What Is the Alert Feat in Dungeons & Dragons 5e?

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How and when to use the Alert feat, plus which PCs benefit the most

Co-authored by Jess Hamlet and Glenn Carreau

Last Updated: January 6, 2025 Fact Checked

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• What is the Alert feat?
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• Mechanics
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• Is Alert good?
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• Which classes benefit from it?
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• Expert Interview

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It’s time to choose a feat for your D&D character, but is Alert a good choice? Alert is a feat in D&D 5e that makes your character extra aware of their surroundings and ready for a fight, giving them a bonus to initiative and ensuring they can’t be surprised while awake. In short, it’s a great feat for any player who prefers going first in a battle! Read on for a complete guide to the Alert feat, including its mechanics and class-specific recommendations.

Things You Should Know

• With the Alert feat, your PC will gain a +5 initiative bonus. They can add +5 to all initiative rolls, meaning they have a better chance at acting first in battles.
• Alert will also ensure that your PC can’t be surprised while awake, and enemies won’t get advantage against your PC while unseen.
• Alert is a good feat for any class, but it’s especially useful for players who like to use area-of-effect abilities and/or act first in fights (like barbarians, ranger, rogues, or wizards).

Steps

Section 1 of 4:

What is the Alert feat?

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1. 
   Alert is a passive feat that boosts your PC’s readiness and reactivity. In D&D 5e, feats are special bonus abilities you can give your player character (PC) periodically when they level up. Alert is the ideal feat when you want a PC who’s always on the lookout for trouble and quick on the uptake when a battle begins. With Alert, your PC gains the following benefits:

   • Your PC gets a +5 bonus to all initiative rolls.
   • Your PC can’t be surprised while they’re conscious.
   • Other creatures won’t get advantage on attack rolls against your PC as a result of being unseen.
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Section 2 of 4:

How does Alert work?

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1. 
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   Alert’s initiative bonus makes your PC more likely to go first in combat. When you take the Alert feat, your PC gains a permanent +5 bonus to initiative rolls, meaning you can add +5 on top of your usual initiative bonus. If your PC has a high Dexterity (DEX) score, that means they’re more likely to go first in a fight—and if they have a low DEX score, Alert can ensure they won’t always go last.

   • In D&D 5e, all PCs and enemies must make an initiative roll at the start of a battle to determine the order in which each combatant takes their turn.
   • In the initiative order, the combatant with the highest roll goes first. Whoever rolls the lowest initiative goes last.
   • Initiative bonuses are based on a character’s Dexterity score, which is why high-DEX characters can use Alert to go first more often than not.
2. 
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   Your PC won’t be affected by ambushes since they can’t be surprised. Because Alert protects your PC from being surprised while conscious, enemies can’t get surprise rounds against them. When an enemy gets a surprise round, it means they can attack while the creatures they surprised can’t. But, if enemies can’t surprise you, it means they can’t ambush you this way.

   • So, even if some of your PC’s party members get caught in a surprise round, you’ll still be able to act.
   • Plus, if you’re playing an elf, warforged, or auto gnome PC, you’ll likely never be surprised (since neither needs to sleep, and therefore is always considered conscious).
3. 
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   Enemies can’t get advantage against your PC while hiding. Normally, enemies can get advantage on attack rolls against your PC if you can’t see them (meaning they can roll to attack twice and take the higher result, making them more likely to hit). However, Alert cancels this out, meaning they won’t get any extra benefits if they try to attack your PC without being seen.

   • This can be especially helpful against invisible creatures, ensuring their attacks don’t have advantage even if they’re invisible for most of the battle.
   • Alert can also add some flavor to your PC’s senses and capabilities. For example, you might say that a PC with Alert has incredible hearing, able to hear an enemy coming even when they can’t be seen.
   • This feat can be especially useful against enemy rogues, since they often try to attack while unseen to get Sneak Attack damage (though they can still Sneak Attack a target that has another enemy within 5 feet of them).
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Section 3 of 4:

Is Alert a good feat?

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1. 
   Alert is an extremely useful feat for many classes. Getting a +5 to initiative is a pretty significant boost, and classes that already have a good DEX score stand a much better chance at going first in initiative with Alert (which can make or break a fight). Plus, any character can benefit from the inability to be surprised (which stops enemies from pulling off deadly ambushes).

   • However, given the sheer number of feats (and the limited amount of them you can assign to your character as they level up), some classes (like rogues) might end up prioritizing Alert more than others.

Section 4 of 4:

Which classes benefit most from Alert?

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1. 
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   Alert works best with classes that need to act fast at the start of combat. If your PC deals area-of-effect damage, going first helps you target a group of enemies before allies have a chance to run in. Similarly, if your PC is the party’s tank (they act as a melee fighter and buffer for weaker members), going first helps you place yourself between your allies and a powerful enemy. The Alert feat is most worth it if you're playing a:

   • Barbarian. Barbarians may not need Alert, since they already have Feral Instinct to help their initiative rolls. Still, it’s useful to have Alert’s extra bonus so you can use the Rage ability before anyone can attack your barbarian.
   • Bard. Bards have plenty of crowd control and area-of-effect spells like Hypnotic Pattern and Hideous Laughter, making Alert a useful feat for them.
   • Fighter. Although they don’t deal much area-of-effect damage, fighters can definitely use the initiative boost to run into the fray before enemies can start targeting their allies (since fighters are ideal for soaking up damage).
   • Paladin. Like fighters, paladins are tanks—the quicker they can get between their allies and enemies, the better. They can also deal burst damage with their Smite ability, potentially wiping out enemies before they can act.
   • Rogue. Rogues are agile and quick, making Alert a great feat for them (especially if they act as as the party’s scout). With Alert, they can take out enemies quietly while sneaking around and avoid getting surprised.
   • Sorcerer. Not only do sorcerers know plenty of area-of-effect spells, but they also have Metamagic—and being high in the initiative order lets them use their Metamagic that much sooner.
   • Warlock. Warlocks also have area-of-effect spells like Hypnotic Pattern, Shatter, and Hunger of Hadar, so they can definitely use a feat like Alert.
   • Wizard. Like the other spellcasters, wizards have plenty of options when it comes to dropping big, powerful spells (Fireball, anyone?), and Alert can help them safely target enemies without catching allies in the crossfire.
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   Alert isn’t a high priority for classes without major area-of-effect abilities. When you have a high initiative bonus, you’re more likely to act first in a fight, enabling you to target groups of enemies before they have a chance to act. However, classes without many area-of-effect spells to use on whole groups of enemies don’t need to worry about a high initiative bonus (or the Alert feat). This includes:

   • Artificers. Artificers don’t have many huge area-of-effect spells, so it’s not as important for them to go first in initiative. Plus, they can avoid being surprised by using the Helm of Awareness infusion at level 10.
   • Clerics. Some clerics might want the Alert feat so they can buff their allies at the top of a fight, but other than that, other feats might be more appealing than Alert.
   • Druids. Unless you feel it’s important to play a druid who can Wild Shape or cast a spell at the top of each round, Alert probably isn’t as useful to druids as other feats might be.
   • Monks. Monks don’t have many burst damage abilities to make use of Alert. Because they aren’t as hardy as other melee classes, it might not be ideal to send them into the fray first.
   • Rangers. Most ranger subclasses don’t rely on going first in initiative. However, if you’re playing a Gloomstalker ranger, an initiative boost can be surprisingly helpful (especially with the Dread Ambusher feature).
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