What is the most balanced class?

[Nifft]

Good ones already mentioned.

Rogue, Swordsage, Warlock, Barbarian, Scout, Psychic Warrior, Psion (without Overchannel).

-- N

 

[Coplen]

I think balance is a mcguffin.

 

[Nifft]

I think balance is a mcguffin.

So who do we have to kill to recover it?

-- N

 

[Mercule]

Since "balance" implies something to balance against, I don't see how you could pick one single class as being already balanced.

If you want me to pick an arbitrary class against which to balance all others, I'm going to go with either Fighter or Rogue. Those are the two most straightfoward and easy to relate professions in the core rules. Therefore, they are good starting points.

I'm going to favor Rogue because the power level of Fighter is so dependant upon feats. In truth, the balance consideration for most feats should be "what does this do to the power level of a fighter".

 

[derelictjay]

Usually when I look at a new class, I envision what class would be closest from the core.

Along those lines, if it uses alot of spell casting (psion, warlock, beguiler), I compare it to a wizard, so a psion is about the same power level, warlock seriously underpowered, beguiler's a bit of a weak enchanter with other tricks. So for the BAB guy its the fighter (though I'll sometimes use the barbarian), and for a guy who relies on useing skills its the rogue.

But if I absolutly had to choose ONE, it would probably be the rogue as the most balanced.

 

[Celebrim]

There are very few core classes I've had serious problems with.

Bard and Monk have shown to be slightly weak in a default dungeon crawling scenario, but both have thier strengths even if it is in the case of the Monk just running away when they get over thier heads.

Fighter and Barbarian are extremely strong choices through the low to early mid-levels, before the spellcasters begin to really shine. Rogue and Cleric are extremely strong classes with alot of versitility in the builds.

3.5 Druid is slightly overpowered, but since I've never adopted most of the 3.5 ruleset it's not a problem for me.

Alot of the new classes I simply don't have the experience to judge. But, those that would seem to fall somewhere between fighter and cleric in usefulness would probably be judged balanced.

 

[Shade]

For me, the paladin.

Why?

• I feel it is the only class that truly captures its niche
• It dangles a decent "carrot" to keep taking levels in the class (rather than jumping to prestige classes)
• It is relatively easy to keep track of the abilities
• It gives a player a little taste of different roles

If you step outside the core, the addition of divine feats and some of the alternate class features in recent books make the paladin even more solid, and more flexible.

I really like the rogue class, but the problem with it is diminishing returns. At higher levels, more and more creatures are immune to sneak attacks, which seriously hampers a large portion of the rogue's fun. Some non-core sources have alleviated this problem somewhat.

 

[delericho]

I'm not sure you can have a most balanced class, since balance is relative and so one class has to be balanced against another.

That said, of the core classes, I generally consider the Cleric, Druid, Wizard and perhaps Barbarian as the most powerful (and about the top end of where an acceptable class should be), the Bard, Sorcerer and probably Monk as the least powerful (and about the bottom ernd of where an acceptable class should be), and all the other classes in between. I do not consider any of the core classes either outright broken or nerfed... although I do consider that the supplemental material seems to have been better for the 'strong' classes than the 'weak' ones, and that action to redress this is now quite badly needed.

 

[AnonymousOne]

At higher levels, more and more creatures are immune to sneak attacks, which seriously hampers a large portion of the rogue's fun. Some non-core sources have alleviated this problem somewhat.

Weapon Crystals FTW! Ya gotta <3 the MIC 3.5

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

So, which do you think is the most balanced class to compare a new class against?

Cleric. Oh that's right; I went there.

... what the-! Who said that?