While I usually play a Cleric, I love the versatility and classic fun of Fighters! But there's a lot of people who seem to think the class with the most room to be unique and focus on role-play is the most boring, for some reason unknown. So I decided to make this poll for my fellow Fighter fans... :-)
To get to the actual question, I would say a big factor is that most people are rather superficial and don't see past the idea of "I'm dumb and hit things with my sword" archetype. But this really applies to the common perceptions of every class. When people only look at surface-level characteristics, you get a pious, stick in the mud Paladin, an old Wizard with a long grey beard pouring over books, and Trizz'd, the half-something-or-other Ranger with a wolf/panther hybrid by their side and dual-wielding hand crossbows.
I would say that in some regard, people's tastes aren't quite as shallow as their perceptions, and therefore like the idea of your typical Tiefling Warlock and find it is much more exciting than your typical Human Fighter. But once people expand their horizons and see the possibilities they find that any race/class combination can be a fun character.
Short answer: In combat, yes. Out of combat, characters are as fun as you make them.
Longer answer: In combat it depends on your subclass and your group makeup. Playing a sword and shield champion doesn't have a lot of combat options. compare that to a monk or a rogue and they are running all over the place and dealing damage like crazy, catching arrows, dodging uncannily. And you might be bored in that comparison. I do largely believe that roleplaying in and out of combat is what you make of it, some of it depends on the DM.
I'm playing a Battle Master now and even the combat is surprisingly not boring. Some maneuvers provide the Fighter with the much needed Reactions, some maneuvers provide the ability for some fancy combat tactics (like allowing a friendly wizard to escape out of melee range without triggering AOOs, or being able to push an enemy for 15" off of a cliff, etc) and the wide array of ASIs/Feats can make any Fighter a unique and interesting character.
Depends on the subclass! Arcane archer is cool, battle master are good with every weapon and are one of the more flexible versions, the new UA rune knight is awesome and fun to RP, eldrich knight is also alot of fun and flexible cavalier is also cool. Everything else is kind of meh
I play my fighter as a silent, grumpy type o' guy. Always makes a frown, has no humour, doesn't get jokes, lawful good. So far pretty boring. The "fun" comes because my "counterpart" is a completely over the top thief, whos played like a lovechild between Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop and Freakazoid (If you don't know that cartoon, google it, it's worth it). That way, we become a pretty "funny" unit and are usually the guys getting the most laughs at the table. Our most "famous" shtick is when we act like a married couple during an argument. And we have a lot of arguments. Of course, this is cliche (Duo of over the top funny guy and grumpy brute), but WE are having a lot of fun playing it. Especially since we can switch to hero mode if needed and save the children from the Ogre.
This is just an example. I know if I wouldn't have the thief as a counterpart, my char would be pretty boring to play (since the other two guys are a good cleric and a good wizard), but I don't believe in a boring class. I just don't. That's where you come into play, that's where you roleplay. Give the guys some cool background, some behaviours, traits, a certain way to speak or act (Steal from movies, books, games - Doesn't matter). If you think your char is boring, that's on you. 100% on you. If others think its boring, thats also on you. Seriously, if you think your char is boring, don't create it. Work on it until you think it's the coolest shit you ever played.
Fighter is only boring in combat if you don't know how combat works! Because fighters have high strength and so many ASIs/feats it makes them versatile in combat! You dont have to attack, you can replace your attacks with grapples, shoves, and disarm attacks, while they don't do any damage you can swing combat in your groups favor! Is a creature running away and giving you a attack of opportunity? In place of a normal attack uze a shove to knock then prone or grapple them to stop then from running! Is a creature with a strong weapon kicking your ass? Use the disarm attacks and take there weapon from them and use it against them! Combine that with fighter subclasses and or feats like shield master, polearm master or grappler and you can control the battlefield
I agree that only attacking is boring, and feats can give some options of things to do in combat. But any class can grapple, shove, or disarm; other classes can do stuff that fighters can not. The big thing that fighter can do that others can not, is have another action. I think battle master fighter is a blast to play, but a champion to me would be boring. Because a battle master has more options, while a champion has what everyone else can do. But comparing subclasses was not what was asked, the core class is kind of boring in combat.
I still maintain that boring is a relative term, and any class is as fun or boring as you make it.
Funny thing is, I have at least one long-time player who loves Fighters because they play as simply as possible. He's the best role-player I've ever seen, but he likes to be strong without having to remember lots of abilities.
