Whirlwind Attack Question

[Gray]

I just want to make sure I'm reading this correctly. Basically, the earliest a fighter could get this feat is 5th level correct?

Among the prerequisites (Combat Expertise, Dodge, Mobility, Spring Attack), Spring Attack lists a prerequisite of a +4 base attack bonus. Well, if you can't take that feat until 4th level, Spring Attack takes up the fighter's 4th level slot, forcing the fighter to take Whirlwind Attack at 5th level. Am I missing something?

Otherwise a human build could look like this.

1st = Power Attack, Combat Expertise, Dodge
2nd = Mobility
3rd = Furious Focus
4th = Spring Attack
5th = Whirlwind Attack

[Booksy]

As a technicality, Fighters can retrain a feat at 4th level, so if you wanted to you could build

1st Dodge, Mobility, Combat Expertise
2nd Something, retrain at 4th Whirlwind.
3rd Something else
4th Spring Attack

As the re-training rules specificaly state you can replace any feat you have with another feat you qualify for at the time of retraining. (making sure its not a prerequisite for another feat ofcourse)

[Gray]

Booksy wrote:

As a technicality, Fighters can retrain a feat at 4th level, so if you wanted to you could build

1st Dodge, Mobility, Combat Expertise
2nd Something, retrain at 4th Whirlwind.
3rd Something else
4th Spring Attack

As the re-training rules specificaly state you can replace any feat you have with another feat you qualify for at the time of retraining. (making sure its not a prerequisite for another feat ofcourse)

I see what you are saying on that point. However, I was trying to see if a fighter can actually get the Whirlwind Attack feat at 4th level. Both Spring Attack and Whirlwind Attack have a prerequisite of a +4 Base Attack bonus, which pushes Whirlwind Attack back to 5th level. It's just odd that as written, it almost looks like you can take Whirlwind Attack at 4th level, but you really can't.

[Bearded Ben]

You can get it at 4th by taking a bonus feat at level 1 that you can retrain at 4th. That would look something like this:
1st = Cleave, Combat Expertise, Dodge
2nd = Power Attack
3rd = Mobility
4th = Spring Attack, Retrain Cleave to Whirlwind Attack

Or is the question "can the fighter get Whirlwind Attack without retraining?"

[Malachi Silverclaw]

Also, if the class level you take at 4th level is either the first level or an even numbered level of fighter, then you would get two feats at 4th level, one could be Spring Attack and the other could be Whirlwind Attack.

[Gray]

Thanks everyone. That makes things clearer. I guess I really didn't understand retraining very well.