Eldritch Knight with a small War Wizard dip is very fun. Helps get all your first level spells with wizard, and the reaction +4 to any save shores up one of the fighters more glaring weaknesses.
And gives you extra spells and a few spell slots that come back on a short rest. I’d even say go as far as 5 levels in wizard to sure up some of the juiciest spells like haste.
Here’s a fun combo: Booming Blade as your action, Action surge for two normal attacks, then make a bonus action attack (Lv 7 ability). If you have crusher, you’ve made 4 attacks and the creature now have to trigger the booming blade damage to get in melee.
@@bennyolver6745I think what they’re saying is: crusher feet pushes them out of range, so they have to choose to move back towards you in order to hit you with melee attacks, triggering booming blade 😁
Fun fact, you can bond with cooking utensils, and use the tavern brawler feat to become proficient with improvised weapons. Then you can summon your cooking utensils, which are an improvised weapon, at will with Weapon Bond. You now always have a means to cook anything no matter where you are, as long as your cooking utensils are on the same plane of existence.
A frying pan, sure, but not utensils (multiple). Crawford ruled on this already and said Weapon Bond is for weapons, not improvised weapons. If you care what he thinks.
Eldrich knight is the best subclass to get self support and defensive spells as a fighter without needing int or cha for multiclassing. You can have shield, absorb elements, blur and still foccusing on your str, dex and con.
YOU choose to CAPITALIZE at weird TIMES… But you’re making and argument out of something no one was claiming…they specifically said it’s the best way to do it without focusing on Int…Bladesinger is a Wizard subclass that literally gets class features benefitting from the Int modifier….so why even bring that up? If you don’t like the Eldritch Knight, maybe…don’t comment on an Eldritch Knight video? Seems pretty simple. Why be argumentative?
The class tactic is to activate True Strike on the target to gain a bonus action and immediately gain an advantage, then jump to the target and attack with a melee weapon to put another Eldritch Strike debuff on the target for the subsequent magic attack, which will last until the next turn and after the aforementioned manipulations, you will have another Action Surge, all of them with an advantage! You are not a tank or a mage, this is a combat mage, this class is about dealing damage in a short time for a single target. 5 actions per round with guaranteed advantage and two-handed damage is a very devastating combo + 4 attacks on subsequent rounds in conjunction with War Magic. And Dexterity is questionable in the build, it can be replaced by a feat with initiative + gloves 18 DEX.
I think you are missing out on some of the obscure strengths of an Eldritch Knight. For instance, you don't need ranged attack spells, with a bonded thrown weapon you can average more damage than most spells below lvl 5. Also, fighters have proficiency in Constitution Saves meaning their concentration spells are hard to break like Protection from good and Evil or Darkness. They still get more life per level than any gish multi class and, after lvl 10, get more ability points than any other class allowing to get more feats without weakening the build, compared to any multi class
Yep. Big thing he missed or did not mention. The HP and ASI difference is pretty considerable when comparing Eldritch Knight and Multiclassing wizard. Plus, if youre not careful you could lock yourself out of a strong ability or multiattack
If we're talking multiclassing before level 10, you're probably missing out on an ASI and Indomitable and maybe 1 or 2 martial archetype features. (though they are replaced by others, sure, but id say fighter features are stronger than wizard ones) Plus, he mentions the Elritch Knight being heavily Abilities score dependant (needing INT, CON AND STR) but so does multiclassing wizard. Except its even more complicated here with less ASI and lower HP because of the lower hit die from the wizard class (meaning you might wanna pick more CON to compensate). Not that multiclassing is not a good option, it can be done very well and be very fun too. I just think he's too hard on a class thats pretty sold by itself imo@@lordgino2006
I think that the Eldritch Knight would feel a lot better if its War Magic feature did what the Bladesingers Extra Attack does. If you got to make all your Fighter attacks and one of them was a Cantrip it would feel pretty great. Instead you just get the cantrip and have to use your Bonus Action to attack. Its something one of the GMs I play with is testing and it hasn't been crazy. Hell it could use even more help honestly.
What if you let them cast a single spell as an attack once they get the enhanced war magic feature at higher levels? It's outside of the play range for most campaigns but it's a solid buff.
The one thing that Eldritch Knight and Arcane Trickster have going for them is theirs spell slots and spells known progress at the same time that their other class abilities are progressing. Instead, trying to multiclass a "better" fighter subclass with a full casting class would result in starts and stops as levels of one class progress, then stall as levels are taken in the other class. At 20th level, it's almost like the Eldritch Knight is a 27th level character - 20 levels in fighter combined with 7 levels of wizard. This is an observation made by another TH-cam content creator, Flutes Loot, not my own idea, but I think he got that part right. Regardless, your criticisms of the subclass are fair. However, I still like Eldritch Knight, despite its imperfections, because it's more interesting than Champion and Battle Master, even if the later is a more powerful subclass.
It a really good intro to magic too. Not overly intimidating and you have option when casting just isn’t working. It’s what I used to start cause I didn’t know what I was getting into. I play bladesinger now but I’d eldritch knight again for flavour (I like the magic swordsmen archetype but can’t paladin as I’m am just bad with charisma as I have none )
I built an EK that was almost meant to be an extreme PITA to the DM trying to deal with it, as well as someone meant to shred mages by closing distance really fast. Expeditious Retreat for Lvl 1, Mirror Image for Lvl 2, Booming Blade Cantrip and the Mobile Feat. Hit the melee enemy with booming blade, disengage without Opportunity Attacks because the feat, and then dash over to the next target with Action Surge as an option to continue locking things down or burst damage. So now the DM has a decision, sit the target still and be useless for a turn, or let the target take the extra d8 of damage. Even if you catch me, between the defensive fighting style, shield and Mirror Image active it's damn near impossible to hit and buys a lot of time in combat. Is it optimal? Hard to say. Is it fun? Extremely.
