One of the things I missed about the older editions of D&D was the definitive class identity.
Like in AD&D 2E, the Fighter was the best warrior on the battlefield, with their Weapon Specializations (+1 to Attack & +2 to Damage, this stacks with other bonuses). Ranged Weapon Specialists also got Point Blank (+2 to Attack at close range depending on the ranged weapon) and all Weapons Specialist got Extra Attack at earlier levels with their preferred weapons.
Paladins and Rangers, while they shared the same THAC0 with the Fighter, didn't get Weapon Specialization as it was a Fighter only feature.
Monks and Barbarians didn't exist as an actual class until late in the AD&D 2E life cycle, but they didn't get Weapon Specialization either.
I’ve seen a lot of 2e fighters and they are not the dudes you want to get on the bad side of. A fighter hits level 10 in AD&D 2e and becomes an unstoppable monster.
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u/Ensorcelled_Atoms Dec 02 '24
Never underestimate a guy who fights so good he’s willing to square up to giants, eldritch horrors and otherworldly entities.
Every fighter I’ve ever played has felt like Big Boss CQCing through a gang of mooks.