Alert: The initiative boost is good for anyone, the rest is just gravy. And good gravy, too. If you are the party scout, this feat inches into
blue territory, helping you to survive if you get found out.
Athlete: Moon druids could consider this feat if their forms get the ability bonus from feats. The rest should really be covered between your wild shapes and spells, but it can't hurt. Other druids are unlikely to find much of any use here.
Actor: This feat is out of order! In my PHB, too, so now you must suffer the same! Muahaha! Anyway, if you're picking this feat you're doing it to branch out from the usual druid roles. You'd think being able to turn into an animal would be enough for you, but nooo!
Bountiful Luck (XGtE): If you position yourself safely, you won't have much use for your Reaction, so lending your Lucky trait to someone else is pretty good. You also don't make many critical to-hit rolls. If you like, you can even use this ability to help out a conjured minion.
Charger: This requires use of your bonus action, which means you can't use it with a lot of otherwise charging forms – those who activate a second attack if their first hits when they charge. Only those that add bonus damage to charges (Giant Boar and Rhinoceros are the obvious MM beneficiaries; the Elk can get a little too, though only making their charge about as damaging as their hooves) get anything from this feat. In general this is too little, too seldom to be worth considering, even for damage hungry moon druids.
Crossbow Expert: While certainly not a bad feat as such, it works very poorly with druids. You'd do better to focus on spells than trying to learn to use a crossbow in the first place.
Defensive Duelist: Scimitars happen to be eligible for this feat, and having a miniature version of the Shield spell (for one attack only, and only in melee) that could save you a Concentration save might be worthwhile. But what are you doing in melee? You're not even wielding a Shillelagh!
Dragon Fear (XGtE): The +1 to constitution is the obvious option. Using this ability may make a lot of sense, particularly at higher levels, when the scaling of your breath attack leaves it rather behind the damage curve. Still, it seems to be a fairly desperate thing to do, when you could probably use the action to turn into an animal and flee. That it depends on charisma also doesn't lend itself well to druids.
Dragon Hide (XGtE): Adding +1 to con is the obvious choice. Base 13 AC is as good as +1 studded leather. Unfortunately, you're unlikely as dragonborn to have the dex to take full advantage. The claws may persuade your DM that you get to use your own proficiency bonus for Claw attacks in wild shape, which may give a small bonus to hit.
Drow High Magic (XGtE): Detect Magic and Dispel Magic are already on your list. Levitate can be useful to evade melee attackers at low level, but requires Concentration. And using charisma for casting is sad. Not exactly a uselss feat, but it does seem to give you more of what you have rather than new, useful stuff.
Dual Wielder: This is pretty much a trap, and not just for druids. Except for silly things like dual wielding lances, you do better just advancing your attack stat. And why wouldn't you want to wear a shield? Even for investing in making Shillelagh viable, there are far better things you can do.
Dungeon Delver: Unless your DM is a fan of very dynamic traps, this is not of much use to you. You can deal with traps in many ways, including minions and spells and wild shapes, and not least
sending the rogue with Dungeon Delver up front.
Durable: While the +1 to constitution is nice, you have better options for recovering hit points than this. Comes very close to being utterly useless, but I just might take this in a corner case, like having uneven con, maxed wis, and every other stat an even number. If I already had Resilient.
Dwarven Fortitude (XGtE): You probably won't be taking a lot of Dodge actions in battle, even with this feat. As a druid, you're a little more free to do so, as the loss of one casting of a druid cantrip is hardly a large blow to your group. But you're also supposed to be safely taken care of behind the lines. Being able to spend your hit dice without taking a short rest is generally an interesting ability, but druids have other ways to heal, particularly out of combat.
Elemental Adept: You might consider taking this for fire. It is more readily available as damage from druid spells than any of the other options. And fire is commonly resisted, so there should be something to gain if you use a lot of fire spells. If you cast many cold spells (perhaps you're an arctic land druid with the Frostbite cantrip, or some multiclass druid), this is an even better choice, with more resists.
Elven Accuracy (XGtE): +1 wisdom (the obvious pick) and special advantage to any advantage on dex or spell attack rolls. You'll be making few critical attack rolls, so that takes something away, but some of your spells and abilities do let you get advantage on attack rolls (anything that Restrains opponents). This should only be an option if it happens to fit your ability score advancement scheme very well, or if you're trying to build an archer druid (likely with some multiclassing).
