I played a campaign with a guy who had a similar idea. I don’t know his exact build because it wasn’t my character. He chose Champion Fighter. This kept a longbow, 1h weapon, 2h weapon, and shield on him all the time. He also would buy tons of random items from vendors or just take them whenever he could. Extra rope, grappling hooks, tent stakes, caltrops, you name it. His goal was to be a human Swiss Army knife. Sword & board was his main go-to. His was our tank. Me and the other player were casters. For fighting styles, he had Protection and Archery. He was also the player who would ask every detail of every room we were in, just to see if he could pull off some crazy stunts with his bag of toys 😂 I’ll never forget the time we were in a castle tower. The court vizier turned out to be the BBEG to nobody’s surprise. He was getting away on a griffin when the fighter yeeted furniture out the window to break it (GM said it was a sealed window that didn’t open). Then he had some magic extra long rope he had bought with a grappling hook and successfully hooked the griffin and we tied the other end to a support pillar. He fired some arrows and traded a couple of spells back and forth, but the window was small. Only 2 of us could lean out the window at a time. So, the fighter jumped out the window, climbed up the rope, and threw the vizier off the griffin 😂
Battlesmith Artificer could help with this a lot, since it allows you to use int instead of str or dex on attacks with magic weapons, so you wouldn't have to invest so heavily in both str and dex, but unfortunately this build won't come online quite as fast
Yep I would have used battle smith artificer as well. Using enhanced weapon on the melee option, and repeating weapon on the ranged option. This also allows you to use the heavy crossbow for 1d10 instead of 1d8 damage, not much but its a mild improvement.
This is actually the better build. You can focus on one stat! Vuhuman/CL and by level 4 you have both SS+GWM. Dunno what other feats you could take prob just pump int, could probably even multiclass something like warwizard and peace cleric to nullify the -5 penalties! You have steel defender stuff that takes up a bonus action so wouldn't go pam or xbe. With arcane deflection and steel defender disadvantage reaction your HP should be really good.
@@KuaEtus armorer can't switch btw modes tho. You have to kinda commit to one or the other. Guardian mode is very very low dmg potential. What you can do is stick to infiltrator mode and lighting launcher: Go with sharpshooter first, then after level 10 you get ogre gauntlets making your strength a 19. Then utilize GWM. Because the lighting launcher is on your chest (RAW) you don't need a hand and thus can have both available at will and no action economy to switch weapons!
@@DeadpoolAli you could then even go Bladesinger, which would improve your survivability even more with bladesong, both the AC bonus as well as the buffed concentration
If you wanted to use melee and ranged weapons with the same stat, a Battlesmith Artificer dip would allow you to make your two weapons magical using infusions (repeating shot and enhanced weapon would be my picks, probably a heavy crossbow as the ranged option) and since they are magical you can use INT to attack with them. Mix that with the teleporting weapon ability from Eldritch knight and you’ve really got something there. Then instead of investing in dex&str at the cost of INT, you could just build our INT
One of the pregenerated characters from the DnD starter set is a champion fighter equipped with both a longbow and a great sword. The pregen has the archery fighting style, same as this build. Instead, leveraging the ribbon feature from the Eldritch Knight archetype is a big improvement, not to mention the EK's spellcasting.
Everybody talking about going battle smith really ignore the fact an eldritch knight can summon weapons as a bonus action and not use an action to switch weapons, because RAW its totally an action.
It depends on DM ruling, I believe each character gets a free "item interaction" each turn. Meaning you can draw a new weapon once per turn, but you can't stow the weapon you were holding previously
I like the idea of this build and I think you did a good job balancing it at early level, but I think after extra attack and sharpshooter the range option become so much stronger especially considering that the blades cantrip don't work with extra attack cool concept tho
@@veikkovuokila8012 you're right, forgot about that feature, range is probably still stronger tho might be fun to sim the damage of each option to see how they compare
@@Rendal_l It's not just the damage. Many things can hamper ranged attacks. Enemies taking cover, lack of proper vision, spells, special monster abilities. Unless all combat occurs in featureless white rooms, you want all the options available.
This is an interesting build. My idea for it was to take a +2 to STR and DEX at levels 6 and 8 respectively, at which point I would switch from heavy armor to stuted leather for the same or better ac with magic armor and no stealth disadvantage. Then, by level 12 I would take either sharpshooter or great weapon master, level 14 whichever I didn't tske before, and level 16 possibly magic initiate for the same level 1 spell (find familiar probably), so that I could change that original spell for a higher level spell of any school. I think this would fit the all rounder in combat concept better. The bow is more accurate, but sword does better damage overall, so a common round would be move in while shooting with a bow until you get close enough to whack them. This would also allow for good stealth, perception, athletics and persuasion for out of combat stuff.
I see a lot of people recommending battlesmith but.. honestly? You'd be missing out on the opportunity for a unique playstyle here. You don't need intelligence for this build, so all of your spells can be focused on utility-- Shield, Absorb Elements, Longstrider or find familiar, and an additional evocation or abjuration spell (grab a ritual) for 1st levels. Blur, Gust of Wind, DARKNESS, and an additional evocation or abjuration spell for second levels. None of those spells require a saving throw, and you've got defense, mobility, AND crowd control covered with them AND you still get to have the flexibility of either using a greatsword or a longbow, which is the spirit of this build. Keep up the good work D&D Daily.
I did a build like this, but with the Giff. Playing into both attributes of the hippo race by being big and strong, waving a great sword, as well as being a crack shot with a rifle. I went samurai fighter though for the bonus action advantage to help out with both great weapon master and sharpshooter
I would have gone with battle smith artificer using enhanced weapon on a maul, and repeating weapon on a heavy crossbow allowing me to use intelligence for both. I'd probably still multiclass in order to get better weapon swapping, but till then your mechanical friend can retrieve your dropped weapons. This does mean that you'll have more spell slots, higher AC, and be able to dump strength and dexterity if you so choose with a dwarf. I'd personally go hill dwarf in this case for the extra HP, but to each their own.
I did a similar thing a couple years ago with a single class Hexblade build. Blade Pact, Improved Pact Weapon, Greatsword for melee. Instead of Thirsting Blade, I used GFB and eventually got ahold of the flame-tongue. My "archer" was just Eldritch Blast, reflavored as magical arrows. Not as truly weapon-centric as your build, but then I had some pretty hefty spells as well. This was before Tasha's, but I'd have loved to mix some of those summons spells with it.
