The One D&D Bard Handbook – Mastering Bards

I do a standard S-F tier ranking and here’s how I categorize them:

S Tier – The absolute best of the best. These options can even broach into unfair territory and may be subject to being banned at certain tables. If you’re looking for power level alone, there’s functionally no reason not to use these.

A Tier – While not as broken as the S Tier options, these are as good as you can get without broaching into unfair territory, although some of them may be strong enough to feel unfair!

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 not completely useless, these options are either very weak or very situational so are unlikely to be used, but unlike F tier, these aren’t completely unusable or actively detrimental.

F Tier – Either so weak or so situational that these should functionally never be taken or considered unless in the most niche of circumstances.

Level 1

Starting Proficiencies – C- Tier – Light Armor is better than nothing, and the classes you need heavier armor in will give you those proficiencies anyway.

Bardic Inspiration – A Tier – Bardic Inspiration is both an iconic and really powerful ability. Being able to help out an important die roll will always be a welcome and extremely relevant ability.

1st Level Spells – A+ Tier – First level spells are foundational to all casters, and Bard is no different. You get really powerful utility options here you are going to use for the rest of your campaign.

Level 2

Expertise – B- Tier – Expertise is great, no denying that, but the least relevant on the Bard as Jack of All Trades makes you already pretty proficient at skill checks.

Jack of All Trades – B Tier – Not having any skill that’s a complete dump is really nice and makes Bards known as “the skills class”. This won’t be super potent early, but will obviously get better over time.

Level 3

2nd Level Spells – A Tier – While not as impactful as 1st level spells, Bard has some excellent 2nd level options you’re going to be more than happy to use.

Level 5

Font of Inspiration – A+ Tier – Being able to easily refresh your excellent Bardic Inspiration is obviously very powerful and lets you dole out even more dice!

3rd Level Spells – A+ Tier – 3rd level spells, like a martial characters Extra Attack, is a huge power spike for every full caster as you have a lot of extremely powerful spells to pick from now.

Level 7

Countercharm – C- Tier – This ability is not going to come up often as it only works against charmed or frightened effects, but when it does, this will be pretty helpful for at least one party member. The downside of this is that charm/frighten effects from enemies tend to be en masse, so you may not be able to help everyone immediately.

4th Level Spells – A Tier – Unsurprisingly, you get excellent options here as the few 4th level spells you want are extremely powerful.

Level 9

Expertise – B- Tier – Same deal as last time, fine, but not amazing.

5th Level Spells – B+ Tier – While 5th level spells are great, they do lack the power that the earlier options have. That said, it isn’t going to matter much for Bard because of Magical Secrets.

Level 10

Magical Secrets – S Tier – Being able to pick spells from four different spell lists is incredible, even if realistically, most of them are going to come from the Wizard spell list. An absolutely incredible ability.

Level 11

6th Level Spells – B Tier – Bard doesn’t get much from 6th level spells beyond Mass Suggestion, but Mass Suggestion is great!

Level 13

7th Level Spells – A+ Tier – You get a lot of power here and every 7th level spell you take is going to be extremely impactful.

Level 15

8th Level Spells – B Tier – Like 6th level spells, you do get a good option in Maze, but that’s all you’re really interested in.

Level 17

9th Level Spells – S Tier – 9th level spells are absolutely broken and the game is very much going to revolve around when you get to use them.

Level 18

Superior Inspiration – B Tier – This is a fine ability, but it is pretty hard to run out of uses of Bardic Inspiration when you can refuel them on a short rest. Still solid!

Level 20

Words of Creation – C Tier – This ability is super cool, but your other 9th level options are likely going to be better most of the time. Still, this definitely can come in handy.

The Complete Bard Spell List

Bard Spell Tier List – The Best Bard Spells

Magical Secrets Tier List – The Best Non-Bard Spells for Bards

Aasimar – A Tier – A generically strong species that gives you a lot of things for any class. Two damage Resistances (Necrotic and Radiant), Darkvision is great to have, some free healing, the Light cantrip for free, and a cool form to transform into with 3 reasonable options. Just a great all around choice and my general pick for Bard.

Dragonborn – B Tier – A decent species in general as you get a damage resistance, Darkvision, Flight at level 5, and a breath weapon that can be useful in a pinch. Dragonborns are good, but are generally just outshined by Aasimar who offer a similar, but stronger package.

