This guide provides expert advice on selecting and using the best spells for DnD 5e Eldritch Knight Fighters, focusing on their martial prowess and survivability. Eldritch Knights are a subclass of the Martial Archetype found in the Player’s Handbook that combines the class’s martial prowess with survivability. Spell selection is critical, especially if using offensive magic beyond melee cantrips.
Eldritch Knights focus on two of the eight schools of magic: abjuration and evocation. They cannot use an arcane focus, as they have nothing of the sort and require material components. Instead, they focus on learning a smaller number of spells. The Eldritch Knight, arcane trickster, and ranger cannot use a focus and must use a component pouch, RAW.
There are a total of 50 official spells that one can choose after restricting themselves to abjuration and evocation wizard spells of level 1-4. Abjuration spells grant an Eldritch Knight additional protection in combat. Eldritch Knights can also use a dex-based Eldritch Knight with Mage Armor to avoid the necessity of an attunement slot and extra weight at the cost of a spell slot.
A weapon focus channels the power of the Eldritch Knight’s arcane spells. Casting is done using a component pouch instead of a focus, either arcane or divine. Arcane Tricksters, Eldritch Knights, and Rangers cannot use a focus, either arcane or divine, and must use spell components.
📹 You Might Be an Eldritch Knight | Fighter Subclass Guide for DND 5e
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What do Eldritch knights use as a focus?
The Eldritch Knight spellcasting table displays the number of spell slots available for casting level 1 and higher spells. Players can replace one of these cantrips with another from the Wizard spell list, and when reaching level 10, they learn another Wizard cantrip. The table also shows the number of prepared spells of level 1+, which players can prepare by choosing three level 1 spells from the Wizard spell list. As they gain more levels, they can replace one of their known spells with another from the Wizard spell list.
The spellcasting ability is Intelligence, and an Arcane Focus can be used as a Spellcasting Focus for the spells prepared for this subclass. At Level 3, players learn a ritual to create a magical bond between themselves and one weapon. This ritual can be performed over an hour during a Short Rest, and the weapon must be within reach. The bond cannot be disarmed unless the player has the Incapacitated condition. If the weapon is on the same plane of existence, they can summon it as a Bonus Action, teleporting instantly to the player’s hand.
There are up to two bonded weapons, but only one can be summoned at a time with a Bonus Action. If trying to bond with a third weapon, the bond must be broken with one of the other two.
What is a spell focus for a warlock?
An arcane focus is a tool utilized by practitioners of sorcery, warlockry, or wizardry to channel the power of arcane spells. Such an item may be employed as a spellcasting focus. It should be noted, however, that JavaScript may be disabled or blocked by extensions, and cookies may not be supported.
Is wisdom important for Eldritch knight?
The text posits that Eldritch Knight fighters may not utilize Wisdom to its fullest extent. However, it does govern Perception checks and the Wisdom-Saving Throw. Other classes are better suited for diplomacy, and the optimal approach to building a Monk’s ability scores for peak performance is provided. However, it should be noted that this is merely a guide and that there is considerable leeway in deviating from it in order to create more entertaining and rewarding characters.
Does Eldritch knight use wisdom or int?
Fighters’ main ability scores are Strength or Dexterity, depending on the weapon type. Intelligence is used for Spell Attacks and improving the difficulty of Saving Throws. Constitution is used to withstand hits and maintain Concentration on ongoing spells. Strength determines accuracy and damage output of melee weapons, while Dexterity governs the chance to hit and damage ranged weapons and improves Initiative at the start of combat.
What race is good for Eldritch knight?
In D and D 5e, Mountain Dwarves offer a +2 Ability Score increase to Strength and Constitution, making them an ideal choice for Eldritch Knights. They also provide darkvision, innate resistance to poison damage, and an advantage on saving throws against poison. Mountain Dwarves don’t have their speed reduced by wearing heavy armor, making them effective tanks.
Half-Orc is another option for offensively oriented Eldritch Knights, offering a +2 to their Strength and +1 to their Constitution. They also have a Savage Attack that allows players to roll an additional damage die when they critically strike with a melee weapon. Defensively, they get Relentless Endurance, allowing them to remain at one hit point instead of dropping to zero once per long rest. They also receive darkvision and proficiency in the Intimidation skill, which offsets the -1 modifier of having a core of 8 in Charisma.
Goliaths are a lineage species, allowing players to choose two Ability Scores to give a +2 and +1 Ability Score increase to, respectively, or a +1 Ability Score increase to three different Ability Scores. They have an innate resistance to cold damage and can acclimate to high altitudes. Goliaths can use their reaction to reduce damage taken by 1d12 + their Constitution modifier. They are also proficient in the Athletics skill and count as one size larger for all dragging, lifting, and pushing.
What spell should Eldritch knight use?
The Eldritch Knight is a Fighter subclass that combines the Fighter’s martial prowess with the knowledge of protective and destructive magic from the Wizard. They can easily put themselves on the front lines, with their features and best spell options encouraging them to cast and dish out melee attacks in the same turn. However, due to their limited spellcasting in terms of overall spell level and amount of spell slots, proper spell choice is crucial to get the most out of them.
