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@@myravioli5096 Yeah the armor loss is painful but that just means you need to take a martial dip as well. Or cleric I guess. Still not bad considering what else you get.
Good to mention that starting with a 1st level dip in Artificer as a Wizard build is a optimizers dream. You start off with medium armor and shield proficiency which makes Mage Armor obsolete. Proficiency in CON saves which is MASSIVE for any spellcaster. And you get access to spells that regular Wizards would never have access to like Guidance, Thorn Whip, and Cure Wounds that scale with Intelligence. All this and you don't lose spell slot progression because you round up the number of spell slots when you multiclass.
As a DM I love my players doing this crazy shit. And I like to be able to challenge them with even more interesting enemies and challenges. It's the fun part of being a DM.
@@taylorsmith9197 Expertise is a Rogue class ability that all Rogues get at Rogue level 1, so regardless if you start as Rogue or take a few levels in it later, you'll get Expertise in 2 skills.
@@taylorsmith9197 Rangers are the class that get the single skill of [Expertise] at level 1 with the ability (Canny) which is under the optional [Deft Explorer] if one doesn't want to take [Natural Explorer]. Rogues always get two skills with [Expertise] at level 1 regardless of whether you start as them or not, however they get ONE SKILL from the class's skill list, but [Expertise] can go into ANY TWO of your character's proficiencies regardless of whether or not they come from the taking a single level in Rogue.
I was playing a module that had class restrictions. I couldn't play a druid or ranger, so I opted for a nature cleric arcane archer fighter who ironically worships a patron god of druids and rangers.
Wizard - Theurgy Domain of Nature is like 2 animal based ritual spells away from having access to ALL the published rituals in the game... so add in Magic Initiate/Ranger and you have the ultimate natural world magic user. Can dip into almost any martial for a customized wilderness hybrid.
@@prophetzarquon1922 good berry is very OP. 1st slot for a fixed 10hp healed. Better than any other spell. Keep ten people from starving per casting. Healer subclass bonuses apply the berries meaning you can heal upto 9hp per berry(90hp) from a single cast. Ten yo yo heals from a single cast. It is hella OP
If you're already playing a Cleric, a one or two level dip into Druid is sneakily amazing at covering all of the class's relatively few weaknesses, even though none of the features jump out at first glance. The biggest boon is the cantrips; one of the few downsides to the Cleric is that they don't get any attack roll based cantrips, which are better than save-based ones in most situations. Druid can get you Shilelagh, giving you a genuine melee option to make use of Divine Strike with, or Primal Savagery, which does d10 damage in a pretty solid damage type, Acid. The amazing one however is Thorn Whip, which can more than double your damage output if you pair it with Spirit Guardians: drag an enemy into the area of your SG and it takes the damage *twice*, once when it enters and then again at the start of its turn. This has been confirmed in Sage Advice. Also, having Mold Earth or Shape Water can be amazing out of combat. Plus, one level in Druid will let you prep 5 or six additional first level spells: not only do you get access to Absorb Elements, Fairie Fire, Charm Person, and Speak with Animals, but you can prep Healing Word, Detect Magic, and/or Cure Wounds as a Druid, freeing up your cleric preparation slots for higher-level spells. And a second level in druid will give you access to Wild Shape, which is amazing for both exploration and stealth (both things that Clerics can struggle with) and access to the Stars Druid subclass, which pairs *beautifully* with Cleric--twice a day, you can spend a bonus action and a wild shape charge to either a) get in essence a more versatile free version of Spiritual Weapon that you can get out on round 1, b) a huge boost to your healing spells, or c) the ability to auto succeed on almost every concentration check. All that plus a free guiding bolt PB times per day, letting you save your first level spell slots for other things. And hey, take a third level and you can grab Pass Without Trace, meaning (even in your heavy armor) you and your whole party can nail stealth checks with ease, as well as Heat Metal to roast armored enemies alive with no saving throw.
You can pick up a strong Wisdom-based attack roll cantrip with a background or species feature. Stars Druid is definitely a thing, but three levels in Druid is a bit much. You can get Pass Without Trace elsewhere. (Not to mention the Surprised nerf in the new PHB means Pass Without Trace won't be the powerhouse it was before.) Also keep in mind that if you take the dip before level 5 so you can benefit from your cantrips earlier, you're not going to see Spirit Guardians until level 7. You always have to ask "two levels from now, would I rather have Starry Form and Wild Shape, or my next tier of magic?" It's definitely not bad though, and opens up some really strong exploration and sustain options. Of course, you would rather just have a druid in your party and probably straight-class Cleric, maybe with a 1-level dip into Divine Soul or Lunar Sorcerer around level 7.
It's worth noting that creatures entering or re-entering Pass Without Trace range, can be added/removed _for the duration._ So, you can walk up to someone & then include them in your +10. Great for breakouts.
@@prophetzarquon1922 So, this is table by table! You should talk with your DM and discuss how the spell will work. Some people interpret that it's an aura around you, and some people interpret that you pick creatures around you when you cast it, and they keep the effect for the duration. Jeremy Crawford did tweet a couple clarifications, but they were never published in Sage Advice and many players ignore his opinions, as he's made some controversial calls and also created some contradictions in the past.
@@prophetzarquon1922 You're interpreting what's written, but you're filling in the gaps with your own added ideas. You're not doing anything wrong, other than assuming that how you read it is the only way it can be accurately read. Let's be more comprehensive on the topic together! Try this. Get a physical writing utensil and paper, and write out the full text of the spell. Then, take down notes on every detail you need to know to use the spell in a game. Reference the original spell text and note down for each requirement whether the information is explicitly stated, or implied based on the text. I think you'll be surprised how much of what you need has to be inferred! You can choose to adopt Jeremy Crawford's personal opinion, but it is not officially RAI, nor is any interpretation that fully suits what's written. If you satisfy all the rules text, it's RAW. It is often seen as poor form to call something homebrew except in the most strict cases where the rules are violated or ignored. Since tables can vary so much, it's often best to identify RAW, RAI, and opinions (even very good opinions!) for exactly which they are. 5e is full of headaches like this. Let's hope the 2024 handbook resolves many of these types of issues!
@@shanedsouza189 no, because it doesn't even stack with Eldritch Smite. Good thing all these stupid changes will be ignored in our current campaign, and I will never play D&D after that one is over.
i’ve played multiple fighter/wizard combos (usually with warcaster so i never fail concentration) and they have always been fun. it’s nice to have an ac of 18, a longsword, and be able to cast fireball twice
If you're thinking about a 1 level dip into rogue, go ranger instead. You still get the expertise with the Tasha optional rules, hunter's mark does the same damage as sneak attack (trades specificity for a resource) but applies to more than one attack, and you get better proficiencies. It is personal preference whether or not you'll get more out of a multi-dip into either rogue or ranger, but I believe ranger is the better 1-level-dip.
The most recent insane multi class building I’ve ever seen: 6 levels of necromancer wizard 11 levels of archfey warlock 1 level of life domain cleric 2 levels of ranger I forget how it does it specifically, but it allows for you to summon 124 skeletons into battle daily. It was insanely broken and I’m pretty sure no one would ever want or be allowed to use it, but it was so creative in its design that I’m kinda in love with it.
No one really cares about level 20 builds, that stuff is played by like less than 3% of DnD population. Only levels that matter are between 5 (would be 3 but you don't often multiclass there) and 12. Not only are players having issues with such power, but so are DMs. There's no point in making combat if it's not challenging, but if your PCs are min-maxed level 20 demigods, DM has to account for literally every single of theirs and introduce a competent and worthy foe for them, otherwise it's boring. But margin for error is so small that now DM's creatures also can do similarly silly things like 124 skeletons into battle, or tactical nukes. Aside from the gameplay aspect, there's also big shift in tone too. If you're level 20 in DnD world, with known existence of Gods, you're either hiding away cause you're tired or hoarding piles of gold, not interacting with the world, or you're straight up being a God-King style character and ruling whole country. Once you pass like level 14-15, you cannot be "just an adventurer". Any such level character should be widely known or heard about, even if they're doing their best to stay on the low, legends will appear. You should be getting in history books by that level and that's not something average person who plays DnD is either comfortable nor capable of playing out. TL;DR Number munchkin for 20 is pointless and at most exercise in theory, so most multiclassing talk should be categorized in low, mid, high, maximum, with respective levels being something along the lines of 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20.
The other advantage of the Twilight Cleric (and 2nd level Warlock Devils sight) dip is that it removes the biggest issue with variant Humans (and some other races), *no darkvision.* In a party with mostly darkvision enabled races doing anything at night or underground, having the non darkvision races able to get this helps so much. Otherwise they're going to be tripping over, or having to use a light.
My solution for our human barbarian at our table has been having my Pact Of The Chain imp sit on her shoulder as a seeing-eye fiend, all the while whispering in her ear trying to make her become a Warlock >:)
twilight cleric is gar superior to any racial dark vision. They can see 120 ft. You can see for miles. The warlock sight let's you see thru magical darkness. These are worth taking even if your race does get Darkvision.
Ranger Hunter 3, you get the stacking situational extra attack with horde breaker, full martial proficiencies, tracking and traveling bonuses, 2 extra languages from deft explorer and 2 more if you select humanoid favored enemies, a fighting style, three level 1 spells(including Goodberry, you will never starve)... That Horde Breaker extra attack is slept on in a massive way.
Two ideas I have but never had the chance to try... College of Swords Bard w/ Hexblade Warlock (1-4 lvls); reliable damaging cantrip in Eldritch Blast, Hellish Rebuke, Wrathful Smite and a weapon that uses Chr as it's damage modifier. Plus Medium Armor, Shield, Extra Attack and Dueling Fighting Style. Paladin (Oath of Glory) w/ Divine Soul Sorc (1-2 lvls) and, maybe, Hexblade Warlock (1-2 lvls). Hexblade helps with weapon damage if you can't afford high Str but DS Sorc brings Guidance, Radiant Flame (If no Eldritch Blast), Word of Radiance and allows you enough cantrips to skip Blessed Warrior and pick another Fighting Style.
rogue got a true pottential of multiclassing, my friend was one time played a multiclass barbarian-rogue and i know its sounds ridiculous but incredibly powerfull
Dude, the Barbarogue is SUCH a good multiclass. Reckless Attack guarantees Sneak Attack. Not to mention with Cunning Action that you can use the turn after you Rage enables you to Disengage for free after attacking to help mitigate the advantage against you Reckless Attack gives your enemy
My favorite 5e multiclass is Eldritch Knight and Abjuration Wizard. Gives me heavy armor, shield and absorb elements spells, and arcane ward for staying power; as well as counterspell and dispel magic for denying spellcasters which fuel my ward.
Eldritch Knight was always perfect when combined with the corresponding wizard. The only thing it doesn't have is charisma for talking. Which is fine if your not the party face.
@@JayF2912 Systemic issue: To do anything via roleplay, you must first be understood. You need _real_ communication skills, to play effectively in the first place. A fighter who doesn't roleplay well, can still roll well. A social interaction that isn't roleplayed well, has already failed before a die is even cast. Trying to say appropriate things _and_ roll well, is two chances to fail. The only real comparable mechanically, is not understanding a spell.
Here is something people overlook: Battle Smith Artificer. One would think it is not a good thing, but using INT instead of DEX/STR is good, specially for subclasses like Eldritch Knight, Phantom, Soul Knife, Psi Warrior, Bladesinger. Some of them require 3 stats, but by dipping 3 levels you get to focus on 2 plus you get a pet, if you are one size smaller you can use it to ride it. As well as getting more spells.
I dont care about power, i just want my players to have fun. I have one guy who went Great weapon master + Sentinel fighter barbarian multiclass. And he is about as powerfull as everyone else in the party because i try and balance them with the magic items i give. (That isnt considered rail-roading right?)
