Best Fighter Races in D&D 5e
Published on December 6, 2024
Discover the best Fighter races in D&D 5e! Maximize Strength, enhance your damage, and get ready to do battle.
Miguel Mercado - Wizards of the Coast - Dwarfhold Champion
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What is this guide?
This guide is meant as a deep dive into the best races for the 5e fighter. For the full overview of the fighter class, check out our fighter class guide.
To allow you to scan through the options quickly, we use the following color rating scheme:
- Red : Isn’t going to contribute to the effectiveness of your character build at all
- Orange : Situationally good, but a below-average option otherwise
- Green : A good option
- Blue : A great option, you should strongly consider this option for your character
- Sky Blue: An amazing option. If you do not take this option your character would not be optimized
Best Races for Fighters
Fighters in D&D are masters of weaponry and combat, unmatched in terms of raw damage potential.
They boast the highest number of attacks per round, a wealth of Fighting Styles to choose from, and access to powerful defensive buffs to weather an onslaught of attacks. With a d10 hit die, all armor proficiencies, and access to any weapon, Fighters excel in both offense and defense, making them a cornerstone of any adventuring party.
Tips for Choosing Your Fighter’s Race
Fighter’s main area of concern when choosing a race is to find traits that improve their fighting capabilities. To maximize your effectiveness, focus on races that enhance your Strength or Dexterity (depending on your build type) and or Constitution.
Additionally, look for racial features that augment your damage output, mobility, or defensive capabilities. A race that boosts your Initiative can help you strike first, while those with extra movement or combat-related traits can make you an even more formidable presence on the battlefield.
Standard Races
Dragonborn:
- Chromatic: Great option to make your fighter more tanky while also giving you a solid option for AoE damage. Being able to use the breath weapon in place of one of your extra attacks will offer huge boosts in damage when you have enemies lined up properly.
- Metallic: Great survivability and combat utility from the damage resistance and Breath Weapon. The Metallic Breath Weapon can offer some battlefield control and, if you're able to knock an enemy prone in place of your first attack, you can follow up with a bunch of attacks with advantage.
- Standard: +2 STR is perfect for a STR build, damage resistance further improves tankiness, and an AoE is something many fighters lack.
- Ravenite: +2 STR and +1 CON is perfect for a STR-based fighter. The extra attack is great to dish out additional damage in a pinch and Breath Weapon is useful for an AoE attack.
Dwarf:
Dwarves are a great choice for melee fighters (just look at Gimli). They get bonuses to CON and a free resistance to poison. What’s not to love?
- Hill: Bonuses to WIS isn’t going to help a ton but may be useful if you need to have high Perception, and the bonus hit points are always welcome.
- Mountain: Most melee fighters will take +2 bonuses to STR and CON all day.
Elf:
You're likely not going to play an Elf unless you are a Finesse Fighter or Archer. Elves get a bonus to DEX, free Perception proficiency, and Darkvision, all of which are very important for DEX based Fighters.
- Aereni Wood: Great choice for a finesse or ranged fighter. The +2 to DEX will help pump their primary ability score and the passive features granted by this subrace are extremely synergistic. The skill expertise will go much farther than the weapon proficiency of the PHB wood elf because fighters already get all the weapon proficiencies they need.
Gnome:
Eldritch Knights can make use of the INT, though the other subclasses regard INT as a dump stat.
Half-Elf:
Being able to take +1 to CON or STR is not enough to make a Half-Elf Fighter optimal.
Half-Orc:
+2 STR, +1 CON, and all of the half-orc’s class features are exactly what fighters are looking for.
Halfling:
+2 DEX and +1 CON, is a great start for a DEX based Fighter build. Lucky is particularly helpful because of all the attack rolls you will be making.
Human:
- Mark of Making: Eldritch Knights can get their INT and one ability score of their choosing from the Mark of Making as well as get some interesting spells for a melee spellcaster build.
- Mark of Sentinel: No STR or DEX but does provide +2 CON. A free casting of shield is always welcome, as is the ability to swap with a party member to tank damage.
- Standard: A middle of the road pick because they increase all their ability scores by 1.
