D&D 5E Does the Eldritch Knight suck?

[krakistophales]

Does the Eldritch knight archetype suck when compared to other gishes like tempest/war domain clerics or paladins? Or even multiclass wizard/fighter? Or even previous iterations like pathfinder's magus? Why or why not?

 

[NotActuallyTim]

Of course it sucks, it isn't a bard.

 

[Kite474]

Sort of? if compared directly to its competitors it definitely is the weakest... But its kind of supposed to be. One of the big misconceptions about the EK is its meant to be 50% Wizard - 50% fighter. its more 90% Fighter - 10% Wizard. Its spells are meant to serve as a useful little trick and not its real ace in the hole. A fighter's real ace in the hole is his 3-4 attacks and being ripe for multicalssing.

Granted it still feels a bit too weak alot of times.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

Eldritch knight does not suck, not even kind of.

...unless you think you are getting a primary spell-caster out of it, but then what sucks is that you expected something the sub-class doesn't even try to deliver.

If you pick out spells that help you be a better fighter, it actually seems quite awesome (in fact, the eldritch knight in one of my current campaigns is the character everyone playing seems most impressed by).

 

[Illithidbix]

I think it's fine if you accept that you're playing a fighter who has traded a bit of their FIGHT for magical tricks and low level AoE damage.

If you want some proper magical might with your FIGHT, then you'll probably be disappointed.

I think the "base fighter class" provides tons already, so the extras from the subclass feel like they need to be kinda restrained.
Compared to what you get for being a champion, I think it's fine.
And if you've chosen it, you should do so knowing that you're not going to match the damage of the Battlemaster.

I would however say the Eldritch Knight doesn't mesh the magic with it's base FIGHTING MAN class in the way that it's rogue counterpart, the Arcane Trickster does with Mage Hand Legerdemain.

 

[Salamandyr]

I found it to be pretty lacklustre. That might change with greenflame blade, but that pushes the eldritch knight in a direction I find less interesting.

 

[miburo99]

It doesn't suck. It's a fighter with a couple of useful magical tools. Spell slots can be used for utility (e.g. Find Familiar) or for combat boosts (Shield, Haste, etc.). Also I think the new SCAG cantrips can be pretty useful, especially Greenflame Blade and Booming Blade. Greenflame Blade + Attack (War Magic) scales decently for damage if you are fighting two adjacent opponents, and Booming Blade + Warcaster makes you really sticky.

Personally I enjoy the EK more than the Champion or Battlemaster, but YMMV.

Edit: One thing I would do is give the EK one more cantrip to match the Arcane Trickster. They really shouldn't be different. Mage Hand Legerdemain (which is basically free Mage Hand + Sleight of Hand at range) is much more useful than Weapon Bond anyways.

 

[Unwise]

IMO it's a pretty crap addition to a very solid chassis. The Fighter is a solid character class, it can survive having a bad subclass added to it and still be fine.

Comparing it to the Bladesinger, it is bad. The Bladesinger gives us a fully functioning wizard with some solid and viable melee options. The EK gives us a fully functional fighter, with comparatively rather lame magical options. With the Bladesinger I feel that I have everything I want in a magic-leaning Gish, with the EK I don't feel that I am a complete melee-leaning Gish. That being said, I don't think it is healthy to compare things to the Bladesinger, it is a very sweet class.

Personally I would take any other Gish option over the EK, but it does fit the bill if you wanted a guy in platemail, which the others cannot do easily.

If you want a guy who is a badass plate wearer who uses magic to do extra damage or defense, then a Paladin seems a lot better at it. Looking at the EKs spells vs the Paladin, I am not sure that the EK is getting a good deal with his extra abilities balancing out that spell casting and smiting.

 

[Greg K]

Personally, I don't like the Eldritch Knight or the Arcane Trickster as subclasses of their respective classes. Personally, I would have like to have seen each as subclasses under two new classes- a warror mage class (which includes subclasses for spellswords, bladesingers, etc) and another class for rogue mages respectively.

 

[mellored]

its more 90% Fighter - 10% Wizard.

This.

EK isn't' a gish. It's fighter with a few spells.