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The 2024 Player’s Handbook forDungeons & Dragonsbrings significant updates to all classes, adjusting their abilities, spells, and subclass features. With these changes in mind, we’ve ranked the classes based on their overall versatility, combat effectiveness, and role within the party.
From the spellcasting powerhouses to the martial experts, each class brings something unique to the table, but some have risen to the top due to their enhanced mechanics and adaptability. Whether you’re a new player or a seasoned veteran, this tier list will help you choose the class that best fits your playstyle in the updated ruleset.
2024 Player’s Handbook Class Tier List
The beauty of Dungeons & Dragons is thatyou can play whatever you want, making “suboptimal” choices for the sake of roleplay. Usually,the Dungeon Master will balance encounters around what your party can do, so whatever you pick will be fine.
Still,there are classes that can deal with combat encounters far easier than others.We’ve split the classes into four tiers, but remember that no class is really bad, and a party filled with the “worst” class can save the world from Tiamat all the same.
Reason
Wizard
Having access to the largest number of spellsmeans the largest number of options. The biggest challenge is keeping up with everything you may do.
Cleric
Thebest supportcontinues to shine in its divine light. They evenget access to Wish at level 20, and potentially suffer no penalties, sinceit is your deity who casts it(up to the DM).
Druid
You might consider that their Wild Shape was nerfed, but Druids continue to bethe best nature-focused casterthere is. Most subclasses have interesting ways of using the Wild Shape resource, andMoon Druids can even cast a few spells while in animal form.
Monk
One of the mostunexpected boosts in powercomes from Monks, rising to the top of the D&D food chain. Their newMartial Arts dieandgrapple rulesmake them a nightmare to deal with as early as level 1.
While wizardscontinue leading the packin the 2024 Player’s Handbook, they are also stillas complicated to use.In a way, the same can be said about clerics and druids: you have to master their power if you want to reach the highest heights.
Out of all the martial classes,the monk tends to outperform all the others.On top of that,they aren’t difficult to use at all, and the subclasses can make them great healers, damage dealers, or sneak attackers.
Paladin
The change to Divine Smite has significantlylowered the damage output of Paladins, particularly at low levels. Still, they remain as one ofthe strongest classes in D&D, and basicallythe best tankoverall.
Warlock
These eldritch casters havea lot of customization options, making them one of the most fun classes to play as. Theirlimited spell slots, however, have you rely a bit too much on cantrips, but at least you can choose something other than Eldritch Blast.
Sorcerer
The Sorcerer class could easily sit right next to Wizard, assuming that you’ve chosenthe perfect spellsfor the entire campaign. It’s thatlimited spell poolthat stops them from being considered one of the best classes regardless of context.
Ranger
Players continue to be disappointed with Ranger, not because it is a bad class, but becauseit could be so much more.Still, as it is, thismartial-caster hybridbrings all the damage you might need, alongsidesupportive spellsthat will keep the party going during a single gruesome night.
The paladins have fallen slightly offsince their 2014 days of glory, but they remain a solid class all around. Meanwhile,rangers have risen in power thanks to their 2024 buffs, although their flavor still feels a bit inconsistent; still, their mighty Hunter’s Mark combined with a few supportive spells make them more than worthwhile.
Warlocks and Sorcerers are still mighty arcane casters, but they have a difficult time compared to the might of Wizards.Their smaller spell lists, however,can often be a blessing in disguise, since they can be easier to use than their scholarly counterpart.
Bard
If the tier list was about which class is the most fun,Bards would be on top.As it stands, there is little justification to play these artistically inclined casters, other than aversatility with easier accessthan that of Wizards, although of a smaller scale.
Fighter
The Fighters do what they are meant to do, which ishit things, and hit them a lot.The Battle Master or Eldritch Knight subclasses try toadd some complexityto the class, but if you’re about to take part in a long campaign, you’re better off picking something else.
Players’ opinions differ greatly aboutbards, some claimingthey are the greatest classamong all of them, while othersdon’t think so highly of them.We’ve decided to put them on a lower tier than others might like, mostly so players keep their expectations in check; you’re not supposed to be the best at anything, justgood at a lot of little things.
Fighters, on the other hand,are often seen as bland for a reason:they are. And that is by design, since you don’t want every single class to be highly complicated, making fighters the ideal class for someone who is just dipping their toes into the role-playing genre.
Barbarian
Entering a primal rage is very appealingto a lot of players, so Barbarianswill always have a placeat the D&D table. As far as combat tactics go, or even situations that don’t revolve around fighting, Barbarians fall a bit behind.
Rogue
Whenever you need asneaking mission, rob a noble, or assassinate someonein the shadows, you may rely on the sneaky Rogue. Those situations, however,don’t often involve the whole party, so Rogues tend to end up waiting for their time to shine while feeling outperformed during regular combat.
Whilebarbariansoffer a unique way to deal with combat,they are not the best at their job, and doing enraged hits at the evil dragon might just give it advantage on biting your face off.
Meanwhile,rogues are still excellent at what they do(sneaking and stealing), the issue comes with how often the party needs them to do that.
