- The elemental rage powers let you deal additional energy damage on your attacks. While a standard barbarian with a two-handed weapon won’t have a large number of attacks, these powers do make two-weapon fighting slightly more useful for a barbarian, as this is one of their only sources of bonus damage outside of strength.
- If you wield a second weapon in your off hand, you can get one extra attack per round with that weapon. You suffer a –6 penalty with your regular attack or attacks with your primary hand and a –10 penalty to the attack with your off hand when you fight this way. You can reduce these penalties in two ways.
Table of Contents |
Dual Attack
Whenever you make an attack action with a light or one-handed weapon, you can make an additional attack with a light or one-handed weapon held in your off-hand, though both attacks take a -2 penalty on their attack rolls when doing so; only your initial main hand attack qualifies as an attack action, and the additional attack cannot be made with the same weapon as your initial main hand attack. Your off-hand attack only applies 1/2 your Strength modifier, and if your off-hand attack is made with anything other than a light weapon, both attacks take an additional -2 penalty. Associated Feat: Two-Weapon Fighting
Asynchronous Swing
Normal: You apply Str bonus to damage with a one-handed weapon, or 1.5x Str bonus to a two-handed weapon. Off-Hand Finesse Prerequisites: Improved Weapon Finesse, Two-Weapon fighting Benefit: Choose a weapon with which you have Improved Weapon Finesse. You may add half your dex bonus to damage with this weapon when wielded in your off hand.
As long as you have martial focus, whenever you wield two different types of weapons, both deal the same weapon damage die (chosen by you). You may also combine the damage types (bludgeoning, piercing, or slashing only) of each weapon, causing each weapon to deal both weapons’ damage types.
Balanced Blows
Reduce the penalties for attacking with your dual attack ability by 1/2 (minimum -1).
Combo Maneuvers
You may activate your dual attack ability off of a bull rush, dirty trick, drag, reposition, or steal combat maneuver made as a standard action. You suffer your dual attack penalty to your CMB for this maneuver as well as to the off-hand attack, and may make the off-hand attack before or after you perform the maneuver.
Concentrated Breakdown [3PP]
Whenever you deal damage to a creature with two or more weapons in a single round, you can select either that creature’s natural armor bonus or damage reduction; reduce it by 2 (to a minimum of 0) for 1 minute or until that creature recovers hit points from any source. If you would be able to apply the effects of this talent to the same creature 2 or more times before its duration is over, you can either choose to reduce whichever target (natural armor or damage reduction) that you did not select before or increase the reduction by 1 as well as reset the duration. At +10 base attack bonus, whenever you apply the effects of this talent to a creature, if you select the same target (natural armor or damage reduction), the penalty is increased by 2 instead of 1.
Critical Follow Up
Offhand Dmg Two Weapon Fighting Pathfinder 2
Whenever you successfully use the attack action to strike a creature with your main-hand weapon, the critical threat range of your off-hand weapon increases by 1 (this stacks with other effects which would increase your critical threat range, but is applied last) until the beginning of your next turn. When your base attack bonus is +10 or higher, your off-hand weapon’s critical threat range instead increases by 2.
Crushing Combo
Whenever you use the attack action to attack while wielding two weapons, you can expend your martial focus as a swift action to deal additional damage with all attacks you make equal to the weapon damage die of your offhand weapon (if you possess multiple offhand weapons, you must select 1 to use with this talent) until the end of your turn. This bonus damage is not increased by the Vital Strike feat or critical hits.
Cunning Combo
Whenever you use your dual attack ability, you may forgo making an off-hand attack to instead use that weapon to make a feint check. You may make this feint check before or after your main hand attack. Your main hand attack and feint check both suffer the penalty from using dual attack.
Dancing Display
Whenever you successfully make an attack with a weapon wielded in one hand in the same round you make an attack action (including the attack action itself), you can move 5 ft. as a free action; this movement doesn’t provoke attacks of opportunity from the creature attacked. You cannot move in this way if you haven’t made an attack action yet that round. You can also use an attack roll in place of a Perform (dance) check in order to make money. At +10 base attack bonus, you can instead move 10 ft., and you may roll twice for the attack roll used in place of a Perform (dance) check, taking the better result.
Defensive Whirl
Whenever you use an attack action and successfully strike a single creature with both your main-hand and off-hand weapons, that creature takes a -1 penalty to all attack rolls against you for 1 round. For every 5 points of base attack bonus you possess, this penalty increases by an additional -1.
