Class Tier Rankings for D&D 5e: Who is the best Utility?

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 take a look at all the classes in D&D and discuss who we think offers the most in the UTILITY role in D&D 5e. we see who the community thought was the strongest.
TIME STAMPS
0:00 - intro
4:17 - Artificer
7:39 - Barbarian
9:09 - Bard
13:57 - Cleric
16:11 - Druid
18:14 - Fighter
20:28 - Monk
22:27 - Paladin
24:12 - Ranger
26:38 - Rogue
31:24 - Sorcerer
33:08 - Warlock
36:16 - Wizard
40:08 - Community Rankings
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[@trevorgreenough6141]

I agree with Barbarian conclusion: They are the epitome of "violence isn't the answer, it's a question and the answer is yes"

[@nicolaezenoaga9756]

I do disagree on the rating, I think they're a C. My reasoning is that most of they're subclasses get: The Beast, Storm Herald, Ancestral Guardian, Wilde Magic and the aforementioned Totem Warrior; get some utility: -beast -breathing water -climb speed -swimm speed -better jumps -herald -resist cold climates and freez a 5 foot cube of water -sett something on fire and resist hot climates -water breathing and swimm -Wilde Magic -you get detect magic and their wilde magic table -Ancestral Guardian -agury and clairvoyance at level 10 Sure they're all given by different subclasses but that allows them to be inserted in a lot of different party compositions.

[@Fr3ddyM3hrCurry]

I just commented the same quote and feel realy stupid after reading you said it first...

[@PUNishment777]

​@@nicolaezenoaga9756 barbarians have the best carrying capacity usually

[@trevorgreenough6141]

@@Fr3ddyM3hrCurry it's nothing to feel embarrassed about, after all Great Minds think alike.

[@danwebber9494]

I feel challenged to make a utility focused barbarian now. Rogue dip plus ritual caster (wizard)?

[@fatgumthegoat]

At the end of this series it would be cool to go through each class one by one and see all it's results on screen at once just as like a final review

[@codemaster2861]

I agree completely

[@thebrunsenbeast1989]

About a month or so ago, I played Pathfinder WotR and all of the classes have a kind of radial chart showing their power in different categories and this series made me immediately think of that wheel

[@dizzykincade7831]

Great idea.

[@patrickkohli9005]

Totally agree

[@SREvans2626]

100%. Like a class breakdown on grades in each area.

[@jakethiringer1698]

A huge part of the satisfaction of playing a utility character is shocking the party by having the exact clutch solution to whatever problem happens to arise. “You can do what?”

[@crazy36069]

“Wait, you can just come back up after that 1 death save, not have to suffocate in this water we are fighting the Kracken in, not have to deal with your decapitated arm and legs, and you regained some hp during that desperate time??? Bro, Undying Warlock is so good!!!”

[@xK9000x]

In my current campaign, my Barbarian has a criminal background, which lets me pick locks as well as smash doors open, but that's about the only utility it has. I comes in handy some since we don't have a rogue, and leads to funny moments when my lockpicking fails and I say that I got it unlocked and proceed to smash the door open anyway.

[@travisdonaldstanley6420]

Basically, Conan the Barbarian. He was good at stealth. He killed the huge snake that way. Then he snuck in to rescue the Princess. Then he snuck into the Temple at the end of the movie to confront Thulsa Doom

[@LoneSkag]

Our tank is a ranger :/

[@travisdonaldstanley6420]

@@not-a-theist8251 That's a good description

[@bigdream_dreambig]

I love that! "Did you open the lock?" *SMASH* "Yep." 😝

[@iselreads2908]

This has gotta be one of the best comments I've read all day anywhere XD

[@tjrooger1092]

My biggest problem with the wizard is that when I play one, I always find myself wishing I had done my daily spells differently. "Hey, um, guys... Anyone feeling sleepy? If I take a long rest, we can do this thing ..."

[@Miggy19779]

Yes I can relate, it is frustrating haha.

[@bigdream_dreambig]

Yeah, that's why I prefer the non-prep magic users: I have the spells that I have, and there's no point second-guessing in the middle of the adventuring day.

[@collinbeal]

That problem is pretty much solved entirely once your wizard learns Contingency if you're clever enough. It's completely solved once you learn Wish lol.

[@Mithguar]

Or play Sorcerer with Ritual caster feat. Get all wizard utility in ritual spell book.

[@DoctorFabio23]

I'm the opposite. I always have one or two spells that can solve whatever problem we come across

[@computerwundsam]

10:06 this amazing passion and this beautiful motivation when Monty talks about chocolate. I have never seen someone talk with so much love and passion about another subject than D&D who enjoys D&D so much. You really can see the sparkling in Monty's eyes upon talking about chocolate cake.

[@selendrasama44]

they should add in a clip of Gabriel Iglesias saying "chocolate cake" while rubbing his belly

[@petrus9067]

Chocolate is amazing so i get it

[@Thetruepianoman]

My favourite trait of Monty's is that he always gets even more invigorated and enthused whenever Kelly disagrees with him. To value discussion above being right!

[@M_M_ODonnell]

I'm playing as part of a party with a wizard (who has a few levels of artificer), a bard, *and* a druid. We'd be unstoppable if we didn't have a long record of making everything more difficult for ourselves.

[@danielgriff2659]

You need a Barbarian to join, lol

[@lucasguerra6681]

@@danielgriff2659 they have, probally, a moon druid

[@IkaikaArnado]

Haha, my group is similar too. We have a near perfect set up, but are pure chaos...which is way more fun imo.

[@M_M_ODonnell]

@@IkaikaArnado Those are usually the most fun campaigns. No group is so mechanically balanced that roleplaying can't break everything in all the best ways.

[@gabebaum6527]

If your party doesn't unnecessarily complicate things, are you even playing dnd?

[@DazedAndConfuzing]

As a lvl 11 Shepard druid I’ve been able to do so much for my party: summoning, battlefield control, help with travel, scouting, infiltration healing etc. definitely an A+ depending on the campaign.

[@bruceottenberg373]

Druids can be amazingly versatile.

[@pattyofurniture694]

Playing the same sublclass and I agree so much!

[@Siennarchist]

Shepherd is simultaneously the best tank, silly DPS, and impressive support all at once with a conjure animals up

[@Heritage367]

Druids are hands down my favorite 5e class; so much versatility yet often underestimated.

[@evanzora]

Playing a shepherd druid in Frostmaiden was awesome, nailing those survival checks, scouting, summoning, talking to ALL the animals! Absolutely incredible at solving just about any situation

[@SirAdsew]

Thats why I love wizards. Ritual casting straight out of the spell book without the need to prepare it is such a cool and unique feature.

[@edwinvermeulen8187]

It is not. Every character, even the barbarian can do the same with picking the feat ritual caster and picking the wizard class list for it. The only requirement is having Int or wisdom at 13

[@binolombardi]

@@edwinvermeulen8187 feats aren’t free. Those stat minimums require thoughtful investment that will have an impact on success in what ever class you choose that isn’t already oriented toward having one of those stats rewarded by the class features. A feat also requires an ASI or a racial choice that grants a feat at 1st level. The earlier you pick the feat the more impact it should have over your characters career, but something to keep in mind is that actual ritual casters have control of the spells they prepare or have access to. The feat allows for a couple of picks but requires significant DM intervention to be rewarded appropriately by giving access to additional spells.

