Fighters in Dungeons and Dragons are one of the martial classes you can select when building a character. They are the experts of weapons, armor and combat (as the name would suggest). As a martial class, they generally do not have magic, although there is an official subclass that can turn them into a half caster (someone who can cast magic, but only gets half of the spell levels).
Fighter strengths:
- They are very versatile
- The skills proficiencies they have access to (Acrobatics, Animal Handling, Athletics, History, Insight, Intimidation, Perception, and Survival, of which you can pick two) are very useful outside of combat, and that means you do not have to just completely stack physical stats (although you will need a good Constitution and Strength or Dexterity). You can have a good balance of physical and mental stats
- Great for damage output
- Due to the Fighting Styles (a fighting specialty that gives you a specific skill that you choose from the official list), the Extra Attack (the ability to attack more than once as an action per combat turn), and the Action Surge (the ability to take more than one action), as well as various subclass abilities make it easy to crank out combat ending damage without spells
- They make great tanks and front line men
- Fighters are often built with a high Constitution stat and heavy armor, which makes them good for taking hits as we often get missed, which means we can get up close in combat without fear (and are supposed to) and protect our squishier party members
- Fighters are a great for multiclassing
- Fighters, due to their customizability, are often very compatible with other martial and caster classes that can lead to an even more optimized build
- They are very customizable
- You get a lot of options in terms of Fighting Style and subclass and you get to pick a lot of weapons and armor. You can also be generally very free with your stat layout and skill proficiencies
- Great for roleplay possibilities
- Fighters can exist in game for a plethora of reasons. It gives you a way to make a lot of NPC connections (past enemies, mentors, fighting partners, etc.) and help you navigate the plot and the in-world lore!
- First time/new player friendly
- Despite the big range for customization, Fighters are a very easy class to explain and have very straightforward abilities. There also is not any complicated spell preparation, no need to understand components, or be overwhelmed by a spell list
In this article, we will reveal the best races for the Fighter class.
10) Variant Human (good)
A human (pictured here, D&D Beyond) is donning protective armor, a quarterstaff, and various adventuring gear. She is well equipped for the adventure ahead.
Humans are a common race in canonical dnd lore. They are known for being very customizable, especially Variant Humans. It is a stereotype that Variant Humans are the best for Fighters, but I clearly do not think so. Variant Humans do not have any specific traits that stick out that could be greatly compatible for a Fighter. Their customizability would be good for any class, but I still feel like they deserve a spot because their customizability is good for the Fighter class.
Choose Variant Human if:
- You are a new player
- Variant Humans do not have a lot of extra detail to them.. They are customizable, but not overwhelming due to their lack of specific detail and simplified design, with only a few racial abilities
- You are playing a oneshot
- I find Variant Humans to be narratively a little boring. They often are not included in long term campaign lore, and tend to just be an addition to the world that just exists. However, they have good mechanical uses and would be interesting in the short term.
- You rolled lower stats
- Due to being able to pick any two ability scores to improve by one, you can help your stats out if you did not do so well when rolling them
- You want to optimize your damage output
- The free feat Variant Humans get can be used to further increase the large damage output that Fighters are capable of
- You are in a combat heavy campaign
- This once again comes back to the free feat. You can really make combat easier for yourself by picking a combat helpful feat
Variant Human bonuses:
- +1 to two ability scores of your choice
- Pick one skill to become proficient in
- Get one free feat
9) Triton
A Triton (pictured here, Volo's Guide to Monsters) is holding his trident and sporting protectice armor. He is ready to face the dangers above and below the water.
The better Triton for Fighters in the Triton from Volo’s Guide to Monsters. They are guards of the deep ocean. They build settlements near underwater spots of great danger like deep trenches and portals to the elemental plan and are slowly becoming involved in the world above. They get ability score improvements that are beneficial for Fighters (Strength, Constitution, and Charisma), and Darkvision which is always beneficial for combat at night or in dungeons. They also have resistance to cold damage, which can be helpful in magical situations. However, Tritons also have a casting element specifically with Charisma that is more beneficial for Bards and are combat spells, but do not deal damage, which is what lands it so low.
