Barbarian Subclass Tier Rankings in Dungeons & Dragons 5e
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- Опубликовано: 27 июл 2020
- MONSTERS OF DRAKKENHEIM is 300+ pages of eldritch horror inspired monsters for 5e by the Dungeon Dudes! Coming to Kickstarter March 26th, 2024: www.kickstarter.com/projects/... We look at the Barbarian subclasses and analyze and debate their abilities and features, ranking them in terms of mechanical uses for combat, exploration and social aspects of the game. We compare our views with the views of the community to give a solid look at how the subclasses measure up.
TIME STAMPS:
1:49 - Ancestral Guardian
4:36 - Battlerager
6:49 - Berserker
11:14 - Storm Herald
14:19 - Totem Warrior
17:28 - Zealot
20:56 - Final Rankings & Opinion
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Игры
Can't wait for the 3 hour long cleric tier list
Lol, indeed
The wizard as well haha
@@vitorfarias1438 Cleric has a longer one........list I mean xddd
Especially the wizard
@@penguinlord3918
That's a nice meme...
For someone in fireball distance.
Beserker: I RAGED MYSELF TO DEATH!!!!
Zealot: that's cool bro. I RAGED PAST DEATH!!!!
Zealot: Man literally to angry to die
@@javahikage Eventually rage runs out, which is when Healing Word cock-blocks death.
@@isaacgraff8288 past 15th level (so only 1 more level up) Rage only ends when you're unconscious. Sleep and, well sleep are the only things that can stop you. And Exhaustion.
I raged to death, and then raged past it.
Really love my Scourge Aasimar Barbarian Zealot who is now spending his time between adventures in Avernus’ Blood War.
Community gives Berserker a strong A/B ranking.
Dungeon Dudes: Maybe its us being wrong? Not sure why?
Community: because Grog Strongjaw, thats why
Yea.... even Travis barely used frenzy later in the show and even said he kinda wished he went totem after fighting Kevdak.
@@Blackwind_Legacy It's one of those pitfall subclasses it feels like, you read all the stuff and it's so cool, it's Barbarian 2.0 basically and if you picked Barbarian you might want to be MORE Barbarian. Then the exhausted part is there and if you're not too aware of how bad exhaustion can be or how quickly it can stack up, you'll likely ignore it as a minor inconvenience when infact it can be major.
Eventually it just becomes that special ultimate ability you save just incase that "specific big situation" comes and then you go around a whole session where there were several situations you could've used it, but you didn't think "this was it". So it just falls flat whilst really not adding anything to your character in roleplay as much as the other stuff, even wearing spikey armor adds flavor to RP than being just more Barbarian, which makes you realize later how even more boring it is when cool opportunities happen that would've added flavor picking the other subclasses.
@@prinstyrio0 Yeah all the Xanathar's subclasses firmly annihililated Berserker as a viable option. The argument about frenzy damage potential just isn't there when you've Ancestral Guardian, Storm Herald, and Zealots that all get better abilities and greater damage output
@@Blackwind_Legacy thats bullshit he frenzied just as much as he always did. On the boss fight of the day. And kicked major ass.
@@Anegor no actually he didn't. Go check crit roll stats. He used a progressively less and less.
After taking a look at all the barbarian subclasses we’ve come to the conclusion that polearm mastery is the best subclass
Polearm Master + Sentinell + Great Weapons Master ;)
Just play fighter at that point. Idk about everyone else, but more than half the reason I play a particular class is the aesthetics. In my mind, a polearm is a knight or city guard weapon. Not a barbarian one.
@@ryanphillips4123 I couldn’t agree more. I like these guys and usually they give great opinions on classes. But they missed the mark here bad. Why on earth is a barbarian using polearms? They are the treating polearm master feat like it’s built into the classes and if you are a barbarian you need to use a polearm. That’s just crazy
@@dwaresacksqb they weren’t looking role play wise, just the theoretical best build. Polearm master is just one of the best feats for a barbarian.
@@adamstadick2044 game mechanic wise, combining PM with GWM is absolutely devastating when using reckless attack. It may not be the “flavor” people envision of the barbarian, but to say “just pick the fighter” is solely for looks, because round after round the barbarian is gonna end up dealing more damage with those feats.
Totem Warrior is the best and funniest thing i ever saw in a game, nothing is better than a centaur that can fly cause he is angry XD
exactly. How can anyone put it below A, is uncomprehensible
For me its probably C or B but agreed
Its super fun :D but imo Its not my playstyle
In the end everyone has his own play style, For me TW barb is S all the way cause i love the play style and its funny as hell
@@niatilevi9768 :) neat
it kind of sounds like the avatar state. Aang flew in the air from anger when he found the Appa kidnappers
Please do this with all the classes. I genuinely need these kinds of videos to help my players since literally all of them are new to the game
That’s the plan!
That was fast af, nice.
ruclips.net/video/FobL4Yx66T4/видео.html dis good stuff
Check out Esper the Bard, he has already done this with every class, subclass, race, subrace... everything basically
@@DnDandVideoGames I've checked out more D&D channels that I can count, but these guys are one of the few whose presentation and explanation style in understandable to me.
I like how Solasta fixed the Berserker with:
"When entering a rage, Berserkers can decide to go into a frenzy. Frenzied Berserkers can use their bonus action to make a melee weapon attack while raging. When their rage ends, they must succeed a DC 10 Constitution saving throw or suffer one level of exhaustion. Each time Frenzy is used the DC increases by 5. The DC resets to 10 on a short or long rest"
I've also heard a fix which says that while in Frenzy, the Barbarian isn't affected by their exhaustion. So they can rage until they kill themselves, but don't suffer consequences while raging.
