5th Edition D&D Limit Breaks, Part 2

Thinking Outside the Box,

Shooting for the Moon,

and Multi-classing for the Win. 

by Meorty Matt

Once upon a time (a month or two before the release of 5th Edition D&D), I challenged our resident rules guru, Steve, to devise a Pathfinder character who could jump so high that they could drop kick the moon. Even though a monk/ninja hybrid could jump stupidly high (something like 50+ feet), it wasn’t nearly enough. Though it did not meet its goal, the mental exercise was nonetheless both informative and entertaining.

You’re probably asking, “So what?” It might sound dumb, but you should ask yourself before committing to a build in 5th Edition (as in any RPG): What do you want your character to be good at? He can’t be good at everything; dipping into too many classes has prohibitive ability score requirements and isn’t all that effective besides. That said, try thinking outside the box. You probably won’t have the ludicrous goal of making your character leap into space, but don’t limit your notion of what a character can potentially do based on what they are supposed to be able to do.

THE BIG PICTURE

So what are the major areas where a character can excel in 5th Edition? They’re pretty much the same as they were in earlier editions. In a very broad sense, they are: Combat, Skills, and Casting.

The COMBAT Specialist: Sword-and-board, hack-and-slash, tank, linebacker… they have many names, but in this version of D&D what best distinguishes a character devoted to combat is multiple and/or more damaging attacks, being hard to hit, and having enough hit points and/or damage reduction to survive enemy attacks. Barbarians, Fighters, Monks, Rangers, and Paladins are all combat-centric in a very straightforward way. Archdruids, however, make a mockery of this role by having more hit points than a god.

The SKILL Specialist: The mundane go-to guy for out-of-combat situations. Skills cover social situations, information gathering, survival in dungeons and wilderness, and physical obstacles that hinder or prevent normal movement. Without any magical assistance, the best characters for this role are Bards, Rogues, and (to a lesser extent) Rangers and even Knowledge Clerics.

The CASTER: Your party will struggle terribly without the right kind of Casting, even if the players are otherwise competent. Spell casting makes possible what is otherwise impossible, and offers creative solutions to otherwise insurmountable problems. The inclusion of damaging cantrips which scale with character level and easing of restrictions on casting in armor also make it possible for a full-time caster to better fill the Combat role than ever before, even without relying on conjured allies. There are ways (some obvious, some sneaky) for a caster to cover or bypass the need for Skill checks, too. Bards, Clerics, Druids, Sorcerers, and Wizards are all full casters, while Warlocks have their own weird casting system that puts them in the same league. Paladins, Rangers, Eldritch Knights, and Arcane Tricksters all wish they were great casters, but are not if they stay single-classed.

TL;DR: Full casters are still the best at covering all party needs. What they have lost (from previous editions) in short-term, bursty effectiveness, they have gained in durability and sustained damage.

 

So the logical step, if you throw roleplaying preferences out the window, is to have a party full of casters. But is it possible to have too much reliance on Casting to carry the party? Combat-oriented characters as a rule are harder to kill than full casters (with one glaring exception, the Level 20 Druid), right? Skill-oriented characters can do all day what Casting-oriented characters can, with proper preparation, do only in limited quantities, right?

Well, no. It’s possible for a party full of casters to be terrible if the people playing those casters don’t enjoy playing them in an effective manner. But what is an effective manner? Picking their battles. You don’t need to be as hard to kill as a raging Barbarian if you don’t stand your ground against situationally stronger forces. You don’t need to be as good at constantly avoiding traps as a Rogue if you teleport directly to the BBEG’s (big bad evil guy’s) private lavatory and back out again after he’s history. Combat– and Skills-focused builds still play second fiddle to competent Casting.

Ultimately, despite how effective Casting is, you should acquire a set of abilities for your character that you are comfortable using. It won’t do anyone any good if you don’t care about the game because you don’t like your character. Accept that any build comes with some restrictions, and try to get creative from that starting point.

One way to get creative? Multi-classing.

THE GOODIES

These are some of the things to keep an eye out for if you do decide to multi-class.

Medium/Heavy Armor & Unarmored Defense. 7 of the 12 character classes have at least Medium Armor or Unarmored Defense. Rogues can prioritize Dexterity to the point that they exceed the Dex AC bonus limit imposed by Medium Armor. If you want to thumb your nose at the weak defenses that Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and Wizards suffer from to compensate for their awesome casting abilities, worry not! Dipping into another class, especially Cleric or Paladin, will let you do just that while simultaneously expanding your casting potential. Remember, no amount of armor will harm your character’s ability to cast spells, as long as he/she is proficient with that armor. It’s a win-win.

Fighting Styles. A single level in Fighter, or two levels of Paladin or Ranger, will get you a Fighting Style. Your best choice is the Archery Style for an archer, or the Defense Style for everyone else. It’s that good. (Steve’s Pro Tip: Multiple characters within a party instead taking the Protection Style is situationally better as long as your party stays together, making party members Rogue-proof, nearly crit-proof, and generally better defended against a limited number of attacks. Ah, the power of cooperation!)

