DnD 5e Multiclassing: A Practical Guide – RPGBOT (2024)

Introduction

Multiclassing is a powerful tool for character optimization. While individualclasses work well on their own, sometimes exploring multiple classes can addsome powerful new options to a character while also allowing you to exploreinteresting story ideas.

However, multiclassing is also complicated. Building a character alreadyinvolves a large number of complicated decisions, and adding multiclassing tothe mix can make the process intimidating, especially for new players. Thisarticle is written with two purposes: first, to explain multiclassing in termsthat are clearer and more specific than those in the Player’s Handbook; andsecond, to provide guidance on multiclassing options from a characteroptimization perspective.

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• How Does Multiclassing Work?
  • Selecting a Class
  • Prerequisites
  • Experience Points
  • Hit Points and Hit Dice
  • Proficiency Bonus
  • Cantrips
  • Ability Score Increases
  • Proficiencies
  • Class Features from Multiple Classes
  • Spellcasting / Pact Magic
• Should I Multiclass?
  • When Should I Multiclass?
  • How Many Levels Should I Take in Each Class?
• Classes and Subclasses
  • Artificer
  • Barbarian
  • Bard
  • Cleric
  • Druid
  • Fighter
  • Monk
  • Paladin
  • Ranger
  • Rogue
  • Sorcerer
  • Warlock
  • Wizard
• Example Quick Multiclass Builds
  • Artificer Example Builds
  • Barbarian Example Builds
  • Bard Example Builds
  • Cleric Example Builds
  • Druid Example Builds
  • Fighter Example Builds
  • Monk Example Builds
  • Paladin Example Builds
  • Ranger Example Builds
  • Rogue Example Builds
  • Sorcerer Example Builds
  • Warlock Example Builds
  • Wizard Example Builds

How Does Multiclassing Work?

Multiclassing is actually pretty simple. It looks confusing and the text inthe Player’s Handbook has some gaps (which I’ll fix below), but if youunderstand the core rules of advancing a single-class character you don’t needto know much more to successfully advance a multiclassed character.

This page uses two terms which were used in previous editions of DnD, butdon’t exist officially in 5th edition. However, they’re useful descriptors ofconcepts core to multiclassing, so I’m going to use them throughout thearticle.

• Character Level: Your characters total number of levelsacross all of their classes. For a single-class character, your Characterlevel is the same number as your Class Level.
• Class Level: Your number of levels in a single class. Forexample, if Joe is a Fighter 3 / Rogue 1, their class level in Fighter is 3and their class level in Rogue is 1.

Selecting a Class

When multiclassing, typically your first step is to consider which class you want to multiclass into. Every class has things to offer, so I’ll go into more detail on suggestions later in this article. Provided that you meet the prerequisites, you can take levels in that class the next time you would gain a level.

Keep in mind that you can’t take the same class more than once. You can’tmulticlass into a class in which you already have levels. No Rogue 1 / Rogue1. I see new players ask about that a lot.

Prerequisites

There are some prerequisites to multiclass into every class. Typically, allthat’s required is an ability score of 13 or better in one or two abilityscores which the class is dependent upon. See the Customization Optionschapter of the Player’s Handbook for the table of multiclass prerequisites.For the Artificer, see the Artificer class description in Eberron: Rising fromthe Last War or in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything.

Experience Points

Experience points are based on your character level, and that doesn’t changeregardless of how many classes you have.

Hit Points and Hit Dice

Hit Points are additive: As you gain levels, you’ll roll for hit points (ortake the rounded average, which you should always do) and add them to your hitpoint maximum just like if you gained a level in your original class. Rememberthat you use the “Hit Points at Higher Levels” entry for your class ratherthan the “Hit Points at 1st Level” entry. “Hit Points at 1st Level” refers toyour character level, not your class level.

Hit Dice are similarly additive. Every time you gain a level in a class, youadd a hit die of the appropriate size to your pool of hit dice. This willoften result in having multiple hit die sizes. When you spend a hit die, youcan choose which die to use. But the hit dice aren’t interchangeable: if youonly have one d12 hit die (such as from one level in Barbarian) and the restare d6’s (such as from several levels in Wizard), you only get to use the d12hit die once per day.

Proficiency Bonus

Proficiency Bonus is based on your character level. While it’s included inevery class’s class features table, it advances based on the sum of yourlevels rather than your level in a single class. If you multiclass, yourProficiency Bonus is still just as good as everyone else’s.

Cantrips

Knowing a cantrip can come from a variety of sources: your race, your class,feats, or maybe your DM just gave it to you or something. Cantrips, likeProficiency Bonus, advance based on your character level. No matter how manyclasses you take, your damage-dealing cantrips will add more damage atcharacter levels 5, 11, and 17. If you multiclass late in your career, yourdamage is still based on your character level, so if you spend your 20th levelto take one level of Wizard you’re suddenly very good at cantrips.

Ability Score Increases

Ability Score Increases are a class feature. While most classes gain AbilityScore Increases at 4th, 8th, 12th, 16th, and 19th level (Fighters and Roguesboth get more), it’s still a class feature. It is entirely possible tomulticlass so much that you never gain an Ability Score Increase.

