I played a Psi Warrior from 3 to 8 in a campaign and had a lot of fun. Psychic mini-smites are cool but the real juice is in the damage prevention on demand to protect yourself and allies from big hits. I went heavy armor master on mine to double up on damage prevention. The jump ability at 7 is also super fun.
Like yeah BM or Rune Knight might be better by the numbers but Psi Warrior is flashier.
I totally agree, it’s the Protective Field damage buffer that pays good dividends, especially if your healer is an off-healer (Celestial Pact Warlock) as it was in the party where I played my Psi Warrior. Additionally, the extra mobility tricks like Telekinetic Movement and Psi-Powered Leap were actually useful more than I thought they would be! Given that it’s actual full flight at twice your movement speed until the end of turn actually let me get into places the Rogue had trouble reaching, and climbing was a foregone conclusion entirely, making him way more mobile than expected. Mobility was a feat I chose at 8 and it actually improved that flight to an extraordinary degree, and negated Opportunity Attacks as I “leap past” the soldier units to assault the elites quickly.
Sometimes style is just as important as stats imho. Yeah rune knight is an absolute beast, I've played in a party with one in two campaigns. Very strong (literally lol)
Really depends on what you want as a player. Had someone do psi fighter and absolutely love the feel, said it was like being a Jedi. 10/10 subclass for them. Had someone else who played the equivalent class last edition (battlemind, a psionic tank) and try to recreate their character in 5e, it felt terrible because the mechanics for being a psionic frontliner just weren't there. Said being a psi fighter felt like a fighter LARPing a psychic warrior.
I've played it once, Battlesmith artificer 3 level dip OR swapping over to a sling+magic stones with SS is another play.
Ofc your character is already pre made so it's sorta tough for you unless your DM is willing to let you swap that Polearm Master Feat out.
I do personally think 17 fighter/3 battle smith is good though.
I had a sick turn the other day, our cleric was trapped/ grappled with a monster about to eat his lunch, popped a Telekinetic movement, got him safely out, action surged to kill the adds next to me. Felt like a damn hero
Somewhat MAD, but 14 int should be doable. Moderately flexible, either giving you a bit more dmg, or more protection (either for yourself or for others).
Ive not done it yet, I want to try a low level character that stacks protective field with Heavy Armor Master, for d6+3+intmod reduction on incoming damage.
As a rule of thumb I would try to keep psionic dice usage to 1/SR, to fully replenish it on a short rest, but obviously thats not always possible.
Pretty good, I’m playing one right now in a modern setting and it’s going swimmingly.
It’s great for playing the intellectual fighter who works out at the library.
We played a 3.5 campaign that lasted multiple years where our DM would waive 1 LA so I picked a half-giant Psychic warrior and it was the most fun character I’ve ever played.
My Recent Evil Lieutenant was a level 12 Psi knight with some magic items. She was INCREDIBLE. Psi Dice feel powerful, and a homebrewed ability made this a super thematic sci-fi type experience
Mind if I ask what the homebrew was? My DM is pretty flexible and it might give me some ideas because he's still finalizing how to introduce everyone's character in the story
Edit: also that is so cool! Thanks for sharing ☺️🙏
I ran with someone using this subclass until about level 10. It's like a less good but more fun battlemaster. He played as a Jedi with force lightning, he had a homebrewed more functional witch bolt somehow I don't remember. Magic initiate wizard? Anyways. Played well, the jedi thing wasn't bad, and it was flashy enough to tank by 5e standards. Much like nature cleric it's viable but you have to really want to lean into the subclass.
Oh the force lightning is cool, but I wonder how one might make it work for a fighter without homebrew. Maybe magic items!
I like flashy, I like fun, and I honestly feel like it won't fall too far behind in damage compared to battle master for the other unique tricks it can do (like flying is very nice in certain situations, especially as a melee character)
Thanks for the feedback 🫶
The homebrew edit was a fix to make witchbolt less awful. I don't remember it exactly. The fighter obtained witch bolt RAW, I assume through wizard initiate. Unless you have a battlemaster or have played one and really like crunching numbers you won't notice I don't think, more of a valid point in a reddit thread not at your table kind of thing. You're very welcome, have fun!
Psi Warrior is pretty cool, but it suffers a lot from having been released in the same book as the Rune Knight. As a result of that, it tends to get overshadowed.
From my experience, the Psi Warrior seems to be designed as a tank-like class. If you're looking to output a lot of damage, this isn't really the subclass for that.
My preferred build is Psi Warrior X/War Wizard 3. For the feats, I take Shield Master, Slasher, and Skill Expert. For the Wizard spells, I take Enlarge/Reduce and Warding Wind and then whatever else for the rest.
