D4 Hot Takes: Vital Strike

 D4's Hot Takes: Why Vital Strike is the Best Feat For Your Cleric


     Alright, I should probably clear the title up a bit. You might be asking a lot of questions, such as "What is Vital Strike?" and "Why take that feat on Clerics?" Well, let me explain.

      Vital Strike, Improved Vital Strike, and Greater Vital Strike is a line of feats that let you trade your extra attacks for extra damage on your singular swing. Each feat in the line adds to the multiplier of dice you get for your single attack. Vital Strike doubles the dice, Improved Vital Strike triples the dice, and Greater Vital Strike quadruples the dice. Now, unfortunately, Cleric (and any class with a 3/4 Base Attack Bonus Progression) will never be able to access that last feat, but that's okay. The main draw of taking Vital Strike is allowing us freedom of our move action while also allowing us to deal damage. When you play a typical Cleric, you'll be on the front lines soaking up damage and releasing a spell every couple of turns. When you take Vital Strike at 9th level, you can really start contributing to damage dealing. Most classes need their full turn to make all their attacks, which means they can only take a 5ft step and are generally out in the open. But with Vital Strike, you can swing and move to your heart's content! 

     Let's take an average situation at 9th level. Your Cleric has a +2 Morning Star for a weapon, and the Fighter has a +2 Longsword. Sure, the Fighter will hit more often. But even with a 22 Strength, the Fighter is dealing 1d8+8 per swing (barring features). If your Cleric only has an 18 Strength, they'll be doing 2d8+6 per attack. If the Fighter wants to match you, he has to be standing next to an opponent the whole time. Meanwhile, if you have spells or other features that only require a move action, you can use those in the same turn you make your big attack.

In any case, thank you for reading! I hope this guide was useful for your next game of Pathfinder!

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