Fighters are only boring if you the Player view them as such. If you are enjoying a certain character who cares what other people think.
For instance I made a Spartan a while back. I'm a huge history buff on Sparta so when I say I made a Spartan I really did. He was Laconic (spoke only when required and in short witty responses.), had no concept of gold or currency in D&D (5th century BC Sparta used lead bars as currency), slept and worked out in the nude, was direct in his actions, and prayed to the gods for what they wanted him to do. He was a blast. Now some other people ended up saying he was a dick because the Gods told him to do things that wasnt kosher at times. In this case the Gods choices were represented by a d6. 1 to 2 they didnt favor an action. 3 to 4 they didnt respond so they didnt care one way or the other. 5 to 6 they favored the action. So there would be times where the group would debate about killing someone and my Spartan would ask the Gods and well I rolled alot of 5 and 6s when praying to Ares and then the party would get mad that i was trying to kill said person. He also had a habit of when people took to long bickering or to long doing other things he would just get bored and kick the door in and shanagins ensued.
Now I absolutely enjoyed the Character and plan on playing him again sometime. My buddy who played with me thought it was hilarious.
Basically fighters are all down to their Archetypes. The base Fighter features just kind of exist, though in a game with feats you can afford to get more feats.
Essentially the Fighter class looks boring because you have to decide to make it interesting for it to be interesting. Or in other words, it is basically a word document: are you going to write a great story or just hold down the Q key until you've got 100 pages?
It's possibly the easiest class to start D&D on, and I think many people just get stuck doing that.
I'm reprising my first fighter in a new campaign (took him back to Lvl1, and re-set all equipment etc), and doing it totally differently, modified back story etc. As said above, it all comes down to how interesting you make it - if you play boring, the fighter will be boring.
In the last campaign, I had a blast playing a fighter, and used him to counterpoint our groups' resident rogue, who was always trying to steal/kill stuff, and start fights while my fighter was trying to at least talk things down (fancy noble background) before resorting to the fighting skills. (Wasn't always successful as low-med charisma) but it was funny.
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Odo Proudfoot - Lvl 10 Halfling Monk - Princes of the Apocalypse (Campaign Finished)
Complicated kits and spells does not equal interesting or good.
Fighters are fairly simple, but very effective. I used to tease my players who liked fighters just cause I am a magic fan at heart. BUT after playing one and seeing my players used them to great effectiveness, I can easily say they are far from boring.
Ok maybe Champion is little boring if you do absolutely no roleplaying with them. That's the players fault though.
But how is being a machine gun for damage and athletic feats not fun? Some of my best Fighter moments were when I didn't attack. There was one time my fighter gal just picked up a guy and threw them overboard. They couldn't beat her +9 Athletics score so they just lost. It was pretty great! :D
I think the "Fighters are boring" issue comes down to people just lacking an imagination and creativity. Their a super noob friendly class that can really wreck house in the hands an expert. What's not to love?
Archery-Based Eldritch Knight. Think about a guy who can cast spells, and as a bonus, shoot his arrow or bolt. And on Level 20, guy can basically RAIN DOWN arrows or bolts AND spells on his enemies. With the right buff / debuff spells, that guy can be grotesquely OP.
They make excellent monster slayers, police /elite squad
Go str, be the heaviest hitter and tank, oh you enemy's far a way? Expeditious retreat , bonus action dash for 10 mins, good LUCK breaking their concentration with heavy armorb con save proficiently and shield/absorb elements , maybe even warcaster
Go dex based, be a dragon slayer, get resilient dex; that and absorb elements you are taking one fourth the dragons breath weapon, claws, shield and shield spell git you covered; oh they picked you up and drop you? Pop feather fall, and flip the lizard off
This is all just a VERY small taste of what they can do. They only get better with the levels
While I usually play a Cleric, I love the versatility and classic fun of Fighters! But there's a lot of people who seem to think the class with the most room to be unique and focus on role-play is the most boring, for some reason unknown. So I decided to make this poll for my fellow Fighter fans... :-)
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
Roleplaying classes isn't boring, people are (or aren't).
To get to the actual question, I would say a big factor is that most people are rather superficial and don't see past the idea of "I'm dumb and hit things with my sword" archetype. But this really applies to the common perceptions of every class. When people only look at surface-level characteristics, you get a pious, stick in the mud Paladin, an old Wizard with a long grey beard pouring over books, and Trizz'd, the half-something-or-other Ranger with a wolf/panther hybrid by their side and dual-wielding hand crossbows.
