Best Fighting style for my character?

[Chijinda]

In my current campaign my Ranger archer is cross-classing into Fighter. At least partially because he recently got a magical weapon, and I wanted to pick an appropriate close combat style for him. To keep this relatively brief, the magic weapon is a sword with the Finesse and Light qualities, so I wanted to pick up a fighting style to suit it. Until now my Ranger's been archery focused, so my focus is to basically have this as an option to transition to when enemies get too close for shooting them to be effective.

While dueling seems like it'd be ideal, my GM has house-ruled his interpretation of Dueling which forbids the use of shields (I have discussed this at length with him, and he ultimately ended up dropping Rule 0 on the matter), which has gotten me looking at Two-Weapon Fighting, to pair this new magic sword with a short sword, since they're both light (of course given how useful Bonus actions are to Rangers....) Since he's been focused on bowmanship since level 1, he already has the Archery fighting style.

So anyways, here I've come, asking for advice on what would be the best fighting style to take advantage of my character's new gear. Would Dueling still be better, even with these restrictions, for an archery focused character? Or should I look at a different Fighting style altogether?


If needed to assist in this, my character's stats are below:


Str: 12
Dex: 20
Con: 14
Int: 14
Wis: 18
Cha: 11

[Lunali]

The biggest factors I see would be how much of a stickler your group is for the rules on drawing and sheathing weapons and how willing you are to pick up the feats. If you're going by the book, dueling will require dropping your bow or a second turn to put it away, two weapon fighting will require two turns if you drop your bow or three otherwise.

If your group is more lax on weapon swapping, I would go with two weapon fighting, otherwise duelist. Alternatively, you could pick up defensive style for benefits at range and in melee or give up melee completely, stay ranger, and pick up crossbow expert to negate the disadvantage.

[Xihirli]

Defense is always a good secondary fighting style.

[CTurbo]

I wouldn't multiclass just because you found a fancy magic sword unless its like a legendary +3 sword.

What kind of sword is it?
What kind of Ranger are you?
What level?
Any feats?

[Chijinda]

I wouldn't multiclass just because you found a fancy magic sword unless its like a legendary +3 sword.

What kind of sword is it?

It's a magic sword that is effectively a completely ordinary long sword when wielded by anyone except a pureblooded elf. When wielded by a pureblooded elf it is a Light, Finesse weapon that deals d10 damage, and uses double the modifier for bonus damage (since My Dex is 20, this means its damage profile is 1d10+10 when all is said and done).


What kind of Ranger are you?

Hunter archetype, with Horde Breaker and Archery style. Thus far, in a fight his strategy has been to stick near the back line with the Cleric and Sorcerer and put as many arrows downrange as he can, plus supportive spells where possible.



What level?

5, we just broke level 6


Any feats?

None, I raised my Dexterity to 20 at level 4. Planning on taking Sharpshooter and Resilient (Cha), as my GM has been spamming Charisma saving throws at my character


I wouldn't multiclass just because you found a fancy magic sword unless its like a legendary +3 sword.

I'm not taking Fighter just for the magic sword. My endgame build is Ranger 12/Fighter 4/Rogue 4. I just happened to notice that Hunter levels 6 and 7 are.... somewhat lackluster, so I'm aiming to take two levels in Fighter now to pick up Action Surge, so I can somewhat mitigate those lackluster levels down the line.


The biggest factors I see would be how much of a stickler your group is for the rules on drawing and sheathing weapons and how willing you are to pick up the feats. If you're going by the book, dueling will require dropping your bow or a second turn to put it away, two weapon fighting will require two turns if you drop your bow or three otherwise.

If your group is more lax on weapon swapping, I would go with two weapon fighting, otherwise duelist. Alternatively, you could pick up defensive style for benefits at range and in melee or give up melee completely, stay ranger, and pick up crossbow expert to negate the disadvantage.

As nobody in our group is using Two Weapon Fighting, I can't be certain. It's not been a problem that's cropped up yet, but our campaign has been somewhat light on combat so far, with only three winnable fights that our group has even fought.

Also my character uses a long bow not a Crossbow. Although it looks like there might be a Fighting Style for that? (Close Quarter Shooter in UA?). I was a little leery of that one though, as it looks like half of the Fighting Style does the same thing as Sharpshooter. That said a +11 on attack rolls wouldn't be awful.

[Blood of Gaea]

With dueling off the table, I would just grab the +1 AC.

[CTurbo]

It's really a toss up between Dueling, TWF, and Defense. Close Quarters Shooting does combine well with Archery to give you +3 to hit. Sharpshooter is a must.

Sounds like a pretty good magic sword. Are you the best character in the group to be wielding it? I'd rather have a magic longbow.

Either way, I'd probably choose Defense or CQS as my second fighting style. Neither Dueling or TWF make using that sword any better. It is a good backup weapon to have though and works well with Horde Breaker.

Which Fighter subclass were you thinking? I like Battle Master. Disarming Attack and Goading Attack are awesome at range.

