How I OPTIMIZE builds for D&D 5e 

Oh man, I get asked to do a video on this all the time. I think it would just be a video of me staring at a screen with 8 tabs of dndbeyond open for 5 hours going “oh I know! …. Wait… no, that wouldn’t work, never mind…” 😂. But yes! Would love to chat about it more offline sometime :).

I was sitting there for five minutes, thinking, “Is he really making a Crusher build without the Crusher feat? Did I miss something here?” 😅

21:34 Circle of Land-Underdark Druid can get a wis based Web spell.

5:10 We optimizers are like scientists. We have a good idea, and then we look around to see if others came up with that idea too. If we find videos from you for example, talking about the same idea, that means it's probably a good idea. 41:41 "Clerics don't get the fly spell" But, Chris, Twilight Cleric...oh wait, we don't talk about that subclass, my bad. I am doing the exact same back and forth for my builds as you do. I think it's a very scientific-like way of doing things. If it doesn't fit reality, it's just not wroth it.

A trick that is very useful to me is to make lists of similar mechanics and their source for easy look up. This is every source of forced movement, this is every source of extending reach, this is every way to add damage per attack, this is every way to harm a creature who's movement is forced, this is every way to harm creatures that attack you, etc.

I don't think I could ask for Crusher's movement to come after Gathered Swarm's with a straight face. The "when" and "after" seem pretty clear in terms of ordering, and these align with the in-game causes of the movement.

I had a swarmkeeper/forge domain who had their swarm be a cloud of embers.

Divine soul Sorlock: see what they have to do to mimic a fraction of our power?

You can get a Wisdom-based Web as a 3rd-level Underdark Land Druid

This really makes me appreciate how much effort goes into build videos such as yours. I enjoy these kinds of odd mechanical interactions, and I've even had a character idea for the fire elemental build the next time I play in a campaign.

I was JUST trying to explain to somebody my character creation process, thank you for laying this bare for us to use. "Stare into the void for a long time, come up with a dozen concepts, throw them all away because I can't make them work or I don't think they're good enough."

I may have missed it, but I’m surprised there was no talk of Thornwhip. It works with Gathered Swarm since it doesn’t specify weapon attack.

I... Well, one of the things I love is build reskins, to the point of seriously thinking of starting my own channel. I've seen you doing that, e.g. in your Tommy Chong vid, and I think those are good ways to sell some mechanics combined with story-bending and creativity for those who need a small push. I strongly believe you should do more of those as a way to present tested&proved builds. That way, a rookie can get ideas for a fighter from one of the best while others get ideas for some fabulous "different interpretations" of the old worn out concepts. I hope all of this makes sense :p

This whole thought process put a big smile on my face. This is exactly what I go through when I’m playing around with something. Recently my pet project has been efreeti genie warlock auto igniting a thrown flask of oil using the damage from genie’s wrath. It’s exactly the same process, look at the feats, look at the ability scores, pick a race, crunch the numbers. Then start over because it doesn’t work

Thank you Treantmonk! I appreciate your hard work and thoughtful creativity. Sometimes it’s just enough to present a vanilla build with some spell casting because your spell selections are so well researched. I know D&D pretty well but I don’t necessarily know how to select spells for a variety of damage types and saves with real synergy for every class. I often just enjoy your general manner and your mastery of spell selection in your builds. Thank you for all you do!

Great video, I was chuckling that after all the hoo-ha's about one-dnd developers transparently sharing thought processes, that the channel decided to share theirs!

I like to start with the flavor concept and be practical about what can and should be optimized. It leads to a richer role play and team work experience than simply trying to make the most powerful x. This video showcasing your technique is very helpful. Thanks, Chris!

My method is to get hyper fixated on something and force it together till it works (usually ending up with something that would have been better not done). My current build is a Eldritch Knight 7 (maybe 8)/Bladesinger 6+ JUST so I can have three attacks with Shadowblade or Spirit Shroud, and have one of them be a Cantrip.

This was really informative! Seeing your thought process really helped me to think about how to problem solve builds and identify points of failure in them. I can't wait to see the finished build!

Very cool to hear you break down your method! Thanks for making this!

Love this video! Swarmkeeper is one of my favorite subclasses in the game - just a lot of different combinations to play with. My favorite concept is the swamp monster - a tortle swarmkeeper spores druid.

For the record, I really like the "failure" videos. Seeing all the options laid out and seeing where they work and where they don't is really interesting to me. My optimization strategy is really straightforward, actually: Find a cool Treantmonk's Temple build and use that ;) Keep up the good work, man!

Loved the video Chris. I gotta say, this is one combo I don't think you can reasonably defend with a "talk to your DM". "When" DEFINITELY comes before "after"

Gathered swarm doesn’t specify weapon attacks I think. Wisdom based spell attacks will also do the job of keeping the build MAD. Works with thorn whip or light domain scorching ray.

