2024 Fighter vs. 2014 Fighter: What’s New (2024)

The Fighter remains an unbreakable bulwark of combat prowess in the 2024 Player's Handbook. With the ability to use Second Wind to do more than heal, Weapon Mastery to control the battlefield, and updated subclasses, the Fighteris more of a master-at-arms than ever.

In this article, we’ll cover the key changes to the 2024 Fighter you’ll find in the 2024Player’s Handbook. If there’s a feature we don’t cover, such as Extra Attack, it remains unchanged or only saw minor tweaks (don’t worry, your Fighter can still attack four times per action at level 20).

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2024 Fighter Class Features Overview

Artist: Néstor Ossandón Leal

Fighting Style — Level 1

Fighting Style options have remained mostly the same, with a couple tweaks to make them streamlined and more effective. The most significant change is that the options from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything have been included, and all of these features are now considered feats with a prerequisite that requires the Fighting Style feature to be picked up.

At level 1, you get to choose one of these feats as part of the Fighter’s Fighting Style feature. Every time you gain a Fighter level, you can swap out your choice in case you get tired of protecting your glass-cannon Wizard and want to swing a two-handed weapon instead!

Second Wind — Level 1

Second Wind starts at two uses and increases as you level up. Each Short Rest, you regain one expended use of the feature. On a Long Rest, you regain all expended uses. Thanks to Tactical Mind and Tactical Shift, this resource has also been made effective even when you’re not on the edge of death!

Weapon Mastery — Level 1

Customize your kit with the new Weapon Mastery feature! Choose any weapons that you’d like to access the mastery properties of, for example, the Greatsword, Flail, and Javelinfrom one of your starting equipment options, and you’ll get access to:

• Greatsword (Graze): With the Greatsword’s mastery property, Graze, you damage enemies even if you miss them with attacks! The damage is equal to the ability score modifier used to make the attack, so make sure to pump your Strength to make even those misses hurt!
• Flail (Sap): Sap gives creatures that you hit Disadvantage on their next attack roll. Combined with your high AC, this will make you an annoying thorn (or flail) in your enemies’ sides!
• Javelin (Slow): Need tokeep a bit of distance between you and your foe? The Javelin’s Slow property reduces your target’s Speed by 10 feet until your next turn when you hit. This will allow you to get out of dodge or allow an ally to create some much-needed space.

Tactical Mind — Level 2

When you fail an ability check, you can expend a use of Second Wind to gain 1d10 to add to the roll. Plus, your Second Wind usage isn’t expended if you still fail. Who said jocks can’t be smart?

Fighter Subclass — Level 3

Artist: Katerina Ladon

Fighter subclasses in the 2024 Player's Handbookinclude the Battle Master, Champion, Eldritch Knight, and Psi Warrior. The Champion saw the most extensive updates, whereas the Battle Master, Eldritch Knight, and the Psi Warrior saw slight tweaks to improve gameplay.

• Battle Master: The number of Superiority Dice and maneuvers you receive are the same, as is the scaling of your Superiority Dice. Maneuvers have been brought over from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, and some have been tweaked slightly. There was a change to Know Your Enemy, which removes the 1-minute observation condition and only reveals Immunities, Resistances, and Vulnerabilities. Also, level 15 Relentless Presence now allows you to use a free d8 instead of spending your regular Superiority Dice for maneuvers once a turn.
• Champion: The Champion is still all about Critical Hits, with some added bonuses. Remarkable Athlete has been brought to level 3 and now gives you Advantage on Initiative rolls and Strength (Athletics) checks. You also get access to a new feature at level 10 called Heroic Warrior, which gives you Heroic Inspiration whenever you start your turn without it.
• Eldritch Knight: The Eldritch Knight remains mostly the same, with some small changes to War Magic and Improved War Magic. Instead of getting to attack once as a Bonus Action when you cast a cantrip as an action, you can simply replace an attack with a cantrip. This allows you to intermix your magic and attacks more effectively, especially when you get Two Extra Attacks at level 11. Improved War Magic follows this trend but requires you to forgo two attacks to cast a level 1 or level 2 spell.
• Psi Warrior: Introduced in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, the Psi Warrior is mainly unchanged.

Tactical Shift— Level 5

If your caster buddy is getting pummeled across the battlefield but you can’t risk an Opportunity Attack to get to them, all you need to do is use Second Wind as a Bonus Action. With Tactical Shift, using your Second Wind allows you to move up to half your Speed as part of the Bonus Action, and you don’t provoke Opportunity Attacks.

Once you’re out of your foe’s reach, you can use the rest of your movement to get where you need to go!

Indomitable — Level 9

This feature now lives up to its name. When you fail a saving throw, you can reroll with a bonus equal to your Fighter level. You heard that right. By the time you get this feature, that will be plus 9 to your rerolls. Eventually, you’ll be able to add 20 to your roll.

Now, if that won’t help you avoid a lich’s Dominate Monster, maybe you shouldn’t have taken a 6 in Wisdom.

Tactical Master — Level 9

Dial up your mastery over weapons! When you attack with a weapon you’ve chosen as part of your Weapon Mastery feature, you can swap out the mastery properties for Push, Sap, or Slow.

We’ve already covered Push and Sap under our Weapon Mastery section, so here’s a breakdown of how Push works:

• Push: When you hit a creature, push it 10 feet away in a straight line. No ability check (or saving throw on the pushed creature’s part) required.

Swapping out mastery properties on the move is incredible for your versatility and will allow you to capitalize on strategic decisions.

If you’re standing at the edge of a cliff, this will let you swap out your Greatsword's potential Graze for a much more devastating Push off said cliff, adding more strategy than ever to a Fighter's arsenal.

Studied Attacks — Level 13

We all hate whiffing on attacks, but this new ability does a lot to make sure you’re at least not whiffing twice in a row.

If you make an attack against a creature and miss, you get Advantage on your next weapon attack against the same creature until the end of your next turn.

So, whenever you miss your first attack and Critical Hit on your second because of Advantage, you can say, “That first one was for research!”

Epic Boon — Level 19

Epic Boons are a new type of feat introduced in the revised core ruleset and that are level-locked. At level 19, the Fighter gets their choice of one of thetwelve Epic Boon feats found in the 2024 Player’s Handbook.

The following Epic Boon is a recommended option for the Fighter:

• Boon of the Combat Prowess: Increase one ability score by 1 to a maximum of 30. Also, whenever you miss an attack roll, you can hit instead. Once you use the ability, you can’t use it again until the start of your next turn.

Master the Battlefield

The new updates in the 2024 Player's Handbookbring a refreshing update to the Fighter class and its subclasses. With the introduction of Weapon Mastery, as well as a new expendable resource in Second Wind, Fighters have a lot more meaningful choices to make in and out of combat.

We’re excited to share more of what you can expect from the 2024 core rulebooks, so stay tuned for additional guides previewing the2024 Player’s Handbook, which is releasing September 17!

Ready to see what's next for D&D? The 2024 Player's Handbook, 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide,and 2024 Monster Manualare all available for preorder on the D&D Beyond marketplace. Plus, you can save $60 and get exclusive digital bonuses when you preorder the !

Mike Bernier (@arcane_eye) is the founder of Arcane Eye, a site focused on providing useful tips and tricks to all those involved in the world of D&D. Outside of writing for Arcane Eye, Mike spends most of his time playing games, hiking with his partner, and tending the veritable jungle of houseplants that have invaded his house.