Sep 1

Sep 1 A Player's Guide to Feats - Defensive Duelist

Dueling to the death requires a defensive strategy, not just skewering your opponent. Parry is the term most people know the best when it comes to dueling, and this feat allows you to do just that. I’ll be honest. The Defensive Duelist feat is one I’ve never looked at before. I usually skip right past it on my way to the Mobile, Senintel, or War Caster feat. But Defensive Duelist has some exciting possibilities. Let’s take a look.

What is the Defensive Duelist Feat?

The description is short and sweet. You have to love it when the creators don’t waste time with flowery language. Seriously.

When you are wielding a finesse weapon with which you are proficient and another creature hits you with a melee attack, you can use your reaction to add your proficiency bonus to your AC for that attack, potentially causing the attack to miss you.
* You need a Dexterity of 13 or greater to be able to take this feat.
Player’s Handbook

Dissecting the Feat

An early use for your Reaction is always a good thing! There are few, if any, uses for your Reaction at the lower levels for most classes. The Defensive Duelist feat is for melee combat characters, and most have to wait a while before any of them gain a Reaction. As you level up, using this feat may fall by the wayside, but as I've said before, having options for Reactions is always helpful.

The downside to Defensive Duelist is it requires a finesse weapon, so your options for stabbing monsters are limited. The five finesse melee weapons are the dagger, rapier, short sword, scimitar, and whip. Since the rapier does the most damage out of the four (a d8), everyone defaults to it when a finesse weapon is required. On the plus side, using a finesse weapon does allow you to use a shield.

Numbers don't lie. Let's take a look below at how we can use the feat to maximize a character's Armor Class based on the best type of armor available (Light armor: Studded Leather (12), Medium Armor: Half Plate (15), Heavy Armor: Plate (18)), and ability scores for lower levels.

The formula to do so is based on the following equation.

Armor (best available armor/shield) + Ability Score Modifiers + Additional Modifiers (class, etc.) = Base AC. With Feat AC =+2 through +5 (Proficiency bonuses)

The Defensive Duelist Feat Useability by Class

Artificer: You must go Battle Smith to make the feat useful since the other subclasses are not proficient with martial weapons. That's too bad because it would be an incredible feat for the Armorist.

Barbarian: Let's be honest; no self-respecting barbarian would be caught dead with a rapier since it is such a delicate weapon. You can wear armor, except heavy armor) and Rage, so an argument can be made for taking the feat. Of course, you lose your Constitution bonus, so you'll need scale mail or better to make it worth taking. Barbarians will want to focus on attack bonuses and ASI, so it is not a feat I recommend.

But just in case you must have the feat, here are the numbers:

Unarmored: 12 (shield) + 3 (Con) + 1 (Dex) = AC 16. With feat: AC 18-23.
Armor: 16 (shield) + 1 (Dex) = AC 17. With feat: AC 19-24.

Bard: Great if you go to College of Swords or College of Valor since you receive Proficiency with Medium armor. It's still good for every other college. Sadly, the bard is not proficient with shields. Ability modifiers are based on a Dexterity of 16.

Light Armor: 12 + 3 = AC 15. With Feat: 17-22.
Medium Armor: 15 + 3 = AC 18. With Feat: 20-25.

Cleric: A surprisingly good feat for the cleric. Most get Proficiency with heavy armor out of the gate, and the Forge Domain cleric can increase their armor by 1 at 1st level. Add casting shield of faith on yourself, and it gets really good. The only downside is that you may not have a Dexterity of 13. Here's a look at the Forge Domain cleric. Ability modifiers are based on a Dexterity of 13.

Heavy Armor: 19 (shield) + 1 (Blessing of the Forge) +2 (shield of faith) = 22 With Feat: 24-29.

Druid: Druids can access a finesse weapon (scimitar), medium armor, and shields. The flip side is that Hide armor is the best you can take, and you may not want to waste your ability points on Dexterity. I can't recommend this feat for the Druid.

