Fighters, the nominal master of arms and armor, suffered a bit of an identity crisis in the 2014 rules, where they were certainly effective, but fairly bland. They were also challenged by numerous boring or weak subclasses, which made them unappealing to play compared to the Barbarian and the Paladin.
In the 2024 rules, the Fighter has found new life. They are the uncontested master of the Weapon Mastery system, and updates to their Action Surge and Second Wind features allow them to use their best features more often and in exciting new ways, including using Second Wind on ability checks so that Fighters aren’t wholly useless outside of combat. It’s an exciting time to play a Fighter!
