I usually pick subclass and any multiclass dips based on the character concept, not power or what's "the best". I'm playing a forge cleric now, not because they're good, but because I am in a game where everyone is a craftsman and several of our characters work for the same smith. It fit the game well, and it's fun flexing on them while they work hard I pray over some metal and an item appears an hour later. I've done an entertainer that was an illusion wizard so I could do stage shows using illusion magic (a bard, my wizard, and entertainer paladin did a rock show once to pacify a dragon. It let us go after it danced with us). My only sorcerer was draconic bloodline because I wanted to theme around cold damage and white dragon seemed like it fit well. One way to fix the warlock dip thing is to require a story reason for it. Don't allow multiclass across the board (it's an optional rule in 2014 D&D) and only allow if it comes up as an option. If they want to do it work it into the story and give them a chance to make the choice in character or possibly even fail to gain favor or attention from the entity they're contracting with. Also make the patron a big influence on them, not just an off-screen source of power.
aside from preferring to avoid any multi-class dips, I'm in the same boat power is a side benefit. a sniper with sharpshooter is equal parts power and RP. but he also took Rune Shaper because he is an artificer who loves to tinker. Comprehend languages has become as much of a stable in my character's repertoire as Vortex Warp.
You brought Josh and not Antonio. This implies you have at least two cats. I approve. As far as flavor goes, I love the idea of the alchemist Artificer, but yeah, it's the weakest. I've always wanted to play a Battle Smith. One way to have my cake and eat it too is that you do have a floating tool proficiency, and I'd probably just pick up alchemist supplies and ask the DM if I can use it as my arcane focus for any spells that are flavored as potions. Stuff like a bandoleer of orange potions for Fire Bolt, expanding sticky foam for Web, mini healing potions for Cure Wounds/Healing Word, and Guidance be microdosing Felix Felicis. Then, I can use my smiths tools for any spells that I'd flavor as mechanical inventions. I think Cleric as a class all on it's own is good enough that any subclass should be fine to play, mechanically. Sure, Twilight is stupidly good, but I could play any PHB subclass and have fun with the character. As for a super quick Moon Druid fix, I'd just limit the forms to CR 1/2 at levels 2-4. It doesn't fix anything higher levels, but I think a Druid is perfectly good at contributing as a caster at high levels, anyway. Yeah, I've really been wanting to play a Stars or Wildfire Druid for a while. They both look super fun. Battle Masters have been something I've always wanted to try out, as well as a Rune Knight. I love the IDEA of a Psi Warrior, but I think they have a hard time having a good enough Int to use their abilities well. I'd love to play an Oath of the Ancients paladin, just from a flavor standpoint. Possibly with some Archfey warlock multiclassed in. Yeah, Gloomstalker is... TOO good compared to every other ranger. I think it's probably fine on top of a 2014 ranger, but it really depends on your party. I really want to do a swashbuckler rogue. Or an arcane trickster. I feel rouge is probably in the bottom third of classes in terms of power, but I still love the hell out of this class flavor-wise. I also feel Sneak Attack, Expertise, and Cunning Action are simple abilities that encourage careful, but smart play. I feel it could be rewarding as hell to do with the right group. I've really wanted to play a Shadow Soul sorcerer, mostly from the flavor. Also, that shadow dog is sick. My biggest gripe about the Hexblade isn't actually the mechanics. Like, I get why people don't like that. My complaint is I don't even know what a hexblade IS. When someone says their patron is a fiend, celestial, archfey, genie, or great old one, I can picture what that means. I don't know what a hexblade is apart form a REALLY good suit of mechanical abilities. In my current game, I've houseruled Pact of the Blade to let you use +Cha to hit/damage in place of Str/Dex for your pact weapon and gives you proficiency in medium armor and shields. I have a celestial warlock using that and it seems absolutely fine. He's a good jack of all trades character who doesn't excel at anything in a way that makes him broken. And it lets him play a gish with a patron that has some actual flavor. I hope you had a good Labor Day!
I think Cavalier fighter is my top pick for an underrated subclass. It's basically everything you'd want from a tank fighter build. Gives a way to make enemies attack you instead of the squishy guys. Gives a way to boost your ac wgen you need it. Then it just gives you sentinel as a class ability and eventually the ability to make an opportunity attack every turn. Most people think of it as just a mounted combat class but it's actually just a fantastic tank build
@@adamstheory9281 I don't even use a mount most of the time with him. I just took the subclass for the tank abilities. But if you do go mounted, taking Mounted Combatant makes it pretty tough for the dm to do too much to a mount.
I really enjoyed this! I’m an optimizer for most of my characters so I play a lot of these subclasses because they objectively superior. Some (not all) of these are just plain out the best! I loved your hot take about the cleric! My favorite class too! Super versatile and the best!
On the note of clerics: Peace Cleric is also an excellent healer, and very versatile. I'm really loving Order Cleric, for those who enjoy more of an enchanter/blaster cleric. (Not all subclasses of Cleric give heavy armor proficiency, but they all get Medium at least). Circle of Dreams druid is also very healy/support focused. Not too imaginative, imo, but it does what is needs to do well. If it were between Dreams druid or Twilight cleric, I'd go Twilight (which is also a very overplayed subclass, possibly on par with life cleric). -Moon Druids are very overplayed because of the temp HP bonus and the ability to have class abilities and features included while in animal forms. So, Druid/Barbarian is a very over-played combination. -Paladins are probably one of the most played classes actually. Or at least that I've experienced. Every martial likes to sprinkle in divine smite for only a 2 level dip, or if single class, auras cans be really beneficial. It was clear Paladins got a lot of love from the creators. Vengeance subclass seems to be the winner there. Devotion or Ancients probably next most overplayed because of magic resistance and such. -Horizon walker Ranger is great for rp, but is backloaded...which is why it's not so popular. But, given a mid/high level campaign with the flavor of extraplanar travels, and it's amazing! Lately, I've seen way too many Drakewardens. It's flavorful, fun, and well-balanced, but I would like to see more variety. Just my observations/notes. And 20 minute videos are great! I can put it on, and create maps/coordinate d&d stuff at the same time. :D
@@MsNonoe happy you enjoyed the video. I see why paladin are so popular but for some reasons in the gamed I play, I don't see to many of them. I am happy you enjoyed the video. I was afraid it was too long...but happy you hear people are listening to me talk about a game we love.
I'm happy you mentioned the samurai. That's my favorite build is to take elven accuracy at level 4. It pairs so well then take lucky and eventually that forbidden 1 lvl dip into hexblade if needed. Great crit fisher and it's hard to miss
I haven't had the chance to actually play much, but I've got a character thought up for almost every class. I've never cared about optimization (in any game, let alone d&d), so they're all picked based on aesthetic flavor. Alchemist Artificer (with 1 lv Wizard as a way to prepare more of their overlapping utility spells) - Gnome who eventually adds alchemy to his tinkered gadgets. Totem Barbarian (Elk) - Human noble whose family crest is an elk. This setup will change under the new version, since elk is gone and you don't have 1 animal the whole way. Valor Bard - Goliath blacksmith who forged a trumpet. Life Cleric (recent character concept that isn't fleshed out yet) - Dwarf who lost his former party, so became a cleric to never loose people again. Land Druid (in 2024, was unsure in 2014 version) - Scarecrow (WIP homebrew species I'm making) that was created by some unknown entity for an unknown purpose. Became a druid while hung in a garden before the party finds him. Fighter - No character yet, but probably battlemaster. Elements Monk (recent character concept that isn't fleshed out yet) - Dragonborn ninja. Crown Paladin - Leonin from a paladin squad that left to weed out evil while "undercover". Hunter Ranger - Green Grung that left his tribe. Phantom Rogue - Shadar Kai who survived his village being wiped out. Has his villagers as spirits around him, making him a bit crazy after decades as a hermit with their voices in his head. Storm Sorcerer - Satyr raised as an acolyte to Silvanus, learning to balance the trifecta of Land - Sea - Sky. Had an innate affinity to the sky (storm) side. Genie Warlock - Human hillbilly who found a dirty moonshine jug. Doesn't realize he is casting magic now. Illusion Wizard (currently playing) - Tabaxi archaeologist (Indiana Jones vibe) who lost his mentor. Learned magic to better understand the forces that may have taken him.
