Unearthed Arcana 7: The Fighter
Wizards of the Coast has released the new Unearthed Arcana for One D&D, so I am going through it one class at a time, breaking down the changes and giving my thoughts. Last week I looked at the Barbarian [HERE]. That class had minor changes made to it, but there was still plenty to talk about. Now we look at the Fighter, a favorite of mine. So let’s jump into the future of Dungeons and Dragons.
(Art: Magic the Gathering)
Note Before Proceeding
As I mentioned at the start, Fighter is my favorite class in 5E. In a world of powerful wizards and divine warriors calling upon amazing powers, I am fond of someone who stands in the world without such powers, instead relying on their prowess as a warrior. As much as I enjoy the class, I find it a bit lacking. A Fighter…well…fights fairly well, and that is about it. They compensated for this by providing more opportunities for Feats than any other class, but it still feels a bit lacking.
In the UA7 Video [HERE], Crawford mentioned they wanted to improve the out of combat abilities of the Fighter. I am looking forward to seeing what options they bring.
Core Class
Class Progression table (Source: Play test 7)
Starting off at level 1, we have a lot of changes. First to note is the changes to the Fighting Style class feature, allowing a Fighter to change their option on a level up. Now the fighter can change their focus as they increase in level. (As a side note, the developers only mentioned Fighting Styles in Play Test 2 before, and you can review it if you want).
Second Wind had its number of uses increased. Fighters will now start with 2 uses of Second Wind per Long Rest, and will regain 1 of those uses on a Short Rest. Previously, the Fighter would get a single use of Second Wind, rechargeable on a Short or Long Rest.
Finally, we see that Weapon Mastery now maxes out at 6 options instead of 5. This additional Weapon Mastery becomes available at level 16.
Already a lot to look at in the beginning. Fighting Styles changing on a level up makes sense both mechanically and narratively. This option gives Fighters the freedom to adjust their role in combat as they increase in strength. This leads to a more flexible character and gives the feeling of having an expert warrior who can adapt to any situation. I wonder if every level is too much, but also think that there is no real good middle ground between that and changing it every time the character gains a Feat. The additional use of Second Wind is a welcome bonus. Only having a single charge per Rest would mean that players would hold off using it until necessity won over frugality, and now that can go away. This progression means that a level 20 Fighter will have 5 Second Wind charges per day, with the chance to gain back one of those charges on a Short Rest. This increases the Resiliency of the character, which feels in line with the Fighter.
The additional Weapon Mastery does not mean much to me because of that happening at such a high level. By the time you hit Level 16, that additional Weapon Mastery will feel a bit like a waste. I also think Masteries as they currently stand, are a little bland and uninspired. I would much rather see something more akin to Weapon Actions from Baldur’s Gate 3. These limited use abilities provided flavorful options that made weapon choice matter, and did not threaten to upset the balance of the game.
At level 2, they have adjusted Action Surge to specify all actions except the Magic action. For anyone struggling to remember (like myself) the current play test draft, a Magic Action consists of:
“When you take the Magic action, you magic something by casting a spell that has a casting time of an action or by using a feature or Magic Item that requires a Magic action to be activated. If you cast a spell that has a casting time of I minute or longer, you must take the Magic action on each turn of that casting, and you must maintain Concentration while you do so. If your Concentration is broken, the spell fails, but you don’t expend a Spell Slot.”
This means that when using the Action Surge, you cannot cast spells or use any sort of magic item as far as I know. As of right now, we do not have any examples of One D&D magic items to compare this too. This loosens up the restrictions that were previously in place, but avoids making multiclass Fighter dips as valuable for non-martial classes.
We also see our first new ability, Tactical Mind. This ability allows a Fighter to, as a reaction to failing an ability check, expend a use of their Second Wind. They roll the 1d10 and add it to the roll. If it passes, the use of Second Wind is expended. If the roll still fails, the use is not expended.
Both changes buff the fighter a bit in and out of combat. Action Surge in the previous UA had reduced the options down to Attack, Dash, Disengage, or Dodge, meaning that a Fighter would be extremely limited in what they could do. I just wish limiting it at all was unnecessary, but understand. Tactical Mind is an interesting ability, which I hesitantly like. It solves the problem of Fighter only being good at fighting, and allows them to use an existing resource in an out of combat way. The flavor is nice as well, linking it to their prowess as a Fighter.
My preference to solve this problem differed from this, using the mechanics from the Battlemaster. Crawford addresses this, saying that they wanted to avoid losing the Battlemaster class entirely, and that they wanted to avoid creating a complicated core class that had to track resource pools. I don’t really agree with these reasons, but keeping the Fighter simple has always been a goal of WotC.
