Fun stats for you all: if you tally up the scores for how highly things are rated for multiclassing into, the top three are fighter, cleric, and rogue. The lowest are the wizard and then a three way tie between Druid, artificer, and warlock. If you tally up the numbers for which classes like to multiclass dip the most, first place is the Rogue, followed by the fighter and the warlock. The ones who like to dip the least are the cleric, wizard, and barbarian. I don’t know what to do with this information, but I went through the trouble of collecting it, so now you know.
Thank you, that's good. I was surprised not to see this, or an attempt like it, at the end of the video. In the final ten minutes I was working out fair ways to score the ratings to try to reach a good conclusion, eg, 5-4-3-2-1 for S-D; or count D as zero because it's the default, so 5-4-3-2-0; or count S as 6 because it's so highly rated, so 6-4-3-2-0; or given the leap between good second classes and their sometimes excellent but often naff subclasses, 6-4-2-1-0. I chose to use the final one, since as the furthest away from 5-4-3-2-1 a comparison between the two can potentially tell us the most. My scoring method gives the three best classes for multiclassing from as Rogue, Fighter and then Monk, while the three least favoured are Artificer, Wizard and finally Cleric. The three best for multiclassing into are Fighter, Cleric and Rogue, while the least are (on equal points) Artificer, Monk and Wizard. As an aside, I don't think you can specify anything as favouring a multiclass dip, since none of these assessments were *explicitly* on taking just a few levels but potentially taking equal levels. But that's just a matter of interpretation; the overall results come to close agreement. Consequently, it's a useful confirmation that our different scoring systems concur on multiclassing into Fighter, Cleric and Rogue but most definitely not into Artificer or Wizard, while for starting classes the most favoured ones with an intent to multiclass are Fighter and Rogue but not Cleric or Wizard.
I kind of wish they did something like this, so instead of just focusing on the best builds of each class. They did similar type summary for the role tier lists, and it helps tie the series together.
My party right now is a rogue with 2 levels of fighter, a warlock with 1 level of fighter, and a ranger with 3 levels of fighter (plus a straight moon Druid who occasionally comes).
I'd argue that the idea's overrated for Paladin. I mean, yes, Action Surge is amazing, but is it so amazing that it's worth investing two otherwise pretty dead levels into picking it up? Paladins already get Heavy Armor and Martial Weapons and a Fighting Style and a d10 hit die, and Second Wind's a bit redundant alongside Lay on Hands. Not to mention that by investing in those Fighter levels you are delaying Paladin spell and level progression, delaying Extra Attack and Aura of Protection, and getting fewer spell slots. You get way more bang for your buck picking up more feature rich levels from Warlock, Sorcerer, Bard, or even just sticking with Paladin.
@@nickkannel2641Even the names don't mix. The best multiclasses are those that sound good together. Sorlock, Sorcadin. But artificier druid... Artuid? Druidicier?
I think the biggest missing element from a lot of these rankings are defensive dips. Proficiency in medium armour + shields on classes that don’t get it, or the shield, absorb elements and silvery barb spells on a character without access is a dramatic power spike for most classes in the game for a single-level investment. I think this especially boosts the sorcerer and wizard in many rankings, and makes hexblade a phenomenal option beyond just gish builds.
That's very true. When i first saw sorlock blaster builds I was puzzled why they often used hexblade when the whole point was blasting from a distance....until I realised how good the medium armor & shield proficiency was.
@@CyberDrewan it is not. Classes which don't get defensive profficiencies most of times don't need them. Like with the wizard . If you are getting constantly hit and is in need of armor then either you are doing something wrong or your party does something wrong. Or both. Classes which lack defensive profficiencies have tools to evade occasional attacks altogether with stuff like blink, mirror image,shield, misty step, and etc etc etc.
@MsKeylas I mean cleric picking up 2 Wizard or Sorcerer levels for the reaction spells makes the class have everything it will need in any situation. Defensive dips are really strong. You cannot control when the dm will be fed up with your antics and throw ranged and flying enemies that will zero in on your backline, so it is better to be covered and prepared
i see this nonsensical argument from time to time and each time i get it less and less. Like a jump from base AC 13 to 19 is apparently "not needed just dont get hit lol" and then people wonder why their casters are squishy? like sure ideally you play in a way that positioning works in your favor so that you rarely ever get targetted but to say enhanced defenses are then redundand is just ignorant, not every fight will go according to plan if you are playing in a game that is at least slightly challanging lol
my first multi class was a rogue-lock. a 2 level dip to give us booming blade and some other fun subclass features and invocations do wonders for both roleplay and combat. the booming blade in particular augments 2 levels of lost sneak attack while also creating negative incentive for enemies to chase you after disengaging. the amount of times I killed an enemy because they tried to chase after me was hilarious, including the bbg of our level 7-10 arc!
@@Wintermute909 I had gone thief beforehand but story + RP made a dip into warlock an engaging story beat (patron contract was a fun push - pull for the RP) and made the character a ton of fun in all pillars of play!
@@hermesthenerd i totally understand! In earlier editions my favourite character was always a rogue/mage..... I'm currently creating a new character and am agonising between hexblade and bladesinger (both with stealth & acrobatics) and also trying to decide whether a rogue dip is worth the loss of spell levels. Edit: Totally agree how the patron contract is so much RP fun!
Playing the Rogue-Lock right now and I love it. Phantom 6/ Undead 4 for full flavor and Tome to grab more cantrips. The utility and social skills you get are incredible, Disguise Self had let me mess with the enemy, even if I'm not a ranger, I had been the best scout for the party, in need of negotiation I got some of the best deals... Not to mention that is pretty fun going scaring all these monsters in the Underdark thanks to Form of Dread, lol. Maybe not the best suited for battle, but features + feats just let me build one of the most fun characters I ever played.
I actually believe all Warlocks make for great combinations thematically with paladins. People tend to focus a lot on the Devotion one, but the others also work great thematically. - Undead + Oathbreaker = Barbosa - Watchers + Great Old Ones = Bloodborn - Ancients + Archfey = The Green Knight - Conquest + Celestial = The Templar - Crown + Hexblade/Archfey = King Arthur - Devotion + GOO = The Cultist - Vengeance + Fiend = Ghost Rider - Glory + Fiend = Faustian Deal - Redemption + Undead = The Ghost - Vengeance + Fathomless = Revenge of the fallen - Ancients + Genie = the Primordial - Watchers + Hexblade = Venom - Undying + Revenge = The Monster
Mechanically the celestial warlock / paladin is a great combo. Just a few levels of warlock let you heal your party as a bonus action as you continue to drop smites on the baddies. Add cantrips for utility, Eldricht blast, armor of Agathys and you have a strong healer, Swiss Army knife, beat down character.
That’s actually what I play and it lines up perfectly. It doesn’t change the direction of your character, it just makes it better at what the Paladin already did. Just more healing, more slots for smites, adds a great ranged option in Eldritch Blast and Guided Bolt. And it’s wonderful thematically
I'd say one of the best single level dips in my experience has been sorcerer, even on a Cleric. 4 cantrips, a special sorcerer ability, and immediately add Shield and Silvery Barbs to your repertoire. The key is getting spells that don't really depend too much on your Charisma. Unless you are going to Lvl 20, you won't be that far behind on power... but you also gain a ton.
I was surprised it wasn't mentioned in the Druid or Monk videos, and equally surprised it was skipped over again in this one, but Druid with a dip in Monk is so nice. It gives your Wildshapes an AC boost due to Unarmored Defense, as well as Unarmed Strikes to use your bonus action if you're not concentrating on a spell, or have lost concentration due to damage.
This was a fun series, just to see Monty and Kelly throw out ideas and themes for potential ideas for the weird multiclasses. edit: The bard was one of the best, with them throwing out what music genre each multiclass was.
Playing a HexSword bard for the last 6 months in a campaign and it is a very fun character. I have something useful do in almost any combat scenario. Defensive flourish so I don’t get hit, tons of mobility, eldritch blast the far targets, hypnotic pattern, healing word, party’s face, the list can go on.
@@elijahwahlberg474 1st level hex blade all the rest swords bard. It’s tempting to take another warlock for invocations but you get something good at every level of bard it’s hard to give it up. Would recommend Vuman for either war caster or/and mobile if ur DM lets everyone start with a feat. Mobile works really well with booming blade and sword flourish.
I play a 4 Hexblade Warlock and 15 Lore Bard. At this level, me tanking is just not a reality, but having the armor options of Hexblade for additional AC is great. Mostly I sit back and cast "big" spells like Force Cage, Wall of Force, Counterspell, etc, and blast the heck out of things with Eldritch Blast, and at my level with Hex and Hexblade's Curse I can hit in the 90s for one round.
I did one Multiclass build for a 1shot. I ended up with a Human, Scout Rogue(L11), Oath of the Ancient Paladin (L6) & Battle master Fighter (L3). Lets just say Misty Step, Action Surge and Smites, with also having sneak attack, really kills man. I had so much fun with that build.
I think the reason for Wizards wanting Artificer levels is because of Constitution Saving throw proficiency and Medium Armor and Shields, while not slowing down Spell Slot progression. Normally, Wizards are reliant on Mage Armor, which caps out at 18 with full Dex investment. Half plate plus shield is 19 with only a 14 in Dex. Combined with the Shield Spell, you are a pretty tanky wizard.
primarily that would be the go to case for an artificer multiclass. the other alternative is do do mountain dwarf because they already have proficiency in armor
Great vid dudes! One thing on the bard, a one level warlock dip is S tier on all bard builds. Getting medium armor, shields, all martial weapons, shores up all of the bard's inherent weaknesses for defense (and you can grab the shield spell too), meanwhile getting eldritch blast fixes the fact that bards don't get a decent attack cantrip. And then the pact slot... at this stage it's just icing on the cake.
Playing this exact combo and feat in a campaign right now, currently level 9 (6 monk, 3 cleric). Can say, one of my favorite characters I have ever made. Running in, punching enemies, flurry of blows for a quick spritz of healing to an adjacent ally and getting out w/o provoking opportunity attacks is *chef's kiss*. I am also playing a firbolg for the extra out of combat utility, and the option of patient defense or invis if I find myself biting off more than I can chew. Lastly, blowing all my ki points for free heals before a short rest is just stupid fun. Lmao. It makes me not feel bad for not using all my ki. Highly recommend, and have fun!
Great video, though I'm surprised you didn't go into the inverse charts, showing all together how each class does AS a dip. Or is that a future video 😅
I really hope they do. If you’re focusing on only the first 3 levels, you can group the names of the class features by levels and list them on the screen, along with the hit die and any spell slots they have. This would help everyone visualize what you getting with each level.
Amazing video as always DDudes! The multiclass that I spotted that I think should have been giving a higher tier is the Artificer level 1 dip for Wizard. Itgives you very few drawbacks in favor of MANY benefits: Proficiency in Con Saves, Shields and Medium Armor. If you start as Artificer it gives you 8hp instead of 6hp. Access to int based Cure Wounds, Faerie Fire, Guidance, etc. Artificer is a half-caster, but it is the only half-caster that gets it's spellcasting at level 1, which means (and the rules state that), your spell slot progression for multiclassing is divide by half and ROUNDED-UP, which means at level 1 dip you get no penalty for spell slot progression.
This was a great, insightful series. Thanks for doing the overview. Now, get ready to do it all again considering the updates coming with the 2024 PHB, LOL!
Shoot, at 6th level you can have _expertise_ in 8 skills, proficiency in 4 others, half-proficiency in the rest. Rogue 2, Eloquence Bard 3, Knowledge Domain Cleric 1. Variant human to get Prodigy. Now, that is with a free feat at level 1, Skill Expert, but even then, just subtract 1 proficiency and 1 expertise.