Thinking about it, I think a unique build idea might be to take a single level dip into Genie Daolock for the bludgeoning bonus and eventually taking the Crusher feat. Likely go with Custom Lineage and snagging Heavily Armored, or stick with medium and invest a 14 into Dex so you can then snag Crusher immediately. Charisma can be kept at a 13, and snagging Armor of Agathys would be fun if you go with Battlesmith.
I thought of the monk multclass, for dedicated weapon,maybe even kensei monk, so we wouldnt need the strenght but then we would have to use the longsword or battleaxe
Cha based Hexblade blade warlock (x) with improved pact weapon and elven accuracy. Could take devotion paladin (3+) for the channel divinity to add (again) your cha mod to attack rolls and fighter (2+) for action surge and archery fighting style. Once per short rest with 20 cha and CD activated you would have at least 11 + prof to attack rolls, 13 + prof for ranged.
I probably would have tried to get either Hex or Hunter's Mark, and maybe tried to do something with Ranger, as a lot of their spells that boost attacks apply equally to melee and ranged options.
@@gladiusgamer9324 so fighter 5 and then switch? Or are you delaying extra attack? Either way you have a redundant “Extra attack” feature on the build.
@Logan Custer the rangers 5th lvl is redundant and would be a dead level other than spells, however if you go 11 fighter you still gain the fighter's 2nd extra attack.
This is such a fun idea. First video of yours I've seen, and it got me to subscribe. Makes me want to play around with different builds to achieve the same goal in different ways, just to see what I can come up with. Technically I could homebrew something, but that's taking the easy way. I might make a homebrew, but I definitely wanna try to make some more official builds like this first.
I did a build quite similar, but my DM released Oversized bow from Waterdeep Dragon Heist, I don't know, this bow can only be used with str mod and deal 2d6 piercing damage + str mod, so I just needed to increase str and con. Today's build make more simple to use this concept and I don't need to negotiate with the DM to use some item or other
HExblade Warlock is another way to go, but you don't get nearly as many combat options as you do with fighter. Although a cool flavour for Eldritch Blast could be that you "fire" it from a bow, so it would be cool that someone doesn't have a quiver but carries a longbow on them lol
That's how I reflavor my Eldritch Blast. I carry a Staff, which can be used as a Quarterstaff. It is a bent piece of wood, a ceremonial bow. It's fun to describe the motion of the cocking of the bow, only for the the bowstring to magically apparate, along with an arrow made of energy.
Well you can also summon your pact weapon as both a ranged and a melee, or your your hex warrior feature on one weapon and have your pact weapon be the other
The big drawback of pact of the blade is if you are actually trying to switch weapons, it requires an action to summon. But if you're going for just reflavoring, then it would be just fine
@D&D Daily Absolutely! I agree, the Eldritch Knight is definitely the way to go. A few other options for story preference but overall I think the fighter is the best fit
As people have brought up, Battlesmith lets you just use Int for both weapons as long as they're both magical. However, Hexblade does as well. Hex Warrior lets you choose 1 weapon to use Cha with, but it also makes your Pact of the Blade weapon use Cha. This means you have two weapons which use your Cha for attack and damage. You can't have both a Longbow and a Greatsword due to the wording of the features, but you can have a Longbow and a Longsword. Battlesmith or your Eldritch Knight build is probably the best way to go, though.
There may be more comments with this idea later but i don't care. Hexblade Warlock, as much as it's overturned and overused, usually doesn't get focus on itself, people just dip in it. But really focusing on it allows you to focus on any weapon you want. You can summon your Pact Weapon in any Weapon Shape and you would be proficient in it. Not only a Longbow or Greatsword, but any weapon you can think of. You ARE the weapon. Warlock already has Booming Blade, which solves your Melee Fighting Style. If you don't want to be a caster, you don't have to be. Your Spell Slots can be used for Eldritch Smites ONLY, because they work for Ranged and Melee Attacks. Eldritch Blast is your Ranged Cantrip as well. As well, Warlock only needs Charisma, so you can take feats like Sharpshooter AND Great Weapon Master at some point. TD;DR: Hexblade Warlock (12) / Swashbuckler Rogue (8) for Extra Damage (since we are more of a fighter not a Caster) If you want the Archery Fighting Style go: Hexblade Warlock (10)/Fighter (2)/Swashbuckler Rogue (8). You get Action Surge as well.
@@tucker3306 True, that would be a disadvantage, although you could use your Bonus Action to Disengage so you at least are not in immediate Danger. Maybe Multiclassing Eldritch Knight instead of Rogue could Work. More Spell Slots for Smites, and since you are Investing in Dex anyway, because of your AC, you could switch to a Bow as a Bonus Action.
Armorer would have a rough time with this playstyle, but battle smith can accomplish it well enough. The hard part is you'd be having to drop your weapons to accomplish the needed action economy, meaning in order to switch multiple times, you'd give up all mobility
@@DnD_Daily Oh true, plus having your steel defender scale with your class levels in Artificer might pose an issue with my split. Also strains bonus action, because conjuring weapon and the defender both need a BA… I see your point
I think I would multiclass this build with Eldritch knight and arcane trickster rogue to add a few more spells, and sneak attack DMG to ranged attacks to help equalize my ranged DMG to my melee spells dmg
@@DnD_Daily How would you rank Samurai as an alternative subclass for this build? Admittedly it would probably require going Variant Human for GWM and taking one less strength and dexterity, at least for a while, but allowing you to power attack at any range and with either weapon.
Great build! Personally I might consider going for rapier and shield over great sword to not require strength and for extra AC You can still swap instantly as you can drop your current weapon for no action and either draw or stow the shield as a free object interaction Then either keep archery fighting style or dueling to have the same damage as greatsword
I'd almost say that the Rouge/Thief can be a Weapon Weaver too, with their ability to effectively make 2 Object Interactions on the same turn with Fast Hands. Stowing one weapon as a bonus action then drawing another as part of their attack. Sadly, Great Weapons lack the Finesse for Sneak Attacks and Rogues don't get Extra Attack on their own. In fact, come to think of it... a Fighter/Thief, could almost be the best Weapon Weaver. If you forgo the Sneak Attacks from Rogue and just be a Fighter who is quite literally... a walking armory. Swapping from Great Sword to Glaive, From Glaive to Bow, From Bow to Crossbow, From Crossbow to Javelins, then back to Great Sword or Glaive and really, just have and swap to what ever weapon the situation calls for. More so if they are all magic weapons with different properties.