Rogue is great for archers too. I'd be tempted to take more Rogue levels than ranger. Scout is perfect. Sneak damage will add up and Uncanny Dodge and Evasion are great.

[Particle_Man]

Another vote for Defense. It may not sound exciting but it can save your life and it looks like you got offense covered anyhow with 1d10+10 damage.

[Chijinda]

It's really a toss up between Dueling, TWF, and Defense. Close Quarters Shooting does combine well with Archery to give you +3 to hit. Sharpshooter is a must.

Sounds like a pretty good magic sword. Are you the best character in the group to be wielding it? I'd rather have a magic longbow.

Either way, I'd probably choose Defense or CQS as my second fighting style. Neither Dueling or TWF make using that sword any better. It is a good backup weapon to have though and works well with Horde Breaker.

Which Fighter subclass were you thinking? I like Battle Master. Disarming Attack and Goading Attack are awesome at range.

Rogue is great for archers too. I'd be tempted to take more Rogue levels than ranger. Scout is perfect. Sneak damage will add up and Uncanny Dodge and Evasion are great.


As far as whether I'm the best to use it, I'm probably not, but I'm also the only pureblooded elf in the party, so I'm the only one who CAN wield it (we tried letting the half-elf try it out and it did not work).

As far as Fighter subclass, right now I'm having a toss-up between Battlemaster, Samurai and Sharpshooter. Battlemaster is probably the best in a general sense from what I've seen, Samurai is great for once I multiclass into Rogue for being able to grant automatic advantage on attack rolls (guaranteed sneak attack bonus on enemies the rest of the party can't reach!) and Sharpshooter seems just generally solid for archers.

As far as Rogue vs Ranger, I'll be honest, I was super tempted to switch gears and go Rogue, but Volley is too tempting to pass up, since my Ranger's already begun to gear himself towards horde encounters-- since our other martials in the group have single-target opponents VERY well covered.

Obliged for the suggestions toward Defense or CQS. While I know Defense is probably more practical, I'm leaning more towards CQS, partially because it'll also tide my Ranger over with cover, until I get Sharpshooter (which is still about 4 levels away).

[CTurbo]

Then go Fighter 3, Rogue 5 so you at least get Uncanny Dodge and 3d6 sneak damage.

I think CQS is a great choice and yes SS is a must too

[Chijinda]

Then go Fighter 3, Rogue 5 so you at least get Uncanny Dodge and 3d6 sneak damage.

I think CQS is a great choice and yes SS is a must too

Fair enough. Uncanny Dodge and 3d6 Sneak attack outweighs the ASI at level 4 Fighter? My concern with going 12/5/3 was that I'd end the game a full feat or Stat boost behind the party. Though this would still at least allow me to max out my Wisdom, plus get the two Feats I need.

[CTurbo]

I don't even think I would be concerned with maxing Wisdom. It's not THAT important on a Ranger.

[Lunali]

Also my character uses a long bow not a Crossbow. Although it looks like there might be a Fighting Style for that? (Close Quarter Shooter in UA?). I was a little leery of that one though, as it looks like half of the Fighting Style does the same thing as Sharpshooter. That said a +11 on attack rolls wouldn't be awful.

I was only suggesting crossbow expert for the disadvantage removal that works with any ranged weapon, not just crossbows. If CQS is an option for you then I'd go with that instead.

[Xihirli]

I don't even think I would be concerned with maxing Wisdom. It's not THAT important on a Ranger.

For a one shot I had a ranger with a WIS penalty.
One of my favorite sessions.

[Particle_Man]

For a one shot I had a ranger with a WIS penalty.
One of my favorite sessions.

Belkar? :smallbiggrin:

[Citan]

In my current campaign my Ranger archer is cross-classing into Fighter. At least partially because he recently got a magical weapon, and I wanted to pick an appropriate close combat style for him. To keep this relatively brief, the magic weapon is a sword with the Finesse and Light qualities, so I wanted to pick up a fighting style to suit it. Until now my Ranger's been archery focused, so my focus is to basically have this as an option to transition to when enemies get too close for shooting them to be effective.

While dueling seems like it'd be ideal, my GM has house-ruled his interpretation of Dueling which forbids the use of shields (I have discussed this at length with him, and he ultimately ended up dropping Rule 0 on the matter), which has gotten me looking at Two-Weapon Fighting, to pair this new magic sword with a short sword, since they're both light (of course given how useful Bonus actions are to Rangers....) Since he's been focused on bowmanship since level 1, he already has the Archery fighting style.

So anyways, here I've come, asking for advice on what would be the best fighting style to take advantage of my character's new gear. Would Dueling still be better, even with these restrictions, for an archery focused character? Or should I look at a different Fighting style altogether?


If needed to assist in this, my character's stats are below:


Str: 12
Dex: 20
Con: 14
Int: 14
Wis: 18
Cha: 11
Hi! First things first...

Defense is always a good secondary fighting style.
This, basically. When in doubt, a bit more defense is never a bad choice.