Moving on to 5th level, we see Tactical Shift , which further enhances Second Wind. Now when a Fighter uses their Second Wind, they can also move half their speed. This movement does not provoke Opportunity Attacks. This is a nice little augment that plays well with the increased amount of Second Wind uses per day. Now I could see a character using these for mobility first and getting health as a secondary benefit.
At level 9 Indomitable has returned to gaining additional uses, one at level 13 and one at level 17, for a maximum of three uses per Long Rest. I appreciate this. It feels like what the fighter should have. The ability to shrug off effects with ease fits the narrative of the fighter prowess, and more uses increases with that.
We also see Master of Armaments, which replaces Weapon Expert and Weapon Adept. Fighters now can replace the Mastery property of their weapons with another Mastery Property, as long as that feature would be compatible with the weapon in question. This means that of the three Martial or Simple weapons you have used their Mastery properties on can have them switched out, effectively doubling or tripling your options.
I feel like a broken record, but I am not sold on Weapon Masteries, at least as a feature specifically for the Fighter. I think the only classes that have not received them are the full casting classes. For these classes, these are nice little additional effects. Always doing a bit of damage or being able to move an enemy helps to make melee fighting more interesting, but I see nothing in this feature that ties it to the Fighter inherently. Though at this point I think they may have moved away from saying Weapon Masteries were supposed to be for the fighter first and others second.
At 13th level we gain the new feature Studied Attacks. This feature allows for a fighter to gain advantage on their next Attack roll before the end of their turn. The feature of Studied Attacks can be used repeatedly with no restriction.
At this point a Fighter will make up to three attacks per round, four if using an offhand weapon. This feature can hopefully make sure that the Fighter is finding their mark in most of these encounters.
Finally, at level 20, the 2014 capstone Three Extra Attacks returns. As the name suggests, this gives a fighter four attacks per use of the Attack action on their turn. I think this is fine, but want to acknowledge that this method of powering up a martial, especially the Fighter, will inherently slow down the game.
Action Economy Nightmares
As you increase in tiers of play, the game becomes more complex. Characters have more options and class features. Monsters will often have more detailed stat blocks providing a more interesting attack. All of this complexity can lead to an unintentional slow down in combat. Fighter having multiple extra attacks is a great example of this. Making three, four, and five attacks per use of the Attack action means choosing an enemy that many times, rolling to hit that many times, and rolling damage on a hit. Anything beyond that, such as Weapon Masteries that invoke a check or magic items that have an effect, will add to that. This means that the fighter player will have longer and longer turns.
Do I have an answer on how to do this better? Nothing that feels easily added into the game. Reducing down the amount of rolls but increasing the damage feels like one potential option, but not a balanced one. Perhaps there could be a way to, like with cantrips, have weapon damage dice increase as player level increases.
Overall Thoughts
I think this Fighter has a decent amount more utility than we have seen previously. Tactical Mind does a lot of the heavy lifting here with that, giving an average of +5 per roll. That works out to around the increase for rolling with advantage. In combat, a lot of the features have returned from 2014 or just had their number of uses increased. We have a character that still benefits from a Short Rest but has deeper reserves to keep going through the day.
While I think Tactical Mind does the job, I do not think it would be my first choice. I find it interesting that Battle Masters spend only a use of the ability if it succeeds. I think that gets around the relatively low pool of Short Rests that a character gets in a day without having to balance out how they function in combat. This ultimately feels like the developer’s answer to providing more utility, and I think this will be the best we see.
Fighter Subclasses
We get four subclasses to look at here. Three of the current subclasses (Battle Master, Champion, and Eldritch Knight) and one entirely new subclass (Brawler).
Master of Techniques
First up is my favorite subclass, Battle Master. To me, this is as close to my visions of a Fighter in Dungeons and Dragons as it gets. Their pool of superiority dice and the Maneuvers that come with it give them the abilities needed to represent their prowess on the battlefield without having to rely on magic.
Starting off at level 3, Student of War has been expanded to give proficiency in a skill available on the Fighter’s list. This means a Battle Master can choose to gain Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, History, Insight, Intimidation, Persuasion, Perception, or Survival, totaling to three skill proficiencies from their class and subclass. I feel like this makes the ability worthwhile, as previously it felt more for flavor than actual utility. My only request here is that wording be added to specify what happens if you, through some turn of events, already have these skills. I would think allowing to pick any other skill would make sense.
The developers have entirely reworked Know Your Enemy at level 7, removing the time element. Now, it works off a Bonus Action without requiring a minute of study.. It now gives knowledge of any damage immunities, resistances, or vulnerabilities to the Battle Master. They can use this feature once per Long Rest for free, and after that through the use of a Superiority Die.
