Home/Characters/Combat Maneuvers & Feats/Sharpshooter

Sharpshooter

Complete guide to the Sharpshooter feat in D&D 5e. Master long-range combat, ignore cover penalties, and deal massive damage with ranged weapons.

Jump to

BenefitMechanicsSynergiesCommon MistakesDM TipsSources

Benefit

You ignore cover and long range penalties with ranged weapons, and can sacrifice accuracy for devastating damage bonuses.

Mechanics

Sharpshooter grants three powerful benefits when using ranged weapons: **Ignore Long Range:** Attacking at long range doesn't impose disadvantage on your ranged weapon attack rolls. **Ignore Cover:** Your ranged weapon attacks ignore half cover and three-quarters cover. **Power Shot (-5/+10):** Before you make a ranged weapon attack, you can choose to take a -5 penalty to the attack roll. If the attack hits, you add +10 to the attack's damage. **Important Details:** - Works with bows, crossbows, and other ranged weapons (not thrown weapons by RAW, DM discretion) - Power shot decision is made before rolling, not after - The +10 damage is a flat bonus, not extra dice - Applies to each attack separately if you have Extra Attack - Does not work with spell attacks, only weapon attacks - Cover ignoring includes enemies hiding behind allies

Synergies

  • *Crossbow Expert feat - Bonus action hand crossbow attacks give more chances for power shot
  • *Archery fighting style - +2 to attack rolls helps offset the -5 penalty significantly
  • *Elven Accuracy - Triple advantage for half-elves and elves makes power shot much more reliable
  • *Fighter Action Surge - Double your attacks in one turn, all with +10 damage if you want
  • *Samurai Fighting Spirit - Advantage on all attacks offsets the -5 penalty
  • *Ranger Hunter's Mark - Extra 1d6 damage stacks with the +10 from Sharpshooter
  • *Bless spell - +1d4 to attack rolls helps land those power shots
  • *Lucky feat - Reroll missed attacks to salvage important power shots
  • *Precision Attack (Battle Master) - Add superiority die when you need to hit

Common Mistakes

Common Mistake
Using power shot against high-AC enemies when you're unlikely to hit anyway
Common Mistake
Forgetting you can toggle power shot on or off for each attack with Extra Attack
Common Mistake
Not taking advantage of ignoring cover - position yourself for clear shots
Common Mistake
Thinking it works with thrown weapons - RAW it only works with ranged weapons
Common Mistake
Using power shot when you have disadvantage - the penalty makes it even harder to hit
Common Mistake
Not declaring power shot before rolling the attack
Common Mistake
Forgetting that cover ignoring doesn't help against total cover

DM Tips

DM Tip
Sharpshooter is the ranged equivalent of Great Weapon Master - very powerful
DM Tip
High-AC enemies and distance can make Sharpshooter users struggle
DM Tip
Total cover still works - encourage enemies to use it
DM Tip
Wind, fog, and magical darkness impose disadvantage, countering Sharpshooter
DM Tip
Enemies can ready actions to take cover when the archer attacks
DM Tip
This feat makes ranged attackers extremely powerful against low-AC targets
DM Tip
Consider enemies closing distance or using ranged attacks to pressure archers
DM Tip
The cover-ignoring feature can trivialize many tactical situations - plan accordingly

Sources & Further Reading