Complete Fighter Multiclass Guide for D&D 2024

Evaluating every class and subclass in D&D 2024 and how well it works as a multiclass option for the fighter.

At a glance

Fighter multiclassing considerations

As with any multiclassing, you’ll need to meet some small requirements. Namely, having the primary ability score for your fighter and the class you’re multiclassing into at 13+.

As it happens, fighters are probably the easiest class to multiclass out of or into. This is because you have a choice of 2 ability scores to have 13+ in. One of these also happens to be dexterity which is often useful for most classes. There’s also the matter of the limited number of ability scores fighters need to invest in and the many ability score increases they get.

Below I’ve included the requirements for multiclassing into each class:

• Artificer – 13+ intelligence
• Barbarian – 13+ strength
• Bard – 13+ charisma
• Cleric – 13+ wisdom
• Druid – 13+ wisdom
• Fighter – 13+ strength or dexterity
• Monk – 13+ dexterity and wisdom
• Paladin – 13+ strength and charisma
• Ranger – 13+ dexterity and wisdom
• Rogue – 13+ dexterity
• Sorcerer – 13+ charisma
• Warlock – 13+ charisma
• Wizard – 13+ intelligence

It’s not just about meeting these requirements though, you’ll likely want to be able to excel in the new class’ capabilities too. So while you can get a 13 wisdom, you may also need to consider whether this needs to be higher to make you competent at a cleric’s features and whether that’s something you can invest in.

As a general rule, you’ll have an easier time multiclassing into classes that focus on strength or dexterity. It’s also worth noting that some fighter subclasses use intelligence for their features like the psi warrior and the eldritch knight.

Evaluating multiclass options for a fighter

I’ve generally assumed that most multiclassing won’t go beyond levels 1-3 (as the more levels you multiclass, the more you lose from your core class). This will frame most of my evaluation, but for those that want to go higher, I have given some guidance here too but I’ve paid little attention to higher level features as this would stop fighter being your core class anymore.

Artificer

Hit dice	d8
Hit points	1d8 + con modifier
Proficiencies	Thieves’ tools, tinkerer’s tools
Weapon training	None
Armor training	Light armor, medium armor, shields
Spellcasting	Yes
Level 1 features	Magical tinkering
Level 2 features	Infuse item

Spellcasting

Artificers are intelligence based casters. While fighters aren’t generally prolific with intelligence, it is their best spellcasting option, especially if playing an eldritch knight or psi warrior.

Much of the artificer’s spellcasting is more focused on utility than damage (at least until you reach the subclasses). That means your ability score is a little less important here.

Before you get extra attack (or if you’re playing an eldritch knight), booming blade and green flame blade can be good. Thunderclap is great for melee warriors in need of an AoE damage dealer. Absorb elements is also a great option for a fighter as it makes you more resilient, deals a bit of damage, doesn’t eat into your action and doesn’t require a high intelligence. Detect magic, jump, longstrider and false life are all great options too.

Level 1

Fighters can easily build into dexterity and grabbing a level in artificer can help you fill in for rogue duties with thieves’ tools proficiency. Magical tinkering is nothing more than a ribbon feature though. A level 1 dip is really for the spellcasting.

Level 2

At level 2, you get infused items. Many infusions are locked behind higher level advancement but some good infusions for a fighter include; +1 weapons, +1 shields, returning weapons and some magic items.

Level 3

If you want to go up to level 3, you’ll be able to grab one of these subclasses:

Alchemist

Healing word is useful as a bonus action heal to recover allies dropped to 0HP. Ray of sickness likely won’t outperform your attacks though.

If you’ve not built for spellcasting, the alchemist can be really useful. You can use your spell slots on experimental elixirs instead. With the 2024 rules, these are much better as you can drink them as a bonus action. And although the effects are random, they’re all useful for a fighter. This includes things like healing, increased speed and more durability.

Armorer

Magic missile is useful as a long range, guaranteed hit (though damage will be outperformed by your attacks as more extra attacks kick in) while thunderwave gives a solid AoE spell if you’ve got a decent intelligence. If you hit level 5, mirror image works as a defensive spell and action surge can ensure you still get attacks. Shatter relies on a decent intelligence but gives you a ranged AoE option.

The armorer is actually an interesting 3 level dip for a psi warrior or eldritch knight as it can completely remove the need to invest in strength, and potentially even dexterity as attacks can be made using intelligence and you can use heavy armor.

The guardian armor works nicely for keeping enemies focused on yourself rather than less durable allies like monks or rogues. Sadly, the defensive field is limited by your artificer level which will likely be low. Infiltrator makes a good alternative if you need to switch to stealth mode, but isn’t a fighter’s best option for combat.

Despite the synergy with intelligence-based fighter subclasses, I’m not sure 3 levels to get armorer is important enough to let you play an intelligence fighter. The spellcasting you can grab as an eldritch knight which leaves you with infusions, which are great and thunder gauntlets which are decent, but a lot of levels to invest for these things.

Artillerist

Shield gives you a great defensive spell that doesn’t eat too much into your action economy while thunderwave is a good, melee AoE spell. Mainly though, you’re here for the eldritch cannon which is a great way to increase your damage output each turn without needing to dual wield. You’ll likely get the most damage from the flamethrower, especially as you can fight alongside it on the front lines.

If you go for the protector cannon, then the temporary hit points scale much better than the armorer’s if you’re only taking a few artificer levels. On top of this, it can work more frequently and affect more creatures. It’s also easier to use it on the front lines where it’ll be needed most. Just be aware that the hit points of the cannon are linked to your artificer level, making it relatively vulnerable when multiclassing.

Fighters don’t tend to have loads competing for their bonus action, so commanding a cannon most turns shouldn’t be overly problematic. The artillerist is a strong option for a fighter, especially one that takes an intelligence subclass.

Battle smith

Heroism is better on a higher intelligence caster than you’ll likely be (even as an eldritch knight), but shield is an excellent option. Branding smite (which is now shining smite) works quite well in the 2024 rules and you can basically give everyone advantage on the target for the combat and add some extra damage. Your intelligence doesn’t even matter for this spell.

This is another artificer subclass that will let you focus on intelligence over strength or dexterity. In this case, you’re not limited by the armorer’s built-in weaponry so you can still handle a greatsword. You also get a steel defender which means extra defence and extra damage per turn when you command it with your bonus action.

You’ll get more damage from the artillerist though, but most scaling occurs through proficiency bonus increases which is handy for a multiclass dip. Unfortunately, the hit points of your steel defender are based on your artificer level meaning you’ll likely have a very vulnerable companion. The artillerist’s cannons have the same issue, but rely less on getting in the way of danger.

Beyond level 3

Tool expertise at level 6 will help with your tool ability checks (good if you’re filling in the role of a rogue). Flash of genius at level 7 is really useful for high intelligence characters, but you may struggle to manage that unless you’re playing both an intelligence fighter subclass and a battle smith or armorer. At level 6, you also unlock a few more infusions. Radiant weapon, repulsion shield and resistant armor are all quite useful for a fighter main.