This is a much cleaner option than before, which would compare certain attributes of a Battle Master to their target and just tell you if they were higher than them in that given attribute. This knowledge feels like it could be pretty useful. The per Long Rest or Superiority Die option also feels fairly balanced, since they regain those dice on a Short or Long Rest. I wonder if there should be more information to potentially be gained. I feel like this option would only be used once in an encounter and not again.
Additionally, the question of character knowledge vs metaknowledge comes into play here. If the party is in a level of hell, would their character know that most devils are immune to fire and poison damage? Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything has decent guidelines for determining monster information that I like to used to give basic information to players (though it’s supposed to be used for determining creature desires). A Battle Master whose backstory involves them being a skilled Werewolf hunter, for example, might argue that they need not use this when dealing with any sort of Were Creature.
At level 15, Battle Masters gain the new feature Relentless. This allows one Maneuver per turn for free, though it rolls at the lowest sized die for superiority dice, a d8. There is no limit to the number of times they can do this on a day other than the once per turn.
I think this is an exceptional ability. At level 15, a Battle Master should be of great renown. So being able to do at least one Maneuver per turn fits that narrative. I think, however, that the wording needs to be adjusted to account for out of combat uses. As written, I could use one of the three out of combat Maneuvers once per six seconds for free, meaning that I effectively get a +4 to any of these abilities. Unless this is playing as intended, that is.
Finally, there have been some updates to the Maneuvers, which are:
Ambush, Bait and Switch, and Commanding Presence from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything have been included in the list.
Commander’s Strike no longer uses a Bonus Action, instead just using the Attack action.
Disarming Attack, Distracting Strike, Goading Attack, Maneuvering Attack, Menacing Attack, and Precision Attack now work with any type of attack roll.
Evasive Footwork now lasts until the end of your turn instead of when you stop moving.
Lunging Attack gives the Dash Action as a Bonus Action, now using the Superiority Die for any attacks done after moving at least 10 feet.
Parry now can use Strength or Dexterity for the damage reduction.
Precision Attack is now a reaction from missing an attack roll.
Rally now uses a choice of Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma instead of just Charisma
I see a lot of variety with the Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything options. Two of those three can work in or out of combat, and I think those Maneuvers are the best options for having a lot of utility. We also see a lot better action economy with options like Commander’s Strike no longer needing a Bonus Action, and Precision Attack working as a Reaction.
I also like the attempts to avoid having Dexterity and Charisma be more valuable by opening up skills like Parry and Rally to the other potential options. Especially for Rally, I feel like this opens up the flavor of the abilities to fit just about any style of Fighter.
Battle Master Thoughts
Battle Master has always been my favorite subclass for the Fighter, and this play test has refined it further. This subclass really defines the image of a master warrior with their ability to do Maneuvers. I think Know Your Enemy could use more options. Right now it works like the Way of the Cobalt Soul Monk’s Extract Truth ability, except it costs a resource to do so. Maybe there could be more options available.
Everything is a Weapon
Next up, we have the new Brawler subclass. Supposed to represent a fighter who uses their fists and surroundings as weapons, this subclass focuses on Unarmed Attacks and Improvised Weapons.
Starting at level 3, Brawler gets Unarmed Expert. This changes damage rolls for Unarmed Strikes to 1d6 + Strength. This die increases to 1d8 if the Brawler is not holding anything. They also receive Improvised Expert, granting proficiency in Improvised Weapons, as well as allowing two Weapon Masteries that can apply to weapons, one to One-Handed and one to Two-Handed.
Starting off, we get a fighter focused on dealing damage without weapons, something that a portion of the community has wanted for a while in 5E Dungeons and Dragons. This character gets it, and it packs a punch. Starting off these looks like it beats out Monk on raw Damage, though Monk will most likely gain more attacks. I have minor concerns about Improvised Weapons, however.
As of now, they have not updated Improvised Weapons in any way. Right now, according to the Basic Rules, an Improvised Weapon falls into one of two categories: similar to a weapon and not similar. Similar items, such as a table leg, can be treated as a similar weapon, such as a club. Objects that are not similar do 1d4 damage. So, this becomes a situation where a Brawler is going to look for a nearby object, hoping to find one shaped like the type of weapon they are looking for; otherwise, they will do minimal damage. The play test states that the 2024 DMG will include magic items to overcome magic items, so presumably any clarification will come in the play test in the future. I really like the flavor, I just hope the new wording on Improvised Weapons does not make this a poor choice.
At level 7, Brawlers get Grappling Expert. This allows for a Bonus Action Unarmed Strike that functions as a Grapple or Shove (the new wording on Unarmed Strike functions this way, with damage being the third option). One grappled creature take 1d6 Bludgeoning damage at the start of your turn.
I like this feature, as it provides both Action Economy and a benefit to grappling a creature. The extra damage is nice as well. I do kind of wish that damage could scale to make sure that it does not become trivial at higher levels.
