Although I've been on DDB for over a year, I'm just starting a new play group. One of my players is interested in starting as a Fighter, then multiclassing to Wizard. As a preparatory step, he chose the Magic Initiate feat.
I, obviously, suggested he not use INT as his dump stat in preparation for his class addition. And completely forgot about Eldritch Knight.
There are tons of variables to consider, I suppose, when trying to decide which is better for that player's style, but it made me think a bit about this.
As an EK, he'll never get spells that are 5th level or higher. He'll also need to wait one extra level (3rd) to get spells; whereas, if he MCs to Fighter 1/Wizard 1 at 2nd level, he'll get his complement of Wizard spells.
Let's look at the extremes for MC (Fighter 1/Wizard 19; Fighter 19/Wizard 1) and then the middle ground (Fighter 10/Wizard 10). First off, if he only takes one level in Wizard, it makes this discussion moot. At an even split, he'll get two 5th-level spells and three bumps in Arcane Tradition. As a F1/W19, well, boom.
This all assumes he doesn't take EK while MCing (which, maybe, someone else would want to analyze).
My head's already spinning trying to digest how these could all play out. What do you think?
It depends on how he wants to play his character. Does he want to be up there with the bad guys, dishing out damage while taking hits? Then go for Eldritch Knight. Does he just want a spellcaster with heavy armor? Then go mostly wizard. The even split though, I would not recommend. It involves trading off his most powerful abilities. But do whatever fits the character idea best!
If they plan on multiclassing, the magic initiate feat for same class spells as the multiclass is not optimal unless you really really want a whole lot of cantrips. Fighter at first level gets full armour and con saves (concentration check success improved!). That makes its the level 1 pick of class. level 2 could be wizard but you need to have bought a spell book, ink and some components or foci in the mean time or a lot of magic is off the table. If they want to avoid death taking heavy armour master at level 1 is very useful otherwise another (presumably weapon related) feat is going to be used more - unless you take spell sniper and take 1 cantrip and multiple bonuses for 'to hit spells'
Is multiclass mage better than eldritch knight?
2nd fighter 1st mage - works better than eldritch knight - *if you can get round the needing a hand free to cast issue
1st fighter 2nd mage works out better than eldritch knight - *
When we reach 5th level you wont have 3rd level spells, but neither would the eldritch knight, your spell selection is more versatile and you have the first of your subclass abilities - Imagine the abjurer tank capable of slowly recharging their mini ward pool with ritual abjuration, who is hit much less than an abjurer mage. Or a diviner guaranteed to hit some days. You get the idea - All multiclassers benefit from the initial key features of a dip. Its why as DM's you should consider carefully before allowing multiclassing at your table, and most especially Incredible MulC's ability stacking for powergaming without thought to how the combination could have come together.
It depends on his play style, but in my opinion if he wants to be a fighter that casts spells than Eldritch Knight would be the way to go, if he wants a bit more spell casting power than getting a level or two in wizard wouldn't be a bad call, although I would probably wait until after Fighter level 5, and far as what school would work best, probably abjuration or Evocation cause of the Eldritch Knight spell restrictions.
My arbitrary (and totally untested) multiclass rules:
Players must abide by the multiclassing rules and prerequisites (PHB 163)
PC may not advance in the new class until after 4th level in the base class, unless the PC chooses not to advance in the base class and advances to 4th level in the new class.
PC may not select a third class until the PC is character 8th level or higher, and one other class is 5th level or higher.
PC may not advance in third class unless previous classes are both at least 5th
But with those rules, how are you going to do the absurdly impractical build where you multiclass into all of the casters in order to get ridiculous amounts of cantrips?
