D&D 5E What is the perfect Fighter/Barbarian multi-class balance?

Just on the side note;

How many campaigns have you played to 20th level?

in 18 years of playing, 3.0, 3.5, 4E, Pathfinder, 5e, I only once been lvl14, twice lvl13 and huge majority of campaigns finished in 10-12th level range, few finished around 6-9th level.

And this theorycrafting is fun at 20th level, we should maybe keep it real and focus on characters of 5th to 15th level. Or similar. And try to see strengths and weakness of multiclass there.

As usual, the only true answer to the original question is:
Whatever mix you'd enjoy playing the most.

FormerlyHemlock said:

If however the DM allows losing existing class levels (so that going from Barb 1/Moon Druid 19 to Moon Druid 19 and thereafter to Moon Druid 20 is an option) then I could happily play either one, because they both have the same future.

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Retraining in classes... I like this idea: it reminds of "respeccing" from Dark Age of Camelot. Roleplaying-wise, as we grow older we learn many things, but some of them fall by the wayside and our mental energies and skills refocus and intensify on other things. Game-wise, it allows players some freshness as the campaign enters its third or fourth month (or year in our case), and grants them an opportunity to apply newfound understanding of the world or the system.

Horwath said:

Just on the side note;

How many campaigns have you played to 20th level?

in 18 years of playing, 3.0, 3.5, 4E, Pathfinder, 5e, I only once been lvl14, twice lvl13 and huge majority of campaigns finished in 10-12th level range, few finished around 6-9th level.

And this theorycrafting is fun at 20th level, we should maybe keep it real and focus on characters of 5th to 15th level. Or similar. And try to see strengths and weakness of multiclass there.

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Yup. My ideal split of Barb/Fighter will vary wildly by level. Fighter 5-6/Barb 2-4 or Barb 5/Fighter 2-4 is probably where I would play the most, and I would enjoy playing more than pure fighter or barb. But at level 13 I'd want Fighter 11/Barb 2. At 14 Pure Barb Zealot is super tempting.

Which is all to say I should stick to that 10 or less plan. It's much more likely and is a pretty simple choice of Do I want to start as a Barbarian or Fighter.

Tallifer said:

Retraining in classes... I like this idea: it reminds of "respeccing" from Dark Age of Camelot. Roleplaying-wise, as we grow older we learn many things, but some of them fall by the wayside and our mental energies and skills refocus and intensify on other things. Game-wise, it allows players some freshness as the campaign enters its third or fourth month (or year in our case), and grants them an opportunity to apply newfound understanding of the world or the system.

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Not only is the post you are quoting over a year old, but Hemlock left the forums a few months ago. So he's doubly not very likely to respond.

Still, I also like the retraining idea for RP purposes, it can easily be abused by power gamers. In Neverwinter Nights 2 Khelgar Ironfist is a fighter who loves to get in fistfights and when he gets his butt handed to him by some monks, he decides he wants to become a monk. Even though the game supported multiclassing, if you help him become a monk, he turns from straight fighter to straight monk (he had the same stats though, so not an optimized monk). I remember think that was a cool idea.

jgsugden said:

Barbarian 8, then fighter 4, then barby to 16. GWM at barb 4, Str at barb 8, str at fighter 4, sentinel at barb 12.

Consider the character as it advances. You do not want to delay multiattack and you do not generally want to delay ASI.

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Yeah, this. A build which only describes the character at 20th level is like planning your whole career around having an awesome retirement. Sure, it's good to plan for retirement, but you might also want to give a thought to the decades you'll spend on the job.

(Oh, also, the retirement age in Analogyworld is 85. Your odds of even surviving that long are slim, and if you do make it, you won't have long to enjoy it.)

Barb4/Fighter 16.