- Variant: Variant humans get a bonus to two ability scores of their choice and an extra feat, both of which are wicked for all types of fighters.
Tiefling:
Fighters are very versatile, so options with STR, CON, or DEX could work.
- Bloodline of Dispater: Decent option for a DEX-based fighter that wants to do some sneaking around.
- Bloodline of Glasya: Decent option for a DEX-based fighter that wants to do some sneaking around.
- Bloodline of Levistus: No STR or DEX, but will make you very tanky.
- Bloodline of Zariel: Slight STR bonus and some offensive spells to make your weapon attacks hurt more.
- Variant – Feral: Perfect for DEX-based fighters as this variant gets +2 DEX instead of CHA. Eldritch Knights can make use of both DEX and INT.
- Variant – Winged: Having flight is amazing, and combined with +2 DEX from Feral will make for a mean ranged fighter.
Non-Standard Races
Aarakocra:
Most fighters need to be in melee range in order to dish out damage and tank for the party, though the added mobility is nice. A ranged fighter however will absolutely love getting flight at 1st-level.
- Updated: Tankier builds who wear heavy armor and want to be in melee range won't have any use for the Aarakocra's flight, which is it's best ability by far. Ranged builds who are fine wearing light armor and staying at a distance will love the flight at 1st level and may have some use for the natural weapons and spell the race provides.
Aasimar:
Nothing here for a fighter.
Aasimar (2024):
Extra damage Resistances and an incredibly powerful boost to your damage when enemies are in close quarters. Plus, some baked-in healing for when you need to gain some Hit Points back. Also a very effective baseline for Dexterity-based ranged Fighters
Air Genasi:
Fighters may not be using shocking grasp that often, but both feather fall and levitate will make you more useful both in and out of combat. The extra movement speed, Darkvision, and damage resistance are all additional benefits.
Astral Elf:
Unless you're an Eldritch Knight, you likely won't have the CHA, INT, or WIS necessary to roll with sacred flame, but free castings of misty step can be indispensable for maneuvering the battlefield. The additional abilities, like proficiency in Perception, advantage against charmed, can't be put to sleep with magic, are also welcome additions.
Auto Gnome:
While auto gnomes may be out for heavy armor, heavy weapon builds, they can make quite an effective ranged or DEX-based fighter. If you want your fighter to be a little more rouge-like, you can stack into DEX, get 18 AC without disadvantage on Stealth checks, add d4 to attack rolls and ability checks, get a proficiency with Thieves' Tools, and round it off with extra healing capabilities and some defensive boosts.
Bugbear:
+2 STR for STR-based fighters and +1 DEX for DEX-based fighters. If you are going for a STR-based bugbear build it would make sense to pump DEX and wear medium armor that doesn't grant disadvantage on Stealth checks in order to make the best use of the bugbear's racial traits.
- Updated: With a whole load of Extra Attacks, fighters are the perfect candidate to take advantage of the new bugbear Surprise Attack mechanics. Focusing on DEX here makes sense, as you can boost your initiative really high while also making use of the Sneaky trait.
Centaur:
The +2 to STR and the Charge ability are perfect for fighters.
- Updated: With flexible ASIs, the centaur is great for just about any melee fighter build.
Changeling:
Fighters can use the free ability score increase for STR or DEX depending on their weapon of choice. CHA isn't the most useful stat for fighters, though the Battle Master and Purple Dragon Knight at least mention CHA-based skills in their traits.
- Updated: Free choice of ASIs doesn't really help the fighter much here since they don't have anything to synergize with the changeling's traits.
Deep Gnome:
Not much here for fighters. The advantage on saves against INT, WIS, and CHA spells can help save you from a dominate spell, but that's not usually a big enough draw for barbarians to choose a deep gnome. They also can't wield heavy weapons, which limits their effectiveness from a pure damage perspective.
Dragonborn (2024):
Breath Weapon is great since it can be used with multi-attacks and scales with Constitution. Damage resistance bolsters the Fighter’s durability, and flight offers excellent mobility. Darkvision is handy for melee combat in dim environments.
