Best possible dual wielder?

[Spacehamster]

As we all know dual wielding is not as powerful as archery or 2h weapons, but always liked the idea of the style so wanted to see what ideas the playground has to maximize it, only restriction to the brainstorm is official material only and it needs to have at least one extra attack. :)

[Skyblaze]

I've always liked the idea of a TWF barbarian when possible. Totem, Zealot, and Ancestor all work with it.

[Aett_Thorn]

I've always liked the idea of a TWF barbarian when possible. Totem, Zealot, and Ancestor all work with it.

Dual-wielding Barbs are quite fun, but need a dip into Fighter or Ranger for Two-Weapon fighting style, and a feat if they want to dual-wield battle axes or the like. They're fun, but inefficient.

A Champion 5/Rogue X would work and be fairly simple.

[Spacehamster]

I've always liked the idea of a TWF barbarian when possible. Totem, Zealot, and Ancestor all work with it.

And I guess 1 level fighter for the style? :)

[BobZan]

Kensai Monk definitely

[nickl_2000]

I think the key would be to find a class where you aren't competing for bonus actions. This is one reason why I think Rogue would be a bad choice. As a Rogue you will almost always be using that bonus action.

[Skyblaze]

Dual-wielding Barbs are quite fun, but need a dip into Fighter or Ranger for Two-Weapon fighting style, and a feat if they want to dual-wield battle axes or the like. They're fun, but inefficient.

A Champion 5/Rogue X would work and be fairly simple.

I mean, with that definition of inefficient, every dual wielding set up with d8 weapons, beyond having straight fighter/ranger, is as well. Which isn't wrong...TWF in 5e is pretty inefficient or, at the very least, inconvenient to utilize for a multitude of classes.

[FirstBornSon]

Mounted ranger with lances.

[Spacehamster]

1 fighter 19 hexblade dualwielder seems quite good too, v human with dw feat, 8/14/16/8/10/16 after racials, place for 3 feats and maxing attack stat seems pretty good. :)

[Lombra]

Champion 3/ barbarian x? Go for the crit, every extra attack counts when you'll roll 3 extra dice for critical hits.

[Gardakan]

As long as you can use your bonus action to not just attacks (have something useful to the party tied down in here) and have some sort of efficiency through your reaction, your TWF is good to go.

[Xihirli]

As we all know dual wielding is not as powerful as archery or 2h weapons, but always liked the idea of the style so wanted to see what ideas the playground has to maximize it, only restriction to the brainstorm is official material only and it needs to have at least one extra attack. :)

Goblin
Fighter (BattleMaster) 6+ / Ranger (Hunter) 4/ Rogue 1

Fighting Styles: Two Weapon Fighting, Defense

Hunter's Mark only grabs your bonus action on one turn. If you grab Fighter first you have proficiency in keeping it, and Goblins have a CON bonus.
Hit your opponent once, use Trip Attack.
Opponent is prone, you get advantage on your next attack, but oh no! you still miss.
But you have a bonus action attack. That hits.
With Hunter's Mark, Sneak Attack, Colossus Slayer, and another Combat Maneuver if you feel like it. Apply Fury of the Small (probably).
Damage: 3d6+DEX+2d8+11.

[opaopajr]

Mounted Halfling with Dual Wielder feat using Lances. Halfling Luck mitigates 1s, Small size opens access to more mounts, Lance is the only 1d12 by one-hand (yet needs mount condition) and is not Heavy. Add Fighter and Barbarian to taste. I recommend a flying mount, and Mounted Fighting feat, if possible. Comes online at Lvl 4.

Vuman comes online at Lvl 1, though.

Regardless you'll get plenty of mileage before Lvl 20 capstone, multiclassed or not.

[X3r4ph]

Vengeance Paladin 11 is something to consider. It gets extra attack, improved divine smite and hunters mark.

Tag on Hexblade 1 and Champion 3 for more synergy. Play an elf to get EA.

If you have the wisdom for it Hunter 3 is also nice.
Last two levels? 2 extra feats with Hunter 4 and Paladin 12.

Now you deal 3d8+1d6+cha and proficiency to damage with each attack against single foe that is damaged. You can Oath of Enmity it to get triple advantage. And you land crits on 19-20 where you can smite a little.

You are the leader of the pack and a fair dinkum TWFer as well.

Edit. It comes online late... but well, I am one of the few that actually take characters above 15th level.

[Citan]

As we all know dual wielding is not as powerful as archery or 2h weapons, but always liked the idea of the style so wanted to see what ideas the playground has to maximize it, only restriction to the brainstorm is official material only and it needs to have at least one extra attack. :)
Hey ;=) How are you?
I'm afraid this will come off as self-bragging, but I think I made quite a few posts on topic that you may find interesting/useful. I have no time to look for them or re-write here (just making a quick pause to breathe the mind before diving in work problems again ^^) but I invite you to use the search feature (sadly not many people use it) with "TWF" or "dual-wielding" in thread title and author = Citan. (One day I'll make a proper signature... One day...)

