Wizard/Fighter Build? Could it work?

[ChaseC311]

I'm currently thinking about playing a wizard/fighter Multiclass for an upcoming campaign. My ideas a reclusive satyr who uses the stars to guide his studies... That sounds like a divination wizard but I was actually thinking of using the Chronurgy subclass since I just found out about it. I was also planning on multiclassing into fighter, but I don't know which subclass to go for, or if it would even work. Any help would be greatly appreciated

[Eldariel]

Well. Fighter multiclass does two things:
- Gives martial Wizards a fighting style, second wind, Con-save proficiency and armor proficiencies.
- Gives Action Surge for double-spelling on level 2.

More than two levels is generally a waste since Wizard-levels are so good though nothing is of course stopping you from doing like Fighter [Battlemaster, Rune Knight, Echo Knight, or whatever] 11/Wizard [any persuasion] 9 (which is probably still better than Eldritch Knight 20 at the end of the road but of course has far less smooth leveling).

If you aren't going Bladesinger on a Fighter 1-2/Wizard 18ish, the combat abilities aren't worth much past level 6 (before like Wizard 11-17 anyways where your shapechanging abilities can make them matter again) since you won't get Extra Attack so cantrips will outpace your martial abilities in spite of fighting style.

Thus generally what you look for when you multiclass into Fighter is armor proficiencies and eventually Action Surge (you want to take a lot of Wizard before taking the second Fighter level since postponing those high level spells hurts a lot: Wizard list just keeps picking up speed the higher you go). That's not as strong as a straight Wizard before potentially level 18-19, but it's a good way to get some innate tankiness and proficiencies to make stuff work. It also comboes with some spells like Magic Jar, Tenser's Transformation and Shapechange (but those come really late).

[Grod_The_Giant]

I don't know which subclass to go for, or if it would even work. Any help would be greatly appreciated
I dunno--what are you looking for with the fighter dip?

[RogueJK]

There are a number of different ways to go about this, depending on exactly what you're wanting from a Fighter/Wizard multiclass.

In general, you'll want to pick one main class, and then limit yourself to 1-2 levels of the alternate class. (At least to start with, as I'll mention in a bit.)

This could look like:

A) Fighter 1/Wizard X. This is basically a standard Wizard, just with armor/shield, a Fighting Style (most likely Defense) and CON save proficiency for Concentration. You'll want to take Fighter 1 first for the CON save proficiency.

B) Fighter 2/Wizard X. Much like the above, but with Action Surge to be able to occasionally cast 2 spells per turn, in exchange for even further delays to your Wizard spellcasting. You'll want to take Fighter 1 as your first level, but you won't necessarily have to take both Fighter levels right away. I'd suggest Fighter 1 -> Wizard 5ish -> then maybe Fighter 2

C) Wizard 1/Fighter X. This is basically a standard Fighter who knows some rituals and cantrips and has a few 1st level spells (usually defensive options like Shield and Absorb Elements). You'll want to start with a Fighter level first. Can be an especially handy dip for an Eldritch Knight Fighter, to get some higher level spell slots for upcasting, some non-Evocation/Abjuration 1st level spells known, access to 1st level Rituals, and Arcane Recovery.

D) Wizard 2/Fighter X. Nearly the same as above, just with Wizard subclass features too. Like above, this works very well on an Eldritch Knight. Good options for Wizard subclass would be War Wizard for the defensive Arcane Deflection reaction, Divination Wizard for Portent, or Bladesinger on a DEX-based Fighter for Bladesong. With access to Booming Blade/Green Flame Blade, you can afford to take both Wizard levels early, since the delay to your Fighter Extra Attack at Fighter 5 won't hurt much thanks to your ability to use one of those scaling melee cantrips to tide you over. This would look like Fighter 1 -> Wizard 2 -> Fighter X.


From there, after the 1-2 level dip, you'll generally stick to the primary class for the remainder of your levels. Especially if you want to be primarily a Wizard, since you don't want to put too much of a cramp in your Wizard spellcasting progression. However, if you're leaning more towards a Fighter primary class, there's some potential benefit to doing a Fighter 11 or 12/Wizard 8 or 9 multiclass, if your campaign is going to go that high. This works very well as an Eldritch Knight/War Wizard combo, going something like Fighter 1 or 2 -> Wizard 2 -> Fighter to 11 or 12 -> Wizard to 8 or 9.