First time in the Fighter series that I completely disagree with your assessment. And that's okay! Eldritch Knights really shine in their defense, picking key spells like Shield and Absorb Elements, even Blur or Silvery Barbs plays strongly into their already high ac and hp and second wind, making them absolute TANKS. They also have utility that few other fighters could dream of, with many good utility cantrips, spells like Find Familiar (lots of great vids on how broken that spell is!) Detect Thoughts, Misty Step, Fly, etc. And as others have noted, blade cantrips mix well with War Magic, especially with the Crusher/Booming combo. With careful selection, you can even do all of this at once! But never the less, looking forward to your next video!
It's fine to disagree. I still think EKs are fun to play. They're not high on my personal ranking but I've got nothing but love for players who rock with EKs.
If I were to play an EK, i would almost entirely take utility spells. Maybe a defensive spell or two, but I would focus on spicing up my role playing abilities, since a fighter is already so good in combat. I mean, you get proficiency with martial weapons and you can wear armor. Hell if you go main stat dex, you can have good stealth while still having high AC with medium armor. So now you’re still strong in combat from a numbers perspective, AND you’re nimble, acrobatic and stealthy too. AND you can take utility spells like disguise self and who knows what else. Honestly I’d like to take mold earth just to go do crazy construction projects innawoods to make friends with sentient monster colonies, while still being a tough fighter
This is why EK is one of my favorite subclasses. I literally have a EK character ready to go for a future campaign. A character that can stand toe to toe in melee combat with a few unique tricks up his sleeve. Also one that squashes the dumb fighter archetype.
I'm playing a dragonborn eldritch knight right now. I'm playing him as a bodyguard for the casters and bards of the group, and i use the shield spell to help my weaker companions.
I would suggest you look at the Bladesinger Wizard for multiclassing with Eldrich Knight fighter as when you pair them ou expand the spells and you can mainline Shadowblade and green flame blade in fact when done in the right balance you get 2 cantrips per turn and 1 normal attack.
I recommend Blade Ward as one of the EKs cantrips, along with an utility cantrip. EKs do not have the tools to be a dedicated damage dealer, so capitalizing on their defensive tools is important. Unlike Bladesingers and Swords Bards, an Eldritch Knight is not dependent on concentration spells in most situations, so putting yourself in a position where you HP+resistance tank instead of your teammates is less detrimental. And with access to some additional free healing every once in a while (Second Wind) it also isn't that expensive HP wise. You shouldn't run in and use Blade Ward as your default combat apporach, but it is there to capitalize on the EKs tactical flexibility. And tactical flexibility is something Fighters usually are sorely lacking. Naturally, once you hit level 7, Rune Knights typically does this better than EKs, but that's just the nature of the beast. Rune Knights seem to be the best officially published Fighter subclass.
As an Eldritch Knight, I suggest things like Booming Blade, Green Flame Blade, Prestidigitation, Friends, Ray of Frost, Chill Touch, Message, Friends. Basically anything that isn't Firebolt. The spell should have a secondary effect or utility use. You can do far more damage with a long bow or heavy crossbow or just being in melee compared to firebolt. Spells at subclass selection Shield and Absorb Elements then 1 other for variety. I like Thunder Wave, Hideous Laughture, Sleep, Color Spray, Expeditious Retreat, Jump, and Comprehend Languages. All of those over every damaging spell except maybe Magic Missiles or Burning Hands (though I'd still take Thunder Wave for the knock back).
Building an Eldritch Knight with the basic stats, using charisma as the dump (8). Variant human with the Haunted One/Dark Heart background. A cast out from a family of sorcerers or warlocks of family patron, be it Fey or other. Handed over to a lord to squire for him. Following his lord’s death he becomes a knight errant. Encounters a wizard who sees his latent gifts and thereby teaches him arcane secrets. Choosing feats versus ability score increases, beginning with Telepathic, followed by Fey Touched. Not sure yet where to go from there. With Blind Fighting as his fighting style, I believe he can be a well rounded Eldritch Knight. Aside from the spells you mentioned, Thunderwave and Mind Sliver give the Sith/Jedi vibe. Not that I intended that, it’s just most every troupe out there falls into this class. Any suggestions moving forward? He is currently 4th level in a milestone campaign.
What I did was create a Hill Dwarf forge cleric. He was gifted with a watered-down version of a Dwarven Thrower Hammer (+1 instead of +3). A monster wrestled the weapon away from him, and although he got it back, he swore that would never happen again. So, he discovered the Eldritch Knight class and dipped into it enough to get Weapon Bond. He believes his god (Moradin) approves since his cleric spells still work, and he is again progressing as a cleric.
Nice video, but there are a few things you seemed to overlook and I have to provide feedback about. You can ignore multiple stats like Int. Look at the defensive spells. None of them need high int. Look at the offensive blade cantrips also no need for high Int. I appreciate your effort in this video. But I think you left out a LOT of possibilities this class has.
Spear, Shield, Plate Armor, Blade Ward, Tunnel Fighter, Shield Spell, Polearm Master and eventually War Caster with Booming Blade or Green Flame Blade. Action to cast Blade Ward and Bonus action to enter Tunnel Fighter. AC for miles, attacks against anything that enters your range with boosted damage from cantrip and resistance against all weapon damage.
