One D&D Cleric 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
Twilight Cleric – The Cleric in S Tier normally from pure power alone. Everything about the Twilight Cleric is just egregious, but none more so than the Channel Divinity – Twilight Sanctuary which makes your team nigh unkillable with all the temporary health it hands out. Past that, there isn”t a single ability here that isn’t extremely good.
A Tier
Peace Cleric – While in S Tier normally because of the problematic play patterns, if we’re talking pure power level, this is a step below the Twilight Cleric for sure. That said, both Emboldening Bond and Channel Divinity: Balm of Peace are very powerful abilties with Emboldening Bond only getting better as you gain more abilities through your subclass.
B Tier
Trickery Cleric* – Receiving some nice buffs from the new rulebook, the Trickery Cleric mostly sees upgrades with a great spell list (beyond losing Polymorph which sucks) and a nice disruption ability with your Channel Divinity that creates a copy of you. While these abilities are all solid, realistically, having a Cleric that can learn Hypnotic Pattern is inherently powerful as Cleric never gets good battlefield control spells.
Light Cleric* – The blaster of Clerics, Cleric obviously doesn’t excel in a damage dealing role, but can do well enough for itself to still be strong. Beyond your final ability, your other abilities are quite nice with Radiance of the Dawn being excellent early and your Warding Flare getting some nice upgrades for 2024 (although Warding Flare itself doesn’t scale the best).
C Tier
Knowledge Cleric – A very unique subclass that focuses on skill proficiencies, the Knowledge Cleric is an interesting utility class that can really come in handy if you don’t have a Bard or Rogue on your squad to do the checks nobody else can. On top of good skills, you get a nice spell list as well with plenty of utility spells but also Suggestion which is a huge bonus to a Cleric.
Forge Cleric – The tankiest member of the Cleric family, the Forge Cleric is torn between wanting to be on the front line due to the high AC and hanging back to have a better chance of maintaining a potential concentration check. That said, hanging back and being hard to hit as a Cleric is definitely not a bad place to be, and having a Channel Divinity that’s a neat item creation ability is always cool.
Tempest Cleric – The Tempest Cleric gets some truly excellent abilities and has a pretty strong expanded spell list as well (Sleet Storm being a big standout), but is plagued by the lack of good Lightning/Thunder spells to actually capitalize on this class. This will still serve you well as a blasting class with some nice CC spells as well, but this is definitely weaker than the Light Cleric when evaluating it overall.
D Tier
Nature Cleric – A hybrid of Cleric and Druid, unlike many other combination classes, this is definitely a good deal sadder than others. You do get excellent spells from Druid like Spike Growth and Plant Growth, but beyond that, you really don’t get much. Although that seems like it wouldn’t be enough, just getting some good spells you can cast over and over is generally the priority anyway.
War Cleric* – This subclass is supposed to be the martial version of Clerics, but it does not do it very well. War Priest is really good early and Guided Strike can ensure important hits connect, but that’s pretty much the end of it. The expanded spell list sucks, your level 6 ability sucks, and your next best ability only comes at level 17. This can be really good if you’re playing in a lower leveled campaign, but if you’re in it for the long haul, this is going to feel weaker and weaker compared to other Cleric subclasses.
Arcana Cleric – Like the Nature Cleric, we have a mix of Cleric and Wizard that is unfortunately a little bit sad. Unfortunately your abilities definitely leave a lot to be desired, but your expanded spell list is actually pretty solid with some nice options such as Magic Aura, Arcane Eye, and Teleportation Circle to give you some nice utility, but not much for fights.
Order Cleric – The abilities here are definitely a little bit weird, but if you have someone on your squad that can hit like a truck in one attack (think Barbarian or Rogue), then this can be a really potent support subclass. Your main power comes through your Voice of Authority ability to add damage into your team’s rotation, but Embodiment of Law can be really strong too if you have something better to do with your action. Overall this is very specific, but can be a solid choice.
Grave Cleric – The flavor here is awesome and the abilities are very unique, but there really isn’t a compelling reason to pick this subclass beyond the cool aesthetic. The Channel Divinity is cool though if you have a Barbarian, Paladin, or Rogue on your team to take advantage of the vulnerability.
Life Cleric* – Compared to the other Cleric subclasses, this is extremely sad. Despite already being a somewhat weak subclass in 5e (with just a great interaction with Goodberry) that interaction got changed making this subclass even weaker than it was. This isn’t terrible, but definitely teeters on F tier for the subclasses.
F Tier
None
