Analyze This, Feats, Ranged, For PlayersRichard OstranderAugust 15, 2020ranged, feats, bow, crossbow, firearmComment

Analyze This: Feats For Ranged Characters

Analyze This, Feats, Ranged, For PlayersRichard OstranderAugust 15, 2020ranged, feats, bow, crossbow, firearmComment

So you want to make a powerhouse ranged character. Often you might consider your class or subclass an important part of your build. But for ranged attacks, one of the biggest ways to improve your character is through the use of feats. So let’s take a deep dive into the world of ranged feats.

So first, just in case you are not familiar, lets discuss what a feat is. Feats are an optional feature in 5th edition, though most dungeon masters will allow them. A feat can be selected every time you level up and are offered an “Ability Score Improvement”, which for most (but not all) characters is every four levels. When choosing to select a feat you are forgoing the improvement to your ability scores, so most characters will rarely choose to take a feat unless all their key ability scores are at maximum, or their particular build will seriously benefit from the addition of a feat. This is often true for ranged characters, as their feats are some of the best the game has to offer.

In general, ranged feats can be broken down into four categories. Feats for bows/crossbows, feats for firearms, feats for thrown weapons, and feats for ranged weapons as a whole. There are also a handful of feats that are good for ranged characters, but are not specifically for ranged use (such as Elven Accuracy). We will not be covering those general use feats here, but you will probably be able to learn more about them in a later article. Also, many of these feats will come from different sources, so make sure your DM is ok with the books you use to create your character (book sources will be listed next to each feat). With that said, on with the categories!

Thrown Weapon Feats

Fighting Initiate (Thrown Weapon Fighting), from TCOE

This feat grants you a fighting style of your choice, with thrown weapon fighting being the one one you would select. It grants the following ability:

Thrown Weapon Fighting. You can draw a weapon that has the thrown property as part of the attack you make with the weapon. In addition, when you hit with a ranged attack using a thrown weapon, you gain a +2 bonus to the damage roll.

This is a fantastic feat for thrown weapon builds. It allows you to throw multiple sheathed weapons when using extra attack (as usually you will not be able to draw multiple weapons in a single attack action), and you get bonus damage for a weapon that usually has a low base damage. That said, the wording limits this feat to only weapons with the thrown property.

Fighting Initiate (Archery), from PH

This item should really be in the ranged section (and it is), but I felt I had to include a brief version of it here. This feat gives you +2 to attacks made by a ranged weapon, which means they must be on the ranged weapon table. The only thrown item on that table is the dart. So if you throw darts (which I flavor as a kunai), you can stack the effects of this feat and Fighting Initiate (Thrown Weapon Fighting). And although you cannot take the Fighting Initiate feat twice, you can take it once and combo it with a fighting style you receive from your class.

Firearm Feats

Firearm Specialist, from CR

This feat grants the following abilities:

You gain proficiency with Firearms. If you roll a misfire on an attack with a firearm, you can use your reaction to roll a d20. If the number rolled is higher than the weapon’s misfire score, the firearm does not misfire. You cannot use this feature of this feat again until you complete a short or long rest. When you use the Attack action and attack with a one-handed weapon, you can use a bonus action to attack with a loaded firearm with the light property you are holding.

This is a great feat, but ONLY if you are using Critical Role firearms, which are different then the firearms provided in the Dungeon Master’s Guide. If you are using CR content, it reduces misfires and allows you to make offhand attacks with light firearms. Remember, none of the firearms in the DMG have the light property, so this feat will NOT work on them.

Gunner, from TCOE

This feat grants the following abilities:

Increase your Dexterity score by 1, to a maximum of 20. You gain proficiency with firearms (see “Firearms” in the Dungeon Master’s Guide). You ignore the loading property of firearms. Being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn’t impose disadvantage on your ranged attack rolls.

