I just started in a 5e group. We're only two sessions in. They've previously played all other editions (except 4e), while I have only played Basic, a smidgen of Pathfinder, and a lot of 4e.
We're all new to 5e, and when we're not sure on a particular rule, we look it up. When it comes to Flanking & Shifting (5-foot stepping), they were all in agreement that Flanking grants Advantage and that Shifting is strictly an Action and can't be used as my Movement.
Flanking In 4e, I'd get a +2 to hit (which was a nice little bonus). But in 5e, my chances of hitting (and critting) are doubled due to Advantage. Even though that goes in my favor, tbh it seems kind of overpowered to me.
Shifting in 4e allowed me to give up my entire movement as a tradeoff to get just far enough out of melee to still fire off a ranged weapon or spell. But in 5e, the tradeoff is that it uses my Action rather than my Movement, which leaves me no other option but more Movement (unless I have a Bonus Action). To me, that seems like too much of a disadvantage (not to be confused with Disadvantage).
So, here's my thing. It's not that I "don't believe" my fellow players & DM. It's just that I haven't been able to find those rules in the Compendium here on DDB, and that seems very odd to me. I know they change some of the terminology from one edition to the next (5-foot step became Shifting & double-moving became moving + dashing, for instance), so if someone could provide me with links to these rules that I'm missing, I'd appreciate it.
5e replaces shifting with the disengage action. There is no rule for flanking in 5e, though there is optional flanking-ish rules in the DMG.
edit: you are also only opportunity attacked if you leave melee range of the enemy, so you can circle around a target to your hearts content. That’s why disengage is an action and flanking is not a thing.
I guess that explains why I couldn't find anything on flanking in DDB. And Disengaging as an Action still feels a little weird, but that's probably just because I'm used to what I learned in previous editions.
Oh well, it is what it is. Thanks for clearing things up for me, JCAUDM.
Personally, I'm glad they took out complicated flanking rules as standard this time around - it keeps things a lot cleaner for me, running games without a battle map and minis, etc.
It also helps rogues be able to sneak attack more effectively, as they don't have to worry about positioning, but rather simply attacking when a party member is also in melee range.
And as stated, you can dance around an enemy to your hearts content, so long as you remain within their melee range. There's just no benefit beyond battlefield positioning - such as getting out of the way of a rangers arrow, or to shove an enemy in the direction you want them to.
The Disengage action exists due to the way Opportunity Attacks work. You only need to disengage when you're planning on leaving combat, either tactically or because you're fleeing. Rogues can disengage as a bonus action, which makes sense - darting in, attacking, and getting away without provoking an opportunity attack.
A better option to get advantage for 'flanking', is for a player to use the 'Help' action - which represents keeping the creature occupied, so another player can attack with advantage.
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I just started in a 5e group. We're only two sessions in. They've previously played all other editions (except 4e), while I have only played Basic, a smidgen of Pathfinder, and a lot of 4e.
We're all new to 5e, and when we're not sure on a particular rule, we look it up. When it comes to Flanking & Shifting (5-foot stepping), they were all in agreement that Flanking grants Advantage and that Shifting is strictly an Action and can't be used as my Movement.
Flanking In 4e, I'd get a +2 to hit (which was a nice little bonus). But in 5e, my chances of hitting (and critting) are doubled due to Advantage. Even though that goes in my favor, tbh it seems kind of overpowered to me.
Shifting in 4e allowed me to give up my entire movement as a tradeoff to get just far enough out of melee to still fire off a ranged weapon or spell. But in 5e, the tradeoff is that it uses my Action rather than my Movement, which leaves me no other option but more Movement (unless I have a Bonus Action). To me, that seems like too much of a disadvantage (not to be confused with Disadvantage).
So, here's my thing. It's not that I "don't believe" my fellow players & DM. It's just that I haven't been able to find those rules in the Compendium here on DDB, and that seems very odd to me. I know they change some of the terminology from one edition to the next (5-foot step became Shifting & double-moving became moving + dashing, for instance), so if someone could provide me with links to these rules that I'm missing, I'd appreciate it.
5e replaces shifting with the disengage action. There is no rule for flanking in 5e, though there is optional flanking-ish rules in the DMG.
edit: you are also only opportunity attacked if you leave melee range of the enemy, so you can circle around a target to your hearts content. That’s why disengage is an action and flanking is not a thing.
I guess that explains why I couldn't find anything on flanking in DDB. And Disengaging as an Action still feels a little weird, but that's probably just because I'm used to what I learned in previous editions.
Oh well, it is what it is. Thanks for clearing things up for me, JCAUDM.
Personally, I'm glad they took out complicated flanking rules as standard this time around - it keeps things a lot cleaner for me, running games without a battle map and minis, etc.
It also helps rogues be able to sneak attack more effectively, as they don't have to worry about positioning, but rather simply attacking when a party member is also in melee range.
And as stated, you can dance around an enemy to your hearts content, so long as you remain within their melee range. There's just no benefit beyond battlefield positioning - such as getting out of the way of a rangers arrow, or to shove an enemy in the direction you want them to.
The Disengage action exists due to the way Opportunity Attacks work. You only need to disengage when you're planning on leaving combat, either tactically or because you're fleeing. Rogues can disengage as a bonus action, which makes sense - darting in, attacking, and getting away without provoking an opportunity attack.
A better option to get advantage for 'flanking', is for a player to use the 'Help' action - which represents keeping the creature occupied, so another player can attack with advantage.