First time fighter help

[Boniface]

Hi all, first time poster, first time player.

I’ve just gotten into dungeons and dragons in the last few months (always wanted to play, no-one to play with) and I’ve joined my first gaming group.

I decided i’d go with a fighter as the other choices I wanted were taken.
I have created a fighter high-elf folk hero based on the campaign and back story I have.
Everyone rolled for stats (relatively well), and have (including racial and background traits etc):
Str: 10
Dex: 20
Con: 16
Int: 12
Wis: 14
Cha: 14
Proficiencies in: acrobatics, animal handling, insight, perception, survival and smith tools.
I have leather armour, a long bow, rapier, shield, and 2 hand axes. I took mage hand as a cantrip and archery as a fighting style (there are 2 heavy armour paladins in the group).

I’ve somewhat planned my character levels based on guides from this site and others but am not sure the best way to approach this.

I have been thinking about multi-classing as a rouge for sneak attack and assassinate bonuses as well as stealth proficiency as i’m primarily an archer scouting ahead stealthily.
I’m planning on becoming a battle master at level 3 for precision attacks and have planned the first 5-6 levels with the sharpshooter feat at level 4 and waiting until at least level 5 before multi-classing for 2 attacks.
It’s at this point I wasn’t sure what to do as I have a few ideas.
I’m not sure if I should go rouge at this time and if I should get 3 levels for assassin or not and instead carry on fightering and get the medium armour master and crossbow expert feats building until level 11 then multi-classing.
I’m also been thinking about light domain cleric for 2 levels or ranger for 3 and getting horde breaker.
Being the first time playing i’m not sure how long the campaign is going to last and whether it’s worth it.
Any multi-classing tips would be much appreciated.

When and how should I multi-class a fighter?

[DarthPenance]

Hello, and welcome to the world of DnD and to the best class ever Fighter, you rolled pretty well, starting with a 20 in your main stat is very good, especially for a Fighter, so you'll have more freedom to get feats and such.
You say you intend to multiclass, I won't tell you how to play your character, but in the first campaign you play, you'll not be the most familiarized with the mechanics of the game, even if you read the rulebook a lot you'll get more experience playing, so I don't recommend in your first campaign multiclass, since you're a Fighter, it's easier to keep track of stuff, but in regarding for example if your DM asks for a justification, sometimes it can be harder to do such stuff, like you said, it's good to at least get level 5 so you can get a second attack, if you feel comfortable with the mechanics and want to expand on another class, go ahead, it can be a fun experience, depending on how the campaign goes it could also help waiting for level 11 for a third attack, but using sharpshooter with Assassin can be very deadly, however with two heavy armor Paladins it will be harder to get surprise due to stealth.
From your build you will be focusing on archery, having played a character like that to level 11, I can say for certain, especially after level 5, you will run out of ammunition, a lot, so buy arrows when you can, they're not very expensive, the starting 20 can work well for the first levels but you'll need more.
You also seem to want to get sharpshooter, which is a fantastic feat, with the Archery fighting style helping offset it's weakness, I recommend trying to use it when you have advantage, it can be a bit harder with ranged attacks, but there are a lot ways to do it, so I won't list them all here, but your Battlemaster skills will help.
A weakness you need to be wary of is people getting close to you, Battlemaster has skills to help with that, but basically try to keep a rapier or a finesse weapon nearby in that case, or just go with bow if you don't mind disadvantage, you have pretty good constitution and the d10 of the Fighter, so you will not be squishy, if one of your paladins friends can get Sentinel, it will help with that, but don't try to force them to, just suggest, since Paladins need those precious Ability Score Improvements (ASO).
As for feats you can get, you already know Sharpshooter and Crossbow Expert, which help mitigate some weakness and strenghten your attacks, since you have a lot of free ASOs, you should look out for Lucky, which is all around useful, and Magic Initiate, especially for Wizard and Warlock, for Find Familiar and Hex, also for the future, Resilient (Wisdom), trust me, you don't want to fail Wisdom saves, especially at high levels.
Other than that you'll experience the game, do try to keep some skills for not combat, since sometimes you can find yourself with nothing to do, but good luck and have fun in your campaign.

