Underused Feats

[desocupado]

There lots of feats we never take.
Some might be due the lack of benefits compared to others (like spell schools) or the general feat tightness tanks face.
Regardless of that, it's good to see if there's any idea on how to improve them or a situation when a build could really use for them.
(I'll add any feat suggestion to this first post)

Caster Feats

With the pressure of getting maximum DC and both Epic and Paragon spells, it's quite hard to spare even regular feats into metamagic that isn't absolutely necessary. In epic, legendary and paragons it becomes nearly impossible to deviate more than 2 feats.
Even if you opt to reduce the amount of schools you can have, defensive feats end-up being more attractive choices for Bards Clerics or Druid, as they benefit for being in close quarters.

Automatic metamagic series

• Automatic Still
• Automatic Silence
• Automatic Quicken spell
  

All these series require three epic feats, require Spell craft 20-30, the ability to cast level 9 spells and a regular feat.
Automatic quick is outright useless, due haste being prevalent. So it'd need another effect completely unrelated to the original. Ideas:

• Some time stop castings per day (kinda uninteresting)
  
• The ability to read scrolls as quick action
• The ability to cast any level 1-3 spells as quick action

Automatic Still could work differently, reducing spell failure by  50%/100%/150% (effectively piercing spell failure).
Automatic Silence would be usable if it cost just 2 feats. Maybe having it on II/III could increase the DC of low level spells (ASP II granting spells I-IV get+1 DC and ASP III grating a cumulative +1 to I-VI spells).

Epic spells

• Dragon Knight
• Mummy Dust
• Epic Mage Armor
• Hell Ball
• Epic Warding

Well, summons have their complex balance issues and party reaction - at least I'd advocate to make them require minimum buffs (max dodge & natural ac, stat bonuses and keen)

EMA and Epic Warding are both pretty interesting, duration and castings per day being their main issue. Maybe another casting at Spellcraft 50, would make both more popular. (EMA requires defensive spell casting to be most useful for casters, but is otherwise very good for battle casters)

Hellball is kinda sad, it deal 4 elementals, and with 4 spell focuses 40d6 * 4 = 160d6 (given a standard immunity of 0%/50% to just two elementals, it becomes 80d6) - while a fireball deals 60d6x2 = 120d6 - so I'd add 3 things

• never heal enemies
• boosted by lore (it does need damage)
• never breaks loot (it is epic)
  

Metamagic

• (Improved) Combat Casting
• Quicken spell
• Maximize spell (slightly underused)
  

Well, combat casting is an odd sheep. The effect is pretty relaxing, similarly to defensive awareness. That being said, it doesn't really add power, since you can use defensive casting. Maybe a pandect could improve your combat casting to legendary combat casting (if you have the first feat) - as an alternative form to summon pandect.
Quicken and Maximize spell have a similar flaw, they increase spell level by too much (+4 and +3 respectively). Maximize is usable for some spells (with d12 or d20), but is hardly a good choice compared to extend or empower. Quicken is outright useless.
Maybe Quickened spells could either:

• Considered maximize, empowered and extended if you also know the corresponding feats (or just a combination of 2 of these)
• get a +3 dc modifier (every spell gets DC+1 per spell level, so you are still "losing" DC)
• get additional CL (might break way too many things)
  

Maximized spells could get a free extend effect or a DC+1.

Craft series

• Brew Potion
• Craft Wand
  

Tank Feats

Tanks have more actual options than casters, but they are mostly passive, hence, provide too little utility.

Combat modes

• Dirty fighting
• Parry mode
  
• Power Attack

Dirty fighting is pretty sad. It sacrifices too many attacks.

• Ignore concealment & grants AB (like true strike)  - for 1 attack
  
• Deals additional damage (alternatively)
  
• Give Bluff and Taunt with additional effects - blind or fear respectively - with DC = Base AB (including LL levels) + Dex mod - 2 rounds duration (or str could cause a -1 saves fear effect without DC - not stacking)
  

Parry mode can only riposte the first attack in each flurry i.e. up to 3 per round. It's main use is to no attack no hit mobs, if you rank is low enough. It's hard to propose anything without knowing what could be changed.

Power Attack. Dealing about  additional 10/25% multiplicative damage instead of a flat bonus would be nice for both Strength and Dexters. Maybe an additional Str mod /4% would spice up things (indirectly this could be a buff for WM).

Combat Maneuvers

• Called shot

Combat Passives

• Circle Kick
• Cleave / Great Cleave
  

[condude]

Scale dirty fighting with level? Maybe make it 1d12/level (or higher, say, 2d12/full BAB level?), so as to counter losing ALL your other attacks for that round. I've NEVER seen someone take it, for obvious reasons.

[Yojimbo]

Some things I would say are wrong

#1 Auto Still is useless/underused
Most caster items are designed so this feat series isn't needed and the QCs that need it get it for free only thing left is the few limited and rare plate casters and I think that while the feat investment is a factor in their rarity there is more of a lack of equipment that makes it worth while.

