Introduction
Hello, I love playing fighter/mages. I enjoy the versatility of the builds, and I just think they are cool. I don't see too many guides on how to do this, so I thought I'd give it a shot. This is my first guide, so please take that into account. I have been playing DnD since 1st edition and have been playing fighter/mages since then as well, so I'm very familiar with the build concept. When I create a fighter/mage, I usually try to re-create the 2nd edition Bladesinger; however, I realize there are other ways to do this too, so I'm going to try and address those as well.
Here it goes
Why make a melee/caster?
Ask yourself why you want to make a character of this type. Your answer will dictate the choices you make when building your character. There are usually one of three reasons to build a character of this type. For me, it is the versatility of the build and the coolness of casting and sword swinging that brings my love to these builds.
This guide assumes you are building a character that wants to be in melee at least some of the time.
Better Offense - In My opinion offense is all about damage output. Magic opens up your arsenal to many ranged and area effect spells. When you are on the front line, spells like burning hands, Thunderwave, and Flaming Sphere, are great for increasing your damage output. When faced with flying or opponents that are far away, spells like Magic Missile, Ice knife and Scorching Ray allow for strength based fighters to do something other than throw a javelin.
Better Defense - When I think of defense, I think of the old 4e role of defender. Your are there to be able to stay on the front line. These builds use magic to augment their defender abilities. Spells like Shield, Blur and Mirror Image do wonders for improving your defensive capabilities. Especially if you are already wearing heavy armor and using a shield.
Versatility - Its nice to have options when melee is not available, or to be able to fire off a ritual when the party needs information. Melee/Caster combinations can be verify versatile and useful outside of combat, but they tend to sacrifice the optimization of offense or defense in order to be able to do that.
What are you willing to give up?
Sacrifice is the name of the game here. What are you willing to give up to achieve your goal as a melee/caster? Whenever you multi-class you will be giving up high level options. Know the answer to this question before you plan your build
Feats or Stat Boosts- Depending on the build, you may be giving up a feat or an ability boost or two. Decide what feats are important for the build. These will be discussed later in the guide.
Class Abilities - Decide what class abilities are essential to your goal, and which ones you can do without.
Hit Points - Most melee/caster combinations will have less HPs than a full melee class. How does that affect your build.
How far do you want to go caster?
Decide how far you want to go into the spell casting class. Are you taking levels in the melee class only for small benefits and plan on being mostly a caster, or are you doing the opposite and taking only a few levels of caster to augment your melee class.
Mostly Caster - With these builds you should really decide if this is the way you want to go. You will be a few levels behind other casters in terms of what kind of spells you can cast. After 17th level that won’t matter, but it is a long road to 17th level. You may be more durable than other casters, but you won’t be that effective in melee combat. It might be better to remain a full caster.
Mostly Melee - This build is essentially the Eldritch Knight. A fighter with a few levels of Warlock fits this build as well. Both these builds are very good melee characters, but they are not very versatile.
Balanced - These are my favorite builds. You want to at least have two melee attacks and level 5 spells for these builds. They are very versatile as well as being effective in melee. The trick is stacking the levels of the two classes in such a way that you get the best of both classes.
Caster Classes Covered
What kind of spells are you going for? This guide is only covering the arcane classes.
I’ll be going over gish builds involving the following arcane classes
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Wizard
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Warlock
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Sorcerer
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Bard
I’ll be using the standard rating system - Remember that if some of my ratings don’t match some of the other guides, it is because I am basing my ratings on its usefulness to the melee/caster builds.
Red - Pick it for flavor
Purple - I won’t be using this color.
Black - This is an ok choice
Blue - Good choice. Recommended options, you’re almost always better off with these choices.
Sky Blue - Pick me! Best options for most builds and games.
Gold - Mandatory for the option it is presented in.
Rules regarding open carry and casting spells
Heavy Weapons - Removing your hand to cast a spell is allowed.
Link to ruling - http://www.sageadvice.eu/2014/09/30/2-weapon-casting/. This is not really official, but Jeremy Crofford said he would allow it.
Letting go of a Weapon can be done without using an action - Normally interacting with an object is a free action and can only be done on your turn. Jeremy Crawford stated that he would allow someone to let go of an item without using an action. This would allow you to remove your hand from a heavy weapon or drop a held weapon and cast a spell as a reaction.