It's either me or my friend DMing so our characters oscillate, either it is me or him in the party. He initially picked rogue and I picked ranger. Though I decided to go for rogue multiclass to add the thieve's tools to the mix for when we need to open stuff and rogue is DMing... so now after 5 levels of ranger (went for dual wielding swarm keeper) I added rogue and am planning on probably levelling rogue till the end (or 2-3 levels of fighter too). This is not a gloomstalker assassin build, as I was already set in swarmkeeper when I noticed that we lack rogue when I play and don't DM and it was completely whacky for-fun build. Turned out pretty great with 6th level character throwing 1d8 rapier + 4 from dexterity + 1d6 swarm + 1d6 hunter's mark + 1d4 favoured foe + 1d6 sneak attack + second attack (1d8 + 4 from dex + 1d6 hunter's mark + 1d4 favoured foe) + two weapon fighting attacks (1d6 shortsword + 4 from dex + 1d6 hunter's mark + 1d4 favoured foe), making it deal avg 44 damage per turn at level 6 without any magic items included (assuming all hits, and that it's 2nd turn and forward as first bonus action goes towards hunter's mark) My other character that I use for a campaign play, I also chose ranger, drakewarden, but I am more focussed on protecting my party, a weird tank build if you will, so I dipped 1 level into life cleric and my goodberries are now godberries, I can summon a lot of them (up to 60) and they heal 4 hp each, making them the best out of combat healing tool without taking rests. Curse of Strahd is going really well as you can assume. It is hard to force us into scarcity mindset when we have unlimited food and healing.
It would be interesting to see a party of the most broken multiclasses in an ironman endless horde fight raid against a never ending threat to see which performs the best and which one reaches furthest in an epic one-shot.
Adding 3 levels of Tempest cleric to my Storm Sorc yes, required reasonably good stats, but gave me automatic access to some of the spells that I wanted to take anyway, in addition to granting flexibility in low-level spells that helped me be more useful in exploration (detect magic, identify, etc are expensive when you can only have a small number of spells). Increasing the total spells known in any way shape or form is a gods-send to a Sorc, freed up space to take more high-level Sorc spells later, and yes, can we say Empowered 6th level Inflict Wounds? Plus, of course, the channel divinity to deal max damage on thunder or lightning, so that's potentially 80 points of damage to 4 (or more, if upcast) baddies on a Chain Lightning. It helped on all levels of play.
So glad you came around on the swords bard. I was playing one in Baldur's Gate and it was pretty good, then I multiclassed with two levels in Paladin and now it's a beast in melee with a huge spellcasting toolkit and high AC.
This has been an interesting teir list series! and combined with the other teir list vids I have theory crafted alot! And my favorit multiclass picks are: Artificer Alchemist + Evocation wizard Artificer Battlesmith + Bladesinger wizard or Eldritch Knight fighter Barbarian (any) + Battlemaster/Rune Knight Fighter or Swashbuckler/Soulknife rogue Bard (Swords/Lore) + Fathomless Warlock pact of the blade Cleric (any) + Ranger (any) Druid (Land "Grassland") + Arcane Trickster/Scout Rogue Fighter (Battlemaster/Eldritch Knight/Rune Knight) + (see Barbarian(not with Eldritch Knight) or Artificer picks(only with Eldritch Knight)) Monk (Shadow) + Ranger (not Beastmaster or Drakewarden) or Rogue (Arcane Trickster/Swashbuckler) Paladin (Conquest) + Bard (Swords/Lore) or Warlock (any) Ranger (Horizon Walker) + Rogue (Swashbuckler) Sorcerer (Divine/Abberrant Mind) + Warlock (Celestial/Fathomless) Warlock (Celestial) + Bard (Swords) Wizard + Nothing (maybe Cleric for armor Prof.)
The Warlock dip for Paladin doesn't matter about subclass - the Eldritch Blast with supporting invocations makes Paladin better regardless. Going into melee is a massive debuff to your party - almost all the enemies in the game are melee-based and you get in the way of battlefield control. Javelins don't compare at all. Consolidating stats to make the build SAD is very strong. Boosting Charisma as a Paladin is the whole point of going Paladin (Aura of Protection). If you want damage as your focus, go Fighter (or Barbarian if your party is happy for you to take that melee debuff).
I loved these multiclass videos. I think you guys should definitely cover Gestalt stuff too. I know Gestalt Rules are a Homebrew Ruleset, but a lot of people play Gestalt games and they are a lot of fun and I think you guys would have a blast covering this topic and coming up with wild combinations
In a 3 character party, with a Barbarian and Sorcerer, I did ended up playing a Lore Bard with a 1 level dip in Life Cleric, getting Aura of Vitality with the 6th lvl magical secret and it worked great !! I then covered the roles of infiltrator, Utility, support, investigator, negotiator, healer and crowd control...Wasn't great at dealing damage but loved every minute of it !
This was an awesome series. I would be really interested hearing what you guys think could be used from BG3 in terms of rule changes that could be adopted back into table top. Do you see any positive adjustments we should just accept as the norm?
They pretty much already did that with their video "Five Huge D&D 5e Rules Changes in Baldur's Gate 3" since they say how you can implement some of these things and what to change to make them better
I don't know if I would call it the most powerful multiclass, but one of the most surprising and fun multiclasses I've done was actually based on some random art I found. It was a forest gnome Swarmkeeper Ranger with a 3 level dip into Artillerist Artificer, where the idea was that her swarm was actually a bunch of little clockwork devices that looked like insects, and all of her spells were specialized clockwork bugs. Light? Firefly robot. Alarm? Mechanical cicada, etc. I originally made the build just for the fun concept, but I was surprised at how well everything synergized. Use the repeating shot infusion on your crossbow to get access to your ranger extra attack. Throw on hunter's mark turn 1, then use your bonus action on other turns to shoot your force ballista (bigger metal bug). Add in the extra d6 piercing from swarmkeeper, and it was actually doing a lot of work.
I'd have to disagree with the artificer / barb. I've played a barbarian 2 l armorer X and it has been incredible. Wildhunt shifter as a race, and at armorer 5 you get access to blur. Activate wild Hunt and blur, and then you have reckless attacks which your gauntlets that guarantee whoever you hit has disadvantage against everyone
My bladesinger build: Take your first level in Artificer and the rest in Wizard as a Half-Elf (Wood Elf). At level 3 with Bladesong you can only fail a concentration check on a nat 1 and have 45 feet of movement. At level you pick up Mobile, now you have 55 feet of movement and can only lose concentration when the DC goes above 10. You can stack on Longstrider for another 10 feet of movement for a total of 65 feet. At level 6 you pick up Haste which you can use on yourself without any fear of losing concentration, that gives you +2 AC, a second action, and increases your movement to a whopping 130 feet. At level 7 you get multiattack allowing you to attack 3 times on your turn, one of which can be a cantrip. Because of Haste you can elect to cast a spell, like Fireball, and still make a melee attack. One of your 3 attacks can be Booming Blade or Green Flame Blade and with your high movement and ability to stop opportunity attacks you can easily force enemies to chase you triggering Booming Blade. Wizards are squishy. However, with all your movement you can run up to the enemies, make your melee attacks, and then move back behind your party out of reach of most non-ranged enemies. Even if you do get attacked, with Bladesong and Haste you can easily have 20 AC and you advantage on dex saves and acrobatics checks. With Shield and Absorb Elements at the ready you can easily mitigate any incoming damage. You also have proficiency in Con saves and as a half elf you have advantage on most Wis saves. Finally, Artificers get Cure Wounds, so if you do take any damage you can use it on yourself to regain some HP and if your DM uses the bonus action potion rule you can also use a potion on top of that for even more healing if it's needed -- and then still make a melee attack. And what did that first level in artificer cost you? You get your ASIs/feats and learn new spells 1 level later. You don't lose any spell slot progression. You'll still have the same slots you would have as a full Wizard, you'll just learn the spells of that level 1 level later. You only lose spell slot progression if you take 2 (or more) levels of Artificer. If you didn't get Artificer at 1 you wouldn't have con save prof which means you could lose Haste and suffer the negatives of that. You also get a bunch of tool profs which are nice. Starting with light armor prof can also be nice if you are actually playing from level 1. So yeah, that's my build. Lol.
The Fighter Bacon analogy also goes a step further Something that is nice gets better with bacon, for instance: a burger is nice, a burger with bacon is better, however you don't want bacon with a burger, because that just feels.. wrong
I'm starting a campaign next month with the intention of multiclassing a Gloomstalker Ranger and the Twilight Cleric. It feels like it will be so much fun with the potential that both subclasses have individually. Thank you both for making this ranking video to help me cement my flavor choice!
47:30 for a level 10 one-shot I built a evocation wizard 8/tempest cleric 2 with a staff of thunder and lightning. Sadly I was never able to play that character, but the potential was crazy. Also, plate armor.
I came very close to one-turning an adult red dragon by myself as my Assassin/Samurai/Oath of Ancients Paladin. Mobile lets me close distance very quickly, and those auto-critical smite-sneak-attacks get very mean VERY fast, especially with action surge and possible bonus action advantage if I need it. It's super single target, but I built him as a boss killer on purpose.
I played ranger 5 fighter 3 Rogue 8 in a multidimensional 2 shot. It was insanely powerful. Ton of damage, was able to hide well throughout these tunnels and amphitheater the DM had build out of wood and pvc pipe. And was able to set team members up with advantage or opportunities to do some cool stuff. It helped out 18L wizard was a true master of control, our Moon Druid was super tanky, and our Paladin/sorcerer was drawing a ton of attention from the BBEG. Paladin did go down 3 times but overall it was amazing.
For people who are confusing making a suboptimal multiclass just in order to get one spell or one ability or one proficiency, just remember that there are not only a number of feats that can get you what you're looking for, but also remember there is literally a section in the dmg or phb, I can't recall which, on getting magic items made or how long it would take someone you hire to fetch something for you. Talk to your DM, let them know you're interested in faerie fire, but don't want to take one level of bard for it, and you might just so happen to hear a rumor about a wand of faerie fire being offered as reward for helping done fae with a quest.
Counterargument on multiclassing Druid: it REALLY depends what you're going for. I'm currently running a Druid/Monk multi with a focus as the team's healer (Circle of Land {Forests} / Way of Mercy). Once the build comes fully online, I functionally decide who lives and who dies through healing. I have Healing Word for heals at range, Hand of Healing for up close, Healing Spirit for multi-heal, and depending on which class I lean in on I can add Flurry of Healing & Harm, Lesser Restoration, Greater Restoration, etc. Plus, combining Shillelagh and Flurry of Blows is just peak thematically and mechanically. I have high mobility, low upkeep, high versatility, and can contribute to a fight from nearly any range. Utility in and out of combat is excellent. I may not have the "heal nova" potential of a Cleric, but in terms of keeping the party on its feet during a protracted or difficult combat I believe this particular multiclass is S Tier.
You guys easily have the best d&d channel on youtube. Most of the other ones are just 1 guy who makes cringe jokes the whole time lol. I love to hear you guys discuss things. It helps a lot when trying to learn
Its interesting with the Barbarian, because yeah Fighter 3 is great, Paladin 2 gives something (I don't rate Smite highly, but in this case it is a pure addition), and Rogue gives skills (which I also don't rate highly in 5e). However, Barbarian is already a great combatant if you have people/items willing to dedicate resources to healing them up after combat (due to the melee issue). What you don't have as a Barbarian is any utility. So, I actually think the casters ARE the better choice. Sure, they don't mix or synergise - you don't need them to. In combat, your a Barbarian. Out of combat, or pre-combat, you're a caster. You will not be taking spells that are effective in combat, so a lot of Saving Throw issues are moot (so you don't care about the casting stat). The utility offered blows Rogue out of the water. Furthermore, you can still tack on Paladin 2 and now have even more Smite than just continuing Paladin, if that is something you prefer to do with your Spell Slots. I mean for that matter, you can still tack on Fighter 3 too. So, I think first 10 levels, yeah, caster multiclassing not great - although maybe a one level pickup for some easy utility is still a good choice. However, grabing your Paladin and Fighter dips before 10 work, then the back-half of the levels can be caster to really flesh out what the character can do. I think this was a problem with the format chosen - there probably should have been two polls/considerations: Dip potential and switch potential. Most of the martials don't scale well after Tier 1, sometimes a little into Tier 2, but do offer a lot up front that allow them to work great as dips. Likewise, they want to switch after their main thing is done for that reason. Casters sometimes work as dips (certain Warlock and Cleric subclasses, really), but mostly you need to grab a fair amount of levels to really have them shine, and they don't mix well together (despite Spell Slot sharing). So, for casters not of the dipping subclasses you really need to consider them as outright switches for martials, like here with the Barbarian - and they DO offer a lot to martials that martials don't cover, even if not synergistic. Another consideration, while not applicable for Barbarian, is that spells can still be useful in combat for martials even if not high level spells or any spellcasting stat of note - just having a character not otherwise using their Concentration maintain a buff for the party (like Bless, Detect Magic, Pass Without Trace, etc.) or throw out some battlefield control (like Fog Cloud, Darkness for fighting casters; difficult terrain for fighting melee enemies) can be massive. Again, not applicable for Barbarian, usually.
