Mobile Feat 5e Guide

Dungeons and Dragons are home to many facets that can improve characterization and customization. With the primary classes, their subclass features, and other feats, there are so many options that having the same build is a coincidence. So when it comes to making a character, you can come up with anything and still have something special. 

I have made dozens of builds in my decade of experience playing and running Dungeons and Dragons. From level one to level twenty, I have created characters that take specific paths to find magic items and gain classes to make the most optimized and funniest build. 

Of course, this needs knowledge on how the mechanics and interactions between abilities work when it comes to the more complicated combos. Let’s kick off our Mobile Feat 5e guide and look into one of the more used feats in DnD.

What it does

“You are exceptionally speedy and agile. You gain the following benefits:

• Your speed increases by 10 feet
• Difficult terrain doesn’t cost you extra movement on your turn when you use the Dash action. 
• When you make a melee attack against a creature, you don’t provoke an opportunity attack from that creature for the rest of the turn. “ 

Page 168, PHB. 

To summarize, it increases your movement speed, encourages you to use your dash action to get closer to an enemy through all terrain, and protects you while attacking in and out of melee range. 

When can you get a feat?

You can get this feat whenever you gain an Ability Score Improvement (ASI) or if you have chosen the Variant Human as your race. Occasionally, your Dm may award you feats in the forms of boons or blessings.  

As a Variant Human, you get fewer stats than regular humans, half of them. So in return for getting two +1s in your stat line, you can get a feat. This is not limited to any feat so long as you can meet the prerequisite; for example, you can learn Tough or Mobile, but you cannot learn Dragon Wings or Bountiful Luck. 

The other method is through ASI. Some classes get more ASI than others as a method to balance how powerful they are. Fighters and Rogues are the two classes with the most amount of ASI. Here are the classes, when they receive an ASI, and how many they get. 

Most classes get five ASI, so you must balance what you use on feats with upgrading your stats. While some items can boost specific stats, they usually take up attunement slots that you might need for more combat-effective items. 

While it might seem like taking a lot of feats on a Fighter or Rogue may seem like the best idea, they want a good balance of stats due to their reliance on physically hitting the target to do damage. Let’s look at what classes take feats, what feats they can default to, and if they work well with Mobile.  

Class Feats vs Mobile

Here we will look at them without considering their subclasses. It will be an observation based on what the class is typically meant to do, paired with what feats best work with that class identity versus the Mobile Feat.  

Artificer

As an Intelligence based casting class, you want to maximize that stat as soon as possible, so many feats will add to Intelligence somehow. Additionally, as a half-caster who can armor up while still maintaining the option to spellsling, there are many ways for you to choose how you want your Artificer to turn out. 

Here are two feats that will always work with any Artificer.

• Fey-touched: This feat gives you +1 to Intelligence, the spell Misty Step, and one other 1st level spell. The spells do not cost slots but come at one charge daily, and this dramatically opens options for you since you are a half-caster. 
• Shadow-touched: Another +1 to Intelligence paired with spell casting, but this time it is Invisibility and another 1st level spell. The same caveat as once per day, this time, rather than having an instant escape, you get set up and the option to cast it on someone else. 

So let’s compare this to Mobile. Moving fast is excellent, but as a half-caster, you do not necessarily need to move that much as, more often than not, everything is within your spell casting range. While escaping from melee range sounds good on paper, you have to hit the enemy with a melee attack which is excellent for the Armorer subclass but not for the class as a whole. 

Overall I would not take it on this class as you will not use the benefits often. 

Barbarian

Barbarians depend on multiple ability scores, Strength for their two-handed weapons, Dexterity for their Unarmored Defense, and Constitution for health. They have the role of both soaking up damage and dishing it out. There are many builds for Barbarians but for their feats, here are the two that I find are taken more often. 