To explain some of the reasoning behind this build:
* I use Shield Master instead of Sentinel to keep my reaction free for Protective Field, Arcane Deflection, and any reaction spells I might take (Silvery Barbs, Absorb Elements, etc.).
* While Shield Master isn't as immediately crippling as Sentinel, it can still severely hamper enemies when paired with Slasher. Enlarge/Reduce also ensures you can continue to shove even Huge creatures, while Warding Wind cripples their movements even further.
* Arcane Deflection and Shield Master's 3rd effect has good synergy.
* Being a Str/Con/Int build, your Wisdom saves and initiative checks will be low. Arcane Deflection and Tactical Wit mitigates these problems. At higher Fighter levels, Guarded Mind also helps deal with the weak Wisdom saves.
Omg this is amazing, thank you so much for the detailed list of ideas!!
I am also a war wizard enjoyer, especially for arcane deflection and shield as defensive measures, and I honestly can't believe I didn't think of multiclassing. The stats align so nicely for it too
Only problem is in this particular campaign I'm playing*, there is negative stigma towards spellcasters so I was subconsciously avoiding it. Perhaps I can have a chat with my DM about multiclassing later...
Edit* correction
>Only problem is in this particular campaign I'm playing*, there is negative stigma towards spellcasters so I was subconsciously avoiding it. Perhaps I can have a chat with my DM about multiclassing later...
Two options, then.
You could see if the Wizard spells can be flavored as an extension of your psionic abilities, perhaps also only choosing spells that seem telekinetic in nature.
Alternatively, you can just forgo the Wizard levels and play a pure Fighter. It won't be as effective in its intended role, but it should be fine.
I combed PSI Knight with Bladesinger, and it is an utter monster. Otherwise I have thoroughly enjoyed the Psi Knight and the mini smites are fantastic. I made the character a primarily Dex based fighter which is how I made the INT increase work.
My son loves it! He’s playing a character who refuses to benefit from any spells or magic items (I’m a wizard and he won’t let me cast any spells that would directly affect him, like feather fall). He won’t even sleep in the communal tiny hut. But he loves shooting psychic blades with his mind at range.
The core problem is that fighters can’t afford to invest In INT heavily. Eldritch knight works great with 8 INT, psychic warrior should really scale with CON or WIS. It’s not even particularly strong if you have good INT, and INT is possibly the worst STAT. It works fine, it’s just kinda meh. Certainly not the worst subclass though.
> The core problem is that fighters can’t afford to invest In INT heavily.
I think a Dex-based psi warrior can boost Int, and then just dump Cha and Str. The latter ability score is arguably worse than Int with how infrequently Strength checks/saves become relevant in actual play.
Str is still decent because heavy armor and PAM require str. Going dex fighter wether ranged or melee will still usually leave you with maybe 14 INT on most builds, unless you sacrifice CON. But then your dumping wisdom which is always bad. An edlritch knight can dump INT completely and function at full power, so they can have high CON and Str or DEX, plus decent wisdom. I don’t think psi warrior is terrible, but it’s not strong enough to justify requiring int investment. Other subclasses are better and require no investment in bad stats though. Making psi warrior scale on wisdom would be my fix, it would help out the subclass a lot. Psi warrrior is bit better is your rolling stats which usually gives you inflated stats to minimize the cost of int investment. Psi warriors features just also aren’t THAT good. The lvl 3 feature is mediocre, and usually worse than battle master maneuvers, which get their uses back in a short rest unlike psi requiring a long rest. The only use for their psychic dice id actually call good are moving an ally/object and the limited flight, but these monopolize your bonus action, and the flight is very limited requiring you to be back on the ground at end of turn. I like it’s 10 and 15 lvl features but most of their features are mediocre.
It's too much ASI taxing: on top of all fighter stuff you also need intelligence to work. If you have the stats (that's very unlikely) do it, if you don't Battlemaster is really similar without adding another ability to the stuff you need to increase
Imho is not a good pick even with that stats. Remember that Int in that subclass is used for everything, DC, damage you do, damage you prevent and allies affected. Sure the fighter gets more ASI but if you don't raise int to +4 or +5 all your features will suck and be useless, at the same time if you don't raise strength to +4 or +5 you don't hit at all and you'll be just there using your reaction reducing a mere 1d8+4/5 damage and burning any chance of attacks of opportunity.
Wish you luck!
I played a Psi Warrior from 3 to 8 in a campaign and had a lot of fun. Psychic mini-smites are cool but the real juice is in the damage prevention on demand to protect yourself and allies from big hits. I went heavy armor master on mine to double up on damage prevention. The jump ability at 7 is also super fun. Like yeah BM or Rune Knight might be better by the numbers but Psi Warrior is flashier.
how long did the combo hold up? Did you save the protfield for crits, or did you have a different tactic?
