Introduction
Feats are the primary customization layer between your class features and your final character build. A well-chosen feat at level 4 can define your character's identity for the rest of the campaign. A poorly chosen feat wastes one of the most valuable resources in the game: an Ability Score Improvement slot.
This guide series covers every major feat available in D&D 5e 2014, from the highest-impact damage multipliers to the underrated utility picks that see too little play. Each individual feat guide explains the exact mechanics, rates every class the feat benefits, and covers the synergies and common mistakes players make. The class roundup articles collect the best options for each class into a ranked list with suggested feat progression paths.
Rating system:
- ● Red - Trap option. Avoid.
- ● Orange - Situational. Good in specific builds.
- ● Green - Good. Reliable for multiple builds.
- ● Blue - Fantastic. Among the best choices available.
Best Feats by Class
If you know your class, start here:
Feat Tier Summary
● S-Tier: Build Around These
| Feat | Best For |
|---|---|
| Great Weapon Master | Two-handed martial builds |
| Sharpshooter | Ranged builds |
| War Caster | Concentration spellcasters |
| Lucky | Any class |
| Polearm Master | Melee reach builds |
| Sentinel | Defenders |
| Crossbow Expert | Ranged builds |
| Fey Touched (TCoE) | Any class |
● A-Tier: Strong Picks
| Feat | Best For |
|---|---|
| Alert | Any class, initiative-sensitive builds |
| Resilient | Any class missing a key save |
| Shield Master | Sword-and-board builds |
| Magic Initiate | Any class needing spells |
| Mobile | High-movement skirmishers |
| Inspiring Leader | CHA-based leaders |
| Spell Sniper | Ranged spellcasters |
| Skill Expert (TCoE) | Skill-heavy builds |
| Shadow Touched (TCoE) | Stealth and utility builds |
| Fighting Initiate (TCoE) | Martial multiclass builds |
● B-Tier: Situational
| Feat | Best For |
|---|---|
| Tough | Any low-HP class |
| Durable | Short-rest-heavy adventuring days |
| Dual Wielder | TWF builds |
| Mage Slayer | Campaigns vs. enemy casters |
| Mounted Combatant | Mounted builds |
| Ritual Caster | Non-casters wanting utility |
| Observant | Scout / lookout builds |
| Tavern Brawler | Grapple builds |
| Actor | Face / social builds |
| Telekinetic (TCoE) | Bonus action builds |
| Telepathic (TCoE) | Social / intrigue campaigns |
| Eldritch Adept (TCoE) | Warlocks and gish builds |
| Metamagic Adept (TCoE) | Sorcerers and multiclass |
| Gunner (TCoE) | Ranged builds |
| Gift of the Gem Dragon (Fizban's) | Frontline INT/WIS/CHA casters |
● C-Tier: Usually Avoid
| Feat | Why |
|---|---|
| Savage Attacker | Average +1.7 damage per turn. Almost never worth a feat slot. |
| Grappler | Grappling works without it, and the pin restrains you too. |
| Medium Armor Master | +1 AC under specific DEX conditions. Rarely better than the alternatives. |
| Lightly Armored | Free from most classes or better resolved with Heavy Armor Master. |
| Athlete | Athletics boost has more efficient alternatives. |
| Gift of the Chromatic Dragon (Fizban's) | No Ability Score Increase; a once-per-long-rest 1d4 weapon buff and a resistance reaction rarely beat a half-feat for the same slot. |
| Gift of the Metallic Dragon (Fizban's) | No Ability Score Increase; a free Cure Wounds and a protective reaction only outperform other feats in a party with no dedicated healer. |
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Start BuildingAll Individual Feat Guides
Combat: Martial
All 18 weapon and fighting feats are now covered together in the D&D 5e 2014 Combat Feats guide, which rates each one by class and compares the feats competing for the same Ability Score Improvement slot.