Stay fighter for the extra ASI's. Use an oversized longbow which is a non magical bow from one of the waterdeep campaign books. It uses dexterity for attack rolls then 2d6+str for damage. Take a 14 dex and use strength as your main stat. Balance it out with the archery fighting style. Take GWM and SS. Maybe go Samurai subclass for on demand advantage or Battlemaster for precision.
I see no problem making a 'physical' character (Str/Dex/Con) with GWM and SS. Ranger (Hunter), Barbarian (Berserker) and Fighter (Champion) are all good choices, and there are tons of multiclass options available (Hunter/Champion is great).
Interested in a strength-based Psi Warrior who switches between mid-range javelin or hand axes and Battle Axe. Also adding in Superior Technique and Martial Adept for compatible maneuvers.
So Several thoughts: 1) A lot of folks have rightly in my view said Battlesmith to be more SAD. 2) I Very much like the Mountain dwarf, but usually for single classed Caster builds: Darkvision, Med armor option, a few handy weapons you can customize to gish it up (esp good with bladesinger Dex and Int of 18 each at level 4 gives AC 21 with bladesong and mage armor... then sahdowblade is both a ranged weapon and hits for more than a greatsword in melee..) , darkvsion, poison resit... But also just making an armored Sorcerer with 18s in Con and Cha at level 4...or the same concept with a genie warlock and thus you also get flight at level 6...or even a Monk with Dex and Wis of 18 each at level 4... 3) The whole concept here is mechanically suboptimal...Dex is the better plan, you can mitigate the need for any melee weapon with either Gunner or XBE, that said...it IS very cool/ cinematic and fun!
You could also go intelligence instead of strength and dexterity and take three levels in Artificer and then pick the right subclass to be less MAD. Although for flexibility of range you can just do eldritch blast with warlock.
I would have gone with elf instead and some kensai monk, you would probably have to lower your dex in favor of a 13 wis but elves give more points from the start, you also get elven accuracy, i would take maybe 4 levels in eknight for the switching an, an asi and shield. However the monk allows you to not really need heavy armor and it also allows you to dedicate multiple weapons. Ki points are very useful even though they come in short supply. Havent fully thought of the build but it seems like there is some stuff that would be better with kensai and elf. Especially with the switching proficiencies
Hey I just figured out how to make pure monks strong enough to stand up to the elite DPR baseline. First off, you need to choose the astral self subclass then you need to take the elven accuracy feat. What this will allow you to do is use your wisdom modifier to shove and grapple enemies in order to get triple advantage on your attacks. This makes your accuracy consistent enough to make your DPS high. Additionally, with a one level dip into hexblade you can get as high as 80 DPR on a singular enemy.
So as a race option I'm not seeing anyone taking into account Thri-Kreen or Hadozee (both have an edge over other races in terms of item interactions, though in both cases they go about it very differently. Dextrous feet vs extra arms) there is also a weapon that has the finesse trait and can be used in either melee or ranged combat. Although the Hoopak does pitiful damage (d4 ranged and d6 melee) you can combine it with magic stone. (d6+spellcasting modifier)
Does picking mountain dwarf let you change the race's +2 default Con to Dex instead? I'm assuming you're going outside the PBH, but just not sure what lets you do that. I didn't notice any comments about it so maybe I'm just missing something.
3:30 The bladetrips get that boost, but wouldn’t casting them make it so we forgo our extra attack? So does anyone know if it would be better to use extra attack or those cantrips when in melee
You can use the blade trips and attack once as a bonus action with Eldritch Knight. Once you get your third attack probably better to just extra attack though.
What about that strength based great bow from Dragon Heist. Mix in Battlesmith Artificer with the repeating shot on the bow makes for some interesting bow builds
In tasting a counter to this build. But still in the same vein. Same flavor. ....... Soulknife Rogue. Same weapon. But has both range and melee options. 🤔 Half elf for elven accuracy. May have to build work this up later. Lol I can imagine these to builds meeting. Same concept from 2 different angles/races. And maybe each give a nod of respect to each other. Lol ☕️ ☕️
I've just finished another session with this build. We leveled up to level 4 and can't wait for Mid/Late Level in the future. I've been loving the flexibility and I've actually been paying more attention to my spells more than I'd expect. So far, I have Absorb Element, False Life, and Shield. Now having leveled up, I get to have one extra spell. But I'm split. What additional spell should I get? I was thinking Thunderwave cuz it could synergize with Booming Blade but it's INT Based with it's Saving Throw. I thought of Magic Missile but it's a ranged spell and I'm determined to have my attacks be from my weapons and not my spells. So what should I choose? Utility like Alarm or Snare? Or should I get a guaranteed damage spell that doesn't require INT?
I would go V Human Battle Master Fighter. Str 15 Dex 16 GWM at level 1, Archery Fighting Style Level 3, Precision attack, Trip attack and Goading attack since all work well in melee and from range. Level 4, Heavy Armor Master and Bump Str by 1 Level 6, Sharp Shooter Level 7 pick up Riposte (to incentivize Melee) and Ambush Level 8 Bump Dex Level 10 Bump Str Level 12 Bump Dex to 20 After this I think Ancestral Guardian Barbarian is how I would go for 3-4 levels. Pick up Rage Damage and Reckless for Melee and that sweet sweet Ranged Taunt.
@@joaocosta6935 That’s a good point. Heavy Armor Master is mostly there for low level survivability and the Str bump anyways. I think it’s the stronger choice before Tier 3 but I could see an argument for Skill expert (Athletics), Crusher or Slasher. If you had D a DM who let you retrain I would probably do that at Level 12.
@@joaocosta6935 yes I’m aware. Like I said above, I thing Heavy Armor master is the stronger choice for tier 1 and 2 games. But if you are going tier 3+ I would recommend another feat.