Drumroll
Whenever you use an attack action and successfully strike a single creature with both your main-hand and off-hand weapons before the start of your next turn, that creature gains the battered condition and takes a -2 penalty on all attacks of opportunity they make until the end of your next turn. At +10 base attack bonus, this talent’s effects last for an additional round and the penalty on attacks of opportunity increases to -3.
Dizzying Combination
Whenever you use an attack action and successfully strike a single creature with both your main-hand and off-hand weapons before the start of your next turn, that creature must make a successful Reflex save or take a -2 penalty on Reflex saves and have all movement speeds they possessed reduced by 10 ft. (minimum 0 ft.) for 1 minute. At +10 base attack bonus, this penalty is doubled. Any action that would remove the battered condition also ends this penalty.
Dual Opportunity
Once per round when you make an attack of opportunity, you can make an additional attack with your off-hand weapon.
Focusing Defense
You may spend a move action to regain your martial focus and gain a +1 circumstance bonus to your AC and CMD for 1 round. At +10 base attack bonus, this bonus increases to +2.
Following Strike
Whenever you use an attack action and successfully strike a single creature with both your main-hand and off-hand weapons before the start of your next turn, you can make an additional attack with your off-hand weapon against a different creature as a free action.
Gemini Dancer (stance) [3PP]
At the start of your turn, you can spend a swift action to use this talent. When you do, until the beginning of your next turn whenever you use the dual strike ability, if your attacks with your main hand or off hand weapon miss due to not hitting the creature’s armor class, as long as your attack was within 5 points of the creature’s armor class (if the creature’s AC was 25, this talent would trigger if your attack roll was 24 to 20), you still deal damage as though you had rolled the minimum result for the attack (if you miss with your off-hand attack which would normally deal 1d6+2 damage, you would still deal 3 damage); this talent is treated as dealing damage for abilities which rely on doing so, such as sneak attack. At +10 base attack bonus, you instead roll damage normally for this talent, dealing half of the damage it would have dealt. If you expend your martial focus while activating this talent, it instead lasts a number of rounds equal to your practitioner modifier.
High-Low Combination
Whenever you use dual attack and successfully strike a creature with your main-hand weapon, you may forgo your off-hand weapon attack to make a trip attempt against the target of your main-hand attack without provoking an attack of opportunity (if you use a ranged weapon to make this trip attempt, the creature must be within 30 ft.).
Impossible Reload
You can reload without needing a free hand. In addition, you treat ranged weapons you are wielding which can be wielded in one hand as light weapons for the purpose of determining what penalties you take while fighting with two weapons.
Mercurial Flow
You deal your full Strength modifier to damage on attacks made with your off-hand attack instead of half. You may treat off-hand attacks as though they were made with your main hand for the purpose of Power Attack or similar abilities. Associated Feat: Double Slice.
Mixed Assault
Whenever you wield a melee weapon in one hand and a ranged weapon in the other, you don’t provoke attacks of opportunity from firing or reloading while threatened. If you successfully attack two different creatures more than 5 ft. apart from each other in the same round you make an attack using the attack action, you gain a +2 circumstance bonus on damage rolls against each creature until the end of your next turn; for every 5 base attack bonus you have, this bonus increases by +2.
Offhand Dmg Two Weapon Fighting Pathfinder
Mixed Defense [Apoc]
Whenever you wield a melee weapon in one hand and a ranged weapon in the other, you may forgo your ranged attack when using the dual attack ability. If you do so, until your next turn, you may spend an attack of opportunity to make a ranged attack against an opponent attempting to attack you in melee. If your ranged attack hits, you gain a +2 dodge bonus to AC against that opponent and a +2 circumstance bonus to attack rolls against that opponent until the end of your next turn. Both the melee weapon attack and the ranged attack suffer the attack penalty from dual attack as normal, and the ranged attack must be made with the same ranged weapon wielded during the dual attack.
Offhand Parry [3PP]
Whenever you are wielding two or more weapons, you can choose to use the dual attack ability (taking the attack penalty for doing so), but only make a single attack. If you do, once per round whenever a creature makes a melee attack against you, you can spend an attack of opportunity to make an attack roll as if you were making an attack of opportunity, but for each size category the attacking creature is larger than you, you take a –2 penalty on this roll. If your result is greater than the attacking creature’s result, the creature’s attack automatically misses. At base attack bonus +10, if you successfully force an attack to miss with this talent, you can make an attack against the creature who’s attack you forced to miss.
