Thicket of Blades or Tactics of the Wolf

[ChaosStar]

Question: If you have a negative dex mod, thus no reason to take combat reflexes, and another frontline fighter in the party, which is the better 3rd level stance? (Other party members are a Rogue, Bard, and Cleric.)

[Particle_Man]

I would say in those circumstances tactics of the wolf and getting used to being the rogue’s flank buddy.

[Telonius]

Question: If you have a negative dex mod, thus no reason to take combat reflexes, and another frontline fighter in the party, which is the better 3rd level stance? (Other party members are a Rogue, Bard, and Cleric.)

Most of the time, I'd go with Tactics of the Wolf. It does depend (slightly) on the rest of your build and what you have planned. Like, if you really need an extra Devoted Spirit maneuver to qualify for something later on, you might want Thicket of Blades. Otherwise take Tactics of the Wolf. The Rogue will love you for it.

One other possible caveat: it depends a little on your DM's usual style. Does your DM like throwing bunches of smaller monsters at you, or is he more of a "one big monster" kind of encounter planner? Are you usually in the middle of two or three enemies, or are you more often finding yourself with just one guy in front of you? If you're usually only fighting one guy at a time, lack of Combat Reflexes isn't going to hurt you that much. You always get at least one Attack of Opportunity per round no matter how low your modifier is.