Rounding out my trip through every gish subclass comes the Eldritch Knight, the heaviest-armored of the spellswords. They fill a great role of providing some magical utility while still providing the excellent Defender utility Fighters are known for. If you’re looking for a low-complexity version of this popular trope, this is probably the best thing I can recommend for you due to the combination of high durability, good damage, and surprising flexibility.
Enjoy!
Have you considered the mechanics of Shadow blade?
I feel that it’s a game changer for martial classes but especially Eldritch Knights
It summons a weapon that you can use for weapon attacks instead of using spell attacks like the flame blade
So it works with attacks of opportunity the extra attack feature and also you add your ability bonus to the damage
it’s not clear but can be used as material component for the booming blade and green flame blade cantrips
It up scales really nice and it’s even better with extra attack
You get advantage if you use it in dim light or darkness even if your enemy has darkvision, so you can trigger eleven accuracy and sneak attacks more easily
Deals psychic damage a not so common damage that is rarely resisted (I only remember constructs some constructs having immunity to it)
As an EK you can get up to 4 attacks so you take advantage of the upscale even more and you have proficiency in constitution and indomitable so it’s unlikely that you lose concentration on the spell
An EK using an upscaled shadow blade and action surge to make 8 x (3d8s + Dex/Str) it’s more than what any paladin could dream to do with his smites
You can use the dueling fighting style for even more damage
If you go the dex route elven accuracy helps a lot to make critical hits
Magic items that give bonuses per attack damage like giant belts can get the DPR to ridiculous lvls
That’s the only i can think of right now but I’m sure it has a lot more advantages
We do explore Shadow Blade in our Fighter Spell List Breakdown. It’s a great spell.
Why not take Spell Sniper (warlock) feat to gain Eldritch Blast? 4 attacks x 4 beams and you still get a melee attack as a bonus action.
Because it would be cast using Charisma.
The weapon bond abillity is actually broken. It never states any other restrictiins besides the fact that you must touch a “weapon”. This means you could steal magic weapons from item shops or enemies. If you had invisibility you could complete a weapon bond on an enemy and get a free disarm. It also never states it has to be a weapon you can weild. This opens the door for shenanigans with the falling object rules. Steal a giants massive great sword and then cast jump on yourself to continuously drop a humongous slab of metal on your enemies each turn from height for falling damage with just a bonus action. You could also use the same tactic for cover. A big enough war hammer could creat a free bonus action cover each turn or could be used to creat a blockade or block a doorway or passage. You can also use weapon bond to send signals across entire planes want to be able to signal your comrades to attack without making a single noise or signal an attack or message across a continent? Use a bonus action to summon your weapon and send the call. You can also spring trap with it imagine setting up a deadfall and using a single bonus action to move your spear and trigger a trap with perfect timing and still have an action ready. Weapon bond also pairs incredibly well with light or darkness spells. You could cast darkness on a dagger or throwing axe and at the end of your turn you could throw it away so that yout comrades can still see and then at the beggining of your turn summon it back.
Not to mention these weapons can never be disarmed from you which is actually pretty cool. You can also use weapon bond to throw items that may not have a throwing property or are just too light to throw or items you want to destroy can be thrown with a weapon and then summon the weapon back to leave the item. So lets say you tie an oil flask to your spear and then use an actuon to throw the spear at an enemy and then use a bonus action to summon the weapon back now the oil flask falls to the feet of the enemy you just attacked and breaks leaving the area covered in oil ready for your next attack. I think the main use though is the falling object interaction an possiblity of the dm allowing you to summon seige weapons such as a ballista or summon large or gigantic weapons to drop or create cover.
There are certainly some shenanigans there. I’ll add a note.
I don’t think you can disarm people with Weapon Bond unless they’re already using a weapon that you’re bonded to for some reason. “You perform the ritual over the course of 1 hour, which can be done during a short rest. The weapon must be within your reach throughout the ritual, at the conclusion of which you touch the weapon and forge the bond.”