It's the right thing to do. All players should be on similar footing (unless one is absolutely trolling). But this way the powergamer might feel left out, so preferably players should understand eachother as well and build their character in similar league
Great weapon master plus sentinel works great if you add polearm master for reach and weild a halberd. I have a bugbear with this build, giant's path with a dip into echo fighter. Lots of battlefield control. Plays more as a support than a tank but still lots of fun.
'Now give me 10% off or I'll tear out your spleen'. I like how matter of fact that he states it like he's not even trying to be mean or particularly threatening It's like it's no different than haggling to him.
Dont forget that paladin and clerics also allow any spell caster to have a *SECOND* spell casting (focus) bonus as the amulet of the devout STACKS with others and gives an extra channel divinity! So you can make enemies have some crazy high saving throws. The difference between a 15 save and a 17 save is huge
eldritch knight: never be disarmed, shape water, friends, absorb elements, shield and find familiar or silvery barbs, none of which utilize your intellect score.
So, after seeing this, and as someone who likes multi-classing, I think I may have come up with a pretty powerful, equally broken and 100% likely to never be allowed as I doubt any DM would allow a player to multiclass this many times... pure dip build. States: Point Buy Strength: 15 Dexterity: 14 Constitution: 12 Intelligence: 8 Wisdom: 8 Charisma: 14 1st&2nd level: Paladin, For Lay on Hands, Divine Smite, and the Blessed Warrior (for Guidance) 3rd&4th level: Sorcerer any origin as we mainly want Font of Magic and use the Sorcery Points for extra spell/smiting slots. 5th&6th level: Fighter, For Second Wind, Action Surge, and a Second Fighting Style (I'd suggest 2 weapon Fighting as you'll be lacking Extra Attack feature) 7th&8th level: Rogue, for Expertise, Cunning Action, and the Sneak Attack Bonus 9th&10th Level: Barbarian, For Rage and Reckless Attack (Note: Divine Smite is a Class Feature, not a spell, so can be use while Raging) Can then add more levels of which ever above classes you want from there. Also spread out and mix up the level order however you want, but by the end, you'll pretty much be a raging sneak smiting terror with the deadliest pair of shortswords/Scimitars on the battle field. Now, why Sorcerer and not Warlock? I considered Hexblade, but the Barbarians Rage bonus requires attacking with Strength. Also, Spell Casting and Pact Magic don't mix with multiclassing. As such, this way you count as a 3rd level caster for spell slots (four 1st level and two 2nd level slots, or just five 2nd level smiting slots with Sorcery Points).
Thank you, Sir Master for your great builds! I am playing a Goodberry Cleric of Life (from your 1st level builds video) I named her Persephone, after Greek Queen of the underworld Goddess of the dead, the underworld, grain, and nature, with the Outlander background (by teached by Druid to explain Magic Initiate feat) in an Underdark campaign. There are many NPCs, lack of food and a lot of starvation checks I feel like a real ray of Light and Life, helping other party members on this Dark Deep Journey, thank you for great content!
As a lore bard (level 5) who just took a dip into Hexblade warlock for levek 6 after some bad combats (my dex and STR were smited by RNG), I am so glad warlock gets so much at 1
1 level dip into druid is FANTASTIC for rangers and monks... You get access to some excellent cantrips like: Guidance, Shillelagh (bonus action, buffs a quarterstaff or club, no concentration)! Hunter Sense! This cantrip is from the "Book of Ebon Tides". It's not 'official', but it is part of the DnD Beyond platform. This cantrip alone is worth the dip. Whenever you roll a 9 or lower on a perception check, you can treat it as a 10. Add proficiency, and a +3 wisdom modifier, and you are never rolling lower than 16! You pick up mastery of the "Druidic" script, and you can choose between having a third druid cantrip, or proficiency in Martial weapons and Medium armor. Further comes access to a nice variety of buff, healing, damaging, and reaction spells. VERY worth it!
I currently have a simic-hybrid fathomless warlock- storm sorcerer. It's super fun, and I obviously plan on taking a 2 lv dip in tempest cleric. He's practically a walking storm currently.
I theorized a wyvern knight kind of character: Paladin up to level 13 for Find Greater Steed (Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons gives the option to summon a draconeel, which is the closest you can get to a wyvern) and to start with Heavy Armor proficiency; Monk up to level 4 for Slow Fall (negate fall damage equal to 5x your monk level) and the ability to dodge, dash or disengage in heavy armor as a bonus action (nothing saying you can’t use ki points this way) and if you choose to go to Monk 7 you get Evasion; if you only went to 4 you take three levels in cavalier fighter for the ability to mount and dismount with five feet of movement.
My War Cleric 2 / War Wizard 11+ is a big, sturdy, fat, muscular, tall elephant man in full plate armor, helmet and shield. He's the party squishy wizard.
I'm using right now, a ranger with 1 level of cleric in the build. It's broken. I have heavy armor proficiency, the spell searing smite (you know what that is!), and a magic weapon. Yeah, just from the forge cleric subclass. Thanks for the awesome video!👍
Yeah, it's just a matter of synergy. While 1 level in Cleric gives you a ton, it doesn't always fit your build. That said, 2 in twilight goes brilliantly on a wood elf rogue. Now you can hide in your own aura as a bonus action.
Multiclass dips seem more common in PvP because losing class capstones isn't as important, when multiclass builds lay waste at every level until those last few.
@@prophetzarquon1922 counter points: How often do you reach the capstones? Are the capstones really worth it? If you know you’ll reach level 20 a single level in for example cleric can be fantastic and a two level dip in fighter is always good. Last counter point: meteor swarm and if anyone is still alive action surge.
@@RedRolen Um, yeah. Yup. Did you think I disagreed? I literally just said, that a capstone seems less important than being buff at all the levels up to then.
know what i HATE about your videos? the little clips of animation you use, i mean i like them, but i HATE that you don't tell me WTF they are. i usually know most of them, but there is always at least 1 in each video i don't know and want to track down.... what were the two clips from during the hexblade portion? the elfy thing with glowy arms and legs... TELL ME DAMN YOU (and other than that i do love your videos)
3 lvls of inquisitive rogue lets you do insight checks on a target as a bonus action. Pass, and you have advantage on that target until it either dies, or you do the check on someone else. That means auto sneak attack each time. Multiclass that with a paladin and life cleric to get some insane damage stacks (life cleric gets a radiant attack at lvl 8 to add to your attack, gets stronger at lvl 14, and can still cast a concentration spell on your weapon for extra radiant damage).
I understand that this is focused on the core classes, however, there is an argument for taking a 2-3 level dip in Artificer. Light armor, medium armor, and shields are good for your casters, while thieves’ and tinker’s tools are useful overall. Preparable spell list, and magic tinkering (prestidigitation lite). Level 2 sees you infusing your weapons and armor, and a level 3 sees some interesting combos. (a stealthy Paladian with Armorer, A Pact Chain Battle smith with an additional 1 demon and 2 robot-familiars, or a Barbarian that loves his workout supplements with Alchemist). A 13 Int is also good for several checks. I have had great success with the above mention barbarian combo, but also with a Phantom Rogue for all the tool prof and tool kits.
It's fun options, but not as good as the ones mentioned in the video. Artificer is really good for Wizards, Rogues, and Fighters in particular, but the other classes it's really more just for fun than it is anything efficient. Even for wizard it's suboptimal, but for flavor & fun it's a great option. Even if it is on the weaker side I love the variety of the Artificer, and the only subclass that I outright dislike is Alchemist. It's lackluster in power and resource availability. Even so, it's my most played subclass and I've still had good fun with it over the years, most DM's use my homebrew changes to elixir as well which does wonders
@@malmasterson3890 You can make an Alchemist strong if you really want to, and don't mind playing support, and your DM allows potions to be administered as an action. Play a Reborn of your favorite species, or any elf with Trance (Shadar-kai are great.) Build for full Int or Charisma, with a 13 in Wisdom and 14 Con. Start with 3 levels of Alchemist, then 2 levels of Warlock (Genie is preferred, but pick your favorite). Starting at level 2, you use Replicate Magic Item to produce a Spellwrought Tattoo each day, and first give Find Familiar to each party member. (After that, load up useful spells on non-casters first, things like Healing Word, Shield, Absorb Elements, Bless, then niche spells if needed like Comprehend Languages or Protection from Good and Evil.) By level 4, when you long rest, you only need 4 hours and then can take four short rests while everyone else is sleeping. Before each short rest, you create an Experimental Elixir with your Pact slot(s) and then short rest to get that back. This means you can pick 4 at level 4, and 8 at level 5, in addition to getting two randomly-rolled elixirs for the day after your long rest. We're going to make every single one Boldness, and give 1-2 of them to each of the party's strikers. (Read: paladins, fighters, rangers, barbarians, etc. Whoever uses attack rolls and does the most damage.) Have each player instruct their familiar to administer a potion of boldness to them as soon as they give a command word. (It doesn't have to be "JUICE!" but it is encouraged. Use your discretion.) On your first turn in combat, cast Bless on the strikers, too. They now have +2d4 on all attack rolls and saving throws. Even if your party only has one main striker, you are likely already contributing on average as much damage per round (DPR) as your striker, by giving an average +5 to everything. At level 6, dip 1 level of Peace Cleric for Emboldening Bond. Ideally, set this up before combat starts, or if you have nothing better to do on your turn. They now have ANOTHER +1d4 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw of their choice on EACH turn. This means they have +3d4 on every saving throw, assuming they don't suffer a saving throw more than once per each player or creature's turn. You also have the Guidance cantrip, which combines with Emboldening Bond for a +2d4 on an ability check. This is all by level 6! Because it scales in value with your allies' attacks, it will NEVER not be useful at-level. Every other single thing your character does in combat from there is just a cherry on top. I like theming them as a cook! Their pact is with a powerful entity that wants to create the best recipes in the world, and you can deck your Genie's Respite out as a kitchen with a cozy table! For the last 14 levels, if you went Int, change tracks to Wizard or back to Artificer for the rest of your career, or if you picked Charisma, return to Warlock or switch to Sorcerer. Pick your favorites, but Divination Wizard and Divine Soul Sorcerer are both thematic, with Portent letting you do some broken things or cover the rare chance someone actually fails an important saving throw in your presence, and Divine Soul protecting your concentration even more, and giving you a level 20 capstone of unlimited flight! Pair with anyone having 6 levels in Paladin for optimal saving throw dominance.
@@RaethFennec That is really cool! I've done similar builds in the past, but a hiccup I've encountered a lot is many DM's don't like the caveat of common items on RMI for Spellwrought Tatoos. I'm also in a lot of servers that place restrictions on Find Familiar for balancing reasons. I have had a recent friend make a build similar to this though where we rule Elixirs as a bonus action. Currently he's 5 Peace/3 Alchemist and his character is basically post bomb Oppenheimer thus the Peace domain (the campaign started around the time of the movie). He's just a variant Human, but he can get me (My beloved Aasimar Giant Barbarian) and our RK fighter a +3d4 by the start of our second turn easily. Still really solid. The build that I've run the most is my splatoon inspired character with Hexblade 3+/Alchemist 3. I do the reborn Pact Magic slots exploit for more elixirs & basically treat them as a goth Inkling reflavoring elixirs and certain spells as ink & sub weapons. Eldritch Blast & my Hex Weapon are my splattershot & inkbrush. Usually my DM's allow me to ready action for Elixirs, so I'm only missing out on my reaction until my turn.
I use the Order of Scribes Wizard/Tempest Cleric combination. Being able to make almost any damaging spell I want into a maximized lightning or thunder spell is delicious. And it gets especially fun if you pick up Metamagic Adept and take Transmuted Spell for all the spells you can't make into a lightning/thunder spell.
I agree with fighter one :) it literally fits to majority of builds and there are some cool or funny synergies (even if they are not optimized) - one of these was "Thor" barbarian - basically dwarf barbarian that suddenly throws magical maul at enemies from 60 ft XD.