Verdict

Artificers are fairly middling for a fighter multiclass. They work better on intelligence subclasses like eldritch knights and psi warriors. Just be aware that you gain very little from a 1 level dip and you really need 2-3 levels to make the multiclass worthwhile. Really, this multiclass is for item infusions and some meaty uses of your bonus action (artillerist will do the most extra damage here). The spellcasting is fine, but if you’re already playing an eldritch knight, I’m not sure you get enough extra here that you can’t already get through your eldritch knight spells.

Best subclass option: Artillerist

Multiclass potential: 3/5

Barbarian

Hit dice	d12
Hit points	1d12 + con modifier
Proficiencies	None
Weapon training	Martial weapons
Armor training	Shields (unarmored defence as level 1 feature)
Spellcasting	None
Level 1 features	Rage, unarmored defense, weapon mastery
Level 2 features	Danger sense, reckless attack

Level 1

At level 1 you’ll get rage which is excellent for a fighter. It’ll give you some big resistances, extra damage and advantage on strength checks and saving throws. Just be aware that it’ll work best with a strength build and as long as you’re not an eldritch knight (or it’ll conflict with your spellcasting).

You also get unarmored defense which gives a higher ceiling for your AC, but will mean maximising dexterity and constitution to achieve this while also focusing on strength for attacks. It works with a shield giving you an AC potential of 22 just from normal equipment.

You’ll also get a couple more weapon masteries. You don’t really need this as fighters have plenty of these, but it’s there.

Level 2

Danger sense will give you advantage on dexterity saving throws which will help protect you from some very nasty effects (like fireball). Reckless attack is great for when you need advantage on your attacks. It’s technically better on a fighter who gets up to 3 attacks (if multiclassing as a barbarian). You can get even more if you’re dual wielding too.

Level 3

This will get you an extra skill proficiency and the ability to use strength for some skills while raging. It’s OK as an option but really you’re getting level 3 to grab one of the subclasses below:

Path of the berserker

This is mostly about getting extra damage which you can access while using reckless attack. Just be aware the scaling is going to be poor as it’s linked to your rage damage bonus which increases with barbarian levels.

Level 6 will prevent you being charmed or frightened and level 10 will let you use a reaction to attack someone that has hit you. These are good, but I wouldn’t recommend multiclassing beyond level 3 for them, especially as 10 levels will prevent you getting your 2nd extra attack.

Path of the wild heart

Beast sense and animal speaking are utility bonuses, but really you’re here for rage of the wilds. All the options are good for a fighter/barbarian multiclass. Bear makes you extra resilient, eagle allows you to maneuver more easily and wolf will aid your allies a lot with advantage (best for focused attacks on a single target). The level 6 options are decent, but not worth investing an extra 3 levels for.

Path of the world tree

Vitality of the tree is great, but it doesn’t scale well when you only take a few levels in barbarian. This means you end up with just a few temporary hit points, even at higher level play.

The level 6 feature is much more useful and can basically transport nearby creatures to you as a bonus action and root them to the spot. Level 10 will extend your reach as well as layering the push and topple masteries onto other weapon masteries. These are both great for a tanky control martial, but 10 levels will prevent you getting your 2nd extra attack at level 11. It will mean you’re dishing out more moderate numbers of temporary hit points though.

Still, I think that this is probably your worst barbarian subclass for a fighter because of the heavy level investment required.

Path of the zealot

The extra damage is good but scales poorly with only a few levels in barbarian. The healing is affected less by this and will make you even more durable.

I don’t think a rerolled saving throw once per rage is enough to push for level 6 even though it’s decent. And level 10’s ally advantage can be granted to a similar extent by taking the wolf attribute of the wild heart.

Beyond level 3

Extra attack at level 5 is pointless for a fighter but you will get extra movement speed here and level 7 will make you a little bit faster too. Advantage on initiative rolls is good and brutal strikes can be very useful too. You’ll also see your rage improve as well.

These are all solid options and probably one of your better higher levels multiclasses, but you’ll be giving up a lot from being a fighter by taking too many levels in any class. You’ll certainly want to at least hit level 11 in fighter for the 2nd extra attack.

Verdict

Barbarians are strong options for a fighter multiclass. They also get great features on a level 1, 2 or 3 dip. Level 2 is weakest though. Just be aware that barbarians don’t mix well with eldritch knights.

Best subclass option: Path of the wild heart (though they’re all good options other than path of the world tree)

Multiclass potential: 5/5

Bard

Hit dice	d8
Hit points	1d8 + con modifier
Proficiencies	1 skill, 1 musical instrument
Weapon training	None
Armor training	Light armor
Spellcasting	Yes
Level 1 features	Bardic inspiration
Level 2 features	Expertise, jack of all trades

Spellcasting

Fighters don’t naturally build for charisma, but they can make this decent as long as they dump one of strength or dexterity (especially with their extra ability score increases). So it is possible to build an OK spellcaster here, it just requires a bit of martial sacrifice. Just be aware though that you’ll struggle to do this if you’re an eldritch knight or psi warrior as you’ll also need to invest in intelligence.

For your best spells, especially with only a few levels in bard, you’ll need to be aware that they may lack the power of your attacks, especially if you have your 2nd extra attack already. However, before fighter level 5 (though I wouldn’t recommend multiclassing before this point) true strike can be a good way to improve your attack. Thunderclap and thunderwave will work well against crowds. Otherwise, you’re looking at non-damage spells like healing word (for backup recovery of allies), minor illusion, mage hand, longstrider or disguise self.

Level 1

Bardic inspiration is great for any class that doesn’t heavily occupy their bonus action with other things. Fighters fit this bill. Its number of uses are tied to your charisma modifier, but this can be solid if you’re not an eldritch knight or psi warrior.

Level 2

Becoming really good at 2 skills is universally useful and jack of all trades means you shouldn’t be bad at any skills. This remains useful on a fighter. Dexterity is probably your best asset here if you’re a dexterity build so stealth and sleight of hand proficiency are likely your best options. You could also push for face skills since you’ll likely be building for charisma with this multiclass.

Level 3

At level 3, you choose one of the following subclasses.

College of dance

You’ll have to build for dexterity and charisma, but this isn’t overly problematic if you dump strength. Your AC this way can outperform what you could have had with armor, though you can’t use a shield with this version of unarmored defense. Using bardic inspiration gets you a free attack which is also really useful.

The problem you have here is damage scaling. You’ll need to get to level 5 in bard to get d8 on unarmed strikes and you could just dual wield and take nick mastery for more attacks. I guess you could take a two handed weapon and make extra kicks with your bonus action and bardic inspiration, but you’d need to build for strength with that approach. Sadly this makes the dance bard too convoluted for me.

College of glamour

The college of glamour is all about casting enchantments and illusions for extra effects. My problem here is with just a dip into bard, you’ll have limited spell slots, and these will likely be level 1 or 2 spells at best meaning the power will be low. Your best options will be things like bane, sleep and Tasha’s hideous laughter, but these are all concentration spells so you can only do this with one of these at a time and foregoing the attack action for this may not be ideal. You’ll also find you have to build heavily for charisma to make this work.

