The Best Battlemaster Fighter Maneuvers in Dungeons and Dragons 5e
MONSTERS OF DRAKKENHEIM is 300+ pages of eldritch horror inspired monsters for 5e by the Dungeon Dudes! Coming to Kickstarter March 26th, 2024: www.kickstarte... What is the ultimate technique? We review the unique maneuvers available to Battlemaster Fighters in Dungeons and Dragons 5e to and pick the deadliest moves!
Watch us play live Tuesdays 6-9 PM EDT on Twitch:
/ dungeon_dudes
Join our Patreon community:
/ dungeon_dudes
Get our custom t-shirts:
bit.ly/dungeond...
Pick up your next D&D book on Amazon using our affiliate links below to help support the channel:
Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus - amzn.to/2Yer6tt
Ghosts of Saltmarsh - amzn.to/2JR2H3T
Xanathar’s Guide to Everything - amzn.to/2YjaIHY
Volo’s Guide to Monsters - amzn.to/2SseJVu
D&D 5e Starter Set - amzn.to/2Yjbc0K
D&D 5e Core Rulebook Set - amzn.to/2xYTKQG
Пікірлер: 855
My Field Medic character is a Battle Master. She has a Hermit Background, Longbow, Healer's Kit, and the Healer feat. She can use the longbow to distract/move/push enemies away from vulnerable allies, even if she's far away, Rally to boost HP, and maximize the usefulness of her Kit. Atop that, she can make Healing Potions and Antitoxins. Great healing character without using any magic.
@ashenwuss1651
5 жыл бұрын
That sounds so fun and incredibly useful in many ways. The DPS and team support is perfect sounding. I like the idea of granting the rogue extra sneak when you grant them an attack during your turn.
@AzraelThanatos
5 жыл бұрын
Would be an interesting take, I've normally used a Thief Rogue for a medic character, though that would work up to 4th/5th level and perhaps the rest as fighter for more hp boosts. While temp HP doesn't stack, having rally available to add more temp hp once the other is gone could help allies.
@ashenwuss1651
5 жыл бұрын
@@AzraelThanatos Yes! Thief Rogue with Healer feat to use Healer's Kit as bonus action, then main action healing potion. Great healer! I like your suggestion, too
@AzraelThanatos
5 жыл бұрын
@@ashenwuss1651 You can also use the healing kit twice during a turn which can lead to some amusing situations if you stockpile kits. Had an area that was blocked off by two characters, both could attack if the other was, enemy creature had multiattack and could attack twice. Due to other things, it couldn't move backwards. Unfortunately, my two allies blocking the way kept getting dropped when it had its turn, then on mine my action and bonus action would be to use the healers kit to bring them each back with 1 HP, they'd have their turns, then would get knocked out again and the cycle would repeat again and again.
@ashenwuss1651
5 жыл бұрын
@@AzraelThanatos That sounds epic. Don't forget that Healer feat is only one heal per character, until they finish a short rest. Unless your DM allows otherwise. Honestly, I'd allow it if therr were no healers and it was a gritty setting.
Having just wrapped up a 3 year campaign with my Battle Master ending at level 20, I found Trip Attack as a solid selection.
@gaj7062
4 жыл бұрын
I cant think of a trip attack without a polearm
@lunaticusdjit
4 жыл бұрын
@@gaj7062 a whip would work
@godsamongmen8003
3 жыл бұрын
Did you find commander's strike useful, or did you use it at all? On paper it looks good if you have a rogue in the party, especially as you gain levels and that sneak attack keeps getting better.
@SkuffD
3 жыл бұрын
@@godsamongmen8003 No rogue in the party and Commander's strike was one of the maneuvers I didn't select as I ended up being the more action/attack oriented member of the party. Goading Attack was more useful in that department. Also, the Sentinel and Mage Hunter feats were very handy.
@bigcas78
3 жыл бұрын
@@gaj7062 flail could work with sweeping the leg
Timestamps of each maneuver for public use (But mostly me because i'm a lazy fighter): 4:53 Commander's Strike 6:10 Disarming Strike 7:34 Distracting Strike 8:43 Evasive Footwork 9:19 Feinting Attack 10:34 Goading Attack 11:41 Lunging Attack 12:34 Maneuvering Attack 13:50 Menacing Attack 16:20 Parry 17:30 Precision Attack 19:28 Pushing Attack 20:54 Rally 22:54 Riposte 23:58 Sweeping Attack 25:44 Trip Attack
@rlwrgh
4 жыл бұрын
the real mvp here!
@BaronVonDex
4 жыл бұрын
Thank you!
@Wingedwolf1894
4 жыл бұрын
Thanks god there's people like you. Tbh, i think it should be a crime that 20+ minute explanation videos exists...
@IlRoccoIl
4 жыл бұрын
@@Wingedwolf1894 1,25 or 1,5 speed.
@astastasdtasdt
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you for this!
*Two days ago: I wish the DD's made a guide for the Battle Master I am kinda new and want to play this class Today: Satisfaction 100%
@youtubefuckingsucks
5 жыл бұрын
blantonman11 this class is really fun, youll have a blast with it!
@blantonman11
5 жыл бұрын
@@youtubefuckingsucks thanks I am looking forward to playing as my Tabaxi Battle Master
@youtubefuckingsucks
5 жыл бұрын
blantonman11 im starting a new campaign tomorrow and playing a monk i cant wait!
@Olav_Hansen
4 жыл бұрын
One thing about this video that I don't like is the statement "I don't like saving throws because if they don't work it didn't do anything", but if you use riposte and miss the attack roll is it any different? Sure, the chance to hit is often times higher than the average save, but at least how I see it the benefit of a manacing attack is far greater than the benefit of 'having that reaction attack'. Example: you hit a creature with manacing attack. The dm roleplays the target that failed the save, it wants to run from you. When it retreats you get an opportunity attack. While a free opportunity attack isn't bad at all, it is generally more beneficial to hurt the enemy action economy rather than buffing your own. (a fighter with a greatsword does an average of 12 damage at 20str without feats while every cr10 melee creature deals 20+ damage per strike and multiple strikes per turn)
@B0neyKingofN0where
3 жыл бұрын
He just used Wish.
Don’t forget that when you get to choose more maneuvers, you are also able to swap an existing one for a new one. It gives you flexibility and you aren’t stuck with a bad choice.