Link to ruling - http://www.sageadvice.eu/2015/01/19/interaction-or-free-action-with-object/
Carrying a focus and a weapon while casting spells with somatic and material components - if you have a weapon in one hand and a focus in the other, you can cast spells with somatic and material components but not spells with only somatic components.
Link to ruling - http://www.sageadvice.eu/2014/11/26/holy-symbol-replace-somatic-components/
Attributes/Races
Races - I won’t be covering races in this guide. I feel that that is a personal choice. Once you know what abilities are important to the build, you’ll know what race you want.
Abilities
When it comes to choosing abilities, there may not be a mandatory ability. Your build can focus on casting spells, swinging a weapon or a combination of the two. Melee/caster builds are very MAD in nature, so there will be few recommendations for abilities to be rated gold.
Please note that all the ratings assume you will be in melee combat. This guide is not for builds focusing on ranged combat.
Red - Dump Stat
Purple - I won’t be using this color.
Black - You should have at least a +1 bonus in this ability
Dark Blue - You can start off with a +1, but you should have a +2 by Tier 3
Sky Blue - You can start off with a +2, but you should have a +3 by Tier 3
Gold - Start off with at least a +2, and try for a +5 by Tier 4
Offense - You’re focusing on damage output
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Strength or Dexterity- This is Sky Blue for an offensive build because you will most likely go with a heavy weapon or two weapon fighting. This becomes even more plain when combined with the Heavy Weapon Master feat. This is Gold if you are going pure Eldritch Knight or don’t plan on casting spells above level 4.
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Constitution - This is your third choice in choosing your abilities. What ever you choose at character creation will most likely not change. You will need the Constitution for HPs and Concentration checks.
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Main Spellcasting Ability - Many of your spells will have DC’s or require an attack roll. If you plan on focusing on spells and not taking enough levels in the melee class to gain a second attack, then this should be Gold.
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Fighting Style
Choose what fighting style you want to use. The fighting style you choose goes a long way towards dictating what feats you are going to select. it also helps you choose what melee class you want.
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Defense - +1 to AC when wearing armor. Combined with the Shield spell, Mirror Image or Blur and a regular shield you can get really high AC. With splint and shield thats a 25 AC if you cast the Shield spell. You will need the War Caster feat though.
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Duelist - For versatile or defense builds this is a great option. You can keep a hand free thereby bypassing the need for the War Caster feat. Your damage won’t be as high as the Great Weapon Fighter, but it won’t be that far behind either.
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Great Weapon Fighting - If you are going this route, you are an offense oriented character. You can still use a free hand to cast spells and hold the weapon, but your defense will suffer. With this build your spells will either be concentration spells that have an attack as a bonus action, or they will be defensive spells. The fact that you will be using concentration spells makes Warcaster very important. You will also want Great Weapon Master feat for the massive damage boost.
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Protection - This style uses your reaction to protect your buddy. This was meant to imitate the 4th edition defender I expect. You will most likely want to use your reaction for Shield or Counterspell.
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Two Weapon Fighting - This fighting style uses your bonus action for an attack; however, it does allow you to fight with a one handed weapon in one hand a staff (which can be used as a focus) in the other if you take the Dual Wielder Feat (see picture above). Once again, Warcaster is still needed for somatic only spells. With this fighting style you will want to cast defensive and blaster type spells. you will be either casting or fighting. You won’t be doing both in the same round.
Choosing your melee Class
Choosing your melee class is important. Each class has its own set of benefits that can offer a totally different type of play style.
Barbarian - The barbarian appears to be a powerful option; however, you can’t cast spells or maintain concentration while raging, so it doesn't multiclass well with casters
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Armor Proficiencies - You get light & medium armor and shields.
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Saving Throw Proficiencies - You get Strength and Constitution. The constitution alone is worth it.
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Relentless Rage - A chance to not go down when you normally would. This a decent ability, but at 11th level it’s not worth the investment.
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Rage - Half damage vs B/S/P attacks. This is really good, but you can’t cast or concentrate while raging. That makes this feature bad for melee/caster builds.
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Unarmed Defense - This requires a lot of investment into Dex and Con making it hard to build towards.
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Reckless Attack - Grant advantage to gain advantage. This is a great ability if you are taking half damage from attacks, but you won’t be because you need to cast spells. This ability just makes you more vulnerable; however, dead men don’t attack, and combining this with Heavy Weapon Master makes for dead attackers. For that I rate it Black.
