DnD 2024 Class and Subclass Tier List Breakdown

2024 One D&D Subclass Tier List

While I could just use the standard S-F Tier list model (and I will) that makes it difficult to determine the rankings for classes/subclasses that are similar in power. If there are a ton of subclasses in C Tier, what relatively objective way can determine which sits on top and which doesn’t? To that end, each ability for a class and subclass is going to receive a ranking from S Tier all the way down to F Tier.

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.

If an ability is in the middle of two rankings (strong for B, but not strong enough for A), they can get a + or – to help show the differentiation with a B+ and A- being slightly different, but by a small margin.

Furthermore, abilities given earlier should be weighted heavier than abilities received later as you’ll simply have more time with them, and for abilities gained much later, a fair share of campaigns won’t even make it that far so those should have the least bearing on how strong a class is unless you are starting at a much higher level. Even if you know that you’re going to reach the higher levels, if you have to play with weaker abilities until then, a strong ability may not necessarily make up for it. There are exceptions (the Cavalier Fighter comes to mind), but those are very rare.

That said, all these rankings do take these later abilities into account, so if you play in campaigns that frequently end around levels 10-12, you’ll need to evaluate these rankings with a little more scrutiny and see why these classes received the grade they did. Some classes are carried by their mid level abilities (8-10) which may not be particularly relevant to those campaigns that end in lower levels.

With all that in mind, here are the level spreads that I am considering when ranking these classes.

Levels 1-4

Levels 5 – 8

Levels 9 – 12

Levels 13 – 16

Levels 17 – 20

Feats granted through the standard leveling progression will not be considered in this system except if they are outside the normal progression of level 4, 8, 12, 16, and 19.

Classes that receive additional charges of powerful abilities or new spells will be considered as new abilities and be ranked as such. While not explicitly mentioned, every new spell slot also counts towards the strength of a class as it is functionally another charge of a powerful ability. For the sake of any brevity, these will not be mentioned as it would be very repetitive, but getting new spell slots on level up is very good.

Keep in mind, this grading system does favor classes that get more abilities than those who have fewer, stronger abilities. To that end, some discernment will have to be used on my end to not skew too hard towards classes that have a lot of weaker abilities as I would much rather have one A class ability over 10 D class abilities, even if having a lot of abilities will generally make a class better.

As a final note, these rankings have to do solely with the base class and is not considering factors like multiclassing.

After poring over all the changes and having good discussions with other seasoned players, this was more or less the general consensus I found on what players considered to be the strongest base characters in order.

1. Wizard
2. Sorcerer
3. Warlock
4. Bard
5. Druid
6. Cleric
7. Paladin
8. Monk
9. Ranger
10. Fighter
11. Barbarian
12. Rogue

While I still think those rankings are pretty accurate, after thoroughly assessing all of the abilities that each base class has, I rearranged the classes based on what felt like a slightly more objective measure.

1. Wizard
2. Bard
3. Sorcerer
4. Warlock
5. Paladin
6. Cleric
7. Druid
8. Monk
9. Fighter
10. Ranger
11. Rogue
12. Barbarian

(As a note, if you want to see this breakdown, it’s in the lower half of the article.)

While most classes stayed within their general tiers, I did find a few interesting changes.

First off, while Rogue was relegated to be the worst base class, my analysis brought me to Barbarian being the weakest as they simply don’t have that many abilities, and the abilities they do have, aren’t even necessarily that powerful. That isn’t to say that Barbarians or Rogues aren’t necessarily good, most of them will still feel powerful in their own right, it’s just compared to your other options and the differences are smaller than most people think.

Second, I thought Ranger would end up better than they did, but unfortunately, the relative lack of changes definitely hurt them leading them to be the only spellcasting class behind pure martial characters.

Finally, despite the general nerfs to Paladin, it still remains a really strong option even in base class form.

While analyzing how strong each base class is can be helpful, remember that these rankings only help set up where the subclasses should begin on the tier list rather than providing the full story. A bad ability from a subclass can’t make the base class worse, so everything is additive. Keep that in mind when evaluating the rankings!

Barbarian Rankings

With the new changes, World Tree stands on top with a slew of great abilities. What’s nice about Barbarian though, is that besides Beast, all the subclasses are relatively close in power level so you can’t really go wrong with picking any of the top 7 if you want to have a good time with a Barbarian.

1. World Tree – C Tier
2. Zealot – C Tier
3. Wild Heart – C Tier
4. Ancestral Guardian – C- Tier
5. Berserker – C- Tier
6. Giant – C- Tier
7. Wild Magic – C- Tier
8. Beast – D Tier

Ancestral Guardian

Ancestral Protectors (Level 3) – B+ Tier – This ability lets you truly be the tank of the party as enemies are really incentivized to hit you when this is active.

Spirit Shield (Level 6)– C- Tier – Using your reaction to prevent a smidgen of damage isn’t necessarily awful, but not great.

Consult the Spirits (Level 10) – B Tier – Free spells are nice, and these are solid spells that can keep refreshing!

Vengeful Ancestors (Level 14) – B Tier – Reflecting damage is neat, and while you aren’t preventing or dealing that much damage, healing an ally an average of 14 health and dealing that much is solid.

Beast

Form of the Beast (Level 3) – C+ Tier – This is a solid ability as you have some versatility in how you fight, but this does not scale particularly well as you progress into later levels. This only really becomes an issue once you pass level 10, but will still be a bit of a pain until then.

Bestial Soul (Level 6) – C- Tier – This ability is pretty good for travel and it can be useful in combat, but this is really just an ability for traveling.

Infectious Fury (Level 10) – C Tier – This can be powerful if the enemy fails their saving throw, but that’s a big if most of the time.

Call the Hunt (Level 14) – B- Tier – Getting temporary health and a global damage buff is solid, especially as you can functionally get this every fight, but both halves of this are so small that the benefits can feel somewhat marginal.

Berserker

Frenzy (Level 3) – B Tier – Extra damage is always good, even if it isn’t an abundance of extra damage.

Mindless Rage (Level 6) – C Tier – Charmed and Frightened are kind of niche conditions, but not potentially losing your Rage because you get hit by one of them is nice.

Retaliation (Level 10) – B Tier – Sometimes this will do nothing and other times this is an Extra Attack, and while that’s a pretty wide range, it settles on being solid on average.

Intimidating Presence (Level 14) – B Tier – A mass Fear effect is definitely solid, but not necessarily good for you in particular. Still a good ability.

Giant

Giant’s Power (Level 3) – D- Tier – Functionally if not completely useless.

Giant’s Havoc (Level 3) – B- Tier – This is a neat ability that gives you better thrown weapons and reach with your weapon. Both are a bit niche, but it’s not too difficult to make this a good ability.

Elemental Cleaver (Level 6) – B+ Tier – Extra damage and the ability to attack at a distance is quite nice, even if Barbarians are traditionally supposed to be in the thick of combat.

Mighty Impel (Level 10) – B- Tier – This is decent for repositioning allies and being able to toss the occasional enemy, although most enemies at this point are likely to be pretty large.

Demiurgic Colossus (Level 14) – B- Tier – More reach and more damage is nice, but may not necessarily feel that impactful.

Wild Heart

Animal Speaker (Level 3) – C+ Tier – This is a bit niche, but definitely a solid ability.

Rage of the Wilds (Level 3) – A+ Tier – This is a really good ability and is even better than the 2014 version was. While Bear still reigns supreme, Wolf and Eagle are very reasonable options as well.

Aspect of the Wilds (Level 6) – C Tier – Being able to switch between having Darkvision, being a good swimmer, or being a good climber is some solid utility.

Nature Speaker (Level 10) – C- Tier – Commune with Nature is a decent spell, but you may have trouble using this effectively.

Power of the Wilds (Level 14) – A Tier – This is nearly (or just as) good as your initial Rage of the Wilds as all of your options are quite strong.