[@Mithguar]

@@binolombardi DM intervention? It works very much like wizard version. As long as you find a spell on a scroll or buy it from other wizards, you can get it. Ritual Caster feat with wizard spell list is like getting almost half of wizard added to your class utility wise. Remember that Wizards also need to find most of these spells other then few free ones they get with levels (from which they also need to pick their combat spells that might be even more rare then utility ones). So don't underestimate this feat.

[@binolombardi]

@@Mithguar the wizard gains more spells as it levels up than it will be able to prepare, so if the DM doesn’t hand out spells then there’s not much of an issue. If a player selects ritual caster as a feat and the DM doesn’t hand out spells, they don’t get any more spells.

[@benjaminkowal7310]

The unique part is that it is a base class feature with no opportunity cost. Tomelocks get a broader selection of rituals but have to give up spicey weapons, magical talismans, or fancy familiars to get them.

[@katybechnikova2821]

Exception that proves the rule for Fighter: We had an Echo knight in our party and they can manifest their echo (like aspectral person or something) and the important thing is they can swap places. We encountered a small window and we needed to scout the place before we opened the gate. And the fighter made the echo on the other side of that window, swapped places and waved us and went exploring.

[@cecilrhodes2153]

That’s the perfect use of that, look at something like Arifureta, Kousuke uses one of his abilities that way multiple times.

[@beaudwayful]

I want to make an Echo Knight and play it like a teleporting Rogue.

[@HReiss0]

Don't look at arifureta spare your time

[@cecilrhodes2153]

@@HReiss0 don’t you DARE talk bad about Arifureta, I will defend Ari to the death!

[@darkestlight660]

Echo Knights are incredible

[@Christopher_Gibbons]

Blind prediction before watching: bard, it has to be bard. They get expertise and automatic half proficiency in everything. On top of that, any argument made in favor of another caster on the basis of spells also applies to the bard because of magical secrets.

[@codemaster2861]

Plus they are just full casters to begin with in addition to magical secrets

[@maybevoldemort8995]

Also, bardic is just really pretty good as well.

[@lucasguerra6681]

Wrong. Its the wizard

[@mokane86]

I knew theyd go Wizard, but I agree its Bard until the wizard is mid/high tier level and needs a game world where they have access to spells to scribe besides thier 2/level. i thought they would downplay wildshape, but they did good by Druid.

[@IkaikaArnado]

It's definitely the wizard.

[@exomancer3632]

My thoughts on Bard. I have played a Creation Bard, the bard whose whole shtick is utility. It performed utility amazingly, and did things no other build could. But I'll be damned if I didn't look at my spells and wish I was a Wizard.

[@archmagemc3561]

I'm playing one right now, and the big, BIG thing creation bard has over Wizard is they can use spells that 'consume' their reagents like Heroes Feast, Greater Resto, Raise Dead, ext... with wild abandon since at 14 they can make anything that can be used as a spell component. Pre 14, they can use greater resto for free. Also at 14, Creation Bard can summon a huge block of gunpowder or lava for an attack that does almost as much as a meteor swarm in non magical damage, for the cost of a 2nd level spell slot....

[@reedsmith8975]

Point to consider: Charisma is a much more frequently used utility stat than Intelligence. If you consider spells only, Wizard wins. If you consider everything, I think Bards are an even match.

[@Miggy19779]

A wizard can be immortal (clone), have several simulacrums, multiple demiplanes with dozens of bound elementals/fiends he can unleash, and with wish, can duplicate any spell of 8th lvl or lower without needing components, (admittedly this is at lvl 17 so 3 lvls higher than the Creation bard). Plus they can do all the other stuff like counterspell, forcecage, banishment, fireball, glyph of warding (for crazy base defence) etc. A bard can also do some of these things via magical secrets, but a Wizard doesn't need to pick and choose, they can do all of these things. Hence why agree with the ratings, but it is very close for sure.

[@reedsmith8975]

@@Miggy19779 At high levels sure, I don’t think anyone questions the utility of a 20th level wizard. (BTW, Bard with wish magical secret essentially gets every spell you named). But at level 4, a Bard almost definitely has at least +8 at Persuasion or Deception (or both) and +10 at level 5 at no resource cost. And at level 5 is giving out bardic inspiration 4-5 times per short rest. A level 12+ wizard probably offers more utility than a level 12+ bard, but it is close. A level 3-8 bard offers more utility than a wizard, and I’m not sure it is that close unless the DM hands out ritual spells like candy.

[@Miggy19779]

@@reedsmith8975 I agree that the two classes overtake one another at certain levels, but even a lvl 4 wizard if they choose, they can get skill expert feat + enhanced ability and suddenly they are REALLY good at one skill they picked, or just borrowed knowledge+ enhance ability to be good at any skill they choose, so although still behind a Bard if they choose a Cha skill, they are not so far behind for other skills depending on stat allocation. The wizard still gets all the other amazing spells like shield, absorb elements, fireball, counterspell, wall of force, etc, which a bard is limited via magical secrets. I just find that there's too many spells I miss as a Bard, and magical secrets just isn't enough even as a lore bard to grab everything that I would want. But certainly I'm going to agree it's very very close, before I saw the video I thought it would be either Bard or Wiz for sure.

[@snazzyfeathers]

Fun fact! The Ancestral Guardian barbarian can cast augury and clairvoyance so that's a thing. One of my fellow players in a campaign I'm playing in didn't know that until I told them, and they were way beyond the level they got it. When I told them their reaction was basically "Why would I ever use that?". So...yeah. Some Barbarians have a few weird subclass abilities that feel like a sad attempt to force utility onto a class that doesn't need it.

[@joedan5366]

At least it fits the theme

[@snazzyfeathers]

@@joedan5366 True the flavor of it is fitting. I like that they mention that if someone can see your Clairvoyance it appears as a spirit instead of just an orb.

[@smashbrandiscootch719]

Yeah barbarians are only ever useful outside of combat for VERY smart players, but smart players don't play barbarians because they're useless.

[@joedan5366]

@@smashbrandiscootch719 so many words to say nothing

[@brucebrown2241]

If you get a warlock with pact of the tome and he knows every ritual, he is really good at utility. Water breathing, tiny hut, water walk, telepathic bond, augury, purify food and drink, find familiar, floating disc, unseen servant, all as rituals so limited spell slots aren't a factor and they are always prepared.

[@stevenyoung9738]

Yeah, any spell caster with every ritual will do that. Any class with 20 in every stat tends to perform well too.

[@brucebrown2241]

@@stevenyoung9738 Right, but it would be pretty difficult to get a 20 in all stats, but not too difficult to get all the rituals. At least all the best ones.

[@justyouraverageartificer2266]

Monty doesn't understand Artificer, and it shows sometimes. He's absolutely right, being a half caster does make artificer inherently less capable than full casters, but they have an amazing spell list for utility, can hand out magic items when needed, provide boosts to saving throws or ability checks, they have guidance, and at level 11 they can literally hand out a spell to their allies that can be used up to 10 times A DAY. they are absolutely not better than wizards, bards, or druids but they still deserve a solid A rank (bard and druid should be S but I guess they're doing a thing so whatever).

[@wicky7591]

Another case is that they can have more magic items attuned as-well. That could be significant depending on how common magic items are in the campaign.