With that said... Two-weapon fighting, for your character, could be worth imo mainly if the following conditions are fulfilled.
1) You don't use Hunter's Mark as your primary spell.
If that was so, then especially since you will deal more damage from now on, chances are you'll swap it from one creature to another even more often.
2) You are ok with relying on a hand crossbow for when you really need to get back on archery, but just for one or two rounds (good especially if you have Sharpshooter already).

If those two are fulfilled, then getting two-weapon fighting would allow you to wield your magic weapon in one hand, *a dagger in the other* (not a shortsword, seriously, explanation coming).
That way, when you anticipate the need of getting better range, you can (example order)...
a/ Attack action, first attack, throw your dagger.
b/ Attack action, second attack, use your weapon (does not matter, you already "enabled" the bonus action with first attack).
c/ Bonus action attack with special weapon.
d/ Draw hand crossbow.

Another take:
a/ Attack action, first attack, throw your dagger. Per PHB, you just enabled bonus action weapon attack.
b/ Draw hand crossbow.
c/ Attack action, second attack, shoot a bolt.
d/ Close in, use bonus action attack with special weapon.

The two above are, from my understanding, completely RAW (unless I missed a bit saying you can't draw a weapon between weapon attacks, but that would seem dubious to me), but a DM may legitimately frown upon a kind of juggling that was not necessarily the spirit of dual-wielding.
So, to be safe, another example that is 100% solid.

Third take
a/ Attack action, both attacks, use special weapon.
b/ Bonus action attack, throw dagger.
c/ Draw hand crossbow.

In all three examples...
1. You still get as many functional attacks as usual.
2. You end your turn with a melee weapon, meaning you can try and get an OA against close enemies.
3. You end your turn with a ranged weapon, meaning you can shooting freely on the next turn because you can start it by using your free interaction to sheathe your magic weapon.
Yeah, you *could* just drop it, but any reasonable enemy would pick it up and use it against you: even if he does not get the benefits, it's still extremely annoying to get hurt by own weapon. To me at least. ^^

--
If you see this as too much of a hassle, discuss with your DM whether (s)he would agree that Dual Wielder also allows to, at once, draw one weapon and sheathe another. If so, pick that one, choose Defense or Dueling Fighting Style, and just instantly swap between "magic weapon" and "longbow" in any turn. :)

[dino_park]

Sounds like a pretty good magic sword. Are you the best character in the group to be wielding it? I'd rather have a magic longbow.

[Chijinda]

Sounds like a pretty good magic sword. Are you the best character in the group to be wielding it? I'd rather have a magic longbow.

A magic longbow would have been great, but there weren’t any magic ranged weapons among the loot distributed, and even if there had been, my character is the only one who CAN wield this sword, as it only works in the hands of a pureblood elf (and guess who is the only pure elf in the party). So even if I wasn’t the best party member for it, I’m still the only one who can make it work in the first place. At the very least the Finesse quality means that if my character ever DOES use it, he’s going to be pretty effective with it.

[Vogie]

I'd actually go with Mariner over Defense, as it gives the same bonus with the addition to climb & swim speeds... as a base ranger, you won't ever wear heavy armor without a feat

TWF would be good if you have a second light weapon and want to cash in on that third attack. You chose one of the Ranger Archetypes that don't have a bonus action component, so you do not have as much of that issue as other archetypes.

[Crgaston]

Honestly, as powerful as it is, I wouldn’t dedicate a fighting style to it, especially if you can get CQS.

That weapon itself is better than any of the melee fighting styles, and if you take CQS it’ll contribute to your primary form of attack. Then if you later get a magic bow you’ll be all set.

[Chijinda]

Honestly, as powerful as it is, I wouldn’t dedicate a fighting style to it, especially if you can get CQS.

That weapon itself is better than any of the melee fighting styles, and if you take CQS it’ll contribute to your primary form of attack. Then if you later get a magic bow you’ll be all set.

Fair enough. I think I will be going with CQS, as while I do love "practical but basic" like Defense, thus far my Ranger really hasn't had to worry about getting hit by AC-targeting attacks, and the GM has mainly been using Saving Throw based attacks at him instead.

Plus my Ranger has a good record of accuracy so far (in the entire campaign so far he's only missed a single shot, which was against a CR10 encounter), and CQS would contribute towards keeping his record. This has been an extremely helpful thread so far, between the fighting style and build suggestions.


'd actually go with Mariner over Defense, as it gives the same bonus with the addition to climb & swim speeds... as a base ranger, you won't ever wear heavy armor without a feat

TWF would be good if you have a second light weapon and want to cash in on that third attack. You chose one of the Ranger Archetypes that don't have a bonus action component, so you do not have as much of that issue as other archetypes.

Wouldn't honestly even wear heavy armor even if I could. With 20 Dex, and being the party's primary scout, my Ranger's dex IS his armor, and would not appreciate the Disadvantage on stealth checks.

As far as bonus actions, my Ranger did start with a pair of Short Swords, although unfortunately he DOES use the Hunter's Mark pretty frequently, which is one of the reasons I'm going to probably end up taking CQS.