How about any elf with a double-bladed scimitar and the Revenant blade feat. This gives the opportunity to stay in the fantasy of the character and still optimize for Con and Int a bit more since we only need Dex as an offensive stat. AC is basically the same because the Revenant blade feat gives 1 AC and pushes the Dex to 18 early. The extra attack as a bonus action is perfect for the moments we need to be only melee. Ranged part is basically the same. Example: Shadar-kai: Str 10 Dex 15(+2) Con 14 Int 12(+1) Wis 13 Cha 8; level 4 Revenant blade +1 Dex, AC+1 (not always); Level 6 Sharp-shooter feat; Level 8 Fey touched for Misty step and a couple of great level 1 spells to choose from (alternatively +2 Dex is always good) or defensively Resilient Wis. This way you can add a lot of mobility to your already good kit
Um, just so we're clear, you are dropping the first weapon, summoning the second with a bonus action and then attacking? So, during the fight, you are going to have a weapon on the ground most of the time, yes? Or is sheathing a weapon an item interaction? You put your sword away as you summon your bow?
I kinda dislike the idea of using the bonus action to do the weapon switching, Id actually double up the act by using the Thrown Weapon Figthing Fighting Style instead of archery, since it allows you to draw a thrown weapon while you attack with it, even if the attack itself isnt thrown, this leaves your free object interaction available so that you can either draw or stow a different weapon, making the thrown weapon, say daggers or darts, to be the intermediary between the great weapon and the ranged weapon. many people are recomending battlesmith, and this could also fit there by using the returning weapon infusion
I’d probably use an artificer battle master and pump intelligence, so I’d be able to use any magic weapon with the same stats. But that might be considered cheating :)
I feel like you could have gone hexblade and take the better pact weapon invocation. It would just make you less MAD and get better spells all with your charisma
Not bad, but, a more elegant and less MAD build would be to simply stick with DEX. Pick up a scimitar (I just find the rapier too mainstream) and a long bow, and you're ready to be show off as a warrior-scholar. Go Variant Human, pick up the 'Sharp Shooter' feat at level 1, but take the 'Defense' fighting style. Now our melee and ranged attacks are equally good, and our Defense doesn't suffer too much from lack of AC (Studded Leather Armor at +5 DEX gives us equal AC with Plate with the Defense fighting style). I'd still stick to not having a shield so that War Caster remains as unnecessary as your own build for Somatic components. Since GWM wasn't on the table originally either, our attacks remain the same, weapon cantrips for melee and bow for ranged. And with the feat at first level, we max out our DEX by level 6, which also gives us our best initiative bonus. After that, you can Resilient WIS at 8th level, and after that the rest is just gravy. Pick up War Caster now, make your Blur really stand the test of time, or maybe bolter your ability to cast spells by taking the Magic Initiate feat with some utility cantrips and an off-school or even off-class spell (Long Strider from the Druid's spell list might be more enticing with a table that uses grid combat). You have a free casting either way. And I still like the flavor too, it's so easy to have a warrior who finds a tower (be it in a desert, forest, in a city, etc ...), and then combines that knowledge with their martial prowess. With Point Buy you can go DEX 15 (+1 chosen), CON 13 (+1 chosen) and a nice 11 into WIS. From there you can make a more well-rounded character stat-wise (I like 12 in STR and CHA and a 10 in INT myself, since, RAW, what Eldritch Knights are doing is memorizing the spells, so they aren't dull but also aren't necessarily brilliant. So now you have a stronger than average, dexterous, slightly-magical fighter who can at least turn a phrase of two.
This is an interesting build. My idea for it was to take a +2 to STR and DEX at levels 6 and 8 respectively, at which point I would switch from heavy armor tk stuted leather for the same or better ac with magic armor and no stealth disadvantage. Then, by level 12 I would take either sharpshooter or great weapon master, level 14 whichever I didn't tske before, and level 16 possibly magic initiate for the same level 1 spell (find familiar probably), so that I could change that original spell for a higher level spell of any school. I think this would fit the all rounder in combat concept better. The bow is more accurate, but sword does better damage overall, so a common round would be move in while shooting with a bow until you get close enough to whack them. This would also allow for good stealth, perception, athletics and persuasion for out of combat stuff.
I played a campaign with a guy who had a similar idea. I don’t know his exact build because it wasn’t my character. He chose Champion Fighter. This kept a longbow, 1h weapon, 2h weapon, and shield on him all the time. He also would buy tons of random items from vendors or just take them whenever he could. Extra rope, grappling hooks, tent stakes, caltrops, you name it. His goal was to be a human Swiss Army knife. Sword & board was his main go-to. His was our tank. Me and the other player were casters. For fighting styles, he had Protection and Archery.
He was also the player who would ask every detail of every room we were in, just to see if he could pull off some crazy stunts with his bag of toys 😂
I’ll never forget the time we were in a castle tower. The court vizier turned out to be the BBEG to nobody’s surprise. He was getting away on a griffin when the fighter yeeted furniture out the window to break it (GM said it was a sealed window that didn’t open). Then he had some magic extra long rope he had bought with a grappling hook and successfully hooked the griffin and we tied the other end to a support pillar. He fired some arrows and traded a couple of spells back and forth, but the window was small. Only 2 of us could lean out the window at a time. So, the fighter jumped out the window, climbed up the rope, and threw the vizier off the griffin 😂
Battlesmith Artificer could help with this a lot, since it allows you to use int instead of str or dex on attacks with magic weapons, so you wouldn't have to invest so heavily in both str and dex, but unfortunately this build won't come online quite as fast
Yep I would have used battle smith artificer as well. Using enhanced weapon on the melee option, and repeating weapon on the ranged option. This also allows you to use the heavy crossbow for 1d10 instead of 1d8 damage, not much but its a mild improvement.
You have to wait until lvl 3? that is the same as this build. If you want an artificer build to change between range and melee you can use Armored to.
This is actually the better build. You can focus on one stat! Vuhuman/CL and by level 4 you have both SS+GWM. Dunno what other feats you could take prob just pump int, could probably even multiclass something like warwizard and peace cleric to nullify the -5 penalties!
You have steel defender stuff that takes up a bonus action so wouldn't go pam or xbe. With arcane deflection and steel defender disadvantage reaction your HP should be really good.
@@KuaEtus armorer can't switch btw modes tho. You have to kinda commit to one or the other. Guardian mode is very very low dmg potential.
What you can do is stick to infiltrator mode and lighting launcher:
Go with sharpshooter first, then after level 10 you get ogre gauntlets making your strength a 19. Then utilize GWM.