[@eldrazie]

Well based on what you explained I think they are looking at that stuff more as support not utilities

[@Gargandan]

I actually agree with this. Also a big part of artificer that is overlooked is their magical multi tool from Tasha's. I know they were considering magic items, but as a common item that they can build for 25gp themselves, it allows the choice of any cantrip to be cast for the day and as an action can become any tool kit and grants proficiency with it. On top of that you have expertise in any tool kit your proficient with. Being able to use any tool kit in the game with a minimum +10 to the roll (+15 with advantage of you use enhance ability and flash of genius) has allowed me to do a crazy amount of things with my battlesmith in our party. The same is true for the magical tinkering ability.

[@jasonerickson1753]

The artificer's ability to scribe scrolls of spells from any class, and use any scrolls, makes it possible for an artificer to pass as nearly any other type of spellcaster if they prep to do so. They can use those scribed scrolls to create Blasting Rods or Wands of limited capacity to enhance their abilities, too.

[@phillconklin382]

I noticed that as well. Nothing wrong with a half caster.

[@mikegreen2934]

A thing I see people overlook with the wizard too is that they can copy spells into their spell book as they're adventuring. It costs time and money, especially high level spells, and depends on what spell scrolls and loot your DM gives out, but getting more spells you can choose from to prepare that don't count against your number of spells known is a great class feature for a spellcaster

[@WolfmanXD]

Hey dudes, just wanted to jump in and say I got my drakkenheim stuff today, and it is amazing. The quality is so much better than I was expecting, and everything is so gorgeous. Good work to you guys and all your product guys involved. You all outdid yourselves.

[@DungeonDudes]

Thank you so much! I am thrilled to hear that!

[@MikeVDS]

Love all the well thought out videos. I keep coming back and watching these as a newbie to 5e. Really gives me good insight.

[@michawojtas8468]

Wizards are great at utility, especially when they're being used "strategically". Unfortunately players rarely play like this. Usually it's getting fireball as fast as possible and hoping that party's tanks will hold the line

[@LordBrittish]

Strategic Wizards are super fun. I’ve seen Log Horizon!

[@Chrasmardan]

I'm playing a LVL 7 divination wizard atm, and my only damage spells are ray of Frost and chromatic Orb. Everything else is utility. I do wish I had some aoe dmg, but I love having a utility spell for most every situation!

[@christianlangdon3766]

I see this as twofold as strategic wizards are often really fun in play when they aren't in combat. But rarley are fun for the dm should they continuously have encounters fall flat just from one player as it also makes the other players potential feel left out. So part of me wishes all wizards could be both fun and explosive while maniacly laughing while smart without killing the vibe for the party.

[@crazy36069]

I used to use fireball, but now my wizard is using lightning bolt, due to the fact he has a highly reworked staff of magi that can cast lightning bolt at level 7, and the lack of immunity to lightning.

[@Thiccyg]

I loved my necromancer wizard who was all about control, and letting the summons do the rest

[@armphidiic2609]

Some interesting takes here. I think only having one S ranked class really makes the A field stretched out.

[@JinJinJinJinJinJinJinJinJinJin]

To be fair, Wizard does indeed stand head and shoulders above all the others. You just can't rival their sheer amount of options to them.

[@agilemind6241]

@@JinJinJinJinJinJinJinJinJinJin Druids certainly can. Not only do Druids get a greater variety of magic (buff, debuff, healing, AoE damage, battlefield control, defensive pre-casts, utility, summoning) vs Wizard (battlefield control, utility, AoE damage, single-target damage) they also get Wildshape which by itself gives them the equivalent of half a dozen wizard spells all at once (without requiring any spell preparation) : Blindsight (See Invisibility), Flight (Fly), Fast Movement (Expedition Retreat), lifting heavy things (Levitate), breaking open doors (Knock), Wild Companion (Find Familiar), Become something unnoteworthy (Invisibility), Climbing up walls (Spider Climb), Changing Size (Enlarge/Reduce), Grappling Attacks (Earthen Grasp).

[@warlordsquerk5338]

Maybe they really need a few more tiers?

[@Dezbood]

@@agilemind6241 buffs, debuffs, and healing all fall under support, not utility, according to the DD’s distinction between roles. Druids are certainly flexible in casting, being sorta half way between clerics and wizards, but that’s an example of Druids being great at both the support and utility roles but not the best at either.

[@krutintrucker1596]

@@JinJinJinJinJinJinJinJinJinJin Man I wish there was a class that could basically do everything skill really well, have decent spellcasting, and um yeah have access to every spell in the game. Oh wait thats a bard.

[@evannewell7985]

Watching you both come to your senses on the Sorcerer was really fun

[@DaedalusShard]

Love your channel. Thanks guys! Wizards being able to cast rituals from known without preparation is insane, too.

[@benjaminweisert9099]

On paper the wizard is S. In game its very dependent on access to spells. Some DMs are very tight fisted with spells scrolls or books. Sometimes the two spells you get on leveling up is all you can count on.

[@brningpyre]

In that case, they're still better off than other spellcasting classes, though (unless the DM is only restricting Wizard stuff, I guess).

[@utkarshgaur1942]

@@brningpyre I'd say that in that case the Druid takes the winning spot. If a Wizard can only rely on level-up spells, they are probably still picking the good battlefield control but they may be missing other forms of utility that Druids either just get from Wild Shape or can prepare after a long rest. Stuff like Spider Climb, Fly, Water Breathing etc.

[@dashua1735]

2 spells per level is way more than enough

[@Mithguar]

@@dashua1735 You are not wrong. That still builds up to 40+ spells at level 20.

[@Miggy19779]

@@utkarshgaur1942 What does wild shape give that cannot be achieved with the polymorph spell?

[@aodhfyn2429]

I love this series. You two have excellent debates about class features and abilities, and I think this is my favourite avenue of critique yet.

[@dylanlally9485]

Absolutely love these tier list style videos!

[@BlackShadow1991]

Thank you for doing these videos, Dudes, they are fun, informative and well made :D

[@collinkelch7764]

This is so well reasoned! I might suggest in the future to cut to a screen and that displays the spells or abilities in a list styles that you are thinking of, or highlighting as examples in your commentary.

[@mattdodson1272]

This makes me really want to build a clockwork soul sorcerer with the ritual caster feat. All the benefits of sorcerer metamagic with the best wizard spells and the ritual casting to boot.

[@jesse1018]

Treantmonk has a "do it all mage" build based on clockwork soul worth checking out.

[@benjaminwalker9369]

Go check out Treantmonk on KZbin, he has a great video on this kind of build called the "god wizard"

[@benjaminwalker9369]

@@jesse1018 I didn't see that xD

[@BrookeA12]

8:24 my firbolg bear totem barbarian avoids violence and loves talking to plants and animals and lifting heavy things for the party, he also used a special chain weapon that can trip enemies and entangle tem to make it easier for his fellow party members to hit them. I'd say its a lot of fun to aim towards a more utility-focused skill set as a barbarian, even if its not the MOST effective.

[@162manoj]

I'll be honest, I didn't get any notification from this channel for a month, and now it's time to binge watch all the back catalogue lol. I really missed you guys.

[@armandswart7857]

This video just made my day. Thank you dudes. Keep up the good work.