I played an Eldritch Knight once & had a good time with it. While I am sad the character died just before he reached 6th level, I am also grateful for the time I had with the character, who had quite the journey from an expendable, short-term character into the first character I ever played to reach 5th level
I always had ideas for how to integrate combat spells into the Eldritch Knight, but as I played Baldur's Gate 3, I slowly came to realise how unrealistic that idea was. They were simply not built for it. However, they utility spells gave way for the other spellcasters to focus on the pain and healing, which the EK focus on utility magic and beating down the enemies with their still superior melee capabilities. It was actually pretty nice! Especially since I didn't need a Rogue or Bard for utilities, because the EK could handle all that either via magic or skill rolls. It was a fun way to play. Never found any real use for having any points in Intelligence, though, since I never tried to cast spells on enemies. It did make Eldritch Strike completely worthless. What on earth is the point of me hitting an enemy 3 times and then try to debuff them next turn? The best debuff is reducing an enemy's HP to 0, and hitting 3 times does that a lot better. Eldritch Strike should instead give the target disadvantage against everyone's spells, not just the EK's.
Since I hope to play Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen I will be going against your advice. How would you rate a Knight of Solamnia Aasimar with the defender fighting style Eldritch Knight Bronze draconic sorcerer(or Divine Soul). I'm still not sure if the 4th level feat is for character or class. If it's for character I will be choosing Mage of High Sorcery. If my DM allows me to switch the stat for spell casting to Charisma I will be set. Even if it's the other way and I can cast my sorcerer spells with Intelligence that would work also? Until I get Subtle meta magic I can drop my sword. Cast a spell. The recall my sword with a bonus action.. Once I get the Ruby of the War Mage I will not have to use Subtle or drop my sword. Not sure which way EK/BDS 6/4 or EK/BDS 5/5?
I’d say that the eldritch knight’s defensive rating is even higher than a 15. Spells like Darkness (esp. if you pick up the blindfighting style) is great for shutting down sight-based magic, Warding Wind is good too in blocking ranged attacks while hindering melee combatants from reaching you, and both can provide benefits to the party as well. Even with darkness an enemy spellcaster might want to dispel it to use their more deadly spells, but you can always cast it again and trade your 2nd level slots for their 3rd level slots.
It would be interesting to do a campaign where you respec after certain events and phases. After each phase you turn more and more magical, starting from a plain fighter or rogue, going arcane or Eldritch, then becoming a ranger or paladin, and then at last becoming a full caster late game right as magic becomes S-tier.
Just released the new UA for the 2024 PB, and the eldritch knight can now replace the attacks of its attack action with either cantrips or a leveled spell depending on how many attacks they give up.
Kinda kicking around the idea of using Eldritch knight fighter for a new character, our group is going to be starting curse of Stradh in probably another 2 sessions we think. Been having a blast with my wild magic barbarian half orc. His backstory is that he’s from a small island of half orcs because long ago a human washed up on shore and was found by the chief orc’s daughter. Her mother catches them together and she sentences him to death by snu-snu. She had her female guards start to carry out the punishment. What they didn’t know was that he could heal himself in between sessions there, and soon the guards were recruiting their friends into the punishment. Yada yada yada, he’s pretty much managed to get most of the island all knocked up. As they get older, the presence of a large number of half orca attracts more half orcs to the island.
battle smith/eldritch knight might work, would reduce that multi attribute dependence to simply int dependence (since you can use your int modifier for attack rolls with any magic weapon, which could just be one with an infusion on it.) can also improve your spell list, but not your progression, you are still a half caster
I could see multi-classing EK with Wizard; bring EK up to lvl 5 for extra attack and then go hard wizard. You have a dark overlord type of character that can balance spell casting and close range combat.
I personally think you want to take EK at least to 7, then go War Wizard the rest of the way. This way you get War Magic so you can do Booming Blade, then bonus action attack, and you still get up to 7th level spells with 8th level spell slots. You also want to take advantage of the ASI or Feat Fighters get at level 6
Not sure if anyone will read this but a Fun Multiclass i came up with is 2 Paladin for Smites and 18 Eldritch Fighter for an Eldritch Paladin. it's slightly Mad as i chose to make Dex my main stat over strength. the Goal is to pick up Shadow Blade with one of the Features you now have 2d8 melee weapon with a ton of xd8 smites. and yes your spell slots are very limited but 6 attacks with shadowblade that will later be upcasted for 4d8 is very amusing.
Eh multiclasing an eldritch knight with bladesinger is an excellent synergy. 15 EK+5BS offers extra spell slots, early thirdblevel spells at minimum, and you get the bs extra attacl where you can cast a cantrip as your extra attack.
Go 8levels Eldritch then multiclass into wizard! Abjuration is your best bet, upcast shield to better refill your arcane ward from the lvl6 wizard ability and your mathematicaly healing yourself at the same time. You can do the same with absorb elements to "heal" yourself and get a damage boost!
use War magic with eldritch blast(2 rays) and greatsword, took 7 in EK and 2 lvl dip into warlock. Agonizing blast and Eldritch spear im lvl 9. took Str and cha for all AP improvements, variant human took war caster. used fighter spells that didnt require bonus calculations and put warlock spells that did. Eldritch Knight needs access to eldritch blast imo.
Shadowblade, level 2 bonus action concentration spell, can be chosen by swapping your “free school” spell at level 7 or waiting to get your 2nd “free school” spell at level 8. It’s a 2d8+mod light weapon that generates its own situational advantage. It scales in spell level and number of fighter attacks. The spell can rival sharpshooter/greatweapon master feat users in damage.