Wild Magic

Magical Awareness (Level 3) – D+ Tier – Detect Magic is a great spell, but it would be shocking to me if you didn’t have a party member that could already cast this without a hard limit. The only advantage this has over the casters is this takes an action versus the 10 minutes needed for a ritual.

Wild Surge (Level 3) – B Tier – All the effects you could get are good, but not being able to control it does hurt how strong this can be.

Bolstering Magic (Level 6) – B- Tier – This is a really unique ability as it’s either a slightly different Guidance or a way to refresh some spell slots.

Unstable Backlash (Level 10) – C- Tier – If this gave you an additional effect from your Surge without replacing your current effect, this ability would be really strong, but just replacing it isn’t that helpful considering all the effects are relatively the same power level. Still, this isn’t terrible as sometimes you’ll roll an effect that’s generically good, but just not what you want for that encounter.

Controlled Surge (Level 14) – B- Tier – Choosing which effect you get is all well and good, but again, most of these effects are pretty much the same power level so it’s hard to be super excited by this.

World Tree

Vitality of the Tree (Level 3) – A- Tier – While you don’t get the most temporary health, you get to give out a decent amount of temporary health even at this level which can add up over the course of a fight.

Branches of the Tree (Level 6) – A- Tier – Forced reposition for enemies and keeping them there is really good, especially to peel enemies off of your squishier allies. Best yet. this only costs you your reaction which is something you’re not going to be using much of anyway!

Battering Roots (Level 10) – B Tier – Some reach is neat, but an extra mastery property on top of that? That’s a nice ability.

Travel Along the Tree (Level 14) – A Tier – Now every time you Rage, you can always be in the right spot and you can even get a pseudo Scatter for your allies. This is a pretty nice ability, even though you won’t always get much value out of it.

Zealot

Divine Fury (Level 3) – B Tier – A little bit of extra damage each turn is always nice!

Warrior of the Gods (Level 3) – A- Tier – This is really potent early, and while it doesn’t scale super well, extra healing will always be nice, especially since this will be close to a full heal in earlier levels.

Fanatical Focus (Level 6) – B Tier – This is similar to the Fighter’s Indomitable feature which is quite strong, but obviously more akin to their previous version rather than the current version. That said, this ability is still decent.

Zealous Presence (Level 10) – B- Tier – I think this ability reads better than it plays. Advantage on all attacks for a turn is obviously solid, but it’s going to be very hard to know when granting advantage on saving throws is going to be relevant.

Rage of the Gods (Level 14) – B+ Tier – While you can only use this once per day, it is pretty strong when you activate it. First, you get a Flying speed which is nice, but not necessarily the best since Barbarians generally want to stay in melee range. It is still helpful though to navigate around the map. Second, you get resistance to necrotic, radiant, and psychic damage which, depending on the enemies, may or may not be useful. Finally, if an ally would go down, you can bring them back up! This is a neat meshing of features that you’ll be happy to have for tougher boss fights.

Bard Rankings

Despite receiving no direct changes, Swords Bard shoots to the top of the rankings as the value of Scimitars have gone way up in the 2024 version due to the Nick weapon mastery. While Bard doesn’t inherently get weapon mastery, if you’re willing to use on of your feats on it and another on Dual Wielder, you can have 4 attacks a turn by level 8, and then 2 levels later, you get access to Conjure Minor Elementals. This is going to be a pretty brutal combo that’s going to shred enemies to bits in the middle levels of the game. Similar to Swords, Valor Bard is an excellent option as well boasting a little less damage potential, but better defensive capabilities. The new Dance Bard is looking good as well and just falls slightly behind the other two more aggressively leaning Bards, but overall, this is the edition for aggressive Bards!

1. Swords – A+ Tier
2. Valor – A Tier
3. Eloquence – A- Tier
4. Lore – A- Tier
5. Dance – B+ Tier
6. Glamour – B+ Tier
7. Creation – B Tier
8. Whispers – C+ Tier

Creation

Mote of Potential (Level 3) – B+ Tier – Bardic Inspiration is already good, and making it even better is always a good thing. While the attack roll buff isn’t great

Performance of Creation (Level 3) – C Tier – Creating non-magical objects is neat, but this is not a feature you’re going to use particularly often. Still nice to have in a pinch!

Animating Performance (Level 6) – B- Tier – This is a decent summon option, even if the scaling isn’t necessarily the best. Solid in earlier levels and still alright in later levels as a distraction.

Creative Crescendo (Level 14)- C Tier – Performance of Creation is alright, and upgrading it is just alright.

Dance

Dazzling Footwork (Level 3) – C+ Tier – This has a lot of abilities stacked into this, but only a few really matter, the AC buff in particular is quite good. The extra damage can be alright, but it’s nothing special.

Inspiring Movement (Level 3) – B- Tier – Repositioning tools are always nice, and being able to bring an ally with you is a nice bonus. This isn’t the best use of Bardic Inspiration, but is helpful in a pinch.

Tandem Footwork (Level 6) – A+ Tier – Anything that increases initiative is really powerful, doubly so if you are able to share that will allies.

Leading Evasion (Level 14) – C+ Tier – Giving Evasion to allies is definitely neat and incentives the squad to bundle up more against tougher enemies.

Eloquence

Silver Tongue (Level 3)– A Tier – This functionally gives you the ability to never fail a Deception or Persuasion roll, even in earlier levels.

Unsettling Words (Level 3) – D Tier – Easily one of the most misunderstood abilities in the game, while this looks good on the surface, the math does not support this at all. If you don’t know why, check out the incredible Treantmonk’s video outlining it.

Unfailing Inspiration (Level 6) – A- Tier – Not wasting your Bardic Inspiration die when your roll still fails is awesome and functionally gives you way more charges of Bardic Inspiration.

Universal Speech (Level 6) – D Tier – One use of Comprehend Languages is nice and all, but this is not a helpful feature considering you’re limited to using this feature only once per day.

Infectious Inspiration (Level 14) – A- Tier – Even more Bardic Inspiration dice at the cost of your reaction, which you probably weren’t going to use anyway.

Glamour

Beguiling Magic (Level 3) – B Tier – Two free spells and a free charm/frighten once per day or when you spend a Bardic Inspiration die is decent.

Mantle of Inspiration (Level 3) – B- Tier – Repositioning tools can be helpful and a smidgen of temporary health on top of it is always helpful. This can get even more value if your team is trying to escape from somewhere, but otherwise, this is just to get squishy allies out of harm’s way.

Mantle of Majesty (Level 6) – A Tier – This ability is really strong as getting a free Command every turn is really going to mess your enemies up, especially since you can still spellcast normally.

Unbreakable Majesty (Level 14) – C- Tier – This ability only works on the first attack, and realistically, you shouldn’t often be in a position where enemies can hit you anyway. Not bad, but definitely not great.

Lore

Bonus Proficiencies (Level 3) – B- Tier – Getting proficiency in three skills is nice, but not super helpful on a class that has Jack of All Trades.

Cutting Words (Level 3) – C Tier – This isn’t necessarily the best use of Bardic Inspiration, but being able to help an ally avoid a nasty attack can be useful.

Magical Discoveries (Level 6) – S+ Tier – Getting two spells outside of your class four levels earlier than other Bards is really powerful and lets you have a much more well rounded spell list than you would have otherwise.

Peerless Skill (Level 14) – C- Tier – This ability would’ve been excellent if it worked for saving throws or you cared about attack rolls, but this is unfortunately not the best as it’s just not going to come up often.

Swords

Bonus Proficiencies (Level 3) – B+ Tier – Medium Armor and Scimitar proficiency? You get similar offensive power to the Ranger but with an infinitely better spell list! Furthermore, you get to use your weapon as a spellcasting focus, so in conjunction with War Caster, you can seamlessly cast spells in combat. The only issue is that incentives you to either dip into another class to get Weapon Mastery or grab the feat for the mximum amount of attacks, but you’ll do what you have to!