• Crusher/Slasher: Depending on the weapon the Barbarian uses, they usually take one of these feats. Crusher is for bludgeoning weapons like warhammers, while slasher is for slashing weapons like greatsword or axes. Both give +1 to Strength and have additional effects on hit and a critical hit. For Crusher, it is to move the enemy back 5 feet, and on a crit, they make any attack rolls against the target have an advantage for the round. Slasher reduces their movement speed by 10 feet on hit, and a crit makes the enemy attack with disadvantage for the round.  
• Tough: This goes on any barbarian as it gives you two maximum HP for every level you have. This gives you that extra staying power equivalent to increasing your Constitution stat. This pairs well with maxing out your Constitution to have the highest health pool among the party. It makes you the tank that never dies. 

Comparatively, Mobile is good on a Barbarian but is not the best. Moving fast is a great benefit since it lets you get into range to attack the enemy and begin hampering them from reaching your party but using a feat for 1/3rd of its capability is not worth it. One can argue that you can use the attack and get away feature of it, but you would rather stay in the fight than get out of it. 

Bard

Bards are Charisma casters with a spell pool of supporting and the occasional damaging spells. They can weave in and out of combat to cast their spells but might get caught in the melee, and some of their subclasses even function better when in melee range. 

Here are two feats that do not account for subclass features. Yes, Mobile would be one of them. 

• Mobile: It’s excellent on this class, partially due to the College of Swords Bard, but primarily due to their smaller range compared to other casters. They may need that bonus movement speed to get in and out of range for both their allies and enemies; additionally, they need to use a melee weapon at least for the early game as they do not have access to strong damaging spells and cantrips early on.  Since Bards are still a full-caster class, they want the feat to get out of melee range after attacking, still being effective in combat while keeping yourself relatively safe from harm. 
• Actor: This gives a +1 to Charisma, allows Bards to mimic voices and sounds, and gives them an advantage to persuasion and deception checks when impersonating another creature. This gives your bard plenty of out-of-combat opportunities to maneuver around social events or avoid combat entirely. 

Cleric

Clerics are Wisdom casters with the role of healing and mitigating the damage done to their team. With the newer subclasses mitigating damage through various means, including dealing damage, a lot of feats that Clerics take assist in that endeavor. 

• Gift of the Gem Dragon: This feat allows you to get a +1 in either Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma; on top of that, if you get hit by a creature within 10 feet of you, you can use your reaction to push them back forcing a Strength saving throw against your spell save DC, failing it deals 2d8 force damage and pushes them 10 feet away from you. You can only use this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus. This is great because Clerics do not have many options for their reaction. On top of that, it even increases their primary stat. 
• Metamagic Adept: This lets you learn two metamagic options and gain two sorcery points to spend for them. They restore on a long rest. You can essentially empower your evocation spells or do twice the healing with a single spell. As a full-caster, this feat makes your spells much more impactful in the game in different ways if you choose the correct options. 

Compared to Mobile feat, Clerics want more spell casting and stat benefits. So going fast would not be used. On top of that, they do not want to use their action to melee attack if possible, as they would much instead use it to cast a cantrip or a spell. So Mobile is not used with this class. 

Druid

This is another Wisdom-based caster. However, their role in the party is highly dependent on what circle they take. It can range from tank to damage to supporting. So here are a few feats that any druid could take; remember that specific builds usually will not take these as the first choice but around third instead. 

• Telepathic: On top of a +1 to a mental stat of your choosing. This feat allows you to communicate telepathically with any creature you can see within 60 feet of you. The restriction is that you two must share a language. It solves the problem of wild shaping, wherein you cannot communicate with your party as you are in an animal form. It even lets you cast detect thought for free once a long rest and lets you use a second-level slot to cast it even if it is not in your spell pool. 
• War Caster: Plenty of Druid spells are concentration, so having an advantage on concentration saving throw ensures that your more powerful spells continue past the damage you take. Druids also get spell casting while wildshaped later on, making casting a spell as an opportunity attack much more potent as a bear who can create tidal waves. 

While Mobile is strong, Druids do not need the increased speed as taking on a wild shape would fix that for them. Additionally, they want to maintain concentration most of the time so they would avoid taking direct damage or tanking for the party. 

Fighter

So, Fighters suit their name well because their central role is to fight and deal damage. They choose between Strength or Dexterity, then take some points into Constitution to stay in the fight. 