So I've been playing a Fighter/Wizard multiclass in the Rise Of Tiamat campaign, he's a high elf that I had originally planned to be an Eldritch Knight, when at about level 2 anticipating 3rd level, I took the duelist fighting style, then realized he'd have to be 9th level to cast any 3rd level spells, which was not soon enough for me. I then decided to go fighter/wizard. 3rd level I went Battle Master fighter, so I could have some combat prowess. I then levelled Wizard up to 3 and took the bladesinger school of magic, which was perfect since he'd had 19 dex since level 1, so in his bladesongs he'd have incredible speed and AC. Looking ahead in the bladesinger levels, I'd realized 6th level gives him Extra Attack, which fighter gave him, and 10th level gave him something else he already had a battle maneuver for, so I only needed 5 levels of Wizard to get 3rd level spells and take the rest in Fighter. He's gotten pretty unstoppable when I don't roll like trash lol
Fighter 11/Wizard9 is the build I would rate against EK20. You get one less attack/round, more spells and and most importantly - different abilities chosen from two different classes. Going 10 in fighter without going 11 doesnt make sense since at lv 11 the figter gets one of his best abilities. Look for example at the diviner subclass of the wizard, they get some pretty sick stuff, and you could get the battlemaster subclass from a fighter.
I think first you need to realistically figure out what level is that character's fun levels. Being a fighter/wizard is probably great at levels 8 if you are F5/W3 but at lvl 7 you either have 2 attacks and 1st level spells or second level spells and 1 attack. Where as a single wizard would have 4th level spells and a EK would have 2nd level spells at 7th lvl.
In most of my campaigns they tend to fade out long before 20th level, planning a character that far ahead is neat but planning for level 10 usually makes for characters that are more fun.
Fighter 11/Wizard9 is the build I would rate against EK20. You get one less attack/round, more spells and and most importantly - different abilities chosen from two different classes. Going 10 in fighter without going 11 doesnt make sense since at lv 11 the figter gets one of his best abilities. Look for example at the diviner subclass of the wizard, they get some pretty sick stuff, and you could get the battlemaster subclass from a fighter.
The primary pros/cons to going Ek20 vs Ek11/Wiz9:
Pro:
1) 2 more feats. Everyone forgets that fighters get a ton of these
1) 2 more indomitable per long rest
2) 1 Extra attack per round
3) 1 more Action Surge per short rest, and 30 ft Arcane Charge when using it (guarantees first-strike potential)
4) 3 Words: Improved. War. Magic. Attack to cause Eldritch Strike disadvantage on round 1. On round 2, Hold Person and attack with bonus action for auto crit. There are so many ways to abuse this class feature.
Con:
1) 5 less cantrips, 2 less 4th and 5th level spell slots and 1 less 6th and 7th level spell slots. Unfortunately, the EK/Wizard still doesn’t get any spell higher than 5th level.
2) Ek/Wiz gets some Wizard archetype buffs, but not the 10th Level one so it’s not incredibly potent.
Personally, I've been thinking of making one of these. But I would do the following: Take Eldritch Knight, multiclass into War Magic Wizard, and take the War Caster feat.
This way, you're half fighter that acts like a wizard, and half wizard that acts like a fighter.
For myself I'd play a single class Eldritch Knight just for the feel of going pure EK before trying to multiclass.
A Variant Human Eldritch Knight with the Magic Initiate (Wizard) feat allows you to start with two cantrips (Firebolt and Prestidigitation?) plus a single level 1 spell that you can cast once a day until you reach level 3, after which, because it's from the same spell list that you normally cast spells from, you can cast it using your normal spell slots as well. Find Familiar is a nice spell to start with. An owl is a great scout and can also throw in the help action when you need it in combat.
Starting stats 16/8/14/16/10/8.
Remembering an Eldritch Knight is a fighter who can cast some spells to augment his fighting. He isn't a primary spellcaster.
For myself I'd play a single class Eldritch Knight just for the feel of going pure EK before trying to multiclass.
A Variant Human Eldritch Knight with the Magic Initiate (Wizard) feat allows you to start with two cantrips (Firebolt and Prestidigitation?) plus a single level 1 spell that you can cast once a day until you reach level 3, after which, because it's from the same spell list that you normally cast spells from, you can cast it using your normal spell slots as well. Find Familiar is a nice spell to start with. An owl is a great scout and can also throw in the help action when you need it in combat.
