In 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Dungeons & Dragons, martial classes are those held by characters that aim to deal with their foes using traditional weapons rather than through the use of spellcasting. While there are a variety of martial classes available to players, each with its own unique strengths, several of these classes provide characters access to a fighting style.

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Fighting styles are permanent augmentations to a character that provi🧸de specific benefits in combat, often improving a character's ability to use certain types of weaponry. Fighting styles can help a character excel in a specific area of combat, such as more reliably landing their ranged attacks or even helping their defenses. So we're going to break down each fighting style currently available in D&D's fifth edition and see exactly what they're capable of.

The Fighting Initiate feat introduced in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, any character can theoretically gain a fighting style available to the Fighter class. Additionally, while some fighting styles have been shown in Unearthed Arcana releases, we will only be accounting for fighting styles thꦏat have appeared in official D&D expansions and rule books.

Updated on October 6, 2024, by Alfredo Robelo: Fighting styles have been slightly reworked in the 2024 Player's Handbook, becoming feats that you can gain when your class gives you the feature. This means that classes that had a limited pool of styles, like rangers, now have more options to choose from, so we've updated this article to reflect that.

Archery

Works With All Ranged Weapons

Dungeons & Dragons artificer with a hand cannon
Artillerist Artificer Art via Wizards of the Coast

For those looking to play a martial character who fights primarily using long-range weaponry, the Archery fighting style is a must-have. Simple yet effective, Archery provides a character with a +2 bonus to hit with all ranged weaponry. Rather than this increasing a character's damage output, it provides a solid accuracy boost that helps a charaಌcter more reliably lan⛄d their mark.

Despite its name, as this fighting style works with 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:all forms of ranged weaponry, it's an excellent choice for those looking to make use of any type of ra♎nged weaponry such as firearms.

Recommended Gameplay

Recommended Weapon

Recommended Classes

Sniping from far away.

Longbow

Fighter or Ranger

Constant barrage, with spells like H꧟u💮nter's Mark adding damage.

Shortbow, vex mastery feature

Ranger

Landing the best possible hits with f♚irearms. Damage drops co👍nsiderably after level 5.

Musket

Ranger

Blessed Warrior

You Use Charisma For The Cantrips

A Paladin Charges Through Hordes hoards of monsters ready to swing her sword while guarding with her shield from Dungeons & Dragons
Art via Wizards of the Coast

Blessed Warrior is a unique fighting style exclusive to 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the paladin class, meaning it can't be obtained through the Fighting Style Feature. Unlike other fighting styles that augment a character's ability to use their gear in combat, Blessed Warrior provides a character with two cantrips from the pleric spell list.

As paladins normally don't gain access to cantrips, this is a solid way to pick up the likes of Guidance, Sacred Flame, Spare the Dying, or Toll the Dead, adding to a paladin's utility. For those looking to dabb𒊎le more in the magic side of a paladin, this fighting style is definitely worth considering.

Recommended Gameplay

Recommended Cantrips

Supportive Paladin

Guidance and Spare the Dying

Aggressive Paladin

Sacred Flame and Word of Radiance

Blind Fighting

See Without Seeing

Player's Handbook cover art depicting two adventurers fighting King Snurre, a fire giant
Player's Handbook cover art by Tyler Jacobson

A fighting style that offers a distinct yet useful ability, Blind Fighting provides a character with a Blindsight range of ten feet. Blindsight makes a character quite difficult to get the drop on, even if a target is hidden or invisible.

As Blindsight is normally quite difficult for characters to gain, this is an excellent option for those whose party aims to make a lot of use of obscuring magic such as Fog Cloud and Darkness.

Recommended Gameplay

Recommended Weapon

Recommended Classes

Doing a combo wi🍷th a friendly spellcaster that summons Darkness.

Maul, topple weapon mastery.

Fighter

Scouting ahead as the frontline tank.

Halberd, having reach equal to your Blindsight.

Paladin or Fighter

Social settings where combat will be minimal.

Longsword

Ranger

Defense

The Best Defense Is A Passive One

Nadaar the Dragonborn Paladin in D&D wields a sword and shield.
Nadaar, Selfless Paladin by Aaron Miller

Defense is perhaps the simplest fighting style in D&D, and it is perhaps the most widely applicable and beneficial to any character. This is because, rather than augmenting one's offensive capabilities, Defense simply increases a character's AC by +1 as long as they're wearing armor.

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Regardless of a character's role on the battlefield, an improved AC is always a great asset, as it can make a character much more difficult to hit with attacks. Outside of characters with unarmored defense or those that lack proficiency in any form of armor, the Defense fighting style is a safe and effective optio𒊎n.

