A Player's Guide to Feats - Mounted Combatant
We will change the format for the Player's Guide to Feats series with the release of the 2024 Player's Handbook. First, I'll ignore feats that don't merit talking about at length since there isn't much to discuss. Do I need to talk about the Resilient feat? It's an ability score increase and saving throw proficiency. How much more detail can I go into? Second, we'll only examine new feats and discuss the corresponding legacy feat. That means only the feats found in the new PHB—nothing from Tasha's, Planescape, and so on. Finally, I'll talk about the differences between the new version of the feat and the legacy version, some, but not much. I'll focus on the new feat and its traits.
Considering those new parameters, it's time to examine the Mounted Combatant feat. Riding mounts may not be a big thing in your campaign, but that may change with the abilities you gain from the feat. Let's take a look.
What is the Mounted Combatant feat?
General Feat (Prerequisite: Level 4+)
You gain the following benefits.
Ability Score Increase. Increase your Strength, Dexterity, or Wisdom score by 1, to a maximum of 20.
Mounted Strike. While mounted, you have Advantage on attack rolls against any unmounted creature within 5 feet of your mount that is at least one size smaller than the mount.
Leap Aside. If your mount is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, it instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw and only half damage if it fails. For your mount to gain this benefit, you must be riding it, and neither of you can have the Incapacitated condition.
Veer. While mounted, you can force an attack that hits your mount to hit you instead if you don’t have the Incapacitated condition.Legacy version
You are a dangerous foe to face while mounted. While you are mounted and aren't incapacitated, you gain the following benefits:
You have advantage on melee attack rolls against any unmounted creature that is smaller than your mount.
You can force an attack targeted at your mount to target you instead.
If your mount is subjected to an effect that allows it to make a Dexterity saving throw to take only half damage, it instead takes no damage if it succeeds on the saving throw, and only half damage if it fails.Player’s Handbook 2014
Dissecting the Feat
Before we start, the benefits of having a mount are worth mentioning. You can carry more stuff. If you have an independent mount, it can make an Attack action. You look cool wielding a lance. The most significant benefit is the increased movement speed. A dire wolf has 50 feet of movement speed, a riding horse has 60 feet, and a griffon has 80 feet of flying speed!
Nothing really changes other than some changes to the wording and fancy new titles for the abilities of the feat. The most significant change is you can increase your Strength, Dexterity, or Wisdom by 1. This trait is now universal throughout all the general feats. Providing an ASI of one point makes feats much more appealing, which I'm sure is what the creators had in mind. Taking a feat is always fun, but at the cost of two points of ASI made it difficult to swallow previously. Now, taking a feat when able becomes a much more appealing option.
Being mounted means you have Advanatge on attack rolls when fighting unmounted creatures smaller than your mount. Having Advantage against a creature is always something you want to have. Most common mounts are Large, so you'll get to roll two dice when fighting a large swath of creatures. If you are fighting against dragons, giants, or some big-ass demons, you should probably dismount and send your beloved horse away. Unless, of course, you're a horrible person and give two shits about it. Then, you can use it as a meat shield and look forward to being harassed by PETA for the rest of your life. Smaller creatures like halflings and gnomes will have a more challenging time taking advantage of this trait unless your campaign revolves around killing pixies and sprites.
Veer and Leap Aside go hand-in-hand. Veer directs attacks to hit you instead of your mount. Mounts will probably have fewer hit points than you unless you're a squishy character who likes to foolishly ride into battle consistently. Since you (hopefully) don't want your mount to die, directing the attack to you allows them to fight another day. More importantly, it will enable you to ride away if both of you are in dire straits. Animal lovers everywhere might despise you a little less when they find out what you've done.
Leap Aside may prevent you from hating yourself for sacrificing your horse. If an attack forces a Dexterity attack, you should deflect the attack to hit you if it has a high probability of mortally wounding your mount. At worst, a successful save means you take 1/2 damage; at best, you take no damage. Of course, it requires a successful save, so may the dice roll in your favor. If someone casts lightning bolt, would you like your mount to take 8d6 on a failed saving throw, or you take no damage on a successful save? Probably not, since the spell could very well kill it. Animal lovers may even start to like you if you do.
The Mage Slayer Feat Useability by Class
Artificer: I'll be removing Artificer as it didn't make the cut in the 2024 Player's Handbook
Barbarian: The barbarian has Advantage on its attacks when it's raging, Advantage on Dexterity checks (Danger Sense), and additional movement speed at 5th level (Fast Movement). Not worth taking.
Bard: Not worth taking. Most bards should be standing in the back. They should be buffing party members and casting spells, not riding into battle, sword drawn.
Cleric: A War Cleric may want to consider taking this feat, as they can make good use of having Advantage on attacks. It shouldn't be under consideration for any other clerics.
Druid: Bears don't ride horses. Not worth taking
Fighter: The feat isn't as remarkable as it used to be for the fighter class with the removal of the Cavalier subclass. Don't get me wrong, if you're a fighter who loves mounted combat, the feat brings a lot to like, regardless of your subclass. The cavalier could take the most to gain from taking this feat out of every class/subclass, so it loses some of its overall luster for this class.
Monk: Not worth taking. Monks already have a ridiculous amount of movement speed.
Paladin: The best class to take the feat. You have the find steed spell at your disposal. Losing your mount doesn't mean you're out a lot of gold, feel sad because it is dead, and pissed off PETA again. Paladins are front-line fighters, so having Advanatge on attacks is fantastic. Paladins typically have a lot of hit points, so deflecting damage to you can keep your steed alive longer. At the 13th level, you gain 4th-level spells, and taking find greater steed means you can fly on a pegasus or griffon!
Ranger: It feels like the feat should have some solid benefits, but nothing here makes it worth taking over several other feats.
Rogue: Gaining Advanatge as a rogue is a big deal. Anything that allows you to use Sneak Attack should be considered, right? Cunning Action is rendered useless, but your mount can take only the Dash, Disengage, or Hide on its turn. At the 13th level, you can take the phantom steed spell for a mount. It can't take any damage without disappearing, and you probably don't want to deflect any damage to yourself. Is the potential risk of taking damage worth taking the feat? I'd argue it is.
Sorcerer: Not worth taking.
Warlock: Not worth taking.
Wizard: Not worth taking.
Conclusion
Mounted combat is a rarity in D&D. That said, if you are playing a fighter, or better yet, a paladin who loves to feel the breeze in their hair on top of a horse, Mounted Combatant should be seriously considered. Otherwise, this feat is better left on the sidelines.
If you like our articles, love Homebrew, and are looking for a fun and active community to talk about all things D&D, consider supporting us on Patreon. Below are some of the benefits we offer:
Access to our Homebrew Horde with over 500 items and counting!
Vote on upcoming Deep Deep topics
Step by Step assistance in creating your own homebrew
Early access to Deep Dive and Rewind Articles
Exclusive audio from our new YouTube Deep Dive series
Art Credit - WotC