Fighting Style (Level 3) – C- Tier – A bit of extra damage if you connect with your second attack. Obviously fine, but it’s never going to be that impactful.

Blade Flourish (Level 3) – B+ Tier – Beyond your Slashing Flourish, this ability is pretty strong and gives you solid uses of your Bardic Inspiration.

Extra Attack (Level 6) – A Tier – While still excellent on Swords Bards, you will be tempted to spellcast in battle, and when you do, you won’t be able to use the Extra Attack. Still, this is excellent.

Master’s Flourish (Level 14) – A Tier – Getting free Blade Flourishes, even if you aren’t going to get a particularly large number on average, is really strong.

Valor

Combat Inspiration (Level 3) – C Tier – Potentially avoiding one attack or dealing a bit of extra damage is fine, but likely not the best use of your Bardic Inspiration die.

Martial Training (Level 3) – A Tier – Proficiency in martial weapons, medium armor, and shields is really strong. Furthermore, you get to use your weapon as a spellcasting focus, so in conjunction with War Caster, you can seamlessly cast spells in combat.

Extra Attack (Level 6) – A Tier – While still excellent on Valor Bards, you will be tempted to spellcast in battle, and when you do, you won’t be able to use the Extra Attack. Still, this is excellent as you can even weave in a cantrip into one of your attacks which is really nice.

Battle Magic (Level 14) – B+ Tier – Remember how I said that casting a spell stops you from attacking? Not anymore! It may be risky to attack enemies directly at this level, but it’s still a pretty good ability.

Whispers

Psychic Blades (Level 3) – D Tier – Not only is this not a great use of your Bardic Inspiration, this isn’t even a Bard subclass you’re making weapon attacks with realistically. Maybe ok for a level or two, then just unusable afterwards.

Words of Terror (Level 3) – D Tier – In what scenario do you need a frightened condition where you can talk to your target ahead of time? By RAW, it’s hard to imagine how this is helpful, but if your DM makes it so Intimidation or something has advantage when the target is frightened of you, then I can see this being decent.

Mantle of Whispers (Level 6) – D+ Tier – This ability is really interesting, but super niche.

Shadow Lore (Level 14) – C+ Tier – This is a pretty cool utility ability that creative players could take reasonably good advantage of.

Cleric Rankings

Without any changes, Twilight and Peace Cleric still reign supreme not just over the cleric subclasses, but over all subclasses in D&D. Beyond that, the biggest mover was easily Trickery as they went from a niche option to the best, non-broken Cleric in the game due to all the buffs they’ve received (I’m still mad they lost Polymorph for Confusion though).

1. Twilight – S Tier
2. Peace – S Tier
3. Trickery – B+ Tier
4. Light – B- Tier
5. Forge – B- Tier
6. Tempest – B- Tier
7. Knowledge – C+ Tier
8. Order – C+ Tier
9. Nature – C+ Tier
10. Life – C+ Tier
11. War – C+ Tier
12. Grave – C Tier

Forge

Bonus Proficiencies (Level 3) – D- Tier – This was a good ability until the Protector from Divine Order was a thing. Still, if you want to pick Thaumaturge (I don’t know why you would want to), then this is obviously decent.

Blessings of the Forge (Level 3) – B Tier – Getting +1 equipment, especially early, is pretty good.

Channel Divinity: Artisan’s Blessing (Level 3) – C- Tier – I like the idea of making stuff, but similar abilities from other classes aren’t as restrictive as this ability is. Still useful in a pinch, but nothing amazing.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D+ Tier – Not useless, but extremely mediocre options. Identify can be helpful, but Searing Smite is pretty worthless.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – C Tier – Heat Metal is decent, but nothing incredible.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – D+ Tier – Not too exciting, but you may get some value out of these.

Soul of the Forge (Level 6) – B+ Tier – Fire resistance and +1 AC on an ability is definitely quite nice!

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – B+ Tier – Wall of Fire is a really nice pick up and it’s better than the Cleric’s best natural option of Banishment.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – C Tier – Animate Objects is a decent pickup as Cleric doesn’t really get good damage options, but you’ll still probably want to use Wall of Fire instead.

Saint of Forge and Fire (Level 17) – B Tier – Immunity to Fire damage and resistance to all bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing makes you much tankier. That said, you probably shouldn’t be in the line of fire much anyway so it’s hard to say how relevant this is going to be.

Grave

Circle of Mortality (Level 3) – B- Tier – This will be more impactful in earlier levels compared to later levels, but this will be decent for a little while!

Eyes of the Grave (Level 3) – F Tier – Easily one of the worst abilities in the game. Literally just looking around will accomplish the same thing.

Channel Divinity: Path to the Grave (Level 3) – C+ Tier – This can work really well with allies who hit super hard on one attack, like Rogues, but you do need to coordinate to make that possible.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D Tier – Both spells are just pretty bad, not worthless, but bad.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – D+ Tier – Ray of Enfeeblement is alright, but not particularly good either.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – C- Tier – Revivify is a decent pickup since that frees up a prepared spell, but that’s not a particularly big deal.

Sentinel at Death’s Door (Level 6) – C- Tier – You are not going to use this ability often, but it is nice when you get the opportunity to do so!

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – C- Tier – Death Ward is nice, but you probably would’ve taken that anyway so this isn’t that impactful.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – D Tier – Both spells are super niche and not that exciting.

Keeper of Souls (Level 17) – B+ Tier – This is actually a pretty strong ability, but too bad it comes late in an extremely weak subclass.

Knowledge

Blessings of Knowledge (Level 3) – B+ Tier – Two languages and two Expertise is a really nice feature!

Channel Divinity: Knowledge of the Ages (Level 3) – C Tier – This is a super niche, but unique ability that could be useful for those who are creative enough to make good use of it.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – C- Tier – Alright options, but nothing that enticing.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – A- Tier – These are two solid options that you’re very happy to get!

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – D Tier – Both spells are pretty bad unfortunately.

Channel Divinity: Read Thoughts (Level 6) – C Tier – This is super weird, but can be useful for those who really like finding unconventional solutions to their problems.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – C+ Tier – Arcane Eye is a solid pickup, but Confusion is definitely not exciting. Not unusable as Clerics don’t really get CC like this often, but not something I would be too happy to use.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – D Tier – Neither spell is useless, but not spells I’m excited to use either.

Visions of the Past (Level 17) – C- Tier – I’m not sure why Wizards was so incensed to make every feature in this class weirdly specific, but this is at least one of the most unique subclasses in the game.

Life

Disciple of Life (Level 3) – C- Tier – A bit of extra health when you cast healing spells can be useful, especially in earlier levels, but it’s never going to be super helpful as this isn’t too impactful for low level spells and it doesn’t scale well with higher level spells.

Preserve Life (Level 3) – C- Tier – This can be decent as you get into later levels and the health points start really piling up, but this is really only useful to full heal a party member that has a small health pool. This isn’t bad, but it is kind of specific and you really don’t have enough healing to meaningfully help more than 1-2 party members.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – C Tier – Both spells are solid, but are options you had access to anyway.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – C+ Tier – Same deal as the first level spells, but your options here are slightly better.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – C- Tier – Revivify is a decent pickup since that frees up a prepared spell, but that’s not a particularly big deal.

Blessed Healer (Level 6) – D Tier – A little bit of healing for yourself when you use healing spells is nice, but it’s unlikely to really add up unless you are using all of your spell slots on healing.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – C- Tier – Death Ward is nice, but you probably would’ve taken that anyway so this isn’t that impactful.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – C- Tier – Greater Restoration is a decent pickup, but again, you’re just getting spells you could easily take anyway.

