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Whether you’re a fan of CRPGs or want to bring your Dungeons & Dragons games to life,Baldur’s Gate 3has been one of the most popular titles to ever grace video gaming. But if you’re struggling to decide on a tank, might we recommend the champion fighter?
It’s an excellent choice for the beginner and the veteran RPG connoisseur alike. Easy to build, Simple to play, and ferocious on the battlefield, these characters can form the lethal bulwark of any party. In this guide, we’ll run through how to build a champion fighter, how to play them, and what to grab for them along the way.
Race And Background
Race
Half-Orcs make for some of the best champion fightersout there, with Savage Attacks adding an extra damage die on a critical hit and Relentless Endurance giving you one hit point if you drop to zero.
Darkvision is also incredibly helpful since you don’t have to worry about carrying a torch in one hand.
Githyankican use Astral Knowledge to improve their function out-of-combat, gain access toMage Hand, and later Enhanced Leap andMisty Step, thanks to their Githyanki Psionics trait.
Wood Elfs alsomake great fighters because of their extra movement speed and proficiency in Stealth – especially if you’re playing a dexterity-based fighter.
Races with lower movement speedstend to suffer as fighters due to the lack of mobility, such as Halflings or Gnomes, but don’t let that put you off experimenting.
Their lower movement speeds are more than made up for by the Lucky and Gnome Cunning traits, respectively.
Background
Our go-to background will be Soldier; it gives proficiency in athletics, which is the only Strength-based skill, and Intimidation gives us some utility in a conversation – though not much, given Charisma will be our dump stat (more on that later).
Another option is Outlander. We can still get Athletics proficiency straight out of the gate, Survival proficiency, too. This will play slightly better into our ability score distribution, but it’s worth noting that Survival checks don’t appear all too often.
The Best Fighting Style For Champion Fighters
This mostly comes down to how you play your fighter, but for a melee-focused build, we recommendDefense, followed byDuellingorGreat Weapon Fighting.
Increasing your armor class outside of heavier and better armor is difficult, sogetting even a slight boost to your AC is always a plus. Moreover, the sheer simplicity of the buff makes Defense a solid option even for the late-game.
The other two mostlycome down to personal preference. If you want a shield but want to be more offensive than a dedicated tank - pick Duelling, but it will streamline your weapon choice to one-handed, non-versatile weapons.
If you want to get extra damage– pick Great Weapon Fighting. Rerolling out of dud damage numbers is great, but there’s always a chance you’ll roll poorly twice in a row.
If you’re set on playinga Dexterity-focused fighter,choose the Archery fighting style instead. The ability to consistently hit your target is worth its weight in gold, so that extra chance to hit will always be useful.
Ability Scores And Skills
When laying out your character statistics, your main priorities are Strength for attacking, followed by Constitution for the extra health, with your+2 and +1 bonuses going into Strength and Constitution,respectively.
If you’re playinga ranged fighter,Dexterity should be your highest ability score, then Constitution – Strength will become dump stat.
Place a few points into Wisdomas it’s a very common saving throw, especially with enchantment spells such as Command and Tasha’s Hideous Laughter or against conditions like being frightened or charmed. Plus, higha Perception skillas a fighter at the front of the party is always useful.
Dexterity isn’t as important since we want to use heavy armor,but since it’s a frequent saving throw and adds extra armor class when using medium armor, a couple of points here will go a long way. Thisleaves our dump stats as Intelligence and Charisma– leave the books to the wizards and the charm to the bards – paladins fight justly, fighters just fight.
17
12
16
8
13
Charisma
As for skill proficiencies,Athleticsis a must-have, as it’s the only Strength-based skill, but it’s also incredibly useful for shoving or throwing enemies out of your party or into more danger.
Next up,Perception. It’sone of the best skills in the game, and whether it comes to finding secrets or avoiding traps, it will save your life in more ways than one.
Finally,Stealthis excellent for getting in a surprise round of damage before your enemies can react, and even though heavy armor imposes disadvantage on Stealth checks, it’s still worth having the proficiency just for the possibility of a surprise round.
The fourth skill is more open to debate, butwe recommend Acrobaticsfor help with crossing the occasional ice patch or oil slick. Falling prone in the middle of battle is bad; falling prone again while trying to leave the slippery surface is even worse.
How To Level Up A Champion Fighter
As you gain experience and level up, you’ll unlock new and unique abilities from your class and subclass. Since the champion fighterdoesn’t get many choices to make outside of choosing their fighting style, here’s a rundown of what you can expect up to level 12:
Notes
1
Second Wind: Once per short rest, you may heal yourself as a bonus action.
A great way to heal up in a pinch and take the pressure off your supports, but at later levels, it’s just a free healing potion.