I hope you find interesting things in my old posts. Have fun ;)

[Mortis_Elrod]

I’m thinking Blade Bard no dips needed but hexblade gives Cha for damage opening up ASIs and such. With dual wielded feat you can get lances and at level 10 you can get Find Greater Steed with your magical secrets so from then on you don’t have to worry about not being mounted. You also get extra attack and all the cool things of being a Bard gets you. Flourish is great with TWF.

[Spacehamster]

Seeing lots of people suggest mounted dual wielding of lances, know it works by RAW but... darn is it not slightly too silly mechanically? On another note could not that silly style make for quite the Mounted Kensai build? DEX lances dual wield ftw lol

[Mortis_Elrod]

Seeing lots of people suggest mounted dual wielding of lances, know it works by RAW but... darn is it not slightly too silly mechanically? On another note could not that silly style make for quite the Mounted Kensai build? DEX lances dual wield ftw lol

I have issue with monk dual wielding. For one you already have a lot of good uses for your bonus action. Second, you don’t get a fighting style, and third Flurry is probably just better.

[Easy_Lee]

A pure EK Fighter can now pick up Shadow Blade and summon a scaling force weapon. You can perform all but your bonus action attack with that weapon, and its added damage is greater than what you would get from Hunter's Mark or even GWM. As an added bonus, you have advantage when attacking with it in dim light. Combine with Sentinel for extra opportunity attacks.

[Callin]

It does not come online until way late in the game but a Fighter 2/ Paladin 5/ Hexblade Warlock Tome 3/ Sorcerer Favored Soul (or any) 10 going the Coffee Lock route will destroy stuff with Haste, Dual Wield and Smites. 2 Attacks, Haste 2 Attacks, 1 Bonus Off Hand, 2 Action Surge Attacks. All with Smites and Longswords is a Ton of d8s to toss around.



For the less Cheesy route is a Fighter Knight (ua) 4/ Paladin Vengence X I played once and had a Ton of Fun with. Smites when I needed and had a use for my Bonus Action after I did Divine Favor. Usually it was Move, cast Divine Favor, if close enough make X attacks, if not move closer and Wail on em next round.

[Aett_Thorn]

Seeing lots of people suggest mounted dual wielding of lances, know it works by RAW but... darn is it not slightly too silly mechanically? On another note could not that silly style make for quite the Mounted Kensai build? DEX lances dual wield ftw lol

Lances have the "special" tag, which rules it out for Kensai use.

[Citan]

Seeing lots of people suggest mounted dual wielding of lances, know it works by RAW but... darn is it not slightly too silly mechanically? On another note could not that silly style make for quite the Mounted Kensai build? DEX lances dual wield ftw lol
Hey ;)

So quick example of build, online early enough:
Fighter 1 / Bladesinger 6
Concentration proficiency, Haste, TWF, means you get 4 full attacks per turn for nearly every encounter of the day (3*3 base slots + 2*3 with Arcane Recovery).
If you'd like, you can then bring along a level of Hexblade for single-target goodness (needs CHA), or War Cleric for Divine Favor (needs WIS), but the easiest would be to just continue being a Bladesinger all the way.

Other builds
Bear Barbarian 5 / Thief Rogue 3 with Dual Wielder or Sharpshooter (or both if Variant Human)
Use javelins as weapons of choice, giving you the most flexibility: with 3 attacks per turn, ability to draw two weapons at once both on free interaction and as a bonus action in worst case, plus advantage on Expertise Athletics, you will be a great tactical force.
For later, continue Barbarian, or take a few Battlemaster for Manoeuvers, or more Rogue for Defense...

Eldricht Knight or Battlemaster 11 / Hexblade Warlock 1 / Devotion Paladin 3.
Obviously keep the latter half of Fighter for much later. Grab Sharpshooter if you want to build as STR and have no cantrip, otherwise it's good but dispendable.
Main deal is to get...
- For usual fights, regular goodness (Hex or Bless+ usual weapon attacks).
- For bigger fights: Action Surge Sacred Weapon + action Divine Favor or Bless or Compelled Duel depending on your opponent + bonus action Hexblade (or just use Action Surge for Sacred Weapon, bonus action Hexblade then normal action on Extra Attack if the opponent is within reach).
For the last levels, if EK go a few more for Haste, or Warlock 5 for Elemental Weapon / more good smites.

Oathbreaker Paladin 7 / Hexblade Tome Warlock 5 / Divine Soul Sorcerer 5 / whatever else you want.
This high-level build basically runs on Coffeelock and either Haste (Sorcerer) or Elemental Weapon (Warlock).
If you want Coffelock, you want at least Warlock 3 (4 SP per short rest) and Sorcerer 5 (5 sp = 1*3rd level slot) to be comfortable.
If you don't care about Coffeelock, then "eat into" both casters to bump Paladin to 11, for that added 1d8.
For example, Oathbreaker 12 / Hexblade 3 / Divine Soul Sorcerer 5 would fare pretty well: you are SAD, each attack gets +5+1d8+6, and you can add Haste to that (offense), as well as Shield and Mirror Image on top of Aura of Protection.

Basically TWF helps you to quickly switch "stances", and extra attack makes every sustainable bonus to weapon attacks great (magic buffs, non magic buffs, weapons' abilities, smite, etc), with weapon-buffing magic being limited of use here since you can't twin it (sadly).