Optimal DnD 5e Feat Choices by Class

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In Dungeons and Dragons, feats are an avenue to incredible powers for your character to discover and unlock as you progress through an adventure. Whether you’re a fighter wondering if magic initiate is the right move for you, or a warlock trying to figure out just how exactly crossbow expert fits into your build, you’ve come to the right place.

Today, we’re going to be talking about which 5e feats are right for your class.

2024 Revision Disclaimer: The way feats work in 5e has not received a dramatic overhaul in the process of the 2024 revision. The specific rules of many feats, however, have been changed. 

This article will prioritize 5.24 feats, but certain feats may be called out that have better pre-revision rulings or that have not been rereleased as of yet.

As always, defer to your dungeon master to see which rules are being followed at your table. 

What are Feats 5e?

If you’re very new to the hobby, you might’ve landed on this article with no idea what feats are. Your dungeon master told you to pick a couple of feats for your fifth level rogue and sent you on your merry way.

Don’t panic!

Feats are just features that aren’t exclusive to any class. You probably already know that as you level up your character, they gain certain features (abilities) from the class you chose. 

At certain levels, your character, instead of gaining a class specific feature, can choose from a list of feats. These allow you to really make your character unique, and often provide opportunities to hone in what you enjoy about playing the game. 

For more information check out our in-depth Feats Guide for DND 5e or our Comprehensive List of 5e Feats that includes links to thorough descriptions.

Optimal 5e Feats by Class

We want to really focus on that word “Optimal”. We’ve selected a variety of 5e feats, by class, that are going to solidify your strengths and reinforce your weaknesses. This is min-maxing at its finest. 

You can ALWAYS choose to pick the Chef feat for the bit or Telekinetic because it’s just so dang cool to be a jedi. You don’t need us to tell you which ones to choose for fun though, and if you do, check out that list article linked above.

No more ado, let’s jump into some good old fashioned D&D optimization.

I lied, one more ado. We’ve made sure to mark which feats are Origin Feats as of the ‘24 revision. This means you can receive them as part of your Character Origin (aka background). Naturally, we’ve written which background is associated with the feat so you don’t have to immediately flip to page 177 of the 2024 Player’s Handbook. Don’t say we never did anything for you.

Artificer Feats 5e

We’ve seen the Unearthed Arcana version of the revised artificer, but the actual print version could differ and it’s not quite there yet. We’ll be sure to update you with more information once we know for sure what areas the artificer can benefit. 

For now, we’ll assume you’re using the original 5e artificer. Because of that, we also are just going to suggest you focus on increasing your Intelligence score with Ability Score Increases. The artificer has a lot of complexity and, ironically, doesn’t need many extra moving parts.

Skilled – Origin (Noble)

Since choosing an origin feat is now a part of character creation, we at least need a solid choice for the artificer to start out with. Really, there’s nothing better for this impressive problem solver than skilled, which allows you to gain proficiency in three skills or tools of your choice.

For a little added flavor, whichever skills you are proficient in can be based on various tools and trinkets that you’ve designed. A radar alarm for perception, a talking toy owl for nature checks, you name it.

Barbarian Feats 5e

Barbarians are hardy, resilient, and bash harder than any other class on this list. It’s no surprise, then, that the best feats for a 5e barbarian are focused on hitting harder and taking harder hits. 

While you can always take a feat like Magic Initiate or Skilled to diversify your out-of-combat potential, we really think the best way to make a barbarian better-er is to think with your fists.

Savage Attacker – Origin (Soldier) 

The gift that keeps on giving. Savage attacker lets you roll your damage die twice and take the higher roll once per turn. It’s essentially advantage on damage rolls and it is invaluable to a barbarian. 

Durable

A +1 to your constitution score paired with advantage on Death Saving Throws and the ability to heal using your Hit Point Dice as a bonus action. 

This feat is the icing on the cake for any tank barbarian builds who don’t want to rely on a healer to make sure they stay standing.

Great Weapon Master

A +1 to your strength score, extra damage when using Heavy weapons, and a whole slew of bonus action attacks when you start dropping your enemies to 0 hit points or rolling those beautiful crits, what more could a meathead like you want? 

Just be sure to actually use a weapon with the Heavy property so you actually reap all the benefits.Greataxe, Greatsword, and even Heavy Crossbow are all great options.

