Do TWO campaigns, one is defending, the other is attacking, and the success or failure of a mission will determine what the other party is doing next week.
Eldritch Knight was my first long-term 5e character. I used a maul and made judicious use of Shield. He was a tank and a half. Eventually, they can Haste, and then they're crazy powerful.
My half orc eldritch knight with war caster feat was probably the most durable character I ever built. Wearing full plate with sword and shield with blur going and ready to pop a shield spell when needed.
Just hit level 3 and want to go eldritch. I thought I was playing just the 1 night bc I was visiting in another state. We've got past that problem and running since August now. This is my 1st toon and made him bc the group didn't have a tank. Is eldritch viable?
Look how excited they are talking about fighters compared to the cleric's. You can tell this is one of their favorites. I would love for you guys to do a video of your guys top 3 favorite classes/subclasses to play and why as a wrap up after you guys finish these class videos. And possibly a video on what the community perceives as the weakest or least interesting classes like the Ranger. You guys are great keep up the good work!
Russian movie you guys mentioned is called '1612', and the main character is actually a former child servant to the Czar family impersonating a Spanish noble fencer. Which, come to think of it, is a backstory you can build a good fantasy character around. Anyway, keep up the good work! Played myself an Eldritch Knight and had a blast. Literally, Thunderwaves and Burning Hands aplenty, while slashing everything with double longswords. Tip for other TWF EKs around there - drop your second sword while doing extra attack to utilize the 'Versatile' feature, then summon it back right to your hand in the next round; rinse and repeat
Even assuming that they could, summoning the bonded weapon eats a bonus action. Thus negating the main point of having that second weapon: the bonus action attack. 5d8+20 (extra attack, action surge, plus bonus action attack, each @+4 from the ability bonus) is better than 4d10+16 (two-handed longsword, same ability bonus and action surge, but bonus action is consumed by re-summoning the blade.) Just dual wield rapiers. Light, finesse, and plenty of damage.
@@k.f.kobold7910 Oops! You're right. I think I was confusing it with the scimitar, which is light. Of course, that kinda kills the point I was trying to make with that bit of the comment, so it should be: If you can dual-wield longswords, just stick with that, especially if you have advantage, or a low AC target. More attacks almost always equals more damage.
I dunno who I'm more mad at; you guys for uploading at nearly two in the morning, or me for staying up this late. All jokes aside, this video is pretty good, keep up the hard work!
I've been playing a goblin ranged battle master lately, and it feels so op to be 30 feet off the map, forcing disadvantage on big melee enemies, knocking weaker enemies over for easy pickings, and hiding after attacking every single turn; all while literally having the most HP of anyone in the party.
Playing a dwarven Champion now and he truly is a monster on the battlefield, especially after picking up the Tough feat for even more HP and Great Weapon Master for potential extra attacks.
That siege campain idea is just great. Why haven't I thought about that ?! It's an excellent way to have an original concept in an urban setting, with a lot of action, fight and battle but also intrigue, politics and diplomaty, to create lasting bond with NPCs, focusing on a single location that is gonna feel like home for the players while having constant event to keep it fresh... and having an unique, simple but major stake from the get go it's a great way to make it feel very personnel for the players. It could be both a big sandbox with a lot to do from investigation, to sabotage but also a carefully crafted story inside a bigger military conflict and with a lot in the hand of the player... Are they gonna manage to keep the wall or retreat to the citadel and lose half the city ? It's great way to give consequence to the players actions... Man this is genius, I haven't been that inspired for a campain concept since the time I came up with the idea of making half the majors NPCs with a big role in guiding the PCs on there adventuring path, the avatars of the subconscient part of a god guiding them so they can eventually stop him. (so this god was trying to stop himself using the players with all thoses NPCs that in the end, were him. But he did not know that...). That was a cool reveal.
Military campaign and seizes. The mid 2000's Greyhawk campaign modules in Furondy. Excellent. I had the main castle under seize when the players got there. "Where is the commander?" panic "Your not him?!" blazing catapult shots lofting over the walls from across the river all night long. I put the players in a tower room with a wall missing from the previous nights catapult hit. A blanket was strung up to block the hole. That was amazing. The players got out of there barely as the seize escalated.
After 2 years of 5E I finally got to play a Fighter. It's a higher level game, 15th level+ characters. I went 13th levels of Champion and 3 levels of Barbarian. For some reason the DM decided to allow me to let me dual wield 2 2handed weapons after I found a belt of Storm Giant's Strength. I took a (Defender) Great Sword and a +3 Great Axe. I'm a Half Orc, I took Great Weapon Fighting and Great Weapon Master. I literally 3v1ed 3 Fire Giants and won. Opening round I did 247 damage. 😀
You know whats freakin rad? Prepping my campaign while listening to you guys with a Legend of Zelda playlist and thunderstorm soundtrack playing softly in the background. It's a mood my guys. Love your content, you're my go-to for all things D&D since I got into it this year.
Played an archery style Battle master during the Curse of Strahd adventure. by level 3, the party looked to me to finish a fight before it started. and giving a fighter the feats "Sharp shooter, Great weapon master, and heavy armo mastery" just makes an already solid class, even better.
I absolutely love Fighters. Easiest to play and it's nice to worry mostly on my character and RP instead of mechanics and the different abilities at times.
The fighter is about the only class that only has to focus on two abilitie scores. Were a score like Con can come in handy for all the classes, it's PART of the fighter build. This gives them a very invisible but strong advantage.
Matt A battle master with the hermit background would be cool too, this introspective warrior that left society to reflect on his skills and hone them far away from any distractions
Matt I'm trying out the new Samurai fighter UA.. made my background be that I grew up w/a master katana swordsmith. Stoll one & ran away too become the world's greatest swordsman...
I was very much inspired to play a fighter, based on my nature & love for history, the guys with guts, wits & the gear are the ones taking all the pain & pushing on no matter what, that is was a true Warrior is about never backing down, Fighters fight its what we are it who we are, doppelsoldner & huscarl are the guys with the big ass two handed sword & axe I wanted to emulate.
I totally agree with getting manuevers into the base class. Love em! What do you think of allowing access to all maneuvers, but keeping the same amount of superiority dice?
Versatility is very powerful. Part of the challenge in DnD comes from not having the right spells, abilities, or manuevers for the situation. If that never comes up than you'll be a step ahead of most other classes. It would be like allowing a cleric or druid to have all of their class list prepared. They're ready for almost every situation.
