Zardnaar
Legend
Clerics dont have the best spell list in the game but what they do have is very good. Espicially at lower levels. Not to much was changed but there were a few subtle buffs on spells such as command Spirit guardians and conjure celestial. Any cleric can get martial weapons easily and its not to hard to add cantrips and level 1 spells from other classes if youre determined enough.
Stereotypical a healer a cleric does tend to lean heavily on a handful of spells but they are good in multiple pillars of the game and have a reasonable variety in subclasses. Domains essentially add a bit of secret sauce turn the base cleric into a bit of a striker, blaster, skill monkey or controller etc.
Knowledge
This cleric got rated kind of low on release (more B vs C) Essentially its a more utility based subclass. Its spell list isnt super exciting. The playtest one was super strong and I've played it. My games do use a lot of skill checks and the knowledge cleric has always been decent at it. The domain has a few ritual type spells, divination and even some control and blasting with synaptic static.
After seeing one in action up to level 8 from level 1 (3 technically sue me) the class is a bit better than the internet claims assuming utility isn't completely useless. Arcane eye no spell slot required along with various divination spells. Banishment, confusion not to shabby. I like it the class may not appeal to everyone but its good. 1/5
Life
Traditionally a B tier cleric. Its always been fine just has the reputation of being really boring and no one craves playing a heal bot. Except that one guy who isnt me. Nevertheless more healing is never bad mechanically its fine can't fault it.
5.5 did buff healing spells but thats true for any cleric casting them. You do have more incentive to cast them though and prayer of healing triggering a short rest is good. I've also seen it cast via divine intervention in combat. The big change is 5.5 monsters hit a lot harder. 5.0 they were anemic comparatively. This indirectly buffs the life domain to B+ imho. Its a thumbs up anyway but Guy the Healbot probably has limited appeal but it works very well. Warding bond hmmmnnn. 2/5.
Light
An early power house in 5.0 I would have rated it S tier early on. Then they made the twilight cleric. And order and peace..... Mostly functions like the 5.0 one with a small buff to warding flare granting temporary hit points.
Radiance of the dawn is great early on but doesnt scale wel falling to B tier later. Using that or fireball on top of spirit guardians is a lot of damage however. Ironically that double tap combo makes this cleric one of the better blasters on top of being a cleric who's also good at support, control etc. Conjure celestial is an upgrade to spirit guardians and ive seen it in use on this ckeric. Its so good. Seen a few new players do well with the light cleric in 5.0 and 5.5 its good to see that imho. Its a thumbs up. 3/5
War
Perhaps an under rated cleric. If you want to deal more damage in combat like an older editions cleric this is an interesting one. Basically you cast spirit guardians or possibly crusaders mantle and combine it with your class features. Concentration free spiritual weapon tier 1 more likely shield of faith tier 2+.
Can also go ranged. Potentially the best gish in the game and side by side with a bladesinger using CME I've seen them clown on them with damage. Steel wind strike plus spirit guardians or conjure celestial. Divine intervention for another steel wind strike. Steel wind strike also teleports you. With spirit guardians, magic weapon and truestrike. Yeah its good imho. 4/5.
Trickery
Early in 5.5 this cleric got rated very well. It was essentially rebuilt from the anemic 5.0 version of it. Probably more famous due to the Shadowheart respec in BG3. Its a lot of fun to play using your duplicate to bounce around the battle field. Also buffs your allies and you also have a fantastic spell list with some good control spells and general use spells.
Control, buffing, bouncing around. Its fun, thematic, powerful without breaking the game and making the game more fun for the rest of the table due to advantage granting from invoke duplicity. And you're still a cleric and it switches on early around level 3-6. Might be the best cleric. Probably one of the best designed subclasses in the phb.
So the perfect score 5/5. Cleric class got buffed overall and each domain essentially adds an extra something to the base cleric. Skills, blasting, healing, fighting and whatever trickery does. Except maybe life domain. Anyone going to complain if a player chooses that domain at your table? Probably not and thats one of the "weakest" (boring?)ones.
