Classes & Subclasses

Class tier list (Patch 8)

Sources disagree on exact order at the top, but Paladin and Sorcerer appear in the top tier of virtually every 2025–2026 list.

What Patch 8 added

Patch 8 (April 15, 2025) was Larian's final major patch. It added one new subclass to every class, along with new spells (Booming Blade, Toll the Dead, Bursting Sinew, Shadow Blade, Staggering Smite), Photo Mode and cross-platform play.

Class-by-class guide

Barbarian

Role: Frontline damage and tank. Key stats: STR, CON. Best subclasses: Giant, Berserker (throw), Wildheart (Bear tank).

• Rage gives resistance to physical damage; Reckless Attack gives advantage. Simple, durable, great for first runs.
• Berserker's Frenzy adds a bonus-action attack — including thrown attacks — making it a strong Tavern Brawler thrower base. Giant does this even better.
• Weakness: no ranged option without throwing and very little utility outside combat.

Bard

Role: Support, face, flexible caster. Key stats: CHA, DEX. Best subclasses: Swords (damage), Lore (magic), Glamour (support).

• Best dialogue character in the game: Charisma, Expertise and Jack of All Trades.
• Swords Bard's Slashing Flourish with dual hand crossbows is a classic multiclass base; Lore gets Magical Secrets at level 6 (e.g. Counterspell, Hunger of Hadar).
• Bardic Inspiration as a bonus action helps allies land key saves and attacks.

Cleric

Role: Healer, buffer, armoured caster. Key stats: WIS, CON. Best subclasses: Light, Tempest, Life, War, Death.

• Spirit Guardians is one of the best spells in the game — walk into enemies and they melt.
• Light Cleric's Warding Flare and Radiance of the Dawn; Tempest's Destructive Wrath maximises lightning/thunder damage.
• A one- or two-level Cleric dip gives heavy armour (Life/Tempest/War) plus Guidance and Bless.

Druid

Role: Controller, shapeshifter, healer. Key stats: WIS. Best subclasses: Stars, Moon, Spores, Land.

• Moon Druids have huge effective HP through Wild Shape; Owlbear and later Myrmidon forms dominate early fights.
• Moonbeam, Spike Growth, Call Lightning and Conjure Elemental are excellent battlefield spells.
• Patch 8 lets Wild Shape benefit from Tavern Brawler, buffing Moon Druid melee.

Fighter

Role: Consistent damage, any range. Key stats: STR or DEX, CON. Best subclasses: Battle Master, Champion, Eldritch Knight, Arcane Archer.

• Action Surge (level 2) is the single best dip in the game: a full extra Action.
• Extra feats at 6 make Fighter a natural home for Great Weapon Master or Sharpshooter plus Tavern Brawler.
• Level 11 grants a third attack — the reason to stay pure Fighter late.

Monk

Role: Mobile striker, control. Key stats: DEX, WIS. Best subclasses: Open Hand, Drunken Master, Shadow.

• Flurry of Blows gives many attacks per turn; Tavern Brawler adds Strength to each unarmed hit — a famously powerful combo.
• Stunning Strike shuts down bosses, though many have high Constitution saves.
• Monk/Thief Rogue gains an extra bonus action for a second Flurry.

Paladin

Role: Burst damage, tank, face. Key stats: STR, CHA. Best subclasses: Oathbreaker, Vengeance, Devotion, Ancients, Crown.

• Divine Smite turns spell slots into massive radiant damage — and crits double the dice.
• Aura of Protection (level 6) adds your Charisma to every nearby ally's saving throws — one of the best defensive features in the game.
• Oathbreaker is unlocked by breaking your oath and paying Oathbreaker Knight in camp; Aura of Hate stacks with Paladin damage.
• Paladin multiclasses with Sorcerer, Warlock and Bard for more smite slots.

Ranger

Role: Archer, scout. Key stats: DEX, WIS. Best subclasses: Gloom Stalker, Swarmkeeper, Beast Master.

• Gloom Stalker's Dread Ambusher adds an attack and initiative bonus on the first turn — a perfect base for alpha-strike builds.
• Beast Master's companion is far stronger than in tabletop and grows with you.
• Most players take Ranger to 5 then multiclass; Ranger's later levels are weaker.

Rogue

Role: Skill monkey, burst striker. Key stats: DEX. Best subclasses: Swashbuckler, Thief, Assassin, Arcane Trickster.

• Thief's Fast Hands (level 3) grants an extra bonus action — a massive multiclass prize.
• Assassin's Assassinate guarantees crits on surprised targets.
• Your party wants at least one character with good Sleight of Hand for locks and traps — often Astarion.

Sorcerer

Role: Blaster. Key stats: CHA, CON. Best subclasses: Draconic, Storm, Shadow Magic, Wild Magic.

• Metamagic is the draw: Twinned Haste, Quickened Fireball, Heightened Hold Person.
• Draconic (Fire or Lightning) adds Charisma to damage of matching spells — huge with Fireball and Scorching Ray.
• Starting Sorcerer gives Constitution save proficiency, the best save for any caster.

Warlock

Role: Consistent ranged damage, Pact weapon melee. Key stats: CHA. Best subclasses: Hexblade, Fiend, Archfey, Great Old One.

• Eldritch Blast + Agonizing Blast + Repelling Blast is reliable damage and control from level 2.
• Pact slots return on short rest — perfect smite fuel for Paladins and convertible to Sorcery Points.
• Devil's Sight + Darkness gives your whole party a stealth-friendly cloud to fight from.

Wizard

Role: Utility, control, blaster. Key stats: INT. Best subclasses: Abjuration, Evocation, Bladesinging, Divination, Necromancy.

• Scrolls let Wizards learn any wizard spell they find — the biggest spell list in the game.
• Abjuration's Arcane Ward, recharged by casting abjuration spells like Shield and Counterspell, makes a nearly unkillable tank caster.
• Gale is an easy, strong Wizard companion; respec him to Evocation or Divination.

Best races at a glance

Point-buy matters more than race: there are no fixed racial stat bonuses — you assign +2 and +1 freely.