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Expertise Feats

   
Expertise Feats

Weapon Expertise, Implement Expertise, Focused Expertise
I haven't done the math, or checked them out much in any way myself. However I am curious if anyone has figured out just how much difference they make. Are they really a necessary feat tax for players?

I'm also curious as to what other people think about giving them as a free feat.

+15% chance of all of your attacks hitting? Hell yes, they matter. They matter more than pretty much any other feat.

I have seen several DM's house rule them as a bonus game feat, simply because everyone is going to take them anyway. So the question is, are they needed for game balance reasons (as is rumored), or is it just because everyone wants that extra +15% to hit?

This is going to very much be a YMMV area, but if you look at the math, monsters increase by +29 to defenses from level 1 to 30, assuming you're fighting on-level monsters all the time.

Now, over those 30 levels, you get:
+4 to hit, from +8 to your primary stat, total(4/8/11/14/18/21/24/28)
+15 to hit from half level
+6 to hit from enhancement bonuses

That puts you 4 points behind if you don't have any Paragon Path or Epic Destiny features that give you bonuses to hit.
Assume you took a PP that gives you a +1 to hit(like Kensai), and an Epic Destiny which gives you another +2 to your primary stat. That puts you 2 points behind, just enough for Expertise to bump you up slightly over where the monsters are.

Thus, the scaling is a math fix, and, given the high likelihood that players will NOT always choose a paragon path with a bonus to hit and stat-optimized Epic Destiny, cancels out the monsters' increase in defenses.

Even if it wasn't a math fix (it is), it's just too good a feat to not take at level 1, and that really hampers feat selection to a theme. I have an awesome whip-wielding warlord that wouldn't be possible if my DM didn't grant the feat for free. He'll probably drop by sometime soon, we were just discussing this in the OOC . He even makes it focused expertise (all), a +1 across the board no matter what you use.

I suppose then the feat is less of a neccessity when using a weapon with a proficiency bonus? Then it just becomes a nice feat?

Only if you're using that weapon in conjunction with powers that target non-AC defenses, since AC tends to be a few points higher

Quote:
Originally Posted by Amnistar View Post
I suppose then the feat is less of a neccessity when using a weapon with a proficiency bonus? Then it just becomes a nice feat?
A VERY nice feat. The ugly math makes it a
yes, even with +3 proficiency weapons, they're supposed to be more accurate, not just average
necessity, but all on its own it manages to outshine pretty much every other feat.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Letho View Post
Even if it wasn't a math fix (it is), it's just too good a feat to not take at level 1, and that really hampers feat selection to a theme. I have an awesome whip-wielding warlord that wouldn't be possible if my DM didn't grant the feat for free. He'll probably drop by sometime soon, we were just discussing this in the OOC . He even makes it focused expertise (all), a +1 across the board no matter what you use.
I usually don't come much on the mechanical forums, but here I am! =P

As obvious from my house-rule, I think that giving out Expertise for free is a good option. My reasons are simple; it lets PCs focus on the thematic aspect of their character when choosing feats, instead of simply choosing the best mechanical benefit - because, in most cases, the best mechanical benefit IS taking Expertise as soon as possible. Therefore, by just giving out a feat that everyone would take sooner or later, I can have my players specializing in their feats and making unique and fun characters, instead of only being worried about mechanics.

Of course, I'm the type of gamer that favours role-playing above dice-rolling - I think I'm even one of the users on this forum who plays free-form the most -, so my view is biased towards forgoing the mechanics a little and letting the game flow better. If another group finds it as much fun to optimize and create mechanical characters as role-playing, then I would advise against handing out free feats in that group. This is one of the beauties of role-playing: you can do it the way you want to, and have fun with it. (:




 

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