2024 One D&D Subclass Tier List
*Rows are read left to right with the higher rows being higher on the Tier List. Click on any image on the Tier List to go to its build guide (these links don’t naturally go to a new tab so be mindful of that)! For full explanations on all decisions, please consult the “Full Tier List Breakdown” section*
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How These Were Ranked
As a preliminary note (that’s explained more in the Full Tier List Section Breakdown below), the way these classes are ranked is I took the base class ranking as the starting point and added”points” for how good each subclass ability was. Earlier abilities were ranked higher as they have a greater impact on the game for a longer period of time. That said, subclasses can only do so much for a base class, even powerful subclasses, so mediocre to bad subclasses on powerful base classes are still going to be ranked higher on the Tier List than great subclasses on weaker base classes. To that end, weaker base classes (namely the martial classes) are going to mostly populate the lower tiers while the stronger base classes (the full casters like Sorcerer, Warlock, and Wizard) will dominate the top of the tiers even if they have weaker subclasses (like Scribes Wizard, atrocious subclass, but Wizards are still so inherently powerful they have to be ranked highly). While that doesn’t feel great, this will produce the most accurate version of a subclass tier list possible.
Tier List Rankings
S Tier – Problematic in some way, either in power level or some sort of game play facet is problematic (a lot of the time, it’s both).
A Tier – The best of the best. These are the top dogs in terms of power without broaching into unfair territory like S Tier classes might.
B Tier – These will not be as inherently powerful as A Tier options, but are still quite strong in their own right. These are likely a bit more situational or slightly weaker than the A tier options, but still very good.
C Tier – Decent options, but likely not particularly strong. These options don’t offer too much or may just be a bit too situational to be ranked higher, but are still options you should consider as these will be the average power level.
D Tier – While weaker than your average class, these classes can still function and be useful when utilized to their full potential.
F Tier – Something has to be the worst/weakest, these are it.
Full Tier List Breakdown
*All classes with an asterisk (*) are in the 2024 PHB*
S Tier
Necromancy Wizard – Rather than playing like the traditional Wizard, Necromancy Wizards aim to raise an army of the dead that can solve all of their problems for them! This was placed in S Tier due to it’s problematic nature in game play and potential power level. With enough planning, you can make a larger and larger army of undead and get infinitely scaling health thanks to your 10th level ability, Inured to Undeath which will make you single-handedly unstoppable. At the average table that isn’t trying to break this class, Necromancers would be more around B to B+ tier as a fine subclass with a cool gimmick.
Twilight Cleric – Twilight Cleric is the lone class the gets its S Tier ranking for its power. The Channel Divinity makes your team nearly impossible to kill, especially in the early game, on top of having a bunch of other strong abilities making this class the true top dog.
Peace Cleric – While still a naturally powerful class, Peace Cleric earns its S Tier ranking because of Emboldening Bond and all its upgrades to it. Emboldening Bond and Protective Bond slow the game down massively and can have players constantly debating when to use them which can absolutely kill any momentum at the table. If your party can play with this quickly so it isn’t an issue, this would be an A+ tier class normally.
A Tier
Divination Wizard* – With the incredible Portent ability to manipulate fate, Divination Wizards are the top of the A tier!
War Magic Wizard – With a slew of excellent abilities for combat, War Magic continues to be a dominant force.
Illusion Wizard* – From one of the weakest Wizard subclasses to one of the best, being able to cast Minor Illusion as a bonus action is much stronger than most would anticipate!
Wild Magic Sorcerer* – From a fun, weaker class all the way to the top of the tier list, Wild Magic exchanged its chaotic style to mostly be a consistent value machine.
Genie Warlock – Functionally unchanged from 2014, Genie Warlocks can still absolutely eviscerate enemies by grinding them with Spike Growth.
Swords Bard – Despite not directly getting changed, all the changes around Bard has made Swords Bards much stronger than they used to be.
Bladesinging Wizard – The classic spellsword, Bladesingers can be a menace from short range with a weapon or a distance with their entire spell list!
Fiend Warlock* – While already strong, Fiend Warlock overall received buffs that help keep it at the top of the Warlock subclasses.
Divine Soul Sorcerer – A mix of Cleric and Sorcerer, not only do you get unfettered access to two spell lists, but most of your abilities are quite strong as well!