Bard Feats 5e

A bard is an artist, someone that uses their craft to masterfully manipulate a situation, in and out of combat. Since that can mean so much depending on your subclass and character intentions, there are a lot of amazing options, which we take a closer look at in our article on the 7 Best Bard Feats in 5e.

Still, there are a few that really standout as great options for your charismatic adventurer, no matter what style of play you’re after.

Magic Initiate – Origin (Acolyte)

You’re already a charisma-based spellcaster, but that doesn’t mean you have mastery over the weave. Picking up the magic initiate feat in 5e will give your bard access to spells from other casters’ spell lists, giving you not just more options, but a more well rounded set of options when deciding what to cast.

Before the revision, we would’ve suggested taking Eldritch Blast as one of your cantrips, but the new Magic Initiate no longer allows you to select from the warlock spell list. Do with that as you may, but there are still some great combat cantrips available to you from the cleric, druid, and wizard spell lists.

Lucky – Origin (Merchant)

Lucky is beneficial to anyone, but as a bard, you’re probably going to be making a lot of D20 tests in the form of skill checks, so it’s that much more useful for you to gain advantage out of a pool of luck points. 

Not to mention, having the choice between giving yourself advantage and giving an opponent disadvantage on attack roll against you is the most bard flavored thing since a lyre was turned into a spellcasting focus.

Actor

Operating on the same line of thought as lucky, we’re here to make sure you are the face of your party. This specific feat is going to give you  +1 in charisma, let you gain advantage on Deception and Performance checks while disguised, and even mimic the sounds of other creatures.

Let’s get serious here, the mimicry ability is broken. Want to imitate an owlbear baby to distract the hulking Avius Ursine guarding the pile of treasure? Done. Need to do an impression of a general to convince some soldiers that they should listen to you? Done. 

The fact that it’s on the character you’re tricking to make an insight check with a DC 8 plus your charisma modifier plus proficiency bonus (that’s going to be generally at least 13 at lower levels, higher once you’ve taken this) is absolutely ridiculous, and incredible for you. Take this feat.

Cleric Feats 5e

Clerics are more than just the healers of the party. They are valuable spellcasters that can deal reliable damage on the front lines and provide incredible support in any venture.

When a cleric starts looking to grab up feats, they’re probably doing so to solidify their place on the battlefield, ensuring they can continue to heal their allies while staying in the fight themselves.

War Caster

War Caster lets your cleric get a +1 bonus to wisdom, gives you advantage on Concentration saving throws, lets you cast a spell as a reaction when you would normally be able to make an Opportunity Attack, and lets you cast spells while wielding weapons and shields, without having to worry about somatic components.

This feat is an absolute must have for a cleric. The concentration advantage is worth it on its own, letting you stay in the fight and keep a ward up for your allies without worrying about getting hit in the process. Everything else is just a sweet, sweet cherry on top.

Resilient

I hate to put a tough choice on your plate, but resilient is an amazing feat in 5e that you should consider, even if it is in direct competition with War Caster. If you pick this feat, you’ll be gaining a +1 to your constitution score along with constitution saving throw proficiency.

Now, statistically, proficiency bonus is better than a saving throw in the long run. Plus, you’ll gain this on all Constitution saving throws, which could end up saving you from being poisoned or paralyzed.

The two feats can stack, and which you take first depends on whether you want to prioritize combat or keeping yourself and your allies standing. Realistically, we’d say war caster first and resilient down the line, once your proficiency bonus is high enough to make it 100% worth it.

Alert – Origin (Guard)

Adding your proficiency bonus to an initiative roll isn’t quite as good as the flat +5 that the old rules would’ve fetched you, but any bonus to initiative is incredibly helpful. Since you’re a support class looking to gain control of the situation as fast as you can, this is definitely the origin feat for you. 

Just, maybe ask your DM if they’re willing to split the difference and let you add your spellcasting bonus instead. As a flavor note, it makes sense that your wisdom and connection to your deity allows you to be a bit more prescient, and from a rules standpoint, Alert used to prevent you from being surprised at all, bones should be thrown in compensation.

