One D&D Playtest 7: Fighter
Here follow my notes on the Playtest 7 Fighter class.
For more context and my Standard Disclaimer, check out the introduction to this series.
Base Class
- The UA5 notion of Class Group has been removed. RIP.
- All of the basic character creation and starting equipment is unchanged from UA5.
- Multiclassing into a Fighter doesn’t provide access to Heavy Armor training. This is unchanged from UA5, but I missed this when I first looked at UA5, largely because multiclassing doesn’t really interest me. I’m very fine with this. I’ll look at the multiclassing rules more closely going forward.
- Fighting Style (level 1) has been updated to allow you to swap out Fighting Style feats when you gain Fighter levels. This borrows and improves the fighting style part of Martial Versatility in Tasha.
- Second Wind (level 1) still has the improvements from UA5, and now additionally recovers one use on Short Rests as it did in the PHB. This aligns with the statement in the Playtest 7 video that they’re trying to incentivize all classes to enjoy Short Rests.
- Weapon Mastery (level 1) is mechanically identical to UA5 but adds a sixth Mastery at level 16.
- Action Surge (level 2) now lets you choose any action except the Magic action. Cool. And you now get a second use starting at level 17, though you can’t them both in a single turn.
- Tactical Mind (new, level 2) lets you spend a Second Wind use to add 1d10 to a failed ability check, and you don’t even spend the Second Wind use if the check still fails. I like the base class getting a taste of other classes’ multi-use resource pools.
- Subclass (level 3) is unchanged from UA5 (except obviously there are more choices now).
- Ability Score Improvement (level 4) or a feat. I do wish feats were the headline here, but whatever.
- Extra Attack (level 5) – same as it ever was!
- Tactical Shift (level 5) replaces the extra feat from UA5. Now you can get some extra movement when you use Second Wind, without worrying about Opportunity Attacks. Nice! This is similar to the UA7 Barbarian’s Eagle option for Rage of the Wilds, but with less movement in exchange for the healing. Sounds handy to me! Now we just need encounters that give us reasons to move.
- Ability Score Improvement (level 6, level 5 in UA5, level 6 in PHB) or a feat.
- Subclass Feature (level 7, level 6 in UA5, level 7 in PHB) moves back to where it was.
- Ability Score Improvement (level 8) or a feat, same as it ever was.
- Indomitable (level 9) keeps the level-based bonus from UA5 (nice!) and once again provides extra uses at level 13 and level 17, as it did in the PHB. I approve.
- Master of Armaments (new, level 9) replaces UA5’s Weapon Expert (level 7) and Weapon Adept (level 13). It’s basically Weapon Expert, but you can now change out all of your weapons’ Mastery properties at the end of a Long Rest. But you can no longer have two Mastery properties on a weapon as you could in UA5, reducing your in-the-moment choices. This is probably a reasonable compromise, and I bet it makes combat faster to not have to decide which property you’ll apply to an attack.
- Subclass Feature (level 10) was ever thus.
- Two Extra Attacks (level 11) is unchanged, just maintaining the clearer name from UA5.
- Ability Score Improvement (level 12) or a feat. Same as it’s been all along.
- Indomitable (Two Uses) (level 13) gives you a second use of Indomitable, as it did in the PHB.
- Studied Attacks (new, level 13) bumps out Weapon Adept. If you miss an attack, you get Advantage on your next attack as long as it’s in the next turn (and really, what else were you going to do?). This should be cool if you don’t already have Advantage for some reason.
- Subclass Feature (level 15, level 14 in UA5, level 15 in PHB) moves back where it was.
- Ability Score Improvement (level 16) or a feat. Unchanged.
- Action Surge (Two Uses) (level 17) gives you a second use of Action Surge, as it did in the PHB.
- Indomitable (Three Uses) (level 17) gives you a third use of Indomitable, as it did in the PHB. UA5’s Unconquerable feature has been removed.
- Subclass Feature (level 18) returns from the PHB.
- Ability Score Improvement (level 19) or a feat.
- Three Extra Attacks (level 20, level 18 in UA5, level 20 in PHB) returns to level 20. Which is kind of a drag, I think? Good luck ever unlocking this one.
Battle Master
- Combat Superiority (level 3) is slightly reworded for clarity, but is unchanged from the PHB.
- Student of War (level 3) now provides proficiency in your choice of Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, History, Insight, Intimidation, Persuasion, Perception, or Survival. And like the PHB version it still grants proficiency in one type of artisan’s tools.