Supreme Healer (Level 17) – D Tier – This would be a sweet ability if the late game healing spells were roll based rather than a flat amount. This still can be helpful if you’re upcasting lower level healing spells, but that’s pretty much the only way you can use this at all effectively.

Light

Channel Divinity: Radiance of the Dawn (Level 3) – C+ Tier – This Channel Divinity is pretty good in the early game as getting an average of 14 damage AOE blast at level 3 is a really good rate. However, as you keep progressing in levels, this will be weaker and weaker until you’ll only want to use it when you’re trying to preserve spell slots, functionally why you would choose to use a cantrip in combat.

Warding Flare (Level 3) – C+ Tier – Similar to the Channel Divinity, this ability is much stronger in the earlier levels than later as multiattacks can really put a damper in the effectiveness of this. That said, this is still reasonable in later levels as Clerics are functionally never using their reaction anyway.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – C+ Tier – You get two spells you normally couldn’t get, and while Burning Hands is not an exciting one, Faerie Fire is a solid pickup you can get some value out of!

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – C+ Tier – See Invisibility is a strange pickup when you already have Faerie Fire, but Scorching Ray is a nice one as Clerics don’t normally get good damage spells.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – A- Tier – The most exciting spells on the list, getting Fireball as a Cleric is just so sweet. Furthermore, I actually kind of like getting Daylight as it’s not a spell you would ever normally want, but if you’re facing any enemy with sunlight sensitivity or Vampires, this can be devastating.

Improved Warding Flare (Level 6) – B Tier – Getting substantially more charges of Warding Flare and doling out some temporary health is definitely a pretty nice improvement. This still won’t scale that well into later levels, but this makes it more useful.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – A Tier – Two truly excellent spells as both Arcane Eye and Wall of Fire are both unique to the Cleric spell list and really strong. This is a huge power bump to Light Clerics.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – D Tier – How can the 3rd and 4th level spell options be so much better than the final ones? Really disappointing as you pick up two spells you may literally never cast in your campaign.

Corona of Light (Level 17) – D+ Tier – Spending an action to give enemies disadvantage against a few of your spells is not generally how I want to spend my action. This can be useful if you’re in a really long fight, but even then, functionally skipping your turn is a pretty big risk.

Nature

Acolyte of Nature (Level 3) – C- Tier – Getting a cantrip isn’t nothing as you can grab a decent utility option or even an offensive option if you feel so compelled.

Bonus Proficiency (Level 3) – D- Tier – This was a good ability until the Protector from Divine Order was a thing. Still, if you want to pick Thaumaturge (I don’t know why you would want to), then this is obviously decent.

Channel Divinity: Charm Animals and Plants (Level 3) – D Tier – This is better than other charm effects that don’t help your allies, but this is so specific. This can be ok if you are facing a lot of animals in combat (there are next to no plant enemies in 5e, maybe that will change in the 2024 update), but only while they are still a threat to your party, which realistically, won’t be for long.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D Tier – Both spells are just pretty bad. Speak with Animals can have some value, but only in pretty niche situations.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – A Tier – Barkskin can be alright to help protect a squishier ally, but that’s going to be hard to justify over the incredible Spike Growth. Getting Spike Growth is probably the sole reason players would ever consider this class realistically.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – C- Tier – Plant Growth is a solid pickup, just a little niche. Wind Wall is atrocious so that can be ignored.

Dampen Elements (Level 6) – C Tier – A free Absorb Elements is alright, especially as it can protect an ally if you need instead. Unfortunately, this only works for one instance of elemental damage, but a lot of the time, that is all you will need.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – D+ Tier – Dominate Beast is going to be worthless most of the time where Grasping Vine can be usable, but far from exciting.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – D Tier – Tree Stride is easily one of the worst spells in the game, but Insect Plague can be ok.

Master of Nature (Level 17) – D- Tier – It would be a miracle if your Channel Divinity was still relevant at this point, but potentially commanding a bunch of plants and animals could(?) be useful.

Order

Bonus Proficiencies (Level 3) – D Tier – This was a good ability until the Protector from Divine Order was a thing. Still, if you want to pick Thaumaturge (I don’t know why you would want to), then this is obviously decent.

Voice of Authority (Level 3) – C+ Tier – This ability is super unique and while I can’t rate it too highly, I do kind of love it. In the average party, this will be just ok as extra damage is decent. However, if you have an ally that can hit like a truck for one attack (specifically a Rogue and their Sneak Attack), then you can get substantially more value out of this. Funny that an Order Cleric has to pair with a lawless Rogue to get the most out of this ability.

Channel Divinity: Order’s Demand (Level 3) – C- Tier – This ability is super cool, but is really only helpful against enemies that are carrying weapons which is not super common. Even then, if they pass the saving throw or their turn comes before an ally who can go grab their weapon, then this ability is useless.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D+ Tier – Not spells you’re excited about, and you could just pick up Command if you wanted it.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – D+ Tier – Situational spells and not particularly good ones. Hold Person can be more helpful if you find yourself fighting humanoid enemies often enough.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – B Tier – Slow is a really strong pickup as Cleric does not normally get good CC options. Mass Healing Word is not particularly good, but can be useful in situations where multiple allies are down so this isn’t useless.

Embodiment of Law (Level 6) – C Tier – Being able to cast spells as a bonus action that normally take an action can be good, but only if you have a relevant action you want to take on top of it. A cantrip isn’t the worst action to take with your freed up action economy, but it’s not that exciting either.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – F Tier – I don’t think I would ever consider casting either spell except in the most unbelievably specific scenario.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – C- Tier – Getting Commune for free is nice, but you would’ve picked that up anyway so this just frees up a prepared spell.

Order’s Wrath (Level 17) – D- Tier – Free damage is free damage, but this could’ve been a level 6 ability, not the Order Domain capstone. This is a minimal damage boost that you have to set up with your cantrip that you still need to connect with to get.

Peace

Implement of Peace (Level 3) – D+ Tier – A free skill proficiency is nice, but not particularly high impact.

Emboldening Bond (Level 3) (Level 3) – S- Tier – A very powerful ability. Getting a 1d4 every turn on a relevant roll will slow games down tremendously (especially as more and more players get the bond), but is just much more powerful than it looks in general.

Channel Divinity: Balm of Peace – A+ Tier – While this will be extremely powerful in earlier levels as you can heal a good amount of health with each use of this, this doesn’t scale particularly well and its usefulness is pretty dependent on how large your party is.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D- Tier – While it may seem like Peace can do no wrong in terms of quality, these spells are pretty bad and I would be surprised if I ever used either.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – C Tier – You do get some solid options here, but both spells you could just grab if you wanted and the opportunity cost for taking them was pretty low already.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – D+ Tier – These spells aren’t useless, but you probably aren’t getting much if any use out of them.

Protective Bond (Level 6) – A+ Tier – This ability functionally lets you pool your health together as, if someone is in a better position to take damage, they can take it for someone else. Once again, this ability is going to slow games down a lot like Emboldening Bond, but it is very powerful.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – D+ Tier – Resilient Sphere is an interesting pick up, but it functions so similarly to Banishment that it’s not that impactful.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – C Tier – Greater Restoration was a spell you were interested in grabbing anyway, but Telepathic Bond is a pretty nice pick up that you wouldn’t normally get.

Expansive Bond (Level 17) – S Tier – Your broken abilities are now somehow even better. Peace really got all the love.

Tempest

Bonus Proficiencies (Level 3) – D Tier – This was a good ability until the Protector from Divine Order was a thing. Still, since you get both martial weapon and heavy armor proficiency, you can grab Thaumaturge which sucks, but it is free. To that end, this ranking is for Thaumaturge rather than the proficiencies.

Wrath of the Storm (Level 3) – D+ Tier – Not bad early, but this damage doesn’t scale at all making it weaker and weaker as you level up. Still, your reaction is rarely going to be used so free damage is free damage.