@DBebeful
5 жыл бұрын
Pretty good that you have mentioned (Monthy and Kelly have not talked about it)! Each time you learn new maneuvers, you can also replace one maneuver you know with a different one. For example, maybe your fighter started with Rally maneuver, then later he has picked up Inspiring Leader feat. As we know, temporary hit points are not cumulative, so that is a great, official way to replace Rally maneuver to something more useful. ;)
@rfjohnson69
5 жыл бұрын
Makes party at low level at least somewhat viable
@Aedi
4 жыл бұрын
@@DBebeful that said, I still take both most times I've played a battlemaster. inspiring leader is solid preemptive temp HP, but rally is a solid backup for immediate, ranged temp HP. I have both with my current battle medic
@cnkclark
3 жыл бұрын
Not to mention the Feat that gives you 1 more Superiority Die plus an extra Maneuver selection. 5 dice and 4 Maneuvers.
@Kangstor
3 жыл бұрын
@@cnkclark extra 2 maneuvers and 1 more superiority die. Actually, i would take that feat with any physical build and even with some spell casters that have a weapon focus like hexblade or path of blade warlock etc.
You could use disarming attack to knock a shield out of an enemy fighters hand, which lowers their AC and makes it easier to hit them
@flimpeenflarmpoon1353
4 жыл бұрын
Don't shields have straps though? You don't just hold it you have to like Don and doth it n that?
@lattekahvi1298
4 жыл бұрын
@@flimpeenflarmpoon1353 imagine that you spot an opening in the enemys defense and you manage to slash at his wrist holding the shield and cutting the straps off
@flimpeenflarmpoon1353
4 жыл бұрын
@@lattekahvi1298 what about with a bow lol
@lattekahvi1298
4 жыл бұрын
@@flimpeenflarmpoon1353 you fire a legolas level one in millions probability shot and the arrow cuts the straps
@DehJarlorNoob
4 жыл бұрын
@@flimpeenflarmpoon1353 Some do, some don't. Depends on the shield type.
I'm a battlemaster with great weapons style. I find that commander's strike works very well when I'm out of range for melee and can direct my Ranger to take an additional attack. I refer to the ranger AS my ranged attack.
@Hazel-xl8in
3 жыл бұрын
who needs javelins when you have allies
@e4ehco21
2 жыл бұрын
Why does this remind me of God of war
@averagerat9125
Жыл бұрын
I use commander strike to double my strength modifier from my bard and let my damage do the thing lmaooo
The Rally maneuver could be useful if you find yourself in one of those rare campaigns that doesn't use Feats. A common mistake I've seen many DMs and players make is in thinking that ONLY Battlemasters can make disarms, trips, and shoves. This is not the case at all. Battlemasters do them _better_ because of their Superiority Dice and that they can do them as part of their Attack Action (meaning they also deal damage), while non-Battlemasters have to do them _instead_ of their Attack Action and do _no_ damage, but they _can_ do them. Shove/Trip: PHB page 195-196 and DMG page 272, Disarm: DMG page 271, Mark Target: DMG page 271, Help Action: PHB page 192.
Enemy: (Attacks) Fighter with Riposte: "No U"
@xanykillz2921
2 жыл бұрын
Lmao
I want to make a Battlemaster that makes heavy use of Disarming Attack and the Tavern Brawler feat. Basically, their whole deal is to flex on enemies by taking *their* weapons and beating them with it. Bring in Trip and Pushing Attack to get a bit of an Armored Monk kinda feel to the character.
@Elektrokardiogramm
5 жыл бұрын
But wouldn't the weapons of the enemies not be improvised, meaning you do not need the Tavern Brawler feat?
@anthonynorman7545
5 жыл бұрын
Are you going to incorrectly use the weapons you grab?
@jacknerdlord3244
4 жыл бұрын
The answer to a gm that insists on exotic proficiency
@Aedi
4 жыл бұрын
@@anthonynorman7545 if you're not proficient, this gives you an argument for using proficiency to hit at the expense of the weapons normal damage. Sure, I might not be able to use this exotic weapon "properly", but I can still hit you consistently with it.
@anthonynorman7545
4 жыл бұрын
@@Aedi all none of them?
Bugbear polar master fighter with lunging Strike!! 20 ft reach!
@aajjeee
5 жыл бұрын
sun soul monks ftw
@Nurk0m0rath
5 жыл бұрын
Problem is lunging strike is only one attack and fighters get 3 by level 11. So yes, you may be able to get extended reach on that one attack but then you have to move in closer to use the rest. Honestly I think this is a very niche ability whose best use is letting you still get an attack when your normal movement is 5ft short of where you need to be (and those will be some rare cases).
@ejuhasz
4 жыл бұрын
at that point just play an archer lol
@devin5201
4 жыл бұрын
20 feet long ''melee'' attack 100% just for the funsies.
@davidmacko6309
3 жыл бұрын
hamon move:ZOOM PUNCH
Quick note about Precision Attack - you can use it after making the roll, and it doesn't say you don't get to know whether it hit or not.
I honestly feel that battlemaster is the most utilitarian, as well as the best subclass choice, of the fighter. it gets really interesting features that not only make it unique compared to the champion but also come in more handy than the Eldritch Knight. I really feel bad for the Arcane Archer however.
@neog8029
5 жыл бұрын
I honestly feel the Arcane Arcger's Arcane Shot would have been better as a copy/paste of the BM's Superiority Dice. Seriously, why can I only use my cool archer magic twice before needing a short rest? I might as well just go BM and use a bow.
@ChitenBugMan
5 жыл бұрын
@@neog8029 I I agree, I have an Arcane archer in a campaign currently and the GM decided after 3 sessions adjusted to the class with a little homebrewing making the Arcane shot a number of times equal to my intelligence modifier, minimum of 2. It makes it much more versatile
@zachbrown9350
5 жыл бұрын
I just finished playing an arcane archer, and I absolutely loved it. No complaints about any of the features, nor the damage output. It did everything I wanted it to do.
@ChitenBugMan
5 жыл бұрын
@@zachbrown9350 don't get me wrong I love the class, thematically and featurewise. But compared to the Battlemaster and the Eldritch Knight it feels like it's features are less plentiful.
@youtubefuckingsucks
5 жыл бұрын
John Harrison i played a horizon walker and had a lot of fun with it. however i could see the planar warrior damage being a bit underpowered at higher levels.