You do know an Eldritch Knight’s firebolt is just as strong as a Wizard’s right? Firebolt’s damage scales with a character’s level A 5th level Eldritch Knight and a 5th level Wizard are both gonna be dealing 2d10 fire damage Sure the Wizard might hit more often but still
I have to whole heartedly disagree with your point that the Eldritch Knight should not multiclass. An Eldritch Knight 7/War Wizard 13 subclass skyrockets your defensive features, and not only broadens you spell range, but also doesn't even delay your progression to 3rd level spells if you go straight Wizard after your 7th EK level. You still get your War Magic feature to walk into melee and strike twice using Booming Blade+Bonus Action when not casting in a leveled spell. Add in the absurd bonuses War Wizard gives you to saving throws for Concentration and it becomes a defensive juggernaut with up to level 7 spell with 8th level spell slots
@@deepmind299Extra attack is always on, and expeditious retreat is a 1st level spell instead of a 3rd. And you get almost the exact same thing, without having to spend an action to cast haste (which is already a significant loss of DPR, haste is generally only good when the caster uses it). You make a fair claim about fun though. You should definitely do whatever is most fun for you. But mathematically it’s not better haha. But like I stated, fighter 11 is generally not to be avoided. I would probably go 11 levels in eldritch knight and then 9 levels in war magic wizard.
@@enterthedungeon Yeah I played EK once and I just felt like a man dying of thirst while watching others (ie my party) drown in their wealth of class abilities.
When I choose to play as an eldritch knight, I usually tend to take mainly abjuration spells and magic missile, if I want to rely on my weapon damage, which is the better choice, I can't be focusing on intelligence that much, at best it's going to be a 16 for the end of the campaign (not considering the band of intellect), if I want also to be somewhat tanky, and it's not a bad choice most of the time, with absorb elements you can avoid great amounts of damage, with shield you improve your defenses by A LOT. I still usually take fireball at 15th level because AoE damage is powerful, but still, probably the best feature you get is the weapon bond and the teleport with action surge. The 10th level feature essentially makes you sort of viable as a spellcaster, but still, you need to have spent a turn fighting and a turn casting (unless action surge). You get mainly 4 utility spells, one for each level.
Sorry, 1/3 caster is just not worth it. I'd rather go paladin, ranger, or even a martial full caster. Also champion is great just as a dip. Best thing I can think of Eldritch knight is a fighter with shield.
I'll Stick With My BLADESINGER !!! In My Opinion, The Bladesinger Is Much Better Than The EK, The BS Is A Full Caster + They Can Use Sword & Board + Use Light Armor...
I've noticed something in many of these videos, particularly the arcane archer and now the eldritch knight. First, you tell how great this subclass is, and then you tell us that it is lacking. Which is it? Because I thought this was a video why I should play an eldritch knight. And you did a good job until you got to your cons. And that's where you counterspelled your entire argument from earlier. You did the same with Arcane Archer. But Psi Warrior, because you didn't really have any cons, stayed pro-subclass the entire video. So either change your premise (subclass analysis vs. subclass advocacy) or change your script to stay consistent. Love your videos otherwise.
Eldritch Knight with a small War Wizard dip is very fun. Helps get all your first level spells with wizard, and the reaction +4 to any save shores up one of the fighters more glaring weaknesses.
And gives you extra spells and a few spell slots that come back on a short rest. I’d even say go as far as 5 levels in wizard to sure up some of the juiciest spells like haste.
Here’s a fun combo: Booming Blade as your action, Action surge for two normal attacks, then make a bonus action attack (Lv 7 ability). If you have crusher, you’ve made 4 attacks and the creature now have to trigger the booming blade damage to get in melee.
And if your dm bans crusher and similar feats you can also make a shove attack as one of your attacks
I don’t think forced movement trigger booming blade
@@bennyolver6745I think what they’re saying is: crusher feet pushes them out of range, so they have to choose to move back towards you in order to hit you with melee attacks, triggering booming blade 😁
@@lunahazlewood5443 of course.. my bad :)
@@bennyolver6745 no problemo! D&d has too many rules too keep track of all the time 😂
Fun fact, you can bond with cooking utensils, and use the tavern brawler feat to become proficient with improvised weapons. Then you can summon your cooking utensils, which are an improvised weapon, at will with Weapon Bond. You now always have a means to cook anything no matter where you are, as long as your cooking utensils are on the same plane of existence.
A frying pan, sure, but not utensils (multiple). Crawford ruled on this already and said Weapon Bond is for weapons, not improvised weapons. If you care what he thinks.
@@ericpeterson8732 :(
I am interested in using this for an NPC pub owner. I really like this. With your permission?!
@@chrisragner3882 go ahead, although I don’t think I could tell if you did use it.
@@ericpeterson8732everything is a hammer and a hammer is a weapon!
Eldrich knight is the best subclass to get self support and defensive spells as a fighter without needing int or cha for multiclassing. You can have shield, absorb elements, blur and still foccusing on your str, dex and con.
The BLADE SINGER Is A MUCH
Better SUBCLASS...
YOU choose to CAPITALIZE at weird TIMES…
But you’re making and argument out of something no one was claiming…they specifically said it’s the best way to do it without focusing on Int…Bladesinger is a Wizard subclass that literally gets class features benefitting from the Int modifier….so why even bring that up? If you don’t like the Eldritch Knight, maybe…don’t comment on an Eldritch Knight video? Seems pretty simple. Why be argumentative?
