The fighter is the quintessential martial character in Baldur's Gate 3, with abilities that focus on combat prowess and durability. It has jumped up to the third-most popular class choice among players building a custom character, and with its consistently powerful abilities and multiclassing potential, it isn't hard to see why. However, some view this class as more milquetoast than the other options in the game, judging it to be bland and lacking in interesting, fantastical powers.
And while the fighter is certainly less magic-focused than many of the other options, its subclasses give players the chance to customize their characters and add extra flavor. While a certain subclass may be the cause of the fighter's boring perception, the other two available in the game do much to make the class stand out. However, only one of these options could be described as the strongest subclass, offering the most versatility, damage, and survivability to fighters.
Three Specializations Are Available For Fighters In BG3
Champion, Battlemaster, & Eldritch Knight
The three subclasses fighters choose from are the champion, the battlemaster, and the eldritch knight. They come from D&D, but each sees several changes from its video game form. The champion is the closest to a stereotypical fighter, with abilities that are largely passive in nature and add extra damage or mobility. The battlemaster fighter, a favorite among players of the TTRPG, offers more versatility with special moves and battle superiority.
Related
15 Most Fun-To-Play Class Builds In Baldur's Gate 3
When creating a Baldur's Gate 3 character is can be tempting to try to optimize everything; however, some of the most interesting build put fun first.
The eldritch knight is the odd one out among these three, with the ability to cast spells using intelligence and augment their attacks with magic. Ranking this subclass with the other two is difficult, since spellcasting can bring so much power to a character depending on the spells they choose. Interestingly, it's also the only fighter subclass that requires any kind of focus on mental ability scores, with the other two relying on weapon attacks. Regardless, comparing the features each gets at certain levels will help determine which is strongest.
The Biggest Fighter Subclass Features Are All At Level Three
What Each Fighter Subclass Brings Early On
Level three is where fighters choose their subclass and receive their first features. The champion simply gets an improved critical hit chance, jumping from 5% to 10% on each hit. The eldritch knight and battlemaster get a lot more, with many choices for players to make. Starting with the battlemaster, they get "maneuvers" that work in conjunction with their weapon attacks, and a number of "superiority dice" that act as a resource through which to use those maneuvers.
Battlemasters choose three maneuvers at this level, which range from getting advantage and extra damage on an attack, to striking back after an enemy misses, to inspiring one's allies with extra hit points or weapon attacks. With fourteen to choose from, battlemasters get a lot of variety at this level, and their superiority dice come back on short rests, meaning they can make frequent use of these abilities.
With four superiority dice uses per short rest, fighters at early levels can use their abilities almost every other turn, much more than other subclass options with resource expenditure.
Eldritch knights get a pair of cantrips and three spells from the wizard list, though two of the spells must be from the evocation or abjuration schools. This is great, giving fighters the opportunity to pick up shield, 
magic missile, 
longstrider, and many other powerful spells to cast on their turn. The cantrip options are alright for now, but cantrips will become much less viable than weapon attacks at higher levels. Eldritch knights also get the ability to bond with their weapon, but this honestly doesn't do much in comparison to something like the warlock's pact of the blade.
Fighter At Later Levels: The Imbalance In Abilities Continues
Certain Subclasses Flourish, Others Shrivel Up
Just as the champion got less than the others at level one, it continues getting the shaft at levels seven and ten. Champions get an improved jump distance and slight proficiency improvements, as well as an additional fighting style. None of this is bad, per se, but it does lack flair, and tends to fall short in comparison to what the others get. It is clear that this subclass is what gives people the idea that the fighter is boring.
The battlemaster continues to unlock new maneuvers from its list, additional uses of its superiority dice, and a larger dice to add to attack damage. Admittedly, this could be viewed as just as boring as the champion options, but with one important change: this subclass gives much more player choice. Even if the entire subclass functions off of the maneuvers, there are many maneuvers to choose from so that no one battlemaster will work just the same, and they feel fun and powerful to use right up to the end of the game.
Related
Eldritch Knights are a cunning class option in Baldur’s Gate 3. They can fight up close, dish out spells at range, or keep themselves well protected.
The eldritch gets the most new stuff at higher levels, though its usefulness is up to debate. One feather in their cap is that they continue to learn new spells, up to second-level options, which include spells like 
misty step, 
cloud of daggers, and blur. As versatile as the battlemaster options are, these spell choices definitely make the eldritch knight the most customizable of the subclasses.
Eldritch Knight Features: True Magic Or Just A Hoax?
Do These Subpar Abilities Tank The Eldritch Knight's Utility?
Aside from their spellcasitng, the eldritch knight features are pretty hard to use effectively. They can take an attack with a bonus action after they cast a cantrip, which sounds good. Until one realizes that a fighter's attacks deal more damage than most cantrips, and that taking three attacks at level eleven is far better than doing this.
They also get eldritch strike at tenth level, which gives creatures that the eldritch knight hits with weapon attacks disadvantage on saving throws against the fighter's spells until the end of the fighter's next turn. Again, this sounds good, but the spell options fighters can use with this are rather limited. Something like 
hold person could work well, but ultimately, eldritch knight fighters will probably want to take spells that don't rely too much on them having high intelligence, since it is their secondary stat.
Spell options like misty step and magic missile don't rely on hitting with an attack or the enemy failing a save, making them better for classes that don't prioritize their spellcasting stats.
It's undeniable that these abilities pull the eldritch knight down, but its spellcasting is useful enough that the subclass remains strong. And indeed, any one of these subclass options can be an effective brawler, especially given the fighter's three attacks at higher levels. But which one of them is technically the strongest?
Final Rankings Of The Fighter Subclasses In BG3
Is Battlemaster or Eldritch Knight Better?
.png "What Is The Strongest Baldur's Gate 3 Fighter Subclass? (13)")
Ultimately, the champion fighter is the clear weakest choice. It's early-level critical hit feature can be useful for some specific crit-fishing builds, but it just doesn't get much in comparison to the other two options and ends up feeling rather dry. Between the battlemaster and eldritch knight in BG3, the choice is less clear. A high-level eldritch knight has neat spells to compliment their weapon attacks and to buff their defenses, but the battlemaster abilities synergize better with attacks on a turn-by-turn basis.
The wrench in the eldritch knight's gears is multiclassing. A one-level dip into wizard can give the fighter most of the good abilities they would get as an eldritch knight while allowing them to pick up battlemaster maneuvers. It would also allow them a greater choice of spells and the ability to learn from scrolls. Even something like the magic initiate feat can emulate much of what the eldritch knight does.
So, the battlemaster seems like the best Baldur's Gate 3 fighter subclass, considering a multiclassing build. But as a pure fighter, it's basically a tie, given the eldritch knight's utility and the battlemaster's damage output. Either one can serve a player's party well and bring a lot more to the table than just repetitive weapon attacks.
7 Images
7 Images
Baldur's Gate 3
RPG
Systems
- Top Critic Rating:96/100 Critics Recommend:98%
- Franchise
- Baldur's Gate
- Platform(s)
- PC , macOS , PS5 , Xbox Series X
- Released
- August 3, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Larian Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Larian Studios
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer
- ESRB
- M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Partial Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 100+ Hours
- X|S Optimized
- yes
- Metascore
- 96
- Split Screen Orientation
- Vertical Only
- Number of Players
- 1-4
- PS Plus Availability
- N/A
- Steam Deck Compatibility
- yes
- Local Co-Op Support
- 1-2 Players
- Cross Save
- yes
- Cross-Platform Play
- Baldur's Gate 3 doesn't support crossplay
