D&D 5E Which class(es) won the PHB?

[TwoSix]

Ok, so "won" is a little tongue-in-cheek. I'm curious what class you think fared the best in the initial release, based on some combination of fidelity to concept, interesting subclasses, exciting class features, and a general gut feeling that this class is going to be cool to try out.

My #1 choice is warlock. Tons of options, between the pacts and the invocations, and spell choice is going to play a major role in differentiating between two warlocks. Short rest spell slots will be a lot of fun to play with.

My second choice is wizard. Neo-vancian casting works great for wizards, who have the largest spell selection in the game. The wizard schools really do a nice job at making wizards feel different, with some really offbeat and funky mechanics. An abjurer's reactive ward, a diviner's enhanced spellcasting, and the transmuter's "philosopher's stone" are all great examples.

 

[exile]

Cleric... though my reasoning is very shoddy.

I picked cleric because it's the first character I chose to make from the new PHB. I modeled her on a strength based cleric that I played throughout most of 4e/LFR. She's not a perfect conversion, but if I were to set down with friends who played with the 4e version of her, they would be like "oh, Aleena, it's good to see you again."

 

[mcintma]

My second choice is wizard. Neo-vancian casting works great for wizards, who have the largest spell selection in the game. The wizard schools really do a nice job at making wizards feel different, with some really offbeat and funky mechanics. An abjurer's reactive ward, a diviner's enhanced spellcasting, and the transmuter's "philosopher's stone" are all great examples.

In a sense they have the largest selection, in a sense the smallest. I've played for DMs that do not provide many scrolls/spellbooks or scribing downtime. Just felt the need to point that out, as I wonder what the designers' assumptions were for that.

I think the Rogue (one of my 2 fav classes), Fighter, and Bard (9th level spells!!! More spells known that a Sorcerer IIRC) came out on top in 5e. But time and playtesting will reveal the truth ...

 

[Pillsy]

I picked:

• Wizards, who get a spell preparation mechanic that's a little more flexible than what we used to have, while still feeling like the old "memorization" in a way that isn't quite so tied to a weird interpretation of the way magic worked in Jack Vance's The Dying Earth. Also, school specializationmechanic is finally really fun and flavorful.
• Rogues, who have simple mechanics that really do a good job emphasizing their mobility and stealthiness, and look like they'll provide a fun tactical challenge for players.
• Monks, mainly because I like the different martial arts styles and think the ki ​point mechanic looks promising.

 

[greymarch]

My order

My initial order after reading the entire PHB a few times. This is very, very preliminary:

Sorcerer > Wizard > Bard > Fighter > Barbarian > Warlock > Monk > Rogue > Cleric > Druid > Paladin > Ranger

 

[Zelc]

I voted for Bards, Druids, and Warlock.

After the 3.5 and Pathfinder Bards, the 5th edition Bard is amazing! I'd be excited to play a Bard, and an inexperienced Bard player won't drag the group down.

Warlocks have a lot of flavor and interesting mechanics. I love how they have few spell slots, but they come back after a short rest.

Druids I voted just because the new Wild Shape mechanic is inspired and much easier to track than in 3.5/Pathfinder.


Honorable mentions would go to the Monk (hurray for not-sucky monks!), Wizards/Clerics (every specialization/domain is cool), and Rogues (hurray for not sucky Rogues! also fits the sneaky skirmishing archetype much better than 3.5/Pathfinder).


Goat award goes to the Ranger. Even if they don't suck, their abilities are hard to evaluate because they're so situational and different. The class seems to run into itself a lot with many options occupying the same action slot (Giant Killer and Uncanny Dodge/Stand Against the Tide; Ranger's Companion and attacking).

 

[Chriscdoa]

I picked:

Bard, full caster and lots of other goodness.
Rogue, good in combat and out of.
Paladin, good damage and excellent party support.

in general i think all the classes look good except barbarian and ranger.

 

[BASHMAN]

I chose Fighter. Much improved over previous playtests. Barbarian just.... ARG! Weaker in each succeeding playtest, and now much less versatile, too (no Dex-based Barbarian options). I can see liking it if you want to be Strong do lots of damage with strength and get hit all the time, but now much less versatile. I also don't much care for the totem path getting "spells". Barbarians aren't rangers or druids.

In previous playtests my "Barbarian" was re-skinned as a "Ninja" who used all the dex-based stuff (Hawk Totem) and the "rage" was actually a "combat trance". She could use Dex to hit (she just didn't get the damage bonus because it wasn't STR based). Now she's just not going to use a lot of the abilities (she isn't reckless, and her main weapons are dex-based, so no reason to use reckless attack). She'll still "rage" but now it is just damage reduction (she blocks attacks with her arm).

I hope that the Dex-barian comes back in a future book, in the meantime I'll just be less effective at fighting I guess and also refuse to use the "spells" that the animal totem stuff gives (it's not her style).

 

[Stalker0]

Rogues, at least the thief one I have seen.


That bonus action to move around and hide is so elegantly simple....but opens up a thousand ways to showcase mobility, stealth, acrobatics, and other stunts.

 

[Gladius Legis]

I picked Rogue, Paladin and Fighter.

• All 3 Rogue builds are looking very nice in their own way. Thief is the most versatile, Assassin is not as versatile but is dadgum good at what it's supposed to do (150+ damage on any surprise round at Lv. 17 wut), and Arcane Trickster presents an interesting and effective take on the Rogue in its own right.
• Paladin of Vengeance is one of the top damage builds so far (doing the math that dude can easily break over 100 DPR against AC 15). The other Oaths don't do nearly that damage but still fill their niches nicely (Devotion pretty much giving the middle finger to fiends and undead at high level, Ancients' aura of cut all magic attack damage in half against the whole party). And I like how the wording of Devotion's tenets nip the "lawful stupid" trope right in the bud.
• Battle Master Fighter is looking very dynamic, with many diverse and effective builds possible. Maneuvers are well done and evocative. Also really liking the Eldritch Knight and its possibilities.

I'm also very pleased with the Bard and Warlock. I even like the Monk this time around (and yay, Quivering Palm is actually useful).

I like the Ranger a bit more than I did at initial glance. I just need to get over the fact that it's never going to be a combat machine (although its base DPR at least is acceptable). It's a stud at exploration, though.

I'm not a Barbarian fan, but the Berserker is a damage champ (if a bit boring), right up there with the Paladin of Vengeance. Not sold on the Totem Warrior, though, except maybe the first Wolf benefit. Other than that, the only class I'm not really into is the Sorcerer.