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Danger Sense - This is a good ability, but casting absorb elements as a reaction does the same thing (allow you to take half damage from the attack) and gives you a melee damage boost on your next turn.
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Primal Path - Most of these benefits are granted while raging, so don’t build for these abilities. For that reason I won’t go into rating them.
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Extra Attack - For almost all builds this ability is critical. For mostly caster builds I rate this Dark Blue..
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Fast Movement - Nice to have
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Feral Instinct - Advantage on initiative checks and the ability to act in the surprise round. This is a great ability.
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Brutal Critical - One additional weapon die on a critical hit. This an ok ability.
- Relentless Rage - A chance to not go down when you normally would. This a decent ability, but at 11th level its not worth the investment.
Choosing your melee Class (Con't)
Monk - Monks are a Wisdom based melee class. None of the arcane casters use wisdom, so right off the bat you are dealing MAD ability scores. I’m not going to cover any of the abilities above level 11 because you might as well go full Monk if you are investing that much into the class.
Saving Throw Proficiencies - You get proficiency with Strength and Dexterity saves. These are only slightly better than the Paladin’s saves because of Dexterity Unarmored Defense - In order for this ability to be good, your need to invest into Wisdom. You probably can’t afford that as you will need Charisma or Intelligence for your spellcasting,. Martial Arts - You get a bonus action unarmed strike. This isn’t that bad as you get your modifier added to the damage. Ki - You can Disengage, Dodge, Dash or get an extra attack as a bonus action. This is pretty good. Unarmored Movement - Extra movement is nice. Deflect Missiles - This ability uses your reaction which you will want for Shield or Counterspell. Monastic Tradition - I won’t go into the specifics of the traditions, but I will rate them. Way of the Open Hand - You get some extra perks with your Martial Arts and free healing at level 6. Way of Shadow - You get Darkvision, Darkness, Silence and Pass Without Trace using Ki points. At 6th level you get to teleport through shadows. Way of the Four Elements - You get some potent spell-like abilities that make heavy use of Ki points. Many of them require Wisdom for the save DC, and you shouldn’t be taking enough levels in Monk to be able to use the spell-like abilities that often. Extra Attack - For almost all builds this ability is critical. For mostly caster builds I rate this Dark Blue Stunning Strike - This seems like a great ability, and for strait Monks or Wisdom based casters it is; however, it requires too much investment into Wisdom which should be a dump stat for you. Ki Empowered Strikes - Your unarmed attacks are magical. Evasion - Awesome ability Stillness of the Mind - Very situational Purity of the Body - Immunity to disease and poison. This is decent, but at 10th level it is too costly.
Choose your caster class
Below I’ve listed the four caster classes and what they have to offer the melee/caster play style
Bard
Bards are a very versatile class. Valor Bards are actually melee/casters all by themselves.
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Saving throws - You get Dexterity and Charisma.
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Ritual Casting - This a good ability; however, you can only use it for spells you know, and your spells known list is limited. I rate it Dark Blue for versatile builds.
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Magic Secrets - You’ve just been give the open door to add powerful combat spells to your repertoire; however, this ability doesn’t come until 10th level, so if you are multi-classing you won’t get this until 3rd or 4th tier.
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Spellcasting - Bards are great versatile casters. They can heal, buff, debuff and have some area attack spells; however, they have known spells which makes you have to choose wisely and know what direction in spellcasting your want to go. For defense and versatile builds I rate their spellcasting Sky Blue.
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Bardic Inspiration: This only helps out your buddies, so for versatile builds this is pretty good.
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Jack-Of-All Trades: Here you get a bonus to Initiative and Counterspell. that will help..
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Song of Rest - This benefits you as well, so its not all that bad.
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Bard College - Some of these options are pretty good. As mentioned before the Valor Bard is a melee/caster all by itself.
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College of Lore - You get to use your inspiration to debuff attacks, you get the magical secrets at level 6 and 3 extra skills. Not bad.
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College of Valor - This college basically gives you melee options. You get medium armor, shields and martial weapons. An extra attack at level 6, extra damage or AC with your inspiration and battle magic at level 14. The reason more people don’t go this route is because of the spell selection. You don’t get good combat spells until 10th level via the Magical Secrets ability, so your basically the party’s healer and face until then.