Paired Proficiency
Each combat feat, class feature, or combat talent which would apply to your main hand weapon also applies to your off-hand weapon, unless it would be an illegal choice (such as applying a talent to a melee attack that only may be used with ranged attacks or applying a feat that requires a specific type of weapon on a weapon that does not meet these prerequisites).
At +10 base attack bonus, combat feats, class features, or combat talents which would apply to your off-hand weapon also applies to your main hand weapon, unless they would also be an illegal choice. The only exception to this is special attack actions, such as brutal strikes, barrages, and deadly shots, which are not applied to the off-hand weapon.
Author's Note: This talent is designed to make it viable to use different types of weapons when dual wielding, rather than two copies of the same weapon. It does not allow additional actions, allow you to vital strike with both weapons, etc.
Perfect Set-Up
As long as you have martial focus, as part of an attack action you may make a touch attack with your main-hand weapon which deals only the weapon’s damage die. If this attack is successful, the next attack you make with your off-hand weapon gains a +2 bonus to its damage roll and targets the creature’s flat-footed AC (the target is not actually flat-footed for this attack), ignoring cover or concealment as long as that attack is made before the end of your next round. For every 4 points of base attack bonus you possess, this bonus damage increases by +2.
Author's Note: Perfect Set-Up replaces the main-hand attack action with an attack which deals only your weapon's base damage dice. This attack is no longer treated as an attack action and cannot be modified by other effects such as Vital Strike or various attack action modifiers from other spheres (Duelist's blooded strike, Fencing's fatal thrust, etc.).
Repositioning Routine
Whenever you use an attack action and successfully strike a single creature with both your main-hand and off-hand weapons before the start of your next turn, you can attempt a reposition combat maneuver against the target of the attacks as a free action which does not provoke attacks of opportunity (if the creature is not within your natural reach, you may attempt this reposition combat maneuver with a -2 penalty as long as that creature is within the first range increment of a ranged weapon you wield, although doing so requires you to expend a piece of ammunition or throw a weapon to do so).
Snapping Crab (stance) [Youxia HB]
While in this stance, whenever you miss a creature with a melee attack made as part of a dual attack, the first melee attack that creature makes against you until the beginning of your next turn provokes an attack of opportunity from you. You must make the attack of opportunity with a melee weapon you missed the creature with during your dual attack, and the attack suffers the same penalties as it did during the dual attack. You may not use this talent in conjunction with (deflect) talents or any other ability that would grant you an attack or combat maneuver due to a missed attack against you.
Strategic Set-Up
Whenever you use dual attack and successfully damage a creature with your main-hand weapon, if you attempt a combat maneuver check against that same creature in place of your offhand attack, treat yourself as if you were 1 size category larger than you are when calculating your combat maneuver bonus and your ability to affected that target. For every 5 points of base attack bonus you possess, you are treated as an additional size larger.
Synchronous Accuracy
Whenever you miss an attack with your main hand weapon, you may expend your martial focus as an immediate action to make an additional attack with your off-hand weapon. This effect lasts until the start of your next turn, allowing you to make an off-hand attack whenever you miss with an attack made with your main hand weapon.
Tandem Offensive
As long as you have martial focus, if you successfully use the attack action to strike a creature with your main-hand weapon, your off-hand weapon gains any enhancement bonus your mainhand weapon possesses until the beginning of your next turn, replacing any enhancement bonuses your off-hand may possess.
At +10 base attack bonus, your off-hand weapon is also treated as though it were made of the same material as your main-hand weapon for the purposes of penetrating damage reduction.
Two In The Hand [Jester's HB]
Whenever you use dual attack and successfully strike a creature with your main-hand attack, you may increase your reach by +5 feet when making your off-hand attack. At +10 base attack bonus, your reach increases by +10 feet instead.
Cyclone Cut
Prerequisites: Dual Wielding sphere, base attack bonus +5.
While wielding two weapons, as a standard action you expend your martial focus to twirl the two weapons with enough force to create a damaging cyclone of air. Each creature within 10 ft. of you takes damage equal to your weapon damage for both your primary and one of your off-hand attacks. A successful Reflex save reduces this damage by half. For every 5 additional base attack bonus you possess, you may increase the radius by an additional 5 ft.