I think I got through most of the first series when I was in highschool, back when Coboy Beebop was popular. I remember liking it but it being somewhat slow to get to the plot. I will have to revisit it since it seems to have resurfaced in popularity along with Bastard! for some reason.
Don't you know you never split the party Clerics in the back keep the fighters nice and hardy. The Wizard in the middle so he can shed some light And you never let that damn theif out of sight!!!!
I would really love it if you did bards next. I have never really had a look at them and would like to know more about them as I'm thinking about making a backup character as a bard. I write this knowing full well that you might have already recorded a bunch more of these, but if you have not done bards yest there is no harm in this comment. Great show! Especially liked the tangent on playing out wars in D&D. Do consider making a full video on that.
I always enjoy your intros Pruitt! Don't worry too much over it though. If you allow Feats in your campaign, then the Fighter has a chance to become one of the most unique classes in the game. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think any other class gets as many opportunities for Feats as the Fighter does (certainly no one gets more).
Dex. Int. Eldritch Knight Something like Indiana Jones with a Whip? Would fighter be the best class to build a character who is capable at fighting WELL with a whip and also utilizing utility spells for outside combat? Also do other rules apply to the whip other than it being light and having reach?
Mathew Colville is doing that Strongholds and Followers book that has a section on War Games which looked cool in his campaign they uploaded to TH-cam. It's worth checking out if that's the kind of game you want to play
In a game with various squads fighting "off screen" you could roll different sizes dice based on the size and skill of the fighting sides to determine which one wins. The a messenger informs the party and they have to decide what to do from there. A war campaign could be a lot if fun and no one says that has to be the entire campaign. It could just be the beginning of it or a small part during it. Lots of options to play with.
Hey guys this is awesome. Do you have an episode about magic arms races? I mean, how would a fortress engineer keep a fortress safe, when magic is involved? How do you defend it against giant creatures, cloudkill spells, invisible enemies, flying enemies, dragons, teleportation magic, climbing spells, and so on?
I'm really wanting to do a Purple Dragon Knight, variant human, and start with the Inspiring leader feat. Have a very support centered fighter. Though I'd probably need a Champ, barb, or pally in the party just to make sure we had something to really lay down the hurt.
I think an adventuring party could be a really good core for a Renaissance-style mercenary company. One PC would be the nominal captain (e.g. the battlemaster fighter), with the spellcasters as specialists.
Just watched the newest episode of Samurai Jack so I'm definitely biased, but that show is my standard for how martial characters should playout. The inventive way Jack uses only a couple tools such as how his cloak is worn and reworked a thousand ways; his trained stealth skills; his flexibility and artistry in battle with weapons and tools; how he can use his natural senses and wit to outplay beyond normal people/robots is exactly what I inspire to emulate whenever I play. The Scotsman is another great example, with his insane brute physicality and deep cat-pouch of grenades (orbs of fireballs) and bagpipes that dispel charm, and grafted on magic items (gun leg). Can't forget both of these great warriors carry magic swords either ;) I would love to hear from others what they take inspiration from when describing their fighters in action.
For those who have played for a long time, I've been thinking of a character for when I do get toplay a agame, and have been wondering what would be the best class for the background. The character is a a blacksmith who's family and town were killed. He picks up what weapons ad armor are left after th town is burned, and goes on the adventure. He's going to be a kind guy but is gruff and very distant. I'm thinking of fighter for him, but would barbarian be better, based on the fact that he would be extremely pissed off at the guys who killed his family?
As someone who's always used Fighters as one of my main go-to classes I thought this was a great breakdown of the class. In a campaign on D20 I've been using a Champion fighter who's at level 11 the now and it never ceases to amaze me the range of shit I can bring to a round of melee. Between having a dual wielding build (Fighting Style & Feat), improved crit range and Action Surge have managed to unload an insane amount of damage. I'm looking forward to yer take on the Monk whenever ye get to it. 5E is actually the first time I've been able to get around to playing one and decided to go with Way of the Open Hand. We started with at lvl 1 in Lost Mine of Phandelver and my party is lvl 6 in Curse of Strahd and it's been a blast so far.
Small question: Would one level dip in cleric light domain for faire fire and all the cantrips, level one spells, ect be worth it? I wanted it for flavor, but should I just go straight fighter/rouge? Or fighter 11/cleric 1/assassin 8?
someone breakdown the "order of the immortals" and the 3 levels for expanded crit range? are they talking about fighter here? they say it at 4:35 about
Arthur DeLuca Order of Immortals is a Paladin thing. expanded crit range is in reference to the Champion Fighter getting the ability to crit on a 19-20 instead of just 20.
Actually Order of Immortals is a Mystic sub-class. Its from the Psionics and Mystics Unearth Arcana. So it's not officially released yet, but something they are play-testing. Here you go (EDIT - they updated they Mystic and it now goes to Level 10) media.wizards.com/2016/downloads/Psionics_and_Mystic_V2.pdf
Here's a question for you guys: How do you represent height/3 dimensions when you're running the game? For example flying creatures (which are always a weakness for me), or attacking an enemy with a different elevation than you? When determining distance for bows when attacking elevated enemies, do you use the Pythagorean theorem or just wing it?
How do you mean represent? As in on a battlemat with minis or with game mechanics? We use dice or dice containers to represent flying enemies. If you're talking with game mechanics, I tend to abstract flying height in terms of movement or range - "the dragon is within short range of your bow", "the gargoyle is flying one move action from you" That sort of thing. Foes on a different elevation that are in cover might gain a greater benefit from that cover (represented by disadvantage). We used to use the theorem to determine exact ranges, but I find it slows down play and nearly every time I estimate the range, I find that when I go back and calculate it exactly, my estimations were more or less accurate. Usually if I'm playing without minis, I ditch numeric ranges entirely and measure everything in terms of move actions.
I love the Siege Campaign idea. YOINKing in 3, 2, 1... New to the channel, so maybe this was done already, but a vid on How To Do Military Campaign games would be sweet. This was a nice preview. Also, would have liked more in-depth analysis of why the Champion Fighter is supposedly the weakest. I keep eyeing that Superior Critical ability while trying not to salivate. And failing.
Hey so I was wondering if you could do a full episode on "High Fantasy" D&D. For WHATEVER reason I have trouble getting a perspective on integrating all the magical elements into the world. You always bring up divinations and things like that and I'm just trying to get that perspective on building a world with that being a major part of it. Some different settings for reference, how you balance having those kind of resources for the party and available in the world with making the party feel important. How common should these things be to get a good balance? I know ultimately it's up to me but I'd like the perspective of some people with good experience.
