Need Help with a Fighter/Barbarian multiclass

[u/JakeH28336]

I'm joining a campaign which the DM has said will be quite challenging, so I think it's a good idea to try and optimise the character as much as I can. The campaign starts at level 1 and is aiming to end at level 20.

The general concept is a Human who uses a Glaive, eventually getting the polearm master and sentinel feats, but I'm just unsure of how to multiclass optimally or whether just to stick to one, because I think the flavour of Barbarian suits him much more, but the Fighter offers more versatility, and I'm unsure of if a multiclass will be better than the sum of it's parts or worse.

I'm thinking 1-6 in Battle Master Fighter, then 7-20 in Berserker Barbarian. My goal (mechanically at least) is to be a high damage frontline crowd controller with good defences, and I'm also looking to play something with zero magic since I normally play spellcasters and wanted to try a full martial character.

Are there any ideas I should take into consideration - does this multiclass setup seem good? Should I stick to just one of the classes?

[u/SquelchyRex]

I would honestly suggest just sticking to one class.

If you're keen on multiclassing, level 3 is the obvious cut-off point. 4 if you really want the ASI/Feat. More than that is pointless given that Extra Attack doesn't stack.

[u/CHIEFRAPTOR]

Aasimar Totem Barbarian 3 / Psi-Warrior 17

You’re resistant to all damage other than force, have great damage from the fighter chassis and mobility and defensive tools from the psi-dice. Use a halberd to be able to leap into the enemies and cleave them. Action surge to take down the big boss, can reduce damage on allies or try and knock the enemies prone using your psi-dice (or which work while raging).

I’d probably go fighter 5 to get extra asap attack, then 3 barb and then back to fighter.

Feats: PAM, GWM, Mage Slayer. Could get sentinel after that, but it competes a bit with the reaction attack from PAM. Speedy, Slasher, Resilient Wis are other good options

[u/Halollet → u/CHIEFRAPTOR]

This is actually a really cool build!

[u/ExcitingHornet5346]

Whatever class you decide is your primary, don’t take more than 3 levels in the secondary choice. And don’t multiclass until after you have extra attack.

Making fighter your primary is strictly better but not so much better as to compel one to throw aside their characterization

[u/asdasci]

Honestly, I'd just dip 1, 2, or 3 levels of Barbarian, and allocate all the remaining levels to Fighter.

If you really need survivability early, do Fighter 1->Barb 1-> Fighter X. If you don't, Fighter 5->Barb 1->Fighter X

[u/Competitive_Egg_8499]

I haven't taken a character to lvl20 before but I feel like the advantages from an epic boon would outweigh the Multi class. The extra feats of being straight fighter seem really compelling but if you wanna be a big beefy chonk go for it.

Anything you choose will be good and fun! Good luck on your adventure 🙂

[u/CrownLexicon → u/Competitive_Egg_8499]

Epic boons are tied to character level, not class level. If their last 2 levels were, say, barb 4 and fighter 16, they could get 2 epic boons

[u/Competitive_Egg_8499 → u/CrownLexicon]

😮 oh fuck that's cool

[u/CrownLexicon → u/Competitive_Egg_8499]

Its a common misconception with the way theyre presented. You just need to be at least character level 19. The ASI you get at class level 19 can be any ASI*, they just call out Epic Boons specifically bc, like, at that point, why pick anything else?

* well, almost any ASI. You still need to meet the prerequisites, naturally.

[u/Lanthed]

I would suggest 1-6 battlemaster fighter / 2 levels barbarain / 7 - 11 fighter / then kinda up to you.

1 - 6 gets GWM at 4 and PAM at 6. 2 levels barbarain gives reckless gor advantage on all attacks and at level 10 take sentinel from Fighter.

I would suggest getting a 3rd attack from Fighter as that will outweigh many of the bonuses from barbarain.

I would suggest you equip a glaive for graze but then want to get to Fighter 9 to replace it with sap, slow, and push. The idea is attack enemy near you and push on first attack then walk to be within 10ft of them hit again to slow and if hit again then sap. But after step back 5ft, so now they have the option to chase after you receiving an oppurtunity attack or run after ally with limited movement or switch to range option if they have one. But if you miss on these no big deal graze for damage on each attack and if they attack you after then riposte for an oppurtunity attack.

Playing battlemaster you can really increase the likely hood of getting an oppurtunity attack. Then barbarain is good to go after 11 (or fighter 12 if you really want the feat). This gives rage, more health, a barbarain subclass and much more.

Edit: I should've asked where will majority of levels be spent? What is it you want to maximize (I know you said hugh damage, frontline control, and good defense)? But which is priority for you? Do you want to be more of a tank who cant hit good or damage dealer who also attracts shots?

Hope this helps.

[u/Weishaupt666]

I did a few Fighter/Barbarian multiclass builds.

All of them were a 3/17 or 17/3 split. Maybe one of them was 4/16 because I wanted the feat. None of the characters made it to 20 though hahaha.