Druid Feats 5e

Druids, much like their siblings into more organized religions, are a great spellcasting support class with a lot of potential to get into the fight. Since they share a lot in common with clerics, we’re going to be suggesting that you strongly consider War Caster and Resilient as well, on top of one standout feat just for druids. 

And sure, we’ve thrown in which origin feat is up your alley while we’re at it.

Elemental Adept

Druids have a lot of potential to deal elemental damage through their spells. This can be incredibly fun, but feel really weak when your fiery druid comes across demons with fire resistance. If you’re focusing on a specific type of 5e elemental damage, pick this feat up to give your spells the boost you need.

The big draw is definitely the fact that your spells will cut through resistance to your chosen element, but you’ll also get a consistent boost in damage with your 1s being treated as 2s on your damage die (when you start rolling 8d6 fire damage you’ll thank me). Besides, a +1 to your wisdom score is nothing to shake a stick at.

Lucky – Origin (Merchant)

Much like any character, you’ll want advantage on D20 tests from time to time.The option to impose disadvantage on opponents’ attacks is just a bonus if you happen to be up against a strong foe. 

Fighter Feats 5e

Fighters get a bad rep as the boring martial class, but they have so much hidden complexity and opportunity for diverse builds. Getting into each fighter subclass will really determine how you build out your character, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some staple feats that you’ll thank us for adding to your sheet.

Luckily, the options here are such staples that we’ve already explained them, for details on Savage Attacker and Great Weapon Master, scroll up to the Barbarian feats 5e. There is one that we’ve held out just for fighters though.

Martial Adept 

This feat is essentially Battle Master lite, and it’s a great choice for any fighter, especially if you were on the fence about choosing Battle Master or something a bit more flavorful in the first place. It lets you pick up a few Battle Maneuvers that can help you determine exactly how a combat is going to play out, the perfect place for a fighter to be in.

  Martial adept also falls into the potentially sticky situation of not being reprinted in th 2024 Player’s Handbook. Of course, according to Jeremey Crawford, a former D&D designer that worked on the revision, anything not explicitly reprinted is still fair game! 

Savage Attacker – Origin (Soldier)

Great Weapon Master

Monk Feats 5e

Monks are martial artists in the truest sense of the term, so it should be no surprise that the feats we’ve chosen allow you to take on your final form as a kung-fu master, super saiyan, or, praise be, Rock Lee.

Keep in mind, monks depend on several ability scores to be at their prime, so after taking your origin feat, it’s probably best to focus on Ability Score Improvements and bumping up your dexterity, wisdom, and constitution (in that order). Still, if you really like the idea of feats, here are some good choices.

Tavern Brawler – Origin (Sailor)

It seems interesting that a monk (other than one focusing on the drunken master concept) would be a tavern brawler, but what can we say, unarmed strikes are where it’s at.

This feat allows you to reroll 1s for damage when you make unarmed strikes, and lets you push your opponent up to 5 feet away from you once per turn. Pair this with some environmental hazards and you’re brawling the right way tavern or not.

Fey Touched 

Wisdom is important to monks, so you’ll want to take the bonus here. The big draw though, is definitely having the ability to cast Misty Step. Even if it’s just once a day, the ability to position yourself exactly where you need to be is paramount to a monk’s success, lining you up to deliver a flurry of blows to whichever opponents are foolish enough to be in your line of sight.

Sentinel

Say it with me: “More attacks is better!” Sentinel lets you make reactions when opponents attack anyone other than you or when they try to get away. Since you’re going to be right in the action, you’ll be taking full advantage of this and probably seeing it pay off several times every combat.

Paladin Feats 5e

Paladins fall into the same boat as monks, in that they are dependent on multiple ability scores (we call this MAD, as opposed to SAD – single ability dependent). You really want to focus on getting ability score improvements and boosting your charisma, strength, and constitution scores.

Still, here are a couple of options that won’t let you down.

Resilient

If you’re reading through this whole article, you’re probably seeing patterns. Resilient is a huge bonus for Paladins because it means getting an ability score increase in constitution while also adding your proficiency bonus to all con saves, including the ever important concentration saving throws you’ll be making.

Tough – Origin (Farmer)

This origin feat is the way to go for paladins, since it’ll keep your Hit Point maximum steadily above the normal curve. Since your armored warrior is going to definitely be in the front lines dealing out holy wrath, you’ll definitely want the added padding.

