D&D 5E Does the Eldritch Knight suck?

[Gadget]

Hi all. The Eldritch Knight really intrigues me for several reasons, but I haven't read up on the class at all. Can someone help me on these questions about the EK?

Can the EK access / prepare spells outside of evocation & abjuration?

Can the EK cast scrolls from outside of evocation & abjuration? (e.g. scroll of Knock)

Can the EK put his spells onto the party rogue? (e.g. Invisibility or Bull's Strength)

If the EK is captured by the enemy and thrown in jail, is he more or less useful than a champion / BM in the same situation?

I guess I'm trying to gauge how the EK functions in the Exploration Tier. I just don't know how he works.

I don't have my books on hand, but:

1) Yes, at certain levels they get to pick a spell out side these schools, so almost a third of their spells can be from other schools
2) Yes
3) EKs cast spells like the wizard does; so if they know the spell, and the spell description says it can be applied to another person (i.e. the party Rogue), they can do it
4) Well, with the bonded weapon feature, an EK would be able summon his weapon at an opportune time to attack guards, etc. Not to mention spell casting, depending on how your game runs component pouches and such.

 

[ZzarkLinux]

Thanks Gadget.

Based on your responses, it sounds like Eldritch Knights are a very enjoyable subclass So they do get the same benefits that wizards get. This means even more perks like:
- Eschew Materials to ignore spell components, or DMs who just handwave them
- If the character picks a spell that he later regrets, then he can negotiate with the DM to retrain the spell
- The DM may allow you to make random arcana rolls (e.g. the wizard rolled a 1, but the DM still wants to give the party information)

This out-of-combat potential seems staggering to me, even if it is limited in quantity. Way more flexibility in Exploration & Social than a champion fighter or battle master.

 

[NotActuallyTim]

Come on, everybody. Am I the only one who remembered Arcane Charge?

30 free teleport rolled into the Action Surge?

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Come on, everybody. Am I the only one who remembered Arcane Charge?

30 free teleport rolled into the Action Surge?

I find it distinctly underwhelming as a class feature. Maybe you could elaborate on what conditions make it awesome. I assume you're thinking of a melee Eldritch Knight? (For a Sharpshooter, a 30' movement boost is just a matter of shifting his aim.) Or are you thinking of trying to get out of Forcecages/etc., or vertical movement?

 

[Sacrosanct]

The Eldritch Knight is the best kind of fighter. Absorb Elements, Shield, built-in Magic Weapon, can leverage Sharpshooter and four attacks per round plus Action Surge... Eldritch Knights rock. Two variations that I love are Sharpshooter EK 11/Necromancer 7/Rogue 2 (for Greater Invisibility + Cunning Action defensive shenanigans while skeleton archers pepper the enemy with arrows) when you roll nice stats, and the simpler but less stat-demanding Sharpshooter EK 11/Swashbuckler 9 for when you roll mediocre stats (15, 12, 12, 11, 10, 9) but still want to be awesome as the party scout + face + DPR specialist + single-target controller. .

That's great if you start playing at level 20, but most of us* don't. Or anywhere near that.


*I say most, because every time we do a poll on the subject, less than 10% of voters ever reach the final tier of play.

 

[NotActuallyTim]

I find it distinctly underwhelming as a class feature. Maybe you could elaborate on what conditions make it awesome. I assume you're thinking of a melee Eldritch Knight? (For a Sharpshooter, a 30' movement boost is just a matter of shifting his aim.) Or are you thinking of trying to get out of Forcecages/etc., or vertical movement?

Given that it's the sole major movement boost in the Fighter class (bigger than Action surge alone) and it doesn't necessarily provoke Opportunity Attacks, as opposed to normal movement, and it can be taken in any order when Action Surge is declared (so you can teleport action action, action teleport action or action action teleport), I feel like it would be pretty amazing even if it didn't let you go past walls or straight up/down whenever you felt like it, and of course you can get as many of them as you have Action surges (at least 2 with 17 levels, potentially, lets say, 8, with 3 short rests) puts it ahead of the curve for freebie powers.

 

[Greenstone.Walker]

If the EK is captured by the enemy and thrown in jail, is he more or less useful than a champion / BM in the same situation?

If the Eldritch Knight knows mage hand or misty step then yes, much better than the other archetypes.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

That's great if you start playing at level 20, but most of us* don't. Or anywhere near that.

*I say most, because every time we do a poll on the subject, less than 10% of voters ever reach the final tier of play.

When I build a roadmap for a character, one requirement is that every level along the way from 1 to 20 be fun. Eldritch Knights are fun from level 1 IMO. There are sometimes small dilemmas about which branch of a multiclass build to take first, especially if they're both awesome, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with just going straight to EK 11 with no detours.

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Given that it's the sole major movement boost in the Fighter class (bigger than Action surge alone) and it doesn't necessarily provoke Opportunity Attacks, as opposed to normal movement, and it can be taken in any order when Action Surge is declared (so you can teleport action action, action teleport action or action action teleport), I feel like it would be pretty amazing even if it didn't let you go past walls or straight up/down whenever you felt like it, and of course you can get as many of them as you have Action surges (at least 2 with 17 levels, potentially, lets say, 8, with 3 short rests) puts it ahead of the curve for freebie powers.

Good point about the order. I've been thinking until now that your options were (action teleport action) and (action action teleport), but two seconds' thought agrees that (teleport action action) is also 100% legitimate. Thanks for the tip.

 

[ZzarkLinux]

Based on all the answers, it seems the EK is far from "suck" Seems like Rangers alone hold that title. The EK definitely fills a fun niche.

Also I found this article over at GitP. Looks like it will be a good read.