Battle Master is the Fighter for players who want a simple weapon build without simple decisions. A Champion mostly improves passive numbers; Battle Master gets a short-rest pool of Superiority Dice that can turn a miss into a hit, put a dangerous enemy Prone before the rest of the party attacks, frighten a melee threat, punish a miss with Riposte or push something off the map. The build below stays Fighter 12 because the class already gives everything it needs: four feats, five Superiority Dice from level 7, d10 superiority dice at level 10 and Improved Extra Attack at level 11 for three attacks per normal Attack Action.
Battle Master wins by fixing the exact roll that would have lost the turn
The recommended baseline is a two-handed Strength Fighter with Great Weapon Master. It does not assume permanent Strength rewards or daily Strength elixirs. Starting at 16 STR and spending Fighter's extra feats on Strength means the character reaches 20 naturally while still taking Great Weapon Master and a fourth utility/damage feat.
Battle Master is selected at Fighter 3 and immediately turns the class into a short-rest tactical resource user.
Build at a glance
Swipe horizontally to view all columns.
| Build slot | Recommendation | Why |
|---|---|---|
Class | Battle Master Fighter 12 | Keeps all four Fighter feats and level-11 Improved Extra Attack. |
Starting stats | STR 16 / DEX 14 / CON 16 / INT 8 / WIS 10 / CHA 8 | High HP, usable initiative, clean self-contained Strength path. |
Fighting Style | Defence | +1 AC is always useful and lets Great Weapon Master carry the damage role. |
Feat 1 | Great Weapon Master at 4 | Adds a large damage option and Bonus Action attack on crit/kill. |
Feat 2 | +2 STR at 6 | 18 Strength: accuracy, damage, jumping and shove improve. |
Feat 3 | +2 STR at 8 | 20 Strength without story rewards or elixir dependency. |
Feat 4 | Alert or Savage Attacker at 12 | Alert for first-turn control; Savage Attacker for damage-heavy gear. |
Core manoeuvres | Precision / Trip / Riposte | Accuracy rescue, Prone setup, and off-turn punishment cover three different problems. |
Precision Attack spends a Superiority Die on the attack roll instead of pretending every Great Weapon Master swing has to accept a bad hit chance.
Manoeuvre priority: choose tools that change enemy turns
Swipe horizontally to view all columns.
| Manoeuvre | When to spend it | Why it earns a slot |
|---|---|---|
Precision Attack | A high-value attack is likely to miss | Adds the Superiority Die to the attack roll; ideal for rescuing GWM accuracy. |
Trip Attack | You can attack the target again in melee, or allies will follow | Prone can give nearby attackers Advantage and can break concentration. |
Riposte | An enemy misses you and the reaction is free | Converts enemy failure into an extra weapon attack outside your turn. |
Menacing Attack | A mobile melee threat needs to stop advancing | Frightened limits movement and imposes Disadvantage on attacks/checks. |
Pushing Attack | Terrain is more valuable than raw damage | Pushes a target while still delivering the attack; ledges and hazards decide fights. |
Disarming Attack | A dangerous weapon user is susceptible | Forces a weapon drop on failure; less useful on beasts/casters. |
Manoeuvre save DC uses 8 + proficiency + your Strength or Dexterity modifier, whichever is higher. That is another reason not to build a two-handed Battle Master around a weak attack stat. The subclass begins at level 3 with four d8 Superiority Dice and three manoeuvres. At level 7 you gain a fifth die and two more manoeuvres; level 10 upgrades the dice to d10 and adds two more choices.
Pushing Attack is not just damage: on maps with cliffs, lava or persistent surfaces, forced movement can be the whole turn.
Level 1–12 progression
Swipe horizontally to view all columns.
| Character level | Pick / feature | What changes |
|---|---|---|
1 | Fighter 1 — Defence, Second Wind | Wear the best heavy armour available; use two-handed weapons but do not chase GWM math yet. |
2 | Action Surge | One extra Action per Short Rest; save it for turns where another full attack sequence matters. |
3 | Battle Master — Precision, Trip, Riposte | The build gains its actual decision engine. |
4 | Great Weapon Master | Turn All In on only when accuracy supports the -5 penalty. |
5 | Extra Attack | Two attacks per Action; Trip on the first hit can improve the second. |
6 | Feat: +2 STR | Reach 18 Strength. Fighter gets an extra feat here. |
7 | 5th Superiority Die; Menacing + Pushing | More uses per Short Rest and two different control lanes. |
8 | Feat: +2 STR | Reach 20 Strength. Baseline weapon accuracy is now solved. |
9 | Indomitable | Reroll a failed saving throw; valuable insurance against run-ending control. |
10 | d10 Superiority Dice; add Disarming + utility | Your manoeuvre riders scale again. |
11 | Improved Extra Attack | Three attacks per Attack Action — the reason pure Fighter stays competitive. |
12 | Alert or Savage Attacker | Pick initiative reliability or damage optimisation based on the party. |
Fighter 11 is the decisive pure-class milestone: one Attack Action now produces three attacks before Action Surge.