Fade Away (XGtE): +1 to dex is better than +1 int. A panic button that turns you invisible on being attacked. If you are about to get swarmed or shot at by a regiment of archers, this could save you, and allow you to get to safety. Wild shaping doesn't break the invisibility, nor does non-offensive spellcasting. It's a decent feat, but only if it fits exactly into the way you want to advance your ability scores. I wouldn't build for this feat, but I might pick it if things happen to turn in its favour.
Fey Teleportation: +1 int or cha is a tossup, and neither is a major benefit. Learning Sylvan may be useful for druidic social interaction, if you haven't picked it up yet (and if you have, you'd be right to have done so, and now you'd get punished by wasting a language - that annoys me). But then you 'learn' Misty Step, and get to cast it once per rest for free. If learning it means you can now cast it with your own spell slots (ask your DM), then this feat is
awfully tempting to anyone who doesn't have access to a bonus action teleportation (10th level Dreams druids and 3rd level Coastal Land druids do). Even so, I'd only take it if I had an uneven score in int or cha already, or if I was in a group where Misty Step would make a particularly large boon.
Flames of Phlegetos (XGtE): Adding to int or charisma is the same amount of poor. A small bonus (about .4 points of damage per d6) to fire spell damage (not so compatible with Elemental Adept) is rather minor, though it must be said that fire spells are common in the druid list. The wreath of flames doesn't scale, and you are likely hoping it won't come into effect, though it is cool - no wait. Well, a positive word about aesthetics that doesn't imply coldness of temperature.
Grappler: The strength requirement sucks horribly, and in caster form you don't want to be grappling. That said, wild shaping druids can do some interesting things with grapple, so it may not be completely weird to pick this. I wouldn't, though.
Healer: This is highly dependent on when you take it. If you get it
early (and play through those levels), it's a reasonable feat, freeing up spell slots from healing. However, it scales poorly, and there will often be higher priority feats you want first.
Some people don’t notice right off that it can be used on a given target once per rest, so I'll just note that here.
Heavily Armoured: This isn't something you're likely to plan for. But suppose your group finds a magical suit of plate mail, which happens to be made of some material other than metal. And you've found no magical leather armour. And you are a dwarf, or for some reason have 14 or more strength. And nobody else in the group wants that suit of armour. And your dex isn't exactly good. Well, then this feat might actually improve your AC by as much as 7 before enchantments. Pretty wild, but as I said: not something you'd plan for.
Heavy Armor Master: You could continue weaving the outlandish tale from the Heavily Armored feat, but let's face it, you're reading about optimizing a druid. You're not picking this feat even if you meet the requirements.
Infernal Constitution (XGtE): +1 con, resistance to cold and poison damage and advantage on saves against poison (or perhaps only against effects that give you the Poisoned condition? Ask your DM). Poison damage is common in the MM, and cold about half as common. Between them, it's a pretty decent amount of stuff to be resistant to (and you already have fire). But then again, you're not a frontliner, you may become immune to poison at level 10 (land druid, while moon druid elemental forms are immune to poison), and you have spells that let you become resistant to cold and poison. So it'd be unusual for a druid to really consider this feat.
Inspiring Leader: At first glance this is poor for you. But if you like to conjure beasts, elementals and fey, this could give them some extra durability. Pixies and Sprites could particularly benefit from this, frail as the poor little buggers are. Since these are temporary hit points, it works with all the Shepherd's circle abilities.
Keen Mind: They worked hard to make this worthwhile. For druids, they failed. Okay, to be fair, the 'remember anything within the past month' thing could be useful in certain games, especially if you can't be bothered to take notes. But why are you playing the class that requires the most bookkeeping, then?
Lightly Armored: You're already profcient.
Linguist: In a world without magic, this might well have its place. You're druid, the world is full of magic.
Lucky: This is an interesting feat on any character, an extra panic button to press. You will likely feel less pressure than most character types (as you're usually ensconced in a wild shape or guarded by your party's melee), but it’s still a nice feature.
Mage Slayer: If you meet many spellcasters, this could be a worthy choice for wild shapes. In general, I’d leave this to the all-out melee, though.