James Davis Wow thank you! And you guys take as much time as you need! Just so tricky trying to account for all the changes those things can make to the standard medieval society where everyone is like a lv0 or lv1 peasant! I keep getting stuck up in realism because we know how society works with them but just as one example: We had religious wars as a debate on whether or not someone's god was even real...well with clerics, suddenly gods are just a fact and you can see their power! How would that change society??? Anyway Im rambling now. Looking forward to the next episode!
I can confirm that fighters, even though many people say they are weaker, are great in a one on one fight. I have a story about a fighter I had. I had to retire him since he became a bit of a party antagonist. He wasn't evil, he just had a different idea of good to everyone else. A while later, the story dictated that we run into him again, and our paladin challenged him with a duel to the death which he accepted. By this point we were 7th level, while he was still 5th, and our wizard buffed the paladin before the fight, while the fighter got nothing. The DM let me take my old character back for what should have been his last ride. However it didn't go as we thought, and I was well on my way to winning that fight, but for our wizard to intervene yet again to give our paladin just enough time to kill me.
I'm curious- Protection from Evil and Good requires material components. How does your EK work with that- does he stick the RAW and have a component pouch? Or have you house-ruled it so he can use an arcane focus or use his bonded weapon as a focus?
Ethan Waters We've house ruled that he can use his bond weapon as a focus. So long as a player can justify using an item as their focus we just let it happen. It nerfs the War Caster feat but that's such a strong feat anyway that it doesn't matter too much.
MrMcBobb and it makes sense on an RP level, too- the EK has bonded to the weapon such that they can just call it back to their hand from wherever they've left/lost it. I feel like that was a missed opportunity for the RAW rules, but since Rangers, Paladins and Arcane Tricksters dont get foci, it would be a bit unfair for the EK to. Yeah- War Caster is really great for combat-based magicians. Even losing that use for the EK, it still gives loads of benefits.
Fun build concept: Feral Tiefling with Wings instead of Tiefling magic, Fighting Style - Archery, but solely put your focus on Light/Heavy Crossbows (and a Short Sword as a backup for melee options). Get the Urban Bounty Hunter Background with Stealth and Persuasion. Make it solely a Dex-based fighter with point-buy stats: 9 STR, 16 DEX, 14 CON, INT 12, WIS 10, CHA 14 (just overall solid stat spread works wonders for Fighters as well)... congrats, you literally have a Rogue/Fighter hybrid that can do more then JUST fight... it can infiltrate, pick locks, communicate properly with people if need be and fly up to certain places just to shoot volleys of crossbow bolts with Maneuvers on top of them, just to add some long-range utility...
I liked to hear you've had a Halfling Fighter at your table. And that he uses a Long Sword. Does he use two hands or have any disadventage for using it? I also have Halfling Fighter (Archery) at my table and he uses a Long Bow. Is there any problem with that, according to RAW? He should have disadvantage on using the long bow?
Fighters have more going on than any other class now save Rogue. Look at the number of "increase attribute" chances. Each one of those is either an ability bump or a Feat. That's a lot of versatility. Eldritch Knights have all that and spells. That makes one hard to box in. Spells are a real game changer. Having the chance to have a Familiar at 3rd level means the Help action is in play, and thus melee attacks with Advantage. Adding more attacks per round just makes this more and more brutal. Eldritch Knights with a combat cantrip are never unarmed. BTW, True Strike and Blade Ward? Really? The worst cantrips ever? Also, an EK does not need the SCAG cantrips to be effective. There are so many great cantrips I would always recommend. Thunderclap, Fire Bolt, Mage Hand (to disarm foes or pick up dropped weapons a la Luke Skywalker), Ray of Frost to slow retreating foes, Chill Touch to shut down Shields or Counterspells. There's a lot. As far as spells, again, Thunderwave to knock foes prone for Advantage. Magic Missile for that guaranteed hit. Mage Armor to be prepared the second you have to wake up while camping. Sheild to shut down those near hits. There are so many choices. Combining the right Fighting Style with the right Feat can also be devastating. Two-Weapon plus Dual Wielder. Great Weapon Fighter plus Great Weapon Master and/or Charger. Archer plus Sharpshooter Dueling plus Shield Master and/or Charger. Each of these combos can stack a lot of damage or incorporate movement into the attack itself (via Charger). With the 5E Fighter, gone are the days of Rock'em Sock'em Robot fighters. Now they can tank, or be a striker, or a spell caster, or take on Warlord like features...or if you follow the Matthew Mercer "Gunfighter" spec, they can bring firearms to bear on those who still fight with knives. Fighters have become so mch more. Thank you 5E!
What is the name of that Spanish movie they talk about? The tunnel warfare... close dagger combat while the trenches are filled with sulphur. I couldn't quite understand them and CC is not helping :P
I love 4e wisdom spear fighter. I made an old homeless man who used to be a seasoned adventurer, stopped adventuring to take up drinking and gambling, sorta ended up washed up and lost years of his experience to abusing his body. Only to come back spinning an old long iron pipe that can control the battlefield like any OP controller pc. It was hilarious because several moves had push or move ability that ran off wisdom. So I used wisdom fighter, the DM had to avoid any danger fall area's for battle or try not to leave too many traps. All I had to do was use one of my push or pull moves and have any creature drop to their death or into traps meant for PC's.
I just started playing an Eldritch Knight Fighter (level 5) with 1 level in warlock (Character level 6) and think it's great. 2 attacks with hex on the enemy.
I'm curious to see how they play. On paper they look 'meh', but it's possible that in an actual campaign, their abilities wouldn't be as lackluster as they seem.
Holy crap the siege campaign idea is amazing!! I would love to hear about it if you end up running one in the future. Great video series for classes, best on youtube for 5th E, IMO. Can't wait to for the Monk and maybe more Eberron. Do you know if/when they will release an updated book for the Eberron setting in 5th E?
Yeah, I half miss the days of 3.5 with all the splatbooks and campaign settings. The other half of me is glad they're keeping bloat/power creep to a minimum for this edition. I'm not sure I miss prestige classes that much. As a player, I rarely used them myself in 3.5 and haven't felt like their absence has hindered 5e. There are some concepts that are missing or undersupported right now though that were prestige classes - namely summoner a and arcane archers
Little late to the party. But in my last campaign, a 14th level fighter was tearing through anything i threw at them. Dragon? Slain! Demons? Slain! Angel? Slain! Wait hold on....
