Introduction
Investigator feats are not just combat upgrades. They are tools for turning information into better turns. Devise a Stratagem lets you see a d20 before committing to your main Strike. That means your feat plan needs two halves: what you do when the roll is good, and what you do when the roll is trash.
The best Investigator feats improve that loop. Known Weaknesses, Strategic Assessment, Shared Stratagem, Certain Stratagem, methodology support, clue management, and skill-expansion feats all help the class feel like a tactician rather than a character with a clipboard.
This guide assumes Player Core 2 is available. It also links to Player Core skills, GM Core investigation procedures, Monster Core creature-reading advice, and equipment support where those choices affect feat value.
Rating Legend
| Rating | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ● | Avoid unless your table is doing something very specific. |
| ● | Narrow, risky, or campaign-dependent. |
| ● | Good, reliable, or build-defining for a specific lane. |
| ● | Excellent. A default pick or a top-tier feat for its build. |
Prerequisite And Access Warnings
Investigator feats look broad because the class can fight, research, interrogate, heal, analyze monsters, and solve scenes. The catch is that many feats quietly assume a methodology, a skill plan, GM clue support, or a campaign where information matters.
| Warning | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Player Core 2 access | Investigator is a Player Core 2 class in this guide's source set. Confirm the table allows it before planning feats. |
| Methodology fit | Alchemical Sciences, Empiricism, Forensic Medicine, and Interrogation reward different feat choices. A good Interrogation feat can be a bad Alchemical Sciences pick. |
| Skill rank pressure | Many Investigator plans depend on Medicine, Crafting, social skills, Thievery, or Recall Knowledge skills staying current. |
| Devise action planning | Devise a Stratagem gives information before you commit, but your build still needs useful actions for bad rolls. |
| Campaign procedure | Clue, lead, suspect, and interrogation feats need GM Core-style scenes with evidence, witnesses, factions, hazards, and consequences. |
| Item readiness | Alchemical Sciences, Predictive Purchase, and gear-facing choices are only strong if the player chooses items quickly and tracks consumables. |
| Party follow-through | Shared Stratagem, Didactic Strike, and Strategic Assessment get better when allies actually exploit off-guard, known weaknesses, and revealed information. |
| Monster knowledge | Known Weaknesses and Recall Knowledge feats are strongest when Monster Core traits, resistances, weaknesses, saves, and senses change tactics. |
Who Should Take Investigator Feats
| Character | Should take this? | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Investigator with a clear methodology | Yes | The class feats work best when they deepen the job you already chose. |
| Player who likes bad-roll backup plans | Yes | Devise a Stratagem rewards people who can pivot after seeing a weak attack roll. |
| Mystery, intrigue, dungeon, or monster-analysis campaign | Yes | Clues, hazards, witnesses, and monster traits give the feat list something to chew on. |
| Party with allies who can exploit off-guard targets | Yes | Shared Stratagem and information support make ally attacks nastier. |
| Player who only wants simple weapon damage | Usually no | A simpler martial approach will feel more direct. |
| Campaign with no clues, no social scenes, and weak Recall Knowledge returns | Usually no | The class still functions, but a lot of feat value disappears. |
Fast Recommendations
| Build | Best Feat Priorities | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Empiricist analyst | Known Weaknesses, That's Odd, Thorough Research, Strategic Assessment, Reason Rapidly | Turns observation and Recall Knowledge into repeatable combat and exploration value. |
| Forensic medic | Medicine support, Scalpel's Point, Surgical Shock, Shared Stratagem | Keeps allies alive while making precision and evidence matter. |
| Alchemical scientist | Alchemical Discoveries, Predictive Purchase, Share Tincture, Implausible Purchase | Best for item-savvy players who prepare quickly and track tools well. |
| Interrogation face | Lie Detector, Just One More Thing, Make 'em Sweat, Person of Interest | Excellent in campaigns with suspects, witnesses, factions, and social pressure. |
| Combat planner | Takedown Expert, Certain Stratagem, Shared Stratagem, Didactic Strike, Strategic Bypass | Makes good Stratagem rolls hit harder and bad rolls less painful. |
| Mystery campaign lead | Solid Lead, Suspect of Opportunity, Everyone's a Suspect, Lead Investigator | Best when clues and enemies connect across scenes. |
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Hot Take: A bad Devise a Stratagem roll is often a good turn in disguise. It tells you to Recall Knowledge, help an ally, reposition, or use a methodology tool instead of spending your best action on a miss.