Three-Sword Style
Prerequisites: Dual Wielding sphere, base attack bonus +6.
You gain the ability to wield a sword in your teeth, treating your mouth as an additional hand that can only be used to wield a one-handed or light weapon. While wielding a weapon in this manner, you suffer a 50% spell failure chance to cast any spell with a verbal component, or increase any existing spell failure chance for spells with verbal components by 50%. In addition, whenever you make a dual attack, you may make an additional off-hand attack with the weapon wielded in your mouth as an immediate action.
Triangle Slash
Prerequisites: Dual Wielding sphere, Three-Sword Style, base attack bonus +16.
When making a dual attack, you may expend your martial focus and forego any extra attacks that you might otherwise be able to make during your turn to treat each attack as an attack action. This means that each of the three attacks may be modified by feats such as Vital Strike, but cannot trigger any additional attacks, such as combat maneuvers added by talents when making an attack action normally.
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| Rules | |||||||
| About Legendary Talents | Martial Traditions | Martial Packages | Practitioner Feats | ||||
| Practitioner Traits | Practitioner FCB's | Practitioner Bestiary | Associated Feats & Skills | ||||
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| Mythic Spheres of Might | |||||||
| The Conqueror's Handbook | The General's Handbook | ||||||
| The Highlander's Handbook | The Inventor's Handbook | ||||||
| The Inventor's Handbook 2 | The Jester's Handbook | ||||||
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| Alch. Formulae | Alch. Poisons | Alch. Poisons 2 | Armor Talents | ||||
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Disclaimer
I support a limited subset of Pathfinder's rules content. If you would like help with Pathfinder player options not covered here, please email me and I am happy to provide additional assistance.
RPGBOT uses the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build handbooks. Also note that many colored items are also links to the Paizo SRD.
- Red: Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational.
- Orange: OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances
- Green: Good options.
- Blue: Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character.
Combat Styles
The Ranger is a very versatile class. Based on your combat style and skill selection, the ranger can serve as a tank, a scout, a striker, and a librarian to some degree. How you function in combat is defined largely by your combat style, but how you function as a character is more broadly defined by your archetype.
See also: Ranger Archetypes Breakdown.
The most important part of the Ranger's Combat Style feature is that you can select bonus feats without meeting the pre-requisites. Many combat styles grant the Ranger feats several levels before a normal character could take them.
Archery
Rangers were one of the better options for archery characters in 3.5, and the style had improved dramatically in Pathfinder. Combat Style helps greatly with the long list of essential archery feats, and the ability to take the bonus feats without pre-requisites really cuts down on the feat cost.
Note that the feats on the Archery combat style listed in the core rulebook were expanded in later supplements. This list reflects the updated version.
- Base
- Far Shot: With a longbow, your range is likely good enough.
- Focused Shot: You will do considerably more damage with Rapid Shot.
- Point Blank Shot: This is only good as a pre-requisite for other feats. Rogues get a lot more benefit from this since they already need to be within 30 feet, but you should really be taking advantage of your long range.
- Precise Shot: Shoot into melee without taking that awful -4 penalty.
- Rapid Shot: An extra attack means extra damage. The -2 penalty isn't going to break you.
- 6th Level
- Crossbow Mastery: Waste a feat to switch to crossbows. Slightly bigger damage die, and you don't need to worry about strength. This feat makes the Archery combat style better at crossbows than the Crossbow combat style.
- Improved Precise Shot: Shoot past and around your allies.
- Parting Shot: Situational.
- Point Blank Master: Get into melee and go nuts.
- Manyshot: Get a free extra arrow worth of damage on your best attack every round. Basically free damage.
- 10th Level
- Pinpoint Targeting: You have full BAB, you should have good dex, and you're going to have a good weapon. You shouldn't have any problems hitting things reliably. By the time you reach this level, few enemies will be getting their AC from armor or shields.
- Shot on the Run: Just get a horse.
Crossbow
Entirely worse than Archery, the only benefit to using a crossbow is that you don't need strength to deal damage. You may notice that there is a lot of overlap in the feat choices for the Archery and Crossbow combat styles, but some of the Archery options have been replaced with feats that make you better at reloading. The base set of feats is slightly better than Archery, but crossbows are still a considerably worse choics than bows.
- Base
- Deadly Aim: Basically power attack for ranged weapons. Crucial if you plan on doing damage.