Starting stats 16/8/14/16/10/8.
Remembering an Eldritch Knight is a fighter who can cast some spells to augment his fighting. He isn't a primary spellcaster.
I've tried that before. But with the benefit of hindsight, I'd save Magic Initiate for later and start with Ritual Caster. My starting offensive cantrips would probably be acid splash, because it doesn't care about being cast in melee, and maybe booming blade. Save blade ward for my third class cantrip at 10th level, and use Magic Initiate to pick up some utility. The 1st-level bonus spell would be either charm person or disguise self because they're efficient and last for an hour. This does (A) mean not tanking Charisma and (B) encourages being proficient in Deception/Persuasion. War Caster is also on the list, at some point, but it's not a huge priority.
With the Standard Array, Ability Scores would be 16, 8, 14, 14, 10, and 12. I could have 18s in both Strength and Intelligence by 8th level, then two feats for 12 and 14. That's good enough for the highest-reaching hardcover modules.
This build also assumes no wizard or pact of the tome warlock in the party.
Another benefit of going with Acid Splash is that it gives you the ability to target multiple opponents with a single casting. Useful against mobs of weak foes.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Eldritch Knight does very well when multiclassing but should focus mostly on it's initial and intended purpose; that being a fighter. A spellcaster misses out on it's most grandiose abilities if it doesn't reach Level 17 in its class, so you are effectively shooting yourself in the foot in the long run.
If your intent is to have the Eldritch Knight class, the bare minimum to stop at is Level 7 <In order to obtain War Magic. Gaining a bonus weapon attack after using a cantrip.
If you go there, then you might as well go to Level 10 with it to get the Eldritch Strike feature <so that the enemy has disadvantage on the next spell you throw at it.
So, at a bare minimum, you will always be putting 10 Levels into Eldritch Knight; leaving only a potential of 10 levels to put into another spellcasting class.
At this point, you will never have access to more than 5th level spells (Wizard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Bard). Powerful, sure, but limiting yourself in higher levels in the long run.
Eldritch Knight is intended to be used for attacking either via fighting with ranged spells or up close with it's very specific cantrips and class features (namely, Eldritch Strike Requires you to make a weapon attack). Just getting to the subclass of Eldritch Knight (taking 3 levels in fighter) already limits your potential growth and overall effectiveness at higher levels IF your intent is to have a dedicated spell-user.
However, dipping into other spellcasting classes and focusing mainly on the Eldritch Knight class is potentially far more beneficial than going full Eldritch Knight build.
A split of 17 EK / 3 Wizard, Sorcerer, Warlock, etc. ultimately unlocks more spell slots than a dedicated Eldritch Knight build in addition to gaining access to an additional subclass at level 3. It may limit you to only level 3 spells, but the majority of the most useful spells are in this range and anything beyond is not really required for a Eldritch Knight to do well in combat.
You also have a choice in this. In most cases, you can go 16 / 4 and pickup a additional ability modifier/feat at level 6 over another Indomitable and Action Surge. <Mind you, this will be obtained at Level 19 or 20.
Either way, you only miss out on 3 things from this split... without actually missing out on anything.
Improved War Magic and Extra Attack: Considering you can cast damage-dealing cantrips as well as get the bonus attack with default (level 10) War Magic, Means that it's not exactly needed.
A 4th attack: Might be nice, but again, not needed as you are going to be using a lot of spells with this build and cantrips will be your bread and butter. At this level, you will be doing 4 Dice + a bonus weapon attack worth of damage. <meaning that you will be doing 1 more damage roll than if you attacked with a weapon.
This is my take on it anyways. I'm rather partial to the Eldritch Knight / Warlock combo as it's one of my favorite. With a rather interesting concept that a warrior, upon unlocking magical abilities, is contracted by a Eldritch being.
