Best Races for Fighter 5e
The standard martial class that specializes in making a lot of attacks and doing them well, and excels at single target damage above all else. Honestly, it focuses so hard on single target damage that it actually plays to its detriment, leaving many Fighters lacking in areas like support and utility, especially outside of combat. This means you have two real option with your race selection. You can either lean further into the damage and durability of this class, or try to shore up your out of combat utility and support. I’ll divide this list into Damage, Defense, and Utility categories, and you can determine what is best for your specific build. As always, I exclude flying races and races that grant a feat, as those are good for everyone. However, I should mention that the Fighter is incredibly dependent on feats to function in combat, meaning if you are picking something other than Variant Human or Custom Origin, you need a very good reason for doing so.
Best Races for Damage
Bugbear: Truthfully, this is the only race that is providing you with more damage than a feat at level one could provide, and it won’t even really pay off until around level 5 when we get extra attack. Bugbear’s Surprise Attack just happens to pair extremely well with the Fighter’s extra attacks, and Action Surge lets us attack even more on turn one, dealing a ton of extra damage. Combine this with something like the Echo Knight’s Unleash Incarnation and the Gloom Stalker’s Dread Ambusher, you can be throwing out upwards of ten attacks, all with 2d6 extra damage! This allows you to nova down an important enemy on turn one before they even get to move. To ensure you win initiative and actually get to use this feature, you’ll probably want to be using a hand crossbow, which lets us take Crossbow Expert to get yet another attack on turn one! This race leads to an incredibly strong build, and I definitely recommend giving it a try.
Grung: You can think of Grung as a version of the Bugbear that does its extra damage on all turns, but does less extra damage on average. Fighters don’t have a way to deal with the water dependency of this race though, so you’ll need to communicate with your party on how to deal with that.
Shifter (Longtooth): This race’s bonus action attack can take the place of Polearm Master if you don’t want to take your build in that direction but still want to deal good damage in melee. Note that this cannot work with Great Weapon Master while the bonus action attack from Polearm Master can. Also, you have to take the attack action to bonus action attack with Polearm Master, but these fangs have no such requirement, meaning you can attack after dashing or other actions. I would heavily consider this on just about any “sword and board” Fighter, or builds that want to make use of a two handed weapon that isn’t a polearm like a Greatsword or Maul.
Minotaur: This is the best class for this race, as we can take the Crusher feat, knock our enemy into the air and then push them further into the air with our Hammering Horns, causing them to fall prone and take damage. This is a pretty strong combo and a genuine reason for going into melee. If you aren’t planning on taking advantage of this combo, you have no business considering this race.
Centaur: This is the best race for making a grapple/drag build thanks to its high speed and ability to still attack while holding multiple grapples thanks to their hooves. Fighters have no way of setting up their own damaging areas, so make sure you coordinate with your party about your combat strategy before even considering this race.
Best Races for Defense
Genasi (Earth): Pass Without Trace is a great way to support our party at stealth, and getting Blade Ward as a bonus action a few times a day will really help you tank those most deadly rounds. I should mention though that if your plan is to tank in melee, first that is very suboptimal, and second, a level dip in Barbarian can accomplish a similar goal. Still, this is a good pick overall.
Shadar-Kai: This race provides a lot in terms of defense and utility, granting all the standard elf goodies and a bonus action teleport that grants resistance to all damage until your next turn. That makes this quite similar to the Earth Genasi in terms of defensive power, just with a different flavor of utility. Pick your favorite.
Vedalkin: Let’s be honest, the real defensive weakness of the Fighter isn’t their AC or HP, it’s their saving throws. No other race protects our mental saves better than the Vedalkin, and that’s honestly why I think this is the best defensive option for the Fighter.
Best Races for Utility
Gem Dragonborn: If flying races are banned at your table, then this and the next race are potential substitutes. One minute of flying a number of times equal to your proficiency bonus each day should be enough to let you fight flying enemies when you need to, something that a melee Fighter would normally struggle to do. The breath weapon also gives us a decent option for AoE damage and we get telepathy as well. This also allows us to access the Dragon Fear feat, an option that gives us some utility in combat to frighten enemies.
Aasimar (Radiant Soul): We get the exact same flying ability as the Gem Dragonborn, but trade everything else for two damage resistances, some extra damage each turn, and a small pool of healing. These two races are really close in power and both provide flight when you need it, so pick your favorite.
The sad truth is that Fighters are so dependent on feats that picking any race other than one that provides a feat is a really tough sell. If you’re at a table where you’re lucky enough to get a free feat at level one no matter your race, these are some very strong options that can improve your build in specific categories. There is a reason however, that Human Fighters are the most commonly built characters in the game.
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