Magic Initiate: For casting, you might pick this for some more cantrips and maybe a useful first level spell. If you pick cleric, you can get Sacred Flame or Toll the Dead as a decent attack cantrip with your strong wisdom to back it up. Word of Radiance is likewise strictly better than Thunderclap. They are much more reliable than fire or poison damage from your druid cantrips. For other classes, you may want to pick something that does not involve saves or attack rolls, as you are unlikely to have sufficient Int or Cha to back it up (though Booming Blade and Greenflame Blade can be made to work with Wisdom, sorta, by using them with Shillelagh).
For a first level spell, Find Familiar could be useful throughout your career, or Feather Fall if you worry about losing a flying form. Look around, there are a lot of options here. You could even pick druid as your spell list if you're desperate for more druid cantrips. Certain first level spells (like Absorb Elements, Entangle, Faerie Fire and Goodberry) never go out of style.
Martial Adept: Hmm, Evasive Footwork, maybe? No, not worth it.
Medium Amor Master: A very unlikely choice, but in caster form with a suit of non-metal medium armour (such as dragon scale mail) and dex 16, this can actually be a good feat.
Mobile: Generally, you should have pretty decent mobility between wild shaping and spells like Longstrider. But there are cases where another 10’ of movement can make a great deal of difference - more so the less movement you already have. Being able to avoid opportunity attacks by making an attack yourself can be nice for wild shapes, or if you want to use melee cantrips but don't want to get hit back (or combined with Booming Blade somehow). If you're in melee with a fighting wild shape, soaking up attacks should be what you expect to do, anyway.
Moderately Armored: You're already proficient with medium armor.
Mounted Combatant: While people sometimes regale us at the forum with tales of how someone with this feat rode a Moon druid ([expletive deleted]), this really isn't a feat for druids.
Observant: The 5-point bonus to passive perception is a great boon - if the DM uses (and lets you use) passive checks. If you scout ahead often, this goes double. The +1 to wisdom is the main reason this is an attractive feat, but only as long as it fits in your stat advancement scheme.
Orcish Fury (XGtE): +1 to con and some minor offensive advantages with weapon attacks. This feat works best when you're in the frontline, hammering away with a weapon in hand, and as a druid, you probably won't be. But for the +con alone, it can't be rated an entire waste.
Polearm Master: You can use this with Shillelagh on a quarterstaff for the occasional Reaction attack and some more regular Bonus Action attacks. The latter would (as per tweets from Crawford) deal d4+wis damage. With this investment, Shillelagh becomes a pretty decent attack cantrip for the amount of damage it can put out. But it retains the problem of being in melee, you're using up your bonus action and possibly your reaction, and you still cannot compete with expert damage dealers. To me the feat shores up something you won't be good at anyway (and likely has you fighting with a quarterstaff onehanded, which I think is rather silly)
Prodigy (XGtE): Like Skilled, this has its uses. Getting double proficiency bonus in Perception or Stealth (or any other skill you want to be good at) is nothing to sniff at, if you rely on the skill to do your thing.
Resilient: Taking this for Constitution is a
good choice. Con is probably the most common saving throw made by spellcasters (and druids in particular), as it is made to maintain Concentration. This one actually gets better the higher level you are.
Ritual Caster: You can already cast your prepared Ritual spells as rituals, but there are only so many. Wizard is the obvious choice if you take this feat (and you don't need int 13, though you might think so), with plenty of Ritual spells to choose from, and a better chance to add to your ritual book by copying from spellbooks. Alarm, Comprehend Languages, Detect Magic, and Find Familiar are all 1st level wizard spells worth considering. Getting Leomund's Tiny Hut, Rary's Telepathic Bond and Drawmij's Instant Summons are goals for the future.
Savage Attacker: One of the few ways to up wild shape damage. Many forms attack only once per turn, and very few more than twice, so this affects a large percentage of their damage rolls. Be aware that the amount gained is mathematically not very much, but it is likely to feel pretty good at table.
If I was playing a moon druid from 1 to 20, I wouldn't look twice at this feat, as there is too much time you're not using your wild shape for its offensive. But if I was playing one from 1 to 6, or for a limited time from 10 to 12, e.g., I'd be tempted to pick Savage Attacker.
