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Additionally, discover the top synergies and effective strategies to maximize this combat-centric feat.
If you play a D&D character skilled with devastating weapons that can crush their foes, you may wonder if the Crusher feat is the right choice. Look no further! Crusher is a feat from the Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything sourcebook, offering a +1 boost to your ability score while allowing you to push enemies after an attack and gain advantage after landing a critical hit. This detailed guide will dive into the benefits of the Crusher feat and explore which classes can fully take advantage of it in D&D 5e.
Crusher Feat Overview in DnD 5e
Crusher provides a +1 bonus to either your Strength or Constitution score. It also allows you to push an enemy 5 feet into an unoccupied space after dealing bludgeoning damage once per turn. Additionally, when you score a critical hit with bludgeoning damage, you gain advantage on attacks against that target until the start of your next turn.
Step-by-Step Breakdown
What does the Crusher feat do in D&D 5e?
Crusher is a feat that enhances the effectiveness of bludgeoning weapons. In D&D 5e, feats offer optional abilities that provide your player character (PC) with extra skills, spells, or traits. The Crusher feat specifically improves your PC’s ability to dominate foes in combat with crushing blows. With the Crusher feat, your PC will enjoy the following benefits:
- Increase your PC’s Strength (STR) or Constitution (CON) by 1, with a maximum of 20.
- When your PC hits a creature with bludgeoning damage, they can move that target 5 feet into an unoccupied space once per turn—provided the target is no larger than one size category above your PC.
- Additionally, when your PC lands a critical hit with bludgeoning damage, you gain advantage on attack rolls against that target until the start of your next turn.
How to Utilize the Crusher Feat
Boost your PC’s STR or CON if one of them is an odd number. Melee specialists—those who engage in close combat—rely on both Strength and Constitution to enhance their durability and combat prowess. Increasing an odd-numbered ability score is particularly valuable, as it also improves your ability score modifier.
- Strength influences your PC’s physical force and carrying capacity.
- Constitution governs your PC’s stamina, vitality, and overall health.
- Increasing an ability score modifier makes all related abilities more effective.
- With STR, you’ll gain bonuses to weapon attacks, Strength checks, and saving throws. With CON, you’ll gain additional hit points and bonuses to Constitution checks and saving throws.
Use Crusher to position enemies for flanking with allies. Flanking provides advantage on attack rolls against an enemy when you and at least one ally are adjacent to them, positioned on opposite sides. By using Crusher, you can push an enemy 5 feet towards an ally, putting them in a flanking position.
- By utilizing Crusher to set up flanks, you and your allies improve your chances of landing successful attacks!
Push enemies away to make a swift retreat. If your PC is on the verge of unconsciousness or low on health, use Crusher to push an enemy 5 feet away. This grants you the chance to move out of melee range without provoking an attack of opportunity. While Disengage also allows you to move safely, Crusher lets you strike first before escaping.
- Crusher also lets your PC play the role of a defender for allies in danger. If an enemy is threatening an ally, push them away to give your ally space to retreat without being attacked.
- This tactic is especially valuable when protecting allies with lower armor class and fewer hit points, like wizards or sorcerers.
Increase your damage output and improve your chances of a successful hit. When you score a critical hit, your damage dice are doubled, resulting in significantly more damage than a regular hit. Since Crusher grants advantage on attacks against creatures you critically hit, this feat boosts both your likelihood to land a hit and the damage dealt post-critical strike.
Spell Pairings with the Crusher Feat
Combine Crusher with spells that inflict extra damage on enemies. If you or an ally cast Booming Blade on an enemy, push them 5 feet away, and then retreat, the target takes additional damage if they attempt to close the gap and attack. This synergy between Crusher and Booming Blade is just one example of how the feat works well with other spells.
- For instance, if an ally casts a spell that creates hazardous terrain (like Spirit Guardians, Spike Growth, or a Wall spell—Wall of Blades, Fire, etc.), you can use Crusher to force an enemy into the dangerous area.
- You can also position enemies better for your allies. For example, if a wizard is preparing a Fireball, use Crusher to push an enemy away so the wizard can aim freely.
What weapons can be used with Crusher?
Any bludgeoning weapon works with Crusher. This includes clubs, maces, light hammers, flails, mauls, slings, and warhammers. Depending on your class and proficiencies, some bludgeoning weapons may be more suited to your playstyle. Here are some good options based on your PC’s needs:
- Mauls are heavy and excellent for great weapon builds, dealing 2d6 damage per hit.
- Quarterstaffs work well with the Polearm Master feat and don’t require martial weapon proficiency (ideal for monks).
- Warhammers are versatile, allowing for both one- and two-handed use, dealing 1d8 or 1d10 damage per hit.
Is Crusher a strong feat?
Crusher can be highly useful for specific PCs. One of Crusher’s greatest advantages is the battlefield control it provides. You can reposition enemies in ways that benefit you or your allies while boosting your damage and attack rolls. Controlling the battlefield makes it much easier to gain an advantage!
- If you’re using a class that can wield a bludgeoning weapon, this feat is surprisingly effective.
- However, it’s of little use if your class doesn’t engage in melee combat or use bludgeoning weapons.
Which classes benefit the most from Crusher?
Melee-focused classes are ideal for Crusher. Since the Crusher feat relies on melee combat and bludgeoning damage, your PC should belong to a class that emphasizes these aspects. Consider taking the Crusher feat if you’re playing one of these classes:
- Monk. A perfect fit for monks, as all their unarmed strikes and quarterstaffs deal bludgeoning damage.
- Fighter. With their versatility, Fighters can use Crusher with any build that uses bludgeoning weapons. It’s especially useful for Champions who land many critical hits.
- Paladin. While other feats might be more appealing, Paladins can wield all the weapons covered by Crusher, making it a solid choice.
- Barbarian. While not necessarily the top priority, Crusher allows Barbarians to better control the battlefield.
- Cleric. War Domain Clerics, focused on melee combat, benefit from this feat, gaining extra attacks and damage from their subclass.
- Artificer. While spellcasting Artificers won’t benefit much, melee-focused subclasses like Armorers and Battle Smiths can make good use of Crusher.
Crusher isn’t suitable for classes that don’t focus on melee combat. Classes like druids, bards, rangers, rogues, sorcerers, wizards, and warlocks generally won’t benefit from Crusher, as it’s designed for melee fighting, which these classes don’t specialize in. While a few subclasses might have melee elements, Crusher is typically not a good choice for these classes.
- Druids engage in melee combat only through Wild Shape, but to make use of Crusher, you'd need to take a form that deals bludgeoning damage, and these are few and far between.
- Bards have some melee-oriented subclasses like Valor and Swords, but other feats (such as Fey Touched or Magic Initiate) are much more beneficial for them.
- Bladesinger wizards and Hexblade warlocks can use bludgeoning weapons and Booming Blade, but Crusher isn’t an essential feat for either subclass.
