D&D 5E (2014) Your best Eldritch Knight?

[Clint_L]

I love the Eldritch Knight. It is my favorite fighter class. Here is how I would build it of I was making a character for a combat focused game. If it was not combat focused and was more balanced, I would start with 13 Wisdom and 12 Constitution but otherwise the same.

Female Drow
S16 D8 C14 I8 W10 CH17 (on point buy)
Trade weapon proficiencies for tools

Level-by-level:
1. Fighting Style - Superior Technique - Menacing Attack
3. Eldritch Knight - Shield, Protection from Evil and Good, Silvery Barbs, Booming Blade, Blade Ward
4. Drow High Magic Feat, Absorb Elements
6. Magic Initiate - Warlock (Green Flame Blade, Eldritch Blast, Armor of Agathys)
7. Arcane Lock
8. Shadowblade, Fey Touched Feat (Charisma - Hex and Misty Step)
10. Alarm, Friends or Prestidigitation or Message or Minor Illusion
11. Gust of Wind
12. Shadow Touched Feat (Charisma - Cause Fear and Invisibility)
13. Counterspell, Lemund's Tiny Hut, Remove Gust of Wind
14. Fly, ASI +1 Wisdom (11) and +1 Charisma (20)
16. Resilient Feat (Wisdom), Gust of Wind
19. Fire Shield either Warcaster Feat or Mage Slayer Feat
20. Dimension Door

I love this build. It is my favorite single class fighter!

Your fighter spell selections are really limited, so for me the trick is to play a Drow, get Drow High Magic and get more spells on feats. Your offensive spells should be based on Charisma. This helps two ways first at 12th level I have 9 leveled spells I can cast for free once a day plus Detect Magic at will (and being able to do it at will is a lot better than as a ritual). Then I can use slots to cast those spells too, since they are known and the EK is a known spell caster and they are all on a charisma save DC.

My Wizard/fighter spells provide stuff that does not need Intelligence (Shield, PEG, Silvery Barbs, Absorb Elements) plus some ribbon spells.

levels 8-12 is where this really shines. War Magic is online and is not yet outclassed by extra attack. You have a good ranged attack with Eldritch Blast, which you can combine with a thrown weapon attack through Warmagic, your low level offensive spells are still potent.

I love your builds. You are the most creative character builder I have encountered. I would never have thought to do a charisma-based EK through feats. That's brilliant!

 

[Stormonu]

Are we allowed to consider the playtest version of the Revised 5e Eldritch Knight? Because the 2014 version is deeply flawed, but like the Berserker Barbarian the Revised PHB update promises to make it a far more functional subclass.

Nope, I'm working from the 2014 book, not considering the playtest for this thread.

 

[GrimCo]

I play EK in our current campaign. He is level 4 and won't go above lv 8 by the end. We have cutoff around levels 8-10.

Race: Astral Elf, mainly for Starlight Step and Astral Trance ( free skill prof at the end). S 18 D 10 C 16 I14 W12 C8

Feat: Chef - +1 con, plus other benefits. Mainly took it cause of story reasons. ( our DM gave everyone free feat at lv 1).

FS: Defense ( +1 ac)

Full plate, Warhammer (versatile, bludgeoning), Greatsword, Pike ( 1d10, reach)

Cantrips: Dancing lights, prestidigitation, green flame blade
Spells: Shield, Chromatic orb, Burning hands, Silvery Barbs; level 2 will be Scorching ray and then Mirror image

At lv 6 - GWM feat for extra damage
At lv 8 - +2 on Wis

I play it mostly as straight out fighter. Magic is there to help with defense and with AoE and ranged offense. Plus, to bypass resistances and immunities. Dancing lights and prestidigitation cantrips are so much fun and useful in so many ways out of combat.

 

[Shiroiken]

In my first 5E campaign, we had a player make an archer EK and it worked extremely well. I don't have the specifics, but he took the archery fighting style for his bow attack and used firebolt for his primary spell. He was well balanced, because he could use magic against anything he needed a magic weapon against, or just attack against things resistant/immune to fire. At 7th level he got really powerful casting firebolt, then attacking as a bonus action.

 

[Argyle King]

Not sure if this is the "best," but a quick starting idea:

Lizardfolk
Mariner Fighting Style (if available)
pump Dex
Shield
1-handed weapon of choice
Choose a background w/ rogue skills

 

[Sword of Spirit]

What is it that you dislike about the Eldritch Knight?

I don't see how it could be considered weak, as War Magic (with booming blade or green-flame blade) gives it potentially the highest at-will damage of the PHB fighters at many levels, and its spell choice can enhance it in a variety of ways.

Are you not considering the impact of booming/green-flame blade? Because those are literally game changers for how the subclass plays.

 

[Stormonu]

What is it that you dislike about the Eldritch Knight?

I don't see how it could be considered weak, as War Magic (with booming blade or green-flame blade) gives it potentially the highest at-will damage of the PHB fighters at many levels, and its spell choice can enhance it in a variety of ways.

Are you not considering the impact of booming/green-flame blade? Because those are literally game changers for how the subclass plays.

My memories of fighter/magic-users from 1E/2E most likely is influencing my disdain. Fireball at 13th level or later is just jank.

Our group didn't have access to booming/green-flame blade until recently via Tasha's, as I didn't have SCAG or know about the two spells until recently, and on paper neither seemed very impressive.

The only Eldritch Knight I've seen in actual play until this point was run by, who shall is say, is clueless and often shines at building utterly ineffective characters. So, all of my disdain towards the subclass has so far had been validated.

 

[J-H]

My memories of fighter/magic-users from 1E/2E most likely is influencing my disdain. Fireball at 13th level or later is just jank.

Our group didn't have access to booming/green-flame blade until recently via Tasha's, as I didn't have SCAG or know about the two spells until recently, and on paper neither seemed very impressive.

The only Eldritch Knight I've seen in actual play until this point was run by, who shall is say, is clueless and often shines at building utterly ineffective characters. So, all of my disdain towards the subclass has so far had been validated.

Another way to improve EK substantially is to let the player choose two spell schools instead of limiting them to defenses and ka-booms.
Transmutation? They get Longstrider, Alter self (swimming/water breathing), Enlarge, Spider Climb, Haste, and Blink.
Illusion? Invisibility, Mirror Image, Shadow Blade, Phantom Steed, Blur.
Necromancy? Blindness/Deafness (take advantage of the save disadvantage they inflict), Bestow Curse, Spirit Shroud (+1d8 per hit!)
Conjuration? Find Familiar, Fog Cloud, Misty Step, Thunder Step, Tidal Wave (knock prone).
etc.

 

[GrimCo]

It all depends what you want out of class, how you play it, what style of play your table does. I posted my EK build. Is it optimal? No, i made couple of choices that there for pure fluff. Is it decently rounded? I think it is. Magic gives you couple of more tools for situations when you need it. But magic is secondary. First and foremost, EK is boink it with a pointy stick class.

 

[ECMO3]

I love your builds. You are the most creative character builder I have encountered. I would never have thought to do a charisma-based EK through feats. That's brilliant!

Thank you for the kind words.