Fighter 5e Build Guide: Battle Master, Feats, and Level Progression

For a durable melee Fighter with meaningful tactical choices, start with a standard Human, Soldier background, Longsword, Shield, and Defense Fighting Style. Choose Battle Master at level 3, raise Strength at levels 4 and 6, then Constitution at 8 and 12. You gain useful combat options without requiring optional feats, multiclassing, or a particular magic item.

This fighter 5e build uses the 2014 rules and covers every level from 1 to 12. It favors reliable weapon attacks, positioning, and survival over a maximum-damage claim. The main route keeps the same equipment assumptions throughout so its numbers remain easy to check.

Revised 2024 Weapon Mastery, revised Indomitable, and BG3 mechanics are not part of this character.

Build summary and permitted sources

Use the 2014 Player's Handbook, including its Battle Master and Soldier options, with the official 2014 errata. The licensed SRD 5.1 supplies the base Fighter, Human, equipment, and general mechanics used here. Battle Master and Soldier require their appropriate published source.

No Tasha's optional class feature or variant Human feat is assumed. The optional feat alternative later in the guide requires the DM to allow feats. The main build has no Spellcasting feature, spell selections, or spell save DC to calculate.

This character works when adjacent to enemies and benefits from occasional Short Rests. It has fewer answers to distant flying opponents and mental saving throws. High Armor Class does not compel a monster to attack you.

The original-rules build comparison places this route beside other party roles.

Create the character at level 1

Ability scores and proficiencies

Buy these scores before applying the standard Human's +1 to every ability:

The cost is 9 + 4 + 9 + 0 + 5 + 0 = 27 points. Strength supports melee attacks, Constitution supports HP and Constitution saves, and Wisdom gives useful awareness without making this a Wisdom specialist. See the official 2014 character-creation rules for the point-buy method.

Choose Common and Dwarvish as languages. The standard Human is Medium and has a 30-foot walking speed. It does not receive the variant Human's feat or skill, or the revised Human's Heroic Inspiration feature.

Soldier provides Athletics and Intimidation; select a Dice Set for the gaming proficiency, alongside land vehicles. Choose Insight and Perception as Fighter skills, avoiding background duplicates. At level 1 these checks are Athletics +5, Intimidation +1, Insight +4, and Perception +4. The background's Military Rank has a relevant organizational context; it is not authority over everyone you meet. Official 2014 background rules.

Fighter gives Strength and Constitution saving throw proficiency, making both +5 initially. Dexterity is +1, Intelligence -1, Wisdom +2, and Charisma -1 without other effects. Armor proficiency covers all armor and shields; weapon proficiency covers simple and martial weapons.

Record the character on a traditional printable character sheet. Keep maneuver resources separate from HP and Hit Dice once you reach level 3.

Equipment without assuming extra gold

Choose the Fighter package's Chain Mail, Longsword and Shield, two Handaxes, and Dungeoneer's Pack. Take Soldier's rank insignia, a banner-fragment trophy, bone dice, common clothes, and pouch containing 10 gp. That gold remains unspent in the main baseline.

Your starting AC is 16 Chain Mail + 2 Shield + 1 Defense = 19. Dexterity is not added to this heavy armor. Strength 16 meets Chain Mail's threshold, but the armor still imposes disadvantage on Stealth checks.

The sword deals 1d8 plus Strength when used in one hand. Its versatile 1d10 die requires two hands, so it cannot be used that way while you wield the Shield. Doffing a Shield takes an action; after removal, this armored character has AC 17. Official 2014 equipment.

Handaxes provide a limited ranged fallback: 1d6 plus Strength slashing damage, with thrown range 20/60 feet. For longer reach, an optional purchase of four Javelins costs 2 gp, leaving 8 gp. They deal 1d6 plus Strength piercing damage at range 30/120. These are purchases, not additional free starting equipment.

Track what is held and how thrown weapons are drawn. Extra Attack does not grant unlimited free object interactions under the original rules.

Fighter 5e build progression from levels 1-12

The table uses 10 HP at first level, then the fixed 6 for each later Fighter level, adding the current Constitution modifier for every level. “Attack” means a proficient Strength weapon. The maneuver save DC uses 8 + proficiency bonus + Strength modifier.

Proficiency is +2 through level 4, +3 at levels 5-8, and +4 at 9-12. AC stays 19 while using the original armor, Shield, and Defense. No purchased or magical upgrade is hidden in the later rows.

The base progression follows the original Fighter class. Battle Master's die and maneuver progression is described in the official subclass overview and corroborated as unchanged in the official edition comparison. That does not make revised maneuver wording interchangeable with the original version.

Levels 1-2: learn the ordinary turn

Begin with positioning, one weapon attack, and recovery when needed. Second Wind uses a Bonus Action and restores 1d10 + Fighter level HP, up to your maximum. In this edition it has one use between Short or Long Rests.

At level 2, Action Surge adds an action on your turn. It does not grant another Bonus Action or reset your Reaction. Through this guide's level range, it has one use between Short or Long Rests.