Skill Proficiencies. It’s a bit tricky to maximize the number of skill proficiencies your character has access to, but fully doable. Rogues start with the highest number of skills (4), followed by Rangers and Bards (3). Each of these three classes allows you to choose a bonus skill proficiency if you multi-class into them. Bards have the added bonus of letting you pick from the full list of skill proficiencies, and grant three more skill proficiencies at Level 3 (College of Lore). Clerics of Knowledge gain two bonus skill proficiencies at Level 1, and Warlocks may select the Beguiling Influence Invocation (which grants proficiency in two skills) as early as Level 2. If you’re truly prioritizing skills, you’ll want to start as a Rogue and multiclass into Bard (or just go straight Bard), with any other classes added on later.

Expertise. Much like the Fighting Styles, only three classes grant this exceptional bonus to skill proficiency: Rogue (at Levels 1 & 6), Cleric of Knowledge (at Level 1), and Bard (at Levels 3 & 10). You’ll already be looking at these classes if you’re considering a skill build, so it should be no hardship to sink a few more levels into them.

Weapon Proficiencies. Not too surprisingly, the Barbarian, Fighter, Paladin, and Ranger classes grant proficiency in all martial weapons if you take a level in any of them, at any time. (The same is true for 3 of the Cleric Domains: Tempest, War, and Death.) These are also the only character classes for whom weapon damage dice are even relevant 99% of the time. It’s a nice thing to pick up through multi-classing, but in no way necessary.

Metamagic. There’s only one way to get this: taking levels in Sorcerer. If you’re playing a caster, especially a Charisma-based one, it’s a sound choice. If you want to use Metamagic frequently but don’t want to invest a lot of levels in Sorcerer, you can still burn spell slots to keep up with your insatiable thirst for sorcery points.

Invocations. Only one class grants this feature as well: in this case, the Warlock. It’s worth considering the dip even if, for whatever reason, you’re not planning on using Eldritch Blast. There is a dizzying array of options at your disposal if you sink just two levels into Warlock. That won’t even prevent you from eventually getting 9th Level spell slots. Nice!

High Level Casting Slots. This is one of those issues that can come up very late into a campaign, when your party is forced to shell out big money to a Cleric NPC for a True Resurrection. If only you hadn’t taken those 6 Levels in Eldritch Knight. Worrying too much about this severely limits your multi-classing options, so my advice is: don’t worry. If you care so much about spells that you don’t want to dilute your Wizard with anything but a level or two of Cleric, that’s fine. It will turn out ok. If you get bored or frustrated by choosing new spells every in-game day and want to grab some other cool abilities instead, do that. You might not end up with 9th level spell slots, but that’s ok. If you really are a perfectionist and want to have your cake and eat it, too, you will need to be extremely mindful of the best break points in each class and minimize your dips outside of the primary casting classes. To review:

• Paladins & Rangers increase their effective caster level on even levels (Paladin or Ranger 2, 4, 6, etc.). [Note: This is not true when single-classing; instead they increase their effective caster level on odd levels. It’s not clear that either of these rules is a mistake.]
• Eldritch Knights & Arcane Tricksters increase their effective caster level on levels that are multiples of 3 (Eldritch Knight or Arcane Trickster 3, 6, 9, etc.). [Note: Again, this is not true when single-classing. Effective caster level increases every three levels, starting at level 4. Again, not clear that either version is a mistake. Apparently the devs can’t math or don’t trust players to math.]
• Warlock casting slots DO NOT STACK with other classes’ casting slots.
• Monks are not casters at all, despite their attempts to convince you otherwise.

Casting Ability Overlap. What’s especially interesting about this edition of D&D is that there is no hard ability score requirement for a caster UNLESS he/she multi-classes. You will, however, want to either max out your casting ability score(s) or seriously consider selecting only spells that lack a save DC or attack roll. Running around slinging offensive Sorcerer spells with a 13 Charisma just isn’t that effective. Because of this limitation and the amount of investment required to pump up your ability scores, choosing carefully which classes you slap together to build a better character is essential.

• Bards, Paladins, Sorcerers, and Warlocks are all Charisma-based and play well together.
• Clerics and Druids both use Wisdom but aren’t exactly complementary; they have some significant overlap in spell selection and Druids’ abilities don’t do as well when diluted. Furthermore, many Clerics have the wonderful Heavy Armor proficiency, but those stick-up-their-butt Druids refuse to use it because heavy armor is, of course, made of metal and therefore bad like economic progress and personal hygiene.
• Wizards are Intelligence-based and basically stand alone. Eldritch Knights and Arcane Tricksters also use Intelligence for their casting ability but know so few spells that they can usually get away with just taking defensive spells, as mentioned earlier. There’s not much of a point in stacking those two slow-caster progression classes with Wizard, because the two learn most of their spells from a mere subset of the full Wizard list. Besides, Wizards are way awesomer.

