clearstream
(He, Him)
Exactly, that's why I think it is best to think of this as the baseline or reference-structure. And - crediting other respondents - it is very important to call out that there is diversity. Think about it like thisIn general, classes get a damage increase, some though get a defensive increase. Barbarians don't get any additional DPR at level 11, however, they have a chance to keep fighting if dropped to 0 at level 11 with relentless rage instead.
Artificers gain spell storing item, which could be used for offensive spells but doesn't have to be.
While many classes do gain an offensive boost, some gain a defensive one which do not provide a DPR increase.
- The tiers are meaningful in 5E. Tier 2 characters will see a step (or steppy) increase in mechanical power over tier 1 characters. And tier 3 over tier 2, etc.
- The simplest place that is visible is in fighter extra attack and warlock eldritch blast.
- Each class has been consciously designed to have its own approach, but the approaches can be simplified to - A) I attack many times, B) I attack fewer times but do more damage, C) I attack and also defend. Fighters are A. Rogues are B. Rangers are C. Note that 'defend' is where you see even more diversity because it often spills over into explore (e.g. ability to hide).
- This simplifies the task of design as it means a designer knows the approach a class is using, and they know how much power to build into its features at each level. You can observe this most easily I think in the designs for sub-classes such as fey wanderer, if you compare its features to other more straightforward classes.