So a bugbear battle master who uses lunging attack with a reach weapon has a 20 ft. reach... WITH A MELEE WEAPON!!! That's the same range as throwing a dagger, and you get a d10 for the damage instead of a d4.
@Donkeyearsa
2 жыл бұрын
That is quite spastic. My first level minotaur character uses a ranged attack with a dart at 20 feet. I got some dang lucky stat rolls and have a 20 strength, I took Archery for +2 ranged attack, plus my +2 for level so I have a +9 to hit and a +5 damage for a damage of 6 to 9 with my darts. You would have to have a dang awesome armor class to drop my chance of hitting to 50/50. As a first level character as long as I don't roll a 1 I can hit a unarmored enemy that does not have a dexterity bonus with my darts at long range of 60 feet. The problem is I don't like the odds of rolling a 1 at disadvantage. Just yesterday playing the game not a single one of my d20 rolls where higher than a 10.
@DangerDurians
2 жыл бұрын
Take magic initiate and thorn whip for some real nutty range
Battlemaster maneuvers sure are a trip. Gotta be pushy and precise to get them, they can be really evasive and distracting, disarming even. Don't let them goad you, parry, rally and riposte, don't fall for their feints and sweep them away with your command of knowing them.
@youtubefuckingsucks
5 жыл бұрын
Cat Trucker haha, nice job
@anthonynorman7545
5 жыл бұрын
+++
@MrDmitriRavenoff
4 жыл бұрын
Oh my... Nice.
@GamerGrovyle
4 жыл бұрын
8/10 you forgot about Lunge
@omafivargas9712
4 жыл бұрын
@@GamerGrovyle So did everyone else
I agree with both of you on your choice of TOP5 maneuvers! My personal favorite is Riposte! ;) A short story: In one campaign we were fighting against a hydra when a dwarf battle master managed to intimidate a hydra with a Menacing Attack maneuver, which already had 7 heads! Thanks to the frightened condition, the hydra attacked with disadvantage and missed all of its seven bite attacks, none of which hit our dwarf warrior! That was the moment when we realized how great this maneuver can be when it's used in the right place at the right time!
@joez3ro
5 жыл бұрын
Amazing! You sold me on menacing attack! I can’t wait to frighten a hydra now!
@JorisVDC
5 жыл бұрын
Although I love the story, I just don't see it happening: a dwarf menacing a 7 headed hydra. How come this creature isn't immune to fear from creatures smaller than it? If I where a GM, I would grant monsters advantage if they are bigger. This is no magical induced fear, it's a simple physical attack that threatens you. Aren't all attacks? We'll this exemple shows me how this maneuver needs to be a little toned down.
@DBebeful
5 жыл бұрын
@@JorisVDC Thanks for your comment Joris! If you check the Monsters Manual, you can see that - due to the multiple heads - Hydra has advantage on saving throws against being blinded, charmed, deafened, frightened, stunned, and knocked unconscious. So it has his own, great chance to not being frightened. Luckily, it has merely Wisdom 10 (+0), and the DM rolled poorly! ;) The rest is already a history! xD
Could I request an in depth guide on the Eldritch Knight? I know there are other ones out there, but I wanna learn from you 2.
@M0ebius
5 жыл бұрын
The best Eldritch Knight build is with 2+ levels of Hexblade, Eldritch Blast/Agonizing Blast and the Crossbow Expert feat. You can fire EB into melee without penalty and add the War Magic attack at EK 7. Pick EK spells that doesn’t require saves or attack and you can focus only on Charisma. To really min-max this build, pick up Polearm Master + War Caster and Repelling Blast, wield an arcane focus staff and shield. Every time enemy comes near it triggers an opportunity attack EB, with which you push them back and resetting the combo. You also finish the core build at level 10, after which you can MC into Sorcerer/Bard/Paladin or take more Hexblade/EK levels. Eldritch Strike in particular is amazing when you have maxed out casting stats, and multiclassing into full casters give you a wide range of spells unavailable to regular EKs.
@marcos2492
5 жыл бұрын
EK is one of those archetypes that is difficult to build correctly or at least effectively. You have to carefully pick your spells, specially since you're mostly restricted to 2 schools of magic
@M0ebius
5 жыл бұрын
marcos2492 It’s not really that hard to pick though since there really isn’t that many options and with a sub-par INT you have to prioritize spells with no saves or attack rolls. At level 1 it’s Find Familiar, Shield, Absorb Elements, at level 2 it’s Darkness and Mirror Image or Misty Step, at level 3 take Haste, and that’s most of the spells you’d use for a majority of encounters.
@danieldosso2455
5 жыл бұрын
I'd take 17 Warlock (Fiend), 3 Fighter (EK)
@Thegamers500
5 жыл бұрын
I feel I built my level 7 EK pretty well and it isn't too min-max. Whent human for character reasons and took heavy armor master. Then level 4 I took war caster. For cantrips I got greenflame blade and booming blade (for opprotunity attacks with war caster and locking down one target) for 1st level spells I took false life, shield and absorb elements. For second level spells I took mirror image and blur. I obviously was focussing on being mega tank
After having watched something like 40 videos, always skipping the introduction, today I heard you say "register so you don't miss..." and I fucking realized I wasn't registered!! Insta-register! I live how you eviscerate every topic, with a written and prepared discussion, instead of something more similar to an interview or a Pub chat, like others do. I learned a lot thanks to you. Gonna forward this video to my friend playing fighter first time after 15 years not playing!
@DungeonDudes
3 жыл бұрын
Thank you! Glad you enjoy the content. Thanks for hitting subscribe!
During a nautical themed campaign I was playing a battle master Triton, using Pushing attack to knock enemies who boarded our ship back into the sea haha.
I remember using disarming strike to once cause the enemy troll to drop the unconscious child they were trying to kidnap. Since that child was a major plot point this was critical, and a real life saver.
@olivierlaborde7887
9 ай бұрын
child lands on head and dies instantly. campaign derailed
I've never clicked on a Dungeon Dudes video this early. For Caspia!...U'mm I mean Drakkenheim!
@ashenwuss1651
5 жыл бұрын
I immediately thought of Superma-- I mean, Pluto Jackson
@kmoustakas
5 жыл бұрын
You said it right the first time. We're all here for Caspia and the Jackson three
@an0nym0u5p3r5on
4 жыл бұрын
@@kmoustakas Three Crows.
