5E redefines a lot of major factors in terms of combat strategy. Today we're going to walk through some of the new effective strategies and discuss how to use them.
What we're not covering is tactics. Tactics are specific combinations of things you do in combat. If this specific scenario emerges, this is the thing to do. We might address that in another article.
First let's define a strategy. A strategy is basically your character's plan for taking out foes (creatures, NPCs, other hostiles) in combat without death taking you or the rest of your party. Let's divide this into two pieces -- doing damage and staying alive. We'll also talk about healing, how to use movement and terrain, and finally how to deal with weaknesses.
Many classes are full casters or at least partial casters, and are built to do damage with spells. Combat spells come in two flavors: spell attacks and saves vs damage. A good combination of the two is good; some foes will fair poorer against one or the other. Watch the weapon fighters to get a feel for the armor of the foe, and then choose. For spells that affect spaces rather than targets, have combinations of line and area effects. Being able to have smaller spaces increases their effectiveness. Maximize your casting stat to be able to hit more often and increase the save DC. Don't forget to increase your spell slot level to increase your damage. When you can't seem to hit or beat the save of a tough opponent, break out a high level Magic Missile. It requires no save and no attack to do damage.
Reckless attack is a huge deal in 5E, if you have damage resistance. Reckless attack makes hits happen more often. When combined with damage resistance, it guarantees that the other guys is going to take damage faster than you, and brings them down more quickly. Without damage resistance, reckless attack will hurry the result of the battle. Only use it without damage resistance when you are doing more damage than you are taking.
The most common saves in the game in combat are dexterity, wisdom, and constitution. It would be really good if you were proficient in at least one of these. Try to get inspiration dice or another magical effects to boost them when you know save spells are coming.
Your hit points are based on class and constitution modifier. For this reason, it is probably a bad idea to have a constitution score of less than 10, with 12 or higher preferred. The toughness feat can augment this too.
Damage resistance is a huge deal if you can get it. Barbarians get it for non-magical weapons, and it improves with Bear Totem. Dragonborn and other races may also have specific resistances that are situation specific.
Armor class is probably the biggest effect in staying alive. Armor class is based on the armor you wear, your dexterity, and possibly your constitution. Class features may also increase it. Generally 16 is a good minimum to shoot for if you are going to be in melee. 21 or higher will make you very hard to hit in combat. To get a good AC, buy the best armor you can wear, take feats to make it stealthy if you need to, and try not to dump dexterity unless you are going heavy armor. Dexterity helps with weapon attacks, saves, and AC, so it is king of the ability scores.
If you can't wear armor or can't wear good armor, you might be a caster. In this case, you need a good defensive spell. At lower spell levels I recommend Blur, because it is concentration. At higher levels, Greater Invisibility is a good step up, because it also stays up with concentration in combat. Also, don't forget casting Mage Armor to get that AC up in addition to other defensive strategies. A first level of cleric can also get a caster into a breast plate and add some cantrips, if you don't mind the multiclass.
Other classes may need to defend themselves by hiding, staying out of melee, and using cover. All of these are good strategies in the general, but when a hidden enemy appears unexpectedly, you can die if you don't have a backup plan. Don't skimp on your other defenses because you are sneaky.
Moving around in combat has been freed up a lot in 5E, and their are new options. If there is one areas where everything changed in 5E, this is it. Movement allows you to do a lot of useful things.
First movement, allows you to take multiple attacks and hit multiple foes. This, unfortunately is a trap. The most effective way to take down enemies is one at a time, because enemies deal full damage until they are dead. Two half-dead enemies are doing full damage, when 1 healthy and 1 dead enemy do half as much. Focus your damage on targets where possible. Move on when your target is dead.
Movement also allows you to open / block lines of sight and give sneak attack opportunities. When in combat, keep within 5 ft of enemies that sneak attackers are targeting so they get sneak. Get out of the line of sight of your casters and ranged attackers. Block the line of sight of enemy casters. This can all be done while staying in the attack range of whatever enemy you are engaging.
