


Unfortunately for players wanting balanced options, * there is one option that stands head and shoulders above the rest: the Path of the Totem Warrior.

Players can opt for protecting their allies with the power of their Ancestral Guardians, doing extra damage at the cost of exhaustion with the Berserker, doing far less damage with the Path of the Storm Herald, * or saying no to the god of death with the Zealot. Grumpy fighters who believe clothes are for chumps, barbarians have six subclasses available to them starting at level three. Let’s start with the angriest kid on the playground: barbarians. I also ignore multiclassing in most cases, as I assume no one wants to read a 200-page examination on my descent into incoherence. As noncombat abilities are almost impossible to quantify from table to table, I am limiting my examination to the combat viability of each subclass. These subclasses range from slight variations to complete changes in play style, and with that variation comes the unavoidable specter of imbalance.īut which subclasses stand at the top of the pile? Today, we find out. 5th Edition takes this idea a step further, breaking each main class into a multitude of subclasses. * Over the intervening 45 years, the class system has been changed a multitude of times, but at its core, it has always played the role of allowing players to easily understand the flavor and mechanics their characters will be employing. Classes have been a key part of Dungeons and Dragons since 1st Edition all the way back in 1974, when players could choose between fighter, wizard, and cleric.