Spell Diversity and Quantity. This is another tricky area. Prepared casters (Clerics, Druids, Paladins, and Wizards) have the distinct privilege of gaining access to all spells on their class’s list (though Wizards have to work for it), which they can choose from anew every day. Think about that. Imagine: you’re a software engineer with a penchant for poetry when you go to bed… then when you wake up and read a special book, suddenly you’re a cryptozoologist with military training in demolition. That’s what being a prepared caster is like. 5th Edition D&D is even better for prepared casters than previous editions, because one of your prepared spells is not magically forgotten when you use a spell slot–no, instead, you just use up the spell slot and can cast that same spell again, as long as you have the slots for it.

At the other end of the spectrum, casters with known spells have to permanently choose the spells that they can cast, to the exclusion of all others, though they can repick as they level up. Not as exciting, right?

What gets really interesting is when you mix & match prepared caster levels with ‘spells known’ caster levels. You can prioritize taking your essential, everyday workhorse spells as spells known and leave the spells of lesser or situational utility for daily preparation. That’s exactly how a prepared caster would operate, anyway.

An added perk of taking levels in multiple caster classes is that the total number of cantrips known by your character can start adding up quickly–each caster class is frontloaded with them, so don’t be surprised if your character ends up knowing close to half of all the cantrips in the Player’s Handbook.

Ability Score Improvement / Feats. Usually it’s not a great idea to stop at 3 or 7 levels in a class when you’re multiclassing. You’ll miss out on maximizing your character’s main ability score and picking up a feat or two. Unless you enjoy roleplaying a weakling who destroys him/herself and everyone he/she loves thanks to ambition and hubris, you’ll only be hurting the party and your own enjoyment of the game.

Now that you know what to look for, let’s dig into the ways you’ll encounter these sweet features without screwing up your character in the long run.

THE FINE PRINT

The main difficulty that you’ll encounter even once you settle on a general theme or mechanic for your character is being mindful of the best break points in each class, and using them to maximize your character’s usefulness at each level and at the theoretical end point of Level 20. Let’s review the things that make each class better or worse at multi-classing, and the levels at which you can switch out for maximal effect. This may seem redundant with what was discussed in Part 1, but here we’re discussing at what level to stop progressing in a class. You’ll only want to go as far as you must to get just the very best abilities.

 

BARBARIAN – Primary Break Point: Level 2

Barbarians are one of those classes which are strongest when single-classed. Unarmored Defense is easily surpassed by armor when you multi-class, and requires more of a commitment to boosting your Constitution score than most non-single-classed Barbarians can afford. Rage, while very powerful, combines poorly with any class that offers casting or proficiency in Heavy Armor (basically, almost all other classes). The real incentives for going into Barbarian and switching out both occur at Level 2.

LEVEL 2: Reckless Attack lets Rogues Sneak Attack every round, all day long (using a Finesse weapon with Strength); it makes no sense, but those are the rules as written. The restrictions on use of Danger Sense are not prohibitive for multi-classed characters, so that’s another reason to go to at least Level 2 in Barbarian if you take any levels at all.

TL;DR: Single-classed Barbarians are the best Barbarians. Barbarian/Rogues are also great.

 

BARD – Primary Break Point: 3

Secondary Break Points: 6, 10, 14, 18

All the Charisma-based casters are great for multi-classing, but Bards are arguably the best. In addition to a full casting progression, the most spells known for any non-prepared caster, and access to all spells from all caster lists (via Magical Secrets), Bards handily compensate for any weakness in skill proficiencies. A prudently multi-classed Bard likely has no need whatsoever for the College of Valor, so they are free to enjoy the greatest possible benefits from their class. Going to Level 3, just far enough to enter the College of Lore, offers tremendous benefits to a character’s skill proficiencies.

LEVEL 3: Thanks to Jack of All Trades, Expertise, and the bonus skill proficiencies from College of Lore, any character with a 13 Charisma and three levels to spare can become a skill monkey and even keep a full casting progression.

LEVELS 6, 10, 14, 18: The best break points for caster Bards. Every 4 levels (starting at Level 6 in the College of Lore) Bards gain 2 spells known from ANY caster List, thanks to Magical Secrets. If you like this feature (why wouldn’t you?) AND the skill bonuses, stay in until at least Level 10 so that you get your second instance of Expertise, too.

TL;DR: Bard levels are perfect for Cha-based caster multi-classing and any skill-based build.

 

CLERIC – Primary Break Point: 1

Secondary Break Points: 2, 5, 6, 18*

Cleric, like Wizard, is one of those classes with a wide variety of potential abilities based on their many possible specializations. What makes the Cleric much, much better for multi-classing, however, is that most of their Domains are heavily frontloaded with the abilities that define their particular brand of excellence. Let’s break it down by Domain.

KNOWLEDGE (Level 1): You get two bonus skill proficiencies and Expertise in them just for picking this Domain. You can stop right there, because that’s as good as it gets.

LIFE (Levels 2 & 6): If you just want the Heavy Armor proficiency, there are better Domain options. Going to Level 2 gives you a new healing option with Channel Divinity: Preserve Life, and Blessed Healer at Level 6 will improve your own survival chances if you went the sub-optimal route of being a dedicated healer. (Why else would you pick this Domain?)

