D&D 101: A Quick Breakdown of Classes in Dungeons & Dragons

Tags player tips Class 101 New Player's Guide author-bryce-miller-booker

Welcome to Dungeons & Dragons, a roleplaying game where you'll create a hero to play as in adventures!

One of the first things you'll want to consider when creating a character is what class they will be. In D&D, your class helps determine your character’s role within an adventuring party. Each class has unique features that can affect how they interact with the world. Barbarians are tanky melee combatants that can dish out big damage, while druids are nature-loving spellcasters who can turn into animals and control the battlefield.

Below you'll get a quick overview of each of the classes available to you, along with pros and cons for each, so that you can make an educated decision. All but one of these classes can be found in the free basic rules and in the Player’s Handbook:

Select a class to learn about it
Barbarian Ranger
Bard Rogue
Cleric Sorcerer
Druid Warlock
Fighter Wizard
Monk Artificer*
Paladin  
* Available in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.
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Barbarian

barbarian

The barbarian is the perfect class for those who like to run into the midst of danger and start swinging away at enemies to deal big damage. They have access to Rage, which allows them to deal additional damage with melee attacks while also taking reduced damage from common sources of damage. They are a relatively straightforward, hack-and-slash class, making them great for new D&D players.

Pros Cons
  • Highest Hit Dice in the game, leading to higher-than-average total hit points.
  • Can dish out and take a lot of damage, thanks to Rage.
  • The Reckless Attack feature helps you land attacks more consistently at the cost of making you easier to hit.
  • Generally lower Armor Class (AC) than the fighter and paladin, as you can't wear heavy armor and use Rage.
  • Few features that benefit you outside of combat.
  • Can be seen as too simple for some players.

Learn more: Barbarian 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Relentless Fury

Bard

Bards use the arts to fuel their magic and to support allies on the battlefield. Thanks to their Jack of All Trades feature, they can be good at just about any ability check you'll need to make. Their spell selection is limited until you get Magical Secrets, which lets you learn two spells from any class. Overall, the bard is great if you like helping your friends succeed in and out of combat and enjoy talking up non-player characters (NPCs).

Pros Cons
  • Bardic Inspiration gives allies additional dice to add to attack rolls and ability checks.
  • Between Jack of All Trades, Expertise, as well as features offered by their subclasses, the bard allows you to be good at plenty of skills. 
  • Many spell options allow you to trick, mess with, or disrupt enemies and NPCs alike.
  • Lends itself to a support playstyle, as they are typically not strong in combat on their own.
  • Weak selection of damage-oriented spells.
  • You need to actively engage with NPCs and the world outside of combat to make use of the many skills you're good at.

Next up: Bard 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Guile and Panache

Cleric

Cleric holy symbolsDon't overlook the cleric. Although they make incredible healers, they have a flexible spell list and a wide range of subclasses that allow them to take on just about any role in an adventuring party. Want to destroy enemies with a warhammer, heal and buff your allies, or just fire off destructive spells from afar? The cleric can make it happen.

Pros Cons
  • Flexible spell list allows you to heal allies and bring the pain to enemies.
  • You prepare spells each day, allowing you to plan for the day's challenges.
  • Can be invaluable when facing off against the undead.
  • Some adventuring groups will expect you to prioritize healing.
  • High reliance on spells means that once you're out of spell slots, you'll have limited options for handling enemies.

See: Cleric 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Playing the Divine

Druid

Druid artwork

Druids draw their magic from nature itself, and have great options for character creation. You can base your entire build around Wild Shape, which lets you transform into beasts; you can play support and heal allies well; or you can focus on battlefield control by casting spells like entangle.

One of the greatest drawbacks to this class is that you're going to need to keep track of your spells and the statistics of your Wild Shape forms and creatures you summon. Fail to do so, and you could bog down the flow of the game. 

Pros Cons
  • Spellcasting and Wild Shape provide tools for most situations.
  • Swap your spells in and out at the start of each adventuring day.
  • Wild Shape improves as you level up, especially if you go Circle of the Moon for your subclass.
  • Subclasses feel very specialized, allowing each to feel unique.
  • Not a beginner-friendly class, as keeping track of spells and multiple stat sheets can be overwhelming.
  • At mid-levels, polymorph provides similar benefits to Wild Shape.