[@zerothehero6100]

Wizard definitely deserves the S ranking. Not only is their spell list the most expansive and they get the most casts out of anyone with Arcane Recovery, the sheer number of spells they learn outweighs anything. If a Bard wants to take Comprehend Languages, they have to weigh it against every other spell they can take at that level, an issue which is further exacerbated if they need to take a spell not on their list like Fabricate or Alarm. If a Wizard wants to take Comprehend Languages, they can get it as one of six 1st level spells they get at level 1, and they'll get another two spells every time they level up from there. Even in a campaign where there's absolutely no chance to add spells to your spellbook without leveling, Wizards get more spells overall from a more expansive list, barring Magical Secrets. Bard is still an amazing utility generalist class of course, but like... Wizards can have a solution for basically anything in their spellbook. It might not always be the best solution, and someone else might be able to do it better, but the only situation where a Wizard can't do something effective about the problem in front of them is if they're separated from their spellbook. Edit: It's a point in the Bard's favor that they don't need to prepare spells like the Wizard does and they always have access to their entire spell list, but many of the best utility/problem solving spells are rituals they don't need to prepare to cast. The ones I listed above (except Fabricate), plus Detect Magic, Identify, Find Familiar, Augury, Leomund's Tiny Hut, Water Breathing...

[@CivilWarMan]

Bard is my personal S pick, but I also think they are undervaluing Warlock a bit. The low number of spell slots certainly hurts, but several invocations are things like "You can cast X spell at will without using a spell slot" which is really strong. Plus, since Eldritch Blast is such a strong blaster cantrip and all leveled spells are upcast based on the level of the Warlock, it makes a lot of sense to build a Warlock where Eldritch Blast is the primary go-to damage spell, keep maybe a big AoE and a larger blasting spell in the back pocket for groups and burst, and then primarily focus spell choices on scaling utility spells and save the spell slots for those. Things like summon spells, fly, counterspell/dispel magic, hold person, etc. And that's not counting Book of Ancient Secrets for Tome Warlocks, which gives them ritual casting and the ability to learn every ritual spell in the game, regardless of class, and cast them as rituals.

[@GrumpyGrobbyGamer]

Excellent conversation again. This video does bring up a really big problem of how do you exactly define some of the roles in a party. Frontliner was easy, but after that there is a lot of gray area.

[@dferrante13]

I love your video on running a dragon encounter. I'd love to see you do a series on running each dragon by color / metal / etc. You could talk about how to run the dragon and design its lair. Then, in the second half of the video, talk about how players can prepare to battle that type of dragon.

[@614Amsterdam]

A subclass for Artificer that focus’s on utility is the Maverick from Explorring Eberron. You get to borrow from other classes spells constantly

[@patrickshaw411]

Playing wizard for a couple years know, wow yeah, great utility! I may not bring much dps to the table, that’s the rest of the party’s job, but I do provide spells like rarys and water breathing like you two mentioned, I’m the party’s personal guide to Fearun with all the teleporting around. A few spells for getting past obstacles, protecting the party or dispelling magic, an a handful for debilitating stuff like flesh to stone. Not having to prepare ritual spells is my favorite part. Only downside is just how overwhelming it can be. My next character will likely be a barbarian Edit: weird how many people are upset by Bard’s placement. A++ isn’t enough?

[@Psychoveliatonet]

Loving this series!

[@louiswilliams6478]

Like the list. I literally came up with the same score as soon as you said the class name.

[@TheEmperorGulcasa]

As a Paladin, I've gotten a lot of mileage in...curse of Strahd. Divine Sense is really a neat ability but it could do with being a tad more broad. Scanning for consecrated/desecrated things and hidden undead has been fun though. A few of their spells are also very handy, although they don't often have the slots or preparations to have those utility items available in a day. I managed to give some spirits a send off with Ceremony as well as officiate a wedding. It's such a fun spell to use just to be a priest and do various story events that I wish Paladin was a ritual caster. Zone of Truth has a lot of interrogation/legal setting uses.

[@Mithguar]

Divine Sense utility runs out when you need to find something that isn't literally a skeleton in a closet xD. You know, because it can't detects anything that is behind slightly thicker stone wall like the ones you would expect in, let's say, a tomb. It's range is also as long as average darkvision of a character. So combined with limitation of detecting things behind somewhat thicker objects, If you can't see it, Divine Sense won't see it either ;D That ability is so niche it's sad.

[@brendanrobertson5966]

Bard is very much the '5th character' of choice in a party. They can cover every other role in some way when a player or PC is not available.

[@windsgrace688]

Thanks for fixing the roll/role spelling issue with the ranking rubric. When it came to utility, even just seeing the title of the video, I immediately thought "Oh, Wizard is definitely the S-rank." Funny story about Waterbreathing, I remember playing a bladesinger wizard before its update in a homebrew adventure where we got shipwrecked on a desert island and just because he was paraoid of drowning after the shipwreck, he cast waterbreathing at the start of every day. It legitimately ended up coming in handy at one point when something tried to grab, restrain, and drown party members but because he had cast waterbreathing as per usual, we all just beat the crap out of the monster and ignored its main mechanic.

[@rantdmc]

2 approaches to utility: wizard: "i encourage planning". barbarian: "i encourage violence." great video!

[@PumaPants248]

Mask of Many Faces and Devils sight on a warlock make a pretty great use of Utility

[@aaronarndt5956]

And the invisible pet with a psychic connection anywhere on the same plane.

[@carsonrush3352]

Mask of Many Faces and Misty Visions give you infinite illusions, which are the "epitome of utility".

[@skycastrum5803]

Now just need to get deception expertise and actor feet. Fun times.

[@yuvalsela4482]

not to mention everything with tomelocks.

[@daysliveon]

My personal S tier is Druid. Wild shape for scouting or infiltration, crowd control, battlefield control, summoning, spot healing, can talk to animals. Pretty much anything you'd want.

[@utkarshgaur1942]

What seals the deal for me is that Tasha's gave them a possible way to cast Find Familiar. I'm playing a wildfire druid, and I can't imagine any wizard doing as much for my party as the wildfire spirit has done on its own. And that's before considering how much wild shape and spells have done.

[@watcher314159]

Except teleportation. Unless you're playing Wildfire Druid of course, but requiring a specific subclass to be the best is explicitly disqualifying from S tier. Come to think, it's be really nice to see a return of the Planar Shepherd (which was an extremely OP prestige class for Druids from Eberron in 3.5), because the expansive view of the entire multiverse as a natural ecosystem is sadly missing in this edition.

[@daysliveon]

@@watcher314159 Transport Via Plants spell is pretty underrated IMO.

[@watcher314159]

@@daysliveon Tree Stride is much more situational than basically any other teleport spell, and is a high enough spell level it's not even an option in most campaigns.

[@daysliveon]

@@watcher314159 Yeah, you're right. Tree stride is pretty situational. I've seen it dominate a few encounters though. I see the argument for Wizard. Personally, I'd rather have the wildshape utility options available.

[@brunt1984]

I really enjoy this series of vid's, keep up the good work gents.

[@Skarpo89]

Love this kind of videos

[@mikegould6590]

Before this started, I KNEW you were going for Wizard. Yes, ritual casting and a huge spell selection is great. Now get them to climb a wall or open a door without the right spell. Ask them to participate in melee, or engage socially. Can they heal? No? Bards can. They can do all of that. I play a Tiefling Sword Bard, and you'll be hard pressed to put him in a situation he can't solve. There are times the right spell isn't there. There are some times you have to rely on more than a scroll. Bards can. Wizards can't. Fact. Place a wizard in the back and give them time to perform a ritual and there's little they can't do. But you can't ask an artillery piece to scout. You can't ask it to negotiate. Remove spells and wizards are a guy in a dress.

