[RPG] How to optimize the Fighter Samurai for the next campaign

character-creationdnd-5efeatsfighteroptimization

I'm about to finish LMOP 5E and move onto a homebrew campaign. With that said our DM allowed us to either keep or reroll new characters.

Currently, I'm playing a Dual-Wielding Eladrin Fighter Samurai who's an ex-pirate and a smith.

My rolled stats are:

https://imgur.com/UP3wWUq

Str:14 Dex:14(12+2) Con:14 Int:9 Wis:13 Cha:14(13+1) 17AC 36HP
TWF style and DW feat.

2 longswords equipped, that can be changed into rapiers at any time (depending on what stat I go for)

I love playing this character and the class, that's why I want to keep playing it going forward. Also considering taking a few lvls in Rogue for that extra Pirate flavor and sneak attack for potentially a DEX build.

That being said: My action economy is crowded. Samurai Fighting spirit is a BA, Feystep is a BA, TWF is a BA, Second Wind is a BA. If I multi-class into rogue that's even more BA options.

I love the TWF pirate archetype but I'm beginning to think that going forward, past lvl 5 it'll fall off heavily with my terrible Action Economy and TWF generally falling off in mid/late game compared to GWM and a STR build.

Right now I have the following options:

  • I can reshuffle my stats in order to get 16(14+2)DEX to go for a DEX build.

  • Ditch TWF and DW

  • I can try and reroll stats and pray to the dice gods but that's out of my control.

My question

What else can be done to optimize DPR and action economy for my Pirate Samurai and possibly keep it a Dex build for a future rogue dip?

Best Answer

There are a lot of decisions you'll have to make, but I'm focusing on your specific questions about two weapon fighting and your attributes, premised on the assumption that you will multiclass into rogue.

Two-Weapon Fighting and Dual Wielding are not optimal

At present, you're investing a feat, a fighting style, and your bonus action to do an extra 6.5 damage every turn (average of 1d8+2). That may feel like a lot at low levels, but it will become less significant as your overall damage increases due to extra attack and sneak attack dice. At the same time, as you've observed, you'll keep getting more options for your bonus action.

By contrast, if you took the Dueling fighting style and replaced the feat with an Ability Score Increase, you'd be dealing an average of +3 extra damage per attack, meaning 6 damage every turn at fighter level 5 and 9 at 11. In addition, this damage would apply to opportunity attacks and attacks taken using action surge, The ASI would also give you +1 to hit and +1 to AC and Initiative if you focus on Dex, and you could weild a shield for +2 AC as well. Plus, this leaves your bonus action free for taking advantage of other features.

You should probably re-roll your stats

Your array is relatively well rounded, with positive modifiers in all but one stat but nothing higher than a 14. The character you are building, however, really only needs a high Dexterity and Constitution to be optimal. The averaged rolled array is 16, 14, 13, 12, 10, 9, which is a better fit for your character overall, allowing a higher Dex bonus, an equivalent Con, Cha, Int, and Wis bonus, and requires you only to reduce your strength bonus, which you won't need if you switch to finesse weapons to take advantage of sneak attacks. Alternately, if the thought of rerolling makes you nervous, you could ask your DM to allow you to recalculate your stats using either Point Buy or the Standard Array, either of which could give you more optimal stats than your current array.

Don't worry too much about optimization if you're having fun

You emphasize several times in your question how much you're enjoying your character and their flavor. If part of your enjoyment comes from the image of fighting with two longswords while being strong as well as fast and wise as well as charming, I would strongly encourage you to completely disregard my advice and continue building the character as you imagine them. 5e is a reasonably well-balanced game compared to some of the earlier editions of DnD, and the difference between a well optimized and poorly optimized character simply isn't very large. Additionally, while playing a character with a crowded bonus action economy may not be strictly optimal, it can make combat more fun to have lots of different choices each turn. If mechanical tinkering and optimization will make the game more fun for you then go for it, but don't feel that you need to sacrifice your character's flavor in order to stay mechanically relevant.