Something worth mentioning for Wizard/Artificer is that the first level of Artificer can give you a lot. You get Light/Medium Armor and Shield proficiency, Con ST proficiency, Thieves Tool proficiency (which I assume uses Int rather than Dex), Guidance, Thorn Whip (or any other cantrip you feel like), and the ability to prep 5 extra spells (of 1st level but still). This means you can prep Absorb Elements, Faerie Fire, and Cure Wounds (for bad situations where the healer goes down), and other spells that aren’t needed all the time but are good to have in your back pocket (Feather Fall, Disguise Self, etc.) so you can use your Wizard prepared spells on other things. Magical Tinkering can be combined with things like Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, Thaumaturgy, etc. for interesting effects. It can also act as a low level budget Sending (You write: “All good” on something, give it to an NPC that can help you, then use Magical Tinkering until that message disappears to alert them you’re in danger.) You also get 2 extra 1st level HP which doesn’t matter that much in the long run but at low levels is a 10-25% HP increase and can be the difference between taking another hit or not. You delay spell access by 1 level but I think there are definitely cases where the trade off is worth it.
Thank you guys, I love your work and passion for the game. But it hurts that you disrespected and dismissed the Cleric Sorcerer combo so badly. In the initial video, you didn't even mentally explore it. And today, it was round two of the same mistake, so I gotta speak. I play this build so I recommend building it out yourselves: Order Domain + Clockwork Soul. Things to focus on: weaponize both the bonus action and your teammates' reactions. You are the battlefield master, so quickened spell and vortex warp are must haves. 3 lvl sorcerer dip, telekinetic feat and Metamagic feats are a must Another build I enjoyed was a Light Domain with quickened spell (fire ball). Another build I had fun annoying my DM with was having all of the low level utility spells available from a divine soul and the regular spell availability of a regular cleric What about a knowledge domain that can telepathically communicate with a creature you are detecting the thoughts of through your Aberrant Mind abilities? While Tempest Domain and Storm Sorcery do sound like they should work, it is better to do Life and Storm as the Storm abilities let you use your magic as a beast of a frontline combat medic with escapability. How about a really scary Shadow Magic Twilight Cleric, you can fly in darkness only you can see through and go crazy on the baddies or cover an escape? So come on, if this isn't better than a D tier, please tell me what you want? None of these builds requires more than a 13 in Charisma. DM me if you want to see my builds for any of these.
I took the suggestion of ranger/rogue, gloomstalker/arcane trickster from this channel. I've never felt so powerful with a character. The consistent damage output vs the rest of my group is insane! Love this mash-up!! My characters ambition is to make his own ranger conclave (gloomstalker has never been created before in my dms homebrew). I mixed the two subclasses together and call it the Umbral Anarchist 🤘
I actually really like the idea of an artificer-barbarian multiclass. I would be an artillerist with utility spells that rages and blasts people with my canon in combat.
A few multiclass choices that I think get overlooked in favor of more “popular” subclasses but deserve a shout out would be the Artillerist Artificer/Evocation Wizard (2 levels) or the Tempest Cleric/Land Druid (Mountain). That being said, I always enjoy these videos for the out of the box inspiration they give me
Awesome series, thank you. Not properly tested, as it was in a solo campaign I found online (Seidkona Saga), but Shadow Monk 6, then multiclassing into both a Gloomstalker and an Assassin (probably maxing out at monk 11, 4 ranger, 5 rogue) is a lot of fun to play.
For Fighter/Warlock, I actually got the build idea from your vids on this. We're starting at level 11 in a game, so we have some freedom. I paired Fighter (Arcane Archer) with Warlock (Hexblade) for the "better arcane archer". I can't wait to try it out!
Currently playing a lvl 5 Life Domain Cleric/lvl 2 Circle of Stars Druid, with a high focus on support role. Highly underrated. The Starry Form and options you gain from the Druid spell list meshes well. It’s no Sorcerer/Warlock for sure, it’s more utility and roleplay focused. But a few things stand out for me. Access to Wild Shape for various situations. Thorn Whip/Spirit Guardians combo is awesome. Additional spells that both classes share frees up prepared spells for some interesting mixes. They are also both full casters using Wisdom, saving your precious spell slots and keeping them on par as if you hadn’t multiclassed. The thing you miss out on is hitting your ASI’s early and also the final ASI, definitely a deal breaker for some. For even more of a spread I took Magic Initiate (Wizard) and Telekinetic feats for more support options. We have a Paladin and Barbarian, with a Fighter joining next session. Hence my heavy focus on support. They will be doing most of the hitting while I’m buffing, debuffing, and healing. Planning on taking Cleric to 18 (if we get that far)
one thing of note you can do with fighter/warlock is the warlock can let you use elven accuracy with a great weapon, and when you have a -5 the mega advantage can be more impactful.
Also a fun combo: Human or Half Elven Bard (Valor)/Rogue (Mastermind) Concept: Ultimate helper Use Bardic Inspiration along with Faerie Fire to give companions advantage and bonuses. Take Valor Bard to 6 for multi-attack, then 3 levels of Rogue to pick up Cunning Action and the Mastermind archetype for the awesome Master of Tactics feature, allowing you to use Help as a bonus action and increase the range (for Helping on attacks) from 5ft to 30ft. At this point, on every round the bard can be giving either Inspiration or Help, while concentrating on a helpful spell like Faerie Fire, AND casting an attack spell or making an attack. 1st Feat: Inspiring Leader - give everyone bonus hp after every rest. Or, if human, take Sharpshooter at 1st, then take Crossbow Expert at your next Feat.
Start with Totem Barbarian to 5th level, then go with 7 levels of Rogue. Then finish with Barbarian. The defensive and offensive synergies are so good! Just face-tanking everything and always Reckless to add sneak attack die to your damage. The rapier-wielding rogue barbarian is such a potent combo.
Not sure if it is the most *powerful* but I have a lot of fun with my Rogue/Barbarian. You become a Grapple *monster* with almost no effort, sneak attack can be used with a strength-based attack as long as it is with a finesse weapon, and Extra Attack is great on any Rogue. (In my case, I started as mostly Barbarian but intend to build toward more and more Rogue until it's more Barbarian than Rogue. Currently shooting for Barbarian 7/Rogue 13 as the end point)
That Wizard/Tempest Cleric combo was done really well on Rolling With Difficulty and really sung with the Scribes Wizard. Plus the flavor of the build that came about via the story was fantastic
Played a Knowledge Cleric and once I got past 3rd level spells, my enthusiasm for the Cleric spell list was definitely waning. Took a quick dip into Rogue to get Expertise in Perception and Insight and I love it! Currently played in a high-level campaign and I adapted a build that Treantmonk covered that uses a Quickened Greater Invisibility to near guarantee permanent Advantage and then piles on XBE, Elven Accuracy, Sharpshooter, etc. Started at 12th level so I was able to "cheat" and just take 7 levels of Sorcerer and 5 levels of Fighter, which would have been rough if we didn't start at 12. Treantmonk uses Bard to bridge the gap so the character is viable from 1st level onwards, but I didn't have to! My favorite character ever though, and one that I am currently playing, is a Wood Elf Scout Rogue/Gloomstalker Ranger. I just feel so useful outside of combat with all of my Skill Proficiencies and Expertises. Started at 3rd level and I made the tough decision of starting with Rogue levels because I really wanted the extra Expertises to fill out my skills. Currently 8th level so I am Rogue 4/Ranger 4, and Extra Attack is so close I can taste it. It will feel SO good to finally get that, but I don't regret the level progression because of how much I've enjoyed the character's abilities outside of combat. Plan is Rogue 4, then 8 levels of Ranger, then back to Rogue for however long I am still playing the character. Looking back, maybe Rogue 3 -> Ranger 5 -> Rogue 4 -> Ranger 8 might have been better. However, as an archer character, being able to ignore cover and not have to worry about the long-range penalty has been extremely helpful in allowing me to use Steady Aim to consistently get Advantage and Sneak Attack when I otherwise could not have and the consistent Sneak Attack has helped make up for lack of Extra Attack.
I'm playing a level 5 pure barbarian right now, planning to put the rest of my levels into fighter. I'm doing ancestral guardian and rune knight. In terms of power, its definitely not way up there, but I'm playing with a number of new or newish players so I didn't want to go crazy, and the roll play potential is absolutely amazing with those two subclasses. I'm having a blast playing it.
one of my favorite lvl 20 sheets i ever made was eldritch knight 3, inquisitive 12, battlesmith 5 go dwarf to use heavy armor with no penalty, dump everything (including dex 13 for multiclassing), go all in on int and get wis to 18. advantage and expertise on perception and investigation PLUS reliable talent, 6d6 sneak attack per round, blur (plus war caster if you want)….so many fun possibilities, and a very fun way to focus hard on soft stats
Artificer can be a great 1 level Dip as starting class for Wizard. You get: Medium Armor and Shields, some nice Spells from the Artificer list that free up picks for your early wizard levels and Construction Saveing Throws! You lose: 1 level of spell progression, but no spellslot levels.
40:00 - I created an all-multiclassed short adventure a while ago and have run it several times now as a pro DM, and it's a blast. I set the party level at 9, and beyond that the only restriction is that everyone has to multiclass at least one level. It's so fun to see the creative combinations that people come up with, especially when they aren't worried about viability at lower levels or being stuck with their choices for a whole campaign. I think the most interesting one so far has been a Swords Bard 4 / Eagle Totem Barbarian 4 / Divine Soul Sorcerer 1 aasimar with the shield master and grappler feats because he basically had unlimited battlefield control no matter what scenarios or creatures I threw at them. He wasn't the hardest hitter but he didn't need to be - he just lined up the shots for everyone else.
Just finished a campaign with a lvl 17 devotion paladin. I had good rolls to start so instead I picked up a couple of feats; magic initiate warlock, and heavy armour master. With the magic feat, I picked up eldritch blast, toll the dead, and 1st level hex. It played like a tank healer, awesome party support. I had a legendary Warhammer (1 handed for ALL the d8's) that would recharge my lay on hands with damage dealt (charisma modifier per long rest); not many party members died after I picked that up! Eventually became Hel's champion devoted to making sure that fate ran the just course, returning undead to their rightful place and making sure enemies met their timely end. Best hit was an opportunity critical hit with 5th level smite for 97 dmg.
For the Artificer Rogue multiclass, alternatively you can also take the Goblin race to have BA: Disengage and Hide, pick up Skill Expert (Stealth) to round the odd Int Score at level 4 (if Standard Array or Point buy), and also get a little extra damage vs a particularly hard foe or bbeg. :) I'm still trying to figure this build out, but it always seems like I want more interesting feats and don't have enough ASI's. BA: Hide + Skulker + Expertise and Advantage in stealth seems great! Hide in light obscurement and fire off Sharpshooter lightning Launcher attacks willy nilly. You can also take advantage of the Guardians Thunder Gauntlets + BA: Disengage. You can also rest Trick the THP from Guardian armor then swap to infiltrator to help boost your hit points.
For the one shot- no class repeats! I'd love to see the crazy combos you guys and Colby come up with. Ask Chris, too! Party must cover the Fighter, Mage, Rogue, Priest archetypes. Go!
Any Cleric with Thorn Whip can pull an enemy into Spirit Guardians to double the damage it takes from Spirit Guardians. Nature Domain Clerics can do this S-tier combo on their own, but if you find another Domain more exciting, a 1-level dip in Druid (or the Magic Initiate feat) can get you Thorn Whip, Shillelagh and Absorb Elements. Thus, Druid is my S-tier multiclass dip for Clerics. With two Druid levels, Circle of Stars would be awesome on any Cleric (especially if Spiritual Weapon requires concentration in the 2024 PH, such that Clerics lack a way to weaponize their Bonus Action).