Second Chance (XGtE): Once per combat minor panic button, with +1 to con or dex? And it can save me from having to make a Concentration save? If it fits my attribute advancement scheme, I'll take it.
Sentinel: For
wild shapes, this is probably a good choice. When your job is to keep the enemy away from your party’s squishies, this feat is very good at just that.
Sharpshooter: Even if a bow does well for you early in your career, there is no way it ends well if you pick this feat and go straight druid.
Shield Master: The major part of this feat is the bonus action Shove when you take the Attack Action. The problem there is you probably don't have the strength to do much with it. Besides which, the Attack Action isn't what you'll be doing mostly, and you may want to try and stay out of melee. The other stuff can still come in handy, albeit quite situational. Being able to take a Reaction and maybe take no damage (and so no Concentration save) from an AoE attack is nice, though to make the most of it you need proficiency in dex saves.
Skilled: Depending on what you want your character to be able to do, and what the party’s needs are, this could be a useful choice. See under Skills and Background above. Most PCs only have proficiency in four skills. Another three is rather a lot when you think of it like that.
Skulker: On a stealthy druid, this may have its place. Dim light is what most darkvision works as, so the two work well together.
Spell Sniper: Only some of the druid cantrips use attack rolls. The other spells don't. Slightly shoring up your cantrips with a feat is rather a waste.
Squat Nimbleness (XGtE): +1 to dex, +5' foot speed, proficiency in Acrobatics or Athletics, and advantage on ability checks to escape grapples. It's a neat little package, and I might pick it up, if I wasn't proficient in either of those two skills. Having both seems redundant. Does the movement increase carry over to wild shape, DM?
Svirfneblin Magic (EEPC): Holds up well compared to Magic Initiate, and the spells are not bad – though using Int as your casting stat. They are not generally covered by the druid list.
Tavern Brawler: A better grappling feat than the Grappler feat, ironically. Most of the stuff is useless to the average druid, apart from the bonus to con, of course. If only your wild shape attacks were improvised weapons or unarmed strikes, then you could use your bonus action to grapple those you hit. Maybe a lenient DM will let that slide?
Tough: The usefulness of this feat depends very much on how it is interpreted. If this adds 2 hp per level (and whose level, yours or the animal’s?) to your wild shape, it may well be
worth taking. The
sage says it doesn't work that way.
Then, it could still be worth taking, at least for druids with poor Con. It could mean something like +20% hp.
War Caster: The advantage on those important saving throws to maintain concentration is the real thing here, especially so for Moon druids. Caster forms may also get some mileage out of the other bits, and clearing up any issues about casting spells while using a shield.
Spoiler
Show
Generally speaking it shouldn't be a problem, as you can sheathe or draw a weapon as part of your action. But if you want to have a particular (probably magical) thing in one hand both before and after casting, and a shield strapped on the other (and why wouldn't you want a shield?), you won't have to worry about needing a hand free, or ending up with an empty hand you'd rather were filled. This is very technical and borders on pedantry, and some DMs won't be bothered with it to begin with.
You may want to consider taking Resilient first, if your proficiency bonus is big enough by the time. Advantage is approximately worth +3.3, meaning you'll likely take this feat before picking up Resilient, which gives you proficiency (+2 to +6 as you level). In the end, you're likely to want both, as they are good (if boring) options.
In caster form, try to have a prepared spell or cantrip that you can use for the Reaction casting in place of the Opportunity Attack.
Weapon Master: Some have speculated whether you could use this feat to become proficient in some wild shape attacks, and so use your own prof bonus over that of the animal's. Unfortunately, the feat only lets you pick simple or martial weapons, which animal attacks aren't. As for picking some weapons that are better than druid weapons, you could get some use out of this at the lowest levels, if your dex or str support your choice of weapons. But even your cantrips will quickly catch up or pass your weapons, so I wouldn't recommend it.
Wood Elf Magic (XGtE): A fine feat, except it gives you a bunch of druid stuff that you already have, or decided not to pick. Very nearly a total waste, but since the spells are pretty good, the free casting and the freeing of space on the prepared list lifts it up from an outright waste. I still wouldn't pick it for a druid, though.
Post 3
Reply With Quote