In addition to their abilities, Eldritch Knights have specificities to Ability Score allotment, ideal feat options, and suitable species choices during character building. This is to keep the guide up-to-date ahead of the upcoming One D and D release, which is meant to be the next step of D and D 5e. The Eldritch Knight’s spell choices are limited to two schools (Abjuration and Evocation), but they have spell options that synergize well with a Fighter’s usual approach to combat.
What is the spell stat for Eldritch knight?
Eldritch Knights are a subclass of the Fighter that focuses on mental and physical strength when battling enemies. They gain the ability to cast spells using Intelligence as their casting stat, with DCs for spells being 8 + Intelligence modifier + proficiency. They can select new spells from the Wizard spell list and gain proficiency with the Arcana Skill. Starting at 3rd level, they augment their martial prowess with the ability to cast spells. This includes three subclass features: Equipment Bond, Lesser Martial Casting, and Spell Casting.
Equipment Bond allows players to bond with a piece of equipment, which can be worn or weapon. This allows them to summon and equip it a bonus action, and any equipment bonded with counts as a spellcasting focus for them.
Can Eldritch knights learn any spell?
The Eldritch Knight subclass of Fighter prepares spells using the same spell list as the Wizard, but with non-cantrip spells from Abjuration or Evocation schools and every wizard cantrip. Eldritch Knights can learn a spell from the entire wizard spell list at levels 3 and 8. The Replacement Spell Feature allows Eldritch Knights to swap known spells with any spell from the full wizard spell list once per level. Eldritch Knight spells use the caster’s Intelligence modifier for Spell Save DC and Spell Attack rolls.
Do you need a spell focus?
An Arcane Focus is a beneficial item for those who practice the arcane arts, including Wizards, Warlocks, and Sorcerers. It serves to replace the material component of spells, provided that the spell does not consume the material. In a technical sense, it is not a prerequisite.
Can Eldritch knight multiclass?
Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game that allows players to combine different archetypes, such as the Fighter’s Eldritch Knight, to create a potent control caster. However, multiclassing requires careful consideration to avoid underpowering the character. Most casual players opt for their starting class, even if they are pursuing a mixed playstyle. The game offers a variety of subclass options, such as the Fighter’s Eldritch Knight subclass, which can support this form of versatility.
Classes like the Eldritch Knight bring an element of magic to a martially focused class, but most players interested in casting are more likely to invest in it. The ultimate caster, Baldur’s Gate 3’s Wizard, is known for its ability to learn a vast array of spells, made highly effective through the class’ generally higher Intelligence ability score.
Despite the unique advantages of the Eldritch Knights, many advanced players prefer multiclassing a Wizard with a Fighter, as it offers unique advantages and makes for a potent control caster.
What are focus spells?
Focus Spells represent a synthesis between cantrips and leveled spells, necessitating the expenditure of a resource (Focus Points) for their casting. Nevertheless, the Refocus activity has the potential to replenish one Focus Point, provided that at least one has been expended since the previous Refocus.
📹 How to Play an Eldritch Knight in Dungeons & Dragons 5e
TIME STAMPS 1:31 – Spellcasting 3:37 – Weapon bond 4:34 – War Magic 4:57 – Eldritch Strike 5:29 – Arcane Charge 5:47 …
played one in a game that started at 13, and I was new to 5th ed. I took fire bolt and it did save our butts once because the target was immune to nonmagical attacks, also feather fall proved itself a number of times,( I had my find familiar through the ritual casting feat). I found that yes the three first level spells shield, absorb elements and feather fall where the most usefull, however made good use of some others along the way including tidal wave. I selected “poorly” on a lot of my spells but I have found that it is more about learning to use the spells you have than always counting on having the right obvious spell.
I have a lvl 14 Dex-based Deep Gnome Eldritch Knight. For out of school spells I choose Mirror Image and Shadow Blade. Make sure to get Sentinel to work with Mirror Image. When a enemy hits a target other than you (like your illusionary self) you get a opportunity attack. Shadow Blade is a great way to boost your damage. Jeremy Crawford has ruled that in addition to the 2d8 damage you get to add your attribute bonus as well. You can also upcast to increase the damage even more. This will mean you can out damage a sword and board Battlemaster. Also, pick yourself up a ring of spell storing. Personally, I load it up with shield spells to always boost my AC when needed. A magic shield is also nice to have. You do have to use a component pouch for spells like fireball and lightning bolt. If you want an focus you’ll have to get ruby of the war mage. But I use shadow blade so I can drop it, cast a AOE with components then recall the shadow blade for a bonus action.
Cantrips: – Booming Blade (for opportunity attacks) – Shocking Grasp (to give you party a chance to escape) – Blade Warding (to become the ultimate frontliner) Or – Firebolt (decent long range damage) . 1st Level Spells – ShIeld – Burning Hands (low lvl AOE) / Change for anything you want at higher lvls – Project from Evil and Good / Change to Absorb Elements when you get 3rd lvl spells (you want to be concentrating on Haste) . 2nd level spells: – Misty Step – Mirror Image – Blindness/ Deafness Or Anything for RP, like Find Familiar, Detect Thoughts, Alter Self, etc . 3rd Level Spells: – Haste – Counterspell – Fireball – Glyph of Warding or Magic Circle, depends on the Campaign – Here you can change that burning hands, for Lightning Bolt for exemple. . 4th Level Spells: – Storm Sphere (Offense) / Fire Shield (Defense) – Banishment
The usual content you guys put out is pretty good but I feel like this one is a cut above them all. Very clear explanation on every part. I’ve never played an eldritch knight myself yet but just by perusal I already had many ideas coming from what you guys been talking during the article. Glad you guys can record from the same place again. Cheers!