Mantle of inspiration is better, but struggles a bit with power scaling with just a few levels in bard.

College of lore

Use the extra skill proficiencies to take some face skills. Cutting words works nicely as your reaction isn’t under high demand. If you make it to level 6, getting access to loads of different spells could be useful, especially as some of these spells (like fireball) can be more potent than your attacks.

College of valor

Despite thematic similarities, this is almost a pointless subclass for a fighter. You don’t need martial training, you already have all of this. Extra attack at level 6 is also no good as you have this too. The combat-minded forms of bardic inspiration are good, but not worth taking this subclass for.

Beyond level 3

At level 5 you’ll get more uses of bardic inspiration. Level 7 will give you and the party better protection against charmed and frightened and level 10 will get you spells from other classes. Just be aware that this will prevent you getting your 2nd extra attack, even if you reach level 20. Your bardic inspiration die will also increase in size as you level up. I don’t think any of this is worth taking higher levels in bard for a fighter though.

Verdict

If you want some light utility spellcasting, something to do with your bonus action (bardic inspiration) and need a party face, building a charisma-focused fighter can just about work.

My problem is that it takes effort to build around this and spellcasting in combat isn’t really optimal for a fighter, especially for what a bard can offer. The subclasses generally don’t work great on a fighter either. I’d probably only go for a 1 level dip in bard if that’s what you really want, or maybe 2 if you badly want the skill expertise.

Best subclass option: College of lore is your only reasonable option

Multiclass potential: 2/5

Cleric

Hit dice	d8
Hit points	1d8 + con modifier
Proficiencies	None
Weapon training	None (level 1 feature can give martial weapon training)
Armor training	Light armor, medium armor, shields (level 1 feature can give heavy armor training)
Spellcasting	Yes
Level 1 features	Divine order
Level 2 features	Channel divinity

Spellcasting

If you dump strength or dexterity, it is possible to get a decent wisdom build on a fighter, but it is sub-optimal. If that’s the route you intend to go though, something like word of radiance can be good for crowds. I’d also consider spells that are less reliant on your wisdom like bless, healing word, shield of faith and aid.

Shield of faith is particularly good as it’s a bonus action spell, will give you +2 AC and you can grab it with a level 1 dip. You shouldn’t need to worry much about concentration. Healing word means you can play backup healer with some bonus action recovery from being knocked to 0HP.

Level 1

For your divine order, protector is useless so grab thaumaturge for the extra cantrip and slightly better skill checks. It’s not much but better than nothing. Really a level 1 dip is for getting you cleric spells.

Level 2

I don’t love the channel divinity options at level 2 for cleric (the subclass ones are better). Some healing is nice for when you’re out of spells slots, but it takes up your whole action which is problematic for such small healing. Turn undead is decent, but situationally geared towards undead. It’ll be rare you use either of these instead of the attack action.

Level 3

At level 3 you get your subclass:

Life domain

The spells you get with the life domain are good, but the problem is all the features are geared around being a dedicated healer, something a fighter main won’t be great at. It’s not worthless. A better healing word is nice, but it’s not enough of a boost to make these features worthwhile. At best you’ll be popping out the odd minor healing with your bonus action. Making these features too underutilised.

Light domain

The spells are OK on a fighter, but do rely on a good wisdom which means sacrificing some martial prowess. Radiance of the dawn is a good AoE option for a martial with decent damage and you can avoid allies. The problem is damage scaling and wisdom. Damage scales with your level meaning a 3 class dip in cleric is going to feel weak. You also need a strong wisdom to maximise on this which is tough for a fighter.

Warding flare is a good option though. You’ll get less use than a wisdom heavy character, but it works just as well for you as it does for a dedicated cleric.

Trickery domain

A dexterity build operating as a stealthy scout can get a lot from the trickery domain. You don’t even need a strong wisdom to make this build work.

The best part is your illusory double which you can create and move with your bonus action (so you can still attack). It’ll consistently give you advantage on attack rolls (and that’s on all your potentially many attacks). You then get advantage on stealth checks for you or an ally and invisibility and pass without trace spells which are also great for stealth. I’d also say you don’t need to take this beyond level 3 to get strong benefits from this subclass. A really good option for a fighter.

War domain

Lots of good spells here but shield of faith is best for a fighter. You can combine it with magic weapon (which doesn’t need concentration) for better attacks and defence. Plus they both only need a bonus action to cast (and magic weapon lasts an hour). This makes them generous on your action economy.

Guided strike is a great option for anyone, but you might be tempted to save it for your party rogue (if you have one). You also have a bonus action attack which means you can have the benefits of dual wielding while holding one, more powerful weapon. It’s limited in uses by your wisdom modifier though so you may need to invest in that. You could take this subclass up to level 6 to get shield of faith, magic weapon and spiritual weapon all working simultaneously too (which is like another attack all on its own).

Beyond level 3

The main thing is blessed strikes at level 7 which will get you extra damage on one attack each turn through divine strike. If you’ve already made it to level 6 for a war domain subclass, it might be tempting to go one more level for this. This level will also get you level 4 spells as well.

Sear undead is too situational to take extra levels just for that while divine intervention at level 10 is excellent, it will prevent you getting your 2nd extra attack so I wouldn’t recommend it.

Verdict

Wisdom isn’t really a fighter’s forte, but it can make it work. Some careful choices for spells also make a high wisdom optional. Still, you lose a fair bit from being a fighter by taking these options, and you could just grab the magic initiate feat for those spells if you desperately wanted them (like shield of faith).

You get very little else until level 3 when the trickery and war domains offer some really strong features. Annoyingly, this is a lot of levels, even if they are strong options for a fighter, making it hard to justify multiclassing even for these subclasses.

Best subclass option: Trickery and war domains are both excellent on a fighter

Multiclass potential: 2/5

Druid

Hit dice	d8
Hit points	1d8 + con modifier
Proficiencies	None
Weapon training	None (level 1 feature can give martial weapon training)
Armor training	Light armor, shields (level 1 feature can give medium armor training)
Spellcasting	Yes
Level 1 features	Druidic, primal order
Level 2 features	Wild shape, wild companion

Spellcasting

Like for clerics, fighters can make wisdom work by dumping strength or dexterity, but it will diminish your martial capabilities.

Shillelagh could be a good option, especially for a sword and shield or a dual wielder. It’ll basically make your main weapon have the power of a two handed weapon while being wielded with one hand. Thunderclap and thunderwave give you decent AoE spells while healing word and goodberries are good for bonus action healing and there’s jump and longstrider for improved movement.

Level 1

Druidic is fairly unimportant, but speak with animals can be useful. The warden primal order option is basically useless on fighters so go for magician. It’s not that useful, but it’s better than nothing.