Choose Triton if:
- You are playing a Fighter/Bard multiclass
- The Strength, Constitution, and Charisma buffs you get, as well as the addition to a spell list would be great for this multiclass. It benefits both classes at once, and gets you a more optimized build
- You are playing a Strength based build
- If you are wanting to play a Strength based build, the +1 to Strength can be beneficial, especially if your Strength stat is an odd number before racial bonuses. It can increase your modifier and make combat easier to take on and your damage output larger
- You need a Constitution buff
- It is important to have good Constitution as a Fighter for your hit points. You can only have hit points as good as your Constitution modifier (as you add it to every roll you make for HP), and Fighters often take a lot of hits for the party, so you will need a good Constitution score to handle that
- You are playing a magic heavy campaign
- Having a few spells even as a martial character can be helpful in this instance. The racial spells you get are not damage dealing, but they are protective, and can make it harder for you and your allies to be damaged. Tritons are also resistant to cold damage, which is a common damage type for spells
- You are playing a travel heavy campaign
- The Darkvision you get is very beneficial in this instance. Often spending a lot of time outdoors means you will have to fight at night, and being able to see has been proven to be very effective in actually succeeding in combat
Triton bonuses:
- Swimming speed of 30 feet
- Breathing air and water
- Natural access to Fog Cloud, Gust of Wind (starting at third level), and Wall of Water (starting at fifth level)
- Darkvision
- Simple communication with water breathing creatures (though you cannot understand them in return)
- +1 to Strength, Constitution, and Charisma
8) Firbolg (good)
A Firbolg (pictured here, Volo's Guide to Monsters) is traversing in the woods with his staff as a walking stick. He is stopped, looking at the raccoon friend beneath him.
Volo's Guide to Monsters contains the best Firbolg for Fighters. They are fey oriented half-giants in this canon, and they live in close knit tribes. They get a Wisdom and Strength score increase, as well as the ability to turn invisible. They also have innate magic. However, they are better suited to a multiclass and not just a Fighter build, and their abilities are somewhat specific, which lands them at eight on this list.
Choose Firbolg if:
- You are building a Fighter/Druid Multiclass
- Fighter/Druid is a very compatible multiclass. Firbolgs help the multiclass be even more compatible. Your Strength and your Wisdom both benefit from the ability score improvements, and you get access to natural spells that use Wisdom as the spell skill
- You are not the only front line man in the party
- The invisibility skill is good if you are a secondary front line man because you better sneak up one enemies while they are distracted by the other front man instead of having to worry about making the casters of your party the focus
- You are playing a roleplay heavy campaign
- Firbolgs, I have found, are great for roleplay. They have interesting perceptions of nature and the world, and can be very good for intentional disconnection from cities - and they will always have allies as they come from tight knit tribes
- You are building a Strength based Fighter
- The buff Firbolgs get to Strength is good for playing a Strength based build, as it ensures you get a very good Strength score
- You are playing in a magic heavy campaign
- Access to Detect Magic naturally is very good if you are attempting to figure out if items, traps, or even the room itself are magical in some way. It can save your party members will not have to expend valuable spell slots casting it
Firbolg bonuses:
- +2 to Wisdom, +1 to Strength
- Natural connection to Detect Magic and Disguise Self (which you can use to make yourself up to 3 feet smaller); wisdom as the casting ability
- Bonus action to turn invisible (until you attack, roll damage or force a saving throw) once every short or long rest
- Count as a Large creature for carrying capacity and the amount you can push, drag or lift
- Can communicate simple ideas with plants and animals
7) Goliath (good)
Grog Strongjaw (pictured here, The Legends of Vox Machina) is a Goliath from Critical Role's first campaign. Although he is a Barbarian, he is a very iconic example of a Goliath due to Vox Machina's popularity.
Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse is the best Goliath for a Fighter. They are a race descended from Giants, and Goliaths themselves come from the highest of mountain peaks. They get customizable ability score improvements, have cold damage resistance, have a damage reducing ability and have a way to prioritize Strength and sturdiness. However, you could also build a Dexterity based Goliath (though players often do not). However their lack of Darkvision and lack of general versatility (as people often build them as Strength based Fighters and Barbarians due to their abilities) gets them placed at seven.
