D&D 5E (2014) It is OK for a class to be the worst

[Ruin Explorer]

So maybe you guess wrong sometimes and rage at a non-optimal moment.

So what? Them's the breaks.

No sympathy here, sorry.

I'm not the Barbarian brother! I don't need your sympathy. I'm just an innocent Druid trying to get by in this difficult world where I'm literally the only person in the party with a non-negative WIS mod. Wait that isn't even true, the Ranger also has a positive WIS mod... Anyway...

 

[Haffrung]

I dunno about everybody else but, global pendemic aside, I don't get to play DnD often. Theory crafting on these boards is how I interact with the game, and I'm sure many are like me. It's not even a question of having the biggest number like a real char op situation, but rather how to perfect your concept, or to get the feel and fiction to align with game mechanics as best as possible. We're not gonna stop trying to come up with fixes and debate which class is the worse or why just because some people think it's a futile.

Theorycrafting about builds is a big part of the hobby, especially online. I'm not calling it out as badwrongfun. I'm just making an observation that issues regarded as a big deal in the online theorycrafting world usually aren't a problem at the table for most groups.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Wow i find the ranger to be versatile and powerful with the right spell choices. Definitely more useful than a Barbie and fighter.

There have been two classes that I've had enough issues trying to play that it severely impacted on enjoyment.

The BM ranger just felt . . . clunky. In combat it felt like your options were competing against each other rather than working with each other. Actual performance wasn't amazing, but no-one was going to beat the Paladin in terms of numbers anyway. It wasn't fun, it just felt awkward.
Out of combat, there were a few issues: many of the ranger abilities are too automatic in the right situation, and not applicable in others. Spells are indeed useful, but that just felt like trying to be a less-effective version of a Land Druid or similar, if you're having to lean too hard on spells as a ranger.

The other class causing issues was a fighter in a higher-level game. Combat performance was fine: fun and up to the level of the other characters. However out of combat there was just a dearth of options to be able to mechanically contribute effectively outside of discussion amongst the players. There were no useful class abilities to come into play, and most of the ability checks were either less effective than the character with the same proficiency and a primary stat associated with it, or rendered unnecessary through use of magic.
The class simply didn't feel useful most of the time.