@maid_of_heart3261
3 жыл бұрын
@CatandBonez Drakken Force
Something to consider about precision attack is that, at level 7, Battle masters get Know your Enemy, which can let you know the targets AC after a minute of observation.
@cleftboywonder
2 жыл бұрын
Has to be outside of combat though
I got the Sentinel feat and I'm playing melee in a big party. I can often get the Sentinel reaction, so Riposte was unnecessary for me. Also: Trip Attack, Pushing Attack, or even Menacing Attack on attacks of opportunity and disable enemies on their turn with speed reduced to 0! It's great.
@MrDeni23n
4 жыл бұрын
That sounds amazing! Trip them on their turn and give them 0 speed. On your turn, they are lying in wait for you.
@greyelf1537
2 жыл бұрын
In a smaller party with melee buddies, having both Sentinel and Riposte really shines, because you're consistently putting the enemy in a lose/lose situation: If they attack your group, you counter attack, if they attack you and miss, you counter attack. Pretty reliable way to use your reaction every round.
OMG yes!!! I'm leveling up next session to level 3 and I've been agonizing over these maneuvers for a month. There's no other videos on this subject.
Menacing attack is basicly the funniest thing you can do on a halfling fighter:D: I played a halfling dualwielder Fighter in Tomb of Anihilation and every fight we came across a Dinosaur I scared the living hell out of atleast one of them xD. The image which this drew in my mind was one of the most hillarious I ever had in DnD. Like you got a 3 foot dude with 2 rapiers pinching a dinosaur and he this beast gets scared the hell away from that little hobbit xD *Edit: Yes some dinosaurs are immure to beeing frightened but unfortunatly (for them) not all of them xD **Edit: deeper in the Video now^^: yes I had Trip Attack too xD and most dinosaurs are just large ;)
@villainvoice5143
5 жыл бұрын
Now I'm envisioning all the dinosaurs on Chult like the dinosaurs from DBZ. They see a short, spiky-haired halfling and just nope the fuck out of there immediately. Headcanon. Thanks!
Loved this one, really great break down. I homeruled that exact change to parry. Just made more sense. And there are some great feats that complement the battlemaster as a dex fighter. Rapier/hand crossbow combo and its just a buffet!
Wow guys this is great, I've just started to follow this Chanel, yesterday I read about the battle master on players handbook and now I just open KZread and the first thing I see is you with this great video
My fighters back story was as a field metic with the healer feat, so I took evasive footwork, and it actually worked the first time I used it to pull one of my team mates out of combat and heal her. It was so sweet. It might not work all the time but those moments are so cool!
Sweeping attack sounds like it tried to be the Horde Breaker feature of the Hunter Ranger. And what you guys said you visualize it as sounds a lot like whirlwind attack, from further down the same subclass. The Hunter subclass isn't as flashy as the new subclasses for the Ranger, but it's really solid.
Naming Monty as the tripper and Kelly as the trippe is a hard flex
If you only ever used the battle master to trip on the first attack for advantage on the rest of the attacks it would be worth it. The fact that there are maneuvers that allow you to soft taunt and frighten a target make this class crazy good.
Battle master manoeuvres are great for some monk combat bonus, riposte, extra AC when moving, parry. Even 3 level dip makes a Formidable combatant.
I've been working on a battle master / sorcerer multiclass which originated from a dumb idea of disarming an opponent and then castingcatapult on said weapon, throwing it far away or impaling the owner. This video is a great help for that. Now to decide whether they'll be divine or shadow, perhaps even dragon
@KikinCh1kin
5 жыл бұрын
Do shadow for the ability to see through that darkness, giving you advantage on your hits and disadvantage on theirs, as long as you can concentrate.
@alanschaub147
5 жыл бұрын
That sounds fun! I love the idea of killing them with their own weapon after disarming them.
Once, our Fighter Battlemaster Polearm Master used Pushing Strike against a SWARM OF BATS. I narrated the scene as he swirled the point of his Halberd and using the air pressure pushed all those bats away. So fun... :D
@DBebeful
5 жыл бұрын
So cool! xD
Fighter class... Straightforward, yes. Simple, Nine Hells no!
Thank you so much for the quality content. I'm prepping for my first time behind the DM screen, and your channel has been a HUGE help in sorting through all the rules and options. I'm curious about your opinions on how to start a campaign (or a one shot) at a higher level. What equipment should the players start out owning? What are your rules for multiclassing from the beginning? Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Love your channel, April
I'm taking Parry at level 3, but plan on replacing it at a higher level when a D8 does nothing for me health-wise. Since you can replace a Maneuver every time you learn new ones.
@deantitus1925
3 жыл бұрын
Parry, parry, thrust, thrust, GOOD!!!!!
While a lot of this seemed like good advice, I found the dissing on commander strike to be hilarious since it combined with an archer using trip, goading or maneuvering strike (this assumes you have multiple attacks at this point) is just so strong. In fact, I usually downplay how strong commander strike is so that DMs won't disallow it. Commander strike has to be, hands down, the most flexible and potentially powerful maneuver...especially when thinking about fights from a team tactics perspective instead of just an individual one. Individually, trip attack is seemingly the best or maybe precision attack.
@anthonynorman7545
5 жыл бұрын
Rogue+Commander's strike=raining dice
Regarding Menacing Attack: I saved an entire caravel our party was sailing on from a Kraken by shooting it in the eye. 😃 Ever since then, I’ve been sold on menacing attack.
@xandermichael836
4 жыл бұрын
Kraken failed a save while it had legendary saves? That's an interesting situation lol
@queenannsrevenge100
4 жыл бұрын
Xander Michael - huh, I never looked to see... maybe either he forgot, or took pity on us when he realized what he threw at us! 😀
@xandermichael836
4 жыл бұрын
@@queenannsrevenge100 what level were yall?
@queenannsrevenge100
4 жыл бұрын
@@xandermichael836 5th :-0
@xandermichael836
4 жыл бұрын
@@queenannsrevenge100 had to be realizing the beast you were facing was too much, , an army of level 5s wouldn't fair too well with a kraken lol
Really appreciate your game experience as there are so many maneuvers to choose from. I hope you do an updated vid with Tasha's one day.