Recommended Gameplay

Recommended Weapon

Recommended Classes

Frontline tank

Any one-handed weapon and a shield.

Paladin or Fighter

Druidic Warrior

In Tune With Nature

A shirtless male elf druid holding a snake-headed staff behind him
Circle of the Moon Druid by Nicholas Elias

Similar to the Blessed Warrior fighting style being exclusive to the paladin class, the Druidic Warrior fighting style is only available to rangers. While the Blessed Warrior fighting style provides access to two cleric cantrips, this option provides access to two 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:druid cantrips.

This can provide a ranger looking to utilize more magic with useful options like Guidance, Produce Flame, or Shape Water.

Recommended Gameplay

Recommended Cantrips

Supportive Ranger

Guidance and Spare the Dying

Social Ranger

Message and Elementalism

Dueling

Make The Most Out Of Your Only Weapon

Dungeons & Dragon half orc paladin holding large sword with a shield while letting out a battle cry
Paladin from the Player's Handbook via Wizards of the Coast

For those looking to wield a weapon in one hand while wielding a shield in the other, Dueling is a great choice for one's fighting style. As long as a character with this fighting style is only holding one melee weapon at once, and it is being wielded in one hand, that weapon deals an additional +2 damage.

Th💎is damage buff can really add up over time, allowing a melee-focused martial character 🎉to reliably deal more damage when in combat.

Recommended Gameplay

Recommended Weapon

Recommended Classes

Aggressive Tank

Flail with a shield.

Paladin or Fighter

Dexterity focused damage dealer

Rapier with a shield.

Ranger

Great Weapon Fighting

Damage That Counts

Forsworn Paladin by Lorenzo Mastroianni
Forsworn Paladin by Lorenzo Mastroianni

Two-handed weapons 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:such as Greataxes are often known for their above-average damage dice. However, aberrant dice rolls can still lead to some of a character's landed hits dealing below average damage. This is where▨ the Gr💯eat Weapon Fighting style comes in.

When a character with this fighting style deals damage to a target when wielding a weapon with two hands, they can treat all 1 and 2 results as 3 when rolling damage. This allows a character to make their damage output mܫuch more reliable, making heavier hitting melee weapons a more enticing choice.

Recommended Gameplay

Recommended Weapon

Recommended Classes

Dealing the most amount of damage.

Greatsword, minimum damage of 6 with this𝐆 style, graze weapon m♑astery to deal damage even when you miss.

Paladin or Fighter

Dealing with swarms of enemies.

Greataxe, cleave weapon mastery.

Paladin or Fighter

Interception

It Uses Your Reaction

A group of adventurers facing off against a horde of enemies in D&D
Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide Cover Art by Tyler Jacobson

For those looking to protect their allies in combat, Interception is an option that can allow a martial character to serve as a bodyguard for their allies. Whenever another creature within 5 feet of a character with this fighting style is hit with an attack, the interceptor may use their reaction to reduce the damage of this attack by 1d10 plus their proficiency modifier.

As there is no limit to how many times this reaction may be used per day, when utilizing strategies that keep party members positioned close together, this style can provide substantial damage reduction over the course of an encounter. And if your DM allows it, you can even use it to interceptﷺ attacks directed at you.

Recommended Gameplay

Recommended Weapon

Recommended Classes

Dou🌞ble frontl𝐆ine party, standing side by side with your damage dealer.

Warhammer, push weapon mastery.

Paladin or Fighter

Long range attacker, standing next to the Wizard, so their🐼 concentration isn't broke🌃n.

Longbow

Ranger

Protection

It Now Lasts For Multiple Attacks

Fighter Posing With Sword Over Shoulders And Lance With Spear In Off-Hand
Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook by Wizards of the Coast

Fundamentally similar to Interception, Protection is a fighting style that allows a character to use their reaction in order to try to protect an adjacent ally. While Interception can be used to reduce the damage an ally may take, Protection aims to p🅰revent an ally from being hit entirely.

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If an ally within five feet of a creature with this fighting style is targeted with an attack, one's reaction can be spent to have that attack be made at disadvantage. While Interception is guaranteed to affect the triggering attack, Protection might not stop the initial attack, but youꦺ can give disadvantage to all following attacks as long as you remain next to your ally.

Recommended Gameplay

Recommended Weapon

Recommended Classes

Doubꦉle frontline party, standing side by side with your damꦍage dealer.

Morningstar with a shield.

Paladin or Fighter

Supportive frontline with healing abilities.