This is great! Going against the grain, I am seriously considering a 1-2 level dip of wizard for my Stars Druid. Pick up Toll the Dead, Mage Hand, and another cantrip. Get shield, and find familiar as a ritual with out spell slots or taking up part of the prepared list. If I do a second level the idea would be to do Diviner and get portend along with the Stars druid's cosmic omen. Might even add fey touched to throw in silvery barbs, just to mess with the dice even more.
I made a Tabaxi Rouge 3 (Swashbuckler), Warlock 2 (Hexblade), bard 1 (building towards swords bard but never got there because the campaign ended) that DOMINATED all pillars of the game. So much movement (tabaxi rouge) and damage (double bladed scimitar with sneak attack and booming blade)! One level of bard with proper spell selection is all you need in most social encounters too.
Most fun multi's I have played (definitely not the most powerful, but filled their roles to a tee, made for interesting role play, and left an impression on the other players) were, in chronological order: - Kensei 8/Samurai 12: I felt like Musashi running all over the battlefield, switching effortlessly between melee and ranged while still being able to tank in an emergency. Sub-optimal fighter-side build, but it fit the character. Role: Striker. - Abjurer 12/Swashbucker 8: Ultimate tomb/lost ark raider with the Archaeologist background. Wasn't about death and destruction, was just able to get the party past any trap/trick/encounter we came across. Role: Expedition Leader. - Bladesinger 15/Celestial Blade Pact 5: Wasn't fully viable until L9, but was a lot of fun. DM kept calling her a Jedi. If only Spirit Shroud stacked with Sword Burst... Role: Tank.
7:25 one of my favorite characters was i did a barbarian/soul knife. do you know how awesome it is when your DM crits you with a giant just for to quarter the damage cause of rage and uncanny dodge? lol! also, yes my barbarian felt way more useful out of combat with the rogue utility
31:22 I love this part of the conversation because I've been tinkering with a Paladin/Bard multiclass and _that's_ basically "Main Character Syndrome: the build." Six levels in any Paladin Oath, Lore Bard the rest of the way. Proficiencies, Expertise, Magical Secrets, Jack of all Trades, more spell slots... that's a pretty easy multiclass that REALLY fills out any lack of versatility Paladin has.
I play a level 19 character that is 4 levels of Hexblade Warlock and 15 levels of Lore Bard. I think I might have done one too many level in Warlock, but in general I really love this build. I picked up Pact of the Chain for level 3 Warlock and have an Imp familiar. For roleplaying aspects, having a smart-mouthed devil as a familiar has worked tremendously for in-game roleplaying. At level 19, so much of my work is doing support or casting big encounter changing spells like Force Cage, Wall of Force, Counterspell and so forth, that even though I have a fireball via Magical Secrets, on the balance I do way more damage using Eldritch Blast. With Hex, Hexblade's Curse, I can often hit for ~90 points of damage just using Eldritch Blast, which on the balance does more damage than Fireball and doesn't suck up a spell slot.
I think they just stuck with the official classes in this video (which Blood Hunter is not one of as it is not in a book released by Wizard of the Coast).
Having actually played an artificer/rogue multiclass for full infiltrator armor, I can confirm it was fun to play. I ran it with the Mastermind archetype to throw in some aid based support, but arcane trickster probably would have been the strong pick for rogue 3 with that. My plan was to eventually pick up two wizard for some basic ritual casting and the War Magic archetype features to add in some extra defense options. The end goal was basically Artificer X, Rogue 3 (maybe more?), and Wizard 2. Using the Skulker feat for additional hiding options.
A fun build I came up with recently was a melee swords bard / battle master / swashbuckler. The amount of damage you can dump into a single attack, all the feints and parries, support spells and 2 fighting styles make that thing the best one-on-one duelist I've ever made.
I’m playing as a swashbuckler- Rouge/gloomstalker-Ranger bugbear and I get bonus points for both initiative for both charisma and wisdom. It’s a great set up and both classes complement each other rather well. I’m currently a level eight, with four levels in each class. My feats are magic initiate Wizard and Warcaster. Using a whip with a bugbear gets fifteen feet of reach with a finesse weapon. In a single first round combat, I can dish out 5d6 from sneak attack and surprise attack, 5d8 between dread ambusher, zephyr strike (bonus action spell) and booming blade 1d8 initially 2d8 when the creature moves and 1d4 whip. If it’s within 15 feet of me and moves out of my reach, I get an opportunity attack from warcaster for another 1d4 1d8 3d6 (swashbuckler sneak attack) and 2d8 as it continues to flee. A total of 2d4, 8d6 and 8d8 (assuming everything falls into place).
I think the warlock could be C tier because one level of warlock gives you Hex. Then if you go eldritch knight, you get more spell slots for hex. And if you use 2 weapon fighting and get the dual wielder feat, that weaponized bonus action ends up hitting hard. Plus action surge with multi attack and then bonus action means that if you hit, hex just did 5d6 damage. Plus, I like giving a little bit of an eldritch flare to and eldritch knight
For our high-level just-for-fun campaign (to fill in for the regular campaign when our DM needs a break or has to miss) I started with a Dwarf 14th Sorcadin who's now 17th -- 6th/Paladin (vengeance) and the rest Sorcerer (divine soul). So so so much fun. Low-level spell slots go to smiting. Sorcerer spells get upcast for AOE and control. A quickened Booming Blade gives a third attack whenever I have no other need for my Bonus Action. Dwarven Fortitude lets me use a Hit Die in combat -- which triggers the Bloodwell Vial ability to regain 5 sorcery points. Metamagic Adept gives more sorcery points & metamagic options to make up for the paladin levels. This build definitely feels on par with the single-class characters in the party.
Alternate idea on that ultimate patty - make that team essentially the bbeg, everyone try to build something that they think can actually beat pal/scor,.scorlock, Hexadin, and roguestalker working together
Also a fun combo: Dragonborn Cleric (Tempest)/Sorcerer (Storm) Concept: lots of Thunder and Lightning damage I take Cleric to 4th for the ABI, then 3 levels of sorcerer to get 2nd level sorcerer spells and metamagic, then mostly cleric for the rest (maybe 1 or or 2 more levels of sorcerer for more lightning spells, especially Lightning Bolt!) Feats: Metamagic Adept for more Sorcerer Points, Quicken Spell, and Transmuted Spell to turn other spell damage into Thunder and Lightning. Also useful: Elemental Adept, either Lightning or Thunder. Blast right through Resistance This is a fun build all of the time but especially at somewhat higher levels, where I picked up GWM, which I could use with Booming Blade and Divine Strike. Then you can cast an attack or utility spell (possibly maximize damage with Channel Divinity), then Quicken cast Booming Blade which lets you make a weapon attack, which allows you to use GWM and Divine Smite. Or use your draconic breath weapon (especially good if you are using Fizban's), and then Quicken Booming Blade with GWM and DS. In this build, having higher level spell slots for which you don't know any level appropriate spells is a serious benefit, especially when you get sorcery points. You want to upcast lower level lightning or thunder damage spells for opportunities to use Channel Divinity for massive max damage. You can also convert those spell slots to sorcery points to get more uses of Quickened spells to accompany your main actions.
One thing I will say regarding Monk-Artificer, is that if you want to do a thrown weapon monk build, two levels of artificer let’s you get Returning Weapon, which means you can use Dedicated Weapon from Tasha’s to access a few more powerful weapons as Monk weapons. I don’t think it’s going to create any game-breaking builds, but it’s a use case, which is nice. Also regarding Monk-Wizard, you can take Bladesinger and the Shield spell to get some extra AC, which is something that Monks struggle with. You could even leave Wisdom at 13 or 14 and take Mage Armor, and use that instead of Unarmored Defense for your AC.
I'd have to say out of all the characters I've played, my absolute favorite is the Circle of Stars Druid multiclassed with a few levels in Life Cleric. The heals along with the tankiness is just.. Crazy strong. It may not do too much in combat besides a few cantrips or guiding bolt, but the healing is insane!
The most powerful multiclass that I have personally played is my gloomstalker echo knight. I've got 8 levels of ranger (we're playing Call of the Netherdeep so I really wanted that inherent swim speed and the Wis save proficiency) and 3 of fighter. Everyone was surprised when I put echo knight on an archer instead of battlemaster, until I started using it for maneuverability. That ability to switch places with an echo on a bonus action has saved my life at least 4 times so far. The added sight lines to attack and the ability to move around the field have been amazing. Add on Sharpshooter and Alert and I owe my poor DM several apologies. Because when you always go first and can attack 6 times at advantage in the very first round of combat thanks to action surge, stack hunter's mark on top, add 2d8 force damage for those bonus gloomstalker attacks, and THEN add +60 for sharpshooter assuming they all hit..... yikes 😅
For the Artificer/Wizard build, I have taken first level as Artificer, then six levels of Wizard going with either War or Bladesinger and then pick up the other 2 levels of Artificer and going the rest Wizard. The first level of Artificer gives you a lot. Medium armor and shields, Constitution saving throws, and a higher base level of hit points for first level. I also don't feel it detracts from a Wizard playstyle and offers a few spell choices that Wizards don't have such as faerie fire. Going Bladesinger, which is what I'm more familiar with, that one level, while a factor, I don't feel slows access to multi-attack enough to be a significant problem. It is also worth remembering that since Artificer rounds up with their level for spell progression that level doesn't slow down your spell levels. The two levels of Artificer after sixth does drop your progression by a level, but in return you get your intelligence as your melee stat, the ability to make a few infusions, a metal familiar and access to all martial weapons. To me, the trade off is worth it.
Hi guys! I am playing a lvl 6 Swords Bard (dual wilder)/ lvl 2 Paladin (defense) with Fey Touch as a feat for hex and high DEX, it is just awesome the damage that can deal, and the social interations o problems solving with bard spells are great. Not the most cleaver of characters, but still, 5 attack per turn with 5 smites an 5 hex when all lands, tasty! Thanks to you!!
Fun stats for you all: if you tally up the scores for how highly things are rated for multiclassing into, the top three are fighter, cleric, and rogue. The lowest are the wizard and then a three way tie between Druid, artificer, and warlock.
If you tally up the numbers for which classes like to multiclass dip the most, first place is the Rogue, followed by the fighter and the warlock. The ones who like to dip the least are the cleric, wizard, and barbarian.
I don’t know what to do with this information, but I went through the trouble of collecting it, so now you know.
Your effort is appreciated
Cleric dip is goated imo
Thank you, that's good. I was surprised not to see this, or an attempt like it, at the end of the video.
In the final ten minutes I was working out fair ways to score the ratings to try to reach a good conclusion, eg, 5-4-3-2-1 for S-D; or count D as zero because it's the default, so 5-4-3-2-0; or count S as 6 because it's so highly rated, so 6-4-3-2-0; or given the leap between good second classes and their sometimes excellent but often naff subclasses, 6-4-2-1-0. I chose to use the final one, since as the furthest away from 5-4-3-2-1 a comparison between the two can potentially tell us the most.
My scoring method gives the three best classes for multiclassing from as Rogue, Fighter and then Monk, while the three least favoured are Artificer, Wizard and finally Cleric. The three best for multiclassing into are Fighter, Cleric and Rogue, while the least are (on equal points) Artificer, Monk and Wizard.
As an aside, I don't think you can specify anything as favouring a multiclass dip, since none of these assessments were *explicitly* on taking just a few levels but potentially taking equal levels. But that's just a matter of interpretation; the overall results come to close agreement.
Consequently, it's a useful confirmation that our different scoring systems concur on multiclassing into Fighter, Cleric and Rogue but most definitely not into Artificer or Wizard, while for starting classes the most favoured ones with an intent to multiclass are Fighter and Rogue but not Cleric or Wizard.
I kind of wish they did something like this, so instead of just focusing on the best builds of each class. They did similar type summary for the role tier lists, and it helps tie the series together.
Dang it, I was going to MC my Aberrant with 2-3 levels in GOO but…now I have to take a double dip in Rogue…that sucks 😔
Every class: Yeah, I can merge this with a fighter
My party right now is a rogue with 2 levels of fighter, a warlock with 1 level of fighter, and a ranger with 3 levels of fighter (plus a straight moon Druid who occasionally comes).