16:20 The platypus? How unexpected... By which I mean totally expected!
pushing attack + pole arm master is an amazing combo where you push them out of your reach and then when they go to engage next round they provoke an attack of opportunity from you again. If you also have sentinel it drops there speed to zero keeping them out of reach to attack you.
Amazing video. i'm just playing a battlemaster myself in Out of the Abyss and this comes perfectly.
To add to the trip attack dialog, taking shield master feat lets you attempt to shove (push or knock prone) your target even if your melee attack misses. Not to mention the other advantages of shield master (increase to dex save and reduction in dex attack based damage)
Seeing that you guys are Canadian with the roots sweater and jays hat was an unexpected surprise, but a welcome one! Cheers!
Hey guys! Just wanted to say I love your videos! I'm super brand new to d&d and technically haven't even played a game yet. But I'm learning and reading a lot of lore and how the game works. Your videos have really helped and inspired me to create some fun ideas for my first character. Thanks for the tips!!
I like using sweeping attack in conjunction with Green Flame Blade. You can pick it up as an elf or with magic initiate. It makes it usable.
@stefanb6539
5 жыл бұрын
So, the damage for the second target would be d8 + your spellcasting ability modifier? Still doesn't sound impressive enough to me to invest one of your maneuver picks AND a cantrip pick. As a fighter, you want top scores on either strength or dexterity and consti, so your spell casting ability will have what, a +2 modifier at best? 1d8+2 won't reliably drop many opponents, so at best you are softening them up for later....
@M0ebius
5 жыл бұрын
One level of Hexblade and you can max charisma only along with Greenflame Blade/Booming Blade and some damage buffs.
@jordanklotz1866
5 жыл бұрын
Till you reach 5th. I mean you are 3rd to reach battlemaster anyways. Then it is 2d8+int or cha. That will kill a goblin np.
@jordanklotz1866
5 жыл бұрын
So each of your attacks do 2d8. For 1 superiority die.
Strategy. Take goading attack, shoot an enemy from range, pick the polearm master feat, and watch chaos ensue.
Both Trip and Menacing are awesome. Push is also very nice, controlling where monsters are (or pushing them over a ledge/into a trap etc) is always good. Parry in combo with heavy armour master is surprisingly good, you need others to deal the damage tho. Most others feel lackluster or very situational.
You can already use Polearm Master + Sentinel to stop an enemy dead in their tracks before they get to you, but with Trip Attack, you can also knock them prone (because their movement is 0 they can't get up), and on your turn, you can then move 5 feet closer and get advantage on all your attacks.
@MadSwedishGamer
5 жыл бұрын
Oh, and if you're fighting a monster with Reach, you can use Shove Attack to still keep them from hitting you.
I love ur work guys. Keep it up. Yall make learning everything dnd just a bit easier for us less experienced players
I have a fighter/rogue I just made, so I can see giving myself advantage on an attack very useful
I really wish I'd watched this before the last encounter I played with my Battle Master Fighter. Menacing Attack is one of her maneuvers, and I could have made good use of it. Still, I now have a better grasp of her maneuvers for the next one! Cheers!
I have a battle master coming up and this helps. Thanks again
Battlemaster, Polearm Master, Sentinel: Enemy enters range, use Push Attack, push then out of your range, and reduce their speed to 0. Ultimate CC Fighter build that is guaranteed to piss off your GM.
@Drizzill79
7 ай бұрын
Had this plan with a Bugbear for 15' reach ... DM straight said 'I dont allow sentinel with polearm master because its not fun for the DM' I understand and will just trip and push my way lol
Goading attack on a crossbow master fighter is great as a support skill. You can force the boss to miss your melee or move to target you. Combined with sentinel on one of your melee and you can keep applying disadvantage every turn
I'm building my battle master fighter for a new game tomorrow, really appreciate this video!
thank you for this! I was having a hard time trying to pick 3 for my archer and I think I finally figured out the ones I want.
Great breakdown thank you so much 💪🏼 I am relatively new to dnd but am thinking about multicasting my gloomstalker Ranger with battlemaster fighter so I have powerful options in daylight too. My Ranger is an Archer, often mounted, who doesn’t want to rely on magic so this seems like a great option.
"Knock a manticore prone" *THATS HOW YOU PLUTO JACKSON*
@DBebeful
5 жыл бұрын
To every dear reader: If you want to see 'in action' how Trip Attack maneuver works with a thrown javelin against a manticore, just check the running Dungeons of Drakkenheim campaign! I guarantee that you won't be disappointed!
@kevinperkins8994
5 жыл бұрын
Manticore: Will it BLEND?! That. Was. So. Awesome.
@Gnarlf
5 жыл бұрын
@@DBebeful Only saw the first episode yet, but i'm curious. Would a flying creature take fall dmg in that case? I'm not so knowlageble when it comes to flyers and their rules.
@DBebeful
5 жыл бұрын
@@Gnarlf Yes, as you say Gnarlf! ;) I have collected the relevant rules for you directly from the Player's Handbook: Trip Attack page 74 PHB When you hit a creature with a weapon attack, you can expend one superiority die to attempt to knock the target down. You add the superiority die to the attack's damage roll, and if the target is Large or smaller, it must make a Strength saving throw. On a failed save, you knock the target prone. FLYING MOVEMENT page 191 PHB Flying creatures enjoy many benefits of mobility, but they must also deal with the danger of falling. If a flying creature is knocked prone, has its speed reduced to 0, or is otherwise deprived of the ability to move, the creature falls, unless it has the ability to hover or it is being held aloft by magic, such as by the fly spell. FALLING page 183 PHB A fall from a great height is one of the most common hazards facing an adventurer. At the end of a fall, a creature takes 1d6 bludgeoning damage for every 10 feet it fell, to a maximum of 20d6. The creature lands prone, unless it avoids taking damage from the fall. So in short (a very possible scenario): Successful trip attack on a flying creature -> prone -> speed reduced to 0 -> falling (1d6 bludgeoning damage / 10 feet) -> prone
@Gnarlf
5 жыл бұрын
@@DBebeful WOW! 1000 Thanks. That is a lot more effort, than i ever anticipated for an answer. Somehow i thought part of the rules would be in the DMG or somewhere else. Well, i take it as my homework then to read the PHB cover to cover next week. :) Thanks again.