Optimisation is a much more subtle concept when it allows for other factors. Is Liquorice Cleric the most optimised subclass? No. Do I want to play a Liquorice Cleric for other reasons? Yes. So now I have to figure out how best to play a Liquorice Cleric given the class and subclass features/restrictions. Because if you’re in my party I want the best Liquorice Cleric possible to have my back.
For bard i definitely see more eloquence than lore bard, but thats fair enough people love magical secrets too. Me personally, swords bard every time in a multiclass or whispers bard to break the mold a little bit For Druid yeah imma be honest people barely play it at my tables lol, but i see moon the most. For me Druid is like Monk, we need more of both You see more Echo Knights than Battle Masters though? Thats crazy haha. Rest i pretty much agree 1-1. Paladin is usually just vengeance with some people playing ancients for the lv7 aura, but its mostly vengeance for the advantage on attacks. My personal paladin of choice are redemption ones, love me that channel divinity when a party member gets crit to reflect at least half the damage back to the enemy
4:26 okay real talk, Bear Totem ain't shit. Oh you resist all damage types? Oh great, what am I supposed to do with that? You never run into any other damage types unless the campaign is specially made with that in mind Knowing this, I'd rather tank for my party with Ancestral Guardian, support with Storm Herald, late game Beast Barbarian, Wild Magic Barbarian, or damage with Zealot or Giant Barbarian 11:09 I mean I prefer fire over all other druids, but have played Shepherd and moon as well
@@adamstheory9281 also I prefer Fire druid. Fighter: Give me battle master any day. Heck want to do Eldritch Knight Well monk sucks up until 2024 Paladin: mine would probably be Ancients over Vengeance. Maybe Conquest. Also Smite is overtuned Ranger: prefer the beast Master from Tasha's, or Drakewarden. Heck they scale better Sorcerer, I prefer divine soul only if I plan to gish with Hexblade. Otherwise I prefer Wild Magic or Shadow Warlock: Hexblade, Fiend, or Genie. Heck Celestial is fun in the right cases Wizard: Sorry, prefer the Bladesinger. Think you a Frontline till you get punched in the mouth
Storm Herald does nothing for you and Ancestral Guardian requires more buy-in from the DM than most other subclasses. Idk what type of games you're in where you aren't casually getting hit by more than just BPS damage but Bear Totem is popular because most tables do in fact encounter those other damage types on a regular basis. At higher levels Totem Barbarian got other abilities that did more than just extra damage or tank.
I have played a straight classed Hexblade and it’s pretty great, you don’t have to just use it as a dip. And for the sake of not doing the same thing over and over I dipped Undead Warlock on my Watcher Paladin, I took Genie Warlock on my Sorlock, and I’m currently playing the 2024 version of Ancients Paladin with Archfey Warlock
On the psi warrior though.... That's my shit! I've done so many things and i love when the DM asks, "how many of those dice you got?"🤣🤣 I've done one that was throwing weapons style and multi with soulknife. I did one that had a halberd and was pole arm Master. My favorite though, was unarmed fighting with a barb dip. Was just macho man randy savage out here using my psi dice primarily for defense and when i got my 7th level ability i started choke slamming cats!
Very good points! Honestly, when I pick subclasses, my thought process usually goes like this: “I want to play this character with a certain theme; this subclass seems appropriate by the name, but if I peek another, probably more stacked with abilities, would I really lose that much flavour?” Unfortunately, a lot of the time in 2014 version some subclasses just wouldn’t give you that much to play around with. And a lot of them wouldn’t even give you that much thematic/flavourful abilities. Alchemist-artificer is among the worst offenders. You could probably reflavour other classes or even artificer’s subclasses to alchemist and would lose almost nothing compared to the original, maybe even gain something. Some random potion that mechanically barely works once per rest is not what I expect from the alchemist-themed subclass, wild magic barbarian would be the same if you just flavour his rage as an effect of some magical potions. I am glad subclasses in 2024 are mostly all stacked with abilities, including flavourful ones. Still, reflavouring classes/subclasses/anilities is usually a way to go if you want some specific theme
Most of these are dead on. At my tables, I've seen way more wildfire druids than I have star. And I've seen more evocation wizards than bladesingers. Also, while life cleric is always popular, the most meta pick seems to be Twilight Cleric. If you count 2 level dips, I've seen 6 different twilight clerics.
The reason for everyone picking the same subclass is that the game is like 10 years old and there has been countless tier list videos listing which ones are 'best' and most people are sheep and just follow those. There also definitely have been disparity between the subclasses especially in the earlier books where the devs didn't really know what they were doing yet and were just throwing stuff on the wall and seeing what stuck. There should be lot more variety with the 2024 phb because pretty much every subclass in that book is at the very least good. If talking about the game without including the 2024 phb subclasses, here is what I would consider the best subclass for each class. Artificer: This is probably the most balanced one, everything except alchemist is roughly equal in power level, just for different playstyles. Barbarian: Zealot is by far best, does most damage, doesn't cost anything to res, and at later levels cannot die. Bard: Eloquence is just downright busted, you literally can't fail any social checks, and can talk your way through most anything, and also have inspiration for days. Cleric: This is a tie between peace and twilight domains, both are so incredibly overpowered that you make combat completely trivial, just with slightly different flavors. Druid: This depends on the level your playing, at low levels, moon druid is totally busted, but if your mid levels, then wildfire is best, as they are just good at everything, and have most spell preparations out of all druids. Fighter: Echo Knight is completely busted, you get infinite clones that let you attack without putting yourself in danger, and do safe scouting everywhere, and you also get free extra attacks on top of already large amounts fighters get. Monk: Mercy is hands down the best one, does most damage, inflicts solid debuffs without saves, and can even heal the party. Paladin: This is a tie between watchers and vengeance, depending on whether you want to be a team player or just focus on your own damage. Ranger: Gloom Stalker is so far above anything else it is not even a contest, amazing nova damage, permanent pseudo invisbility. Rogue: Arcane Trickster is by far the best one, anything just gets better with spells. Sorcerer: Clockwork Soul is by far the best one, It just does everything great. Warlock: Genie is the easy winner here, free bonus damage every round, free short rests, and wish. Wizard: Chronurgy is so busted it is hilarious, every single feature it gets is crazy good, and one of them just straight up breaks the game. Now if we include the 2024 phb, the list changes dramatically, here are the best subclasses with that. Artificer: N/A Barbarian: Berserker, did anyone say damage? Bard: Valor is amazing, one of the best gishes in the game. Cleric: Trickery, you can now do very convincing Loki cosplay messing with everyone and teleport all over the place. Druid: Land is now the best subclass, giving you amazing bonus spells that you can change every day. Fighter: Eldritch Knight went from clunky to amazing and is now a total powerhouse. Monk: Elements monk went from worst subclass to the best subclass, it now just does everything you always wanted it to do. Paladin: It is a tie between devotion and vengeance now, depending on whether you want to focus on helping your party or just doing your own damage. Ranger: Beast Master is the best one now by far, doing crazy damage and being very versatile. Rogue: Assassin is now best if you want to just focus on doing as much damage as you can, though Arcane Trickster is still the most versatile one. Sorcerer: Draconic is the best one now as they caught up in number of spells known, and their armor class is actually really good now instead of just being permanent mage armor. Warlock: Archfey is best one now, you get teleports for days, with all kinds of bonus effects to add to them to annoy your dm with. Wizard: Funnily enough, even with the updated subclasses, Chronurgy is STILL the best wizard subclass due to how absurdly busted it is.