@@jeffadams9807 I said "without needing int", and "as a fighter". Bladesinger need int and bladesinger is not a fighter subclass.
@@jeffadams9807 bladesinger isn’t a good front liner tho it’s not sturdy enough for melee, better off just playing like a normal wizard
The class tactic is to activate True Strike on the target to gain a bonus action and immediately gain an advantage, then jump to the target and attack with a melee weapon to put another Eldritch Strike debuff on the target for the subsequent magic attack, which will last until the next turn and after the aforementioned manipulations, you will have another Action Surge, all of them with an advantage! You are not a tank or a mage, this is a combat mage, this class is about dealing damage in a short time for a single target. 5 actions per round with guaranteed advantage and two-handed damage is a very devastating combo + 4 attacks on subsequent rounds in conjunction with War Magic.
And Dexterity is questionable in the build, it can be replaced by a feat with initiative + gloves 18 DEX.
I think you are missing out on some of the obscure strengths of an Eldritch Knight. For instance, you don't need ranged attack spells, with a bonded thrown weapon you can average more damage than most spells below lvl 5. Also, fighters have proficiency in Constitution Saves meaning their concentration spells are hard to break like Protection from good and Evil or Darkness. They still get more life per level than any gish multi class and, after lvl 10, get more ability points than any other class allowing to get more feats without weakening the build, compared to any multi class
Yep. Big thing he missed or did not mention. The HP and ASI difference is pretty considerable when comparing Eldritch Knight and Multiclassing wizard. Plus, if youre not careful you could lock yourself out of a strong ability or multiattack
He did mentions that he would put the accent on the early level as MOST campaign don't go over level 10
If we're talking multiclassing before level 10, you're probably missing out on an ASI and Indomitable and maybe 1 or 2 martial archetype features. (though they are replaced by others, sure, but id say fighter features are stronger than wizard ones)
Plus, he mentions the Elritch Knight being heavily Abilities score dependant (needing INT, CON AND STR) but so does multiclassing wizard. Except its even more complicated here with less ASI and lower HP because of the lower hit die from the wizard class (meaning you might wanna pick more CON to compensate).
Not that multiclassing is not a good option, it can be done very well and be very fun too. I just think he's too hard on a class thats pretty sold by itself imo@@lordgino2006
BLUR BAYBEEE
I think that the Eldritch Knight would feel a lot better if its War Magic feature did what the Bladesingers Extra Attack does. If you got to make all your Fighter attacks and one of them was a Cantrip it would feel pretty great. Instead you just get the cantrip and have to use your Bonus Action to attack. Its something one of the GMs I play with is testing and it hasn't been crazy. Hell it could use even more help honestly.
What if you let them cast a single spell as an attack once they get the enhanced war magic feature at higher levels? It's outside of the play range for most campaigns but it's a solid buff.
As a DM i let that feature work like a Bladesinger
The one thing that Eldritch Knight and Arcane Trickster have going for them is theirs spell slots and spells known progress at the same time that their other class abilities are progressing. Instead, trying to multiclass a "better" fighter subclass with a full casting class would result in starts and stops as levels of one class progress, then stall as levels are taken in the other class. At 20th level, it's almost like the Eldritch Knight is a 27th level character - 20 levels in fighter combined with 7 levels of wizard. This is an observation made by another TH-cam content creator, Flutes Loot, not my own idea, but I think he got that part right. Regardless, your criticisms of the subclass are fair. However, I still like Eldritch Knight, despite its imperfections, because it's more interesting than Champion and Battle Master, even if the later is a more powerful subclass.
It a really good intro to magic too. Not overly intimidating and you have option when casting just isn’t working. It’s what I used to start cause I didn’t know what I was getting into. I play bladesinger now but I’d eldritch knight again for flavour (I like the magic swordsmen archetype but can’t paladin as I’m am just bad with charisma as I have none )
I built an EK that was almost meant to be an extreme PITA to the DM trying to deal with it, as well as someone meant to shred mages by closing distance really fast.
Expeditious Retreat for Lvl 1, Mirror Image for Lvl 2, Booming Blade Cantrip and the Mobile Feat.
Hit the melee enemy with booming blade, disengage without Opportunity Attacks because the feat, and then dash over to the next target with Action Surge as an option to continue locking things down or burst damage. So now the DM has a decision, sit the target still and be useless for a turn, or let the target take the extra d8 of damage. Even if you catch me, between the defensive fighting style, shield and Mirror Image active it's damn near impossible to hit and buys a lot of time in combat. Is it optimal? Hard to say. Is it fun? Extremely.
First time in the Fighter series that I completely disagree with your assessment. And that's okay! Eldritch Knights really shine in their defense, picking key spells like Shield and Absorb Elements, even Blur or Silvery Barbs plays strongly into their already high ac and hp and second wind, making them absolute TANKS. They also have utility that few other fighters could dream of, with many good utility cantrips, spells like Find Familiar (lots of great vids on how broken that spell is!) Detect Thoughts, Misty Step, Fly, etc. And as others have noted, blade cantrips mix well with War Magic, especially with the Crusher/Booming combo. With careful selection, you can even do all of this at once! But never the less, looking forward to your next video!
It's fine to disagree. I still think EKs are fun to play. They're not high on my personal ranking but I've got nothing but love for players who rock with EKs.
@@enterthedungeon And that's one of the best parts of DnD!