Ranger Feats 5e

The best feat a ranger can take is to choose the fighter class and a ranged weapon. Okay, honestly, the ‘24 ranger is not that bad, but it’s certainly a class that leaves you wanting for more. Luckily, feats are somewhere you can go to if you’re not desperately in need of higher dexterity, wisdom, and constitution.

Magic Initiate – Origin (Acolyte)

As a half caster, your spell selection really isn’t all that great. This feat will allow you to get some more effective cantrips in your arsenal and expand the spells you have available. It’s really a no-brainer if you’re trying to build a ranger that utilizes the full spectrum of what the class has to offer.

Sharpshooter 

The defining ranged feat naturally belongs with the ranger, even if rangers don’t need to be focused on ranged attacks. A bonus to your dexterity should be happily accepted, and you get to ignore most of the rules that make actually using a ranged weapon in combat frustrating, such as cover, close combat, and long range.

Rogue Feats 5e

The rogue has a simple, yet elegant, design. Focus your efforts on stealth, subterfuge, and the shadows, and you’re in good hands.

Skulker

This feat was made for rogues. Right? Yeah, it definitely was. 

The fog of war ability this feat offers you will give you advantage on stealth checks to hide, and you’ll stay hidden if you miss an attack. Essentially, as long as you’re playing the sneaky sort of rogue, this is going to be where all of your sneak attacks come from.

Magic Initiate – Origin (Acolyte)

If you’re not planning on going with an Arcane Trickster, take this feat and you’re halfway there. Access to a couple of cantrips and a first level spell, probably out of the wizard spell list, is incredibly useful, whether you decide to go with combat options or something like Mage Hand that will help you out in numerous ways outside of combat.

Defensive Duelist

Perhaps the most swashbuckling-ly pleasing of all the feats, this will allow you to effortlessly parry attacks with the Rapier you are no doubt carrying. 

Or, in rules speak, this feat lets you make a reaction when you’re attacked while wielding a finesse weapon, adding your proficiency bonus to your AC and, likely, protecting yourself from any damage. Oh, and you get a +1 to your dexterity score while you’re at it.

Sorcerer Feats 5e

Sorcerers are very straightforward spellcasters. That makes our job easy, because you only need to pick up feats that help you cast spells more effectively. If you want flavor, go wild, otherwise, here are your best choices.

Lucky – Origin (Merchant)

That’s right, sorcerers and all of their innate magical abilities can benefit as much as anyone else from rolling better numbers on our magical math rocks. A pool of luck points that lets you gain advantage on D20 rolls is incredibly helpful, and the option to impose disadvantage on an opponent’s attacks against you isn’t too shabby either. 

Spell Sniper

There are a lot of rules in Dungeons and Dragons. This feat essentially lets you ignore the ones that could make spellcasting annoying, making your life easier and your sorcerer far more powerful than the average wand flicker.

Specifically, your spells will ignore the rules for cover, close range won’t impose disadvantage, and your ranged spells will increase their range by 60 feet. Snipe away, you magical so and so’s.

Telekinetic/Telepathic/Shadow Touched/Fey Touched

These feats can make for very different styles of play, but both do something very useful: add reliable spellcasting that doesn’t dip into your spell slots while increasing your spellcasting ability score. It’s incredibly useful and which one you select is based entirely on what flavor you want in your character.

Warlock Feats 5e

Warlocks follow the same basic principles as Paladin when it comes to their progression and playstyle, even if the flavors are very different. For that reason, we suggest the same two feats, for the same exact reasons.

Resilient

Tough – Origin (Farmer)

Wizard Feats 5e

Wizards might just be one of the best and most reliable classes in all of 5e. Their lengthy spell lists are nothing to shake a stick at, and they don’t need much improvement. If you’re taking a feat as a wizard, it’s probably to focus on some concept you want to enhance about your subclass.

For that reason, we only suggest one feat for the wizard, dump everything else into boosting your intelligence and constitution or just plain old added flavor.

Tough – Origin (Farmer)

Wizards are notoriously squishy. Their immense power is offset by the fact that most wizards would die left to their own devices and put in any situation more precarious than afternoon tea.

Boosting your hit points is incredibly useful, if not necessary. So you should definitely be choosing this as your origin feat.