Tips for building a melee eldritch knight?

[Klorox]

I feel like there must be something more to these guys than an awesome AC (from the shield spell).

What are some great things an EK can do other fighters can not?

[Specter]

The guide in my signature might help.

[Professor Gnoll]

Use Greenflame Blade and make another melee attack using War Magic (Unless you have another thing to spend your bonus action on, this is strictly better than your regular two attacks until your third attack at level 11). Grab a foe with Lightning Lure and, again, use War Magic to hit them. Hit them, then the next turn use Hold Person, letting your Eldritch Strike do the work for you, then Action Surge and crit them into the ground. Stack multiple defensive spells and turn yourself into an amazing tank. At higher levels, Greater Invisibility for auto-advantage or Haste for a defence/attack bonus in one spell.
Or just have fun doing the stuff other casters get to do, like Mage Hand ball bearings. Eldritch Knight can do a lot of things with a small spell selection.

[TheFlyingCleric]

What are some great things an EK can do other fighters can not?

1: Cast spells at things
2: Cast a spell at a thing and then hit a thing on the same turn
3: Cast a spell at a thing, hit a thing, teleport and then cast another spell at a thing. In a single turn.
4: Always be one turn away from fully armed and Armored, even when taking a shower (Mage Armor + Weapon Bond).
5: Cast Shield. Yes I know, but it is just that great.

[Slipperychicken]

I feel like there must be something more to these guys than an awesome AC (from the shield spell).

What are some great things an EK can do other fighters can not?


Cast absorb elements. This will frequently save your hide from AoEs
Cast a utility spell like Identify. This one is good when nobody wants to play a wizard and you don't trust NPCs to identify stuff properly
Cast useful cantrips like mage hand, mending, message, move earth, and so on
Cast protection from evil. Maybe I'm biased because I'm playing in a gothic horror setting where most enemies fall under those types.
With magic initiate(warlock), cast Hex for an extra d6 of damage. Since this counts as learning the spell, you can also use regular spell slots for it.
At high levels, cast great spells like misty step and haste
Teleport their best weapons into their hands. You still don't want to walk around unarmed, but you have an options. Maybe you can put a smuggling compartment in your weapon and keep a casting focus in there for your party mages.



So there you go. There's a lot of good stuff in the EK subclass that champion and battlemaster do not replicate.

[Professor Gnoll]

Bond yourself to a really nice magic weapon. Sell it to someone. Once you're a good distance away from the town, teleport it back into your hands.
Cast Booming Blade then shove them away and force the damage.

[Foxhound438]

one idea is to use sword and board for good defense and once you can start getting higher level spell slots get flaming sphere to get some damage out of your bonus action. higher levels get you melf's minute meteors and storm sphere for similar effect. It loses damage compared to other things, but your AC is a decent bit higher in exchange.

the more obvious idea is to just go great weapon master and bide time until you get haste, and ultimately greater invisibility for advantage.