I also have the specific exhaustion point from the frenzy be able to short rested away
That's a great way of handling it! Knowing Barbarians Con saves, they're almost guaranteed a free use of their awesome ability, and the fact that this fix still adds risk of burning yourself out makes it still flavorful
I just got rid of exhaustion completely at my table. It’s still perfectly fine. Frenzy kind of conflicts with Great Weapon Master and you can’t use the extra attack on your first turn, so the Zealot actually has a better damage output in short skirmishes without suffering any consequences.
That said, I like the idea that’s been thrown around lately - that a frenzied barbarian MUST ALWAYS use Reckless Attack.
@@Idziemel1 I like that
Everyone here like "but Grog!" without saying it. Like dude, he had GWM and was really reserved with his frenzy. He did great because his player was great.
I've read about a gal who played Zerker and performed well. Cause she only popped frenzy in boss fights and had a Cleric with Greater Resto prepped.
Did they forget you can choose to frenzy? They said multiple times that my barbs always use all their rages they would be so exhausted if they choose berserker.
@@Sacredsnow2 i think that left that out. but i think their point was, to rage and not use frenzy was to miss-out* on a staple subclass feature.
The issue is you loose a major feature if you do not frenzy and the attack you gain is just not THAT good. Other ways to het same effect.
@@CobisTaba Not that good? It's literally a 100% damage increase at lvl 3 and a 50% dmg increase at level 5 when you get your extra attack? How much better do you want?
The reply I always seem to get is "polearm master"
A- There is a huge difference between 1d4 for you bonus attack vs. 1d12 for your bonus attack.
B- The zerker can take polearm master too. So he'll be doing 1d10 bonus attack with business end of his glaive while frenzied and the normal 1d4 blunt end when he isn't
That being said, it would have been nice if later levels gave you the option to remove a level of exhaustion from frenzy on a short rest.
One thing you never talked about. When you take a long rest you only remove one level of exhaustion.
Yup. And if you die from exhaustion? You are raised with 5 out of 6 levels of exhaustion; coming back from the dead reduces 1 level of exhaustion.
is a downward spiral. You raged 3 times today, you rest and gain a level back. next day you fight again and rage anther 3 times. now you have 5 lvls of exhaustion. What do you do on day 3 of your dungeon crawl?
With the class feature variant UA just splash in one level of Ranger. Your problem for the most part will be solved. 👍
@@theonlymatthew.l how so?
@@MsKeylas There's a UA class feature for the Ranger that let's you take away a level of exhaustion as part of a short rest
that it, time for a spin-off channel: Cooking with Monty. Episode one- the perfect gravy
Not a bad idea
@@DungeonDudes I mean... There's a D&D cookbook coming out.
@@TheSamba37 Really? What's the title
Come on, the first episode need to be Monty that cook a python in a holy grail
Dungeon Dudes
Way Bigger Than Gravy?
Why Berserker is a fan favorite: "exHaUsTiOn?!?"
I believe most groups completely forget that exhaustion even exists and forget to apply it...
Ive honestly never had a group give more than 1 or 2 encounters a day, and have also never been above level 6. Which is the exact situation this subclass needs to be very good. Attacking with a maul twice each turn with advantage just eclipses other sources of damage below level 5.
I just think they heavily overrate Polearm master. 1d4 damage bonus attacks or you could get great weapon master and do a full swing with a d12 battle axe +10. Throw in kills for extra strikes, and your easily the highest damage per turn character for the big combat encounters. If your fighting so often that you cant save your frenzies for big encounters then I guess i get it but also no. like just save your frenzies for big moments and melt shit.
@@charliestallbaumer1362 the great thing about the polearm is the reach factor, in which you can start hitting before they are in melee range, stop their movent, then move back, rinse and repeat.
@@mateusbarbosa4215 Stopping them requires the Sentinel feat, in which case you have to wait till level 8 at least to make it viable.
@@denysgorbach413 ah, true, yet powerful after that.
This video should be called “why Polearm Master is overpowered”.
My brain had been think of the fighting style UA feat and thinking of being a dual wielding barbarian, and then Polearm Master knocked on the door
yeah it got to be a bit much to be honest.
Just going to make the same comment. Zerker and Rager both become more interesting when you take Polearm Master off the table.
@@Killlerofthings well, Zerker does. Rager is not and never will be interesting. It is just bad. If the damage/temp HP scaled up better in later levels? maybe. but it's just atrocious as is.
Every video they make that involves melee is the same thing
I made a deal with my dm that if my berserker barbarian ever wanted to frenzy for a 6th time in a row (meaning death imminent), that I would basically go super saiyan 2 (super saiyan 1 being normal frenzy). If I willingly frenzied knowing I would die, my character would basically put every last bit of strength into the last minute of battle.
I died happy as a lvl 10, winning as the last man standing (party or enemy). It was basically the most epic battle of all time. And that’s why I love berserker subclass.
Insert screaming cowboy mene
If youd like to play an rpg where you can freely power up like dbz, check www.lightstrikersrpg.com and look out for the “Braver” class
I mean, I guess, but rules as written I think you have 0 movement from 5 levels of exhaustion, so idk man I guess thats cool, but at that point dm is just giving out pretty broken abilities
@@Thelitletrainthtcud Eladrin BB laughs and executes one last ballsy charge.
Werent exactly standing afterward lol
Zealot Barbarian is literally a 40k Space Marine Black Templar and i love it: "Warrior literally too angry to die!"
0:00 intro
1:49 ancestral Guardian
4:36 Battlerager
6:50 berserker
11:14 storm Herald
14:22 totem Warrior
17:30 zealot
I cannot get enough of Ancestral Guardian.
