So am playing Gloomstalker in a homebrew campaign. Started level 3 and originally picked the Archery fighting style as thought would be picking off enemies from afar would be fun, but seem to be getting into close quarters combat, there are times I do use the bow, but seem to get up close more often than not. Would be make sense to take the Duel Wielding feat, to pump up melee damage. All the combat spells I took, Zephyr Strike, Ensnaring Strike, and Hunter's Mark are all Verbal only so I could draw two swords and still do a Spell on first turn, then on sequent turns start hacking away.
If I go down this route, I will be able to keep my modifiers on the bonus action attack, that is what the feat does right?
Use a Shield if you want to Melee, but don't otherwise lean into it. You have Archery, be an Archer - use your movement(+Zephyr Strike) and be the glorious Ranged character the Gloom Stalker is meant to be.
But yes, the Feat lets you add your Ability Modifier to the damage roll. nvm, brain moment of objective stupidity.
The Dual Wielder feat does not allow you to add your ability modifier to damage on the bonus action attack. It gives you a +1 to AC when wielding two weapons. It allows you to use non light weapons (check out the whip for extra range and opp attacks). You can draw two weapons a turn.
The ability modifier comes from the fighting style. You would have to swap out Archery for it, which you can do at ASI levels. Personally, archery is better, but if you keep getting in melee due to the encounters your DM runs or your own play style then swap and go melee. There are some players who naturally work well with range and others who want to be in the thick of it. You might be a thick of it person, so switch the fighting style and pick up dual wielder and get in there.
You gain a +1 bonus to AC while you are wielding a separate melee weapon in each hand.
You can use two-weapon fighting even when the one-handed melee weapons you are wielding aren't light.
You can draw or stow two one-handed weapons when you would normally be able to draw or stow only one.
I have a dual wielding gloomstalker and I quite enjoy playing it. I took it as a fighting style because at that point all our encounters had been close quarters. My character does not have the feat.
If you want, when you level up, you can change to the two weapon fighting style which adds your modifier to your off hand weapon. The feat actually does not do that for whatever reason:
Dual Wielder:
You master fighting with two weapons, gaining the following benefits:
You gain a +1 bonus to AC while you are wielding a separate melee weapon in each hand.
You can use two-weapon fighting even when the one-handed melee weapons you are wielding aren't light.
You can draw or stow two one-handed weapons when you would normally be able to draw or stow only one.
Note that RAW, for reasons I don't understand, you're allowed to change your fighting style but not back to a previous one. If you think you might want to try this but go back to archery later, maybe ask your DM if they'd let you go back.
I like the dual-wielding vibe for my character, but in truth especially after 5th level where the character gained extra attack, the second weapon isn't used nearly as often as the first. However, I find that I like having extra swings, especially when fighting a lot of low level enemies; in a thick fight I may attack multiple enemies in a single turn. You might experiment with dual wielding without the extra modifier for damage and see how much you use it and if you enjoy it. (And the difference with and without the fighting style is going to depend on how much your modifier is.) Another option is to take a longsword and shield for those melee instances.
(mechanically, for online play my character's two swords are named differently so that I don't get confused about what I'm doing, which also simplifies a situation where they do different damage, if that was the case.)
I don't use Hunter's Mark a lot with this style because I find that I'm changing enemies frequently, at least in our particular campaign's combats. It also costs a bonus action to move the mark to a new enemy which means I wouldn't get the off hand attack that turn. Instead I use Zephyr Strike to move in and out of melee. This tends to prevent me from being attacked and it also often allows me to attack from a flanking position, thus advantage.
Mathematically there's a case to be made that hunter's mark on two swings is better than not having it on three, even with the modifier, assuming you're sticking to one target at a time. But, honestly, the dual wielding is just more fun for me to play, and I feel it gives me more tactical variety. Again the types of enemies and the rest of your party can change how it plays out significantly.
I know you asked about two-weapon fighting and dual wielding but have you considered crossbow expert? It will let you attack with your ranged weapons without disadvantage in melee. Also if you use a hand crossbow you can get the bonus action attack as well.
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So am playing Gloomstalker in a homebrew campaign. Started level 3 and originally picked the Archery fighting style as thought would be picking off enemies from afar would be fun, but seem to be getting into close quarters combat, there are times I do use the bow, but seem to get up close more often than not. Would be make sense to take the Duel Wielding feat, to pump up melee damage. All the combat spells I took, Zephyr Strike, Ensnaring Strike, and Hunter's Mark are all Verbal only so I could draw two swords and still do a Spell on first turn, then on sequent turns start hacking away.
If I go down this route, I will be able to keep my modifiers on the bonus action attack, that is what the feat does right?
Stop getting into Melee Range?
Use a Shield if you want to Melee, but don't otherwise lean into it. You have Archery, be an Archer - use your movement(+Zephyr Strike) and be the glorious Ranged character the Gloom Stalker is meant to be.
But yes, the Feat lets you add your Ability Modifier to the damage roll. nvm, brain moment of objective stupidity.2014 5E mostly
3.5 maybe.
The Dual Wielder feat does not allow you to add your ability modifier to damage on the bonus action attack. It gives you a +1 to AC when wielding two weapons. It allows you to use non light weapons (check out the whip for extra range and opp attacks). You can draw two weapons a turn.
The ability modifier comes from the fighting style. You would have to swap out Archery for it, which you can do at ASI levels. Personally, archery is better, but if you keep getting in melee due to the encounters your DM runs or your own play style then swap and go melee. There are some players who naturally work well with range and others who want to be in the thick of it. You might be a thick of it person, so switch the fighting style and pick up dual wielder and get in there.
I have a dual wielding gloomstalker and I quite enjoy playing it. I took it as a fighting style because at that point all our encounters had been close quarters. My character does not have the feat.
If you want, when you level up, you can change to the two weapon fighting style which adds your modifier to your off hand weapon. The feat actually does not do that for whatever reason:
Note that RAW, for reasons I don't understand, you're allowed to change your fighting style but not back to a previous one. If you think you might want to try this but go back to archery later, maybe ask your DM if they'd let you go back.
I like the dual-wielding vibe for my character, but in truth especially after 5th level where the character gained extra attack, the second weapon isn't used nearly as often as the first. However, I find that I like having extra swings, especially when fighting a lot of low level enemies; in a thick fight I may attack multiple enemies in a single turn. You might experiment with dual wielding without the extra modifier for damage and see how much you use it and if you enjoy it. (And the difference with and without the fighting style is going to depend on how much your modifier is.) Another option is to take a longsword and shield for those melee instances.
(mechanically, for online play my character's two swords are named differently so that I don't get confused about what I'm doing, which also simplifies a situation where they do different damage, if that was the case.)
I don't use Hunter's Mark a lot with this style because I find that I'm changing enemies frequently, at least in our particular campaign's combats. It also costs a bonus action to move the mark to a new enemy which means I wouldn't get the off hand attack that turn. Instead I use Zephyr Strike to move in and out of melee. This tends to prevent me from being attacked and it also often allows me to attack from a flanking position, thus advantage.
Mathematically there's a case to be made that hunter's mark on two swings is better than not having it on three, even with the modifier, assuming you're sticking to one target at a time. But, honestly, the dual wielding is just more fun for me to play, and I feel it gives me more tactical variety. Again the types of enemies and the rest of your party can change how it plays out significantly.
I know you asked about two-weapon fighting and dual wielding but have you considered crossbow expert? It will let you attack with your ranged weapons without disadvantage in melee. Also if you use a hand crossbow you can get the bonus action attack as well.