Strategic Feats for Enhancing a Melee Fighter in Pathfinder
When building a melee fighter in Pathfinder, particularly in the Fighter class, several feats can significantly enhance your effectiveness in combat. Here’s a comprehensive guide to some of the best overall feats for a melee fighter, along with their benefits, ensuring your character is well-equipped for various combat scenarios.
Core Feats
These essential feats form the backbone of a strong melee fighter build, providing both offensive and defensive enhancements.
Power Attack
Benefit: Trade your attack bonus for extra damage. This is a staple for any melee fighter, allowing you to deal more damage when you hit reliably.
Weapon Focus
Benefit: Gain a 1 bonus on attack rolls with a chosen weapon. This increases your chances of hitting, especially useful as you face tougher foes.
Combat Expertise
Benefit: Trade an attack bonus for an equivalent increase in AC. This is useful for a defensive build, allowing you to be more survivable in melee combat.
Improved Initiative
Benefit: Gain a 4 bonus on initiative checks. Going first in combat can be crucial for melee fighters to control the battlefield.
Cleave
Benefit: If you drop an opponent, you can make an additional attack against another foe nearby. This helps in dealing with multiple enemies efficiently.
Great Cleave
Prerequisite: Cleave Benefit: Allows you to make additional attacks against multiple opponents after dropping an enemy. This can lead to significant damage output in fights against swarms or a large number of foes.
Critical Focus
Benefit: Gain a 4 bonus on checks made to confirm critical hits. This is particularly useful if you build around critical hits to enhance your damage output.
Weapon Specialization
Prerequisite: Weapon Focus Benefit: Gain a 2 bonus on damage rolls with a chosen weapon. This is a great way to maximize damage output and turn your weapon into a more lethal tool.
Defensive Feats
Defensive feats are crucial for ensuring that your melee fighter can weather any storm and stay alive in combat.
Shield Master
Benefit: If you use a shield, this feat provides significant benefits to your AC and allows you to make shield bashes more effectively. This can greatly enhance your survivability and offensive capabilities.
Toughness
Benefit: Gain extra hit points. This is beneficial for any melee fighter to increase survivability and get through tougher encounters.
Defensive Combat Training
Benefit: Use your fighter level instead of your base attack bonus for your AC when using Combat Expertise. This can substantially increase your AC, providing a crucial edge in combat.
Mobility Feats
Mobility feats ensure that your melee fighter can move effectively while in combat, enhancing both offensive and defensive capabilities.
Mobility
Benefit: Gain bonuses to AC against attacks of opportunity when you move out of a threatened square. This is useful for fighters who want to maneuver in combat, staying safe while striking from unexpected angles.
Spring Attack
Prerequisite: Mobility Benefit: Allows you to move before and after making a melee attack, enhancing your ability to strike and retreat, or weave through attacks of opportunity.
Additional Considerations
Depending on your specific build and playstyle, additional feats like Two-Weapon Fighting and Weapon Training can further enhance your combat capabilities.
Two-Weapon Fighting
If you want to build a dual-wielding fighter, invest in the Two-Weapon Fighting feats. These feats will reduce penalties and improve damage output, making you a more versatile and dangerous opponent.
Weapon Training
As a Fighter, you gain access to Weapon Training, which can enhance your combat capabilities with certain weapon types. This can be a valuable investment for specific builds and playstyles.
Conclusion
The best feats for your melee fighter will depend on your specific build, playstyle, and the type of combat you expect to encounter in your campaign. Prioritize feats that align with your character’s strengths and the challenges faced in your adventures. By carefully selecting and optimizing your feats, you can ensure that your melee fighter is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.