Creating a well-rounded and powerful character is one of the most exciting aspects of Dungeons & Dragons. With the release of new rules and updates in the 2024 edition, players have even more options to explore. This guide will delve into the top builds for each class, providing you with the tools to optimize your characters for different playstyles. Whether you’re a veteran player or a newcomer to the game, these builds will help you make the most of your D&D experience.
Barbarian Builds
Barbarians are the quintessential tanks of D&D, known for their incredible resilience and raw physical power. They thrive in the thick of combat, soaking up damage while delivering devastating blows to their enemies. The best Barbarian builds capitalize on their strengths, enhancing their ability to survive and dominate in battle.
Path of the Totem Warrior (Bear Totem)
The Path of the Totem Warrior, specifically the Bear Totem, is one of the most popular Barbarian builds for a reason. This build focuses on unmatched durability, making your Barbarian nearly indestructible. With the Bear Totem, you gain resistance to all damage types except psychic when raging, allowing you to withstand even the most brutal attacks. This build also offers versatility, as you can choose other totems to customize your Barbarian’s abilities further. Combined with multi-classing or specific feats, this build can become a cornerstone of any party, taking on the role of both tank and damage dealer.
Path of the Berserker
If you’re looking to maximize damage output, the Path of the Berserker is the way to go. This build focuses on relentless offense, with the Frenzy feature allowing you to make an additional attack each turn while raging. However, this power comes at a cost—exhaustion. Managing exhaustion becomes a key aspect of this build, but with careful planning, your Berserker can become a fearsome force on the battlefield. This build is ideal for players who want to embody the unstoppable, wild fury of a Barbarian, smashing through enemies with unparalleled ferocity.
Bard Builds
Bards are the ultimate jack-of-all-trades in D&D, capable of filling almost any role in a party. They can heal, support, control, and even deal damage, all while charming their way through social encounters. The best Bard builds emphasize their versatility, allowing them to adapt to any situation the party faces.
College of Eloquence
The College of Eloquence Bard is a master of communication, with abilities that make them nearly unstoppable in social encounters. This build focuses on maximizing the Bard’s skill in persuasion and deception, making it almost impossible for NPCs to resist their charms. With the Silver Tongue feature, you can treat any roll of 9 or lower as a 10, ensuring consistent success in critical moments. The College of Eloquence Bard also excels in crowd control during combat, using their words to confuse and debilitate enemies. This build is perfect for players who enjoy the social aspects of D&D and want to influence the story in significant ways.
Try my AI Tabletop generators...
or LOOT my Roguelike novel for free right now!
College of Lore
The College of Lore Bard is the ultimate support character, with access to a wide range of spells and abilities that can turn the tide of any encounter. This build focuses on versatility and flexibility, allowing the Bard to take on different roles as needed. Cutting Words provides excellent control over the battlefield, while the additional Magical Secrets let you choose powerful spells from other classes. Whether you want to heal, buff your allies, or debuff your enemies, the College of Lore Bard can do it all. This build is ideal for players who love having options and being the linchpin of their party’s success.
Cleric Builds
Clerics are divine spellcasters with a unique ability to heal and support their allies while also wielding potent offensive magic. The best Cleric builds take full advantage of their divine powers, allowing them to protect their party and smite their foes with equal fervor.
Tempest Domain
The Tempest Domain Cleric is a powerhouse, combining the destructive power of storms with divine magic. This build focuses on offensive casting, with abilities that enhance lightning and thunder spells, making them more deadly. The Destructive Wrath feature allows you to deal maximum damage with these spells, turning your Cleric into a formidable force on the battlefield. Additionally, this build provides strong defensive options, with abilities that protect you and your allies from harm. The Tempest Domain Cleric is ideal for players who want to play a divine spellcaster with a focus on raw, elemental power.