I would say that in some regard, people's tastes aren't quite as shallow as their perceptions, and therefore like the idea of your typical Tiefling Warlock and find it is much more exciting than your typical Human Fighter. But once people expand their horizons and see the possibilities they find that any race/class combination can be a fun character.
Short answer: In combat, yes. Out of combat, characters are as fun as you make them.
Longer answer: In combat it depends on your subclass and your group makeup. Playing a sword and shield champion doesn't have a lot of combat options. compare that to a monk or a rogue and they are running all over the place and dealing damage like crazy, catching arrows, dodging uncannily. And you might be bored in that comparison. I do largely believe that roleplaying in and out of combat is what you make of it, some of it depends on the DM.
I'm playing a Battle Master now and even the combat is surprisingly not boring. Some maneuvers provide the Fighter with the much needed Reactions, some maneuvers provide the ability for some fancy combat tactics (like allowing a friendly wizard to escape out of melee range without triggering AOOs, or being able to push an enemy for 15" off of a cliff, etc) and the wide array of ASIs/Feats can make any Fighter a unique and interesting character.
Depends on the subclass! Arcane archer is cool, battle master are good with every weapon and are one of the more flexible versions, the new UA rune knight is awesome and fun to RP, eldrich knight is also alot of fun and flexible cavalier is also cool. Everything else is kind of meh
Everything is boring if you play it boring.
I play my fighter as a silent, grumpy type o' guy. Always makes a frown, has no humour, doesn't get jokes, lawful good. So far pretty boring. The "fun" comes because my "counterpart" is a completely over the top thief, whos played like a lovechild between Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop and Freakazoid (If you don't know that cartoon, google it, it's worth it). That way, we become a pretty "funny" unit and are usually the guys getting the most laughs at the table. Our most "famous" shtick is when we act like a married couple during an argument. And we have a lot of arguments. Of course, this is cliche (Duo of over the top funny guy and grumpy brute), but WE are having a lot of fun playing it. Especially since we can switch to hero mode if needed and save the children from the Ogre.
This is just an example. I know if I wouldn't have the thief as a counterpart, my char would be pretty boring to play (since the other two guys are a good cleric and a good wizard), but I don't believe in a boring class. I just don't. That's where you come into play, that's where you roleplay. Give the guys some cool background, some behaviours, traits, a certain way to speak or act (Steal from movies, books, games - Doesn't matter). If you think your char is boring, that's on you. 100% on you. If others think its boring, thats also on you. Seriously, if you think your char is boring, don't create it. Work on it until you think it's the coolest shit you ever played.
Fighter is only boring in combat if you don't know how combat works! Because fighters have high strength and so many ASIs/feats it makes them versatile in combat! You dont have to attack, you can replace your attacks with grapples, shoves, and disarm attacks, while they don't do any damage you can swing combat in your groups favor! Is a creature running away and giving you a attack of opportunity? In place of a normal attack uze a shove to knock then prone or grapple them to stop then from running! Is a creature with a strong weapon kicking your ass? Use the disarm attacks and take there weapon from them and use it against them! Combine that with fighter subclasses and or feats like shield master, polearm master or grappler and you can control the battlefield
I agree that only attacking is boring, and feats can give some options of things to do in combat. But any class can grapple, shove, or disarm; other classes can do stuff that fighters can not. The big thing that fighter can do that others can not, is have another action. I think battle master fighter is a blast to play, but a champion to me would be boring. Because a battle master has more options, while a champion has what everyone else can do. But comparing subclasses was not what was asked, the core class is kind of boring in combat.
I still maintain that boring is a relative term, and any class is as fun or boring as you make it.
Funny thing is, I have at least one long-time player who loves Fighters because they play as simply as possible. He's the best role-player I've ever seen, but he likes to be strong without having to remember lots of abilities.
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
To me fighter is the "do it all class"
1. They have some of the highest damage output out classing most high levels spells and other classes
2. Because of all the extra ASIs they can be turned for pretty much any situation including skill monkey if you take the right feats
3.can be ranged or close quarters or even spell caster
4. Can use any type of armor and has high base HP
5. Works well as a second class due to how simple it is and how strong the fighting style and action surge is at such a low level
While I will admit rogue is my #1 favorite class to play I have played many types of fighter due to there flexibility and effectiveness in combat.