- Great Weapon Master ●
- Sharpshooter ●
- Polearm Master ●
- Sentinel ●
- Crossbow Expert ●
- Shield Master ●
- Fighting Initiate (TCoE) ●
- Crusher (TCoE) ●
- Piercer (TCoE) ●
- Slasher (TCoE) ●
- Mage Slayer ●
- Dual Wielder ●
- Tavern Brawler ●
- Mounted Combatant ●
- Gunner (TCoE) ●
- Poisoner (TCoE) ●
- Savage Attacker ●
- Grappler ●
Two more martial feats sit outside that guide because they belong with different groups: Mobile
● is a movement and utility feat, and Squire of Solamnia (Dragonlance) ● is gated behind a campaign setting.
Three more Dragonlance feats - Knight of the Crown, Knight of the Rose, and Knight of the Sword - each require Squire of Solamnia and 4th level, and are the only three feats in the book that grant an Ability Score Increase. Covered together as a set in The Three Knight Feats, Compared.
Six more Bigby Presents feats - Ember of the Fire Giant, Fury of the Frost Giant, Guile of the Cloud Giant, Keenness of the Stone Giant, Soul of the Storm Giant, and Vigor of the Hill Giant - each require 4th level plus the exact matching Strike of the Giants variant, and each grants a +1 Ability Score Increase (Strike of the Giants itself does not). Compared side by side in the Glory of the Giants guide.
Combat: Defensive
- Lucky ●
- Alert ●
- Resilient ●
- Tough ●
- Durable ●
- Heavily Armored ●
- Medium Armor Master ●
- Lightly Armored ●
- Gift of the Chromatic Dragon (Fizban's) ●
Spellcasting
- Artificer Initiate (TCoE) ●
- War Caster ●
- Fey Touched (TCoE) ●
- Magic Initiate ●
- Spell Sniper ●
- Ritual Caster ●
- Shadow Touched (TCoE) ●
- Eldritch Adept (TCoE) ●
- Metamagic Adept (TCoE) ●
- Telekinetic (TCoE) ●
- Telepathic (TCoE) ●
- Gift of the Gem Dragon (Fizban's) ●
- Gift of the Metallic Dragon (Fizban's) ●
- Strixhaven Initiate (Strixhaven) ●
- Strixhaven Mascot (Strixhaven) ●
- Scion of the Outer Planes (Planescape) ●
- Initiate of High Sorcery (Dragonlance) ●
Four more Dragonlance feats round out this book's spellcasting set. Adept of the Black Robes, Adept of the Red Robes, and Adept of the White Robes each require Initiate of High Sorcery tied to a specific moon and 4th level, none granting an Ability Score Increase. Divinely Favored only requires 4th level and Dragonlance Campaign, keying its bonus spell to your alignment. All four are covered together in the Dragonlance guide.
Social & Utility
- Inspiring Leader ●
- Observant ●
- Skill Expert (TCoE) ●
- Actor ●
- Athlete ●
- Planar Wanderer (Planescape) ●
Five more Planescape feats - Agent of Order, Baleful Scion, Cohort of Chaos, Outlands Envoy, and Righteous Heritor - each require Scion of the Outer Planes tied to a specific plane, so they're covered together as a set rather than as five more standalone entries. See the Planescape guide's character options section for a distinct build verdict on each.
Racial Feats (Xanathar's Guide to Everything)
- Bountiful Luck (Halfling) ●
- Dragon Fear (Dragonborn) ●
- Dragon's Hide (Dragonborn) ●
- Drow High Magic (Drow Elf) ●
- Dwarven Fortitude (Dwarf) ●
- Elven Accuracy (Elf) ●
- Fade Away (Gnome) ●
- Fey Teleportation (High Elf) ●
- Flames of Phlegethos (Tiefling) ●
- Infernal Constitution (Tiefling) ●
- Orcish Fury (Half-Orc) ●
- Prodigy (Human, Half-Elf, Half-Orc) ●
- Second Chance (Halfling) ●
- Squat Nimbleness (Dwarf or Small race) ●
- Wood Elf Magic (Wood Elf) ●