Fantastic process video. Really appreciate the insight!

This is one of my favorite videos of yours. This gives me self validation on my similar process, my dung heap of "failed builds", and the nagging concepts I cannot let go of. To that last point, I'm hoping you can make a video akin to your beast master ranger showing a maligned subclass CAN work. My white whale is the battlerager. The concept is so great but I cannot find the path to make it viable throughout its level progression.

Nice look at your thought process. Keep it up because it works!

To me, swarmkeeper Ranger and the magic stone cantrip. I’ve always been a match made in heaven. Get extra attack push with your swarm on your first, pull them back in with crusher on the second attack And it leans into your Sandman earth bender. Feel. The problems with this being, you probably want a feet that cancel disadvantage on the text made within 5 feet of you or you have shillelagh and magic stone three cast all the time so you can shillelagh swarm 15 feet, magic stone hit them back towards you Alternatively, you could utilize the improvise weapon rules to attack using your sling as an improvised weapon but I don’t know if magic Stone would let you do that with wisdom it would be cool if it did(it says you can hurl the stone with a sling, and you could hurl a punch so😅) Ps The only way to get an intelligence based eldritch blast to my knowledge is using the all purpose tool on artificer. And we know using specific magic items isn’t how you do your builds.

When I optimize, I fully get the idea of what I want to do ready, and then just bump up the things I want to do to match the party. Basically, "Here's a unique idea I had, and I forced it to work." When it comes to Swarmkeeper and the discussion in this video though, ohohoho, long range Hunger of Hadar and forced movement to keep them in distant magical darkness just seems nasty good. Lock down a problem far away from the melee just sounds....fun!

I think i actually like this video on thought process better than the optimization videos. It gets my creative juices flowing and i might seize on one interaction that you decided not to include in your build but which I could use in a different build.

I'm enjoying watching you go through the swarmkeeper build. I chose to focus on the disengage feature. grabbed arcana cleric for booming blade, shillalagh from ranger fighting style. And then war caster/polearm master feats. Then you can proc booming blade 2 times per turn as long as enemies chase you and you hit them.

I just want to say I’m a huge fan and it’s very obvious you work hard, so I appreciate the work you do. I am not an optimizer. I love coming up with surprising character builds and coming up with a good backstory that I can role play to show how this character got to where they are. BUT, I will watch your videos, take what I can, and make my character work. So, I just hope you know, for non-optimizers, your videos are still INCREDIBLY helpful.

Wow thank you for your insight

Great video Chris, it was cool to walk through your process. Mine is similar, likely because I’ve watched you since I started playing 😅 A build I found using your Tear n’ Scare advice was an attempt to make a decent Sun Soul Monk. I actually ended up dumping WIS to favor DEX and CHA, and taking two levels of undead warlock. I noticed Dragon Fear let’s you 1) choose targets and 2) only save again if they take damage. So the goal was to run in, breath fear, and attack at range. With one attack each turn possibly causing form of dread fear, so focus attacks on that one person until dead like you would with hypnotic pattern. They can’t move closer to you if afraid, and if they range attack with disadvantage you have your deflect missiles feature. The wall came with how dumping WIS dropped your AC, but a second warlock level for armor of shadows and eldritch mind fixed the problem and added some hex damage. It was a fun puzzle to put together and ended up being not horrible. Which is more than you can normally say for the Sun Soul. 😂

Well done sir! This is enlightening for us all :)

Oooh, I asked ages ago about how you figure out these builds, so I'm really interested to see this video! I get it's hard to explain creativity though!

Other ways to boost effective fly speed: bonus action dash (rogue, orc, expeditious retreat), haste (spell/potion). Most other sources specify walking speed other than thos previously mentioned, or innately grant a flying speed

This video was really interesting, because I actually made a swarmkeeper ranger working on forced movement myself, using Minotaur, with some similirities to your Minotaur push build, but around Web and protecting allies. So it's cool to see how you approach a swarmkeeper ranger idea, and where we match up and where we don't.

I always start with the power fantasy, rather than specific mechanics, for my personal builds. Just starting with a broad concept tends to lead to a great final result, and it also forces me to consider options outside of my original intentions.

Great video! Personally I would be happy to see more videos about failed builds with the thinking and math presented.

Thanks Chris

Awesome vid as always! I'm sure at least the majority (me included) point out even the smallest of mistakes only with the best intentions ^^ Keep up the amazing work!

Chis is planning almost the exact build I'm currently playing. Custom Lineage Swamkeeper 5/Tempest Cleric X with the Gift of the Chromatic Dragon feat and PAM to push enemies 45 feet in a turn. It's so much fun!