2 levels of moon druid is also a funky dip for all martials! -Turning into a 37hp dire wolf as a bonus action twice every short rest is a HUGE increase to survivability. -Wildshape specifically allows you to use race and class features, so it works with features like rage, sneak attack, martial arts and even extra attack! -Dire Wolf has pack tactics, so you get to do all attacks with advantage as long as you have a buddy next to you. -And you get a few nice spells like guidance, absorb elements and healing word. Works especially well with monk, both for stat reasons and because the 6th level monk feature makes the wildshape attacks magical.
Kung fu Panda is normally a 1 or 2 level dip into Monk to give the Moon Druid Unarmored Defense and the Bonus Action attack. Note that a 6th level Moon Druid also gets natural weapon attacks that count as magical. Actually, I don't agree with your interpretation - a Monks unarmed strikes count as Magical. Natural Weapons make Simple Melee Weapon Attacks, which is different.
@@bukharagunboat8466 MAybe, but in a pinch you can still make a normal unarmed strike. Imagine the look on the enemies face when the dire wolf kicks him in the face instead of biting.
On the topic of Hexblade + Cleric, Doing 5 levels of Hexblade, and then go Twilight Cleric or War Domain the rest of the way, you've got a decent selection of early Warlock spells, heavy armor proficiency, amazing saves on Wisdom and Charisma, access to Spiritual Weapon and Spirit Guardians by lv 10, Agonizing Blast, the last goes on. Yes, you do have to split your attention between Wisdom and Charisma, and you would need Strength for heavy armor... if not for the existence of Mithral Armor. A set of armor in this variety would remove the Strength requirement AND there'd be no disadvantage on Stealth checks.
The fighter dip on rogue is quite slept on. Rogues severely need a fighting style, and the lack of extra attacks, makes action surge invaluable when you are unable to land the sneak attack. But if you get Battlemaster, you get the maneuvers of "brace" and "riposte", allowing you to land sneak attacks on a reaction with an extra dice. Alternatively, you can get those maneuvers with a feat, allowing you to get an extra sneak attack per short rest. Imagine a Swashbuckler Battlemaster, you get in, attack two or three times, sneak attack and move just five feet away from your opponent. And if your opponent moves towards you, you activate brace and attack landing another sneak attack with an extra d6.
Eldritch Knight is a great time cuz of that Action Surge ngl. Deacon Dreamer was so fun to play as when our dm sent us through Ebberon. He was an Eldritch Knight Fight that was a Winged Tiefling. Often used a bow from the sky or shot off lots of lightning bolts and other spells
Fiendlock+Barbarian is an awesome combo. Constant Temp HP+Rage means you are an amazing tank, and Armor of Agathys becomes twice as effective. A 2nd level spell slot can get you effectively 20 temp HP that auto-retaliates with cold damage, it's AWESOME And of course eldritch blast for a ranged option that isn't thrown weapons
My last campaign i played a ranger, that trained into warlock. Probably should've gotten levels in warlock, but the way we did training, i instead just gained warlock abilities and features through training out of a desire for a counter against magic. I still mainly played as a ranger (my character started as a lizardfolk village hunter my damage with bows was very high,) but always had a bag of warlock tricks at my disposal. Later on i ended up evolving from a lizardfolk to an undead dragon after freeing and pledging my life to my patron, a Dragon God of the Shadow Plains. So much fun.
My favorite is Storm Sorcerer with a 2-Level dip into Tempest Cleric. Not only do you gain proficieny in heavy armor & martial weapons (+Light/Medium Armor & Shields from multiclassing), and a free "Thunderwave" reaction if hit by a melee attack (2d8 Lightning/Thunder and pushes attacker 15ft back on a failed STR save), but DESTRUCTIVE WRATH exists, maximizing any Lightning/Thunder damage a spell deals! Pair this with Chain Lightning (10d8), and you're dealing a flat 80 LIGHTNING to 1-4 people on a failed DEX save, which can be amplified with Sorcerer's Heightened Metamagic (imposes disadvantage on 1 saving throw made)!
Before watching the video here's my predictions Fighter. Action surge on a spellcaster is insane Cleric. The much easier of two ways to get Heavy armour proficiency from multi classing and some incredibly powerful low level spells (inflict wounds, guiding bolt, healing word, spiritual weapon..) Wizard. Divination wizard is insane also mage armour is really good on something like a rogue, not to mention find familiar, shield.. Wizards just have a really great spell list, also the bladesinger allows for an easy AC boost for anyone with a positive intelligence modifier who likes to keep a hand free. Barbarian. halving most damage is really strong, but not everyone can make use of it, casters in particular, but everyone can make use of easy advantage on attacks, advantage on dex saves, the huge hit die, and I do think most mages (except maybe Clerics) can appreciate adding your con mod to AC Paladin. Big hit die, some innate healing that can come in clutch, a few good spells, but mostly of course, SMITE! Especially on something like a bladesinger, war cleric, Shillelagh Druid, that stuff hits hard.
Alright 3/5.. Turns out there's just a lot of classes that get many good things from the first few levels Also one slight error I noticed in the video, you say Cleric is the only way you can get heavy armour proficiency from multiclassing, however, Armorer artificer also gets heavy armour proficiency from the subclass, but it's at level 3 so it's not quite as appealing.
I've been playing in a game where my initial plan was to just be a rogue/sorcerer, which had its own backstory reason approved by the GM. but as we kept playing I found myself very much so in need of a bit more, so I worked with him again to pick up an undead patron in the tomb we're sanctifying for a 2 level dip. The undead dragon blood mastermind if you will.
My Cleradin (10 Cleric, 3 paladin), Elahrin, has so far managed to deal 140 damage in 1 hit, not on a crit. A few magical items have helped, as well as vulnerability from a quicken spell Contagion coming in handy. My damage calc is: 1d8+5 (Shillelagh Quarterstaff) +1d8 (Divine Strike) +2d10 (Staff of Withering) + 25 (Channel Divinity Touch of Death) +5d8 (4th Spell Slot Smite) And then double damage from vulnerability from Flesh Rot (how my DM ruled on contagion afflicting the disease on a hit, rather than after 3 turns)
As someone who tends to play support my favorite 1 lvl dip is always order domain cleric for voice of authority, and if anyone in the party is gonna play a rogue I will do it every single time.
With the Coffeelock build It's something to check first with where you play it. Ive been on a couple West marches where they either nerf it or outright ban it.
Bladesinger with 2 levels in paladin is busted. Tenser's Transformation with smiting is amazing. Did a high level campaign with that, got my 9th level spell slot, got foresight and advantage on every attack, with 30+ ac with disadvantage to hit me.
ah yes the spell that takes the wizard the most powerful class in the game and makes it a scuffed fighter with no features, and on top of that it has the audacity to give you exhaustion after
Same here! I really enjoyed getting two smites in one turn while still having 6+ level spells. I don't think it will work in Onednd though since smite is now a spell and so can only be done once per turn.
@Thoth728 I think tenser's is always battling with shadow blade, spirit shroud, and haste for which is best for the best concentration spell on a bladesinger.
@@trevormerritt548 all of those options are better than tensers, for many reasons but mainly they still make you do the whole reason why you are playing a wizard, namely they still let you cast spells.
Underselling sorcerer by a wide margin there. The sheer power in access to shield, absorb elements, and silvery barbs to sure up any class's defenses and control cannot be understated. And keep in mind none of those require any charisma investment beyond the 13 to dip to be at maximum effectiveness. Plus you get 4 cantrips with tons of utility options even if you aren't a charisma class like mage hand, minor illusion, prestidigitation, mold earth, shape water... the list goes on. And if you are building charisma, you have all your favorite offensive options too. Fire bolt, ray of frost, chill touch, mind sliver... So we have a strong base class, and it gets that more crazy with how good these 1st level subclass options are. Divine Soul is the standout, giving you bless on top of your spell picks (even if you don't pick law, you are gaining a level when you pick this so most rulings will let you use your 1 spell change per level to re-pick any cleric spell for this feature, even at level 1. Healing word is also strong even without charisma for that yoyo healing as a bonus action). You also get one of the strongest defensive options in the game in the form of favored by the gods, a 2d4 no action boost to any failed saving throw (or attack roll) every short rest. If you're confident in your saves, why stop at just 2 of those powerhouse spells mentioned earlier? Aberrant Mind, Clockwork Soul, and Lunar Sorcery can all take all 3, with some extra goodies thrown in. Aberrant Mind gets you 3 extra spells, and using the above rules you can swap out arms of hadar for silvery barbs. If you are charisma-based, mind sliver and dissonant whispers are also hugely powerful spells, making this an insane value dip. Plus you gain telepathy which is a hugely flexible utility that can be a massive boon in many campaigns. Clockwork Soul is a bit less flashy, but is great for the non-charisma dips getting you protection from evil and good as well as alarm which can be traded out per the above for shield or absorb elements. And restore balance can be a massive boon, scaling in uses with your proficiency bonus, so perfect for a dip feature. Use a reaction to nullify advantage or disadvantage. Your rogue can't sneak attack because the enemy was dodging or some other source of disadvantage? Now they can (as long as an ally is within 5 feet of the target)! Enemy with magic resistance? Too bad, make that saving throw flat against the wizard's hold monster. And finally lunar sorcery. Shield is already included here, and gets even better with an additional free cast every long rest. Using the re-training rules above you can grab an extra pick of your choice, as unlike the other subclasses this one does not specify any restrictions on the re-training, so the whole sorcerer spell list is open to you (may I suggest fog cloud?). Even if your DM rules against the re-training, this still guarantees you all 3 reaction spells if you're going for that. And for charisma casters, you not only get a solid cantrip in sacred flame, but the ability to hit 2 targets within 5 feet. One of the few cantrip options that can even give agonizing blast a run for its money, all for only a single level dip. I wouldn't be likely to dip beyond the one level, but that single level has so much value potential it easily competes with the other top dips. Depending on your build, any one of these 4 could be your best option.
Honestly the only class that is terrible to multi-class into is Monk and its mostly because its a little too restrictive. It can be fine but needs a lot more work. I feel Artificer is a really good dip as well. 1 level gets you some decent cantrips and spells while actually not hurting your spell slot progression too much because you round up not down. This works really well if you want to go 3 levels into it to get the sub-class. Not entirely sure what profiencies you get if you multi-class into Artificer but think a Tool, Light + Medium Armor, and Shield are the more acceptable options if there isn't anything official. Honestly level 2 is where it really pops off because of the Infusions. Getting a magic weapon or increased defenses is always nice but the Replicate Magic Item is one of the most broken abilities if abused. Replicating something like a Spell Wrought Tattoo is the strongest thing you can do because you don't need to know or be able to cast the spell to make one, RAW you can make choose any spell you can make a tattoo for. Artificer is a really strong option for a dip.
I like the Tattoo idea, though a DM might well decide that it's the same as a Scroll, so not allowed. On the other hand you could persuade the DM that the Infusion is in the needle, so once the Tattoo is applied the Infusion can be used again? To summarize, it's any Cantrip or Level 1 Spell, that you select after taking a Long Rest, that is assigned to yourself or someone else, that uses its own Spell Casting Ability Modifier (not yours or the character to whom it is applied), that has a Casting Time of 1 Action. What are the slam dunk spells to take? Or is the utility to take something situational or cover a party gap?
Thank-you for mentioning that Cleric is the only class that you can multi-class into for Heavy Armor Prof - and I think that's SO ridiculous! The old days of only Clerics being Primary Healer are over given all the healing power in other classes now, but none of the Cleric design shows this. They're still being pumped with every strength as if the devs think the healing role isn't being sold to players enough. IMHO, only Forge and War Clerics should grant Heavy Armor Prof (to any Cleric), not 50% of the subclasses. And Fighter and Paladin should at least grant it on multiclassing, if only because Clerics do. And don't get me started on Channel Divinity! With Harness Divine Power, Clerics join Sorcerers for being able to innately restore spell slots IN combat (spell level = half your PB, so good for multiclassing + amulet of the devout for one more CD use). I hope that in 5.5 they exchange this for the damage/heal power rather than getting all 4 possible uses. Does DC20 do this better?