- Focused Shot: Rapid Shot will basically always be a better option, and your intelligence isn't going to be huge.
- Precise Shot: Shoot into melee without taking that awful -4 penalty.
- Rapid Shot: An extra attack means extra damage. The -2 penalty isn't going to break you.
- 6th Level
- Crossbow Mastery: You don't have to spend a feat on rapid reload unless you wanted to use Rapid Shot at low levels, which is nice. This also makes Heavy Crossbows a viable option.
- Improved Precise Shot: Shoot past and around your allies.
- 10th Level
- Pinpoint Targeting: You have full BAB, you should have good dex, and you're going to have a good weapon. You shouldn't have any problems hitting things reliably. By the time you reach this level, few enemies will be getting their AC from armor or shields.
- Shot on the Run: Just get a horse.
Mounted Combat
You won't be as good a horseman as a Cavalier, but your animal companion makes a pretty great mount. With power attack and a decent lance, you can make an excellent striker.
- Base
- Mounted Combat: Your mount is very important, and your mount's AC is probably going to be bad.
- Mounted Archery: If you wanted to be an archer, you should have taken the Archery combat style.
- Ride-By Attack: Very important for Spirited Charge and lances.
- Trick Riding: Reliability on your basic ride checks is nice.
- 6th Level
- Mounted Shield: Your mount's AC is still going to be terrible, but this helps a bit.
- Spirited Charge: Basically the whole reason you want to be a mounted character. Triple damage with your lance charges, and you should be lance charging every round.
- 10th Level
- Mounted Skirmisher: Basically pounce while mounted. Keep in mind that Spirited Charge and the lance damage multiplier only apply to your first attack on a charge. Even so, this feat is incredible.
- Unseat: This is ridiculously situational. If you want to unseat someone, just run them over with Spirited Charge and hope they fail their ride check to stay mounted.
Natural Weapon
If you want to use this for natural weapons and don't already have some, this archetype is completely worthless. If you do already have natural weapons, you may still find this archetype to be extremely mediocre and disappointing. But if you're as much of a fan of Vital Strike as I am, this archetype is surprisingly amazing find. If you want to play a ranger and use Vital Strike, there literally isn't a better wau to do it.
- Base
- Aspect of the Beast: If you don't have natural claws already, choose the Claws of the Beast aspect. Otherwise, take Night Senses. Without this feat, this archetype basically won't function unless you already have natural weapons.
- Improved Natural Weapon: Bumping your claws from d4 to d6 is really only useful because d6's are more fun to roll.
- Rending Claws: An extra d6 damage per round is certainly not worth a feat.
- Weapon Focus: Well, there aren't any better options. Take Weapon Focus (Claws).
- 6th Level
- Eldritch Claws: Essential for bypassing DR.
- Vital Strike: This feat is a terrible option for a natural weapon-based build. If you only get you make one attack, you should be charging so that you can get in position to make a full attack. Damage dice are a very small portion of your total damage as you level, and adding an extra d4 or d6 is hardly going to make a difference. If you somehow have exactly one big natural weapon (maybe you're an awakened animal or something), Vital Strike could be a great option, and you should read my Practical Guide to Vital Strike. However, most natural weapon builds get by on having numerous natural weapons, so hypothetical Vital Strike builds are vastly in the minority.
- 10th Level
- Multiattack: If you have secondary natural attacks, this is essential.
- Improved Vital Strike: Still the same issue that Vital Strike faces for most rangers.
Thrown Weapon
Thrown Weapon builds require two sets of feats: archery feats, and two-weapon fighting feats. The Thrown Weapon combat style provides the basics of both, but doesn't help you get any of the difficult feats. You could get any worthwhile feat in this combat style by level 5 with little effort. You would be much better served by either the Archery or Two-Weapon Fighting combat styles, depending on how you want to distribute your ability scores.
- Base
- Distance Thrower: Far Shot is much better.
- Precise Shot: Required for any ranged character.
- Quick Draw: Unless you're using Shurikens (a bad idea), you will need Quick Draw to draw more weapons faster than a move action.
- Two-Weapon Fighting: If you're throwing weapons, you probably want to use your off-hand to throw some more.
- 6th Level
- Close-Quarters Thrower: Very helpful for getting in close, but you can always take a 5-foot step away.
- FalseOpening: This is great if you have Sneak Attack. Useless for a Ranger, but great for a Slayer.