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Expertise - Melee/casters are not skill monkeys, but it is always nice to be good at Stealth, Athletics or Acrobatics.
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Font of Inspiration - See Bardic Inspiration.
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Counter Charm - Now you can keep that barbarian from getting Charmed by the Vampire and killing the party. Black for versatile builds.
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Weapon and Armor Proficiencies - Light Armor, swords and light crossbows. This is pretty limiting, but they are items that many of the builds use anyway. For builds that use Dexterity as their combat stat, I rate this Dark Blue.
Build Synergy
Here is a list of some warrior caster combinations along with the pros and cons. This section does not use color coding.
Fighter (Eldritch Knight)/Wizard (Abjurer)- F1/W2-6/F7-12/W13-20
How the build works This build augments its attacks with a spells like Flaming Sphere or Melf’s Minute Meteors that have a bonus action attack. Using spells like these helps you keep up with the Fighter’s increased extra attacks per round. You will most likely will still be a little behind the fighter, but you have a lot more options than a strait fighter does. If you have to, you can switch to defense and cast spells like Mirror Image and Blur combined. You can get out of the front line quickly with Misty Step after attacking, or you can help out with the long rest by casting Leomund’s Tiny Hut. Recommended Starting Abilities and Feats taken. Offense - Great Weapon Master (lvl 5), Heavy Armor Master (lvl 9) (If your strength is not 16), Toughness (lvl 11), Elemental Adept (lvl 15), +2 Intelligence (lvl 19) Ability scores (before racial bonuses) - Str 15, Con 14, Int 15 Defense - Toughness (lvl 5), Heavy Armor Master (lvl 9) (if your Strength is not 16), War Caster (lvl 11), +2 Intelligence (lvl 15), +2 Intelligence (lvl 19) Ability scores (before racial bonuses) - Str or Dex 13, Con 14, Int 15 Versatile - Your Choice. Ability scores (before racial bonuses) - Str or Dex at Least 14, Con 14, Int 15 Pros Increased Spellcasting - You increase spellcasting at a ⅓ progression of your Fighter levels. More Cantrips - You get extra Wizard Cantrips. Those are always useful. Heavy Armor Proficiency - You get the best armor in the game provided you start off with Fighter. Constitution Save Proficiency - You get proficiency with Constitution Saves making it that much harder for you to lose concentration, and possibly taking away the need for the War Caster feat. Extremely Versatile - In my opinion this is one of the most versatile builds in the game. You can cast Rituals, area spells, range spells, buff spells, debuff spells, and you can jump into melee when you need to. Second Wind - Even if it is limited to level 1 in power, it is still useful. Fighting Style - You get to take a fighting style. Defense, Great Weapon Fighting or Duelist are my first choices. Fighter HP - You will need to take the Toughness Feat for this perk. Temporary HPs - You get the Arcane Ward class feature which helps out with the fact that your HP will be low at the lower levels. Multiple attacks at Level 4 (sort of) - You get to attack and use your bonus action to attack with a Flaming Sphere. Cast Fireball at level 6 - You will have access to 3rd level Wizard spells at only one level behind a full Wizard. Weapon Bond - Never be without a weapon War Magic - Cast Blade Ward and attack in the same round when tanking. Extra Attack - This is a very important ability. You’ll get it at Level 10 thereby giving you 3 attacks effectively if you are taking into account the bonus action spell attack with Flaming Sphere like spells. Access to 7th level Wizards spells as a Capstone - At 20th level you will be able to cast wizard spells of 7th level. That is only 2 spell levels behind a full wizard, and you are a lot more durable and versatile. Cons Feat Tax - Toughness, Elemental Adept, Heavy Armor Master (If your Str is not 16) and Intelligence boosts are very important to this build. You will also need to decide between War Caster and Great Weapon Fighter High class investment requirement - You need to take at least 7 levels of Fighter for this build. Extra Weapon attack comes at tier 3 - You don’t get that true extra attack until tier 3. Low HP at lower levels - Because you are trying to reach Wizard 5 quickly, you will have a low amount of HPs until you take the Toughness Feat. Spells like Shield and Blur help with this.
Reserved for build examples - Bard
Feat or Ability Score increase - I’m not going to list all the feats here. I will only go over the feats that I feel can be used to improve this style of play.