Here is a really strong build for an Eldritch Knight: Make a DEX based fighter using the High Elf subrace. You get a +2 DEX, a +1 INT, the strong racial features of the Elf, as well as gaining an additional Cantrip. Said Cantrip uses INT so that works out well. Your main weapon will either be a Scimitar or a Rapier. Get the Dueling fighting style so you can use a shield for that tasty +2 AC. Once you get to 4th Level, I suggest picking up War Caster. For that Advantage on Concentration checks. For the rest, bump up your DEX and INT whenever you get an ASI Your key spells will be: Cantrips: Green Flame Blade Booming Blade 1st: Shield Absorb Elements (Situational but handy) Protection from Evil and Good Magic Missile 2nd: Magic Weapon (if you don’t have an actual Magical Weapon) Misty Step Mirror Image 3rd: Dispel Magic Counterspell Haste/Thunderstep (your choice) And if you’re feeling spicy: your choice of either Fireball or Thunderbolt 4th: Banishment/Polymorph (your choice)
I love eldritch knights, and I especially like them with a 1-2 level dip into wizard. It gives you extra cantrips for damage/roleplay/etc., extra spells and spell slots, arcane recovery (which only is 1 first level slot, but after a long dungeon that extra slot for shield or absorb elements could come in handy). It does especially well with the spellbook which allows you to pick up different spells from different schools, both initially when you first grab it, and along the way, because you never are gonna be the main magical damage dealer, but it gives you the opportunity to have a lot more utility or strategic spells (and help the main casters save some of their lower slots if needed), and to be able to cast ritual spells to save even more spell slots. If you decide to pick up a second level of wizard eventually for more slots or spells known then I like going divination for portent, because it is just a nice ability to have especially if you are on the front lines making sure you hit or the enemies miss that killing blow or saving throw.
I think one thing we should talk about is multiclassing as well. I think “forgetting” about trying to get to 19th level to get one 4th level spell, is to instead multiclass and take something better. A good example is Multiclassing into Wizard. Not only do you now get to be a Ritual Caster, you can now pick up some of the more “utility” spells that you might not otherwise get. This is especially good if you dont already have a caster in the group. You can pick up Identify, Find Familiar, Detect Magic, Comprehend Languages and other great utility. The best part, is that all of these are Rituals, and you can just have them in your spellbook and not need to worry about using slots, while at the same time getting more spellslots to cast your Shield and Absorb Elements. If we go two levels in and take War Tradition from the Wizard, we now get a “mini” shield and a mini bonus to saving throws. This can be the difference between losing concentration, succeeding on your Dex save against a Fireball, what have you. This resource is reactionary, but doesn’t use a spellslot so even when you are out of slots and dont want to upcast, you now have these options. While the INT score might not be extremely high, its not going to be a slouch either. even a 13 or 14 will give you a +1 or a +2 to your initiative roll can be the difference of going before the enemies. The other thing you could, is multiclass into an Artificer. Going 3 levels deep and taking Battle Smith now allows you to replace your STR or DEX based attacks with INT.
Blue Dragonborn Eldritch Knight, got lots of lightning stuff going on. Throw an axe at a foes face only to summon it back before it hits, quite nice intimidation tactic. Also, my DM and rule of cool allowed me to website shocking grasp through my great axe after hitting a foe (Action Surge). Finished them off. Love this subclass, and dragonborn for that matter! Love your show guys.
This is a great article, thanks so much! I just rolled one up in session 0 today, mostly because I just wanted to hit things with swords and spells. But this article has made me really excited for the possibility of a support EK, who casts counterspell and banishment and darkness (we have a warlock in the party!). Thanks for the great tips!
Great rundown per usual, I just played an 8th level eldritch knight and built him almost exactly like you recommended. Being in that sweet spot where GFB did more damage combined with a BA attack, that was always the best attack option for me in that game. I did take protection from evil and good as my one C spell, and burning hands to have AOE. As a High Elf I took Toll the Dead as my free cantrip to give a ranged attack that is a save vs attack roll, otherwise, you can have trouble vs those AC tank monsters.
A fun combination if you’re willing to take a few points of damage is using green flame blade, targeting yourself with the flames, then casting absorb elements. You take maybe 4 points of damage in exchange for war magic kicking in with an extra couple of d6’s of fire damage tacked onto the bonus action attack.
One of my players has taken a two level dip into wizard to gain the blade singer features. I feel this really brings the class to a higher level of viability since you get a spell book where you can learn almost any spell of a level of a level you could cast while also giving you those higher spell slots much sooner.