If I were to play an EK, i would almost entirely take utility spells. Maybe a defensive spell or two, but I would focus on spicing up my role playing abilities, since a fighter is already so good in combat. I mean, you get proficiency with martial weapons and you can wear armor. Hell if you go main stat dex, you can have good stealth while still having high AC with medium armor. So now you’re still strong in combat from a numbers perspective, AND you’re nimble, acrobatic and stealthy too. AND you can take utility spells like disguise self and who knows what else. Honestly I’d like to take mold earth just to go do crazy construction projects innawoods to make friends with sentient monster colonies, while still being a tough fighter
@@Candyapplebone Well exactly! There's some MAJOR EK downplay going on in this vid! 😂
This is why EK is one of my favorite subclasses. I literally have a EK character ready to go for a future campaign. A character that can stand toe to toe in melee combat with a few unique tricks up his sleeve. Also one that squashes the dumb fighter archetype.
I'm playing a dragonborn eldritch knight right now. I'm playing him as a bodyguard for the casters and bards of the group, and i use the shield spell to help my weaker companions.
I would suggest you look at the Bladesinger Wizard for multiclassing with Eldrich Knight fighter as when you pair them ou expand the spells and you can mainline Shadowblade and green flame blade in fact when done in the right balance you get 2 cantrips per turn and 1 normal attack.
I recommend Blade Ward as one of the EKs cantrips, along with an utility cantrip. EKs do not have the tools to be a dedicated damage dealer, so capitalizing on their defensive tools is important.
Unlike Bladesingers and Swords Bards, an Eldritch Knight is not dependent on concentration spells in most situations, so putting yourself in a position where you HP+resistance tank instead of your teammates is less detrimental. And with access to some additional free healing every once in a while (Second Wind) it also isn't that expensive HP wise.
You shouldn't run in and use Blade Ward as your default combat apporach, but it is there to capitalize on the EKs tactical flexibility. And tactical flexibility is something Fighters usually are sorely lacking.
Naturally, once you hit level 7, Rune Knights typically does this better than EKs, but that's just the nature of the beast. Rune Knights seem to be the best officially published Fighter subclass.
Taking 2 levels of War Wizard really expands your character tbh on top of buffing initiative and adding +4 to a saving throw.
As an Eldritch Knight, I suggest things like Booming Blade, Green Flame Blade, Prestidigitation, Friends, Ray of Frost, Chill Touch, Message, Friends. Basically anything that isn't Firebolt. The spell should have a secondary effect or utility use. You can do far more damage with a long bow or heavy crossbow or just being in melee compared to firebolt.
Spells at subclass selection Shield and Absorb Elements then 1 other for variety. I like Thunder Wave, Hideous Laughture, Sleep, Color Spray, Expeditious Retreat, Jump, and Comprehend Languages. All of those over every damaging spell except maybe Magic Missiles or Burning Hands (though I'd still take Thunder Wave for the knock back).
Building an Eldritch Knight with the basic stats, using charisma as the dump (8). Variant human with the Haunted One/Dark Heart background. A cast out from a family of sorcerers or warlocks of family patron, be it Fey or other. Handed over to a lord to squire for him. Following his lord’s death he becomes a knight errant. Encounters a wizard who sees his latent gifts and thereby teaches him arcane secrets. Choosing feats versus ability score increases, beginning with Telepathic, followed by Fey Touched. Not sure yet where to go from there. With Blind Fighting as his fighting style, I believe he can be a well rounded Eldritch Knight. Aside from the spells you mentioned, Thunderwave and Mind Sliver give the Sith/Jedi vibe. Not that I intended that, it’s just most every troupe out there falls into this class. Any suggestions moving forward? He is currently 4th level in a milestone campaign.
What I did was create a Hill Dwarf forge cleric. He was gifted with a watered-down version of a Dwarven Thrower Hammer (+1 instead of +3). A monster wrestled the weapon away from him, and although he got it back, he swore that would never happen again. So, he discovered the Eldritch Knight class and dipped into it enough to get Weapon Bond. He believes his god (Moradin) approves since his cleric spells still work, and he is again progressing as a cleric.
Nice video, but there are a few things you seemed to overlook and I have to provide feedback about.
You can ignore multiple stats like Int. Look at the defensive spells. None of them need high int. Look at the offensive blade cantrips also no need for high Int.
I appreciate your effort in this video. But I think you left out a LOT of possibilities this class has.
@8:25: Another M.A.D. option is to dump your Intelligence and only cast self-buffing, teleport, and other spells that don't require Intel to hit.
Spear, Shield, Plate Armor, Blade Ward, Tunnel Fighter, Shield Spell, Polearm Master and eventually War Caster with Booming Blade or Green Flame Blade. Action to cast Blade Ward and Bonus action to enter Tunnel Fighter. AC for miles, attacks against anything that enters your range with boosted damage from cantrip and resistance against all weapon damage.
I played an Eldritch Knight once & had a good time with it. While I am sad the character died just before he reached 6th level, I am also grateful for the time I had with the character, who had quite the journey from an expendable, short-term character into the first character I ever played to reach 5th level
i have just started dnd and immediately wanted to make a spell-blade combatant.
Could a fire genasi eldrich knight work?
I always had ideas for how to integrate combat spells into the Eldritch Knight, but as I played Baldur's Gate 3, I slowly came to realise how unrealistic that idea was. They were simply not built for it. However, they utility spells gave way for the other spellcasters to focus on the pain and healing, which the EK focus on utility magic and beating down the enemies with their still superior melee capabilities. It was actually pretty nice! Especially since I didn't need a Rogue or Bard for utilities, because the EK could handle all that either via magic or skill rolls.