Choose Goliath if:
- You are a new player
- Goliaths are rather simple as a player race. They do not have a lot of overwhelming abilities and are not too insanely customizable. They are also good for simplistic backstories which can be helpful for a first time player
- You’re playing a combat heavy campaign
- The ability to reduce damage you take a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus is really useful in combat heavy situations. it will help you keep yourself on your feet and actually get through combat
- You’re playing a magic heavy campaign
- Goliaths are resistant to cold damage, which comes from magical attacks. This can protect you a little bit more in magic heavy campaigns and help you stay up in combat
- If you’re playing in a travel heavy campaign
- Natural acclimation to any high elevation can be beneficial in travel heavy campaigns, especially in mountainous regions
- You’re building a Strength based Fighter
- Goliaths are great for Strength builds because they can easily handle heavy weapons. It would make roleplay and lore sense as giantkin for them to be built more in line with Strength as well
Goliath bonuses:
- +2 to one ability score of your choice and +1 to another ability score of your choice, or +1 to three ability scores of your choice
- Gain a proficiency in Athletics
- Count as a Large creature for carrying capacity, pushing, dragging, and lifting
- Resistance to cold damage
- Natural acclimation to any high elevation
- Get a reaction to reduce damage you take by rolling a d12
- You can do this a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus
6) Half Orc (good)
A Half-Orc from Baldur's Gate 3 (pictured here) displays some of the unique traits they get from their Orc parent, such as large tusks, pointed ears, and green skin.
Half-Orcs come from the Player’s Handbook. They are, in canon lore, half Orc half Human generally due to formed alliances. However, some players (and myself) will often play Half-Orcs that do not have a human parent, but perhaps an Elf or any other number of the other races while still maintaining the same Half-Orc mechanics. They can be very interesting for roleplay purposes. They get Darkvision, and are naturally intimidating. They are also great for damage output and hard to knock down, but they lack the natural weapons that other race options have. They also lack the ability to reduce the damage they could take, which lands them at six.
Choose Half Orc if:
- You are playing a Strength based build
- Half-Orcs get a buff to their Strength score, which can help you lean into a sStrength based build
- You are playing in a combat heavy game
- Being able to deal extra damage on crits and not immediately drop to zero hit points is really beneficial and can make combat in combat heavy games much more manageable
- You are playing in a game with challenging combat
- Challenging combat often comes with enemies that deal lots of damage. Being able to choose to drop to one hit point instead of zero once per long rest can really help you and your party as you stay up in combat to end it
- You are trying to increase your damage output
- Dealing extra damage when you crit, which is an ability Half-Orcs get, helps increase your overall damage output
- You are trying to increase your hit point maximum
- Half-orcs get a +1 to Constitution which can help increase your Constitution modifier. This will, in turn, increase your hit point maximum when you roll for your hit points
Half Orc bonuses:
- +2 Strength, +1 Constitution
- Darkvision
- Gaining proficiency in Intimidation
- You can choose to drop to 1 hit point instead of 0 hit points once per long rest as long rest as long as you are not outright killed
- You can deal extra damage to your melee crits by rolling an extra damage die and adding the number to the total
5) Centaur (good)
This Centaur minifig (pictured here) shows us a simplified design of Centaurs from the Mythic Odesseys of Theros setting. He is holding his spear in a threatening manner.
Mythic Odysseys of Theros has the best version of Centaurs for Fighters. These Centaurs are like the ones you are familiar with in mythology. They are half human half horse creatures known for their desire to wander and experience the world. They are not known to have permanent settlements. Centaurs are great for Strength builds, and are good for increasing your damage output. They also are faster than the previously listed races. Centaurs can also be good for roleplay and plot progression. However, they still would not be a first choice for me. They are usually not included in a lot of games, at least in my experience, and they are hindered in climbing which would likely hinder them in various stealth based missions, placing them at five.
Choose Centaur if:
- You are playing in an equally balanced campaign
- Centaurs are good for both combat and roleplay due to their love of travel and reluctance to settle. They get good combat skills and can know a lot of people in campaign if they have traveled a lot beforehand
- You are building a Strength based Fighter
- Centaurs get a +2 to Strength, which can help you prioritize your Strength in your build
- You want to increase your damage output
- If you charge at least 30 feet you can use a bonus action to attack the enemy you were charging at with your hooves. You can still get your attack if you did not take the Dash action, which means that you can deal extra damage on top of your main action and increase your damage output
- You are making a Fighter in the Mythic Odysseys of Theros setting
- Centaurs are a good option for Fighters in this setting due to their ability score increases and damage dealing abilities
- You are playing in a combat heavy game
- Being able to have a higher damage output is good for combat heavy games and makes combat more manageable
Centaur bonuses:
- +2 Strength, +1 Wisdom
- Base speed of 40 feet
- Fey instead of humanoid
- You can take a bonus action to make an attack with your hooves if you charge at least 30 feet at a creature in a turn
- Your hooves are a natural weapon
- You count as a Large creature when determining carrying capacity, and the weight you can push and drag
- You can become proficient in Animal Handling, Medicine, Nature, or Survival (only one)
4) Minotaur (great)
A Minotaur (pictured here, Mythic Odyssey of Theros) wears armor and holds a shield and what looks to be a spear. His decorated appearance leads to the though that he is someone of high status. He looks ready to take on threa
Minotaurs are the most popular race from Mythic Odyssey of Theros that I have seen, and I find them to be a very fun and very good option for Fighters. They are similar to the Minotaurs of myth, being barrel chested humanoids with bull-like heads. They dwell in the Badlands in the Mythic Odyssey of Theros setting. Their natural weapon (their horns) deals a decent amount of damage, and they are great for strength builds. They are also great for damage output but do not quite have all the bonuses as the number one race.