@@meswain1123pretty funny that the only member of your party without a level in fighter only shows up occasionally
That's what happened when your job description is as vague as "fighter"
I'd argue that the idea's overrated for Paladin. I mean, yes, Action Surge is amazing, but is it so amazing that it's worth investing two otherwise pretty dead levels into picking it up? Paladins already get Heavy Armor and Martial Weapons and a Fighting Style and a d10 hit die, and Second Wind's a bit redundant alongside Lay on Hands. Not to mention that by investing in those Fighter levels you are delaying Paladin spell and level progression, delaying Extra Attack and Aura of Protection, and getting fewer spell slots. You get way more bang for your buck picking up more feature rich levels from Warlock, Sorcerer, Bard, or even just sticking with Paladin.
Fighter:…wait a minute
"So for our new build, we will be taking 2 levels of fighter" - Colby, probably.
Not "probably." That's a certainty from Colby!
Action surge combine with bladesinger extra attack I just summed up 5 Colby builds
“We’ll be making a straight Sorc Spellslinger. So, for level 1 we will be starting off as a fighter.” -Colby
@@nickh1757 Accurate!
@@nickh1757he usually wouldn't start a sorcerer as fighter because sorcerers already get CON saving throw proficiency
Poor fighters, being the only class that can’t multi class into fighter 😢
Before I even start watching, I can't tell you how badly I wanted to run a party of D-tier multiclasses.
Run it as a team of terrible heros that exist along side S tier ones that are NPCs
I'm getting ready to play a Druid/Artificer
@@nickkannel2641Even the names don't mix. The best multiclasses are those that sound good together. Sorlock, Sorcadin. But artificier druid... Artuid? Druidicier?
@@tylergehle9939their schtick would be “The Other Guys” - the mediocre-est players to ever mediocre.
I'll join that as the Paladin-Ranger with magic initiate for a Familiar too and just be loaded with pets
I think the biggest missing element from a lot of these rankings are defensive dips. Proficiency in medium armour + shields on classes that don’t get it, or the shield, absorb elements and silvery barb spells on a character without access is a dramatic power spike for most classes in the game for a single-level investment. I think this especially boosts the sorcerer and wizard in many rankings, and makes hexblade a phenomenal option beyond just gish builds.
That's very true. When i first saw sorlock blaster builds I was puzzled why they often used hexblade when the whole point was blasting from a distance....until I realised how good the medium armor & shield proficiency was.
Commenting so they’ll see this. It felt weird that they didn’t address this.
@@CyberDrewan it is not. Classes which don't get defensive profficiencies most of times don't need them. Like with the wizard . If you are getting constantly hit and is in need of armor then either you are doing something wrong or your party does something wrong. Or both. Classes which lack defensive profficiencies have tools to evade occasional attacks altogether with stuff like blink, mirror image,shield, misty step, and etc etc etc.
@MsKeylas I mean cleric picking up 2 Wizard or Sorcerer levels for the reaction spells makes the class have everything it will need in any situation. Defensive dips are really strong. You cannot control when the dm will be fed up with your antics and throw ranged and flying enemies that will zero in on your backline, so it is better to be covered and prepared
i see this nonsensical argument from time to time and each time i get it less and less. Like a jump from base AC 13 to 19 is apparently "not needed just dont get hit lol" and then people wonder why their casters are squishy? like sure ideally you play in a way that positioning works in your favor so that you rarely ever get targetted but to say enhanced defenses are then redundand is just ignorant, not every fight will go according to plan if you are playing in a game that is at least slightly challanging lol
This series was great, especially since it gave Colby like four or five build ideas, at least.
lmfao
Artificer with a small 17 level dip into Wizard.
LOL, just a small dip
my first multi class was a rogue-lock. a 2 level dip to give us booming blade and some other fun subclass features and invocations do wonders for both roleplay and combat. the booming blade in particular augments 2 levels of lost sneak attack while also creating negative incentive for enemies to chase you after disengaging. the amount of times I killed an enemy because they tried to chase after me was hilarious, including the bbg of our level 7-10 arc!
Yeah I loved using Booming Blade with a straight Arcane Trickster!
@@Wintermute909 I had gone thief beforehand but story + RP made a dip into warlock an engaging story beat (patron contract was a fun push - pull for the RP) and made the character a ton of fun in all pillars of play!
@@hermesthenerd i totally understand! In earlier editions my favourite character was always a rogue/mage.....
I'm currently creating a new character and am agonising between hexblade and bladesinger (both with stealth & acrobatics) and also trying to decide whether a rogue dip is worth the loss of spell levels.
Edit: Totally agree how the patron contract is so much RP fun!
Playing the Rogue-Lock right now and I love it. Phantom 6/ Undead 4 for full flavor and Tome to grab more cantrips. The utility and social skills you get are incredible, Disguise Self had let me mess with the enemy, even if I'm not a ranger, I had been the best scout for the party, in need of negotiation I got some of the best deals...
Not to mention that is pretty fun going scaring all these monsters in the Underdark thanks to Form of Dread, lol. Maybe not the best suited for battle, but features + feats just let me build one of the most fun characters I ever played.
Swashbuckler is pretty good if you play a high elf or kobold
I've said this before, the Celestial Warlock synergizes well with the Paladin
Conceptually it's great, especially for aasimar. But mathematically, the hexblade is better
I actually believe all Warlocks make for great combinations thematically with paladins. People tend to focus a lot on the Devotion one, but the others also work great thematically.
- Undead + Oathbreaker = Barbosa
- Watchers + Great Old Ones = Bloodborn
- Ancients + Archfey = The Green Knight
- Conquest + Celestial = The Templar
- Crown + Hexblade/Archfey = King Arthur
- Devotion + GOO = The Cultist
- Vengeance + Fiend = Ghost Rider
- Glory + Fiend = Faustian Deal
- Redemption + Undead = The Ghost
- Vengeance + Fathomless = Revenge of the fallen
- Ancients + Genie = the Primordial
- Watchers + Hexblade = Venom
- Undying + Revenge = The Monster
Mechanically the celestial warlock / paladin is a great combo. Just a few levels of warlock let you heal your party as a bonus action as you continue to drop smites on the baddies. Add cantrips for utility, Eldricht blast, armor of Agathys and you have a strong healer, Swiss Army knife, beat down character.
@@TheJulioToboso Funny that you mention Undead + Oathbreaker being Barbossa, because Fathomless + Oathbreaker is 100% a Davy Jones build.
That’s actually what I play and it lines up perfectly. It doesn’t change the direction of your character, it just makes it better at what the Paladin already did. Just more healing, more slots for smites, adds a great ranged option in Eldritch Blast and Guided Bolt. And it’s wonderful thematically
I'd say one of the best single level dips in my experience has been sorcerer, even on a Cleric. 4 cantrips, a special sorcerer ability, and immediately add Shield and Silvery Barbs to your repertoire. The key is getting spells that don't really depend too much on your Charisma. Unless you are going to Lvl 20, you won't be that far behind on power... but you also gain a ton.
I was surprised it wasn't mentioned in the Druid or Monk videos, and equally surprised it was skipped over again in this one, but Druid with a dip in Monk is so nice. It gives your Wildshapes an AC boost due to Unarmored Defense, as well as Unarmed Strikes to use your bonus action if you're not concentrating on a spell, or have lost concentration due to damage.
I think they mentioned what when wild shaped, claw and bite attacks are not technically considered 'unarmed' strikes so its up to the DM's discretion.
I had a kung fu panda monk druid. It was so much fun... till my DM smooshed him with an ogre ;(
Currently running a spores Druid Duergar with significant monk dip. It’s a hoot.
I noticed the camera and format changes and I like them. It's neat to see the content come to life with you two.
Yup. Though I’m not jealous of the Themerchaud in the corner. Not at all.
I’m totally jealous.
I'd love to see a bonus episode looking at the multi class options for the Apothecary
THIS
This was a fun series, just to see Monty and Kelly throw out ideas and themes for potential ideas for the weird multiclasses.
edit: The bard was one of the best, with them throwing out what music genre each multiclass was.
Playing a HexSword bard for the last 6 months in a campaign and it is a very fun character. I have something useful do in almost any combat scenario. Defensive flourish so I don’t get hit, tons of mobility, eldritch blast the far targets, hypnotic pattern, healing word, party’s face, the list can go on.
what lvl split? just outta curiosity :)
@@elijahwahlberg474 1st level hex blade all the rest swords bard. It’s tempting to take another warlock for invocations but you get something good at every level of bard it’s hard to give it up.
Would recommend Vuman for either war caster or/and mobile if ur DM lets everyone start with a feat. Mobile works really well with booming blade and sword flourish.
I play a 4 Hexblade Warlock and 15 Lore Bard.
At this level, me tanking is just not a reality, but having the armor options of Hexblade for additional AC is great. Mostly I sit back and cast "big" spells like Force Cage, Wall of Force, Counterspell, etc, and blast the heck out of things with Eldritch Blast, and at my level with Hex and Hexblade's Curse I can hit in the 90s for one round.
@@hello-timbo
I'm just about to start a campaign with the same build but going 3/17. Why did you go 4 in warlock? For the feat?
I did one Multiclass build for a 1shot. I ended up with a Human, Scout Rogue(L11), Oath of the Ancient Paladin (L6) & Battle master Fighter (L3). Lets just say Misty Step, Action Surge and Smites, with also having sneak attack, really kills man. I had so much fun with that build.
I think the reason for Wizards wanting Artificer levels is because of Constitution Saving throw proficiency and Medium Armor and Shields, while not slowing down Spell Slot progression. Normally, Wizards are reliant on Mage Armor, which caps out at 18 with full Dex investment. Half plate plus shield is 19 with only a 14 in Dex. Combined with the Shield Spell, you are a pretty tanky wizard.
primarily that would be the go to case for an artificer multiclass. the other alternative is do do mountain dwarf because they already have proficiency in armor
Great vid dudes!
One thing on the bard, a one level warlock dip is S tier on all bard builds.
Getting medium armor, shields, all martial weapons, shores up all of the bard's inherent weaknesses for defense (and you can grab the shield spell too), meanwhile getting eldritch blast fixes the fact that bards don't get a decent attack cantrip.
And then the pact slot... at this stage it's just icing on the cake.
Haven’t played it, but I love the idea of way of mercy monk with peace domain cleric with mobile for a different take on the “field medic”
Playing this exact combo and feat in a campaign right now, currently level 9 (6 monk, 3 cleric). Can say, one of my favorite characters I have ever made. Running in, punching enemies, flurry of blows for a quick spritz of healing to an adjacent ally and getting out w/o provoking opportunity attacks is *chef's kiss*. I am also playing a firbolg for the extra out of combat utility, and the option of patient defense or invis if I find myself biting off more than I can chew. Lastly, blowing all my ki points for free heals before a short rest is just stupid fun. Lmao. It makes me not feel bad for not using all my ki.
Highly recommend, and have fun!
I've been playing around with ideas of a battlefield medic using Peace Cleric and Rogue, but Mercy Monk is intriguing.
Great video, though I'm surprised you didn't go into the inverse charts, showing all together how each class does AS a dip. Or is that a future video 😅
I really hope they do. If you’re focusing on only the first 3 levels, you can group the names of the class features by levels and list them on the screen, along with the hit die and any spell slots they have. This would help everyone visualize what you getting with each level.
I used to love the Ranger/Cleric in AD&D. Great time playing them back in the day.
I'm playing a Swarmkeeper/Twilight Cleric right now. It's still pretty solid, I definitely think it deserves a B instead of a C.
This was the very first character I played, inherited from someone who was given detention at the wrong time of the school day.
Amazing video as always DDudes!
The multiclass that I spotted that I think should have been giving a higher tier is the Artificer level 1 dip for Wizard. Itgives you very few drawbacks in favor of MANY benefits:
Proficiency in Con Saves, Shields and Medium Armor.
If you start as Artificer it gives you 8hp instead of 6hp.
Access to int based Cure Wounds, Faerie Fire, Guidance, etc.
Artificer is a half-caster, but it is the only half-caster that gets it's spellcasting at level 1, which means (and the rules state that), your spell slot progression for multiclassing is divide by half and ROUNDED-UP, which means at level 1 dip you get no penalty for spell slot progression.
This was a great, insightful series. Thanks for doing the overview. Now, get ready to do it all again considering the updates coming with the 2024 PHB, LOL!
