Summary
InDungeons & Dragons, chances are that you’ll have someone melee-focused in your party,whether that’s a Paladinready to smite foes or a Barbarian willing to take all the hits. But what happens when your party isjustcomprised of people who are better off in melee?
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This may cause a problem or two; you could be very limited with things you can do in combat instead of having a more balanced party. However, don’t fret. This isn’t the end of your adventuring days. In fact, here are some tips that will help you out when it comes to being in a melee-only party.
1Stack Up On HP
If you’re a melee character, you’re going to get hit a lot, either by melee opponents or ranged foes, who you likely get some free hits in before you can make it over to them. You’re going to want to stack up on HP. This means prioritizing your Constitution modifier but also taking a look at different items or feats.
Tough is a great feat to pick up, and you’ll also probably want to stock up on more healing potions to use in battle.
2Use Optimal Weaponry
Now is the time to ensure your character is as optimal as possible. This means using the best weaponry. For example, as a Rogue, you may think it’s all about daggers and getting that sweet sneak attack damage. While that’s nice, you could use a rapier and have a dagger in your offhand instead.
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This means you can deal more damage since a rapier has a higher damage die, and you can make a second attack to continue dealing more damage. Choices like this will help you out a lot if you know what weapons you’re using.
3Boost Your AC
Unless you’re a Barbarian, just boosting your HP isn’t going to be enough. You’ll also want to make sure thatyou have some good AC. Thankfully, a lot of melee-focused classes, from Paladins to Monks, already have the benefit of having high AC. But sometimes you’ll be a Fighter or even something like a Bladesinging Wizard.
In that case, you’ll need to look for some good armor, even better if it’s enchanted. HP will help you when you get hit, but AC will help you not to get hit at all in a lot of cases. Magic accessories like rings and necklaces that increase AC are great for any class, too.
4Don’t Forget Melee Spells
Some spellcasters are melee-focused, depending on your class and subclass. This is why it’s important not to forget your melee spells, even if you get them from feats. Shillelagh, Shield, and Booming Blade are just some of the best spells you can have if you’re a melee-focused character.
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Other much higher-level spells can also be useful, whether you have them via spellcasting or may attain them through spell scrolls (though be aware, these can be pretty costly).
5Get Out Your Foe’s Space
For certain melee-focused classes such as Monk or Rogue, one of the benefits is that you can always just try and get out of your enemy’s space. By usingfeats such as Mobile(which pair very well with the Monk class) or your Cunning Action feature to disengage.
This means you can spend your turn hitting enemies and hopefully have enough movement to create some space so you aren’t just standing there, waiting to get hit again.
6Remember To Flank
A big benefit of melee combat is the optional flanking feature. When an ally (such as another member of your party) is behind an enemy you are within melee range of, it gives you advantage on all melee attacks for you and anyone else on the opposite side of the enemy.
Not only does this mean your enemy will likely be distracted trying to hit both of you, but it also means they’ll be easier to hit, which is always great for you.
7Grapple, Dodge, And More
Combat isn’t all about hitting things (well, except for most of the time). You don’t have to always spend an action trying to hit as many things as possible. You can perform other actions, such as grappling or shoving your enemy.
Depending on your class and feats you have (Grappler, for example), this could be a great use of your first round in combat to set other party members up.
8Focus Your Fire
Unlike ranged attackers, you’re usually not going to get the benefit of choosing which enemy to attack. You’ll likely have to spend a lot of your movement to get to all the different enemies in a fight, which means that for the first few rounds, you should focus all your fire on one foe after another.
By doing this, not only will you whittle away at your opponent’s forces, but you’ll also save yourself from taking more damage as the fight goes on. After all, a dead enemy can’t hit you.