Dwarf – C- Tier – Long range Darkvision, Tremorsense for scouting, and extra health is nice. Resistance to poison damage and advantage to save against the poisoned condition is alright, but pretty rare so it’s not going to come up that often and the poisoned condition is not that relevant to spellcasters.

Elf – A- Tier – Darkvision is great, an extra skill proficiency is nice, and advantage on saving throws against being Charmed can be useful in some situations. The real treat, however, is being able to pick your lineage for free, prepared spells. Wood Elf in particular to get Longstrider and Pass Without Trace on top of extra movement speed is particularly appealing, but High Elf for Misty Step is definitely great as well..

Gnome – C+ Tier – Darkvision is obviously good, but more importantly, advantage on Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws is excellent. This is a decent choice if you want to be relatively resistant to enemy spells/effects, but Gnome does give you less than most of the other classes.

Goliath – C+ Tier – Extra movement speed and a free ability is nice, but the only one you’d be super interested in is Cloud’s Jaunt for a functional Misty Step, and you could’ve just chosen Elf with High Elf ancestry if you wanted that (you do get more teleports for free, but you’re trading off all the other abilities Elf gets for it).

Halfling – D Tier – Brave is ok and Luck is a fun feature, but Bards don’t get much out of being a Halfling.

Human – A- Tier – A free Heroic Inspiration every day, a free skill, and a free Origin feat is great for any class. A generically good choice.

Orc – C Tier – Long range Darkvision, bonus action Dash, and not going down the first time you hit 0 health are all fine abilities, but none of them are super exciting for Bard in particular.

Tiefling – D Tier – Damage resistances and Darkvision are always great, but the spells package is just worse than what Elves could give you.

Acolyte – A -Tier – Boosting Charisma is great, and while you don’t get Dexterity or Constitution as well, Wisdom is a decent alternative. Getting Insight as a skill proficiency is excellent, but more importantly, getting to pick up Guidance and Bless because of Magic Initiate (Cleric) is excellent.

Artisan – D Tier – Great skill proficiencies, but only being able to boost Dexterity and getting an awful feat does not help the situation.

Charlatan – B+ Tier – Perfect ability scores, decent proficiencies, and a decent feat culminates to a solid background.

Criminal – B Tier – Not being able to boost Charisma isn’t ideal, but you get an excellent feat and solid proficiencies.

Entertainer – A+ Tier – Nearly perfect ability scores, good proficiencies, and the best Origin feat makes this the go to feat for Bards.

Farmer – C Tier – Medium ability scores, medium feat, and pretty sad proficiencies for a Bard. Not a bad pick up, but not exciting.

Guard – C Tier – Great feat and getting Perception as a proficiency is great, but the rest of the package really isn’t good for you.

Guide – B Tier – Not boosting Charisma is rough, but you get solid proficiencies as well as Magic Initiate (Druid) which can get you Guidance and your choice of Entangle or Goodberry which is quite awesome.

Hermit – C+ Tier – Ideal ability scores, but mediocre feat and proficiencies. Could do worse, but can definitely do better.

Merchant – B+ Tier – Ideal ability scores, a solid feat, and solid proficiencies makes this a great option.

Noble – B- Tier – Boosting Charisma is awesome, great proficiencies, and you get a decent feat to boot. Skilled in particular is a decent, just not the best feat for Bards who get Jack of All Trades.

Sage – B Tier – Not getting the chance to boost Charisma, per usual, hurts, but you can get a nice Wizard spell like Shield and great proficiencies is a decent tradeoff. I wouldn’t be as excited about this background for a normal Bard, but melee bards like Swords or Valor makes this more appealing.

Sailor – D Tier – Beyond Dexterity to boost and Perception proficiency, this is not what you want to be picking normally.

Scribe – C- Tier – Not getting to boost Charisma and getting a mediocre feat for Bards is far from ideal, but the skill proficiencies are solid.

Soldier – D+ Tier – Dexterity and Constitution are decent ability scores, but your feat is horrendous for you and your proficiencies don’t make up for it.

Wayfarer – B Tier – Nearly perfect ability scores, a decent feat, and good proficiencies are all great.