Shoot, at 6th level you can have _expertise_ in 8 skills, proficiency in 4 others, half-proficiency in the rest.
Rogue 2, Eloquence Bard 3, Knowledge Domain Cleric 1.
Variant human to get Prodigy.
Now, that is with a free feat at level 1, Skill Expert, but even then, just subtract 1 proficiency and 1 expertise.
I have to say, I love the druid barbarian multiclass by taking one level in Barb. And the rest in druid, I also love halls new background
I really love the idea of a beast master ranger with the shepherd druid.
It's either me or my friend DMing so our characters oscillate, either it is me or him in the party. He initially picked rogue and I picked ranger. Though I decided to go for rogue multiclass to add the thieve's tools to the mix for when we need to open stuff and rogue is DMing... so now after 5 levels of ranger (went for dual wielding swarm keeper) I added rogue and am planning on probably levelling rogue till the end (or 2-3 levels of fighter too). This is not a gloomstalker assassin build, as I was already set in swarmkeeper when I noticed that we lack rogue when I play and don't DM and it was completely whacky for-fun build. Turned out pretty great with 6th level character throwing 1d8 rapier + 4 from dexterity + 1d6 swarm + 1d6 hunter's mark + 1d4 favoured foe + 1d6 sneak attack + second attack (1d8 + 4 from dex + 1d6 hunter's mark + 1d4 favoured foe) + two weapon fighting attacks (1d6 shortsword + 4 from dex + 1d6 hunter's mark + 1d4 favoured foe), making it deal avg 44 damage per turn at level 6 without any magic items included (assuming all hits, and that it's 2nd turn and forward as first bonus action goes towards hunter's mark)
My other character that I use for a campaign play, I also chose ranger, drakewarden, but I am more focussed on protecting my party, a weird tank build if you will, so I dipped 1 level into life cleric and my goodberries are now godberries, I can summon a lot of them (up to 60) and they heal 4 hp each, making them the best out of combat healing tool without taking rests. Curse of Strahd is going really well as you can assume. It is hard to force us into scarcity mindset when we have unlimited food and healing.
It would be interesting to see a party of the most broken multiclasses in an ironman endless horde fight raid against a never ending threat to see which performs the best and which one reaches furthest in an epic one-shot.
That would probably just prioritise those least reliant on long rests though, wouldn't it?
Adding 3 levels of Tempest cleric to my Storm Sorc yes, required reasonably good stats, but gave me automatic access to some of the spells that I wanted to take anyway, in addition to granting flexibility in low-level spells that helped me be more useful in exploration (detect magic, identify, etc are expensive when you can only have a small number of spells). Increasing the total spells known in any way shape or form is a gods-send to a Sorc, freed up space to take more high-level Sorc spells later, and yes, can we say Empowered 6th level Inflict Wounds? Plus, of course, the channel divinity to deal max damage on thunder or lightning, so that's potentially 80 points of damage to 4 (or more, if upcast) baddies on a Chain Lightning. It helped on all levels of play.
So glad you came around on the swords bard. I was playing one in Baldur's Gate and it was pretty good, then I multiclassed with two levels in Paladin and now it's a beast in melee with a huge spellcasting toolkit and high AC.
Thanks dungeon dudes ! It’s been a blast watching all the indivisible multi class videos and now this super video !! ❤
This has been an interesting teir list series! and combined with the other teir list vids I have theory crafted alot!
And my favorit multiclass picks are:
Artificer Alchemist + Evocation wizard
Artificer Battlesmith + Bladesinger wizard or Eldritch Knight fighter
Barbarian (any) + Battlemaster/Rune Knight Fighter or Swashbuckler/Soulknife rogue
Bard (Swords/Lore) + Fathomless Warlock pact of the blade
Cleric (any) + Ranger (any)
Druid (Land "Grassland") + Arcane Trickster/Scout Rogue
Fighter (Battlemaster/Eldritch Knight/Rune Knight) + (see Barbarian(not with Eldritch Knight) or Artificer picks(only with Eldritch Knight))
Monk (Shadow) + Ranger (not Beastmaster or Drakewarden) or Rogue (Arcane Trickster/Swashbuckler)
Paladin (Conquest) + Bard (Swords/Lore) or Warlock (any)
Ranger (Horizon Walker) + Rogue (Swashbuckler)
Sorcerer (Divine/Abberrant Mind) + Warlock (Celestial/Fathomless)
Warlock (Celestial) + Bard (Swords)
Wizard + Nothing (maybe Cleric for armor Prof.)
I understand it's not optimal, but playing a Bard-barian and flavouring your greataxe as an electric guitar is badass and I'm doing it anyway
Hi guys. Discovered your videos after I went down the BG3 rabbit hole, and I just gotta say you guys make D&D so accessible. Great content!
The Warlock dip for Paladin doesn't matter about subclass - the Eldritch Blast with supporting invocations makes Paladin better regardless. Going into melee is a massive debuff to your party - almost all the enemies in the game are melee-based and you get in the way of battlefield control. Javelins don't compare at all. Consolidating stats to make the build SAD is very strong. Boosting Charisma as a Paladin is the whole point of going Paladin (Aura of Protection). If you want damage as your focus, go Fighter (or Barbarian if your party is happy for you to take that melee debuff).
I loved these multiclass videos. I think you guys should definitely cover Gestalt stuff too. I know Gestalt Rules are a Homebrew Ruleset, but a lot of people play Gestalt games and they are a lot of fun and I think you guys would have a blast covering this topic and coming up with wild combinations
In a 3 character party, with a Barbarian and Sorcerer, I did ended up playing a Lore Bard with a 1 level dip in Life Cleric, getting Aura of Vitality with the 6th lvl magical secret and it worked great !! I then covered the roles of infiltrator, Utility, support, investigator, negotiator, healer and crowd control...Wasn't great at dealing damage but loved every minute of it !
This was an awesome series. I would be really interested hearing what you guys think could be used from BG3 in terms of rule changes that could be adopted back into table top. Do you see any positive adjustments we should just accept as the norm?
They pretty much already did that with their video "Five Huge D&D 5e Rules Changes in Baldur's Gate 3" since they say how you can implement some of these things and what to change to make them better
I don't know if I would call it the most powerful multiclass, but one of the most surprising and fun multiclasses I've done was actually based on some random art I found. It was a forest gnome Swarmkeeper Ranger with a 3 level dip into Artillerist Artificer, where the idea was that her swarm was actually a bunch of little clockwork devices that looked like insects, and all of her spells were specialized clockwork bugs. Light? Firefly robot. Alarm? Mechanical cicada, etc.
I originally made the build just for the fun concept, but I was surprised at how well everything synergized. Use the repeating shot infusion on your crossbow to get access to your ranger extra attack. Throw on hunter's mark turn 1, then use your bonus action on other turns to shoot your force ballista (bigger metal bug). Add in the extra d6 piercing from swarmkeeper, and it was actually doing a lot of work.
I'd have to disagree with the artificer / barb.
I've played a barbarian 2 l armorer X and it has been incredible.
Wildhunt shifter as a race, and at armorer 5 you get access to blur.
Activate wild Hunt and blur, and then you have reckless attacks which your gauntlets that guarantee whoever you hit has disadvantage against everyone
My bladesinger build: Take your first level in Artificer and the rest in Wizard as a Half-Elf (Wood Elf). At level 3 with Bladesong you can only fail a concentration check on a nat 1 and have 45 feet of movement. At level you pick up Mobile, now you have 55 feet of movement and can only lose concentration when the DC goes above 10. You can stack on Longstrider for another 10 feet of movement for a total of 65 feet. At level 6 you pick up Haste which you can use on yourself without any fear of losing concentration, that gives you +2 AC, a second action, and increases your movement to a whopping 130 feet. At level 7 you get multiattack allowing you to attack 3 times on your turn, one of which can be a cantrip.
Because of Haste you can elect to cast a spell, like Fireball, and still make a melee attack. One of your 3 attacks can be Booming Blade or Green Flame Blade and with your high movement and ability to stop opportunity attacks you can easily force enemies to chase you triggering Booming Blade.
Wizards are squishy. However, with all your movement you can run up to the enemies, make your melee attacks, and then move back behind your party out of reach of most non-ranged enemies. Even if you do get attacked, with Bladesong and Haste you can easily have 20 AC and you advantage on dex saves and acrobatics checks. With Shield and Absorb Elements at the ready you can easily mitigate any incoming damage. You also have proficiency in Con saves and as a half elf you have advantage on most Wis saves. Finally, Artificers get Cure Wounds, so if you do take any damage you can use it on yourself to regain some HP and if your DM uses the bonus action potion rule you can also use a potion on top of that for even more healing if it's needed -- and then still make a melee attack.
And what did that first level in artificer cost you? You get your ASIs/feats and learn new spells 1 level later. You don't lose any spell slot progression. You'll still have the same slots you would have as a full Wizard, you'll just learn the spells of that level 1 level later. You only lose spell slot progression if you take 2 (or more) levels of Artificer. If you didn't get Artificer at 1 you wouldn't have con save prof which means you could lose Haste and suffer the negatives of that. You also get a bunch of tool profs which are nice. Starting with light armor prof can also be nice if you are actually playing from level 1.
So yeah, that's my build. Lol.
The Fighter Bacon analogy also goes a step further
Something that is nice gets better with bacon, for instance: a burger is nice, a burger with bacon is better, however you don't want bacon with a burger, because that just feels.. wrong
these final reviews are a personal favorite of mine its always cool to see how everything ranked compared to everything else
I'm starting a campaign next month with the intention of multiclassing a Gloomstalker Ranger and the Twilight Cleric. It feels like it will be so much fun with the potential that both subclasses have individually. Thank you both for making this ranking video to help me cement my flavor choice!
47:30 for a level 10 one-shot I built a evocation wizard 8/tempest cleric 2 with a staff of thunder and lightning. Sadly I was never able to play that character, but the potential was crazy.
Also, plate armor.
I came very close to one-turning an adult red dragon by myself as my Assassin/Samurai/Oath of Ancients Paladin. Mobile lets me close distance very quickly, and those auto-critical smite-sneak-attacks get very mean VERY fast, especially with action surge and possible bonus action advantage if I need it. It's super single target, but I built him as a boss killer on purpose.
I played ranger 5 fighter 3 Rogue 8 in a multidimensional 2 shot. It was insanely powerful. Ton of damage, was able to hide well throughout these tunnels and amphitheater the DM had build out of wood and pvc pipe. And was able to set team members up with advantage or opportunities to do some cool stuff.
It helped out 18L wizard was a true master of control, our Moon Druid was super tanky, and our Paladin/sorcerer was drawing a ton of attention from the BBEG.
Paladin did go down 3 times but overall it was amazing.
Love listening to your discussions and analysis.
Thank you so much!
For people who are confusing making a suboptimal multiclass just in order to get one spell or one ability or one proficiency, just remember that there are not only a number of feats that can get you what you're looking for, but also remember there is literally a section in the dmg or phb, I can't recall which, on getting magic items made or how long it would take someone you hire to fetch something for you. Talk to your DM, let them know you're interested in faerie fire, but don't want to take one level of bard for it, and you might just so happen to hear a rumor about a wand of faerie fire being offered as reward for helping done fae with a quest.
I love the icons for each class. Cool!
Counterargument on multiclassing Druid: it REALLY depends what you're going for. I'm currently running a Druid/Monk multi with a focus as the team's healer (Circle of Land {Forests} / Way of Mercy). Once the build comes fully online, I functionally decide who lives and who dies through healing. I have Healing Word for heals at range, Hand of Healing for up close, Healing Spirit for multi-heal, and depending on which class I lean in on I can add Flurry of Healing & Harm, Lesser Restoration, Greater Restoration, etc. Plus, combining Shillelagh and Flurry of Blows is just peak thematically and mechanically. I have high mobility, low upkeep, high versatility, and can contribute to a fight from nearly any range. Utility in and out of combat is excellent. I may not have the "heal nova" potential of a Cleric, but in terms of keeping the party on its feet during a protracted or difficult combat I believe this particular multiclass is S Tier.