The multiclass I've played that I enjoyed the most was a Drunken Master Monk/Ancestral Barbarian. I had boots of speed on a Tabaxi and the entire point was to run in, hit the biggest baddy, force him to have disadvantage against anyone who wasn't me, and then run far away.
I had a thought! I know I’m as surprised as you. Tempest cleric gives you the ability to roll max damage on one lightning spell per day, right? I’m asking I’ve never played it. But that’s what’s I’ve been told. So combine that with scribe wizard, because with a little preparation any spell can do lightning damage. Like imagine you make metoer swarm or something do lighting damage, and then every single one hits for maximum damage. Or just switch fireball and lightning bolt because fireball is a much more helpful shape. Now you’re doing 48 damage to everyone within range, which might be everyone. Or do the same with sorcerer, using meta magic to change damage type. Then again sorcerers don’t have some of the more fun spells. Suppose you could dip metamagic adept from a feat
So if action surge lets you cast again, add a sorcerer's quicken spell and you can have all other magic users jealous of your 3 fireballs in a single turn.
I think a tier list ranking of 9th level spells could be cool xD sure, they don't come up all that often, but that also means you really want to pick something cool *and* strong.
I have a building going that’s gonna end with 19 divination wizard and 1 peace cleric. The amount of utility cleric has given that cleric is NUTS. First of all, light armor(I’m a flyer). Second of all, guidance. Third of all THE FIRST LEVEL SPELLS. Inflict wounds on a fairy wizard is so nutty.
I'm currently playing a rogue/paladin multiclass and coupled with our divination wizard's uncanny ability to roll nat 20s on their portent dice...I've turned many enemies into dust, it's awesome
One class that doesn't get the love or the notoriety I think it should is Artificer. Not as busted as two leveled spells a turn but you get: --CON saving throws. --Medium armor and shield proficiencies. --Guidance cantrip so some spare healing. --People just dismiss the "ribbon feature" but permanent on demand light is useful. "Just use the Light cantrip." Sure but it can't leave an arrow image on a wall. --A choice of magical items. Limited yes but you don't have to wait for the DM to hand them out. Though not sexy you can snag a rare magical item at level two, +1 armor. It isn't going to help you go nova but it will keep you alive longer. If no one can hit you then you have more turns to cast spells or make attacks. Or a put that +1 on your bow because you are a human with the Sharpshooter feat. Now when you do multiclass into fighter and take the Archery fighting style you only take a -2 for that juicy +10 on damage. Clockwork Amulet, now once per day you can take a 10 instead of rolling dice. Any 1st level spell with the Spellwrought Tattoo. Depending on how your DM handles Spellwrought Tatts you can get the best first level spell ever. Because by RAW you can make any Spell with the Tatt. Say it with me Find Familiar. Or possible the best magical item for low level casters Mind Sharpener. (Depending on the roll to recharge) When you would loose concentration you can just say "Nope!" 4 times a day.
My guess on this list is... 5- Rouge, expertise and sneak attack are useful for every class 4- Warlock (Hexblade), we all know why 3- Cleric, pick your domain at first level and get useful weapon/armour proficiencirs. Trickery has decent low level non-combat spells (if my memory is correct) 2- Bard, jack of all trades and inspiration: always good 1- Fighter, action surge; armour and weapon proficiencies; second wind? (regain 10+fighter level hp feature)
Shout out to Tempest /Mountain Druid. At level 7, you can be a Druid in heavy armor casting an upcasted lightning bolt that deals maximum damage and uses your Wisdom modifier for its spells. Granted, you do have to be a Land Druid, but if you go past 7 you can just go further into Cleric instead. The most fun character I've ever played in a one shot.
I've recently found the absolute annoyance that is the Swords bard/Swashbuckler combo. Sure, it doesn't really shine until you get to level 6 in bard, but after that, you can become a proper pain, especially if you're playing a centaur. Mobile flourish ranged attack, use reaction to move up to the target, Charge attack, then run away. Or charge the target, getting sneak attack if they're alone against you, strike again, Defensive flourish, then run away. Repeat.
Rogue/Ranger (Tasha edition, obv) is still my go to multiclass with sorcerer/bard being a close 2nd. I've been using a Gloomstalker Ranger/Rogue in my Domain of the Deathless King run (along with 3 other full characters) And they've been consistently doing the most damage every combat encounter. I'd recommend giving it a go if anyone wants to try a kickass sniper build.
Hexblade Warlock 2, Peace Cleric 1, Divine/Lunar Sorcerer 1, Fighter 2. There are also strong builds that can use Life/Forge Cleric 1, Twilight Cleric 2, Clockwork Soul Sorcerer 1, Rune Knight Fighter/Giant Barbarian 3, Undead Warlock 1/2, and Battle Smith/Artillerist Artificer 3 to good enough effect to be worth mentioning. Seriously though, while Hexblade is the absolute headliner dip, more of the tippy top most powerful builds actually take a Sorcerer dip. Fighter 2 meanwhile is the least common denominator dip in that every class wants Con save proficiency, heavy armour and shield proficiency, and Action Surge, but it's rarely the actual best option available. Anyway, fundamentally, if your main class gets medium or better armour and shield proficiency, multiclass to get Shield, and Absorb Elements and Silvery Barbs if you can get them, preferably from a class and subclass with additional features that can be used to more reliably maintain concentration. If your main class gets Shield, multiclass for medium or better armour and shield proficiency, preferably from a class that won't interfere with your spell slot progression. If your main class gets neither, you're making things real hard on yourself but Hexblade, Battle Smith, and Artillerist (and Eldritch Knight technically) do exist. If your main class can't function outside of melee, Hexblade is a decent way to go. If your main class gets Goodberry, dip Life Cleric at some point for Disciple of Life to multiply its efficiency. If you really need to grapple, Giant Barbarian and Rune Knight Fighter at least ensure you can grapple Large creatures. The basic principles of optimization are very straightforward, with few surprises. Oh, also, Divine Smite is rarely worth the spell slots and risks inherent to entering melee. And Expertise really isn't worth much; there are only 5 skills in the game with enumerated mechanical effects beyond the DM's vibe check, none are difficult to pass, and you don't need to dip into the chassis of arguably the weakest class in the game to get it (go for Bard or Ranger instead if you must; the extra couple of levels are well worth the investment). And Hunter's Mark and Hex aren't worth the concentration past about level 5, so dipping for them is dumb.
A wizard with one level in cleric was an absolutely big brain move in my current game. Wizards do not have good bonus action economy. Clerics get that good ole healing word as a bonus action, plus sub classes that mesh well with a lot of the schools - for our little glass cannons- it has helped keep me alive on MULTIPLE occasions. XD
My current character is a lvl 3 Duergar Rune Knight fighter who picked up 1 level in rogue. The first strike with my +1 rapier on every turn is 1d8 + 1d6 + 1d4 + 1d6 + 7 damage. Thats sneak attack, giant's might, enlarge, and dueling fighting style. Plus the first turn I use the fire rune for another 2d6 fire damage. I also have expertise in stealth and next level will have invisibility. With the boots of elvenkind I'm wearing, I will have not only +8 to stealth but also advantage. Might have to dip into paladin just to get smites too to first turn nuke enemies lol
I am SOOOOO glad people are finally talking about the Arcane Trickster-Paladin Multiclass. It is, by far, my favorite multiclass combination, and has been for a good while
MoonDruidlvl2/Monklvl5: don’t know if it’s possible but I could not find any rules saying no to this, and many on reddit and other sites agree. Get promotion from your DM to have a phase spider as your wildshape. Climb to the ceiling and descend from it. Phase back into reality and open up with flurry of blows, then use another ki point to use Extra Attack then another ki to flurry of blows again. Giving you 32 1d4’s of attack. So 32 damage if you hit all 1’s, or 128 damage if you max out. If this kills the target, you’ll be out of combat allowing you to wrap up the target and cast intimidation on anything else in the room, wail looking like you will kill them if they Disturbe your meal.
The problem with “LOOK AT WHAT YOU GET FOR DIPPING INTO THIS CLASS” is that you’re not getting the things from another class. There’s only a few dips that are ever worth it in terms of power, and it aint Rogue 3….
note that a rogue dip gets you one extra skill, not just one expertise you get 2 expertise regardless of starting rogue or multiclassing, as its a class feature, not a base class proficiency just like if you'd dip 3 bard and get 2 expertise there
Can confirm. My warlock was getting his ass beat, then he took a level in fighter and became a terrifying Eldritch knight in his own right. Given he's half orc, I'm very likely to grab another two levels so the champion archetype can help with that sweet crit fish
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I find this funny, because I just bought wolves of Langston after watching Ginny Di’s video
Just FYI, your discount code didn't work.
Hexblade with 2 lvls in fighter and thrusting blade I'm pretty sure would be getting 4 attacks by lvl 4 or 5
What is the animated show where the small creature gets hit with an axe called?
Less D&D more warhammer quest
Ngl, I'm convinced the reason they moved the Warlock subclasses to level 3 is because the hexblade was so absurdly strong as a multiclass.
But didnt they move invocations to 1 and if ua stays the same the pact of blade invocation gives cha to aim and damage for the pact weapon now
now u can get at 1 lvl Eldritch Invocations- as Pact of the Blade and attack with cha. True we all lose hexblades curse, which is fantastic.
@@batWatchManhexblade dip also used to give Medium armor, shields, the shield spell, and Hexblades curse. Not anymore in One dnd
@@myravioli5096 Yeah the armor loss is painful but that just means you need to take a martial dip as well. Or cleric I guess. Still not bad considering what else you get.
Pretty sure they even confirmed it somewhere
Good to mention that starting with a 1st level dip in Artificer as a Wizard build is a optimizers dream. You start off with medium armor and shield proficiency which makes Mage Armor obsolete. Proficiency in CON saves which is MASSIVE for any spellcaster. And you get access to spells that regular Wizards would never have access to like Guidance, Thorn Whip, and Cure Wounds that scale with Intelligence. All this and you don't lose spell slot progression because you round up the number of spell slots when you multiclass.
Yeah, we know...
@@daveroles3783Well, I didn’t.
Tell me more about the spell slot rounding up deal? Currently playing a Twilight Cleric 9/Rune Knight 3
@@thecleanchannelmusic Artificer is the only class that specifies it rounds up spell slots.
@@thecleanchannelmusic pffft Twilight....most broken subclass in the game.
As a DM, this hurts to watch...
As a player I already feel sorry for my DM...
LMAAOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
As a DM I love when my party pulls this stuff, I can add little bells and extras to my monsters and not feel bad
@@CraigCollier-tg1qk I don't mind meta gaming, but it's pretty bad when there is one meta gamer, who makes everybody else feel uselesss
As a DM I love my players doing this crazy shit. And I like to be able to challenge them with even more interesting enemies and challenges. It's the fun part of being a DM.
As a DM, 🎶Anything you can do, I can use to fight you…🎶
A lvl 1 dip in Rogue gives you expertise in 2 skills (not one) and proficiency in 1 extra skill.
You're both right. I think, you get 2 expertises if you start rogue, but only one if you start something else.
@@taylorsmith9197 Expertise is a Rogue class ability that all Rogues get at Rogue level 1, so regardless if you start as Rogue or take a few levels in it later, you'll get Expertise in 2 skills.
@@taylorsmith9197 Rangers are the class that get the single skill of [Expertise] at level 1 with the ability (Canny) which is under the optional [Deft Explorer] if one doesn't want to take [Natural Explorer]. Rogues always get two skills with [Expertise] at level 1 regardless of whether you start as them or not, however they get ONE SKILL from the class's skill list, but [Expertise] can go into ANY TWO of your character's proficiencies regardless of whether or not they come from the taking a single level in Rogue.
I thought that sounded like too few.
5. cleric
4. Full-caster paladin (cleric)
3. Class that starts with cle and ends with ric
2. cleric subclasses
1. cleric domains
Clever sientist rick?
I noticed you missed Bard on your list. Please fix.