[@collinbeal]

But the problem is that you're removing what makes a Wizard a Wizard. Remove yeast from bread and you only have grain. Wizards don't need to communicate well; they can trick others to think whatever they want, force others to do whatever they want, or know exactly what others are thinking or doing. Convincing others is a form of manipulation, and in terms of manipulation, people's brains are like putty in a wizard's hand. Wizards don't need to climb a wall. They can levitate above it, fly over it, teleport on top of it, go through it, burrow under it, or any other manner of egress, and if they really needed to climb it, that wouldn't be a problem either with magic. Wizards can absolutely participate in melee with the right build, and if they wanted to, they could just do so regardless at higher levels. There's a fifth-or-sixth-level spell that turns a Wizard into a capable frontliner, and they can magically give themselves powerful weaponry and enough protection to avoid getting hit at lower levels. The point though is that they don't have to do any of that. They don't need to convince people to behave how they want, engage in physical activity or melee, or anything. There are spells for all of that.

[@collinbeal]

And Wizards are the best at scouting, and have limited but not nonexistent healing capabilities. They don't need to worry about healing much though, as they can possess another body, create a new body, stop the damage from ever occurring, prevent the encounter from ever occurring, create a real or illusory copy of themselves or others, convince an entire angry mob to go home or a crowd to turn into an angry mob, remove the threat entirely, or, again, protect themselves or others.

[@collinbeal]

"Can they?" is not the right question, even though the answer is invariably yes. The right question is "Do they even have to?" That is what separates an S from an A. There are only a select few things that other characters can do that a Wizard cannot. Wizards cannot revive a long-dead person from a bone, but they can talk to that person, visit them in the afterlife, raise them as an undead, or create a new body for their soul to inhabit. Wizards cannot create sustenance out of thin air, but they can find sustenance or convince others to give them sustenance. Wizards cannot see through magical darkness, but they can find their way through it. Wizards cannot sanctify an area or bless it with a holy ritual, but they can remove all threats from that area and magically protect it. Wizards can go ahead and do all that anyways eventually with Wish, and whatever they cannot do, they have a way around. Brute forcing something is only necessary if you cannot manipulate it, and there is nobody, nothing, and nowhere a Wizard cannot manipulate to fit their needs.

[@collinbeal]

And not having the right spell at the right time is completely solved by a clever Wizard with Contingency. If they don't have the right spell, they can also manipulate the situation until they do have the right spell. Rome wasn't built in a day, and a clever, prepared Wizard can lap a Bard who is improvising.

[@Miggy19779]

Healing and inspiration is a support ability rather than utility....

[@Fernando_Cabanillas]

About warlocks: i think that the potential to learn ALL the ritual spells in the game is a strong case for the warlock, they are potentiallu the best ritual caster in the game

[@DBgColby]

How you kept a straight face through the chocolate explanation I'll never know lol

[@zagqueenofchaos8352]

I've seen barbarian played with a more utility focus, BUT that's because for the lore he worked a bit different: the barbarian in question is a war forged his 'raging' was just his bodies defense mechanisms activating, and with that flavor it allowed us to do things with 'minor' versions of the rage (he was playing storm Harold)

[@daviddalrymple2284]

Once again, we see the problem with "half casters" in 5e: their spellcasting (past level 1) is really only useful to supplement their martial abilities, or to provide some emergency backup healing/utility if the full casters are down/depleted.

[@badmojo0777]

i dont thinkk its a problem, its inherant in the design concept, you dont get to be grerat in melee combat AND in spell use.. and when you arent great at eithe rone, well, it shows and you feel underpowered

[@lennartrentzow4821]

I kinda disagree with your method of only giving out a single S-Ranking. Bard has a good case for being just at good at Utility if not better, depending on what exactly you consider to be Utility. This ranking, there should've been two S-Rankings and I feel like you are kinda compromising the value and accuracy of your grades by fixating on keeping it to one single S-Rank.

[@ElJefeRules]

Yeah, in the frontliner video it felt wrong not having the barbarian a tier above the rest of the A’s.

[@woutvanostaden1299]

@@ElJefeRules I mean especially if you want to show what each class is good at. I can't think of any S class role that the barbarian could fulfill that well to deserve an S-rank other than frontliner.

[@dracuhl8342]

I completely disagree. Keeping it to one S prevents everything slightly good from being OP mega S tier that you see in tier lists of all genres. A is still what they consider nearly perfect but having a single S allows you to see what they think is the golden child of said tier list. I wish more people would adopt this style.

[@johnkingsley7981]

Divine Soul or Celestial Warlock [ Tomb ] ( I like to duel class them, ultimate healer / utility ) both can be A+ level utility if you use your cantrips right than the spells can all be utility. But thank you for all that you do and the time you give us...

[@Briandnlo4]

This is a fun video that our table debates constantly. A lot depends on the playstyle of the jockey riding the character. I'm always drawn to build characters that are utility players. I want to be the party's pair of vice-grips - maybe not the RIGHT tool for the job, but a tool that will get the job done, quick n' dirty. I'm also an incurable theory-crafter/multi-classer, though I wouldn't say "min-maxer." My thing is to take some combo of Bard/Ranger/Monk, be confident that I naturally have the utility role covered, then made decisions based on at finagling a way to contribute SOME burst damage or DPR. I'll never keep up with a dedicated Barbarian/Fighter/Paladin for damage, or a dedicated full-caster in utility spells, but I've ALWAYS got SOMETHING in my back pocket.

[@crazy36069]

Warlock can be amazing as a utility caster, because they can cast a utility spell without wasting a spell slot, because they can just short rest after. You don’t even need to think about a wasted resource as warlock, while other classes do. Warlock also has too many utility Invocations to ignore. Wizard can also do this, because they can use arcane recovery to regain spell slots. Nobody talks about arcane recovery, but it can make the wizard steal some of the warlocks ability!!!

[@robewilliams6657]

I feel like people often forget that warlock spell slots come back on a short rest

[@justinromero8859]

Gonna balance out the comments bc it's mostly going to be filled with ppl who disagree w u guys. Like a lot of the commenters, I too thought S would go to bard, but then when you didn't and instead gave it too Wizard, i went, "yeah, that actually does make sense". And really, depending on the build and the campaign, you really can argue for either one. Monty explained it pretty well: bards are better with skills, wizards are better at spell flexibility.

[@jasonwrathorn9281]

I imagine there is a lot of variation based on what problems people encounter in their games, and what levels they often get to. (As well as how creative the players are, and how they enjoy playing.) One of the most memorable games my group did recently I was a multi-class (bard/warlock) who was playing with the criminal underworld of the city. The other PC was a straight-class wizard. We built a party of NPC-companions that included a paladin-hexblade, a fighter-barbarian Pole-arm master, and a host of other guests. My warlock-bard basically ended up being able to move at will between the social-strata, comfortable in almost any setting. We came up with wired solutions to any number of problems, and ultimately changed the original setting beyond recognition. I think it's only the second game where we legitimately got to level 17+.

[@gayane_igityan]

Thanks for the video guys. Very interesting comments. In my case i'd take druid over any other class any day as mostly playing solo or in 3-people group the versatility druids offer in being able to fill in different roles saves the game. Wizards being really squishy always makes it difficult to play in smaller parties imo.

[@jamesmullen3068]

the Artificer presents an interesting problem. I understand wanting to give it an A, but if you are doing an A for druids and bards, artificer is no where near the same. I think I would have to give it a B overall and say there are A tier options if you focus.

[@AwesomeWookiee]

I honestly thought Artificer would be S tier. I think you're underestimating them.

