Which Fighting Style Is Best in 5e?
Archery adds +2 to ranged attack rolls, Defense adds +1 AC while you wear armor, Great Weapon Fighting treats 1s and 2s on two-handed damage dice as 3s, and Two-Weapon Fighting adds your modifier to the Light weapon's extra attack. Fighters, Paladins and Rangers each pick a Fighting Style feat. The SRD holds four. Each one is small on paper: +2 here, +1 there. Here they are, quoted, with what each one adds over a fight.
Who gets one
The Fighter picks first:
You have honed your martial prowess and gain a Fighting Style feat of your choice (see "Feats"). Defense is recommended. Whenever you gain a Fighter level, you can replace the feat you chose with a different Fighting Style feat.
Paladins and Rangers pick at level 2, and each can trade the feat for two cantrips: Blessed Warrior (Cleric cantrips, Charisma) for the Paladin, Druidic Warrior (Druid cantrips, Wisdom) for the Ranger. The Champion Fighter gets a second style:
Level 7: Additional Fighting Style. You gain another Fighting Style feat of your choice.
Every one carries the same gate: "Fighting Style Feat (Prerequisite: Fighting Style Feature)". A Wizard can't take one with a level 4 feat.
The numbers below use a level 1 to 4 hero with a 16 in the attack stat (+3) and Proficiency Bonus +2: +5 to hit. A natural 20 always hits and a natural 1 always misses.
Archery
You gain a +2 bonus to attack rolls you make with Ranged weapons.
A Longbow deals 1d8 + 3. Fighter kit B carries one. The +2 adds 10% to every shot:
| Target AC | Hit, +5 | Hit, Archery +7 | Damage per shot | With Archery |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 | 65% | 75% | 5.10 | 5.85 |
| 15 | 55% | 65% | 4.35 | 5.10 |
| 17 | 45% | 55% | 3.60 | 4.35 |
That is +0.75 damage per shot at every AC, and more as targets get harder: against AC 17 the Archer lands 22% more hits. It counts on every ranged attack, and a Fighter with Extra Attack makes two.
Defense
While you're wearing Light, Medium, or Heavy armor, you gain a +1 bonus to Armor Class.
Fighter kit A is Chain Mail, AC 16. The Paladin's kit adds a Shield for 18. A Goblin Warrior's Scimitar is +4 to hit; an Ogre's Greatclub is +6:
| Your AC | Goblin hits | With Defense | Ogre hits | With Defense |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 | 55% | 50% | 65% | 60% |
| 16 | 45% | 40% | 55% | 50% |
| 18 | 35% | 30% | 45% | 40% |
Each step takes 5% off every attack aimed at you. At AC 16 against goblins that is one hit in nine gone; at AC 18, one in seven. The better your armor, the more the +1 is worth. It needs no action and works on every turn, which is why the SRD recommends it.
Great Weapon Fighting
When you roll damage for an attack you make with a Melee weapon that you are holding with two hands, you can treat any 1 or 2 on a damage die as a 3. The weapon must have the Two-Handed or Versatile property to gain this benefit.
Every die now rolls 3 or better. A d6 averages 4 instead of 3.5, so two of them add a full point. One big die gains less:
| Weapon | Damage | Average | With GWF | Per attack, +5 vs AC 15 | With GWF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greatsword | 2d6 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 5.85 | 6.45 |
| Maul | 2d6 | 7.0 | 8.0 | 5.85 | 6.45 |
| Greataxe | 1d12 | 6.5 | 6.75 | 5.55 | 5.70 |
| Glaive, Halberd | 1d10 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 4.95 | 5.13 |
| Longsword, two hands | 1d10 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 4.95 | 5.13 |
The damage columns add the +3. A critical hit doubles the dice, and the feat counts on the extra dice too. On a Greatsword or Maul, the feat is worth about 0.6 damage per swing. On a Greataxe it is worth 0.15, less than Archery gives a bow.
Two-Weapon Fighting
When you make an extra attack as a result of using a weapon that has the Light property, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of that attack if you aren't already adding it to the damage.
The off-hand Shortsword goes from 1d6 to 1d6 + 3. At +5 against AC 15 that attack rises from 2.10 to 3.75 damage, +1.65 a turn, the biggest jump of the four. It costs a Bonus Action each turn, though. The rules on the extra attack itself are in Two-Weapon Fighting.
Which one
Fighter kit A holds Chain Mail and a Greatsword, so the choice is real:
- Defense: 5% fewer hits on you, every attack, all day.
- Great Weapon Fighting: +0.6 damage per swing, about +1.2 a turn after Extra Attack at level 5.
A front-line Fighter takes most of the hits, so Defense keeps the party alive longer. A Fighter who already hides behind a Paladin can take the damage. Bow users take Archery; nothing else comes close for them. Dual-wielders take Two-Weapon Fighting. A Fighter can swap on any level-up, so a wrong pick costs one level at most.
For how Armor Class works, see Armor Class. For a Greatsword's Graze and the other weapon properties, see Weapon Mastery. For whole-damage maths and crits, see Damage and Critical Hits.
This work includes material from the System Reference Document 5.2.1 ("SRD 5.2.1") by Wizards of the Coast LLC, available at dndbeyond.com/srd. The SRD 5.2.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