I find the eldritch knight very interesting, especially if you multiclass into wizrd. With more cantrips and more access to spells, this fighter build becomes much more intimidating. I had a character I took up to level 20. He was a Half orc 14 Eldritch Knigh/ 6 War Magic. With a staff of defense as one of his bonded weapons, and a warhammer as his other, the number of reaction choices, though staggering, made him a tank on the field with the dual wielder perk and plate armour. Finally if you take Haste as a wizard spell and become a war caster, you finally have this savagely attacking war caster who can use 3 attacks as his multi, use his additional attack to be a damage dealing cantrip like firebolt or poison spray (taking advantage of eldritch strike), then use his bonus action to make another attack, run 60 ft, and throw up a shield as his reaction to bump his AC to 25 using charges from the staff. And that wasnt even taking into account Action Surge. He was great fun to play in combat and out of combat he was still amazing. TThe Eldritch Knight deserves more love.
Love this class. Playing it now for the 2nd time and really agree with a lot said here. It feels like the evocation side of it is very lacklustre. I convinced my dm to allow me to be a divination and abduration knight for back story reasons and it really helps with the utility of the class i get things like detect magic and identify and locate object without worrying about it taking my out of school spell choices. This in turn gives me a bit more versatility without making me op in any way. Its added a lot to the rp too
I’m playing a Githyanki EK in my friend’s campaign, and I’m loving him so far. Mage Hand as a free cantrip has come in handy greatly during our first major dungeon run, and im almost at 5th level where they get Misty Step as a racial feature. I didnt go into it thinking for synergy though so instead of Booming Blade I took Minor Illusion, as well as Lightning Lure as we have two squishy characters who our DM loves to throw melee attackers at, so it helps with getting them out of danger by pulling enemies into my greatsword range. For first level spells I took Thunderwave(area clearing, first and so far only use it demolished a trio of goblins), Catapult for excellent damage and a ranged option, and Alarm. Then Protection from Good and Evil at my 4th level since we were going up against a Night Hag and she loves her magic fuckery. So far I’m absolutely loving the mix between magic and melee, and I’m having a blast with it.
My current Eldritch Knight is an absolute boss to play. I dipped one level of Wizard however to bolster 1st level spell choices, cantrips and spell slots (arcane recovery for an extra 1st level spell is very helpful as she burns through spells fast). It’s actually made her really useful as a utility caster while in combat familiar grants easy advantage and spells like expeditious retreat get her upfront fast. I also took magic initiate as human varient for an extra shield spell and cantrips which again helps against spell burnout.
In my homebrew of 5E, to fix this subclass a bit, I made it so the latest any class picks their subclass is Level 2, so that turns Eldritch Knight Fighters into 1/2 casters, instead of 1/3 casters, practically making them an Intelligence based Paladin or Ranger, or an alternative to the Artificer. I also buffed them up a bit by giving them Conjuration as an option in addition to Abjuration and Evocation. This makes it so they can Summon aid, or, as you guys mentioned in the article, use Misty Step to bounce around the Battlefield for better positioning. I also took a page from the updated Bladesinger Wizard, and made it so Eldritch Knights can use a Cantrip as one of their Attacks for their “War Magic” feature at 7th Level. When they hit 18th Level, the “Improved War Magic” allows them to cast a Spell OR Cantrip, but not both, obviously, as a replacement for one of their attacks per round, making this into much more of a true “Gish” archetype. One of my players is currently running this as a character, and they’re having a blast with it. They straight up one shot a major enemy by using Thunder Step to run right up to them, causing damage with some high damage rolls, then Action Surging and getting 2 Crits to finish them off.
As an Eldredge Knight you need to be taking Shadow blade and or Spirit guardians for cantrips you need booming blade and green flame blade for your alternate pics I really like catapult at low levels because it requires a saving throw or told the Bell or ice knife for similar reasons. Those make for good consistent range to tax before you have the ability to close with the enemy quickly. I think it’s the perfect match for longsword and shield basically because Battle Masters better to be in Archer and whole arm Master pairs best with cavalier. So keeping that in mind you’re going to want to take shieldmaster and war caster and probably sentinel. Until you get sentinel take the protection fighting style and then switch it for the one that gives you a plus two to damage later. You go strength and con and then shieldmaster gives you the bonus to the deck safe plus a weaponizes your bonus action into creating advantage. So ideally in low light you always use Shadow blade you attack your multiple attacks and then on the next turn you shove them down and then attack them with advantage or whatever. If that’s not applicable you use green flame blade and you make your two attacks
I’ve found that a high-INT Eldritch Knight build does well with a Firebolt as, in order to have such a build without rolling for it and then rolling well, it gives you a reliable range attack. To that end, a high defense build does well with Blade Ward, allowing you to tank like a non-Bear Barbarian and then using your Bonus Action to attack (to that end, the high AC/defense EK all but demands you take the Sentinel feat as quickly as possible to force enemies to stay by you).