Level 1-2 Feats
| Feat | Who Should Take It |
|---|---|
| ● Known Weaknesses | Most Investigators. Combining Devise a Stratagem with Recall Knowledge is exactly the class fantasy. |
| ● Takedown Expert | Sap, nonlethal, and close-range investigators who want cleaner weapon support. |
| ● That's Odd | Clue-heavy campaigns and players who want the GM to flag suspicious details. |
| ● Trap Finder | Dungeon, ruin, heist, and hazard-heavy campaigns. Pairs with Thievery. |
| ● Athletic Strategist | Maneuver builds that want Devise logic attached to Athletics. |
| ● Alchemical Discoveries | Item-heavy investigators who will actually use formulas and tinctures. |
| ● Lie Detector | Social mysteries, cult hunts, trials, and faction games. |
| ● Scalpel's Point | Forensic builds that want Medicine and combat to speak to each other. |
Early Feat Notes
Known Weaknesses is the default recommendation because it makes your signature action do more than preview an attack roll. Against Monster Core creatures with resistances, weaknesses, immunities, special reactions, or weird saves, information is damage prevention.
That's Odd is only as good as table procedure. If the GM is willing to point at weird details when they matter, it is incredible. If the GM runs scenes as blank hallways with stat blocks, it cannot do its job.
Athletic Strategist is the feat for players who want to Trip, Grapple, Shove, or otherwise manipulate the battlefield with planning. It is not mandatory, but it gives Investigator a real martial-control identity.
Level 4-6 Feats
| Feat | Who Should Take It |
|---|---|
| ● Certain Stratagem | Combat-focused Investigators who hate losing their whole turn to a bad pre-roll. |
| ● Shared Stratagem | Team players, ranged parties, Rogues, and anyone who wants to turn planning into ally damage. |
| ● Detective's Readiness | Campaigns with ambushes, suspicious scenes, and repeat investigation pressure. |
| ● Flexible Studies | Skill-heavy players who want broader solutions without spending class feats later. |
| ● Predictive Purchase | Alchemical or gear-savvy builds with strong item discipline. |
| ● Person of Interest | Recurring-villain, mystery, faction, and pursuit campaigns. |
| ● Just One More Thing | Social pressure builds that get actual conversations before fights. |
| ● Strategic Assessment | Investigators who want hits to reveal useful monster information. |
Mid-Level Feat Notes
Certain Stratagem is excellent because it smooths out the class's most frustrating moment. You will still have bad turns, but fewer of them become "I guess I do nothing interesting."
Shared Stratagem is one of the best team feats in the class. It is especially good for allies who can punish an off-guard target.
Strategic Assessment is where Investigator becomes the table's monster analyst. It pairs with the Monster Core guide, creature traits, and stat blocks.
Level 8-12 Feats
| Feat | Who Should Take It |
|---|---|
| ● Ongoing Investigation | Campaigns where exploration and clues run between encounters. |
| ● Thorough Research | Recall Knowledge specialists and Monster Core analysts. |
| ● Didactic Strike | Parties that can capitalize on the information and opening you create. |
| ● Defensive Stratagem | Investigators who keep getting attacked after revealing the plan. |
| ● Ongoing Strategy | Combat planners who want their Stratagem engine to keep generating value. |
| ● Share Tincture | Item-support investigators who can coordinate quickly. |
| ● Surgical Shock | Forensic builds that want their medical theme to matter in combat. |
| ● Make 'em Sweat | Social pressure campaigns and interrogation-forward builds. |
| ● Whodunnit | Great when cases, culprits, and evidence are real campaign structures. |
High-Mid Feat Notes
Thorough Research is not just a lore feat. It is combat support when Recall Knowledge tells the party which damage types, saves, reactions, and traits matter.
Didactic Strike is strong in parties that listen. If your allies ignore your setup, it drops. This is the Investigator experience in one sentence, which is unfortunate but efficient.
Whodunnit is a great example of a feat that should be judged by campaign, not optimization panic. In a mystery game, it is on-theme and useful. In a hex crawl with silent dinosaurs, less so.
