Everyone always asks about different builds high levels, but not sure about you, but we rarely get above 5th level (annoying yes). But what is highest class that gives biggest damage per round for 5 rounds minimum. 5th level or lower. No set up round.
Guidelines:
Single Class
No set up rounds outside of the 5 rounds. 5 rounds is what you get.
No buffs from other party members
Nothing like pushing guy off 500 foot cliff
No magical items
I am probably forgetting some stuff. But wanted to see what it is in my world or low level play. thanks for any ideas feedback and such.
How are you deciding to calculate Damage Per Round? Are you assuming every roll is the most possible beneficial to the attacker? (All Attacks Crit, All Saving Throws Fail, All Damage Rolls are Maxed, Choose best option on Randomized Effects?)
Are you assuming that the Target will do the most disadvantageous thing possible?
Extreme Example: Character wins initiative,casts Armor of Agathys at Level 3, Target is Levell 20 Monk with STR 8 Wearing Armor (So can't use Martial Arts/Martial Arts Die or Dextrous Attacks) and burning a Focus Point Every Turn for Flurry Of Blows (Neither Monk's Focus nor Flurry of Blows care about Armor). The Monk hits five times each of his turns for zero damage and takes 75 points of Cold Damage per turn for his trouble. (Edit: Total 375)
Edit: probably should have gone StR 8 20th level fighter target attacking unarmed, that's 90 dpr on the Agathys clapback. If he Action Surges on the first two rounds, that's 120 dpr each from the Agathys clapback, followed by 3 rounds of 60 for a total of 480 420.
At 5th level there is a big jump because martial characters get their Extra Attack and Spellcasters get 3rd level spells. So I'm actually going to twist your request and make it level 4, because a ton of tactics that can be used for massive damage are unlocked at 5th level -> e.g. Spirit Guardians + high movement (e.g. Orc Cleric), or Weapon Mastery juggling. And that feels outside the spirit of the question. So I'll go for a build where you can use the same tactic at earlier levels.
Goliath Berserker Barbarian - 5 Feats: Great Weapon Master, Strike of the Giants Each turn: 2x attacks all at Adv, that deal 2d6 + 4(STR)+3 (Prof), plus a basically guaranteed 2d6 damage from Frenzy.
For Goliath and Strike of the Giants go with the Fire option to maximize extra damage dice you can add to critical hits, or take one of the others if you want some utility to ensure you can get into reach of enemies or to exploit synergies with allies.
How are you deciding to calculate Damage Per Round? Are you assuming every roll is the most possible beneficial to the attacker? (All Attacks Crit, All Saving Throws Fail, All Damage Rolls are Maxed, Choose best option on Randomized Effects?)
Are you assuming that the Target will do the most disadvantageous thing possible?
Extreme Example: Character wins initiative,casts Armor of Agathys at Level 3, Target is Levell 20 Monk with STR 8 Wearing Armor (So can't use Martial Arts/Martial Arts Die or Dextrous Attacks) and burning a Focus Point Every Turn for Flurry Of Blows (Neither Monk's Focus nor Flurry of Blows care about Armor). The Monk hits five times each of his turns for zero damage and takes 75 points of Cold Damage per turn for his trouble. (Edit: Total 375)
Edit: probably should have gone StR 8 20th level fighter target attacking unarmed, that's 90 dpr on the Agathys clapback. If he Action Surges on the first two rounds, that's 120 dpr each from the Agathys clapback, followed by 3 rounds of 60 for a total of 480 420.
How are you deciding to calculate Damage Per Round? Are you assuming every roll is the most possible beneficial to the attacker? (All Attacks Crit, All Saving Throws Fail, All Damage Rolls are Maxed, Choose best option on Randomized Effects?)
Are you assuming that the Target will do the most disadvantageous thing possible?
Extreme Example: Character wins initiative,casts Armor of Agathys at Level 3, Target is Levell 20 Monk with STR 8 Wearing Armor (So can't use Martial Arts/Martial Arts Die or Dextrous Attacks) and burning a Focus Point Every Turn for Flurry Of Blows (Neither Monk's Focus nor Flurry of Blows care about Armor). The Monk hits five times each of his turns for zero damage and takes 75 points of Cold Damage per turn for his trouble. (Edit: Total 375)
Edit: probably should have gone StR 8 20th level fighter target attacking unarmed, that's 90 dpr on the Agathys clapback. If he Action Surges on the first two rounds, that's 120 dpr each from the Agathys clapback, followed by 3 rounds of 60 for a total of 480 420.