[CTurbo]

Hi all, first time poster, first time player.

I’ve just gotten into dungeons and dragons in the last few months (always wanted to play, no-one to play with) and I’ve joined my first gaming group.

I decided i’d go with a fighter as the other choices I wanted were taken.
I have created a fighter high-elf folk hero based on the campaign and back story I have.
Everyone rolled for stats (relatively well), and have (including racial and background traits etc):
Str: 10
Dex: 20
Con: 16
Int: 12
Wis: 14
Cha: 14
Proficiencies in: acrobatics, animal handling, insight, perception, survival and smith tools.
I have leather armour, a long bow, rapier, shield, and 2 hand axes. I took mage hand as a cantrip and archery as a fighting style (there are 2 heavy armour paladins in the group).

I’ve somewhat planned my character levels based on guides from this site and others but am not sure the best way to approach this.

I have been thinking about multi-classing as a rouge for sneak attack and assassinate bonuses as well as stealth proficiency as i’m primarily an archer scouting ahead stealthily.
I’m planning on becoming a battle master at level 3 for precision attacks and have planned the first 5-6 levels with the sharpshooter feat at level 4 and waiting until at least level 5 before multi-classing for 2 attacks.
It’s at this point I wasn’t sure what to do as I have a few ideas.
I’m not sure if I should go rouge at this time and if I should get 3 levels for assassin or not and instead carry on fightering and get the medium armour master and crossbow expert feats building until level 11 then multi-classing.
I’m also been thinking about light domain cleric for 2 levels or ranger for 3 and getting horde breaker.
Being the first time playing i’m not sure how long the campaign is going to last and whether it’s worth it.
Any multi-classing tips would be much appreciated.

When and how should I multi-class a fighter?


Welcome!

If this is your first character, I recommend not multiclassing. Pure Fighters are very good as is and you'll have a lot of space for fun feats and get a lot of attacks.

If you do just insist on multiclassing, I wouldn't do it until after level 5 or 6 or later. Rogue or Ranger are the two best choices. Gloom Stalker + Assassin + Action Surge makes for some completely ridiculous first turns every combat. (6 attacks first turn with Fighter 5 or 8 attacks for Fighter 11). Hunter for Colossus Slayer or Horde Breaker and Scout Rogue also make a great combo.

You'll obviously want Sharpshooter at level 4, but what you take after that depends on how you want your character to be. I think every Fighter should take either Ritual Caster or Magic Initiate at some point. Alert, Mobile, Lucky, and Res(Wis) are also really good for anybody but especially Fighters. I would NOT consider Medium Armor Master though.

[Hadoken]

I recently built a similar fighter for a campaign. One thing to consider when you pick up battlemaster at level 3 is getting the commander strike maneuver if you have a rogue in your party. Sneak attack damage can only be applied once per turn, but it's not limited per round, so you'll be a rogue's best friend if you use your commander strike to give them another chance to get a sneak attack.

I agree with what other folks are saying that you should shy away from multiclassing in your first campaign. Straight fighters are really strong all on their own in 5e. However, if you do multiclass, check out the scout subclass for rogues in Xanathar's Guide to Everything. It synergizes well with dex fighters.

[bid]

I agree that you shouldn't go deeper into MC than putting makeup on your cheeks.

That being said, assassin is overrated. But with Dex20 to win the initiative and action surge have 4 ranged attacks that auto-crit, you have a setup where it can work fine.

Also, the best uses of SD are riposte, precision attack, and commander's strike (as Hadoken pointed out). Precision attack make SS deadlier, since it can turn a near miss into a hit.

[djreynolds]

Since you don't have to max out dexterity, and you are a battle master, martial adept can be afforded now. 1 extra SD per short rest can help out with sharpshooter's -5

Magic initiate for hex, you're not concentrating on anything, save it for those big battles

[Boniface]

I’ve recently become aware of some other options Xanathar’s guide and unearthed arcanum (specifically revised classes). And it’s got me rethinking about my character.
I wondered if this is a good build for a primarily archer, dex fighter?

