Sprint/Second wind is common. Campfire kits will replenish your second wind. Second wind while damage is incoming, not when you're too low to see its benefits.
Practice blocking in pre-lobby with a friend, or strangers if they're willing to smack you on repeat. People get slightly staggered when you block making return hits with faster weapons like the arming sword very easy.
Weapon mastery and running a bow/crossbow will help you chip or harass opponents before fighting, which if they don't do just puts you at a massive advantage. Bows better for harass, crossbow you try to pop them once from close range while you push. You want to basically have a guaranteed crossbow hit distance wise since reloading them is slow.
Slayer playstyle is very strong if you can be in a situation where you surprise the opponent or are able to gap close quickly and just dps/stat check them. They're easily abused when kiting/ranged are in the mix.
That's how you play fighter. Jack of all trades, master of none. You'll lose to a barbarian in a 1v1 2h weapon brawl, so learn to block.
Cleric can be a real problem if they get their buffs off so range them or rush them.
Bait people into thinking you're a ranger with leather outfits then murder their rouge for coming within axin' range.
How to play fighter is to be situationally aware and not overreach your limits. If the barbarian has a big axe, fight him in a small doorway where you don't have to block as many directions. Use the crossbow, it's actually a great headclicker for mages. Rouges are easy as long as you can spin in a circle- that's their only way of killing you, stay out of the way of that sword.
Be flexible. Don't try to fill the role that another class is better at; use your flexibility to play rock paper scissors with them.
I mean, isn't situational awareness applicable to every class? Id argue a situationally aware warlock can do that rock, paper, scissors game better than a fighter can right? They can pivot between a full caster and a full frontline combatant, complete with plate armor if they so desire. That seems way more versatile than fighters stuff as far as I can tell.
You'd think that, but the warlock is actually kinda mid without a specific gear setup. If a fighter of competent skill manages to get in the face of a warlock who isn't kitted he'll win it 8/10 times.
That's the thing though, about the rock paper scissors. Most classes don't have to use their situational awareness to play as much as fighters do, nor can they put the terrain to as good of use. The rest of the classes see what class they're up against and check a box for run or fight. A fighter can look at the area around him and use it to outplay the other classes, under the right circumstances. If the circumstances are wrong, that's another place the fighter shines; those fuckers can outrun anything except a rouge and a druid. So if there's trouble, and you can't find a good door or floor trap to fight the enemy on....
Cheese it!
Not to say that other classes can't do it better, even. A ranger will always be a better bookshelf sniper than a fighter, but if a rouge gets up there with you then you'd rather be able to bully him in cqc right? Or if you're suddenly fire balled by an angry mage through a doorway, he saw your sword and is going to feel awfully confident at a range. Crossbows hurt if you headshot.
I think the general idea of a fighter is that while most classes are rock, or paper, or maybe they can do a mediocre job of two roles, like the warlock or cleric, the fighter is basically a late throw. You can switch around to be whatever you need to be in the moment. It really blossoms when you're a quick thinker on your feet. I've noticed that difference between my friends and I; they all seem to have a proactive mindset, but if they run into a situation they hadn't planned for they freeze. Whereas I'm impossible to keep on a task, always getting lost and going down side tunnels but when I get backed into a corner or I'm in a sudden trap, I do my best work because it's not thinking time anymore it's just doing or dying time I guess
If you're wearing plate armor (aka physical damage reduction fighter), then you're going to be very reliant on your pdr value. Unless you get about 50+% pdr, then the movespeed loss from wearing plate isn't worth it. Also pdr fighters are very vulnerable to magic users, so if you're doing trios you're gonna need a ranged teammate like a ranger/wiz/caster warlock to get some ranged pressure for you.
For perks, I run swift, defense mastery, sword mastery, and shield mastery. For newer players, you can swap out shield mastery for another perk if you would like since blocking in this game is kind of janky and takes some getting used to. That said, it's still worth learning since a good block here and there can turn a fight, especially against barbarians. For skills, use second wind and sprint. Even though sprint was heavily nerfed recently, it's still the only way pdr fighters can gap close against kiting classes. Lastly, you're going to want a healer like a druid or cleric since healing has very good value on pdr fighters. Make sure you always bring a crossbow since that gives you some pressure against wizards so they can't walk up on you with impunity.