Level 2

Wild shape is a really good utility option. You can use it for scouting and investigating just as easily as a standard druid can. You won’t get a flying form until you can grab 8 levels in druid though, which is a huge investment. The alternative is finding a familiar with the wild companion feature which can also be useful.

I wouldn’t expect wild shape to be useful to you in combat though. Your natural attacks will be superior.

Level 3

At level 3, druids get their subclasses:

Circle of the land

Although there’s a lot of choices for spells, there’s not a lot that’s really useful for a fighter. Web (tropical land) and misty step (temperate land) might be your most useful options.

Land’s aid is OK, but relies on your wisdom for the saving throw and druid levels for scaling. This makes it sub-optimal for a fighter multiclass. Natural recovery at level 6 is unlikely to be useful to a fighter main with you likely casting less spells in general.

Circle of the moon

Fighters have a few things that can work nicely in wild shape form. This includes features like action surge and second wind. However, the issue is the CR of your wild shape remains linked to your druid level, so you need significant levels in druid to scale properly with this. On top of this is the fact that AC will be tied to your wisdom.

Sadly, this means the circle of the moon isn’t a great option for a fighter main. You’re better off sticking to your natural form for fighter attacks.

Circle of the sea

Some of the spells are decent enough to be worth a casting instead of your attacks. In particular, having AoE options like thunderwave and shatter.

Wrath of the sea can also be quite good, but you’ll need to invest heavily in wisdom to make the most of it. The higher your wisdom, the higher the damage and the better the chances of causing the damage.

A longer range for wrath of the sea at level 6 is decent, but not needed for a fighter that won’t mind getting in melee range of enemies. Circle of the sea is a decent option for a fighter, giving some damage with your bonus action, but only if you can build for wisdom.

Circle of the stars

Guidance is fine but guiding bolt relies on a high wisdom, but isn’t worth building into wisdom just for its effects. Starry form archer could work for a fighter but it means going for a ranged build and building for wisdom to get an extra bonus action attack. War domain cleric is better for this though (you don’t have to build for wisdom and it can be used with melee attacks). You could also just go for a dual wielding build.

Cosmic omen is great at any level, but again, you’ll need to build for wisdom to get many uses of this.

Beyond level 3

The only useful thing from higher levels is more spells, improved wild shape uses (at level 8 you’ll grab flying forms) and elemental fury at level 7. Make sure you pick up primal strike for enhanced attacks. Still, this is a lot of levels for things that mostly aren’t suited to a fighter.

Verdict

Druids have some useful utility and you maybe get some decent spellcasting if you can build for wisdom. Fighters can manage this, but it’s not optimal for them. Ultimately, this means there isn’t great synergy for fighters and druids.

Best subclass option: Circle of the sea

Multiclass potential: 2/5

Monk

Hit dice	d8
Hit points	1d8 + con modifier
Proficiencies	None
Weapon training	None
Armor training	None (unarmored defence as level 1 feature)
Spellcasting	No
Level 1 features	Martial arts, unarmored defense
Level 2 features	Monk’s focus, unarmored movement, uncanny metabolism

Level 1

Unarmored defense can in theory be equal to armor and a shield (20 from full plate and a shield Vs 20 from +5 dexterity and wisdom modifiers). The advantage of unarmored defense is you have a hand spare from not wielding a shield, you can still be good at stealth and it’s less expensive. However, it will require some heavy investment in dexterity and wisdom. Dexterity isn’t a problem for a fighter, but wisdom isn’t normally what you want to prioritise but can work if you build for it.

The other main feature at level 1 is martial arts and between these 2 features, if this is the route you want to go, you’ll definitely want to be leaning into dexterity and dump strength. Of course, if you want to benefit from martial arts, you’ll need to be unarmored which practically forces investing a fair bit in wisdom too.

The big benefit here is a bonus action attack and some better capabilities at unarmed combat. If you’re going for an unarmed build, then this can work, but you do need to be building very specifically for a monk multiclass. The big challenge is the damage of your attacks. You won’t get to d8 until level 5 so you’ll need to combine weapon attacks with bonus action unarmed strikes for maximum damage.

Level 2

Monk’s focus gets you things like even more attacks on your bonus action, easy disengaging and dashing and dodging with your bonus action. Your main challenge is these are limited by your monk level. At this level, you’ll only have 2 per rest. Dodging as a bonus action can be extra effective for a fighter that’ll likely engage in less hit and run tactics than a monk main.

You can also move faster when unarmored (which if you’re going to multiclass into monk, you might as well be).

Level 3

At level 3, monks get deflect attacks which works nicely for a fighter to reduce some of the substantial damage they’re probably taking. They also choose from the following subclasses.

Warrior of mercy

Hand of harm and healing are not only enhancements to your attacks, but also provide some healing. Handily, they also can end conditions and cause poisoned for a turn without any saving throws required (if you hit already, it works).

Your 2 challenges are that it’s effectiveness is partly down to your wisdom modifier so will need to invest here for this to be decent. The other issue is that it can only be used on unarmed strikes. You should often be making unarmed strikes with your bonus action so this isn’t too much of an issue, but you may only get one attack you can use this on if you’re relying mostly on weapon attacks. You will also have to contend with potentially only 3 focus points per combat (and sometimes less).

It remains a decent option for a fighter though.

Warrior of shadow

Darkness you can see through and move are very advantageous. The idea here is to cast it early in combat and stay within it’s confines and then attack enemies with advantage while they have disadvantage against you. You then keep moving the darkness to follow enemies around. The first round of combat will see you with diminished damage, but you can still attack with your bonus action, and your later turns will be more profound.

Level 6 will let you teleport between areas of darkness and dim light. It can be good, but you’re probably going to be less cunning with your movement so I don’t think this is worth pushing another 3 levels for.

Warrior of the elements

Extra reach is handy for a fighter and you’ll probably use it differently from a pure monk by pulling enemies into your reach rather than striking them at distance. Changing the damage type of your attacks is great too, especially for an unarmed build.

At level 6, you also get a minor AoE attack. Beware that it’ll be more limited in damage scaling when multiclassing.

All of this is fairly useful for a fighter (at least one that’s using unarmed attacks).

Warrior of the open hand

You basically get weapon mastery effects on your unarmed strikes at level 3. You’ll likely be using weapon attacks (and therefore, similar effects) with your attack action at this level, but your bonus action will definitely be making unarmed strikes. This will help those have some better utility.

Extra bonus action healing is useful for keeping you more durable. The problem you have is it’s tied heavily to your wisdom modifier which will be hard to prioritise (even if it can be decent).

Beyond level 3

There are loads of useful things for a fighter beyond level 3, as long as you’re willing to stick with unarmed strikes and unarmored defense. You’ve got protection from falling, quicker movement, evasion, force damage on unarmed strikes, better martial arts die and running on walls.

Extra attack is useless for you at level 5 though. The best feature for a fighter is level 10 for another attack with flurry of blows, but that’s a big investment and will prevent you getting your 2nd extra attack at level 11 in fighter which is the better of these options.

Verdict

Monks can work for fighters, but it definitely pigeon-holes you into an unarmed and unarmored defense build, which is a little complex. You’ll also have to invest in wisdom to make that work which is sub-optimal. And this is a lot to achieve a great unarmed warrior when the unarmed fighting style and a couple of feats could kind of get you there anyway. Still, there are other great features for a fighter in the monk class so it’s alright, but not one of your best options.

Best subclass option: Warrior of mercy

Multiclass potential: 3/5

Paladin

Hit dice	d10
Hit points	1d10 + con modifier
Proficiencies	None
Weapon training	Martial weapons
Armor training	Light armor, medium armor, shields
Spellcasting	Yes
Level 1 features	Lay on hands, weapon mastery
Level 2 features	Fighting style, paladin’s smite

Spellcasting

Although you’ll need at least 13 charisma to multiclass, a high charisma isn’t a necessity for effective spellcasting (though a low charisma will limit which spells you can use competently). For example, divine smite, protection from evil and good, shield of faith and bless are all effective with a low charisma.

If you do want to be decent with a wider range of spells, then fighters are capable of investing in charisma, but you’ll likely need to sacrifice some of your martial capabilities. This approach won’t combine well with intelligence fighters like eldritch knights and psi warriors due to the demands on intelligence too.

Level 1

On top of spellcasting, you get some light healing from lay on hands giving you an easy way to recover allies from 0 hit points with just a bonus action. Weapon mastery means 2 extra weapons you’ve mastered. This is fine, but you probably have enough of these anyway.

Level 2

Another fighting style can be useful, especially if you might be switching between melee and ranged combat styles, you can now have a fighting style for both. You can’t completely dump strength for a paladin multiclass, so this likely means being strength-based which would perhaps mean taking the thrown fighting style alongside your melee style.

If you did want to go for a dexterity build, you might consider taking paladin as your original class and then multiclassing lots of levels in fighter to avoid having to take 13 in strength.

Having divine smite prepared and a free casting each day is useful as fighters don’t heavily use their bonus action and divine smite doesn’t rely on your spellcasting ability to work well.

Level 3

Divine sense as a use for your channel divinity can be useful, but only situationally. The main thing at level 3 though, is your subclass. You choose from the following:

Oath of devotion

Protection from evil and good and shield of faith are both good spells that don’t rely on a high spellcasting ability. Sacred weapon is great at making you more accurate and giving you a different damage type for your attacks. The more attacks you get and the higher damage they do, the more effective this is. This means two handed weapons on a level 11+ fighter (with 3 attacks) is extra effective. Your only issue is the effectiveness is limited by your charisma modifier. It’s still useful with just 13 charisma, but it’ll be considerably better with a higher charisma.

Immunity to the charmed condition within your aura at level 7 is reasonably useful too.

Oath of glory

Free temporary hit points when casting divine smite (the best smite for a low charisma caster) is always useful. Sadly, it’s tied to your paladin level so scales more poorly on a fighter multiclass. The spells are fine, but sacrificing an attack to use them is difficult to justify on a fighter. Guiding bolt is more problematic as it relies on a strong charisma. Peerless athlete is also situational at best.

At level 7, some extra speed for you and allies is always welcome for getting into the fray quicker.

Oath of the ancients

Restraining nearby enemies with nature’s wrath is very useful, but it’ll only be effective with a decent charisma which may be hard to make work. Speak with animals is a good utility spell and ensnaring strike is good, but again, relies on a high charisma to be effective.

If you reach level 7, 3 damage resistances for you and nearby allies is useful and doesn’t rely on a strong charisma. But the oath of ancients remains hard to recommend for a multiclass fighter without a high charisma.

Oath of vengeance

Hunter’s mark is great on a fighter with their additional attacks making it even more potent. Go for a dual wielder build to make this even more impactful. Bane will struggle without a high charisma though, despite being a decent spell. Be aware that its concentration will conflict with hunter’s mark too.

Vow of enmity also works great allowing you to afflict this on an enemy with hunter’s mark in the same turn. Now you have advantage on attack rolls and extra damage making this multiclass a single target specialist.

Level 7 will help prevent enemies from escaping your influence which is useful for a tanky class.

Beyond level 3

Beyond level 3, there’s not a huge amount for a fighter unless you have a decent charisma. Spellcasting will obviously expand with levels, but extra attack is useless for a fighter main, finding a steed can be useful but not essential. Abjure foes relies heavily on charisma for number of targets and a decent saving throw.

Aura of protection is probably the most useful thing, but even then, the bonus to saving throws is limited by your charisma modifier. For me, this makes paladin better as a 1-3 level dip for a fighter. Especially if you intend to stick with a lower charisma build.

Verdict

As a martial class and a spellcaster that can work with a low spellcasting ability, paladins make a strong multiclass option for a fighter. Between bonus action healing for bringing back downed allies, divine smite to enhance attacks an extra fighting style and some quite effective subclass options, paladin is one of the better options for a fighter multiclass.

Best subclass option: Oath of vengeance

Multiclass potential: 4/5

Ranger

Hit dice	d10
Hit points	1d10 + con modifier
Proficiencies	1 skill
Weapon training	Martial weapons
Armor training	Light armor, medium armor, shields
Spellcasting	Yes
Level 1 features	Favoured enemy, weapon mastery
Level 2 features	Deft explorer, fighting style

Spellcasting

Wisdom is not a fighter’s forte. Fortunately, a ranger multiclass has enough good spells that don’t require a high wisdom that you can get away with a 13-14 wisdom build. Hunter’s mark is the main attraction here with extra damage per attack which is great on the higher number of attacks in a fighter (3 at level 11) and this will deal more damage if you dual wield. There’s also the likes of goodberry, jump, longstrider and detect magic which are all useful options.

Level 1

Favored enemy means free uses of hunter’s mark which is likely what you want to be using spells on anyway. You’ll also get some extra weapon masteries, but you don’t really need this with plenty of your own.

Level 2

Expertise in a skill is solid and allows you to better fulfill the role of a scout. An extra fighting style is also useful. You’ll likely want this to add a ranged option to your repertoire so you can switch between ranged and melee attacks effectively.

Level 3

At level 3 you get to choose a ranger subclass.

Beast master

A beast master’s primal companion is a great way of adding some extra damage on your turn through the use of your bonus action. It also grants a few other effects including being another set of hit points for enemies to deal with. Unfortunately, it’s durability and damage scale with your wisdom modifier and level meaning it scales poorly on a multiclass character. It can work on a high wisdom build, but this does take sacrifices elsewhere.

Fey wanderer

An extra 1d4 damage per turn is decent, but the challenge with the fey wanderer is that they’re trying to be a party face needing wisdom and charisma on a fighter main that likely isn’t that great at either. Charm person also isn’t the greatest spell for a low wisdom fighter.

Even at level 7, you’re heavily reliant on a strong wisdom to make the most of reactive charming and frightening.