Level 20 example 16 Eldritch Knight / 4 Warlock: 19AC (from Breastplate and 18Dex, +1AC Defense fighting style, and shield) +5 from the shield spell while concentrating on the Darkness spell on myself<using Devil's Sight to let me see = 24AC with enemies having disadvantage for 1 round. Add in Shield master and Resilience (Dex) Feats, he's able to tank with the best of them on the front lines.
War Magic Booming Blade: 1d8+4, 3d8, 1d8+4 damage each turn; with a potential addition of 4d8 more if the target moves. <not forgetting that he has at least 1 Action surge to double-down on this every long rest. Add in War Caster for reactionary opportunity spell attacks and it's a rather lethal combo. <and to keep it going, take the "Mobile" feat and force the enemy to come towards by moving away from it after you attack it with booming blade.
Main stats being 18 intelligence and 18 dexterity, you don't need to dedicate anything to Warlock Charisma as those spell are exclusively for support/utility. Attack spells and cantrips are all from the Eldritch Knight (aka Wizard) side of things. Total of 4 level 1 slots, 5 level 2 slots, 3 level 3 slots. <misses out on an extra 3 level 4 slots and 1 level 5 slot, but that's only if you go with Warlock as your multiclass option. You get both of those if you go sorcerer or wizard.
Just to add, because I might as well, you get 7 choices on Ability Score Improvements and/or Feats.
I would agree, for optimization purposes, that Wizard is the way to go and simply far more in-line with the design. Warlock requires that you either start off with a high charisma or reach it via ability score improvement.
Being that my character of choice is a half-elf with +1 dexterity and +2 to charisma to begin with and I had managed a decent 2 rolls, I can (eventually) get him to have three ability scores at 18 (dex, int, cha). <Thanks in large part to the fighter class's many ability score improvements along the way.
The warlock aspect is purely for RP purposes of mine; not that it doesn't come with some benefits but it's definitely not the best in terms of optimization for spellcasting. It does provide access to other unique abilities that work well with a front-line fighter though. Specifically the Darkness spell and Devil's Sight. Eldritch Blast with Agonizing Blast. 4d10+4, separate targets (or single) and a follow-up attack with a 1d8+4 rapier. 25 - 68 damage potentially offers at least a greater guarantee that you damage a enemy during your turn; though other cantrips are just as viable. Add in the fact that Warlock regains spell slots on short rests; at the very least, I can have 2 level 2 spell slots (for shield or otherwise) if I run out of my long-rest Wizard spell slots.
One glaring problem with Eldritch Knight / Warlock is the fact that it is the slowest build to develop into a spellcaster. I mean, you are going to be essentially waiting till level 16 or 17 before you start to unlock level 3 spells. Counter spell and combat spells are off the table until then and you will strictly be playing the role of fighter rather than spellcaster until you do get those 3rd level spells.
Nearly every other spellcasting class will net you those 3rd level spell slots (<just the spell slots) at level 6 or 7 (Fighter level 3 and spellcaster level 3 or 4) but still wouldn't have access to 3rd level spells until later... so... it's probably best to think about that.
Looked into Artificer, this one is actually one that I would say does well with a even 10/10 split. You still want to definitely get the Eldritch Strike, but the benefits that the Artificer at level 10 synergizes decently with it as a fighter. Never played around with a Artificer before so not completely sure about how it would work in-game. <Battle Smith for subclass.
Most any 10/10 splits are going to get you 5th level spells so it's mostly up to the spellcasters subclass that you want.
Just a few Eldritch Knight Multi-class options to look into: (Most looked into with a 10/10 split)
Wizard: Arcane Tradition: War Magic <Definitely worth taking. Benefits to AC and saves are just great.
Sorcerer: Shadow Magic: Effectively gives you the darkness spell and the ability to see through it. Everything else past that is strictly spellcasting so probably not the best option. I'd say dip into this one if anything or choose a better option.
Warlock: Hex Blade Patron: Pact of the Blade: Darkness and Devil's Sight. Offers good spells that recharge on short rests and pact weapon bonuses. Does have a few redundant features though that Eldritch Knight provides on its own and only 2 level 5 spell slots that would likely be a pain to work with. Far better to dip into this one than go a even split.