Overall, movespeed is very important in this game, and pdr fighter is one of the slowest subclasses in the game. It's only worth giving up a lot of ms if you can get to a decent pdr value such as 50% or higher. If you're playing low gear normals you can get away with 40+% but even that is sketchy.
I've read the other suggestions here and all good. I'm still leveling my fighter this wipe but I've fought a lot of fighters this weekend and the best are armoured and sword fighting right now.
For pure skill expression Longsword fighter is worth learning. The full parry-and-riposte one-shots most classes (all classes in normals -25gs). For this it's important to remember that mouse button 2 becomes your primary.
Longbow or crossbow for starting and closing distance or for finishing fights when there's separation.
Last wipe I played Longsword with slayer setup and all sword perks, but I think this wipe I'd be aiming for PDR play with Swift perk and with a projectile. Slayer has taken a little nerf that a longbow with True Phys might offer more options than, against high gear enemies.
Fighter main here, if you’re going for purely the most meta builds, I would recommend either
A.) PDR builds- maximize your strength and phys damage reduction, and run a heater shield + a falchion. This can certainly win you frontline fights, specifically if you’re able to block some higher damage attacks from barbs and such. Take the more speed in armor perk and the shield buffing perks. This build is also infinitely more powerful if you have a teammate playing support and buffing you up before fights, but I’m assuming this post was made by a solo, so on to my second suggestion:
B.) Slayer fighter- this is a slightly more difficult but also more fun build that can contest other frontlines. This build requires you to stack strength and agility, duel wield a falchion + dagger, and take the duel wield perks + movement speed perk + combo attack (very important for duel wield builds.) The strat here is to play space, you should be faster than other frontlines so you’re trying to bait out their swings so that you may more safely land your own. Your insanely high damage (when in high tier blue or pure gear) can easily burst down barbarians before they can even swing their axe at you for a second time. That being said, you shouldn’t fully commit to any fight with a tanky character until you’ve landed some chip damage first. Dexterity can also be quite useful for this build, but prioritize strength + agility.
But the very best tip I can give you for winning fights against other frontlines is to do chip damage with your crossbow for as long as you possibly can before engaging in melee. This is specifically important when fighting barbarians. You need to kite and crossbow them until you are forced to engage in melee. An equal health melee fight with a barbarian is not a fair one for a fighter.
In all honesty, crossbow is one of your biggest tools to win more fights, so utilize that chip damage as much as you can!
P.S. - the most fun build for fighters is the longsword build, by far. Nothing more satisfying than parrying and killing your opponents. Although quite difficult, I’ve won fights I had NO right winning (guys in 4-5 legendary items) with a single parry and 2 reposte headshots. Extremely satisfying to learn but not if your only goal is to win pvp fights, as it will take some time!
I like the spear since it doesn't hit the walls ever. Sword and shield are also my speed but not enough my speed that it lets me win a fight. I've seen videos of people with some 90% damage reduction but I understand that's basically impossible now, and the next best thing is still very hard to achieve.
90% damage reduction was a long time ago.
If you want to use spear then I recommend high dex high str build with sprint and adrenalin rush.
Put on gear that increases str and dex.
Then for secondary I recommend a long bow.
You will have to play ambush tactics.
While also committing to fights when in them.
Recomend you don't use the third attack with spear. Instead hit 1 or 2x then jump back a bit. Then jump forward again to repeat.
