True strike cantrip w/ war magic EK fighter

[Whit]

True strike cast the spell. On your next turn you gain advantage on your first attack.
War magic : when you cast a cantrip you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action
Scenically 1. Can I cast true strike and use the advantage on the bonus attack. Or.

Scenario 2. Since it says next turn
I cast true strike, attack normal with bonus action attack AND then on my next turn my first attack is advantage.

I’m making a ranged EK knight. Since I lose out on GFB and BB, would TS be useful
For war magic at lvl 7.

[nickl_2000]

RAW scenario #2 is the correct one.


I don't think I've ever met a non-AL DM that wouldn't allow scenario #1.

[Asisreo1]

True strike cast the spell. On your next turn you gain advantage on your first attack.
War magic : when you cast a cantrip you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action
Scenically 1. Can I cast true strike and use the advantage on the bonus attack. Or.

Scenario 2. Since it says next turn
I cast true strike, attack normal with bonus action attack AND then on my next turn my first attack is advantage.

I’m making a ranged EK knight. Since I lose out on GFB and BB, would TS be useful
For war magic at lvl 7.
First scenario doesn't work, as you said, it specifies next turn.

Second scenario is correct. Though it doesn't scale well past level 5, which makes it bad.

[Whit]

Ok thanks. I’ll skip true strike.
I’m Looking at high elf extra cantrip
Cantrips: mending(non-magic) arrows, minor illusion for cover or a pit etc , light so I or my human friends can see better.

Lvl1 spell shield, either alarm or prot good evil and sleep(non abj/evo) spells was thinking chromatic orb if we encountered magic to hit creature. Not sure

[Zhorn]

yeah, unless you DM wants to houserule True Strike into something decent, by RAW it is a bad spell that is worse than using your action to attack once on each turn.
Avoid taking where possible.

[Joe the Rat]

TS is incredibly niche - the only place you will benefit is if you need to save arrows, and it represents a hit on damage (as you can only get one attack from two rolls). If you had an Arrow of Slaying, it would be good for the setup - you still get a shot off this round, and when you take your shot next turn, you're good to go. But if that were the case, there are enough ways to get Advantage it's moot (having an ally use the Help action to set up a big killer is good strategy).

Picking a utility spell for your High Elf cantrip is good flavor. I'm kind of partial to light here. Cast it on one fletching or the nock of an arrow (So it does not blind you when drawn - some DMs are fussy about that sort of thng), then BA loose it at a target in the darkness. Now your allies can see what to attack. On a more martial angle, I like ray of frost - you lose the Dex damage, but it otherwise scales up with your extra attack, slows targets so they can't get too close/away, and still allows a regular bow attack.

(Originally I read this as using in conjunction with the Warcaster feat - the idea of casting True Strike as a reaction to set up your next shot was... interesting).

[Whit]

Oh i like the ray of frost with war magic. Thanks

[Greywander]

Yeah, True Strike doesn't even work for an EK. You don't even get War Magic until 7th level, and as early as 5th level you can already make two attacks with your action. It's back to the "attack twice normally or once with advantage" scenario, and attacking twice is still better because you can potentially hit twice, whereas attacking with advantage can only hit once.

On the other hand, Blade Ward becomes a nice defensive spell that still allows you to attack once. Still situational, but better than Blade Ward normally is.

Edit: I just wanted to add that I've long felt that True Strike should be a buff you can cast on an ally. Support cantrips are few and far between, and this one simple change would propel it from a trap choice to situationally useful. I mean, if you have the option of (a) casting another Fire Bolt, or (b) giving the rogue or paladin advantage on their next attack, which one would actually be better? 'Cause that second one is actually sounding pretty useful. Although I guess that's basically just a ranged help action.

[Yuroch Kern]

True strike cast the spell. On your next turn you gain advantage on your first attack.
War magic : when you cast a cantrip you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action
Scenically 1. Can I cast true strike and use the advantage on the bonus attack. Or.

Scenario 2. Since it says next turn
I cast true strike, attack normal with bonus action attack AND then on my next turn my first attack is advantage.

I’m making a ranged EK knight. Since I lose out on GFB and BB, would TS be useful
For war magic at lvl 7.

This was addressed in Sage Advice(I'll find the link later), but while War Magic does #2, your DM might allow the BA Attack first next round, as long as you cast a Cantrip as your normal action. This would setup a per round Advantaged attack routine, which is great for either high AC or Disadvantaged attack rolls. I think True Strike was intended as the way you can Help yourself, and has almost the same situational benefits.

[Quietus]

This was addressed in Sage Advice(I'll find the link later), but while War Magic does #2, your DM might allow the BA Attack first next round, as long as you cast a Cantrip as your normal action. This would setup a per round Advantaged attack routine, which is great for either high AC or Disadvantaged attack rolls. I think True Strike was intended as the way you can Help yourself, and has almost the same situational benefits.

Scenario 1 : True Strike/bonus attack each round
- Each round you roll 2d20, to attempt to hit once, consume action/bonus action/concentration, risk losing one of those d20's if your concentration is broken

Scenario 2 : Use extra attack each round, no True Strike
- Each round you roll 2d20, each one can potentially hit. Possible to double your damage, only uses your regular action, doesn't require concentration


The only time True Strike is worth it, is if you have some kind of rider on a single attack that is itself doing more damage than a basic attack would, or some kind of consumable single-use item that *must* land that hit. Otherwise, attacking twice is 100% going to be better every time.