• Mage Slayer: As a class with no spell casting, it’s great that this feat allows you to interact with spell casters; as a reaction, you can strike at anyone casting a spell within 5 feet of you. If you hit, they have a disadvantage on their concentration saving throw if they are concentrating on a spell. It also gives you an advantage on saving throws against spells within 5 ft of you. 
• Martial Adept: This adds two maneuvers from the Battlemaster subclass to your repertoire and gives you one superiority die to use either with. As a Fighter, this is the versatility you need to impact the battlefield more than just hitting things. If you took Battlemaster, you gain an additional die to expend and two more choices for you to use when the time is right. 

Mobile is a consideration for fighters since they want to get to the enemy as fast as possible. However, I would put these over Mobile because I see them used more often than Mobile. Since Fighters have the most ASI in the game, taking Mobile 3rd would still be effective on any Fighter.   

Monk

Sadly, since Monks use three different stats, Dexterity, Constitution, and Wisdom, it is rare for them to get feats as those need to be highly impactful. So I cannot list any general feats that affect the Monk class, but here are a few feats I see due to famous Monk builds. 

• Mobile: While Monks already get increased movement speed from their unarmored movement ability, getting more movement speed and the ability to weave between enemies is mighty as you can attack multiple enemies as you run through them. Additionally, step of the wind activates the third part of Mobile, so you can even ignore difficult terrain as a bonus action instead of an action. 
• Crusher: Since fists are the primary monk weapon, getting a +1 to Strength or Dexterity is a huge boon. Since every attack activates the 5-foot push, you can move an enemy into a favorable spot for your team. Crits make your attacks even more lethal since it lets everyone attacking the creature roll with an advantage. 

Paladin

Paladins also need three stats to function, so they usually do not take many feats. However, unlike Monk, they still are effective attackers if they drop one of the three stats as they use armor. Here are a few feats that I often see on Paladin players. 

• Inspiring Leader: This gives you and up to six others around half or a third of your health in temporary HP. While it does have a ten-minute setup time, free health every short or long rest keeps the party alive. 
• Great Weapon Master: For most two-handed weapon users, they take this feat. It gives them +10 to damage if they take a -5 to hit. Additionally, if they reduce a creature’s health to zero or score a critical hit with a melee attack, they can make an additional melee attack using their bonus action. 

Mobile is good, but when the Paladin has Find Steed in their spell list, they do not need to go faster as their mount controls their movement. 

Ranger

Rangers are usually played either in melee or range, so they take different feats. They are Dexterity fighters, yet somehow each subclass prioritizes a different mechanic in the game, making feats even more challenging to choose from. Here are the ones that I encounter most often.  

• Mobile: I do not often encounter full high-leveled Rangers, but when I do, it is usually with this feat. Gloomstalkers seem popular, and with this feat, I can see why. Moving as fast as a Monk along with great attacking and repositioning leads to an efficient assassin. 
• Sharpshooter:  The go-to ranged option for most other Rangers. Usually, they take this as long as they are not a melee build, and it is the ranged equivalent of Great Weapon Master, and it lets them ignore all but full cover. 

Rogue

Rogues are Dexterity-based assassins. With their sneak attack and various tools to get in, deal damage, and get out, they take feats that generally help them do just that.

• Alert: Getting a +5 to passive perception and investigation is big but not getting surprised is what they are looking for. It ensures that only they can get the drop on somebody, not the other way around. 
• Mobile: If Monks have step of the wind, Rogues have cunning actions, so as a bonus action, they can ignore difficult terrain while dashing. They can only attack once a turn, so they can only prevent one enemy from attacking them with an opportunity attack. However, with that increased movement speed, they most likely would only be attacked by one person. 

Sorcerer

Sorcerers are Charisma casters; as such, they are usually the Face of the party and the ones blowing everything up with magic. Since they cannot switch their spells easily, they typically come into the game with a specific build. So these feats are the ones they take to improve on their build. 

• Elemental Adept: This allows them to choose an elemental damage type and ignore any creature’s resistance to that element. It also ensures that any damage rolled cannot be a one and will turn it into a two. This applies to spells only.
• Metamagic Adept: This is mainly for getting two more sorcery points in your pool to use for your metamagics. You cannot turn it into spell slots like the class feature, but it is still more options to use. 