And honestly, even if you don't use a different subclass, even changing the play style of a certain character or class would be super interesting too, like a paladin that uses crossbows instead of smiting people with swords and actually using the spells that are actually pretty okay PALADIN HAS GOOD SPELLS, GUYS, AND WITH THE WAY THAT THE 2024 PHP IS PAINTING OUT IT'LL BE A LOT EASIER TO DO
I played a Paladin/Warlock through a campaign, and there's too many things with Legendary Resistance to give up a turn to try and cast a spell, at least that's what I felt. The only spells I found myself casting in combat was Bless via a Prayer Bead Necklace, maybe a Hex or Spirit Shroud, the rest of the time it was better to just wait for crits and Smite. I'm currently playing in the sequel campaign to that one, and am playing an Armorer Artificer, and honestly depending on how your DM's world is, Artificer can be kind of meh. People have already found +3 weapons and +2 armor at level 9, so my weapon/armor infusions are already outclassed, even once they get "upgraded" from leveling up. I wouldn't have been allowed to play Artificer if I used replicate item, and apparently that's a common thing for DMs to either ban or tweak. Also I yet again find myself deciding between trying to cast spells for my turn instead of attacking, and Legendary Resistance makes me not want to cast spells other than casting Web on a horde of enemies.
Ok lets go, the ones with "" in them are the ones i havent played yet, but i will pick that subclasses when playing it. Artificer: "Battle Smith" Barbarian: Bear totem (BEAR OBVIOUSLY) Bard: Not my style Cleric: Life Domain Druid: "Circle of Sheppard" Figther: Psi Warrior Monk: Never will play it Paladin: "Devotion for the win" Ranger: "Monster Hunter" Rogue: "Arcane Trickster" Sorcerer: "Divine Soul" Warlock: "Undead" Wizard: Divination
In my experience, people gravitate toward those subclasses that provide 'spike damage' and make them feel powerful. A good example is the Gloom Stalker Ranger; invisibility in the dark and Dread Ambusher for the spike damage, the memories and fun. Science sucked the enchantment out of our lives and people crave what they have lost and search, without even understanding why. Thank goodness they fixed the Monk in the PHB 2024. My best friend wanted to play a Shadow Monk, I said, "Well that's antisocial!" He said, "Why?" I said, "Because the rest of us will have to cover for your inadequacies"... Thank you for your service! 😄
I know the monk gets a bad rap but they are amazing once you know how to play for them. I had to retire playing monks for a bit because i was ending combat before the monsters got a chance. good thing the new monk can only stunning strike once per turn...lol
One level order domain cleric. Then go circle of land druid. Chill in the back and cast spells on a barbarian or fighter, someone who hits hard but lacks reactions. All your buffs and heals trigger a slap with a raging barb.
If I were to name an abused subclass for monk and paladin, it'd probably be Mercy and Conquest. Mercy has a significant boost to damage (alterntive healing ability is considered optional). Conquest has a spell list and abilities other paladins would envy (looking at you misty step)
Wolftotem Barb is awesome. Using it more often than Bear. Permaadvantage for whole party is insane. And Ancestral Guardian is nice too. Try Ancestral guardian Barb5/ Phantom Rogue15 with ranged attacks. Half all dmg from the Target while having always sneak attack while beeing out of Range its nice. For one big monster encounters i would even call it unfair. Clerik: lvl1 Order cleric casts 2 spells and ignites two attacks at lvl1. (Healing word and blessing on fiends for example) Twilight is in my opinion even stronger than Life clerik. Arcana can be nice too. Not a fan of circle of stars really, but i can see the pros. I think Moondruid or circle of Dreams are great. Wildfire might be nice too. Fighter: I like Eldrich knight a lot. Giving Fighter some Shield spell for example... nice. Monk i made the perfect rogue, Changeling-Scharlatan-Shadowmonk with 2 lvl of fighter so he can wear Armor when taking a warriors Persona. Sadly need to go now, but made like 50 characters, so i have a lot to say about this Topic.
Agreed dude, we need more Monks. I never get to be a player but if I did, my DM would be making a video imploring players to play fewer Monks, and that would be just great :)
I have never seen anyone in any of my games pick a life cleric, and I am the only player I know who picks Echo Knight, so perhaps it's more about circles people move in, and how they play the game. Or maybe I'm just lucky and get to play with people who make characters based on...well, the character and play, rather than White Background Spreadsheets. Especially when it comes to "Objectively Superior" picks, which often are anything but due to all the weird hoops and caveats you have to make for the "objective" superiority.
imo the older subclasses are kindof meh in most cases and i usualy have 2 ways of makeing character concepts and its usualy around 50% 50% so far 1:pick a class(es)/subclass(es) that seem interesting and then make a backstory/flavor for it 2: make a concept and then pick class/subclass around it but like i do tend to pick more interesting subclasses (usualy the newer ones) since they just have some of the coolest features i mean sure arcane trickster is cool but what about a slime that creats daggers out of its own body(soulknife rogue plasmoid )
If you wanna play Sorcerer (with the new 2024 rules) I would suggest the Wild Magic, it looks so fun. Still has the thing that you could not trigger the Wild Magic table but with a small talk to the DM I believe you can get a way to trigger it more. Also the Monk in the 2024 version is 🔥🔥 I'm totally gonna play it in the next campaign, previously I always had to talk to the DM to homebrew some stuff to match even other martial classes power.
Game Master: 8 player party. So much diversity. We might only be able to play twice a year with half the players absent or leaving early because they are parents with jobs, but hey. 8 players! I wonder what characters they are going to come up with. Player 1: Human Champion Fighter with Soldier background called Steve. Player 2: Human Champion Fighter with Soldier background called Steve. Player 3-8: Human Champion Fighter with Soldier background called Steve. Game Master: identical ability scores, class, subclass, fighting style and race is fine. But please pick different names for your characters. All players speaking in unison: No. Steve is fine.
It's mostly a balance problem, popular subclasses usually get picked because they're stronger than other subclasses, even if you're not a powergamer or optimizer it sucks to pick a weaker option. Most of the time if you ask someone to pick an unpopular subclass without changing anything regarding the subclass features you're essentially asking people to play weaker characters
nothing wrong with playing a weaker subclass. I have played just about every subclass for the warlock and have notice that some that people say are weak, are pretty good once you knowhow to play with them.
regarding the Moon Druid, I think the reason it's unpopular is that it's only OP at levels 1-4, and 20. Any other Druid is better for levels 5-19 which is majority of campaigns. Moon Druid probably has the weirdest power curve where it's OP at the lowest and highest levels, but below average at the in-between levels.
I personally love Order domain clerics as when u hit the person that’s down with healing word*, they also get to make an attack and that goes with any leveled spell you target your allies with making buff spells just feel really good.
If you have a subclass you wanna play but it’s too weak then IMO it’s totally fine to multiclass/power build a little bit. I know most ppl who watch power builder videos aren’t actually playing obnoxiously broken stuff(max u usually get is polearm master + sentinel), but if your not too keen to power build and wanna play a bad subclass then power building is how to make it a little better. Alchemist with a 1-2 lvl genie warlock dip is amazing, and if multiclassing can’t fix the issue(like berserker), then talk to ur DM about it. Seriously, a good DM will help you out
@@adamstheory9281 honestly purple knight I’d say just go full battle medic. Take healer and inspiring leader feats and just be captain America with a first aid kit. Maybe cross class with swords bard or swashbuckler for more fun charisma based abilities
Played a circle of dreams druid up to level 7. It's pretty underwhelming, basically gives you free healing word and the 6th level feature I just didn't get to use, it's pretty situational depending on the campaign. Felt like I did not have a subclass at all
@@completamenterealpontocom8206 wow...it was that bad...the level 6 ability is very odd. Seems like you would use it while taking a long rest. But it is very blah...lol
@@adamstheory9281 To be fair it was a pirate themed campaign, so it is understandable why I didn't get to use it. Didn't bother me much because even without subclass the druid works wonderfully(Spellcasting alone is BONKERS). The free "healing word" mostly saves spell slots but it is nice to bring back an ally back from 0 HP
“I wish we could stop making strong characters” It sucks but there is always an objectively “correct” choice. It’s an unfortunate truth in any game like DnD. I personally love different sub classes and what not but you can’t fault players for going for what is going to objectively perform better than a lesser sub class
@@johnnnysaint01 I totally understand that. I just like to challenge myself with playing with a subclass that I dont see played much. Everyone told me how bad monks were. Then I played it and found out how great they could be if you play them right. I think players should give certain subclasses a chance.