Hexblade Warlock – The former boogeyman of 5e, Hexblade remains strong in 2024, but without any buffs and your best abilities coming two levels later, its power has been reigned in a bit so it isn’t always the Warlock subclass of choice.
Valor Bard* – The other melee focused Bard, Valor Bard got a few small buffs, but between those and the inherent changes to Bard make this a new powerhouse.
Conquest Paladin – One of the two Paladins to share the mantle for best Paladin, Conquest focuses on fear to control their enemies.
Vengeance Paladin* – The most damage focused Paladin subclass, Vengeance gets awesome spells and abilities to focus on obliterating anyone in their way.
Abjuration Wizard* – Focusing on defense rather than offense, Abjuration Wizards have their iconic Arcane Ward in order to protect themselves and their allies!
Eloquence Bard – The smoothest talker in all of D&D, Eloquence Bards are still the king of utility as they can functionally never fail a speech check!
Enchantment Wizard – Emphasizing support and CC, Enchantment Wizards specialize in locking enemies down and letting their allies take care of them rather than getting their own hands dirty.
Evocation Wizard* – The demolition experts of D&D, Evocation Wizards focus on dealing as much damage as possible with every spell slot they can!
Lore Bard* – Magical Secrets is the Bard’s best ability, so it stands to reason that getting it 4 levels sooner than you should is extremely powerful!
Echo Knight – The lone Fighter in A tier, Echo Knight is a very unbalanced subclass with access to abilities that resemble magic much more so than anything the average Fighter could produce.
B Tier
Shadow Magic Sorcerer – The masters of the dark, Shadow Magic Sorcerers have cool abilities that let them thrive in the dark or even stave off death.
Land Druid* – With a complete emphasis on spellcasting, Land Druids don’t only have the access to the most spells out of all Druids, but they can cast more of them as well!
Watchers Paladin – While the class is focused on fighting off extraplanar threats, players gravitate towards this class due to its very powerful Aura.
Draconic Sorcerer* – The master of elemental damage, Draconic Sorcerers get a bunch of spells and abilities that let them focus on one elements and make it as strong as possible.
Archfey Warlock* – Channeling the whimsy of the Fey, Archfey Warlocks specialize in CCing their enemies by assailing them with charms or wracking them with fear.
Dance Bard* – One of the new classes to 2024, Dance Bards have all the power of a full caster, but with the mobility options of a nimble martial class!
Glamour Bard* – With a mix of eclectic, but powerful abilities, Glamour Bards offer a lot of versatility and utility to their allies.
Trickery Domain* – Hosting easily the best expanded spell list out of all the Clerics, Trickery Domain received a lot of love in the 2024 handbook and it very much shows.
Conjuration Wizard – While their abilities can be a bit all over the place, Conjuration Wizard lets you build it how you want by still offering the full power of D&D’s best class.
Eldritch Knight* – Now able to cast spells from any school of magic, Eldritch Knights are all the threat your standard Fighters are, but with spells to make them substantially more versatile.
Transmutation Wizard – Focusing on their Transmuter’s Stone, Transmutation Wizards emphasize utility over combat power.
Celestial Warlock* – A bit of a mix between Cleric and Warlock, where Celestial lacks in abilities they easily make up for with their first ability and their expanded spell list.
Clockwork Sorcerer* – While the abilities can be a bit weak and disjointed, Clockwork Sorcerers receive some excellent spells in their expanded spell list to make up for it.
Creation Bard – With a super versatile set of abilities and a unique Bardic Inspiration, Creation Bards offer a huge amount of utility and diversity in play style.
Oathbreaker Paladin – For naughty Paladins who broke their Oath, you turn into a Paladin that focuses on becoming the master of undeath rather than the protector of life!
Scribes Wizard – While Scribes Wizards unfortunately lack really any meaningful ability, the base Wizard class is so strong that Scribes remains a good option anyway!
Fathomless Warlock – The bff of the Kraken, Fathomless Warlocks have unique, aquatic related abilities that give them a lot of utility normally absent in Warlocks.
Aberrant Sorcerer* – The psychic of the Sorcerer bunch, Aberrant Sorcerers focus on utilizing and manipulating the minds of friends and enemies alike!
Great Old One Warlock* – As you’re BFFs with Cthulu, you get an interesting mix of mind bending abilities that can really mess with your enemies.
Wildfire Druid – A super interesting mix of damage and utility, Wildfire Druid boasts an impressive spell list to blast away at enemies, but with the Wildfire spirit, still provide a lot of assistance to your allies in combat.
