D&D 5E What Melee class does the most damage?

[GameOgre]

I was thinking about the rogue thread and wondering if rogue is subpar strait damage wise(still happy with my rogue though) what class has a edge over the others? Seems to me for strait melee damage the fighter with his eventual four attacks a round would have that edge but maybe I'm not seeing combinations or realizing class abilities combined with feats ect that might beat that.

From the non-minmax point of view it looks like they did a great job of making each class rock in its own way.

Anyone play a character yet that really seems to break bad on the bloody monsters?

 

[trentonjoe]

If you eschew ever casting spells, Paladins do alot with their smites and Blade Pact Warlocks do a lot with their constant hexes.

Other than that, it doens't really matter as long as you get a 2nd attack and a high STR.

Barbarians get rage damage, Fighters get 1d8 (battlemaster), Rangers get giant killer thing, rogues use sneak attack, anyone can use the -5/+10 feats, I don't think there is a clear cut winner.

 

[GameOgre]

Well, I keep seeing people talk about some pretty insane damage somehow from some of the melee class's (casters as well but that's nothing new to me).

Was hoping to either actually see some of these damages explained or have them debunked.


For the most part, the cap on 20 for stats and the lack of many + to damage abilities present in other editions or games(I'm looking at you Pathfinder!) seem to leave a lot of the crazy stacking for nutty damage out(a good thing).....Multiclass is still a good area for some nuttiness to spring up I think but then that has always been a issue since the (2nd edition)days of FtR8/Th8/Wiz8.

 

[GameOgre]

Well I must have missed the Paladin! WOW! now that's a nice spike damage from the ol Paladin!

 

[the Jester]

So far in my 5e campaign- in which the high level pcs are 4th, and which runs under an ES@1 (Everyone Starts at First Level)- the winner has been the human archer ranger using the -5/+10 archery feat, with his extra d8 against wounded targets due to, hmm, giant slayer or whichever feature it is.

Of course, that's ranged, not melee.

The melee winner is the dragonborn vengeance paladin when he burns spell slots to smite. The fighter/barbarian did pretty well, too, with Action Surge. But now he's under arrest for killing farmers, so I don't think we'll see much of his higher level capabilities anytime soon...

 

[trentonjoe]

Human Fighter (Battlemaster) or Ranger (Colossul Slayer) with Archer Fighting style, and Sharp shooter and 18 DEX +4 to hit and does 2d8 +14 on the first attack and 1d8 +14 on the second attack most of the time.

 

[trentonjoe]

The paladin/sorcerer becomes the smite king.

 

[kerbarian]

Until level 11, I think barbarians with the Great Weapon Master feat have the lead. When you combine the -5 attack/+10 damage with Reckless Attack for constant advantage, the damage is enormous. You can often get bonus attacks as well.

At level 11, the fighter's third attack mostly evens things out, though I think even the fighter does best using Great Weapon Master with -5/+10 on average, with no advantage. It depends greatly on the enemies' AC, of course.

Of the fighter subclasses, I think Battlemaster does the most damage, particularly via Precision Attack (on -5/+10 attacks) and Riposte, each of which is comparable to a free attack.

As a barbarian, I think it's worth picking up a few levels of fighter for Action Surge and the Battlemaster maneuvers. As a fighter, you really want to stick to straight fighter at least through level 11. Even after that, I don't think a couple levels of barbarian for Reckless Attack works well -- you won't be able to rage often enough to make the incoming attacks with advantage survivable.

 

[kerbarian]

If you consider ranged attackers, a fighter with a hand crossbow and shield is surprisingly strong. With the Crossbow Expert and Sharpshooter feats, your attacks can be at -3 attack (-5 and +2 from archery fighting style) and +10 damage, and you can take a bonus attack every round.

You don't have disadvantage from firing in melee or long range and you ignore cover, so you can attack anyone within 0 to 120 feet equally well, and you can also have top-end AC with a shield.

As before, Battlemaster using Precision Attack is very strong as a subclass choice.

 

[DaveDash]

Fighters do the most single target damage in the game from level 11+. Even before that they can 'Action Surge' once per short rest so they still do more damage over the course of an adventuring day.
Obviously having a dex based Fighter with a bow and sharpshooter means you can pretty much always attack, and thus always pump out damage, whereas melee martial classes can be somewhat ineffective against a number of things that can fly.

An end game Fighter with sharpshooter, archery style, and foresight is a sight to behold.