@adamstheory9281 it's a pretty tankie subclass you can use wildshape to get temp hp and you add some necrotic damage to melee attacks. There's also a reaction AOE when enemies they get within 10 feet or start their turn there
In my opinion the lack of diversity in subclasses in 5e is a direct result of bad DMing. As a DM you have to REWARD people for taking suboptimal subclasses. You have give subclasses the spotlight in ways that are rewarding to the player. This means you need to MODIFY encounters to specifically give opportunities for the player to step into the spotlight. This takes work and most people are unwilling to change encouters especially in a printed adventure. If your party doesnt have proficiency in thieves tools you should never encounter a trap that requires your party to have proficiency in thieves tool. DM is there to tell a story that is fitted to the party at the table, not the party the printed adventure was playtested with.
I think part pf the reason some people constantly pick the same class/subclasses is that they are married to that one character idea they had. Also all these “tier” lists and builds don’t help with that and those “tier” list mainly are built around combat encounters.
Have you looked at tales of the valiant...i find it to be a better 5e 2024 handbook...the classes are just better designed and the weapon manuevers are more tactical
Artificer: not a real class (see also: Denmark) Barbarian: Bear Totem because everything else feels like a Druid with a bad attitude. Bard: Lore Bard because I can talk to Wizards about magic instead of dragon seduction. Cleric: Life Cleric because it’s so versatile, not because it’s locked into healing. Druid: Circle of the Land (Grassland). You’ve never read the subclass description. Welcome. Fighter: Eldritch Knight. Multiclass a couple of lvls into any full caster. Best Gish in the game. Monk: Garbage class but fun to take 1 or 2 lvls so you can avoid any of the awful subclasses. Paladin: Oathbreaker if your GM will allow it. Pro tip: they will only allow it once. Ranger: Colossus Slayer Hunter with a bow. Your frontliners will complain about your KDR. Rogue: Arcane Trickster. Better Mage Hand will become your other familiar. GM sneak attack. Sorcerer: Draconic. Unarmoured 13 AC plus 1 hp/lvl. Your party healer will forget your name. Warlock: Archfey. Additional spells + clutch 1st level feature + RP. Your GM will salivate. Wizard: Abjuration. Unkillable. Can go toe to toe with a raging Barbarian or an Evocation Wizard.
This isn't necessarily a player issue. It's a DM issue. If a DM knows a class doesn't feel good to play, they should work with the player to adjust features to make it feel right. If a DM ever says a class is weak, that's a bad DM. Oh, the class is weak because of the rules that are written? Who cares, you're the DM. Not Jeremy Crawford, not some random Wotc employees who wrote, YOU. If you're a DM using that excuse, then your players should leave if you ever nerf anything. DM who nerfs, but doesn't buff is a bad DM. Sorry for the rant lol. But most dnd problems can be boiled down to, bad DM.
@@adamstheory9281 exactly. I plan on DMing again sometime soon. This is what I've always done. Ranger sucks? Not at my table it doesn't. Dual wielding sucks? Not here. Rogues can be replaced by familiars? That's true at most tables, but I'll set my maps up so that an actual player can outpace a familiar anyday.
I think this is a very strange way to think. Let's say I was a person who knew how to code and bought a game. Lets say I felt it had balance issues and was telling a friend about it. Then, they say, "Don't you know how to code? Just make a mod to fix the issues." While it is true that I could do that, the onus should not be on me to fix design issues with the game. That is a lot of work to put on all DMs and people may not have time to personally rebalance all the subclasses in the game. The idea that that makes them a bad DM is just crazy to me.
@@iremainteague5653 You're strange for equating coding a video game to writing down words on a piece of paper. 5e is already the most simple DnD has ever been. It's really this simple; if you don't know how to fix something underpowered, then you don't understand balance at all and have no business nerfing or banning anything either. Nor should that DM know when to hand out magic items or build encounters. At that point, they just have to run modules, which is fine for beginners, but I wouldn't consider that kind a good DM. I'm not insulting those with little experience or those uncomfortable with DMing, just be honest that you're a novice DM. There's no shame in that. Unless you're one of the novices that charge 20 dollars per session. Then all the shame is put on your lol
@theharaldrsaga I'm neither of those things. I've been playing ttrpgs for over a decade and am a forever DM. I disagree that 5e is the simplest version of DnD. B/X DnD is much simpler, as is ADnD, albeit hampered by dated game design. DnD 5e is simple to be a player in, but heaps massive complexity onto the shoulders of the DM. DM burnout is so common because 5e is a very flawed system, and WotC puts the responsibility of fixing it on the DM's shoulders. It's the same way Bethesda treats its modding community. A DM has to run the world, the npcs, create encounters, and weave backstories in and out of a narrative. Time is a finite resource, and DMing requires a lot of time. Wanting the DM to handle all these things AND redesign the game as they go to correctly balance the classes or else they are a bad DM is ludicrous. DMs should not need to be game designers as well to play the game. WotC is simply too lazy to release balanced products.
Im sorry but 9 times outta 10 if you're not playing rune knight as a fighter what the hell are you doing? Its not even a meta, most of the other subclasses just isnt interesting to begin with...not to mention useless for most character concepts.
@@TheLuuman I was never impress with the rune knight to be honest. It is not bad...but feel like path of the gaints for barbarian does the theme better. Also...there is more to dnd than just combat. You can make any subclass works.
@@adamstheory9281 You're heavily overlooking rune knight comparing it to the path of the giants XD Its almost comical, but there's more to rune knight than being big. Those runes makes you essentially a support subclass at times where you can give and take advantage/disadvantage on checks and saves, or gain passive bonuses to cover your personal weaknesses, and of course if you overlook the runes the basic transformation is essentially adding a additional weapon die at later levels. It has great multiclass variety since the runes are varied. Its more fun than the path of giants by far, and i play barbarian more than fighter.
@@TheLuuman to be fair...I would rather have a ruin knight at the table than a echo knight. Not because I think it is better...but cause it adds something new to the table.
@@adamstheory9281 Idk maybe im biased because i've made a omni man/broly build with a fighter barbarian multiclass that was absolutely busted. It made echo knight seem overrated to me. Bear totem Rune Knight is just ridiculously fun to play as. Combine that with magic item like boots of flight, headbands of intellect, or eldritch claw and you're literally the better level 10 monk at level 7.
I usually pick subclass and any multiclass dips based on the character concept, not power or what's "the best". I'm playing a forge cleric now, not because they're good, but because I am in a game where everyone is a craftsman and several of our characters work for the same smith. It fit the game well, and it's fun flexing on them while they work hard I pray over some metal and an item appears an hour later.
I've done an entertainer that was an illusion wizard so I could do stage shows using illusion magic (a bard, my wizard, and entertainer paladin did a rock show once to pacify a dragon. It let us go after it danced with us).
My only sorcerer was draconic bloodline because I wanted to theme around cold damage and white dragon seemed like it fit well.
One way to fix the warlock dip thing is to require a story reason for it. Don't allow multiclass across the board (it's an optional rule in 2014 D&D) and only allow if it comes up as an option. If they want to do it work it into the story and give them a chance to make the choice in character or possibly even fail to gain favor or attention from the entity they're contracting with. Also make the patron a big influence on them, not just an off-screen source of power.
i try to do the same. if I am going to take a dip, I want it to make sense
aside from preferring to avoid any multi-class dips, I'm in the same boat
power is a side benefit. a sniper with sharpshooter is equal parts power and RP.
but he also took Rune Shaper because he is an artificer who loves to tinker. Comprehend languages has become as much of a stable in my character's repertoire as Vortex Warp.
You brought Josh and not Antonio. This implies you have at least two cats. I approve.
As far as flavor goes, I love the idea of the alchemist Artificer, but yeah, it's the weakest. I've always wanted to play a Battle Smith. One way to have my cake and eat it too is that you do have a floating tool proficiency, and I'd probably just pick up alchemist supplies and ask the DM if I can use it as my arcane focus for any spells that are flavored as potions. Stuff like a bandoleer of orange potions for Fire Bolt, expanding sticky foam for Web, mini healing potions for Cure Wounds/Healing Word, and Guidance be microdosing Felix Felicis. Then, I can use my smiths tools for any spells that I'd flavor as mechanical inventions.