Bard: College of Swords: eh... not going to really do much for you as a Eldritch Knight. Does provide access to plenty of Bard abilities though and probably the most open to various spells.
Rogue: Arcane Trickster: <yeah... I figured I'd throw this in for good measure. Comes with a rather decent ability at level 10 that could be put to good use... but one glaring problem is that you will not be accessing any level 3 spells. You will only ever have access to level 2 spells.
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Although I've been on DDB for over a year, I'm just starting a new play group. One of my players is interested in starting as a Fighter, then multiclassing to Wizard. As a preparatory step, he chose the Magic Initiate feat.
I, obviously, suggested he not use INT as his dump stat in preparation for his class addition. And completely forgot about Eldritch Knight.
There are tons of variables to consider, I suppose, when trying to decide which is better for that player's style, but it made me think a bit about this.
As an EK, he'll never get spells that are 5th level or higher. He'll also need to wait one extra level (3rd) to get spells; whereas, if he MCs to Fighter 1/Wizard 1 at 2nd level, he'll get his complement of Wizard spells.
Let's look at the extremes for MC (Fighter 1/Wizard 19; Fighter 19/Wizard 1) and then the middle ground (Fighter 10/Wizard 10). First off, if he only takes one level in Wizard, it makes this discussion moot. At an even split, he'll get two 5th-level spells and three bumps in Arcane Tradition. As a F1/W19, well, boom.
This all assumes he doesn't take EK while MCing (which, maybe, someone else would want to analyze).
My head's already spinning trying to digest how these could all play out. What do you think?
It depends on how he wants to play his character. Does he want to be up there with the bad guys, dishing out damage while taking hits? Then go for Eldritch Knight. Does he just want a spellcaster with heavy armor? Then go mostly wizard. The even split though, I would not recommend. It involves trading off his most powerful abilities. But do whatever fits the character idea best!
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If they plan on multiclassing, the magic initiate feat for same class spells as the multiclass is not optimal unless you really really want a whole lot of cantrips. Fighter at first level gets full armour and con saves (concentration check success improved!). That makes its the level 1 pick of class. level 2 could be wizard but you need to have bought a spell book, ink and some components or foci in the mean time or a lot of magic is off the table. If they want to avoid death taking heavy armour master at level 1 is very useful otherwise another (presumably weapon related) feat is going to be used more - unless you take spell sniper and take 1 cantrip and multiple bonuses for 'to hit spells'
Is multiclass mage better than eldritch knight?
2nd fighter 1st mage - works better than eldritch knight - *if you can get round the needing a hand free to cast issue
1st fighter 2nd mage works out better than eldritch knight - *
When we reach 5th level you wont have 3rd level spells, but neither would the eldritch knight, your spell selection is more versatile and you have the first of your subclass abilities - Imagine the abjurer tank capable of slowly recharging their mini ward pool with ritual abjuration, who is hit much less than an abjurer mage. Or a diviner guaranteed to hit some days. You get the idea - All multiclassers benefit from the initial key features of a dip. Its why as DM's you should consider carefully before allowing multiclassing at your table, and most especially Incredible MulC's ability stacking for powergaming without thought to how the combination could have come together.
It depends on his play style, but in my opinion if he wants to be a fighter that casts spells than Eldritch Knight would be the way to go, if he wants a bit more spell casting power than getting a level or two in wizard wouldn't be a bad call, although I would probably wait until after Fighter level 5, and far as what school would work best, probably abjuration or Evocation cause of the Eldritch Knight spell restrictions.
My arbitrary (and totally untested) multiclass rules:
But with those rules, how are you going to do the absurdly impractical build where you multiclass into all of the casters in order to get ridiculous amounts of cantrips?