- 10th Level
- Pinpoint Targeting: You have full BAB, you should have good dex, and you're going to have a good weapon. You shouldn't have any problems hitting things reliably, and you need to be making multiple attacks to deal a decent amount of damage.
- Shot on the Run: You will do much better if you stand still and make a full attack. If you need to move, there are very few cases where you can't do just as well my moving and attacking separately.
Two-Handed Weapon
Two-Handed weapons require a fairly small number of feats to be effective, and this combat style doesn't offer a lot of good feats. Rangers get medium armor and d10 hit points, which makes it hard to be in melee without a shield. If you really want to use a two-handed weapon as a ranger, consider the Wild Stalker archetype instead of this combat style.
- Base
- Cleave: Cleave is a decent option at low levels if you tend to fight mobs of enemys. It can be hard to set up since the targets need to be adjacent, but it gets you two attacks very early in the game.
- Power Attack: Basically required.
- Pushing Assault: Like a lousy version of bull rush, and you sacrifice your power attack damage.
- Shield of Swings: If you wanted better AC you should have just picked a combat style that involved shields.
- 6th Level
- Furious Focus: Fantastic. Makes your most reliable attack even better, especially on a charge.
- Great Cleave: Like cleave, but even harder to set up.
- 10th Level
- Dreadful Carnage: You get Intimidate as a class skill, but your charisma is probably terrible unless you were planning to use Fear.
- Improved Sunder: Sundering is rarely a good option.
Two-Weapon Fighting
Two-Weapon Fighting can be a great options for rangers, and they are the only class that can get away with two-weapon fighting without a ton of Dexterity. If you want a Strength-based two-weapon fighting build, invest in dual-wielding shields. If you want to go the Dexterity route, stick to light armor and pick up Slashing Grace and Sawtooth Sabres. You might not be able to keep up with rogues in terms of damage, but your full BAB lets you get considerably more attacks than a Rogue, and you can actually hit things.
- Base
- Double Slice: You need a huge amount of strength to make this feat worthwhile. Depending on your math, you need as much as 22 strength before this starts looking like a good idea.
- Improved Shield Bash: Sword-and-board Two-Weapon Fighting is a really great option in Pathfinder, but you don't get any other shield feats as part of the combat style. If you don't mind spending your regular feats on Shield Slam and Shield Master, it's a great option.
- Quick Draw: Unless you're throwing things, this won't be hugely important.
- Two-Weapon Fighting: You don't need the high dexterity to get the Two-Weapon Fighting feats, which really makes a big difference for Two-Weapon Rangers. Of course, you're going to have high dexterity since you only get light armor.
- 6th Level
- Improved Two-Weapon Fighting: More attacks!
- Two-Weapon Defense: A +1 shield bonus to AC is terrible. Dodge is considerably better.
- 10th Level
- Greater Two-Weapon Fighting: Still more attacks!
- Two-Weapon Rend: A little extra damage never hurts, especially since you don't have to take Double Slice to get this.
Weapon and Shield
Offhand Dmg Two Weapon Fighting Pathfinder 2e
Weapon and Shield is a Two-Weapon Fighting archetype. Because Rangers get to ignore prerequisites for feats, the Two-Weapon Fighting combat style is strictly better. Two-Weapon Fighting allows you to bypass the steep dexterity requirements of the Two-Weapon Fighting feats. The only thing that Weapon and Shield really has going for it is that you can get Shield Master 5 levels early.
Offhand Dmg Two Weapon Fighting Pathfinder Class
- Base
- Improved Shield Bash: Now your shield is a weapon. Make sure to get Two-Weapon Fighting, too.
- Shield Focus: If you run out of feats to take with Combat Style, the extra AC certainly doesn't hurt.
- Shield Slam: Pushing people away from you prevents them from full attacking you, but it also prevents you from full attacking them unless they move back into your reach.
- Two-Weapon Fighting: A key component of the shield and shield combat style.
- 6th Level
- Saving Shield: An amusing way to protect your squishy characters, but if they're close enough to require this, they probably should be flanking something with you.
- Shield Master: You get this feat faster than anyone else in the game, and you would be a fool not to take it. Immediately drop whatever pointy stick you were using as a weapon and get a second shield.
- 10th Level
- Bashing Finish: You probably won't be dealing a lot of critical hits since your shields are 20/x2.
- Greater Shield Focus: A +1 shield bonus to AC is terrible. Dodge is considerably better.