I'm playing in an Eberron last war campaign as a scrapyard punk. Character doesn't even know their ancestors. So rebellious/downtrodden local restless spirits come to our aid instead. And goodness does Ebberon have restless ghosts to charge in with.
DD: Ancestral Guardian Barbarians are the only class that has that 4th Edition ability to mark a target...
Me: *angry Cavalier noises*
they're probably implying that the ancestral guardian mark is better than the cavalier's, though it is likely that they forgot that the cavalier has a marking ability as well
Well, its the only class with a marking ability that doesnt want you kill your character when you play it for a longer time and notice how boring the class is
"There is really no other class in D&D 5e that has such a strong 4e style marking the target mechanic" Looking at the two abilities I'd say the barbarian's Ancestral Protectors looks like it would be more consistently beneficial, although the cavalier's ability to mark multiple people gives it some redundancy.
The Cavalier version is indeed inferior to the Ancestral Guardian since it only works on creatures within 5 ft of you, a very unfortunate limitation.
@@scythius2019 Cavalier version can be placed on as many targets as you can hit, AG is one per turn. Cavalier's give them advantage against marked targets and bonus damage till the end of their next turn. The AG's is purely defensive with your allies being attacked with Disav and them having resistant to the damage.
Glad to see you guys shoulder to shoulder again!
I was going to say the same thing!
Indeed, especially in the great snowy canadia
I had no clue they were Canadian! And from Toronto too apparently, I'm so close to them lol
As a American were royally fucking it up down here, and im supremely jealous and happy that other countries(like Canada above) are returning to normal
The frenzy bonus action attack with a greatsword does a bit more damage than the pole arm master bonus action without the cost of a feat, but the real reason I love the berserker barbarian is because dying of exhaustion is an integral part of the barbaric roleplaying experience.
Oh well if it’s dmg that u want pick literally other ways to get a bonus action attack. Like great weapon master or taking the feat to get the fighting style to add your dmg to your offhand when dual wielding. Literally your main feature is replaced by taking a single feat (which is sad) and none of these other ways gives u exhaustion so it’s worse. Literally pick up any other Barbarian subclass and pick up a single feat to do what berserker can do without gaining exhaustion while also getting abilities from the subclass u picked. Taking a feat to do what berserker can do (but better) is worth it if u want to be making an attack as a bonus action. It’s just a single feat. U could also go lvs into fighter to get action surge and if u go high enough get more asi/feats (and if dual wielding u don’t even have to take a feat to get a fighting style for it).
Also keep in mind even with just one lv of exhaustion u will have disadvantage on initiative rolls since it’s a dexterity ability check. Even without that tho having disadvantage on ability checks sucks!! And only one lv of exhaustion goes away after a long rest so u won’t fully recover if u use it only twice in a day. I mean u can save it for the boss enemy but what if theirs more then one boss or big fight? And if your being scarce like that with it what’s the point in even being one since your for the most part not even using the core mechanic. Where as other Barbarians can do their main abilities like every fight as long as they have rages (especially since some are just passive like the bear) and therefore will be doing more dmg and tank more then what the Berserker can do since your very limited on your main ability.
This subclass is objectively terrible my dude. And yea I know this is a year old but meh.
@@davidstratton696 a year later I still think that playing with exhaustion is fun and interesting, and dying from it is metal af.
@@jamesmullen3068 Doesn’t make the subclass good in any way. It’s objectively terrible but u subjectively like it. I don’t see how rolling with disadvantage even if it’s just ability checks. That’s literally all rolls outside of combat and even some in combat when trying to do Barbarian things. It just sounds more stressful then fun at all.
@@davidstratton696 it's ok to have subclasses that are more valuable because of how they suggest we role play instead of dice mechanic optimization. There are lots of barbarian builds that are great for that. Berserker just isn't your style. I also think that exhaustion challenges are fun. Managing levels and making saves while lower CR enemies that were easy to roll over start to become dangerous again. It takes cleverness. I think a lot of groups avoid playing with exhaustion because people think rolling with disadv is stressful, but it doesnt have to be.
Best solution is:
-Ignore exhaustion during rage
-Gain tireless at level 6 (with the added detail of food and water on short rests)
This is makes it pretty playable.
What a great tier video. You have two separate guys giving their own independent opinions and reasonings, and then they consider a poll so they can ultimately get a good average on tier placement, making it a pretty informative and helpful video. It's not like most tier videos where you're getting a single person's or unified collective's opinion and reasoning.
I really love how ancestral guardian, notable for defending
And the zealot, notable for growing damage dealing and survival
Are both in A tier
Is this an extra surprise or are you changing the days you're releasing your content? By the way truly enjoy your Videos not just the information; your banter is entertaining.
We will be releasing the ranking videos every other Tuesday as well as our normal Thursday episodes.
@@DungeonDudes dude! That's awesome! I hope you do Artificer soon!
@@DungeonDudes Oh that's super exciting!
I apologize. The previous comment was meant to be in the general comment section and not tagged onto yours as a reply.
Now I imagine Berserker barb as just hilariously out of shape: "*huff* *huff* Ha. They don't stand a - wheeew, man this axe is heavy..."
I read that in the voice of a middle aged fat white guy
I laughed way to hard at this.......probably because that would be me as a Barbarian.
I love the ancestral guardian so much, once had one who when he Raged, he just got battle happy, like he laughed in battle like he was meeting old friends in a pub, and who's only ancestor that showed up in combat was is mother who wielded the same poleaxe as he did. All things said and done he ended up turned into a green half dragon, acquired a mask of tiamat, 1v1ed adult golden dragon while his teammates stood back, and gained the title Flag Bearer because he had a habit of impaling his foes on the end of his poleaxe and lifting them up while shouting "MEAT FLAG!"