... No love for smooth talking cleric (divine soul sorcerer)?
HELL YEAH! CLERIC NATION RISE UP!
More cleric all the time
I was playing a module that had class restrictions. I couldn't play a druid or ranger, so I opted for a nature cleric arcane archer fighter who ironically worships a patron god of druids and rangers.
Wizard - Theurgy Domain of Nature is like 2 animal based ritual spells away from having access to ALL the published rituals in the game... so add in Magic Initiate/Ranger and you have the ultimate natural world magic user. Can dip into almost any martial for a customized wilderness hybrid.
That's a really odd restriction, what module was it?
Those are some pretty targeted restrictions, what's the creator have against druid types? 🤣
"Goodberry is OP"? 😆
@@prophetzarquon1922 good berry is very OP. 1st slot for a fixed 10hp healed. Better than any other spell. Keep ten people from starving per casting. Healer subclass bonuses apply the berries meaning you can heal upto 9hp per berry(90hp) from a single cast. Ten yo yo heals from a single cast.
It is hella OP
If you're already playing a Cleric, a one or two level dip into Druid is sneakily amazing at covering all of the class's relatively few weaknesses, even though none of the features jump out at first glance. The biggest boon is the cantrips; one of the few downsides to the Cleric is that they don't get any attack roll based cantrips, which are better than save-based ones in most situations. Druid can get you Shilelagh, giving you a genuine melee option to make use of Divine Strike with, or Primal Savagery, which does d10 damage in a pretty solid damage type, Acid. The amazing one however is Thorn Whip, which can more than double your damage output if you pair it with Spirit Guardians: drag an enemy into the area of your SG and it takes the damage *twice*, once when it enters and then again at the start of its turn. This has been confirmed in Sage Advice. Also, having Mold Earth or Shape Water can be amazing out of combat.
Plus, one level in Druid will let you prep 5 or six additional first level spells: not only do you get access to Absorb Elements, Fairie Fire, Charm Person, and Speak with Animals, but you can prep Healing Word, Detect Magic, and/or Cure Wounds as a Druid, freeing up your cleric preparation slots for higher-level spells. And a second level in druid will give you access to Wild Shape, which is amazing for both exploration and stealth (both things that Clerics can struggle with) and access to the Stars Druid subclass, which pairs *beautifully* with Cleric--twice a day, you can spend a bonus action and a wild shape charge to either a) get in essence a more versatile free version of Spiritual Weapon that you can get out on round 1, b) a huge boost to your healing spells, or c) the ability to auto succeed on almost every concentration check. All that plus a free guiding bolt PB times per day, letting you save your first level spell slots for other things. And hey, take a third level and you can grab Pass Without Trace, meaning (even in your heavy armor) you and your whole party can nail stealth checks with ease, as well as Heat Metal to roast armored enemies alive with no saving throw.
You can pick up a strong Wisdom-based attack roll cantrip with a background or species feature. Stars Druid is definitely a thing, but three levels in Druid is a bit much. You can get Pass Without Trace elsewhere. (Not to mention the Surprised nerf in the new PHB means Pass Without Trace won't be the powerhouse it was before.) Also keep in mind that if you take the dip before level 5 so you can benefit from your cantrips earlier, you're not going to see Spirit Guardians until level 7. You always have to ask "two levels from now, would I rather have Starry Form and Wild Shape, or my next tier of magic?" It's definitely not bad though, and opens up some really strong exploration and sustain options. Of course, you would rather just have a druid in your party and probably straight-class Cleric, maybe with a 1-level dip into Divine Soul or Lunar Sorcerer around level 7.
It's worth noting that creatures entering or re-entering Pass Without Trace range, can be added/removed _for the duration._
So, you can walk up to someone & then include them in your +10.
Great for breakouts.
@@prophetzarquon1922 So, this is table by table! You should talk with your DM and discuss how the spell will work. Some people interpret that it's an aura around you, and some people interpret that you pick creatures around you when you cast it, and they keep the effect for the duration. Jeremy Crawford did tweet a couple clarifications, but they were never published in Sage Advice and many players ignore his opinions, as he's made some controversial calls and also created some contradictions in the past.
@@RaethFennec No, it explicitly says that you can choose for the duration. Of course, a DM can always rule otherwise, but that would be homebrew.
@@prophetzarquon1922 You're interpreting what's written, but you're filling in the gaps with your own added ideas. You're not doing anything wrong, other than assuming that how you read it is the only way it can be accurately read. Let's be more comprehensive on the topic together! Try this. Get a physical writing utensil and paper, and write out the full text of the spell. Then, take down notes on every detail you need to know to use the spell in a game. Reference the original spell text and note down for each requirement whether the information is explicitly stated, or implied based on the text. I think you'll be surprised how much of what you need has to be inferred!
You can choose to adopt Jeremy Crawford's personal opinion, but it is not officially RAI, nor is any interpretation that fully suits what's written. If you satisfy all the rules text, it's RAW. It is often seen as poor form to call something homebrew except in the most strict cases where the rules are violated or ignored. Since tables can vary so much, it's often best to identify RAW, RAI, and opinions (even very good opinions!) for exactly which they are. 5e is full of headaches like this. Let's hope the 2024 handbook resolves many of these types of issues!
As a paladin, I can confirm smites are awesome
WHICH IS WHY THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE NERFED IT SO MUCH!!!
Agreed
I think that nerfing smite to one per turn could be good thing, but they need to give smitesa lot more power in compensation.
@@shanedsouza189 no, because it doesn't even stack with Eldritch Smite.
Good thing all these stupid changes will be ignored in our current campaign, and I will never play D&D after that one is over.
i’ve played multiple fighter/wizard combos (usually with warcaster so i never fail concentration) and they have always been fun. it’s nice to have an ac of 18, a longsword, and be able to cast fireball twice
If you're thinking about a 1 level dip into rogue, go ranger instead. You still get the expertise with the Tasha optional rules, hunter's mark does the same damage as sneak attack (trades specificity for a resource) but applies to more than one attack, and you get better proficiencies.
It is personal preference whether or not you'll get more out of a multi-dip into either rogue or ranger, but I believe ranger is the better 1-level-dip.
Love you videos man. Thank you for your time and effort that you put in to them. We feel you love and joy in every word
The most recent insane multi class building I’ve ever seen:
6 levels of necromancer wizard
11 levels of archfey warlock
1 level of life domain cleric
2 levels of ranger
I forget how it does it specifically, but it allows for you to summon 124 skeletons into battle daily. It was insanely broken and I’m pretty sure no one would ever want or be allowed to use it, but it was so creative in its design that I’m kinda in love with it.
No one really cares about level 20 builds, that stuff is played by like less than 3% of DnD population. Only levels that matter are between 5 (would be 3 but you don't often multiclass there) and 12.
Not only are players having issues with such power, but so are DMs. There's no point in making combat if it's not challenging, but if your PCs are min-maxed level 20 demigods, DM has to account for literally every single of theirs and introduce a competent and worthy foe for them, otherwise it's boring. But margin for error is so small that now DM's creatures also can do similarly silly things like 124 skeletons into battle, or tactical nukes.
Aside from the gameplay aspect, there's also big shift in tone too. If you're level 20 in DnD world, with known existence of Gods, you're either hiding away cause you're tired or hoarding piles of gold, not interacting with the world, or you're straight up being a God-King style character and ruling whole country.
Once you pass like level 14-15, you cannot be "just an adventurer". Any such level character should be widely known or heard about, even if they're doing their best to stay on the low, legends will appear. You should be getting in history books by that level and that's not something average person who plays DnD is either comfortable nor capable of playing out.
TL;DR Number munchkin for 20 is pointless and at most exercise in theory, so most multiclassing talk should be categorized in low, mid, high, maximum, with respective levels being something along the lines of 1-5, 6-10, 11-15, 16-20.
The other advantage of the Twilight Cleric (and 2nd level Warlock Devils sight) dip is that it removes the biggest issue with variant Humans (and some other races), *no darkvision.*
In a party with mostly darkvision enabled races doing anything at night or underground, having the non darkvision races able to get this helps so much.
Otherwise they're going to be tripping over, or having to use a light.
My solution for our human barbarian at our table has been having my Pact Of The Chain imp sit on her shoulder as a seeing-eye fiend, all the while whispering in her ear trying to make her become a Warlock >:)
twilight cleric is gar superior to any racial dark vision. They can see 120 ft. You can see for miles. The warlock sight let's you see thru magical darkness.
These are worth taking even if your race does get Darkvision.
Ranger Hunter 3, you get the stacking situational extra attack with horde breaker, full martial proficiencies, tracking and traveling bonuses, 2 extra languages from deft explorer and 2 more if you select humanoid favored enemies, a fighting style, three level 1 spells(including Goodberry, you will never starve)...
That Horde Breaker extra attack is slept on in a massive way.
Two ideas I have but never had the chance to try...
College of Swords Bard w/ Hexblade Warlock (1-4 lvls); reliable damaging cantrip in Eldritch Blast, Hellish Rebuke, Wrathful Smite and a weapon that uses Chr as it's damage modifier. Plus Medium Armor, Shield, Extra Attack and Dueling Fighting Style.
Paladin (Oath of Glory) w/ Divine Soul Sorc (1-2 lvls) and, maybe, Hexblade Warlock (1-2 lvls). Hexblade helps with weapon damage if you can't afford high Str but DS Sorc brings Guidance, Radiant Flame (If no Eldritch Blast), Word of Radiance and allows you enough cantrips to skip Blessed Warrior and pick another Fighting Style.
rogue got a true pottential of multiclassing, my friend was one time played a multiclass barbarian-rogue and i know its sounds ridiculous but incredibly powerfull
The Slasher build, most people wouldn't call it ridiculous. XD
Conan sometimes acts like a rogue. So does Mathius from Scorpion King.
Dude, the Barbarogue is SUCH a good multiclass. Reckless Attack guarantees Sneak Attack. Not to mention with Cunning Action that you can use the turn after you Rage enables you to Disengage for free after attacking to help mitigate the advantage against you Reckless Attack gives your enemy
Angry stealth!
@@stillatwork Using Intimidation to scare people into not seeing you 🤣
My favorite 5e multiclass is Eldritch Knight and Abjuration Wizard. Gives me heavy armor, shield and absorb elements spells, and arcane ward for staying power; as well as counterspell and dispel magic for denying spellcasters which fuel my ward.
Eldritch Knight was always perfect when combined with the corresponding wizard. The only thing it doesn't have is charisma for talking. Which is fine if your not the party face.
@@Merilirem I use mouths to speak, not charisma...these players are confused, aren't they?
Low Charisma can turn every dialog check into a new enemy.
... I hate the social mechanics in D&D 5e...
@@prophetzarquon1922DM issue. Being bad at talking doesn't make everyone want to attack you.
@@JayF2912 Systemic issue: To do anything via roleplay, you must first be understood. You need _real_ communication skills, to play effectively in the first place. A fighter who doesn't roleplay well, can still roll well. A social interaction that isn't roleplayed well, has already failed before a die is even cast.
Trying to say appropriate things _and_ roll well, is two chances to fail. The only real comparable mechanically, is not understanding a spell.
Here is something people overlook: Battle Smith Artificer. One would think it is not a good thing, but using INT instead of DEX/STR is good, specially for subclasses like Eldritch Knight, Phantom, Soul Knife, Psi Warrior, Bladesinger. Some of them require 3 stats, but by dipping 3 levels you get to focus on 2 plus you get a pet, if you are one size smaller you can use it to ride it. As well as getting more spells.
I dont care about power, i just want my players to have fun. I have one guy who went Great weapon master + Sentinel fighter barbarian multiclass. And he is about as powerfull as everyone else in the party because i try and balance them with the magic items i give. (That isnt considered rail-roading right?)
That's not rail roading. That's adapting your game so that everyone can play the way they want
It's the right thing to do. All players should be on similar footing (unless one is absolutely trolling). But this way the powergamer might feel left out, so preferably players should understand eachother as well and build their character in similar league
As long as you aren't completely controlling what they get. Like not giving them anything but what you think they should use.