Being a Student of war saved our party against a powerful wizard who had a ridiculous AC. He was able to dodge all my attacks and the only reliable way to touch him was with magic missle. Had to command our wizards to attack with their magic missiles and use a special staff once they were out of spell slots.
I wonder, do they film a bunch of these in a single day then edit over the course of several days? the decoration on this vid looks similar to the decoration in the wizard video.
All of the after action reports are around a page long. Some of the things done are setting up traps, moving people out of the city before the siege really starts, finding people in the city that can craft items (potions, alchemy items). Also managing the army, clerics, alchemists in the city. The enemy is a nearly endless supply of homebrew goblins.
My favorite fighter I ever made was one who did their damndest to never ever fight a single battle directly, instead I racked up my kill count through things like explosive traps and other out-of-combat methods. It really pissed off the rest of the party sometimes because they were itching to fight, but every once in a while they were reminded that Pathfinder combat is fucking brutal and decided to keep up my strategy
Hey, Web DM. Love your videos Question; Do you think you'll start reviewing things found on the Dungeon Master's Guild? I'm curious on your thoughts on the fighting Archetype; Gunslinger by Matt Mercer.
I might be one of the few people I know who perceived the fighter as a genuinely great class in 5e. They are sheerly a combat class, which has always been their role, but what they do, they do extremely well. The archetypes presented in the PH are really good at providing an excellent set of flavors to choose from. Eldritch Knights make Wizard multiclassing virtually unnecessary (unless you're hellbent on Necromancy spells). Battle Masters are excellent tactical support characters who also bring the pain easily. Champions are easy, classic fighting men that are dangerously effective in every combat situation. There is no fight the fighters don't excel in, especially with Action Surge, Second Wind, and all the proficiencies in weapons, armor, and shields. Certainly Barbarians are fantastic warriors, and Rangers are unquestionably good, but Fighters feel so much like the penultimate soldier class. The feats that are available to assist with weapon tactics feel like they were ultimately designed to be FOR fighters, and coincidently all the other classes could use them, should they feel so compelled. That is what encouraged me most of all to immediately open up the optional rule that states that when your class entitles you to a stat increase, you may instead take a feat. I'd be astonished if any DM limits the stat increases to being strictly stats after reading the Fighter class thoroughly.
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Web DM 1612, i googled it xD it's not in the description hehe
Did you guys ever think of the name of that fencing movie?
Do TWO campaigns, one is defending, the other is attacking, and the success or failure of a mission will determine what the other party is doing next week.
Nathaniel Leon That's a great idea!
Nathaniel Leon
I love it!
yes please, OMG I'm going to steal it
And in the big battle in the end it is a pvp between the parties...
Diedre Carmo it looks like they did something like this on the Terry Crews CelebriD&D
"Somebody send help he never feeds us!" Loved it.
Eldritch Knight was my first long-term 5e character. I used a maul and made judicious use of Shield. He was a tank and a half. Eventually, they can Haste, and then they're crazy powerful.
Every single one of your pun-intros and transitions are beautiful, Pruitt.
Don't even sweat.
Jeppe Agerholm
Thank you! I'm punderappreciated in my time. I'll see myself out.
JPruInc Hahahahahahhaa im gonna have to steal that, sir
I believe he stole that from my reddit comment actually ;) If he remembers our pun battle on his post about Clerics.
Shawn Ames
How could I forget?! It was epic level punditry.
My half orc eldritch knight with war caster feat was probably the most durable character I ever built. Wearing full plate with sword and shield with blur going and ready to pop a shield spell when needed.
They're so durable. Protect from Evil and Good is wicked good as well if you're not high enough level for Blur.
Just hit level 3 and want to go eldritch. I thought I was playing just the 1 night bc I was visiting in another state. We've got past that problem and running since August now. This is my 1st toon and made him bc the group didn't have a tank. Is eldritch viable?
@@MrMix1212 anything is viable. I can make a rogue or cleric a tank, eldritch fighter easy money.
Look how excited they are talking about fighters compared to the cleric's. You can tell this is one of their favorites. I would love for you guys to do a video of your guys top 3 favorite classes/subclasses to play and why as a wrap up after you guys finish these class videos. And possibly a video on what the community perceives as the weakest or least interesting classes like the Ranger. You guys are great keep up the good work!
Russian movie you guys mentioned is called '1612', and the main character is actually a former child servant to the Czar family impersonating a Spanish noble fencer. Which, come to think of it, is a backstory you can build a good fantasy character around.
Anyway, keep up the good work! Played myself an Eldritch Knight and had a blast. Literally, Thunderwaves and Burning Hands aplenty, while slashing everything with double longswords. Tip for other TWF EKs around there - drop your second sword while doing extra attack to utilize the 'Versatile' feature, then summon it back right to your hand in the next round; rinse and repeat
Lelouch Vee thank you very much
Longsword is not a light weapon, so it cant be dual wielded
Even assuming that they could, summoning the bonded weapon eats a bonus action. Thus negating the main point of having that second weapon: the bonus action attack. 5d8+20 (extra attack, action surge, plus bonus action attack, each @+4 from the ability bonus) is better than 4d10+16 (two-handed longsword, same ability bonus and action surge, but bonus action is consumed by re-summoning the blade.)
Just dual wield rapiers. Light, finesse, and plenty of damage.
@@TheodoreMinick Rapiers aren't light. You can still dual wield them if you take the Dual Wielder feat, though.
@@k.f.kobold7910
Oops! You're right. I think I was confusing it with the scimitar, which is light.
Of course, that kinda kills the point I was trying to make with that bit of the comment, so it should be:
If you can dual-wield longswords, just stick with that, especially if you have advantage, or a low AC target. More attacks almost always equals more damage.
I dunno who I'm more mad at;
you guys for uploading at nearly two in the morning, or me for staying up this late.
All jokes aside, this video is pretty good, keep up the hard work!
It's been a week, let me tell ya.
my dudes rouges next please also jim love the beard
Was it about the election? :P
I'm running a fighter kobold, DO NOT UNDERESTIMATE MY 2'8 PILLAR OF PURE PAIN
No shin is safe.
No ankle too guarded.
No knees to stand against him.
Thank you for mentioning Eberron, my favorite setting and one of the best for military campaigns, especially with Warforged.
You guys are getting like huge % engagement with your videos. You know how crazy that is, right?
