Fighter/herald is widely seen as the closest thing A5E has to a “busted combo” and is often seen as a highly optimized choice, with the fighter class supplying an easy way to circumvent the herald’s exertion pool limitations. The “traditional” build is mostly herald with just a smattering of fighter levels, but this can be reversed and the resulting character will still be lethallyeffective in a fight. The two classes share significant similarities in their martial focus, but ultimately a fighter is entirely about raw skill at arms and a herald uses magical abilities and spells, powered by their own ideological devotion, to deal with threats. The two classes are similar in ways, but not the same. However, because both have an intense martial focus, any combination of the two will, by definition, approach the threats they encounter at the point of a sword. The real strength of combining these two classes from a flavor perspective is to show the evolution of a character over the course of their life. Focusing mostly on herald allows the character to use their magical capabilities more frequently, relying on the exertion pool from their fighter training. Focusing mostly on fighter gives the character a strong ideological focus and some “reserves” of healing energy and possible exertion to draw upon in emergencies. An even mix of the two can transition between these modes as needed. [[01-A5E/3 Classes/Fighter/Fighter#Fighter - Herald|Fighter - Herald chains and ideas]]