Precision Attack When you make a weapon attack roll against a creature, you can expend one superiority die to add it to the roll. You can use this maneuver *before or after* making the attack roll, but before any effects of the attack are applied.
@Dave004
2 жыл бұрын
Meaning you can know if its a Hit or a Miss before expending the dice, correct? Jeremy Crawford basically stated that its true, you get to know whether its a Hit or Miss before using the dice, as long as you don't apply any damage to it first.
Rogue Fighter Multiclass is quite potent as a Battlemaster when you take maneuvers designed to give you advantage. Riposte and trip attack in particular pair very well with sneak attack.
Dungeon duuudes! Can't wait for next episode
2 years later and this helped alot.Thanks!
Goading attack with spear master is great. Add mobile feat on top to consistenly set up the spear master's ready stance.
@Natsirt666
5 жыл бұрын
Lunging Attack and Pushing Attack with Polearm Master and Sentinel. Attack of Opportunities out the wazoo!
I started my Dalton build with Superior Technique for the Sweeping Attack combined with the feat Crusher, letting me shove around potentially two ogre sized creatures with bludgeoning attacks.
2:12 arcane archers have something similar, your uses of arcane shot for many options only take effect if you hit, it makes it much less risky to use than a spell slot.
"Slow moving barbarian..." What?
I love how your going through subclasses right now. Could you do a Four Elements Monk next?
Tremendous video per usual. I never thought of Rally outside of combat. I will now. Thanks, and keep up the good work.
Battlemaster with polearm master GW master and sentinel. I use push more than anything else. Once they come in range I get my opportunity attack and just keep pushing them away before they even get close. Precision attack for when I really need to hit and tripping and riposte are good to. I essentially am really hard to get to and hit and can attack in practically any situation both defense and offense. Range is the only trouble I deal with at this point.
You forget that with Disarming Attack the opponents weapon falls at its feet (the 5 ft square its standing in). You would then have to shove or use Pushing Attack to get him off his square, and if you have movement remaining, you then move into the square he was in (where the weapon was dropped) to prevent him from picking it up again. Otherwise the opponent can just pick it up again for free on its turn.
@cocokolah8567
5 жыл бұрын
Disarming Attack is something that is in desperate need of homebrew rules. The creature should get disadvantage (or something bad) on the turn that it's picking up it's weapon. OR a good roll causes the weapon to be flung 15 feet in a random direction, forcing the disarmed creature to fetch their weapon or find another one. OR a fantastic roll causes your fighter to break the target's sword blade off just above the crossguard and now the creature is holding a useless broken sword handle!
@maid_of_heart3261
3 жыл бұрын
@@cocokolah8567 Now with the Bait and Switch maneuver added in Tasha's you can swap squares with your disarmed enemy, so now you're standing on their weapon and get a boost to AC equal to your superiority dice
@Dragonphoenix25
2 жыл бұрын
Clarify with your DM, but usually, it's common sense that you can use your free item interaction to kick the object out of reach or at least grab it before the enemy after the Disarming Attack. If not, this maneuver is really less useful, because the enemy will just pick up the object with their free item interaction on their turn (except if you forced movement on the enemy, but that's situational).
next fighter you should talk about is the cavalier im playing one in a 1-20 campaign rn and its a fun and very handy arctype
Another good use for a Precision Attack is the net. No damage, but automatic restrain if it hits a target that is Large or smaller. Until they break or escape the net, they can't move, take every attack against them with advantage while they attack with disadvantage and take disadvantage on Dex saves, setting them up for anything from a Sacred Flame to a Disintegrate.
@Anthem1018
5 жыл бұрын
Only a DC 10 Str check to escape :(
@barubary436
5 жыл бұрын
@@Anthem1018- Sure, but that is still a turn in which the target isn't attacking you.
I think the Battlemaster is often overlooked as a viable chassis for an Archer. Over half of the available maneuvers can be used with ranged weapons. I'm thinking something like Battlemaster 11/ Pact of the Blade Hexblade 5/ Gloom Stalker 4. A bunch of battle maneuvers (D10 Superiority dice) along with Eldritch Smite.... & you have spell slots recharging after a short rest to power your Eldritch Smite in the next battle. Hexblade class abilities as well as the Hex & Shield spells. And you get an extra attack the first round of every new combat.
I feel like feinting Attack gets a bad wrap compared to trip attack, but in my experience it has been equally useful and a generally more reliable than trip Attack. The situations in which trip Attack is more useful are when you have a single or a few important targets and other melee combatants near you. The only reason it is sometimes ineffective is that when you’re fighting a couple important enemies they are usually either all to large to trip, or to strong to fail their save. Trip Attack is also more useful than fronting attack against a single strong enemy when you use action surge. Feinting Attack is always useful. Getting advantage on an attack and an extra d8 for a bonus action is almost always useful in melee fights. Feinting attack also serves as a reliable second attack after any maneuver that requires a check or save to additionally affect the target so you can fail to trip, disarm, menace, or push a target and still have a second attack w/ advantage. It also acts as a consistent follow up if you successfully distract, goad, or maneuver so both you and your allies can be at advantage
@Dragonphoenix25
2 жыл бұрын
If your Battlemaster is a sword / board build, a non polearm heavy weapon, or a ranged build, Feinting attack has something to go for it, by making use of your Bonus action to augment the potential of your action (or ally action) by giving advantage. If you have access to a bonus action attack though (with Polearm Master, or Two Weapon fighting), this is worse, it's better to just get a bonus attack than giving advantage one time.
Thank you for making these guides, Dudes, they are fun, informative and well made :D And yeah, martial classes getting a wider toolbox is always awesome :)
I think brace is criminally underrated. If you aren't running a polearm master build, you want this. It is especially good with a fighter/swashbuckler multiclass as you can disengage with enemies after attacking them, forcing melees to walk back into your range to reengage. And you get sneak attack on these typically on top. Personally I don't think I would play a fighter, nonmulticlass. But this is my go-to for dex fighter. For strength fighter, I am going barb multiclass and yes I am still getting brace unless I am going polearm master
@andrewhalmo656
2 жыл бұрын
I totally agree! I just came up with an assassin bugbear ambusher with a whip a couple days ago. If you are hidden and someone comes into your reach, you can use brace to get a sneak attack, which is now a crit. Since surprise occurs in the first round (not a bonus round) now your actions and your bonus action are also all crits. Also if you want to you don’t need to disengage, because you have a reach of 10ft or 15ft if using a whip.
