SOURCE: Player’s Handbook 

Rating the Benefits of Weapon Master

Weapon Master has two benefits, and the first and most boring one is the most useful:

Benefit #1 – 

+1 to strength or dexterity 

You usually want strength or dexterity if you want to master weapon use, so it’s a fitting bonus, but remember, only even ability scores matter outside rare situations.

Benefit #2 – 

Proficiency in four weapons, which must be simple or martial

A point or two of damage on a hit usually, and maybe you get access to a weapon with some beneficial trait like reach. That’s it.

Mechanics and Requirements

Understanding How It Functions

Bonuses to ability scores are straightforward, so I won’t go in-depth on those here.

More importantly, the weapon proficiency part has a few caveats; you’re already proficient in unarmed strikes and can’t become proficient in them again (nor can you use this to become double proficient and gain something similar to Expertise, nice try, although that would be a cool if overpowered feat). You also can’t select proficiency in improvised weapons, since those are neither simple nor martial. Finally, if your DM uses some particularly exotic weapons from a third party sourcebook or homebrew that is neither simple nor martial, you cannot use this to become proficient in them.

Key Stats

The +1 to strength or dexterity is useful, so make sure to have an odd ability score if you take this feat for some reason so that it gets bumped up to an even number.

Make sure to prioritize whatever ability score you use for weapons: if you’re most characters, that’s strength or dexterity, although some characters like the Hexblade Warlock use other ability scores for their weapon attacks.

Characters That Can Get Anything Meaningful Whatsoever Out Of Weapon Master

Top Classes

Rogue – Rogues are not proficient in either whips or longbows, and both of these are weapons that a rogue might conceivably want to use; whether it’s because they want to benefit from reach on a whip or they found a magic longbow like an Oathbow and want to use it.

Wizard – This is a strange build, but if you’re playing in an exclusively level 1-4 campaign like Lost Mine of Phandelver, the only thing stopping wizards from being as good at using weapons as other classes is proficiency. You could build a high dexterity wizard, pick up a dexterity weapon, and then go nuts shooting or stabbing people and be almost as good as the fighter at it. This is also a way for a Bladesinger Wizard to get access to the hand crossbow.

Arcana Cleric: Sometimes you want to Booming Blade with an actually good melee weapon, but all you have are simple weapons. Look no further than this feat, which can get you a greatsword. Check our guide for more info on what the Arcana Cleric can do.

Multiclassing Considerations

This feat is actively anti-synergetic with multiclassing since if you multiclass, you’ll usually get the weapon proficiencies you want anyway.

Race or Subrace Choices

Any race that gives you a weapon proficiency, especially if you can switch it with the Tasha’s rules, can substitute for this feat. This feat isn’t very good.

Combos, Tactics, and Synergies

Complementary Feats

You could double down in effectiveness with a hand crossbow/heavy polearm by taking Crossbow Expert or Polearm Master and then Sharpshooter or Great Weapon Master, but if you want to build around those weapons and feats, rethink your character if Weapon Master seems like the best route to get proficiency. Just play a fighter or something. Or dip any class with proficiency in it.

Spells that Synergize

Nope. Nothing here either.

The Secret Strategy For Maximizing Weapon Master Effectiveness

There is one secret strategy you can use, but not in every campaign. If your DM tailors magic items to the players, forget about this feat. But if they decide beforehand that they’re gonna add a magic longbow even though nobody in your party uses a longbow, or if they’re running a module that does this, then you can take this feat after you get the magic item to suddenly become proficient in its use.

Powerful magic items include Flame Tongues and Oathbows, both of which a rogue or arcana cleric or similar character might want to become proficient in.

Final Thoughts on Weapon Master

This feat sucks, it’s terrible, nobody should ever take it unless they’re in a wildly specific circumstance, like someone who finds an oathbow and isn’t proficient in it, someone who finds an oathbow and isn’t proficient in it, someone who finds an oathbow… you get the idea.

At least it gives you a +1 to dexterity or strength. That alone makes it technically stronger than some feats, like Dungeon Delver or Skulker with certain DMs, but there are so many better feats that give you a +1 to strength or dexterity. Skill Expert is one of them. Slasher is another one. And so on.