For me the interactions are the most fun to explore! This whole video about pushing and pulling into spirit guardians definitely reminds me of Colby's (D4) video on catapulting enemies. Now I need to go rewatch that to see if gravity is the way you want to ensure the enemy reenters the spirit guardians area....

My proposal: The Swarm of Scrolls! Swarmkeeper Ranger (3) / Arcana Cleric (17) Use Arcana Cleric to pick up Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade. Use Ranger's Druidic Warrior Fighting Style to pick up Shillelagh and Thorn Whip. Grab Warcaster early (level 1 or 4). Character levels 1-5 are standard Cleric. 6-8 switch to Ranger (grab Absorb Elements, Goodberry, and 1 other spell). 9-20 back to Cleric. Build really comes online at character level 7 (Shillelagh + Booming Blade + Warcaster + Spirit Guardians). Power spikes at level 11 with Potent Spellcasting. And as a true capstone, you still get Arcana Cleric's bonkers Arcane Mastery at level 20. For smoother progression, go Custom Lineage. If you want to be extra tanky, go Githzerai for the Shield spell.

Thanks Chris, really helpful seeing your process. So you sometimes find a creative spark that drives you to make a unique concept and gives you the potency to look at how the material in 5e supports that, and other times filler content. When you're doing the optimising it's like you're problem solving- almost like an escape room. Is there a sense of excitement or play, or more frustration running into the failures.

I played a Cattlean Swarmkeeper Ranger with happy little bees as my swarm. It was fun.

- Lots of stuff comes up to thinking about tricks the group manages to put together and thinking about if it would be possible for a single character to do that, - Whenever a new book comes out reading it and then looking at the not so great options from previous books and thinking if the new stuff helps out the old stuff. I remember thinking about Lunging Attack when the Bugbears Long Limbed feature came up, - Another thing I have in my head is a list of like features which is useful, group temporary hit points includes Inspiring Leader, Artillerist Defender Turret, Motivational Speech, Twilight Domain Channel Divinity, Path of the Storm Herald Tundra aura. I think there are a couple of others as well but I can't recall them at the moment, other lists of things that are useful are non-concentration buff spells, Fireball spells, Speed Boosts, and the three different d20 roll additional modifiers and dice,

The idea of using an element is what drew me to swarmkeeper as well. (Wind or water work very easily, but you could go in so many directions with it - fire, earth, ice, ooze/oil, fossils, liquid metal/mercury, mist/fog/steam, etc. I even considered some more out there versions, like just having a character who has befriended a gelatinous cube and slides around suspended in it, using it for all the swarmkeeper abilities - or maybe the character is actually an extension of an Oblex, etc.) I also went through a very similar struggle as you did - toying with the whole Shillelagh idea, being disappointed that it seemed like the build might just be a boring "push the enemy into web/spike growth" build, etc. In a way this video is reassuring that it's not just because I was somehow overlooking something obvious that I had such a difficult time making swarmkeeper work...

I'm glad that you did this video. It's really hard for me to come up with optimized Chars because I do value flavor more than effectiveness, so I just get frustrated a lot when I am playing with better players. When I tried to optimize my characterconcepts I felt really bad because I couldn't get good results most of the time while keeping the flavor. At least now I know that people don't create optimized Chars in 30 mins all the time ^^

A case for a monk dip -hear me out! 25:03 monk 2 could get you +10' to your 'movement' if unarmored, so with longstrider that's a flying speed of 30, +5' [horizontally] if you use the swarm effect. A tabaxi could double the 30' speed occasionally, and you could use your limited ki to bonus action dash on that turn for a potential 125' using your regular movement, swarm and bonus action. Monk also allows you to dump PAM, you could swap it for mobile, increasing the flight potential to 165' and a free getaway. Astral self could give you wis based attacks [AC won't be great though especially if you dump dex too low, also requires 1 ki & BA activation]. You can then dump str, PAM, shillelagh and crusher. Or Open Hand can give you another 15' push [str save] when you flurry of blows. *If* a creature is stunned it will also autofail it's strength [and dex] saves, were you to go to monk 5 for stunning strike. Anyways, it's flight becomes mobile and may cut down on the necessary feats, but it's not bringing a ton of damage to the table.

Because D&D has a roleplay aspect, the idea of optimization in the game is a bit of a double-edged sword. Every decision point of optimization comes with the question of "Optimized for what?" If the answer at every point is "damage", then you're going to run into a very narrow list of options because this has all been solved. The game is very clearly not designed around a team of fully optimized characters, so players honestly have a lot of wiggle room to make concessions. What I think creators like Colby do well is they will pick a character concept, and optimize around that. They understand that every decision point of optimization is an opportunity for concession. You _could_ pick the mathematically strongest option, but there are plenty of other options that aren't much worse and some of them fit the character fantasy better.

I found it amazing way to optimize builds for DnD, i started playing Pathfinder!

