I can't seem to find a definitive answer to this but who does a Reach weapon effect your attack of opportunity?
For Example do you get the attack when they leave five feet in front of you or When they leave ten feet from you? Do you get an attack when they step from ten to five feet closer? If not what advantage is there to a Reach weapon?
The attack occurs right before the creature leaves your reach.
So, if a creature is standing right next to you (considered 5' range) and you have a weapon with Reach equipped, you do NOT get an attack of opportunity, as the creature is still inside your reach. If they move further, from 10' range to 15' range, then you DO get an attack of opportunity.
You do NOT get an attack of opportunity when the creature moves from 10' (within your reach) to 5' (still within your reach). Note that this changes with the Polearm Master feat. You still only get one attack of opportunity per round though.
I see so unless your going all in with a feat, you're giving the opponent more maneuverability to step away without an attack. Follow up question to be clear so if coupled with Sentinel that means you can't stop someone's movement until they are leaving ten feet from you. that seems... wrong or like making reach not worth it.
If your goal is to reduce their speed to 0 with the Sentinel feat, you can always use an unarmed strike instead of your reach weapon. However, the extra 5 feet of movement they'd get if you let them leave your polearm reach rarely matters.
A reach weapon creates a much larger obstacle for enemies trying to go around you (so they can reach one of your allies without disengaging) since your reach covers a 25'x25' area instead of 15'x15'.
I would rule that if you are holding a reach weapon and someone moves from 5' to 10' you do get a chance to make an AoO, but only with an unarmed strike. It's weaker, but a swift kick in the back might just stop that goon before he gets to the wizard. Agree that the chance to AoO with the weapon is at the 10' to 15' mark. Same concept applies if you are dual wielding a whip and a shortsword. Obviously you only get one reaction, so choose wisely.
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I can't seem to find a definitive answer to this but who does a Reach weapon effect your attack of opportunity?
For Example do you get the attack when they leave five feet in front of you or When they leave ten feet from you? Do you get an attack when they step from ten to five feet closer? If not what advantage is there to a Reach weapon?
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D&D Beyond FoundersThis is explained under the combat section:
https://www.dndbeyond.com/compendium/rules/basic-rules/combat#OpportunityAttacks
So, if a creature is standing right next to you (considered 5' range) and you have a weapon with Reach equipped, you do NOT get an attack of opportunity, as the creature is still inside your reach. If they move further, from 10' range to 15' range, then you DO get an attack of opportunity.
You do NOT get an attack of opportunity when the creature moves from 10' (within your reach) to 5' (still within your reach). Note that this changes with the Polearm Master feat. You still only get one attack of opportunity per round though.
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I see so unless your going all in with a feat, you're giving the opponent more maneuverability to step away without an attack. Follow up question to be clear so if coupled with Sentinel that means you can't stop someone's movement until they are leaving ten feet from you. that seems... wrong or like making reach not worth it.
If your goal is to reduce their speed to 0 with the Sentinel feat, you can always use an unarmed strike instead of your reach weapon. However, the extra 5 feet of movement they'd get if you let them leave your polearm reach rarely matters.
A reach weapon creates a much larger obstacle for enemies trying to go around you (so they can reach one of your allies without disengaging) since your reach covers a 25'x25' area instead of 15'x15'.
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alright i can see that so then with Reach would you say you still need to be adjacent to flank since you can hit from further out?
The flanking rules require you to be adjacent to the enemy; they don't care about your reach.
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Gotcha. thanks for the answers!
I would rule that if you are holding a reach weapon and someone moves from 5' to 10' you do get a chance to make an AoO, but only with an unarmed strike. It's weaker, but a swift kick in the back might just stop that goon before he gets to the wizard. Agree that the chance to AoO with the weapon is at the 10' to 15' mark. Same concept applies if you are dual wielding a whip and a shortsword. Obviously you only get one reaction, so choose wisely.