Zardnaar
Legend
As the title says. I have not seen a fighter rolle dup since late 2014 and we play a lot of D&D- 14 hours worth in the last week and sometimes 3-5 sessions a week with 3-4 DMs. The players who like fighter types are starting to gravitate towards Paladins and Rangers with some of the more adventurous making gish type PCs (Favoured Souls and Warlock/Valor Bard builds). I thought it may have just been my group but other groups seem to be doing it as well. This seems to be for the following reasons.
1. The fighter has no damage dealing advantage over the other martial classes and is probably inferior to things like Barbarians. Rangers and Paladins tend to be using hunters quarry and colossus slayer/horde breaker to actually deal more damage than the fighters.
2. Strength based PCs suck at range being reduced to throwing javelins often at disadvantage. As a further kick in the balls they can only make 1 attack a round since you can only draw 1 weapon a round. Paladins can cast bless on the ranged PCs or moonbeam if they are the Oath of the Ancients. Gish PCs do not care to much at the worst resorting to cantrips or just lobbing a fireball.
3. Dex based melee tends to be underpowered along with dual wielding which uses the bonus action. That bonus action is often better off used for Polearm Mastery, Great Weapon Fighting, or moving around hunter mark/hex or casting quickened hastes or whatever.
4. Most classes casting spells.
5. Other classes tend to be better targets for haste/twinned haste. THis is due to spells like hex/hunters mark and advantage to hit that Barbarians and Avenger Paladins can easily get.
Sure fighters have other class abilities as well but something like action surge tends to pail against Paladins auras to saves which in effect makes Paladins proficient in all saves at level 6.
Party number 1. My Group lvl 8.
1 Favoured Soul (tempest domain) Mountain Dwarf.
2. Oath of the Ancients Paladin
3. Ranger (tempest)
4. Warlock (tomelock fiend pact)
5. Cleric1/Lore Bard 7
6. Valor Bard.
Party number 2, level 3.
1. Barbarian
2. Paladin (avenger, my PC)
3. Rogue
4. Wizard (abjurer)
5. Sorcerer (Dragon: fire)
6. Warlock
And as I said the last fighter I saw rolled up was late 2014 and that was a crossbow expert+sharpshooter combo build. The highest DPR type min/max builds are also ranged with CE+SS combo for martials and Sorlock (Warlock 2/SorcererXYZ) leading the charge there.
We have also tried no feats game and almost everyone went dex based including things like clerics. The Battlemaster fighter seems to be the best one over all, the Eldritch Knight might be the best fighter at higher levels and the Champion seems to be the worst one of the bunch as it is just damage and it is not even really that good at that. Sure the fighter does technically get a 3rd attack at level 11 but at those levels spell effects start to kick in more for Paladins/Rangers (haste, swift quiver, destructive wave etc) or class abilities like charisma to damage+hex for bladelocks and at higher levels several of the gish classes can also cast foresight along with hasting themselves. Or you know not suck at range with spells anyway. Since combat doesn't always take place in a 10' by 10' room.
1. The fighter has no damage dealing advantage over the other martial classes and is probably inferior to things like Barbarians. Rangers and Paladins tend to be using hunters quarry and colossus slayer/horde breaker to actually deal more damage than the fighters.
2. Strength based PCs suck at range being reduced to throwing javelins often at disadvantage. As a further kick in the balls they can only make 1 attack a round since you can only draw 1 weapon a round. Paladins can cast bless on the ranged PCs or moonbeam if they are the Oath of the Ancients. Gish PCs do not care to much at the worst resorting to cantrips or just lobbing a fireball.
3. Dex based melee tends to be underpowered along with dual wielding which uses the bonus action. That bonus action is often better off used for Polearm Mastery, Great Weapon Fighting, or moving around hunter mark/hex or casting quickened hastes or whatever.
4. Most classes casting spells.
5. Other classes tend to be better targets for haste/twinned haste. THis is due to spells like hex/hunters mark and advantage to hit that Barbarians and Avenger Paladins can easily get.
Sure fighters have other class abilities as well but something like action surge tends to pail against Paladins auras to saves which in effect makes Paladins proficient in all saves at level 6.
Party number 1. My Group lvl 8.
1 Favoured Soul (tempest domain) Mountain Dwarf.
2. Oath of the Ancients Paladin
3. Ranger (tempest)
4. Warlock (tomelock fiend pact)
5. Cleric1/Lore Bard 7
6. Valor Bard.
Party number 2, level 3.
1. Barbarian
2. Paladin (avenger, my PC)
3. Rogue
4. Wizard (abjurer)
5. Sorcerer (Dragon: fire)
6. Warlock
And as I said the last fighter I saw rolled up was late 2014 and that was a crossbow expert+sharpshooter combo build. The highest DPR type min/max builds are also ranged with CE+SS combo for martials and Sorlock (Warlock 2/SorcererXYZ) leading the charge there.
We have also tried no feats game and almost everyone went dex based including things like clerics. The Battlemaster fighter seems to be the best one over all, the Eldritch Knight might be the best fighter at higher levels and the Champion seems to be the worst one of the bunch as it is just damage and it is not even really that good at that. Sure the fighter does technically get a 3rd attack at level 11 but at those levels spell effects start to kick in more for Paladins/Rangers (haste, swift quiver, destructive wave etc) or class abilities like charisma to damage+hex for bladelocks and at higher levels several of the gish classes can also cast foresight along with hasting themselves. Or you know not suck at range with spells anyway. Since combat doesn't always take place in a 10' by 10' room.
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