The best (and worst) fighting style feats
Significant changes to Fighting Styles in the 2024 Player's Handbook: Fighting Styles are now Feats. This means that as long as your class has access to the Fighting Style feature, you will be able to gain it each time you select a feat.
This also opens the door to martial arts classes where you can select any Fighting Style feat using the Fighting Style feature. Compared to the 2014 Player's Handbook, this flexibility means players have a wider range of options to adjust their builds. But with more options comes the question of which fighting style feats are worth it.
Here's a breakdown of Fighting Style feats and which builds and classes benefit the most from each feat.
archery
Mechanics: +2 bonus on attack rolls with ranged weapons.
Best for: Fighters and Rangers
This feat is almost mandatory for dedicated long range builds. The +2 bonus to attack rolls greatly increases accuracy, but the 2024 version of the Sharpshooter feat no longer has the ability to -5 to attack rolls for +10 damage. Classes like fighters and rangers get the most mileage as they tend to use extra attack features and ranged weapons.
defense
Mechanics: +1 bonus to AC while wearing armor.
Best for: Fighters, Paladins, Rangers.
Defense is a simple but effective option for characters that rely on armor. Static AC Boosts synergize well with builds that prioritize high durability. It's not fancy, but it's reliable and effective.
duel
Mechanic: +2 bonus to damage rolls when using a melee weapon with one hand and no other weapon.
Best for: Paladins, Rangers, and Fighters.
Dueling is the go-to choice for melee combatants who use shields or focus on single-weapon builds. The bonus damage per attack is stable, making one-handed weapons on par with heavy weapons.
great weapons battle
Mechanics: If you roll a 1 or 2 on a damage die for an attack with a two-handed or universal weapon, you can treat it as a 3.
Best for: Fighters and paladins who use heavy weapons.
This feat maximizes damage potential with two-handed weapons, making it a solid choice for builds that value damage over defense. Fighters and paladins who use this feat make the most of this feat, especially when combined with great weapon master. The average damage increase of this effect at 2d6 is more significant, so it is more effective to use a greatsword or maul rather than a greataxe with this feat.
1d12: Average damage increased from 6.5 to 7.33 (+13%) 2d6: Average damage increased from 7 to 8.33 (+19%)
battle of two swords
Mechanism: Attacking with an off-hand weapon allows you to add your ability modifier to the damage of your second attack.
Best for: Rangers and Fighters.
Dual Wielding received several rules updates in the 2024 Player's Handbook. Off-hand attacks can now be made as part of the main attack action as long as the off-hand weapon has the Light Mastery property. This is a nice boost as it unlocks bonus actions for things like Mark the Hunter and Command Allies. This feat does the same thing it did in the previous Player's Handbook, but dual wielding is better, making this feat a more appealing pickup.
protection
Mechanic: When a creature you can see attacks a target within 5 feet of you, you can impose disadvantage on the attack roll as a reaction.
Best for: Paladins and Fighters.
Defense is an effective feat for martial artists who equip shields. The ability to impose disadvantage is a powerful tool for attacking and protecting allies. However, you can only spend one reaction, so it loses its effectiveness in fights against multiple enemies. It is also better to use for military alliances than casters, since it is more effective to impose disadvantage on attacks if the target has high AC.
interception
Mechanism: When a visible creature hits a target within 5 feet of you, you can respond by reducing damage by 1d10 + your proficiency bonus.
Best for: Paladins and Fighters.
This is strictly a worse version of protection, since even if the attack deals more than 8-10 damage, your allies may still be taking damage. In this case, the caster must roll a concentration check (possibly failing), even if attempting to protect the caster from concentrating on the spell.
unarmed combat
Mechanics: Unarmed attacks deal 1d8 damage if you don't have a weapon or shield, and 1d6 damage if you have a weapon or shield. A grappled creature takes 1d4 damage at the start of your turn.
Best for: Martial artists
Unarmed Fighting is the cornerstone of grappling builds and is a fun archetype, but it's generally underpowered. If you have to sacrifice an entire feat and both hands to get 1d8 damage on an attack, when you can get 2d6 from a greatsword without any additional investment, that's clearly less efficient.
blind fighting
Mechanic: Gain blindsight at a range of 10 feet.
Best targets: Paladins, Fighters, Barbarians.
Blind Fighting can be useful in some situations as it can counter invisibility and darkness, but this can also be mitigated by most parties using casters and fairy fire. Dwarves in the 2024 Player's Handbook can also inflict Blindsight while standing on a rock face, so if you're dying for Blindsight, you can get it that way and get even better. Get unique fighting style feats.
throwing weapons battle
Mechanics: You can draw a thrown weapon as part of your attack, gaining a +2 bonus to damage rolls with thrown weapons.
Best for: Rangers and fighters who specialize in thrown weapons.
Builds for thrown weapons are not particularly viable without the help of class features or magic items. Ranged weapons are more practical because you don't have to worry about running out of throwing ammunition.
