Fighter Class Guide:Builds and Best Subclasses

The Fighter is one of the 12 available main classes in Baldur's Gate 3 (BG3). Check out our guide for an overview of the Fighter class, including its related subclasses, class features, best races to use, and best builds.

Fighter Class Overview

Fighter Basic Information

Class Overview
	Fighter Fighters have mastered the art of combat, wielding weapons with unmatched skill and wearing armor like a second skin.
Hit Die	d10
Primary Ability	Strength Dexterity (For Ranged or Finesse Weapons)
Saving Throw Proficiencies	Strength and Constitution
Starting Class Features
・Choice of Fighting Style during Character Creation ・Grants the Second Wind Class Action ・Light Armor Proficiency ・Medium Armor Proficiency ・Heavy Armor Proficiency ・Shield Proficiency ・Simple Weapon Proficiency ・Martial Weapon Proficiency

The Fighter is a no-nonsense martial class that boasts easy-to-learn class mechanics and a straightforward combat doctrine. In battle, Fighters are the ultimate beginner-friendly damage and tank class, able to dish out hits and shrug off damage, all to the simple tune of your party members going “Fighter, go kill.”

Fighter Skills with Proficiency

As a Fighter, your character can choose 2 out of the 8 skills below to be Proficient in. When you are Proficient with a skill, you get a bonus to any Checks tied to that skill. Proficiency bonuses increase as you gain levels for your chosen class.

What is a Proficiency Bonus?

All Fighter Subclasses

Fighters will unlock the option to choose a subclass in the form of a Martial Archetype once they hit Level 3. In Baldur's Gate 3, you will have 3 Martial Archetypes to choose from: the Champion, the Battle Master, or the Eldritch Knight.

Subclass	Subclass Description
Battle Master	Battle Masters are paragons of tactical superiority, combining combat manoeuvres and experience in the field to dominate every fight. Subclass Starting Features: ・Grants the Manoeuvre mechanic. ・Grants new class actions based on chosen Manoeuvres.
Eldritch Knight	Eldritch Knights study magic to supplement their weaponry, allowing them to overcome resistance from the toughest foes. Subclass Starting Features: ・Grants Spellcasting from the Wizard spell list. ・Level 1 Spell Slots Unlocked.
Champion	The archetypal Champion focuses on the development of raw physical power honed to deadly perfection. Those who model themselves on this archetype combine rigorous training with physical excellence to deal devastating blows.

All Fighter Features

Fighting Style Grants You Bonuses for Certain Weapon Types

During character creation, you will be asked to choose a Fighting Style for your Fighter. Depending on the playstyle you envision for your character, you can pick one of the different styles shown below in order to get their related passive bonuses.

Second Wind Grants Healing in a Pinch

Fighters will start off with the class action, Second Wind, unlocked. Instead of having dedicated healers to help them out of a sticky situation, Fighters can use Second Wind to heal themselves in a pinch. The amount healed is calculated using the following die roll equation:

To cast Second Wind, Fighters will need to use up one of their bonus actions during combat and before they end their turn. This will replenish any lost hit points to the tune of a 1d10 roll plus your level bonus. Second Wind also works outside of combat.

Do note that Second Wind can only be used once. After using it, either during or outside of combat, players will need to take a Short or Long Rest in order to give it another charge and prepare it for use.

Action Surge Grants an Extra Action in Combat

Once your Figher reaches Level 2, they will gain access to the Action Surge feature. When used during combat, Action Surge grants you an extra action to use. Players can use it to perform extra attacks or other generic actions like help, disengage, or dash.

Much like Second Wind, the Action Surge feature can only be used once between rests. To replenish your Action Surge charge, you will need to take a Short or Long Rest back at camp.

Action Surge Refreshes Extra Attacks at Level 5 and 11

One of the greatest strengths of the Action Surge feature is that it can replenish your Extra Attack mechanic. After attacking twice, using Action Surge will grant you an extra action that also carries the Extra Attack feature. This allows you to perform a max of 4 attacks at Level 5 and 6 attacks at Level 11 between rests.

