Dragonborn Fighter Build Guide

Levels 1-4

Start with the Great Weapon Fighting style to maximize your two-handed weapon damage. At level 3, select the Battle Master archetype. Take Precision Attack to ensure your heavy hits land, Trip Attack to generate your own advantage, and Menacing Attack for single-target crowd control. At level 4, completely ignore the standard Ability Score Improvement. Instead, take the Dragon Fear feat. This bumps your 15 Strength to 16 and lets you replace an attack with a 30-foot radius roar that frightens enemies. Because they only get a save when they take damage, you can lock down an entire room of minions.

Levels 5-10

Level 5 is the most important tier jump. You gain Extra Attack and Draconic Flight. You can now fly 30 feet into the air, replace your first attack with a Breath Weapon or Dragon Fear roar, and use your second attack to cleave a target. At level 6, take Great Weapon Master (GWM). Use your Precision Attack maneuver to offset the -5 penalty to hit. At level 8, take a standard ASI to bump your Strength to 18, ensuring your GWM strikes land more consistently against tougher Tier 2 armor classes.

Levels 11-16

Level 11 grants Extra Attack (2), allowing three attacks per Attack action. This drastically increases your DPR to 10.73 without expending resources. At level 12, use your ASI to cap your Strength at 20. At level 14, you must address your glaring 10 Wisdom. Take the Resilient (Wisdom) feat. At this tier, failing a saving throw against Dominate Person turns you into a lethal threat to your own party. At level 16, take Heavy Armor Master to stack flat physical damage reduction on top of your draconic elemental resistance.

Levels 17-20

Level 17 grants your second use of Action Surge. You can now make six attacks in a single turn, twice per short rest. At level 19, take the Tough feat. Combined with your d10 hit die and 14 Constitution, this rockets your hit point maximum well past 200, cementing your role as an unkillable striker. Level 20 brings Extra Attack (3) for a massive four attacks per action, allowing you to seamlessly weave Breath Weapons into a flurry of steel.

Dragon Fear

Take this at level 4. Found in Xanathar's Guide to Everything, this half-feat bumps your Strength to 16 and lets you expend a Breath Weapon use to force a Wisdom saving throw on all enemies within 30 feet. Frightened enemies have disadvantage on attack rolls and cannot move closer to you. It is the best crowd control a martial character can get.

Great Weapon Master

Take this at level 6. Trading a -5 penalty to hit for +10 damage is the mathematical core of melee striker builds. Because you are a Battle Master, you can add a Superiority Die via Precision Attack to turn a miss into a hit, entirely negating the feat's drawback.

Resilient (Wisdom)

Take this at level 14. Your base 10 Wisdom makes you incredibly vulnerable to spellcasters. Failing a save against Hold Person means enemies auto-crit you, entirely bypassing your high AC and hit points. Gaining proficiency in Wisdom saves is mandatory for Tier 3 survival.

Heavy Armor Master

Take this at level 16. Reducing non-magical bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage by 3 points per hit scales incredibly well when fighting mobs of enemies. It perfectly complements your Gem Dragonborn damage resistance, making chip damage virtually non-existent.

Tier 1 (Levels 1-4)

Prioritize upgrading your starting Chain Mail to Splint Armor as soon as you have 200 gold. Wield a mundane Greatsword for your primary damage. Carry at least five handaxes; because you lack Darkvision, you will occasionally need to throw weapons at targets illuminated by torches just outside your movement range.

Tier 2 (Levels 5-10)

Plate Armor is mandatory to hit 18 AC. Seek out a +1 Greatsword to offset your Great Weapon Master penalty. Most importantly, acquire a Cloak of Protection. The +1 to saving throws is vital for protecting your low mental stats before you take the Resilient feat.

Tier 3 (Levels 11-16)

Look for a Belt of Fire Giant Strength. This frees up your ASI slots and pushes your attack modifier into the stratosphere. If giant belts are unavailable, a Dragon Slayer Greatsword fits the thematic narrative perfectly and adds an extra 3d6 damage against draconic foes.

Tier 4 (Levels 17-20)

Beg your DM for Armor of Invulnerability. Gaining resistance to all non-magical damage stacks absurdly well with your Heavy Armor Master feat and your innate Gem Dragonborn resistance. You will be able to wade through ancient dragon attacks and pit fiend strikes without flinching.

As a Dragonborn Fighter, your primary role is the Striker. You are the physical anchor of the party, responsible for dealing massive single-target damage with Great Weapon Master while occasionally clearing minions with your Breath Weapon. You need party members who can enhance your mobility and keep you immune to mental crowd control.

Pair this build with a Twilight Domain Cleric. Their Twilight Sanctuary channel divinity grants a constant stream of temporary hit points every round. Because you already have draconic damage resistance and high AC, those temporary hit points go twice as far, making you effectively immortal on the frontline.

You also synergize perfectly with a Sorcerer or Wizard who casts Haste on you. A Hasted Gem Dragonborn with Draconic Flight active has a 60-foot flying speed and an extra attack every turn. This allows you to cross the entire battlefield, ignore the enemy frontline, and instantly delete the opposing spellcaster.

Barbarian 2 Dip

Taking two levels of Barbarian for Reckless Attack is a massive DPR boost. Gaining at-will advantage completely negates the -5 penalty of Great Weapon Master. Furthermore, Danger Sense gives you advantage on Dexterity saving throws, shoring up your mediocre 14 Dexterity against enemy fireballs.

Paladin 2 Dip

If you managed to roll stats and have the 13 Charisma required, a two-level Paladin dip grants Divine Smite. Since you are attacking up to four times in a turn with Action Surge, you can dump your limited spell slots into critical hits for massive, instantaneous burst damage.

• Using the 2014 PHB Dragonborn: The original Dragonborn requires a full Action to use a Breath Weapon. This completely ruins your Extra Attack progression. You must use the Fizban's Treasury of Dragons version to replace a single attack.
• Forgetting Draconic Flight: At 5th level, Gem Dragonborns can fly for one minute. Players often forget this and waste turns Dashing toward archers instead of just flying over the difficult terrain to cut them down.
• Ignoring Wisdom Saves: With an optimal 10 Wisdom, you will fail almost every Tier 3 mental save. If you delay taking Resilient (Wisdom), you will spend entire boss fights paralyzed or mind-controlled.
• Wasting Breath Weapon on single targets: Your Greatsword with Great Weapon Master deals significantly more damage to a single boss than your breath weapon. Save your breath charges for when you can hit at least three enemies at once.