You mean like Abserd from Puffin Forest? :D
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZCIh_3b5K8
So I've been playing a Fighter/Wizard multiclass in the Rise Of Tiamat campaign, he's a high elf that I had originally planned to be an Eldritch Knight, when at about level 2 anticipating 3rd level, I took the duelist fighting style, then realized he'd have to be 9th level to cast any 3rd level spells, which was not soon enough for me. I then decided to go fighter/wizard. 3rd level I went Battle Master fighter, so I could have some combat prowess. I then levelled Wizard up to 3 and took the bladesinger school of magic, which was perfect since he'd had 19 dex since level 1, so in his bladesongs he'd have incredible speed and AC. Looking ahead in the bladesinger levels, I'd realized 6th level gives him Extra Attack, which fighter gave him, and 10th level gave him something else he already had a battle maneuver for, so I only needed 5 levels of Wizard to get 3rd level spells and take the rest in Fighter. He's gotten pretty unstoppable when I don't roll like trash lol
Fighter 11/Wizard9 is the build I would rate against EK20. You get one less attack/round, more spells and and most importantly - different abilities chosen from two different classes. Going 10 in fighter without going 11 doesnt make sense since at lv 11 the figter gets one of his best abilities. Look for example at the diviner subclass of the wizard, they get some pretty sick stuff, and you could get the battlemaster subclass from a fighter.
I think first you need to realistically figure out what level is that character's fun levels. Being a fighter/wizard is probably great at levels 8 if you are F5/W3 but at lvl 7 you either have 2 attacks and 1st level spells or second level spells and 1 attack. Where as a single wizard would have 4th level spells and a EK would have 2nd level spells at 7th lvl.
In most of my campaigns they tend to fade out long before 20th level, planning a character that far ahead is neat but planning for level 10 usually makes for characters that are more fun.
The primary pros/cons to going Ek20 vs Ek11/Wiz9:
Pro:
1) 2 more feats. Everyone forgets that fighters get a ton of these
1) 2 more indomitable per long rest
2) 1 Extra attack per round
3) 1 more Action Surge per short rest, and 30 ft Arcane Charge when using it (guarantees first-strike potential)
4) 3 Words: Improved. War. Magic. Attack to cause Eldritch Strike disadvantage on round 1. On round 2, Hold Person and attack with bonus action for auto crit. There are so many ways to abuse this class feature.
Con:
1) 5 less cantrips, 2 less 4th and 5th level spell slots and 1 less 6th and 7th level spell slots. Unfortunately, the EK/Wizard still doesn’t get any spell higher than 5th level.
2) Ek/Wiz gets some Wizard archetype buffs, but not the 10th Level one so it’s not incredibly potent.
Personally, I've been thinking of making one of these. But I would do the following: Take Eldritch Knight, multiclass into War Magic Wizard, and take the War Caster feat.
This way, you're half fighter that acts like a wizard, and half wizard that acts like a fighter.
The War Mage really doesn't act like a fighter. It acts like a close-range mage.
If you want a wizard that acts like a fighter, take Bladedancer.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
For myself I'd play a single class Eldritch Knight just for the feel of going pure EK before trying to multiclass.
A Variant Human Eldritch Knight with the Magic Initiate (Wizard) feat allows you to start with two cantrips (Firebolt and Prestidigitation?) plus a single level 1 spell that you can cast once a day until you reach level 3, after which, because it's from the same spell list that you normally cast spells from, you can cast it using your normal spell slots as well. Find Familiar is a nice spell to start with. An owl is a great scout and can also throw in the help action when you need it in combat.
Starting stats 16/8/14/16/10/8.
Remembering an Eldritch Knight is a fighter who can cast some spells to augment his fighting. He isn't a primary spellcaster.
I've tried that before. But with the benefit of hindsight, I'd save Magic Initiate for later and start with Ritual Caster. My starting offensive cantrips would probably be acid splash, because it doesn't care about being cast in melee, and maybe booming blade. Save blade ward for my third class cantrip at 10th level, and use Magic Initiate to pick up some utility. The 1st-level bonus spell would be either charm person or disguise self because they're efficient and last for an hour. This does (A) mean not tanking Charisma and (B) encourages being proficient in Deception/Persuasion. War Caster is also on the list, at some point, but it's not a huge priority.