Fighter: It's great if you're a Dexterity-based fighter. It's fantastic if you plan on being a tank and taking Defense as your Fighting Style. You may lose some damage potential using a rapier, but sacrifices must be made, right? Ability modifiers are based on a Dexterity of 18.

Light Armor: 14 (shield) +4 + 1 (Defense Fighting Style) = 19 With Feat: 21-26.
Medium Armor: 17 (shield) + 2 + 1 = 20 With Feat: 22-27.
Heavy Armor: 20 (shield) + 2 + 1 = 23 With Feat: 25-30.

Monk: It can help raise your AC, but you'll always be using a short sword or dagger, limiting future damage potential, and you already have a lot of uses for your Reaction. This turns me off from recommending this feat.

Unless…

If you go the Way of the Kensei, adding this feat can make you extremely hard to hit. Agile Parry allows you to make an unarmed strike and a +2 to your AC till your next turn. Another plus is you choose the rapier as one of your kensei weapons, increasing your damage to a d8. Let's look at what you can do as a Way of the Kensei monk. Ability modifiers are based on a Dexterity of 18 and a Wisdom of 12 (can't get too greedy).

Unarmored: 10 + 3 (Dex) + 3 (Wis) + 2 (Agile Parry) = 18 With Feat 20-25.

Paladin: Not worth taking. The problem is it will take a long time to get your Dexterity to 13 since you'll focus those ASI on Strength, Wisdom, and Constitution.

Ranger: Another class that may seriously want to consider the feat. A Dexterity focus, access to medium armor and shields, and the potential to take the Defense fighting style make this a great feat for the ranger. Ability modifiers are based on a Dexterity of 18.

Light Armor: 14 (shield) + 4 + 1 (Defense Fighting Style) = 19. With Feat 21-26.
Medium Armor: 17 (shield) + 2 + 1 = 20 With Feat: 22-27.

Rogue: The class that benefits most from the feat, even more than the fighter. Rogues will be maxing out their Dexterity and most likely using a rapier so they can use their Sneak Attack ability. Rogue's armor is limited to light, so any bonuses for a melee rogue help tremendously. Hopefully, you won't have to use Uncanny Dodge since you're not getting hit as much. Ability modifiers are based on a Dexterity of 18.

Light Armor: 12 + 4 = 16 With Feat 18-23.
* If you go Arcane Trickster, add 1 via the mage armor spell.

Sorcerer: Not worth taking

Warlock: Not worth taking

Wizard: Not worth taking…unless you go Bladesiging.

For wizards, any way to improve your armor is essential. This is why you try to max out Dexterity right after Intelligence. You can't wear any armor, and our spellcaster has no unarmored defense ability.

A few notes: Mage armor is a 13 AC + Dexterity modifier but uses a 1st-level spell slot daily. There's also the shield spell, which uses your Reaction for a +5 bonus to AC, but again, it requires a spell slot. You'll also need to prepare the spells every day.

Bladesinging makes for an interesting argument for taking the feat. The Bladesinger, when singing, removes many of these limitations. You gain Proficiency in light armor. You can upgrade that little dagger to a rapier. You can add your Intelligence modifier to your AC. All this makes the Defensive Duelist appealing to increase your armor even further and have a use for your Reaction, especially if you are considering melee combat.

All this said you have some options. Let's take a look at the Bladesinger options. Ability modifiers are based on an Intelligence of 18 and a Dexterity of 14.

Unarmored: 12 + 4 (Int) + 2 (Dex) = 18 With Feat 20-25.
With mage armor 21-26
Light Armor: 12 + 4 (Int) + 2 (Dex) = 18 With Feat 20-25.

Conclusion

While it may only be against one attack, a +2 AC bonus you get through Defensive Duelist is nothing to shake a stick at. When you're looking for something to use your Reaction on, Defensive Duelist gives you a good, and in some cases, a great option to have in your repertoire.

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