Really??
Yes, the first part was a serious question. I've run across DPR challenges on these boards where assuming thatm max damage, every attack hits with a crit was standard, and have seen ones where the mean damage was used. It definitely makes a difference.
For the second part, less serious in the examples, but they're RAW. The serious question is:. Can I assume that the DPR measuring target will attempt to move through a Spike Growth or move to reach me when under the effect of a Booming Blade[, or stay in a Hunger of Hadar, or should I assume that they know how what I'm doing works, and will avoid the trigger conditions or exit ongoing effects unless I do something to force or compel them to do so?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
🎵I'm on top of the world, looking down on creation, wreaking death and devastation with my mind.
As the power that I've found erupts freely from the ground, I will cackle from the top of the world.🎵
Ranger. Cast hunters mark on single target. Then use two light weapons, nick weapon mastery, two weapon fighting style, and dual wielding feat, to get 3 weqpon attacks at lwvel 4. Plus 1d6 hunters mark damage per hit
At 5th level there is a big jump because martial characters get their Extra Attack and Spellcasters get 3rd level spells. So I'm actually going to twist your request and make it level 4, because a ton of tactics that can be used for massive damage are unlocked at 5th level -> e.g. Spirit Guardians + high movement (e.g. Orc Cleric), or Weapon Mastery juggling. And that feels outside the spirit of the question. So I'll go for a build where you can use the same tactic at earlier levels.
Goliath Berserker Barbarian - 5 Feats: Great Weapon Master, Strike of the Giants Each turn: 2x attacks all at Adv, that deal 2d6 + 4(STR)+3 (Prof), plus a basically guaranteed 2d6 damage from Frenzy.
For Goliath and Strike of the Giants go with the Fire option to maximize extra damage dice you can add to critical hits, or take one of the others if you want some utility to ensure you can get into reach of enemies or to exploit synergies with allies.
That's ... like, 21, right? Average.
I built a rogue with the Squire of Solamnia feat, Surprise Strike (Bugbear), and Booming Blade (Arcane Trickster).
So at level 5 that would be 1d4+4 (dagger plus dex), 3d6 for sneak attack (enabled by Squire), 1d8 (also Squire), and 1d8 for Booming Blade. How much is that? Ha! It's 26 on average.
And on the first round, if you win initiative, another 2d6 for Surprise Strike, for a total of 33.
All that said, Squire runs out of charges, Surprise Strike is conditional, Booming Blade depends, kinda. But it's still a decent contender.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
I built a rogue with the Squire of Solamnia feat, Surprise Strike (Bugbear), and Booming Blade (Arcane Trickster).
So at level 5 that would be 1d4+4 (dagger plus dex), 3d6 for sneak attack (enabled by Squire), 1d8 (also Squire), and 1d8 for Booming Blade. How much is that? Ha! It's 26 on average.
And on the first round, if you win initiative, another 2d6 for Surprise Strike, for a total of 33.
All that said, Squire runs out of charges, Surprise Strike is conditional, Booming Blade depends, kinda. But it's still a decent contender.
On Round 1 and only at level 5. Note the OP is asking what is the highest DPR across 5 rounds minimum, and is concerned about campaigns where you never get higher than level 5, thus most of the campaign is levels 1-4. Bugbear is excellent for games with many short combats, but for few long combats Goliath is better since you can optimize when you add the extra damage. Rogue + BB or Rogue + GFB can definitely situationally outperform the Beserker Barbarian, and those situations aren't super rare but you either need a DM with lax rules about familiars giving the Help action, or another melee character in the party to ensure a reliable melee-sneak attack for the BB/GFB combo.
I've played a Rogue-BB combo before and it can absolutely be awesome, but you do need a little buy in at the table.
PS Beserker Barbarian at level 5 averages 35 DPR every round (assuming both attacks hit): 4d6 weapon dice + 8 from sTR + 6 from GWM + 7 from Frenzy = 35, plus has some left over BA you could do other things with like drink potions.