Duergar:
The improved Darkvision can give you the upperhand in dark environments, especially if you're going for a DEX ranged fighter. For melee fighters, you'll love the ability to cast enlarge/reduce for a bit of extra damage on your hits, as well as the damage resistances. Overall, a really solid race for fighters.
Dwarf (2024):
Dwarves are a great choice for melee fighters (just look at Gimli). They get extra Hit Points and a free Resistance to Poison damage and the Poisoned condition. The additional senses bestowed through Darkvision and Stonecunning are cherries on the cake!
Earth Genasi:
A solid option for fighters who want to increase their survivability, movement options, and out-of-combat utility.
Eladrin:
Fighters love the ability to misty step in battle. Whether they need to close in with an enemy or get out of the thick of it to be healed, a bonus action teleport is extraordinarily useful. Now, stack on the different rider effects from the Fey Step's seasons and it's even better. Obviously the fighter's favorite will be the Summer ability because they're most likely to teleport into a large group of enemy to maximize the damage they put out. That said, the Winter ability would also be nice as it will allow them to focus fire on an enemy without risking too much incursion. On top of this, the passive abilities of the eladrin are nice to have, especially Fey Ancestry which can help resist nasty mind-control effects.
Elf (2024):
Any Fighter would love access to Misty Step from the High Elf lineage, but remember you only get to cast it once per day unless you go for an Eldritch Knight build and gain access to spell slots. The Wood Elf would also work for some increased mobility.
Fairy:
While a fairy may seem like a good choice for a ranged fighter build, their Small creature size restricts the best ranged weapons, like longbow or heavy crossbow. It'd be best to look elsewhere if looking for a fighter build that can pick up flight at 1st level.
Firbolg:
The +2 to WIS is going to be wasted, except for when you cast your Firbolg Magic spells. The +1 to STR and Powerful Build is nice. Being able to go invisible and cast some limited spells can improve your utility to your party.
- Updated: Even with flexible ASIs, the spells that the firbolg gets don't help a fighter do what they do best - fight.
Fire Genasi:
Good damage options, especially at lower levels. Once you get access to 2 or 3 attacks, however, even burning hands AoE won't keep up to your damage output. Unfortunately, attacking with flame blade doesn't count as the Attack action, so you'll lose out on extra attacks if you want to use this spell.
Genasi:
- Earth: The earth genasi provides great ability score increases for a STR fighter, improved movement options, and a reliable way to be stealthy as a fighter, even in heavy armor.
Giff:
Some extra damage and advantage on STR checks and saving throws are solid boons for a fighter, especially if they've gone for a Tavern Brawler build.
Gith:
Only Eldritch Knights would be interested in INT.
- Githyanki: Most fighters will be just fine as a githyanki, and Eldritch Knights are a perfect fit. Martial Prodigy is a wasted racial trait as fighters have access to all the weapons and armor already.
Gnome (2024):
Much better for Dexterity-based Fighters due to the Small size. Gnome Cunning provides useful defenses against control spells. The Rock Gnome’s spells add some out-of-combat tricks.
Goblin:
Goblins are right at home for DEX-based fighter builds. The goblin’s racial traits add extra movement options and boosted damage. STR-based fighters are better off choosing a different race.
- Updated: The new goblin is perfect for the fighter, allowing you to choose your ASIs depending on your preferred weapons. Fury of the Small gives boosted damage to any of the attacks you wish, and Nimble Escape makes your fighter much more maneuverable on the battlefield, able to disengage an enemy without provoking attacks of opportunity.
Goliath:
Everything about the goliath is perfect for a STR-based fighter. With the goliath’s traits, your fighter will deal massive damage while being able to tank for the party.
- Updated: Fighters are already great tanks, and Stone's Endurance takes this to the next level. AC won't need to be as much of a concern with a goliath since you have a large pool of hit points and you can reduce damage with Stone's Endurance.
Goliath (2024):
A basic, but worthwhile choice to help boost Fighter's damage per round with Fire's Burn or Hill's Tumble.
Hadozee:
Damage reduction and a couple movement options is an alright start for fighters.
Halfling (2024):
You can now wield Heavy weapons without Disadvantage as a Small creature in the 2024 rules, so this plus the Halfling's Luck feature makes Fighter a great option.