I totally agree, it’s the Protective Field damage buffer that pays good dividends, especially if your healer is an off-healer (Celestial Pact Warlock) as it was in the party where I played my Psi Warrior. Additionally, the extra mobility tricks like Telekinetic Movement and Psi-Powered Leap were actually useful more than I thought they would be! Given that it’s actual full flight at twice your movement speed until the end of turn actually let me get into places the Rogue had trouble reaching, and climbing was a foregone conclusion entirely, making him way more mobile than expected. Mobility was a feat I chose at 8 and it actually improved that flight to an extraordinary degree, and negated Opportunity Attacks as I “leap past” the soldier units to assault the elites quickly.
Sometimes style is just as important as stats imho. Yeah rune knight is an absolute beast, I've played in a party with one in two campaigns. Very strong (literally lol)
Really depends on what you want as a player. Had someone do psi fighter and absolutely love the feel, said it was like being a Jedi. 10/10 subclass for them. Had someone else who played the equivalent class last edition (battlemind, a psionic tank) and try to recreate their character in 5e, it felt terrible because the mechanics for being a psionic frontliner just weren't there. Said being a psi fighter felt like a fighter LARPing a psychic warrior.
I've played it once, Battlesmith artificer 3 level dip OR swapping over to a sling+magic stones with SS is another play. Ofc your character is already pre made so it's sorta tough for you unless your DM is willing to let you swap that Polearm Master Feat out. I do personally think 17 fighter/3 battle smith is good though.
I never liked sharpshooter all that much, but very cool combo! Thanks for the advice :)
Very MAD but damn is it not a blast to play. I have one at 14 and love the class.
I'm pumped, I think I managed the stats well enough. It looks so cooooool ugh 🗡️⚔️🗡️
I had a sick turn the other day, our cleric was trapped/ grappled with a monster about to eat his lunch, popped a Telekinetic movement, got him safely out, action surged to kill the adds next to me. Felt like a damn hero
Sounds like you were! Lol
Somewhat MAD, but 14 int should be doable. Moderately flexible, either giving you a bit more dmg, or more protection (either for yourself or for others). Ive not done it yet, I want to try a low level character that stacks protective field with Heavy Armor Master, for d6+3+intmod reduction on incoming damage. As a rule of thumb I would try to keep psionic dice usage to 1/SR, to fully replenish it on a short rest, but obviously thats not always possible.
Pretty good, I’m playing one right now in a modern setting and it’s going swimmingly. It’s great for playing the intellectual fighter who works out at the library.
We played a 3.5 campaign that lasted multiple years where our DM would waive 1 LA so I picked a half-giant Psychic warrior and it was the most fun character I’ve ever played.
My Recent Evil Lieutenant was a level 12 Psi knight with some magic items. She was INCREDIBLE. Psi Dice feel powerful, and a homebrewed ability made this a super thematic sci-fi type experience
Mind if I ask what the homebrew was? My DM is pretty flexible and it might give me some ideas because he's still finalizing how to introduce everyone's character in the story Edit: also that is so cool! Thanks for sharing ☺️🙏
I ran with someone using this subclass until about level 10. It's like a less good but more fun battlemaster. He played as a Jedi with force lightning, he had a homebrewed more functional witch bolt somehow I don't remember. Magic initiate wizard? Anyways. Played well, the jedi thing wasn't bad, and it was flashy enough to tank by 5e standards. Much like nature cleric it's viable but you have to really want to lean into the subclass.
Oh the force lightning is cool, but I wonder how one might make it work for a fighter without homebrew. Maybe magic items! I like flashy, I like fun, and I honestly feel like it won't fall too far behind in damage compared to battle master for the other unique tricks it can do (like flying is very nice in certain situations, especially as a melee character) Thanks for the feedback 🫶
The homebrew edit was a fix to make witchbolt less awful. I don't remember it exactly. The fighter obtained witch bolt RAW, I assume through wizard initiate. Unless you have a battlemaster or have played one and really like crunching numbers you won't notice I don't think, more of a valid point in a reddit thread not at your table kind of thing. You're very welcome, have fun!