LIGHT (Level 5): This Domain doesn’t have much to offer, but if you refuse to dabble in the dark arts (Bard, Wizard, Warlock, or Sorcerer), this is the only way for a Cleric to get the Fireball spell. Go ahead. Cast it at the darkness.

NATURE (Levels 1 & 6): If you want to build a tank with respectable damage, picking this domain can give you Heavy Armor and the Shillelagh cantrip. Not bad. Dampen Elements is a nice party-friendly defensive ability, so it might be worth going to Level 6 for it.

TEMPEST (Levels 1, 2, & 6): A great choice. You could stop at Level 1 with Heavy Armor and all martial weapons, but for multi-classed casters Level 2 is even better with Channel Divinity: Destructive Wrath. (Max damage Chain Lightning, anyone?) The Level 6 ability, Thunderbolt Strike, synergizes extremely well with Call Lightning (conveniently provided as a Domain Spell). You also get a second use of Channel Divinity at Level 6, so it’s as good a place to stop as any, if you can afford the additional 4 levels.

TRICKERY (none): This Domain is surprisingly worthless. Don’t do it.

WAR (Level 1): This is another Domain that starts with Heavy Armor and all martial weapons, but that’s the best it has to offer for a very long time. You’re probably better off with the Nature or Tempest Domain as a default for a tanky Cleric.

*DEATH (Level 18): If your DM is willing to allow this Domain (and they should; even Forgotten Realms has a neutral god of death, Kelemvor), it is probably the only one in which I would recommend going nearly all the way if you choose it to begin with. Check out the preview released by WotC or the DMG if you have not already. It’s difficult to believe that Death Domain Clerics are any less likely to be heroic adventurers than Warlocks who consort with fiends, but both are well-suited to wreaking havoc on a whole party. The spell damage multiplication offered by this Domain gives Eldritch Blast (with Agonizing Blast) a run for its money in reliable damage output. Going up to Level 18 gives the Death Cleric all Domain features including Inescapable Destruction, Improved Reaper, and up to three uses of Channel Divinity: Touch of Death. These abilities are neatly complemented by such spells as Inflict Wounds and Vampiric Touch (not on the Cleric spell list, but granted by the Domain).

TL;DR: Unless your DM approves of taking the Death Domain, use Cleric for a dip and focus on other classes for the rest of your build. Death, Tempest, and Knowledge are the strongest Domain choices.

 

DRUID – Primary Break Point: none

If Clerics are the secret ingredient to easy multiclassing, Druids are the evil opposite. The 5th Edition Druid has been streamlined from earlier incarnations; Wild Shape is clearly their single best ability, and it only improves with more Druid levels (unless you foolishly chose NOT to go with Circle of the Moon, in which case Wild Shape stops getting better at Level 8). If you’re just going to dip into Druid for more spells, go home: you’re drunk. Your character gets one fewer cantrip than from any other primary casting class, is forbidden from using the best armor in the game, and is forced to adopt the unusual character quirk of venerating particular types of lumber. (Seriously, see the PHB section entitled “Sacred Plants and Wood”.) Yes, Circle of the Land does give you back your missing cantrip, lets you prepare a few more spells, and grants some weak spell recovery, but it’s hardly worth it. While you’re busy offering your party members some magically conjured berries to dissuade them from eating wildlife, they might wonder why you did not either stay away from the Druid class or go all the way in for the obvious benefits of the Circle of the Moon.

TL;DR: Druid Circle of the Moon all the way or not at all. Not meant for multi-classing.

 

FIGHTER – Primary Break Point: 1

Secondary Break Points: everything else

Fighter is one of those very flexible classes that can be a great chassis for builds employing a wide variety of different mechanics. Why, you ask? Because of the Ability Score Improvements/ Feats. All 7 of them. If you listened to our Feats podcast, you’ll recall that many feats can benefit the whole party. This class is your best opportunity to pick up a couple of those feats without seriously hurting your ability score improvement progression. On the other hand, you can just dip for a couple of useful abilities. Either way, your character stands to benefit.

LEVEL 1: Starting your character out as a Fighter nets you Heavy Armor and a Fighting Style (Defense and Archery are both great options).

LEVEL 2 & 17: Action Surge is not a sustainable tactic, but it is one hell of an opener and is a good thing to have in your back pocket if you run into serious trouble. It’s regained after a short rest, so don’t be afraid to use it in nearly every encounter.

LEVELS 4, 6, 8, 12, 14, 16, 19: These are the Fighter’s Ability Score Improvement/Feat goal posts. Remember them. Most of the Fighter’s best other abilities are all staged exactly one level before or after each of these (which makes sense, considering that it’s nearly every other level). Will it hurt your build to go the distance and grab that extra Feat? If you answered yes, make sure you believe your own argument for shunning the Fighter’s finer qualities.

TL;DR: Fighter is the best class for getting Feats and maxing out ability scores. Enough said.