At level 10 Brawlers unlock Dirty Fighting, gaining Advantage on attack rolls with Improvised Weapons and Unarmed Strikes against a creature grappled by you. This is a nice little bonus that will encourage a Brawler to embrace all of their abilities. I can imagine a Fighter grabbing the nearest enemy and then attempting to subdue them with a frying pan.
Level 15 brings Improvised Specialist, further improving upon Improved Expert. Improvised Weapon attacks will now add the Brawler’s Proficiency Bonus to the damage roll, and the two handed Improvised Weapons become 1d12. Brawlers can use two Mastery properties when attacking with an Improvised Weapon instead of one. All around improvements, the damage increase feels like it helps maintain its power.
Lastly, the subclass rounds out with Unarmed Specialist at level 18. A simple damage increase for their abilities, which follows the model of the Battle Master.
Brawler Thoughts
The possibilities for this subclass are endless. It feels like it will make for a very chaotic PC, one who is searching the surroundings when the fighting breaks out. This class does a great job of providing incentives to use Shove and Grapple, and I appreciate that since it means more interesting combat.
Mechanically, my concerns mostly revolve around the yet-to-be-updated rules for Improvised Weapons. Right now, the 2014 version's vague wording heavily relies on the DM's discretion. I also think this class will struggle the most in higher tiers where resistance to non-magical damage is common. Unless they have a way to overcome that easily, then this subclass will suffer later on levels of damage, and need to focus on controlling combat through their Weapon Masteries and grapple over just damage.
A Simple Flavor
Third on our list, we have the Champion fighter returning. This subclass represents a warrior with exceptional martial prowess. From the last play test, [LINK] not much has changed.
Remarkable Athlete has replaced Adaptable Victor and moved to level 3, focuses Champions more on in-combat capabilities like Initiative and Strength (Athletics). While this aligns with the subclass's newbie-friendly design, it may limit their out-of-combat utility.
At level 10, the Heroic Warrior feature now grants Heroic Advantage at the start of each of the Brawler's turns in combat. This is an increase from once per combat and has moved up from 6th because of it. This feels like it will be much more beneficial in the long run.
A few minor changes to make the Champion more capable in combat, and they work.
Swords and Sorcery
Finally, we finish up with the Eldritch Knight, the fighter subclass that gets magic.
Starting at 3rd level, spell-casting for the Eldritch Knight is not as restricted by spell schools after getting their first spells, just specifying they come from the Wizard spell list. Additionally they may switch out cantrips when they gain a level, and they can also use an Arcane focus.
This will allow for a wider variety of spells by the Eldritch Knight, leading to a much wider variety of options. They must still use an Arcane Focus if the spell needs material components, so it does not appear to break anything.
Significant changes have come to Eldritch Knight's attack options at both levels 7 and 18 with War Magic and Improved War Magic. Now, you can swap an attack for a cantrip at level 7 and use two attacks to cast a leveled spell at level 18, offering a more seamless blend of magic and martial prowess.
Eldritch Knight Thoughts
Out of these subclasses, Eldritch Knight has seen the best improvement. This class originally struggled with damage output since it would hinder any sort of weapon attack. This subclass now feels more like the fusion of magic and fighting, and maintains the prowess expected from a Fighter.
Final Thoughts
It's increasingly evident that assessing these player changes in isolation from updates to monsters and DM rules is challenging. A lot of these powers seem like solid increases, but only based on what they previously were and the other class changes. We still lack much of the game while being asked to give our feedback.
The deadline for One D&D is approaching fast, and I worry that at some point, there will be a struggle with cohesion that could lead to flaws in the new version. This update is supposed to coincide with the 50th anniversary of Dungeons and Dragons, and I do not think they would postpone a release at this point.
Conclusion
This revision of the fighter goes a long way towards changing round out the class. For a while, this class struggled from being a blank canvas and relying on its extra feats to fill in the blanks. It created a very flexible class, but one that really lacked any definition. These latest updates have certainly improved various aspects of the class. The core class can now use its abilities outside of combat, providing some bonuses in exploration or social encounters. The subclasses also went a long way towards optimizing Action Economy and providing extra utility.
I do worry, however, that some of these changes will not work out. While there were some changes made to the fighter, I do not know if they are enough to balance out with the other classes. It feels like the need for simplicity outweighed the need to make a class that could stand on its own without the need of extra feats. We also lack a lot of information to determine the power of the fresh changes and new subclass. Currently, the Brawler seems powerful, with the promise of addressing the lack of magic to overcome resistance. But we do not yet know what that looks like. And creating a magic item just for the sake of overcoming resistance feels itself like an item tax that the players will assume they receive.
Fighter done, I will move on. Keep an eye out for my next review on the future of D&D!