Channel Divinity: Destructive Wrath (Level 3) – C Tier – This ability is actually pretty good, but Tempest Cleric receive so few spells they can use with this that it really limits the usefulness of them. Would it really have been so terrible to give this class Lightning Bolt? Ok, that would be really strong as you could sling 48 damage Lightning Bolts starting level 5, but there is definitely something that could’ve been done to make this more balanced.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – C- Tier – Thunderwave is ok and works with your Channel Divinity and Fog Cloud is really niche, but may have some use.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – D Tier – Shatter is not good, but it is a decent target for your Channel Divinity for a couple of levels.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – A- Tier – Call Lightning is going to be your main damage spell as it is alright and does work with your Channel Divinity. Wish this spell was a bit stronger as it would make this class more appealing, but what can you do? Sleet Storm, on the other hand, is an excellent CC spell that Clerics don’t normally get access to so this is a big pickup.

Thunderous Strike (Level 6) – C+ Tier – Pushing enemies can be good, especially in this new edition which has a lot of emanation effects, but you do need to connect with a spell that deals thunder or lightning damage which makes this a bit restrictive.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – F Tier – Two terrible spells that you will likely never use.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – C Tier – Insect Plague isn’t great, but using your Channel Divinity on Destructive Wave will give you an average of 47.5 damage which is definitely not bad.

Stormborn (Level 17) – B Tier – A little specific, but an indefinite flying speed is still really powerful.

Trickery

Blessings of the Trickster (Level 3) – C Tier – Niche, but a pretty potent ability. I generally don’t like abilities that incentivize characters going off alone, but Stealth is one of those things that you sometimes have to send someone by themselves.

Invoke Duplicity (Level 3) – B Tier – This is just a solid ability both in and out of combat. Having a greater functional range on your spells, getting advantage on your attacks, and just being a general distraction when you use this is pretty solid.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D Tier – Not spells I’m excited to cast, but do have a bit of usefulness sometimes.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – A+ Tier – What a quality jump between your 1st and 2nd level spells! Picking up two options that are both extremely powerful and spells Cleric doesn’t normally get is really strong.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – A- Tier – While Nondetection sucks, Hypnotic Pattern is a huge pickup for Clerics as it gives you an additional third level combat option beyond Spirit Guardians.

Trickster’s Transportation (Level 6) – B Tier – Clerics don’t get teleportation options, and this can be a pretty good one if you’re willing to set it up a little bit.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – B Tier – I am not happy about Confusion considering you used to get Polymorph, but Dimension Door is a very solid pickup.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – D- Tier – Neither spell I would be happy about casting unless under the most specific of scenarios.

Improved Duplicity (Level 17) – C Tier – If you still got four illusory copies of yourself like the previous iteration of this ability, then this would be extremely powerful, but as is, it’s just ok.

Twilight

Bonus Proficiencies (Level 3) – D Tier – This was a good ability until the Protector from Divine Order was a thing. Still, since you get both martial weapon and heavy armor proficiency, you can grab Thaumaturge which sucks, but it is free. To that end, this ranking is for Thaumaturge rather than the proficiencies.

Eyes of Night (Level 3) – B Tier – Having a longer range Darkvision than literally everything else in the game is going to come up pretty often, and the ability to share it too is quite nice to launch a surprise attack on unsuspecting enemies.

Vigilant Blessing (Level 3) – B Tier – Although this only impacts one person, advantage on Initiative for absolutely free is obviously pretty good.

Channel Divinity: Twilight Sanctuary (Level 3) – S+ Tier – This is easily the single most powerful ability in all of D&D when you consider the level you get it at. Activating this means it’s functionally impossible to lose a fight as your team will just be drowning in temporary hp or you can even stop them from being charmed or frightened.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – B Tier – These are two solid spells that you wouldn’t normally get access to!

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – C- Tier – Pretty middling, but unique options for Cleric.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – B+ Tier – While Aura of Vitality is already a spell you could pick up, Tiny Hut is a really nice and rare pick up as this is the only class outside of Wizard that can get it.

Steps of Night (Level 6) – B+ Tier – Free flying when you’re in dim light or darkness! That sounds specific, but your Twilight Sanctuary makes a 30 foot sphere of dim light that follows you around making this really easy to use.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – B+ Tier – Greater Invisibility is completely unique to Clerics and a really potent buff for any martial allies you have! Aura of Life isn’t too exciting, but can be decent if you have multiple allies down or close to it so it’s not like this has no utility.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – C Tier – Not great, but not terrible options as Circle of Power is a solid spell.

Twilight Shroud (Level 17) – C Tier – Surprisingly weak for an ability in this class, but still far from bad.

War

Channel Divinity: Guided Strike (Level 3) – B- Tier – While this is mainly helpful on those who hit like a truck with one attack or when an enemy is really low on health, converting a miss into a hit is still a reasonably powerful ability

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – C Tier – Two solid spells, but both are options you can just pick up normally.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – C- Tier – Magic Weapon is not a particularly exciting spell, but Spiritual Weapon is solid, but again, you could’ve just grabbed this yourself no problem.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – C+ Tier – Once again, you get two solid spells, but at least Crusader’s Mantle is not a spell you could normally get for Clerics.

War God’s Blessing (Level 6) – D Tier – Using a Channel Divinity just for +2 AC or a base Spiritual Weapon may be acceptable early, but it is not going to scale well at all. I would much rather save my charges for Guided Strike.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – D Tier – Two very mediocre spells, even if Fire Shield isn’t part of the Cleric spell list.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – B- Tier – Two pretty solid spells and both are unique to Cleric! Steel Wind Strike, in particular, is a nice pick up.

Avatar of Battle (Level 17) – B- Tier – The ability is good, it just comes really late as Barbarian’s get this with their Rage normally. Still a strong ability.

Druid Rankings

With all the changes, Land Druid now reigns supreme as the best casters of the bunch. Despite not receiving changes, Wildfire Druid is close behind as they use Conjure Minor Elementals better than any other Druid. The new Sea Druid makes a splash at the top half of the list which is nice to see. However, easily my favorite changes were to the Moon Druid which took it from a completely unbalanced mess to a very reasonable subclass option. Kudos to Wizards on that one!

1. Land – B+ Tier
2. Wildfire – B Tier
3. Stars – B- Tier
4. Sea – C+ (Sea) Tier
5. Moon – C+ Tier
6. Spores – C Tier
7. Dreams – C Tier
8. Shepherd – C Tier

Dreams

Balm of the Summer Court (Level 3) – A- Tier – You have a functional wellspring of Healing Words, and better yet, this actually scales really well. You have to devote so many spell slots to Healing Word normally that this frees up both a prepared spell and a bunch of spell slots per day.

Hearth of Moonlight and Shadow (Level 6) – C Tier – While this is a bit weaker than Tiny Hut, this is still a pretty great replacement for it if you don’t have access. Still, this is a little niche for an ability as it only does this.

Hidden Paths (Level 10) – A- Tier – First Healing Word, now better Misty Step! Druids don’t get good short range teleportation options generally, so this is a pretty nice pick up, especially as you can move your allies around as well.

Walker in Dreams (Level 14) – C- Tier – This is a very cool, but very strange ability. You aren’t always going to get good use out of this, but you certainly can without a terrible amount of effort.

Land

Land’s Aid (Level 3) – C Tier – Middling early and pretty mediocre later as well. Still being able to hurt and heal simultaneously at the cost of a Wild Shape which this build probably isn’t using much isn’t much of an opportunity cost.

Cantrips, 1st Level Spells, & 2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – B+ Tier – Land is unique in that you can cycle through different prepared spells, and with versatility, comes with a lot of strength! That said, spell lists come in packages so you have to evaluate them as a group rather than individually. That said, Temperate is pretty good for your 1st and 2nd level options as both Sleep and Misty Step are solid spells that are not normally accessible to Druids.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – A- Tier – Your third level options are pretty strong with Fireball being the best on the list, but Lightning Bolt out of Temperate being a close second that still lets you keep the strong 1st and 2nd level spells.