That 11/9 or 12/8 combo is also worth pursuing on a DEX-based Bladesinger/Eldritch Knight combo, going something like Fighter 1 -> Wizard 6 -> Fighter to 11 or 12 -> Wizard to 8 or 9. The cool thing about this combo is that you can use BB/GFB as your primary melee attack until Fighter 1/Bladesinger 6, then you get to Attack+BB/GFB Cantrip. Then starting at Bladesinger 6/Eldritch Knight 7, you can Attack+Cantrip+Bonus Action Attack each turn. And starting at Eldritch Knight 11/Bladesinger 6, you can Attack+Attack+Cantrip+BA Attack each turn. So you don't miss out on any Fighter attack progression, since you're still getting 3x/4x attacks per turn at around the same character levels, and unlike a standard Fighter you actually get to supplement the damage on one of your multiple attacks with a BB/GFB cantrip.

However, you may be able to get the "fighter/wizard" flavor you're wanting without having to take any actual Fighter levels, by just going with a straight Bladesinger. That already has a mix of spellcasting and weapon combat baked together inside, along with Light Armor proficiency. And gets full Wizard spellcasting progression, so no delays there. However, Bladesinger forces you into being DEX-based with Light Armor and no shield, so if you're wanting a "heavily armored warrior mage", that wouldn't work for that character concept.

If you mainly just after medium/heavy armor and a shield, a 1 level Cleric dip is generally a better option for a Wizard to get those, since it wouldn't slow down your spell slot progression, and you'd have some additional 1st level spellcasting options and Cleric subclass abilities. Peace, Death, or Knowledge would be good Medium Armor Cleric dip options for a Wizard. Twilight, Forge, or Order would be good Heavy Armor Cleric dip options for a Wizard.

[tKUUNK]

short answer: Yes! It works better than you'd think. As others have said, consider starting with fighter for constitution saving throw proficiency.

Eldritch knight is one solid option for the fighter subclass, since you'll pick up some spells and slots.

As far as "how many levels of each"? and exact progression, honor your own wisdom. It's hard to go wrong.

[Selion]

I'm currently thinking about playing a wizard/fighter Multiclass for an upcoming campaign. My ideas a reclusive satyr who uses the stars to guide his studies... That sounds like a divination wizard but I was actually thinking of using the Chronurgy subclass since I just found out about it. I was also planning on multiclassing into fighter, but I don't know which subclass to go for, or if it would even work. Any help would be greatly appreciated

I'm playing one right now, level 4, 1 fighter, 3 wizard (war magic), currently having a hard fight (PBF), so i'm not sure he'll survive :biggrin:

It kinda works, i mean, at early levels, while being lackluster in damage, he's quite a tanky, he has utility with int based skills, some utility rituals and some spells for crowd control to improve damage. my current plan is:
1F-5W (for that sweet sweet fireball and possibly haste)
2F-Wizard X (to use and abuse action surge and spells)

The question is: is it better than a straight wizard? IMHO the answer is it's not. 1 level of spellcasting hurts a lot, i have a druid in group and i struggle keeping the pace with his spellcasting abilities. Furthermore, if you want a gish character, bladesingers offer almost everything you need without multiclassing, and a bard college of swords/valor is a solid choice too. It depends on what it's your plan.

Chornurgy wizard is arguably the strongest class of the game by a long margin, in terms of power there's not any need to multiclass.
In terms of flavor, chronurgy wizard and echo fighter is a nice concept to build around, but keep in mind that a straight wizard would probably perform better

[Pixel_Kitsune]

Going off rails a bit... How set are you on Wizard specifically? I ask because if the goal is a Spellcaster that uses the stars to guide him. Have you looked at the Circle of Stars Druid? It's entire theme is star maps and constellations guiding them, get full casting, plus an alternate use for your wildshape that fits the star theme and helps be a caster or fighter.

Just a stray thought.

[LudicSavant]

I'm currently thinking about playing a wizard/fighter Multiclass for an upcoming campaign. My ideas a reclusive satyr who uses the stars to guide his studies... That sounds like a divination wizard but I was actually thinking of using the Chronurgy subclass since I just found out about it. I was also planning on multiclassing into fighter, but I don't know which subclass to go for, or if it would even work. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Fighter/Wizard can work well as Wizard 19 / Fighter 1, Wizard 18 / Fighter 2, Fighter 11 / Wizard 9, or Fighter 12 / Wizard 8.

Here are some examples.