Great weapon master plus sentinel works great if you add polearm master for reach and weild a halberd. I have a bugbear with this build, giant's path with a dip into echo fighter. Lots of battlefield control. Plays more as a support than a tank but still lots of fun.
Why did this comment get hearted lol?
'Now give me 10% off or I'll tear out your spleen'. I like how matter of fact that he states it like he's not even trying to be mean or particularly threatening It's like it's no different than haggling to him.
Dont forget that paladin and clerics also allow any spell caster to have a *SECOND* spell casting (focus) bonus as the amulet of the devout STACKS with others and gives an extra channel divinity! So you can make enemies have some crazy high saving throws. The difference between a 15 save and a 17 save is huge
So I can have two magical foci and stack their bonuses?
eldritch knight: never be disarmed, shape water, friends, absorb elements, shield and find familiar or silvery barbs, none of which utilize your intellect score.
Not silvery barbs, willingly casting silvery barbs is disgraceful
This is an awesome amazing video, but I’m gonna need another one from you at the end of September
So, after seeing this, and as someone who likes multi-classing, I think I may have come up with a pretty powerful, equally broken and 100% likely to never be allowed as I doubt any DM would allow a player to multiclass this many times... pure dip build.
States: Point Buy
Strength: 15
Dexterity: 14
Constitution: 12
Intelligence: 8
Wisdom: 8
Charisma: 14
1st&2nd level: Paladin, For Lay on Hands, Divine Smite, and the Blessed Warrior (for Guidance)
3rd&4th level: Sorcerer any origin as we mainly want Font of Magic and use the Sorcery Points for extra spell/smiting slots.
5th&6th level: Fighter, For Second Wind, Action Surge, and a Second Fighting Style (I'd suggest 2 weapon Fighting as you'll be lacking Extra Attack feature)
7th&8th level: Rogue, for Expertise, Cunning Action, and the Sneak Attack Bonus
9th&10th Level: Barbarian, For Rage and Reckless Attack (Note: Divine Smite is a Class Feature, not a spell, so can be use while Raging)
Can then add more levels of which ever above classes you want from there. Also spread out and mix up the level order however you want, but by the end, you'll pretty much be a raging sneak smiting terror with the deadliest pair of shortswords/Scimitars on the battle field.
Now, why Sorcerer and not Warlock? I considered Hexblade, but the Barbarians Rage bonus requires attacking with Strength. Also, Spell Casting and Pact Magic don't mix with multiclassing. As such, this way you count as a 3rd level caster for spell slots (four 1st level and two 2nd level slots, or just five 2nd level smiting slots with Sorcery Points).
Thank you, Sir Master for your great builds!
I am playing a Goodberry Cleric of Life
(from your 1st level builds video)
I named her Persephone, after Greek Queen of the underworld
Goddess of the dead, the underworld, grain, and nature,
with the Outlander background (by teached by Druid to explain Magic Initiate feat)
in an Underdark campaign.
There are many NPCs, lack of food and a lot of starvation checks
I feel like a real ray of Light and Life,
helping other party members on this Dark Deep Journey,
thank you for great content!
As a lore bard (level 5) who just took a dip into Hexblade warlock for levek 6 after some bad combats (my dex and STR were smited by RNG), I am so glad warlock gets so much at 1
I played a one shot after joining the patreon. He's a fantastic DM. Reasonably annoyed and well restrained.
1 level dip into druid is FANTASTIC for rangers and monks...
You get access to some excellent cantrips like:
Guidance, Shillelagh (bonus action, buffs a quarterstaff or club, no concentration)!
Hunter Sense! This cantrip is from the "Book of Ebon Tides". It's not 'official', but it is part of the DnD Beyond platform. This cantrip alone is worth the dip. Whenever you roll a 9 or lower on a perception check, you can treat it as a 10. Add proficiency, and a +3 wisdom modifier, and you are never rolling lower than 16!
You pick up mastery of the "Druidic" script, and you can choose between having a third druid cantrip, or proficiency in Martial weapons and Medium armor.
Further comes access to a nice variety of buff, healing, damaging, and reaction spells. VERY worth it!
I currently have a simic-hybrid fathomless warlock- storm sorcerer. It's super fun, and I obviously plan on taking a 2 lv dip in tempest cleric. He's practically a walking storm currently.
Are you playing a demonic slime?
1:34 "Smite makes right!", let me hear you roar Paladins.
I theorized a wyvern knight kind of character: Paladin up to level 13 for Find Greater Steed (Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons gives the option to summon a draconeel, which is the closest you can get to a wyvern) and to start with Heavy Armor proficiency; Monk up to level 4 for Slow Fall (negate fall damage equal to 5x your monk level) and the ability to dodge, dash or disengage in heavy armor as a bonus action (nothing saying you can’t use ki points this way) and if you choose to go to Monk 7 you get Evasion; if you only went to 4 you take three levels in cavalier fighter for the ability to mount and dismount with five feet of movement.
My War Cleric 2 / War Wizard 11+ is a big, sturdy, fat, muscular, tall elephant man in full plate armor, helmet and shield.
He's the party squishy wizard.
The ESO Deadlands trailer in the beginning was awesome
I'm using right now, a ranger with 1 level of cleric in the build. It's broken. I have heavy armor proficiency, the spell searing smite (you know what that is!), and a magic weapon. Yeah, just from the forge cleric subclass. Thanks for the awesome video!👍
Cleric is fucking wild at level 1. People SLEEP on it, so often, but one dip is incredible.
Yeah, it's just a matter of synergy. While 1 level in Cleric gives you a ton, it doesn't always fit your build. That said, 2 in twilight goes brilliantly on a wood elf rogue. Now you can hide in your own aura as a bonus action.
I’m in a PvP Sever and most builds are or dip into cleric, druid, fighter, sorcerer or warlock.
Multiclass dips seem more common in PvP because losing class capstones isn't as important, when multiclass builds lay waste at every level until those last few.
@@prophetzarquon1922 counter points: How often do you reach the capstones? Are the capstones really worth it? If you know you’ll reach level 20 a single level in for example cleric can be fantastic and a two level dip in fighter is always good. Last counter point: meteor swarm and if anyone is still alive action surge.
@@RedRolen Um, yeah. Yup. Did you think I disagreed? I literally just said, that a capstone seems less important than being buff at all the levels up to then.
For me, wizard 1 is an amazing dip. Shield spell plus Owl familiar.
"thanks to Twilight and War Domains" (7:17) *Tempest Cleric has left the chat*
As a newbie, i appriciate this. Thanks a lot.
know what i HATE about your videos? the little clips of animation you use, i mean i like them, but i HATE that you don't tell me WTF they are. i usually know most of them, but there is always at least 1 in each video i don't know and want to track down.... what were the two clips from during the hexblade portion? the elfy thing with glowy arms and legs... TELL ME DAMN YOU (and other than that i do love your videos)
Same
3 lvls of inquisitive rogue lets you do insight checks on a target as a bonus action. Pass, and you have advantage on that target until it either dies, or you do the check on someone else. That means auto sneak attack each time. Multiclass that with a paladin and life cleric to get some insane damage stacks (life cleric gets a radiant attack at lvl 8 to add to your attack, gets stronger at lvl 14, and can still cast a concentration spell on your weapon for extra radiant damage).
The Cleric dip has always been my favorite for most casters but that single level of Fighter is truly ❤
Inquisitive Rogue/ Oath of vengeance paladin was what I played for my very first game ever, it was an absolute blast!
I understand that this is focused on the core classes, however, there is an argument for taking a 2-3 level dip in Artificer.
Light armor, medium armor, and shields are good for your casters, while thieves’ and tinker’s tools are useful overall. Preparable spell list, and magic tinkering (prestidigitation lite). Level 2 sees you infusing your weapons and armor, and a level 3 sees some interesting combos. (a stealthy Paladian with Armorer, A Pact Chain Battle smith with an additional 1 demon and 2 robot-familiars, or a Barbarian that loves his workout supplements with Alchemist). A 13 Int is also good for several checks.
I have had great success with the above mention barbarian combo, but also with a Phantom Rogue for all the tool prof and tool kits.
Obviously Artificer is amazing. Especially for wizards.
It's fun options, but not as good as the ones mentioned in the video. Artificer is really good for Wizards, Rogues, and Fighters in particular, but the other classes it's really more just for fun than it is anything efficient. Even for wizard it's suboptimal, but for flavor & fun it's a great option.
Even if it is on the weaker side I love the variety of the Artificer, and the only subclass that I outright dislike is Alchemist. It's lackluster in power and resource availability. Even so, it's my most played subclass and I've still had good fun with it over the years, most DM's use my homebrew changes to elixir as well which does wonders
@@malmasterson3890 You can make an Alchemist strong if you really want to, and don't mind playing support, and your DM allows potions to be administered as an action. Play a Reborn of your favorite species, or any elf with Trance (Shadar-kai are great.) Build for full Int or Charisma, with a 13 in Wisdom and 14 Con. Start with 3 levels of Alchemist, then 2 levels of Warlock (Genie is preferred, but pick your favorite). Starting at level 2, you use Replicate Magic Item to produce a Spellwrought Tattoo each day, and first give Find Familiar to each party member. (After that, load up useful spells on non-casters first, things like Healing Word, Shield, Absorb Elements, Bless, then niche spells if needed like Comprehend Languages or Protection from Good and Evil.) By level 4, when you long rest, you only need 4 hours and then can take four short rests while everyone else is sleeping. Before each short rest, you create an Experimental Elixir with your Pact slot(s) and then short rest to get that back. This means you can pick 4 at level 4, and 8 at level 5, in addition to getting two randomly-rolled elixirs for the day after your long rest. We're going to make every single one Boldness, and give 1-2 of them to each of the party's strikers. (Read: paladins, fighters, rangers, barbarians, etc. Whoever uses attack rolls and does the most damage.) Have each player instruct their familiar to administer a potion of boldness to them as soon as they give a command word. (It doesn't have to be "JUICE!" but it is encouraged. Use your discretion.) On your first turn in combat, cast Bless on the strikers, too. They now have +2d4 on all attack rolls and saving throws. Even if your party only has one main striker, you are likely already contributing on average as much damage per round (DPR) as your striker, by giving an average +5 to everything. At level 6, dip 1 level of Peace Cleric for Emboldening Bond. Ideally, set this up before combat starts, or if you have nothing better to do on your turn. They now have ANOTHER +1d4 on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw of their choice on EACH turn. This means they have +3d4 on every saving throw, assuming they don't suffer a saving throw more than once per each player or creature's turn. You also have the Guidance cantrip, which combines with Emboldening Bond for a +2d4 on an ability check. This is all by level 6! Because it scales in value with your allies' attacks, it will NEVER not be useful at-level. Every other single thing your character does in combat from there is just a cherry on top. I like theming them as a cook! Their pact is with a powerful entity that wants to create the best recipes in the world, and you can deck your Genie's Respite out as a kitchen with a cozy table! For the last 14 levels, if you went Int, change tracks to Wizard or back to Artificer for the rest of your career, or if you picked Charisma, return to Warlock or switch to Sorcerer. Pick your favorites, but Divination Wizard and Divine Soul Sorcerer are both thematic, with Portent letting you do some broken things or cover the rare chance someone actually fails an important saving throw in your presence, and Divine Soul protecting your concentration even more, and giving you a level 20 capstone of unlimited flight!
Pair with anyone having 6 levels in Paladin for optimal saving throw dominance.
@@RaethFennec That is really cool! I've done similar builds in the past, but a hiccup I've encountered a lot is many DM's don't like the caveat of common items on RMI for Spellwrought Tatoos. I'm also in a lot of servers that place restrictions on Find Familiar for balancing reasons.