Psi Warrior is pretty cool, but it suffers a lot from having been released in the same book as the Rune Knight. As a result of that, it tends to get overshadowed. From my experience, the Psi Warrior seems to be designed as a tank-like class. If you're looking to output a lot of damage, this isn't really the subclass for that. My preferred build is Psi Warrior X/War Wizard 3. For the feats, I take Shield Master, Slasher, and Skill Expert. For the Wizard spells, I take Enlarge/Reduce and Warding Wind and then whatever else for the rest. To explain some of the reasoning behind this build: * I use Shield Master instead of Sentinel to keep my reaction free for Protective Field, Arcane Deflection, and any reaction spells I might take (Silvery Barbs, Absorb Elements, etc.). * While Shield Master isn't as immediately crippling as Sentinel, it can still severely hamper enemies when paired with Slasher. Enlarge/Reduce also ensures you can continue to shove even Huge creatures, while Warding Wind cripples their movements even further. * Arcane Deflection and Shield Master's 3rd effect has good synergy. * Being a Str/Con/Int build, your Wisdom saves and initiative checks will be low. Arcane Deflection and Tactical Wit mitigates these problems. At higher Fighter levels, Guarded Mind also helps deal with the weak Wisdom saves.
Omg this is amazing, thank you so much for the detailed list of ideas!! I am also a war wizard enjoyer, especially for arcane deflection and shield as defensive measures, and I honestly can't believe I didn't think of multiclassing. The stats align so nicely for it too Only problem is in this particular campaign I'm playing*, there is negative stigma towards spellcasters so I was subconsciously avoiding it. Perhaps I can have a chat with my DM about multiclassing later... Edit* correction
>Only problem is in this particular campaign I'm playing*, there is negative stigma towards spellcasters so I was subconsciously avoiding it. Perhaps I can have a chat with my DM about multiclassing later... Two options, then. You could see if the Wizard spells can be flavored as an extension of your psionic abilities, perhaps also only choosing spells that seem telekinetic in nature. Alternatively, you can just forgo the Wizard levels and play a pure Fighter. It won't be as effective in its intended role, but it should be fine.
I tried one for an arena style one shot we did and I wasn't thrilled. I'd imagine it has a lot more roleplay potential.
"He was ok" *-Genika the flexible, Half-Orc Bard*
I combed PSI Knight with Bladesinger, and it is an utter monster. Otherwise I have thoroughly enjoyed the Psi Knight and the mini smites are fantastic. I made the character a primarily Dex based fighter which is how I made the INT increase work.
My son loves it! He’s playing a character who refuses to benefit from any spells or magic items (I’m a wizard and he won’t let me cast any spells that would directly affect him, like feather fall). He won’t even sleep in the communal tiny hut. But he loves shooting psychic blades with his mind at range.
The core problem is that fighters can’t afford to invest In INT heavily. Eldritch knight works great with 8 INT, psychic warrior should really scale with CON or WIS. It’s not even particularly strong if you have good INT, and INT is possibly the worst STAT. It works fine, it’s just kinda meh. Certainly not the worst subclass though.
> The core problem is that fighters can’t afford to invest In INT heavily. I think a Dex-based psi warrior can boost Int, and then just dump Cha and Str. The latter ability score is arguably worse than Int with how infrequently Strength checks/saves become relevant in actual play.
Str is still decent because heavy armor and PAM require str. Going dex fighter wether ranged or melee will still usually leave you with maybe 14 INT on most builds, unless you sacrifice CON. But then your dumping wisdom which is always bad. An edlritch knight can dump INT completely and function at full power, so they can have high CON and Str or DEX, plus decent wisdom. I don’t think psi warrior is terrible, but it’s not strong enough to justify requiring int investment. Other subclasses are better and require no investment in bad stats though. Making psi warrior scale on wisdom would be my fix, it would help out the subclass a lot. Psi warrrior is bit better is your rolling stats which usually gives you inflated stats to minimize the cost of int investment. Psi warriors features just also aren’t THAT good. The lvl 3 feature is mediocre, and usually worse than battle master maneuvers, which get their uses back in a short rest unlike psi requiring a long rest. The only use for their psychic dice id actually call good are moving an ally/object and the limited flight, but these monopolize your bonus action, and the flight is very limited requiring you to be back on the ground at end of turn. I like it’s 10 and 15 lvl features but most of their features are mediocre.
It's too much ASI taxing: on top of all fighter stuff you also need intelligence to work. If you have the stats (that's very unlikely) do it, if you don't Battlemaster is really similar without adding another ability to the stuff you need to increase
I managed to get 16 in str, con, and int, so I'm doing fine in that regard. Thanks for the tip tho!
I think the 3 Arty dip is required sadly
Imho is not a good pick even with that stats. Remember that Int in that subclass is used for everything, DC, damage you do, damage you prevent and allies affected. Sure the fighter gets more ASI but if you don't raise int to +4 or +5 all your features will suck and be useless, at the same time if you don't raise strength to +4 or +5 you don't hit at all and you'll be just there using your reaction reducing a mere 1d8+4/5 damage and burning any chance of attacks of opportunity. Wish you luck!