Because the lighting launcher is on your chest (RAW) you don't need a hand and thus can have both available at will and no action economy to switch weapons!
@@DeadpoolAli you could then even go Bladesinger, which would improve your survivability even more with bladesong, both the AC bonus as well as the buffed concentration
If you wanted to use melee and ranged weapons with the same stat, a Battlesmith Artificer dip would allow you to make your two weapons magical using infusions (repeating shot and enhanced weapon would be my picks, probably a heavy crossbow as the ranged option) and since they are magical you can use INT to attack with them. Mix that with the teleporting weapon ability from Eldritch knight and you’ve really got something there. Then instead of investing in dex&str at the cost of INT, you could just build our INT
Cool build. But for me I personally would do Eldritch Knight + Battlesmith then you focus just on Int. And get the same playstyle.
That's a very flavourful use of an extremely overlooked subclass feature.
One of the pregenerated characters from the DnD starter set is a champion fighter equipped with both a longbow and a great sword. The pregen has the archery fighting style, same as this build. Instead, leveraging the ribbon feature from the Eldritch Knight archetype is a big improvement, not to mention the EK's spellcasting.
I'm currently using something similar. An Echo Knight. I'm wielding a longbow and letting my Echo attack with a greatsword on the same turn.
I love these out of the box builds 👍
My man's been to the seaside.
Everybody talking about going battle smith really ignore the fact an eldritch knight can summon weapons as a bonus action and not use an action to switch weapons, because RAW its totally an action.
It depends on DM ruling, I believe each character gets a free "item interaction" each turn. Meaning you can draw a new weapon once per turn, but you can't stow the weapon you were holding previously
You could reflavor this as the weapons being magically summoned, forged by your arcane specialty
I like the idea of this build and I think you did a good job balancing it at early level, but I think after extra attack and sharpshooter the range option become so much stronger especially considering that the blades cantrip don't work with extra attack
cool concept tho
The Blade cantrips do work with Eldritch Knight's War Magic feature though, letting you action cantrip and bonus action attack.
@@veikkovuokila8012 you're right, forgot about that feature, range is probably still stronger tho might be fun to sim the damage of each option to see how they compare
@@Rendal_l It's not just the damage. Many things can hamper ranged attacks. Enemies taking cover, lack of proper vision, spells, special monster abilities.
Unless all combat occurs in featureless white rooms, you want all the options available.
This is an interesting build. My idea for it was to take a +2 to STR and DEX at levels 6 and 8 respectively, at which point I would switch from heavy armor to stuted leather for the same or better ac with magic armor and no stealth disadvantage.
Then, by level 12 I would take either sharpshooter or great weapon master, level 14 whichever I didn't tske before, and level 16 possibly magic initiate for the same level 1 spell (find familiar probably), so that I could change that original spell for a higher level spell of any school.
I think this would fit the all rounder in combat concept better. The bow is more accurate, but sword does better damage overall, so a common round would be move in while shooting with a bow until you get close enough to whack them. This would also allow for good stealth, perception, athletics and persuasion for out of combat stuff.
I see a lot of people recommending battlesmith but.. honestly? You'd be missing out on the opportunity for a unique playstyle here.
You don't need intelligence for this build, so all of your spells can be focused on utility-- Shield, Absorb Elements, Longstrider or find familiar, and an additional evocation or abjuration spell (grab a ritual) for 1st levels. Blur, Gust of Wind, DARKNESS, and an additional evocation or abjuration spell for second levels.
None of those spells require a saving throw, and you've got defense, mobility, AND crowd control covered with them AND you still get to have the flexibility of either using a greatsword or a longbow, which is the spirit of this build.
Keep up the good work D&D Daily.
I did a build like this, but with the Giff. Playing into both attributes of the hippo race by being big and strong, waving a great sword, as well as being a crack shot with a rifle. I went samurai fighter though for the bonus action advantage to help out with both great weapon master and sharpshooter
your productivity is insane!
I would have gone with battle smith artificer using enhanced weapon on a maul, and repeating weapon on a heavy crossbow allowing me to use intelligence for both. I'd probably still multiclass in order to get better weapon swapping, but till then your mechanical friend can retrieve your dropped weapons. This does mean that you'll have more spell slots, higher AC, and be able to dump strength and dexterity if you so choose with a dwarf. I'd personally go hill dwarf in this case for the extra HP, but to each their own.
I did a similar thing a couple years ago with a single class Hexblade build. Blade Pact, Improved Pact Weapon, Greatsword for melee. Instead of Thirsting Blade, I used GFB and eventually got ahold of the flame-tongue.
My "archer" was just Eldritch Blast, reflavored as magical arrows.
Not as truly weapon-centric as your build, but then I had some pretty hefty spells as well. This was before Tasha's, but I'd have loved to mix some of those summons spells with it.
Thinking about it, I think a unique build idea might be to take a single level dip into Genie Daolock for the bludgeoning bonus and eventually taking the Crusher feat. Likely go with Custom Lineage and snagging Heavily Armored, or stick with medium and invest a 14 into Dex so you can then snag Crusher immediately. Charisma can be kept at a 13, and snagging Armor of Agathys would be fun if you go with Battlesmith.
I thought of the monk multclass, for dedicated weapon,maybe even kensei monk, so we wouldnt need the strenght
but then we would have to use the longsword or battleaxe
Cha based Hexblade blade warlock (x) with improved pact weapon and elven accuracy. Could take devotion paladin (3+) for the channel divinity to add (again) your cha mod to attack rolls and fighter (2+) for action surge and archery fighting style. Once per short rest with 20 cha and CD activated you would have at least 11 + prof to attack rolls, 13 + prof for ranged.
Big problem for warlock is an action to swap weapons instead of a bonus action
@@DnD_Daily ya, much more hope you had the right one selected before the encounter especially given the action economies here
I probably would have tried to get either Hex or Hunter's Mark, and maybe tried to do something with Ranger, as a lot of their spells that boost attacks apply equally to melee and ranged options.
Your defense would really suffer this way since you lose Heavy armor and the Shield Spell.
@Logan Custer Not if you start with Fighter first get that heavy armor proficiency first, could do a 11/9 split.
@@gladiusgamer9324 so fighter 5 and then switch? Or are you delaying extra attack? Either way you have a redundant “Extra attack” feature on the build.
