Informal Poll - Rank the classes

[der_kluge]

I was thinking about this in the car the other day. I generally consider the cleric to be the most powerful class overall. I think Sorcerer and Bard are generally the weakest class.

But, I think Sorcerer can be very powerful at high levels, for obvious reasons.

What I wanted to do, was to take an informal poll. I want you to rank the classes in order of power from most powerful to least powerful. Just rank them in terms of OVERALL power. I don't want to get into a debate of a high level wizard versus a low level wizard, or anything like that.

After a sufficient number of entries, I'll tally the results and post them taking the average of all the entires and compiling the list, in order from most powerful to least powerful.

And no, this won't be easy, but it will be informative.

Here are the classes: (copy and paste for ease)

Barbarian
Bard
Cleric
Druid
Fighter
Monk
Paladin
Ranger
Rogue
Sorcerer
Wizard

My entry (1 = most powerful, 11 = least powerful)

Barbarian = 5
Bard = 11
Cleric = 1
Druid = 7
Fighter = 3
Monk = 6
Paladin = 2
Ranger = 8
Rogue = 4
Sorcerer = 10
Wizard = 9

 

[JohnClark]

Barbarian = 3
Bard = 11
Cleric = 1
Druid = 8
Fighter = 2
Monk = 10
Paladin = 5
Ranger = 9
Rogue = 4
Sorcerer = 7
Wizard = 6

 

[CRGreathouse]

Low level (1-6): Bbn, Ftr, Pal, Rog, Clr, Rgr, Drd, Mnk, Sor, Wiz, Brd
Mid level (7-12): Clr, Rog, Ftr, Pal, Drd, Bbn, Mnk, Wiz, Sor, Rgr, Brd
High level (13+): Clr, Wiz, Sor, Pal, Mnk, Ftr, Drd, Rog, Bbn, Rgr, Brd

 

[Tsyr]

Ain't it a shame that there is so little contest to the position of the bard?

No wonder I use Monte's bard...

 

[Zerovoid]

Barbarian 5
Bard 10
Cleric 1
Druid 8
Fighter 6
Monk 11
Paladin 9
Ranger 7
Rogue 4
Sorcerer 2
Wizard 3

Its hard to rate them like this though. I would rather rate them on some sort of power scale:

5 Cleric
4 Wizard, Sorceror
3 Druid, Fighter, Ranger, Paladin, Rogue
2
1 Bard, Monk

All I really know is:

Clerics are too good at combat for a primary spell caster. I think they should be on the level of Druids.

Wizards/Sorcerors are gods at high level, with teleport and scry, and a way to do everything that any other class can do by using a spell.

Rangers are front loaded, but didn't get the shaft. They get full fighter BAB, and they have Hide, Listen, Move Silently, and Spot. Thats pretty good to me.

Monks and bards suck.

 

[GuardianLurker]

Assuming we're talking overall *campaign* prowess
Barbarian = 9
Bard = 10
Cleric = 2
Druid = 6
Fighter = 1
Monk = 4
Paladin = 7
Ranger = 11
Rogue = 3
Sorcerer = 8
Wizard = 5

If, however, we're focusing solely on direct *combat* strength
Barbarian = 6
Bard = 10
Cleric = 8
Druid = 9
Fighter = 1
Monk = 2
Paladin = 3
Ranger = 7
Rogue = 5
Sorcerer = 4
Wizard = 11

 

[the Jester]

Ooh, this'll be fun! Again, 1 being most powerful:

Barbarian =6
Bard =11
Cleric =2
Druid =10
Fighter =3
Monk =9
Paladin =4
Ranger =8
Rogue =7
Sorcerer = 1 (if you pick your spells and feats right)
Wizard =5

Keep in mind, too, that "powerful" really depends on the campaign. In a political campaign, the bard's rank might be as high as first, and a sorcerer might have a lot less pull than the druid (advocate of the rural areas) or monk (speaking for the politically powerful ascetic community), or a rogue (might be 2nd in a political game due to his connections). My rankings only consider basic beat down potential.

 

[The Sigil]

As written in the Core Rules:

Barbarian = 7
Bard = 10
Cleric = 3
Druid = 9
Fighter = 4
Monk = 8
Paladin = 5
Ranger = 11
Rogue = 6
Sorcerer = 1
Wizard = 2

These can easily be changed by addition of WotC or 3rd-party supplements.

--The Sigil

 

[mseds99]

Barbarian = 7
Bard = 11
Cleric = 2
Druid = 4
Fighter = 5
Monk = 9
Paladin = 6
Ranger = 10
Rogue = 8
Sorcerer = 3
Wizard = 1

 

[ForceUser]

I think you've neglected to define some important paremeters. Are we talking a kick-in-the-door campaign or a political game? Heavy on combat or heavy on roleplaying? The Bard will shine in the latter two examples, while the barbarian will be bored. There is no "correct" way to game, therefore I'm going to have to assume you're talking sheer combat potential and nothing more.

So, in terms of core rules sheer combat potential (most damage done in least amount of time) here's my vote:

#1 Wizard
#2 Sorcerer
#3 Druid
#4 Cleric
#5 Fighter
#6 Ranger
#7 Barbarian
#8 Paladin
#9 Monk
#10 Rogue
#11 Bard

In defense of Bards, they are a fantastic class but they are not about dealing damage in combat. That's not their gig. I put the Rogue at #10 simply because when he can sneak attack he's great, but when he can't he stinks, so it probably averages out to be less damage than true fighters. Wizards are #1 because they can bar none truck out more damage than anyone else when properly prepared, which this poll must assume. Sorcerers, then, are second, followed closely by Druids and Clerics. The spellcasters are number one because we're assuming damage dealt in the shortest amount of time possible instead of over the lifetime of the character. Melee classes come next, with sneaky-types bringing up the rear. Rogues would have been higher but for the fact that they rarely possess Whirlwind Attacks or Great Cleaves, while all of the main fighter classes can acquire these feats (or similar feats) with relative ease.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it!