Level 14-20 Feats
| Feat | Who Should Take It |
|---|---|
| ● Reason Rapidly | High-level knowledge builds that need answers without spending the whole turn. |
| ● Reconstruct the Scene | The premium clue-scene feat when the campaign rewards evidence. |
| ● Just the Facts | Players who want the high-level Investigator to become an information engine. |
| ● Solid Lead | Long-arc campaigns with recurring leads and connected cases. |
| ● Suspect of Opportunity | Campaigns where enemies and suspects connect to active investigations. |
| ● Everyone's a Suspect | Intrigue and faction campaigns with many possible targets. |
| ● Lead Investigator | Makes the whole group better at following your casework. |
| ● Strategic Bypass | Precision and resistance problem-solving for combat Investigators. |
| ● Just As Planned | Players who enjoy prepared payoff moments. |
| ● Foresee Danger | Defensive high-level campaigns with dangerous saves and ambushes. |
Late-Game Feat Notes
Late Investigator feats reward campaigns that have continuity. If clues, suspects, factions, monsters, and locations connect across sessions, feats like Reconstruct the Scene, Solid Lead, Suspect of Opportunity, and Lead Investigator are excellent. If each session resets into unrelated fights, take more combat-stable options.
Reason Rapidly and Just the Facts are the cleanest high-level knowledge payoffs. At this tier, the party should expect you to know what matters before someone gets turned into a cautionary stain.
Feat Lanes Ranked
Devise Support
Known Weaknesses, Certain Stratagem, Strategic Assessment, Shared Stratagem, Ongoing Strategy, Didactic Strike, and Strategic Bypass are the core combat lane. They make Devise a Stratagem produce information, ally openings, or reliable follow-through.
This lane works with three-action economy, Strike actions, reactions, and conditions in combat.
Investigation And Lead Management
That's Odd, Person of Interest, Ongoing Investigation, Whodunnit, Solid Lead, Suspect of Opportunity, Everyone's a Suspect, Reconstruct the Scene, and Lead Investigator make the class sing when clues matter.
This lane needs GM Core support: initiative and exploration, social encounters, subsystems, hazards, and session zero.
Methodology Feats
Methodology feats are good when they deepen the job you chose.
- Empiricism: observation and quick information.
- Forensic Medicine: Medicine, bodies, afflictions, and party recovery.
- Alchemical Sciences: formulas, tinctures, consumables, and preparation.
- Interrogation: witnesses, suspects, pressure, lies, and social leverage.
Do not take methodology feats because they sound correct. Take them because the campaign repeats the scenes they answer.
Skill Expansion
Flexible Studies, skill feats, Lore, Recall Knowledge, Medicine, Thievery, Stealth, and social skills keep the Investigator useful after a bad Stratagem roll. Use the skills hub, skill feats guide, and general feats guide before spending class feats on generic problems.
Item And Alchemy Support
Alchemical Sciences makes this lane obvious, but every Investigator should care about tools. Alchemical items, consumables, adventuring gear, runes, and worn invested items can solve problems before feats get involved.
Build-Specific Plans
Empiricist Monster Analyst
Take Known Weaknesses, That's Odd, Thorough Research, Strategic Assessment, Reason Rapidly, and Just the Facts. Invest in Society, Arcana, Nature, Occultism, Religion, and useful Lore. This is the safest Investigator because information matters in almost every campaign.
Forensic Field Medic
Take Medicine skill feats, Scalpel's Point, Surgical Shock, Shared Stratagem, Detective's Readiness, and practical defensive options. Keep Medicine, healer's tools, antidotes, antiplagues, and recovery consumables ready. You are not the Cleric, but you can make the Cleric's job less dramatic.
Alchemical Scene Technician
Take Alchemical Discoveries, Predictive Purchase, Share Tincture, Implausible Purchase, Strategic Assessment, and item support. Read Crafting, alchemical items, and consumables. Pre-select common tinctures before play or your turn will become a committee meeting.
Interrogation Face
Take Lie Detector, Just One More Thing, Make 'em Sweat, Person of Interest, Everyone's a Suspect, and Lead Investigator if the campaign supports it. Invest in Diplomacy, Deception, Intimidation, and Society.
Common Mistakes
- Taking only combat feats, then wondering why the class feels less direct than Fighter.
- Taking only clue feats, then having no plan when initiative starts.
- Ignoring skill feats even though Investigator is one of the best skill classes in the game.
- Playing Interrogation at a table with no conversations.
- Playing Alchemical Sciences without pre-picking common item options.
- Forgetting that a bad Devise roll is information, not failure.
- Taking methodology-specific feats without checking whether the campaign repeats that methodology's scenes.
GM Notes
Investigator feat value depends on campaign procedure more than most classes. The GM does not need to write a detective novel, but the table needs clues, witnesses, tracks, hazards, enemy habits, research opportunities, and social consequences. If those never appear, many Investigator feats cannot breathe.
Monster Core also matters. Recall Knowledge should reveal information that changes decisions: weaknesses, resistances, immunities, senses, movement modes, special reactions, saves, traits, and behavior. If Recall Knowledge only returns trivia, Known Weaknesses and Strategic Assessment lose too much value.