Choose Minotaur if:
- You are playing a Fighter in Mythic Odyssey of Theros
- While this is not the first time this reason pops up, I do think that Minotaurs are a great race for this setting to play a Fighter with. They have a lot of benefits that would be very beneficial in this setting, and just are a very good selection for Fighters as a whole
- You are playing a Strength build
- Minotaurs get a +2 to Strength which can help you lean into a heavy Strength build
- You are trying to increase your damage output
- You are able to do a bonus action melee attack with your horns after taking the Dash action. This will help you damage your enemies, even if it is not as much damage as a weapon, and will help you increase your damage output
- You are the sole front line man
- Being able to move enemies away from the rest of your party members keeps the front line away from your squishier party members and keeps you distinctly in the front line
- You are in a melee heavy campaign
- As a continuation of the analysis of the ability to move creatures with your horns, it is really good for melee heavy campaigns. Distance between you and the rest of your party members is the most useful when your enemies are not magical or casters. Spells often have long ranges and being able to move caster/magical enemies a short distance often will not stop them from dealing damage, but it can actually effect martial enemies and their ability to deal damage
- You are in a roleplay heavy campaign
- Particularly within the Mythic Odyssey of Theros setting, Minotaurs are steeped heavily in religion. This can be very compelling in lore heavy and roleplay heavy campaigns, because a lot of conflicts can come from their religious affiliations
Minotaur bonuses:
- +2 to Strength, +1 to Constitution
- Horns as a natural weapon (you are able to gore creatures with them if you take the Dash action)
- Being able to move creatures with your horns
- Becoming proficient in either Intimidation or Persuasion
3) Leonin (great)
A Leonin (pictured here, Mythic Odysseys of Theros) is sporting her protective armor and colorful clothes. She has used her claws alone to protect her pride, and the Plains, from an enemy.
Leonins are also a part of the Mythic Odysseys of Theros setting. They are a group of lion-like humanoids that stick together in prides separate from other people. In my experience, they have been somewhat of a more popular selection outside of their original source than Centaurs. They also benefit from having Darkvision, a natural weapon, and the ability to cause the frightened condition. However, they still have an obscurity that holds them back some and places them at number three, as well as them being a little bit better for a multiclass than just a flat Fighter build.
Choose Leonin if:
- You are building a Strength based Fighter
- Leonins get a buff to Strength which can help lean into a heavy Strength build
- You are playing in a travel heavy campaign
- Darkvision is very beneficial for keeping watch at night and fighting in the dark, which will inevitably happen in travel heavy campaigns
- You are playing in a melee heavy campaign
- The ability to make a creature frightened of you is great for melee heavy campaigns. The frightened creature will have disadvantage on attack rolls (and ability checks) while you are visible - which is best when they attack with weapons and not spells that force saves. It also protects you from getting hit as they do not want to go near you
- You are building a Fighter/Monk multiclass
- Leonins are slightly faster than a lot of the other races on this list, which helps aid in this amenable multiclass. Leonins are good for a heavy Fighter build with a few levels in Monk due to their speed and natural weapons for unarmed strikes, which would also help with damage output by increasing the number of attacks you can make in a turn
- You are attempting a high Constitution build
- High Constitution builds are good for high hit points, and Leonins get a +2 to Constitution, which can very much help with that
Leonin bonuses:
- +2 to Constitution, +1 to Strength
- Base speed of 35 feet
- Darkvision
- Claws as a natural weapon
- Gaining proficiency in Athletics, Intimidation, Perception, or Survival (only one)
- Being possibly able to cause a creature to become frightened of you once per long rest
- Lots of hit points due to a high constitution build that favors them
2) Cervan (great)
A child and an adult Cervan (pictured here, Humblewood) interact. The child Cervan is showing off a plant sprout to the adult.
