The Best Classes for New Players in Dungeons & Dragons 5e 

I tried to explain Barbarian to new player once. Basically said "You are Conan." His response was "Conan O'Brien?" And so we flipped that around, and Brian O'Conan was born.

"I would like to rage" is such a polite way of going batshit crazy

"A Barbarian makes terrific mistakes, and has a ton of fun doing it." Best line ever!

The best class to start with is the one you get stoked about.

I want somebody to look at me the way Monty looks at Kelly when he's talking.

My first character was a Rogue, and the most important thing about Rogue for me that helped make it such a great first class to play was that every single ability of theirs is unlimited use (until you become an Arcane Trickster and you have limited use of your leveled spells, but you still have unlimited use of your cantrips). Never having to make a quick decision about "do I use this ability now, or do I save it for later" helped so much. I always had expertise in Stealth, it was always on. I always had expertise in Thieves' Tools, it was always on. I could use Thieves' Tools an unlimited number of times (although not an unlimited number of times on the same lock). I could use Sneak Attack every round without having to worry about saving it for a time when it is more important. I could use Cunning Action every round without having to worry about saving it for a time when it is more important. Because of my personality, I'm very hesitant to use abilities that have a limited number of uses because I'm very wary about "but what if I need to use this ability again in the future and I no longer have it." With Rogue, that was not a problem at all, and that made it so easy to adjust.

"I have seen so many people fall in love with this game with just a few words: 'I would like to rage'." *toasts with Strongjaw Ale *

As a DM, my strategy with players interested in getting into d&d for the first time is to just ask questions: What character do you envision playing? What's his/her personality like? Where did they come from, and what do they want in life? Will they be aggressive in the front lines or calm and tactical? From there, I use my personal experiences with game mechanics to match up the answers with a class that can meet that player's expectations for his/her character. The class, in that sense, is an instrument to aid the roleplay experience.

My first PC was a Life Cleric, and it was a great experience. I still have that character, who is now Level 20.

Fighter-straight forward mechanics but very versatile Cleric-versatile cuz subclasses at lvl 1 but ez spell mechanics Rogue- cuz ez to play but everyone loves rolling fistfuls of dice

"Just don't be a jerk"... gosh finding ways to get that message across feels monumental at times.

Also, I think you guys need to wrestle on screen to decide who wins the disagreements.

My first character was a Warlock, and to this day she is one of my favorite characters I've ever played, to the point that I have a bit of a warlock obsession. Granted, I also have an obsession with fine tuning builds, and have played a ton of RPGs that encourage a ton of choice with builds, so like, I was willing to do my homework, but it is definitely not one to just yeet at a new player without helping them through their set up pretty carefully.

I can't say I've ever thought of recommending a certain class for new players in general. I like to start with new players by asking about their favourite parts of popular culture, like books and movies. You probably can't play your favourite hero, but its a good starting point.

Man, I REALLY like this new "debating" format you're using, for some reason I seem to agree with Kelly almost all the time XD

My first character in 3.5 was a Human Sorcerer. Everyone helped me get my stats going but I picked my own spells and the party loved me! People were very happy with all the CC I picked and so was I. We reached level 20 in that campaign. Now that I'm experienced, ironically, my most recent character is a Human Fighter (Battlemaster). She's fun, has things to do that others appreciate, has a high amount of versatility bc she's good at both range and melee, and because I'm rarely counting on my character to get me through things, I need to think a lot more outside of combat and prepare in very salt of the earth ways, which comes in handy more than people expect. Sometimes just doing simple things like bringing a healer's kit ends up saving the day.

My first character was a monk and while I understand at later levels they can be harder to play and their damage falls off, but getting 2 attacks every turn with the martial Arts bonus and getting to add your modifer to both rolls or 3 attacks with flurry of blows you easily out damage even the fighters and barbarians early on. Your unarmored defense and unarmored movement give you the ac and speed to get wherever you need on the battlefield and not worry about getting hit. If needed you can spend a ki point and get to attack and dodge/disengage in the same turn making you very flexible. Great class early on that gives you time to learn the new abilities you gain as your level progresses. Maybe harder for some to utilize the ki points effectively but for me it was really simple and a ton of fun

My first character, back in the 80's, was a Elven wizard (my second was a Dwarven fighter) and I had so much fun playing both of them (I still have their character sheets and figures). I haven't played in many, many years, and listening to you Dudes and some others, I know there have been a lot of changes since then. I bought the Players Handbook and am reading thru it. Hopefully following your RU-vid game I'll understand more of some the nuisances of what is going on.

