Sentinel 5E | DnD 5E Sentinel Feat Guide
For those who like to indulge themselves with an occasional (or regular) dose of Dungeons and Dragons, they would have inevitably come across the 5E Sentinel which is among the many D&D 5e core feats. The Sentinel 5E is a rather interesting match-up in a game that offers enchantments and magical spells.
It is important to remember that a martial build is not solely about the class, but feats are an essential component of it, as well. If used judiciously, they play an integral role in doling out extensive damage. If you like to showcase your attacking prowess, there’s no feat better than the DnD 5E Sentinel.
D&D 5E Sentinel Feat Explained
First off, let’s see what the Player’s Handbook has to say about the 5E Sentinel feat:
You have mastered techniques to take advantage of every drop in any enemy’s guard, gaining the following benefits.
- When you hit a creature with an opportunity attack, the creature’s speed becomes 0 for the rest of the turn.
- Creatures provoke opportunity attacks from you even if they take the Disengage action before leaving your reach.
- When a creature within 5 feet of you makes an attack against a target other than you (and that target doesn’t have this feat), you can use your reaction to make a melee weapon attack against the attacking creature.
Simply put, the 5E Sentinel feat lets you become a vigilant combatant who can be in complete control of their surroundings at all times. It will reward you with an added ability to take increased attacks of opportunity, reaction attacks, and even let you immobilize targets who try sneaking past your grasp.
Here’s what you need to know about the D&D 5E Sentinel feat: it is divided into 3 parts. Let’s understand one part at a time:
Ability 1 reduces a target’s speed to downright 0 when your character hits them with an opportunity attack. For those who don’t know, opportunity attacks will be triggered when a hostile target within your eyesight moves out of your reach. Typically, your reach would be 5 feet. In that case, if your target moves out of that range, you can make an attack of opportunity, and they would find themselves unable to move as long as their turn lasts. This means that you can potentially shield your allies from a fatal incoming attack, stop your target on their way, and sneak an extra attack right in.
Ability 2 lets you employ opportunity attacks on targets who have already used the disengage action before leaving your character’s reach. That’s an advantage when the very purpose of a disengage action to shield targets from opportunity attacks is considered. With the DnD 5E Sentinel feat, you can make opportunity attacks as long as the target is within your eyesight. There are only a few scenarios where you will find yourself at a disadvantage: for instance, if your target teleports somewhere else or is moved elsewhere by an external force when they leave their reach, they will still remain safe. Roll high enough and hit their AC, and you are out of harm’s way!
The most interesting one of the lot, ability 3, primarily addresses the instance of a creature attacking a target. It has no relation to the range and reach of the target. It solely deals with your character reacting to an attack. Note that you can only employ this attack if the creature does not boast the same 5E Sentinel feat.
Which Class Should Use The Sentinel 5e Feat?
If you are building your character from the ground up, it helps to know which classes would benefit the most from the D&D Sentinel feat. It’s important to note that opportunity attacks are essentially melee attacks, so builds that would employ this feat are mostly going to be melee combatants. Let’s take a look at the 3 classes that would benefit from the 5E Sentinel feat:
1. Fighters
If your character is a Fighter, you will get access to 7 ASIs over the total course of your level progression. This means that you would find it comparatively easier to improve your AC while simultaneously picking up a decent number of feats. To paint a realistic picture, the fighter class can pick up nearly 4 feats by the time they go up to the 20th level.
With the D&D Sentinel feat, your Fighter character will get better at letting off attacks. You will mostly need to make an attack- not necessarily on your turn – so a battle master’s maneuvers might come in handy. So, keeping a foe within your grasp till your turn means having the ability to attack them as much as your character wants to.
2. Rogue
The relationship between the Rogue class and the D&D Sentinel feat is an interesting one. If your character is a Rogue, you will quite possibly dread ever facing this feat. However, when the tables are turned, and you get to pick up the DnD 5E Sentinel feat, it could benefit your gameplay immensely.
Look at it this way: sneak attacks will not need to happen on your character’s turn. The sneak attack ability’s frequency clause dictates that one can deal the added damage only once per round. Given that you do meet the criteria, your character can employ the D&D 5E Sentinel feat while still dealing some added hefty damage.
3. Monk
A Monk’s dexterity and swiftness allow them to prance around the battlefield, but even without movements, they are great at taking control of a situation. Their ability to stun a target after hitting them with a melee weapon attack, when clubbed with the D&D Sentinel feat, works wonders in disabling the target.
Yet another great feature to complement the Sentinel feat is the drunken master’s ability to redirect attacks instead of synergizing with it swiftly. The ability to create an arsenal of what you can do on your target’s turn is a great way to remain active in a combat situation.
Note: You can also combine the Sentinel Feat with another feat such as the Polearm Master to get the most out of this feat.
4. Barbarian
Barbarian class is perfect for sentinel 5e feat because What’s better than raging all over the enemies on the battlefield? Sentinel 5e reduces the options of enemies in your vicinity by restricting enemies movement and punishing enemies for trying to move away or attack someone else. The enemy not being able to go anywhere and being able to hit them off a reaction, which barbarians rarely use. Sentinel 5e is a good feat to add to a class that likes to hit, hit, and hit.
Conclusion
Simply put, the efficacy of the D&D 5E Sentinel feat depends primarily on your character’s build. If you know your character’s strengths and weaknesses, you can make an informed decision as to whether the D&D Sentinel is the right feat for you. Knowing all about the feat is the first step in the right direction. This will hopefully provide a clear idea of the D&D Sentinel feat. Happy questing!