While I would normally just go over the skills Bards could get, Bards can pick any of 3 skills so that’s obviously a bit tougher. I would always suggest to “fill” with whatever you’d be good at and whatever your party inherently lacks. If you’re the only one with good Charisma, pick up Charisma skills like Deception, Intimidation, Performance, and/or Persuasion. Need more Wisdom based skills like Insight or Perception? Pick those. I would generally opt for Charisma skills, but you can really take this any direction you want.

While not every feat can be mentioned as that would be an oppressively long list, the ones I would at all consider would be here (all the Origin feats included as any of the backgrounds could be potential choices). Feats left off the list are not ones I would normally not consider for any Bard build, but a full reference on the all the feats in the Player’s Handbook and their associated rankings, check the link below.

The D&D Feats, Fighting Styles, and Epic Boons Tier List

Origin Feats

While your Origin feat is tied to your background, it’s good to know how good each feat is to help consider which background you may want or if you decided to pick Human as your species. Past level one, I would functionally never consider taking an origin feat (though it is allowed).

Alert – A+ Tier – An excellent feat, especially for Bards who want to go first to lay down some battlefield control.

Crafter – F Tier – The feat is just bad unless there’s something big about it I’m missing.

Healer – C- Tier – It’s not a bad feat, but a bit unnecessary on Bards in general.

Lucky – C Tier – A decent feat in general, fine for any class or build.

Magic Initiate (Cleric) – B+ Tier – Guidance is an excellent cantrip to have and you can never have too many Guidance on your team (plus you get another cantrip which can let you grab any utility feat you want). Picking up Bless is pretty solid for Bards and will remain a solid choice throughout your game.

Magic Initiate (Druid) – B+ Tier – Like Cleric, Guidance is great to have, and you can take something like Entangle or Goodberry for your spell choice as both are excellent and not normally available to Bards. If you’re playing with spells outside of the PHB, Absorb Elements can be a really strong option as well (I would probably wait until minimum level 5 to take it though as large chunks of elemental damage aren’t going to be that common until then.) While your second cantrip option is less consequential (probably an attack cantrip for a decent ranged option, but a utility option can be reasonable as well), but if you are playing with spells from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything, Magic Stone can be a good pickup to synergize with your team if they are about that lifestyle.

Magic Initiate (Wizard) – B Tier – You can pick up some nice utility or attack cantrips (neither of which you’re really hurting for) which is nice. The real prize, however, is being able to pick up Shield which is an excellent spell overall. I would put this slightly behind both Cleric and Druid initiate feats, but if you are a melee Bard (Swords or Valor), this would likely be my choice out of the three.

Musician – S Tier – An excellent feat for any class, an adventuring party should always have at least one Musician!

Savage Attacker – D- Tier – While you could pick this if you’re a melee Bard (Swords or Valor), I would not be excited about it.

Skilled – C Tier – A reasonable feat, but definitely a bit weaker than normal for Bards as you have Jack of All Trades anyway.

Tavern Brawler – F Tier – Unless you have an incredibly wacky build in mind or you want the flavor, this is something I would never pick.

Tough – B Tier – Extra health is always solid, even if you shouldn’t be taking that many hits. More exciting on melee Bards (Swords or Valor) as you have a higher chance of taking damage.

General Feats

Crossbow Expert – C+ Tier – I wouldn’t normally go for a Crossbow Bard, but it’s definitely not unreasonable if you want to contribute more to the team’s damage. If you do pick this up and you aren’t a Swords or Valor Bard, be sure to grab War Caster as well so you don’t have any awkward situations with wanting to spellcast but not having the hands free.

Defensive Duelist – C Tier – A hypothetically strong feat if you’re a melee Bard (Swords or Valor), but it’s hard to fit this into your feat progression as you don’t really want to boost your Dexterity.

Dual Wielder* – While an excellent feat, I would only ever take this on Swords Bards, but I would always take it on Swords Bards so giving this a rating is pretty much uneccessary.

Fey-Touched – A Tier – A great feat to get spells you wouldn’t normally have access to (Misty Step in particular) while bolstering Charisma.

Inspiring Leader – A+ Tier – A staple for almost any Bard as this gives so much temporary health. You only need one per team realistically, but it makes the most sense on a Bard.

Medium Armor Master – D Tier – Only makes sense on melee Bards (Swords or Valor) as they’ll have high enough Dexterity to make this worthwhile, and even then, I’m not excited by it as it’s really just +1 AC. If they took away the Dexterity saving throw and check penalty for some medium armors as well, this would be more exciting, but what can you do.