Cervan are a race of forest dwelling, deer-like folk who live in villages in the setting of Humblefolk. They exist only in this specific setting in canon dnd lore, which is why you may not have heard of them until now. Their ability score buff and specific damage reduction ability would make them useful as a Fighter, but the addition of the subraces (specifically the Pronghorn subrace) that gives you a decent damage dealing unarmed strike and a strength buff is what gets them this high on the list. They are good enough to me that even their obscurity does not limit them as much as it does other races.
Choose Cervan if:
- You are playing a Fighter in a Humblefolk game
- Cervan is the best race to play as a Fighter in a Humblefolk setting. They have great opportunities for Dexterity and Strength builds, are very versatile, and have great subrace options
- You are playing in a campaign with very hard to beat enemies
- Hard to beat enemies often deal lots of damage and are hard to kill. Cervans have an ability called Surge of Vigor that allows them to bounce back from a hit that deals over half their hit points once a long rest which makes it easier to stay up in combat
- You are aiming for a high hit point maximum
- They get a base +2 to Constitution, which will overall help your hit point maximum by increasing your constitution modifier
- You are in a travel heavy campaign
- Being able to get proficiency in Survival is a great benefit for travel heavy campaigns because it can help you with navigation to get where you are going
- You want to push a Strength based build
- The Pronghorn subrace allows you to prioritize a Strength based build as it gives you a small buff to your strength score
- You want to push a Dexterity based build
- The Grove subrace allows you to prioritize a Dexterity build as it makes you faster and buffs your Dexterity stat
Cervan bonuses:
- Base +2 to Constitution
- Become proficient in Athletics, Medicine, Nature, or Survival (only one)
- Once a long rest if you are dealt more than half your hit points in damage, you immediately gain back 1d12 + constitution modifier hit points
- Grove Cervan (subrace)
- Base speed of 35 feet
- +1 Dexterity
- Base long jump is 30 feet and base high jump is 15 feet with/without a running start
- Opportunity attacks targeted at you are done at disadvantage
- Pronghorn Cervan (subrace)
- +1 Strength
- Carrying capacity and weight you can push, drag and lift is all doubled
- Antlers are a natural weapon
- If you charge at least 20 feet, you can gore the opponent in front of you with your antlers as a bonus action
1) Warforged (best)
Pictured here is a Warforged (Eberron - Rising from the Last War). Originally constructs of war, these robotic creatures have gained sentience and are searching for a purpose outside of war.
Warforged became canon in Eberron - Rising from the Last War and have become decently popular. Warforged are sentient constructs that have been finding purpose outside war, despite being created by one. They are immune to disease and magical sleep, great for high Constitution and either Strength or Dexterity builds, can see and hear as normal while resting, and have many more abilities. They are the perfect Fighter, roleplay and mechanics wise.
Choose Warforged if:
- You are playing in a magic heavy campaign
- Immune to disease and resistance to poison makes you very hard to target in magical contexts - of course you can be affected by other spells but you also cannot be magically put to sleep. All these things combined mean that you will do well in magic heavy campaign
- You are the sole front line man
- Due to the buff to Constitution you get, you will have higher hit points and you also get an automatic +1 to armor class which means you can take hits and damage much easier. It will be okay if you are the only front line man as these abilities make it easier
- You are playing in a roleplay heavy campaign
- Warforged are sentient robots learning how to find their place in the world - there are lots of backstory possibilities for that. It is easy to steep yourself in the world if you play a Warforged
- You are playing in a travel heavy campaign
- Being able to see and hear normally while you are resting means you can keep permanent watch and keep looking out for threats and your party members do not have to worry about taking watch
- You are playing a Strength or Dexterity based build
- You can use the +1 in the skill of your choice to help buff your Strength or Dexterity build
Warforged bonuses:
- +2 to Constitution, +1 to any other skill of your choice
- Advantage on saving throws against being poisoned
- Resistance to poison damage
- Immune to disease
- No need to eat, drink, or breath
- No need for sleep and magic cannot put you to sleep
- Can see and hear as normal while resting
- +1 to your armor class
- Armor cannot be removed from you against your will
- Gain one skill and one tool proficiency of your choice
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