One D&D Barbarian Subclass Tier List
Full Subclass Tier List
The subclass rankings are based solely on other available subclasses within the same base class, not necessarily how they would perform in a game or compared to subclasses from other base classes. For a more holistic view on the power level of each subclass, reference the Full Subclass Tier List above.
*All classes with an asterisk (*) are in the 2024 PHB*
S Tier
None
A Tier
World Tree Barbarian* – The best of the Barbarians is also the most unique of the bunch. While Barbarians are typically known for dealing or tanking damage, the World Tree Barbarian is much more interested in healing and utility which works surprisingly well with the Barbarian’s kit. The greatest struggle for Barbarians typically was that they were only combat focused, but still did it worse than the other martial classes. Now that you can do more than just bonk, this is the best that Barbarians can do in terms of subclasses.
Wild Heart Barbarian* – Known for their incredible tanking capabilities in 5th edition, while the tank ability has been a bit nerfed, they still are the meatwall they were before. Being able to take the most punishment out of any class in the game certainly comes with its benefits if you are really good with your positioning and threat assessment.
B Tier
Zealot Barbarian* – The newly refurbished Zealot Barbarian is looking good as you’re given some extra damage and extra survivalability with healing and the chance to help you and your allies pass saving throws. This does a lot of what I like about the World Tree Barbarian in terms of them not just being one trick ponies so it makes sense that the Zealot is looking good as well.
Berserker Barbarian* – I’m generally not a big fan of Barbarians that are just pure damage dealers, but this is the best of the bunch in that capacity. By the numbers, Berserkers deal more damage than any other Barbarian subclass (and arguably even the most damage out of any subclass in the game) making this a great choice for those who want to hit hard.
C Tier
Ancestral Guardian Barbarian – A different flavor of tank compared to the Totem Warrior Barbarian, the Ancestral Guardian focuses more on monopolizing the attention of the toughest enemy rather than just absorbing as many blows as possible. This class working is super reliant on actually hitting the toughest enemy, which obviously, isn’t always going to happen making this pretty hit or miss.
Giant Barbarian – Depending on how DMs interpret some of these rulings, this class can be quite potent to just fine. That said, this is still going to be a reasonable addition to any team with the interesting combination of ranged damage and a big health pool to work with.
D Tier
Wild Magic Barbarian – Unlike the Wild Magic Sorcerer, there are no bad random effects you can get, but there aren’t really good ones either. With none of your abilities being actively good, you are going to be limited in how strong this is going to feel but you should still get some decent use out of this.
Beast Barbarian – If you are only playing this in a lower leveled campaign, this can serve you better than some of the other Barbarian options as the Claws option is pretty potent early on. However, as you level up, this gets further and further outclassed by the other options making this a tougher one to pick up. That said, this does provide some nice utility as well so if battle strength isn’t your only concern, this can be a reasonable option.
F Tier
Battlerager Barbarian – This is just sad. The Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide is famous for pumping out really weak subclasses and this is no different. All the abilities are extremely specific and undertuned, the perfect embodiment of an F Tier subclass.