[@rickau]

@@AwesomeWookiee I love artificers but was still expecting bard or wizard to be S. They are exceptionally good at utility but if they were a full caster that would probably make them S tier, even above the Wizard.

[@YMasterS]

The problem with the artificer is that more than most, possibly any, other classes its subclasses have huge differences. There are Rogues and Fighters more like bards and paladins than the alchemist is like the battle smith.

[@jamesmullen3068]

@@AwesomeWookiee what features do they have that makes them as good or better than a wizard, bard, or druid?

[@dakotaanderson7906]

​@@jamesmullen3068 the ability to make magic items for cheap I guess. other than that, wizards alone are better at anything the artificer does.

[@branmuffinyogurt9368]

I want an artificer subclass that’s just bob the builder.

[@thetruegavinator]

In what way?

[@Nubbletech]

How would that work?

[@RenCarl1sle]

In my current campaign we're working on expanding spells known for Sorcerers and Bards. Bards a getting additional spells equal to Level. Sorcerers are getting spells equal to half level plus origin spells for each Sorcerous Origin

[@badmojo0777]

i think Bards get more than enough when compounded with their social skills, giving themmore spells makes them WIZARDS and tons of social skills that Wizards dont get

[@theichthyophile8836]

I'm really enjoying this series; it's the best content The Dungeon Dudes have put out in a while, and I'm looking forward to it each week. I like to make my own rankings and then compare them to Kelly's and Monty's as I watch the video. Personally, I aligned with Monty more closely. My rankings were the same as his except for 3: Fighter: Myself (C) ; Monty (D) Paladin: Myself (B) ; Monty (C) Rogue: Myself (C) ; Monty (B) Of these I feel most strongly about the fighter. The base class doesn't offer a ton in terms of utility beyond the 2 extra feats, but those aren't insignificant. A lot of the fighter subclasses, though, give some nods to utility: Samurai & Purple Dragon Knight: Bonus proficiencies in social interaction-type skills (most fighters don't have the CHA to back these up, but, hey...) Eldritch Knight: Limited spellcasting and Find Familiar Battlemaster: Control with maneuvers like Pushing Attack, Menacing Attack, Trip Attack, and Commander's Strike Echo Knight: Unlimited teleportation and a 1,000 ft perfect scout with a bonus action Psi Warrior: Similar to battlemaster Rune Knight: Increased size and passive/active abilities through runes Overall I think this is enough for a 'C' for the fighter. I was more on the fence for Paladins and Rogues; I just ended up on the other side of the fence than these guys.

[@adamjohnson182]

I feel like Lore Bard is the best utility bard, especially at 6th level when they get the extra magical secrets to fill in any utility spells the party needs.

[@normal6483]

I think Eloquence being able to auto-succeed Deception and Persuasion checks is so nice, though.

[@joshholmes1372]

Lore also gets additional expertise. Plus cutting words is just nasty. Lore might be the best subclass in 5e.

[@kingdarkstalker7247]

Nothing beats the Chronurgist. Arcane Abeyance is just so good.

[@Ahglock]

Lore, creation, eloquence are all great sub classes for it.

[@angienoland6879]

Unfailing and Infectious inspiration from Eloquence bard can give them a run for their money

[@drunyonator]

When you mixed warlocks with sorcerers in this videoyou really missed out on actually talking about Warlock utility. In any situation where you are taking a short rest anyways, which is pretty common in utility situations, that spell slot is free. Combo that with invocations like mask of many faces, misty visions, repelling blast in combat, and either the pact of the chain familiar or pact of the tome’s Book of ancient secrets (access to every ritual spell of every class in the game!) High B tier utility at minimum, even without considering subclass.

[@CrownofMischief]

Yeah, glossing over the utility of invocations was a definite miss. Misty visions alone is an awesome illusion spell you can use as basically a cantrip. Eldritch sight is super broken for any campaign that isnt oversaturated in magic. Eyes of the runekeeper means any puzzle involving multiple languages is now way easier, not to mention any campaigns that cross into foreign lands. Ascendant step lets you levitate at level 9. Higher level campaigns can get even more things like free invisibility with Shroud of Shadow or passively seeing true forms with Witch Sight(so no surprise polymorphed dragons or demons). And then just about any mod to Eldritch blast just helps with battle map control, either pushing the enemy away, pulling them in range of other players or a trap, or just slowing them down so everyone can get away.

[@drunyonator]

@@CrownofMischief I am also fond of visions of distant realms at 15 if you get there. At will Arcane eye is insane utility.

[@matthewcrowther890]

They didn’t mention this either but the flip side of ‘warlocks don’t cast many spells’ is that they get so many more spell options per spells cast. So picking up a niche utility spell is more tolerable for a warlock as they’re not exactly hurting for more spell options to cast with their two spell slots

[@definatehuman2967]

You also have to think with the bard, about the bardic inspiration and help action combo. It makes someone with profiency, or even expertise as my level 2 party with 2 bards will gain soon, almost never fail a check if it is an important roll.

[@toshomni9478]

Very Interesting video. I kind of think I have the opposite opinion about sorcerers and warlocks because of the many warlock invocations that allow you to cast several utility spells at will without expending spell slots whereas most sorcerers have little room in their spell list for that kind of thing. I'd also put rogues above wizards as utility characters as I think you've arbitrarily defined many of their best abilities into other roles.

[@nickfulwood6384]

I love playing Warlocks as Utility with Invocations, completely ditching Eldritch Blast.

[@maid_of_heart3261]

With my warlocks I only take Eldritch Blast and one other combat spell at most, and that's either Hunger of Hadar or Evard's Black Tentacles. For the rest, it's all utility and maybe some support depending on my patron

[@nickfulwood6384]

@@maid_of_heart3261 I only just started a blaster warlock in a recent game, and I'm definitely digging it, but I'm definitely missing all my old utility spells

[@shawnadams1460]

Make no mistake, my Wizard is a damage dealer, but I also go with as many utilitarian spells as I can, especially ritual ones like water breathing and Tiny Hut. I told my DM that I have tea with my party every morning, this applies the water breathing automagically. My party pays me for the mats and I keep Identify rituals at the ready. Cant wait to get Control Water and then have the option to drown and entire room of enemies while we sit back and laugh...lol.

[@romanabanin2216]

I know it is very situational but in my current OotA campaign barbarian has a good part in utility "circle". He guides the party through the Underdark, helps out on tricky sections of the trail, hauls heaps of provisions that could blow up a bag of holding, and as a dwarf has been able to forge more or less adequate relationships with the duergar in their city. In general, all these actions are duplicated and sometimes performed by other characters, and in general there is a theme of extensive intersection of roles between characters, which is very useful when the group is divided. This includes frontlane, utility, damage, face, healing, and survival. Even the barbarian "casts" spells, throwing fireballs from his necklace and using funny potions the group has found earlier. But of course this is the exception rather than the rule. My players approached the composition of the group very responsibly and I am grateful to them for that.

[@patricks2645]

The moment I realized four elements monk is a utility subclass and not a damage subclass, it became fantastic. Shape the flowing river, water whip, elemental attunement are all fantastic utility and/or battlefield control. They can also get hold person and fly.

[@mickware5289]

I did the math on Shape the flowing Water, and it's a literal castle crasher. Don't forget, you pretty much always have access to all the water you need if you know how the real world works. 3 ki points just about anywhere (including the desert) can destroy the most robust castle wall/tower. Out of combat there is no reason to limit yourself to 1 ki for structures. I have also created a small fortress to protect my party from random events several times. I can create ramps for my less dextrous companions. I can create sculptures at will. In combat I can create full cover for my ranged companions instantly. I have yet to find a problem that my WoE monk does have an answer for.