I've been playing a goblin ranged battle master lately, and it feels so op to be 30 feet off the map, forcing disadvantage on big melee enemies, knocking weaker enemies over for easy pickings, and hiding after attacking every single turn; all while literally having the most HP of anyone in the party.
Playing a dwarven Champion now and he truly is a monster on the battlefield, especially after picking up the Tough feat for even more HP and Great Weapon Master for potential extra attacks.
That siege campain idea is just great. Why haven't I thought about that ?!
It's an excellent way to have an original concept in an urban setting, with a lot of action, fight and battle but also intrigue, politics and diplomaty, to create lasting bond with NPCs, focusing on a single location that is gonna feel like home for the players while having constant event to keep it fresh... and having an unique, simple but major stake from the get go it's a great way to make it feel very personnel for the players. It could be both a big sandbox with a lot to do from investigation, to sabotage but also a carefully crafted story inside a bigger military conflict and with a lot in the hand of the player... Are they gonna manage to keep the wall or retreat to the citadel and lose half the city ? It's great way to give consequence to the players actions...
Man this is genius, I haven't been that inspired for a campain concept since the time I came up with the idea of making half the majors NPCs with a big role in guiding the PCs on there adventuring path, the avatars of the subconscient part of a god guiding them so they can eventually stop him. (so this god was trying to stop himself using the players with all thoses NPCs that in the end, were him. But he did not know that...). That was a cool reveal.
ShamanCore23
Glad to inspire! That campaign idea sounds cool.
Military campaign and seizes. The mid 2000's Greyhawk campaign modules in Furondy. Excellent. I had the main castle under seize when the players got there. "Where is the commander?" panic "Your not him?!" blazing catapult shots lofting over the walls from across the river all night long. I put the players in a tower room with a wall missing from the previous nights catapult hit. A blanket was strung up to block the hole. That was amazing. The players got out of there barely as the seize escalated.
After 2 years of 5E I finally got to play a Fighter. It's a higher level game, 15th level+ characters. I went 13th levels of Champion and 3 levels of Barbarian. For some reason the DM decided to allow me to let me dual wield 2 2handed weapons after I found a belt of Storm Giant's Strength. I took a (Defender) Great Sword and a +3 Great Axe. I'm a Half Orc, I took Great Weapon Fighting and Great Weapon Master. I literally 3v1ed 3 Fire Giants and won. Opening round I did 247 damage. 😀
Chad-Solomon Dixon roleplay is not powerplay
powerplay can be fun, you can't have fun wrong.
Would that be great weapon fighting or two weapon fighting, is the question.
Champion Fighters are awesome to play. Specially If you're multiclass with Hunter Ranger. Those sweet 1-handed combos are really good.
Honestly, how is this channel not larger? Excellent content!
You know whats freakin rad? Prepping my campaign while listening to you guys with a Legend of Zelda playlist and thunderstorm soundtrack playing softly in the background. It's a mood my guys. Love your content, you're my go-to for all things D&D since I got into it this year.
Played an archery style Battle master during the Curse of Strahd adventure. by level 3, the party looked to me to finish a fight before it started. and giving a fighter the feats "Sharp shooter, Great weapon master, and heavy armo mastery" just makes an already solid class, even better.
I absolutely love Fighters. Easiest to play and it's nice to worry mostly on my character and RP instead of mechanics and the different abilities at times.
I love this series - keep up the great work.
Fighters, with their 2 extra feats, are the class that will benefit the most from expanded material.
Eldritch Knights outperform all other fights too ...
The fighter is about the only class that only has to focus on two abilitie scores. Were a score like Con can come in handy for all the classes, it's PART of the fighter build. This gives them a very invisible but strong advantage.
That intro was great. Being creative on demand is challenging; you are doing a great job.
BYOBando
Thank you! I really appreciate that.
Fighters are fun to make, and they have interesting backgrounds you can pick. like a Gladiator/Pit Fighter or Soldier of a War.
Matt A battle master with the hermit background would be cool too, this introspective warrior that left society to reflect on his skills and hone them far away from any distractions
Matt I'm trying out the new Samurai fighter UA.. made my background be that I grew up w/a master katana swordsmith. Stoll one & ran away too become the world's greatest swordsman...
@@Licjr Lancelot became a hermit.
You are so right about Berserk.
They get pretty in detail about that stuff.
I was very much inspired to play a fighter, based on my nature & love for history, the guys with guts, wits & the gear are the ones taking all the pain & pushing on no matter what, that is was a true Warrior is about never backing down, Fighters fight its what we are it who we are, doppelsoldner & huscarl are the guys with the big ass two handed sword & axe I wanted to emulate.
So i recently decided i wanted to play a Cleric/Fighter multiclass and then you guys come out with the Cleric and Fighter vids back to back!
I totally agree with getting manuevers into the base class. Love em!
What do you think of allowing access to all maneuvers, but keeping the same amount of superiority dice?
Versatility is very powerful. Part of the challenge in DnD comes from not having the right spells, abilities, or manuevers for the situation. If that never comes up than you'll be a step ahead of most other classes. It would be like allowing a cleric or druid to have all of their class list prepared. They're ready for almost every situation.
Ahhh you guys talked about Berserk! I can die happy
Isacc Lyons
I. Love. Berserk.
So fucking good! I made a barbarian for a one-shot we did...his name was Gutsu. He killed a lot of monsters.
I think I got through most of the first series when I was in highschool, back when Coboy Beebop was popular. I remember liking it but it being somewhat slow to get to the plot. I will have to revisit it since it seems to have resurfaced in popularity along with Bastard! for some reason.
loving your videos guys. any chance you've done (and i therefor have missed them) or will do revisions of the classes becauses of the XGtE expansions?
I'm guessing you are going for the "classic" party first, Cleric, Fighter, Rogue and Wizard, but i'm really looking forward for your Paladin cover !
iznax9
Someone took the 'Observant' feat...
;)
Don't you know you never split the party
Clerics in the back keep the fighters nice and hardy.
The Wizard in the middle so he can shed some light
And you never let that damn theif out of sight!!!!
I would really love it if you did bards next. I have never really had a look at them and would like to know more about them as I'm thinking about making a backup character as a bard.
I write this knowing full well that you might have already recorded a bunch more of these, but if you have not done bards yest there is no harm in this comment. Great show!
Especially liked the tangent on playing out wars in D&D. Do consider making a full video on that.
