Zephyr Strike or Mobile feat

[T2334]

What’s more effective overall- Zephyr Strike or Mobile Feat? They both disallow OA however one requires concentration whereas the other does not (ZS also gives one advantage and an extra d8 damage)

[Lupine]

Depends what you’re playing. Rogue? Probably zephyr strike. Same with any melee with expanded crit range.

Caster? Neither is great, actually. To get the effect, you have to make an attack, which casters are not great at. Also probably zephyr strike, as it just happens, no attack needed. But don’t expect a lot of use.

[x3n0n]

What’s more effective overall- Zephyr Strike or Mobile Feat? They both disallow OA however one requires concentration whereas the other does not (ZS also gives one advantage and an extra d8 damage)

Both: avoid a per-round action cost to "Disengage"

Mobile:
Con: costs a full ASI, requires a melee attack for the "disengage"
Pro: always-on, extra movement, extra synergy with Dash

ZS:
Con: spellcasting reqt (known/prepared, slot), one BA action economy, concentration
Pro: no melee attack required (works for ranged chars), free advantage/damage

[Catullus64]

If you're a melee ranger, take Mobile; you'll see more overall use.

If you're an archer ranger, or a primary spellcaster borrowing the spell somehow to use as a cheap escape button, take Zephyr Strike. (Although if available, Expeditious Retreat is also good for that function.

[adb82]

In general for mobility on full casters i prefer misty step,
no concentration, no asi. It use a bonus action but you can use your concentration on something else and still have your action.

On a rogue or a ranger are both good option (on a horizont walker its better mobile because he can haste himself, that is better than zephyr strike), but if they have nothing better on to concentrate than i would prefer zephyr strike for use the asi in some other way.

PS on any ranged character mobile is kinda useless.

[whateew]

Zephyr strike seems a great choice for the arcane trickster. Im not really sure what they are using their spell slots for in combat, it can give a free emergency sneak attack (I believe it gives one instance of advantage) and it lets you dash out of danger, where you can more comfortably use an xbow or something.

I'm pretty sure they can get it as a fey touched option?

[MaxWilson]

If you're a melee ranger, take Mobile; you'll see more overall use.

If you're an archer ranger, or a primary spellcaster borrowing the spell somehow to use as a cheap escape button, take Zephyr Strike. (Although if available, Expeditious Retreat is also good for that function.

I'd kind of say the opposite: Mobile is better on an archer ranger because it lets you put enemies between a rock and a hard place. Either they chase you, and lose, or they don't, and you fill them full of arrows and they lose.

If you're an archer ranger, it can also be convenient to have Mobile available as a way of breaking contact without costing your concentration (so you can keep your Conjure Animal meat shields up), whereas a melee ranger probably cares more about getting into melee quickly, for which he can use Longstrider, or fleeing rare disasters, for which Zephyr Strike + Longstrider also work okay.

In general I'd say how many resources you spend depends on how important avoiding melee is to you. ASIs are more expensive than spells known, so Zephyr Strike is cheap and pretty good but Mobile is better and more expensive.


Zephyr strike seems a great choice for the arcane trickster. Im not really sure what they are using their spell slots for in combat, it can give a free emergency sneak attack (I believe it gives one instance of advantage) and it lets you dash out of danger, where you can more comfortably use an xbow or something.

I'm pretty sure they can get it as a fey touched option?

Zephyr Strike is somewhat redundant on a rogue, who already has free Disengages as a bonus action as well as ways to gain advantage as a bonus action. You're right that in emergencies it could still be useful, but I'd guesstimate that it's only about half as valuable to a rogue to a ranger, while being even more expensive to acquire. Rogue should just take Mobile feat instead of Fey Touched (Zephyr Strike), which isn't even legal anyway because Zephyr Strike is a transmutation spell.

[Willie the Duck]

If Zephyr Strike were on more spell lists, I'd say that it would be a great spell for other spellcasters (wizard, cleric, etc.), since it doesn't have the to-hit requirement. However, the number of non-ranger* casters who would have easy access to it is vanishingly small -- to the point where I'd say it isn't cheaper than Mobile's ASI, since you'd be dropping a feat or MC dip to get it (and probably dip, unless you only want it 1/day with MI).
*Who I assume want to spend most combat rounds hitting something

[x3n0n]

Zephyr Strike is somewhat redundant on a rogue, who already has free Disengages as a bonus action as well as ways to gain advantage as a bonus action. You're right that in emergencies it could still be useful, but I'd guesstimate that it's only about half as valuable to a rogue to a ranger, while being even more expensive to acquire. Rogue should just take Mobile feat instead of Fey Touched (Zephyr Strike), which isn't even legal anyway because Zephyr Strike is a transmutation spell.

If there were a low-cost way to get it (that is, not using an ASI or 2-level dip), I would have thought that it was a good choice for Rogue for similar reasons to Mobile/Fancy Footwork: *instead* of BA Disengage, you can BA Dash or BA Hide, and you have the "emergency" advantage clause when your other advantage engines haven't worked.

Actually, what good BA advantage engines does a melee (say Booming Blade) Rogue have? Find familiar Owl Help is good if you can keep it alive; Hide advantage goes away when you approach; Steady Aim is bad if you are trying to get away.

[MaxWilson]

Actually, what good BA advantage engines does a melee (say Booming Blade) Rogue have? Find familiar Owl Help is good if you can keep it alive; Hide advantage goes away when you approach; Steady Aim is bad if you are trying to get away.

Skulker might work, depending on DM interpretation. Otherwise I'd say that "trying to get away" and "trying to melee" are mutually exclusive and you should be Dashing with your action instead of attacking.

[x3n0n]

Otherwise I'd say that "trying to get away" and "trying to melee" are mutually exclusive and you should be Dashing with your action instead of attacking.

Hm. That's at odds with a relatively typical Arcane Trickster "routine" in my head: Owl Help attack (owl retreats), approach, Booming Blade with advantage, BA Disengage, retreat. That routine looks significantly better to me with Mobile or an active Zephyr Strike because your BA Disengage can become BA Dash, potentially leaving you out of easy reach even if they choose to move.

[MaxWilson]

Hm. That's at odds with a relatively typical Arcane Trickster "routine" in my head: Owl Help attack (owl retreats), approach, Booming Blade with advantage, BA Disengage, retreat. That routine looks significantly better to me with Mobile or an active Zephyr Strike because your BA Disengage can become BA Dash, potentially leaving you out of easy reach even if they choose to move.

In that case yes, there's some advantage to Mobile (or Zephyr Strike if you somehow had it).

Skulker: attack with advantage, then Hide and retreat works similarly, but only in darkness.