I think Cleric as a class all on it's own is good enough that any subclass should be fine to play, mechanically. Sure, Twilight is stupidly good, but I could play any PHB subclass and have fun with the character.
As for a super quick Moon Druid fix, I'd just limit the forms to CR 1/2 at levels 2-4. It doesn't fix anything higher levels, but I think a Druid is perfectly good at contributing as a caster at high levels, anyway. Yeah, I've really been wanting to play a Stars or Wildfire Druid for a while. They both look super fun.
Battle Masters have been something I've always wanted to try out, as well as a Rune Knight. I love the IDEA of a Psi Warrior, but I think they have a hard time having a good enough Int to use their abilities well.
I'd love to play an Oath of the Ancients paladin, just from a flavor standpoint. Possibly with some Archfey warlock multiclassed in.
Yeah, Gloomstalker is... TOO good compared to every other ranger. I think it's probably fine on top of a 2014 ranger, but it really depends on your party.
I really want to do a swashbuckler rogue. Or an arcane trickster. I feel rouge is probably in the bottom third of classes in terms of power, but I still love the hell out of this class flavor-wise. I also feel Sneak Attack, Expertise, and Cunning Action are simple abilities that encourage careful, but smart play. I feel it could be rewarding as hell to do with the right group.
I've really wanted to play a Shadow Soul sorcerer, mostly from the flavor. Also, that shadow dog is sick.
My biggest gripe about the Hexblade isn't actually the mechanics. Like, I get why people don't like that. My complaint is I don't even know what a hexblade IS. When someone says their patron is a fiend, celestial, archfey, genie, or great old one, I can picture what that means. I don't know what a hexblade is apart form a REALLY good suit of mechanical abilities. In my current game, I've houseruled Pact of the Blade to let you use +Cha to hit/damage in place of Str/Dex for your pact weapon and gives you proficiency in medium armor and shields. I have a celestial warlock using that and it seems absolutely fine. He's a good jack of all trades character who doesn't excel at anything in a way that makes him broken. And it lets him play a gish with a patron that has some actual flavor.
I hope you had a good Labor Day!
I think Cavalier fighter is my top pick for an underrated subclass. It's basically everything you'd want from a tank fighter build. Gives a way to make enemies attack you instead of the squishy guys. Gives a way to boost your ac wgen you need it. Then it just gives you sentinel as a class ability and eventually the ability to make an opportunity attack every turn. Most people think of it as just a mounted combat class but it's actually just a fantastic tank build
does the DM try to kill your mount?
@@adamstheory9281 I don't even use a mount most of the time with him. I just took the subclass for the tank abilities. But if you do go mounted, taking Mounted Combatant makes it pretty tough for the dm to do too much to a mount.
I really enjoyed this! I’m an optimizer for most of my characters so I play a lot of these subclasses because they objectively superior. Some (not all) of these are just plain out the best!
I loved your hot take about the cleric! My favorite class too! Super versatile and the best!
Continue the good work, my dear my son I’m enjoying it. Your mother helped me to get some understanding.
I am learning so much by watching your videos
@@passworderika happy you are enjoying the videos. Your support motivates me
On the note of clerics: Peace Cleric is also an excellent healer, and very versatile. I'm really loving Order Cleric, for those who enjoy more of an enchanter/blaster cleric. (Not all subclasses of Cleric give heavy armor proficiency, but they all get Medium at least). Circle of Dreams druid is also very healy/support focused. Not too imaginative, imo, but it does what is needs to do well. If it were between Dreams druid or Twilight cleric, I'd go Twilight (which is also a very overplayed subclass, possibly on par with life cleric).
-Moon Druids are very overplayed because of the temp HP bonus and the ability to have class abilities and features included while in animal forms. So, Druid/Barbarian is a very over-played combination.
-Paladins are probably one of the most played classes actually. Or at least that I've experienced. Every martial likes to sprinkle in divine smite for only a 2 level dip, or if single class, auras cans be really beneficial. It was clear Paladins got a lot of love from the creators. Vengeance subclass seems to be the winner there. Devotion or Ancients probably next most overplayed because of magic resistance and such.
-Horizon walker Ranger is great for rp, but is backloaded...which is why it's not so popular. But, given a mid/high level campaign with the flavor of extraplanar travels, and it's amazing! Lately, I've seen way too many Drakewardens. It's flavorful, fun, and well-balanced, but I would like to see more variety.
Just my observations/notes. And 20 minute videos are great! I can put it on, and create maps/coordinate d&d stuff at the same time. :D
@@MsNonoe happy you enjoyed the video. I see why paladin are so popular but for some reasons in the gamed I play, I don't see to many of them. I am happy you enjoyed the video. I was afraid it was too long...but happy you hear people are listening to me talk about a game we love.
I'm happy you mentioned the samurai. That's my favorite build is to take elven accuracy at level 4. It pairs so well then take lucky and eventually that forbidden 1 lvl dip into hexblade if needed. Great crit fisher and it's hard to miss
Approved
I haven't had the chance to actually play much, but I've got a character thought up for almost every class. I've never cared about optimization (in any game, let alone d&d), so they're all picked based on aesthetic flavor.
Alchemist Artificer (with 1 lv Wizard as a way to prepare more of their overlapping utility spells) - Gnome who eventually adds alchemy to his tinkered gadgets.
Totem Barbarian (Elk) - Human noble whose family crest is an elk. This setup will change under the new version, since elk is gone and you don't have 1 animal the whole way.
Valor Bard - Goliath blacksmith who forged a trumpet.
Life Cleric (recent character concept that isn't fleshed out yet) - Dwarf who lost his former party, so became a cleric to never loose people again.
Land Druid (in 2024, was unsure in 2014 version) - Scarecrow (WIP homebrew species I'm making) that was created by some unknown entity for an unknown purpose. Became a druid while hung in a garden before the party finds him.
Fighter - No character yet, but probably battlemaster.
Elements Monk (recent character concept that isn't fleshed out yet) - Dragonborn ninja.
Crown Paladin - Leonin from a paladin squad that left to weed out evil while "undercover".
Hunter Ranger - Green Grung that left his tribe.
Phantom Rogue - Shadar Kai who survived his village being wiped out. Has his villagers as spirits around him, making him a bit crazy after decades as a hermit with their voices in his head.
Storm Sorcerer - Satyr raised as an acolyte to Silvanus, learning to balance the trifecta of Land - Sea - Sky. Had an innate affinity to the sky (storm) side.
Genie Warlock - Human hillbilly who found a dirty moonshine jug. Doesn't realize he is casting magic now.
Illusion Wizard (currently playing) - Tabaxi archaeologist (Indiana Jones vibe) who lost his mentor. Learned magic to better understand the forces that may have taken him.
Optimisation is a much more subtle concept when it allows for other factors. Is Liquorice Cleric the most optimised subclass? No. Do I want to play a Liquorice Cleric for other reasons? Yes.
So now I have to figure out how best to play a Liquorice Cleric given the class and subclass features/restrictions. Because if you’re in my party I want the best Liquorice Cleric possible to have my back.
For bard i definitely see more eloquence than lore bard, but thats fair enough people love magical secrets too. Me personally, swords bard every time in a multiclass or whispers bard to break the mold a little bit
For Druid yeah imma be honest people barely play it at my tables lol, but i see moon the most. For me Druid is like Monk, we need more of both
You see more Echo Knights than Battle Masters though? Thats crazy haha. Rest i pretty much agree 1-1. Paladin is usually just vengeance with some people playing ancients for the lv7 aura, but its mostly vengeance for the advantage on attacks. My personal paladin of choice are redemption ones, love me that channel divinity when a party member gets crit to reflect at least half the damage back to the enemy
4:26 okay real talk, Bear Totem ain't shit. Oh you resist all damage types? Oh great, what am I supposed to do with that? You never run into any other damage types unless the campaign is specially made with that in mind
Knowing this, I'd rather tank for my party with Ancestral Guardian, support with Storm Herald, late game Beast Barbarian, Wild Magic Barbarian, or damage with Zealot or Giant Barbarian
11:09 I mean I prefer fire over all other druids, but have played Shepherd and moon as well
the bear totem is great if you are new to DND. but i agree with you that the other subclasses are so much more fun for barbarians
@@adamstheory9281 also I prefer Fire druid.
