The Ultimate Baldur’s Gate 3 Fighter Build Guide | Fighter Class, Subclass, Race, and Multiclass Explained

We independently assess all our recommendations. Purchases through our links may earn us a commission.

In Baldur’s Gate 3, the Fighter class stands as a pillar of strength and versatility. They may not have flashy spells, but they’re great at one thing—fighting (who’d have thought?!) And staying in the fight, of course. We’ve got you covered with the best choices for race, fighting style, background, abilities, and more with this definitive Baldur’s Gate 3 Fighter build guide.

Pure Fighters are renowned for their combat prowess, making them an attractive choice for anyone who seeks strength and agility over those limited spell slots. Let’s break down the key elements of a powerful Fighter build.

Choosing your Fighter playstyle

We recommend Great Weapon Fighting for your fighting style and weapon of choice. Two-handed weapons have the highest damage dice in the game, and they scale with Strength, which is a Fighter’s ideal stat.

But in any case, here are all your options:

1. Archery: Perfect for ranged weapon enthusiasts, this style grants a +2 bonus to ranged weapon attacks, ensuring accuracy and damage from a distance.
2. Defense: If you prefer to be a durable tank, go for this style. It offers a +1 bonus to Armor Class while wearing armor, enhancing your survivability.
3. Dueling: Ideal for those who favor one-handed melee weapons, this style adds two additional damage when wielding a melee weapon in one hand without a second weapon.
4. Great Weapon Fighting: Designed for users of two-handed melee weapons, this style allows you to reroll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for better damage outcomes.
5. Protection: A supportive style that requires a shield, imposing a Disadvantage on attacks against your allies when within 1.5 meters, provided you can see the attacker.
6. Two-weapon Fighting: Enhances your off-hand weapon attacks by allowing you to add your Ability Modifier to the damage. For Fighters with 15 or more Strength points, this defaults to a +3 to Strength Checks.

Choosing your fighter subclass

At Level 3, you’ll choose a Fighter subclass, each offering unique abilities and strengths.

1. Battle Master: This subclass emphasizes tactical superiority, allowing you to use combat maneuvers strategically.
2. Eldritch Knight: Blend magic and weaponry for versatility in battle.
3. Champion: Focus on dealing high damage and landing critical hits.

Champion and Battle Master are both good, but Battle Master gives more tricks and versatility. So pick Battle Master.

Ideal race, background, and skills for Fighters

Fighters have a wide array of weapon and armor proficiencies, making them adaptable on the battlefield. Choosing the right race, background, and skills can significantly enhance your Fighter’s capabilities. Here are the recommended choices:

Race: Half-Orc

• Thanks to Savage Attack, a Half-Orc rolls an additional damage die on a critical hit, which can happen often thanks to Battle Master’s maneuvers.
• Bonus Intimidation also helps.
• Relentless Endurance makes Half-Orcs tanky since they can drop to one hit point instead of entering a downed state.
• Darkvision is just generally useful.

Background: Soldier

• Automatic proficiency in Athletics and Intimidation complements your Fighter’s strengths.

Skills: Survival and Insight

These skills grant you better exploration and social interaction capabilities, enhancing your versatility. You can also consider these skills.

• Acrobatics
• Investigation

Ability Score allocation

Prioritize Strength (16-18) and Constitution(14-16), as they are crucial for dealing damage and increasing your hit points.

By the way!

Did you know we’re launching a Kickstarter campaign? In the next few months, our campaign for ‘Gentle Jack: The Party Game for Bad Friends‘ goes live! Visit the official website or follow the Kickstarter page to stay in the loop.

Learn more

Dexterity is an excellent choice for your third-highest stat, improving overall combat effectiveness.

You can drop Insight, Intelligence, and Charisma to 8 points in order to allocate more to Strength, Consitution, and Dexterity

Best Fighter build leveling guide 1-12

• Level 1: Second Wind — Fighting Style: Great Weapon Fighting
• Level 2: Action Surge
• Level 3: (Pick Battle Master) Superiority Dice — Maneuvers: Distracting Strike, Feinting Attack, Trip Attack
• Level 4: Ability Improvement for Strength (to nearest even number), Constitution (+1 or +2 depending on Strength increase)
• Level 5: Extra Attack
• Level 6: Feat: Great Weapon Master
• Level 7: —
• Level 8: Feat: Ability Score Improvement (prioritize putting Strength to 20)
• Level 9: Indomitable
• Level 10: Fighting Style: Defense
• Level 11: Improved Extra Attack
• Level 12: Feat: Mobile

Multiclass Options

You can also consider multiclassing to further boost your Fighter’s capabilities. Here are three compelling multiclass combo options:

1. Fighter and Barbarian: Combine the Barbarian’s HP pool and damage potential with the Fighter’s high AC and multi-attack abilities. Suggested subclasses include Berserker and Battle Master for added versatility and support.
2. Fighter and Paladin: The Fighter’s Action Surge is superb for making sure the Paladin (usually Oathbreaker) actually gets in more Smites per turn. Besides, both of them are martial classes and share the same weapon.
3. Fighter and Rogue: Or more specifically, Fighter and the Thief subclass of Rogue which lets you take an additional Bonus Action in a turn. Combined with Dual Wielding, this multiclass exploits the Bonus Action mechanics of the game to deal 4 attacks in one turn.

With this ultimate Fighter build guide for Baldur’s Gate 3, you’ll be well-prepared to create a character capable of dominating the battlefield or maybe killing a full-HP Adult Dragon in just one turn.

You can also experiment with the suggested race, background, skills, and multiclass options to tailor your Fighter to your preferred playstyle. Maybe even go for bow builds. Regardless, your role as a pure Fighter should be to trade blows with enemies and even soak up the hits so that your spellcasters or other companions can do their work in the backline.