Perfect timing dudes! I am in the process of figuring it all out and starting. Daughter is dragging me into D&D. I have been making miniatures for her for a long time, just now getting into actually playing.

Definitely pick what speaks to you! My first character was a human bard, and I loved him to death! He was witty and helpful, and kind to everyone, and accidentally ended up marrying Sildar from Lost Mines because he was a lovable idiot with a big heart. Because of him, I loved finding ways to be supportive with all the different classes! My favorite character so far was my 4th! My half-elf divination wizard with lucky saved the party so many times with his visions of the future. :)

I think paladin is one of the best classes since a it introduces spells and has role play built in

My first character I ever played was a Great Old One Warlock, and I absolutely loved it. She had a buttload of cantrips and because of the charisma casting I even got to be the party face. Honestly any class is a good class if the DM can help you understand it.

I agree on the barbarian for one single reason. While on Rage "You have resistance to bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage" That's so satisfying and yet so simple to new players, and really takes a huge weight off from the player.

As a DM with a lot of new Players, this is immensely helpful.

So members of my Historical fencing group decided to start a dnd group which me and my wife joined. Having played since 5e's launch we had plenty of experience under our belts. The other in our party had not played before and I was curious to see what they would choose. My wife went as a bard and I as a Paladin, the three others went for Fighter, wizard and Ranger. The fighter was the easiest to for my mate to pick up. Having played one myself he started to use the battle master subclass in ways I hadn't even thought of. Plus the DM suggested he take GWM as a variant human. So he was dealing the damage with great satisfaction. In fact there is a friendly rivalry between characters and ourselves on the damage we're pumping out. However the wizard class does have some more learning curves imo. The wizard can do massive damage but you have to understand how and when. My friend wanted to be in the front lines with his 10 AC, no HP wizard because he didn't know he should pick mage armour and stay at the back. He wanted to be the cool damage dealer wizard but wasn't seeing the results, was often getting 0 HP'd, and my Paladin was wasting turns keeping him alive with healing hands. After a few sessions I spoke to him after fencing and explained the class a bit more broadly. That it was more supportive in some aspects, buffing and debuffing, shaping the battles and terrain. That its damage dealing comes from AOE spells that need to used at the right time. I don't think just being a cool spellcaster is essentially a bigger priority than knowing your roll. The fighter fights, the cleric heals, the rogue assassinates, people inherently know the roles. The wizard has such a broad scope it's easy to get lost in what the party role should be, making it that much harder for a new player to find their footing.

I feel like Circle of the Moon Druid is one of my favorite choices. Such cool uses for the wild shape, access to the full spell list with prepared spells, a pretty comprehensive spell list, and pretty easy roleplaying modes to take on.

When I play skyrim and try to play a stealth assasin, I end up being the shouting two handed swor barbarian

Paladin is literally everything a new player wants to do and should probably learn rolled into one class. When starting out, they're like a fighter. Run up and smash. They get some other cool stuff but for the most part they're just a big tank the player can easily get behind. Then they get spellcasting later, but not an overwhelmingly large amount of spells that they're not sure what to pick. They'll get more cool abilities as they go along, as well. They get big meaty hits with *SMITE* for those satisfying fistfuls of dice moments. They also have interesting role-playing hooks built right into the class, that helps edge them onto actually thinking about how their character should act, without needing to browbeat them into submission. Paladin is basically the top pic. No scary and specific abilities, not enough spells to be too overwhelming, just a nice combination of everything you should learn about the game rolled into one convenient package.

I feel that Paladin is a great class for a beginner. You get good fighting capabilities, good AC, along with a with a splash of spell casting. Furthermore, if they don't want to bother with spell-casting they can just convert the spells to smites

4:32 "What's that make us?" "Big damn heroes, sir" "Well ain't we just"

Monty talked about this on his stream slightly!

