It seems to me that reach can be detrimental in terms of making opportunity attacks: Reach weapons (etc.) give you 5 extra feet of reach. When someone leaves your reach, you can make an opportunity attack. Therefore if you have 10 feet of reach, your enemy can wander all around, even move away from you, as long as they don't move more than 10 feet away. They could potentially even move through a doorway, behind cover, take a step back to shoot you with a bow, etc.
Removed because I was incorrect. The correct answer is by
Overpromises wrote:
Archon007 wrote:
Luke-Lightning wrote:
Overpromises wrote:
Archon007 wrote:
lawrencehoy wrote:
Having reach weapons increase a creature's "threatened area" has historically been problematic in D&D. In 3E, this made reach too strong for controlling a battlefield. In 5E, it could make reach situationally too weak or too strong, as it would increase the 'safe' space around a creature with reach, but also increase the odds of a creature having to traverse the dangerous threatened area at all.
I think it would be pretty safe to say that if you start the AoO and suddenly your reach increases during the attack, it does not invalidate your ability to take the attack.
2Chlorobutanal wrote:
Overpromises wrote:
Personally, my interpretation of "when you attack with it" was to clarify (poorly, as evidenced by the confusion) that your reach only increases for attacks with that weapon. E.g. someone wielding a whip and another one-handed weapon only has the increased reach with the whip. I would rule that someone moving further than 5 ft. away from someone with a reach weapon wouldn't provoke, as they're still within the reach weapon's range.
It still results in some weirdness with not having disadvantage on ranged attacks 10 ft. away from someone with a reach weapon even though they could still hit, but I'll take that over the inconsistencies with other interpretations of the reach description.
SeanCaruso wrote:
Mike Mearls has confirmed that you provoke Opportunity Attacks only at 10':
@ETallitnics: Good evening! Concerning weapons with the Reach property: Opportunity Attacks are provoked at 5' or 10' or both? #Thanks
@mikemearls: 10 feet
https://twitter.com/mikemearls/status/491077208635502592
SeanCaruso wrote:
E-Tallitnics wrote:
Remember, though, that answers Mike give aren't official, but are his understanding by his own admission;
@mikemearls: Remember, though, that answers I give aren't official, but that is my understanding of the intent.
Plaguescarred wrote:
E-Tallitnics wrote:
Plaguescarred wrote:
) You can attack creatures either 5 or 10 feet away with a reach weapon.
The question raised in this thread is if a reach weapon adding 5 feet to your reach (when you attack) can also increase the reach at which creature provoke OA from you.
I like Mearls answer and is how I will run it.
fjw70 wrote:
mrpopstar wrote:
Luke-Lightning wrote:
SeanCaruso wrote:
Fighting with a large unwieldy weapon *should* probably give you less crowd control due to interia. At the moment I'm playing your size reach is your threatening reach until made clearer by example/clarification/whatever.
zgrose wrote:
zgrose wrote:
pg 71 If you leave a hostile creature's reach during your move, you provoke an opportunity attack.
pg 74 You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature than you can see moves out of your reach.
Seems fairly clear that you can move within a creature's reach (reach enhanced by a weapon potentially unclear) all you want and one only provokes upon exiting reach completely in 5e.
This is certainly a change from 4e (where one only had to a leave a threatened sub-area (aka square) within reach).
Maybe they didn't like the 5 foot dance anymore? /shrug
The basic concept that actively engaged combatants don't get free attacks on each other while maneuvering around seems ok but it is certainly different.
Luke-Lightning wrote:
This a tangent, but how do you even determine moving out of someone's reach without a grid for combat?
Elendur wrote:
An opportunity attack is an attack you make with the weapon you're holding when an enemy moves out of reach, and the reach property gives your attacks with that weapon 10' reach. So, my thinking is that if your attack has 10' reach, you only get to make it as an opportunity attack when the enemy moves past 10' from you. This is consistent with Mearls' answer, right?
Say I'm dual-wielding with a whip in one hand and a short sword in the other. An enemy who steps out of the 5' reach of my sword would trigger an opportunity attack with that weapon only. An enemy would have to step out of the 10' reach of my whip to trigger an opportunity attack with that weapon.
creases wrote:
If Mike Mearls’ ruling is the Rules as Intended, then this needs erratum, pronto.
I see no reason for a reach weapon to only grant longer reach when you attack with it if it is going to also prevent you from attacking with it by granting reach at all times.
The difference in the rules as written lies between being allowed to reach farther away when attacking and being allowed to attack creature leaving your reach, which can be summed up as attack vs provoke.
As written the reach property affect distance of attack, not distance OA provoke, expressely by saying;
''This weapon adds 5 feet to your reach when you attack with it.''
(Which in other words mean; ''This weapon does not add 5 feet to your reach when you don't attack with it.'' )
Plaguescarred wrote:
My interpretation (by means of examples):
pg 71 If you leave a hostile creature's reach during your move, you provoke an opportunity attack.
pg 74 You can make an opportunity attack when a hostile creature than you can see moves out of your reach.
5' Reach: the enemy provokes an AoO if it moves from 5' away from you to 10' away from you
10' Reach: the enemy provokes an AoO if it moves from 10' away from you to 15' away from you (leaving your 10' reach) OR if it closes in on you from 10' away from you to 5' away from you (thus also leaving your reach which is 10')
15' Reach: the enemy provokes an AoO if it moves from 15' away from you to 20' away from you (leaving your 15' reach) OR if it closes in on you from 15' away from you to 10' away from you (thus also leaving your reach which is 15')
Trying to put it this way : reach is not a measurements for a range (circle area around you) but rather a measurement of a specific distance (circle circumference/line).
@MonumentGames: @mikemearls any suggestions on dealing with reach weapon/attack making a creature worse at OAs and containing ranged opponents than nonreach
@mikemearls: @MonumentGames it's a trade off between long reach and better control. longer reach is a little clumsier and less reactive
Beastman666m wrote:
zgrose wrote:
Plaguescarred wrote:
Probably a better model of reality but I'm not a SME.
Beastman666m wrote:
Simple question about reach: Can I still attack oponents in 5 ft range with a reach weapon?
sancris wrote:
Do I get disadvantage then? Or not?
sancris wrote:
I actually like Mearls' interpretation. In 4th ed., a reach weapon and a non-reach weapon were equally viable at close range, but if you look at real combat, pikemen dropped their spears once the enemy came within reach of their swords, because it's not particularly useful to beat someone with the haft of a pike. I'm a big fan of weapons being situationally useful, and hope further clarifications support this reading.
Thanks, eh, Plaguescarred. 
Archon007 wrote:
RCanine wrote:
There is a simple solution for polearm weilders who want to provoke AoEs at close range....
Make your attack with a polearm (most are 2H weapons). Then either:
a)Continue weilding your polearm to threaten OAs at 10' range
b)Hold your polearm with one hand, and draw a 1H weapon, threatening OAs at 5' instead. At the start of your next turn, sheath your 1H weapon and strike with your polearm.
B will be the superior choice in most instances, as most opponents would attempt to exploit the increased "safe zone" of a polearm during their turn. Then again, this is a fundamental weakness of polearms IRL anyway - get inside the safe zone, and make it difficult for the polearm weilder to strike back.
If you are really concerned about the increased safe zone, IIRC the polearm master feat allows you to shorten your reach (in addition to other benefits). You will simply have to suck it up till 4th level, but then again, most polearm experts don't gain that level of martial-arts skill with a polearm until much later in their careers......
kalanijasmine wrote:
2Chlorobutanal wrote:
Kalani wrote:
Unahim wrote: