How does the warcaster feat interact with arcane spells, and Eldritch Knight's use of war magic?

Question

I know war caster negates the need of a free hand for somatic components, but it's not negating the need of an extra limb for manipulating materials! (I know you can use the same hand for both material and somatic components, and foci can be used instead of material components that are not valuable.) Since Arcane focus does not work like holy symbols (ex drawn on shields), how the hell is an Eldritch Knight supposed to use its war magic class feature with a shield without juggling weapons??

Is this a RAW problem? Or is the War Caster feat specifically better for divine casters? Or are Eldritch Knights not meant to use shields?

Sorry if this one is a duplicate, I just couldn't find the exact problem in any other topic.

Answer 1

I don't know if it is awkward to answer my own question but after my last game, i now have a more plausible answer in general, just sharing it here for future reference :

Most of the spells that an Eldritch Knight uses in thick of battle, does not require material components thus making the need for a foci redundant and having war caster feat feasible for shield bearing EKs using war magic class feature without further mingling with RAW weapon switching or tiny/wearable foci etc.

A happy ending!

Edit : For a workaround to this problem Apocalisp's answer is better within RAW.
Those of you who like house-ruling can modify EK's bond with it's weapons to count as arcane focus to specifically bypass this problem.

Answer 2

An arcane focus can be a very small item. For a War Caster Eldritch Knight, I'd rule that you can wear your arcane focus, that you can hold it in your shield hand on the inside of your shield, that it could be a rune carved in your shield, or even that your weapon or shield could serve as the focus.

For example, in one campaign I'm running, we have a War Priest who is also a War Caster. He literally uses his sword as his holy symbol. I think that is very much in the spirit of RAI for War Caster.

If your DM is particularly picky on RAW, you could see if they allow you to have your arcane focus (e.g. a crystal or other small object) mounted on your shield or weapon. Work with your DM to figure out the cost of doing this. Strictly speaking a War Caster needs to be able to manipulate the arcane focus, but does not otherwise need to use their hands for spellcasting. So that might be a way around.

Do note that any character, War Caster or not, can sheathe their weapon, cast their spell, and then use the next turn's interaction to draw the weapon again. Failing that, a strict reading of RAW says you can drop your weapon for free. Then you can cast your spell as your action and use your "one object interaction" to pick up your weapon again on the same turn. For these reasons, I usually don't bother keeping track of item juggling for spellcasters in my campaigns, as it serves little purpose other than slowing the game down.

Then you ask "what is the point of the War Caster feat, since any spellcaster can manipulate the action economy in this way?" Well, besides the fact that the feat gives you an advantage on saving throws to keep concentrating on spells in the face of damage, and it grants the ability to cast spells as opportunity attacks, it lets you cast a somatic spell with both hands full of weapons/shields in circumstances where sheathing/dropping your weapon is not an option.

For example, War Caster Eldritch Knights can be holding a shield, draw their weapon, attack with that weapon, and then use an action surge to cast a somatic spell, all on the same turn. They can also use a reaction to cast a spell (opportunity attacks or prepared actions), with weapons in both hands. Quite a feat.