Ability Score Increase and Utility Feats
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Ability Score Boost - There are a lot of ways to do the numbers and determine how much a +2 increases your chance to hit. I’m not going to get that precise. If you are building a warrior/mage, you are probably doing it for fun not optimization. I like feats. I usually try to increase my spell casting stat to 20 if I plan on using a lot of spells with attacks or save DCs. For defensive spellcasters, I rate this Dark Blue.
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Heavy Armor Master - For those races that don’t get a bump to Strength, this ability helps out. Also, when combined with the Arcane Ward from the Abjurer Wizard school, it becomes very effective.
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Toughness - For all builds that involve multiclassing into Wizard or Sorcerer I rate this Sky Blue. If you are not going to take enough levels in the melee class to gain a second attack, then this becomes Gold because that means you plan on being in melee range a lot. A wizard with the toughness feat has the same hit points as a fighter without it. if your spellcasting class is Warlock or Bard, then this becomes Dark Blue.
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Keen Mind - I think I’d rather just take a +2 stat increase.
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Magic Initiate - This feat is a great way to pick up cantrips or a spell from another class you might want. It is by far from necessary, but the cantrips can be useful. This is not a bad option. I rate it Black.
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Ritual Caster - For Warlock, Eldritch Knight and Sorcerer builds this is Dark Blue. Otherwise it is not needed for you will have the class feature. Rituals like Alarm and Leomund’s Hut can be very useful.
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Resilience - Some people say this is better than War Caster. I don’t share that view; however, it is a great feat for getting proficiency in Constitution saves. Its a good choice for builds that don’t start off with proficiency in Constitution saves. For builds that do have proficiency in constitution saves I rate this Black.
Arcane Bonus Action Attack Spells - These spells usually are an action to cast, but once they are cast it is a bonus action to continue attacks.
1st Level
None
2nd Level
Flaming Sphere (Wizard)
Heat Metal (Bard)
Dust Devil (Sorcerer, Wizard)
3rd Level
Melf’s Minute Meteor (Sorcerer, Wizard)
4th Level
Mordenkainen’s Faithful Hound (Wizard) - This is not a bonus attack spell, but the hound attacks at the start of each of your turns. The really good thing about it is that it is not a concentration spell.
Storm Sphere (Sorcerer, Wizard)
5th Level
Animate Object (Bard, Sorcerer, Wizard)
Bigby’s Hand (Wizard)
6th Level
None
7th Level
Mordenkainen’s Sword (Bard, Wizard)
Alright,
That should do it. You can start posting now. I should most of it up by the end of the day. Its still not complete, but a lot of it is done
Sweet.
Thanks for taking this up.
On Fighting Styles, isn't your "Sword and Shield" reference the Protection style? Also, I don't know if it's intentional, but Dueling was left out.
Looking forward to this guide's completion.
durntaur wrote:
When I tried to copy and paste my Google doc information over all the font size and font colors won't transfer on this computer. They did on my work computer though. I can't figure out how to add those elements from this forum. Does anyone know how to do that?
Regarding 2H Weapons: Keep in mind that removing a hand from your weapon requires you to spend your 1 "free" Interaction with Objects (forget where I saw this). This means you will be forced to use unarmed strikes when making opportunity attacks unless you have 3 levels in Rogue (Thief), in which case you can spend a bonus action to regain your weapon grip. On your following turn, spellcasting should be done before returning your grip to your weapon. Fast Hands competes with War Magic, and Weapon Bond if an EK.
Eldritch Knights: You can also drop your weapon as a free action (Interact with Objects), and resummon it on the same turn with your bonus action. EKs wielding a 2H weapon have superior options to most other builds (see above). The same is also true for EKs who dual-wield, as they can drop/resummon one of their weapons. Keep in mind however, that the EK special ability competes with weapon bond.
Dropping Weapons: Dropping objects are listed in the Index, but nowhere else in the game. Their entry points to P190 (Interact with Objects), implying that dropping an object(s) counts as your one free "interaction with objects" each turn. This is not explictly stated, as such some DMs may allow you to drop it as a free action in addition to your one "Interaction with objects". Expect table variation.
Kalani wrote:
Kalani wrote:
In your text about the fighting styles, under Great Weapon Fighting, you refer to a feat called Heavy Weapon Master. It is, in fact, Great Weapon Master.