Mobile is not that great since, as a full-caster with long-range, you want to be raining attacks down from as far as possible. While the movement speed is excellent, it’s nothing compared to the raw damage you can deal.

Warlock

Another Charisma caster but with a twist, they only have up to four spells a day. Pair that with a class-defining subclass Hexblade and people have come up with many builds for Warlock to use. Here are the feats that apply to most builds. 

• Inspiring Leader: Since temporary HP does not stack with other sources, it’s a great pool of health to cushion damage before restoring it using other means. So long as another party member does not have this feat, it’s potent as it gives roughly one-third of a character’s health in temporary HP. 
• Spell Sniper: Doubling spell range and ignoring cover is excellent since your main attack is the cantrip Eldritch Blast. It is primarily due to the eldritch sniper build that allows for attacks from 1000ft away, so if your DM is ok with that, then this build is insane. 

Mobile would work on a Hexblade as they enter melee but are still as vulnerable as a regular caster. Since Hexblade is only one subclass out of a dozen, I did not put Mobile on the list. 

Wizard

Wizards are Intelligence casters who boast the most spells in their list. Due to that, they can build in a few different ways, but most if not all Wizard builds I have seen built to further their versatility. Here are a few feats that allow them to do so. 

• Eldritch Adept: There are plenty of invocations that make your spells more potent, or you can go with the classic Devil’s Sight + Darkness spell combo. 
• Metamagic Adept: Twinning spells or making them faster, metamagics naturally make any spell caster better. So this is equivalent to multiclassing into Sorcerer without the level investment. 

Funny how the best feats for Wizards are taking other spellcaster’s class abilities. Aside from that, Wizards are not known for moving fast; in that vein, they can use spells to move around the field instead of walking and taking opportunity attacks. 

What makes it good

So with all of this in mind, you might ask why to take this feat over the dozens of others available. This feat is powerful due to the avoidance of opportunity attacks and the increased movement speed. It allows you to force the enemy to use their actions for dashing, letting you hit and run. Maybe you need to escape a fight or get through a winding map, and the increased speed assists you there. It even says “speed” and not natural or walking, so it also increases your flight or swim speed. 

On the other hand, avoiding opportunity attacks makes it much easier to get to the enemy’s backline. You can spend an attack tagging the frontline while dashing towards the back unimpeded. 

Lastly, the ability to ignore difficult terrain is powerful at the earlier levels when there is no easy way around them. Even in later levels, if you do not fly over terrain running over them works just as well. 

Combos

Mobile and Charger

These feats together allow you to charge in and hit an opponent for massive damage, then get out without provoking an attack. It’s a simple combo but surprisingly effective when paired with a Paladin or Fighter who can add things to their attack action, such as smite or maneuvers. 

Taunting + Mobile

This can be from Swashbuckler’s panache, Fighter’s goading attack, or even Barbarian’s ancestral protectors. You make the enemy attack you or everyone else with disadvantage while you get away scot-free and watch as they have to choose between probably missing your allies or chasing you down. 

Flight + Mobile

I would not recommend this early on, but with your movement speed and how falling works, you could fly up to 200ft and fall instantly, landing on one massive enemy or boss. Technically both you and the enemy take 20d6 falling damage, and it does a tremendous amount, especially early on, and it just tends to kill the user as well. 

FAQ

Conclusion

Mobile is a powerful feat for specific characters and better than average on others. It is something worth considering early on in the game while also being the cherry on top of a nearly finished build. The ability to ignore difficult terrain, avoid attacks of opportunity, and increase movement speed makes this a worthwhile investment for movement-based characters.

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Conrad Chan

Conrad started D&D right before 5th edition and quickly transitioned into it upon hearing about how easy it was to catch games and modules. Soon after he turned into a Dungeon Master, trying to understand the intricate rulings and behind the screen works into making a campaign. Now he wants to share what he has learned, from guides to mechanics. Characters, campaigns and Minmaxing are all on the table.

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