A second Attack action is useful, but the extra action can also solve a tactical problem. Do not spend it automatically when the remaining enemy poses little danger or when you cannot reach a useful target.

Levels 3-6: establish the tactical routine

At 3, Battle Master introduces superiority dice, the resource spent on maneuvers. You know three maneuvers and have four d8s; these are different quantities. Student of War grants carpenter's tools proficiency here, not a free tool kit or the revised subclass's extra skill.

At 4, Strength 18 improves attacks, damage, Athletics, Strength saves, and maneuver DC. At 5, Extra Attack gives two attacks whenever you take the Attack action on your turn. At 6, Strength 20 improves that core routine again.

You can move between attacks as the normal movement rules permit. Two attacks do not require attacking the same creature, and neither requires a superiority die. Use the ordinary weapon routine when conserving resources is sensible.

Levels 7-12: more options and stronger defenses

At 7, learn Menacing Attack and Pushing Attack and increase the pool to five dice. Know Your Enemy supports out-of-combat observation or conversation over at least a minute; it is not the revised Bonus Action scan of damage defenses.

At 8, Constitution rises to 18. Its increased modifier applies to all eight levels, producing 84 HP. At 9, original Indomitable allows one reroll of a failed saving throw between Long Rests, using the new result. It does not add your Fighter level to that roll.

At 10, learn Distracting Strike and Maneuvering Attack and change the pool to five d10s. At 11, the Attack action supplies three attacks. At 12, Constitution 20 raises HP to 136.

For the final HP calculation: 10 + 11 × 6 + 12 × 5 = 136. This assumes fixed increases, not rolled HP. A campaign that rolls will have a different total.

Choose maneuvers for the situation

The following are concise practical summaries of the 2014 PHB Battle Master and Maneuvers sections, pages 73-74. Apply the complete original descriptions at the table. Only one maneuver can affect a given attack. Distinct attacks can use different maneuvers if you have dice remaining.

Precision Attack, Trip Attack, and Riposte

Precision Attack adds a superiority die to a weapon attack roll, before or after rolling but before its effects resolve. It improves the attack roll, not the damage. Use it when landing that attack is worth a resource. Do not add Trip to the same attack afterward.

Trip Attack adds the die to a weapon hit's damage and can knock a Large-or-smaller target prone after a failed Strength save. Follow-up attacks from within 5 feet can benefit from advantage. Attacks from farther away have disadvantage against a prone target, so think about your archers before making this the default choice.

Riposte responds to a creature missing you with a melee attack: spend your Reaction and a superiority die to make a melee weapon attack against it, adding the die to damage if you hit. You still need to reach the creature. A miss by an enemy standing outside your weapon's reach is not a free teleport into range.

These three choices cover improving an important attack, changing a target's position, and exploiting an opening outside your turn. Holding one die for Riposte can be sensible, but it is not compulsory if an immediate maneuver would prevent a dangerous enemy turn.

Menacing Attack and Pushing Attack

Menacing Attack adds damage on a weapon hit and can make the target Frightened of you after a failed Wisdom save, through the end of your next turn. It does not force the target to flee. Condition immunity can make its control effect unavailable.

Pushing Attack adds damage and can push a Large-or-smaller target up to 15 feet away after a failed Strength save. Look for an open route or a useful separation from an ally. Forced movement does not automatically provoke opportunity attacks.

Choose the effect that helps now. Pushing someone away may save an ally but leave the enemy beyond your remaining melee attacks. Frightening an opponent can be valuable even when no dramatic movement occurs.

Distracting Strike and Maneuvering Attack

Distracting Strike adds damage and gives advantage to the next attack against that target by someone other than you before your next turn begins. Coordinate with the next ally; the benefit is not for all their attacks or your own follow-up.

Maneuvering Attack adds damage and lets an ally that can see or hear you spend its Reaction to move up to half its speed. That movement avoids opportunity attacks from the creature you attacked, not every other nearby enemy. Ask whether your ally has a Reaction and a safe destination.

At this stage you know seven maneuvers but have five dice. More known options expand your decisions; they do not supply seven uses. All expended superiority dice return after a Short or Long Rest.

Two worked turns, with every assumption visible

Level 1: a useful character before the subclass

Your sword and Shield are already equipped. You have 5 of 13 HP, Second Wind is available, and an adjacent opponent has AC 13.

1. Take the Attack action. Roll 10 on the d20 and add +5, totaling 15: a hit.
2. Roll 6 on the Longsword's d8 and add Strength +3: 9 slashing damage.
3. Use Second Wind as your Bonus Action. Roll 4 on the d10 and add Fighter level 1: recover 5 HP, reaching 10 of 13.

There is no maneuver, Action Surge, or Extra Attack at this level. The turn works with the character's actual starting features.

Level 5: Trip followed by a second attack

Assume you are within 5 feet of a Medium opponent with AC 16 and a +2 Strength save, and it can be knocked prone. You have 30 of 49 HP, all four superiority dice, and Second Wind available.