I was thinking fighter, paladin, and rogue Fighter is simple but it's also flexible and effective and can really be molded to whatever the player wants. Paladin: an easy intro to spellcasting like the cleric but maybe not as overwhelming of a spell list. Rogue: in combat it's pretty simple with sneak attack plus having lots of options outside of combat allowing for great versatility and satisfying but simple role playing as expertise is an awesome ability

I like the Paladin as the best introductory class for new player. Charisma means they get experience talking to NPCs to help them get out of their shells. Oaths give them a clear way to roleplay and interact with the world. Paladins get a lot of group buff abilities as they level up, giving the table strong motivation to help them. Being divine half-casters that prepare their spells, it's very easy to get introduced to magic mechanics while still being able to do the easiest thing in the world: I roll to attack, I roll roll damage. People want to be the sword wielding hero? Here's the Holy Knight, ready willing, and able to serve. In addition, you can't help but fall in love with the game that allows you to smite.

we have a halfling barbarian :D he takes out brown bear alone and we are level 4 :D and ofc i'm a wizard Necromancer, just chilling in the back setting things on fire til i can get my undead :D

We are starting a new campaign this weekend, and this evaluation of the classes is very helpful and insightful, thank you!

Dudes you cant imagine how much u helped me Playing D&D, not only helping me to choose and build my Character. The most important for me was the tips and help u give in all your videos that helps to Rollplay , teamplay and personification of the Diferent aspects of the Characters and the Game in general. Ty ty ty ty so much ♥

The timing of this video could not be more perfect i was just asked to run a 1 shot for all new players

My first time playing a cleric was a storm cleric. In a two year campaign that ran to lv 13 i never used a healing spell. I brought the storm not the health

I really like the last couple videos where you guys are debating. I hope this continues!

This was amazing, thank you so much! I was waiting for you guys to turn away spell casting, but you guys have solutions and I deeply appreciate that!

My first character was a High Elf, Eldritch Knight Fighter with high dexterity. I had a blast playing him and was still able to roleplay him as the bumbling new kid in this party.

As long as you, the DM, help the new player out with spells if they level up, spellcasting isn't hard as far as gameplay goes, only the decisions that come with choosing spells.

Your comments on Prepared Casters reminds me of one of my favorite house-rules, which I took from an Unearthed Arcana that didn't make it into Tasha's. Prepared spellcasters can swap out ONE spell per Long Rest. So if the Bard wants to try Silence for a few days before realizing it isn't what they thought it was... they can, and then swap it out for something else the next day. Still not the versatility of a Cleric, but they're not locked into spells they don't like (or out-grew).

Will concur. I just started playing D&D 5e with my friends this year, and I absolutely love spellcasting. My first character was a cleric, and it was a blast.

I love how you can feel the passive aggressiveness between these two

Sorcerer is also great for new players. Limited spells known with clear thematics. And metamagic is pretty easy to understand.

My 1st character was a fiend pact warlock and I loved it. My DM and a fellow player were super helpful about guiding me on what I was doing

I love your choices! I am playing a Druid as my first pc. But I love nerding out on the details of playing!

Just played my first 5E session last night. I am playing a Scourge Aasimar Celestial Warlock. The session ended in a TPC (Total Party Capture). The giant porcelain golem was doing non-lethal damage. Woke up in a cellar leveling to level 2 and ending the night... Also, when you were talking about Warlock Invocations, They can be swapped out whenever the character gains a level in the Warlock class if the ones they've previously chosen don't actually fit what they had in mind.

Interesting that 4 of the 5 recommended classes are the four classic ones.

I'm currently in my 1st ever DnD campaign, and I'm so happy I picked wizard for the reasons you listed. My fellow players pointed me to warlock as a beginner wanting to play a spellcaster, and I'm glad I went with my gut. Wizard is a very rewarding class to play with progression that comes in-game from scrolls and books.

Wow, you guys hit it on the nail on this, bravo👏 brovo👏 Was sitting here thinking about this in deep thought before finish watching this & it was spot on on my thoughts

I’ve really liked when you both have two different lists. It’s like double the list 😂

This is awesome...you present 5 great ideas for starting players in Dungeons and Dragons! Thank you, I much prefer this than you agreeing on three.

Great video. I am new to the awesome and hobby and really enjoying it. I'm currently in my first campaign and my first character is a Death Cleric. Currently at level 6 raising minions and dealing necrotic damage. Loving it!

I had a good time introducing my friend to Monk. He was a fan of the idea of like, "Disarmed, but i still have TWO ARMS!" And just beating down people with his fists. It was in pf2, and he found stance dancing to be a fun mechanic to punch people in the flavor he needed for the moment. It was magical watching him fall in love with this character in his first rp. :D

My first character was a cleric. Still one of my favorite classes.

you forgot one of the rogues that would fit right in to dnd, bilbo baggins is also a rogue

I found this really helpful cause i plan on dming for my friends who havent played yet so this will definitely help

I’d personally switch out Wizard for Monk. Wizards are only a D6 hit dice, so for a new player you’re quite vulnerable. Monks whilst the damage isn’t that great are tonnes of fun to play, have some badass roleplay options, are able to do so many things in and outside of combat, and it’s super fun to sit there and describe to the DM all the badass martial arts moves you do!

