[RPG] How many attacks can a fighter with two-weapon fighting make at 5th level

attackdnd-5efightertwo-weapon-fighting

I have a 5th level fighter with the Two-Weapon Fighting fighting style.

What is the number of attacks I can make?

I say 4 attacks, but others say 3 because they say the rule on page 72 states that I get (only) 1 extra attack.

Best Answer

3 attacks on your turn (if you don't use Action Surge).

(It could go up to five with Action Surge, though.)

The Two-Weapon Fighting rule states (PHB, page 195):

When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you’re holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you’re holding in the other hand. You don’t add your ability modifier to the damage of the bonus attack, unless that modifier is negative. If either weapon has the thrown property, you can throw the weapon, instead of making a melee attack with it.

The bonus action used as part of Two-Weapon Fighting is an attack, but it is not the Attack action.

When you are a 5th-level fighter and you take the Attack action, you can make two attacks. You can also use your bonus action to make an additional attack. Notably, you can only take one bonus action per turn, since the rules for bonus actions state:

You can take only one bonus action on your turn, so you must choose which bonus action to use when you have more than one available.

You only add your ability modifier to the damage of that bonus-action attack if you have the Two-Weapon Fighting fighting style (PHB, page 72):

When you engage in two-weapon fighting, you can add your ability modifier to the damage of the second attack.

Therefore, you are taking the Attack action (2 attacks) and then making an additional attack with your bonus action (1 attack), for a total of 3 attacks if you're using your action plus your bonus action. There's a clear difference between them.

Action Surge lets a 5th-level fighter attack up to 5 times in one turn, once per short rest.

The description of the Action Surge feature says (PHB, page 72):

Starting at 2nd level, you can push yourself beyond your normal limits for a moment. On your turn, you can take one additional action.

Once you use this feature, you must finish a short or long rest before you can use it again. Starting at 17th level, you can use it twice before a rest, but only once on the same turn.

Which means that if you use Action Surge, you would have 2 actions and 1 bonus action on your turn.

So with this, you can take your Attack action (2 attacks), then use Action Surge and take another Attack action (2 more attacks), and finally your Two-Weapon Fighting bonus action (one more attack), for a total of 5 attacks during your turn.

Related Topic