- Know Your Enemy (level 7) has been rewritten completely; it now uses a Bonus Action instead of requiring a full minute of study outside of combat, and tells you a creature’s damage immunities, resistances, and vulnerabilities. It can be used once per Long Rest, or recharged by spending a Superiority Die. This is similar to the UA6 Ranger’s Hunter’s Lore, a level 3 feature that uses Hunter’s Mark to tell you all the same things at no additional action economy cost, plus any condition immunities of the target.
- Improved Combat Superiority (level 10) is unchanged from the PHB.
- Relentless (level 15) now lets you use a Maneuver once per turn without spending a Superiority Die, but makes you use a d8 for it. In the PHB version, this feature recharged one Superiority Die if you didn’t have any when rolling for Initiative (a mechanic that I don’t wholly love, as previously stated). This seems a lot better, and makes sense – if you’re running low on your Fighter super powers, you can still do them, just not as awesomely.
- Ultimate Combat Superiority (level 18) is just a superlatively-named second instance of Improved Combat Superiority from the PHB version, with no mechanical changes.
Maneuvers
Speaking of Maneuvers and Superiority Dice, there are a bunch of changes here, so let’s go over the full list:
- Ambush has been imported from Tasha without changes.
- Bait and Switch is unchanged from the PHB.
- Brace has been removed! Oh no, I liked Brace.
- Commander’s Strike now uses just one of the attacks in your Attack action, instead of consuming both an attack and a Bonus Action. Better!
- Commanding Presence has been imported from Tasha without changes.
- Disarming Attack now works with any kind of attack roll. Nice!
- Distracting Strike now works with any kind of attack roll. Nice!
- Evasive Footwork now provides an AC bonus until the end of the turn, and clarifies that you need to move at least 5 feet to use it. The design notes say “your turn” but the text says “the turn” which feels like just sloppy editing, but could be interpreted to apply for longer than that. This should be clarified in a future revision!
- Feinting Attack is unchanged from the PHB.
- Goading Attack is unchanged from the PHB.
- Lunging Attack has been redesigned; it now lets you Dash, and if you move enough and then hit with an attack, you add the Superiority Die to the damage inflicted. This is okay, but badly named as it’s clearly not a lunge but a charge. (Do you know anyone who can lunge more than 10 feet?)
- Maneuvering Attack has had some minor rewording, but is otherwise unchanged from the PHB.
- Menacing Attack now works with any kind of attack roll. Nice!
- Parry now uses your choice of Strength or Dexterity modifier to help reduce damage. Nice!
- Precision Attack now triggers when you’ve already missed an attack roll, reducing the chance that you’ll waste it. Good.
- Pushing Attack is unchanged from the PHB.
- Quick Toss has been removed. I’m not sure this is much of a loss.
- Rally now uses your choice of Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma modifier to grant temporary Hit Points. Nice!
- Riposte now lets you make Unarmed Strikes in addition to weapon attacks. Makes sense to me!
- Sweeping Attack can now be triggered on Unarmed Strikes in addition to melee weapon attacks. I’m sure this is mainly for consistency, but it means that you can now Chuck-Norris-roundhouse-kick multiple foes, or punch someone so hard that you keep going and punch their friend too.
- Tactical Assessment has been imported from Tasha without changes.
- Trip Attack now works with Unarmed Strikes too, as it always should have. Sweep the leg, Johnny!
Brawler
Here we get a brand-new subclass that focuses on Unarmed Strikes and Improvised Weapons. The design notes promise magic items in the new DMG that will enhance these kinds of attacks, with the intention of supporting the Monk, Brawler Fighter, and College of Dance Bard in particular.
- Unarmed Expert (level 3) lets you replace your normal Unarmed Strike damage with either 1d6 or 1d8 (if you aren’t holding any weapons or shields) plus your Strength modifier. I guess that’s a start.
- Improvised Expert (level 3) lets you choose, once per Long Rest, to make one-handed Improvised Weapons into Light or Thrown, and give two-handed weapons Reach or Thrown. Whenever you make an IW attack, you can choose the Weapon Mastery property that applies – one-handed IWs can have Sap, Slow, or Vex, and two-handed weapons can have Cleave, Push, or Topple. It also makes you proficient with Improvised Weapons, so your Proficiency Bonus would be in play as well for the attack roll.
- Grappling Expert (level 7) lets you make a Grapple or Shove Unarmed Strike as a Bonus Action, while also doing 1d6 free damage to a creature you’re actively grappling at the start of your turn.