Redemption Paladin – A pacifist at heart, Redemption Paladin focuses on controlling the battlefield rather than outright attacking their enemies.
Rune Knight – Utilizing the strength of powerful runes, Rune Knights get a slew of passive and active effects that help them both in and out of combat!
Shadow Monk* – Masters of fighting in the dark, Shadow Monk lays down cloaks of darkness on the battlefield and then absolutely wallops whoever is in them!
Mercy Monk* – The best Monk around, Mercy Monk got a small nerf in 2024 and they are still excellent with healing options as well as extra damage options!
Light Cleric* – Masters of fire and radiant spells, Light Clerics are the premiere damage class for Clerics as you’re all about incinerating all of your enemies!
Stars Druid* – One of the most versatile Druids, Star Druids forego an expanded spell list for really powerful abilities that have a range of unique and powerful effects.
Forge Cleric – If you want a spellcasting tank, you pick Forge Cleric! With defensively oriented abilities and a powerful, yet diverse expanded spell list, Forge Clerics are excellent on the front lines to support as needed.
Devotion Paladin* – The iconic Paladin, Devotion Paladins are your archetypical good guys that protect the weak and smite evil.
Glory Paladin* – While this has a bit less mechanical identity than the 2014 version, you still have solid abilities and spells to make a perfectly reasonable Paladin.
Gloom Stalker Ranger* – The previous best Ranger is still the best! Even when nerfed, Gloom Stalker remains a good option with really powerful abilities that let them effectively ambush enemies.
C Tier
Ancients Paladin* – The guardian of nature, the Ancients Paladin takes a bit of inspiration from Druids to have a more diverse set of abilities.
Whispers Bard – With a focus on messing with other people, Whispers Bards like to stay covert and deal with their problems through subterfuge rather than combat.
Sea Druid* – The newest Druid to the roster, Sea Druids surround themselves with an aqueous aura that can hurt and push enemies around really effectively!
Moon Druid* – The former problem child, Moon Druid has been changed to make it a much more reasonable subclass that focuses on fighting in Wild Shape.
Knowledge Cleric – The nerds of their convents, Knowledge Clerics specialize in information and dealing with others rather than direct combat.
Tempest Cleric – Wielders of thunder and lightning, Tempest Clerics are a blasting class that focus on the few thunder and lightning spells they get access to.
Swarmkeeper Ranger – With a swarm that can assist you or hurt enemies, the Swarmkeeper has a really nice spread of combat and utility abilities.
Order Cleric – With a big emphasis on support, Order Clerics are great at making their allies shine through their ability to aid them and mess with their enemies.
Nature Cleric – A mix of Druid and Cleric, the big draw of Nature Cleric is the Cleric spell list, but access to fun Druid utility spells and abilities as well as the excellent Spike Growth.
Life Cleric* – The archetypal healer of D&D, while Life Clerics are obviously drawn towards healing, you still have plenty to offer when health bars are full with the powerful Cleric spell list.
Spores Druid – An extremely unique Druid, you get to be extremely tanky with your Symbiotic Entity ability which can help you wade into the frontlines if you so choose!
War Cleric* – The battle priest, War Cleric focuses on offense much like how a Paladin would approach things, but what you give up in martial capabilities, you make up for in spells!
Dreams Druid – One of the most eclectic set of abilities in D&D, Dreams Druids are the ultimate support and utility casters with a lot of strong out of combat abilities.
Shepherd Druid – The truest summoner of D&D, while the Conjure spells changing does hurt this class, you still have an obvious bias for summoning friends to help you fight!
Battle Master Fighter* – One of the most popular subclasses, Battle Master Fighters specialize in maneuvers which deal a bunch of damage and apply some nice CC in combat.
Arcane Trickster* – The only magical rogue, Arcane Tricksters received a huge buff now that they can cast spells from any school of magic!
Grave Cleric – Sworn to put the undead back into the ground, Grave Clerics dance with the line between life and death to save their allies and put the undead to rest.
Open Hand Monk* – Hitting more than any other class in the game, Open Hand Monks are completely devoted to mastering techniques that beat people up.
Elements Monk* – With the ability to wield the elements, Elements Monk can attack from a distance and use their strikes to push or pull enemies.
Psi Warrior Fighter* – Bolstering their combat abilities with psychic powers, Psi Warriors can enhance their physical abilities to deal damage or even protect allies.