Harengon:
Going higher in initiative, avoiding AoE damage, and extra movement ability are all solid looks on a fighter.
Hobgoblin:
Eldritch Knights are interested in INT, and Saving Face could help with reliability. Despite this, a lack of STR or DEX may be too much to overcome.
- Updated: Hobgoblins are an excellent choice for fighters as many builds don't have a steady use of their bonus action, freeing it up for Fey Gift. Fortune from the Many is handy to have in your back pocket in any situation.
Human (2024):
Humans are ideal for Fighters. Heroic Inspiration keeps you consistent on saving throws and attacks, while the extra skill proficiency allows you to grab Stealth, which the Fighter skill proficiency list lacks. The extra Origin feat lets you pick up Alert, Lucky, Savage Attacker, or Tough early, all of which are incredibly powerful for Fighters to grab early.
Kalashtar:
Kalashtar don’t come with STR, DEX, or CON.
Kender:
The kender race is fairly build-specific for fighters. If you want to be a heavy armor wearing, great weapon wielding tank, the kender doesn't synergize well. However, if you don't want to wield a heavy weapon and can spare some ASIs for CHA, INT, or WIS, then kender's Taunt will be well-utilized with your heavy armor and d10 hit die.
Kenku:
DEX is just as viable for fighters as STR, so you won’t lose anything by choosing the kenku. The kenku’s unique racial traits will add some spice to some of the less mechanically interesting subclasses. All in all, kenku’s make solid stealthy fighters.
Kobold:
DEX-based fighters are a perfect choice for Kobolds. Pack Tactics works nicely with the Extra Attacks that fighters get. Additionally, fighters can use one action to use Grovel, Cower, and Beg and then Action Surge to still be able to attack in the same turn.
- Updated: Kobolds are still an optimal choice for melee fighters. All of the Kobold Legacy options can be useful to a fighter depending on your needs, though Draconic Sorcery can get you booming blade or green-flame blade, opening up more combat options in battle.
Leonin:
Perfect ability score array, the bonus to your walking speed can help you close with enemies, and your Daunting Roar can provide a massive debuff to enemies you're in close quarters with. What's not to love?
Lineage:
- Dhampir: Some extra movement is useful for closing with enemies and the Vampiric Bite will be at it's best with your pumped out CON modifier.
- Hexblood: A free bit of utility from disguise self and the Eerie Token effects. The best feature here is definitely hex, which can result in a ton of extra damage because of the fighter's multitude of attacks. The Eldritch Knight subclass definitely would like the ability to cast hex even more because they can cast it multiple times per day.
Lizardfolk:
The WIS ASI isn’t particularly useful, but the array can still work for a DEX-based fighter. the CON and Natural Armor will take you far as a DEX-based fighter, but getting a breastplate is still better for your AC. Fighters get a ton of ability score increases so they should have no problem getting their stats to where they need to be, but you typically want to be using these ASIs to pick up feats.
Loxodon:
Fighters want DEX or STR depending on their build, but CON and Loxodon Serenity make the build playable.
Minotaur:
The ability scores are perfect for any STR-based fighter, and Goring Rush and Hammering Horns give more options to the more vanilla subclasses. If combined with a subclass like the Battle Master, the minotaur’s traits combined with the Battle Master’s maneuvers gives a huge amount of variety to how you can strategize in battle.
Orc:
As expected, orcs make the perfect STR-based fighters. Orcs have perfect ASIs for the class, get increased mobility through the Aggressive trait, and get some free skill proficiencies where they may otherwise be lacking.
Orc (2024):
As expected, Orcs make the perfect fighters. Adrenaline Rush adds much-needed mobility, and Relentless Endurance keeps you in the fray longer, especially for tanky or melee-focused builds.
Plasmoid:
Some defensive bonuses, some utility, and advantage on grappling all work well for fighters, especially Tavern Brawler builds. Keep in mind that your Amorphous ability will be hard to use if you're lugging around a greatsword and heavy armor.