I’m currently playing an Eldritch Knight style fighter/bard character. I haven’t gotten that far into using his EK abilities as he only just levelled into it a few sessions ago. Darryn was a bit of a roguish fellow in his youth, singing to woo damsels and the like, but was forced into military service (thus why he multiclassed into a fighter). He found himself actually enjoying his tenure and working hard at it, but still practicing his wily ways (we started the game at Lv4, so he was a Lv2 Bard/Lv2 Fighter, and recently levelled up to Lv5, thus why he’s only gained the EK subclass). After he ended his military career, he’s taken on the role of being a mercenary/bodyguard for hire. Thanks to his strange sense of humour and what little magical abilities he’s learned over the years, he favours spells such as Vicious Mockery and Hideous Laughter as ways of disabling a foe, and through his training with both sword and magic, he’s taught himself the ways of the Eldritch Knight as a means of being a more skilful combatant, casting spells while wielding both sword and shield (through the War Caster feat), and even surprising his enemies by summoning his sword to his hand. One enjoyable thing we recently did was that we entered an enemy compound and had to hand over any weapons we didn’t conceal. Given my bonding to my sword, I just handed it over without any trouble. Soon as things turned south on the party, I managed to just ping my sword from the front of the house and get the jump on the guards.
Im currently playing with an Eldritch Knight 6 / Forge cleric 1, and man i love it so much! Its a distance fighter and the build is currently: Fighting Styler: Archery (+2 to long rang weapon attacks) Feats: SharpShooter (level 1) Crossbowexpert (lv 4) +2dex ASI (lv 6) Spell: Identify, Searing smite ( Forge domain) Bless, healing words, sanctuary/command (cleric) Shield, absorb elements, find familiar (wizard) Cantrips: Guidance, light, mending (cleric) Mage Hand, Message (wizard) Currently i have 3 atks (2 with action + 1 with bonus action from crosbow xpert) with bless of the forge, a normal atk have a +10 to hit, and a sharpshooter a +5. But im always with bless, which grants a plus 11 to +14 or a +6 to +9 (Sharpshooter) Its so easy to hit and do a ton of damage, while i help my alies with a bless, and at same, with my healing words, i can grant the cleric/druid etc will return to battle if they get down
Spirit Shroud is a awesome 3rd lvl option using a greataxe. 4 attacks with 1d12+1d8+STR, taking away the healing and debuffing the enemy movement. It works with booming blade too, 1d12+3d8+1d8+STR, then another 1d12+1d8+STR. If the foe moves, +4d8. 63 Average, per 10 turn, and works with action surge.
Didn’t play a pure EK but the most fun I had with a character was an EK/Abjuration Wizard multiclass. The campaign went all the way to 20 and the combo shined past mid-levels. I focused on action economy and what I could do with spells to augment fighting. I went 11 EK and 9 Wizard giving me up to level 7 spell slots. Reactions were used for casting shield or absorb elements. Bonus actions were spent on misty step. Depending on the situation, I would either haste myself or upcast shadow blade. A few times it was Greater Invsibility. Our last fight was in a low light situation and I was swinging away with a shadow blade, 3 attacks at 5d8 damage with advantage all the while popping shield and bouncing around the battlefield. When I would pop shield, the arcane shield from the Abjuration school kicked in and gave me an HP buffer higher than what I would have had as a straight fighter. The DM has now disallowed my build from future games lol
Spear, Shield, Plate Mail, Blade Ward, Shield Spell, Absorb Elements Spell, Booming Blade, Tunnel Fighter Fighting Style, Polearm Master and eventually War Caster. Action to cast Blade Ward and Bonus Action to use Tunnel Fighter stance. AC for miles, resistance against all weapon damage, high hit points, attacks against everyone that comes into his threat range and eventually that damage is boosted through cantrip as opportunity attack with Booming Blade.
Garnet Havast was a level 7 Eldritch knight of mine, she took the arcane adept feat for her human feat and maxd her int score with a high dex score, between weapon bond and mage armor she could be surprised in the bath and be fully ready in 6 seconds. Ruby of the war mage in her rapier let her be a dex fighter but the real power was disadvantage to saving her hold person and laying the smack on enemies
I just had my PCs fight an EK bounty hunter that was hired by a noble that 2 of them had angered (lvl 10 EK vs 5 lvl 4 PCs) He had: Blur,shield and the defensive duelist feat….It was so much fun having him 1v5 them while barely getting hit Eventually they forced him to run away with invisibility but i managed to get them really scared (Also they told me they loved to hate him) I’m planning him to be a recurring secondary villain,this Is EXACTLY the article i needed
I made an atypical Eldritch Knigh (I think), which was one of the most fun melee characters I used. To put it in context, he was the agent of a militarized wizards order that identified, acquired and secured potentially catastrophic magic items. So, he was focused on Fire/Wind magic and Two-Weapon Fighting, with priority on Dexterity (Rapier), followed by Constitution and Intelligence. 3rd (Cantrip: Fire Bolt (distance + a lot of utility) + Mage Hand (instead of Booming Blade, because it’s not fire/wind, and I wanted something thematic, also mage hand gives you great utility)) + (Magic: Shield + Protection from Evil and Good + any school*Find Familiar (Owl)) 4th Magic: Absorb Elements + Feat: War Caster 6th Feat: Dual Wielder (so… two Rapiers) 7th Magic: Warding Wind 8th Magic: any school*Misty Step + Find Familiar out, Alarm in + Warding Wind out, Blur in + Feat: Ritual Caster (Find Familiar + Detect Magic) 10th Cantrip: Mending “because of reasons”) + Magic: Warding Wind 13th Magic: Counterspell + Fireball 14th Magic: any school*Spirit Shroud (this spell is not a fire/wind one, but it was acquired in a thematic way) (between 14th and 19th) Also tested Detect Thoughts (with Eldritch Strike, just sweet); Knock (to upset the DM); and Comprehend Languages instead of Spirit Shroud . Eventually I acquired Comprehend Languages in the ritual book and I ended up staying with Detect Thoughts (because the character was a sadistic bastard, not me, he was ahahah), but Spirit Shroud is undoubtedly the best option here.