@Logan Custer the rangers 5th lvl is redundant and would be a dead level other than spells, however if you go 11 fighter you still gain the fighter's 2nd extra attack.
@Logan Custer The way I'd go is 5 fighter 3 ranger 6 fighter rest in ranger
This is such a fun idea. First video of yours I've seen, and it got me to subscribe. Makes me want to play around with different builds to achieve the same goal in different ways, just to see what I can come up with. Technically I could homebrew something, but that's taking the easy way. I might make a homebrew, but I definitely wanna try to make some more official builds like this first.
I did a build quite similar, but my DM released Oversized bow from Waterdeep Dragon Heist, I don't know, this bow can only be used with str mod and deal 2d6 piercing damage + str mod, so I just needed to increase str and con.
Today's build make more simple to use this concept and I don't need to negotiate with the DM to use some item or other
HExblade Warlock is another way to go, but you don't get nearly as many combat options as you do with fighter. Although a cool flavour for Eldritch Blast could be that you "fire" it from a bow, so it would be cool that someone doesn't have a quiver but carries a longbow on them lol
That's how I reflavor my Eldritch Blast. I carry a Staff, which can be used as a Quarterstaff. It is a bent piece of wood, a ceremonial bow.
It's fun to describe the motion of the cocking of the bow, only for the the bowstring to magically apparate, along with an arrow made of energy.
Well you can also summon your pact weapon as both a ranged and a melee, or your your hex warrior feature on one weapon and have your pact weapon be the other
The big drawback of pact of the blade is if you are actually trying to switch weapons, it requires an action to summon. But if you're going for just reflavoring, then it would be just fine
@D&D Daily Absolutely! I agree, the Eldritch Knight is definitely the way to go. A few other options for story preference but overall I think the fighter is the best fit
Nice tan dude!
Another super video. Thanks Sage and Team. May you all have a blessed Memorial Day Weekend.
Keep up the great work
Now I want to combo Great Weapon Master with Sharpshooter.
The fabled bow-bonk
You'll need tavern brawler, so you can smack them with a bow in melee. (you could flavor it as a hazuyari)
Oh man this is exactly the kind of build I love.
As people have brought up, Battlesmith lets you just use Int for both weapons as long as they're both magical. However, Hexblade does as well. Hex Warrior lets you choose 1 weapon to use Cha with, but it also makes your Pact of the Blade weapon use Cha. This means you have two weapons which use your Cha for attack and damage. You can't have both a Longbow and a Greatsword due to the wording of the features, but you can have a Longbow and a Longsword.
Battlesmith or your Eldritch Knight build is probably the best way to go, though.
excelent video!
There may be more comments with this idea later but i don't care.
Hexblade Warlock, as much as it's overturned and overused, usually doesn't get focus on itself, people just dip in it. But really focusing on it allows you to focus on any weapon you want.
You can summon your Pact Weapon in any Weapon Shape and you would be proficient in it.
Not only a Longbow or Greatsword, but any weapon you can think of. You ARE the weapon.
Warlock already has Booming Blade, which solves your Melee Fighting Style. If you don't want to be a caster, you don't have to be.
Your Spell Slots can be used for Eldritch Smites ONLY, because they work for Ranged and Melee Attacks. Eldritch Blast is your Ranged Cantrip as well. As well, Warlock only needs Charisma, so you can take feats like Sharpshooter AND Great Weapon Master at some point.
TD;DR: Hexblade Warlock (12) / Swashbuckler Rogue (8) for Extra Damage (since we are more of a fighter not a Caster)
If you want the Archery Fighting Style go: Hexblade Warlock (10)/Fighter (2)/Swashbuckler Rogue (8). You get Action Surge as well.
The problem with this is it requires action to summon a weapon with past of the blade as opposed to a bonus action with eldritch knight
@@tucker3306 True, that would be a disadvantage, although you could use your Bonus Action to Disengage so you at least are not in immediate Danger.
Maybe Multiclassing Eldritch Knight instead of Rogue could Work. More Spell Slots for Smites, and since you are Investing in Dex anyway, because of your AC, you could switch to a Bow as a Bonus Action.
I was thinking: armorer or battlesmith 3/Eldritch knight x? Using Int for both melee and ranged, with either a companion or better AC?
Armorer would have a rough time with this playstyle, but battle smith can accomplish it well enough. The hard part is you'd be having to drop your weapons to accomplish the needed action economy, meaning in order to switch multiple times, you'd give up all mobility
@@DnD_Daily Oh true, plus having your steel defender scale with your class levels in Artificer might pose an issue with my split. Also strains bonus action, because conjuring weapon and the defender both need a BA… I see your point
I think I would multiclass this build with Eldritch knight and arcane trickster rogue to add a few more spells, and sneak attack DMG to ranged attacks to help equalize my ranged DMG to my melee spells dmg
Melee spell damage is already more than equalized, because the cantrips don’t benefit from Extra Attack and he has Sharpshooter for the +10 to damage.
Melee is equalized more by eldritch knight's 7th level feature
@@DnD_Daily How would you rank Samurai as an alternative subclass for this build? Admittedly it would probably require going Variant Human for GWM and taking one less strength and dexterity, at least for a while, but allowing you to power attack at any range and with either weapon.
Great build!
Personally I might consider going for rapier and shield over great sword to not require strength and for extra AC
You can still swap instantly as you can drop your current weapon for no action and either draw or stow the shield as a free object interaction
Then either keep archery fighting style or dueling to have the same damage as greatsword
I'd almost say that the Rouge/Thief can be a Weapon Weaver too, with their ability to effectively make 2 Object Interactions on the same turn with Fast Hands. Stowing one weapon as a bonus action then drawing another as part of their attack. Sadly, Great Weapons lack the Finesse for Sneak Attacks and Rogues don't get Extra Attack on their own.
In fact, come to think of it... a Fighter/Thief, could almost be the best Weapon Weaver. If you forgo the Sneak Attacks from Rogue and just be a Fighter who is quite literally... a walking armory. Swapping from Great Sword to Glaive, From Glaive to Bow, From Bow to Crossbow, From Crossbow to Javelins, then back to Great Sword or Glaive and really, just have and swap to what ever weapon the situation calls for. More so if they are all magic weapons with different properties.
Awesome idea!
I like that it's a single class build. Fighters are so good with action surge, and those ASIs.