Goliath adds another 3d10 you can add after you hit, Strike of the Giants adds another 3d10 you can add after you hit. Which assuming a total of 5 rounds of combat per LR is 35*5+33 = 208 damage or 41.6 DPR.
At level 5 Barbarian Berserker is higher, with GMW and Extra Attack.
I almost went for this Ranger build, but I thought Beserker would inch out ahead because of the Advantage on all attacks and the Frenzy bonus damage. Both characters are best off two-weapon fighting with Nick in level 1-3.
Level 1-2 I agree HM + Two-weapon Fighting is the best.
Level 3 Beserker gains +2d6 damage to any one attack from Fenzy which the same benefit as Hunter's Mark on 3 attacks on average (due to how % chance to hit works), but they also have Reckless and +2 to each attack from Rage. Hunter-Ranger with Collossus Slayer might be about the same as the Beserker.
Level 5 Extra Attack + GWM bumps Beserker back into 1st place. However, Barbarian is more reliable since they don't need to worry about losing concentration like the Ranger.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Everyone always asks about different builds high levels, but not sure about you, but we rarely get above 5th level (annoying yes). But what is highest class that gives biggest damage per round for 5 rounds minimum. 5th level or lower. No set up round.
Guidelines:
Single Class
No set up rounds outside of the 5 rounds. 5 rounds is what you get.
No buffs from other party members
Nothing like pushing guy off 500 foot cliff
No magical items
I am probably forgetting some stuff. But wanted to see what it is in my world or low level play. thanks for any ideas feedback and such.
What level?
Level 5 or below
How are you deciding to calculate Damage Per Round? Are you assuming every roll is the most possible beneficial to the attacker? (All Attacks Crit, All Saving Throws Fail, All Damage Rolls are Maxed, Choose best option on Randomized Effects?)
Are you assuming that the Target will do the most disadvantageous thing possible?
hat's 90 dpr on the Agathys clapback. If he Action Surges on the first two rounds, that's 120 dpr each from the Agathys clapback, followed by 3 rounds of 60 for a total of480420.🎵I'm on top of the world, looking down on creation, wreaking death and devastation with my mind.
As the power that I've found erupts freely from the ground, I will cackle from the top of the world.🎵
Charisma Saving Throw: DC 18, Failure: 20d6 Psychic Damage, Success: Half damage
At 5th level there is a big jump because martial characters get their Extra Attack and Spellcasters get 3rd level spells. So I'm actually going to twist your request and make it level 4, because a ton of tactics that can be used for massive damage are unlocked at 5th level -> e.g. Spirit Guardians + high movement (e.g. Orc Cleric), or Weapon Mastery juggling. And that feels outside the spirit of the question. So I'll go for a build where you can use the same tactic at earlier levels.
Goliath Berserker Barbarian - 5
Feats: Great Weapon Master, Strike of the Giants
Each turn: 2x attacks all at Adv, that deal 2d6 + 4(STR)+3 (Prof), plus a basically guaranteed 2d6 damage from Frenzy.
For Goliath and Strike of the Giants go with the Fire option to maximize extra damage dice you can add to critical hits, or take one of the others if you want some utility to ensure you can get into reach of enemies or to exploit synergies with allies.
Thanks Agilemind.
Really??
At levels 1 - 4 Ranger damage is really strong.
Lvl 1 Shorts word (vex) + Scimitar (nick). BA - Hunter's Mark.
Shortsword +5 to hit, 2d6+3 damage, Scimitar +5 to hit, with a chance for advantage, 2d6 damage.
Lvl 2 add 3 damage to Scimitar +5, 2d6+3 with two weapon fighting style
Lvl 3 add either 1d8 damage once per turn or beast attacks +5, 1d8+5 damage (assuming 16 wis)
Lvl 4 Dual Wield feat, Dex to 18.
Rnd 1 BA HM, Shortsword +6, 2d6+4 damage, Scimitar +6(adv?) 2d6+4 +1D8 1/turn.
Rnd 2 Shortsword +6, 2d6+4 damage, Scimitar +6(adv?) 2d6+4, BA Shortsword +6, 2d6+4 damage + 1d8 damage 1/turn
Rnd 3-5 Shortsword +6(adv?), 2d6+4 damage, Scimitar +6(adv?) 2d6+4, BA Shortsword +6, 2d6+4 damage + 1d8 damage 1/turn
At level 5 Barbarian Berserker is higher, with GMW and Extra Attack.