Viktor16161616
I love the enthusiasm. Never lose it. We will do Bards. Maybe not next, but they will have their praises sung.
That intro WAS gold. :)
Purple Dragon Knight (Banneret) is my favorite in concept as it’s meant to be the face of the party kind of fighter. Give Born Leader and you’re set.
i loved my Dwarf fighter..plate mail and iron shod boots..."stealth" was not an option
CCs Welding
Stealth? Where we're going, we don't need stealth.
CCs Welding That's why we have rogues
CCs Welding I play a dwarf fighter as well just started him . Duel wielding axe badass
Boz z Just remember...hobbits make EXCELLENT impromptu shields
CCs Welding and improvised weapons..
I always enjoy your intros Pruitt! Don't worry too much over it though.
If you allow Feats in your campaign, then the Fighter has a chance to become one of the most unique classes in the game. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think any other class gets as many opportunities for Feats as the Fighter does (certainly no one gets more).
Akravator12
Thanks and you're right. Lotsa feats to be had. Especially a variant human Fighter.
small reference to berserk? 10/10
Death Grunty
You're welcome. More to follow, I'm sure.
Took the words right from my mouth
when does he reference berserk?
Dex. Int. Eldritch Knight
Something like Indiana Jones with a Whip? Would fighter be the best class to build a character who is capable at fighting WELL with a whip and also utilizing utility spells for outside combat? Also do other rules apply to the whip other than it being light and having reach?
It's got a lot of versatility and utility which is hugely fun.
Mathew Colville is doing that Strongholds and Followers book that has a section on War Games which looked cool in his campaign they uploaded to TH-cam. It's worth checking out if that's the kind of game you want to play
These class focused vids are awesome! Keep it up!
My first 5e character is an Eldritch Knight Dwarf. I've never looked back.
Battle master is my #1 favorite class hands down. Always be a beefcake.
In a game with various squads fighting "off screen" you could roll different sizes dice based on the size and skill of the fighting sides to determine which one wins. The a messenger informs the party and they have to decide what to do from there. A war campaign could be a lot if fun and no one says that has to be the entire campaign. It could just be the beginning of it or a small part during it. Lots of options to play with.
You guys seem to really be hitting a strong stride these days. Keep it up!
Hey guys this is awesome. Do you have an episode about magic arms races? I mean, how would a fortress engineer keep a fortress safe, when magic is involved? How do you defend it against giant creatures, cloudkill spells, invisible enemies, flying enemies, dragons, teleportation magic, climbing spells, and so on?
That 1692 movie looks amazing!!!
This one sealed it, im a fan. I've been think of trying to run a game set in the falconia ark, unrelated to the story its self of course.
I'm really wanting to do a Purple Dragon Knight, variant human, and start with the Inspiring leader feat. Have a very support centered fighter. Though I'd probably need a Champ, barb, or pally in the party just to make sure we had something to really lay down the hurt.
I think an adventuring party could be a really good core for a Renaissance-style mercenary company. One PC would be the nominal captain (e.g. the battlemaster fighter), with the spellcasters as specialists.
Just watched the newest episode of Samurai Jack so I'm definitely biased, but that show is my standard for how martial characters should playout.
The inventive way Jack uses only a couple tools such as how his cloak is worn and reworked a thousand ways; his trained stealth skills; his flexibility and artistry in battle with weapons and tools; how he can use his natural senses and wit to outplay beyond normal people/robots is exactly what I inspire to emulate whenever I play.
The Scotsman is another great example, with his insane brute physicality and deep cat-pouch of grenades (orbs of fireballs) and bagpipes that dispel charm, and grafted on magic items (gun leg).
Can't forget both of these great warriors carry magic swords either ;)
I would love to hear from others what they take inspiration from when describing their fighters in action.
Seige Campaign idea is great, though perhaps with a fortified town or city with a dungeon underneath it for sneaking in and out.
Barbarian or wizard next please. Loving this series so far.
Elias Patrikis
You're closer with one guess over the other.
For those who have played for a long time, I've been thinking of a character for when I do get toplay a agame, and have been wondering what would be the best class for the background. The character is a a blacksmith who's family and town were killed. He picks up what weapons ad armor are left after th town is burned, and goes on the adventure. He's going to be a kind guy but is gruff and very distant. I'm thinking of fighter for him, but would barbarian be better, based on the fact that he would be extremely pissed off at the guys who killed his family?
As someone who's always used Fighters as one of my main go-to classes I thought this was a great breakdown of the class. In a campaign on D20 I've been using a Champion fighter who's at level 11 the now and it never ceases to amaze me the range of shit I can bring to a round of melee. Between having a dual wielding build (Fighting Style & Feat), improved crit range and Action Surge have managed to unload an insane amount of damage.
I'm looking forward to yer take on the Monk whenever ye get to it. 5E is actually the first time I've been able to get around to playing one and decided to go with Way of the Open Hand. We started with at lvl 1 in Lost Mine of Phandelver and my party is lvl 6 in Curse of Strahd and it's been a blast so far.
Oh my gosh, the siege campaign idea sounds really cool
Small question: Would one level dip in cleric light domain for faire fire and all the cantrips, level one spells, ect be worth it?
I wanted it for flavor, but should I just go straight fighter/rouge?
Or fighter 11/cleric 1/assassin 8?
I really liked the Unearthed Arcana Classics Revisited with the Scout Fighter, I took that and got the Martial Adept feat at lvl 4 and had a blast :D
someone breakdown the "order of the immortals" and the 3 levels for expanded crit range? are they talking about fighter here? they say it at 4:35 about
Arthur DeLuca Order of Immortals is a Paladin thing. expanded crit range is in reference to the Champion Fighter getting the ability to crit on a 19-20 instead of just 20.
Anthony Paoli what book is order of the immortals paladin in? or is it in unearthed arcana/previous edition?
Arthur DeLuca Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide I believe.
Actually Order of Immortals is a Mystic sub-class. Its from the Psionics and Mystics Unearth Arcana. So it's not officially released yet, but something they are play-testing.
Here you go (EDIT - they updated they Mystic and it now goes to Level 10)
media.wizards.com/2016/downloads/Psionics_and_Mystic_V2.pdf
***** ah okay tyvm, what is the amazing combination between this and fighter specifically?
Just about to roll up a fighter,where better to get ideas and inspiration! Awesome episode guys.
Here's a question for you guys: How do you represent height/3 dimensions when you're running the game? For example flying creatures (which are always a weakness for me), or attacking an enemy with a different elevation than you? When determining distance for bows when attacking elevated enemies, do you use the Pythagorean theorem or just wing it?