Longsword with a shield, be🐎ing able to drop it when no one needs protection.

Paladin

Long range attacker, standing nꦗext to the Wizard, so their concentration isn't broken.

Light Crossbow with a shield.

Ranger

Superior Technique

Strategize Like A Battle Master

Plundering Barbarian by Andrew Mar
Plundering Barbarian by Andrew Mar

Introduced in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, Superior Technique is a fighting style that allows characters to dip their toe into the fighter's Battle Master subclass. Battle Master is a subclass based around the use of special maneuvers that may be accessed through the use of "superiority dice."

The Superior 𒁃Technique fighting style is from Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, and it is not present in the 2024 Player's Handbook. If you wish to use it with those rules, make it exclusive to fighters, repla🌳cing any other styles they might get.

While Battle Masters flexibly have access to several maneuvers, Superior Technique allows a non-Battle Master character to access a single maneuver of their choice. As these maneuvers are quite🍷 varied and unique, this can provide a꧋ character with distinct utility that they may lack otherwise.

Recommended Gameplay

Recommended Maneuver

Use both action and bonus action to attaꦰck wi🌌th a single weapon.

Feinting Attack

Reduce incoming dama🌠ge to survive longer without needing higher AC.

Parry

Su൩pport allies with a class that doesn't normally do so.

Rally

Thrown Weapon Fighting

Be Sure To Have Enough Ammo

goblin javelineer mtg d&d art Mike Jordana
Goblin Javelineer by Mike Jordana

Traditionally, thrown weapons tend to deal less damage on average than their melee an🍃d ran𝕴ged counterparts. However, the Thrown Weapon Fighting style makes the use of such weapons more enticing.

Thrown Weapon Fi꧑ghting used to give the ability to draw an🍰d use the weapon with a single action, but that is now a property of all weapons with the Thrown property.

Offering a comparable damage boost to the Dueling fighting style, whenever a character adept with Thrown Weapon Fighting deals damage with a ranged attack from a thrown weapon, it deals an additional +2 damage.

Recommended Gameplay

Recommended Weapon

Recommended Classes

Topple eꦏnemies from range to catch them at melee range.

Trident, topple weapon mastery.

Paladin or Fighter

Constant barrage, with spells like 🃏Hunter's Mark addin🍬g damage.

Handaxe, vex weapon mastery.

Ranger

Use lighꦗt weapons, freeing up your bonus action to cast sp🥂ells.

Dagger or Light Hammer, nick weapon mastery.

Paladin or Ranger

Two-Weapon Fighting

The Most Attacks Per Turn

D&D art of a Ranger in the mountains with a black panther companion
Drizzt Do'Urden art by Wizards of the Coast

Two-Weapon Fighting is a solid option for those looking to build a dual-wielding combatant. Normally, a character making an attack with the weapon in their offhand as a bonus action is unable to add their ability modifier to said attack. However, this fighting style helps a character be more ambidextrous, allowing their ability modifier to be added.

This can allow dual-wielding builds to potentially deal significantly more damage as their additional attacks deal just as much damage as the first they make each turn. Remember, however, that for all this to work, both weapons need to h❀ave the Light property.

Recommended Gameplay

Recommended Weapon

Recommended Classes

Constant barrage, with spells like Hun🧸ter's Mark addingಌ damage.

Hand Crossbow, vex weapon mastery.

Ranger

🍷Use light weapons, freeing up your bonus action to cast spells.

Shortsword and ♑Scimitar, using the nick weapon mastery of the Sci✅mitar.

Paladin or Ranger

Unarmed Fighting

Your Fists Are The Ultimate Weapon

dragons disciple way of the ascendant dragon monk mtg art
Dragon's Disciple by Lucas Graciano

While monks are the class most often associated with unarmed combat, the Unarmed Fighting style can allow a variety of characters to function as a threat, regardless of whether they're armed. In addition to causing a character's unarmed strikes to deal 1d8 damage as long as they aren't wielding a weapon or a shield, this fighting style blends perfectly with the Grappler feat.

The fighting style already benefits from grappling creatures, since if you're grappling another creature, you can cause that creature to automatically take 1d4 bludgeoning damage with no action required. 🔜With the feat, you can grapple any creatur♑e you attack (once per turn), gain advantage on hits against them, and suffer no penalties when moving them around.

Recommended Gameplay

Recommended Feat

Recommended Classes

Gra🃏b one enemy until you drop them to 0 hit points.

Grappler

Paladin or Fighter

Push enemies around, controlling the battlefield.

Tavern Brawler

Paladin or Fighter

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