I'm playing a level 13 half-orc totem barb who will level up after our next session tomorrow. Honestly, other than level 3 bear, all the totem barb path features are sort of meh. I traded my level 10 path feature for Zealous Presence, which has turned out to be way more useful than Commune with Nature. I wanted to get some opinions on the level 14 path feature.
The rest of my party is squishy and hangs back while I rush into combat like the barbarian I am, so they're rarely close enough to me to have Bear make any difference. In fact, I traded the Sentinel feat I originally took with GWM because of this. Tiger seems too dependent on movement. Eagle sounds flavorful, but I'm not sure how that would really work in combat nor how useful it would be. I'm leaning towards either elk or wolf, but I'm open to opinions.
Thanks for the input. I'm probably overthinking this but....
The "when you hit" part of wolf makes me pause: "While you’re raging, you can use a bonus action on your turn to knock a Large or smaller creature prone when you hit it with melee weapon attack."
Elk deals damage and knocks them prone. It's not dependent on hitting, but there is a saving throw. Mine would be DC 18.
Which has better odds: a creature making a DC 18 strength saving throw or a barbarian making a hit? I think I just answered my own question. I'd put my money on a recklessly attacking level 14 barbarian, so wolf probably is better.
And then there's eagle. Mechanically, I'm not sure how a flying barbarian would even work.
Level 14 Wolf is the worst of the 5 options in my opinion, especially if the rest of your party is ranged (remember ranged attacks against Prone targets have Disadvantage). If you want something to do with your Bonus Action then Elk is definitely a solid option. Eagle is really useful for when you start fighting lots of flying enemies, allowing you to fly 40 feet towards them instead of just depending on your jump. Consider grappling flying enemies after you reach them to bring them back down to the ground with you. Yes you'll fall at the end of your turn if you're not on something, but you're a raging Barbarian so that falling damage should be halved and you have a huge pile of HP
Thanks for the feedback. I forgot about the ranged disadvantage on prone targets. Yes, you're right that I have a huge pile of HP and I'm never concerned about injuring myself, but if I fly up and fail the grapple, I fall and damage myself for no reason. I'm still not sure if that's more useful than elk or wolf. It would be nice to do something besides longbow flying enemies though.
Personally I love Elk from a thematic POV but the no damage on success, being single target and working on only Large or smaller targets makes it feel pretty meh for a high level feature.
Good point. This is how I feel about all the path features except level 3. Commune with Nature for a barbarian? I mean, just the name alone...
Eagle is much more situational than any of the others. Most of the time it won't do anything but when you need it it's potentially encounter changing. It's up to you to decide whether you want a feature that's maybe going to be great but most of the time practically not existent or one that works in most situations but won't have as much of an impact in general.
True. Honestly, all of the level 14 path features are rather situational. I really like the flavor of eagle, but I'm not sure how useful it would really be. I may take it anyway, because who doesn't want to fly once in a while?
Overall Bear is probably the most useful since it lets you protect your party members and that's kinda your main job as Barbarian anyway. However if your DM is so nice and leaves your backline unbothered by melee enemies then I guess it'd be a waste of a feature.
Agreed. Bear is definitely the best option for most, but given the uselessness of Sentinel for me, I think this one's out. I wouldn't say the backline is unbothered, just that the bad guys tend to move towards them, and unfortunately, I can only kill one person at a time. We rarely have a big group melee. It's one fight here, one over there...
I'd go with Elk, it's an additional way to use your bonus action offensively when you fail to reduce a creature to 0 HP or crit with Great Weapon Master, by letting you do something you otherwise normally can't, which is to enter an hostile creature's space.
I do like the idea of a bonus action attack that does damage, but DC 18 isn't very high for the type of baddies you're likely to encounter at level 14.
I do like the idea of a bonus action attack that does damage, but DC 18 isn't very high for the type of baddies you're likely to encounter at level 14.