How do you mean represent? As in on a battlemat with minis or with game mechanics? We use dice or dice containers to represent flying enemies. If you're talking with game mechanics, I tend to abstract flying height in terms of movement or range - "the dragon is within short range of your bow", "the gargoyle is flying one move action from you" That sort of thing. Foes on a different elevation that are in cover might gain a greater benefit from that cover (represented by disadvantage). We used to use the theorem to determine exact ranges, but I find it slows down play and nearly every time I estimate the range, I find that when I go back and calculate it exactly, my estimations were more or less accurate. Usually if I'm playing without minis, I ditch numeric ranges entirely and measure everything in terms of move actions.
Yeah that answers my question. Thanks! I'll try to incorporate some of that into my game.
Yo! Berserk shout out! Probably one of the best manga/anime series for D&D inspiration.
Oh! Rogue next followed by Wizard. They're doing basic rules classes first. :D
Wayne Hounsome
I can neither confirm nor deny this.
for siege mission examples , siege of jericho and ceasars super siege are good examples
I love the Siege Campaign idea. YOINKing in 3, 2, 1...
New to the channel, so maybe this was done already, but a vid on How To Do Military Campaign games would be sweet. This was a nice preview.
Also, would have liked more in-depth analysis of why the Champion Fighter is supposedly the weakest. I keep eyeing that Superior Critical ability while trying not to salivate. And failing.
Great video, keep up the amazing work! on a slide note the lighting was weird this episode.
Hey so I was wondering if you could do a full episode on "High Fantasy" D&D. For WHATEVER reason I have trouble getting a perspective on integrating all the magical elements into the world. You always bring up divinations and things like that and I'm just trying to get that perspective on building a world with that being a major part of it. Some different settings for reference, how you balance having those kind of resources for the party and available in the world with making the party feel important. How common should these things be to get a good balance? I know ultimately it's up to me but I'd like the perspective of some people with good experience.
That's a great show idea! It might be after the New Year before we can get around to it though.
James Davis Wow thank you! And you guys take as much time as you need! Just so tricky trying to account for all the changes those things can make to the standard medieval society where everyone is like a lv0 or lv1 peasant! I keep getting stuck up in realism because we know how society works with them but just as one example: We had religious wars as a debate on whether or not someone's god was even real...well with clerics, suddenly gods are just a fact and you can see their power! How would that change society??? Anyway Im rambling now. Looking forward to the next episode!
I can confirm that fighters, even though many people say they are weaker, are great in a one on one fight.
I have a story about a fighter I had. I had to retire him since he became a bit of a party antagonist. He wasn't evil, he just had a different idea of good to everyone else.
A while later, the story dictated that we run into him again, and our paladin challenged him with a duel to the death which he accepted. By this point we were 7th level, while he was still 5th, and our wizard buffed the paladin before the fight, while the fighter got nothing.
The DM let me take my old character back for what should have been his last ride. However it didn't go as we thought, and I was well on my way to winning that fight, but for our wizard to intervene yet again to give our paladin just enough time to kill me.
More and more shows on multiclassing please!
Eldritch Knight is stronk. We had an EK in our campaign and "protect from good and evil" just turned him into a killing machine.
MrMcBobb
I did not doubt that!
I'm curious- Protection from Evil and Good requires material components. How does your EK work with that- does he stick the RAW and have a component pouch? Or have you house-ruled it so he can use an arcane focus or use his bonded weapon as a focus?
Ethan Waters We've house ruled that he can use his bond weapon as a focus. So long as a player can justify using an item as their focus we just let it happen. It nerfs the War Caster feat but that's such a strong feat anyway that it doesn't matter too much.
MrMcBobb and it makes sense on an RP level, too- the EK has bonded to the weapon such that they can just call it back to their hand from wherever they've left/lost it. I feel like that was a missed opportunity for the RAW rules, but since Rangers, Paladins and Arcane Tricksters dont get foci, it would be a bit unfair for the EK to.
Yeah- War Caster is really great for combat-based magicians. Even losing that use for the EK, it still gives loads of benefits.
How does bonded weapon as an arcane focus nerf War Caster? War Caster doesn't interact with material components.
Also multi attack feature for fighter at higher levels makes my feats rock hard.
How did you guys watch Captain Alatriste? The Amazon store says DVDs won't work on most DVD players in America.
Also the 1612 movie is listed as $30, ouch.
I love how much Jim loves Eberron
Fun build concept: Feral Tiefling with Wings instead of Tiefling magic, Fighting Style - Archery, but solely put your focus on Light/Heavy Crossbows (and a Short Sword as a backup for melee options). Get the Urban Bounty Hunter Background with Stealth and Persuasion. Make it solely a Dex-based fighter with point-buy stats: 9 STR, 16 DEX, 14 CON, INT 12, WIS 10, CHA 14 (just overall solid stat spread works wonders for Fighters as well)... congrats, you literally have a Rogue/Fighter hybrid that can do more then JUST fight... it can infiltrate, pick locks, communicate properly with people if need be and fly up to certain places just to shoot volleys of crossbow bolts with Maneuvers on top of them, just to add some long-range utility...
I liked to hear you've had a Halfling Fighter at your table. And that he uses a Long Sword. Does he use two hands or have any disadventage for using it?
I also have Halfling Fighter (Archery) at my table and he uses a Long Bow. Is there any problem with that, according to RAW? He should have disadvantage on using the long bow?
Max Braga not really, only weapons with the heavy trait impose disadvantage on smaller characters.
Fighters have more going on than any other class now save Rogue. Look at the number of "increase attribute" chances. Each one of those is either an ability bump or a Feat. That's a lot of versatility. Eldritch Knights have all that and spells. That makes one hard to box in. Spells are a real game changer. Having the chance to have a Familiar at 3rd level means the Help action is in play, and thus melee attacks with Advantage. Adding more attacks per round just makes this more and more brutal. Eldritch Knights with a combat cantrip are never unarmed.
BTW, True Strike and Blade Ward? Really? The worst cantrips ever? Also, an EK does not need the SCAG cantrips to be effective. There are so many great cantrips I would always recommend. Thunderclap, Fire Bolt, Mage Hand (to disarm foes or pick up dropped weapons a la Luke Skywalker), Ray of Frost to slow retreating foes, Chill Touch to shut down Shields or Counterspells. There's a lot.
