The barbarian is one of the most straightforward classes Dungeons and Dragons. While the Fighter may be more tactical and versatile, the Barbarian is a master of very hard hitting. Although it suffers in many skill challenges, social interactions, ranged combat, or against Intelligence, Wisdom or Charisma saving throws, features like Rage and Reckless attack plus the ability to naturally gain 24 Strength and Constitution at level 20 mean that the Barbarian excels at what it does. No wonder famous Dungeons and Dragons Barbarians like Karlach, Grog and Yasha are just as popular as them.
Like most classes, the Barbarian chooses a D&D subclass at third level. This choice, called their path, can drastically change how the class plays, usually by modifying Rage in some way. However, while any barbarian can tear it up in the front lines, some of these paths are much more powerful than others.
Offensive and defensive abilities, basic ability unlock levels, skill support, versatility, and coverage of major weaknesses are the main factors taken into consideration when compiling this list.
Dungeons and Dragons Best Paladin Oath Level List
Paladins are one of the most famous and powerful classes in Dungeons and Dragons, but not all of its subclasses are created equal.
S-Tier: Incredible lanes with powerful offense and flexible defense
-
Storm Herald
-
Wild heart
-
Fanatic
Storm Herald may have been A-Tier before, but the update from Dungeons and Dragons' recent Unearthed Arcana jump to the top. The Path now allows players to switch between desert, sea, and tundra with each rage – all of which have also received numerical buffs – meaning they can curate their Storm Aura for each battle. This is even more widespread once they gain resistance to fire, lightning, or cold at level 6 from this choice, and when they can share that protection with nearby allies at level 10. The subclass could see more tweaks before it's officially printed, but if it looks anything like UA, it'll stay in S-Tier.
The Wild Heart Barbarian, formerly known as the Totem Warrior, still remains one of the strongest options, even after D&D rules 2024. The Bear Totem has been nerfed to no longer increase resistance to Force, Necrotic, or Radiant damage, but the buffs on the Eagle Totem mean that all options are now viable in a variety of situations. Additionally, Wild Heart Barbarians are no longer stuck with their choices; they can choose a new Rage of the Wilds and Power of the Wilds every time they rage, and Aspect of the Wilds every long rest, meaning they're much more versatile than the Totem Warrior was.
Zealot may be the absolute best barbarian route Dungeons and Dragons. Divine Fury provides consistently high bonus damage at all levels, and the new Warrior of the Gods self-heal feature introduced in the 2024 rules will keep them going even longer than before. At level 14, they're no longer literally indestructible like they were in Rage Beyond Death, but its replacement, Rage of the Gods, is even better, providing flight speed, damage resistance, and even the ability to stop their friends from dying. The Zealot doesn't get much in non-combat encounters, but in battle it's an offensive, defensive, and support force.
A-Tier: Powerful subclasses with solid abilities
-
Berserker
-
A spiritual guardian
-
World tree
Before the 2024 rules, Berserker would have ended up at B or even C. However, his buffs in the new version of the Barbarian subclass in Dungeons and Dragons put it firmly on A-Tier. Gone is Frenzy's Exhaustion and extra attack mechanics, replaced by bonus damage dice that scale with level and are multiplied on crit, giving them the highest bonus damage potential of any barbarian path. What's more, Retaliation is now unlocked at level 10, giving them a reliable way to attack three times each turn. Charmed and Frightened Mindless Rage immunities cover some of the class's biggest weaknesses, but while Intimidating Presence has been technically improved, many creatures are immune to Frightened from level 14 onwards, meaning its capstone isn't always effective.
The Path of the Ancestral Guardian appeared in the same Unearthed Arcana as the Storm Herald, albeit with a new name: Path of the Spiritual Guardian. Spiritual Protector's defensive abilities have been reduced, but a new offensive option has been added to compensate. In addition, Vengeful Spirits now allows barbarians who roll high on attack rolls to gain one extra attack, which can deal more damage than before. With the buffs to the Spirit Shield defensive option, the Spiritual Guardian Barbarian can still be an amazing tank, but it can also now swing almost as hard as some of their damage-focused counterparts.
The Path of the World Tree is a brand new barbarian subclass introduced in D&D'with 2024 Player's Handbook. He can grant temporary health to allies while raging with Vitality of the Tree and lock down the battlefield with Branches of the Tree and Battering Roots. His level 14 capstone also gives him a Misty Step-like blink while enraged, as well as a longer range group teleport, giving him surprising mobility at high levels. The main thing that keeps World Tree Barbarian from S-Tier is the lack of any damage bonuses.
B-Tier: Solid choices that lack something
The path of the giant is similar D&D's Rune Knight Fighter, but for the barbarian class. Unfortunately, it is not nearly as strong as its counterpart. While he can still grow to large or huge sizes with Giant's Havoc, a lot of his features are spent on adding support for throwing weapons. This does cover one of Barb's main weaknesses, but despite some bonus damage with Elemental Cleaver and the ability to do a “Fastball Special” with Mighty Impel, he's pulled in too many directions to compete with Paths at higher levels.
The Path of the Juggernaut is the only subclass on this list that is not official, instead appearing in A critical role'with Rebirth of the Tal'dorei campaign. Just like the one with the same name X-Men villain, Path of the Giants is about becoming an unstoppable force and an immovable object. Thunderous Blows and Hurricane Strike knock down creatures around them, and Spirit of the Mountain, Resolute Stance, and Unstoppable make it impossible for them to grapple, stun, paralyze, frighten, knock down Prone, or move against their will. Unfortunately, between the small damage bonus that only affects Construct creatures and items, and their targeted defensive abilities, they can struggle against certain opponents.
C-Tier: Great options that drop at higher levels
The Path of the Beast is an ideal barbarian subclass for those looking to play a werewolf or other shapeshifter, as they can attack with deadly bites, claws, or barbed tails. The Path gains amazing bonuses to damage, mobility, and support, and can even force enemies to attack each other. Unfortunately, Beast suffers from the same problem as D&D's Soulknife Rogue: most of its features require the Barbarian to use natural attacks, meaning they lose half of their properties when wielding magical weapons, limiting their options in high-level play.
The Path of Wild Magic Barbarian is perfect for fans Dungeons and DragonsWild magician, but who wants to break things. Its core mechanic activates Wild Surge, which produces unexpected effects when Raging, though it's more manageable at level 14. This means that Wild Magic's effects don't scale with level, meaning the small amount of damage it does becomes negligible as they reach higher game levels. Boost Magic is a great ability as it can restore Spell Slots to spellcasters or give buffs to others, but it's just not enough to carry the subclass.
D-Tier: One of the worst subclasses in D&D history
Sword Coast Adventure Guide is known as the worst Dungeons and Dragons sourcebook of all time, in no small part due to its wildly unbalanced subclasses. Among them, however, the Battlerager Barbarian is at the absolute bottom – in fact, it may be the worst subclass in the entire game.
The entire journey is focused on using the special Spiked Armor as a weapon. While it provides a bonus attack with this armor, it's locked to a trivial amount of damage, plus a bit more when the grapple lands. The measly amount of temporary hit points per turn at level 6, the ability to rush as a bonus action at level 10 (Wildheart Barbarians can do this and Disconnect at the same time seven levels earlier), and a stunning capstone that deals a measly 3 damage to melee attackers are bad enough, but the reliance on subpar armor means they can also use defenseless defenses. D&D Barbarian's basic defensive traits. Barbarians should avoid Battlerager unless they want to challenge themselves to build a character despite its glaring weaknesses.
- Franchise
-
Dungeons & Dragons
- Original release date
-
1974
- Designer
-
E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson
