Best Baldur's Gate 3 Fighter build
The best subclass, equipment, skills and spells for Fighter in BG3.
A Baldur's Gate 3 Fighter build is mandatory for every weapon master, frontline charger, and big weapon lover out there. The fighter is one of the most popular combat classes in Baldur's Gate 3, with a lot of variety at your finger tips, but a lot of ways to funk up your build too.
To help you out, we've written up this Baldur's Gate 3 fighter build to break down the equipment, weapons, ability score priority, and subclass choice we like the best.
Best BG3 Fighter build
The Fighter is a fantastic class, able to use any and all weaponry you can get your hands on. As such, they are easily able to morph into one of the most powerful melee classes in the game, thanks to lots of powerful subclass features.
- Best Fighter race
- Fighter ability score priority
- Fighter proficiencies and background
- Best Fighter subclass
- Best Fighter equipment
- Best Fighter skills
Best Fighter race
The best race for Fighter players looking to build a tank character in Baldur's Gate 3 is the Half-Orc.
This is all down to the Half-Orc's Relentless Endurance ability, which keeps them at 1 HP when they'd otherwise be knocked down to zero. This is hugely important for any and all frontline warriors, as it allows you to throw at clutch heals where necessary. They also have the Savage Attack ability, which allows them to roll three dice after landing a critical hit with a melee weapon rather than the usual two. It's hard to overstate how useful that is for a Fighter!
However, if you're aiming for a more nimble Fighter build, you might consider taking a leaf out of Lae'zel's book and choosing a Githyanki instead. Githyanki enjoy starting boosts to both Strength and Dexterity, so if you want your Fighter to be a fleet-footed damage-dealer who prefers to avoid counter-attacks rather than stolidly enduring them, this is a good alternative — although perhaps still not quite on a par with the Half-Orc.
Fighter ability score priority
Your ability score priority should be Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, then everything else.
When first creating your character, we recommend the following initial stats:
- Strength - 17
- Dexterity -13
- Constitution - 15
- Intelligence - 10
- Wisdom - 12
- Charisma - 8
As you level up, you'll gain ability score increases at level 4, 8, and 12.
You should invest your points into Strength up until 20, then Constitution.
Fighter proficiencies and background
The Outlander background makes a good basis for this Fighter build, thanks to its proficiency bonuses in Athletics and Survival.
When you first create your character, consider investing proficiency in Atheltics and Acrobatics to lay a strong foundation for this kind of tanky build.
Best Fighter subclass
For our build, we recommend taking the Battle Master subclass.
With this subclass you gain superiority dice. These allow Battle Masters to throw out some truly powerful abilities that help you tank enemies, and deal huge damage. Sure, you lose out on some cool spells that can be incredibly useful, but it's hard to turn down the sheer power the Battle Master provides.
Best Fighter equipment
The Battle Master Fighter has access to heavy armour proficiency - meaning you should equip it whenever possible. Not only does it provide some of the highest armour class scores in the game, it also will keep your sturdy and alive when up in enemies' faces.
As for weapons, take the biggest two-handed weapon you can. Greataxes and greatswords are... great! With these equipped, you'll be dealing huge swathes of damage to anything you swing at - which is the core purpose of your class in this build.
As for substats, look for anything that improves your melee damage output or tankiness. If it can keep you alive for longer, or increase how hard you swing, it's a good piece of gear to equip.
Best Fighter skills
After opting in to the Battle Master subclass, you'll have access to some incredibly powerful skills in combat that are well worth using whenever possible.
Feint Attack is one such skill, which dishes out humongous damage numbers at the cost of one superiority dice. Next is the Goading Attack, which will force enemies to strike your fighter, else have disadvantage on future strikes against your allies.
However, there's more to the fighter aside from their Battle Master-specific skills. Weapon skills like Cleave are very powerful in fights where your fighter is facing down multiple enemies at once. Don't disregard your basic kit with the Fighter - it can make all the difference!
If you're looking for more help getting into fighting fit shape with BG3, don't forget to check-out our guides for the best Barbarian build and best Paladin build.