- Dirty Fighting (level 10) gives you Advantage on Improvised Weapon and Unarmed Strikes attacks against a foe you’re grappling. This seems like something that should come on a lot sooner, or maybe just be part of the base grappling mechanic.
- Improvised Specialist (level 15) improves on Improvised Expert by adding your Proficiency Bonus to the damage roll, and it makes your Improvised Weapons use a d12.
- Unarmed Specialist (level 18) makes your Unarmed Strikes use either a d8, or d10 if you’re not holding any weapons or shields.
Champion
- Improved Critical (level 3) is unchanged from both UA5 and the PHB.
- Remarkable Athlete (level 3, level 7 in PHB) evicts UA5’s Adaptable Victor. It’s been rewritten to provide Advantage on Initiative rolls and Strength/Athletics checks (formerly this was a Proficiency Bonus boost to Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution checks). It preserves the boost to long jump distance from the PHB.
- Additional Fighting Style (level 7, level 6 in UA5, level 10 in PHB) simply arrives earlier than it did in the PHB.
- Heroic Warrior (level 10, level 6 in UA5) now gives you Heroic Advantage at the start of any turn where you don’t already have it. Dice goblins rejoice!
- Superior Critical (level 15, level 10 in UA5, level 15 in PHB) returns to its original level.
- Survivor (level 18, level 14 in UA5, level 18 in PHB) is unchanged from the UA5 version, which I preferred over the PHB version, but also moves back to its original level. Fine, be that way.
Eldritch Knight
- The introductory flavor text is completely overhauled and drastically simplified.
- Spellcasting (level 3) has a couple of small but important updates. First, one cantrip can be swapped out when gaining a Fighter level. Second, after level 3 there are no restrictions on spell schools (which should be much less confusing than the PHB’s always-except-sometimes restrictions). Third, one spell can be swapped out when gaining a Fighter level. And finally, the Eldritch Knight can now use an Arcane Focus as a Spellcasting Focus.
- War Bond (level 3) is the new name for the PHB’s Weapon Bond, but it is mechanically unchanged.
- War Magic (level 7) now lets you replace a weapon attack with a cantrip, freeing your Bonus Action for other things.
- Eldritch Strike (level 10) is unchanged.
- Arcane Charge (level 15) is phrased more clearly, but is otherwise unchanged.
- Improved War Magic (level 18) now lets you replace up to two of your attacks with casting a leveled spell. Curiously, the design notes say this should be a level 1 or level 2 spell, but the actual text only restricts the spells to those with a casting time of an Action. Sloppy editing? They’ll definitely want to get on the same page about this before going to press.
Hot Takes
- The base class seems solid, with some good refinements of and additions to the 2014 PHB version.
- Know Your Enemy feels on-brand for a Battle Master, but is it stepping too far into the Ranger’s territory? Ranger fans will probably think so, but I think this is probably fine – the Battle Master’s ability comes on later, has a (different) action economy cost, and reveals less information.
- The Battle Master’s Maneuver changes are mostly positive, however…
- Lunging Attack absolutely must have its name changed if it’s keeping this new mechanic. I know this is a small thing, and that I griped about it above, but I’m annoyed enough to repeat it here. Surely someone at WotC must know better!
- Improvised Specialist seems fun, and I like rolling d12s, but it’s also kind of lackluster for this tier of play. Meanwhile at this same character level, Toll the Dead is out here doing 3d12, and is nearly at 4d12, at range (assuming the target doesn’t save). I guess Improvised Specialist could be nice if you hit multiple times in a turn, but even at this level you’e only got two attacks.
- The Brawler subclass is interesting from an RP standpoint, and fun for a very creative player, but the mechanics presented just don’t get me that excited for it.
- Champion seems to be pretty close to done. Selfishly, I liked Survivor coming online earlier than it does here, but the move is probably fair. Heroic Warrior at level 10 will, I think, delight players.
- The Eldritch Knight changes seem very common sense. Nothing that has me screaming to play one, but also nothing that damages my calm.
Lukewarm Takes
- Things seems mainly pretty solid, at least for the base class and the three revised subclasses.
- Brawler is kind of interesting but seems like it’s got a long way to go. I’m not sure which subclass I’d replace it with, though.
- I could be pretty happy playing this Battle Master or Champion. Eldritch Knight isn’t bad, but I just don’t think I vibe with it.
- I don’t think my previous question about what it will take for Fighters to feel special given so many other classes have access to Weapon Mastery was answered in this UA.
Get-Chased-Off-the-Internet Takes
What if Monk were the fourth core Fighter subclass?