Just curious. Does anyone thing Def Duelist (reaction to gain Profiency Bonus aC vs ONE melee attack) is worth much on an alchemist?
My alchemist does use Green Flame Blade on occasion, and due to ranging on stuff like Healing Word, does also tend to want to be moderate ranged; and sometimes tends to act as protector for the more squisher backlines in the cases of ambush or encirclement..
But alchemist really don't have much of any reaction ability and I can't really think of any either. So I was pondering this feat, as I have to have one hand with Alchemist Tools; and the other either using a Dex Weapon. I do realize I could just drop GFB and just be pure ranged with Tools + Shield but I kind of like the aesthetic I've got going. (I do stil really wish Alchemist had gotten Primal Savegry in Tasha's.....would've the perfect answer).
So do you think that feat is worth much? Or does anyone else have a good reaction idea? (other than warcaster)
It would be better to just take a level in Wizard or Sorcerer to get Shield spell or Absorb Elements. Personally I think that Def Duelist is a waist of a Feat to take.
I do feel like in modern terms it should really be a half feat, giving +1 dex.
I don't really want shield spells though. Particularly on someone with so few slots like an alchemist, but a lot of uses as a gap fill. So shield is too high a premium.
I have thought about 2 into War Wizard though. which would sure up AC and Saves quite a nice amount.
It would be better to just take a level in Wizard or Sorcerer to get Shield spell or Absorb Elements. Personally I think that Def Duelist is a waist of a Feat to take.
Absorb Elements is already on the Artificer spell list. If you really want Shield that much I would make a spell tattoo for it, as a one-use common item its pretty quick and easy to craft as soon as you hit levels where you are an Alchemist already. You could make an infusion for it each day, I personally would not but you could.
On that note I should point out that Counterspell is probably the most amazing spell tattoo you can have - it's not really easy or convenient to craft them until you hit level 10 but its a potential game-changer when you do and your party gets into a spell duel with a powerful enemy wizard. You will hardly ever need to use it but when you do it will save a good chunk of the party; an ideal one-use magic item. For less than a week of downtime and about 100 gold; absolute bargain.
Feather Fall is another reaction spell well worth putting into a tattoo, a spell you hardly ever want to cast but when you do it probably saves a character death.
If you'd take levels in Wizards you would gain half a level of spell progression more than when you take the level in artificer - which means you'd probably get at least one more spellslot.
That said, defensive duelist has the BIG weakness that it works only for one single Attack - in the described scenes - ambush or encirclement - you probably want to deflect more than one attack in a round. Also that shouldn't be a thing you do for longer then two or three rounds. In that case giving up those few slots doesn't seem so bad in comparison to taking potentially a lot more damage.
Another note here: It might be worth considering other reactions you could take - two that come to mind via infusions would be the reaction from Radiant Weapon - kind of bad against single attacks with high damage, kinda good against something that hits often - or Repulsion Shield - which might help you out of a situation like that or might do absolutely nothing.
In theory, Defensive Duelist is a useful thing to have. On average, most critters you're going to be expecting Defensive Duelist to reasonably help against (nobody's expecting Defensive Duelist to save you from an ancient dragon or pit fiend's multiattack) have somewhere between 2 and 3 hits in a multiattack string. Theoretically (not that any player ever feels that way), one of those 2.5 attacks is reasonably expected to miss against a competently armored PC. A guy using a finesse weapon, no shield, and wearing medium armor is less than competently armored, but it's an artificer so Enhanced Defense partially compensates? I dunno.
Assuming that Defensive Duelist can make one attack per round into a miss on average, one has to ask whether that's worth the very heavy cost of a feat. Radiant Weapon has a better chance of screwing with a big multiattack, but many of the things you'd be most terrified of taking a full course of attacks from have godawful +135s to their Constitution saves and will never be blinded by a Radiant weapon. Repulsion shield can force an attacker 15 feet away with no save, which can also disable a multiattack...if the critter has no movement left to reclose the distance. Also requires one to be using a shield, which you specifically are not. Shield offers a stronger defense overall, but it consumes either items or spell slots. All of these are opportunity costs in their own right, but most characters only ever get between two and four opportunities to take a feat and most of those are consumed by the overriding need to take an ASI, instead.
I would contend that in part, it depends on the character of your campaign. Defensive Duelist is never a great pick, but if your campaign primarily focuses on dealing with humanoid enemies or other critters that have modest attack bonuses or otherwise depend on hitting with one juicy attack per round rather than wrecking your shit with a five-hit Super Combo, it might be serviceable. If you're looking to aggressively get in the face of stuff that's threatening backliners, you likely want to look into bettering your defense overall rather than relying on Defensive Duelist. If you're looking for style, or to save a bad situation every once in a while, then DD may work out, but I'd ask your DM if he's willing to convert it into a half-feat. The base ability by itself is really anemic to consider as an entire feat.
