Fighting Styles vs Feats, which is better?

[WhosDaDungeonMaster]

I am curious as to other people's idea about which should be more beneficial, a fighter's Fighting Style or a Feat?

From my own examination, it sort of seems Feats are meant to be more "powerful" than the Fighting Styles.

Any thoughts?

 

[FrogReaver]

I am curious as to other people's idea about which should be more beneficial, a fighter's Fighting Style or a Feat?

From my own examination, it sort of seems Feats are meant to be more "powerful" than the Fighting Styles.

Any thoughts?

A feat / asi is stronger.

 

[Satyrn]

Any thoughts?

Fighting styles are definitely not as strong as feats, and I think that's a good thing. The two weapon fighting style felt like a nice boost to my dual-wielding battlemaster but it wasn't so overwhelmingly good that I felt like I was losing out when I picked up a bow, or grabbed a shield.

There's only two ways to get more than 1 fighting style: be a champion or multiclass. If the fighting styles were as strong as feats, They'd wind up pigeon holing the character into only fighting with their style, and I think that'd be a shame.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Fighting styles are significantly more powerful than feats, in my opinion. There's no feat which is as powerful as +1 to AC, or +2 to every attack roll you ever make. They aren't flashy, but they apply so frequently that they're on par with raising your primary stat, which is more than can be said for the vast majority of feats.

 

[Satyrn]

Fighting styles are significantly more powerful than feats, in my opinion. There's no feat which is as powerful as +1 to AC, or +2 to every attack roll you ever make. They aren't flashy, but they apply so frequently that they're on par with raising your primary stat, which is more than can be said for the vast majority of feats.

Well, when you put it that way . . .

. . . Maybe it's just because I took the TWF style.

 

[WhosDaDungeonMaster]

Fighting styles are significantly more powerful than feats, in my opinion.

That was my thinking at first. I thought the Fighting Styles, being a core feature of the Fighter, should be quite powerful but really aren't after further thought.

There's no feat which is as powerful as +1 to AC, or +2 to every attack roll you ever make. They aren't flashy, but they apply so frequently that they're on par with raising your primary stat, which is more than can be said for the vast majority of feats.

Actually, Dual Wielder grants a +1 AC bonus. And Sharp Shooter negating the disadvantage for long-range shots equates to about a +3 attack bonus, not to mention removing penalties for cover (which equal out to a +2 attack versus half-cover and +5 attack versus 3/4-cover).

 

[Blue]

Fighting styles are significantly more powerful than feats, in my opinion. There's no feat which is as powerful as +1 to AC, or +2 to every attack roll you ever make. They aren't flashy, but they apply so frequently that they're on par with raising your primary stat, which is more than can be said for the vast majority of feats.

It's not just feats, it's feats/ASI.

+2 DEX, for example, can be +1 AC, +1 to hit/damage for every ranged and finesse attack, +1 to Dex saves, +1 Init, +1 dex checks and skills.

As a side note "+2 to every attack roll you ever make" seems to be referring to a fighting style that actually only applies to ranged weapons. There is no fighting style that will grant +2 to hit with melee weapons, spell attacks, or the like. So the feats which can boost them are a pretty good deal for the characters that use them.

Finally, feats/ASI can give you a lot outside of combat, which depending on your game may be weak or strong.

 

[Satyrn]

It doesn't really matter what the right answer is to the which is stronger question, though.

Feats are not the same thing as fighting styles, and there's really nothing to be gained from comparing them unless you're considering creating feats that give fighting styles. I wouldn't do that unless I was also a bunch of other feats that granted class features like Sneak Attack, Flurry of Blows and countless others.

 

[Blue]

It doesn't really matter what the right answer is to the which is stronger question, though.

Feats are not the same thing as fighting styles, and there's really nothing to be gained from comparing them unless you're considering creating feats that give fighting styles. I wouldn't do that unless I was also a bunch of other feats that granted class features like Sneak Attack, Flurry of Blows and countless others.

Who knows why [MENTION=6976296]James Grover[/MENTION] was asking the question. Perhaps it was to figure out if he should multiclass to fighter or take a feat/ASI level. Perhaps he's looking at doing system tweaking or designing a new class. "Hmm, should I give another fighting style at 6th or an extra feat?".

He had a reason to ask it, why shoot down the question?

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Actually, Dual Wielder grants a +1 AC bonus.

Which you must be dual-wielding in order to use. The Defense fighting style gives you a +1 bonus, while also letting you benefit from a shield and heavy armor. It pushes the envelope forward one step, instead of helping you to offset the AC penalty associated with not using a shield.

And Sharp Shooter negating the disadvantage for long-range shots equates to about a +3 attack bonus, not to mention removing penalties for cover (which equal out to a +2 attack versus half-cover and +5 attack versus 3/4-cover).

Which is only useful in situations where you have those penalties. Again, you're offsetting penalties rather than actually getting better.

Of course, the real benefit of fighting styles, much like the most over-powering aspect of feats, is that they stack with everything. A fighter doesn't have to choose between the Archery style and the Sharpshooter feat, or maxing out their Dexterity, because they will eventually end up with all of those things.

But if I had to choose between a +2 to hit with ranged attacks, or removing -5 worth of penalties in extreme situations, I would always choose the former over the latter. There are other ways to get around those penalties.