Hunter Class Build Guide for DnD 5e 2024

The Fighter is one of 12 classes you can choose from in the 2024 revised rules for Dungeons & Dragons. Fighters are primarily melee-focused characters, and their primary ability is Strength.

Before we begin, a quick disclaimer: there is no “best” in D&D. Classes tend to be well-balanced in terms of damage output. But more importantly, D&D is a combat role-playing game, so it’s not just about stabbing monsters. And this diversity of situations (from lock picking to hunting kobolds to seducing dragons) means that “best” is entirely subjective.

OUR Player's Manual (2024) The D&D Fighter Guide will walk you through the class and talk about some of the changes in D&D 5e.

It's a bit of a stretch to say, “Do you like to get hit?” but fighters are, well, fighters. Playing a fighter means you're going to focus on combat first. You'll also likely be the tank of the group, since you'll have the most HP.

This doesn't mean you'll be relegated to the role of a simpleton, though. You don't have to (and shouldn't) let your martial prowess define your character.

Fighters aren’t mindless meat towers – leave that to the stinking barbarians. They are (or can be) nuanced tacticians and damage dealers. For inspiration, look to characters like:

Regardless of which class you choose, One D&D changes the way characters are created. Specifically, the background you choose now comes with an ability score boost (one point for each of three abilities, or two points for one ability and one point for another). Additionally, each character gains an Origin Feat. We'll cover both of these changes below.

One D&D fighters get the Weapon Mastery A class feature that adds an extra ability to your weapon attacks. Fighters can choose three weapons and use that weapon's Mastery property. Weapon Mastery adds extra abilities to your attacks, such as Cleave (which gives you a second attack on a nearby creature) or Slow (which, well, slows a creature).

Additionally, Combat Style has been moved to Feats, specifically the Combat Style Feats subset. We'll detail these below as well.

Before deciding on your skills, make sure to select your background first. Backgrounds allow you to master two skills (and only two), so you want to make sure you don't double-pick. The Farmer, for example, allows you to master both Animal Training and Nature, effectively removing Animal Training from your list of class skills to choose from.

Choosing your fighting style (feat), as the name suggests, changes your character's fighting style. This is how you make your fighter a little better at their particular type of violence.

Fighters gain two uses of the Second Wind ability, which allows them to recover 1d10 + their HP level. You recover one use with a Short Rest and both uses with a Long Rest.

All weapons in One D&D now have a proficiency property. These are listed in equipment tables and weapon descriptions. If your class gives you the Weapon Proficiency feature (more on this below) and you are proficient with the weapon you are using, you will be able to use that weapon's proficiency property on every attack (once per round). Fighters can choose three weapons with which to use this feature.

We have a guide to weapon mastery here.

When assigning your stats, make your fighter's Strength as high as possible. Despite all the talk about not being the muscle of the party, you're still there to hit. After that, Dexterity is good for Initiative and your AC, but Constitution is also a solid choice for that HP boost.

Backgrounds in One D&D are a way to codify your character's personal history into their stats. Backgrounds give you a boost to your stats, a few skills, tool proficiencies, and an Origin feat.

For fighters, let's start with anything that increases your strength: Craftsman, Artist, Farmer, Guard, Noble, Sailor, or Soldier. Of these, Farmer and Sailor also give you the ability to increase your Constitution, making you slightly more resilient.

The Farmer and Sailor backgrounds grant you the Tavern Brawler and Tough Guy original abilities, respectively. Both of these abilities are useful to any fighter.

You don't choose a fighter subclass until level 3, but you'll want to think about which direction you want to take fairly early on, especially in terms of background and origin feat (above).

Battlemaster fighters are tacticians. This is a good role for team leader-type fighters or more tactical groups. Or, you know, bossy players. You get a pool of four superiority dice that you can use to make Maneuvers which do things like order allies to attack during your turn, move allies around the battlefield, add a d8 to Charisma checks, or give you and your allies advantage on attacks.

Fighter Champions are a sort of Fighter+ subclass, making them a perfect addition to spell-heavy groups, groups with more than one bard (we're looking at you, D&D-themed alt-rock bands), or underpowered groups—that is, groups with four or fewer players at the table. Your critical hit increases from just 20 to 19 and 20, doubling your ability to deal massive damage from 5% to 10% of the time you roll. You gain advantage on initiative and athletics rolls, meaning you'll be the first to fight most of the time. And You'll be able to cross that 10-foot gap while your friends won't. Plus, you get a little extra movement when you score a critical hit, which should allow you to jump in front of the priest while he heals the wizard… again.

Eldrich Warrior Knights combine melee and spellcasting. You have two spells and two 1st-level spell slots. You can also form a magical bond with your weapon that makes you impossible to disarm and lets you summon your weapon to your hand as a bonus action. This will make you more like an Aragorn-style fighter.

Psi Warriors are a lot like Eldrich Knights, except their powers are psionic. You have a pool of four Psi Warrior energy dice that you can use to add Force damage to your attacks, create a shield around yourself that reduces damage, or perform telekinesis. Think Jedi without the space cop baggage (ACAB includes Jedi and we die on this hill).