D&D 5E Balance, multiclassing, and extra attacks in 5E

[Quartz]

From the Basic Rules, Fighters get extra attacks at 5th, 11th, and 20th levels. From the excepts so far published, Paladins and Barbarians get extra attacks at 5th level. So a Ftr 5 / Pal 5 / Barb 5 has the attacks of a Ftr 20. Presumably there's another class that gets an extra attack at 5th level, so a character could end up with 5 attacks per round at 20th level, not counting Action Surge, TWF, or bonus actions.

Okay, that could be a little silly, but consider a 5th level Fighter taking a 5 level dip into Paladin or Barbarian. She gets cool abilities, an extra attack a level early, and gets her 3rd attack at 16th level, 4 levels earlier than normal. Or a Barbarian taking a 5 level (more likely 6 due to the ability score improvement) dip into Fighter. Are the losses ensued (e.g. proficiency bonus) enough to counter this?

 

[TwoSix]

1) A little birdie told me that other martially oriented classes, as well as some subclasses that would be good for githyanki get Extra Attack at 5th level.

2) I foresee some semantic discussion about whether Extra Attack is giving you +1 attacks, or if it's setting your number of attacks per action at 2. That's a distinction without a difference, until you try to stack two classes with Extra Attack.

3) Proficiency bonus is based on character level, not class level, so that's a moot point for balance.

My personal view is that it's probably OK. You're doing a specific build to be 1 attack ahead of the fighter at 10th, 15th, and 20th level. And you'd be missing out on all the higher level special abilities.

 

[77IM]

The final public playtest packet specifically addressed this in the multiclassing rules by having a special rule for the Extra Attack feature.

Basically, you add together your levels of classes with the Extra Attack feature, and if you have 5 levels you get an extra attack. So a Paladin 3/Ranger 2 would get the extra attack.

However, getting the second extra attack requires Fighter 11 because no other class has that feature.

 

[Quartz]

What about the mid levels? How does a Ftr 11 compare with a Ftr 6 / Brb 5 or a Brb 5 / Pal 6?

And are those high level abilities really worth it? For instance, the Fighter gains Regeneration 5 + Con per round if below half HP. So that's a max of 10 HP / round. That doesn't seem a lot at level 20: is it that significant?

 

[TwoSix]

What about the mid levels? How does a Ftr 11 compare with a Ftr 6 / Brb 5 or a Brb 5 / Pal 6?

And are those high level abilities really worth it? For instance, the Fighter gains Regeneration 5 + Con per round if below half HP. So that's a max of 10 HP / round. That doesn't seem a lot at level 20: is it that significant?

For mid levels, I'll be honest; if extra attack does stack, I'd be hard pressed to take more than fighter 5 or 6. Taking any other martial class seems to give you way more fighting ability. Being the only class to get 3 or 4 attacks is really the fighter's saving grace.

I don't know about high levels, worrying about balance at level 20 is a minor concern to me. Levels 5-16 is where the bulk of play takes place.

 

[Mouseferatu]

My own little bird tells me that the extra attack feature does not stack in any way, in the final PHB. That the only way to gain more than two attacks in a single primary action is by becoming an 11th-level fighter.

 

[ChaosDent]

The language of Extra Attack in 5B (you can attack twice instad of once) clearly excludes stacking and only expands to 3 and 4 attacks at Fighter 11 and Fighter 20. There is no need for a special case in the multiclassing rules since each time you get it you can still only attack twice instead of once.

 

[Talath]

My own little bird tells me that the extra attack feature does not stack in any way, in the final PHB. That the only way to gain more than two attacks in a single primary action is by becoming an 11th-level fighter.

My little bird tells me to let him out of his cage and he swears he won't poop on my head. Again.

 

[Mouseferatu]

My little bird tells me to let him out of his cage and he swears he won't poop on my head. Again.

Don't trust him. Birds have a remarkable Deception bonus.