I go through a similar process when I'm work shopping a build, especially when I'm building the idea around an interesting concept or interaction. I've found that when it comes time to actually play though, I only play these more technical builds in one shots or if we're starting at 5th level or higher. If we're starting at low levels I enjoy sticking with a single class and letting the story shape my build. So far my experience has been that what my character lacks in baseline combat numbers compared to my optimized builds, they make up for in unique items or abilities my DM gives.

My process for optimized builds starts only somewhat differently, as the superstar of my builds is the concept (not necessarily the mechanics) of the RACE, and by extension, the character(s) associated with that race, not the class and subclass mechanics that come after. This is for a few reasons: 1) Stalwartly, VH and CL are my enemies. I don't like how their existence has essentially turned optimized play into a two-race game. We can be optimized and still have fun with the literal dozens of other available options. But that's a personal hang-up. 2) I actually make characters with the intent that they will have multiple class and subclass options, usually based on their origin and personality in some way. This is because, when you make a build with a highly-specific intention, you doom yourself to possibly never being able to play it, since there is a higher odds that someone else has already covered it. If your character is flexible, though, then you can play them at most tables, even if a player or two has covered some of your character's possibilities. 3) Game mechanics will change, but core concepts will not. Even now, as One D&D is on the horizon, certain options are going to either disappear or become obsolete, and that's going to hurt those mechanics-centered character builds. (Kobolds are a good example of what happens when a core mechanic is changed or removed, causing builds that relied on that mechanic to crumble.) Meanwhile, if you start with something more fundamental to a character's identity, then your options can only increase with time not shrink. (Sans, obviously, the possibility that the race itself is removed, not a mechanics, but I'll hedge my bets that races generally come back more often than mechanics.) Like I said, though, only somewhat differently. Basically, I have a list of characters with crib notes about what they are and aren't "allowed" (mechanically) to do, usually based on class selections, and not a list of builds with racial options attached. I still approach my builds with an optimizer's eye, but I am more focused on optimizing the character with mechanics, not optimizing the mechanics with the character. Not against anyone who does the reverse, but that's the method that, for me, makes more sense and seems more fun and challenging.

I watch and I rewatch. Especially right now when I'm obsessed with the Ethereal plane and trying to get a character made up that embodies, shifts into and manipulates the Ethereal to some degree. It's...a struggle I should probably give up on, but I'm not going to until I've watched all of your videos. lol

Revisit this build after Path of the Giant (UA) becomes official! It adds +5ft to reach at 3rd level, and the large size means spirit guardians and polearms have potential to hit even more creatures. And Barb 3 would give con proficiency and shields

Enjoy hearing your thought process. This is very similar to how I think of builds, although I usually do not have the tenacity to stick through all the failed ideas. When you were talking about the Fighter dip it made me wonder could you take the Thrown Weapon fighting style at Fighter 1 and then Dueling through Ranger so you could use one of your attacks to chuck a hammer and prock Crusher that way? Might play around with that idea and see if I can come up with anything, although it runs into the same STR vs WIS problem (this is the part where I usually give up on the build idea).

Thanks for sharing this, Chris. This is very much the approach I take as well, and I think the thing that makes optimization so addictive: finding some core synergy that changes how the character is played. Like some others are suggesting here, I think the next move for the optimization community is to create a taxonomy of different features. Effects, triggers, and so on. It could then be put into a wiki or database format, which would make coming up with those synergy ideas to start builds easier. The main thing I'm unsure of is the boundaries of fair use. I'm no lawyer but we might need to just drop D&D Beyond links or something and limit the resource to metadata only. If anyone's interested in working on this together I think it would be a cool thing to make for the community (and a waste to make only for oneself).

Great video, honestly in my experience, when I do try to make optimized builds, this video matches the process very well. It’s this, combined with trying to find the flavour as the build goes on with the multiclassing.

Great insights here! Very similar process to my approach, but I have a couple of minor differences based on my priorities: 1) Aim to have a workable and innovative idea online before level 5-6. If a build isn't doing something cool by those levels then it's not worth presenting since tier 2 sees the most play. 2) Don't sweat the levels beyond level 12. If a build does subpar damage at higher levels then that's probably okay since that's where play is less common. Probably the build will still be fun at those levels, but I don't let the performance at those levels dictate my decisions.

There's an established build that has a similar concept: Nature Cleric 5 or 6, Swarmkeeper 3, Hexblade 1, remaining levels Cleric. You pump wisdom, use spike growth or spirit guardians in combination with gathered swarm + telekinetic + thorn whip, and then once you get the hexblade level you combine hexblade's curse with spike growth for potentially massive single-target damage (because it combines with each instance of spike growth damage). You also get to have shield and absorb elements (plus your nature cleric group version of absorb elements). Focusing on cleric levels means you don't have the same opportunity cost for using thorn whip vs a build with multi-attack, yet you are still able to do potentially huge amounts of damage. (I learned this build from some of the folks over at Table Top Builds, so credit to them if they originated it.)