[@ethanwebber7056]

I'm not a huge fan of the only 1 S tier ranking. Bard is definitely an S tier, and arguably as good as any other class.

[@dizzykincade7831]

They know this. They’re good content creators, so they tell you the Bard is S Tier, but “mah rules”, which creates “mah conflict” (aka engagement). Hence, we’re talking about it.

[@isaacdjogbenou8248]

I’d say they’re the best cause of their free spells

[@bahrrenndrakke8560]

New video. Neat.

[@cassandramaccarthy3337]

my current character is a Bard/Sorcerer multiclass (Glamour and Clockwork Soul) and while her main role is support, part of the reason I like the Bard dip aside from being cool for RP is that it adds in a lot of utility; namely Invisibility and Enhance Ability, which Sorcerer CAN get but even as a Clockwork Soul my options were kinda limited and I wanted the more battlefield control style Abjuration spells and the Supportive Transmutation ones, so splashing a little Bard utility onto CWS Support/Blaster has made for a VERY interesting and versatile character

[@codemaster2861]

How much love do I have to throw at you to get the next episode of Fate of Drakkenheim on the channel 😭😭😭

[@loserlw337]

Wizards is the best utility class if you can afford the investment and you are in a campaign that you can actually find new spells. In a low investment scenario, a bard would be better I think

[@benin8or]

I love this new tier list series you have. This oddly enough reminds me of 4e classes and how they're structured. Are you guys familiar with 4e? I know it gets a bad rap but I really like it.

[@smashbrandiscootch719]

I was about to say something really snarky regarding 4e but in the middle of it I just stopped and deleted the whole comment. I cant STAND 4e myself, but I'm glad you get a lot of enjoyment from it. Happy adventuring!

[@Heritage367]

4e follows the basic 4 role model from MMORPGs, right? Tank, controller, DPS, healer?

[@PUNishment777]

​@@Heritage367 mmorpgs have 3 roles, no controller

[@MrSeals1000]

I really love the flourish that 4e has. The sheer amount of abilities that you can use from lvl1 is so dam fun. Also just the mechanics of it are creative and satisfying

[@flavafee]

interesting discussion! love hearing about utility; i think it's so underrated. may i also ask where the thumbnail art came from? or who the artist is? :)

[@drgandalf2003]

Could you do a video on best utility multiclass? Would love to hear your thoughts on that.

[@nicholasbehning89]

I was a tiny bit butt hurt Druid wasn't S. But was pleasantly pleased to hear you put them next to Bard and RIGHT there by S. And it's funny ppl don't really agree because both players haven't played one themselves or seen how incredible Druids can be.

[@Fairburne69]

I agree with their druid ranking. But not their bard or rogue ranking. I'm still watching the video and already know they are going to rank the wizard with the S which is sad. Yes they have the spells but they don't have the skills. Wizards and Druids are close. A/A+ range. Rogues S- and Bards S+. My idea of utility is jack of all trades. Can you heal? Support? Pass skill checks? Find solutions to almost any problem? Bard is yes yes yes. One last word on wizard. They are OP clearly the best class in D&D and honestly should be nerfed. The spell list could and probably should be cut to 2/3 in size and they still might be the best class in the game. But I still disagree with them being an S tier. So if their spell list is 99 spells it should probably be cut to 66.

[@MethosJK9]

@@Fairburne69 here's the thing with wizards: you don't need skill proficiencies when you just cast a spell that automatically succeeds. That's why they're S Tier.

[@THEGRUMPTRUCK]

@@MethosJK9 Pretty much. And this video is also going off each class not counting in their subclasses. Wizard has access to all its spells regardless of subclass, and even if Rogue is a B, something like Arcane Trickster would definitely be an S. However, that's why they leave out the subclasses. We'd be here all day dissecting if they did. Base rogue is accurate with their ranking, it's the subclasses that make huge differences there.

[@THEGRUMPTRUCK]

Remember everyone these videos are the base class WITHOUT subclass. I see some of y'all saying you disagree because x subclass makes y class an S tier. They aren't factoring in subclasses, just base classes. If we were factoring in subclasses these would be wildly different, as things like Rogue would have gotten an S tier utility just for Arcane Trickster alone.

[@agilemind6241]

I have to disagree. Rogue is not very good at utility. They are excellent scouts / infiltrators, but that's about it.

[@SilverionX]

No, they are factoring in subclasses. It's just that having one subclass or build that's really good doesn't automatically give it a high rank if the other choices are meh. Since 5th edition demolished the skill system, Rogue dropped a lot in utility. They are really good at some other things though.

[@Medaumplay3]

I completely agree with the barbarian. I'm playing a totem barbarian in a party of low/STR characters, and haven't gotten enough levels to commune with nature yet, but so far I've done a log of carrying and holding heavy stuff, helping my teanmates climb up with rope, and also breaking stuff that needs to be broken. And you know, I feel very useful.

[@jkdubya85]

I haven't watched the video yet, but I played a swashbuckler rogue I adored - skill monkey, party face, and generated his own sneak attack so he did good damage. One level dip into draconic bloodline sorcerer of all things for the +1 AC over studded leather and double proficiency dealing with dragons (relevant to the campaign), and on top of that, he picked up a couple of great cantrips and access to shield and fog cloud for personal and team survivability. I'm on Team Rogue. Currently playing an echo knight fighter and it's really cool, but I miss being able to do darn near everything.

[@charlescrocco7896]

This definitely shows the Rogue’s absurdly good skill set. Monty and Kelly average out the Rogue as B+/ A-, and the other two classes with limited/ nonexistent spell casting, the Barbarian and Fighter, are both listed as D.

[@alastortheradiodemon1817]

Monk? Or are you counting it as a halfcaster or smth lol

[@charlescrocco7896]

@@alastortheradiodemon1817 Not going to lie: I saw the video and still forgot about the Monk...just like Rodney Dangerfield: "No Respect", lol!!

[@TheGolleum13]

I knew they would pick wizard, but I was really hopin for the Druid to secure that S tier. Wildshape is just so much utility at every level of play that even without their spell list they should score high on the list.

[@ventrue7]

Honestly I can`t see bards being better than them either. Druids and Wizards bring very comparable things to the table and being able to change your spells everyday is a big deal.

[@Nickelback8469]

While Druids are strong with utility I don't see them beating Bards. They don't have anywhere near the skill versatility, and the spells Bards can choose out preform what Wildshapes can do, though I would put them above Artificers since they're full casters

[@agilemind6241]

@@Nickelback8469 Prove it, which Bard spells out perform Wildshape on utility tasks? I'll grant you Bard's have great skills, but it somewhat depends how you classify tasks, if social interaction is classed under Utility then yes, Bard is amazing and potentially the top of all the classes, but if it is considered a separate thing then Bards aren't nearly as good. IMO social interaction generally should be classed under utility because the ability to convince someone with the information you need to share it with you can substitute for a lot of other skills/spells: e.g. a wizard can go to the library and research a monster or lore behind your next quest, or a bard can go to the library flirt with the librarian and get the librarian to do the research and simply tell the party the info they need to know. e.g. a druid can carefully track the footprints of an assassin back to their base, or a bard can go hang out at a shady bar and chat up some members of the assassin's guild and convince them to invite the party to join them.

[@Nickelback8469]

@@agilemind6241 due to magical secrets, any spell in the game. Flight, Disguise Self, Charm Person, Invisibility, Dimension Door, and a lot of these spells are better enablers for the rest of the party as well. And with a single feat in Ritual Caster, the Bard’s flexibility skyrockets. Though not everything, I do also consider face skills to count towards utility, and it’s more reason for why I’d place Bard over Wizard in this category.

[@Eseltritt1]

The Warlock have their full utility potential in their invocations. I would not underestimate that.

[@jacobsargent5367]

The current group I'm DMing for includes a scribes wizard, a moon druid, and a battlemaster who multiclassed into chronurgy. It's great because I don't have to worry about their ability to handle challenging scenarios like needing to fly to get somewhere.

[@TheArtistKnownAsNooblet]

I feel like there wasn't enough conversation about what the warlock can bring to the table with invocations because the warlock's utility shouldn't come from it's normal spell list because you don't have enough slots to be helpful reliably. No, their utility should come from all the spells and unique abilities their invocations allow them to do at will.

[@benjaminkowal7310]

I think their approach was to attempt to look just at spell lists and base class features with no tuning.... but....they went out of their way with sorcerer/metamagic to show how you could tune them for utility while ignoring a similar approach for invocations. Still awesome entertainment...maybe they left this gap to keep us chatting here...idk

[@sydorovich2532]

@@benjaminkowal7310 metamagic utility is unmatched by warlock's invocations.

[@benjaminkowal7310]

@@sydorovich2532 I don't really want to dispute that. My point is more along the line of suggesting empowered spell isn't utility anymore than agonizing blast is so ...there is an opportunity cost to utility metamagic just as there is with any utility invocation.

[@TheArtistKnownAsNooblet]

@@sydorovich2532 is it though? Most metamagic is pretty combat oriented and sure you get access to some nice battlefield control options with twin spells but what else really? subtle spell and distant spell are the only ones I can think of being reliable utility boosting options even then though your use of metamagic is limited by your sorcery points and spell slots so you may not want or have the option to use it all the time. Compare that to things like the ability to read all text, detect magic at will, alter or disguise self at will, speak with dead at will, speak with animals at will, silent image at will, turning invisible at will (in dim light or darkness but still) the ability to see in darkness magical or otherwise, the ability to see through shape shifted creatures and creatures disguised by illusion and transmutation automatically or even just access to ritual casting. I skipped over quite a few of them still I think I got a lot of the most interesting options. Warlock is a much stronger utility character than people give it credit for I think.

[@katarhall3047]

Monk saving throws being Strength and Dexterity to this day I think 5E dropped the ball.

[@dyykaacovers]

What would you give them instead?

[@intoHeck1964]

They usually give a class a major save prof (Dex, Wis, Cha) and a minor (Str, Con, Int). Thats why the monk is dex and str instead of wisdom.

[@taily89]

@@intoHeck1964 yeah, though you swapped con and cha, dex con and wis saves are the absolute strongest saves and having 2 of those saves is massive, dex for damage, con against stunned poisoned and the like, and wis against almost all mind intruding spells.

[@katarhall3047]

@@taily89 Monk though isn't the biggest damage dealer so having the two saves being strong I felt wouldn't be overkill.

[@taily89]

@@katarhall3047 Then if someone was specced into either wisdom or dex, why would they not choose to just start as monk then, multiclass out and never in again?

[@BlackHoleForge]

Kelly I like the new look. Looks like you finally got some sunshine.

[@luciusblackdragon6568]

In the end of these series there should be video about saying the perfect role of each class

[@mikebieser4175]

Funny enough, I’d give the warlock a strong A grade for utility. Apart from 2-3 combat spells, every other spell on my list was utility. The warlock is the one preparing Fly, Invisibility, Tongues, etc. because they can afford circumstantial spells. The warlock’s weakness of 2 spells/rest is actually not much of an issue, because often in the situations where you need utility spells to solve a puzzle, you have time to rest. Add this to Misty Visions and bam, you’re a very strong support character.

[@S1leNtRIP]

100%! Warlock is so fun in this roll, and with book of ancient secrets you have all the utility casting ability of a wizard (you just have to find the spells).

[@theichthyophile8836]

This is a really strong argument, and I'm glad you brought it up. Even though the Warlock can afford to pick more circumstantial spells I would still, personally, give it a 'B', but I respect where you're coming from.

[@gabrielrockman]

I played a Warlock once, and it was so useful to be able to cast a 5th level Invisibility on 4 people or to cast a 5th level Fly on 3 people, and to get that spell slot back on a short rest. Because I only had two spell slots, I didn't really take many combat spells. I pretty much just took Shadow of Moil for combat (I was a tanky melee Warlock), and most of the rest of my spell list was utility spells. I went with Pact of the Chain (for the the synergy between Gift of the Ever-Living Ones and Healing Light), but if I'd gone with Pact of the Tome, my utility would have probably been S tier. Especially if I'd also chosen Misty Visions and some other utility invocations. The utility that the spell Find Familiar gives is incredible. I'm surprised that the spell was mentioned so infrequently in this video. Especially the Pact of the Chain getting an invisible familiar with hands is incredible (even better than the Arcane Trickster's invisible Mage Hand). But even the regular Find Familiar spell is incredible utility.

[@pauljeffries2194]

You guys were a little harsh on the fighter I think, the Echo Knight gives a whole slew of exploration and social skills just by existing, and even the purple dragon knight gets expertise in persuasion lol, maybe D is fair but it could push C if you're optimistic

[@jeffm9770]

Druids have some really good utility cantrips. I've used mold earth to solve several problems in a current campaign. Even though I'm a ranger with Druidic Warrior fighting style

[@amazyamy322]

I was a very effective utility storm herald barbarian after multiclassing into fighter for battle maneuvers and skills. I ended up forming a reliable backbone in charge of survival, perception, strength, taking hits, etc.

[@carsonrush3352]

I think the craziest thing in the cleric's favor is the ridiculous number of spells prepared that they have. They have the most spells prepped of any caster. In my opinion, it makes them the strongest caster. The druid and cleric also have the crazy distinction of having access to their entire spell list from day to day.

[@snazzyfeathers]

The Artificer is a weird class where utility does kind of fall back, but depending on the subclass they can do blasting, tanking, or if you're an armorer (to some degree) disable enemies. It's an interesting class but I think they deserve the A ranking. But I will say that because they're half casters and because some of their infusions are a little lackluster I could see them in a B but no lower.

[@superbleeder12]

everyone overlooking flash of genius.

[@nealwesco7465]

@@superbleeder12 and double tool proficiency. That plus guidance and flash of genius means any tool check will be at minimum at a +11

[@grantbaugh2773]

My barbarian on a few occasions has used the speak with animal spell that he gets from the subclass, and that's the most useful he's ever been out of combat.

[@pgb8000]

I played a land druid who took a single level of wizard. For my wizard level, I picked almost all rituals & utility-type spells, including find familiar. Match that with the druid's wildshape and quite different spell list, and I ended up with a PC that had a solution to almost every problem. Need to sneak into a tomb and listen to understand two Dao conversing? Comprehend languages & wildshape rat. Need to distract a roper while the party runs though a cave? Find familiar scout & conjure animals. The combinations went on and on. I never used any attack/damage spells from the wizard list. I was in a party with very little other utility & every time we needed a problem solved, they all looked at me, and I always had a solution. It was amazing to play.