Natural Recovery (Level 6) – A+ Tier – At level 6, this ability gives you two additional 3rd level spells lots per day, and by level 10, you can get two additional 5th level slots (or lower). That is obviously very strong, even if one of those slots has to be dedicated to casting one of your Land spells.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – D Tier – A pretty big whiff on all the spell lists this level unfortunately, especially as the best spell (Polymorph) is a spell you can already pick up and on the weakest land spell list.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – B Tier – You have some solid options here with the best one being Wall of Stone on the Arid spell list which you wouldn’t mind being on anyway.

Nature’s Ward (Level 10) – C Tier – Immunity to the Poisoned condition is super specific, but resistance to elemental damage can definitely be solid if you know what type of creatures you may encounter.

Nature’s Sanctuary (Level 14) – B- Tier – If this ability only grants half-cover, it is alright, but nothing special. If the elemental damage resistance is relevant, though, then this becomes really strong. That said, you probably won’t have the right resistance enough to make this ability excellent, but it definitely will come up some amount of the time.

Moon

Circle Forms (Level 3) – A- Tier – It’s hard to know exactly how good this is going to be without seeing the new Monster Manual, but considering this still works similarly enough to the 2014 version, I’m going to assume that this is still a very good ability.

Cantrips and 1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D Tier – Starry Wisp is good, but Druid cantrips are generally weak, so getting an additional one is not that helpful. Cure Wounds isn’t terrible, but still worse than Healing Word.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – D+ Tier – Moonbeam isn’t bad, but it’s not particularly good either. Not too exciting of a pickup, especially since you could’ve just prepared it normally if you wanted to.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – C Tier – Conjure Animals is a great spell, but one you probably would’ve prepared anyway. That said, freeing up a prepared spell slot to grab a different third level spell is nice.

Improved Circle Forms (Level 6) – C- Tier – It’s hard to say how much damage resistance there’s going to be in the new Monster Manual, but without that context, this ability still seems pretty weak. Better Constitution saving throws is nice, but nothing special.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – C- Tier – Fount of Moonlight is decent on Moon Druids, and again, you could’ve just prepared this normally, but the opportunity cost would be a little high considering Druid has a lot of solid 4th level options.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – D Tier – Not an exciting pickup here unfortunately.

Moonlight Step (Level 10) – A- Tier – This is similar to the Dream’s Druid Hidden Path feature, and while their ability is better, getting advantage on your next attack is nice. Obviously, you have to teleport near an enemy to get the full effect, but functionally getting Misty Step prepared for free as you can trade in 2nd level slots to use this is sweet.

Lunar Form (Level 14) – B Tier – Improved damage in Wild Shape and bringing a buddy along with your Moonlight Step is definitely solid!

Sea

Wrath of the Sea (Level 3) – B Tier – Having to stand right next to enemies is not ideal, but using a bonus action every turn to deal a decent amount of damage and potentially shove enemies around is definitely very interesting.

Cantrips and 1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D+ Tier – Thunderwave is something, but not nearly enough to salvage this ranking.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – D Tier – Shatter isn’t useless, but Gust of Wind certainly is.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – A- Tier – Lightning Bolt is already an excellent option for Druids as they get functionally no good damage options and Water Breathing isn’t half bad either! This is a really nice level for the Sea Druid.

Aquatic Affinity (Level 6) – C- Tier – While doubling the emanation range sounds good, you are probably in no less danger from 10 feet away than you were 5 feet away. The only advantage that distance brings is not being hit with an opportunity attack if the enemy has no form of reach. The swim speed is a nice little addition as well making this an alright, but unexciting ability.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – F Tier – Two truly terrible spells.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – D+ Tier – Once again, pretty rough spells. It’s sad that the only great spell on this spell list is Lightning Bolt from 4 levels ago.

Stormborn (Level 10) – A- Tier – A fly speed is already very nice, but three elemental damage resistances is quite strong.

Oceanic Gift (Level 14) – B+ Tier – Doubling up on your main ability, even if you have to pay the cost twice, is a pretty strong ability. The downside is that you will be really limited in how many fights you can use this. Alternatively, you may be able to really change your team dynamic if you want to stay back and put this on an ally who can make better use of it than you can.

Shepherd

Speech of the Woods (Level 3) – C+ Tier – This is a functional Speak with Animals that works all the time! While I don’t love Speak with Animals, you can use it a lot more liberally when it’s always active.

Spirit Totem (Level 3) – B+ Tier – This ability has a lot of utility and many good options on top of it. None of the totems are super stand out, but all of them have their purpose.

Mighty Summoner (Level 6) – C+ Tier – This is a reasonably decent buff to your summons, but non-magical weapon resistance no longer exists so the second half of this ability is kind of awkward. If your DM makes a reasonable house rule to make this work (maybe just saying it’s force damage which was kind of how this operated in 5e rules anyway), then this ability is around B tier. If not, then this is probably C- tier as some additional health isn’t great.

Guardian Spirit (Level 10) – C+ Tier – As long as you can keep your summon inside the totem area, then they do get a decent stream of healing, even if it’s just a little bit at a time. Not too bad, but nothing incredible here.

Faithful Summons (Level 14) – B- Tier – This ability kind of breaks under the new rules as Conjure Animals no longer summons literal animals, but if you just use it as it summoning four CR 2 or lower beasts, then this works just fine. Anyway, this ability is good, it just sucks that you can’t really control when it happens making this pretty unreliable.

Spores

Halo of Spores (Level 3) – D- Tier – I have been saying that free damage is free damage and Druids really don’t use their reaction, but this is pitiful damage.

Symbiotic Entity (Level 3) – A- Tier – You get so many temporary hit points with this ability, it’s pretty incredible. This also makes you a decent martial character for a few levels until you are obviously outpaced by those who get Extra Attack (but you still surprisingly don’t lag behind too terribly). I wish I could rank this ability even higher as it does somewhat deserve it, but you are unlikely to be in the line of fire often so the temporary health is not super helpful on you, but still solid.

Cantrips and 1st Level Spells (Level 3) – C Tier – The cantrip sucks, but Blindness/Deafness is a decent CC option that you’ll likely use.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – F Tier – Gentle Repose is butt cheeks.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – D Tier – Both spells are very unexciting, but neither is completely useless.

Fungal Infestation (Level 6) – D Tier – This is a super weird ability, but a free minion is a free minion. This definitely does not scale the best as the Zombie stat block never changes, but you don’t have to use it for combat necessarily!

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – D- Tier – Not completely useless spells, but man are they flirting with it.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – D+ Tier – I’m not really a fan of either spell, but it’s not like they’re unusable.

Spreading Spores (Level 10) – D Tier – This ability is really bad, but if you have a squad that can keep pushing and pulling enemies, then this can be somewhat acceptable, but much worse than any AOE damage option pretty much anyone else could do.

Fungal Body (Level 14) – C Tier – This is a lot of status immunities which is neat, but it’s hard to say how often this is going to come up. It really depends on what monsters your DM throws at you.

Stars

Star Map (Level 3) – B- Tier – Getting both Guidance and Guiding Bolt for free is pretty nice, but being able to get multiple free casts of Guiding Bolt per day is quite nice as it’s like a really good attack cantrip early and still a decent one in later levels.

Starry Form (Level 3) – A- Tier – Three good forms that are great now and remain great over the course of many levels.

Cosmic Omen (Level 6) – A- Tier – Even though this takes up your reaction, being able to use your reaction every turn to add an average of 3.5 to a friend’s roll or subtract 3.5 from an enemies roll is very strong and will likely be better than it may seem.

Twinkling Constellations (Level 10) – A Tier – A strong upgrade to an already strong ability.