Read: Druid 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Channeling Nature’s Might

Fighter

There's two main reasons why the fighter is one of the most popular classes in Dungeons & Dragons: they're easy to pick up and they're effective. Your selection of subclasses in the Player’s Handbook allow you to create the warring legend of your dreams — be a mounted knight, a deadly bowman, a warrior-caster hybrid, or something else. 

Pros Cons
  • Easy-to-learn and effective in combat.
  • Proficient in all armor, shields, and simple and martial weapons.
  • Has the most Ability Score Improvements of any class, allowing for high ability scores.
  • Gain an extra action on your turn (once per short or long rest) with the coveted Action Surge feature.
  • Low utility outside of combat.
  • Similarly to the barbarian, could be considered too simple for some people’s tastes.

Check out: Fighter 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Heroic Combat

Monk

Monk is the perfect class for those looking to channel their inner martial arts master. They use Ki points to gain additional attacks through Flurry of Blows, additional movement speed through Step of the Wind, and more. They have great combat utility and maneuverability. Their iconic feature is Stunning Strike, which allows you to stun enemies.

Pros Cons
  • Can attack a lot of times, and roll a lot of dice.
  • Ki points give you offensive, defensive, mobility, and utility options.
  • Monk’s preferred ability scores (Dexterity and Wisdom) are common saving throws.
  • Attacks do low amounts of damage to compensate for the number of them.
  • Low health for a frontline class, as they focus on avoiding damage rather than tanking it.
  • Dependent on multiple ability scores to use all their features effectively.
  • Quickly burn through Ki points due to many class features relying on them.

See: Monk 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Mystical Combat

Paladin

Paladins are warriors who are oath-bound, often to a divine cause. They are tanky combatants who bring the hurt to foes with their iconic Divine Smite feature, which lets you add damage to your attacks by burning spell slots. The class also offers some healing via Lay on Hands. Paladins are like a midway point between a fighter and a cleric, and are great for players who want to don heavy armor, have big swings in damage, and provide a bit of aid to allies.

Pros Cons
  • Proficient in all types of armor, shields, and simple and martial weapons.
  • Divine Smite allows you to add damage after you hit, not before.
  • Especially good against undead creatures.
  • Spellcasting adds additional utility to an otherwise martial-focused class.
  • Divine Smite can only be used on melee attacks, and will quickly eat through your spell slots.
  • Reliant on multiple ability scores to be effective.
  • Your oath locks you into a certain roleplaying mindset, and the Dungeon Master can punish you for breaking that oath.

Check out: Paladin 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Divine Justice

Ranger

ranger artworkRangers are adept warriors skilled at traveling through the wilderness. They stalk and hunt down their enemies, and have features that allow them to safely navigate otherwise dangerous regions. They get some spells, and these assist them in taking down enemies or just making friends with creatures. While most players might imagine a ranger as someone who fires down on their enemies with a bow, the ranger can also get up close and personal.

Pros Cons
  • Martial-focused class with a lean toward nature.
  • Strong traits and skills for exploration.
  • Spells allow you to have more versatility than some other martial classes.
  • Can get an animal companion.
  • The subclasses in the Player’s Handbook are generally worse those released later on.
  • If you want to consistently do good damage, you might just be casting hunter's mark over and over.
  • Without using the optional features in Tasha’s (see below), a lot of the ranger's defining features are highly situational.
Original vs. revised ranger

To many, the base version of the ranger class in the Player’s Handbook is lackluster. The class-defining features are situational and might not be useful depending on your Dungeon Master's style. The ranger class saw a rework in the form of optional features in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. I highly recommend checking out these optional features before locking in a ranger.

Learn more: Ranger 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Exploring the Wilderness

Rogue

The rogue is the premiere stealth class in Dungeons & Dragons. The Sneak Attack feature allows you to deal massive amounts of damage, and Cunning Action allows you to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action as a bonus action, giving you a lot of maneuverability in combat. If you like sneaking around, picking locks, stealing treasure, and assassinating your enemies, rogue is the class for you.

Pros Cons
  • Sneak Attack deals high single-target damage.
  • Cunning Action gives a versatile use for your bonus action each turn.
  • Gain a lot of proficiencies along with Expertise for ability checks.
  • Does not get Extra Attack as a class feature like most other martial classes do.
  • Reliant on enabling Sneak Attack to deal damage in combat.
  • Hard to utilize Dexterity (Stealth) checks if other party members like to go in guns blazing.