If you have cunning action, use it every round that your don't have a bonus action. Disengage as a bonus action allows you to hit and run a target while keeping out of the middle of getting attacked. This works especially well if you are hasted or have a significant movement speed. Casters can do similar things with Misty Step, so use it similarly when you can.
Terrain is the turner of tides in battles. Use terrain to hang up melee attackers so you can hit them with ranged. Use terrain to block ranged attackers. Use terrain to get advantage or give opponents disadvantage. Use terrain as a weapon, by pushing foes into lava or off a cliff. Also, combine movement and terrain to double the effectiveness of your normal movement strategies.
Weaknesses
Every hero has a weakness. The dumb barbarian might be easily persuaded to believe stupid things by enemies. The sorcerer may be so squishy that he can't take being hit. The ranger may only be effective at dealing damage at a distance. Play your character to minimize the effect of your weakness. As you level up, attempt to address your weakness. In the end, realize that what makes a hero is succeeding in spite of your weaknesses.
Have more fun gaming!
What we're not covering is tactics. Tactics are specific combinations of things you do in combat. If this specific scenario emerges, this is the thing to do. We might address that in another article.
First let's define a strategy. A strategy is basically your character's plan for taking out foes (creatures, NPCs, other hostiles) in combat without death taking you or the rest of your party. Let's divide this into two pieces -- doing damage and staying alive. We'll also talk about healing, how to use movement and terrain, and finally how to deal with weaknesses.
Doing Damage
Every class has a number of ways to do damage. Melee and ranged weapon combat can now be strength or dexterity based, so pick one and use it for both, or use a combination, if you have a good reason for doing so. Doing effective damage means hitting, getting through the foes armor and damage resistances, and whittling away at those precious hitpoints. To do this, optimize your attack and damage stat, use terrain, hiding, and class features to get advantage, and then unleash your wrath. Where possible, use your bonus action every round to increase you attack or increase your damage. Feats can do a lot to augment weapon attacks, so read up on them.Many classes are full casters or at least partial casters, and are built to do damage with spells. Combat spells come in two flavors: spell attacks and saves vs damage. A good combination of the two is good; some foes will fair poorer against one or the other. Watch the weapon fighters to get a feel for the armor of the foe, and then choose. For spells that affect spaces rather than targets, have combinations of line and area effects. Being able to have smaller spaces increases their effectiveness. Maximize your casting stat to be able to hit more often and increase the save DC. Don't forget to increase your spell slot level to increase your damage. When you can't seem to hit or beat the save of a tough opponent, break out a high level Magic Missile. It requires no save and no attack to do damage.
Reckless attack is a huge deal in 5E, if you have damage resistance. Reckless attack makes hits happen more often. When combined with damage resistance, it guarantees that the other guys is going to take damage faster than you, and brings them down more quickly. Without damage resistance, reckless attack will hurry the result of the battle. Only use it without damage resistance when you are doing more damage than you are taking.
Special Attacks
Sometimes doing damage can be replaced with special attacks like grappling or shoving. These special attacks can be a trap too, because they feel cool, but may not help with staying alive or doing damage.
Grappling is really good if you can push a target prone and hold them there. However, keep in mind that it uses a free hand, so you are losing the chance at an attack or a shield. In addition, your strength (athletics) check can be opposed by either strength(athletics) or dexterity(acrobatics) so your target has a good chance of getting out of it. I still recommend looking at grapple, especially if your character is strength-based or a goliath. If your DM is as cool as me, he might even let the you wield any grappled target you can lift as an improvised weapon.
Shoving is handy to use with terrain, as is discussed in the terrain section. If you feel like shoving might be a good thing to use quite often in game, definitely take a look at the action options in the DMG, and see if your DM will let you use them. They drastically improve shove, and open up some other better options in certain cases.
Staying Alive
You have several things keeping you alive: your hit points, your armor, your damage resistance, and your saves. If your strategy is to stay alive, these things need to be decent.The most common saves in the game in combat are dexterity, wisdom, and constitution. It would be really good if you were proficient in at least one of these. Try to get inspiration dice or another magical effects to boost them when you know save spells are coming.