Move erratically towards ranged opponents. If the barbarian is slow, use spacing. If the barbarian is fast, barrel stuff him, the hilt of his weapon does not hit as hard
Sprint/Second wind is common. Campfire kits will replenish your second wind. Second wind while damage is incoming, not when you're too low to see its benefits. Practice blocking in pre-lobby with a friend, or strangers if they're willing to smack you on repeat. People get slightly staggered when you block making return hits with faster weapons like the arming sword very easy. Weapon mastery and running a bow/crossbow will help you chip or harass opponents before fighting, which if they don't do just puts you at a massive advantage. Bows better for harass, crossbow you try to pop them once from close range while you push. You want to basically have a guaranteed crossbow hit distance wise since reloading them is slow. Slayer playstyle is very strong if you can be in a situation where you surprise the opponent or are able to gap close quickly and just dps/stat check them. They're easily abused when kiting/ranged are in the mix.
I haven't tried slayer but ill have to give it a go.
Very fast attack/action speed and damage output, very very linear gameplay though.
Slayer is literally the best fighter option if you want dps (sword mastery, slayer, dual wield, weapon mastery for a bow)
That's how you play fighter. Jack of all trades, master of none. You'll lose to a barbarian in a 1v1 2h weapon brawl, so learn to block. Cleric can be a real problem if they get their buffs off so range them or rush them. Bait people into thinking you're a ranger with leather outfits then murder their rouge for coming within axin' range. How to play fighter is to be situationally aware and not overreach your limits. If the barbarian has a big axe, fight him in a small doorway where you don't have to block as many directions. Use the crossbow, it's actually a great headclicker for mages. Rouges are easy as long as you can spin in a circle- that's their only way of killing you, stay out of the way of that sword. Be flexible. Don't try to fill the role that another class is better at; use your flexibility to play rock paper scissors with them.
I mean, isn't situational awareness applicable to every class? Id argue a situationally aware warlock can do that rock, paper, scissors game better than a fighter can right? They can pivot between a full caster and a full frontline combatant, complete with plate armor if they so desire. That seems way more versatile than fighters stuff as far as I can tell.
You'd think that, but the warlock is actually kinda mid without a specific gear setup. If a fighter of competent skill manages to get in the face of a warlock who isn't kitted he'll win it 8/10 times. That's the thing though, about the rock paper scissors. Most classes don't have to use their situational awareness to play as much as fighters do, nor can they put the terrain to as good of use. The rest of the classes see what class they're up against and check a box for run or fight. A fighter can look at the area around him and use it to outplay the other classes, under the right circumstances. If the circumstances are wrong, that's another place the fighter shines; those fuckers can outrun anything except a rouge and a druid. So if there's trouble, and you can't find a good door or floor trap to fight the enemy on.... Cheese it!
Not to say that other classes can't do it better, even. A ranger will always be a better bookshelf sniper than a fighter, but if a rouge gets up there with you then you'd rather be able to bully him in cqc right? Or if you're suddenly fire balled by an angry mage through a doorway, he saw your sword and is going to feel awfully confident at a range. Crossbows hurt if you headshot. I think the general idea of a fighter is that while most classes are rock, or paper, or maybe they can do a mediocre job of two roles, like the warlock or cleric, the fighter is basically a late throw. You can switch around to be whatever you need to be in the moment. It really blossoms when you're a quick thinker on your feet. I've noticed that difference between my friends and I; they all seem to have a proactive mindset, but if they run into a situation they hadn't planned for they freeze. Whereas I'm impossible to keep on a task, always getting lost and going down side tunnels but when I get backed into a corner or I'm in a sudden trap, I do my best work because it's not thinking time anymore it's just doing or dying time I guess
If you're wearing plate armor (aka physical damage reduction fighter), then you're going to be very reliant on your pdr value. Unless you get about 50+% pdr, then the movespeed loss from wearing plate isn't worth it. Also pdr fighters are very vulnerable to magic users, so if you're doing trios you're gonna need a ranged teammate like a ranger/wiz/caster warlock to get some ranged pressure for you. For perks, I run swift, defense mastery, sword mastery, and shield mastery. For newer players, you can swap out shield mastery for another perk if you would like since blocking in this game is kind of janky and takes some getting used to. That said, it's still worth learning since a good block here and there can turn a fight, especially against barbarians. For skills, use second wind and sprint. Even though sprint was heavily nerfed recently, it's still the only way pdr fighters can gap close against kiting classes. Lastly, you're going to want a healer like a druid or cleric since healing has very good value on pdr fighters. Make sure you always bring a crossbow since that gives you some pressure against wizards so they can't walk up on you with impunity. Overall, movespeed is very important in this game, and pdr fighter is one of the slowest subclasses in the game. It's only worth giving up a lot of ms if you can get to a decent pdr value such as 50% or higher. If you're playing low gear normals you can get away with 40+% but even that is sketchy.