Moderately Armored – C Tier – While increasing Dexterity is not really what you want to be doing on most builds, Medium Armor can give you a pretty substantial AC boost if you need one. Realistically though, I would probably opt to multiclass into something like a Fighter instead if I really needed better armor.

Resilient – A Tier – Always a great feat on spellcasters that don’t already have proficiency in Constitution saving throws.

Ritual Caster – B- Tier – If you’re the only spellcaster in your party, I can see grabbing this to have a greater suite of spell options to work with.

Speedy – C Tier – Not your best feat if you want to boost Constitution, but extra movement speed is always a good thing.

Telekinetic – B Tier – Not every Bard will always have something to do with their bonus action, so shoving enemies or allies around is definitely not bad.

War Caster – B Tier – While an excellent feat, the main reason to take this is for casters who risk having their hands full which Bards rarely struggle with and for advantage on Concentration checks. If having a free hand is potentially an issue, then go for it. If you want better Concentration checks, I’d pick up Resilient (CON) instead (though having both does make it extremely hard to fail concentration checks which is nice).

Weapon Master* – Like Dual Wielder, I would only take this on Swords Bards, but I would always take it on Swords Bards so no point ranking it.

Unsure how to build your specific Bard? This section can help you! While each subclass guide has my specific way of building it (with plenty of overlap between builds), there’s a lot of directions you could take Bard.

(For all builds, this is assuming you have 17 starting Charisma between your initial ability score distribution and your background)

The Battlefield Controller – A+ Tier – Easily the Bard you want most on your team. Bards excel at staying back and using their spells to either bolster your allies or mess with your enemies which is all you really need from them. Sometimes it’s best to not overthink it! If you’re going this route, I would prioritize taking Inspiring Leader first if nobody else is going to take it, but if someone does have it, Fey-Touched, Telekinetic, or War Caster are all great options as well. You probably only have space for one of these feats as you’ll want to get Resilient (CON) after that and your feat at level 12 should push your Charisma to 20.

The Melee Focused Bard – A- Tier – While generally just for Swords or Valor Bards, this is a surprisingly effective play style as you can still use battlefield control spells while also getting into the fray and dishing out damage. Now there’s definitely going to be some confusion on why I rank the Swords or Valor as the best Bard subclasses, but their play style under the Battlefield Controller. The reason they’re the best is they have the option to use either play style, and even switch in combat need be. Flexibility is king and the opportunity cost for playing a melee Bard is super low and just gives another angle of attack. At worst, Swords and Valor Bards will have a better AC than the other subclasses making them a good choice. Now all of this is to say that the melee play style works perfectly well for Bards (especially Swords as you get inherent Scimitar proficiency, but no Shield proficiency), especially in lower levels, but it’s not something I would continue to do past level 8 or so.

The Crossbow Bard – B Tier – While not super common, Crossbow Bards look to play the Battlefield Controller play style generally speaking, but up their average damage potential with two hand crossbows. This will end up being more damage than just using cantrips, but you do need to grab Crossbow Expert as your first feat which is a bit painful to do as your other (and arguably more important) feats will have to come later.

The Blaster – D+ Tier – Bards are excellent spellcasters, but they are pretty awful at using their magic to deal damage. While you could take all the damage spells you can (like Thunderwave for 1st level spells, Cloud of Daggers and Heat Metal for 2nd level spells, Polymorph [which you’d take anyway] as a 4th level spell, and Animate Objects as a 5th level spell), you just don’t deal damage that well. You can make this work, especially if you devote Magical Secrets slots to damage spells, but you may as well play a Sorcerer or Wizard instead. If you go this route, I would do the same feat progression as standard Bards with a Charisma feat at level 4, Resilient (CON) at level 8, and 20 Charisma at level 12.

Not every potential multiclass is going to be mentioned as most don’t synergize well with Bards, just the ones I would consider. For a more thorough breakdown on multiclassing, check out the link below.

The Ultimate Guide To Multiclassing in One D&D

Cleric – A Tier – Having at least 13 Wisdom is no big deal, especially when you don’t need a decent Dexterity score going this route! Heavy armor proficiency and shield proficiency is huge for Bards as you go from having a pretty meager AC to an extremely high AC. Furthermore, getting access to Guidance and Bless is quite nice and not a spells Bard normally gets access to (the other 1st level options are less exciting, but that’s no big deal).