I have had a recent friend make a build similar to this though where we rule Elixirs as a bonus action. Currently he's 5 Peace/3 Alchemist and his character is basically post bomb Oppenheimer thus the Peace domain (the campaign started around the time of the movie). He's just a variant Human, but he can get me (My beloved Aasimar Giant Barbarian) and our RK fighter a +3d4 by the start of our second turn easily. Still really solid.
The build that I've run the most is my splatoon inspired character with Hexblade 3+/Alchemist 3. I do the reborn Pact Magic slots exploit for more elixirs & basically treat them as a goth Inkling reflavoring elixirs and certain spells as ink & sub weapons. Eldritch Blast & my Hex Weapon are my splattershot & inkbrush. Usually my DM's allow me to ready action for Elixirs, so I'm only missing out on my reaction until my turn.
I use the Order of Scribes Wizard/Tempest Cleric combination. Being able to make almost any damaging spell I want into a maximized lightning or thunder spell is delicious.
And it gets especially fun if you pick up Metamagic Adept and take Transmuted Spell for all the spells you can't make into a lightning/thunder spell.
I agree with fighter one :) it literally fits to majority of builds and there are some cool or funny synergies (even if they are not optimized) - one of these was "Thor" barbarian - basically dwarf barbarian that suddenly throws magical maul at enemies from 60 ft XD.
STIs and meth in the first 2 minutes, quite the unhinged video compared to your usual content (I like it)
Yeah, this is becoming a more adult-centric, and I'm all for it.
2 levels of moon druid is also a funky dip for all martials!
-Turning into a 37hp dire wolf as a bonus action twice every short rest is a HUGE increase to survivability.
-Wildshape specifically allows you to use race and class features, so it works with features like rage, sneak attack, martial arts and even extra attack!
-Dire Wolf has pack tactics, so you get to do all attacks with advantage as long as you have a buddy next to you.
-And you get a few nice spells like guidance, absorb elements and healing word.
Works especially well with monk, both for stat reasons and because the 6th level monk feature makes the wildshape attacks magical.
Kung fu Panda is normally a 1 or 2 level dip into Monk to give the Moon Druid Unarmored Defense and the Bonus Action attack. Note that a 6th level Moon Druid also gets natural weapon attacks that count as magical. Actually, I don't agree with your interpretation - a Monks unarmed strikes count as Magical. Natural Weapons make Simple Melee Weapon Attacks, which is different.
@@bukharagunboat8466 MAybe, but in a pinch you can still make a normal unarmed strike. Imagine the look on the enemies face when the dire wolf kicks him in the face instead of biting.
I love ALL DnD Shorts videos!
On the topic of Hexblade + Cleric, Doing 5 levels of Hexblade, and then go Twilight Cleric or War Domain the rest of the way, you've got a decent selection of early Warlock spells, heavy armor proficiency, amazing saves on Wisdom and Charisma, access to Spiritual Weapon and Spirit Guardians by lv 10, Agonizing Blast, the last goes on. Yes, you do have to split your attention between Wisdom and Charisma, and you would need Strength for heavy armor... if not for the existence of Mithral Armor. A set of armor in this variety would remove the Strength requirement AND there'd be no disadvantage on Stealth checks.
I did a fathomless warlock dip on my swashbuckler rogue.....SO GOOD
The fighter dip on rogue is quite slept on. Rogues severely need a fighting style, and the lack of extra attacks, makes action surge invaluable when you are unable to land the sneak attack. But if you get Battlemaster, you get the maneuvers of "brace" and "riposte", allowing you to land sneak attacks on a reaction with an extra dice. Alternatively, you can get those maneuvers with a feat, allowing you to get an extra sneak attack per short rest.
Imagine a Swashbuckler Battlemaster, you get in, attack two or three times, sneak attack and move just five feet away from your opponent. And if your opponent moves towards you, you activate brace and attack landing another sneak attack with an extra d6.
Eldritch Knight is a great time cuz of that Action Surge ngl. Deacon Dreamer was so fun to play as when our dm sent us through Ebberon. He was an Eldritch Knight Fight that was a Winged Tiefling. Often used a bow from the sky or shot off lots of lightning bolts and other spells
My headcanon is that Elminster doesn't have those 2 fighter levels because of his backstory, he just wanted to maximise his casting ability
Fiendlock+Barbarian is an awesome combo.
Constant Temp HP+Rage means you are an amazing tank, and Armor of Agathys becomes twice as effective. A 2nd level spell slot can get you effectively 20 temp HP that auto-retaliates with cold damage, it's AWESOME
And of course eldritch blast for a ranged option that isn't thrown weapons
My last campaign i played a ranger, that trained into warlock. Probably should've gotten levels in warlock, but the way we did training, i instead just gained warlock abilities and features through training out of a desire for a counter against magic. I still mainly played as a ranger (my character started as a lizardfolk village hunter my damage with bows was very high,) but always had a bag of warlock tricks at my disposal. Later on i ended up evolving from a lizardfolk to an undead dragon after freeing and pledging my life to my patron, a Dragon God of the Shadow Plains. So much fun.
My favorite is Storm Sorcerer with a 2-Level dip into Tempest Cleric.
Not only do you gain proficieny in heavy armor & martial weapons (+Light/Medium Armor & Shields from multiclassing), and a free "Thunderwave" reaction if hit by a melee attack (2d8 Lightning/Thunder and pushes attacker 15ft back on a failed STR save), but DESTRUCTIVE WRATH exists, maximizing any Lightning/Thunder damage a spell deals!
Pair this with Chain Lightning (10d8), and you're dealing a flat 80 LIGHTNING to 1-4 people on a failed DEX save, which can be amplified with Sorcerer's Heightened Metamagic (imposes disadvantage on 1 saving throw made)!
Before watching the video here's my predictions
Fighter. Action surge on a spellcaster is insane
Cleric. The much easier of two ways to get Heavy armour proficiency from multi classing and some incredibly powerful low level spells (inflict wounds, guiding bolt, healing word, spiritual weapon..)
Wizard. Divination wizard is insane also mage armour is really good on something like a rogue, not to mention find familiar, shield.. Wizards just have a really great spell list, also the bladesinger allows for an easy AC boost for anyone with a positive intelligence modifier who likes to keep a hand free.
Barbarian. halving most damage is really strong, but not everyone can make use of it, casters in particular, but everyone can make use of easy advantage on attacks, advantage on dex saves, the huge hit die, and I do think most mages (except maybe Clerics) can appreciate adding your con mod to AC
Paladin. Big hit die, some innate healing that can come in clutch, a few good spells, but mostly of course, SMITE! Especially on something like a bladesinger, war cleric, Shillelagh Druid, that stuff hits hard.
Alright 3/5.. Turns out there's just a lot of classes that get many good things from the first few levels
Also one slight error I noticed in the video, you say Cleric is the only way you can get heavy armour proficiency from multiclassing, however, Armorer artificer also gets heavy armour proficiency from the subclass, but it's at level 3 so it's not quite as appealing.
You should make a breaking fighter. There are so many ways to make really cool fighters. Love the patreon.
I've been playing in a game where my initial plan was to just be a rogue/sorcerer, which had its own backstory reason approved by the GM. but as we kept playing I found myself very much so in need of a bit more, so I worked with him again to pick up an undead patron in the tomb we're sanctifying for a 2 level dip.
The undead dragon blood mastermind if you will.
My Cleradin (10 Cleric, 3 paladin), Elahrin, has so far managed to deal 140 damage in 1 hit, not on a crit. A few magical items have helped, as well as vulnerability from a quicken spell Contagion coming in handy. My damage calc is: 1d8+5 (Shillelagh Quarterstaff) +1d8 (Divine Strike) +2d10 (Staff of Withering) + 25 (Channel Divinity Touch of Death) +5d8 (4th Spell Slot Smite) And then double damage from vulnerability from Flesh Rot (how my DM ruled on contagion afflicting the disease on a hit, rather than after 3 turns)
Absolutely LOVE your channel! MORE! MORE! MORE!
As someone who tends to play support my favorite 1 lvl dip is always order domain cleric for voice of authority, and if anyone in the party is gonna play a rogue I will do it every single time.
With the Coffeelock build It's something to check first with where you play it. Ive been on a couple West marches where they either nerf it or outright ban it.
Very fond of Tempest Cleric dip for a Storm Sorcerer as well as 2 level dip of Warlock for invocations added to a Shadow Sorcerer.
Bladesinger with 2 levels in paladin is busted. Tenser's Transformation with smiting is amazing. Did a high level campaign with that, got my 9th level spell slot, got foresight and advantage on every attack, with 30+ ac with disadvantage to hit me.
ah yes the spell that takes the wizard the most powerful class in the game and makes it a scuffed fighter with no features, and on top of that it has the audacity to give you exhaustion after
Same here! I really enjoyed getting two smites in one turn while still having 6+ level spells. I don't think it will work in Onednd though since smite is now a spell and so can only be done once per turn.
@Thoth728 I think tenser's is always battling with shadow blade, spirit shroud, and haste for which is best for the best concentration spell on a bladesinger.
@@trevormerritt548 all of those options are better than tensers, for many reasons but mainly they still make you do the whole reason why you are playing a wizard, namely they still let you cast spells.
Underselling sorcerer by a wide margin there. The sheer power in access to shield, absorb elements, and silvery barbs to sure up any class's defenses and control cannot be understated. And keep in mind none of those require any charisma investment beyond the 13 to dip to be at maximum effectiveness. Plus you get 4 cantrips with tons of utility options even if you aren't a charisma class like mage hand, minor illusion, prestidigitation, mold earth, shape water... the list goes on. And if you are building charisma, you have all your favorite offensive options too. Fire bolt, ray of frost, chill touch, mind sliver... So we have a strong base class, and it gets that more crazy with how good these 1st level subclass options are.
Divine Soul is the standout, giving you bless on top of your spell picks (even if you don't pick law, you are gaining a level when you pick this so most rulings will let you use your 1 spell change per level to re-pick any cleric spell for this feature, even at level 1. Healing word is also strong even without charisma for that yoyo healing as a bonus action). You also get one of the strongest defensive options in the game in the form of favored by the gods, a 2d4 no action boost to any failed saving throw (or attack roll) every short rest.
If you're confident in your saves, why stop at just 2 of those powerhouse spells mentioned earlier? Aberrant Mind, Clockwork Soul, and Lunar Sorcery can all take all 3, with some extra goodies thrown in.
Aberrant Mind gets you 3 extra spells, and using the above rules you can swap out arms of hadar for silvery barbs. If you are charisma-based, mind sliver and dissonant whispers are also hugely powerful spells, making this an insane value dip. Plus you gain telepathy which is a hugely flexible utility that can be a massive boon in many campaigns.
Clockwork Soul is a bit less flashy, but is great for the non-charisma dips getting you protection from evil and good as well as alarm which can be traded out per the above for shield or absorb elements. And restore balance can be a massive boon, scaling in uses with your proficiency bonus, so perfect for a dip feature. Use a reaction to nullify advantage or disadvantage. Your rogue can't sneak attack because the enemy was dodging or some other source of disadvantage? Now they can (as long as an ally is within 5 feet of the target)! Enemy with magic resistance? Too bad, make that saving throw flat against the wizard's hold monster.
And finally lunar sorcery. Shield is already included here, and gets even better with an additional free cast every long rest. Using the re-training rules above you can grab an extra pick of your choice, as unlike the other subclasses this one does not specify any restrictions on the re-training, so the whole sorcerer spell list is open to you (may I suggest fog cloud?). Even if your DM rules against the re-training, this still guarantees you all 3 reaction spells if you're going for that. And for charisma casters, you not only get a solid cantrip in sacred flame, but the ability to hit 2 targets within 5 feet. One of the few cantrip options that can even give agonizing blast a run for its money, all for only a single level dip.
I wouldn't be likely to dip beyond the one level, but that single level has so much value potential it easily competes with the other top dips. Depending on your build, any one of these 4 could be your best option.