Yes, the first part was a serious question. I've run across DPR challenges on these boards where assuming thatm max damage, every attack hits with a crit was standard, and have seen ones where the mean damage was used. It definitely makes a difference.
For the second part, less serious in the examples, but they're RAW. The serious question is:. Can I assume that the DPR measuring target will attempt to move through a Spike Growth or move to reach me when under the effect of a Booming Blade[, or stay in a Hunger of Hadar, or should I assume that they know how what I'm doing works, and will avoid the trigger conditions or exit ongoing effects unless I do something to force or compel them to do so?
🎵I'm on top of the world, looking down on creation, wreaking death and devastation with my mind.
As the power that I've found erupts freely from the ground, I will cackle from the top of the world.🎵
Charisma Saving Throw: DC 18, Failure: 20d6 Psychic Damage, Success: Half damage
Ranger. Cast hunters mark on single target. Then use two light weapons, nick weapon mastery, two weapon fighting style, and dual wielding feat, to get 3 weqpon attacks at lwvel 4. Plus 1d6 hunters mark damage per hit
At level 5, you bump to 4 attacks per round
That's ... like, 21, right? Average.
I built a rogue with the Squire of Solamnia feat, Surprise Strike (Bugbear), and Booming Blade (Arcane Trickster).
So at level 5 that would be 1d4+4 (dagger plus dex), 3d6 for sneak attack (enabled by Squire), 1d8 (also Squire), and 1d8 for Booming Blade. How much is that? Ha! It's 26 on average.
And on the first round, if you win initiative, another 2d6 for Surprise Strike, for a total of 33.
All that said, Squire runs out of charges, Surprise Strike is conditional, Booming Blade depends, kinda. But it's still a decent contender.
Blanket disclaimer: I only ever state opinion. But I can sound terribly dogmatic - so if you feel I'm trying to tell you what to think, I'm really not, I swear. I'm telling you what I think, that's all.
Thief Rogue 3 / Warlock 2 using Agonizing Blast, True Strike and sneak attack twice a round with a Musket. 2(1d12+6 +3d6)=46
I have a build here: https://www.dndbeyond.com/forums/class-forums/warlock/235154-tawerets-sets-sniper-advanced-2024-character-build
On Round 1 and only at level 5. Note the OP is asking what is the highest DPR across 5 rounds minimum, and is concerned about campaigns where you never get higher than level 5, thus most of the campaign is levels 1-4. Bugbear is excellent for games with many short combats, but for few long combats Goliath is better since you can optimize when you add the extra damage. Rogue + BB or Rogue + GFB can definitely situationally outperform the Beserker Barbarian, and those situations aren't super rare but you either need a DM with lax rules about familiars giving the Help action, or another melee character in the party to ensure a reliable melee-sneak attack for the BB/GFB combo.
I've played a Rogue-BB combo before and it can absolutely be awesome, but you do need a little buy in at the table.
PS Beserker Barbarian at level 5 averages 35 DPR every round (assuming both attacks hit): 4d6 weapon dice + 8 from sTR + 6 from GWM + 7 from Frenzy = 35, plus has some left over BA you could do other things with like drink potions.
Goliath adds another 3d10 you can add after you hit, Strike of the Giants adds another 3d10 you can add after you hit. Which assuming a total of 5 rounds of combat per LR is 35*5+33 = 208 damage or 41.6 DPR.
I almost went for this Ranger build, but I thought Beserker would inch out ahead because of the Advantage on all attacks and the Frenzy bonus damage. Both characters are best off two-weapon fighting with Nick in level 1-3.
Level 1-2 I agree HM + Two-weapon Fighting is the best.
Level 3 Beserker gains +2d6 damage to any one attack from Fenzy which the same benefit as Hunter's Mark on 3 attacks on average (due to how % chance to hit works), but they also have Reckless and +2 to each attack from Rage. Hunter-Ranger with Collossus Slayer might be about the same as the Beserker.
Level 4 Dual Wielder probably pushes Ranger slightly ahead again.
Level 5 Extra Attack + GWM bumps Beserker back into 1st place. However, Barbarian is more reliable since they don't need to worry about losing concentration like the Ranger.