Quick Links
The Fighter class ofBaldur’s Gate 3is classic, reliable, and hard-hitting. They’re a class that’s notoriously amazing at what they do—and what they do is hit stuff really hard. In this way, they’re straightforward to build and play, and the subclass Battle Master is one of the best, with some special abilities to take advantage of.
If you’re looking to make the most of your Battle Master, here’s how to make them as strong as they can be. The Fighter class is versatile, but this specific build works best on a melee Fighter with two-handed weapons. To make the most of this setup,you’ll need to focus on mobility, damage, and getting advantage over your enemies.
Best Races And Background For A Battle Master Fighter
The race you select isn’t going to make or break your Fighter build, but there are a couple of options that lend themselves particularly well to being Fighters.
However, don’t forget thatyou cannot change your race or background after you select themwhen making your character.
Notes
Half-Orc
They have Intimidation skill proficiency and Darkvision, which are both great. On top of that, they have a couple of useful features.
Githyanki
Githyanki benefits from high mobility with the racial abilities they unlock in later levels,Misty StepandJump.If a Fighter can’t get to something, they can’t hit it, so you’ll want to be able to cover enough distance to reach enemies in combat.
Wood Elf
This is another good option because of their mobility. Additionally, their Stealth Proficiency makes it easier to surprise enemies, allowing you to get an extra round of combat against them.
Like with your race, your background won’t impact the success of your Fighter too much. Certain proficiencies can give your Fightera leg up in combat and conversation, though.
Be sure toconsider your own play style when selecting your background. If you value talking your way out of a fight more than marching headfirst into combat, consider options that boost your Charisma skills.
Soldier
Soldier meshes well with a Fighter’s role in combat, andAthletics proficiency will allow them to jump farther, and make them more likely to succeed in shoving enemies.
If you’re playing a Half-Orc, remember that you’ll have proficiency in Intimidation with or without this background.
Outlander
Athletics is always good, as explained above. Survival proficiency will help youfind those hidden dig spotsthroughout the map. This is nice but unnecessary,especially after you unlock Scratch’s summon.
Guild Artisan
As long as you have no qualms about your background and class not making too much sense,this background grants you a Persuasion proficiency you otherwise can’t get as a Fighter. You’ll want toassign one of your other proficiencies to Athleticsso you can still get those useful benefits.
Ability Scores For A Battle Master Fighter
As a Fighter, your most important stats will be Strength for your attacks, Dexterity for armor class and initiative, and Constitution for your health. This is amelee build, soStrength should be the highest stat.
17
13
15
10
12
8
1
Fighting Style
This will be selected during character creation.We recommend Defensebecause you can’t go wrong with a +1 boost to AC. That being said,Great Weapon Fighting is an excellent option as well.
2
Action Surge
One of the Fighter class’s most powerful assets. This refreshes on a short rest, meaningyou can use it three times per long rest, so don’t be shy about using it.
3
The first three Maneuvers you should grab are:
Rally is extraordinarily useful torevive Downed party members for just a bonus actionand one of your Superiority dice.
4
Feat
Take an Ability Improvement for +2 to your Strength. This willimprove all of your weapon attacksand bring your Strength up to 19. Fighters get an extra Feat, so you can improve your attack stat without sacrificing other useful Feats.
5
6
Take theSavage AttackerFeat. For every melee attack, you’llroll damage twice and use the highest result. While this doesn’t guarantee higher damage, it sure gives you a better shot.
7
The next two Maneuvers you should select are:
Disarming Strikecan make non-spell-casting enemies essentially helplessunless they waste a turn to re-equip their weapon. Precision Attack isuseful for enemies that have high defense. It also doesn’t cost an action, meaning you’re able to use it at any point during your turn.
GrabHeavy Armor Masteron this level to increase your Strength by one. Thisdecreases incoming damage from magical attacks by 3while wearing heavy armor, and willmax out your Strength to 20, to boot.
9
Indomitable
Once per long rest,you can reroll a failed Saving Throw. This doesn’t cost a reaction, so you can still make one if you’d like.
Improved Combat Superiority
Gain two more Battle Maneuvers
Not only are yourSuperiority Die now 1d10instead of 1d8, you also get to select two final Battle Maneuvers. Go ahead and grab:
11
Improved Extra Attack
This is one of the greatest abilities of the Fighter class. With this,you can make three attacks per attack action.
For your final Feat, takeGreat Weapon Master. Using a two-handed or versatile melee weapon,any critical hit or kill will grant you an additional attackas a bonus action. You can alsotoggle the ability to deal 10 additional damage at the cost of a -5 attack roll penalty. While this is a substantial penalty, by the time you’re level 12, you’ll have plenty of attack roll boosts available to you to negate this.
Equipment Recommendations For A Battle Master Fighter
What you’re looking for here ishigh armor class, reduced damage, and increased mobility. For this reason, we recommendheavy armor. Fortunately, there are plenty of great options, even early on.
House of Hope
For mobility, theBoots of Speedare excellent for giving youa boost to movement to reach far-away enemies.
TheGauntlets of Hill Giant Strengthare a no-brainer for any Strength buildsince they automatically set your Strength to 23. TheAmulet of Greater Healthwill contribute to your tank potential by substantiallyincreasing your max health.
Weapons
There are several excellent Greatsword options for a two-handed melee build.While it’s not easy to obtainand won’t be available until late Act 3,Balduran’s Giantslayer is the best choice.
How To Play A Battle Master Fighter
One of the many great things about a Fighter is that they are simple and fun to play. With a high AC and health pool,you should be at the front line of combat, taking hits to protect your other party members.
To mitigate the penalty to attack rolls that Great Weapon Master: All In gives you, you should alsofocus on giving yourself advantage against enemies wherever possible. Utilize your Battle Maneuvers, such as Trip Attack and Precision Attack, to give yourself a better shot at succeeding rolls even with the penalty.
You can also rely on other party members here to help land attack rolls with Great Weapon Master. For example, Shadowheart’s Guiding Bolt can give you Advantage on your next attack roll. Or any spellcaster with Haste can cast it on you.
In the first turn of combat,don’t be shy about using your action to Dash,Misty Step, Jump, or use any combination of action and bonus actions to get yourself into the thick of combat. The sooner you can be within striking range of enemies, the sooner you can start hacking away at them.