That's the same as a caster's DC at level 14 without a magic item that increases their spell save DC
That's the same as a caster's DC at level 14 without a magic item that increases their spell save DC
Yes but Casters don't spend a whole feature on what's basically just a cantrip. Single target and no damage on success is pretty bad. The only saving grace is that it's a BA so you don't waste your whole turn on it but it still feels bad.
Exactly. Especially when you consider that Barbs only get a rather underwhelming selection of path features at 3, 6, 10 and 14. Casters get new spells every level.
I'm playing a level 13 half-orc totem barb who will level up after our next session tomorrow. Honestly, other than level 3 bear, all the totem barb path features are sort of meh. I traded my level 10 path feature for Zealous Presence, which has turned out to be way more useful than Commune with Nature. I wanted to get some opinions on the level 14 path feature.
The rest of my party is squishy and hangs back while I rush into combat like the barbarian I am, so they're rarely close enough to me to have Bear make any difference. In fact, I traded the Sentinel feat I originally took with GWM because of this. Tiger seems too dependent on movement. Eagle sounds flavorful, but I'm not sure how that would really work in combat nor how useful it would be. I'm leaning towards either elk or wolf, but I'm open to opinions.
From my personal experiences, I would choose the wolf because it gives you the ability to knock creatures prone
Thanks for the input. I'm probably overthinking this but....
The "when you hit" part of wolf makes me pause: "While you’re raging, you can use a bonus action on your turn to knock a Large or smaller creature prone when you hit it with melee weapon attack."
Elk deals damage and knocks them prone. It's not dependent on hitting, but there is a saving throw. Mine would be DC 18.
Which has better odds: a creature making a DC 18 strength saving throw or a barbarian making a hit? I think I just answered my own question. I'd put my money on a recklessly attacking level 14 barbarian, so wolf probably is better.
And then there's eagle. Mechanically, I'm not sure how a flying barbarian would even work.
Level 14 Wolf is the worst of the 5 options in my opinion, especially if the rest of your party is ranged (remember ranged attacks against Prone targets have Disadvantage). If you want something to do with your Bonus Action then Elk is definitely a solid option. Eagle is really useful for when you start fighting lots of flying enemies, allowing you to fly 40 feet towards them instead of just depending on your jump. Consider grappling flying enemies after you reach them to bring them back down to the ground with you. Yes you'll fall at the end of your turn if you're not on something, but you're a raging Barbarian so that falling damage should be halved and you have a huge pile of HP
Thanks for the feedback. I forgot about the ranged disadvantage on prone targets. Yes, you're right that I have a huge pile of HP and I'm never concerned about injuring myself, but if I fly up and fail the grapple, I fall and damage myself for no reason. I'm still not sure if that's more useful than elk or wolf. It would be nice to do something besides longbow flying enemies though.
Good point. This is how I feel about all the path features except level 3. Commune with Nature for a barbarian? I mean, just the name alone...
True. Honestly, all of the level 14 path features are rather situational. I really like the flavor of eagle, but I'm not sure how useful it would really be. I may take it anyway, because who doesn't want to fly once in a while?
Agreed. Bear is definitely the best option for most, but given the uselessness of Sentinel for me, I think this one's out. I wouldn't say the backline is unbothered, just that the bad guys tend to move towards them, and unfortunately, I can only kill one person at a time. We rarely have a big group melee. It's one fight here, one over there...
I'd go with Elk, it's an additional way to use your bonus action offensively when you fail to reduce a creature to 0 HP or crit with Great Weapon Master, by letting you do something you otherwise normally can't, which is to enter an hostile creature's space.
I do like the idea of a bonus action attack that does damage, but DC 18 isn't very high for the type of baddies you're likely to encounter at level 14.
That's the same as a caster's DC at level 14 without a magic item that increases their spell save DC
Exactly. Especially when you consider that Barbs only get a rather underwhelming selection of path features at 3, 6, 10 and 14. Casters get new spells every level.