Ahh...that campaign will be missed
What a absolute Unite
Against a Manticore, I only took 5 damage while a Rogue took no damage (we were Level 3), despite the Rogue being attacked.
I played my first Ancestral Guardian Barbarian not 6 hours ago, in Descent Into Avernus.
... He a tanky boi. I am pleased. ^__^
I don't know what I'm hungrier for after watching this, the blood of my foes or mashed potatoes and gravy.
Sounds like a barbarian problem to have LOL
Make blood gravy?
Totem warrior and Zealot are definitely my favorites. Played a Zealot who later multiclassed into paladin and it was verrrrry strong. A little mad but if the character has the stats for it a zealot taking an oath is very cool for the role play. Really leans into the spirituality of that character.
That’s the character I’m playing right now! The smites just feel so strong
12lvl zealot barb/4lvl vengence paladin at the moment. It's awsome, althought i'm lucky our dm is not sadistic and helps me fix fuck ups i made when making the character. It was my first one and my expectations about how everything will work was a bit off (we are playing that campaign for 2years now and until today i haven't noticed the part about persistant rage also ending after 1min like normal rage. Ahh how quickly can dreams die)
I love the flavor of eagle barbarian. You can have the barbarian sprout literal eagle wings, spiritual eagle wings, fly on wind, or just jump really high
Ancestral Guardian + Sentinel = Wizard's best friend
I only pick the zealot for literally being too angry to die.
Edit: V.S. Virgin Berserker literally dying out of anger
Free revives are also gonna make your cleric like you.
***RIP AND TEAR***
add in the undying thing from orcs AND shadow sorcerer for some real RAGE
I ran a Zealot through Strahd, and it was freaking glorious!
Zealot barbarian, half-orc, circle of the moon druid. Let that sink in
I see this in my feed right as I start creating my barbarian.
"Well, that was convenient"
Lessons learned.
Monty: most elements of the game can be replaced by the polearm mastery feat.
Kelly: is craving poutine.
I love poutine!
To be fair, poutine slaps in a special kind of way
@@gabebaum6527 agreed, initially it sounds strange, but Poutine is great
What if when the Berserker went into it's Rage it is immune to the exhaustion drawbacks and at higher levels, it could lose level of exhaustion on short rests?
If he is immune to exhaustion then what is the point of having it? Such a gimmick
@@HellGod67 Only on rage, it means you wouldn't use it when not raging
@@HellGod67 exactly.there is no point.berzerker is a bad subclass
see this is what i love about 2 person style content is when the two dont just sit there and argue before the video. like it felt like you just started up the camera and started talking. it felt genuine
After playing a Zealot barbarian for a while in Adventurers League, I must say that it's easily a solid S rank for me (slightly behind the Totem Warrior, but there can be more than 1 subclass per rank in my book).
The extra damage done by Divine Fury is extremely reliable (one of my two reckless Great Weapon Master attacks almost always hits) and really adds up fast over the course of a combat - it also often adds just enough to let me down a target and unlock a full bonus action attack with Great Weapon Master.
I recently got the Rage Beyond Death feature and it's - quite frankly - ridiculous ! There are many combats where the entire rest of our usually 6-7 strong party can simply fall back and mop up targets from afar while I tank several hundred points of extra damage after having dropped to 0, racking up kill after kill while recklessly attacking atop piles and piles of enemy bodies. Sure, this carries the risk of dying to a simple Sleep spell, but who cares ? I'm a Zealot of Tempus who can be resurrected for free after combat anyway ! And most enemies rely on damage to down targets !
I have played with two zealots. Or I guess played as one and with one. It’s really not that good early on. I find that ancestrial is actually the best barbarian for a non selfish player. I love zealot barbarian is super fun tho. It’s awesome. But I find aces trial is way better and near totem is close but not quite as good for the team. Zealot and bear are way more fun tho.
@@conradkorbol True. Zealot definitely takes some time to get going - but Rage Beyond Death still allows you to tank several hundred hitpoints of damage after reaching 0 HP - I did exactly that in "Against The Giants" recently when we stormed the main hall of one of the steadings and most of our party got low on hitpoints quite early in the combat.
The rest of my party retreated behind the doors of the main hall to take pot-shots and drop some AoE spells while my character kept getting pelted with 5+ rocks and 6-8 giant melee attacks per round. He just refused to die and kept reckless hacking all of them down one by one (with lots of added firepower by the rest of the party, of course) while blocking the door and taunting the giant chieftain to keep attacking him.
Nr4747 high levels it goes form a to s for sure. But I am in tier two and wish I was a different subclass.
SO good to see you guys recording again in-person! Loved your content for the past few months, but it's so good seeing you guys bounce things off of each other in the same room. Keep it up, guys!
Some thoughts: Ancestral's protection has two major notes, it has no effect on saves of any form and the 6th level feature can defend the barbarian and can block an attack from a source other than your guardians main target.
Battlerager: Needs DM support as your tied to mediocre armor, if you want to play it make sure the DM is willing to give you better versions as the campaign progresses.
Berserker: I think most people rate it so highly is because that exhaustion doesn't usually come up (getting 1 big encounter between long rests is common) and that functionally having extra attack early is nice as are the incredible later abilities, but as mentioned, the damage of barbarian is more reliant on flat things such as rage and stat, making a polearm mastery good.
Totem: one huge thing they undersold is that your level 3 choice has no bearing on the level 6 or 14 choice. You can go Bear, Elk Eagle for instance and get the indestructible pseudo flying ball that cuts travel time in half or something completely different.
