Dual wield EK -- Using lots of feats

[Synche]

Going over a potential dex based dual wield EK build in my mind, after getting started with 5e. I'm thinking about using it for local/online Adventurer's League games.

I'm thinking about maximizing AC with the use of a bunch of feats...I'm wondering if anyone has any tips to maybe tweak it a bit or if I'm missing something obvious.

Dex based human variant, standard array
12 str
15 + 1 dex
14 con
13 + 1 int
10 wis
8 cha

Fighting style defensive for +1 AC
Then I go crazy with feats:
Level 1 defensive duelist
Level 4 War caster
Level 6 Dual wielder
Level 8 Resilient (dex)
etc.
+ritual caster
+mage slayer
etc.

Basically this is giving me out of the box level 1 a 19 AC (scale mail + Dex + Fighting style + Defensive duelist free reaction)
Level 3 I get to flash 22AC with shield a couple times a day with shield spell etc.

I thnk you guys can see where I'm going with this. I can even carry around a shield for maximum tankiness. I'm mostly curious if this is going overboard at all. I actually haven't played a ton of 5e, so I'm not too sure.

[Tanarii]

You biggest problem is going to be Dual Wielding uses your bonus action, and so does the level 7 archetype feature War Magic.

Edit: also Dual Wielder is better for Str fighters. Dex fighters get more mileage out of sticking with shortswords and increasing Dex instead.

[djreynolds]

And without TWF style, your losing out on your ability modifier on you BA attack.

Also max dex and mage armor.... is A.C. 18. With the shield spell , A.C. 23.

So max dex and mage armor is A.C. 18
Plate armor is A.C. 18
Half plate and 16 dex. And medium armor master feat is A.C. 18.

So for a dex based warrior, mage armor IMO is the cheapest, but it's 8 hours.

Studded leather and max dex is A.C. 17. But if you take war caster you can add a real shield, A.C. 19. Defensive style, for +1. A.C. 20. NOT bad. 3rd level, shield spell becomes A.C. 25

[CTurbo]

Plate + Shield + Defensive style = 21 AC. Add Shield spell to make it 26 AC and you haven't even spent a feat yet.

Half-Plate + Medium Armor Mastery will get you the same if you really want to stick to Dex build.

Fighter with Plate + Shield + Defensive style + 6 levels of Forge Cleric could very easily have a regular full time AC of 23 and then cast Shield of Faith for +2 more and then still have the Shield Spell +5 more for a grand total of 30 AC for a round. If you want to get cheesy, you could still use a Finesse weapon with Str and take Defensive Duelist.



I'm not sure about your concept though. You're going to carry a 16 in your main attack stat all the way to level 12 just to gain a bit of AC? Res(Wis) is a WAY better defensive feat option than Res(Dex) too.

[iTreeby]

War magic is so much better than duel wielding with an attack cantrip like booming blade or green flame blade.

[Hadoken]

I play a dual wielding EK, and I have to say I would recommend against it. Like others have said, TWF competes for your bonus action as you level up more into EK. You're thinking along the right track by building for AC since the EK can be one of the hardest to hit characters in the game between heavy armor, shields, the Shield spell, and self-buffs like Blur and Mirror Image. Leaning into that natural tankiness will mean you can lock down the role of drawing enemy attacks and then laughing as they whiff all day. I would recommend building for sword and board. You could even do something like PAM with a spear/quarterstaff in one hand and a shield in the other, add sentinel for near constant access to your reaction. Sure, those will compete with you casting Shield or Absorb Elements, but you have a limited number of spell slots, and you don't need to use Shield against every piddly attack. Consider picking up shield master when you get 3 attacks per round and stop using war magic with your SCAG cantrip. You'll be able to knock your enemies prone so you and the other melee classes can dog pile them. Keep warcaster since it synergizes well with all the opportunity attacks you'll be getting. Resilient dex is fine, but don't forget that resilient wis will offer you better saves against effects that can be a lot more devastating than just taking extra damage.

If you're committed to the concept of a high dex fighter, that's fine for an EK, simply stick with the rapier and ignore TWF. It's a trap for fighters. You already get the most attacks out of any class, one more isn't a huge deal. TWF is for rogues to make sure they land their sneak attack.

[djreynolds]

What you could play? IMO

Is an EK 3 (basically for the shield spell)/ and someone that gives you hex, hunter's mark, elemental weapon, or divine favor to make the most out of your TWF

I would snag forge cleric. This way you can dump charisma, keep intelligence whatever, dump strength

[Citan]

Going over a potential dex based dual wield EK build in my mind, after getting started with 5e. I'm thinking about using it for local/online Adventurer's League games.

I'm thinking about maximizing AC with the use of a bunch of feats...I'm wondering if anyone has any tips to maybe tweak it a bit or if I'm missing something obvious.

Dex based human variant, standard array
12 str
15 + 1 dex
14 con
13 + 1 int
10 wis
8 cha

Fighting style defensive for +1 AC
Then I go crazy with feats:
Level 1 defensive duelist
Level 4 War caster
Level 6 Dual wielder
Level 8 Resilient (dex)
etc.
+ritual caster
+mage slayer
etc.

Basically this is giving me out of the box level 1 a 19 AC (scale mail + Dex + Fighting style + Defensive duelist free reaction)
Level 3 I get to flash 22AC with shield a couple times a day with shield spell etc.

I thnk you guys can see where I'm going with this. I can even carry around a shield for maximum tankiness. I'm mostly curious if this is going overboard at all. I actually haven't played a ton of 5e, so I'm not too sure.
Hi!

You biggest problem is going to be Dual Wielding uses your bonus action, and so does the level 7 archetype feature War Magic.

Edit: also Dual Wielder is better for Str fighters. Dex fighters get more mileage out of sticking with shortswords and increasing Dex instead.
I disagree on the fact competition with War Magic is a big deal (you really don't care imo*), however I 100% agree with the fact you should go STR-based and use medium armor (you can pick MAM if you want to be as stealthy).

Defensive Duelist works the same (requires finesse weapon, not using it with DEX) and Mirror Image is still worth the cast in biggest fights with 14/16 DEX.

Also, I would pick Defensive Duelist in the late game: +2 AC as a reaction against single attack is not enough imo, while +5 or +6 definitely is.

*More on why I think you shouldn't care: your concept is dual-wielding, so obviously you'll try to use it as much as possible. It's not even a big loss either: using Booming Blade + weapon attack as War Magic really makes a difference in damage *only* if the enemy moves. Otherwise, without taking chances to hit into account, it's the same, taking it, it's worse.

And it's hard to predict whether the enemy will move, especially since you don't seem keen on a Mobile based build.

With that said, while your character will be perfectly playable, there are more optimal ways to build a two-weapon based gish.
And EK with decent INT (which you are aiming for) will have more and more spells he'll want to cast (which denies dual-wielding), which may be further fueled by some dips in a proper Wizard class.

In other words, unless you really want to play specifically a "dual-wielding Eldricht Knight" (which, again, is perfectly fine, just not optimal), I'd suggest either...
- Keeping the Fighter "chassis" but instead pick Battlemaster or Champion, and mix it with a few levels of Cleric, Bard or Warlock.
- Picking instead either Ranger or Paladin chassis to make your gish.
- or play a plain Eldricht Knight with TWF style but no further commitment to that style, keeping feats for more generalist (yet very useful) feats like Sentinel, Mobile, Mage Slayer, so you can enjoy it thoroughly on levels 1-5 then progressively mix up your tactics with more and more magic until maybe you come back to your origins when you get Haste. :)

I'll be glad to provide suggestions if you happen to change your mind. Otherwise, enjoy your character ;)