It was a fun way to play. Never found any real use for having any points in Intelligence, though, since I never tried to cast spells on enemies. It did make Eldritch Strike completely worthless. What on earth is the point of me hitting an enemy 3 times and then try to debuff them next turn? The best debuff is reducing an enemy's HP to 0, and hitting 3 times does that a lot better. Eldritch Strike should instead give the target disadvantage against everyone's spells, not just the EK's.
Since I hope to play Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen I will be going against your advice. How would you rate a Knight of Solamnia Aasimar with the defender fighting style Eldritch Knight Bronze draconic sorcerer(or Divine Soul). I'm still not sure if the 4th level feat is for character or class. If it's for character I will be choosing Mage of High Sorcery. If my DM allows me to switch the stat for spell casting to Charisma I will be set. Even if it's the other way and I can cast my sorcerer spells with Intelligence that would work also? Until I get Subtle meta magic I can drop my sword. Cast a spell. The recall my sword with a bonus action.. Once I get the Ruby of the War Mage I will not have to use Subtle or drop my sword. Not sure which way EK/BDS 6/4 or EK/BDS 5/5?
I’d say that the eldritch knight’s defensive rating is even higher than a 15. Spells like Darkness (esp. if you pick up the blindfighting style) is great for shutting down sight-based magic, Warding Wind is good too in blocking ranged attacks while hindering melee combatants from reaching you, and both can provide benefits to the party as well.
Even with darkness an enemy spellcaster might want to dispel it to use their more deadly spells, but you can always cast it again and trade your 2nd level slots for their 3rd level slots.
You can also weapon bond with a ballista or catapult! This way you can summon them as needed
It would be interesting to do a campaign where you respec after certain events and phases. After each phase you turn more and more magical, starting from a plain fighter or rogue, going arcane or Eldritch, then becoming a ranger or paladin, and then at last becoming a full caster late game right as magic becomes S-tier.
Just released the new UA for the 2024 PB, and the eldritch knight can now replace the attacks of its attack action with either cantrips or a leveled spell depending on how many attacks they give up.
One of the other additions is that all characters can ritual cast. Spell just needs the ritual tag. Utility solved.
You’re right. This subclass shines in role playing and defense.
Eldritch Knight 7 Hexblade X can make solid use of War Magic.
Kinda kicking around the idea of using Eldritch knight fighter for a new character, our group is going to be starting curse of Stradh in probably another 2 sessions we think. Been having a blast with my wild magic barbarian half orc. His backstory is that he’s from a small island of half orcs because long ago a human washed up on shore and was found by the chief orc’s daughter. Her mother catches them together and she sentences him to death by snu-snu. She had her female guards start to carry out the punishment. What they didn’t know was that he could heal himself in between sessions there, and soon the guards were recruiting their friends into the punishment. Yada yada yada, he’s pretty much managed to get most of the island all knocked up. As they get older, the presence of a large number of half orca attracts more half orcs to the island.
battle smith/eldritch knight might work, would reduce that multi attribute dependence to simply int dependence (since you can use your int modifier for attack rolls with any magic weapon, which could just be one with an infusion on it.) can also improve your spell list, but not your progression, you are still a half caster
I could see multi-classing EK with Wizard; bring EK up to lvl 5 for extra attack and then go hard wizard. You have a dark overlord type of character that can balance spell casting and close range combat.
I personally think you want to take EK at least to 7, then go War Wizard the rest of the way. This way you get War Magic so you can do Booming Blade, then bonus action attack, and you still get up to 7th level spells with 8th level spell slots. You also want to take advantage of the ASI or Feat Fighters get at level 6
Not sure if anyone will read this but a Fun Multiclass i came up with is 2 Paladin for Smites and 18 Eldritch Fighter for an Eldritch Paladin. it's slightly Mad as i chose to make Dex my main stat over strength. the Goal is to pick up Shadow Blade with one of the Features you now have 2d8 melee weapon with a ton of xd8 smites. and yes your spell slots are very limited but 6 attacks with shadowblade that will later be upcasted for 4d8 is very amusing.
Eh multiclasing an eldritch knight with bladesinger is an excellent synergy. 15 EK+5BS offers extra spell slots, early thirdblevel spells at minimum, and you get the bs extra attacl where you can cast a cantrip as your extra attack.
The scenes shown on the video, from which movies or series are they from?
Heavy armor, Shield, Shield spell, blur is the best tank in the game IMO. Throw on false life for Temp HP and you are set.
Thanks for the content.
Go 8levels Eldritch then multiclass into wizard! Abjuration is your best bet, upcast shield to better refill your arcane ward from the lvl6 wizard ability and your mathematicaly healing yourself at the same time. You can do the same with absorb elements to "heal" yourself and get a damage boost!
use War magic with eldritch blast(2 rays) and greatsword, took 7 in EK and 2 lvl dip into warlock. Agonizing blast and Eldritch spear im lvl 9. took Str and cha for all AP improvements, variant human took war caster. used fighter spells that didnt require bonus calculations and put warlock spells that did. Eldritch Knight needs access to eldritch blast imo.
So can I ask if going battlemaster and doing a multi class is better then going straight Eldritch knight?
For eldritch knight I take anything defensive and utility or roleplay. It simply does not have the power for offensive magic.
Exactly what I think, damage spells are almost worthless at the level you get them. Just take the attack action most of the time.
Shadowblade, level 2 bonus action concentration spell, can be chosen by swapping your “free school” spell at level 7 or waiting to get your 2nd “free school” spell at level 8.
It’s a 2d8+mod light weapon that generates its own situational advantage.