 

MONK – Primary Break Point: 1

Secondary Break Points: 2, 5, 6, 14

As mentioned in Part 1, Monks are not ideal for multi-classing. Their best abilities tend to rely on ki points, and their ki point total is equal to their Monk level (starting at Level 2). It’s hard to decisively recommend a single level of Monk for Wisdom-based builds, since Clerics can get Heavy Armor and Druids should not want or need to multiclass (unless a campaign will definitely end before Level 20), which limits the benefits of Unarmored Defense. Ok, so let’s assume you have some other reason for wanting a Dexterity and Wisdom based character. A Monk/Rogue, perhaps? It’s silly, but it actually works.

LEVEL 1: Unarmored Defense is the only reason you should consider such a small dip into Monk. It’s worthwhile for a Rogue with Wisdom to spare, less so for a Druid. And if you’re combining Monk with Ranger… well, good luck with that.

LEVEL 2: This is the level at which a Monk first gets Ki. It’s not going to do much for you unless you sink more character levels into the Monk class, but the benefits are reasonably good.

LEVEL 5: The Extra Attack is nice but not strictly necessary. Stunning Strike is the real goal of getting this far; it potentially disables opponents and offers opportunities for Sneak Attacks.

LEVEL 6: This level bears mentioning primarily because of the Way of Shadow’s Shadow Step. If you decided to go the Monk/Rogue route, this is basically a free and easy way to get a Sneak Attack every round as long as there are a couple of shadows nearby… which will normally be the case. This is also the last point at which you can switch out of Monk before getting the potentially redundant Evasion feature.

LEVEL 14: If you already have a paladin in the party or for some reason decided to troll the DM with a Monk/Paladin build, Diamond Soul is your true capstone. Proficiency in all saves and the ability to reroll saves is powerful but comes with a high price tag for any multi-classing character. But hey, trollers gonna troll.

TL;DR: A few levels of Monk complement some Rogue builds well (and vice versa), but single-classed Monks are better able to rely on their ki points.

 

PALADIN – Primary Break Point: 2

Secondary Break Points: 6, 7

The Charisma-based martial class! This is your go-to class for making your Bard, Sorcerer, or even Warlock build much tougher to kill and somewhat more difficult for roleplaying purposes. Yes, despite the odd removal of their former alignment requirements, Paladins still have a code of conduct, nonsensical or irritating though it might be. If you don’t mind staying within those confines or aspire to become an Oathbreaker, Paladin can round out a strong caster build with serious survivability and way more spells per day than really seem fair. The only catch is that you’ll have to decide at character creation whether or not to dip Paladin, or you can forget about getting Heavy Armor proficiency from this class. For someone who’s also going into Rogue or Cleric, it’s totally legit to miss out on that particular feature. (Rogues because they can instead pick up an extra skill proficiency and are Dexterity-reliant anyway, and Clerics because they can pick up Heavy Armor later with the right Domain.)

LEVEL 2: Paladins pick up a Fighting Style (Defense, please!), prepared casting, and Divine Smite. All at Level 2. It’s crazy. If you’re combining levels of Paladin with a full caster class and 2 levels of Warlock or non-caster, you can stop here and still get 9th level spell slots at character level 20. Nice.

LEVEL 6: Hold it. Stop. Go no further. If you take anymore levels of Paladin, you get decreasing returns on your investment. By this point, you have already collected Channel Divinity, an Extra Attack, and the all-important Aura of Protection. You’ve only lost three levels from your casting progression, so get off your high horse and hop into Bard or Sorcerer. Or if you don’t care about casting progression, consider an unexpectedly powerful combination of Paladin and Rogue. Whatever you choose, your allies will flock to you for their own survival and your enemies will regret the day they offended your impossibly vague yet strict moral code.

LEVEL 7: Ok, I lied. If (and only if) you chose the Oath of the Ancients, it might very well be worthwhile to go one more level. Why? Aura of Warding. This aura is just as good as, and in some situations better than, the Aura of Protection. Even if you somehow still fail your save against a spell, you and your allies only take half damage. Sold!

TL;DR: Paladin is good for mixing with a heavy hitter class like Rogue or full caster class(es).

 

RANGER – Primary Break Point: 2

Rangers are bad. Really, really bad. But as was mentioned in the Ranger podcast, they do have a couple of redeeming spells and abilities. Fortunately, there’s a way to grab those spells and abilities without committing too much time or effort into playing a sub-par Aragorn wannabe. Exercise patience and wait for it. Yes, that’s right: go into Ranger as late as possible. Wait until your character has the equivalent of 8 levels in their casting progression (1 level away from 5th level spell slots), then grab 2 levels of Ranger. [CORRECTION: upon re-reading the PHB section on multi-classing, this exploit may not work. Part 3 will discuss this topic. Listen to our podcast on the topic here.] The easiest way to pick up the Ranger’s best spells, unfortunately, is to be a Bard.

