Some subclasses are widely held to be among the best in the game. Your Battlemaster Fighters, your Moon Druids, your Divination Wizards. Many are held to be more or less average, not the most powerful options, but never going to be lagging far behind at all. And others are held to be not so great. Now, it’s hard to be too far behind the curve in 5th Edition; for the most part, it’s a well-balanced game, but there is some difference. For some of these subclasses considered to be weak, it is justified (sorry, Beastmaster Ranger), but I wouldn’t say that’s true for all of them.



So this article is about some of those subclasses that I think either have an unfair reputation for being weak, or are just overlooked in favour of other options.



Oath of the Crown Paladin

“I did my duty, for Queen and Country.” – Yvonne Hartman, Doctor Who, Doomsday, Russell T. Davies

So, the Oath of the Crown Paladin probably falls more into the ‘overlooked’ category of underrated subclasses, rather than actively considered weak. It was printed in the Sword Coast Adventurer’s Guide, the first of 5e’s setting books, and considered by quite a few to be the weakest of the bunch. In particular, several subclasses proved to be either underwhelming or forgettable (and most of those that weren’t got reprinted in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything). But I’ve always felt like the Crown Paladin deserved better than it got.



From a roleplaying perspective, the tenets of the Crown Oath tend more towards a Lawful Neutral standpoint, unlike the Good of many of the other Paladin Oaths (and the Lawful Evil bent of the Conquest Paladin), although of course they’re not bound to one alignment. On the whole, the tenets emphasise respect for the law, standing up for those you are charged to protect, and taking responsibility for your actions. Very much the classic archetypal Knight. And I think it opens up the way for so many interesting roleplay conflicts. Say the King is corrupted by the DM’s perfectly original villain, Prima Slugtongue, does the Crown Paladin owe his loyalty to the King, or to the Crown and what the Crown should be?



On a mechanical note, they get Spirit Guardians on their spell list. Let me reiterate that. They get Spirit Guardians, one of the best Cleric spells in a straight-up fight, and it’s even better on a Paladin. Sure, the saving throw DC likely won’t be as high as a Cleric’s, but you’re going to be far better at mixing things up in melee, and Spirit Guardians makes you that much more sticky. Their other features are slightly muddled, giving you the ability to tank a little bit, heal a little bit, and control enemies a little bit (although the healing has enough caveats that it’s more useful as a hail mary to bring back several downed allies than anything else). Still, despite the slightly confused focus, their abilities and spells reinforce their theme perfectly, allowing you to charge in, stop your enemies from leaving, and protect your allies.



Honestly, the Paladin chassis is strong enough that no subclass is going to stop you being viable, and the Oath of the Crown Paladin, while not the strongest, deserves better than the complete lack of mention it gets.



Circle of Dreams Druid

“When we heal the Earth, we heal ourselves.” – David Orr

Okay, we’ll admit it. When it comes to Druids, Circle of the Moon is sort of the gold standard. Whether or not its reputation for being powerful is exaggerated, there’s no denying that shifting into a bear and mauling your enemies really sort of hits the spot in terms of Druid stuff. But aside from the Moon Druid, the focus tends to be on the summon-happy Circle of the Shepherd, or the creepy mushroom-murderness of the Circle of Spores.



But even less discussed than the spellcaster supreme Circle of the Land, is the Circle of Dreams. And the Circle of Dreams is good. You know the spell Healing Word, typically considered to be one of the most useful healing spells in Fifth Edition? The Circle of Dreams Druid basically gets a quasi-cast of Healing Word per level. Balm of the Summer Court is a bonus action heal that works up to 120 feet, and gives both hit points and temporary hit points. You cast it from a dice pool that you have a nice amount of control over, and it doesn’t use spell slots. Best of all, it’s not a spell, so you can cast it and bring up your unconscious ally half the battlefield away, and then drop a concentration spell to ruin whatever it was that dropped them. The other features are nice, with some nice utility in protecting wherever you camp for the night, allowing you to teleport yourself and others, and some highly useful magic you can cast for free during a short rest.



And the fluff is a plus for me because it uses one of my favourite things from mythology: Fey. Fey are highly underused in all of D&D, including 5e, and I’m here to drink up absolutely any lore about them that gets dropped (when I use them in my own games, I tend to use a combination of Celtic mythology and lore from other games. And I use them a lot). So a subclass that’s had tutelage from Fey is badass, and gives excellent potential for a story arc involving the bastards.



So, given that they make an excellent support character (try bringing up an unconscious ally and teleporting them away from the enemy who downed them in the short place), with some potential for cool story stuff (so long as you like Fey), I really think they are overlooked compared to other Druid subclasses, and deserve better.

Berserker Barbarian

“No beast is more savage than man when possessed with power answerable to his rage.” – Plutarch

Now we have a subclass that more falls into the ‘unfairly considered weak’ category, in my opinion. The Berserker gets a bum rap compared to the Totem Barbarian, especially the Bear, and to the Zealot from Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. People tend to focus on its 3rd level feature, and then on the drawbacks to that. Yes, Frenzy gives you a level of exhaustion. No, this does not make it an unusable ability. It basically renders it an ability you use once per long rest, like a lot of abilities in the game. But you have more flexibility, in that you can, if you choose, use it more often. Two levels of exhaustion aren’t great (hell, one isn’t amazing), but they’re survivable. And in return, you can make an additional attack as a bonus action, giving you more damage, with additional rage damage, and another chance at those sweet Barbarian crits.



A few things could’ve been nice for the Berserker. The ability to use Frenzy once per day without incurring exhaustion, a la the Evoker’s Overchannel, would’ve been great. Similarly, the ability to make a bonus action attack in the same turn you frenzy, that would’ve been a nice boon to the subclass. But they aren’t essential. Nobody is holding a gun to your head and making you Frenzy every fight, and the other features are nice.