I do gotta give you credit cause you do manage to squeeze some interesting builds out of 5e, a system that I feel compared to previous editions and other ttrpgs is much more difficult to go off the beaten path that gets you something both useful and fun (that also isn't anti-table fun).

I was thinking of a swarmkeeper build a few months back. What I've figured out was ranger 5/open hand X, crusher, spike growth and then you Just grate the enemy down, as each push does dmg. Swarm flavor for this one was his own Qi Energy, hamon-style

I would love to see you make a video of optimizing what to do when you are concentrating on a spell. Often times I just find myself dodging, or hiding, or chucking a cantrip. I think this is why Warlock feels so good to play, because you have eldritch blast after you’ve casted your concentration spell.

I'm playing a Wisdom based Swarmkeeper Ranger, so I'm excited to see the build. I personally took Magic Stone and shillelagh with the Druidic Warrior and then a Life Cleric dip to boost my Healing Spirit. It's not a great damage build by any means, but it's decent support and battlefield control. I usually start my builds based off of a feature I see in a class and then give myself restrictions around that feature, typically trying for interesting concepts over the conventional methods. It would have been easy to make a Sharpshooter/Crossbow Expert Ranger, but that's been done before and I want to try something new.

I have a fairly similar process to making builds. Basically, find a unique mechanical interaction and beeline for it. Then outline when the build won’t work and try to solve for that. Then graph the thing. I’ve recently made a Druid with Polearm Master and Crusher to push a creature into moonbeam 3 times. The damage was great, but won’t always work.

This was very interesting. Kinda similar to how I do things but of course a LOT better and smarter. :p Failed build videos are useful as well. It helps with trying to figure out if something would work and why it does not.

I’ve recently been creating my own class. The parallel of laying in bed and unable to sleep because you’re just going through a bunch of different ideas and prospects is SO real

I've never been a person to go for optimized builds. I focus mostly on role-playing and choose powers based on my concept. My current character is a wild mage sorcerer specialized in fire and ice attacks. Since sorcerers have limited spell selections, I make liberal use of Transmuted spell Metamagic. Her background is she accidentally killed her friend with a wild surge fireball. Now she is reluctant to use fire to harm other people or animals, so she compensates with ice. Her signature move is a Thorn Whip she got through spell sniper feat. Her whip is actually made of ice normally, but still does piercing damage. She often augments the whip with Absorb Elements. If she takes elemental damage, she typically uses a Transmuted Absorb Elements to change the energy to ice or fire for the counter with a 60 foot long whip, with double range because of sniper.

As a meme, I feel like it would be cool to see you optimize high rated homebrew on dnd beyond. It's new content, and you finding ways to break homebrew can be a cautionary tale for us homebrewers on the sorts of effects and clauses we should likely include/avoid.

Most of my builds are de-optimization builds, where I take a build similar to one I've seen somewhere else, and just change the things I don't like for theming or roleplay reasons. My current example is that I use a build very similar to your strength based War Mage build, except I used Dex and have chosen to use Psi Warrior to try to make the character seem a bit more like "space wizard" and also to be able to add two different stat modifiers to (some) attacks.

I've got a fun interaction you could make a build around. Using order domain cleric's voice of authority feature in conjunction with Find steed's spell sharing

I've played a druid paladin, it was a lot of fun! Ultimately you're right the damage you're getting as compared to a straight paladin isn't special but it's cool to bear smite or fly around as wind and smite people. Your method for optimizing is kind of the only way, there's so many facets there's inevitably gonna be back tracking as you plan and change plans. When there are really good resources for comparing abilities it can help but I haven't found anything like that.

My build flowchart is as follows: Think of mechanic I want to exploit or a character I want to translate. Search "mechanic/character build 5e" Remove decisions I wouldn't allow as a dm. (Fairly uncommon) Replace with more sensible/party friendly options. Conpare theory with experienced output of current closest party member. See how main DM's homebrew changes things. (Typically a buff) Post build in discord chat with the message "new back up character just dropped"

When you mentioned pulling an enemy back into the spirit guardians, my first thought was the Lightning lure cantrip. Since you're already tasking 1 level of sorcerer, it is available, however, I would think adding two more levels or sorcerer to get the quicken spell metamagic option so you can cast it as a bonus action AFTER your attacks push them out with Crusher. Alternatively you could take the metamagic adept feat instead of levels, but then you could only do that twice instead of three times...unless you take the feat AND three levels of sorcerer, which would let you do that FIVE times. Hmmm.

this was a really cool video! Any chance we can get a video going over the pros and cons of the player races that are fey instead of humanoid? with lists of like what beneficial spells you're immune to as well as the negative ones?