LEVEL 2: Your character will get a bonus skill proficiency just for dipping and can suddenly be a respectable archer thanks to the Archery Fighting Style and (if you waited like you should) your 2 spells known can be Conjure Volley and Swift Quiver. As early as character Level 10, your multi-classed ranger can do what single-classed rangers can only dream of doing by Level 17. [CORRECTION: Getting Ranger spells is actually easiest with the Bard class. See Part 3 or the podcast.] Unfortunately, it isn’t that amazing compared to what other classes can do by that level.

TL;DR: If you insist on playing a Ranger, multi-class so you don’t completely stink.

 

ROGUE – Primary Break Point: every level

Ok, I know what you’re thinking: “What? That’s crazy! EVERY level of Rogue can’t possibly be a good break point.” But the Rogue will surprise you. Let’s break it down.

ODD LEVELS: Sneak Attack improves. This is your bread and butter for combat damage, so every increase is worthwhile. As if that wasn’t enough, every odd level also comes with a useful feature. I’m not even going to list them; just read the table of Rogue abilities. Some of the Rogue Archetype features are a little weak, but so what? You still get better Sneak Attack.

EVEN LEVELS: Cunning Action is an excellent use of the bonus action from Level 2 to Level 20. Enough said. Ability Score Improvements/Feats arrive on even levels as well, so no problem there. The Rogue’s second dose of Expertise occurs at Level 6, they pick up Blindsense at Level 14 (incredibly useful), and Elusive negates attackers’ advantage at Level 18 (which neatly resolves your problems with Reckless Attack if you dipped into Barbarian). The capstone is mediocre but if you’re multi-classing that’s not even an issue.

TL;DR: If you don’t care about casting high level spells, any number of Rogue levels fit nicely into just about any multi-class build.

 

SORCERER – Primary Break Point: 3

 Secondary Break Points: 10, 14

Like the Bard, the Sorcerer is a significant exception to the rule that stopping at 3 levels in a class is a bad idea. It’s perfectly fine to take more Sorcerer levels if your build can afford it, but it’s not strictly necessary. The important thing to remember is that you DON’T want to take FEWER than 3 levels if you’re going into Sorcerer at all. And you will want to go into Sorcerer if you’re building an unstoppable caster; it’s just a question of whether you can make room for it.

LEVEL 3: This is the level at which you first get Metamagic. If you rely on spells for survival, Quickened Spell and Subtle Spell will save you from some of the harshest anti-caster tactics. Distant Spell, Extended Spell, and Twinned Spell can also be useful depending on your spell selection/party role.

LEVEL 10: You pick up another Metamagic option at this level. If you chose wisely the first time, this should not really be necessary. This is also approximately the point at which Sorcerer spell gain starts to plateau, so you should strongly consider switching out to another class.

LEVEL 14: If Sorcerer is your main class, this is the last best break point. Draconic Bloodline gets the only universal permanent flying ability in the game from Dragon Wings, and Wild Magic finally starts working in your favor as Controlled Chaos effectively gives you advantage on Wild Magic Surge table rolls.

TL;DR: Sorcerer levels can save your bacon. But too much bacon is bad for you.

 

WARLOCK – Primary Break Point: 2

Secondary Break Points: 3, 5, 7, 9, 12

As mentioned before, Warlock levels are the only way to get Invocations, and Invocations are a grab-bag of awesome. Devil’s Sight grants darkvision on steroids, Beguiling Influence grants two fixed skill proficiencies, Book of Ancient Secrets can net you every single ritual spell from all class lists (with a little time and effort), and Armor of Shadows can fully replenish an Abjurer’s Arcane Ward (if you have multi-classed into Wizard). And of course, who can forget the three invocations that make Eldritch Blast the best cantrip in the game? But that’s not all! As we discuss in the Warlock podcast, the Pact Magic gained at Level 1 complements different builds quite nicely, and Warlocks also gain their own unique type of spell slot that recovers after a short rest, which synergizes extremely well with Sorcerers’ spell slot recycling. The catch is that Warlock levels don’t stack with other caster levels when determining character spell slots, meaning that more than 3 levels in Warlock will prevent you from ever having 9th level spell slots. If you’re willing to give up on that ambition (and possibly sell your character’s soul), you’ll find a whole new world of utility at your finger tips.

LEVEL 2: If you’re just looking for a quick fix with a couple of Invocations, stop right here. You’ve got everything you need. Don’t forget to take Eldritch Blast, too, even if you opt not to enhance it.

LEVELS 3, 5, 7, & 9: These are the levels at which your Warlock spell slot level increases and (except for Level 3) you gain another Invocation. It’s really just a question of how much normal casting you’re willing to sacrifice and how enthusiastic you are about the different Invocations.

LEVEL 12: This is the last good break point unless you want to go all the way with Warlock. This happens to be the level at which you get another Ability Score Improvement, another Invocation, and the option of choosing Lifedrinker if you took Pact of the Blade.

TL;DR: Power comes at a price, but those levels of Warlock could be worth it.

