D&D 5E Rune Knight Is The Best Fighter Overall IMHO.

[Zardnaar]

There's 4 contenders for best fighter. All are what I consider S tier by fighter standards. They are the Rune Knight, Eldritch Knight, Battlemaster and Echo Knight. The other 3 are a bit niche/situational however.

Echo Knight. More or less melee only imho. Still a contender though espicially in melee.

Eldritch Knight. Needs a high level of game knowledge to sing and gets better at levels most don't play. And requires several books to gain access to the required spells eg booming/green flame blade, Absorb Elements, shield, fae touched perhaps. If you dont pick the right spells or know what they are it's the wrong class for you imho. Also depends on how much the DM is a hard arse on hands free casting. Eg RAW you cant cast shield if you're using a two handed weapon or a shield. You do nor have a weapon as spellcasting focus like Paladins and clerics with shields.

Battlemaster. Requires a skilled player to run at full potential and ideally is dependent on party composition eg a rogue in the party or -5/+10 specialist. Much like the Eldritch Knight not particularly newbie friendly.

So basically the Rune Knight wins as it's Ranger or melee and is independent of other factors to make it shine.

 

[ECMO3]

There's 4 contenders for best fighter. All are what I consider S tier by fighter standards. They are the Rune Knight, Eldritch Knight, Battlemaster and Echo Knight. The other 3 are a bit niche/situational however.

Echo Knight. More or less melee only imho. Still a contender though espicially in melee.

Eldritch Knight. Needs a high level of game knowledge to sing and gets better at levels most don't play. And requires several books to gain access to the required spells eg booming/green flame blade, Absorb Elements, shield, fae touched perhaps. If you dont pick the right spells or know what they are it's the wrong class for you imho. Also depends on how much the DM is a hard arse on hands free casting. Eg RAW you cant cast shield if you're using a two handed weapon or a shield. You do nor have a weapon as spellcasting focus like Paladins and clerics with shields.

Battlemaster. Requires a skilled player to run at full potential and ideally is dependent on party composition eg a rogue in the party or -5/+10 specialist. Much like the Eldritch Knight not particularly newbie friendly.

So basically the Rune Knight wins as it's Ranger or melee and is independent of other factors to make it shine.

IMO Rune Knight is the most powerful of those 4 if you are looking across all level 3-20. There is also a lot of flexibility in how you can build them, and not just in terms of ranged vs melee. You can build them to be very good at a lot of skill checks too.

If RK is in the discussion then I think Eldritch Knight has all the good spells she needs. RK is still better at most levels though. Houseruling components so you could cast Shield and Hex (through Fey Touched) with your hands full would change this though. I know you can get Hunter's Mark through Fey Touched and not worry about S/M, but Hex is a much better spell IMO. EK is also kind of Cantrip starved. You figure you want a Balde attack and then a ranged cantrip since you are typically strength-based in this build, but you also want Blade Ward and the other Blade cantrip. One thing to consider to remedy this with EK is dumping Intelligence but going high Charisma and getting Hex, GFB and Eldritch Blast through Magic Initiate. That gives you a pretty good ranged attack option with EB and using War Magic you can combine it with a bonus action attack (usually a Javelin or something).

The other EK is third IMO if you are looking across all levels. If you are looking at tier 1/2 it is probably second ahead of Eldritch Knight.

Battlemaster should not even be in the discussion IMO. Arcane Archer would be a solid #4 for me, with the difference between that and #5 bigger than the distance between AA and RK. The reason is curving shot and Grasping Arrow are extremely good abilities and you get a

I probably would put either Battlemaster and Cavalier as 5th, with them being about equal but definitely 2nd tier as far as figthers go IMO.

TBH I would not recommend a fighter at all for new players. I don't really think it is an easy class to play. Most ofthe subclasses are complex and the base class has a lot going on with action surge and second wind both available at low level. At low levels I think Warlock, Rogue Barbarian and Sorcerer are easier classes generally. Rogue has a lot going on too, but it is all at will with no resource worries.

 

[Seramus]

I probably would put either Battlemaster and Cavalier as 5th, with them being about equal but definitely 2nd tier as far as figthers go IMIMO.

Battlemaster can get some decent mileage using the skill boosting maneuvers. I've seen a BM use nothing BUT skill boosters and contribute surprisingly well that way to multiple pillars.

