Attack of Opportunity

Attack of Opportunity

Reaction
Trigger: A creature within your reach uses a manipulate action or a move action, makes a ranged attack, or leaves a square during a move action it’s using.
Description:You swat a foe that leaves an opening. Make a melee Strike against the triggering creature. If your attack is a critical hit and the trigger was a manipulate action, you disrupt that action. This Strike doesn’t count toward your multiple attack penalty, and your multiple attack penalty doesn’t apply to this Strike.
— Pathfinder 2nd Edition Core Rulebook
 

Important Things to Remember

  • Attacks of Opportunity happen outside "your turn". Hence they are not affected by, and do not affect, any multiple attack penalties. Other item bonuses (magical runes, etc.) or situational bonuses or penalties (cover, etc.) still apply.

  • If an Attack of Opportunity disrupts the action of the opponent, and that opponent was performing a multi-action activity (e.g. Casting a Spell that requires 2 or three actions), the opponent loses ALL of the associated actions without effect. Any consumable materials associated with the action are lost as well. Note that not all successful Attacks of Opportunity can disrupt actions - it must be a Critical Success, and the action must be either a Manipulate or Move. (You cannot disrupt a Verbal-only casting with an Attack of Opportunity.)

  • Even though it has the Manipulate Trait, the Release Action (e.g. dropping a weapon), does not count as a trigger for an Attack of Opportunity (or any other reaction that relies on a Manipulate action).


Acquiring the Attack of Opportunity Reaction

Barbarian

Barbarians gain this Reaction by taking the Attack of Opportunity Class Feat at 6th level or higher.

Champion

Champions gain this Reaction by taking the Attack of Opportunity Class Feat at 6th level or higher.

Fighter

Fighters gain the Attack of Opportunity Reaction as a Class Feature at 1st level.
At 10th level, Fighters can take the Combat Reflexes Class Feat, which gives then an additional Reaction each turn that can only be used for Attacks of Opportunity.

Also at 10th level, the Disruptive Strike Class Feat is available, which allows an Attack of Opportunity when an opponent uses a Concentrate Action in addition to a Move or Manipulate.

At 12th Level, a Fighter can take the Lunging Strike Class Feat, which allows the Fighter to effectively extend range for an Attack of Opportunity by an additional 5'.

The 14th Level Leave an Opening Class Feat allows one fighter scoring a critical hit to trigger an Attack of Opportunity if another fighter is in melee with the same opponent.

Other Classes

Other classes who opt to take the Fighter Dedication Feat at 2nd Level or higher will then have access to the Opportunist Dedication (Class) Feat at 4th Level. This grants the Attack of Opportunity Reaction. (Dedication Feats are how Pathfinder 2E handles "multi-classing".)

Monsters

Most monsters do not have the Attack of Opportunity reaction available to them. (Most demons, devils, and dragons do, as well as some "warrior / warden / defender" variants of creatures. Finally, a handful of particularly nasty critters have the reaction as well. But it is not automatic.

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