Why are fighters considered underpowered?
Fighters are underpowered for two main reasons. First of all, they don’t scale very well. It’s very difficult to make a fighter without resorting to a niche build that can take and deal damage to a level-appropriate monster. For example, a level 7 fighter will generally lose to an elephant, a nymph, or an earth elemental. More reasonable combat classes, like warblades and duskblades, are usually capable of winning. Second, they lack versatility. They have few class skills and limited skill points. Their only class features are the bonus feats, which don’t contribute to much more than hitting harder and not dying as quickly. This leaves them with only a limited set of options which they aren’t even that good at. Because of this, fighters can’t contribute nearly as much as other party members. Fighters are supposed to be versatile and able to do many different combat actions. While true from a design perspective, this doesn’t play out well with the rest of the game. Feat progression forc
