Classes in order of difficulty?

[Vegepygmy]

Here's my 3.5 list (and how it differs from Jon_Dahl's):

1. Cleric Monk: despite rumors, can be effective in the right hands, but requires mastery of combat rules (including grappling, which seems to flummox many) and excellent grasp of just about everything else, such as spellcasting (because even though you can't do it yourself, you need to know how you can benefit from it, what you need to avoid, etc.)
2. Druid Wizard: a lot like the monk, except you don't need to know the combat rules backwards and forwards
3. Wizard Druid: as soon as you get wild shape, you need to be able to recalculate stats in your sleep; also, you need to know what your spells can and can't do
4. Sorcerer Bard: most people don't enjoy buffing other people, but they like it a lot more if they're good at it; you need to know enough about how the other classes work that you understand what they need and when, and how to give it to them
5. Monk Sorcerer: just a wizard with fewer options to confuse noobs
6. Bard Paladin: easy as pie, as long as you ignore alignments; played "correctly," however, requires some fairly sophisticated role-playing
7. Paladin Cleric: unless the group/campaign takes religion seriously, all you have to know is how your spells work; the rest is child's play
8. Rogue: can be frustrating unless you understand combat well enough to position yourself for sneak attacks, and know how to use your many skills to best effect
9. Ranger: can be more difficult to play "correctly," depending on archetype; archers need to understand the rules governing cover, for example
10. Fighter Barbarian: about as easy as it gets, but you do have to fiddle with your stats a bit (rage and fatigue), and you probably use skills more often than a straight fighter
11. Barbarian Fighter: can be more difficult to play "correctly" at high level, depending on feats, but this is the class I recommend any "virgin" play first; this is not to say fighters aren't good for experienced players -- my latest character is a single-classed fighter, and I'm having a blast with him

 

[irdeggman]

1. Druid spells to learn, choose, research, etc. Shape change really, really makes things harder. Don't forget animal companion (unless you don't choose one early). Unlike wizards - they know all of the spells on their list and can choose from them each day - a lot of page turning for a newbie.
2. Wizard - Same spell issue as druids, plus more magic item creation and familiar (unless you opt out of taking one early)
3. Cleric - Similar spell issue to druid. Turn undead can be tricky.
4. Bard - skill monky, bardic checks, spells, and role-playing issues (generally the face-man of the party requires a lot of role-playing to pull off well)
5. Rogue - like bard minus spells
6. Paladin - only becasue of role-playing code of conduct issue, otherwise it is easier than a fighter.
7. Fighter - bonus feats and combat styles make this class harder to play then one would think. It takes a lot of time building this class becasue of all of the choices. After that it ease pretty ease to play though.
8. Monk - fewere bonus feats/choices than a fighter. Fewer combat options too. Grappling rules could cause trouble for newbies.
9. Ranger - combat styles, spells, animal companion, skill monkey. Lots of things to think about when playing. Fewer choices for building than a fighter.
10. Sorcerer - some time to spend building - but playing is much easier. No worrying about preparing spells, no bonus feats to choose from, spells known is a relatively small and manageable list. Familar can be tricky if opted to choose one early.
11. Barbarian - fairly straight forward - "hulk smash" and no bonus feats to choose from Rage causes some recalculations.

 

[RUMBLETiGER]

I'm gunna say it because it needs to be said...

If not limiting to the 11 core PHB classes...

Artificer tops the list as most challenging to play.