 

WIZARD – Primary Break Point: varies by tradition

Secondary Break Points: 2, 6, 10, 14, 18

Last but not least, we need to talk about Wizards. This is one class where you might never want to go fewer than 18 levels in. After all, being able to cast a Level 1 spell and a Level 2 spell like cantrips and repick those spells anytime you finish a long rest (through Spell Mastery) is just too powerful to ignore. But there are a few good reasons to dip and quit the class. You can still get wizard spells in your spellbook for all spell slot levels you possess. And sometimes the higher level Arcane Tradition features just are not worth it. Let’s look at each Tradition.

ABJURATION (Level 14): A very strong choice for a Warlock/Wizard. The Armor of Shadows Invocation makes Arcane Ward and, by extension, Projected Ward extremely abusable as long as you stay in Wizard for most of your character levels. Improved Abjuration enhances the anti-caster utility of this Tradition, and Spell Resistance is just an awesome way of further frustrating enemy casters.

CONJURATION (Levels 6, 10, & 14): Treantmonk’s favorite school of wizardry is much diminished from its glory days in 3.5 and Pathfinder, but it still has something to offer. Benign Transposition alone is worth going for but Focused Conjuration, at Level 10, is the real prize–keeping your conjured allies from vanishing in a puff of smoke the moment you take a stray hit is a very good idea. Durable Summons is not strictly necessary but is a decent boost if you’re planning on staying in Wizard anyway.

DIVINATION (Levels 2 & 6): It’s all about the Portent, baby. Portent is one of those abilities of convenience that can turn failure into success, but–more importantly–it can turn your enemy’s success into failure. The trouble is knowing when exactly to use that power. If you manage to save it for when it matters, it can be a game-changer… and you get it at Level 2. Expert Divination is even better though–a way to get reimbursed for spending your precious spell slots on divination is absolutely worth staying in Wizard at least until Level 6. This is where the School of Divination peaks, however. Getting a full casting progression and more spells is important to maximize the value of Expert Divination, so go forth and grab some levels of Sorcerer, Bard, or Cleric. Even better, drop between 3 to 9 levels into Warlock and you’ll be flush with recyclable spell slots.

ENCHANTMENT (none): There is some disagreement at Orc Labs on whether the School of Enchantment is a sound choice for a player. (Steve says yes, I say no.) The Level 2 & 6 features are worse than useless–Hypnotic Gaze actually ties up your Wizard when he could be winning the encounter, unless the DM is foolish enough to pitch a lone low-Wisdom character or monster against the entire party. The Level 14 ability, Alter Memories, sounds cool but is just an impractical way of trying to restore some of the lost functionality of enchantment spells and allows targets yet another save to avoid the worst effects of your character’s meddling. Not worth the trouble.

EVOCATION (Level 14): As with Abjuration, if you’re going into this Tradition, do it right. Go at least to Level 14. Thanks to Empowered Evocation and Overchannel, you can spit out a 45 damage Fire Bolt every round without breaking a sweat, if your maximized Level 5 Fireball does not do the trick. Impress your friends, terrify your enemies. Case closed.

ILLUSION (Levels 2): Though illusions have been toned down in their mechanical effectiveness, creative use of low level spells and plenty of leeway from the DM can make illusions better at solving problems than “real” solutions. At Level 2, Improved Minor Illusion makes this easier to accomplish. At Level 14, Illusory Reality offers an impoverished alternative to the notably absent Shadow Conjuration spell. It’s a gimmick, but it works. Unfortunately, it’s way too late to be of much value and the two preceding Illusion Tradition features are pretty bad.

NECROMANCY (none): Disregard what was said in D&D Limit Breaks, Part 1. If you’re focused on building a competitive character, this is not the Arcane Tradition for you. Even the defensive benefits of the Level 10 feature, Inured to Undeath, are too weak to justify choosing this Tradition. The ability of Death Domain Clerics to ignore resistance to necrotic damage is just the nail in this Tradition’s coffin.

TRANSMUTATION (Levels 2 & 6): This Tradition is a get-rich-quick scheme, packaged in a class feature. Toss in a Criminal or Charlatan background, and you’ve got a full con, ready to roll at Level 2. Minor Alchemy lets you swindle buyers out of their money before your “valuable” objects become worthless. The Transmuter’s Stone can be a tool for buffing another party member, if you’re feeling particularly cooperative, or for enhancing your own character’s survival chances. Don’t expect much out of the later level abilities, though. Master Transmuter is more of an “oops, I forgot to multi-class into Cleric” consolation prize rather than something you should get much utility out of.

TL;DR: Pick Abjuration, Conjuration, Divination, or Evocation if you want to get serious about playing a Wizard. Illusion and Transmutation are okay if you’re just dipping for funsies. Enchantment and Necromancy are best avoided.

ALL CLASSES – Break Points: 4, 8, 12, 16, & 19

Ability Score Improvements / Feats: These are crucial to making your character competitive with other builds, single-classed OR multi-classed. Don’t neglect picking up a few of these. At the very least, plan on maxing out your primary attack or casting ability score. Beating opponents’ AC or save bonuses is the standard requirement for making a meaningful contribution in combat, though you might get around this by playing more of a support role or relying on quirky spells like Sleep.

