The fighter is the quintessential martial character in Baldur’s Gate 3With abilities that focus on combat prowess and weapons. It was jumped up to The third-most popular class choice among players building a custom character, and with its consistently powerful abilities and multiclassing potential, it’s not hard to see why. However, some view this class as more milquetoast than the other options in the game, judging it to be bland and lacking in interesting, fantastic powers.
And while the fighter is certainly less magic-focused than many of the other options, Its subclasses give players the opportunity to customize their characters and add extra flavor. Although a certain subclass may be the cause of the dull perception of the fighter, the other two available in the game do a lot to make the class stand out. However, only one of these options can be described as the strongest subclass, which offers the most versatility, damage and surviving fighters.
Three specializations are available to fighters in BG3
Champion, Battlemaster and Eldritch Knight
The three subclasses fighters choose from are the Champion, the Battlemaster and the Elchurch Knight. They come from D&DBut each sees some changes from its video game form. The champion is the closest to a stereotypical fighter, with abilities that are largely passive in nature and add extra damage or mobility. A favorite among players of the TTRPG, the Battlemaster Fighter offers more versatility with special moves and battle superiority.
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The eldritch knight is the odd one out among the three, with The ability to cast spells with intelligence and augment their attacks with magic. Ranking this subclass with the other two is difficult, as spellcasting can bring so much power to a character depending on the spells they choose. interesting, It is also the only fighter subclass that requires no focus on mental ability scores, With the other two relying on weapon attacks. Regardless, comparing the features each gets at certain levels will help determine which is strongest.
The biggest fighter subclass features are all at level three
Which every fighter subclass brings early
Level three is where fighters choose their subclass and get their first features. The champion simply gets an improved critical hit chanceJump from 5% to 10% on each hit. The Elrich Knight and Battlemaster get a lot more, with plenty of choices for players to make. Starting with the battle master, they get “maneuvers” that work in conjunction with their weapon attacks, and a number of “light dice” that lack as a means by which to use the maneuvers.
Battlemasters choose three maneuvers at this levelWhich range from gaining advantage and extra damage on an attack, to striking back after an enemy misses, to inspiring one’s allies with extra hit points or weapon attacks. With fourteen to choose from, Battlemasters get a lot of variety at this level, and their higher dice come back on short rests, meaning they can use these abilities often.
With four higher dice uses per short rest, fighters at early levels can use their abilities almost every other turn, far more than other subclass options with medium expenditure.
Eldritch Knights get a couple of cantrips and three spells from the wizard listAlthough two of the spells must be from the Evocation or Abjuration schools. This is great, giving fighters the opportunity to pick up shield, Magic Missile
And many other powerful spells to cast on their turn. The cantrip options are alright for now, but cantrips will become much less viable than weapon attacks at higher levels. Eldritch Knights also get the ability to bond with their weapon, but it honestly doesn’t do much compared to something like the Warlock’s Pact of the Blade.
Fighter in later levels: The imbalance in abilities continues
Certain subclasses flourish, others perish
Just as the champion was less than the others in level one, it continues to get the shaft in levels seven and ten. Champions get an improved jump distance and small improvementsAs well as an additional fighting style. None of this is bad, per se, but it lacks flair, and tends to fall short compared to what the others get. It is clear that this subclass is what gives people the idea that the fighter is boring.
The Battlemaster continues to unlock new maneuvers from his list, after using his higher dice, and a larger dice to add to attack damage. Admittedly, this can be as boring as the champion options, but with one important change: This subclass provides much more player choice. Even if the entire subclass functions off of these maneuvers, there are many maneuvers to choose from so that No single battlemaster will work exactly the sameAnd they feel fun and powerful to use until the end of the game.
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The Ellorch gets the most new stuff at higher levels, though its usefulness is up for debate. One feather in their cap is that they keep learning new spellsUp to second level options, which include spells like Misty step
And Blair
. As versatile as the Battlemaster options are, the spell choices definitely make the Eldritch Knight the most customizable of the subclass.
Eldritch Knight Features: True Magic or Just a Hoax?
Do the subpar abilities tank the Eldritch Knight’s use?
Aside from their spells, the eldritch knight features are pretty hard to use effectively. They can take an attack with a bonus action after they cast a cantrip, which sounds good. Until people understand this A fighter’s attacks do more damage than most cantripsAnd taking three attacks at level eleven is much better than doing that.
They also gain eldritch strike at tenth level, which gives creatures the eldritch knight hits with weapon attacks disadvantage on saving throws against the fighter’s spells until the end of the fighter’s next turn. Again, this sounds good, but the spell options that fighters can use with this are quite limited. Something like Stop man
may work well, but ultimately, Elrich knight fighters will probably want to take spells that don’t rely too much on them with high intelligence, Since it is their secondary stat.
Spell options like Misty Step and Magic Missile don’t rely on an attack or the enemy failing a save, making them better for classes that don’t prioritize their spellcasting stats.
It’s undeniable that these abilities drag the Eldritch Knight down, but the spellcasting is useful enough that the subclass remains strong. And indeed, any of the subclass options can be an effective brawler, especially given the three fighter attacks at higher levels. But which one of them is technically the strongest?
Final rankings of the fighter subclass in BG3
Is Battlemaster or Eldritch Knight better?
finally, The champion fighter is the clear weakest choice. The early-level critical hit feature can be useful for some specific crit-fishing builds, but it just doesn’t get much compared to the other two options and ends up feeling pretty dry. Between the Battlemaster and Alchurch knights in BG3The choice is less clear. A high-level Eldritch Knight has neat spells to compliment their weapon attacks and to command their defenses, but the Battlemaster abilities synergize better with attacks on a turn-by-turn basis.
The wrench in the gears of the eldritch knight is multiclassing. A one-level dip in magic can give the fighter most of the good abilities they would get as an eldritch knight. While allowing them to pick up battlemaster maneuvers. It would also allow them a greater choice of spells and the ability to learn from scrolls. Even something like the magic initiate feat can emulate much of what the eldritch knight does.
So, the Battlemaster seems like the best Baldur’s Gate 3 Fighter subclass, considering a multiclassing build. But as a pure fighter, it is basically an alliance, because of the use of the eldritch knight and the damage output of the battlemaster. Either one can serve a player’s party well and bring a lot more to the table than just repetitive weapon attacks.