As far as spells, again, Thunderwave to knock foes prone for Advantage. Magic Missile for that guaranteed hit. Mage Armor to be prepared the second you have to wake up while camping. Sheild to shut down those near hits. There are so many choices.
Combining the right Fighting Style with the right Feat can also be devastating.
Two-Weapon plus Dual Wielder.
Great Weapon Fighter plus Great Weapon Master and/or Charger.
Archer plus Sharpshooter
Dueling plus Shield Master and/or Charger.
Each of these combos can stack a lot of damage or incorporate movement into the attack itself (via Charger).
With the 5E Fighter, gone are the days of Rock'em Sock'em Robot fighters. Now they can tank, or be a striker, or a spell caster, or take on Warlord like features...or if you follow the Matthew Mercer "Gunfighter" spec, they can bring firearms to bear on those who still fight with knives.
Fighters have become so mch more. Thank you 5E!
What is the name of that Spanish movie they talk about? The tunnel warfare... close dagger combat while the trenches are filled with sulphur. I couldn't quite understand them and CC is not helping :P
I love 4e wisdom spear fighter. I made an old homeless man who used to be a seasoned adventurer, stopped adventuring to take up drinking and gambling, sorta ended up washed up and lost years of his experience to abusing his body. Only to come back spinning an old long iron pipe that can control the battlefield like any OP controller pc. It was hilarious because several moves had push or move ability that ran off wisdom. So I used wisdom fighter, the DM had to avoid any danger fall area's for battle or try not to leave too many traps. All I had to do was use one of my push or pull moves and have any creature drop to their death or into traps meant for PC's.
Hey WebDM, what is your take on the new fighter archetypes in Xanethars and it's RP aspect?
I just started playing an Eldritch Knight Fighter (level 5) with 1 level in warlock (Character level 6) and think it's great. 2 attacks with hex on the enemy.
Where is part 1? O.o
I always thought of PDK as a paladin type myself, in fact in 3e I always played a paladin from Cormyr so I could prestige into PDK.
I'm curious to see how they play. On paper they look 'meh', but it's possible that in an actual campaign, their abilities wouldn't be as lackluster as they seem.
Can we get that movie title added to the description? Super curious...
Luther Dylan Frank
1612 is the movie.
favorite intro so far
Holy crap the siege campaign idea is amazing!! I would love to hear about it if you end up running one in the future. Great video series for classes, best on youtube for 5th E, IMO. Can't wait to for the Monk and maybe more Eberron. Do you know if/when they will release an updated book for the Eberron setting in 5th E?
No idea if/when they'll release a campaign update for Eberron, but I hope they do!
I've been surprised how few books there are for 5E, at least compared to 3.5. Do you miss prestige classes at all?
Yeah, I half miss the days of 3.5 with all the splatbooks and campaign settings. The other half of me is glad they're keeping bloat/power creep to a minimum for this edition. I'm not sure I miss prestige classes that much. As a player, I rarely used them myself in 3.5 and haven't felt like their absence has hindered 5e. There are some concepts that are missing or undersupported right now though that were prestige classes - namely summoner a and arcane archers
Love your Carpe DM shirt, where do you get these awesome D&D themed T-shirts
Little late to the party. But in my last campaign, a 14th level fighter was tearing through anything i threw at them. Dragon? Slain!
Demons? Slain!
Angel? Slain! Wait hold on....
Know you guys have a busy schedule, but are there any plans for more gameplay? I loved watching everyone play and DM.
bigcupodisapointment
It was fun to shoot and we are trying to work out the scheduling but life annoyingly getting in the way.
It is my confirmed experience that a five year old can handle running a champion fighter.
Being a Student of war saved our party against a powerful wizard who had a ridiculous AC. He was able to dodge all my attacks and the only reliable way to touch him was with magic missle. Had to command our wizards to attack with their magic missiles and use a special staff once they were out of spell slots.
My first character I'm creating is a Dwarven Battle Master and I'm super psyched
I wonder, do they film a bunch of these in a single day then edit over the course of several days? the decoration on this vid looks similar to the decoration in the wizard video.
There is a Facebook group I'm in that is just the after game report of a Siege style d&d game. One of the better games I have had a chance to read.
Blitz430000
Sounds cool! Would love some highlights!
All of the after action reports are around a page long. Some of the things done are setting up traps, moving people out of the city before the siege really starts, finding people in the city that can craft items (potions, alchemy items). Also managing the army, clerics, alchemists in the city. The enemy is a nearly endless supply of homebrew goblins.
My favorite fighter I ever made was one who did their damndest to never ever fight a single battle directly, instead I racked up my kill count through things like explosive traps and other out-of-combat methods. It really pissed off the rest of the party sometimes because they were itching to fight, but every once in a while they were reminded that Pathfinder combat is fucking brutal and decided to keep up my strategy
Hey, Web DM. Love your videos
Question; Do you think you'll start reviewing things found on the Dungeon Master's Guild?
I'm curious on your thoughts on the fighting Archetype; Gunslinger by Matt Mercer.
Snow J
Yes, the gunslinger. I've made a few over the years. I'm sure we can put that on the list.
Hey, Appreciate the response!
I only ask because a friend of mine wants to play one for our first DND session and I'm DMing! (We're all first timers)
Whats the best way to run a fighter if it ur first time using it
Can vouch that EK using Lightning Lure and Booming Blade with Mobile is the good shit
I might be one of the few people I know who perceived the fighter as a genuinely great class in 5e. They are sheerly a combat class, which has always been their role, but what they do, they do extremely well. The archetypes presented in the PH are really good at providing an excellent set of flavors to choose from. Eldritch Knights make Wizard multiclassing virtually unnecessary (unless you're hellbent on Necromancy spells). Battle Masters are excellent tactical support characters who also bring the pain easily. Champions are easy, classic fighting men that are dangerously effective in every combat situation. There is no fight the fighters don't excel in, especially with Action Surge, Second Wind, and all the proficiencies in weapons, armor, and shields.
Certainly Barbarians are fantastic warriors, and Rangers are unquestionably good, but Fighters feel so much like the penultimate soldier class. The feats that are available to assist with weapon tactics feel like they were ultimately designed to be FOR fighters, and coincidently all the other classes could use them, should they feel so compelled. That is what encouraged me most of all to immediately open up the optional rule that states that when your class entitles you to a stat increase, you may instead take a feat. I'd be astonished if any DM limits the stat increases to being strictly stats after reading the Fighter class thoroughly.