Beast Master Ranger* – Rather than relying on Hunter’s Mark, Beast Master Ranger more or less forgoes the traditional Ranger formula to battle with their pet instead!
World Tree Barbarian* – The newest Barbarian to the fold, World Tree Barbarians are unique in that all of their abilities don’t implicitly deal damage, yet all are still good!
Cavalier Fighter – While they work best when using a mount, Cavalier Fighters are surprisingly effective tanks that can dish out a lot of damage while keeping their friends out of trouble.
Zealot Barbarian* – Receiving love from the new PHB, Zealot Barbarians can equally deal a bunch of damage and heal themselves in combat!
Arcane Archer Fighter – Imbuing their arrows with magic, Arcane Archers attack from a distance and utilize a slew of powerful magical effects to control the battlefield.
Wild Heart Barbarian* – The classic tank, Wild Heart Barbarian still retains the features that players love from the old Totem Warrior while getting some fresh new upgrades!
Champion Fighter* – Focusing on getting as many critical hits as possible, Champion Fighters prioritize big damage whenever possible!
Samurai Fighter – With a way to grant themselves advantage
Astral Self Monk – Conjuring ethereal pieces of armor, Astral Self Monk gets a slew of new abilities culminating into a spiritual armor that makes you stronger in combat!
Horizon Walker Ranger – The hunter of extraplanar threats, Horizon Walkers gets mediocre abilities, but excellent spells to work with to chase down and eliminate their enemies.
Drunken Master Monk – In homage to the old trope, the Drunken Master specializes in unpredictable movement to assail their enemies from unexpected angles.
Fey Wanderer Ranger* – The ironic natural enemy of Fey, Fey Wanderer has anti-Fey abilities and a strong expanded spell list to make this a well rounded class.
Kensei Monk – The weapons master of Monks, while they don’t literally receive Weapon Mastery, they can utilize more diverse weapons than any other Monk.
Hunter Ranger* – With variable abilities that can change on rest, the Hunter Ranger allows you to approach the build exactly how you want with reasonable melee and ranged options.
Phantom Rogue – Gallivanting with spirits, Phantom Rogue has a bunch of excellent abilities that let you deal more damage or get some solid out of combat utility.
Sun Soul Monk – I won’t lie, this is the absolute worst of the worst in terms of Monks, but Monks are good enough now that a weak subclass can’t hold them down too badly!
Monster Slayer Ranger – Laser focused on dealing with one enemy in combat, Monster Slayer Rangers specialize in slaying one enemy at a time with a slew of abilities that work against a single target.
Giant Barbarian – With the ability to grow in size, Giant Barbarians host two unique build patterns in which you can effectively use a polearm or you effectively use thrown weapons!
Ancestral Guardian Barbarian – While Wild Hearts are the traditional tank for Barbarians, Ancestral Guardian Barbarians are similarly good at keeping the attention on themselves!
Berserker Barbarian* – Hitting harder than other Berserkers, the new and improved Berserker are all about being mad and whacking baddies.
Wild Magic Barbarian – While their magic is less impactful than the Wild Magic Sorcerer, Wild Magic Barbarians get fewer magical effects, but all are positive rather than incurring the risk of something nasty.
D Tier
Swashbuckler Rogue – The best Sneak Attackers around, Swashbuckler makes it easy to weave in and out of combat while hitting hard the whole time.
Soulknife Rogue* – Utilizing latent psychic abilities, Soulknifes use their iconic Psychic Blades as their weapons of choice that provide unique abilities on top of being inherently solid weapons.
Assassin Rogue* – Focusing on ending the fight on turn one, Assassins love dealing massive damage turn one, and if that doesn’t work, poison their targets.
Beast Barbarian – Utilizing nature in battle, Beast Barbarians let you manifest natural weapons to attack their enemies.
Scout Rogue – A mix of Ranger and Rogue, Scout Rogues are a unique class that focus more on exploration than anything else.
Thief Rogue* – Single minded in what they want, Thief Rogues focus on stealing, making it easier for themselves to steal, and using their ill-gotten goods better than anyone else could!
Inquisitive Rogue – The detectives of D&D, Inquisitive Rogues have a super unique play pattern where they try excel at finding easily missed details in tense scenarios.
F Tier
Mastermind – Unparalleled liars, Mastermind Rogues are always conniving and looking for an edge.