Plenty of people have mentioned Shadow Blade, but Flaming Sphere can do similar damage and act as battlefield control. If they don’t move, they’ll take 7 extra fire damage each round while you do your normal Booming Blade + bonus attack each round. If they do move, your Booming Blade’s extra damage kicks in, and you simply move the Sphere as a bonus action on your next turn, possibly causing more fire damage right there. If they completely move out of your range, you can hit them with an opportunity attack. Shadow Blade is still almost certainly better due to it dealing Psychic damage and giving you advantage in dim light or darkness, but Flaming Sphere might work out better in a certain situation.
My go-to strategy for my Eldritch Knight was to cast Flaming Sphere early on in the combat. Then after I attacked someone, I would ram them with the sphere, forcing them to immediately make the saving throw at disadvantage. Then as soon as their next turn started they would have to make the save again because they were already standing in front of it. great way to focus down an enemy As far as out of school spells, I personally found Alter Self to be life saver, but that’s also because a good portion of our campaign ended up underwater. But giving yourself a swim speed for combat was a huge advantage
On the booming blade with warcaster on opportunity attacks: I think that by RAW the target can decide to stop its movemement once it gets hit so as to avoid the additional damage. Then again, that kind of stickiness is rare in 5E, so that’s a nice Catch 22 you put it in. Oh and spell sniper doubles the range of booming blade for polearm master!
A fantastic combo that was not possible when this article came out (as Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything was published about 5 months later) is for an Eldritch Knight to take the Darkness spell and use one of their ASIs to take the Eldritch Adept Feat to pick up the Devil’s Sight Eldritch Invocation. The pre-req for the Eldritch Adept feat is to have either Pact Magic OR the Spellcasting feature, the latter of which they obtain from their subclass.
I would like to point out something with the War magic feature at level 7 and its synergy with Green-Flame Blade. Before level 5, Green-Flame Blade simply bounces extra fire damage to an adjacent target. At level 5, the damage to the original and adjacent target deal and extra 1d8 damage, effectively a 2d8 damage increase. Let’s say we have a level 5 fighter with a +4 Strength, a +3 Intelligence, and a greatsword. The total damage of two attacks with the greatsword is 4d6+8 damage for an average of 22 damage, assuming both attacks hit. If the fighter casts Green-Flame Blade with a greatsword, the damage becames 2d6+4 for the attacks and 2d8+3 for an average of 23 damage. Statistically, the cantrip and two attacks will deal roughly the same damage if the cantrip’s damage can bounce to another target. If the fighter prefers a sword and board to a greatsword, then the damage changes. Two attacks comes to 2d8+8 damage for an average of 17 damage and Green-Flame Blade becomes 3d8+7 damage for an average of 20 damage, assuming the damage bounces. A fighter with a more defensive loadout or smaller weapons can effectively use cantrips and probably deal more damage. Keep in mind, the damage of Green-Flame Blade increases by 2d8 at level 11 and again at level 17. A level 17 fighter with +5 Strength, +4 Intelligence, and a greatsword has three attacks, dealing 6d6+15 damage, averaging out to 36 damage. A Green-Flame Blade cast will deal 2d6+5 and 6d8+4 damage, averaging out to 40 damage, excluding the bonus action attack.
It’s good to see ya’ll back on set. Hopefully the world will return to normal soon. There is one point I kind of wish was addressed in this article, and that is the Eldritch Knight’s multiclass potential with the Wizard. The Eldritch Knight at my table is having a bit of an agonizing time deciding weather or not she should continue with Fighter, or Multiclass into War Magic Wizard after getting the War Magic Feature at Lv. 7. (I apologise if referring to the Subclass War Magic and the Feature War Magic gets confusing.) The Arcane Deflection of the War Magic Wizard is a solid defensive buff to the Elditch Knight’s saving throws, a +4 is nothing to thumb your nose at, and given that the other martial classes only get two attacks (unless you’re a Monk) you arent really missing out on much offensive power compared to the other martial classes. Additionally the expanded spell/cantrip versatility is very tempting, and if the campaign makes it to high levels you get higher level spells. However, you are giving up a lot of feats, offensive potency, and a lot of very powerful class features. Eldritch Strike and Arcane Charge in particular are brutal, and the extra feats/ASIs might be enough to balance out the lesser spellcasting ability.