Life Domain
For those who prefer a more traditional Cleric role, the Life Domain offers unparalleled healing capabilities. This build focuses on maximizing your healing potential, ensuring that your party can survive even the toughest encounters. The Life Domain’s Disciple of Life feature boosts all healing spells, making your Cleric the best healer in the game. Additionally, the build offers great utility and durability, with spells and abilities that protect and bolster your allies. If you want to be the cornerstone of your party’s survival, the Life Domain Cleric is the perfect choice.
Druid Builds
Druids are nature’s spellcasters, capable of wielding powerful magic and transforming into beasts to protect the natural world. The best Druid builds leverage their unique abilities to control the battlefield and adapt to any situation.
Circle of the Moon
The Circle of the Moon Druid is renowned for its powerful shapeshifting abilities, allowing you to transform into fearsome beasts and dominate in combat. This build focuses on maximizing the potential of Wild Shape, with features that enhance your ability to tank and deal damage while in beast form. The Circle of the Moon Druid can shift into high-CR creatures earlier than other Druids, making them a force to be reckoned with from the start. This build is perfect for players who want to be at the forefront of combat, using their beast forms to take down enemies and protect their allies.
Circle of Stars
For those who prefer a more spellcasting-focused Druid, the Circle of Stars offers a unique and versatile build. This build blends spellcasting with the ability to harness the power of the cosmos, providing both offensive and support capabilities. The Starry Form feature allows you to assume constellations that grant different bonuses, such as improved healing or ranged spell attacks. The Circle of Stars Druid is highly adaptable, able to fill multiple roles depending on the needs of the party. This build is ideal for players who enjoy versatility and want to bring a celestial theme to their Druid.
Fighter Builds
Fighters are the masters of martial combat, with the ability to deal consistent damage and withstand the rigors of battle. The best Fighter builds optimize their combat prowess, making them the backbone of any adventuring party.
Champion Fighter
The Champion Fighter is a straightforward and effective build, focusing on simplicity and consistency in combat. This build is all about landing critical hits more frequently, with features that improve your chances of dealing massive damage. The Improved Critical feature allows you to score a critical hit on a roll of 19 or 20, doubling your chances of landing a devastating blow. The Champion Fighter is also versatile, with access to multiple fighting styles that can be tailored to your preferred combat approach. This build is perfect for players who want a reliable and straightforward character that excels in combat.
Battle Master
If you prefer a more tactical approach to combat, the Battle Master Fighter offers a wealth of options for controlling the battlefield. This build focuses on using maneuvers and superiority dice to gain an advantage over your enemies, whether through disarming, tripping, or outmaneuvering them. The Battle Master Fighter is highly customizable, with a wide selection of maneuvers to choose from, allowing you to adapt to any combat situation. This build is ideal for players who enjoy a strategic playstyle and want to be in control of the battlefield.
Monk Builds
Monks are agile and fast, relying on their martial arts skills and ki to outmaneuver and outstrike their enemies. The best Monk builds focus on maximizing their speed, agility, and unarmed combat abilities.
Way of the Open Hand
The Way of the Open Hand Monk is the epitome of unarmed combat, with abilities that allow you to control and incapacitate your enemies with ease. This build focuses on using martial arts to knock down, push, or stun opponents, giving you control over the flow of battle. The Open Hand Technique, which lets you impose conditions on enemies when you hit them with an unarmed strike, is the cornerstone of this build. The Way of the Open Hand Monk is perfect for players who want to be in the thick of combat, using their fists and agility to dominate their foes.
Way of Shadow
For those who prefer a stealthier approach, the Way of Shadow Monk offers a build focused on surprise attacks and battlefield control. This build allows you to move unseen and strike from the shadows, using abilities like Shadow Step to teleport between areas of darkness. The Way of Shadow Monk excels in hit-and-run tactics, making them a deadly opponent who can disappear before the enemy has a chance to react. This build is ideal for players who enjoy playing a rogue-like character with a focus on stealth and deception.
Paladin Builds
Paladins are holy warriors who combine martial prowess with divine magic to protect the innocent and smite the wicked. The best Paladin builds leverage their smiting abilities and auras to dominate in combat and support their allies.
