D&D 5E What Level 20 Class Would Win?

[Benjamin Olson]

Which is why I'd personally rather have the Chronurgy Wizard's Convergent Future for this fight. Sure, it's a reaction to use it, and sure, it gives you a level of exhaustion when you use it, but that's what your simulacrum's for (if you so choose to use it for that instead of any of a number of other things).

If they're allowed then the Simulacrum is for sending to the fight instead of yourself. You stay a mile away (your homunculus can keep an eye on things for you there), and if they manage to get the opponent on the ropes drop a Meteor Swarm on them. If it doesn't work out send another Simulacrum the next day. Rinse and repeat.

The prospect of a multiday conflict brings to mind the importance of being an Elf or someone else immune to the Dream spell if your opponent has that. You don't want to be the one who stops getting long rests.

 

[Flamestrike]

Bard or Wizard, leaning towards Wizard.

Having access to both True Polymorph and Wish means everyone else may as well stay home.

Neither help if you lose initiative vs a 20th level Battlemaster Archer nearby. You'll be dead before you cast either.

That said, War Wizard is where I would go as a Wizard. For no other reason than the +Int to initiative.

 

[Eltab]

Is this happening in an empty field? If not, an Assassin who thinks he is a Warlord: figure out where to Hide and get the drop on your enemy. (Such as, you can hit him the moment he steps through the gate into the arena.)
Even better if you can get Sneak Attack and set up the Assassinate conditions on a crossbow attack, instead of a rapier attack.

By L20 you ought to be experienced enough to be able to bring your specialized subclass features into play.

 

[FarBeyondC]

Neither help if you lose initiative vs a 20th level Battlemaster Archer nearby. You'll be dead before you cast either.

That said, War Wizard is where I would go as a Wizard. For no other reason than the +Int to initiative.

If we're doing a weird "everyone has enough prep that they can choose what spells they have for the day of the fight, but no one has enough prep to make use of even 'permanent' things they have access to" type deal, then sure. Otherwise, the wizard is either in a 'permanent' form that the nonmagical weapons said Battlemaster Archer has can't hurt or a Resilient Sphere.

 

[Iry]

But, that said...I still don't see how you disappearing from a fight where the first one unable to fight looses. If I was DM'ing that fight, I'd rule the guy who just Banished himself forfeited the match and ran away...which is exactly what they did. They left the battle field.

Leaving the battlefield is Wizard 101. It's the traditional tactic of disappearing the moment danger appears, then using scry and die tactics to murder them from afar with little to no chance the enemy can retaliate.

Contingency Banishment ensures the spellcaster gets out even if they lose initiative.

 

[TwoSix]

Every “which class is best” thread inevitably devolves into bickering over the parameters of the fight and which set of parameters is more “realistic”. Additionally, open ended features and spells like Wish and Divine Intervention make individual DM rulings the single most important variable.

 

[Oofta]

The real answer is "Batman". Because he has a contingency plan for everything. Doesn't matter that he's not in the fight, he still wins. Because Batman.

 

[Oofta]

Every “which class is best” thread inevitably devolves into bickering over the parameters of the fight and which set of parameters is more “realistic”. Additionally, open ended features and spells like Wish and Divine Intervention make individual DM rulings the single most important variable.

Closest I ever came to finding out the real answer to this was when my buddy said his wizard would win any fight against my dwarf fighter if he won initiative. A successful save later and my fighter was victorious.

Classes are sort-of balanced over the course of an adventuring "day" and various encounter types. But for the most part it's going to depend on who wins initiative and who has the "lucky" feat.

So just to be contrarian I'd probably vote for a fighter with high dex, alert and lucky feats, maybe throw in mage slayer.

 

[Phazonfish]

The Wizard is by far my favorite class, but y'all are drastically overestimating how good they are at a 1v1 slugfest. Unless non-lethal removal like Plane Shift counts as a win, and even then it's still pretty debatable.

 

[Flamestrike]

Closest I ever came to finding out the real answer to this was when my buddy said his wizard would win any fight against my dwarf fighter if he won initiative. A successful save later and my fighter was victorious.

Saves are too risky for mine. Unless I was a diviner or similar where I knew I could make the target fail, Im setting myself up for defence first (Forcecage you, Dimension door or Fly away and prepare, Resilient Sphere myself etc).