Zealot: Zealot OP as long as you have someone to raise you, plus a 20th level elf, half elf or warforged Zealot is functionally immortal.
Dungeon Dudes: Gravy Edition.
I feel like Berserker did so well with the community because of it's other abilities. Mindless Rage is SO useful.
Yeah it's one of the main ways to attack your barbarian as a dm so I think that's why it got higher for the community. Still not a great subclass though
@@chrisvelo2595 honestly mindless rage is only thing keeping it from being pure trash
THANK YOU FOR MAKING THIS VIDEO SERIES!!!!! I started running my first full on campaign (aiming for the long haul!) and the players are starting to hit subclass levels, so I referred my players to these videos (for the available ones).
I also had the party cleric watch the cleric videos (second one came out the same day I sent it to him).
I can’t WAIT for more.
I really look forward to the Ranger one, even though the class sucks overall.
Glad to see you guys back at the table together! And great shirt, Monty!
Saw this posted 8 seconds ago.
I made a Path of the Storm Herald, with Desert flavor because we're in a desert. I know it's one of the worst builds normally, but it works for the campaign.
Be aware that your damage aura hits friendlies too!
The damage aura is actually really potent at lower levels! Found out this by running a game for one and it just mowed down low hp creatures.
It’s always a little extra fun when a niche build is appropriate for the campaign 👌
Play it if it's fun.
My first ever character was a highly unoptimized Paladin with a 1-level Sorcerer dip for them cantrips. The campaign just stopped after maybe 10 or so sessions. So for the new campaign I created an Optimized Paladin. I even rolled godly stats (20 STR/18 CHA at level 1 should be illegal).
And you know what happened?
I got bored of it.
I got bored of it so much that I retired the character, made a third Paladin that's a lot more like the first one. I'm doing a heck of a lot less damage now (the new character has 16 STR and is sword and board based while the optimized one had 22 STR (Deck of Many Things...) and Great Weapon Master) but I'm having a blast playing him.
I'm glad to see that my predictions for each rank was correct. Also, if Totem Warrior had been anything less than S tier, then I was really going to have to start questioning reality (and I don't need any more reasons to be insane during 2020).
Please make more of these videos! I am going to be playing dnd for the first time and am really excited but overwhelmed by all the choices and options for all the classes. This really helped me understand and I hope you two continue these in the future!
Bear Totem is so good at level 3 that it almost kinda makes the other choices feel pointless. Every time I theory craft a Totem barbarian, I wind up picking bear.
Dungeon Dudes.. just gotta say.. I've missed you guys being in the same room. ♥️🤘 There is hope for this world!
yay glad youre together again! :D
That gravy slip at the end was inevitable, thanks for leaving it in, I loled
"Good in a certain campaign". It would be interesting to hear a few short thoughts on which campaigns it would fit. Good video. The overwhelming agreement with the community shows that. Thanks.
Stay healthy but glad to see you back together again
(great video btw)
I really hope you are planning to cover all subclasses for each class this way :3
We are!
Haven't watched the video yet, but Beast Totem definitely is going to be S tier. Having an effective health of 118 at level 7, when the rest of my party has 30-60 health, with the second highest being our tabaxi rogue with an effective health of 66, while our party is fighting 12 frost giants is so so so powerful.
One of the issues with saying "polearm master negates your subclass" is that who is actually playing a halberd weilding barbarian unless they're intentionally putting gameplay over theme and roleplay.
On another note, being able to weaponize bonus action without having to take something like polearm means you've freed yourself up for something else, like alert or something else fun
Edit: apparently this is being taken as me saying that barbarians cant use halberds which is silly. I'm merely casting doubt on someone choosing a halberd for their barbarian because it actually makes sense for the character and not just because it's an optimal feat. Barbarians just aren't typically known for the military discipline and group cohesion that halberds were, you know, actually used with in history. They aren't something you recklessly swing around, they aren't even primarily used as a slashing weapon but as a stabbing one. The axe head's first function is to hook and pull your opponent (leg, shield, shoulder, etc) so you or probably an ally can stab them once they're vulnerable.
I just took issue with them getting a bit hung up with saying that everyone should just use polearm master when the feat itself doesn't even mesh with the common interpretation of the class. Spears I suppose are fine since they've been added to the definition and honestly I kinda forgot about them when i posted originally, but pikes and halberds are a stretch for me unless your character background explains the odd choice of weapon. Especially when we're talking "mastery" of said weapon.
I personally like to break the stereotype, and I enjoy the versatility of polearms/s&b compared to raw damage of great weapons and even on a role playing note there doesn't seem to me to be a huge difference between a big axe on a short stick vs a big axe on a long pole.
@@Nickelback8469 it's just the fighting style you envision, at least for me. Polearm I feel is a bit more refined from what you'd picture from a barbarian normally is all
Well the stereotypes of the classes are meant to be broken and experimented with. Not every Rogue needs to be sneaky, not every paladin has to be religious, and not every barbarian has to be primal in nature.
@@malmasterson3890 Aren't classes exactly that: stereotypes. That's why Rogue hasn't rage as skill, and cleric hasn't sneak attack. You don't need to do a dumb barbarian or a dark rogue, but I don't think everything is meant to be broken. If you don't want to be sneaky then don't play a Rogue. If you don't want religion to be a part of your character, don't play as a paladin nor a cleric.
@@fran3ro Well first off kid, no they aren't stereotypes they're frameworks. Second off, yes they are meant to be experimented with.
Not just the classes either, but the very rules of the game itself. Sometimes you want to play like a paladin, but not actually be a paladin. Sometimes you want to be a barbarian, but not actually be a barbarian. Take the mechanics of the class itself and flavor it your own way, that's part of the fun.