Evoker / Fighter https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=23998967&postcount=170
Eldritch Knight / War Wizard https://forums.giantitp.com/showsinglepost.php?p=24681222&postcount=523

[Frogreaver]

I'm currently thinking about playing a wizard/fighter Multiclass for an upcoming campaign. My ideas a reclusive satyr who uses the stars to guide his studies... That sounds like a divination wizard but I was actually thinking of using the Chronurgy subclass since I just found out about it. I was also planning on multiclassing into fighter, but I don't know which subclass to go for, or if it would even work. Any help would be greatly appreciated

Yes. Wizard/Fighter multiclass works fine. IMO, Single class wizard is probably more powerful till at least late tier 2 and by that time you are probably better of continuing in wizard unless you have very short adventuring days. But fighter/wizard is still a very solid choice. Not being the 'most powerful' doesn't mean not being good.

But more importantly your whole concept doesn't scream fighter anything to me - 'My ideas a reclusive satyr who uses the stars to guide his studies'

[Sherlockpwns]

Yeah I have to wonder given the description how this isn’t a Stars Druid concept.

[Kurt Kurageous]

My thought was, wow, a fighter using the shield spell as a reaction when surrounded by foes would be awesome, especially at low level. Mirror image also so. As a wizard, you wouldn't need to cast mage armor anymore, and if you can step away from the party, thunderwave or other crowd control becomes better. No need for your fighter to use a bow with firebolt, and you can still safely dump DEX. The challenge is how much to put into INT, the same thing the EK suffers from.

I don't assume your game will get to 20th level, so I look at what's the most fun 1-10 or so. Optimize for fun now. There most likely wont BE a later.

[DwarfFighter]

I like the idea of an even Fighter/Wizard build. Probably not very optimized, but WTH. Sounds like a fun concept.

[Frogreaver]

As a wizard, you wouldn't need to cast mage armor anymore

I used to feel that wizards needed to cast mage armor unless multiclassing for AC. Now I'll just play my low level 12-13 AC Wizard and save the slot for the a spell like sleep. It's not like +3 AC makes a huge difference when facing the small number of attacks a level 1 wizard can face in an adventuring day anyways. Most that would hit you with the +3 AC bonus from mage armor will hit you anyways.

When level 1 slots stop being as relatively powerful, that's when I look trade something like sleep in for mage armor.

[Izodonia]

I like the idea of an even Fighter/Wizard build. Probably not very optimized, but WTH. Sounds like a fun concept.

I just finished playing one, a High Elf, reaching Eldritch Knight 6/War Mage 6. I played him as a front-line fighter (dex-based) with a bunch of cool spells - sort of a modernized version of the OD&D Elf class. Haste, of course, was my go-to spell, as was Mirror Image. He was a blast to play.

[Kurt Kurageous]

I just finished playing one, a High Elf, reaching Eldritch Knight 6/War Mage 6. I played him as a front-line fighter (dex-based) with a bunch of cool spells - sort of a modernized version of the OD&D Elf class. Haste, of course, was my go-to spell, as was Mirror Image. He was a blast to play.

Yes! This is what I was thinking.

[5eNeedsDarksun]

I just finished playing one, a High Elf, reaching Eldritch Knight 6/War Mage 6. I played him as a front-line fighter (dex-based) with a bunch of cool spells - sort of a modernized version of the OD&D Elf class. Haste, of course, was my go-to spell, as was Mirror Image. He was a blast to play.

I could see this at low levels, but at the point where you finished playing this character it seems to me that being unable to cast spells following Arcane Deflection is getting more and more punitive. Once casters get enough spells that they are using them for many/ most combat rounds War Mage seems like an iffy choice. Curious to hear if this was an issue for you.

[Izodonia]

I could see this at low levels, but at the point where you finished playing this character it seems to me that being unable to cast spells following Arcane Deflection is getting more and more punitive. Once casters get enough spells that they are using them for many/ most combat rounds War Mage seems like an iffy choice. Curious to hear if this was an issue for you.

First of all, the Arcane Deflection only has a chance of affecting the results in 10% of attacks and 20% of saving throws, so it's not like it was used every round. Once every 3-4 rounds, maybe, depending on the number of attackers. That leaves more than enough rounds free for spellcasting.

Second of all, my character concept was "Fighter with spells" rather than "Wizard who fights". I avoided damage-dealing magic, on the grounds that I could do more harm with my melee weapon anyway, and focused on buffs, utility spells, and special-purpose magic. That means I most often cast spells between fights or on the first round - and considering the bonus to Initiative, I usually had the first action in any combat.

Third of all, my DM likes biiiiig dungeons with no options for a long rest. Wasting a spell slot each round would be tantamount to suicide.