Great Weapon Master is strongest when you manage it
Great Weapon Master: All In trades -5 to the attack roll for +10 damage. Treat it like a toggle, not a permanent identity. Bless, Advantage, high ground, weapon enchantment and Precision Attack can make the trade excellent. Against very high AC, turn All In off and land the attack. A missed 30-damage swing deals zero damage and does not apply Trip, Menacing or Disarming either.
Great Weapon Master is a damage switch. Battle Master is unusually good at paying its accuracy cost because Precision Attack exists.
Gear progression: accuracy first, damage second
Swipe horizontally to view all columns.
| Stage | Useful targets | What the build needs |
|---|---|---|
Act 1 | Svartlebee’s Woundseeker, Sword of Justice, Gloves of the Growling Underdog, Adamantine Splint | Reliable attack rolls and AC matter more than chasing one perfect legendary early. |
Act 2 | Halberd of Vigilance, Risky Ring if the saving-throw penalty is acceptable, Flawed Helldusk Gloves | Initiative/Advantage and weapon riders make GWM easier to sustain. |
Act 3 | Balduran’s Giantslayer, Legacy of the Masters, Armour of Persistence or Helldusk Armour, Gauntlets of the Warmaster | Giantslayer is the obvious Strength endpoint; Warmaster gloves directly improve manoeuvre saving-throw pressure. |
Balduran’s Giantslayer is a natural Act 3 two-handed endpoint for a Strength Battle Master, but the build functions long before it appears.
A normal combat turn
1. Identify the enemy turn that matters most, not just the nearest health bar.
2. If GWM hit chance is poor, disable All In before attacking or reserve Precision Attack for the key swing.
3. Open with Trip when the target can become Prone and later melee attacks can exploit it.
4. Use Menacing on a dangerous melee enemy that needs to lose movement; use Pushing when terrain is worth more than another damage rider.
5. Keep the reaction available for Riposte unless an item or Opportunity Attack has a better use.
6. Action Surge when an extra full three-attack Action at level 11 can end a boss phase or remove a dangerous enemy before it acts.
Arcane Archer is better when you want ranged control and special arrows; Eldritch Knight is the better fit for weapon binding, throwing or defensive spellcasting; Champion is simpler when you specifically want passive critical/fighting-style scaling. Battle Master is the default recommendation for a player who wants a normal weapon Fighter but still wants every dangerous turn to contain a real tactical choice.
Honour Mode notes / When another Fighter subclass is better
Action Surge remains one of the cleanest Honour burst tools because the extra Action can still use Fighter Extra Attack progression.
Do not budget the run around low-accuracy Great Weapon Master swings. Precision Attack, Advantage and toggling All In are reliability tools.
Indomitable is more valuable in a single-save campaign than a damage spreadsheet suggests. One failed Hold or fear effect can erase multiple Fighter attacks.
Pushing enemies off cliffs can also destroy loot. Kill for position only when losing the drop is acceptable.
Superiority Dice recover on Short Rest, so use them. Ending a day with five unused dice is not resource efficiency.
Common mistakes
Taking seven damage manoeuvres and no accuracy/control tool.
Leaving GWM on against every target and blaming the weapon when 55% attacks miss.
Spending Riposte on a disposable enemy while a dangerous boss attack is about to provoke another reaction choice.
Multiclassing before Fighter 11 and giving up the class’s third attack without a specific reason.; Saving every Superiority Die for a boss and then long-resting with the resource unused.
FAQ
Is pure Battle Master 12 still good after Patch 8? Yes. Patch 8 added Arcane Archer but did not remove Fighter 11 Improved Extra Attack or Battle Master’s short-rest engine.
What three manoeuvres should I start with? Precision, Trip and Riposte cover accuracy, control and reaction damage.
Should I take Alert or Savage Attacker at 12? Alert if initiative decides fights; Savage Attacker if the party already solves initiative and your weapon/rider dice are the priority.
Do manoeuvres consume a die on a missed attack? Most attack-roll manoeuvres only consume the die if the attack hits; Riposte and Sweeping Attack are exceptions.
Do I need Strength elixirs? No. Pure Fighter reaches 20 Strength through Fighter’s extra feats.