#2 EMA
This is now becoming the choice over Greater Ruin for majority of casters these days because it provides very good benefit and little investment and there are fewer times people "need" Greater Ruin.

#3 Maximize Spell
This is just fine where it is in balance and many casters recommend it over empowered I will say a Sorc has more freedom to utilize it than a Wizard who must maintain his spell book and spell balance with more precision and forethought. The real fix needed to something to help bring Wizards back into balance with Sorcerers.

[desocupado]

Well, my proposition on autostill is diminishing the feat requirement, but you gave a interesting idea 50%/100%/150% spell failure reduction.
Maybe some new heavier plates with benefits affecting both armored casters and battle builds would be cool. Specially for arcanes, bk and pariahs. AoE effects for displacement or energy immunity would be pretty attractive or increasing CL for specific persistent spells by 5, like nb or BT (just raw ideas).


I don't see much EMA around, but would have 2 casting make it too overpowered?


Indeed maximize is much more usable for sorcerer who has a much smaller spellbook and can adapt slot on the fly.
Maybe Wizard could have additional benefits with metamagic? Or even a Legendary Metamagic, unaccessible for Sorcerers.

[Yojimbo]

Druids don't suffer penalty so not certain why you bring them up only Bards, Sorcerers, and Wizards. Most of them don't need it except non QC Sorc & Wiz though some QC could use them maybe.
BKs and Pariahs have "free" Still Spell Feats
Bards have special armors which have their penalty to arcane spell failure removed
BFM/DSM have the penalty removed for Medium or lesser armor.
Everything else needs more items designed for casters or their QC. Currently it is mostly PMs due to their Necro specialization and the AoE FoD armor. If we had more equipment designed to make Still Spell usefull then the feat becomes worthwhile. I am not opposed to a scale but it is hard to say what it should be IIRC even in Heavy Plate & Tower Shield the penalty is under 100% so you should never need even 100% and currently the only items less than Heavy for casters does seem to be a medium armor designed for BFM/DSM which needs no feats and Bard armors which agian need no feats.

I am seeing more and more people take EMA or suggest EMA in posted build is I am not sure if giving it two casting would be OP but might want to require more then 50 point since I would say it is better than GR.

I am intrigued by the idea of a step up on Extended, Empowered, Maximized Meta feats just lost on how they will function Auto Feats for them would be great except they would easily become OP. I suggest applying it to all as it would make for some interesting options.

I am sure could comment more on these and many the other items in the first post will try to read and comment more later.

[desocupado]

Mar 6, 2015 16:51:32 GMT Yojimbo said:

Druids don't suffer penalty so not certain why you bring them up only Bards, Sorcerers, and Wizards. Most of them don't need it except non QC Sorc & Wiz though some QC could use them maybe.

To create alternative to high AC monk splash builds.
AoE FoD armor is also druid friendly, actually more so than for arcanes.
AoE Energy immunity is good for Arcanes, Clerics and druids.
AoE Displacement is fun for Arcanes and Bards.

(Such suggestions could be throw into the item suggestion forum, I guess)

Mar 6, 2015 16:51:32 GMT Yojimbo said:

I am not opposed to a scale but it is hard to say what it should be IIRC even in Heavy Plate & Tower Shield the penalty is under 100% so you should never need even 100%

Heavy armor + Tower shield = 95% The point was making "clean" numbers.
I think a mob from Elysum had spell failure infliction.

Mar 6, 2015 16:51:32 GMT Yojimbo said:

I am seeing more and more people take EMA or suggest EMA in posted build is I am not sure if giving it two casting would be OP but might want to require more then 50 point since I would say it is better than GR.

50 already hit builds heavily (only umd and PP are marginally useful at leftovers of 15)

Mar 6, 2015 16:51:32 GMT Yojimbo said:

I am intrigued by the idea of a step up on Extended, Empowered, Maximized Meta feats just lost on how they will function Auto Feats for them would be great except they would easily become OP. I suggest applying it to all as it would make for some interesting options.

It would be funny (perma karsus) - maybe with 3 paragon feats - maybe limited to level 6 spells - maybe requiring automatic quicken spell 3 (lol)

[Yojimbo]

Ok I see what you are saying yes more armors with carrots to give incentive for going without Monk splash or other reasons to use heavier than "standard" armor.

I though the failure was 80% but I hadn't checked so I can see rounding off to 100% but any way you set it up it will be clean

I know 50 is a hit but if this is better why should it not hit harder

To have perma karsus would require 12 feats 3 metas + 9 (3 steps of auto metas for each) but since the big boost is from Emp * Max that is 8 feats so as I said expect would easily become OP. You could add some limits so that it only works with spells which can be maximized, empowered, or extended so Auto Max Level <= 6, Auto Emp Level <= 7, & Auto Ext Level <= 8 still spamming auto emp & max L6 would be pretty OP I think. I mean to say I suggest applying what ever type of new feats to grow Max to Emp & Ext also.