Martial Archetype Subclasses Expand on Fighting Styles

Upon hitting Level 3, your Fighter will unlock the option to choose a subclass in the form of a Martial Archetype. In Baldur's Gate 3, you will have 3 Martial Archetypes to choose from: the Champion, the Battle Master, or the Eldritch Knight.

Your choice of subclass will depend entirely on your vision for your Fighter. Champions get an extra Fighting Style at higher levels, Battle Masters gain a superiority die mechanic for special attacks, while Eldritch Knights work to emulate a melee spellcaster hybrid.

Extra Attacks Make You a Powerhouse in Combat

At Levels 5 and 11, your Fighter will get an Extra Attack to use during battle. Coupled with Action Surge, Fighters can technically attack up to 6 times in a single turn once they hit Level 11. The Champions in particular benefit the most from Extra Attacks as they have the Improved Critical Hit feature and a single critical strike can change the tide of battle.

Indomitable Grants a Saving Throw Reroll

Once you hit Level 9, your Fighter will get a chance to reroll a failed Saving Throw once per Long Rest using the Indomitable feature. This is particularly useful when attempting to avoid negative area or status effects during crucial turns in combat.

What is Saving Throw?

Fighter Class Level Progression

Fighter Builds

Ability Scores

Strength is our main focus as this is where the majority of our damage will come from.

We increase our Dexterity to 14 to give us an option over Medium Armor over Heavy Armor and our Constitution to 16 to make sure we can stay on the frontline at all times.

The rest of our stats (Intelligence, Wisdom, Charisma are dump stats but we try to increase our Charisma to remove the majority of negative ability bonuses when talking to NPCs! Alternatively, we can bump down Charisma lower to increase our Intelligence to 10 if we want to transition to Eldritch Knight.

Best Fighter Subclass

Battle Master for More Martial Skills

The Battle Master provides the Fighter a multitude of Martial Arts but can only prepare a few of them for battle. However, they are devastating and their effects can prove useful on the necessary situations. If you want a lesser powerhouse but more versatile Fighter then Battle Master is the best class to go!

Eldritch Knight for a Hybrid Fighter

While the Eldritch Knight does gain the ability to cast spells, their best use for the Eldritch Knight is to cast buffs on themselves from the Eldritch Knight's spell pool. This makes the Eldritch Knight a much more versatile fighter that can adjust to fights depending on the spells the Fighter has.

Champion for Passive DPS

The Champion is our main pick among the Existing Subclasses. The Champion gains acess to Improved Critical Hit which synergizes with the Orc's Savager Attacks. At Level 5, you can also gain access to Extra Attacks which makes this Subclass just that much stronger.

Best Fighting Style

Two-Weapon Fighting for Champion Builds

Two-Weapon Fighting allows our off hand attack to deal more damage and it also adds another try to lane a critical hit against our foes. This works much better at level 5 once we get more attacks!

Defence for a Frontline Builds

+1 Armor Class is extremely valuable for a frontline unit. All Fighter builds can generally benefit from this Fighting Style which makes it a great choice if you're unsure as to what offensive playstyle focus you wanna use.

Best Races to Use As a Fighter

Half-Orc

Half-Orc is a very martial oriented- melee class and it stands that Fighters love to be in the center of combat. Having natural access to Second Wind and high DPS, Half-Orc and Fighters go hand in hand.

・Darkvision provides us a nice bonus in dark places. This works wonders if we are playing a range-oriented fighter that focuses on crossbows or bow weapons.
・Relentless Endurance allows us to survive a lethal hit once. Together with the Fighter's natural durability and second wind, we can easily comeback from an otherwise, dangerous scenario.
・Savage Attacks is the main reason we take this race. While it may not seem like a huge bonus at the start, Savage attack's value increases after we reach the middle levels and with our build setup.

Baldur's Gate 3 Related Guides

Class Guide: All Classes and Subclasses

All Classes

All Class Guides
Barbarian	Bard	Cleric	Druid
Fighter	Monk	Paladin	Ranger
Rogue	Sorcerer	Warlock	Wizard