You could use gathered swarm on a spiritual weapon attack which you could flavour as a big hand of sand smashing the target away from you and then some pre-prepared magic stones in slings as your crusher attack to get them back into the area of effect. It gets a bit juggly though with multiple bonus actions as you’d have to cast it every other turn. You could use normal stones in a sling, get to a 16 DEX and take the archery fighting style to make up the difference with your lower DEX score I guess… Lol, you could make a Teenage Mutant Ranger Tortle build, taking the sling off the character’s head at the beginning of combat. Might need to build this myself now.

I find that (for me personally) its fun to /build/ optimized characters, but when it comes to /playing/, i generally prefer playing just good effective characters. Im currently playing a swarmkeeper ranger/cleric who is polearm+shillelagh+spirit guardians. It doesnt have the same full range of pull and push every single round for optimal damage numbers, but it does enough of them to be fun and effective in challenging fights. (hes a custom lineage Wood Woad full of rotten bugs and termites.)

I like this way of optimizing so much better than tabletopbuild. You need ti optimize for fun as well!

This is going to be long. Sorry about the wall of text. English isn't my native blah blah blah As a viewer, who has played DND 5e for 1 year, this is how I consume your content: I like having cohesiveness in my characters, so I don't want to have any regrets after putting one into play. That is why I optimize. With a treantmonk video (I have watched most of your back catalogue) I know to things are for certain: 1) The build will be functioning throughout the game. No "Arcana cleric is gonna be poggers in lvl 17!" 2) The build will be able to hit the damage baseline of a hexing, EB spamming warlock and then some. This gives me the reassurance, that my time investment on the video is not wasted. Too many times I have watched other youtubers who I absolute respect, end up presenting builds that isn't only gimmicky, but often pretty bad. In those cases I do not dislike or write an angry comment, but I stop using them as a resource for my own optimizations. Viewer adjustment: As a content creator, you have to make some general assumptions when optimizing. Which resources can I expect that the average viewer can use. PHB, XGE, TGE for sure, but how about Eberon or Strixhaven? That is less guaranteed. I understand the need for a creator to have a wide appeal, and as a viewer I adjust for that. It is up to me to keep in mind which table specific rules, that my tables play under. Examble: 1) None of my tables are short adventures, but long running campaigns. This meant I have to think further on most treantmonk videos as you have a tendency to finalize the builds around level 14-17. 2) One of my tables allow E V E R Y TH I N G. Want to play a Bloodhunter or Mercer's Oath of the Open Sea paladin? Want to be a Mark of Warding Dwarf for that Armor of Agathys, the go Life Cleric and get the Goodberry synergy from a Strixhaven background? Want your warlock to cast from Intelligence? Ohh but then the Hexblade should adjust to use intelligence as your attack modifier! 3) Another table is restricted purely to Player's Handbook with feats but no multiclassing. No Booming Blade. No Tasha Rangers. No Fey Touched feat. This affects how I consume your content and a huge way. None of your builds will be optimized to either of my tables. That doesn't mean that they are worthless to me, just that I have to use them as inspiration and guidelines more than actual step by step guides. Constructive criticism: I cannot imagine the amount of heat youtubers have to listen to on a daily basis. You are my number one DND channel and I adore your content, so take this as a sign of admiration or skip it completely. Optimization youtubers (yourself included) have a tendency to search for the new and remarkable thing, that will impress the veterans and I do get that. But sometimes, you lose sight of the player experience. I will make an argument below of why I respect your daolock build a lot and why the fire elemental wild shaper was a huge disappointment to me. I will try to tie it into the player experience. Daolock: There is nothing "new and remarkable" about the daolock. Yet the build is centered around 2 mechanic, that I as viewer hadn't considered. Using the Crusher feat to throw the opponent diagonally upwards, so that the repelling blast creates height and therefore fall damage and prone condition is not a synergy I would have spotted anytime soon. Centering a whole build around pushing and dragging people around in a Sickening Radience to stack exhaustion points and get the kills without targeting the targets HP is weird but different. I am sure the Veterans have seen this plenty of times, but for newer players that is exiting. From a player perspective, this build is awesome! Almost any setting will allow the player to have encountered a genie. Forgotten Realms, Warhammer, Exandria, Dragonlance. This blueprint should be applicable to most settings and what is more: The character is not trapped in some weird choices. You could make this as an evil outcast, a neutral thief of a goodhearted adventurer. Young or old. Unwilling participant or driven acolyte of the genie. Treantmonk made an easy and applicable build, but yet still chose some decisions in the name of combat power, that I as a player would have done differently. You went pact of the Talisman, but did mention that pact of the chain is good as well. From a player perspective I would argue, that having the following possibility far out weights the benefits of pact of the talisman: An invisible Imp, wearing your invisible ring, in which you chill and regain your spell slots while being able to chat with the party outside and watch through the imps eyes. That seems like an astounding get away option, and shouldn't limit your ability to interact with the party for roleplaying reasons. Fire Elemental Wild Shaper: For me this build was dead from the dead go. Not because the damage was depending on the opponent attacking you multiple times, but solely from the player perspective. If I showed up at a table, and some dude brings a character that is a Plasmoid I would immediately walk away. DND is for everybody and DND can cover every setting, but I am playing in fantasy settings, and I cannot see myself have a decent experience with a party containing an elf, a dwarf, a human and a plasmoid. Maybe in space, but not in my setting. Same could be said for many other very weird racial options. I am currently playing a Triton with a Strixhaven background, an Aberant Dragonmark and Mercer's Oath of the Open Sea paladin subclass. It's not like my table is conservative at all, but a plasmoid is just too farfetched. Also: Through all your lovely druid videos, you kinda ignored the most grueling restrictions on Wild Shapes from a roleplaying perspective: The ability to roleplay. Ghostwise Halfling and Telepathic feats wasn't used in either of your builds. This means that both builds cannot communicate while Wild Shaped for 10-11 levels, unless other party members have access to the message spell. From level 10ish you still rely on your party members having the ability to speak Primordial or access to Rary's Telepathic Bond. DND is different for every table, but roleplaying being restricted this must without a mention just seems like 99% of the players would hate sitting at the table and gesture with their bear paws. To me the Daolock is an earnest build that would allow the players to enjoy their character in and out of combat, despite the builds lack of "new and exiting synergies." Meanwhile the fire elemental build would make the campaigns feels consistently weird, every time anyone has to interact with a plasmoid. But druids builds are kinda hamstrung once wild shape at least until they get access to elemental wild shapes. I would much have preferred a less experimental Moon Druid build, that was more actualized to being used at a table. Ghostwise Halfling solves the roleplaying issue. Sure the CR scaling on the wild shapes are poor, but it would be easier for many people to get away with Spirit Guardians from Strixhavens Lorehold Student than a plasmoid from Spelljammers. The druid videos had some great content, about every aspect of building a moon druid, but as viewer I ended up thinking: "If neither of these build allows me to roleplay, then why would I make them?" I would personally have loved "the classic boring Moon druid" build. With a focus on party synergies and the choices you have to do as a moon druid. With access to familiars, polymorph, wild shapes and eventually shape change, that is one of the classes with the most options to adapt to the current situation. A long discussion on good choices would have served me better than 11 levels in a mute plasmoid, that ends up returning damage when hit a lot. Sorry about the wall of text. Love your channel. Best on the tube

