Elven Accuracy 5e
Published on March 12, 2022, Last modified on October 9th, 2022
Eleven Accuracy is a racial feat that is meant to provide elf characters with the legendary accuracy elves are known for. Which builds make the best of the feat? Find out here.
Chris Rahn - Wizards of the Coast - Llanowar Elves
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Learn more. What Is Elven Accuracy 5e?
Elves have always been associated with impressive eyes and accuracy. The scenes of Legolas firing perfect arrows again and again in Helm’s Deep are core memories in my brain since that was the first Elf I ever saw on the big screen.
While elves are a little more accurate in D&D 5e compared to other classes, this only extends to Dexterity. However, the optional feat Elven Accuracy from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything brings those elven eyes to a new level.
How Does Elven Accuracy Work?
You can only pick this feat if your character is an elf or half-elf. If you are, you may gain this feat, which offers these bonuses:
- You can increase your Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma by one, but you are still capped at 20.
- Whenever you have advantage with an attack roll that uses one of those stats, you may reroll one of the d20 rolls, but only once per attack.
Is Elven Accuracy Good?
In our 5e Feats Tier List, Elven Accuracy was given an A Tier rating, making it an excellent pickup for specific classes.
Offering an ASI to DEX, INT, WIS, or CHA is solid and gaining “super advantage” on attacks that you have advantage on is really neat.
This ability has a huge range of utility because its benefits can be applied to DEX, INT, WIS, or CHA but, more often than not, it will be a DEX build that takes this feat. Because of DEX build’s inherent sneakiness, they will be able to get advantage on attacks more often than other characters. This feature makes it so hitting is all but certain and crits are all the more likely.
Which 5e Classes Make the Most of Elven Accuracy?
The color code below has been implemented to help you identify, at a glance, how good the Elven Accuracy 5e feat is for a specific class/subclass.
- Red isn’t going to contribute to the effectiveness of your character build at all
- Orange Situationally good, but a below-average option otherwise
- Green is a good option
- Blue is a great option, you should strongly consider this option for your character
- Sky Blue is an amazing option. If you do not take this option your character would not be optimized
Elven Accuracy is best on builds that:
- Have a reliable, repeatable way to get advantage on the attack roll they want.
- Ideally are either CHA or DEX-based, thanks to some number crunching by Reddit user SnaleKing.
Artificer: Artificer is a very versatile class, so it’s hard to say whether or not this will make a substantial impact. Artificers will more often than not be using their INT for attack rolls, so this can work with just about any build. Unfortunately, none of the builds have a reliable way to get advantage which makes this feat subpar.
Barbarian: You won’t be able to benefit from this at all since barbarians don’t typically use any of the stats associated with this feat. Dex barbarians are not worth the effort at all.
Bard: Bards typically are a mix of spellcasting and ranged attacks so that they can benefit from this feat some of the time. That said, this feat is far from a must-have.
Cleric: This feat focuses on damage dealing and attacks, something most Domains aren’t too concerned about. Unfortunately, for the Domains that want to be attacking, they’re usually melee Strength builds, which this feat doesn’t support.
Druid: While you may not get the maximum benefit of this feat, spellcasting druids can make use of it. Circle of the Shepherd druids that use the Hawk Spirit totem can abuse this feat by trading their reaction for advantage on attack rolls.
Fighter: Dex fighters can be absurd, and this feat makes it even more so. With the number of attacks you get, this can easily get out of hand quickly if you can find some way to gain advantage. Samurai subclasses are probably the best for this, as they can use their Fighting Spirit ability for repeatable advantage three times a day.
Monk: Similar to fighters, Dex-based Monks can get some good use out of this. However, they will struggle to get consistent advantage rolls.
Paladin: You can definitely pick up this feat if you want to go with a Dex paladin. You’ll be best off going as an Oath of Vengeance paladin since you can get easy advantage with your Channel Divinity.
Ranger: Dex is essential for most rangers, which works with this feat. While subclasses outside of Beast Master may not get a lot of advantage, you can at least get plenty of use when it does come up.
Rogue: Most rogues will want to pick this up if they want to play as an elf. They have tons of ways to get advantage, especially with the Steady Aim optional rule. And paired with Sneak Attacks; Elven Accuracy can be monstrous. Arcane Tricksters, Assassins, Inquisitives, Scouts, and Swashbucklers also all get extra features to achieve a near constant stream of attacks with advantage.
Sorcerer: Being a CHA caster means you'll get some good use from this feat if you use spell attacks and can get advantage. Wild Magic Sorcerers are the only subclass with repeatable advantage, but it relies entirely on your DM for multiple uses at the end of the day.
Warlock: If you wanna sling eldritch blast with triple advantage, you might want this. The best way to do this is by picking Pact of the Chain and using your familiar to give you the Help action every turn, so you always have advantage. Keep in mind, this will only get you advantage on the first beam you shoot, not any subsequent beams.
Wizard: Wizards have access to plenty of spell attacks but don't have any features to grant them advantage. I suggest picking some more relevant feats over this, like Magic Initiate.
Elven Accuracy 5e FAQs
How much damage does Elven Accuracy add?
Rolling 3d20 over 2d20 will help with not only landing attacks but with critting on your attacks, both of which will substantially up your damage. The extra d20 increases your overall crit chance by around 14%, which is a big jump from the base chance of 5%.
What are the best ways to activate Elven Accuracy?
You always want a way to get advantage to get the most out of this feat. Here are a few common ways to get advantage on your attacks: Having a pet or familiar use the Help action (Pact of the Chain, Beastmaster Rangers, etc.), using the Optional rule for Flanking, Versatile Trickster ( Arcane Trickster rogues’ level 13 ability), Fighting Spirit ( Samurai Fighters ability).
Conclusion
Elves are known in fantasy for having an impeccable aim, and this feat makes them a little more than your typical adventurer. While it may seem strange on paper, this feat is stellar if you can find an easy way to gain advantage on your attacks.
How do you feel about Elven Accuracy? Do you feel like it’s too strong with certain classes? Let us know in the comments below!
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Jeff Nabors
Jeff Nabors has been playing D&D ever since he stumbled upon the 3.5E core books in his high school library. When he isn’t running a campaign or designing a game, you can find him on Twitch, writing about game design, or staring off into the endless abyss.
I would make a slight edit to the wizard section about bladesingers as this would be perfect for them mechanically and thematically. I would probably give that subclass the blue tier rating.
I gave the Bladesinger a look over but couldn’t much that would imply they would be able to generate advantage on attacks to make the most of Elven Accuracy’s prime ability, beyond greater invisibility which would be a pretty high resource investment for this feat.