For example: many of my players play the "hybrid" classes: Ranger, Paladin, Artificer. They really like the classes, but they don't always want their character to be a spellcaster, so they flavor their spells as non-magical actions.
Using the snare spell? Have your character make a literal snare.
Compelled duel? Give some protag dialogue to goad the enemy into a standoff.
Identify? Pull out a magnifying glass & start inspecting.
Breaking the mold & being creative is a part of the game in every facet. That doesnt mean you should be discouraged from playing classes the stereotypical way, but that also doesnt mean that you can't break what the class is to make a cool character. As long as you still work within the original framework it's A-ok.
Instant tee shirt in three words: "Store Packet Gravy"
Holy shit, I remember when you guys were about to hit 100k subs, now you're just shy of 200k. Congrats!
Edit: Having gone through the video now, I know how you feel about the berserker. I'd allow a slight change so that the exhaustion is behind a CON save and/or improve the rage damage on a frenzy (only 1 or 2 more, they're getting the bonus attack anyway).
And it's worse when you realize exhauation is only reduced by a single level per long rest.
I did a change for a player I have currently, the change is that when in a frenzy the extra attack is added into the attack action rather than a bonus action. It gave the player more flexibility so they went shield master to make use of bonus actions. They enjoy it and it didn't make any balance issues. 10/10 would recommend. (It might also help them that I homebrewed a magic item that gives them a chance to not get the exhaustion)
@@solace5362 I did a similar change, and a 6th level tweak to ignore 1st frenzy per long rest when incurring exhaustion levels.
maybe is because you can use it as a 4 dip for a fighter? you can rage all day and not use the frenzy until the BBEG of the day show his ugly face, then you murder him.
you still get most of the Barbarian class features, but you get that ASI + overdrive "O sheep! look at the time! its MURDER HOUR" button.
I have no proof of this, but I feel like the Berserker is rated so highly due to slight homebrew, mainly ways to mitigate that levels of exhaustion in some way
Thank you guys for this video! Please make more tier videos and how to play (insert subclass) videos. They are super helpful for inspiration and understanding mechanics in the game.
I'm playing my first Barbarian and I was torn between Ancestral Guardian and Zealot. I think I'm gonna go with Zealot. Now I have to pick a god for her to be devoted to, that'll be fun.
Thank you for leaving in the gravy comment near the end, it made me laugh.
I’ve been waiting for these videos to start coming out ever since you put out that poll for us to vote on! Can’t wait for every class to be ranked. Thanks for always putting out fantastic videos!
Agreed! They did such a great job with their breakdowns too!
I love y'alls content. I'm currently playing my first ever long-term D&D campaign as a dwarf barbarian, and your videos have helped me. Thank you!
"Battlerager is C tier and competes with feats like polearm master"
battlerager minotaur with tavern brawler and grappler: "What's a polearm?"
Dwarf only; so doesn't exist.
@@joelsasmad sounds like your dm is lame
@@joekj4726 sounds like you ain't judging the subclass by the same rules they used, as written
I would personally put Berserker at a B, but I'm assuming part of the reason why people are down with Berserker so hard is... Critical Role. Grog made the Berserker look dang good.
I kind of imagined Grog would be a solid advocate as well. Though looking at the show currently, sometimes it feels like Travis himself has moments where he'll go "welp, can't do anything right now" or "holy shit that was an option?" that the other subclasses could give him, but hey he still seems like he's having fun so who cares.
I think part of the appeal that they didn't cover is that the Beserkers get to shrug off charm/fear when in rage at level 6 which covers a major weakness of the class.
And, while I love reach weapons, not everyone wants a character that has one.
@@misscaricature It actually comes up multiple times in Campaign 2 when Yasha gets charmed or frightened. The rest of the group jump in to tell her she's immune only for Travis and Matt to go "Actually that's another barbarians thing, Yasha doesn't have that."
The main problem with comparing Critical Role to the vast majority of campaigns is that they have an *extreme* focus on roleplaying that is quite unique. This leads to them having a lot fewer fights per long rest than the *vast* majority of campaigns, meaning that there is a lot less downside to getting a level of exhaustion for going into a frenzied rage.
@@Nr4747 and Travis also doesn't use frenzy often. Mostly regular rage
I love the berserker. And yes I have died from exhaustion, 5 times lol.
So this is our look at the various types of gravy... I mean
With a straight face too no less, chef's kiss.
Can I say this is awesome! I love you guys, proud to be a Patreon, and you deserve everyone of those 200K subs.
Oof those Community Berserker results. I'm 100% with you guys. Barbarian is my favorite class and I will never be Berserker.
Immunity to fear and charm is huge. Those are two of the biggest weaknesses of every other barbarian. Its a weak B to a strong C.
Also the bonus action attack gives you a lot of flexibility, since you don't have to use your action attack to get it unlike every other bonus action attack in the game. So you can attack and feed a potion to a dying ally, pull a lever, dash, ect ect.
@@ostravaofboletaria1027 Adicionaly you choose when its a frenzy, meaning you can rage just like any other barbarian but if the situation gets dire you can frenzy and weaponize your bonus action.
@@PiovesanRafa This, you can use the rage with all the bonuses of the class and use the Frenzy for a (ironicaly) smart and strategic use, like rescuing a party member from a letal scenario with the intimidating presence.
If you use Frenzy all the time you are going to die, if you use Frenzy as a last Ace for a critical moment, you can turn the tide of a lost fight(or be that angry dude all the day angry with persistent rage since not many things can remove you from rage mode and nap like a baby at the end of the day to shrug off the exhaustion)
I see you all making good points. I suppose domination or fear haven't come up a lot from my DM. I also like the idea of it being used as an ace in the hole. It would be good if it was the only Barbarian it's very picturesque, I just feel like there are stronger options.
