Fighters inPillars of Eternity 2: Deadfireexcel in melee combat, making excellent tanks and damage dealers and using their Discipline to power their abilities. They are easy to get a hang of as they require less managing than most other classes but do not deal any less damage. They also have a great deal of passive and sustained bonuses to their melee effectiveness which makes them very well suited to multi-classing, and means they are good in both turn-based and real-time.
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Players wishing to experience the best of what fighters have to offer should read on to learn which combinations of subclasses, stats, gear, race, and abilities are the strongest inPillars of Eternity.
6Pure Fighter
A single-class Fighter is one of the most beginner-friendly builds inPillars of Eternity 2.Without needing to think about spell slots, alignments, or crowd control, Fighters only need to think about one thing: the best way to hit enemies. Although the Devoted subclass is technically more powerful, it also restricts players to one weapon type throughout their entire playthrough. While this is perfect for players who already have a weapon in mind, many players may wish to experiment a bit more. In those cases, the Black Jacket is perfect.
RELATED:How Pentiment’s Underlying Themes Mirror Pillars Of EternityIn turn-based, Black Jackets can swap weapons as a free action, making them very adaptable. They can equip a melee weapon and a ranged weapon if they want to be able to deal damage no matter their distance from the enemy, or a slicing weapon and a piercing weapon if they cannot be bothered to consider enemy armor. They can also equip a high-damage weapon and a heavy shield so that during enemy turns they have a massive defensive advantage. Whatever their choice, players will find it hard to go back to just one way of killing enemies.
5Tactician
The Brilliant Tactician effect may seem situational, but the combination of Tactician and Beguiler is an easy way to ensure that players gain the Brilliant Inspiration in every fight. Tacticians gain the Brilliant Inspiration when all enemies are flanked, and the Phantom Foes spell that Cyphers gain access to causes all enemies to be flanked for 20 seconds. When combined, players gain 20 seconds of the Brilliant Inspiration, which grants the player class resources and increased Intellect and Power Level.Tacticians will then have massive amounts of Discipline which they can use to utterly obliterate the frightened enemies in front of them.
While this build works with any Cypher subclass, Beguiler seems the most synergistic as it grants Deception spells improved range and Focus. Players wanting to use this build in turn-based could also try using the Beckoner subclass of Chanter. This approach would mean using summons to flank their enemies, rather than a spell.
4Crusader
For players wishing to create the toughest character Eora has ever seen, the Unbroken subclass is the way to go. Unbroken characters can engage more enemies, and gain a Penetration bonus if those enemies try to get away from them. They also have improved armor when using a shield. As Fighters are already very hardy, these bonuses are enough to make Unbroken characters the tankiest in the game.
RELATED:How Magic Works In The World Of AvowedAdding a Paladin subclass gives the build some great buffing and healing capabilities, massively improving the power and survivability of the entire team.
3Brute
The Brute Multiclass is the result of combining a Fighter and a Barbarian. This deadly union is capable of massive amounts of damage to both single and grouped-up enemies with the combination of the Mob Stance and Carnage abilities. The best version of this build is achieved by selecting the Devoted and Berserker subclasses, which grant increased Penetration and increased critical chance and damage. Players should also focus on Perception and Dexterity, massively increasing the player’s attack speed and chance to hit.
This build is still entirely viable in the Turn-Based game mode, although players should remember that Dexterity is much less valuable. The build also works with any race, but players wishing to be perfectly optimized should pick either human ordeath godlike.
2Brawler
Players looking to deal the most amount of damage as quickly as possible cannot go wrong with a Brawler build. After all, if there is one thing that can deal more damage than a Devoted Fighter, it’s a Devoted Fighter on a ridiculous amount of drugs.Nalpazca Monksgain Wounds from taking drugs and enjoy the benefits from those drugs for 50% longer. When combined with the huge melee bonuses offered by the Fighter class, the Watcher can cut down swathes of enemies with abilities such as Mob Stance and Flurry of Blows.
RELATED:Pillars of Eternity 2: Every Main Class, RankedThis build does actually work in Turn-Based too as both classes have excellent passive and free action abilities. For players wanting to try this, consider the combination of Mob Stance and Blade Turning. Whether playing in Real-Time with Pause or Turn-Based, players will quickly agree that this is one of themost satisfying builds one can createin Pillars of Eternity 2.
1Swashbuckler
Following in Edér’s footsteps, the Watcher can adda Rogue subclassto their Fighter to create a Swashbuckler. This Multiclass is strong in its own right but using it in Turn-Based with the Devoted and Streetfighter subclasses makes it almost ridiculously powerful. This is because Fighters can use the Into The Fray ability to pull enemies towards them, making themselves Flanked. Enemies also move around a lot less in Turn-Based, meaning that the status is easier to maintain. The reason that this is so powerful is that while Flanked, Streetfighters gain damage bonuses against enemies affected by any status effect.
To take this even further, players can select human as their race. This means that their maximum potential bonuses while Flanked, Bloodied, and using their Chosen Weapon are: +2 Penetration, +7% Accuracy, +65% Damage, and +125% Critical Hit Damage. If that does not make players want to try this build, then nothing will.MORE:Pillars Of Eternity 2: Best Wizard Builds