Stay fighter for the extra ASI's. Use an oversized longbow which is a non magical bow from one of the waterdeep campaign books. It uses dexterity for attack rolls then 2d6+str for damage. Take a 14 dex and use strength as your main stat. Balance it out with the archery fighting style. Take GWM and SS. Maybe go Samurai subclass for on demand advantage or Battlemaster for precision.
this would be a very cool samurai-flavored build as well
I see no problem making a 'physical' character (Str/Dex/Con) with GWM and SS.
Ranger (Hunter), Barbarian (Berserker) and Fighter (Champion) are all good choices, and there are tons of multiclass options available (Hunter/Champion is great).
Interested in a strength-based Psi Warrior who switches between mid-range javelin or hand axes and Battle Axe. Also adding in Superior Technique and Martial Adept for compatible maneuvers.
So Several thoughts:
1) A lot of folks have rightly in my view said Battlesmith to be more SAD.
2) I Very much like the Mountain dwarf, but usually for single classed Caster builds: Darkvision, Med armor option, a few handy weapons you can customize to gish it up (esp good with bladesinger Dex and Int of 18 each at level 4 gives AC 21 with bladesong and mage armor... then sahdowblade is both a ranged weapon and hits for more than a greatsword in melee..) , darkvsion, poison resit... But also just making an armored Sorcerer with 18s in Con and Cha at level 4...or the same concept with a genie warlock and thus you also get flight at level 6...or even a Monk with Dex and Wis of 18 each at level 4...
3) The whole concept here is mechanically suboptimal...Dex is the better plan, you can mitigate the need for any melee weapon with either Gunner or XBE, that said...it IS very cool/ cinematic and fun!
You could also go intelligence instead of strength and dexterity and take three levels in Artificer and then pick the right subclass to be less MAD.
Although for flexibility of range you can just do eldritch blast with warlock.
I would have gone with elf instead and some kensai monk, you would probably have to lower your dex in favor of a 13 wis but elves give more points from the start, you also get elven accuracy, i would take maybe 4 levels in eknight for the switching an, an asi and shield. However the monk allows you to not really need heavy armor and it also allows you to dedicate multiple weapons. Ki points are very useful even though they come in short supply. Havent fully thought of the build but it seems like there is some stuff that would be better with kensai and elf. Especially with the switching proficiencies
Hey I just figured out how to make pure monks strong enough to stand up to the elite DPR baseline. First off, you need to choose the astral self subclass then you need to take the elven accuracy feat. What this will allow you to do is use your wisdom modifier to shove and grapple enemies in order to get triple advantage on your attacks. This makes your accuracy consistent enough to make your DPS high. Additionally, with a one level dip into hexblade you can get as high as 80 DPR on a singular enemy.
What does the hex dip do? Monks are not know for Charisma.
@@reesebenson3215 hex blade curse, and the hex spell. It takes two turns to set up so it is hard to pull off on big enemies.
@@reesebenson3215 You can also do a ranger dip for favored foe, and hunters mark. Additionally, feats can accomplish a similar outcome.
So as a race option I'm not seeing anyone taking into account Thri-Kreen or Hadozee (both have an edge over other races in terms of item interactions, though in both cases they go about it very differently. Dextrous feet vs extra arms) there is also a weapon that has the finesse trait and can be used in either melee or ranged combat. Although the Hoopak does pitiful damage (d4 ranged and d6 melee) you can combine it with magic stone. (d6+spellcasting modifier)
Does picking mountain dwarf let you change the race's +2 default Con to Dex instead? I'm assuming you're going outside the PBH, but just not sure what lets you do that. I didn't notice any comments about it so maybe I'm just missing something.
I believe, Tasha's has a ruling that let's you change the assigned ability bonuses to the different abilities than what is originally defined
3:30 The bladetrips get that boost, but wouldn’t casting them make it so we forgo our extra attack? So does anyone know if it would be better to use extra attack or those cantrips when in melee
You can use the blade trips and attack once as a bonus action with Eldritch Knight. Once you get your third attack probably better to just extra attack though.
What about that strength based great bow from Dragon Heist.
Mix in Battlesmith Artificer with the repeating shot on the bow makes for some interesting bow builds
Mildly but pleasantly surprised you didn’t go Hexblade here, though I suppose it doesn’t mesh well with heavy weapons.
There should be an Eldritch Innovation that lets Pact of the Blade Warlocks do this
it can do that for one weapon. not both though would be cool.
You also could've used a great bow (waterdeep dragon heist) it's a Strength based longbow. so you only need strength
Gotta love crossbow expert making creativity in martials outclassed and obsolete
In tasting a counter to this build. But still in the same vein. Same flavor. ....... Soulknife Rogue. Same weapon. But has both range and melee options. 🤔
Half elf for elven accuracy.
May have to build work this up later.
Lol I can imagine these to builds meeting. Same concept from 2 different angles/races.
And maybe each give a nod of respect to each other. Lol
☕️ ☕️
I've just finished another session with this build. We leveled up to level 4 and can't wait for Mid/Late Level in the future.
I've been loving the flexibility and I've actually been paying more attention to my spells more than I'd expect.
So far, I have Absorb Element, False Life, and Shield. Now having leveled up, I get to have one extra spell. But I'm split.
What additional spell should I get?
I was thinking Thunderwave cuz it could synergize with Booming Blade but it's INT Based with it's Saving Throw.
I thought of Magic Missile but it's a ranged spell and I'm determined to have my attacks be from my weapons and not my spells.
So what should I choose? Utility like Alarm or Snare? Or should I get a guaranteed damage spell that doesn't require INT?
Magic missile isn't a bad choice by any means, but most importantly is take whatever sounds like the most fun to you!
Isn't Kensei Monk able to achieve this with their 1 ranged and 1 melee kensei weapon feature at lvl 3?
Correct, though they cannot use heavy weapons. Perfectly fine to go kensei, just a personal choice
@@DnD_Daily Awesome, thanks for the input!
Cool
The only thing i’d do differently is greataxe……..because dwarf lol
I would go V Human Battle Master Fighter. Str 15 Dex 16
GWM at level 1, Archery Fighting Style
Level 3, Precision attack, Trip attack and Goading attack since all work well in melee and from range.
