pick can ultimately break a fighter's ability in
Dungeons & Dragons Online (DDO). We have rated the Feats below
based on our experience as to which are going to be most helpful and
useful. Like the other href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/index.php?meid=5#Guides">DDO guides
at Ten Ton Hammer, we use a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being best.



A rating of 1 or 2 means the Feat is pretty much
useless to a fighter and one that you probably want to avoid. A rating
of 3 indicates that the Feat can be used with some careful planning if
the fighter build has room to fit it in. We reserve a rating of 4 only
for those Feats that are almost necessary picks for a particular type
of fighter
build. A rating of 5 designates the best of the fighters Feats and ones
players should seriously consider in any href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/index.php?meid=5#Builds">DDO build
involving fighters.



To help you navigate the many Feats, just click on
the range of Feats below to move to that spot in the guide:

cellspacing="2">

1. Acrobatic
2. Alertness
3. Athletic
4. Bullheaded
5. Cleave
6. Combat Expertise
7. Discipline
8. Dodge
9. Exotic Weapon Proficiency
10. Great Cleave

11. Great Fortitude
12. Greater Two Weapon Fighting
    
13. Greater Weapon Focus
14. Greater Weapon Specialization
15. Improved Critical
16. Improved Feint
17. Improved Precise Shot
    
18. Improved Shield Bash
19. Improved Shield Mastery
20. Improved Sunder

21. Improved Trip
22. Improved Two Hand Fighting
23. Improved Two Weapon Fighting
24. Iron Will
25. Lightning Reflexes
26. Luck of the Heroes
27. Mobility
28. Negotiator
29. Point Blank Shot
30. Power Attack
    

31. Precise Shot
32. Precision
33. Quick Draw
34. Rapid Reload
35. Rapid Shot
36. Resilience
37. Resist Poison
38. Sap
39. Self Sufficient
40. Shield Mastery
    

41. Shot on the Run
42. Skill Focus
43. Slicing Blow
44. Snake Blood
45. Spring Attack
46. Stealthy
47. Stunning Blow
48. Toughness
49. Two Handed Fighting
50. Two Weapon Blocking
    

51. Two Weapon Defense
52. Weapon Finesse
53. Weapon Focus
54. Weapon Specialization
55. Whirlwind Attack
    

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cellspacing="2">
1.
Acrobatic



Official Text: "You have excellent body awareness and coordination. You
receive a +2 bonus on Jump checks and Tumble checks."



Comments: Even though Tumble is not a fighter Skill, it can be very
helpful in avoiding damage. Still, I don't recommend wasting a Feat
slot just to get a +2 to Tumble.



style="color: rgb(154, 185, 124);">Rating:
1
style="vertical-align: top; background-color: rgb(219, 201, 125);"> style="font-weight: bold;">2. Alertness



Official Text: "You have finely tuned senses. You receive a +2 bonus on
Listen checks and Spot checks."



Comments: The party's rogue will do all the Listen and Spot checks.
This is not a fighter's job.



Rating:
1 3.
Athletic



Official Text: "You have a knack for athletic endeavors. You receive a
+2 bonus on Balance checks and Swim checks."



Comments: Balance is becoming increasingly important in DDO thanks to
the overuse of Trip by enemies, but doesn't warrant a Feat slot. A good
Swim Skill is good for anybody, but items of Water Breathing are far
too common to make this boost to the Swim Skill worthwhile.



style="color: rgb(154, 185, 124);">Rating: 2
style="vertical-align: top; background-color: rgb(219, 201, 125);"> style="font-weight: bold;">4.
Bullheaded



Official Text: "You are exceptionally headstrong and difficult to sway.
You receive a +1 on all Will saves and +2 bonus on Intimidate checks."



Comments: Intimidation is great for those who wish to build tanks, and
a fighter's biggest weakness is resistance to mind spells. The +1 Will
save is a nice bonus. However before choosing this Feat, I would plan
out your build to make sure you have room. There are better Feats out
there, but this one is not too bad.



style="color: rgb(154, 185, 124);">Rating:
3
style="font-weight: bold;">5. Cleave



Official Text: "Activate this ability to attack one or more enemies in
an arc in front of you."



Prerequisite: Power Attack



Comments: The cool thing about this Feat is it only has a 5 second cool
down and it's a good aggro controller. Set yourself in the middle of a
horde of monsters and Cleave. There is no bonus to damage, but the
damage calculated over a few monsters in one swing is highly beneficial.



style="color: rgb(154, 185, 124);">Rating:
4
style="vertical-align: top; background-color: rgb(219, 201, 125);"> style="font-weight: bold;">6.
Combat Expertise



Official Text: "While using Combat Expertise mode, you trade your
attack bonus for extra AC. Casting a spell ends this mode."



Prerequisite: Intelligence 13



Comments: If your goal is to fill the tank role for your party, this is
a great Feat to have. Compared to Defensive Fighting, this Feat will
give you a greater Armor Class bonus. The next bonus to grabbing this
Feat is that it is a prerequisite for Improved Trip and Improved
Sunder. Most fighters will find, however, that the Attack Bonus
tradeoff is too high for the gains.



style="color: rgb(154, 185, 124);">Rating:
3
style="font-weight: bold;">7. Discipline



Official Text: "You are difficult to distract with spell or blow. You
receive a +1 on all Will saves and +2 bonus on Concentration checks."



Comments: There is no benefit with this Feat. Bullheaded is a much
better choice.



style="color: rgb(154, 185, 124);">Rating:
2
style="vertical-align: top; background-color: rgb(219, 201, 125);"> style="font-weight: bold;">8.
Dodge



Official Text: "Grants you a +1 dodge bonus to your Armor Class."



Prerequisite: Dexterity 13



Comments: There's never anything wrong with Dodge if you’re going to be
on the front lines. It also leads to better Feats that are very useful
for a fighter. This is a good one to get.



style="color: rgb(154, 185, 124);">Rating:
5 style="font-weight: bold;">9. Exotic Weapon
Proficiency



Official Text: "You do not suffer a -4 attack penalty for using one or
more of the exotic weapons."



Prerequisite: Base Attack Bonus +1

Comments: There are a few very good exotic weapons in DDO and you
basically can't use them without this Feat. Bastard Sword, Repeater
Crossbow, and Khopesh are 3 powerful weapons, but they come with the
cost of a Feat each. Plan your fighter out and then decide if you want
to grab one of these.



Rating:
3

style="vertical-align: top; background-color: rgb(219, 201, 125);"> style="font-weight: bold;"> href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?set_albumName=album01&id=the_battle_rages_on&op=modload&name=Gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php"> alt="combat"
src="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/files/gallery/albums/album01/the_battle_rages_on.sized.jpg"
style="border: 2px solid ; width: 258px; height: 206px;" align="left">10.
Great Cleave



Official Text: "Activate this ability to attack one or more enemies in
a wider arc than Cleave."



Prerequisite: Cleave
style="margin-left: 120px; background-color: rgb(219, 201, 125);">Base
Attack Bonus +4

Comments: Great Cleave allows you to hit all monsters except the ones
behind you. This is a great Feat to grab for one reason: when DDO
introduces Epic levels, the best fighter Feats require Great Cleave as
a prerequisite, including Overwhelming Critical, and Devastating
Critical. You may not want miss that on your fighter, but save it for
extra feats down the road.



style="color: rgb(154, 185, 124);">Rating: 3