Fighter Point Buy: Three Builds, One Budget

Strength 15 is bought for the armour as much as the axe: plate carries a Strength 15 requirement, and the Fighter is the class most likely to be wearing it. Constitution 14 then funds the d10, and Dexterity stops mattering entirely the moment heavy armour goes on.

The Fighter array, point by point

Where each of the Fighter’s 27 points goes, ability by ability.
Ability	Score	Point cost
STR	15	9
DEX	13	5
CON	14	7
INT	10	2
WIS	12	4
CHA	8	0
Total spent		27

That spread reaches Armour Class 18 and 12 hit points at level 1 on a d10 hit die.

Where Dexterity stops paying for Armour Class

Plate is a flat 18 and ignores Dexterity completely, so a Strength Fighter buys Dexterity for initiative and the Dexterity save rather than for Armour Class. The table shows where that stops paying: while plate is worn, every point of Dexterity above 13 buys nothing at all.

Armour Class by Dexterity across the armour a Fighter is proficient with. Every other score stays at the recommended array throughout.
DEX	No armour	Studded leather	Half plate	Plate
8	9	11	14	18
10	10	12	15	18
12	11	13	16	18
13 ←	11	13	16	18
14	12	14	17	18
15	12	14	17	18

No armour. 10 + DEX modifier
Studded leather. 12 + DEX modifier, uncapped
Half plate. 15 + DEX modifier, capped at +2
Plate. Flat 18, ignores DEX, requires STR 15

Breakpoints and multiclass thresholds

More doors are open to a Fighter at character creation than to any other class, and nearly all of them read the raw score rather than the modifier. These are the thresholds worth landing on exactly rather than passing through.

Strength 15: Plate armour has a Strength 15 requirement; under it the Fighter moves at 20 feet in the armour the class exists to wear.
Dexterity 14: Medium armour caps the Dexterity bonus at +2, so half plate reaches AC 17 and every point past 14 buys nothing.
Constitution 14: Two hit points per level on a d10, on the class that takes the most attacks in the party.

Scores this array leaves behind

Charisma at 8: No Fighter subclass except Eldritch Knight touches a mental score, and Charisma is the rarest save the class is asked to make.

Subclasses that change the array

Eldritch Knight — STR 15 · DEX 12 · CON 14 · INT 13 · WIS 10 · CHA 8: Intelligence 13 is the floor where Shield and Absorb Elements stop being the only spells worth preparing.
Psi Warrior — STR 14 · DEX 12 · CON 14 · INT 14 · WIS 10 · CHA 8: Every Psionic Power save DC reads Intelligence, so it takes a real 14 rather than the 13 an Eldritch Knight can live with.
Battle Master — STR 15 · DEX 14 · CON 14 · INT 8 · WIS 12 · CHA 8: Manoeuvre DCs use Strength or Dexterity, so nothing mental is needed and both physical scores can rise.

Races that fit this spread

Fighter totals once each racial bonus is added to the array above.
Race	STR	DEX	CON	INT	WIS	CHA
Dwarf (Mountain)	17	13	16	10	12	8
Half-Orc	17	13	15	10	12	8
Dragonborn	17	13	14	10	12	9

Dwarf (Mountain). Strength +2 clears the plate requirement and Constitution +2 funds the d10 at the same time.
Half-Orc. Savage Attacks on a greatsword build turns every crit into roughly four extra points of damage.
Dragonborn. Strength +2 with a breath weapon that gives a Strength-based Fighter its only area option.

The mistake this array is built to avoid

Buying Dexterity 14 while planning to wear plate. Heavy armour ignores Dexterity entirely, so those seven points buy initiative alone — on a class whose whole defensive plan is the armour.

Second Wind and Action Surge read the class and not an ability score, so a Fighter array is judged on two outputs only: what the attack roll comes out at, and what the Armour Class comes out at.

Fighter ability score questions

Should a Fighter buy Strength or Dexterity?

One or the other, never both. Strength 15 unlocks plate at AC 18 with no Dexterity contribution; Dexterity 15 gives AC 17 in studded leather with Archery. Splitting them leaves both at 12 or 13, which is 4 points of accuracy wasted.

Why is Dexterity 14 the cap in medium armour?

Half plate adds only the first +2 of the Dexterity modifier, so AC stops improving at Dexterity 14 and reaches 17. Buying Dexterity 15 in half plate spends 2 extra points for exactly nothing.

What does an Eldritch Knight change about the array?

Intelligence 13 has to come from somewhere, and it costs 5 points. The Eldritch Knight array drops Dexterity from 13 to 12 and Wisdom from 12 to 10 to pay for it, keeping Strength 15 and Constitution 14 intact.

Is Constitution 14 enough on a d10 Fighter?

It gives 12 hit points at level 1 and +2 every level after, which on a d10 is the highest effective total in the party outside a Barbarian. Constitution is also a Fighter save proficiency, so the 7 points do double duty.

Where to go next

Barbarian — The same Strength-and-Constitution opening, resolved with Unarmored Defense rather than plate.
Wizard — The Eldritch Knight and the Fighter dip both hinge on where the Intelligence 13 comes from.
Every array on this page is a plain 27-point spread, so you can test an archer spread and see each step priced as you go.