The other aspect of the Warcaster/Booming Blade combo you didn’t mention was that the target of Booming Blade could potentially abandon the move they were beginning in order to avoid the extra damage. This achieves the same thing as the Sentinel feat – the target is still next to the Fighter, having wasted their movement. It makes the Eldritch Knight very “sticky” and difficult to get away from. Add in the cantrip Lightning Lure (also from the Sword Coast Adventurers Guide) and you have a significant single target battlefield controller.
There are 9 spells available for eldritch knight for 2nd level spells, so you don’t need it to be an abjuration spell. So take scorching ray if you want a utility range option, shatter to disable a group of enemies and possibly destroy their weapons, or darkness to blind your enemies to give them disadvantage or to help make an escape. Also arcane lock can be useful to an eldritch knight for escape, preventing you from being robbed while you sleep, keeping a target from escaping being interrogated or held capture for a bounty or other reason. Those are just a few examples of how arcane lock can be useful.
I have a level 11 Eldritch Knight/Artificer. I personally enjoy my fighter. My DM has given me some decent armour, so I’m sitting at an AC of 25 and a +2 to saving throws; pair with shield master, and you have a good, well-balanced character. I’m running him as a gnome, so the movement speed is a burden, but the features and cantrips I’ve chosen are a good combination. A War caster is definitely a good choice for a feat.
My last group switched to 5e after finishing a Pathfinder campaign. My GM let me play a homebrew class called Arcane Knight. It was basically a sorcerer that can do some fighter stuff. Sadly, it still had the sorcerer’s HD so I kept getting knocked out or killed in every battle. After the 4th time it happened, he let me switch to Eldritch Knight. I lost over half the spells but had a higher HD and better armor. I never got knocked out again.
Eldritch knight has been my favorite thing to mix with other martial classes or caster classes. I’ve mixed it with War wizard which allows you to use counter spells to bump up cantrips like eldritch blast or booming blade, or go with a dex build and mix it with blade singer and get the ac boost from bladesong along with some higher spell slots, then action surge with those higher spell slots before you use jump to close the gap in the fight. So long as you get Shadow Blade, your Eldritch Knight can be a pretty mean damage dealer, even if you go with a wizard as the majority of the levels to get higher slots.
Love your articles, first off! Sorry for the long post, and before I post this long massage that no one has the time to read lol it is still %100 up to DM discretion. I’m very confused on why the dnd community thinks you can’t use BB or GFB with extra attack. After the changes with Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, these two melee spells can now be used according to RAW. The old version “As part of the action used to cast this spell, you must make a melee attack with a weapon against one creature within the spell’s range, otherwise the spell fails.” The comma is want made the old spell not work. The comma indicating a pause between parts. With this the wording, it’s clear that this was a two part spell. New verson “You brandish the weapon used in the spell’s casting and make a melee attack with it against one creature within 5 feet of you.” The new spell has no comma before the “and”, it is one continuous sentence which means one continuous action. So based on the Rules written, you can use BB as one attack in your extra attack : Extra Attack: “Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.” Attack: “The most common action to take in combat is the Attack action, whether you are swinging a sword, firing an arrow from a bow, or brawling with your fists. With this action, you make one melee or ranged attack. See the “Making an Attack” section for the rules that govern attacks.” Melee Attacks: “Used in hand-to-hand combat, a melee attack allows you to attack a foe within your reach.
I’m going to be playing an Eldritch Knight in our next big campaign and I am so excited. I am planning on multiclassing into War Magic Wizard though because I want a little more spellcasting ability, personally. But EK/WW makes for a great build. Once you have War Magic at level 7 your SCAG cantrips do more damage than 2 attacks and even at level 11 the cantrip plus bonus action attack damage is about the same as having 3 attacks since the cantrip damage increases. With War Magic Wizard you get a bonus to initiative rolls and Arcane Deflection for a mini shield or +4 to saving throws without using spell slots. Also if going more into wizard you get more spell slots and higher level spell slots (to upcast spells) and a ton more spells known of any school, more cantrips, plus ritual casting. You can stock up on utility and defensive spells and get higher level spells sooner depending on when you multiclass and how many wizard levels you take.
Monty indicated that Haste allows you to make an additional melee or ranged attack *when you take the attack action*, but it actually allows you to take an additional action that can be used to dash, disengage, hide, use an object, OR make a WEAPON attack (RAW), and the ability to take an extra action is NOT triggered *when you take the attack action*; the spell simply grants you the additional action. You could just as easily use your main action to CAST A SPELL, such as a cantrip that would trigger War Magic, and then you could take your additional hasted action to make a weapon attack. As a level 17 Eldritch Knigth Fighter, the average damage for Poison Spray is higher than two of my melee weapon attacks that I usually make as part of my three-attack improved extra attack feature, so I’m actually able to cause more average damage by casting the cantrip, making a melee weapon attack (War Magic), followed by another melee weapon attack from my hasted action.
