D&D 5E What is the best class for a single class only campaign?

[Oofta]

As others have said, just about any class would do since you allow feats. If I were playing I'd probably vote for cleric myself because the domains can be interesting. Bard or paladins would come in a close second for me personally. Wizards would probably be the most difficult, at least sorcerers have divine soul.

But vary the backgrounds, have someone take the healer feat, maybe a feat or two to shore up weaknesses and I think just about any class could work. Heck, even with wizard just run a mountain dwarf that takes a feat to run around in plate; with the shield spell they'd be a good tank.

A lot of it depends on how you run your games and what type of campaign it will be. Rogues for an urban campaign with a lot of skill based challenges could be difficult to balance, a thief's fast hands and healer feat can heal people with a bonus action. Do you run 2-3 encounters per long rest or a dozen? It's going to make a big difference.

 

[Cadence]

My gut feeling is that healing magic isn't really necessary in a 5e game (with the possible exception of Healing Word), as Hit Dice can handle most of the out-of-combat healing. I also imagine a lot of people don't feel the same way, which impacts the rankings.

Voice of Authority + Healing Word sure felt good for my Order Domain cleric...

 

[see]

If you're going to be playing in Tier 3 (as per OP), you'll need full casters or an accommodating DM. So the first cut, the Artificer, Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, and Rogue are out, and Warlock is iffy.

Sheer survival in early Tier 2 cuts against Sorcerers and Wizards on the front line.

So, Bard, Cleric, or Druid. At which point, it's a matter of taste.

 

[overgeeked]

Vote as per the title.

Assumptions:

1) 5 player characters in the campaign.
2) The bulk of the game will be Tier 2-Tier 3.
3) Feats Yes, multiclassing No. (No dips!)
4) Assume you're trying to strike a balance between these goals:
a) Diversity in character concepts and builds.
b) Overall group effectiveness.
c) Shared class synergy (wizards sharing spells, druids being able to group wildshape, mass first round fighter action surge, etc.)

The queens of 4b and 4c right now are the Peace Domain and Twilight Domain clerics. They're utterly broken. If your goal is to "be the best" and "win" then those are your best options.

 

[Undrave]

Would you? Or could you actually spend some of your spells on doing something other than buffing/healing? I mean, a light domain cleric gets scorching ray and fireball, trickery domain gets fun things like mirror image and dimension door. There are 14 domains which don't make a huge difference but by the time you pick different spells and backgrounds I could see a decent amount of variation.

I can certainly see why people don't like being clerics, but I think part of that is because they're tend to be in a support role that some people find boring.

Support roles in 5e are boring and limited. I like support characters and the 5e Cleric bores me to tears.

But I guess you do have a point that with multiple characters able to use Bless, or heal, there would be a bit more wiggle room. I do see Spiritual Weapon being all over the place though.

 

[CleverNickName]

I went back and forth between the Cleric and the Wizard, because I feel like they are both the most versatile classes in the game. Ultimately I decided on Cleric because they have better weapon and armor proficiencies, and that can make a big difference on the kinds of treasure they will find and use later in the game.

 

[Dausuul]

I was originally thinking druid, but on reflection, I have to agree with other posters: Cleric is the clear winner. The sheer variety of domains lets a cleric do a fair job at "filling in" for any other class. On top of that, clerics have plenty of powerhouse builds, and clerical powerhouses tend to be synergistic (boosting the whole party instead of just the individual PC), so they naturally combine well.

My lineup would probably be Light, Trickery, Twilight, Peace, and Order. The Light cleric supplies artillery firepower, the Trickery cleric covers scouting/stealth, and the other three layer buffs and bonuses in combat.

 

[fba827]

Wizard, different school specialization. And a good tie in to say they had the same wizard teacher and he sent note to each of them to meet at his place but when they arrive he’s missing ….

 

[Ancalagon]

The warlock is such a flexible chasis...

 

[Dausuul]

I do see Spiritual Weapon being all over the place though.

No doubt about that. Single-target damage is the big weak point of spellcasters in 5E; but five spiritual weapons whaling away at once would take care of that rather nicely.