You guys easily have the best d&d channel on youtube. Most of the other ones are just 1 guy who makes cringe jokes the whole time lol. I love to hear you guys discuss things. It helps a lot when trying to learn
Its interesting with the Barbarian, because yeah Fighter 3 is great, Paladin 2 gives something (I don't rate Smite highly, but in this case it is a pure addition), and Rogue gives skills (which I also don't rate highly in 5e). However, Barbarian is already a great combatant if you have people/items willing to dedicate resources to healing them up after combat (due to the melee issue).
What you don't have as a Barbarian is any utility. So, I actually think the casters ARE the better choice. Sure, they don't mix or synergise - you don't need them to. In combat, your a Barbarian. Out of combat, or pre-combat, you're a caster. You will not be taking spells that are effective in combat, so a lot of Saving Throw issues are moot (so you don't care about the casting stat). The utility offered blows Rogue out of the water. Furthermore, you can still tack on Paladin 2 and now have even more Smite than just continuing Paladin, if that is something you prefer to do with your Spell Slots. I mean for that matter, you can still tack on Fighter 3 too.
So, I think first 10 levels, yeah, caster multiclassing not great - although maybe a one level pickup for some easy utility is still a good choice. However, grabing your Paladin and Fighter dips before 10 work, then the back-half of the levels can be caster to really flesh out what the character can do.
I think this was a problem with the format chosen - there probably should have been two polls/considerations: Dip potential and switch potential. Most of the martials don't scale well after Tier 1, sometimes a little into Tier 2, but do offer a lot up front that allow them to work great as dips. Likewise, they want to switch after their main thing is done for that reason. Casters sometimes work as dips (certain Warlock and Cleric subclasses, really), but mostly you need to grab a fair amount of levels to really have them shine, and they don't mix well together (despite Spell Slot sharing). So, for casters not of the dipping subclasses you really need to consider them as outright switches for martials, like here with the Barbarian - and they DO offer a lot to martials that martials don't cover, even if not synergistic.
Another consideration, while not applicable for Barbarian, is that spells can still be useful in combat for martials even if not high level spells or any spellcasting stat of note - just having a character not otherwise using their Concentration maintain a buff for the party (like Bless, Detect Magic, Pass Without Trace, etc.) or throw out some battlefield control (like Fog Cloud, Darkness for fighting casters; difficult terrain for fighting melee enemies) can be massive. Again, not applicable for Barbarian, usually.
Something worth mentioning for Wizard/Artificer is that the first level of Artificer can give you a lot. You get Light/Medium Armor and Shield proficiency, Con ST proficiency, Thieves Tool proficiency (which I assume uses Int rather than Dex), Guidance, Thorn Whip (or any other cantrip you feel like), and the ability to prep 5 extra spells (of 1st level but still). This means you can prep Absorb Elements, Faerie Fire, and Cure Wounds (for bad situations where the healer goes down), and other spells that aren’t needed all the time but are good to have in your back pocket (Feather Fall, Disguise Self, etc.) so you can use your Wizard prepared spells on other things. Magical Tinkering can be combined with things like Minor Illusion, Prestidigitation, Thaumaturgy, etc. for interesting effects. It can also act as a low level budget Sending (You write: “All good” on something, give it to an NPC that can help you, then use Magical Tinkering until that message disappears to alert them you’re in danger.) You also get 2 extra 1st level HP which doesn’t matter that much in the long run but at low levels is a 10-25% HP increase and can be the difference between taking another hit or not. You delay spell access by 1 level but I think there are definitely cases where the trade off is worth it.
Thank you guys, I love your work and passion for the game. But it hurts that you disrespected and dismissed the Cleric Sorcerer combo so badly. In the initial video, you didn't even mentally explore it. And today, it was round two of the same mistake, so I gotta speak.
I play this build so I recommend building it out yourselves: Order Domain + Clockwork Soul. Things to focus on: weaponize both the bonus action and your teammates' reactions. You are the battlefield master, so quickened spell and vortex warp are must haves. 3 lvl sorcerer dip, telekinetic feat and Metamagic feats are a must
Another build I enjoyed was a Light Domain with quickened spell (fire ball).
Another build I had fun annoying my DM with was having all of the low level utility spells available from a divine soul and the regular spell availability of a regular cleric
What about a knowledge domain that can telepathically communicate with a creature you are detecting the thoughts of through your Aberrant Mind abilities?
While Tempest Domain and Storm Sorcery do sound like they should work, it is better to do Life and Storm as the Storm abilities let you use your magic as a beast of a frontline combat medic with escapability.
How about a really scary Shadow Magic Twilight Cleric, you can fly in darkness only you can see through and go crazy on the baddies or cover an escape?
So come on, if this isn't better than a D tier, please tell me what you want? None of these builds requires more than a 13 in Charisma.
DM me if you want to see my builds for any of these.
I took the suggestion of ranger/rogue, gloomstalker/arcane trickster from this channel. I've never felt so powerful with a character. The consistent damage output vs the rest of my group is insane! Love this mash-up!! My characters ambition is to make his own ranger conclave (gloomstalker has never been created before in my dms homebrew). I mixed the two subclasses together and call it the Umbral Anarchist 🤘
I actually really like the idea of an artificer-barbarian multiclass. I would be an artillerist with utility spells that rages and blasts people with my canon in combat.
I actually planned out a build for this focusing on the healing turret, figuring that the temp hp goes super far with rage.
I do love all the wacky combos this series has brainstormed
A few multiclass choices that I think get overlooked in favor of more “popular” subclasses but deserve a shout out would be the Artillerist Artificer/Evocation Wizard (2 levels) or the Tempest Cleric/Land Druid (Mountain). That being said, I always enjoy these videos for the out of the box inspiration they give me
I had a druid of stars with a high dex and wis, and I took a single level in monk just for the AC buff (and maybe for Astral Self in the future)
Awesome series, thank you.
Not properly tested, as it was in a solo campaign I found online (Seidkona Saga), but Shadow Monk 6, then multiclassing into both a Gloomstalker and an Assassin (probably maxing out at monk 11, 4 ranger, 5 rogue) is a lot of fun to play.
For Fighter/Warlock, I actually got the build idea from your vids on this. We're starting at level 11 in a game, so we have some freedom. I paired Fighter (Arcane Archer) with Warlock (Hexblade) for the "better arcane archer". I can't wait to try it out!
Currently playing a lvl 5 Life Domain Cleric/lvl 2 Circle of Stars Druid, with a high focus on support role. Highly underrated. The Starry Form and options you gain from the Druid spell list meshes well. It’s no Sorcerer/Warlock for sure, it’s more utility and roleplay focused. But a few things stand out for me. Access to Wild Shape for various situations. Thorn Whip/Spirit Guardians combo is awesome. Additional spells that both classes share frees up prepared spells for some interesting mixes. They are also both full casters using Wisdom, saving your precious spell slots and keeping them on par as if you hadn’t multiclassed. The thing you miss out on is hitting your ASI’s early and also the final ASI, definitely a deal breaker for some. For even more of a spread I took Magic Initiate (Wizard) and Telekinetic feats for more support options. We have a Paladin and Barbarian, with a Fighter joining next session. Hence my heavy focus on support. They will be doing most of the hitting while I’m buffing, debuffing, and healing. Planning on taking Cleric to 18 (if we get that far)
one thing of note you can do with fighter/warlock is the warlock can let you use elven accuracy with a great weapon, and when you have a -5 the mega advantage can be more impactful.
Also a fun combo: Human or Half Elven Bard (Valor)/Rogue (Mastermind)
Concept: Ultimate helper
Use Bardic Inspiration along with Faerie Fire to give companions advantage and bonuses. Take Valor Bard to 6 for multi-attack, then 3 levels of Rogue to pick up Cunning Action and the Mastermind archetype for the awesome Master of Tactics feature, allowing you to use Help as a bonus action and increase the range (for Helping on attacks) from 5ft to 30ft. At this point, on every round the bard can be giving either Inspiration or Help, while concentrating on a helpful spell like Faerie Fire, AND casting an attack spell or making an attack.
1st Feat: Inspiring Leader - give everyone bonus hp after every rest.
Or, if human, take Sharpshooter at 1st, then take Crossbow Expert at your next Feat.
Start with Totem Barbarian to 5th level, then go with 7 levels of Rogue. Then finish with Barbarian. The defensive and offensive synergies are so good! Just face-tanking everything and always Reckless to add sneak attack die to your damage. The rapier-wielding rogue barbarian is such a potent combo.
I'd love a collab with Colby where you discuss your build requests he did
Not sure if it is the most *powerful* but I have a lot of fun with my Rogue/Barbarian. You become a Grapple *monster* with almost no effort, sneak attack can be used with a strength-based attack as long as it is with a finesse weapon, and Extra Attack is great on any Rogue. (In my case, I started as mostly Barbarian but intend to build toward more and more Rogue until it's more Barbarian than Rogue. Currently shooting for Barbarian 7/Rogue 13 as the end point)
That Wizard/Tempest Cleric combo was done really well on Rolling With Difficulty and really sung with the Scribes Wizard. Plus the flavor of the build that came about via the story was fantastic
Played a Knowledge Cleric and once I got past 3rd level spells, my enthusiasm for the Cleric spell list was definitely waning. Took a quick dip into Rogue to get Expertise in Perception and Insight and I love it! Currently played in a high-level campaign and I adapted a build that Treantmonk covered that uses a Quickened Greater Invisibility to near guarantee permanent Advantage and then piles on XBE, Elven Accuracy, Sharpshooter, etc. Started at 12th level so I was able to "cheat" and just take 7 levels of Sorcerer and 5 levels of Fighter, which would have been rough if we didn't start at 12. Treantmonk uses Bard to bridge the gap so the character is viable from 1st level onwards, but I didn't have to!
My favorite character ever though, and one that I am currently playing, is a Wood Elf Scout Rogue/Gloomstalker Ranger. I just feel so useful outside of combat with all of my Skill Proficiencies and Expertises. Started at 3rd level and I made the tough decision of starting with Rogue levels because I really wanted the extra Expertises to fill out my skills. Currently 8th level so I am Rogue 4/Ranger 4, and Extra Attack is so close I can taste it. It will feel SO good to finally get that, but I don't regret the level progression because of how much I've enjoyed the character's abilities outside of combat. Plan is Rogue 4, then 8 levels of Ranger, then back to Rogue for however long I am still playing the character. Looking back, maybe Rogue 3 -> Ranger 5 -> Rogue 4 -> Ranger 8 might have been better. However, as an archer character, being able to ignore cover and not have to worry about the long-range penalty has been extremely helpful in allowing me to use Steady Aim to consistently get Advantage and Sneak Attack when I otherwise could not have and the consistent Sneak Attack has helped make up for lack of Extra Attack.
I'm playing a level 5 pure barbarian right now, planning to put the rest of my levels into fighter. I'm doing ancestral guardian and rune knight. In terms of power, its definitely not way up there, but I'm playing with a number of new or newish players so I didn't want to go crazy, and the roll play potential is absolutely amazing with those two subclasses. I'm having a blast playing it.
one of my favorite lvl 20 sheets i ever made was eldritch knight 3, inquisitive 12, battlesmith 5
go dwarf to use heavy armor with no penalty, dump everything (including dex 13 for multiclassing), go all in on int and get wis to 18. advantage and expertise on perception and investigation PLUS reliable talent, 6d6 sneak attack per round, blur (plus war caster if you want)….so many fun possibilities, and a very fun way to focus hard on soft stats
Artificer can be a great 1 level Dip as starting class for Wizard.
You get:
Medium Armor and Shields, some nice Spells from the Artificer list that free up picks for your early wizard levels and Construction Saveing Throws!
You lose:
1 level of spell progression, but no spellslot levels.
40:00 - I created an all-multiclassed short adventure a while ago and have run it several times now as a pro DM, and it's a blast. I set the party level at 9, and beyond that the only restriction is that everyone has to multiclass at least one level. It's so fun to see the creative combinations that people come up with, especially when they aren't worried about viability at lower levels or being stuck with their choices for a whole campaign. I think the most interesting one so far has been a Swords Bard 4 / Eagle Totem Barbarian 4 / Divine Soul Sorcerer 1 aasimar with the shield master and grappler feats because he basically had unlimited battlefield control no matter what scenarios or creatures I threw at them. He wasn't the hardest hitter but he didn't need to be - he just lined up the shots for everyone else.