Your hit points are based on class and constitution modifier. For this reason, it is probably a bad idea to have a constitution score of less than 10, with 12 or higher preferred. The toughness feat can augment this too.
Damage resistance is a huge deal if you can get it. Barbarians get it for non-magical weapons, and it improves with Bear Totem. Dragonborn and other races may also have specific resistances that are situation specific.
Armor class is probably the biggest effect in staying alive. Armor class is based on the armor you wear, your dexterity, and possibly your constitution. Class features may also increase it. Generally 16 is a good minimum to shoot for if you are going to be in melee. 21 or higher will make you very hard to hit in combat. To get a good AC, buy the best armor you can wear, take feats to make it stealthy if you need to, and try not to dump dexterity unless you are going heavy armor. Dexterity helps with weapon attacks, saves, and AC, so it is king of the ability scores.
If you can't wear armor or can't wear good armor, you might be a caster. In this case, you need a good defensive spell. At lower spell levels I recommend Blur, because it is concentration. At higher levels, Greater Invisibility is a good step up, because it also stays up with concentration in combat. Also, don't forget casting Mage Armor to get that AC up in addition to other defensive strategies. A first level of cleric can also get a caster into a breast plate and add some cantrips, if you don't mind the multiclass.
Other classes may need to defend themselves by hiding, staying out of melee, and using cover. All of these are good strategies in the general, but when a hidden enemy appears unexpectedly, you can die if you don't have a backup plan. Don't skimp on your other defenses because you are sneaky.
Healing
Healing is that magic patch to the AC problem that never works as well as you would like. The bottom line is that if you have poor defenses, healing cannot keep up with the HP loss you will incur in game. Healing is almost always limited to a temporary extension of your life in combat, perhaps to finish off a foe or two. Because healing with a potion and many spells takes an action, it stops your damage dealing for a round. Much better options are those that use a bonus action. Healing Word is very good in combat at lower levels for this reason.Movement and Terrain
First movement, allows you to take multiple attacks and hit multiple foes. This, unfortunately is a trap. The most effective way to take down enemies is one at a time, because enemies deal full damage until they are dead. Two half-dead enemies are doing full damage, when 1 healthy and 1 dead enemy do half as much. Focus your damage on targets where possible. Move on when your target is dead.
Movement also allows you to open / block lines of sight and give sneak attack opportunities. When in combat, keep within 5 ft of enemies that sneak attackers are targeting so they get sneak. Get out of the line of sight of your casters and ranged attackers. Block the line of sight of enemy casters. This can all be done while staying in the attack range of whatever enemy you are engaging.
If you have cunning action, use it every round that your don't have a bonus action. Disengage as a bonus action allows you to hit and run a target while keeping out of the middle of getting attacked. This works especially well if you are hasted or have a significant movement speed. Casters can do similar things with Misty Step, so use it similarly when you can.
Terrain is the turner of tides in battles. Use terrain to hang up melee attackers so you can hit them with ranged. Use terrain to block ranged attackers. Use terrain to get advantage or give opponents disadvantage. Use terrain as a weapon, by pushing foes into lava or off a cliff. Also, combine movement and terrain to double the effectiveness of your normal movement strategies.
Weaknesses
Every hero has a weakness. The dumb barbarian might be easily persuaded to believe stupid things by enemies. The sorcerer may be so squishy that he can't take being hit. The ranger may only be effective at dealing damage at a distance. Play your character to minimize the effect of your weakness. As you level up, attempt to address your weakness. In the end, realize that what makes a hero is succeeding in spite of your weaknesses.
In Conclusion
We didn't cover everything here, but hopefully this is a solid introduction that gets you thinking about combat strategies. Combat strategies are not the most important thing in the game, but they can turn a bland character into a cool character in a hurry. Nothing written here is going to be perfect for every character, so take what you can use, and leave the rest behind, and...Have more fun gaming!
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