Fighter: Give me battle master any day. Heck want to do Eldritch Knight
Well monk sucks up until 2024
Paladin: mine would probably be Ancients over Vengeance. Maybe Conquest. Also Smite is overtuned
Ranger: prefer the beast Master from Tasha's, or Drakewarden. Heck they scale better
Sorcerer, I prefer divine soul only if I plan to gish with Hexblade. Otherwise I prefer Wild Magic or Shadow
Warlock: Hexblade, Fiend, or Genie. Heck Celestial is fun in the right cases
Wizard: Sorry, prefer the Bladesinger. Think you a Frontline till you get punched in the mouth
Storm Herald does nothing for you and Ancestral Guardian requires more buy-in from the DM than most other subclasses. Idk what type of games you're in where you aren't casually getting hit by more than just BPS damage but Bear Totem is popular because most tables do in fact encounter those other damage types on a regular basis. At higher levels Totem Barbarian got other abilities that did more than just extra damage or tank.
@nojusticenetwork9309 Ancestral doesn't require a whole lot of buy in
Storm Herald hands out temp hp
I have played a straight classed Hexblade and it’s pretty great, you don’t have to just use it as a dip. And for the sake of not doing the same thing over and over I dipped Undead Warlock on my Watcher Paladin, I took Genie Warlock on my Sorlock, and I’m currently playing the 2024 version of Ancients Paladin with Archfey Warlock
On the psi warrior though.... That's my shit! I've done so many things and i love when the DM asks, "how many of those dice you got?"🤣🤣 I've done one that was throwing weapons style and multi with soulknife. I did one that had a halberd and was pole arm Master. My favorite though, was unarmed fighting with a barb dip. Was just macho man randy savage out here using my psi dice primarily for defense and when i got my 7th level ability i started choke slamming cats!
Very good points! Honestly, when I pick subclasses, my thought process usually goes like this: “I want to play this character with a certain theme; this subclass seems appropriate by the name, but if I peek another, probably more stacked with abilities, would I really lose that much flavour?”
Unfortunately, a lot of the time in 2014 version some subclasses just wouldn’t give you that much to play around with. And a lot of them wouldn’t even give you that much thematic/flavourful abilities.
Alchemist-artificer is among the worst offenders. You could probably reflavour other classes or even artificer’s subclasses to alchemist and would lose almost nothing compared to the original, maybe even gain something. Some random potion that mechanically barely works once per rest is not what I expect from the alchemist-themed subclass, wild magic barbarian would be the same if you just flavour his rage as an effect of some magical potions.
I am glad subclasses in 2024 are mostly all stacked with abilities, including flavourful ones. Still, reflavouring classes/subclasses/anilities is usually a way to go if you want some specific theme
Most of these are dead on.
At my tables, I've seen way more wildfire druids than I have star. And I've seen more evocation wizards than bladesingers. Also, while life cleric is always popular, the most meta pick seems to be Twilight Cleric. If you count 2 level dips, I've seen 6 different twilight clerics.
a few of my friends that played wildfire did not like it because that subclass did not get fireball
@@adamstheory9281 Totally agreed, but I'm just sayin it's the one I see get played the most.
The reason for everyone picking the same subclass is that the game is like 10 years old and there has been countless tier list videos listing which ones are 'best' and most people are sheep and just follow those. There also definitely have been disparity between the subclasses especially in the earlier books where the devs didn't really know what they were doing yet and were just throwing stuff on the wall and seeing what stuck. There should be lot more variety with the 2024 phb because pretty much every subclass in that book is at the very least good. If talking about the game without including the 2024 phb subclasses, here is what I would consider the best subclass for each class.
Artificer: This is probably the most balanced one, everything except alchemist is roughly equal in power level, just for different playstyles.
Barbarian: Zealot is by far best, does most damage, doesn't cost anything to res, and at later levels cannot die.
Bard: Eloquence is just downright busted, you literally can't fail any social checks, and can talk your way through most anything, and also have inspiration for days.
Cleric: This is a tie between peace and twilight domains, both are so incredibly overpowered that you make combat completely trivial, just with slightly different flavors.
Druid: This depends on the level your playing, at low levels, moon druid is totally busted, but if your mid levels, then wildfire is best, as they are just good at everything, and have most spell preparations out of all druids.
Fighter: Echo Knight is completely busted, you get infinite clones that let you attack without putting yourself in danger, and do safe scouting everywhere, and you also get free extra attacks on top of already large amounts fighters get.
Monk: Mercy is hands down the best one, does most damage, inflicts solid debuffs without saves, and can even heal the party.
Paladin: This is a tie between watchers and vengeance, depending on whether you want to be a team player or just focus on your own damage.
Ranger: Gloom Stalker is so far above anything else it is not even a contest, amazing nova damage, permanent pseudo invisbility.
Rogue: Arcane Trickster is by far the best one, anything just gets better with spells.
Sorcerer: Clockwork Soul is by far the best one, It just does everything great.
Warlock: Genie is the easy winner here, free bonus damage every round, free short rests, and wish.
Wizard: Chronurgy is so busted it is hilarious, every single feature it gets is crazy good, and one of them just straight up breaks the game.
Now if we include the 2024 phb, the list changes dramatically, here are the best subclasses with that.
Artificer: N/A
Barbarian: Berserker, did anyone say damage?
Bard: Valor is amazing, one of the best gishes in the game.
Cleric: Trickery, you can now do very convincing Loki cosplay messing with everyone and teleport all over the place.
Druid: Land is now the best subclass, giving you amazing bonus spells that you can change every day.
Fighter: Eldritch Knight went from clunky to amazing and is now a total powerhouse.
Monk: Elements monk went from worst subclass to the best subclass, it now just does everything you always wanted it to do.
Paladin: It is a tie between devotion and vengeance now, depending on whether you want to focus on helping your party or just doing your own damage.
Ranger: Beast Master is the best one now by far, doing crazy damage and being very versatile.
Rogue: Assassin is now best if you want to just focus on doing as much damage as you can, though Arcane Trickster is still the most versatile one.
Sorcerer: Draconic is the best one now as they caught up in number of spells known, and their armor class is actually really good now instead of just being permanent mage armor.
Warlock: Archfey is best one now, you get teleports for days, with all kinds of bonus effects to add to them to annoy your dm with.
Wizard: Funnily enough, even with the updated subclasses, Chronurgy is STILL the best wizard subclass due to how absurdly busted it is.
And honestly, even if you don't use a different subclass, even changing the play style of a certain character or class would be super interesting too, like a paladin that uses crossbows instead of smiting people with swords and actually using the spells that are actually pretty okay
PALADIN HAS GOOD SPELLS, GUYS, AND WITH THE WAY THAT THE 2024 PHP IS PAINTING OUT IT'LL BE A LOT EASIER TO DO
I know a few paladin players upset about the new rules with smites. I cant wait to try it out
I played a Paladin/Warlock through a campaign, and there's too many things with Legendary Resistance to give up a turn to try and cast a spell, at least that's what I felt. The only spells I found myself casting in combat was Bless via a Prayer Bead Necklace, maybe a Hex or Spirit Shroud, the rest of the time it was better to just wait for crits and Smite. I'm currently playing in the sequel campaign to that one, and am playing an Armorer Artificer, and honestly depending on how your DM's world is, Artificer can be kind of meh. People have already found +3 weapons and +2 armor at level 9, so my weapon/armor infusions are already outclassed, even once they get "upgraded" from leveling up. I wouldn't have been allowed to play Artificer if I used replicate item, and apparently that's a common thing for DMs to either ban or tweak. Also I yet again find myself deciding between trying to cast spells for my turn instead of attacking, and Legendary Resistance makes me not want to cast spells other than casting Web on a horde of enemies.
Ok lets go, the ones with "" in them are the ones i havent played yet, but i will pick that subclasses when playing it.