Next up: Rogue 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Stealth and Subterfuge

Sorcerer

Sorcerers are characters whose magic comes naturally to them. In most cases, a sorcerer's bloodline is intertwined with some greater entity, like a celestial being or fiend. They get a limited number of spells but can modify them using their defining feature, Metamagic. This class feature allows them to tweak spells in various ways, including increasing their range, making them hard to detect, or simply giving them more oomph. They use Metamagic by using sorcery points.

Pros Cons
  • More accessible than the wizard while also having unique mechanics with Metamagic.
  • Metamagic adds flexibility to the spells you know.
  • Can use sorcery points to recover spell slots, or use spell slots to recover sorcery points.
  • Reliant on charisma, a great ability score for roleplay.
  • Limited number of spells you get to learn means you'll be a specialized spellcaster.
  • Tied with wizard for lowest Hit Die value.
  • Tasha’s includes a feat that allows other classes to have a basic form of Metamagic, which takes away from the class's uniqueness.

Learn more: Sorcerer 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Innate Magic

Warlock

By making a deal with an otherworldly entity, warlocks gain the privilege of using magic. Whether the entity is benevolent or sinister, creating a warlock allows players to fulfill a “deal with the devil”-type of character. They get access to unique spells only they can learn. This includes eldritch blast, the best damaging cantrip in the game. Eldritch invocations also let you customize your character to great effect.

Pros Cons
  • Eldritch blast is the premiere damaging cantrip.
  • Recover spell slots during a short rest. (Other casting classes need a long rest.)
  • Eldritch invocations are generally powerful and permanent buffs to your character.
  • You will likely use eldritch blast a lot. Like, a lot.
  • You have a very small number of spell slots to tap.
  • Being linked to an otherworldly patron can be a blessing or a curse depending on your Dungeon Master.

Read: Warlock 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Eldritch Might

Wizard

Wizards are the iconic spell-slingers of Dungeons & Dragons. They have the biggest selection of spells available and have numerous specializations that allow them to either focus on one of the particular schools of magic, or a particular facet of spellcasting. WIth a huge array of spells, and a great variety of subclasses, wizards are one the most flexible and most advanced classes in the game.

Pros Cons
  • Largest selection of spells to choose from.
  • Can learn spells from scrolls and other wizard's spellbooks.
  • Incredibly flexible, regardless of specialization.
  • Is somewhat limited in early levels of play.
  • Lowest Hit Die, along with the sorcerer.
  • Be prepared for decision paralysis as you select spells to learn and prepare.
  • Learning new spells for this class is an expensive endeavor, so prepare to spend a lot of your hard-earned gold on new spells.

Check out: Wizard 101: A Beginner’s Guide to the Arcane Arts

Artificer

The newest class in the game is the artificer. This class is perfect for those who enjoy crafting. Artificers have the ability to infuse items with magical properties, as well as create their own set of magical items. To supplement this, they have access to a limited selection of spells and subclasses that allow you take on any role you please, whether that's a damage dealer or support character.

Available in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything

The artificer does not appear in the Player's Handbook. It was originally added to the game in Eberron: Rising From the Last War and was later reprinted, along with the Armorer subclass, in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.

Pros Cons
  • Can infuse items with magical properties, or craft magical items from a selected list of items.
  • Proficient in many of the various toolkits within the game.
  • Highly customizable and effective in whatever role you want to play in.
  • Limited number of items you can infuse.
  • Difficult in the sense that you need a good understanding of all the items and options available to you.
  • If your Dungeon Master rains magic items on you, your value might decrease.

Read: Artificer 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Making Magical Marvels

Create your character

You've done your research, now it's time to start creating your character! If you need a little extra help, this video shows you how to quickly make a character using D&D Beyond's character builder:

Bryce Miller-Booker (@BMillerBooker) is English Language Arts graduate from San Diego State University. He is a writer with a love of all things geek, including video games, anime, trading card games, esports, and reading. He has a particular interest in social geek events such as local competitions for the various trading card or video games he is playing as well as tabletop games like Dungeons & Dragons. The greatest loves in his life are good food and his pet dog and partner in crime, Zero.

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