Just finished a campaign with a lvl 17 devotion paladin. I had good rolls to start so instead I picked up a couple of feats; magic initiate warlock, and heavy armour master. With the magic feat, I picked up eldritch blast, toll the dead, and 1st level hex. It played like a tank healer, awesome party support. I had a legendary Warhammer (1 handed for ALL the d8's) that would recharge my lay on hands with damage dealt (charisma modifier per long rest); not many party members died after I picked that up! Eventually became Hel's champion devoted to making sure that fate ran the just course, returning undead to their rightful place and making sure enemies met their timely end. Best hit was an opportunity critical hit with 5th level smite for 97 dmg.
For the Artificer Rogue multiclass, alternatively you can also take the Goblin race to have BA: Disengage and Hide, pick up Skill Expert (Stealth) to round the odd Int Score at level 4 (if Standard Array or Point buy), and also get a little extra damage vs a particularly hard foe or bbeg. :)
I'm still trying to figure this build out, but it always seems like I want more interesting feats and don't have enough ASI's.
BA: Hide + Skulker + Expertise and Advantage in stealth seems great! Hide in light obscurement and fire off Sharpshooter lightning Launcher attacks willy nilly.
You can also take advantage of the Guardians Thunder Gauntlets + BA: Disengage.
You can also rest Trick the THP from Guardian armor then swap to infiltrator to help boost your hit points.
For the one shot- no class repeats! I'd love to see the crazy combos you guys and Colby come up with. Ask Chris, too!
Party must cover the Fighter, Mage, Rogue, Priest archetypes. Go!
Any Cleric with Thorn Whip can pull an enemy into Spirit Guardians to double the damage it takes from Spirit Guardians. Nature Domain Clerics can do this S-tier combo on their own, but if you find another Domain more exciting, a 1-level dip in Druid (or the Magic Initiate feat) can get you Thorn Whip, Shillelagh and Absorb Elements. Thus, Druid is my S-tier multiclass dip for Clerics. With two Druid levels, Circle of Stars would be awesome on any Cleric (especially if Spiritual Weapon requires concentration in the 2024 PH, such that Clerics lack a way to weaponize their Bonus Action).
This is great! Going against the grain, I am seriously considering a 1-2 level dip of wizard for my Stars Druid. Pick up Toll the Dead, Mage Hand, and another cantrip. Get shield, and find familiar as a ritual with out spell slots or taking up part of the prepared list. If I do a second level the idea would be to do Diviner and get portend along with the Stars druid's cosmic omen. Might even add fey touched to throw in silvery barbs, just to mess with the dice even more.
I made a Tabaxi Rouge 3 (Swashbuckler), Warlock 2 (Hexblade), bard 1 (building towards swords bard but never got there because the campaign ended) that DOMINATED all pillars of the game. So much movement (tabaxi rouge) and damage (double bladed scimitar with sneak attack and booming blade)! One level of bard with proper spell selection is all you need in most social encounters too.
Haven't been here for some time. Love the lighting change!
Most fun multi's I have played (definitely not the most powerful, but filled their roles to a tee, made for interesting role play, and left an impression on the other players) were, in chronological order:
- Kensei 8/Samurai 12: I felt like Musashi running all over the battlefield, switching effortlessly between melee and ranged while still being able to tank in an emergency. Sub-optimal fighter-side build, but it fit the character. Role: Striker.
- Abjurer 12/Swashbucker 8: Ultimate tomb/lost ark raider with the Archaeologist background. Wasn't about death and destruction, was just able to get the party past any trap/trick/encounter we came across. Role: Expedition Leader.
- Bladesinger 15/Celestial Blade Pact 5: Wasn't fully viable until L9, but was a lot of fun. DM kept calling her a Jedi. If only Spirit Shroud stacked with Sword Burst... Role: Tank.
7:25 one of my favorite characters was i did a barbarian/soul knife. do you know how awesome it is when your DM crits you with a giant just for to quarter the damage cause of rage and uncanny dodge? lol! also, yes my barbarian felt way more useful out of combat with the rogue utility
31:22
I love this part of the conversation because I've been tinkering with a Paladin/Bard multiclass and _that's_ basically "Main Character Syndrome: the build."
Six levels in any Paladin Oath, Lore Bard the rest of the way. Proficiencies, Expertise, Magical Secrets, Jack of all Trades, more spell slots... that's a pretty easy multiclass that REALLY fills out any lack of versatility Paladin has.
I play a level 19 character that is 4 levels of Hexblade Warlock and 15 levels of Lore Bard. I think I might have done one too many level in Warlock, but in general I really love this build. I picked up Pact of the Chain for level 3 Warlock and have an Imp familiar. For roleplaying aspects, having a smart-mouthed devil as a familiar has worked tremendously for in-game roleplaying.
At level 19, so much of my work is doing support or casting big encounter changing spells like Force Cage, Wall of Force, Counterspell and so forth, that even though I have a fireball via Magical Secrets, on the balance I do way more damage using Eldritch Blast. With Hex, Hexblade's Curse, I can often hit for ~90 points of damage just using Eldritch Blast, which on the balance does more damage than Fireball and doesn't suck up a spell slot.
What about the Blood Hunter? I’d love to see your thoughts on the possible multiclass options with it
I think they just stuck with the official classes in this video (which Blood Hunter is not one of as it is not in a book released by Wizard of the Coast).
Having actually played an artificer/rogue multiclass for full infiltrator armor, I can confirm it was fun to play. I ran it with the Mastermind archetype to throw in some aid based support, but arcane trickster probably would have been the strong pick for rogue 3 with that. My plan was to eventually pick up two wizard for some basic ritual casting and the War Magic archetype features to add in some extra defense options. The end goal was basically Artificer X, Rogue 3 (maybe more?), and Wizard 2. Using the Skulker feat for additional hiding options.
A fun build I came up with recently was a melee swords bard / battle master / swashbuckler. The amount of damage you can dump into a single attack, all the feints and parries, support spells and 2 fighting styles make that thing the best one-on-one duelist I've ever made.
I’m playing as a swashbuckler- Rouge/gloomstalker-Ranger bugbear and I get bonus points for both initiative for both charisma and wisdom. It’s a great set up and both classes complement each other rather well. I’m currently a level eight, with four levels in each class. My feats are magic initiate Wizard and Warcaster. Using a whip with a bugbear gets fifteen feet of reach with a finesse weapon. In a single first round combat, I can dish out 5d6 from sneak attack and surprise attack, 5d8 between dread ambusher, zephyr strike (bonus action spell) and booming blade 1d8 initially 2d8 when the creature moves and 1d4 whip. If it’s within 15 feet of me and moves out of my reach, I get an opportunity attack from warcaster for another 1d4 1d8 3d6 (swashbuckler sneak attack) and 2d8 as it continues to flee. A total of 2d4, 8d6 and 8d8 (assuming everything falls into place).
I think the warlock could be C tier because one level of warlock gives you Hex. Then if you go eldritch knight, you get more spell slots for hex. And if you use 2 weapon fighting and get the dual wielder feat, that weaponized bonus action ends up hitting hard. Plus action surge with multi attack and then bonus action means that if you hit, hex just did 5d6 damage. Plus, I like giving a little bit of an eldritch flare to and eldritch knight
For our high-level just-for-fun campaign (to fill in for the regular campaign when our DM needs a break or has to miss) I started with a Dwarf 14th Sorcadin who's now 17th -- 6th/Paladin (vengeance) and the rest Sorcerer (divine soul). So so so much fun. Low-level spell slots go to smiting. Sorcerer spells get upcast for AOE and control. A quickened Booming Blade gives a third attack whenever I have no other need for my Bonus Action. Dwarven Fortitude lets me use a Hit Die in combat -- which triggers the Bloodwell Vial ability to regain 5 sorcery points. Metamagic Adept gives more sorcery points & metamagic options to make up for the paladin levels. This build definitely feels on par with the single-class characters in the party.
Alternate idea on that ultimate patty - make that team essentially the bbeg, everyone try to build something that they think can actually beat pal/scor,.scorlock, Hexadin, and roguestalker working together
Also a fun combo: Dragonborn Cleric (Tempest)/Sorcerer (Storm)
Concept: lots of Thunder and Lightning damage
I take Cleric to 4th for the ABI, then 3 levels of sorcerer to get 2nd level sorcerer spells and metamagic, then mostly cleric for the rest (maybe 1 or or 2 more levels of sorcerer for more lightning spells, especially Lightning Bolt!)
Feats: Metamagic Adept for more Sorcerer Points, Quicken Spell, and Transmuted Spell to turn other spell damage into Thunder and Lightning.
Also useful: Elemental Adept, either Lightning or Thunder. Blast right through Resistance
This is a fun build all of the time but especially at somewhat higher levels, where I picked up GWM, which I could use with Booming Blade and Divine Strike. Then you can cast an attack or utility spell (possibly maximize damage with Channel Divinity), then Quicken cast Booming Blade which lets you make a weapon attack, which allows you to use GWM and Divine Smite. Or use your draconic breath weapon (especially good if you are using Fizban's), and then Quicken Booming Blade with GWM and DS.
In this build, having higher level spell slots for which you don't know any level appropriate spells is a serious benefit, especially when you get sorcery points. You want to upcast lower level lightning or thunder damage spells for opportunities to use Channel Divinity for massive max damage. You can also convert those spell slots to sorcery points to get more uses of Quickened spells to accompany your main actions.
Colby from D4: "Write that down. WRITE THAT DOWN!"
One thing I will say regarding Monk-Artificer, is that if you want to do a thrown weapon monk build, two levels of artificer let’s you get Returning Weapon, which means you can use Dedicated Weapon from Tasha’s to access a few more powerful weapons as Monk weapons. I don’t think it’s going to create any game-breaking builds, but it’s a use case, which is nice.
Also regarding Monk-Wizard, you can take Bladesinger and the Shield spell to get some extra AC, which is something that Monks struggle with. You could even leave Wisdom at 13 or 14 and take Mage Armor, and use that instead of Unarmored Defense for your AC.
I'd have to say out of all the characters I've played, my absolute favorite is the Circle of Stars Druid multiclassed with a few levels in Life Cleric. The heals along with the tankiness is just.. Crazy strong. It may not do too much in combat besides a few cantrips or guiding bolt, but the healing is insane!
The most powerful multiclass that I have personally played is my gloomstalker echo knight. I've got 8 levels of ranger (we're playing Call of the Netherdeep so I really wanted that inherent swim speed and the Wis save proficiency) and 3 of fighter. Everyone was surprised when I put echo knight on an archer instead of battlemaster, until I started using it for maneuverability. That ability to switch places with an echo on a bonus action has saved my life at least 4 times so far. The added sight lines to attack and the ability to move around the field have been amazing. Add on Sharpshooter and Alert and I owe my poor DM several apologies.
Because when you always go first and can attack 6 times at advantage in the very first round of combat thanks to action surge, stack hunter's mark on top, add 2d8 force damage for those bonus gloomstalker attacks, and THEN add +60 for sharpshooter assuming they all hit..... yikes 😅
For the Artificer/Wizard build, I have taken first level as Artificer, then six levels of Wizard going with either War or Bladesinger and then pick up the other 2 levels of Artificer and going the rest Wizard. The first level of Artificer gives you a lot. Medium armor and shields, Constitution saving throws, and a higher base level of hit points for first level. I also don't feel it detracts from a Wizard playstyle and offers a few spell choices that Wizards don't have such as faerie fire. Going Bladesinger, which is what I'm more familiar with, that one level, while a factor, I don't feel slows access to multi-attack enough to be a significant problem. It is also worth remembering that since Artificer rounds up with their level for spell progression that level doesn't slow down your spell levels. The two levels of Artificer after sixth does drop your progression by a level, but in return you get your intelligence as your melee stat, the ability to make a few infusions, a metal familiar and access to all martial weapons. To me, the trade off is worth it.
Hi guys! I am playing a lvl 6 Swords Bard (dual wilder)/ lvl 2 Paladin (defense) with Fey Touch as a feat for hex and high DEX, it is just awesome the damage that can deal, and the social interations o problems solving with bard spells are great. Not the most cleaver of characters, but still, 5 attack per turn with 5 smites an 5 hex when all lands, tasty! Thanks to you!!