I rolled a really bad stat spread for my fighter so I went Battlemaster and used a polearm. Between Polearm Master, Sentinel, and maneuvers, I was able to react to enemies getting into halberd range to push enemies into attacks of opportunity for my allies or push them out of range of attacking me or them and force them to move back into my sentinel range to continue melee attacks.
@michaelcross7665
4 жыл бұрын
But enemies don't provoke opportunity attacks from being shoved/pushed? Only their intentional movement does that
@proudlarry8225
4 жыл бұрын
@@michaelcross7665 Your allies can make the opportunity attack if they have Sentinel! (Or if they also have Polearm Master). Because the wording does not seem specific about how they enter your reach, only that they have entered your reach.
@michaelcross7665
4 жыл бұрын
@@proudlarry8225 "You also don’t provoke an opportunity attack when you teleport or when someone or something moves you without using your movement, action, or reaction. For example, you don’t provoke an opportunity attack if an explosion hurls you out of a foe’s reach or if gravity causes you to fall past an enemy." RAW indicates that you cannot trigger an opportunity attack on anything other than voluntary movement. Sentinel's thing is getting opportunity attacks even if they disengage or if they attack someone other than you. Forced movement is specifically stated as not being a valid source of opportunity attack so no sentinel or polearm attack. If you guys have fun with it fine, just be aware it is homebrew and against RAW. www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/32lxsj/can_someone_clarify_polearm_masters_reaction/
@proudlarry8225
4 жыл бұрын
@@michaelcross7665 If it was against Rules as Written wouldn't the wording in the book be "when an opponent MOVES into your reach" instead of "when an opponent ENTERS your reach"? Because the rules for opportunity attacks without any feats are very specific about movement and neither Sentinel nor Polearm Master utilize the same terms as the general Opportunity Attack page.
@michaelcross7665
4 жыл бұрын
@@proudlarry8225 eh. It could've been more clear for sure, especially PM. General consensus however seems to be that opportunity attacks are never provoked by forced movement. The rules on opportunity attacks specifically forbid it. If a feat was able to overrule this then it would explicitly say you get an opportunity attack in the situation of forced movement when otherwise you couldn't. Instead it expands on your opportunity attack ability under new criteria of you also get to OA when entering reach instead of just leaving for PM, or even if they disengage for S, respectively. Since it doesnt make an exception and specifically say forced movement counts for this then we look back to the original rule and see that forced movement never provokes opportunity attacks. Anyways PM is a lot more vague in its wording and I can see how it could be interpreted that way, sentinel not so much so. Either way from what I found after researching it a bit was that the community is pretty consistent in that forced movement never causes opportunity attacks as the rule states, even in these specific situations. Again, fine if you prefer it that way. Just letting you know.
Great video guys .... as usual .... and perfect timing my Bugbear Battlemaster should level up in our next session and now I know what I want for maneuvers . Now I only have to decide on Sentinel or Great Weapon Master when he reaches level 8. Either way he will be even more of a badass .
@M0ebius
5 жыл бұрын
If you have Precision Attack, GWM for sure.
These are really the best sort of videos! I would say, don't discount rally because if you happen to have any leftover battle manuevers, you can just give temporary hp to your allies right before you take a short rest so as to not 'waste' them. Of course, which battlemaster still has battle manuevers after a fight? Well, sometimes things happen and it's a great backup.
My pick of 3 for archer are precision, disarming and push or trip attack. You can knock people out of ledges with push, and halve that bear's speed in half with trip. Then at lvl 7 I'd take menacing or goading and parry just in case. At 10 I'd take what I'd left out of trip/push or menacing/goading and distracting. At 15 what I left out of trip/push - goad/menace AND footwork just in case.
Thank you for the advice! Just leveled up and taking Battlemaster for the first time! Definitely going with the top 3 you both suggest first, can’t wait to use them!!!
I needed this video so badly! Before watching video, I'm going to lay down my personal favourites at level 3- - Parry (good use of Reaction. But if using Str-based fighter, can go for Pushing Attack to push into environmental hazard or spell AoE) - Distracting Strike (no save, and good setup for next ally) - Goading attack (useful if your DM likes to ignore tanks and go for squishies) *Edit* After the video - - I did not know that Frightened imposed disadvantage on all attack rolls. I had assumed it was only against the source of the fright. This makes Menacing Attack > Goading Attack - Only reason I avoid trip attack is because a melee fighter can knock someone prone by Shoving (no superiority die needed), while a ranged attacker would be imposing disadvantage on their future attacks against a Tripped opponent. But I did learn something new - Ranged attackers can knock a flying creature out of the air with Trip Attack, which does make it useful. - Ok, yeah, Parry doesn't scale well. I'll take that back and replace it with Pushing or Riposte.
@Anthem1018
5 жыл бұрын
The good thing is you can do that at L7 when Parry becomes less useful L3 - 5 it is fairly useful L6 less so as monster damage ramps up in the mid-tier of the game
@michaelcross7665
4 жыл бұрын
Parry is one of the best early maneuvers imo. At level 7 swap it for something else. Trip attack can also be used with a pole arm weapon while maintaining distance. That and it does damage while potentially knocking them prone. A DC is more consistent than contested rolls sometimes as well. That being said I dont use trip attack, not my style
How about the Martial Adept feat? Is it good enough on it's own? More importantly, would it ever be worth taking as a Battlemaster, to round out your maneuver choices?
@AllThingsFascinate
5 жыл бұрын
Was really surprised they didn't cover this exact question. I was thinking about it myself
@rfjohnson69
5 жыл бұрын
My personal opinions is no due to opportunity cost. However having 2 more options for manuvers and one more die (trip/riposte/etc) per short rest might be worth it to some folks. Depends upon you DM and how often you get lots of combat per short rest.
@M0ebius
5 жыл бұрын
It’s definitely NOT worth it from an optimization perspective. Half the maneuvers are garbage anyway, so you are effectively just getting an extra dice. Every high powered combat feats (GWM/Sharp Shooter/Xbow Expert/Polearm Master) will be better, as well as feats like Lucky or Alert. If you are high in levels, I would also prioritize Resilient WIS and Tough since you will have plenty of superiority die already.