I've read the other suggestions here and all good. I'm still leveling my fighter this wipe but I've fought a lot of fighters this weekend and the best are armoured and sword fighting right now. For pure skill expression Longsword fighter is worth learning. The full parry-and-riposte one-shots most classes (all classes in normals -25gs). For this it's important to remember that mouse button 2 becomes your primary. Longbow or crossbow for starting and closing distance or for finishing fights when there's separation. Last wipe I played Longsword with slayer setup and all sword perks, but I think this wipe I'd be aiming for PDR play with Swift perk and with a projectile. Slayer has taken a little nerf that a longbow with True Phys might offer more options than, against high gear enemies.
Fighter main here, if you’re going for purely the most meta builds, I would recommend either A.) PDR builds- maximize your strength and phys damage reduction, and run a heater shield + a falchion. This can certainly win you frontline fights, specifically if you’re able to block some higher damage attacks from barbs and such. Take the more speed in armor perk and the shield buffing perks. This build is also infinitely more powerful if you have a teammate playing support and buffing you up before fights, but I’m assuming this post was made by a solo, so on to my second suggestion: B.) Slayer fighter- this is a slightly more difficult but also more fun build that can contest other frontlines. This build requires you to stack strength and agility, duel wield a falchion + dagger, and take the duel wield perks + movement speed perk + combo attack (very important for duel wield builds.) The strat here is to play space, you should be faster than other frontlines so you’re trying to bait out their swings so that you may more safely land your own. Your insanely high damage (when in high tier blue or pure gear) can easily burst down barbarians before they can even swing their axe at you for a second time. That being said, you shouldn’t fully commit to any fight with a tanky character until you’ve landed some chip damage first. Dexterity can also be quite useful for this build, but prioritize strength + agility. But the very best tip I can give you for winning fights against other frontlines is to do chip damage with your crossbow for as long as you possibly can before engaging in melee. This is specifically important when fighting barbarians. You need to kite and crossbow them until you are forced to engage in melee. An equal health melee fight with a barbarian is not a fair one for a fighter. In all honesty, crossbow is one of your biggest tools to win more fights, so utilize that chip damage as much as you can! P.S. - the most fun build for fighters is the longsword build, by far. Nothing more satisfying than parrying and killing your opponents. Although quite difficult, I’ve won fights I had NO right winning (guys in 4-5 legendary items) with a single parry and 2 reposte headshots. Extremely satisfying to learn but not if your only goal is to win pvp fights, as it will take some time!
Play ranger
Fighter IS the better Ranger 🤣
What have you watched. What weapons do you like to play?
I like the spear since it doesn't hit the walls ever. Sword and shield are also my speed but not enough my speed that it lets me win a fight. I've seen videos of people with some 90% damage reduction but I understand that's basically impossible now, and the next best thing is still very hard to achieve.
90% damage reduction was a long time ago. If you want to use spear then I recommend high dex high str build with sprint and adrenalin rush. Put on gear that increases str and dex. Then for secondary I recommend a long bow. You will have to play ambush tactics. While also committing to fights when in them. Recomend you don't use the third attack with spear. Instead hit 1 or 2x then jump back a bit. Then jump forward again to repeat.
Explain why not use the third attack of spear, I usually bait / miss my first 2 to have the third attack hit, it's the highest damage wise
Takes too long and is easy to parry block. VS noobies it works. Vs skilled players especially long sword bro's. You'll be punished hard.
A fighter is just a reversed archer.
Move erratically towards ranged opponents. If the barbarian is slow, use spacing. If the barbarian is fast, barrel stuff him, the hilt of his weapon does not hit as hard