Building a Fighter: Dominating Combat in Baldur's Gate 3

"Fighters have mastered the art of combat, wielding weapons with unmatched skill and wearing armor like a second skin."

Need to know more about the Fighter class? Then you've come to the right place!

*Not all information was available in Early Access - we will update as soon as we can!*

Roleplaying as a Fighter

You swing your sword again, bringing it right up to the training dummy's neck before stopping. "Why do you hesitate?", the captain asks. "It's just a doll made of straw," you grumble. Your captain chuckles. "Is it? I could have sworn it was your enemy, and here we train to defeat our enemies. Again." Taking a deep breath, you step back to a ready position. With a whirlwind of motion you bring your sword around, your blade cleaving right through the dummy. The captain smiles. "Good. Your opponent won't hesitate, and neither should you."

If this sounds interesting to you, consider a Fighter. Masters of steel and tactical thinking, this class demonstrates their superiority on the battlefield.

Note: The Origin character/Companion Lae'zel is a Fighter.

Class Features at 1st Level

• Starting Hit Points: 10 + your Constitution modifier
• Proficiencies:
  • All armors, Shields, Simple and Martial weapons
  • Strength and Constitution Saving Throws
  • Two skills from the following list: Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, History, Insight, Intimidation, Perception, and/or Survival
• Fighters choose a Fighting Style, specializing in a particular form of combat.
  • Archery: +2 to Attack rolls made with ranged weapons.
  • Defense: +1 to your Armor Class while wearing armor.
  • Dueling: +2 bonus damage when you only use one melee weapon (and your other hand is empty).
  • Great Weapon Fighting: The ability to reroll a damage result of 1 or 2 with a two-handed melee weapon, once per attack.
  • Protection: Use your shield to give an enemy Disadvantage to their Attack roll when they strike an ally within 1.5 meters of you.
  • Two-Weapon Fighting: Adds your Ability modifier to the damage of the weapon in your offhand.
• Access to Second Wind, the ability to heal themselves a small amount as a bonus action.

Class Features at Higher Levels

• Hit Points at Later Levels: 6 + your Constitution modifier
• At level 2, Fighters gain Action Surge, allowing them to perform an extra action in a turn once per rest.
• At level 3, Fighters choose an archetype to focus their training further, determining their subclass.
• At levels 4, 8 and 12, you can increase one of your Ability scores by 2, two Ability scores by 1, or choose a Feat, which can provide you bonuses to Ability scores and skills simultaneously.
• At level 5, Fighters gain an Extra Attack in combat.
• *Not revealed yet.*

Subclasses

Fighters train themselves in the ways of war and tactics; their subclass archetype is an expression of just how they wish to apply that training in the real world. They have three choices: Battle Master, Eldritch Knight, and Champion.

• Battle Masters are students of war, studying technique and history passed down from their elders.
  • At level 3, you gain 4 Superiority Dice. These Dice are d8s, and they can be spent in battle to perform various Maneuvers. You replenish them after a rest.
  • Also at level 3, you learn 3 Maneuvers, extraordinary feats of martial skill, choosing from the following:
    • Menacing Attack: Deal damage and possibly Frighten the enemy.
    • Pushing Attack: Deal damage and possibly push the enemy back 4.5 meters.
    • Rally: Give an ally 8 extra Hit Points.
    • Riposte: When an enemy misses you with an attack, attack back at them.
    • Trip Attack: Deal damage and possibly knock the target Prone.
    • Disarming Attack: Deal damage and possibly force them to drop what they were holding.
  • *Not revealed yet.*
• Eldritch Knights put their training into magic as well as steel, amplifying their abilities in combat.
  • At level 3 you gain access to arcane spells, much like a Wizard can although of a more limited nature.
    • These spells require your Intelligence score for their casting.
  • *Not revealed yet.*
• Champions focus on their physical expertise, becoming renowned athletes that can deal powerful blows.
  • *Not revealed yet.*

Preferred Ability Scores

Fighters, much like Barbarians, are found right in the middle of combat; they want their Constitution to be high. Whether you pick Strength or Dexterity depends on your weapon of choice: a bow-using Fighter would want Dex, while most other Fighters would want Str. Wisdom is nice for being aware of one's surroundings. Intelligence and Charisma are safely ignored, unless you plan to choose the Eldritch Knight subclass - they want Int for their spells.

Multiclassing Suggestions

Multiclassing Fighters are a tale of two philosophies. Characters that go heavy into Fighter may "dip" into another class to spice up what is otherwise a very straight-forward playstyle, or another class may take up some Fighter levels for combat Proficiencies and the all-powerful Action Surge. How you wish to proceed is really up to you; Fighter is simple enough to warrant many possibilities.

Literally every class can use Action Surge: adding another action to your turn can open up several options that were previously impossible. It only requires two levels of Fighter, something most builds can sacrifice for what is an extremely useful ability.

For something different to the norm, Fighter & Wizard can lead what is otherwise a martial class down the spellcasting route. Fighters who take the Eldritch Knight subclass use their Intelligence to cast spells; the Wizard emphasizes this further, making them a natural combo.

More Baldur's Gate 3 Class Guides

Considering a different class? Choose one of the options below!

Baldur's Gate 3 Character Creation Guides

When you're ready to continue, head to one of the other sections of this guide; Background would be next!