With the Standard Array, Ability Scores would be 16, 8, 14, 14, 10, and 12. I could have 18s in both Strength and Intelligence by 8th level, then two feats for 12 and 14. That's good enough for the highest-reaching hardcover modules.
This build also assumes no wizard or pact of the tome warlock in the party.
Another benefit of going with Acid Splash is that it gives you the ability to target multiple opponents with a single casting. Useful against mobs of weak foes.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
Eldritch Knight does very well when multiclassing but should focus mostly on it's initial and intended purpose; that being a fighter. A spellcaster misses out on it's most grandiose abilities if it doesn't reach Level 17 in its class, so you are effectively shooting yourself in the foot in the long run.
If your intent is to have the Eldritch Knight class, the bare minimum to stop at is Level 7 <In order to obtain War Magic. Gaining a bonus weapon attack after using a cantrip.
If you go there, then you might as well go to Level 10 with it to get the Eldritch Strike feature <so that the enemy has disadvantage on the next spell you throw at it.
So, at a bare minimum, you will always be putting 10 Levels into Eldritch Knight; leaving only a potential of 10 levels to put into another spellcasting class.
At this point, you will never have access to more than 5th level spells (Wizard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Bard). Powerful, sure, but limiting yourself in higher levels in the long run.
Eldritch Knight is intended to be used for attacking either via fighting with ranged spells or up close with it's very specific cantrips and class features (namely, Eldritch Strike Requires you to make a weapon attack). Just getting to the subclass of Eldritch Knight (taking 3 levels in fighter) already limits your potential growth and overall effectiveness at higher levels IF your intent is to have a dedicated spell-user.
However, dipping into other spellcasting classes and focusing mainly on the Eldritch Knight class is potentially far more beneficial than going full Eldritch Knight build.
A split of 17 EK / 3 Wizard, Sorcerer, Warlock, etc. ultimately unlocks more spell slots than a dedicated Eldritch Knight build in addition to gaining access to an additional subclass at level 3. It may limit you to only level 3 spells, but the majority of the most useful spells are in this range and anything beyond is not really required for a Eldritch Knight to do well in combat.
You also have a choice in this. In most cases, you can go 16 / 4 and pickup a additional ability modifier/feat at level 6 over another Indomitable and Action Surge. <Mind you, this will be obtained at Level 19 or 20.
Either way, you only miss out on 3 things from this split... without actually missing out on anything.
Improved War Magic and Extra Attack: Considering you can cast damage-dealing cantrips as well as get the bonus attack with default (level 10) War Magic, Means that it's not exactly needed.
A 4th attack: Might be nice, but again, not needed as you are going to be using a lot of spells with this build and cantrips will be your bread and butter. At this level, you will be doing 4 Dice + a bonus weapon attack worth of damage. <meaning that you will be doing 1 more damage roll than if you attacked with a weapon.
This is my take on it anyways. I'm rather partial to the Eldritch Knight / Warlock combo as it's one of my favorite. With a rather interesting concept that a warrior, upon unlocking magical abilities, is contracted by a Eldritch being.
Level 20 example 16 Eldritch Knight / 4 Warlock: 19AC (from Breastplate and 18Dex, +1AC Defense fighting style, and shield) +5 from the shield spell while concentrating on the Darkness spell on myself<using Devil's Sight to let me see = 24AC with enemies having disadvantage for 1 round. Add in Shield master and Resilience (Dex) Feats, he's able to tank with the best of them on the front lines.
War Magic Booming Blade: 1d8+4, 3d8, 1d8+4 damage each turn; with a potential addition of 4d8 more if the target moves. <not forgetting that he has at least 1 Action surge to double-down on this every long rest. Add in War Caster for reactionary opportunity spell attacks and it's a rather lethal combo. <and to keep it going, take the "Mobile" feat and force the enemy to come towards by moving away from it after you attack it with booming blade.