Ok hear me out: Hadozee Swarmkeeper Ranger/Storm Sorcerer. Every time you cast a spell involving an attack, you fly 10 feet vertically from tempestuous magic, then you’re moved 5 feet horizontally from gathered swarm, and since you’re now 10 feet in the air, you can glide your movement speed in any horizontal direction as a hadozee. This could be used for an ashardalon’s stride build, a spirit guardians build, or something else. Adding the mobile feat and the deft explorer ranger feature, by ranger 6/sorcerer 1, you’re moving 50 feet without provoking opportunity attacks whenever you cast a first level or higher spell

20:20 "Aardvarks, Ants, Bears, Boars, Elephants, Antelopes, Cats, Bats, Dogs, Hogs, Crocs, Gators, Eagles, Elephants, Fish, Pheasants, Ferrets, Deer, Wolves, Chickens, Giraffes, Gazelles, Octopuses, Wildebeests, People, Stoats, Goats, Shoats, Ostriches, Penguins, Warthogs, Yaks, Newts, Walrus, Gnus, and especially Rabbits."

When looking at Swarmkeeper, I want to use Magic Stone (with a Sling for Archery FS which does apply) rather than Shillelagh along with Crusher and Telekinetic to potentially pull 3 different monsters into my Web on a turn. You apply Gathered Swarm and Crusher on different attacks and TK with the Bonus Action. Trouble is Action Economy with Magic Stone. You have MS pre-cast of course so 3 stones. T1 you cast Web and use TK. T2 you hit with MS twice applying GS and Crusher to different enemies and TK another with your BA. On T3 you only have 1 magic stone left so you either need to cast MS again (preventing another TK) or one of your stones will hit with Dexterity (probably staying at 14). It is not a damage build but is a battlefield control build. I have considered making this a Gem Dragonborn also for the push breath.

Here's how I optimize character builds. It's a simple three-step process I learned from gnomes! 1: Collect character concept ideas. 2: . . . 3: Profit!