1: fighter - archery
2: fighter
3: fighter - arcane archer (revised)
4: fighter - sharpshooter
5: fighter - extra attack
6: ranger (revised) - stealth, favoured humanoids
7: ranger - dueling, hunters mark, hail of thorns
8: ranger - gloom stalker, absorb elements
9: rogue - slight of hand, sneak attack
10: rogue - cunning action
11: rogue - assassin
12: fighter - feat magical initiate (wiz)
13: rogue - feat eleven accuracy
14: ranger - feat Alert
15: rogue - uncanny dodge.

The rest of the levels in fighter.
Not sure if the campaign will go this far.

What are your thoughts or suggestions for improvements?

[Man_Over_Game]

Not a terribly huge fan of the Ranger multiclassing. 3 classes is just a little much for me.

If you want range with some diversity, I've been a huge fan of this:

Rogue 1
Fighter 1-3 (Battlemaster)
Rogue 2
Fighter 4-18

You end up getting sneak attack bonuses, stealth that naturally works with your high Dexterity, you can end up with 20 AC by grabbing Dual Wielder, you're equally proficient in melee and ranged combat (but ranged is always better when available), and you can do some crazy cool shots with your Battlemaster abilities so combat is never boring.

Alternatively, if you absolutely don't want any kind of melee combat, and want to focus strictly on ranged, you can go:

Rogue 1
Fighter 1-3
Rogue 2-17

With this build, the Inquisitive Rogue can do well, since it can study any target within sight, with no range, so you can pull off those sneak attacks with Sharpshooter
Alternatively, Mastermind is another good option if you have another rogue or a heavy melee line.
And lastly, the Scout does well if you plan on going in deep to land some easy shots, or if you have a weak front line.

I always recommend Rogue as your first level when going ranged, as the additional skills you get will be well worth it, as opposed to Fighter which will get you heavy armor you'll never wear.


As for the Arcane Archer, it's a cool idea, but I'd only recommend it if your team has a need for controller/arcane casters. If your team doesn't have a wizard or a bard, it'd be a good choice, but otherwise the Battlemaster does about as well and only needs two stats (Dexterity + Constitution) where Arcane Archer needs a third stat into Intelligence.

[Boniface]

Not a terribly huge fan of the Ranger multiclassing. 3 classes is just a little much for me.

If you want range with some diversity, I've been a huge fan of this:

Rogue 1
Fighter 1-3 (Battlemaster)
Rogue 2
Fighter 4-18

You end up getting sneak attack bonuses, stealth that naturally works with your high Dexterity, you can end up with 20 AC by grabbing Dual Wielder, you're equally proficient in melee and ranged combat (but ranged is always better when available), and you can do some crazy cool shots with your Battlemaster abilities so combat is never boring.

Alternatively, if you absolutely don't want any kind of melee combat, and want to focus strictly on ranged, you can go:

Rogue 1
Fighter 1-3
Rogue 2-17

With this build, the Inquisitive Rogue can do well, since it can study any target within sight, with no range, so you can pull off those sneak attacks with Sharpshooter
Alternatively, Mastermind is another good option if you have another rogue or a heavy melee line.
And lastly, the Scout does well if you plan on going in deep to land some easy shots, or if you have a weak front line.

I always recommend Rogue as your first level when going ranged, as the additional skills you get will be well worth it, as opposed to Fighter which will get you heavy armor you'll never wear.


As for the Arcane Archer, it's a cool idea, but I'd only recommend it if your team has a need for controller/arcane casters. If your team doesn't have a wizard or a bard, it'd be a good choice, but otherwise the Battlemaster does about as well and only needs two stats (Dexterity + Constitution) where Arcane Archer needs a third stat into Intelligence.

Unfortunately, i’m already a lvl 2 fighter (not my first choice I wanted to go paladin, but there are 2 of those already). So i’d have to die and rebuild.