Artificer: "Battle Smith"
Barbarian: Bear totem (BEAR OBVIOUSLY)
Bard: Not my style
Cleric: Life Domain
Druid: "Circle of Sheppard"
Figther: Psi Warrior
Monk: Never will play it
Paladin: "Devotion for the win"
Ranger: "Monster Hunter"
Rogue: "Arcane Trickster"
Sorcerer: "Divine Soul"
Warlock: "Undead"
Wizard: Divination
@@paladinoateista9173 you are missing out on the monk. It is a blast
In my experience, people gravitate toward those subclasses that provide 'spike damage' and make them feel powerful. A good example is the Gloom Stalker Ranger; invisibility in the dark and Dread Ambusher for the spike damage, the memories and fun. Science sucked the enchantment out of our lives and people crave what they have lost and search, without even understanding why. Thank goodness they fixed the Monk in the PHB 2024. My best friend wanted to play a Shadow Monk, I said, "Well that's antisocial!" He said, "Why?" I said, "Because the rest of us will have to cover for your inadequacies"... Thank you for your service! 😄
I know the monk gets a bad rap but they are amazing once you know how to play for them. I had to retire playing monks for a bit because i was ending combat before the monsters got a chance. good thing the new monk can only stunning strike once per turn...lol
One level order domain cleric. Then go circle of land druid. Chill in the back and cast spells on a barbarian or fighter, someone who hits hard but lacks reactions. All your buffs and heals trigger a slap with a raging barb.
@@mr.phister2092 order domain is sick
This is why i use homebrew subclasses, way more fun
Shadow sorcerer is amazing free heightened spell with a subclass feature so you can pick more meta magic
@@betheloluwole3055 will have to try this subclass out when I get a chance
Me who feels singled out because I play Light cleric, Oath of redemption paladin, Dragon monk and Drakewarden ranger.
If I were to name an abused subclass for monk and paladin, it'd probably be Mercy and Conquest. Mercy has a significant boost to damage (alterntive healing ability is considered optional). Conquest has a spell list and abilities other paladins would envy (looking at you misty step)
Needed this, building a new character right now.
@@emayer16 happy I was able to help. If you need any help with your character...let me know. Always happy to help.
Wolftotem Barb is awesome. Using it more often than Bear. Permaadvantage for whole party is insane. And Ancestral Guardian is nice too. Try Ancestral guardian Barb5/ Phantom Rogue15 with ranged attacks. Half all dmg from the Target while having always sneak attack while beeing out of Range its nice. For one big monster encounters i would even call it unfair. Clerik: lvl1 Order cleric casts 2 spells and ignites two attacks at lvl1. (Healing word and blessing on fiends for example) Twilight is in my opinion even stronger than Life clerik. Arcana can be nice too. Not a fan of circle of stars really, but i can see the pros. I think Moondruid or circle of Dreams are great. Wildfire might be nice too. Fighter: I like Eldrich knight a lot. Giving Fighter some Shield spell for example... nice. Monk i made the perfect rogue, Changeling-Scharlatan-Shadowmonk with 2 lvl of fighter so he can wear Armor when taking a warriors Persona. Sadly need to go now, but made like 50 characters, so i have a lot to say about this Topic.
Agreed dude, we need more Monks. I never get to be a player but if I did, my DM would be making a video imploring players to play fewer Monks, and that would be just great :)
@@brianhanna3128 monks are very good. People can't play it as a fighter and try to be in the Frontline. You got to move around with the monk.
I always play Druid or monk or ranger
I have never seen anyone in any of my games pick a life cleric, and I am the only player I know who picks Echo Knight, so perhaps it's more about circles people move in, and how they play the game. Or maybe I'm just lucky and get to play with people who make characters based on...well, the character and play, rather than White Background Spreadsheets. Especially when it comes to "Objectively Superior" picks, which often are anything but due to all the weird hoops and caveats you have to make for the "objective" superiority.
imo the older subclasses are kindof meh in most cases
and i usualy have 2 ways of makeing character concepts and its usualy around 50% 50% so far
1:pick a class(es)/subclass(es) that seem interesting and then make a backstory/flavor for it
2: make a concept and then pick class/subclass around it
but like i do tend to pick more interesting subclasses (usualy the newer ones) since they just have some of the coolest features
i mean sure arcane trickster is cool but what about a slime that creats daggers out of its own body(soulknife rogue plasmoid )
If you wanna play Sorcerer (with the new 2024 rules) I would suggest the Wild Magic, it looks so fun. Still has the thing that you could not trigger the Wild Magic table but with a small talk to the DM I believe you can get a way to trigger it more.
Also the Monk in the 2024 version is 🔥🔥 I'm totally gonna play it in the next campaign, previously I always had to talk to the DM to homebrew some stuff to match even other martial classes power.
Josh is a real slacker, tell em don’t cheat the grind 😂
Game Master: 8 player party. So much diversity. We might only be able to play twice a year with half the players absent or leaving early because they are parents with jobs, but hey. 8 players! I wonder what characters they are going to come up with.
Player 1: Human Champion Fighter with Soldier background called Steve.
Player 2: Human Champion Fighter with Soldier background called Steve.
Player 3-8: Human Champion Fighter with Soldier background called Steve.
Game Master: identical ability scores, class, subclass, fighting style and race is fine. But please pick different names for your characters.
All players speaking in unison: No. Steve is fine.
My partner played a bararian and she played every totem but bear 😂
It's mostly a balance problem, popular subclasses usually get picked because they're stronger than other subclasses, even if you're not a powergamer or optimizer it sucks to pick a weaker option. Most of the time if you ask someone to pick an unpopular subclass without changing anything regarding the subclass features you're essentially asking people to play weaker characters
nothing wrong with playing a weaker subclass. I have played just about every subclass for the warlock and have notice that some that people say are weak, are pretty good once you knowhow to play with them.
Maybe no one in your group wants to be bound by a Paladin's code
yeah...the code could be rough
I played an enchantment wizard with a dip in fighter.
regarding the Moon Druid, I think the reason it's unpopular is that it's only OP at levels 1-4, and 20. Any other Druid is better for levels 5-19 which is majority of campaigns. Moon Druid probably has the weirdest power curve where it's OP at the lowest and highest levels, but below average at the in-between levels.
I personally love Order domain clerics as when u hit the person that’s down with healing word*, they also get to make an attack and that goes with any leveled spell you target your allies with making buff spells just feel really good.
Did a Drunken Master Monk for a one-shot I absolutely loved it!
@@charlesransom4546 I have a friend playing one in a game we are in and I am loving how she plays that class.
@@charlesransom4546 drunken monk is amazing at higher levels
Adam makes a good point but Josh really made it stick with me, great co-host
@@yomamah5973 Josh is going to ask for a raise now...lol
If you have a subclass you wanna play but it’s too weak then IMO it’s totally fine to multiclass/power build a little bit. I know most ppl who watch power builder videos aren’t actually playing obnoxiously broken stuff(max u usually get is polearm master + sentinel), but if your not too keen to power build and wanna play a bad subclass then power building is how to make it a little better. Alchemist with a 1-2 lvl genie warlock dip is amazing, and if multiclassing can’t fix the issue(like berserker), then talk to ur DM about it. Seriously, a good DM will help you out
@@AmberPanda382 this is a pretty good idea. I got to try out a really bad subclass...maybe the purple knight...lol
@@adamstheory9281 honestly purple knight I’d say just go full battle medic. Take healer and inspiring leader feats and just be captain America with a first aid kit. Maybe cross class with swords bard or swashbuckler for more fun charisma based abilities
Played a circle of dreams druid up to level 7. It's pretty underwhelming, basically gives you free healing word and the 6th level feature I just didn't get to use, it's pretty situational depending on the campaign. Felt like I did not have a subclass at all
@@completamenterealpontocom8206 wow...it was that bad...the level 6 ability is very odd. Seems like you would use it while taking a long rest. But it is very blah...lol
@@completamenterealpontocom8206 thank you so much for sharing
@@adamstheory9281 To be fair it was a pirate themed campaign, so it is understandable why I didn't get to use it.