Main stats being 18 intelligence and 18 dexterity, you don't need to dedicate anything to Warlock Charisma as those spell are exclusively for support/utility. Attack spells and cantrips are all from the Eldritch Knight (aka Wizard) side of things. Total of 4 level 1 slots, 5 level 2 slots, 3 level 3 slots. <misses out on an extra 3 level 4 slots and 1 level 5 slot, but that's only if you go with Warlock as your multiclass option. You get both of those if you go sorcerer or wizard.
Just to add, because I might as well, you get 7 choices on Ability Score Improvements and/or Feats.
True, but you still need to squeeze in 13 charisma in order to multi-class into Warlock.
I'd regard Wizard as the only caster that fits easily into a Eldritch Knight multiclass.
Artificer works as well.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
I would agree, for optimization purposes, that Wizard is the way to go and simply far more in-line with the design. Warlock requires that you either start off with a high charisma or reach it via ability score improvement.
Being that my character of choice is a half-elf with +1 dexterity and +2 to charisma to begin with and I had managed a decent 2 rolls, I can (eventually) get him to have three ability scores at 18 (dex, int, cha). <Thanks in large part to the fighter class's many ability score improvements along the way.
The warlock aspect is purely for RP purposes of mine; not that it doesn't come with some benefits but it's definitely not the best in terms of optimization for spellcasting. It does provide access to other unique abilities that work well with a front-line fighter though. Specifically the Darkness spell and Devil's Sight. Eldritch Blast with Agonizing Blast. 4d10+4, separate targets (or single) and a follow-up attack with a 1d8+4 rapier. 25 - 68 damage potentially offers at least a greater guarantee that you damage a enemy during your turn; though other cantrips are just as viable. Add in the fact that Warlock regains spell slots on short rests; at the very least, I can have 2 level 2 spell slots (for shield or otherwise) if I run out of my long-rest Wizard spell slots.
One glaring problem with Eldritch Knight / Warlock is the fact that it is the slowest build to develop into a spellcaster. I mean, you are going to be essentially waiting till level 16 or 17 before you start to unlock level 3 spells. Counter spell and combat spells are off the table until then and you will strictly be playing the role of fighter rather than spellcaster until you do get those 3rd level spells.
Nearly every other spellcasting class will net you those 3rd level spell slots (<just the spell slots) at level 6 or 7 (Fighter level 3 and spellcaster level 3 or 4) but still wouldn't have access to 3rd level spells until later... so... it's probably best to think about that.
Looked into Artificer, this one is actually one that I would say does well with a even 10/10 split. You still want to definitely get the Eldritch Strike, but the benefits that the Artificer at level 10 synergizes decently with it as a fighter. Never played around with a Artificer before so not completely sure about how it would work in-game. <Battle Smith for subclass.
Most any 10/10 splits are going to get you 5th level spells so it's mostly up to the spellcasters subclass that you want.
Just a few Eldritch Knight Multi-class options to look into: (Most looked into with a 10/10 split)
Wizard: Arcane Tradition: War Magic <Definitely worth taking. Benefits to AC and saves are just great.
Sorcerer: Shadow Magic: Effectively gives you the darkness spell and the ability to see through it. Everything else past that is strictly spellcasting so probably not the best option. I'd say dip into this one if anything or choose a better option.
Warlock: Hex Blade Patron: Pact of the Blade: Darkness and Devil's Sight. Offers good spells that recharge on short rests and pact weapon bonuses. Does have a few redundant features though that Eldritch Knight provides on its own and only 2 level 5 spell slots that would likely be a pain to work with. Far better to dip into this one than go a even split.
Bard: College of Swords: eh... not going to really do much for you as a Eldritch Knight. Does provide access to plenty of Bard abilities though and probably the most open to various spells.
Rogue: Arcane Trickster: <yeah... I figured I'd throw this in for good measure. Comes with a rather decent ability at level 10 that could be put to good use... but one glaring problem is that you will not be accessing any level 3 spells. You will only ever have access to level 2 spells.