Cantrip: Booming Blade. I have a maul-wielding Eldritch Knight, and I ALWAYS use booming blade. It’s so, so, so good. Also, Blade Ward is fun if I can’t run into range in a turn, cutting down damage when enemies run at me. And I took firebolt, just to have a ranged spell, in case something’s flying. I don’t carry a ranged weapon. (Also, my high elf’s intelligence is 16, so he’s not terrible with spell attack and saves) 1st level: Shield is an absolute must. I almost never use any other spell. It helps so much, since I don’t use a shield. I also took Chromatic Orb because of the versatility of being able to change the damage type, and Magic Missile again for flying enemies and almost nothing resists force damage. I’m liking the sounds of Mirror Image. I took Heavy Armor Master for my 4th level feat, so reducing physical damage by 3 to help with Haste concentration checks could be helpful… This article has given me a lot to think about, moving forward! Thank you!
I’ve been playing a eldrich knight for the last couple years, although he multiclassed into wizard, so it’s a bit different. For a pure EK, you need to steer away from any spell that requires a to hit or save. You missed a core offense spell in Magic Missile. First it is the archetypal wizard spell but it also is reliable ranged damage for a low INT caster. You mentioned Mirror Image as an out of school spell at second level, but I’d counter with either Blur which when combined with decent armor and Warcaster for good concentration checks can make you nigh unhittable or Invisibility which is one of the most useful abilities in game. Another useful Abjuration is Protection from Good and Evil; more situational but amazing when applicable. Of note, even one level of wizard multiclassing gives you a spell book and allows you to have access to /FAR/ more 1st level spells and cantrips.
Vedalken EK is very powerful. 3rd lvl I take Expeditious Retreat, Absorb Elements, and Protection from E/G and at 8th lvl I take war caster and Blur. Blur! It’s so good on a fighter. At some point take resilient for Dex. Have PROF in STR/DEX/CON and Vedalken gives you ADV on INT/WIS/CHA. It’s a very powerful class/race combo
Multiclass this with Wizard makes an excellent War Mage. With a 14 Dex, take the Defensive fighting style, a shield and breast plate armor and you’re at 19 AC without any magic added. Add a shield spell and/or magical armor/shield and you’re a righteous tank mage. Using point buy, put Intelligence and Constitution highest followed by Dexterity. Fun and powerful build potential.
My EK was previously a Level 7 Wizard on a naval vessel, but during the in-setting war he sustained a head injury causing him to be unable to cast magic. Honorably discharged from service, he began adventuring as a way to cope with the loss of his abilities, slowly and painfully relearning how to use magic. I tried to keep as many of his spells ocean-themed as possible, things he would have known serving on a ship, eventually culminating in spells like Wall of Water, Storm Sphere, and Watery Sphere. Something important I think you guys failed to mention is the ability to replace one spell each time you gain a level in Eldritch Knight. This is especially important for the spells you can learn of any school. When you reach level 7, you can immediately switch the 1st level spell from any school that you gained at level 3 to a 2nd level spell from any school, and then take another 2nd level spell from any school when you reach level 8. I used this in order to take both Misty Step and Mirror Image on my EK.
For the Eldritch knight the cantrip Elemental Edge allows for you to change the base damage type of your chosen weapon to whatever you want. And the effect lasts till it is dismissed, which is even better. This means you could use it with your qeapon to overcome any Resistance or Immunity. Not even a Barbarian in Rage would be safe if you were to change the damage of your weapon to psionic, which would make you a Mind Flayer’s worst nightmare.
So with feats from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, an EK with the Crusher feat and Booming Blade is very effective. Basically cast booming blade to your crushing damage weapon, hit (and move the enemy 5ft away), then when they move 5ft to melee attack you again they immediately take the Booming Blade damage. Rinse & repeat. Great against anything with poor ranged options.
I feel like mid levels it’s built for the combo of using your action for a cantrip and then your bonus action as an attack to set up the disadvantage for the next rounds cantrip, rinse and repeat. then once your higher level with multiple attacks you can hit multiple targets to prime them with disadvantage for a fireball the next round. also using the tactic of priming them for disadvantage means you don’t need a high intelligence because everyone’s rolling at disadvantage
I’m actually playing an EK Naga (PS Amonkhet) and loving it. I built for tankiness. I actually personally took Sleep for my freebie spell, though I intend to swap it for something else later, was thinking familiar. And yea Absorb Elements is soooo great, telling your Wiz/Sorc in back to cast that fireball and really slamming them with the damage. Though the nature of playing Naga I’m going to take Shield Training from the latest UA to focus in on the constricting ability combine with Booming Blade. Create Bonfire is another cantrip I recommend, due to being able to create an obstacle, and its very minor AOE range.
I feel like the bear option for cantrips would be a cantrip that does more than just damage. This could be the effect of frostbite, or mind sliver. They don’t like shocking grasp. I think the ability to use that to gain the mobility to move without the opportunity attack can be major. You get to do a scaling grasp damage (with potential for advantage on the attack), you get to do a regular attack swing as a bonus action and at any point after the grasp you can take your move allowing you to move, reposition and use the bonus attack on another target giving you something like the mobility feat. I like the options so much I think that taking magic initiate for extra cantrips and an extra first level spell to be used once a day may not be bad. This can be used to function like maneuvers from the battle master. A pocket full of tricks you can break out of the situation calls for it. I’m assuming anything that is contested by a saving throw is ideal because most of those are ranged spells without an attack roll so they work in melee.