Honestly the only class that is terrible to multi-class into is Monk and its mostly because its a little too restrictive. It can be fine but needs a lot more work. I feel Artificer is a really good dip as well. 1 level gets you some decent cantrips and spells while actually not hurting your spell slot progression too much because you round up not down. This works really well if you want to go 3 levels into it to get the sub-class. Not entirely sure what profiencies you get if you multi-class into Artificer but think a Tool, Light + Medium Armor, and Shield are the more acceptable options if there isn't anything official. Honestly level 2 is where it really pops off because of the Infusions. Getting a magic weapon or increased defenses is always nice but the Replicate Magic Item is one of the most broken abilities if abused. Replicating something like a Spell Wrought Tattoo is the strongest thing you can do because you don't need to know or be able to cast the spell to make one, RAW you can make choose any spell you can make a tattoo for. Artificer is a really strong option for a dip.
I like the Tattoo idea, though a DM might well decide that it's the same as a Scroll, so not allowed. On the other hand you could persuade the DM that the Infusion is in the needle, so once the Tattoo is applied the Infusion can be used again? To summarize, it's any Cantrip or Level 1 Spell, that you select after taking a Long Rest, that is assigned to yourself or someone else, that uses its own Spell Casting Ability Modifier (not yours or the character to whom it is applied), that has a Casting Time of 1 Action. What are the slam dunk spells to take? Or is the utility to take something situational or cover a party gap?
Thank-you for mentioning that Cleric is the only class that you can multi-class into for Heavy Armor Prof - and I think that's SO ridiculous! The old days of only Clerics being Primary Healer are over given all the healing power in other classes now, but none of the Cleric design shows this. They're still being pumped with every strength as if the devs think the healing role isn't being sold to players enough.
IMHO, only Forge and War Clerics should grant Heavy Armor Prof (to any Cleric), not 50% of the subclasses. And Fighter and Paladin should at least grant it on multiclassing, if only because Clerics do.
And don't get me started on Channel Divinity! With Harness Divine Power, Clerics join Sorcerers for being able to innately restore spell slots IN combat (spell level = half your PB, so good for multiclassing + amulet of the devout for one more CD use). I hope that in 5.5 they exchange this for the damage/heal power rather than getting all 4 possible uses.
Does DC20 do this better?
Great video. I love dipping into classes, just makes my class more Me. Thanks again, now stop getting blood on your knives!
One i love is undead warlock paladin gives you smites that come back on short rest and form of dread works really well with paladins
Only in death does duty end, and by all that is holy I have no intention of staying dead with this much work to do.
The multiclass I've played that I enjoyed the most was a Drunken Master Monk/Ancestral Barbarian. I had boots of speed on a Tabaxi and the entire point was to run in, hit the biggest baddy, force him to have disadvantage against anyone who wasn't me, and then run far away.
I had a thought! I know I’m as surprised as you.
Tempest cleric gives you the ability to roll max damage on one lightning spell per day, right? I’m asking I’ve never played it. But that’s what’s I’ve been told. So combine that with scribe wizard, because with a little preparation any spell can do lightning damage. Like imagine you make metoer swarm or something do lighting damage, and then every single one hits for maximum damage. Or just switch fireball and lightning bolt because fireball is a much more helpful shape. Now you’re doing 48 damage to everyone within range, which might be everyone. Or do the same with sorcerer, using meta magic to change damage type. Then again sorcerers don’t have some of the more fun spells. Suppose you could dip metamagic adept from a feat
So if action surge lets you cast again, add a sorcerer's quicken spell and you can have all other magic users jealous of your 3 fireballs in a single turn.
Another reason Warlock is such a popular multiclass is that it's also one of the easiest classes to multiclass flavour-wise.
The barbarian with a paladin dip is amazing for a few things, but one reason stands out above it. Divine smite can be utilized while raging.
I think a tier list ranking of 9th level spells could be cool xD sure, they don't come up all that often, but that also means you really want to pick something cool *and* strong.
I have a building going that’s gonna end with 19 divination wizard and 1 peace cleric. The amount of utility cleric has given that cleric is NUTS. First of all, light armor(I’m a flyer). Second of all, guidance. Third of all THE FIRST LEVEL SPELLS. Inflict wounds on a fairy wizard is so nutty.
I'm currently playing a rogue/paladin multiclass and coupled with our divination wizard's uncanny ability to roll nat 20s on their portent dice...I've turned many enemies into dust, it's awesome
Swashbuckler Rouge can become almost wholly CHA-based with 1 level of Hexblade - hoping to try this out one day!
One class that doesn't get the love or the notoriety I think it should is Artificer. Not as busted as two leveled spells a turn but you get:
--CON saving throws.
--Medium armor and shield proficiencies.
--Guidance cantrip so some spare healing.
--People just dismiss the "ribbon feature" but permanent on demand light is useful. "Just use the Light cantrip." Sure but it can't leave an arrow image on a wall.
--A choice of magical items. Limited yes but you don't have to wait for the DM to hand them out.
Though not sexy you can snag a rare magical item at level two, +1 armor. It isn't going to help you go nova but it will keep you alive longer. If no one can hit you then you have more turns to cast spells or make attacks.
Or a put that +1 on your bow because you are a human with the Sharpshooter feat. Now when you do multiclass into fighter and take the Archery fighting style you only take a -2 for that juicy +10 on damage.
Clockwork Amulet, now once per day you can take a 10 instead of rolling dice.
Any 1st level spell with the Spellwrought Tattoo. Depending on how your DM handles Spellwrought Tatts you can get the best first level spell ever. Because by RAW you can make any Spell with the Tatt. Say it with me Find Familiar.
Or possible the best magical item for low level casters Mind Sharpener. (Depending on the roll to recharge) When you would loose concentration you can just say "Nope!" 4 times a day.
My guess on this list is...
5- Rouge, expertise and sneak attack are useful for every class
4- Warlock (Hexblade), we all know why
3- Cleric, pick your domain at first level and get useful weapon/armour proficiencirs. Trickery has decent low level non-combat spells (if my memory is correct)
2- Bard, jack of all trades and inspiration: always good
1- Fighter, action surge; armour and weapon proficiencies; second wind? (regain 10+fighter level hp feature)
Shout out to Tempest /Mountain Druid. At level 7, you can be a Druid in heavy armor casting an upcasted lightning bolt that deals maximum damage and uses your Wisdom modifier for its spells. Granted, you do have to be a Land Druid, but if you go past 7 you can just go further into Cleric instead. The most fun character I've ever played in a one shot.
Rangers also get a no-bonus-action, no-spell-slot version of Hunter's Mark and an expertise thanks to Tasha's
I've recently found the absolute annoyance that is the Swords bard/Swashbuckler combo. Sure, it doesn't really shine until you get to level 6 in bard, but after that, you can become a proper pain, especially if you're playing a centaur. Mobile flourish ranged attack, use reaction to move up to the target, Charge attack, then run away. Or charge the target, getting sneak attack if they're alone against you, strike again, Defensive flourish, then run away. Repeat.
Nature Domain also gets you heavy armour proficiency, plus you get a free druid cantrip. Shillelagh, maybe?
Rogue/Ranger (Tasha edition, obv) is still my go to multiclass with sorcerer/bard being a close 2nd. I've been using a Gloomstalker Ranger/Rogue in my Domain of the Deathless King run (along with 3 other full characters) And they've been consistently doing the most damage every combat encounter. I'd recommend giving it a go if anyone wants to try a kickass sniper build.
You had me at Death Cleric/Undead Warlock!
My 16 drakewarden ranger with 4 tempest cleric attuned to an amulet of the devout. Love having 60 lightning damage breath in a cone
Hexblade Warlock 2, Peace Cleric 1, Divine/Lunar Sorcerer 1, Fighter 2. There are also strong builds that can use Life/Forge Cleric 1, Twilight Cleric 2, Clockwork Soul Sorcerer 1, Rune Knight Fighter/Giant Barbarian 3, Undead Warlock 1/2, and Battle Smith/Artillerist Artificer 3 to good enough effect to be worth mentioning.
Seriously though, while Hexblade is the absolute headliner dip, more of the tippy top most powerful builds actually take a Sorcerer dip. Fighter 2 meanwhile is the least common denominator dip in that every class wants Con save proficiency, heavy armour and shield proficiency, and Action Surge, but it's rarely the actual best option available.
Anyway, fundamentally, if your main class gets medium or better armour and shield proficiency, multiclass to get Shield, and Absorb Elements and Silvery Barbs if you can get them, preferably from a class and subclass with additional features that can be used to more reliably maintain concentration. If your main class gets Shield, multiclass for medium or better armour and shield proficiency, preferably from a class that won't interfere with your spell slot progression. If your main class gets neither, you're making things real hard on yourself but Hexblade, Battle Smith, and Artillerist (and Eldritch Knight technically) do exist. If your main class can't function outside of melee, Hexblade is a decent way to go. If your main class gets Goodberry, dip Life Cleric at some point for Disciple of Life to multiply its efficiency. If you really need to grapple, Giant Barbarian and Rune Knight Fighter at least ensure you can grapple Large creatures.
The basic principles of optimization are very straightforward, with few surprises.
Oh, also, Divine Smite is rarely worth the spell slots and risks inherent to entering melee. And Expertise really isn't worth much; there are only 5 skills in the game with enumerated mechanical effects beyond the DM's vibe check, none are difficult to pass, and you don't need to dip into the chassis of arguably the weakest class in the game to get it (go for Bard or Ranger instead if you must; the extra couple of levels are well worth the investment). And Hunter's Mark and Hex aren't worth the concentration past about level 5, so dipping for them is dumb.
A wizard with one level in cleric was an absolutely big brain move in my current game. Wizards do not have good bonus action economy. Clerics get that good ole healing word as a bonus action, plus sub classes that mesh well with a lot of the schools - for our little glass cannons- it has helped keep me alive on MULTIPLE occasions. XD
My current character is a lvl 3 Duergar Rune Knight fighter who picked up 1 level in rogue. The first strike with my +1 rapier on every turn is 1d8 + 1d6 + 1d4 + 1d6 + 7 damage. Thats sneak attack, giant's might, enlarge, and dueling fighting style. Plus the first turn I use the fire rune for another 2d6 fire damage. I also have expertise in stealth and next level will have invisibility. With the boots of elvenkind I'm wearing, I will have not only +8 to stealth but also advantage. Might have to dip into paladin just to get smites too to first turn nuke enemies lol
I am SOOOOO glad people are finally talking about the Arcane Trickster-Paladin Multiclass. It is, by far, my favorite multiclass combination, and has been for a good while
Be a War Forged Forge Domain Cleric with a shield for one level. You get the great cantrips, spells, and your AC is 20 at level 1.
MoonDruidlvl2/Monklvl5: don’t know if it’s possible but I could not find any rules saying no to this, and many on reddit and other sites agree. Get promotion from your DM to have a phase spider as your wildshape. Climb to the ceiling and descend from it. Phase back into reality and open up with flurry of blows, then use another ki point to use Extra Attack then another ki to flurry of blows again. Giving you 32 1d4’s of attack. So 32 damage if you hit all 1’s, or 128 damage if you max out. If this kills the target, you’ll be out of combat allowing you to wrap up the target and cast intimidation on anything else in the room, wail looking like you will kill them if they Disturbe your meal.
To this day, my favorite character for a one-shot was a Dhampir lvl7 Shadow monk 4 Gloomstaker. Awesome synergy, mobility, and utility
The problem with “LOOK AT WHAT YOU GET FOR DIPPING INTO THIS CLASS” is that you’re not getting the things from another class.
There’s only a few dips that are ever worth it in terms of power, and it aint Rogue 3….
Love your work
note that a rogue dip gets you one extra skill, not just one expertise
you get 2 expertise regardless of starting rogue or multiclassing, as its a class feature, not a base class proficiency
just like if you'd dip 3 bard and get 2 expertise there
Can confirm. My warlock was getting his ass beat, then he took a level in fighter and became a terrifying Eldritch knight in his own right. Given he's half orc, I'm very likely to grab another two levels so the champion archetype can help with that sweet crit fish