D&D 5E Fun classes that hold their own in Tier 3

[Blue]

So, an existing and finished campaign is being reopened. I have a beloved character (a fearless and snarky halfling bard named Jillian), but many of the players are creating new characters sine they are satisfied with their arcs and want to leave them as they are.

The existing and new characters are going to 9th.

So I'm playing around with ideas but I'd like your actual play experience about what is fun to play at those high levels. I'm not looking for "what is the most optimized mix" - I can do that if I wanted, but really I'm wondering about what classes really shine say 9-15, and which ones just don't hold interest in later levels. (Yes, multiclassing is allowed if you have some ideas on a fun mix.)

A few things about the campaign, the DM, and the known other players. We don't do dungeon crawls, it's more politics, set piece battles, and exploration. Good amount of sea travel in the original campaign, but we're getting to the point where we can know of a few teleport circles we can use. The DM usually does fewer, tougher encounters per day, so casters and other long-rest-recovery classes have traditionally done well. My last two characters with this group of players were this bard and a Loxodon Order Cleric, so while I'm interesting in everything class/subclass you think really flourishes in Tier 3, I'm more likely to pick a non-support character. We play official books only.

I'm pretty sure we're going to have a rogue (thief), a new druid, and a new artificer. But we have a big group, don't worry about filling a niche - we have two regular and a third occasional player not included in that plus myself.

Again, I'm mostly interested in things like "Monks really come into their own in Tier 3" or "Barbarians don't really evolve, just more numbers, so Tier 3 isn't anything special" or "Bladesingers really can't keep up with weapon attacks, so a different wizard subclass will keep it's identity better" or "eldritch knight is finally firing on all gears at those levels". And all of the above is just made up samples - I'm looking for people with actual play experience at those levels for what they saw work well

 

[Jd Smith1]

I would say that being 9th level, any class will have more than enough firepower to satisfy that aspect of the game, so I would see this as an opportunity to take on a roleplaying challenge.

 

[Blue]

I would say that being 9th level, any class will have more than enough firepower to satisfy that aspect of the game, so I would see this as an opportunity to take on a roleplaying challenge.

Thanks for entirely ignoring what I was asking and giving an unrelated answer. Every character I do is a roleplaying challenge. I don't do basic characters.

And I specifically called out I'm not worried about optimizing it, I can do that. So "firepower" I can make happen - though I find I have the most fun when I calibrate to be around the same level as the rest of the party. But we have had a recent thread on how barbarians and "meh" at higher levels, and other threads about other classes so that wasn't the push I was looking for.

If you would like to contribute suggestions from actual play about classes/subclasses that are fresh and interesting and fun at those levels vs. those that are just "more number adjustments", please do.

 

[Jd Smith1]

Thanks for entirely ignoring what I was asking and giving an unrelated answer. Every character I do is a roleplaying challenge. I don't do basic characters.

You're welcome. Hopefully someone will be able to help you solve your dilemma.

 

[TwoSix]

Specifically in the late tier 2 to tier 3 range:

1). Not casters in general. 6th-7th level spells are really good, but it’s a once per long rest bump in power. You don’t play all that different because your resource suite doesn’t change much.

2) Moon druids. Elemental wild shape feels very different in play than single digit level wild shape, because it’s much stronger and can only be done once per short rest. Casting a strong long duration concentration spell (like a conjure) is de rigeur, but having a little more spell versatility also becomes vital, because you’re more likely to actually need to spend time in caster form.

3) Monks are functionally better but less fun at tier 3. You have enough ki points that spamming stunning strike on high priority targets is pretty much always the best approach.

4) Higher in tier 3, but 14th level illusionist wizards are amazing fun. Reshape the environment on virtually every action.

5) Personal opinion, but sorcerers are really fun at tier 3. Managing your spell list isn’t quite as ruthless of a challenge, and you have enough sorcery points that you can metamagic a good amount of your spell casts.

6). There are some good MC options that really come alive early in tier 3, especially some combinations that allow for martial class 5/some other class 5 that has a strong 5th level feature. I’m a big fan of rogue 5 for uncanny dodge, mixed with fighter, barbarian, or monk.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

At that level, I'd test a Oath of Redemption paladin, Dex-Cha based, defense FS, with Magic Initiate Sorcerer: Mage Armor, Friends and Minor Illusion. Go shortsword, no armor+ shield.

Its a fun rp challenge and you can decide each battle if you want to go full DPS with smites, or support with your spells. The redemption oath gives you nice social features too.