[kazaryu]

True strike cast the spell. On your next turn you gain advantage on your first attack.
War magic : when you cast a cantrip you can make one weapon attack as a bonus action
Scenically 1. Can I cast true strike and use the advantage on the bonus attack. Or.

Scenario 2. Since it says next turn
I cast true strike, attack normal with bonus action attack AND then on my next turn my first attack is advantage.

I’m making a ranged EK knight. Since I lose out on GFB and BB, would TS be useful
For war magic at lvl 7.

biggest reason this is not worth, is just, look at the number of attacks you're rolling.

turn 1 TS+1 attack. turn 2 2 attacks with 1 at adv. so overall you roll 3 attacks and 4 d 20's.

compare that to a standard

turn 1: 2 attacks. turn 2: 2 attacks. so now you're still rolling 4 d 20's, but its on 4 separate attacks. so your chance of landing at least 3 attacks in identical to your scenario, but now there's also a chance of landing a 4th attack.

problem with generally, past lvl 5 there are almost no attack cantrips that'd be worthwhile to cast to trigger war magic, because you're gonna get more damage out of making 2 attacks (2d8+2xdex vs 2d10+1d8+dex). so basic attacks just edge out the spell cast. generally what you're gonna wanna use war magic for is if you need to cast a utility cantrip or defensive cantrip mid combat.

so like, blade ward->BA attack. you've essentially traded one of your attacks for resistance to physical damage types. which can be a good tradeoff, depending on teh situation.



as for true strike: the only scenario where it MIGHT be worthwhile to cast is:
1. you're a melee martial
2. you don't currently have anyone in range to attack
3. you do have someone within 30 feet
4. you've used your movement this turn.

in this rather niche scenario it MIGHT be useful to cast true strike. however, if you're a melee fighter, there's a good chance you're at the frint of your party. so there's a good chance your enemy closes range on you, which mean you're better off just readying an action to attack. or, drawing a dart/javelin/dagger and just throwing it at them. there's even a strong argument that you're better off throwing literally anything as an improvised weapon. or lastly, using your action to dash insated. closing range this turn so now you threaten an opportunity attack, and provide a threat for the rogue to sneak attack off of. (if you have one of those obvi).

[Yuroch Kern]

Scenario 1 : True Strike/bonus attack each round
- Each round you roll 2d20, to attempt to hit once, consume action/bonus action/concentration, risk losing one of those d20's if your concentration is broken

Scenario 2 : Use extra attack each round, no True Strike
- Each round you roll 2d20, each one can potentially hit. Possible to double your damage, only uses your regular action, doesn't require concentration


The only time True Strike is worth it, is if you have some kind of rider on a single attack that is itself doing more damage than a basic attack would, or some kind of consumable single-use item that *must* land that hit. Otherwise, attacking twice is 100% going to be better every time.

Yep, which is why you would use it. Although, an archer may very well start to lose enough ammo in some games that suddenly every shot counts. I never dispute its rare high level use, it is as useful as Help, and falls off at about the same time. Also, for a class with Con save proficiency, I worry less about Concentration loss.

[Yuroch Kern]

biggest reason this is not worth, is just, look at the number of attacks you're rolling.

turn 1 TS+1 attack. turn 2 2 attacks with 1 at adv. so overall you roll 3 attacks and 4 d 20's.

compare that to a standard

turn 1: 2 attacks. turn 2: 2 attacks. so now you're still rolling 4 d 20's, but its on 4 separate attacks. so your chance of landing at least 3 attacks in identical to your scenario, but now there's also a chance of landing a 4th attack.

problem with generally, past lvl 5 there are almost no attack cantrips that'd be worthwhile to cast to trigger war magic, because you're gonna get more damage out of making 2 attacks (2d8+2xdex vs 2d10+1d8+dex). so basic attacks just edge out the spell cast. generally what you're gonna wanna use war magic for is if you need to cast a utility cantrip or defensive cantrip mid combat.

so like, blade ward->BA attack. you've essentially traded one of your attacks for resistance to physical damage types. which can be a good tradeoff, depending on teh situation.



as for true strike: the only scenario where it MIGHT be worthwhile to cast is:
1. you're a melee martial
2. you don't currently have anyone in range to attack
3. you do have someone within 30 feet
4. you've used your movement this turn.

in this rather niche scenario it MIGHT be useful to cast true strike. however, if you're a melee fighter, there's a good chance you're at the frint of your party. so there's a good chance your enemy closes range on you, which mean you're better off just readying an action to attack. or, drawing a dart/javelin/dagger and just throwing it at them. there's even a strong argument that you're better off throwing literally anything as an improvised weapon. or lastly, using your action to dash insated. closing range this turn so now you threaten an opportunity attack, and provide a threat for the rogue to sneak attack off of. (if you have one of those obvi).

Archery style is pretty big, and kinda reduces the need for Advantage, if that is the style chosen. A better Cantrip would be Ray of Frost, as the movement reduction would help keep a foe away from melee, the bane of most archers. Also, Firebolt falls off quicker, since fire is resisted more and more. A True Strike combo, while helping to ensure you actually hit and not waste ammo, can slow down your DPS quite a bit...