Druid – A Tier – Another excellent multiclass choice, it’s just a bit more awkward to have the 13 Wisdom as you need at least 14 Dexterity to get the most out of this multiclass. If you can manage both, Druid gives you medium armor and shield proficiency which is great, but obviously weaker than Cleric’s heavy armor proficiency. However, where Druids excel is the spells you get. Your cantrips options are better than Clerics, and your 1st level spell options are way better and you get a bunch of them with just one Druid level as you can pick up Absorb Elements (if your table plays with it, if they do, this is a huge pick up), Entangle, and Goodberry as excellent spell options. I would probably give a slight edge to Clerics still, but both this and Cleric are excellent options.

Fighter – B Tier – The Fighter multiclass is classic as you get heavy armor proficiency, shield proficiency, Second Wind, a Fighting Style (if you aren’t going for some sort of melee build, the Defense style is obviously great), and Weapon Mastery if that’s relevant to you (it won’t be for most). For an additional level, you can get Action Surge which is obviously an excellent ability, but less good now that you are limited to one leveled spell per turn. These are some excellent benefits, but it’s definitely not free. First off, Fighter doesn’t contribute to your spellcasting level so you are slowing down your spell progression going this route. Second, you’ll need at least 13 Strength (not happening on your average Bard) or Dexterity (obviously reasonable) to multiclass in, but if you decide to use Heavy Armor, your Dexterity is going to be wasted.

Paladin – B- Tier – While not nearly as common of a multiclass as it would be for Sorcerers (creating the famous Sorcadin), this is still a reasonable option. Paladin gives you the armor proficiencies you want, the excellent Aura of Protection at level 6, and half progression for spellcasting. If you were going this route, I would probably start Paladin, get to level 6-8 depending on your subclass, then go into Bard for better spellcasting progression (as the 13 Charisma requirement obviously won’t be an issue).

Sorcerer – D+ Tier – Easy to dip into as you will naturally have good Charisma, Sorcerer can give you access to some excellent spells you couldn’t normally get like Absorb Elements, Shield, and Silvery Barbs and an additional level in Sorcerer would give you Metamagic features which is nice. That said, Metamagic only really shines with more Sorcerer levels, and with no extra armor proficiencies, this isn’t a multiclass combination I would be excited to do. If you really want a particular spell from the Sorcerer spell list, you can almost certainly get it from Magic Initiate (Wizard) instead.

Warlock – C- Tier – Similar to Sorcerer, this would be easy to jump into since both Bards and Warlocks care about Charisma, but it’s similarly awkward as you don’t get inherent armor proficiencies. However, I do like this more than Sorcerer as getting Eldritch Blast gives you a good attack cantrip and taking a second level gives you three total Eldritch Invocations. You could technically go two more levels to get a subclass (if you go Hexblade, it solves the lack of armor proficiency problem) and then the feat, but considering Warlocks don’t contribute to your spellcasting progression, that is a tall order. I personally would probably only go one level to get access to Eldritch Blast as slowing down your spellcasting progression is pretty brutal.

Creation Bard Build Guide: With an emphasis on utility, Creation Bards can conjure a multitude of items to help them in a moments notice.

Dance Bard Build Guide: Flitting around the battlefield, the Dance Bard is interesting as it’s a full caster with the movement options or a dexterous class like a Monk or Rogue.

Eloquence Bard Build Guide: The most charismatic bard around, Eloquence excels in negotiations and have the most Bardic Inspiration to pass around compared to other subclasses!

Glamour Bard Build Guide: Utilize extraplanar and ethereal forms to beguile and overpower your enemies.

Lore Bard Build Guide: The most magical version of Bards, you get additional Magical Secrets, which seems small, but ends up being incredibly powerful

Spirits Bard Build Guide: Channeling the souls of the dead, Spirit Bards bring a lot of utility and randomness in their abilities making them both versatile and fun!

Swords Bard Build Guide: A proper spellsword, Sword Bards can fight on the front line while still being a solid utility caster

Valor Bard Build Guide: The tankier version of Swords Bards, Valor trades some abilities for a substantially higher armor class.

Whispers Bard Build Guide: Besmirching the good name of Bards, Whisper Bards are much more nefarious and tackle their problems using more subtle methods.

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.