Mindless Rage is beautiful – the worst thing for a party with a Barbarian is having the Barbarian charmed against them (your Wisdom saves probably aren’t awesome) – and nothing stops you raging while charmed or frightened to break it. Who doesn’t love the mental image of the Berserker running in fear, and then going into a rage and running right back in the opposite direction, waving a greataxe? And then Retaliation basically gives you another attack per round while you’re in melee combat – that’s potentially four attacks a round at 14th level while Frenzying, a whole six levels before the Fighter gets that.



And then there’s the roleplaying. Sure, the basic flavour doesn’t have a lot of nuance. You’re a Berserker, patterned after the semi-mythical Norse Warriors who wore bear skins over their armour and had themselves beaten while taking psychedelic drugs to render them all but immune to pain and unstoppable in a fight. But it doesn’t need a lot of nuance. It’s cool. You’re a warrior in the image of the Vikings so terrifying that fear of them is basically imprinted on the DNA of most Europeans. And I’ve seen reflavours of them ranging from Knights to Monks; the world is your oyster.



If you want to play a Barbarian, but you’re worried that the Berserker will underperform, don’t worry. It won’t.

College of Valour Bard

“I don’t believe a champion is the biggest, baddest, meanest dude in the world.” – Jon Jones.

The College of Valour, like the Berserker Barbarian, is another subclass that suffers from being less impressive than its sibling in the Player’s Handbook. The College of Lore is very powerful and versatile, and it’s hard to argue for trading out that much versatility for being a bit better in a fight. To add insult to injury, the Swords Bard came out, which many people feel fills the role of a ‘gish’ (spellcaster-fighter) a lot better. And they’re not wrong. The Swords Bard is much better as a straight gish. But when you don’t try and use the Valour Bard like a swords Bard, you might find it’s a bit more effective than you thought.



The focus of the College of Valour isn’t in inflicting damage, or in buffing yourself for a fight, it’s buffing your teammates. You’re much more equipped to be fighting up close than a Lore Bard, and your AC is likely to be higher than that of a Swords Bard (presumably you’ll be fighting with a shield), allowing you to be tougher in combat. As such, ‘aura’ type-buffs are an excellent choice, assuming your party is melee-heavy. It’s not your own valour you should be so worried about, but that of your teammates. With a bonus action, give them one of your more versatile Inspiration dice, which can be used for weapon damage or AC (!), and with your action, drop something like Crusader’s Mantle (although you will need to wait for your first Magical Secrets for that). Your party won’t be wishing for a Sword Bard’s single-target fighting when their weapon attacks (and your own) are dealing additional Radiant damage, and they’re dodging hits that should’ve killed them.



So where a Swords Bard takes Shadow Blade and Holy Weapon and Crown of Stats, take Crusader’s Mantle and Aura of Vitality and Beacon of Hope. And then, once you get to 14th Level, you finally get an edge even in straight combat over the Swords Bard, gaining the ability to make a weapon attack after a spell. Buff the party and then smack something in the face for good measure.



As long as you pick your spells well, and focus on buffing the party before shredding your enemies, your College of Valour Bard should find its niche nicely, and become an invaluable member of the team.



Thief Rogue

“You were having such a good time with the locks that I didn’t want to interfere.” – Belgarath, Queen of Sorcery, David Eddings

The Thief Rogue is honestly both overlooked and considered weak. It doesn’t get a whole lot of consideration compared to the Arcane Trickster, Assassin or Swashbuckler, and when it does it’s usually disregarded. And, sure, it lacks the spellcasting, the (rather rare) auto-crits, or the duelling capabilities of the more popular Rogue subclasses, but it trades that for a lot of flexibility in combat.



Now, I will admit, you need the right sort of DM to get the most out of the Thief Rogue. You need one who is willing to reward a bit of creativity in combat, and who gives you dynamic combat environments. But those aren’t too rare. You’ve got two main boons in combat, and they’re your 3rd level features. Fast Hands is what you’re going to be using in combat, and it basically makes you Batman in a fight. You need a utility belt of tools, dropping the most suitable ones as a bonus action. One of the best uses of this is to get the Healer feat and use your bonus action to heal people with a Healer’s Kit, but even without the feat, automatically stabilising someone as a bonus action is a boon in a fight.



In addition to the healer’s kit, there are a wide variety of items you can use as a bonus action. Lock a door, bar a door. Put manacles on the spellcaster’s wrist to stop them using somatic components in a spell. Set up caltrops or a bear trap into an entranceway and really make anyone who steps into a room regret it. Roll ball bearings down a corridor and make it hard for enemies to approach (note from my own party’s experience: wait for your own allies to get into melee, and don’t do this against enemies who prefer ranged combat when you have a melee-heavy party). For Second Story Work, it gives you some excellent ways to make yourself hard to pin down. Disengage as a bonus action, climb up a building with your movement. Most enemies will be climbing slower than you, and you can get a couple of free attacks at them while they climb after you.



And then, when you get to higher levels, not only can you attune to and use any magic item of your choice, and become a quasi-spellcaster wielding and sneak attacking with a Paladin’s Holy Avenger, you get to take two turns and hit people twice with that Holy Avenger and shackle two spellcaster’s hands. You become a whirlwind of versatility with the right DM and the right mindset. And probably a lot of money spent on items.



I hope that this article has brought some underrated subclasses to your attention, and maybe even persuaded you to give one of them a try someday. Can you think of any others? Do you have experience with any of these subclasses you want to share? Feel free to comment down below. And, as always, please like, share, tell your friends, and let us know how you feel.