1. First attack: d20 result 11 + attack bonus 7 = 18, a hit.
2. Apply Trip Attack. Weapon die 5 + Strength 4 + superiority die 3 = 12 damage.
3. The enemy rolls 4 + 2 = 6 against your maneuver DC 15. It fails and falls prone.
4. Your second attack has advantage while you remain within 5 feet. Roll 4 and 13; use 13 + 7 = 20, a hit.
5. Weapon die 4 + Strength 4 = 8 damage. Total damage from these stated rolls is 20.
6. Use Second Wind: d10 result 6 + Fighter level 5 = 11 HP, reaching 41 of 49.

Three superiority dice remain. Your Bonus Action is spent, but Action Surge and your Reaction are unused. If the enemy had succeeded on the save, you would not gain prone-based advantage. If it stands before an ally attacks, that ally cannot assume the benefit remains.

These are illustrative rolls, not average damage per round or promised outcomes. You can practice the dice arithmetic with the DnDDen dice roller, applying the listed modifiers yourself.

Resources, rests, and table organization

Track Second Wind, Action Surge, superiority dice, and Indomitable separately because their recovery rules differ. A Short Rest is at least one hour in the original rules. Spending Hit Dice during a rest is its own recovery choice; superiority dice are not Hit Dice.

Avoid two extremes: spending every die on the first harmless enemy, or saving everything until the adventure is over. Spend when an effect can change the encounter: preserving an ally's turn, improving an important attack, or keeping a dangerous creature from using space effectively.

Action Surge produces four attacks at Fighter 5 or six at Fighter 11 if both actions are Attack actions and nothing else changes the situation. Those are attack opportunities, not automatic hits. It does not refill superiority dice.

DnDDen's dice notation and organisation guide discusses physical dice organization. Keeping the sword's damage die and your maneuver dice distinguishable helps explain a roll clearly, especially when both are d8s.

If assembling a physical kit, prioritize a readable d20, d8s, a d10, and access to the rest of a standard set. The dice collection is an equipment-shopping option; no particular material improves the character's mechanics.

Feats, equipment upgrades, and alternative choices

Why the main route uses ability increases

This fighter 5e build raises the ability used for nearly every attack before adding more HP. That is an accessible, consistent choice, not proof that feats are weaker. Optional feats can add useful tools, but replacing an ASI changes the table's numbers.

For one defensive alternative, replace the level-12 Constitution increase with 2014 Resilient, choosing Wisdom. It adds 1 Wisdom and proficiency in Wisdom saves. Wisdom becomes 15, still a +2 modifier, and the level-12 save becomes +6 after proficiency. Constitution stays 18 and maximum HP becomes 124, not 136. Use the original PHB feat on page 168 and the campaign's feat permission.

That is a trade of 12 maximum HP and one point of Constitution modifier for Wisdom-save proficiency at this endpoint. Whether it helps more depends on the challenges the campaign presents. Do not claim it makes you immune to fear, charm, or other effects.

Armor and Fighting Style alternatives

Splint costs 200 gp and gives AC 20 with this Shield and Defense; Plate costs 1,500 gp and gives AC 21. These are listed in-game equipment prices, not real-world product prices. Both require Strength 15 to avoid their speed penalty, already satisfied here. Availability and affordability still depend on the campaign.

Dueling can replace Defense if you prefer damage while using the one-handed sword and Shield. It adds 2 to the qualifying weapon damage, while losing Defense reduces the starting AC to 18. Choose one style; this route does not receive both at level 1.

If Battle Master is unavailable, Champion preserves the basic Fighter equipment and ASI plan but removes the maneuvers and their resource pool. It is an easier replacement to operate, not an identical tactical character.

Multiclassing is deliberately excluded. Taking another class before Fighter 5 delays Extra Attack, and leaving before Fighter 11 delays the third attack. Consider what a specific dip gains and what it postpones before changing the route.

The feat explanation distinguishes old and revised options. The 2024 Battle Master guide is a separate progression, not an upgrade to add to this character.

Common questions

Can I protect allies without a taunt ability?

Yes, through positioning, useful targets, and maneuvers that change attacks or movement. The DM still chooses enemy behavior within the situation. You cannot promise an ally safety merely because your own AC is high.

What should I do against flying or distant enemies?

Use a suitable thrown weapon within its range, seek cover, help create an approach, or work with allies who can reach the target. The main build's Dexterity is modest, so a bow is not equivalent to its Strength attacks. Do not treat every fight as a guaranteed adjacent target.

Can I use Riposte and an opportunity attack in one round?

They compete for your Reaction. Once spent, it is unavailable until the start of your next turn under the normal rule. Evaluate the current opening instead of assuming every potential Reaction attack will occur.

Do I need a magic weapon?

The build's statistics do not assume one. Some enemies resist or ignore damage from nonmagical attacks, which can reduce your contribution. Coordinate with allies and the campaign's available equipment rather than adding an unearned bonus to the sheet.

The practical strength of this fighter 5e build is a clear ordinary turn supported by limited tactical choices. Keep the core numbers current, use maneuvers when their effects matter, and give the character interests and relationships beyond combat.

Rules attribution: This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. The build, calculations, examples, and recommendations are original adaptations and additions. Battle Master, Soldier, and Resilient references are separately sourced.