I wouldn't quite say I optimise, because I do care more about character roleplay stuff than anything else, but within that framework I do make the best I can. So for example I made a bard from the Feywild, and regardless of anything else I knew that was going to be Glamour Bard. And some other character stuff affected choices too, but in a lot of cases, I was figuring out what the best option was for mechanics too.

Instead of Resilient Wisdom I would look at Fey Touched with Dissonant Whispers to boost widsom. That combines great with warcaster AOOs later on. Could also get command, but you can get that through Cleric already.

Alternate idea: hexblade 2, divine sorc 5, swarmkeeper 3. Lv1: vhuman CBE hexblade, EB CHA>CON>DEX Lv2: hexblade, grasp of hadar+agonizing blast Grab warcaster at lv 6, spirit guardians at lv 7 (divine sorc 5) Swarmkeeper last 3 levels Downsides: Less health, relies on same ruling as Crusher, swarmkeeper not online until 10th Upsides: More attacks by lvl 11, better weapon die (EB), less MAD, flexibility of 1 warlock for boon or 1 ranger for ABI, solid sorlock chassis

There's a rule in Xanathar's Guide to Everything which talks about Simultaneous Effects, and it could probably solve the Crusher / Swarmkeeper effect ( if they're believed to happen at the same time ) Quote: *Most effects in the game happen in succession, following an order set by the rules or the DM. In rare cases, effects can happen at the same time, especially at the start or end of a creature’s turn. If two or more things happen at the same time on a character or monster’s turn, the person at the game table - whether player or DM - who controls that creature decides the order in which those things happen. For example, if two effects occur at the end of a player character’s turn, the player decides which of the two effects happens first* Since it happens to a creature, it would be 100% up to the DM

I think you actually missed something with the Swarmkeeper. The attack required to use your swarm, it doesn't have to be a weapon attack. Spell attacks work just fine. I could see using thornwhip with gathered swarm and spike growth to move someone back and forth 25 ft dealing 3d6+10d4 damage on turn 2. You could put levels into stars druid for archer form as a bonus action, allowing you to cast spike growth and immediately move them through it. You could even 1 level dip fathomless for the same effect. Alternatively, if you still want to use spirit guardians, you could use spiritual weapon to move them. A followup video exploring these concepts would be incredible.

Goblin for bonus action disengage 1 level of warlock genie dao option for crusher damage on a single attack, eldritch blasts. Divine soul 5 lvls and choose spirit guardians. Feat choose crusher.

I usually start with a question, like "highest possible x by level y" or "best way to utilize x" or "how to build npc x [retired adventurer guard captain, etc etc]"

I don't really know that I have a process I recently went through a mental exercise of trying to add the bonus int to damage with evocation spells from Alchemist Artificer's Alchemical Savant feature and the Evocation Wizard's Empowered Evocation to the same spells You'd have to get the Artificer Initiate feat early on, either through human variant, custom lineage, or taking it as a 4th level feat as wizard, so that you could use Alchemist Tools as a spell casting focus for your int spells that require a material component, that deal Nec It's only a handful of spells that benefit from the extra damage of both subclasses but while I was thinking on it I realized there's a tiny extra interaction where a couple of Artificer Cantrips would benefit from the Alchemical Savant extra damage and the Evocation Wizards Potent Cantrip, by level eleven you could be getting Acid Splash and Poison Spray to add your int and still get half damage on a save By Level 15 you could cast Acid Arrow, Fireball, and Vitriolic Sphere with +10 to the damage And then there are other spells that can benefit from one classes bonus or the or the other And while this probably isn't a great build, it seems fun .... Maybe you could multiclass into Sorcerer to get Transmuted Spell to nudge some other spells into qualifying for both damage bonuses, also take Metamagic Adept for more Sorcery points to spend on it Ooh more fun options

The extra movement of thornwhip with this could be fun.

The only thing I want for your optimization is greater fluency with Excel or Calc. Automating your numbers and getting the chance to plug in different things to see their final impact, instead of using a hand calculator, might be a worthwhile efficiency to make more of your time.

If you swapped the sorcerer dip for a fighter dip, then you could take dueling from fighter, druidic fighting from ranger, and then get your choice of cleric subclass. War cleric could give you a limited bonus action atk to free up a feat maybe. And maybe fighter 2 later for Action Surge so you can cast Spirit Guardians and attack on turn 1. Just an idea

Absolute chad for avoiding Gloomstalker, Peace and Twilight.

I've made a similar build. Used hexblade and divine sorcerer. It works Just fine.

I guess you could do Warlock 3 - Moon 10 to get a Imp that’s immune to your fire damage and can grant advantage with Help while staying invisible, you could use Hex or Armor of Agathys too.

My gut instinct says that thorn whip would be the movement combo with swarm keeper to get an attack roll with forced movement then skip the crusher feat and shillelagh cantrip.