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Howdy
Just curious. Does anyone thing Def Duelist (reaction to gain Profiency Bonus aC vs ONE melee attack) is worth much on an alchemist?
My alchemist does use Green Flame Blade on occasion, and due to ranging on stuff like Healing Word, does also tend to want to be moderate ranged; and sometimes tends to act as protector for the more squisher backlines in the cases of ambush or encirclement..
But alchemist really don't have much of any reaction ability and I can't really think of any either.
So I was pondering this feat, as I have to have one hand with Alchemist Tools; and the other either using a Dex Weapon. I do realize I could just drop GFB and just be pure ranged with Tools + Shield but I kind of like the aesthetic I've got going. (I do stil really wish Alchemist had gotten Primal Savegry in Tasha's.....would've the perfect answer).
So do you think that feat is worth much? Or does anyone else have a good reaction idea? (other than warcaster)
It would be better to just take a level in Wizard or Sorcerer to get Shield spell or Absorb Elements. Personally I think that Def Duelist is a waist of a Feat to take.
I do feel like in modern terms it should really be a half feat, giving +1 dex.
I don't really want shield spells though. Particularly on someone with so few slots like an alchemist, but a lot of uses as a gap fill. So shield is too high a premium.
I have thought about 2 into War Wizard though. which would sure up AC and Saves quite a nice amount.
Absorb Elements is already on the Artificer spell list. If you really want Shield that much I would make a spell tattoo for it, as a one-use common item its pretty quick and easy to craft as soon as you hit levels where you are an Alchemist already. You could make an infusion for it each day, I personally would not but you could.
On that note I should point out that Counterspell is probably the most amazing spell tattoo you can have - it's not really easy or convenient to craft them until you hit level 10 but its a potential game-changer when you do and your party gets into a spell duel with a powerful enemy wizard. You will hardly ever need to use it but when you do it will save a good chunk of the party; an ideal one-use magic item. For less than a week of downtime and about 100 gold; absolute bargain.
Feather Fall is another reaction spell well worth putting into a tattoo, a spell you hardly ever want to cast but when you do it probably saves a character death.
If you'd take levels in Wizards you would gain half a level of spell progression more than when you take the level in artificer - which means you'd probably get at least one more spellslot.
That said, defensive duelist has the BIG weakness that it works only for one single Attack - in the described scenes - ambush or encirclement - you probably want to deflect more than one attack in a round. Also that shouldn't be a thing you do for longer then two or three rounds. In that case giving up those few slots doesn't seem so bad in comparison to taking potentially a lot more damage.
Another note here: It might be worth considering other reactions you could take - two that come to mind via infusions would be the reaction from Radiant Weapon - kind of bad against single attacks with high damage, kinda good against something that hits often - or Repulsion Shield - which might help you out of a situation like that or might do absolutely nothing.
In theory, Defensive Duelist is a useful thing to have. On average, most critters you're going to be expecting Defensive Duelist to reasonably help against (nobody's expecting Defensive Duelist to save you from an ancient dragon or pit fiend's multiattack) have somewhere between 2 and 3 hits in a multiattack string. Theoretically (not that any player ever feels that way), one of those 2.5 attacks is reasonably expected to miss against a competently armored PC. A guy using a finesse weapon, no shield, and wearing medium armor is less than competently armored, but it's an artificer so Enhanced Defense partially compensates? I dunno.
Assuming that Defensive Duelist can make one attack per round into a miss on average, one has to ask whether that's worth the very heavy cost of a feat. Radiant Weapon has a better chance of screwing with a big multiattack, but many of the things you'd be most terrified of taking a full course of attacks from have godawful +135s to their Constitution saves and will never be blinded by a Radiant weapon. Repulsion shield can force an attacker 15 feet away with no save, which can also disable a multiattack...if the critter has no movement left to reclose the distance. Also requires one to be using a shield, which you specifically are not. Shield offers a stronger defense overall, but it consumes either items or spell slots. All of these are opportunity costs in their own right, but most characters only ever get between two and four opportunities to take a feat and most of those are consumed by the overriding need to take an ASI, instead.
I would contend that in part, it depends on the character of your campaign. Defensive Duelist is never a great pick, but if your campaign primarily focuses on dealing with humanoid enemies or other critters that have modest attack bonuses or otherwise depend on hitting with one juicy attack per round rather than wrecking your shit with a five-hit Super Combo, it might be serviceable. If you're looking to aggressively get in the face of stuff that's threatening backliners, you likely want to look into bettering your defense overall rather than relying on Defensive Duelist. If you're looking for style, or to save a bad situation every once in a while, then DD may work out, but I'd ask your DM if he's willing to convert it into a half-feat. The base ability by itself is really anemic to consider as an entire feat.
Please do not contact or message me.