Although not one of the flashiest ones in the game, the Fighter can be considered one of the best classes in Baldur’s Gate 3, given their survivability and proficiency with a multitude of weapons. The class can also be seen as a healthy mix of the massive damage of the Barbarian and the nimbleness of the Ranger while also being the only class in the game to offer you the Improved Extra Attack feature, which will allow you to perform two extra attacks in a single turn. But what is the best Fighter Build in Baldur’s Gate 3?
Best Race for a Fighter Build in Baldur’s Gate 3
Taking into account the standard Fighter playstyle, which heavily relies on Strength, and the peculiarities of all the currently available races, the best races for the Fighter class in Baldur’s Gate 3 will be Half-Orc, Zariel Tiefling, Golden Dwarf, Githyanki, and Human.
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Among the picks above, however, Half-Orc would be our main pick given their ability to resist killing blows. The race will also offer you the Savage Attacks passive, which will allow your Critical Damage dice to be triple. The Gold Dwarf can also be considered one of the best fits when going for a Strength-based fighter build, given their traits, in special Dwarven Toughness, which will increase your hit points by one after leveling up (apart from the usual increase).
Best Fighting Style
As the Fighter class will allow you to pick two distinct Fighting Styles during your campaign — one at level 1, and another at level 10 — we recommend that you go with Great Weapon Fighting and Defense in that order. While Great Weapon Fighting will allow you to reroll your attack once per action if you rolled either a 1 or a 2 while wielding either two-handed weapons or versatile ones, Defense will offer you a +1 bonus in Armor Class after being attacked.
Should You Go With Battle Master, Eldritch Knight, or Champion?
Among the three Fighter subclasses you must choose from once you reach level 3 in Baldur’s Gate 3, the Battle Master is, in our opinion, the best. The sub-class will be our pick given how it will allow you to unlock the Superiority Dice Maneuvers, which allows you to add a few truly overpowered skills to your arsenal.
Best Superiority Dice Maneuvers
Overall, after picking the Blade Master class, you will then be able to pick a total of 7 Maneuvers — three after picking the subclass at level 3 and an extra 2 at levels 7 and 11, respectively.
With that said, the best in my experience are Riposte, Menacing Attack, and Pushing Attack. While Riposte will allow you to perform counterattacks after dodging, Menacing Attack and Pushing Attack will give you the ability to make a target unresponsive after an attack (and thus open them for damage), and allow you to deal extra environmental and fall damage after a strike in specific scenarios.
Related: Baldur’s Gate 3 Dueling Explained (BG3): What Weapons Work for This Style?
After picking our three main recommendations, I personally recommend that you focus on Trip Attack, Precision Attack, Distracting Strike, and Goading Attack, although they will not make major differences and are way more situational (with the exception of Goading Attack) when compared to our first three picks.
Best Background and Stats/Ability Points
The best backgrounds for a Fighter in Baldur’s Gate 3 will be Soldier, Outlander, and Folk Hero, with Soldier and Outlander being our main picks given their increase in Athletics/Survival and Athletics/Intimidation, respectively.
When leveling up your Stats/Ability Points, we recommend that you invest in the following order: Strength > Constitution > Dexterity > Intelligence/Wisdom/Charisma. We also recommend that you go for the values showcased below when creating your character’s sheet, as the assembly will empower your fighter’s strengths and remove any diminutive effects on your rolls.
Best Feats for a Fighter Build in Baldur’s Gate 3
As usual for all classes in the game, once you reach specific levels — in the Fighter’s case, 4, 6, 8, and 12 — you will be able to select Feats, which are capable of offering great boosts to your build.
With that said, and taking into account that our build will be focused on maximizing your physical attributes and weapon mastery, we recommend that you add two feats by first picking Dual Wielder at level 4, as the feat will allow you to dual-wield weapons of any type, thus maximally increasing your damage.
Once at level 8, we then recommend that you pick Tough. It will offer you an extra Hit Point for each level you gained or will gain during the campaign. If you wish to add more feats that’s okay, but just remember not to go overboard and waste the limited upgrades you can make.
This guide was made while playing Baldur’s Gate 3 on PC.