It scales in spell level and number of fighter attacks.
The spell can rival sharpshooter/greatweapon master feat users in damage.
well. what you think about a series for sorcerrer or player races
I'm playing dnd for the first time my character made a deal with a mimic and it became my armour
You do know an Eldritch Knight’s firebolt is just as strong as a Wizard’s right? Firebolt’s damage scales with a character’s level
A 5th level Eldritch Knight and a 5th level Wizard are both gonna be dealing 2d10 fire damage
Sure the Wizard might hit more often but still
Watching this while waiting for Baldurs Gate 3 to come out, and am definitely making a Githyanki Eldrich knight.
Watching this while building my character! Already stucked for hours trying to decide what hahaha
Here she comes
The Knight Witch
She fights for those who can’t
My dumbass just listened to most of this video thinking it was a baldurs gate video and was a bit confused by the background footage
I have to whole heartedly disagree with your point that the Eldritch Knight should not multiclass. An Eldritch Knight 7/War Wizard 13 subclass skyrockets your defensive features, and not only broadens you spell range, but also doesn't even delay your progression to 3rd level spells if you go straight Wizard after your 7th EK level. You still get your War Magic feature to walk into melee and strike twice using Booming Blade+Bonus Action when not casting in a leveled spell. Add in the absurd bonuses War Wizard gives you to saving throws for Concentration and it becomes a defensive juggernaut with up to level 7 spell with 8th level spell slots
The Eldritch Knight works better as a class if you use Con as the casting attribute.
Isn't Feather Fall transmutation? Most of the spells you mentioned are unavailable for an EK lmao.
Eldritch Knights can choose a spell of ANY school at levels 3, 8, 14, and 20
Is it bad that i wanna play an assaultron?
Actually EK stacks extremely well with wizard and sorcerers. Go to level 6 then multiclass
Going to level 11 is better imo. 3rd attack is too good to pass up.
@@brannenpfister2579
Get extra attack. Or cast haste and get extra attack extra movement and AC and also get 3rd level spells. WAY more fun!
@@deepmind299Extra attack is always on, and expeditious retreat is a 1st level spell instead of a 3rd. And you get almost the exact same thing, without having to spend an action to cast haste (which is already a significant loss of DPR, haste is generally only good when the caster uses it). You make a fair claim about fun though. You should definitely do whatever is most fun for you. But mathematically it’s not better haha. But like I stated, fighter 11 is generally not to be avoided. I would probably go 11 levels in eldritch knight and then 9 levels in war magic wizard.
they siuld just allow you to add your con bonus and int bonus to make your DC
Thoughts on the new 2024 changes?
OH- what if the Eldritch Knight borrowed 1 pact slot from Warlock, Fighters do like short rests. Further more, if it could have an invocation.
Take a different Fighter Subclass, multiclass into any wizard subclass.
More class features.
No limit on types of spells.
Better EK than EK imo.
"Who wouldn't want to play a teleporting fighter?" 😬 Let's, uhhh, talk about how the Horizon Walker Ranger does this better, four levels earlier.
When you use shocking grasp on a enemy with metal armor
For the Fighter, Rune Knight/Psi-Warrior is a better subclass.
For the Eldritch Knight, the Artifcer is the overall better class.
100% agree. I ranked both way above EK
@@enterthedungeon Yeah I played EK once and I just felt like a man dying of thirst while watching others (ie my party) drown in their wealth of class abilities.
That's my experience too. But hey, lots of these comments think differently
@@enterthedungeon True! To each their own!
When I choose to play as an eldritch knight, I usually tend to take mainly abjuration spells and magic missile, if I want to rely on my weapon damage, which is the better choice, I can't be focusing on intelligence that much, at best it's going to be a 16 for the end of the campaign (not considering the band of intellect), if I want also to be somewhat tanky, and it's not a bad choice most of the time, with absorb elements you can avoid great amounts of damage, with shield you improve your defenses by A LOT.
I still usually take fireball at 15th level because AoE damage is powerful, but still, probably the best feature you get is the weapon bond and the teleport with action surge.
The 10th level feature essentially makes you sort of viable as a spellcaster, but still, you need to have spent a turn fighting and a turn casting (unless action surge).
You get mainly 4 utility spells, one for each level.
Idk this class just sounds like a warlock minus the sugar daddy/momma…and eldritch blast, the best part of playing a warlock
You forgot war magic at lvl 7
Irony, I just spent a few hours making one.
Sorry, 1/3 caster is just not worth it. I'd rather go paladin, ranger, or even a martial full caster. Also champion is great just as a dip. Best thing I can think of Eldritch knight is a fighter with shield.
Unless you're going to multi-class with an artificer just to drive your GM insane
I'm listening...
Sorry bro eldritch knight/warlock multi class is real fun.
I'll Stick With My BLADESINGER !!!
In My Opinion, The Bladesinger
Is Much Better Than The EK, The
BS Is A Full Caster + They Can Use Sword & Board + Use Light Armor...
bladesong prevents using a shield
I've noticed something in many of these videos, particularly the arcane archer and now the eldritch knight. First, you tell how great this subclass is, and then you tell us that it is lacking. Which is it? Because I thought this was a video why I should play an eldritch knight. And you did a good job until you got to your cons. And that's where you counterspelled your entire argument from earlier. You did the same with Arcane Archer. But Psi Warrior, because you didn't really have any cons, stayed pro-subclass the entire video. So either change your premise (subclass analysis vs. subclass advocacy) or change your script to stay consistent. Love your videos otherwise.