Didn't bother me much because even without subclass the druid works wonderfully(Spellcasting alone is BONKERS). The free "healing word" mostly saves spell slots but it is nice to bring back an ally back from 0 HP
“I wish we could stop making strong characters”
It sucks but there is always an objectively “correct” choice. It’s an unfortunate truth in any game like DnD. I personally love different sub classes and what not but you can’t fault players for going for what is going to objectively perform better than a lesser sub class
@@johnnnysaint01 I totally understand that. I just like to challenge myself with playing with a subclass that I dont see played much. Everyone told me how bad monks were. Then I played it and found out how great they could be if you play them right. I think players should give certain subclasses a chance.
Dragon sorcerer is the best sorcerer because of free mage armor natural armor
alot of my friends have said the same. no need for mage armor
Dreams is okay. It's abilities are full support and its of cool, don't get me wrong. But it's one of those that you lean into the healer of the group
Circle of Spores is pretty good
what do you like about the subclass?
@adamstheory9281 it's a pretty tankie subclass you can use wildshape to get temp hp and you add some necrotic damage to melee attacks. There's also a reaction AOE when enemies they get within 10 feet or start their turn there
@@MrMuddyWheels may have to give that subclass a try
@adamstheory9281 the expanded spell list is very battlefield control oriented as well.
In my opinion the lack of diversity in subclasses in 5e is a direct result of bad DMing. As a DM you have to REWARD people for taking suboptimal subclasses. You have give subclasses the spotlight in ways that are rewarding to the player. This means you need to MODIFY encounters to specifically give opportunities for the player to step into the spotlight. This takes work and most people are unwilling to change encouters especially in a printed adventure. If your party doesnt have proficiency in thieves tools you should never encounter a trap that requires your party to have proficiency in thieves tool. DM is there to tell a story that is fitted to the party at the table, not the party the printed adventure was playtested with.
@@bcostalota4984 I agree with you there. The characters are the heros of the story and the adventure should be built around that
Josh anit wit it😂😂
not at all. Josh will be in the next video
I think part pf the reason some people constantly pick the same class/subclasses is that they are married to that one character idea they had. Also all these “tier” lists and builds don’t help with that and those “tier” list mainly are built around combat encounters.
@@charlesransom4546 you are right. I had a few subclasses I wanted to try but got discouraged after lookong that their tier list
Have you looked at tales of the valiant...i find it to be a better 5e 2024 handbook...the classes are just better designed and the weapon manuevers are more tactical
No i have not. I will have to check this out
Artificer: not a real class (see also: Denmark)
Barbarian: Bear Totem because everything else feels like a Druid with a bad attitude.
Bard: Lore Bard because I can talk to Wizards about magic instead of dragon seduction.
Cleric: Life Cleric because it’s so versatile, not because it’s locked into healing.
Druid: Circle of the Land (Grassland). You’ve never read the subclass description. Welcome.
Fighter: Eldritch Knight. Multiclass a couple of lvls into any full caster. Best Gish in the game.
Monk: Garbage class but fun to take 1 or 2 lvls so you can avoid any of the awful subclasses.
Paladin: Oathbreaker if your GM will allow it. Pro tip: they will only allow it once.
Ranger: Colossus Slayer Hunter with a bow. Your frontliners will complain about your KDR.
Rogue: Arcane Trickster. Better Mage Hand will become your other familiar. GM sneak attack.
Sorcerer: Draconic. Unarmoured 13 AC plus 1 hp/lvl. Your party healer will forget your name.
Warlock: Archfey. Additional spells + clutch 1st level feature + RP. Your GM will salivate.
Wizard: Abjuration. Unkillable. Can go toe to toe with a raging Barbarian or an Evocation Wizard.
Rogue!?!
hopefully will get a chance to play another one....one day...lol
Clerics have neither a d10 hit die nor heavy armor proficiency.
@@ShinMajin certain clerics subclasses get heavy armor proficiency. Such as war and twlight cleric.
In 2024's, all Clerics have the option to gain Heavy Armor Proficiency.
Mow!
This isn't necessarily a player issue. It's a DM issue. If a DM knows a class doesn't feel good to play, they should work with the player to adjust features to make it feel right. If a DM ever says a class is weak, that's a bad DM. Oh, the class is weak because of the rules that are written? Who cares, you're the DM. Not Jeremy Crawford, not some random Wotc employees who wrote, YOU. If you're a DM using that excuse, then your players should leave if you ever nerf anything. DM who nerfs, but doesn't buff is a bad DM. Sorry for the rant lol. But most dnd problems can be boiled down to, bad DM.
@@theharaldrsaga...you bring up a good point. The DM can buff the class to make it better so the player feels good about playing something new.
@@adamstheory9281 exactly. I plan on DMing again sometime soon. This is what I've always done. Ranger sucks? Not at my table it doesn't. Dual wielding sucks? Not here. Rogues can be replaced by familiars? That's true at most tables, but I'll set my maps up so that an actual player can outpace a familiar anyday.
I think this is a very strange way to think. Let's say I was a person who knew how to code and bought a game. Lets say I felt it had balance issues and was telling a friend about it. Then, they say, "Don't you know how to code? Just make a mod to fix the issues." While it is true that I could do that, the onus should not be on me to fix design issues with the game. That is a lot of work to put on all DMs and people may not have time to personally rebalance all the subclasses in the game. The idea that that makes them a bad DM is just crazy to me.
@@iremainteague5653 You're strange for equating coding a video game to writing down words on a piece of paper. 5e is already the most simple DnD has ever been. It's really this simple; if you don't know how to fix something underpowered, then you don't understand balance at all and have no business nerfing or banning anything either. Nor should that DM know when to hand out magic items or build encounters. At that point, they just have to run modules, which is fine for beginners, but I wouldn't consider that kind a good DM.
I'm not insulting those with little experience or those uncomfortable with DMing, just be honest that you're a novice DM. There's no shame in that. Unless you're one of the novices that charge 20 dollars per session. Then all the shame is put on your lol
@theharaldrsaga I'm neither of those things. I've been playing ttrpgs for over a decade and am a forever DM. I disagree that 5e is the simplest version of DnD. B/X DnD is much simpler, as is ADnD, albeit hampered by dated game design. DnD 5e is simple to be a player in, but heaps massive complexity onto the shoulders of the DM. DM burnout is so common because 5e is a very flawed system, and WotC puts the responsibility of fixing it on the DM's shoulders. It's the same way Bethesda treats its modding community. A DM has to run the world, the npcs, create encounters, and weave backstories in and out of a narrative. Time is a finite resource, and DMing requires a lot of time. Wanting the DM to handle all these things AND redesign the game as they go to correctly balance the classes or else they are a bad DM is ludicrous. DMs should not need to be game designers as well to play the game. WotC is simply too lazy to release balanced products.
No
@@moonlight2870 ok....lol
Im sorry but 9 times outta 10 if you're not playing rune knight as a fighter what the hell are you doing?
Its not even a meta, most of the other subclasses just isnt interesting to begin with...not to mention useless for most character concepts.
@@TheLuuman I was never impress with the rune knight to be honest. It is not bad...but feel like path of the gaints for barbarian does the theme better. Also...there is more to dnd than just combat. You can make any subclass works.
@@adamstheory9281 You're heavily overlooking rune knight comparing it to the path of the giants XD
Its almost comical, but there's more to rune knight than being big. Those runes makes you essentially a support subclass at times where you can give and take advantage/disadvantage on checks and saves, or gain passive bonuses to cover your personal weaknesses, and of course if you overlook the runes the basic transformation is essentially adding a additional weapon die at later levels.
It has great multiclass variety since the runes are varied. Its more fun than the path of giants by far, and i play barbarian more than fighter.
@@TheLuuman to be fair...I would rather have a ruin knight at the table than a echo knight. Not because I think it is better...but cause it adds something new to the table.
@@adamstheory9281 Idk maybe im biased because i've made a omni man/broly build with a fighter barbarian multiclass that was absolutely busted. It made echo knight seem overrated to me.
Bear totem Rune Knight is just ridiculously fun to play as. Combine that with magic item like boots of flight, headbands of intellect, or eldritch claw and you're literally the better level 10 monk at level 7.