Fighters are only boring if you the Player view them as such. If you are enjoying a certain character who cares what other people think.
For instance I made a Spartan a while back. I'm a huge history buff on Sparta so when I say I made a Spartan I really did. He was Laconic (spoke only when required and in short witty responses.), had no concept of gold or currency in D&D (5th century BC Sparta used lead bars as currency), slept and worked out in the nude, was direct in his actions, and prayed to the gods for what they wanted him to do. He was a blast. Now some other people ended up saying he was a dick because the Gods told him to do things that wasnt kosher at times. In this case the Gods choices were represented by a d6. 1 to 2 they didnt favor an action. 3 to 4 they didnt respond so they didnt care one way or the other. 5 to 6 they favored the action. So there would be times where the group would debate about killing someone and my Spartan would ask the Gods and well I rolled alot of 5 and 6s when praying to Ares and then the party would get mad that i was trying to kill said person. He also had a habit of when people took to long bickering or to long doing other things he would just get bored and kick the door in and shanagins ensued.
Now I absolutely enjoyed the Character and plan on playing him again sometime. My buddy who played with me thought it was hilarious.
considering the rune knight fighter feels like Jotun's or norse warriors. totally makes me love fighters.
My Spells, My Races, My Magic Items, My Monsters, My Subclasses,
Basically fighters are all down to their Archetypes. The base Fighter features just kind of exist, though in a game with feats you can afford to get more feats.
Essentially the Fighter class looks boring because you have to decide to make it interesting for it to be interesting. Or in other words, it is basically a word document: are you going to write a great story or just hold down the Q key until you've got 100 pages?
It's possibly the easiest class to start D&D on, and I think many people just get stuck doing that.
I'm reprising my first fighter in a new campaign (took him back to Lvl1, and re-set all equipment etc), and doing it totally differently, modified back story etc. As said above, it all comes down to how interesting you make it - if you play boring, the fighter will be boring.
In the last campaign, I had a blast playing a fighter, and used him to counterpoint our groups' resident rogue, who was always trying to steal/kill stuff, and start fights while my fighter was trying to at least talk things down (fancy noble background) before resorting to the fighting skills. (Wasn't always successful as low-med charisma) but it was funny.
Odo Proudfoot - Lvl 10 Halfling Monk - Princes of the Apocalypse (Campaign Finished)
Orryn Pebblefoot - Lvl 5 Rock Gnome Wizard (Deceased) - Waterdeep: Dragon Heist (Deceased)
Anerin Ap Tewdr - Lvl 5 Human (Variant) Bard (College of Valor) - Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Complicated kits and spells does not equal interesting or good.
Fighters are fairly simple, but very effective. I used to tease my players who liked fighters just cause I am a magic fan at heart. BUT after playing one and seeing my players used them to great effectiveness, I can easily say they are far from boring.
Ok maybe Champion is little boring if you do absolutely no roleplaying with them. That's the players fault though.
But how is being a machine gun for damage and athletic feats not fun? Some of my best Fighter moments were when I didn't attack. There was one time my fighter gal just picked up a guy and threw them overboard. They couldn't beat her +9 Athletics score so they just lost. It was pretty great! :D
I think the "Fighters are boring" issue comes down to people just lacking an imagination and creativity. Their a super noob friendly class that can really wreck house in the hands an expert. What's not to love?
"Fighters dont have a lot of choices:
Eldritch Knight would like to have a WORD
Archery-Based Eldritch Knight. Think about a guy who can cast spells, and as a bonus, shoot his arrow or bolt. And on Level 20, guy can basically RAIN DOWN arrows or bolts AND spells on his enemies. With the right buff / debuff spells, that guy can be grotesquely OP.
Oh man you dont even KNOW
They make excellent monster slayers, police /elite squad
Go str, be the heaviest hitter and tank, oh you enemy's far a way? Expeditious retreat , bonus action dash for 10 mins, good LUCK breaking their concentration with heavy armorb con save proficiently and shield/absorb elements , maybe even warcaster
Go dex based, be a dragon slayer, get resilient dex; that and absorb elements you are taking one fourth the dragons breath weapon, claws, shield and shield spell git you covered; oh they picked you up and drop you? Pop feather fall, and flip the lizard off
This is all just a VERY small taste of what they can do. They only get better with the levels
I chose fighter for first character because it seemed easy. I've only been playing a few months, so I'm still playing it.