Oath of Vengeance
The Oath of Vengeance Paladin is a relentless hunter of evil, focused on pursuing and destroying their enemies with divine power. This build emphasizes offensive capabilities, with features that allow you to deal massive damage to your chosen foes. The Vow of Enmity grants advantage on attack rolls against a target, ensuring that your smites hit their mark. This build is perfect for players who want to play a relentless, justice-driven warrior, dealing out punishment to those who stand in their way.
Fantasy RPG AI Generators with ChatGPT+
Make life as a Game Master easier.... If you play Dungeon & Dragons, Pathfinder, or other fantasy tabletop role-playing games, check out my DND AI backstory generator and other fine AI RPG tools at LitRPG Adventures Workshop today.
Make life as a Gamemaster easier.... If you play Dungeon & Dragons, Pathfinder, or other fantasy tabletop role-playing games, this RPG random tables book is full of encounters, NPCs, and more. Available as an eBook or in a classic print format. Either way, you'll have a wealth of adventure ideas at your fingertips.
Oath of the Ancients
The Oath of the Ancients Paladin takes a more protective approach, focusing on defense and the preservation of nature. This build offers strong defensive abilities, with the Aura of Warding providing resistance to spell damage for you and your allies. Additionally, the Oath of the Ancients Paladin has access to powerful healing and support spells, making them a versatile addition to any party. This build is ideal for players who want to be the stalwart protector of their group, shielding them from harm while dealing out divine retribution.
Ranger Builds
Rangers are the wilderness experts of D&D, excelling in tracking, scouting, and ranged combat. The best Ranger builds take advantage of their knowledge of the wild and their ability to strike from a distance.
Hunter
The Hunter Ranger is a versatile build that allows you to adapt to different combat situations, whether through single-target damage or crowd control. This build offers a selection of features that enhance your combat capabilities, such as Hunter’s Prey, which increases your damage against a specific target, or Horde Breaker, which lets you strike multiple enemies in a single turn. The Hunter Ranger is highly customizable, with options that can be tailored to your preferred playstyle. This build is perfect for players who want a flexible character that can handle a variety of challenges.
Gloom Stalker
For those who prefer a stealthy approach to combat, the Gloom Stalker Ranger excels in ambushing enemies and striking from the shadows. This build offers abilities that improve your effectiveness in darkness, such as gaining a bonus to initiative and being invisible to creatures relying on darkvision. The Gloom Stalker Ranger is particularly effective in the first round of combat, often eliminating threats before they have a chance to react. This build is ideal for players who enjoy playing a tactical character, using stealth and surprise to their advantage.
Rogue Builds
Rogues are the masters of stealth and precision, capable of dealing devastating damage with their sneak attacks while avoiding danger. The best Rogue builds focus on maximizing their stealth and damage output, making them deadly foes.
Assassin
The Assassin Rogue is the ultimate ambusher, specializing in delivering lethal strikes to unsuspecting targets. This build focuses on maximizing your sneak attack damage, with the Assassinate feature granting advantage on attack rolls against creatures that haven’t taken a turn in combat yet. Additionally, any hit against a surprised creature is automatically a critical hit, ensuring that your opening strike is deadly. The Assassin Rogue is perfect for players who enjoy taking down enemies before they even realize they’re in danger, making it an ideal build for those who relish the thrill of the hunt.
Arcane Trickster
The Arcane Trickster Rogue combines the stealth and precision of a Rogue with the spellcasting abilities of a Wizard. This build focuses on using spells to enhance your Rogue abilities, with the ability to cast spells like Mage Hand to manipulate objects or Invisibility to vanish from sight. The Arcane Trickster Rogue excels at creating opportunities for sneak attacks, using their spells to distract or debilitate enemies. This build is ideal for players who want a versatile character that can blend magic and stealth to outwit their opponents.
Sorcerer Builds
Sorcerers are innate spellcasters who draw their magic from their bloodline, making them powerful and unpredictable. The best Sorcerer builds focus on maximizing their spellcasting potential and using metamagic to shape their spells.