Full of Stars (Level 14) – B+ Tier – While it’s unlikely that you’re getting hit often, having resistance to the most common damage types is still really nice.

Wildfire

Summon Wildfire Spirit (Level 3) – B+ Tier – While this isn’t the toughest in a fight, being able to teleport allies around the battlefield is really strong and this can be surprisingly annoying with a decent health pool and a natural flying speed.

1st Level Spells (Level 3) – D Tier – Neither spell you’re excited about, but both are usable in a pinch.

2nd Level Spells (Level 3) – B Tier – Right now, both of these spells are just decent damage options, nothing spectacular. However, once you get access to Conjure Minor Elementals, having Scorching Ray makes your potential damage output extremely high, higher than any other Druid subclass by a pretty significant margin. You do need four more levels to get to this point and more levels to capitalize on it, but if your campaign is going to at least level 10, you will get some good value out of this. All that said, I’m trying to weigh abilities how they are now rather than how they will be, so right now it’s in the C+ to B- range, but by level 9, I would put this at A to A+ tier based on how strong the interaction between Conjure Minor Elementals and Scorching Ray is. To that end, I’m going with a rough average of B to not skew the rankings too much.

3rd Level Spells (Level 5) – B- Tier – Freeing up a prepared slot with Revivify is nice, but Plant Growth is definitely a solid option that Druids don’t normally get.

Enhanced Bond (Level 6) – B- Tier – A modest increase to your Fire and Healing spells as you gain an average of 4.5 to your rolls. Decent overall, but this is nice to functionally upgrade your Produce Flame.

4th Level Spells (Level 7) – D+ Tier – Not terrible, but really unexciting options here.

5th Level Spells (Level 9) – D+ Tier – Once again, not good but not unusable spells here.

Cauterizing Flame (Level 10) – C+ Tier – Being able to trade your reaction for a small amount of healing (or damage, but enemies are probably going to avoid that spot) is not a bad deal at all. An average of 11 + WIS isn’t a huge difference, but it can be relevant, especially since there is functionally no opportunity cost to use this.

Blazing Revival (Level 14) – A- Tier – Abilities that stop you from going down are really powerful, and they become even better when you have a choice in the matter, and they become better again when you get a big heal! This is a great ability and worthy of being a Druid capstone.

Fighter Rankings

Without intervention, Echo Knight still reigns supreme, but Eldritch Knight is much closer to Echo Knight’s power level now that they aren’t restricted in what schools of magic they can access. Beyond that, most of the rankings from 2014 have functionally remained the same.

1. Echo Knight – A- Tier
2. Eldritch Knight – B Tier
3. Rune Knight – B- Tier
4. Battle Master – C Tier
5. Psi Warrior – C Tier
6. Cavalier – C Tier
7. Arcane Archer – C Tier
8. Champion – C Tier
9. Samurai – C Tier

Arcane Archer

Arcane Archer Lore (Level 3) – C+ Tier – A skill proficiency and a good cantrip is a decent ability.

Arcane Shot (Level 3) – B- Tier – The ability itself is quite good, but the fact that you only ever get two Arcane Shots per short or long rest is so brutal. The guide details potential fixes for this at level 3, but at base, this ability is still pretty good as the arrows are strong, you just don’t get enough of them.

Magic Arrow (Level 7) – C+ Tier – This ability doesn’t work anymore since 2024 no longer has non-magical weapon resistance, but if this was homebrewed to make your arrows deal force damage or you can choose an elemental damage type, then this would be pretty good. I’m assuming the average DM would have some sort of solution for this making this a pretty solid ability, but if they are only playing by base and won’t homebrew, then this is obviously F tier as it does nothing.

Curving Shot (Level 7) – B+ Tier – This somewhat functions like a bonus action attack most of the time as you’re not always going to hit. Extra attacks are great, even if it’s not against the target you initially wanted. This obviously doesn’t do anything if you don’t miss or there’s one enemy, but this will still be strong on average.

New Arcane Shot Option (Level 7) – B- Tier – You already have the best two shots, but you get to pick up Shadow Arrow at this level as well which is also quite good.

New Arcane Shot Option (Level 10, 15, and 18) – D Tier – I’m bundling all these together as they are around the same power level. You get three more Arcane Shot options, and while none of them are bad, none are that good either as you’re likely to stick to the first three that you got instead.

Ever Ready Shot (Level 15) – B- Tier – Getting a charge of your main ability each fight is definitely nice whether you’re playing RAW or with homebrew rules.

Battle Master

Combat Superiority (Level 3) – A Tier – Most maneuvers are quite strong, you start with a d8 for your Superiority dice, and you get enough of them to make this feel constantly impactful.

Student of War (Level 3) – C Tier – A tool and skill proficiency are cool, but nothing special.

Know Your Enemy (Level 7) – C Tier – I’m a big fan of this ability as being able to discern any vulnerabilities or resistances/immunities can be really helpful information, but being limited to once per day (without using Superiority dice anyway) is confusing both from a balance perspective and a game play perspective. None the less, this is good, but you are really limited in how often you can use this.

Additional Maneuvers (Level 7) – B Tier – More maneuvers and you still have a bunch of good options left!

Improved Combat Superiority (Level 10) – B Tier – Improving your average roll by 1 is always solid.

Additional Maneuvers (Level 10) – B Tier – More maneuvers and you still have a bunch of good options left!

Relentless (Level 15) – A+ Tier – Maneuvers are the strongest part of your kit, now you get infinite of them. This is extremely strong and nearly S Tier.

Additional Maneuvers (Level 15) – B- Tier – While you already picked up the best maneuvers, it’s not like you have to pick up bad ones now.

Ultimate Combat Superiority (Level 18) – B Tier – Improving your average roll by 1 is always solid.

Cavalier

Bonus Proficiency (Level 3) – C- Tier – One skill proficiency out of limited choices or a language is alright, but not great.

Born to Saddle (Level 3) – D+ Tier – Even if you are using a mount, none of these abilities are really that impactful, and considering there is a decent chance someone will pick this class and not plan on using a mount, this ability is pretty bad.

Unwavering Mark (Level 3) – B Tier – The conditions in which this works are a bit specific, but it is a strong ability to incentivize attacks to come to you and to heavily punish an enemy who doesn’t abide.

Warding Maneuver (Level 7) – D Tier – If this gave AC/resistance until the affected allies next turn, this ability would be really good. Unfortunately as is, it’s not that good and conflicts with the Protection Fighting Style that this class would probably want.

Hold the Line (Level 10) – B+ Tier – A really good ability for any martial, especially if you decided to go with a Polearm that can potentially lock down an enemy out of reach to hurt anyone.

Ferocious Charger (Level 15) – C+ Tier – Repeatable CC is nice, but you’re not always going to be able to use this effectively, at least without risking a lot of opportunity attacks.

Vigilant Defender (Level 18) – S Tier – Easily the strongest ability on a Fighter as this just means one million attacks per round of combat. If you know you’re making it this far in the campaign or you’re starting at a high level, I would definitely use a Polearm to maximize the odds of having an enemy in range on every turn.

Champion

Improved Critical (Level 3) – D Tier – While an awesome ability and the main draw to this class, the math doesn’t favor this ability. To make the most of this ability, you incentivized to make as many attacks as possible which favors Dual Wielding, but the doubling the damage on something like a Scimitar is neat, but not super impactful. You could go for something like a Greatsword instead for maximizing the damage potential, but you’re getting a 5% increased chance of getting the average of 2d6 damage which is 7. To put that into perspective, not accounting for advantage or disadvantage (which does affect the math, generally positively), this ability gives you an additional 0.35 damage to your average damage over the course of however many attacks you make. Again, while this ability is super cool, just getting a +1 to your damage, mathematically, would serve you better in the long run. Still, if you have many ways to gain advantage so you’re rolling twice the number of attack dice, you will get critical hits more often, but even still, the math doesn’t favor you. All that said, this ability isn’t bad or anything as it’s still extra damage and hitting a critical is always a dopamine rush, so no complaints there.