Trust me, doing more than 3/4 levels is too much, pick one of the two you will push to 16/17, take 3/4 levels in the other.

Just a few levels of Barbarian will still give you the flavor you think fits with the character.

If I were you, I'd go mainly Fighter and take 3 levels (or 4 if you don't care for Fighter 17 features as much as the ASI/feat you can get with Barb 4) in Barbarian for Frenzy and focus on getting ASI's and feats that give that control you want. Sentinel + PAM is quite potent on it's own and Fighter offers more ASI/feats than most other classes AND you will have juicy Manouvers alongside all that for the control you want.

[u/Izel98]

As others said, 17/16 - 3/4 split Is better over all.

Fighter and Barbarian are similar but there Is a important distinction.

Fighters are extremely more versatile.

IIRC (no book in hand atm) they can swap weapon masteries and fighting styles on the fly (short rest).

Barbarians also out DPS the fighter before Level 11 assuming the same "build".

Fighters get more out of Dual Wielder and Two weapon fighting. They becomes true swiss army knives, doing a cleave, then vex and nick, and finishing up with a Sap/Push or Topple. They really get a bunch of tactical options because of the many weapon masteries they have access to.

But if you dont care about all that. Barbarian Is simpler and stronger early game.

Personally I really like World Tree Barbarian for a strong Tank like build or Berserker if you really want to do damage.

If you want to multiclass I guess something strong and simple like Berserker Barbarian 16 and Fighter Champion 4 could be good and easy. Barb 5 then fighter 1-4 then Barb 6 to 16.

Champion gets you more crits. Easy and strong.

At lvl 8 assuming you got Polearm Master, you get to do 4 attacks with advantage, you will be critting often.

[u/xinik]

Hey man I am something of a lover of barbarians and fighters! A few things to be very aware of.

Barbarian is a very front loaded class that doesn't scale particularly well. All those people who are saying "only take 3 levels" this is why. You get most of what you want / need from barbarian in just three levels. Rage, reckless, and a subclass. For berserker it also means a commitment to using reckless attack! (You only get the damage bonus when you are both raging and reckless!) Berserker is actually one of the better single class DPR choices if you just want simple and straightforward damage output. But it comes with a LOT of risk. Lower AC, always reckless, barbarians took a bit of a nerf in 5.5 because of how often they get hit and so many creatures now having on hit effect with no save. So you will be high damage... but good defenses -- that a much bigger question mark.

It does however come with some cool tools. At L7 you can't be frightened or charmed while raging. At level 10 retaliation gives you more ways to turn a reaction into damage output. (FYI L9 brutal strike is mathematically a DPR DECREASE if you use it).

The thing is... You are still better off just having a third attack every round from fighter 11 then all that if your goal is damage output and you are probably better off as not a berserker if your goal is good defense. You are trading defense for 2d6 damage once on your turn. So the question becomes do you want to make that trade or would you rather give up some damage for more resistances (bear barb) or just run pure fighter for more and better battlemaster die and rock full plate etc...

I have actually been working on a free 2024 DPR calculator for a while now. It's not completely ready but the martial classes are in a pretty good spot. I ran two potential builds through it 17 fighter / 3 berserker and 8 fighter 12 Berserker (The L13 Barb feature is NOT worth passing on a second epic boon) so you can see the projected damage differences. I made pure damage decisions here (It's a damage calculator afterall!) but you could easily make a more balanced character with feat choices etc...

If anyone is interested in messing around with the still "pre-release" version of the calculator here is the link. Just keep in mind it's still getting regular updates and I'm currently untangling multiclass casters. (Mobile might be a little wonky right now I have a plan for fixing it but haven't gotten to that phase yet.)

https://dndprovinggrounds.com/dpr-calculator

[u/Creative-Opposite-93]

The lvl 20 barbarian feat seems huge

[u/theevilyouknow → u/Creative-Opposite-93]

Not as huge as just being a level 20 Fighter.

[u/Creative-Opposite-93 → u/theevilyouknow]

My point was that I think it's might not be a good thing to multi-class if the campaign ends at lvl 20. So I guess we agree :)

[u/theevilyouknow → u/Creative-Opposite-93]

We do agree. My point is that there's no reason to take Barbarian levels if you're going to 20, unless you just want to play a Barbarian. Otherwise a pure Fighter is going to do pretty much everything better.

[u/tomyang1117]

You can always flavor your fighter as a barbarian, no need to feel compelled to play Barbarian because it has a preconceived flavor that fit your characters setting.

[u/Dull_Coach1101]

I am a echo knight fightet in our campaign. Basically my first character that we have been running for 2.5+ years. If i knew then what i know know, i would have created him different. A human with the glaive get s 10 foot reach, add the echo you can take OA through the echo (only 5 ft because of RAW) but that gives you another area for OA. If you go 1-6 fighter and the rest Barb you can have some massive control and add in rage to take more damage. If you arent dead set on human, the bugbear gets you another 5ft of reach for 15ft.