Still not better than Rune Knight overall, but solid.

 

[ECMO3]

Battlemaster can get some decent mileage using the skill boosting maneuvers. I've seen a BM use nothing BUT skill boosters and contribute surprisingly well that way to multiple pillars.

They can, but so can an EK and Cavaliers and Arcane Archers both get an extra skill proficiency, which is probably awash with using maneuvers for skill checks (maneuvers are better on a per check basis but limited), and those classes get combat abilities in addition to this.

 

[Seramus]

and those classes get combat abilities in addition to this.

You're probably going to win combat anyway.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

Cavaliers and Arcane Archers both get an extra skill proficiency

These are not the same at all. Base skill proficiency is meaningless. Battlemaster maneuvers stack with what you already have.

and those classes get combat abilities in addition to this.

What exactly do you think Battlemasters are doing in combat? It's not boosting their Persuasion rolls (unless that's what's needed).

 

[Kurotowa]

They can, but so can an EK and Cavaliers and Arcane Archers both get an extra skill proficiency, which is probably awash with using maneuvers for skill checks (maneuvers are better on a per check basis but limited), and those classes get combat abilities in addition to this.

It's a bit hard to compare apples to apples here. Cavalier and Arcane Archers get a skill proficiency that's always on, which is good. But only one, and only from an allowed list. Meanwhile most of the skill boosting maneuvers cover multiple skills at a time, add on top of proficiency if you also have it, and if you're not making a lot of checks in an adventuring day then does it really matter if it's a limited resource.

These differences are partially a matter of opinion and partially a matter of the specific DM's style for running skill checks.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

Rune Knight and Battle Master are your options for... well, options/decision points. Rune Knight is kind of better design, because it doesn't blow its whole load in the first turn of combat, and then has nothing subclass-related to do after. It's also kind of crazy to passively get advantage to skill rolls from your runes, which beats burning maneuver resources on skill checks (though, if your group always allows advantage from Help and never uses tool proficiencies, then your runes do nothing all of a sudden, so maybe not great design after all). Shame about the tiny amount of runes available.

Eldritch Knight runs into issues casting with their hands full, and playing with just 2nd-level spells at lv12 is not that impressive. But, you're basically self-Blurring while triple attacking, and can cast Jump as your substitute for flying to places, so it's always alright. Being a third-caster just feels so bad.

Arcane Archer is Grasping Arrow x 2 the class, which is a powerful autohit (requires an action from someone to get rid of), but... that is all you are ever getting. You better really love that one ability (the others are kind of locked away because your DCs are reliant on Int, and if you do have a good Int, then your Grasping Arrow is even better). This really feels like a 3-level dip for some other archer class to take.

Echo Knight is limitless Misty Step. That alone is certainly a vibe.

 

[FrogReaver]

There's 4 contenders for best fighter. All are what I consider S tier by fighter standards. They are the Rune Knight, Eldritch Knight, Battlemaster and Echo Knight. The other 3 are a bit niche/situational however.

Echo Knight. More or less melee only imho. Still a contender though espicially in melee.

Eldritch Knight. Needs a high level of game knowledge to sing and gets better at levels most don't play. And requires several books to gain access to the required spells eg booming/green flame blade, Absorb Elements, shield, fae touched perhaps. If you dont pick the right spells or know what they are it's the wrong class for you imho. Also depends on how much the DM is a hard arse on hands free casting. Eg RAW you cant cast shield if you're using a two handed weapon or a shield. You do nor have a weapon as spellcasting focus like Paladins and clerics with shields.

Battlemaster. Requires a skilled player to run at full potential and ideally is dependent on party composition eg a rogue in the party or -5/+10 specialist. Much like the Eldritch Knight not particularly newbie friendly.

So basically the Rune Knight wins as it's Ranger or melee and is independent of other factors to make it shine.

Rune Knight is more varied and interesting and for an average player is likely stronger. I still think battlemaster is more powerful when optimized well.

 

[FrogReaver]

Eldritch Knight requires some very specific choices and doesn't even start to come online till level 7. Even then it's usually clunky (free hand casting), requires very specific spells and doesn't have many slots - most of what you mentioned. By Max level it could be arguable that eldritch knight is the best.