 Ok, that’s great, but what do you do with all this information?

THE GOAL

Don’t let all these different considerations overwhelm you. At some point, some combination of flavor/fluff material, experience with the mechanics of the game, and knowledge of how different classes can excel will inspire you to try your hand at a build. In fact, you should start right now.

If you’re still feeling hesitant, don’t worry. Give it time. And while you’re waiting, here are a few builds which have been mentioned or otherwise alluded to:

 

Advantage Fighter – Fighter(Champion) 20

This one is stupidly simple in premise and execution. It’s hardly even a build, really. Put all your levels in Fighter, from 1 to 20. Choose the Champion Archetype. Stack plate mail, a shield, and the Defense style to make yourself nigh invulnerable. Take the feat Mounted Combatant and ride into battle on an elephant (or the party Moon Druid if your DM allows it) while wielding a lance. You’ll crit a LOT. You’ll do great damage. And you’ll free yourself from all those distracting spells and abilities everyone else gets. It’s that easy.

 

Abjurer of Shadows – Warlock 2/Wizard(Abjuration) 18

This one is also ridiculously simple to pull off. Get two levels of Warlock right away, take Armor of Shadows (and Devil’s Sight or Agonizing Blast for your second Invocation), then go Wizard (Abjuration) the rest of the way.

That’s it.

Cast Mage Armor every waking moment that you’re not busy doing something else. Cast Shield anytime you would otherwise be hit. Maximize your Intelligence score as soon as possible. Disrupt the DM’s best laid magical plans with impunity. Try not to smile too smugly as you save the party from destruction again and again.

Really the only way you can screw this up is in your daily spell selection and blowing your high level spell slots too soon. Be prudent, be cautious, and you’ll be fine. If you want to play a Wizard and don’t mind dropping a few points into Charisma, this is a superb choice.

 

Lore Tanker – Paladin 2/Warlock 2/Bard(Lore) 12/Sorcerer 4

This is one of the vaunted all-Charisma caster builds. It requires some thought about which class features you want to prioritize, in the early levels, and you’ll need to choose your spells somewhat carefully as you level, but that’s it.

Start as a Paladin, showcase your anti-stealth abilities with plate mail and a shield, get to Level 2 for the prepared spells and Defense Style. At this point, decide whether you want to prioritize damage or skills. If damage, take 2 levels of Warlock and pick up Agonizing Blast. If you prefer skills, take 4 levels of Bard (College of Lore, of course). Next, take whichever of those two classes you did NOT take first. Following so far? Good.

Now you’re at Level 8, and you have plenty of skills and Eldritch Blasts. Take 4 levels of Sorcerer to make sure no one can shut you up or shut you down with Silence (Subtle Spell is nice like that). Finally, top off your character with eight more levels of Bard. Feel like that isn’t quite skillful enough for your needs? Well then, how about…

 

Trickster of Lore – Rogue(Arcane Trickster) 9/Cleric(Knowledge) 1/Bard(Lore) 10

Paladins are obnoxious sticks in the mud, so start as a Rogue instead. That’s 4 skills from your class, 2 skills from your background, and 2 skills with Expertise from Day 1. But that’s not enough! Take a level in Cleric, choosing the Knowledge Domain. Now you’re up to 8 skills total and 4 skills with Expertise. Still not enough! Take 3 levels in Bard (College of Lore) for 4 more skills and 2 more with Expertise.

That’s 12 skill proficiencies and 6 skills with Expertise by character Level 5. Not too shabby. You can cover 4 more skills with Expertise by getting Rogue Level 6 and Bard Level 10. Top it off with another 3 levels of Rogue, and you’re golden. This build has less defensive potential and one ability score requirement more than the Lore Tanker, and you won’t get access to the highest level spells, but you’re well-compensated for the extra effort.

 

Super Recycler – Sorcerer(Draconic) 5/Wizard(Divination) 6/Warlock 9

This is a wonky one, but fun. Start out as a Sorcerer with the Draconic Bloodline, for Draconic Resilience. In any order, you’ll next want to get to Sorcerer Level 4, Wizard (Divination) Level 6, and Warlock Level 2. What does this do for you? By Level 12, you’ll have Metamagic, the ability to recycle your spell slots for sorcery points, automatic spell slot compensation for divinations you cast, and (if you prioritized Charisma improvement and took Agonizing Blast like you should have) the most damaging Eldritch Blast possible for that level.

Then what? Take one more level of Sorcerer and the rest in Warlock. You’ll wind up with Warlock spell slots that perfectly refill your pool of sorcery points and/or can be used to cast helpful divinations AND recover lower level spell slots before a short rest. Don’t flaunt it too much in front of your Monk and Fighter pals… they’ll get butthurt over how much cooler you are.

Still want more? Read on in Part 3!

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Some more in-depth build discussions:

Tempest Cleric

Tempest Evoker

Surprise Evoker

Master Battle Master

Smite Knight

Expert Wizard & Skillock (Sample Builds section at the bottom of the article)