What a cool, kind video.

I introduced an entire party of 5 to DnD. I asked each of them what ideas they had in mind they wanted to play. So I sat down with each of them and introduced them to Bard, Sorcerer, Druid, Ranger, and Barbarian. I explained to them that in the 1st few sessions I would help them understand the mechanics if each of their classes in gameplay. So example is the Ranger was making her survival skill roll I told the bard this would be a great time to use one of her bardic inspiration dies to help her out. I think running like that for MY players at least really worked out.

Related to the challenge of Sneak Attack for a Rogue is the additional issue of the Inquisitive subclass and its Insightful Fighting feature (Insight roll vs. Deception roll), which also can bring about the Sneak Attack

I’m a very new player and joined my friends campaign, I’m a Dragonborn moon Druid and DnD is quickly becoming my new obsession.

Best rogue from pop culture: tulio from el dorado. "You gave me loaded dice!?"

"The best classes for new players are: fighter, cleric, wizard, and rogue." So basically the original D&D classes.

My first character was a Goliath monk. Monks are very easy to understand, especially at the early levels. You go in, punch things, and then walk out. You don't need armor, you don't even need weapons, and you get abilities that cover the basics of the action economy.

Before seeing the video, I'll give mine and compare at the end: rogue, fighter, barbarian. As far as subclasses go (for new players, of course): scout rogue, champion fighter, totem barbarian. The reason: very few things to keep track of

For me, my three* to recommend is: Fighter/barb Rogue Ranger I really like Arcane Trickster because it introduces spellcasting later on after you are more familiar with the game, and it also incorporates positioning and team play. If they want to play a (full) spell caster, I’d suggest warlock since the spells are less committal and you don’t get stuck using low level spells when they use their high level slots. I like to allow them to change their spells for the first two-three levels. Eldritch invocations I usually just choose agonizing blast for them and give them suggestions. My problem with cleric is that a lot of players will automatically gravitate towards healing and healing in 5e is quite different from other rpgs.

When I think classic rogue, my mind immediately goes to Robin Hood.

I've played some TTRPGs in the past, and now I want to try out DnD. Watched some of your videos, and now I want to play a battlemaster bow or crossbowman SO bad! It sounds so interesting to just have all those options to control the battlefield, trip enemies, push them away, make allies move by just attacking. Thanks for the guides guys, they are helping me a lot in understanding the game. Now I just need to somehow find a group xD

Excellent video! Thanks!

Might I add my current character class: the Paladin. It is an amazing class to start with at level 1, as it teaches you all the mechanics of the game at a reasonable pace. First, maybe second session? some fights will teach you the absolute basics of action economy, movement and attacking. You already get some magical abilities if you want tchem, and 5hp healing when you have a 15hp tops is amazingly potent. At second level, you get to be better at fighting and can dip your toes in spellcasting, or just ignore it and splash some more damage if you feel like it. The fact that paladin has usually all the charisma needed to do some NPC talking-to and fills the big-damn-hero archetype perfecty only helps. I can't recomend the paladyn enough.

I'm not huge on the "new player's need to be shown the ropes with specific classes" mentality. Especially because it tends to remove options like beast master ranger or four elements monk because the worst case scenario of a new player having no fun because they're learning extra rules in order to be less effective is frightening. But the whole reason classes like that are appealing is that they promise the fun role play of being Drizzt or Aang (respectively....unless you count Aapa and Momo...making a note to try that multi-class later.) And the element of being able to embody your favorite characters/archetypes and take them on fun, unique, tailored adventures is such a huge part of what D&D is. Personally I would rather talk to my experienced players and say "hey we're going to try and keep this on light, fun and RP heavy so try not to min-max too much" Than tell a new player "I know you think it will be fun to play Aang but you are wrong." I think it mostly comes down to knowing your players, because obviously the "little cousin" scenario will happen but I think that's more of a corner case.

Great video guys. Going to show this to my new group.

That flowchart is super nice! Thanks!

So basically, the best starter classes are the only ones that were available in 1st edition. Makes sense, actually. I'd extend that to races as well... Elf, Halfling, Dwarf, Human. Keep it simple.

Maybe this is a sign that Wizards needs a training class that allows a new player to experience all of the basic character dynamics without being too complex or under/overpowered.