Gloomstalker

A decent wisdom fighter/gloom stalker multiclass will attack sooner in combat, move quickly in the first turn of combat and deal extra damage. But a solid wisdom will be needed to make the most of this. Disguise self is decent, and invisibility in darkness is situationally useful.

If you want more resilience, level 7 will get you proficiency in wisdom saving throws (which are one of the most common).

Hunter

Your best option for a low wisdom build as none of the hunter’s features rely on wisdom. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your enemies can be useful. But mainly, you’ll want the extra damage from hunter’s prey. Horde breaker will deal more damage per turn, but relies on being able to hit another creature and spreading your damage rather than focusing on a single target (which rangers specialise at). You can also get more durable at level 7.

Beyond level 3

If you choose to increase levels beyond 3, you’ll get extra attack at level 5 (which is useless as you already have this). At level 6 though, your movement speed will increase 10ft and you’ll get a climb and swim speed. You’ll have to wait until level 9 to gain 2 more skill expertise. At level 10 you can give yourself temporary hit points, but how often you can do this will be tied to your wisdom modifier which will likely not be high (and stops you getting the fighter’s 2nd extra attack).

Verdict

Rangers come packed with free uses of hunter’s mark, an extra fighting style, a skill expertise and some extra spells on top. All of this can work nicely for a fighter, even with a relatively low wisdom build.

Things get a bit trickier with the subclasses at level 3. Beast master is challenging for a multiclass due to scaling with levels while the fey wanderer and gloom stalker are quite reliant on wisdom for their festures. However, the hunter is a great option for a fighter main as you can practically dump wisdom (you’ll still need the 13 for multiclassing, but that’s it).

All in all, the ranger makes a pretty good multiclass option for a fighter.

Best subclass option: Hunter

Multiclass potential: 4/5

Rogue

Hit dice	d8
Hit points	1d8 + con modifier
Proficiencies	1 skill, thieves’ tools
Weapon training	None
Armor training	Light armor
Spellcasting	No
Level 1 features	Expertise, sneak attack, Thieves’, weapon mastery
Level 2 features	Cunning action

Level 1

An extra skill proficiency, Thieves’ tools proficiency and expertise in 2 skills at level 1 will do a lot to make you a capable scout and sneaker. You’ll likely want to go big on dexterity rather than strength, partly for this reason (but for others I’ll get to later). Thieves’ cant is situationally slightly useful but not important and weapon mastery isn’t really needed for a fighter, but you get 2 more of these.

The big thing at level 1 though is sneak attack. The benefits are tricky though. You’ll need to be using a ranged or finesse weapon but could be using strength for that finesse weapon (though I think a dexterity build just makes a lot more sense for this multiclass). This means the best damage you’ll get is 1d8 with a rapier. You could also go for a longbow for your ranged weapon. Any higher damage ranged weapons would require reloading which won’t work with the fighter’s extra attack unless you take something like the crossbow expert feat.

I’d probably suggest that dual wielding or possibly sword and shield is your best option in this scenario. Dual wielding will compensate for the damage reduction from not using a two handed weapon while a shield compensates for this with extra defence.

Unfortunately, as great as sneak attack is, you’re hamstrung a bit by your levels. At 1st level you’re only getting an extra d6 and while this is decent and quickly ramps up, a 1 level dip at higher fighter levels won’t feel very substantial.

Level 2

Cunning action is great and a fighter will probably use this to be maneuverable rather than for hit and run tactics. You should easily be able to make up ground between yourself and foes and disengage to get to other enemies when you need to. An archer might choose to use hide for easy advantage.

Level 3

Steady aim is a handy way to gain advantage and to ensure you get your sneak attack. Both aspects are useful for a fighter.

You also choose from the following options for your subclass:

Arcane trickster

I think the question over the arcane trickster for a fighter multiclass is why bother? The main thing you get with this subclass is spellcasting from the wizard’s spell list. But as a fighter, you can already get this from being an eldritch knight or a 1 level dip as a wizard. They do get a better mage hand which is maybe the only additional benefit, but that’s not really going to help you in combat until level 13.

Assassin

Better initiative rolls and extra damage on your first turn sneak attack. The problem you’ve got is the damage here scales with your rogue level, which likely won’t be that high. Sadly, this means it will feel less effective the higher your level.

If you want to make it all the way to level 9, then you’ve got mimicry and steady aim won’t affect movement anymore. Roving aim is great for a fighter and mimicry can work if you invest in charisma (which is possible on this build), but you’re likely at very high levels at this point to start introducing impersonations.

Soulknife

Sadly, there’s no interaction between the soul knife’s energy dice and the psi warrior’s. They function completely separately. At early levels, you’re mostly using them for reliable skill checks and telepathy but if you reach level 9, you’ll also be able to teleport and become more reliable at hitting enemies.

The psychic blades are a little more complex. You can’t use them with your extra attack but can manifest another one for a bonus action attack, but this amounts to the same as simply dual wielding other weapons (other than the fact that these cause psychic damage which is a good damage type).

The main benefit here is if you are going for a thrown weapon approach, these have your longest range of any thrown weapons and can give you a bonus action attack (which standard ranged weapons won’t generally allow). I feel this is complicated and not that worthwhile though for a fighter.

Thief

A climb speed, jumping with dexterity and picking locks and disarming traps as a bonus action are all situationally useful but not that exciting for a fighter. What is potentially very interesting is being able to use magic items with a bonus action. This effectively means you can use wands to cause spell effects while also using your action for attacks. Very potent if you can get the right kind of wand or other magic item.

I probably wouldn’t bother taking thief to level 9 for supreme sneak. You’re probably not skulking around enough to warrant this if you’re a fighter main.

Beyond level 3

At level 5, cunning strike will give your sneak attacks more effects to cause problems for your enemies. Uncanny dodge and evasion will make you more resilient (important for a tank). If you reach level 7, reliable talent will make you really reliable at skill checks. All of this is pretty good on a fighter, if a heavy investment in levels.

Verdict

Dipping into rogue can work reasonably well for a fighter, but the benefits of sneak attack need significant investment in levels to make them worth building your character around (though remain useful at any level). If you want to build around skills though, rogues can help there quite a lot. Plus, 3 levels for the thief subclass just to be able to use magic items as a bonus action could be very worthwhile with the right items in hand.

Best subclass option: Thief

Multiclass potential: 3/5

Sorcerer

Hit dice	d6
Hit points	1d6 + con modifier
Proficiencies	None
Weapon training	None
Armor training	None
Spellcasting	Yes
Level 1 features	Innate sorcery
Level 2 features	Font of magic, metamagic

Spellcasting

Fighters can manage to invest in charisma, but it means sacrificing elsewhere. They’re unlikely to be the ideal spellcaster and unless you get high level spells, their attacks will usually be more effective in combat. Still, defensive, out of combat and spells that use your bonus action or reaction have potential to be useful. This includes the likes of jump, shield and detect magic. AoE damage dealers can be worth taking too making things like thunderwave and thunderclap good options. True strike also works well on a fighter before they hit level 5.