For some people, this is a must have feat. First of all, your DM might require you to have it to even be able to use a firearm properly. Second, you eliminate the need to load your firearms (I am not delving into the argument of whether you also need a hand free), which is the only way to use extra attacks with a weapon that has the loading property. Lastly, you can shoot people in melee range without penalty (and yes, even though this is firearm feat, that ability applies to all ranged weapons). That said, there are some circumstances where this feats value can be diminished. For example, if you have an Artificer (free firearm proficiency) with the repeating shot infusion (ignores loading), who intends to stay out of melee range whenever possible, then most of these features will not be used.

Bow/Crossbow Feats

Crossbow Expert, from PH

This feat grants the following abilities:

You ignore the loading property of crossbows with which you are proficient. Being within 5 feet of a hostile creature doesn’t impose disadvantage on your ranged attack rolls. When you use the Attack action and attack with a one-handed weapon, you can use a bonus action to attack with a hand crossbow you are holding.

So another must have feat, especially if you are using a crossbow. Much like the gunner feat, we get to ignore loading (which is required to make extra attacks with heavier crossbows), and we can attack people in melee with a ranged weapon (which, yes, does mean this is more than a bow/crossbow feat). You also get an interesting version of a ranged dual wield, as you can make an extra attack under the right circumstances. While some argue this feat allows you to dual wield hand crossbows, once again I will NOT be wading into the “do you need a free hand argument.” That said, Sage Advice has expressly stated that this feat DOES allow you to just have a hand crossbow in one of your hands, fire it with your attack action, then use that SAME crossbow to make the extra attack this feat provides. Of that, there is no argument. In summary, if you want to wield a hand crossbow, or a crossbow with the loading property, this feat is an absolute must.

Ranged Feats

Gunner/Crossbow Expert

Why is this back, you say? So I don’t get yelled at for overlooking the fact that both of these feats offer the ability to use a ranged attack on a creature in melee range. This is a fantastic ability, and for some characters, worth taking even if they are not wielding a firearm or crossbow. Plus, per Sage Advice, it works on ranged spell attacks!

Fighting Initiate (Archery), from PH

Here it is again! This feat allows the following:

You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with ranged weapons.

This feat is simple and powerful. Attack bonuses are rare, and a +2 is a serious boost. Just remember, it is not a +2 to ranged attacks, it is +2 to attacks rolls you make with a “ranged weapon”. If the weapon is not on the ranged weapon table (Players Handbook, Chapter 5: Equipment, Weapons, Simple and Martial Ranged Weapons), then the bonus does not apply.

Sharpshooter, from PH

This feat grants the following abilities:

Attacking at long range doesn't impose disadvantage on your ranged weapon attack rolls. Your ranged weapon attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover. Before you make an attack with a ranged weapon that you are proficient with, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, you add +10 to the attack's damage.

This is generally considered the most powerful of the ranged feats. You get a great boost to your range by eliminating disadvantage, plus you can ignore most forms of cover. But generally, the only ability all power gamers care about is the -5 attack penalty to gain +10 damage. While this can be a risky tradeoff for characters that are just starting out, it gets amped up greatly by two things. The first is the extra attack ability, giving you multiple shots per turn. This helps smooth out the occasional bad roll. But more importantly, it is greatly improved by combining it with the other feats on this page. The archery fighting style helps negate nearly half the penalty, and the crossbow expert feat adds an additional chance to hit with its extra attack.

This means, for example, that a level 5 variant human ranger could fire three shots from a hand crossbow per turn (+1 with extra attack, +1 from crossbow expert (chosen at character creation from variant human). With +2 from their archery fighting style, they would only suffer a -3 to their rolls, and each bolt would have a base damage of 1d6 +10. Not bad at all.

And that is ranged feats. Stay tuned for future articles that provide you with additional ranged combos, such as the ever popular Elven Accuracy and “anything that gives advantage.”

Until then,

Happy roleplaying, and may the dice be ever in your favor.