Level 4, Heavy Armor Master and Bump Str by 1
Level 6, Sharp Shooter
Level 7 pick up Riposte (to incentivize Melee) and Ambush
Level 8 Bump Dex
Level 10 Bump Str
Level 12 Bump Dex to 20
After this I think Ancestral Guardian Barbarian is how I would go for 3-4 levels. Pick up Rage Damage and Reckless for Melee and that sweet sweet Ranged Taunt.
Rage and Heavy armor don't match very well
@@joaocosta6935 That’s a good point. Heavy Armor Master is mostly there for low level survivability and the Str bump anyways.
I think it’s the stronger choice before Tier 3 but I could see an argument for Skill expert (Athletics), Crusher or Slasher. If you had
D a DM who let you retrain I would probably do that at Level 12.
@@logancuster8035 and you don't get the rage benefits while wearing heavy armor
@@joaocosta6935 yes I’m aware. Like I said above, I thing Heavy Armor master is the stronger choice for tier 1 and 2 games. But if you are going tier 3+ I would recommend another feat.
@@logancuster8035 Im very sorry. For some reason I didn't read the second part of your last comment.
I'd pick Crusher for the utility it provides.
How about any elf with a double-bladed scimitar and the Revenant blade feat. This gives the opportunity to stay in the fantasy of the character and still optimize for Con and Int a bit more since we only need Dex as an offensive stat. AC is basically the same because the Revenant blade feat gives 1 AC and pushes the Dex to 18 early. The extra attack as a bonus action is perfect for the moments we need to be only melee. Ranged part is basically the same. Example:
Shadar-kai: Str 10 Dex 15(+2) Con 14 Int 12(+1) Wis 13 Cha 8; level 4 Revenant blade +1 Dex, AC+1 (not always); Level 6 Sharp-shooter feat; Level 8 Fey touched for Misty step and a couple of great level 1 spells to choose from (alternatively +2 Dex is always good) or defensively Resilient Wis.
This way you can add a lot of mobility to your already good kit
This maan is taan
OMG it’s an Eldridge knight! See my comment on your short lol
This gets better in OneDnd. You can do Warlock pact of the blade to summon the weapons and great weapon master feat is the damage source for both.
how would you combine your blink blade build and this?
I prefer a half-elf because of the charm resistance.
Um, just so we're clear, you are dropping the first weapon, summoning the second with a bonus action and then attacking? So, during the fight, you are going to have a weapon on the ground most of the time, yes? Or is sheathing a weapon an item interaction? You put your sword away as you summon your bow?
Either would work. But even dropping the weapon, you can continue to summon it
Would be nice if they dropped the composite version of bows allowing the use of Str instead of Dex.
What was that first movie, though?
I kinda dislike the idea of using the bonus action to do the weapon switching, Id actually double up the act by using the Thrown Weapon Figthing Fighting Style instead of archery, since it allows you to draw a thrown weapon while you attack with it, even if the attack itself isnt thrown, this leaves your free object interaction available so that you can either draw or stow a different weapon, making the thrown weapon, say daggers or darts, to be the intermediary between the great weapon and the ranged weapon. many people are recomending battlesmith, and this could also fit there by using the returning weapon infusion
I’d probably use an artificer battle master and pump intelligence, so I’d be able to use any magic weapon with the same stats.
But that might be considered cheating :)
I feel like you could have gone hexblade and take the better pact weapon invocation. It would just make you less MAD and get better spells all with your charisma
Definitely an option, just a little awkward action economy when switching weapons
Hey you have a nice tan coming in there. Looking good brother
I like the concept, but i don't like how it's done. I would go full dex, with a finesse weapon and two hand crossbows.
Not bad, but, a more elegant and less MAD build would be to simply stick with DEX.
Pick up a scimitar (I just find the rapier too mainstream) and a long bow, and you're ready to be show off as a warrior-scholar.
Go Variant Human, pick up the 'Sharp Shooter' feat at level 1, but take the 'Defense' fighting style. Now our melee and ranged attacks are equally good, and our Defense doesn't suffer too much from lack of AC (Studded Leather Armor at +5 DEX gives us equal AC with Plate with the Defense fighting style). I'd still stick to not having a shield so that War Caster remains as unnecessary as your own build for Somatic components.
Since GWM wasn't on the table originally either, our attacks remain the same, weapon cantrips for melee and bow for ranged. And with the feat at first level, we max out our DEX by level 6, which also gives us our best initiative bonus.
After that, you can Resilient WIS at 8th level, and after that the rest is just gravy. Pick up War Caster now, make your Blur really stand the test of time, or maybe bolter your ability to cast spells by taking the Magic Initiate feat with some utility cantrips and an off-school or even off-class spell (Long Strider from the Druid's spell list might be more enticing with a table that uses grid combat). You have a free casting either way.
And I still like the flavor too, it's so easy to have a warrior who finds a tower (be it in a desert, forest, in a city, etc ...), and then combines that knowledge with their martial prowess.
With Point Buy you can go DEX 15 (+1 chosen), CON 13 (+1 chosen) and a nice 11 into WIS. From there you can make a more well-rounded character stat-wise (I like 12 in STR and CHA and a 10 in INT myself, since, RAW, what Eldritch Knights are doing is memorizing the spells, so they aren't dull but also aren't necessarily brilliant. So now you have a stronger than average, dexterous, slightly-magical fighter who can at least turn a phrase of two.
But how good work a cantrip with extra attack
They work well together once you get Eldritch Knight's level 7 feature 👍
@@DnD_Daily but if u do this u can in high levels do only cantrip with one attack instead of 3 attacks
Just use hexblade warlock with pact of blade and summon your weapon just saying lol
True, but that summoning of the weapon requires an action as opposed to a bonus action
@@DnD_Daily this is true lol
This is an interesting build. My idea for it was to take a +2 to STR and DEX at levels 6 and 8 respectively, at which point I would switch from heavy armor tk stuted leather for the same or better ac with magic armor and no stealth disadvantage.
Then, by level 12 I would take either sharpshooter or great weapon master, level 14 whichever I didn't tske before, and level 16 possibly magic initiate for the same level 1 spell (find familiar probably), so that I could change that original spell for a higher level spell of any school.
I think this would fit the all rounder in combat concept better. The bow is more accurate, but sword does better damage overall, so a common round would be move in while shooting with a bow until you get close enough to whack them. This would also allow for good stealth, perception, athletics and persuasion for out of combat stuff.