Level 1

Unfortunately, everything about a sorcerer is about beefing up spells. This makes their features less than ideal for a class that probably at most wants spells to supplement what they do rather than be the main attraction. Innate sorcery isn’t really going to help most of your spellcasting unless you are just going for AoE spells every now and again, but you still might only be popping 1 or 2 of these off per combat making innate sorcery a little redundant for such a powerful feature on a proper caster.

Level 2

Meta magic gives fighters the same issue. You’re getting enhanced spells on a class that won’t be using spells that make use of meta magic much. It’s not a complete waste, but not that useful for a fighter.

Level 3

At level 3, you can choose from the following subclasses.

Aberrant sorcery

Telepathy can be useful out of combat. The spells aren’t really suited for a fighter though. At level 6, discreet spellcasting could be situationally useful, but a fighter isn’t begging to be the sneaky type or the caster type. The best thing you’ll get from the aberrant sorcerer is psychic resistance and advantage on charmed and frightened saving throws.

Clockwork sorcery

Aid and alarm can be cast out of combat so are somewhat useful for a fighter and protection from good and evil can be useful too. Restore balance is a great buff/debuff on anyone but its uses are limited by your charisma modifier.

If you go to level 6, bastion of law makes use of your sorcery points in a meaningful way and can help with resilience. You’ll likely not have loads of sorcery points though so may struggle to get enough use out of this, especially at higher levels.

Draconic sorcery

Dragon’s breath could be useful handing it to companions, but it’ll suffer from your lower charisma. Alter self can work out of combat as a good utility spell, but the others aren’t great for a fighter. You’ll also get a type of unarmored defense, but it relies on charisma making it sub-optimal for a fighter and the extra hit points you get are the equivalent of having a d8 for hit points instead of a d6, but if you’d taken levels in fighter instead, you’d have averaged more hit points anyway so while useful, doesn’t really make the subclass worth taking.

Elemental affinity gives you a damage resistance which is useful for a martial, but you won’t be casting enough damage dealing spells to make the damage aspects of this useful.

Wild magic sorcery

Advantage on d20 tests is useful for a fighter, but you’ve got to weave spells between uses of this. This means grabbing bonus action and reaction spells so you can still make your attacks and casting spells out of combat to keep replenishing these features. Wild magic can be good or bad, but the mathematics suggest it’s more often good so if you’re happy with a bit of chaos, then it tends to be worth embracing.

At level 6, bend luck is universally useful to help the d20 tests of others and is a good way to use your sorcery points which you may not be using as much with metamagic.

Beyond level 3

beyond level 3, it’s all about replenishing sorcery points (which you don’t have a huge need for) and getting access to more powerful spells (which isn’t really your forte).

Verdict

Sorcerers are such a focused spellcasting class that it’s hard to find good synergy with the things a fighter can do. There are spellcasting classes with better synergy (like paladins and rangers) that can give you some useful 1st level spells like hunter’s mark and divine smite. Sadly sorcerers have neither of these. There are some reasonable spell options for a fighter, but there are just better classes to grab them from that will give you much more than a sorcerer will.

Best subclass option: If I have to pick, then I guess it’s clockwork sorcery

Multiclass potential: 1/5

Warlock

Hit dice	d8
Hit points	1d8 + con modifier
Proficiencies	None
Weapon training	None
Armor training	Light armor
Spellcasting	Yes
Level 1 features	Eldritch invocations
Level 2 features	Magical cunning

Spellcasting

It’s possible to build for charisma with a fighter, especially by taking pact if the blade (more on that later). Even so, you’ll likely use your action for attacks more than spells. This means spells that can be cast out of combat or with bonus actions and reactions are best. This is especially the case if you’re not going for a charisma build, in which case, spells that don’t need attack rolls or saving throws which you’ll be weak at.

This means taking spells like minor illusion, armor of Agathys, hex and misty step. At this level, armor of Agathys will likely only last for 1 attack, but once you hit level 3 or 5, will last for 2 or possibly 3 attacks. Hex is probably your best option as its damage will add to all your many attacks (especially if you’re dual wielding). So spellcasting isn’t great for a fighter, but there are some decent options you can make work.

Level 1

You’ll need to be careful in your selection of eldritch invocations. They can be really powerful though. One way to help make a fighter/warlock work is by grabbing pact of the blade and dumping strength and potentially dexterity as you’ll be able to make attacks with charisma (at least with your pact weapon). This opens up better spellcasting for you but might require an early dip in warlock. Your dexterity might need to match your armor though (14 if you’re going for medium armor, but you could dump it completely for heavy armor).

If you’ve gone with pact of the blade and a charisma build, you could also grab agonising blast and eldritch blast for when you need some powerful ranged attacks. Eldritch smite is also a good way to use spell slots with enhanced attacks that don’t eat into your action economy. Any fighter will also find otherworldly leap and fiendish vigor useful too.

Level 2

Easier spell slot recovery is useful, and if nothing else, will give you more uses of hex.

Level 3

When you hit level 3, you choose one of the following subclasses.

Archery patron

Misty step is a good option for a fighter. The other spells will only be worthwhile on a high charisma build, but faerie fire is probably the most useful for you.

Free uses of misty step are great for a fighter wanting to move freely in combat. Lots of temporary hit points for allies is good and taunting probably works better on a fighter main than a pure warlock. But because of the saving throws required, you’ll need to build for charisma, which is possible with pact of the blade.

Steps of the fey gets even better for a charisma fighter at level 6 with invisibility or extra damage both working great for a fighter. Chances are you’ll want the invisibility for advantage on an attack roll and less to hide unless you’re looking very battered.

Even without a high charisma, an archfey patron can work for a fighter by taking non-saving throw options on your steps of the fey. But they are more potent with a high charisma.

Celestial patron

You probably don’t want to use cure wounds instead of your attack action except in desperate times, especially as your warlock level (and therefore the size of the healing) is likely relatively low. Lesser restoration is a good emergency removal of conditions though, and aid can be cast out of combat which is useful. Neither requires a high charisma either if you’ve not built for that.

Healing light is a good use of your bonus action for some healing, but it scales primarily with your level which will likely be low, this means your pool of healing will be low relative to your overall level. This makes it’s good for recovering allies down to 0HP, but not great for general healing unless you invest a lot of levels in warlock.

If you go to level 6, radiant damage is OK, but extra damage on radiant and fire damage spells likely won’t be that great for you as you’ll be prioritising weapon attacks. Maybe the best use of this is if you’re using hellish rebuke with your reaction. And even then, this only works on a high charisma build.

Fiend patron

The spells aren’t much good for a fighter as they conflict with your attack without adding too much extra damage or effects. They also all rely on a charisma build.

Interestingly, dark one’s blessing becomes more common on a fighter as you’re more likely to kill enemies meaning plenty of temporary hit points. However, the number of hit points is linked to your level and charisma modifier. You can build for charisma, but your level will likely stay fairly low meaning poorer scaling on this feature.

Dark one’s own luck is universally useful for making you more reliable at ability checks and saving throws. Again, this is better on a charisma build as you’ll get more uses.