2
Action Surge: Grants you an additional action once per short rest.
One of the best actions in the game; characters often multiclass just for this ability. Even as you level up, this class action is worth its weight in gold. It can be used to attack, cast a spell/cantrip, or anything else you could normally use an action for.
3
Improved Critical Hit: A critical hit is made on a roll of 19 or 20.
Having one in every ten hits be a critical is very nice. It won’t hit all the time, but when it does, that guaranteed hit and extra damage will make your day.
4
All classes choose a feat or ability score improvement.
5
Extra Attack: Can make an additional attack after making an unarmed or weapon attack.
The core of any fighter build. It effectively doubles your damage output and gives you the flexibility to attack more than one enemy. Combined with Action Surge, you can potentially make four attacks in one turn.
6
Feat
Unlike other classes, the fighter gets an additional feat at level 6, and given how strong feats are, this is a huge boost to your character’s power.
7
Remarkable Athlete: Add half your proficiency bonus to any Strength, Dexterity, or Constitution check you’re not proficient in. Jump distance increased by 3m.
The proficiency bonus is consistently solid for the extra initiative; otherwise, it’s mediocre. The real bonus is the extra jump distance – great for reaching vantage points or flanking your opponents.
9
Indomitable: Once per long rest, if you fail a saving throw, you can roll again and must use the second result.
A nice ability on the surface, but once per long rest really limits its potential. Always look at the difficulty check before you decide to reroll – don’t waste the ability on something you’re unlikely to pass.
10
Additional Fighting Style: Choose another fighting style.
A nice way to round out your champion. If you’ve not taken Defence yet, now’s the time. Otherwise, see the Fighting Style section earlier in this article.
11
Improved Extra Attack: Can make two additional attacks after making an unarmed or weapon attack.
A direct upgrade from Extra Attack at level 5. Combined with Action surge, you’re able to potentially make a ginormous six attacks in one turn.
Action surgedoes notgive you an extra bonus action or further movement,and Extra Attackdoes notstack with other Extra Attacks obtained from other classes.
The Best Feats For A Champion Fighter
These aresome of the most important choices about your character’s design. These aren’t just powerful boons; they help define your character’s role in the party. Given the fighter can choose four feats instead of three, here are a few of our recommended choices to push your build even further.
Great Weapon Master
Perhaps the three most important words any champion fighter will hear. Landing a critical hit or killing an enemy with a melee weapon attack lets youmake another melee weapon attack as a bonus action. Also, if you attack with a heavy weapon you’re proficient in, you can deal an extra ten damage if you take a -5 penalty to hit.
Given the champion fighter already has an easier time getting critical hits,your damage output will go through the roof. It might seem daunting to make your rolls harder to hit, but since many enemies have a low armor class and with a bit of clever positioning to give your fighter advantage, it’s well worth the risk. Keep an eye out for any heavily armored enemies, just in case.
Sentinel
A fantastic way tosneak in extra damage and prevent your opponents from maneuvering. When an enemy in melee range attacks an ally, you can use your reaction to make an attack against that enemy. You also gain advantage on opportunity attacks. Whoever you hit with an opportunity attack can’t move any further, too. Essentially, your job is locking down the enemy – and you’re damn good at it!
Ability Score Improvement
This allows you to increase either one ability score by two points or two ability scores by one point. This doesn’t sound particularly interesting, but mechanically, it can be enormous. We’d suggestputting two points into Strengthto increase your chance to hit and damage dealt.
Heavy Armor Master
Ascend into a true tank. First, your Strength increases by one, up to a maximum of 20 – very good for our melee build. On top of this,incoming damage from non-magical attacks is decreased by threewhile wearing heavy armor. If five enemies each make two successful attacks against you, that’s 30 damage alone nulled – amazing if you’re getting stuck in the thick of it.
How To Use A Champion Fighter Build
Unlike some of the more nuanced roles of the party, your job is simple:Get in the enemy’s face and hit them until you win!
Your extra actions and attacks make you a force to be reckoned with, while your ability to wield any weapon and critically hit more often makes you a very deadly force, too. Plus, you’re clad inthe heaviest armor Baldur’s Gate has to offer, making you a walking juggernaut!
You’reparticularly vulnerable during the early gamedue to your small health pool and low-tier armor.
Near the beginning of the game, it’s best to work with your party and pick off enemies one by one to reduce the number of actions they can take each turn before swooping in for the final blow.
Once you’ve gained a few levels and upgraded your equipment,it’s time to play more aggressively. Get in close, use your Extra Attacks, and use feats like Great Weapon Master and Sentinel to punish any enemies that move into your space.
Not only can you take and deal plenty of damage, but the extra focus on you also gives your spellcasters and softer damage characters the space to work, too.
