D&D’s Most Overpowered Character Builds – Ranged Fighter & Rogue

A ranged Fighter/Rogue focusing on hand crossbows combines one of the most consistent damage-dealers in Dungeons & Dragons with the skill versatility of the Rogue class.  Multiclassing between the Fighter and Rogue classes has often been beneficial in D&D, and the current edition is no exception. The feat support makes the hand crossbow an ideal weapon for this character, and the fighter class features and Battlemaster archetype help ensure accuracy.

As with many other optimal builds, like the polearm-focused Barbarian, the ranged Fighter/Rogue is ideally a Variant Human. Starting as Rogue rather than Fighter at level 1 is advantageous, as the superior skill proficiencies of the Rogue more than balance out the two-point difference in starting HP between the classes. Players should start with a 16 in Dexterity and Constitution when using point buy, typically 14 in Wisdom to bolster Perception and Insight, and either a 10 in Intelligence to aid with Investigation or a 10 in Charisma for social skills.

Starting with Expertise in Perception is generally the best choice, as a high Passive Perception aids with spotting many traps and ambushes. This pairs well with Expertise in Stealth to make the character an excellent scout, and it can aid in the first round of battle when DMs use the Surprise rules correctly. Other Expertise choices might be dictated by the style of the game. Expertise in Thieves Tools is useful with trap-heavy dungeon crawls, while other games might call for more Investigation checks, or social skills like Deception and Persuasion (and a higher Charisma score to go with them) in the event the party does not have a social-focused Bard character, or other similar archetype.

Feats Makes The Hand Crossbow One Of D&D’s Deadliest Weapons

The starting bonus feet from Variant Human should be Crossbow Expert, offering a bonus action attack option and eliminating both the disadvantage ranged characters normally suffer while engaged at melee range, as well as the limitations of the “loading” property on crossbow weapons. D&D designer Jeremy Crawford’s Sage Advice column clarifies that a character needs to have a hand crossbow in one hand and nothing in their off hand in order to made additional attacks through the bonus action attack afforded by Crossbow Expert or the Extra Attacks feature of the Fighter class.

At class level 4, the next feat should be Sharpshooter, which allows the character to ignore most cover penalties, fire at long range without disadvantage, and offers the option to take a -5 penalty to hit in exchange for +10 to damage. The combination of Crossbow Expert and Sharpshooter makes hand crossbows a powerful weapon choice and extends their effective range to 120 feet without disadvantage – more than adequate for the vast majority of D&D battles. Once these key feats have been obtained, the next two class levels that afford the choice between feats and ability score increases should go into ability scores to increase Dexterity to 20. Unlike Strength, there is no official item in 5e D&D to replace a character’s Dexterity score, so natural increases are required (though a Manual of Quickness of Action could further increase Dexterity in high-magic games). The character’s later feats should go to Lucky and Toughness.

Multiclassing to Fighter aids this build’s accuracy, as even one Fighter level allows access to the Archery Fighting Style which adds +2 to hit with ranged weapons. This can help to offset the -5 to hit the character will be regularly taking for the Sharpshooter damage bonus, and at Fighter level 3, selecting the Battle Master sub-class offers access to the Precision Attack maneuver. The Battle Master’s pool of superiority dice refresh with a short rest, and players can use these to turn near misses into tide-turning hits with Precision Attack.

Fighters Excel At Damage, Rogue Levels Offer Versatility Out Of Battle

Multiclassing with at least five levels in Fighter for Extra Attack is advisable, but the exact split between Fighter and Rogue levels will vary based on the needs of the game. A Sharpshooter-aided shot with a hand crossbow will do roughly 18.5 to 21.5 points of damage per shot on average (depending on magic weapon access) for a 20 Dexterity character. A split of Rogue 15/Fighter 5 provides a total of 8d6 Sneak Attack dice, which averages to 28 points of Sneak Attack damage, as well as three attacks per round, including the Bonus Action attack from Crossbow Expert. This split does between 83.5 to 92.5 points of damage per round on average, assuming all attacks hit, and the character delivers sneak attack. Taking additional Fighter levels to gain another Extra Attack at Fighter level 11 leaves 9 Rogue levels, with 5d6 Sneak Attack Dice, averaging to 17.5. This split allows for four attacks per round regularly, increasing average damage output to 91.5 to 103.5, depending on magical weapon enhancement.

Sneak attack damage can only be delivered once per turn, so the Rogue 9/Fighter 11 split provides superior damage on average, in the end, as well as more Superiority Dice to aid with Precision Attack for accuracy. For games where other D&D party members routinely engage the enemy in melee, thus allowing consistent Sneak Attack for the ranged Rogue, the steady increase in damage over time from Sneak Attack could provide more immediate benefit. Considering the large gaps between levels where the Fighter gains an additional attack, this might give the edge to the Rogue 15/Fighter 5 split. More Rogue levels also provide more skill-related benefits, such as the Rogue 11 feature Reliable Talent.

Conversely, the same build could be accomplished as a single-classed Fighter, although even a single Rogue level significantly increases the character’s utility outside of combat. The pure Fighter hand crossbow specialist will receive additional feats, which could allow for Resilience, for proficiency in Wisdom saving throws, or Alertness for a bonus to Initiative. The single-classed ranged Fighter will out-damage the multiclassed variant at level 20, when they gain a third Extra Attack, averaging 92.5 to 107.5 damage with their five attacks per round in total, without needing to rely on Sneak Attack, as well as unmatched spike damage from the rounds the character makes nine attacks per round by using Action Surge to take a second Attack Action. However, the steady increase in damage from Sneak Attack dice increases benefits of the multiclassed version more at lower levels, and it has far more utility outside of combat.

Teamwork Can Make The D&D Crossbow Fighter Even Deadlier

Regardless of the exact split the player decides on to divide their levels between Fighter and Rogue, this build offers excellent ranged damage, aided in accuracy by the Fighter and Battlemaster features. In addition to allowing for Sneak Attacks, party synergy in Dungeons & Dragons can offer other ways to boost accuracy. A caster providing Greater Invisibility to the hand-crossbow character, or the 8-hour benefits of Foresight at higher levels can give Advantage to the ranged attacker – alongside with the Superiority Dice used on Precision Attack – to help ensure hits.

Source: Sage Advice

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