@cocokolah8567
5 жыл бұрын
Don't bother with Martial Adept; there are much much better feats to choose from. Think of your superiority dice as Fighter Fuel. The feat Martial Adept gives you only ONE more superiority die and it's a measly d6 _even if you're a Battle Master_ it's still just a single awkward d6 added to the other, larger superiority dice. (If you roll badly, you might _miss_ your one d6 maneuver.) On the other hand, if you are a Fighter, then you start Battle Master with four d8's per short/long rest. You get another die at Fighter level 7 and then another at level 15. The superiority dice get upgraded to d10's at level 10 and d12's at level 18. You learn two more maneuvers at level 7, level 10 and level 15 and here's a the best part: when you pick new maneuvers you can take one you already know and swap it out for a new maneuver! So at level 7 you'll have FIVE maneuvers and the option to switch one. At that point, you'll have already picked your most favorite/useful maneuvers. If you do run out of superiority dice, play defensively and remember that Fighters have proficiency when wielding bows, crossbows, slingshot+steel balls, thrown weapons, ect. TL;DR a single extra d6 superiority die is not worth it unless you have a non-Fighter that gets extra attacks. For example: a Rogue that uses one of his attacks to perform Trip Attack, somehow has an extra attack and uses it to Backstab the target that is now prone. It all hinges on a single 1d6 roll and I personally don't trust those odds...
basically the only maneuver my fighter ever uses is maneuvering attack. Letting knocked down friends stand up, get out of bad situations, get into attack positions, just all sorts of situations. Its basically just never bad. My team mates get into enough bad situations, or my DM works to put them into bad situations often enough, that I often feel like I need to save my superiority dice just to pop maneuvering attacks.
Very cool to know which ones are key for the Battlemaster and which ones fall flat. I didn't realize that commanding strike took the bonus action on top of one of the attacks. My brother played a Battlemaster and I never noticed that part. Oh well, that campaign is almost over and the character will live on in for our legends, lol. Some of these other combos are really great. I need to take a moment and look at some of these combinations to learn how to better manage my characters. Sometimes I just end up picking things that seem great at the time without thinking about how it'll end up in the end. Kinda how I ended up with a 1/2-orc Acolyte Beast Conclave Ranger (Revised). Yeah, I had an interesting idea but it didn't quite work out. Excellent stuff as always, thanks dudes!
I love that y'all are always reppin' Canada (especially Monty with the Roots gear)
Distracting Strike + Commander with a Rogue ally will work!
@OmegaThirty
5 жыл бұрын
vynat draco minimum of lvl11 to pull this off though
@dragonmaster613
5 жыл бұрын
@@OmegaThirty why 11? You can pick 3 maneuvers at lv3.
Absolutely riposte was my favorite. Can't tell you how many bbegs and rando minions ive taken down with a well timed riposte
I have a combat medic fighter (lvl 5 atm) and i have found Commander´s Strike REALLY valuable, cos the party´s main melee dealer is a Half-Orc Barbarian. If i Action Surge, i can have him do one huge blow to the target and still take 3 attacks myself with my flail. We have disposed LOADS of difficult opponents with this maneuver. I also have Riposte (funnily, this hasn´t come up so many times) and Feinting Attack. I can see now the Trip attack goodness and the Disarming attack for my lvl 7 (if i survive ;) ) choices. Good videos guys, thanks for these!
I’m adding battle master to my swarmkeeper soon! Best part is using my swarm to move opponents doesn’t affect my bonus or superiority dice and it makes great flavor text to have my swarm do the maneuvers. Example disarming attack could be my swarm attacking the enemies arm, making them drop their item
My Battle Master dwarf fighter played a lot with Commander's Strike and Riposte, boasting Sentinel. Commander's Strike was mostly what I always used, because I stayed close to our casters to shield them with Sentinel, and just ordered our Great Weapon Master frontline paladin with Str18 to do their thing - just double the time. Especially good before lvl 5, and fine even at lvl 5.
Regarding the Commander's Strike... I have a Battlemaster who has played so far with 2 different groups. In both cases the character is not as good as the rogue, the barbarian and the paladin she was travelling with (spread over both groups). So using my own action and trigger the Commander's Strike for someone who has a better chance to hit an enemy and might even be able to deal much more damage as well is a great use in my personal opinion. But it really does need someone hitting better and harder to make it worth it.
@jordanklotz7554
5 жыл бұрын
Using commander's strike can also be good if you have a party member with a magic weapon.
I used to really like feint attack, because it boosted your accuracy and dealt damage, but I'm seeing that bonus action cost now and it's a little too steep
Main thing I I never noticed about battlemaster is, and I shit you not like half of the maneuvers work on ranged attacks. Goading or maneuvering or tripping or pushing attack, at a range of like 60 feet, or 600 with sharpshooter and a longbow
Great Information as always fellas. I am starting a Battlemaster Fighter/Totem Barbarian and this information was extremely helpful in planning out my character.
I'm sure its been brought up but i'm pretty sure Precision Attack allows you to know if you Hit or Miss before you use your Superiority Dice. Per Jeremy Crawford on Twitter, "Precision Attack can follow the shield spell, as long as the attack's damage and whatnot haven't been applied." So he's basically saying, since Shield is only triggered on a Hit, you can know if its a Hit or not, as long as "damage and whatnot haven't been applied". Making Precision Attack much more useful, which makes sense since most maneuvers say you use your dice after a Hit, not after an attack but before you know if it hits.
Hey Dungeon Dudes, Love your content and conversation regarding dnd classes and situations. I had a question for you, would you ever do a series on critiquing home brew classes, the balance of them and the viability of them?
@JorisVDC
5 жыл бұрын
Wow, how many classes are there? Maybe you should put them on a forum somewhere?
My Battle Master is a dirty fighter, who took one level of Rogue for Sneak Attack. I use Riposte (for an additional Sneak Attack outside my turn), Trip Attack (the epitomy of dirty fighting, also: Adavantage equals Sneak Attack) and Feinting Attack (again, guaranteed Sneak Attack). Mght change out the last one once I have Multiattack, cause then I can use Trip Attack for the same thing. Also very nice for flavouring up your fighting: Right hand sword hits, the tripping is basically a knee to the groin, and as the guy doubles over, the left hand sword basically just waits for him to fall into w/ Sneak Attack.