Two-Weapon Fighting in D&D 5e

Question

Good afternoon! I decided to create a new character with an emphasis on owning a couple of weapons, and after studying this topic, I had a question:

The strike with the second weapon is performed as a bonus action. But classes that have a "fighting style" can inflict several attacks per turn.

Does this mean that they can make several double attacks per turn, or will I be able to make only one attack with the second weapon and 4 attacks with the main weapon?

I think I’ve answered your question sufficiently, however, there is still one point of confusion for me. What are you referring to when you say “ classes that have a "fighting style" can inflict several attacks per turn”? I’m not aware of any fighting style that give additional attacks, are you thinking of the “Extra Attack” feature that many classes have? — Thomas Markov, Apr 03 '22 at 19:57
Does this answer your question: "How many attacks can a fighter with two-weapon fighting make at 5th level?" — Exempt-Medic, Apr 03 '22 at 20:04

Thomas Markov · Accepted Answer · 2022-04-03T20:04:28.140

You can only take one bonus action per turn.

The rules for bonus actions state:

You can take only one bonus action on your turn, so you must choose which bonus action to use when you have more than one available.

So no matter how many attacks you can make with your action, you can only make the attack from Two-Weapon Fighting once per turn, because it uses your bonus action. Even if you use Action Surge to get an additional action on a turn, you still only get one bonus action on your turn.

So suppose you are a 5th level fighter. You have the Extra Attack feature which says:

Beginning at 5th level, you can attack twice, instead of once, whenever you take the Attack action on your turn.

So if you were wielding two short swords, you could use your action to take the Attack action, making two attacks using either of your short swords (the order doesn’t matter, it can be one each, or two attacks with one), then, you can use your bonus action to make an additional attack using Two-Weapon Fighting:

When you take the Attack action and attack with a light melee weapon that you’re holding in one hand, you can use a bonus action to attack with a different light melee weapon that you’re holding in the other hand.

Then, as a fighter, you could use Action Surge to take an additional action on your turn, and use it to take the Attack action a second time, making two more attacks. However, Action Surge does not allow you to take an additional bonus action. So even if you use Action Surge to get an additional action, you still only get one bonus action per turn.

Two-Weapon Fighting in D&D 5e

1 Answers1

You can only take one bonus action per turn.