D&D 5E (2024) Rank 5e skills from most useful (1) to least useful (18)

[Amphytrion]

Like many bits in this game, this ranking is entirely DM-dependent.

At my table, I try my best at making all skills relevant and to not have some outshine the others. I fail at this often.

I run investigative adventures often, so Investigation ranks very high.

If I have a religious character or if the adventure features religious NPCs or fiends (which is fairly often, especially the former), Religion becomes extremely important. I use Wisdom (Religion) for meditation and prayer and Intelligence (Religion) for learning and knowledge.

Insight is probably the most relevant social skill at my table. It is mosty used to ascertain mood and a NPC’s ties to other people and organizations (e.g. Bob becomes agitated when talking about Alice). This is an important source of clues.

 

[Neonchameleon]

most replaceable, really? as compared to Stealth v Pass Without Trace, SoH v Knock, or Charm v Persuasion?

Charm lets the victim know. Knock has side effects like a loud noise and smart foes use two or more locks on anything important. Pass Without Trace I'll grant.

And athletics? Vs fly, 2024 jump, spider climb, or enlarge person? Unlike PWoT a good athletics roll won't remotely do what one of those spells used appropriately will.

 

[TiQuinn]

I think the number one thing that I’m guilty of when I look at this list is not having harder lines in my game between what gets an arcana roll vs religion, history, and sometimes nature.

 

[Plaguescarred]

1. Perception
2. Investigation
3. Athletics
4. Arcana
5. Stealth
6. Persuasion
7. Deception
8. Insight
9. Medicine
10. Survival
11. Intimidation
12. Nature
13. History
14. Religion
15. Acrobatics
16. Sleight of Hand
17. Performance
18. Animal Handling

 

[EzekielRaiden]

This is ranked by how I think the game's rules directly tell you they operate, not how I think GMs should run things, nor how I have seen 5e GMs (with the exception of my current GM) run it, which to be clear isn't better than the rules as written.

1. Perception
2. Persuasion
3. Insight
4. Stealth
5. Deception
6. Acrobatics
7. Athletics
8. Investigation
9. Sleight of Hand
10. Arcana
11. Nature
12. Religion
13. Intimidation
14. Medicine
15. Survival
16. History
17. Performance
18. Animal Handling

It's worth noting, despite being a clean numbered list, the gaps between these vary wildly. Perception >>>>>>>>>>> Persuasion and Insight, which are almost co-equal. Stealth, Deception, Acrobatics, and Athletics are all of similar weight because I find they come up a lot--though I usually use Persuasion where others would use Deception because I don't, personally, like telling lies.

Investigation, Sleight of Hand, Arcana, Nature, and Religion are all in the "sometimes useful, not very important" category. Sure, sometimes you'll find something where picking a pocket or knowing some dead god's rituals will be insanely useful or even essential, but most times, it's not that big a deal. Arcana edges out the other "knowledge" skills because it has uses for identifying stuff.

Everything after Religion is in the "Kinda Garbage" category. I almost never see checks for these. Intimidate would be lower, as in by far the worst skill in the game, if I were basing this on how GMs actually run stuff, because Intimidate is the "Do Social Things Extremely Badly With Horrible Consequences" skill in most GMs' eyes, whereas Persuasion is neutral on good-vs-bad consequences and Deception is good consequences unless you fail or your lie is revealed, then horrible consequences.

Survival should be more useful, but it just...isn't. History, Performance, and Animal Handling are functionally useless fluff skills which only exist to give players who like to roleplay a thing to invest resources into. I can count the number of Animal Handling checks I've ever seen made in 5e on one hand. And I wouldn't even use all of that hand's fingers.

Had I my druthers, we'd collapse some of these skills together (e.g. Animal Handling -> Nature), cut at least one entirely (Performance), and rebalance some of the remainder to actually have concrete positive uses....and to have a clear definition of how to implement them, so that GMs have at least been told how to use these skills in ways that don't make them hidden deathtraps waiting to spring.

I'd also turn Survival back into Endurance from 4e. Because having at least one skill keyed off of Con by default was, in fact, a positive thing.

 

[Stormonu]

I'm sorry, I do not actually understand what any of that means. You can attack someone with manacles? Nice idea but, since I almost never use humanoid opponents, it won't come up. Heck, even as a player, again, since 3e, I am the only person I've ever seen whose character has manacles. No one I've ever played with has even looked at them.

/edit after reading the spoilers that @Distracted DM kindly posted. Ahh, you need to grapple the opponent first, then you can restrain them with manacles.

Does anyone actually do that?

Funnily enough, my Sorcerer/Rogue manacled an opponent last session, while the Orc Monk was doing the grappling. We were in town, bringing a rival rogue to justice.