@@McManthony21 there are stronger options, but is good to remember that you don't need to be op to beat the game *and have a good time*. You have a team, and as long as you can aid your allied heroes you can face many challenges and win the game.
This video was well timed as my Tortle Barbarian is just on the cusp of hitting level 3 and I was having a hard time choosing what subclass to choose.
Great video! Cant wait for you to do the rest of the classes
Love this, I can't wait for the rest of the series!
Showing up late to defend the Berserker: the real power in this subclass that makes this a B ranking for me is the level 6 ability that makes you immune to being frightened *or charmed*
If you've ever had a barbarian get hit with some sort of enchantment that makes them attack the rest of the party or defend the enemy, you *know* how powerful that can be
Absolutely, getting your Barbarian taken out or turned hostile with a single effect is horrifying, this completely eliminates that more or less, and it makes the Barbarian more RELIABLE.
Curious what you guys think about the new Wild Magic Barbarian!
I was disappointed to see that wasn't on the list!
Its epic! I have a level 12 barb(wild magic) level 5 fighter(brute) , and level 3 cleric(war)! Straight terrifying!
Great weapon master fighting style
I was unexpectedly happy to you both you guys in the same video without the two cameras
I love these kind of videos! Please do more classes!
So this has been a look at the various types of gravy. Battlerager, gravy with bones that your Mom's mother forgot to take out. Berserker, Spicy gravy (deadly ghost pepper, not American "Spicy") Ancestral Guardian, old family recipe that is still good but going out of style. Storm Herald, bipolar gravy. Totem Warrior, gravy made with a mix of your Dad's mom's recipe and the remaining Bulgogi juice from last night's dinner. Zealot, your dad's mother's gravy.
I hope you realize that Mexico is in America.
But, even if you were using America in the vernacular, i challenge you to have one serving of Nashville Hot Fried Chicken and continue with your assumption.
Storm Herald + Sentinel can melt enemy units, forcing them to stay in a hostile AOE (Desert), or Dex Save (Sea).
Thanks for that ;)
I dont know about that.
The scaling of the deserts aoe is really bad, and a lot of enemies have resistance or immunity to fire damage. Far fewer have restisnce to lightning, which is nice for sea, but... sea is a dex save, which is a very common save, so many monsters won't have that much issue passing it. Worse yet. When they DO pass it, they take no damage too. That really hurts the output that the herald has. Even worse yet is the sea's scaling; 2d6 at level what, 10? 12? Something like that. Thats horrible by that point. Every herald I've seen has picked herald for the roleplay, not mechanics, and when asked about the mechanics, half the time they dont bother to use their bonus action lightning because it just feels bad for the enemy to save on something that already does miniscule damage. A zealot is far better and performs the same melting by just attacking the enemy during their turn.
@@luisbencosme4757 Thing with desert is that it's still damage that *They get no save or option to avoid.* It's why Storm Herald's something of a favorite for me. I like that I have constant damage even if my rolls are sometimes cursed.
And even then, once you get up high enough level, if they ignore you they melt, and if they attack you, they still melt because not only are you throwing attack after attack at them, but enemies also have to deal with static fire damage that's equal to the character's level.
@@Qeshen they dont melt though. At higher levels, the tiny 3-4 damage you're dealing to an enemy (for most of the game since people rarely get to 15th) is neglible. The fire damage is pretty often resisted too, so its not even the full amount. For it being a *core* feature of the subclass, its objectively pretty bad. It holds absolutely no candle to the zealot who is utilizing uncommonly resisted damage types, in higher amounts, and with greater effect since it can ride on crits, in addition to barbarians boasting the thirdd highest average accuracy in the game, beaten only by advantaged archers (until level 20, then theyre even) and elven accuracy gishes. Desert's damage only niche is in being capable of affecting more than one creature, so the damage can rack up the more people there are in the aura. The problem is... there's rarely more than 3 people in the aura. At best, the desert will feel good about their ability when there's a lot of mooks trying to gang up on the barbarian. If thats wotc's intent, then it works, but it winds up falling into the same pit that ranger does; far too reliant on the DM running the monsters in a specific way, much how ranger is far too reliant on the DM running their campaign in a certain way.
Also, I only specify the zealot because its published in the same book. If berserker didn't kill itself within a week, then that one would be better too. Heck, id say wolf barbarian is better due to assisting fellow martial, but thats not a fair comparison because its different styles of play. It could *really* use a bump up to feel worthwhile. I *will* say that desert is better than sea though. All or nothing dex save feels awful. I'd rather just go tundra for the small but repeated temp ho and take two feats than deal with the frustration that is Sea. Desert ill play if its a particularly thematic campaign *and* the DM doesn't just send nonstop fore resistant/immune enemies at us. Like, if it was mostly humanoid enemies, then id probably enjoy deserts theme. But if its like... descent into avernus, there's no way in hell I'm picking desert.
@@luisbencosme4757 I feel like you're missing my point.
Zealot's damage enhances any actual attack, whereas desert storm herald is literally just "You take damage purely for being around me." And Tundra is pretty literally "My allies have shields." Couple that with there being no effective temporary hit point limit, and it's something that makes allies tankier the longer the fight goes on.
I won't deny that Zealot's better, but for people who have a history of rolling poorly even with advantage, it'd still be a fun way to play barbarian since you're still doing damage regardless of whether or not you hit.
I will say, though, that for a beginner who is scared of their cursed dice, it's one of the best Barbarian paths to go, at least until the curse is worked out.
