Building an AR, lower completed, looking to build the upper. Online articles say better to have the foward assist and to not need it than the other way around, podcasts I listen to say no need, AR-forum is mixed.

Should I pay the extra $10-$20 for an upper with a forward assist vs. not? Thanks in advance.

If you are always going to be able to keep the bolt and barrel extension spotless and let the bolt fly home with alacrity with a fresh magazine, maybe not.

I gather hunters and others that want silence use it to ease the bolt over a fresh round on a new magazine, then use the assist to push the bolt home without excessive racket.

The assist was there from the start AFAIK, for when the bolt and recesses got dirty to make sure the bolt was fully in battery.  Early AR did not have it.

Lots of other places to save a few bucks, reliability should not be one of them.

It can be useful when you want to chamber a round quietly. Allows you to slowly ride the charging handle forward and then push the round into the chamber. Wouldn't go into battery without the FA.

Outside of old-school infantry tactics, I guess it can be useful if you use an AR to hunt.

i wouldnt skip it just for the cost savings.
most of my uppers are without forward assist, but thats because i like to use ambi charging handles and they work so much better without the forward assist in the way. you also save about 2-3oz without one if youre going for a lightweight build.
i dont hunt with ar's or havent had a reason to need a forward assist. the one or two times ive had a round not chamber properly i just cycle that round out. i rarely clean my rifles, but they dont get nearly as dirty as others since i use a lightweight bolt carrier, adjustable gas block, reduced power spring, and empty buffer in most of my non forward assist builds. so with less gas needed to cycle the action i get less crud in my upper.

i can see the benefits of having a forward assist and thats why i bought a vltor mur upper for my one "battle" ar15. its good to at least give it a try and see if it suits your needs.

Not much of a hunter (yet), this'll be a home-defense build, lightweight would be a plus. But I'm willing to add a few ounces for reliability's sake...buy once, cry once.

Thanks for the input gents.

I read somewhere that if you have to actually use the forward assist to chamber a round, you'd better be ready to have the gun blow up when you shoo. I don't remember where I read it, but it was in a book about the Vietnam war. There's a reason the bolt won't lock, and the forward assist doesn't solve that, but just lets you force the gun into working. I can see it being useful in intense combat though. That being said, all my uppers have them but more because it's easier to find uppers with a forward assist than without a forward assist. I've only ever used it to quietly close the bolt while hunting.

The only time I've ever used a forward assist was in Iraq where we went through dust storms and everything, including the inside of my M4, was coated in sand.  I can't remember using it anywhere else.  I can't really see much use of it over here.  Maybe if it rains and you let the inside of your rifle get rusted, or go to Pohakuloa where there are dust storms which aren't that bad.  Some bad things about the forward assist is you get a round that doesn't feed and you try to keep shoving a bad round into the chamber.  Or you have a squib load or other malfunction which doesn't allow a round to feed so you force it in.