Best designed subclasses in the game so far.
Stereotypical a healer a cleric does tend to lean heavily on a handful of spells but they are good in multiple pillars of the game and have a reasonable variety in subclasses. Domains essentially add a bit of secret sauce turn the base cleric into a bit of a striker, blaster, skill monkey or controller etc.
Knowledge
This cleric got rated kind of low on release (more B vs C) Essentially its a more utility based subclass. Its spell list isnt super exciting. The playtest one was super strong and I've played it. My games do use a lot of skill checks and the knowledge cleric has always been decent at it. The domain has a few ritual type spells, divination and even some control and blasting with synaptic static.
After seeing one in action up to level 8 from level 1 (3 technically sue me) the class is a bit better than the internet claims assuming utility isn't completely useless. Arcane eye no spell slot required along with various divination spells. Banishment, confusion not to shabby. I like it the class may not appeal to everyone but its good. 1/5
Life
Traditionally a B tier cleric. Its always been fine just has the reputation of being really boring and no one craves playing a heal bot. Except that one guy who isnt me. Nevertheless more healing is never bad mechanically its fine can't fault it.
5.5 did buff healing spells but thats true for any cleric casting them. You do have more incentive to cast them though and prayer of healing triggering a short rest is good. I've also seen it cast via divine intervention in combat. The big change is 5.5 monsters hit a lot harder. 5.0 they were anemic comparatively. This indirectly buffs the life domain to B+ imho. Its a thumbs up anyway but Guy the Healbot probably has limited appeal but it works very well. Warding bond hmmmnnn. 2/5.
Light
An early power house in 5.0 I would have rated it S tier early on. Then they made the twilight cleric. And order and peace..... Mostly functions like the 5.0 one with a small buff to warding flare granting temporary hit points.
Radiance of the dawn is great early on but doesnt scale wel falling to B tier later. Using that or fireball on top of spirit guardians is a lot of damage however. Ironically that double tap combo makes this cleric one of the better blasters on top of being a cleric who's also good at support, control etc. Conjure celestial is an upgrade to spirit guardians and ive seen it in use on this ckeric. Its so good. Seen a few new players do well with the light cleric in 5.0 and 5.5 its good to see that imho. Its a thumbs up. 3/5
War
Perhaps an under rated cleric. If you want to deal more damage in combat like an older editions cleric this is an interesting one. Basically you cast spirit guardians or possibly crusaders mantle and combine it with your class features. Concentration free spiritual weapon tier 1 more likely shield of faith tier 2+.
Can also go ranged. Potentially the best gish in the game and side by side with a bladesinger using CME I've seen them clown on them with damage. Steel wind strike plus spirit guardians or conjure celestial. Divine intervention for another steel wind strike. Steel wind strike also teleports you. With spirit guardians, magic weapon and truestrike. Yeah its good imho. 4/5.
Trickery
Early in 5.5 this cleric got rated very well. It was essentially rebuilt from the anemic 5.0 version of it. Probably more famous due to the Shadowheart respec in BG3. Its a lot of fun to play using your duplicate to bounce around the battle field. Also buffs your allies and you also have a fantastic spell list with some good control spells and general use spells.
Control, buffing, bouncing around. Its fun, thematic, powerful without breaking the game and making the game more fun for the rest of the table due to advantage granting from invoke duplicity. And you're still a cleric and it switches on early around level 3-6. Might be the best cleric. Probably one of the best designed subclasses in the phb.
So the perfect score 5/5. Cleric class got buffed overall and each domain essentially adds an extra something to the base cleric. Skills, blasting, healing, fighting and whatever trickery does. Except maybe life domain. Anyone going to complain if a player chooses that domain at your table? Probably not and thats one of the "weakest" (boring?)ones.
Best designed subclasses in the game so far.
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