Satyr:
No STR or CON, but could be the start of a solid DEX-focused build. The Magic Resistance is amazing for the party's tank and the extra movement can help you navigate the battlefield. Choosing a STR-focused build could still be worth it, but the natural weapons aren't a big enough draw if you're debating between STR and DEX.
Shadar-kai:
Fighters love the ability to misty step in battle. Whether they need to close in with an enemy or get out of the thick of it to be healed, a bonus action teleport is extraordinarily useful. Now, stack on the damage resistance Blessing of the Raven Queen provides and the additional necrotic resistance and you'll have the perfect combination of movement and survivability.
Shifter:
- Beasthide Shifter: Excellent choice for a tanky frontline fighter.
- Longtooth Shifter: Excellent choice for a damage dealing STR fighter.
- Swiftstride Shifter: Works for a mobile, DEX-based fighter, though the CHA isn't very useful.
Simic Hybrid:
Fighters can be built for either STR or DEX. An interesting option is to choose Grappling Appendages and go for a STR build, picking up the Grappler feat somewhere along the way. The Grappler feat is typically considered underpowered, but if there were a chance to make it work it would be here. With the amount of attacks you get as a fighter you can build a really scary close-range grappler.
Tabaxi:
DEX-based fighters work with tabaxi, since bows and finesse weapons can apply DEX instead of STR. CHA however is largely wasted on most fighters, and rogues can usually do CHA related things with a much higher degree of success. That said, the extra movement options granted by the tabaxi are very beneficial for fighters.
Thri-kreen:
Most fighters are going to want to maximize their AC with heavy armor, which negates the thri-kreen's strongest ability. That said, telepathy, Darkvision, and extra arms will all come in handy. With the thri-kreen's Secondary Arms and the Two Weapon Fighting Style, you can wield a greatsword in your regular hands and two shortswords in your Secondary Arms. Once you get your Extra Attack feature, you attack with the greatsword, with one short sword, then use your bonus action to attack with the other shortsword. This outputs slightly more damage than simply attacking twice with a greatsword.
Tiefling (2024):
Infernal Tieflings stand out for Eldritch Knight Fighters, providing a strong Resistance to Fire and spells like Hellish Rebuke for counterattacks and Darkness for battlefield control. Fighters who aren't investing in a spellcasting ability (Wisdom, Intelligence, or Charisma) and those without spell slots won't find a ton of use for this race.
Tortle:
Fighters can wear heavy armor, but the tortle would allow them to focus strictly on STR as AC is already taken care of. This leaves the door open for CON for tanking, CHA to be the party’s face, or lots of feats.
Triton:
STR and CON are pretty standard ability score bonuses for fighters, while CHA is largely wasted because most fighters only get access to Intimidation.
Vedalken:
Vedalken don’t come with STR, DEX, or CON, rendering them a terrible choice for a fighter.
Warforged:
Everything about the warforged works in tandem with what fighters like to do, with additional utility from the racial traits.
Water Genasi:
The damage resistance is nice to help you tank, but acid damage won't come up often.
Yuan-ti Pureblood:
Eldritch Knights are interested in INT, and the other racial traits line up well for a front-line build. The downside is that a lack of STR or DEX means the character will suffer offensively.
Sources Used in This Guide
- : 2014 Player's Handbook
- 2024 PHB: 2024 Player's Handbook
- BR: Basic Rules
- GotG: Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
- SotDQ: Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
- ERLW: Eberron: Rising from the Last War
- EEPC: Elemental Evil Player’s Companion
- EGtW: Explorer’s Guide to Wildemount
- FToD: Fizban's Treasury of Dragon
- GGtR: Guildmasters' Guide to Ravnica
- MotM: Monsters of the Multiverse
- MToF: Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes
- MOoT: Mythic Odyessys of Theros
- PAitM: Planescape: Adventures in the Multiverse
- PHB: Player's Handbook
- SAiS: Spelljammer: Adventures in Space
- SCoC: Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos
- SCAG: Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide
- TCoE: Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything
- TTP: The Tortle Package
- WBtW: The Wild Beyond The Witchlight
- : Unearthed Arcana
- VRGtR: Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft
- VGtM: Volo's Guide to Monsters
- XGtE: Xanathar’s Guide to Everything
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