Love this style of video. Can't wait to see more
This was very helpful, I'm trying to decide on what character to make next. I'm looking forward for more of these for the other classes. Mostly paladin, bard and cleric
Came to see if bear totem is number one. ;P
Started playing D& D last September and chose Bear totem as my first character.
...I knew the way I designed the character to role-play could annoy the DM so I wanted him hard to kill.
I played a half-orc pirate storm herald barbarian, it was my favorite character I have roleplayed but I understand the B tier ranking. Also my dm gave me an air ship from the beginning of my campaign, it was so OP.
good to see you guys back together :)
Mmmm gravy. Great video. Really useful! You guys are my go-to when researching D&D stuff. Keep up the great work!
I use my frenzy like a caster uses their big one off spell. Also love the counter attack. Sometimes you don't need it, but when you do it gets work done. I also frenzied in 3.5... Drastically different!
Was this recorded before all the safe distancing regulations being put in place?
Cause I's refreshing to see both of you two in the same sitting, instead of the video-conference set-up.
Irregardless, stay safe guys!
*irrespective
Great video, I would like to see this format for every class subclasses, not only Barbarian.
Doing this for the various classes is immensely helpful and provides some valuable perspective. I do appreciate that you emphasize for players to choose (regardless of ranking) what you have fun roleplaying versus being caught up in the meta.
As you alluded to before, a player should consult with the DM and their party about how a certain subclass, etc. could be incorporated and utilized in a campaign. Informed decision-making supports continued fun as you develop your character and having a level of transparency about expectations about how a character can be implemented. The point is to have fun and anything that meets that goal is best for everyone.
“Berserker is D tier” Grog Strongjaw would like to rage
Just don't do it too far away cause you'll just get exhausted before you get there. ;)
*memories of Grog spending his turns chasing enemies that fly or teleport intensifies*
@@XoRandomGuyoX Grog rarely uses Frenzy. which, as mentioned, is like not having a core subclass feature
@@storytime7408 True. And Critical Role is also a show with an *extremely* heavy focus on roleplaying, meaning they have far fewer combat encounters between long rests than the vast majority of campaigns !
It's not like Grog or any of the other characters were known for being powerful builds, so it's not really a defense for the Berserker when you think about it.
I love Ancestral, because there's something enchanting about the idea of a gaggle of family ghosts following you around to heckle/distract/terrify/rebuke your enemies
Truly amazing video dudes! Can't wait for the other classes too =)
You've really built on this format well!
Ah! Class needs to hurry up and end so I can watch this!
I really feel like Berzerker could have been great if it got a nice secondary feature at level 3 and it got an ability to lower exhaustion at 6th or 10th level.
so glad to see you two in the same room again
You convinced me zealot was better than I had given it credit for. It was interesting to see the zerker rated so highly by the community. There is a lot to be said for guaranteed advantage + great weapon master. But I don't think it's worth the drawback for any group following the standard adventuring day. I've seen quite a few groups house rule either the exhaustion system, or the frenzy ability which can vastly improve the path. Anyway, great video. I can't wait to see the rest of the classes.
I expected the exhaustion commentary for Berserker, so I thought I'd add my own little analysis. I think the reason so many think it's really bad is because so many of us came into the game from older editions, and therefore immediately used lots of rules that are technically optional, mostly feats, but also multiclassing. But if you look at the subclass as being designed around the most basic version of 5e, all of a sudden being able to get two attacks per round at only level three, and usually with a much stronger weapon than a dual wielding character is using, is a *massive* swing in your potential damage, especially since only certain classes can get their ability damage bonus to the off hand weapon, whereas the Barbarian using Frenzy gets his or her full bonus to both swings.
I would say that the Zealot Barbarian is easily the strongest archetype in the entirety of 5e. The extra damage is very high, and completely ignoring death until combat is finished, in combination with being resurrected for free afterwards, means that it turns you into an absolutely unstoppable war machine.
unless you you take one off the many many debilitating effect the game as to offer and you die at 0 hp
@@cristobalgauthier692 than you just get resurrected for free not really a big deal
The most interesting thing is that a lv 15 elf zealot could happily walk around at 0 hp and because an elf is not unconcious during a long rest, do a lomg rest, be at full hp and happy. (At lv 15 you get persistant rage which means you are only forced out of your rage when unconcious)
Thank you, this came at a perfect time. I was thinking of doing a barbarian in my next campaign. The Gentleman Barbarian. He carries a stein into battle and when attacked, his drink spills and he rages against the foe who spilled his drink. Possibly going zealot there.
Oh man! I hope you do this for each class!!!
The ONLY time I’ve heard of a totem of the bear barbarian dying: homebrew mindflayer lich
You don't even need to homebrew that, the illithilich is in volo's
As someone who has never played a Barbarian, I really appreciated this break down.
I was wondering, though -- if you could do similar videos (or just one video) on how to pick subclasses based on roleplaying potential. OR just a video comparing class/subclasses choices for roleplaying versus mechanics. I tend to pick my characters more for their roleplaying and storytelling possibilities.
That's going to be tough to do, because it really just comes down to the character you've invented. Just about every character in Game of Thrones was a Human Fighter, and for the most part they were compelling characters. Honestly, follow the Rule of Cool. Go for what you like, not just what somebody says is best.
@@astro6009 I get that rating them the same way based on flavor text and roleplaying potential would be nearly impossible. But I could see a video of *their* personal favorite subclasses for those roleplaying ideas ... or also just a video with advice for balancing a roleplaying idea with good mechanics. I dunno. Just an idea.
Thanks SO MUCH!!!! helped me pick a subclass for my next campaign :) ♥️🧡💛💚💙💜
Love the gravy analogy fellas 👍.