Remarkable Athlete (Level 3) – B Tier – If nothing else, advantage on initiative rolls is really good. The advantage on Athletics won’t matter often, and the extra movement after a critical hit is a nice little feature that may or may not be relevant.

Additional Fighting Style (Level 7) – C+ Tier – A free feat is a free feat, even if Fighting Styles are much weaker than your average feat.

Heroic Warrior (Level 10) – A- Tier – Having Inspiration every turn is really good. Being able to reroll dice in a dice game is a strong ability!

Superior Critical (Level 15) – D Tier – See Improved Critical as everything I said applies here as well. That said, now having a 15% chance of nabbing a critical hit on any roll is relatively solid odds if you are fighting with Two Weapons with a Scimitar (for the Nick property) and Dual Wielder (for the extra attack) as you’ll get 5 attacks a turn and you’ll be somewhat close to nabbing a critical each round or statistically likely for doing so if all of your attacks are at advantage. Critical hits are always fun!

Survivor (Level 18) – B- Tier – This is a pretty specific, but pretty neat ability. Gaining 10 health per turn (assuming 20 CON) is definitely not irrelevant if you’re hurt, but you do have to be at half health which is not necessarily a spot you want to be in.

Echo Knight

Manifest Echo (Level 3) – S Tier – Your main feature is very good as getting an unlimited number of clones who can let you functionally be in two places at once and teleport as you please is obviously extremely strong.

Unleash Incarnation (Level 3) – B Tier – This will be pretty impactful early as it’s just an extra attack a few times, but it won’t be that special for long. Extra damage is extra damage though.

Echo Avatar (Level 7) – B Tier – Utility skills on Fighters tend not to be great, but this is a very reasonable one! The main issue I have with this ability is that it’s clearly for scouting, but the main advantage of scouting is not alerting your target to your presence which your echo may not be able to do successfully. Still, a scouting ability is always nice.

Shadow Martyr (Level 10) – C- Tier – Potentially stopping one attack can be impactful, even against multiattacking enemies, but only being able to use this every short or long rest really limits how useful this is.

Reclaim Potential (Level 15) – C+ Tier – Free healing when your echo pops, even if it’s a small amount, is nice.

Legion of One (Level 18) – A Tier – Getting two echos to work with and a fresh Unleash Incarnation charge each combat is obviously great.

Eldritch Knight

War Bond (Level 3) – D Tier – While this ability is really cool, it isn’t that useful. Few enemies will disarm you and very rarely do you need to summon your weapon. Creative players may find something to do with this, but I wouldn’t count on this being a great ability or anything.

Cantrips & 1st Level Spells (Level 3) – A+ Tier – Getting spells as a fighter? Incredible! Wizard cantrips and spells are very strong, and even when you’re limited in how many of them you can cast, now that the school restriction has been lifted, Eldritch Knights are going to be extremely strong.

War Magic (Level 7) – B+ Tier – Weaving a cantrip into your normal attacks will generally just be a flat, but good damage boost with something like Booming Blade. However, you could get fancy and get something like Blade Ward if that serves you better which is some nice versatility.

2nd Level Spells (Level 7) – A- Tier – Your second level spell options are definitely excellent, you just don’t get that many slots to fully utilize them compared to four 1st level spells per day at this point.

Eldritch Strike (Level 10) – B- Tier – While this ability won’t reach its full strength until you get to your level 18 ability, this does pair pretty nicely with Suggestion if you think that’s a more effective use of your action than attacking.

3rd Level Spells (Level 13) – A+ Tier – Your third level spells are extremely strong and you get to cast three per day pretty quickly making this a bigger power jump than 2nd level spells were.

Arcane Charge (Level 15) – B Tier – I’m never mad at free teleportation. This ability is really strong, it just won’t come up that often due to you only being able to Action Surge so much and you won’t always want to teleport when you Action Surge.

Improved War Magic (Level 18) – B Tier – While not as strong as it may seem, being able to weave in a Suggestion after getting your Eldritch Strike to trigger is a pretty strong combination, especially if you’re ok with potentially burning an enemies charge of Legendary Resistance.

4th Level Spells (Level 19) – B- Tier – Your fourth level options are good, just getting them so late and only one spell slot a day is a little brutal.

Psi Warrior

Psionic Power (Level 3) – B+ Tier – You get functionally three abilities with this, and all of them have their time and place. The damage boost is likely the one you’re going to use the most, but having the option to move allies around (even if it is an action) or reduce damage for yourself or an ally is definitely nice. These are a bit weaker compared to the Battle Master and their maneuvers, but these are still good.

Telekinetic Adept (Level 7) – A- Tier – These are two reasonably strong psionic abilities that closely rival the general strength of maneuvers.

Guarded Mind (Level 10) – C Tier – Resistance to psychic damage likely isn’t coming up often if ever, but being able to end the charmed or frightened condition on yourself (even at the cost of a psionic die) is decent.

Bulwark of Force (Level 15) – B- Tier – Giving the squad +2 AC for a fight definitely isn’t bad, just be sure to not get incapacitated as this ability ends then!

Telekinetic Master (Level 18) – B Tier – Telekinesis is nice and all and even being able to attack once while using it is very solid, but it may not be better than just attacking every turn. This is still pretty solid though, especially as you can spend a psionic die to restore it.

Rune Knight

Rune Carver (Level 3) – A Tier – Runes are really strong as their passive abilities can be solid and their activated abilities can be really strong.

Giant’s Might (Level 3) – D+ Tier – For the old grappling rules, this ability was pretty good. Now it’s just a fine ability that gives you a small damage boost.

Runic Shield (Level 7) – C Tier – A Silvery Barbs just for one attack can be useful if an ally is getting hit by a critical hit or they’ll go down very soon, but potentially stopping one attack of a multiattacking enemy is never too exciting.

Additional Rune (Level 7) – A+ Tier – You can now access the best runes so it’s no surprise that this ability is really strong. Hill Giant’s Rune, in particular, is very good.

Great Stature (Level 10) – D- Tier – This ability tests my patience as I can’t give it an F because it does do something.

Master of Runes (Level 15) – S- Tier – Runes are good, and getting double charges of all of them is excellent.

Runic Juggernaut (Level 18) – D+ Tier – More damage from Giant’s Might is ok even if it’s a small boost and additional reach can be ok, but it likely won’t be that impactful.

Samurai

Combat Superiority (Level 3) – C+ Tier – A skill and language proficiency is always fine.

Fighting Spirit (Level 3) – C Tier – This is a decent feature and it does somewhat scale both in temporary health and it functionally scales as you get more attacks, but only 3 charges per day is extremely restrictive considering this is your main ability. I do recommend potential changes to give this ability a little more life in the linked article, but RAW, this ability is good, just limited.

Know Your Enemy (Level 7) – B- Tier – You probably shouldn’t be talking, but a small boost in Persuasion can be nice. However, the bigger prize is proficiency in Wisdom saving throws as that’s just a functional feat.

Tireless Spirit (Level 10) – C- Tier – Getting one charge of Fighting Spirit is realistically not that impactful, but it is per fight so I guess this isn’t terrible.

Rapid Strike (Level 15) – A Tier – Getting an extra attack is definitely no joke, but you do need advantage on one of your attacks to get it. Still with all the ways to knock enemies prone in the new rules and obviously your Fighting Spirit, this should work pretty consistently.

Strength Before Death (Level 18) – C- Tier – While this ability is cool, this is much worse than similar abilities as you can still very easily die on that extra turn you get without intervention. This will feel super relevant if you’re in a really close fight, but otherwise, you probably can’t have too much of an impact before just passing out anyway.