Also, I have experimented a great deal with Fighter/Warlock combos. You can see the culmination of that playtesting here: http://rpg.stackexchange.com/a/50327/10443
Thanks, I'll make that change and look at your reference.
zagora_01 wrote:
Kalani wrote:
Kalani wrote:
ObeseBoyWonder wrote:
What do I have to do to get this put on the magical list of builds, or is it not worthy?
I look forward to your assessments of the Pact of the Blade Warlock and the College of Valor Bard melee classes, and the Warlock and Wizard caster classes. Also, if you would be willing, I would love to see your assessments of the Favored Soul and Storm Sorcerer origins.
DonaldT wrote:
I think Cleric 1 should be mentioned for some of these builds, as so many give you armor and shield proficiency, and also with the multiclassing rules allow stacking spell slots. Cleric 1 / Lore Bard X becomes a valid Warrior Mage, though you miss out on the extra attack. And the extra lore spells allow you to grab those wizard bonus action casting spells.
Mistwell wrote:
Two Weapon Fighting - This fighting style uses your bonus action for an attack; however, it does allow you to fight with a one handed weapon in one hand a staff (which can be used as a focus) in the other. Once again, Warcaster is still needed for somatic only spells. With this fighting style you will want to cast defensive and blaster type spells. you will be either casting or fighting. You won’t be doing both in the same round.
Macv12 wrote:
Polearm Master is also worth mentioning for feats. You can hold a staff in one hand and a longsword in the other even without Dual Wielder, you just can't attack with them at the same time. Anytime you're one-handing or two-handing a staff, you benefit from both effects of PM. Alternatively, if you consider spellcasting essentially unrestricted while two-handing (referencing the Crawford ruling above), you can just use a halberd + component pouch with PM instead of bothering with the weaker staff.
The first bullet eliminates the need for the Two-Weapon Fighting style, giving you a bonus-action modifier-added attack when you attack with the staff. If your "main hand" weapon is a d8 or d10 instead or d6 or d8, your OA's are usually scarier and your overall damage is a bit better. Also frees up the style for something else; Defensive is always good, but you can also use Great Weapon or Dueling depending on how you hold the staff.
Plus, a reliable OA trigger. Paladins are especially scary with this, thanks to smites. Rogue levels for sneak attack can also pay off, since SA is once per "turn" (including enemy turns). Vengeance Paladin + Arcane Trickster might be interesting; auto-advantage against target, Cunning Action to step away after attacking it, reaction + SA + Smite if it approaches you, Cunning Action Disengage or Dash to chase it down if it doesn't. Haven't considered other facets of this build.
Also, it combines well with other feats. You can take Dual Wielder, Polearm Mastery, and Defensive style together for +2 AC and bonus attacks with modifier, and still have room for any enchanted swords or whatever you might find. PM + War Caster lets you break off a Disintegrate in someone's teeth just for walking up to you. I'll leave the advanced tactical implications of these features up to sharper minds than mine, but Polearm Master is just plain fun.
If you're collecting builds, I'd like to point you at RCanine's Witchalock which is an Eldritch Knight Fighter / Pact of the Tome Warlock multiclass. The primary mechanic is using War Magic to combine a cantrip + attack, maximizing the value of Hex while also being hard-to-hit and tough to disrupt concentration. Spells are generally used for off-turn actions (Shield, Hellish Rebuke, Misty Step), plus I have unlimited ritual capability, a familiar, and a massive 10 cantrips. Action Surge gives me an incredible nova round.
Some things to note:
- The warlock's ability to pick up shillelagh enables builds that would otherwise be MAD, because three levels of warlock gives you CHA-based ranged and melee attacks if you're willing to stick with a one-hander.
- Dumping your caster stat is fine if you focus on spells that don't require attack rolls or saving throws, such as haste, shield and animate dead.
- DEX is a great stat, but its value plateaus significantly after 14 if you're not attacking with it.
THanks RCanine and Macv12 for your imput. This is turning out to be a much bigger project than I originally planned. I will probably have to re-do the thread because I'm going to run out of space. I will say, I'm not doen with the feats yet. I actually have a Warlock/Paladin build using Pole Arm Master.
There is definately more to come.
I just want to say
My 4th level fighter/mage went toe to toe with a wereboar the other day. He is a 3rd level wizard and a first level fighter. With Chain, blur and shield going I was almost untouchable. I couldn't do damage with my sword, so I kep using cantrips and my wand of magic missiles. God I love fighter/mages!