Draconic Bloodline
The Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer is a durable and powerful caster, drawing strength from their draconic ancestry. This build focuses on enhancing your survivability and elemental magic, with features that grant increased hit points and resistance to specific damage types. The Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer also gains the ability to deal additional damage with spells matching their dragon type, making them a formidable opponent in combat. This build is perfect for players who want to play a resilient spellcaster with a strong elemental theme.
Shadow Magic
For those who prefer a darker, more mysterious build, the Shadow Magic Sorcerer offers abilities that allow you to manipulate darkness and survive in the direst circumstances. This build focuses on using the power of shadows to control the battlefield, with features like Shadow Step allowing you to teleport between areas of darkness. The Shadow Magic Sorcerer also has access to abilities that increase their survivability, such as the ability to reduce damage taken or the power to return from the brink of death. This build is ideal for players who enjoy playing a character with a dark and enigmatic edge.
Warlock Builds
Warlocks are unique spellcasters who gain their magic through pacts with powerful entities. The best Warlock builds focus on maximizing their eldritch invocations and pact boons, allowing them to wield powerful magic and unique abilities.
Hexblade
The Hexblade Warlock is a formidable melee combatant, combining the spellcasting of a Warlock with the martial prowess of a warrior. This build focuses on using the Hexblade’s Curse and Pact of the Blade to deal significant damage in combat, with features that allow you to use your Charisma for attack and damage rolls. The Hexblade Warlock is also highly resilient, with access to armor and shields, making them a tough opponent to bring down. This build is perfect for players who want to play a spellcaster that can hold their own in close combat, blending magic and melee for devastating effect.
Fiend Patron
For those who prefer a more traditional Warlock build, the Fiend Patron offers a balance of offensive casting and survivability. This build focuses on using fire-themed spells and abilities granted by your fiendish patron, with features like Dark One’s Blessing providing temporary hit points whenever you reduce a creature to 0 hit points. The Fiend Patron Warlock excels in dealing damage while also being able to withstand the rigors of combat, making them a versatile and powerful addition to any party. This build is ideal for players who want to play a Warlock with a focus on offensive magic and resilience.
Wizard Builds
Wizards are the most versatile spellcasters in D&D, with access to a vast array of spells and the ability to specialize in different schools of magic. The best Wizard builds focus on maximizing their spellcasting potential and using their extensive spellbook to control the battlefield.
School of Evocation
The School of Evocation Wizard is the quintessential blaster, specializing in spells that deal massive amounts of damage to enemies. This build focuses on maximizing the damage output of your spells, with features like Sculpt Spells allowing you to protect your allies while unleashing devastating evocations. The School of Evocation Wizard is perfect for players who want to be at the forefront of combat, using their powerful spells to obliterate their foes while keeping their allies safe from harm.
Make life as a Gamemaster easier.... If you play Dungeon & Dragons, Pathfinder, or other fantasy tabletop role-playing games, this RPG random tables book is full of encounters, NPCs, and more. Available as an eBook or in a classic print format. Either way, you'll have a wealth of adventure ideas at your fingertips.
School of Divination
For those who prefer a more supportive and strategic approach, the School of Divination Wizard offers a build focused on predicting outcomes and controlling the flow of battle. This build’s signature feature, Portent, allows you to replace rolls with pre-rolled numbers, giving you and your party a significant advantage in critical moments. The School of Divination Wizard excels at manipulating fate and ensuring that your party comes out on top in any situation. This build is ideal for players who enjoy playing a character with a focus on foresight and strategic planning.
Best DND Character Builds
Choosing the right build for your character can dramatically enhance your D&D experience, making your character more effective, fun, and engaging to play. The 2024 edition of D&D has expanded the possibilities for character builds, offering new ways to optimize and customize your characters. Whether you prefer to be a frontline fighter, a cunning spellcaster, or a versatile support character, these builds provide a solid foundation for your adventures. Experiment with these suggestions, customize them to fit your playstyle, and discover what makes your character truly shine. Happy adventuring!