Great old one patron

Detect thoughts is decent for out of combat utility, especially on a charisma build. The other spells aren’t good enough to use instead of your attacks. Telepathy is broadly useful, but psychic spells may be less so. You can bypass some damage resistances when casting damage dealing spells this way, but this may be less common for you. Subtle illusions and enchantments could be good for covert play but is sometimes reliant on a high spellcasting ability so best on a charisma build.

Clairvoyant combatant could be quite good on a high attack fighter. It combines nicely with hex and only consumes a bonus action. Great for dealing with really tough enemies. Again, a high charisma build is needed to make this work well.

Beyond level 3

Going beyond level 3 for a warlock is all about getting higher level spell slots with your pact magic and getting more and better eldritch invocations. For a fighter multiclass, the significant point is level 5 when you can get level 3 spellcasting and eldritch smite as an eldritch invocation. For each increment of 2 levels, your spell level will increase by 1 too and with pact magic, that means all your spell slots get upcast.

Verdict

A warlock is probably the best full caster option for a fighter as you can make a charisma build work with martial attacks and have the benefits of spellcasting and eldritch invocations. Warlocks can’t generally spend every turn pumping out levelled spells anyway so standard attacks (or cantrips, but for a fighter, attacks are better) will be needed regardless.

Not every build of a fighter warlock multiclass is good, but it’s not hard to make a strong build. It’s all about pact of the blade and building for charisma really.

Best subclass option: Archfey patron

Multiclass potential: 4/5

Wizard

Hit dice	d6
Hit points	1d6 + con modifier
Proficiencies	None
Weapon training	None
Armor training	None
Spellcasting	Yes
Level 1 features	Ritual adept, arcane recovery
Level 2 features	Scholar

Spellcasting

Wizards are intelligence casters and since some fighter subclasses are intelligence based (like eldritch knights and psi warriors), they can synergise their casting fairly well. On top of this, wizards have a really broad range of spells meaning even if you don’t want to cast in combat, you can do plenty of casting out of combat. The main question, especially for an eldritch knight, is whether you need that extra spellcasting? The main benefit is getting higher level spells more quickly. It takes 13 levels in eldritch knight to get 3rd level spells, but 3 levels in eldritch knight and 4 in wizard will get you 3rd level spells (so nearly half the levels).

You’ll likely still want to focus on attacks in combat with spell support. This means mainly taking out of combat spells or those that can be cast as bonus actions or reactions (unless you’re an eldritch knight which can manage in combat spells). This means spells like mage hand, minor illusion, jump, longstrider, shield, misty step and find familiar are all quite useful. You could also go for AoE spells like thunderclap, thunderwave or shatter which may be better than using your attacks in certain situations.

Still, it’s worth keeping in mind that your spellcasting probably won’t be as prolific as a dedicated spellcaster so spells with attack rolls and saving throws may be less effective unless you really build for intelligence.

Level 1

Level 1 is really all about having more spells at your fingertips through your spellbook (just have ritual spells not prepared but in your spellbook so you can focus prepared spells on things that need casting quicker) and having more spell uses through arcane recovery.

Level 2

Expertise in a knowledge skill is OK, but not amazing. I’d never bother going for 2 levels in wizard. I’d either go for 1 or 3.

Level 3

You can pick one of the following subclasses at level 3.

Abjurer

Abjurers are all about your abjuration ward which basically protects you (and eventually others) from damage. This in theory, is great for a tanky martial. However, there are a few considerations. First of all, you need to have a decent wizard level to get decent protection which will be a struggle for a multiclass. This is combined with your intelligence modifier which you have more control over, but might eat into your martial stats so the size of the protection is going to be more limited with multiclass but still useful.

The last consideration is recharging the ward. Some abjuration spells, like mage armor, aren’t that relevant for a fighter, but things like shield, protection from evil and good, arcane vigor and counterspell are. This will mean maybe 2-6 extra hit points of protection per spell you cast so if you think you can make decent use of these types of spells as a fighter main, then this could be worth grabbing but it will remain more limited.

Diviner

Portent is excellent for anyone. Being able to change 2 d20 tests to a predetermined roll can be incredibly useful. Level 6 is less inspiring as it helps retain spell slots when casting divination spells. This is fine, but fighters won’t be casting loads of spells (especially not divination spells) so this is maybe less impactful.

Evoker

Most fighters won’t be using cantrips for their action so potent cantrip makes little sense for them. That is, unless you’re an eldritch knight, in which case damage on a miss is useful because you should be combining these with your attacks. Sculpt spells could be very useful too if you’re wanting to use AoE spells in the midst of combat. In fact, you can coax enemies to surround you, then blast a fireball engulfing yourself, safely.

Illusionist

The illusionist is best if you want some out of combat utility with some illusions that you want to cause some more profound effects. Casting it as a bonus action allows for in combat casting, but it’s going to be down to your DM whether that has an impact as there’s no mechanical effect here. Phantasmal creatures at level 6 is perhaps more useful for free summons but at half hit points.

Beyond level 3

Other than getting better spells, there’s not much more for wizards beyond level 3 other than the ability to swap spells from your spellbook more easily.

Verdict

Wizards are pure spellcasters so if you want more spellcasting, this can work, especially as intelligence can be a shared ability score between some fighters and wizards. Unfortunately, there’s not a huge amount of synergy here other than the odd spell like shield which can be very useful (but is also available to an eldritch knight or a paladin can get something similar from shield of faith). This makes the wizard less than ideal for a fighter subclass, but better than a sorcerer.

Best subclass option: Diviner

Multiclass potential: 2/5

Which Multiclass options are best for a fighter?

The best multiclass option for a fighter is the barbarian. The ability to grab rage to enhance attacks and resilience as well as the protection of danger sense and the extra accuracy of reckless attack synergise extremely well with a fighter. And with more attacks than a barbarian, these effects impact you more profoundly.

I also think that paladins and rangers make great options. Their spell lists are built around characters that want to attack and cast spells with lots of options to use your bonus action rather than your action for casting. There’s also plenty of spells that don’t rely on a high wisdom/charisma to cast competently. Smites and hunter’s mark are obvious stand outs here and if you want both, there’s always the oath of vengeance paladin! The addition of another fighting style is also very useful for a fighter.

Warlocks also make a surprisingly strong multiclass option allowing you to grab a full caster that works well with a fighter. You’ll need to grab pact of the blade and go for a charisma build, but it can work really well. If you want some stronger spell slots on your fighter, then this is one of the best ways to accomplish that (alongside being an eldritch knight).

Monks, artificers and rogues perform OK but need very careful building to make them work and even then, it isn’t always ideal. However, all these classes provide extra utility for a fighter and with artificers, the right subclass can utilise a fighter’s bonus action really well.

All other multiclass options seem to struggle to work on a fighter main with sorcerers being particularly challenging with their high focus on spellcasting.

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Do you have any fighter multiclass builds you like to use? Am I missing a potential combination in my guide? Let me know about it in the comments below.

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