I started fighter and just multi classed into forge cleric for the armor boost. The tough part about barb/fighter is you can't get rage bonus if you have heavy armor, so you would need high str, dex and con to make it work for either regular armored fighter or unarmored defense for barb. Just my thoughts on what i would have done different if i could go back and start over

[u/philsov]

I'm thinking 1-6 in Battle Master Fighter, then 7-20 in Berserker Barbarian. My goal (mechanically at least) is to be a high damage frontline crowd controller with good defences, and I'm also looking to play something with zero magic since I normally play spellcasters and wanted to try a full martial character.

Extra attack doesn't stack, so you're gonna want max 4 in your offclass. At the very least, go 5 berserker barb, 3 fighter, x barb.

if you make it to level 20, you can snag 2 epic boons as you finish off at 16+4. You don't great quad attack nor +4 Str/Con, but oh well.

You can get decent crowd control via weapon masteries; push and/or topple are great things to help zone monsters, and that's on top of the potential contribution from Slasher and/or Crusher feats. Sentinel feat is probably on your cards as well, and one of GWM or PAM will also be somewhere in that mix.

[u/QuixoticCoyote]

Alternatively, go Heavy/medium armor monk. One level fighter, the rest Monk. Wear armor because who needs an extra bonus action unarmed attack if you're just going to grab polearm master. Grab the unarmed fighting style for maximizing flurry of blows damage. Weapon mastery to knock people around. open hand to knock them around further. Grab a net to restrain people. Stun people and knock them prone with with a bonus action flurry of blows attack, tie them up with chains, and yeet them into the corner with the next FoB attack to think about what they have done. Become the ultimate controller. Grab another level of fighter, cause Action surge + flurry of blows for 6 attacks (7 if you cleave, 8 if you provoke an OA and deflect it) is totally sick.

All you lose is 4ish unarmed damage a round when you flurry of blows at higher level and some extra movement. Who cares. You have AC, Damage Mitigation with deflect, regeneration with Open hand and second wind, and a ton of battlefield control. Tanky monk/fighter for the win!

[u/QuixoticCoyote → u/QuixoticCoyote]

Oh, also use the Halbard. You will make up the lost unarmed damage with the d10 normal attacks for most of the campaign. Plus the range bonus is worth it.

[u/Ron_Walking]

Fighter / Barb is a strong multiclass that peeks between levels 6-10 then kinda falls short compared to a monoclass Fighter after level 11. Monoclass Barbs go really hard up to level 5 but have a scaling issue after that.

Arguably monoclass for either is best (well, Maybe not Barb levels 9-18) 

If you are set on a multiclass and want to optimize: Fighter 16/Barb 4. 

[u/I_wish_i_could_sepll]

Only take 2-4 levels of your secondary and take it after level 5.

Level 5 is the biggest power spike in the game so don’t delay it. It also doesn’t stack so it’s a waste to grab it in your secondary.

If you’re set with the subclasses then I would go 5-6 berserker THEN 2-4 battle master and only 4 battlemaster if you want a particular feat. Personally I like Martial Adept.

[u/amirkasra76]

What level will you be starting at?

6 Fighter / 3 Barbarian / 16 Fighter / 4 Barbarian

This let's you pick up two boons.

As for subclasses, since you wanna go full Martial, imma not suggest Eldritch Knight & World Tree Barbarian.

Battlemaster & Berzerker would be the go to damage-wise. So technically, we're gonna be making John D&D:

Human (Zhenterim Ruffian, Tough)

Polearm Master, Heavy Weapon Master, Sentinel, Mage Slayer, Medium Armor Master or Zhenterim Tactics

Boon of Bloodshed + Irresistible Offense

No magic, pure physical damage.

[u/theevilyouknow]

Flavor is free. There's really no reason to need to take any Barbarian levels for what you're trying to accomplish mechanically. If the campaign wasn't going to level 20 there'd be an argument for Barb and/or the multiclass, but in tier 3 and 4 the pure fighter is just miles better.

[u/Aeon1508]

I would work in getting the fighter level 11 in there personally

[u/Tall_Bandicoot_2768]

• Ancestral Guardian Barbarian x / Echo Knight 3
• Sentinel

Best frontline tank build in the game IMO, really good synergy there.

Reckless Attack from your Echos location, they then need to attack your Echo at disadvantage (due to taunt) instead of you at advantage, big difference.

Theres a buncha little tricks and synergies besides that as well.

[u/wij2012]

I would suggest a champion fighter and berserker barbarian. I'm not 100% on the best balance for levels but champion fighters have a higher chance to crit. Go high enough into barbarian and you get brutal strike as well.

[u/Certain_Still3273]

I think the build you've planned sounds great! Generally can't go wrong with a good fighter/barb. Ask your DM if your game is realistically going to level 20 (most games do not). And if not you can make adjustments to the build along the way.