So, it’s time toroll up a new characterfor an upcomingDungeons & Dragonscampaign—but even once a class is picked, the decisions aren’t over, because then it’s time to pick asubclass. These are the elements that really give the character its flavor, as well as the more specialized abilities that come in clutch during a tough fight.
Ifpure roleplaying is the goal, then that leaves pretty much any class and subclass on the table as fair pickings. But anybody wanting to keep the raw firepower factor in mind while building a character should refer to this roundup of the most powerful subclasses available inD&D 5e.
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When it comes to druids, theCircle of the Moonis hands-down the most powerful subclass, purely based on its enhanced shapeshifting ability. Moon druids still have full spellcasting abilities like every other subclass while their shapechanging abilities are tenfold times stronger than anyone else. In battle, the druid can shape change into a powerful beast and soak up atonof damage—even functioning as a backup tank during emergencies, which is potentially a lifesaver—and then the reverted druid can clean up the field with a few selective spells. Some of the classes on this list, including Circle of the Moon, don’t come with theD&Dstarter materials, but they’re well worth the extra effort.
It’s a well-established fact that theD&D 5ebarbarian class is for people who just want todestroy everythingwhile taking minimal damage, and the best way to do that is by specializing in thePath of the Totem Warrior.To get even more specific, choose the path of thebeartotem. Through this subclass, barbarians' raging ability (which normally grants resistance to slashing, piercing, and bludgeoning damage) goes a step further and gives the rage-filled barbarian resistance to every single type of damage except psychic; plus, the bear totem also more or less doubles their hit point total. That means a bear totem barbarian on the battlefield is essentially a near-infallible juggernaut of a tank.
Next up, let’s talk about a borderline overpowered (and very awesome) bard subclass:College of Lore. Bards, in general, have gotten a huge upgrade through 5e, now being formidable foes in battle. And Lore bards easily offer the most versatility: these bards can steal spells from other classes—more often than the other subclasses—and have tons of skill proficiencies that make them the ultimate jack-of-all-trades, effective in any situation. Plus, the Cutting Words ability is just too valuable to pass up.Nothingmesses with a DMmore than disrupting their devastating attack via adolescent name-calling.
A case could be made for many wizard schools since the wizard class is just an infamously powerful one. However, one particular ability makes theSchool of Divinationa wizard’s most powerful specialization: the Portent ability. It’s one of the most powerful abilities in the game, perhaps even more so than the Luck feat. Portent allows a diviner wizard to roll two d20s, record them, and then replaceanybody’sability check, attack roll, or saving throw with one of those numbers—it doesn’t have to be on the wizard’s roll. Being a diviner allows the wizard to see their fate, and change it.
Paladins are hilariously powerful inD&D’s5th Edition, and at the top of this paladin-power ranking is theOath of the Ancients. It’s pretty by-the-books as paladin archetypes go, but it comes with one huge advantage: magic resistance for the paladin and any standing within their 10-foot radius (and at high levels, that radius turns to 30 feet). Obviously that’s a critical ability; an enemy’s well-placed spell could very well sap a character’s hit points in just one round. With resistance, potentially everyone in the party gets a buff.
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Now on to another powerful spellcasting class,the sorcerer. The obvious answer here might appear to be the Draconic bloodline, which is a classic, but no; theDivine Soulsorcery subclass is easily the most powerful of the bunch. Divine Souls get their magic from a godly bloodline, and as such, get their pick of spells fromtwospell lists: sorcerer and cleric. Most classes that allow mixing in spells from other lists have restrictions on it, but not the Divine Soul. The only restriction they have is the same spell limit that all sorcerers have. Add to that an improved save feature, empowered healing, and functioning spectral wings at level 14, and the Divine Soul subclass takes home the top prize in sorcery.
Fighters have a reputation for being rather basic (and easyD&Dclass to play); they hit things, and hit things some more, with any weapon they feel like using. But theEldritch Knightsubclass spices things up, while also making fighters even more effective at their jobs. With access to cantrips and a few lower-level spells, Eldritch Knights can buff themselves and weaken enemies before laying into them with a blade. And once they get the Haste spell? These fighters can give themselvestwicethe attacks per round. One other subclass does get an honorable mention since the Battle Masterdoeslet fighters deal insane amounts of single-target damage.
For characters of a more religious persuasion, theLife Domainlets players get the most out of their cleric. When playing a Life Domain cleric, players basically have the most effective healer possibleanda tank, since the subclass grants heavy armor proficiency and flat bonuses to healing spells. Life Domain clerics heal themselves at the same time as they heal others, and at later levels, they automatically max any healing dice rolled. Sure, there are other more interesting-sounding subclasses (including thecreepy Death and Grave domains), but Life has the most power behind it.
Finally, theArcane Trickstermakes for an especially powerful rogue, supplementing their abilities with minor spellcasting. Want to make sure the rogue always gets an advantage and a sneak attack? Have them summon a familiar and make it flank whatever enemy the rogue is targeting. Plus, the Arcane Trickster spell list compliments a number of roguish activities: Invisibility to pair with sneaking, Disguise Self and Charm Person to pair off with subterfuge and infiltration, and so on.
So there they are: the most ridiculously powerful subclasses inD&D 5e. All that being said, it’s just about impossible to make a “bad"D&Dcharacter. At the end of the day,D&Dcharacters should be made based on whatever combination of race, class, and background sounds the most fun to their players–odds are they’ll be used in play for the wholeduration of a campaign.
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