Be a Champion, Crit on 18+. Better than brutal crit if you ask me. 3 attacks/round, every 2 rounds you are likely to get a crit, more if you're being reckless. Got 7 feats total, make one of them Mobility, level 3 Barbarian trait, which for Eagle means you can bonus action Dash while raging. Speed is awesome. 2 fighting styles is great, just a bit of a dip for the bonus action dash and raging. Or go Barb5/Fighter15, you'll lose a feet but have 50ft base move with Mobile which is also pretty slick. If you want to be dex based all you really lose is the damage bonus to rage but still get the far more important damage resistance, then stat wise all you really need to focus on CON and DEX and should have hardly any problem getting both to 20 in short order. Base 22 AC with just a shield, +5 to hit and damage, ton of HP, resistance to melee damage, and probably a feat or two left over for Toughness as well. Sweet and salty.

EDIT TO ADD - What he'd look like at 20th with Barb4/Fighter16 variant human with 8 feats total and a starting point buy of 13 Str, 15 Dex, 15 Con, 8 Int, 12 Wis, 8 Cha. 4 Feats needed to get DEX and CON maxed

Str 13 Dex 20 Con 20 Int 8 Wis 12 Cha 8

AC: 22 w/shield HP: 269 Move: 40ft

Feats: Mobile, Defensive Duelist, Toughness, plus one for funsies

Give him a rapier(or short sword if you just hate rapiers on barbarians), Archery and Dueling styles, dealing 3 x 1D8+7, crit on 18+, able to almost certainly parry one melee attack per round. Or if you want give him Duel Wielding, plus the Feat, AC 21 still and another attack per round. Going reckless with 4 attks your likely to get 1 crit per round, maybe 2. Dash while raging you can ignore difficult terrain, he'd be pretty darn fierce and solid dishing it out at ranged as well which is often a weak spot for these types of guys. With a little protection magic in ring or shield format he'd have a high enough AC to be able to go reckless often, and with 269hp and resistance to melee it would take quite a bit to drop this guy.

If your target is level 20 than nothing can be worth giving up the barb capstone so it is barb 20 fighter 0 imho

I took the plunge and multiclassed my character.
Went to Barb 8 and then to fighter for the remainder.
I'm going to focus on maxing str 1st and then in may mac Con or take feats.
I play a half orc so I already get an extra critical die. Took dueling so I get the +2 to damage (and my one handed magic weapons is BA! it is +2 versatile weapon that does 1d12 one handed, or 3d6 2h) so when I crit 1h I still get the big d12s to come out. Makes sense to me to do the split like this. Get 6 ASI, and 3 attacks. Yes the 24/24 capstone is nice, but I belive is offset with the added utility you can get out of Battle Master.
Half plate, Resist all by psychic, 3 attacks and a crap ton of tricks you can use as a battle master!? Yeah, I'll take that at 20 strength. Also I see the limitless rage brought up. Yes, it's nice, but honestly I don't see a lot of situations were combat last more than 10 rounds, and seldom have more than 4 combats before you can take a short rest. Additionally the extra crit dice is nice, but we're talking about something that will happen 5% of the time. As a lvl 11 fighter you will always get 3 attacks, and access to battle master moves. Adding a d10 to damage on a lot of attacks is better than extra damage on a 5% chance roll of the dice.

Coroc said:

If your target is level 20 than nothing can be worth giving up the barb capstone so it is barb 20 fighter 0 imho

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This. MC as Barb is only worth it if you don't expect to hit 20 anyway. Barbs just get IMHO the best Capstone of all classes.

4 ASIs on your primary Attributes that also break the natural 20 limitation AND interact with your core features? UNLIMITED USES OF YOUR CORE CLASS FEATURE?! THE VERY THING THAT DEFINES YOUR EXISTENCE?! YES, PLEASE!

If I have to play through levels 1-12, I would much rather be a Barbarian/Fighter than a Fighter/Barbarian. Rage and Reckless Attack are better than anything Fighter gives until that second Extra Attack IMO. Most of my campaigns play levels 8-15 though and in those games I might be a Fighter/Barbarian that starts Fighter 6/Barbarian 2 because I will get to my second Extra Attack and I will have it for levels 13+. In a 20th level one-shot? I'd either be straight Barbarian or straight EK.