I started out as a druid and the ability to choose from different spells (just like the cleric) was insanely helpful in simplifying the spellcasting and the beast shape of the circle of the druid made combat extremely simple to grasp as well.

My favorite character I ever played was because of the chemistry with my friend that was also playing. It was just us two as the pcs so we built dwarven brothers. My character was a paladin and his was a cleric. They messed with each other constantly and had an in game coin betting system that when one bother won all 3 coins through boast and competition he could give the other a task they couldn't refuse. It got fun really fast.

DM here looking for advice: I'm about to introduce 4 friends who've never played DnD to the game via a (slightly homebrewed) version of Ghosts of Saltmarsh. Now I'd love to recommend some characters that are newbie friendly AND also a good thematic fit for the Saltmarsh setting. Any tips on what would be great additions, or team compositions?

Jester from Critical Role is a great example of a Cleric that is not played as a "holy healer." While she does occasionally toss out the healing spell, she almost resents having to do so. Her character is so much more than that.

I created a Forge Cleric Minotaur with a 4 level dip into Vengeance Paladin, and I've been loving it ever since. Spiritual Weapon to smack things with a bonus action, starting out the game being able to have a +1 weapon through Blessing of the Forge, and being able to gore an enemy after a dash action with my horns just makes it so badassed.

I know this video is a few years old now but I credit starting with the Rogue for getting me as into dnd as I am for every reason you mentioned and also there's no resources to manage. For the most part, everything you can do, you can ALWAYS do, and you don't have to about expending all your cool stuff.

Let me guess: Fighter, Barbarian, Cleric, Wizard, Rogue. Trust me I'm Psychic

Meanwhile my first character was a Fallen Aasimar Oath of Vengeance Paladin

My first game in 5th edition, i picked cleric, its really nice. Also I'm a new fan of yours. I really enjoy your content and hope your all doing well. Thank you for the nice videos.

Love ya work, good to see you are getting sponsors.

Druid, obviously

Stop reading this and go wash your hands

Making some custom, pre-made character sheets for any newbies I might play with. This has been very helpful.

Cool thing about fighter, is with action surge, they can almost always fit whatever weird turn combo the player wants within the action economy, at least once.

The first red box set of Basic DnD had a pre-made Thief called Felonius. I was eleven and didn't understand the joke name but loved it. I had a few non-thief classes afterwards that used the Felonius name!

I can agree on the barbarian. I'm playing one in what is my first campaign ever, and it is a lot of fun. Some things were not so fun though, like a fight where I missed almost all my attacks, even though I had advantage on them... I did land a lot of killing blows though. There was also our very first fight against 2 wolves, which we learned aftewards were actually wargs, but we just failed all checks to identify what they were, so we thought we were just fighting some regular wolves. To put it short, learning that they were wargs explained a lot.

I started with and really love Fighters/ Barbarians, Rangers and Sorcerers. One of each of Martial, Half-class and Spellcasters. Got a buddy who have chosen his first, a Rogue. He likes stabby, stabby and sending some arrows to distant faces. For me the preferred sub classes are Psi Warrior, Gloom Stalker/ Drake Warden and Draconic Bloodline ( with added Gem dragon ancestries/ drake aspects)

Sneak attack is when you have advantage or one of your allies is within 5ft. Any more unclearity by sneak attack is about what is advantage. Advantage is when a creature is prone, when you are stealthed and whenever abilities say you do. Then there is swashbuckler, which simply has sneak attack in melee always when it doesn't have disadvantage, and the rest normal. It's just surprising how everyone mislabels the sneak attack as the culprit, since it is often the problem with advantage.

Amazing. I’m starting a campaign with a BUNCH of first time players, I’m sending this out to them ASAP

I've been watching d&d for a couple years, but just now looking at getting into a game with a co-worker. I'm always drawn to druids, but a melee ranger would be cool too. Hope this helps me decide. Hmm might check out the cleric subclasses

my first campaign was on roll20 and it was as a hill dwarf grave cleric. It was a blast since I was a powerful damage dealer spell caster, decent support if I needed to revive someone, I could mark someone for termination and have the paladin smite them for massive damage, and the role play as a grave keeper was actually pretty fun. I'd definitely play cleric again

Interesting you say Divine and Cleric. The first Cleric I played, starting a couple of weeks ago, is of the Grave Domain. Sure, there is a lot of divine spellcasting there, but I picked it for having that slight edge with different magic, like necrotic. Plus it lends itself well to the character's backstory.