How to get "Elemental Adept" as a Half-Elf Wizard

[Jannoire]

Hello folks,

I'm currently playing a 4th-level Evocation Wizard (Half-Elf). I was wondering, if there is any way to get the Elemental Adept feat, since the books mentions no clear way to take a feat.

Although there is the option of not taking the ability score improvement, but I was wondering if taking the feat is really worth not taking the improvement.

I hope for a lot of interesting answers as well as discussions...

Jannoire

[ImproperJustice]

Welcome to the forums and the game!!

Technically feats are optional and it is up to your GM if they can be used as part of their game.

Most GM’s do allow feats and they can be taken in place of an attribute increase.

There are many opinions on when it is best to take a feat vs. an attribute increase, and you will likely have to weigh what you think is best for your character.

I can say there are many very helpful guides on this forum with good advice that will help you make an informed decision.

Regarding your Half-Elf Wizard, the earliest they will be able to get a feat would be 4th level, if your GM allows feats in place of attribute increases.

[SirGraystone]

You can take a feat instead of the ASI at level 4, 8, 12, 16 and 19. Fighter class get a few more. Human variant if allowed by your DM get 1 feat at level 1.

[Raif]

Hello folks,

I'm currently playing a 4th-level Evocation Wizard (Half-Elf). I was wondering, if there is any way to get the Elemental Adept feat, since the books mentions no clear way to take a feat.

Although there is the option of not taking the ability score improvement, but I was wondering if taking the feat is really worth not taking the improvement.

I hope for a lot of interesting answers as well as discussions...

Jannoire

So if your DM allows feats there are 2 ways to get them:

Variant Human - This is a race choice (so not an option you can use). They get a feat in place of the +1 to all stats.
ASI - Instead of taking an ASI you can take a feat.


There are many pros and cons of taking feats over an ASI and each feat has their own pros and cons over other feats. If you are allowed to use feats in your game then here's a few questions you need to :


What is your current stat array?
Is your main stat 20? If not, is gaining extra spells prepared, bonus to hit with spells, increased spell DC, and increased saves/skill proficiency better or worse than taking that feat?
Is taking an ASI in Dex or Con better for you than taking a feat?
Why do you want Elemental Adept?


As for the feat itself - Elemental Adept is a decent feat. I took it once on a sorcerer that was fire based and it did indeed help for a lot of things. However, I had to weigh it against feats that are very much better such as Warcaster and getting my Charisma to 20 which would have probably been the better choice. I did indeed end up "regretting" the choice and should have gone with Charisma boost or a different feat.

The reason why I say that I regretted Elemental Adept gives you 2 things:

ignoring elemental resistance
Smoothing out damage rolls for said spell type


While this can be nice if you know for a fact you will fight a lot of enemies with Fire resistance (for instance), but if you're not then it could be a dud feat. As a sorcerer in Prince of the Apocalypse I did come across a decent amount of Fire resistant enemies, but not enough to have justified the pick. In this instance, you would have been better off picking another feat/ASI and just pick up a variety of spells that deal different types of damage. For a wizard, that's very easy as you can swap your spell list out daily.

Remember - Elemental Adept only overcomes a single resistance type.