Proficiencies

When you multiclass into a new class, you don’t get everything which youwould normally get from being a 1st-level character of that class. You do geteverything listed in the class features table for the class, but you’lltypically get a reduced set of the class’s initial proficiencies (armor,skills, tools, weapons, etc.), and you never gain new starting equipment orsaving throw proficiencies when you multiclass into a new class unless theclass grants a feature that gives you additional saving throw proficiencieslike the Rogue’s Slippery Mind.

Keep in mind that duplicate proficiencies do not get replaced or upgraded oranything like that. If you get proficiency in medium armor twice, you’re stilljust proficient in medium armor. If you get proficiency in Stealth twice,you’re still just proficient in Stealth. The rule which allows you to replaceredundant proficiencies is specific to backgrounds, and applies only toproficiencies granted by your background.

See the Customization Options chapter of the Player’s handbook for the tableof which proficiencies you gain from multiclassing.

Several classes grant features with the same name. When this happens, thereare some specific rules for some of these features. The Player’s Handbookdetails Channel Divinity, Extra Attack, and Unarmored Defense but I’ve addedsome additional class features which new players often find confusing.

• Ability Score Increases: Ability Score increases areindependent of one another. You can gain as many as you can squeeze out of20 levels.
• Channel Energy: You don’t get more uses between rests, butyou can add additional ways to use it.
• Cantrips: Cantrips known are additive, but remember thatthe source that gives you the cantrip determines the ability score which youuse with that spell. For example: a High Elf Cleric / Wizard would get onecantrip from their race and a few from each class. You could select Toll theDead from all three sources technically (don’t do that) and you would havethe ability to cast it using both Wisdom (Cleric) and Intelligence (High Elfor Wizard).
• Extra Attack: The wording of Extra Attack veryspecifically doesn’t add an attack; it replaces the number ofattacks you can make. If two sources say “you can make two attacks”, you canstill only make two attacks.
• Unarmored Defense: Unarmored Defense provides newcalculation methods for determining your AC, just like donning armor orhaving natural armor from your race. You can choose which AC calculation touse (generally you’ll want to use the highest), but you still only get touse one at a time.

Spellcasting / Pact Magic

The rules for spellcasting for multiclassed characters are detailed, and it’simportant that you read the original source text. I can’t reproduce it herebecause it’s not part of the SRD, so please see the Player’s Handbook.

One interesting note: All of the partial spellcasters in the Player’sHandbook (paladins, arcane tricksters, etc.) round their levels down whencalculating your effective level for the purposes of spellcasting. TheArtificer rounds up, and currently they’re the only class to do so.

Should I Multiclass?

Now that you understand how multiclassing works, it’s time to ask yourself animportant question: Should I multiclass?

Generally, no. A single-class character is usually perfectly fine. Whilemulticlassing is a great way to get something different for yourcharacter, it’s not guaranteed to be something better than what youwould get from a single class.

That said, if you do multiclass you can find a great number of powerful newoptions to improve your character.

When Should I Multiclass?

This question has two meanings: “When should I choose to make a multiclass character?” and “when in my character’s level progression should I multiclass?”, but that doesn’t fit well into a section heading.

You should multiclass when you’re looking to address a gap in yourcharacter’s capabilities, such as poor action economy, low AC, or newspellcasting options. As explained above, many characters work fine as asingle-class character, but sometimes new class features can really add a lotto your character.

When to begin taking levels in a new class is more complicated. It’s tempting to start looking at other classes right at level 2, and sometimes that’s okay to do. But be careful about what happens at level 5. Level 5 brings powerful options like Extra Attack and 3rd-level spells like Fireball, and the game’s math is designed to respond to that sharp increase in player characters’ capabilities with an equivalent jump in difficulty.

If you postpone crucial features like Ability Score Increases, Extra Attack, and high-level spells, you may have trouble with high-CR foes. If you do choose to multiclass, be sure that whatever you get in exchange will offset whatever you give up or postpone.

How Many Levels Should I Take in Each Class?

This is probably the second-hardest question, right behind “which class do Itake?”, and it has a similarly frustrating answer: it depends on yourbuild.

Players will commonly take what I refer to as a “class dip”, where they takea small number of levels in a class before moving on to another class or backto their original class. This is often an effective way to build amulticlassed character because classes often grant several powerful featuresin their first few levels.

Sometimes you’ll instead want to alternate sets of levels between twoclasses. This is less common because it often results in being bad at twoclasses rather than really good at one with some goodies from another, but Ihave seen a handful of builds where it makes sense.

Classes have some logical “break points” where it often makes sense to breakaway from that class. This is typically after you get some specific classfeatures like the class’s initial subclass features or an Ability ScoreIncrease. I’ll discuss break points for each class in the Classes andSubclasses section, below.

Classes and Subclasses

Below I’ll discuss each class and subclass and what they can offer otherclasses. There are few truly bad options since nearly every class and subclasshas something to offer, but not every class/subclass will add something usefulto every build. I’ll list numbered bullets with break points and explain whyyou might advance to that level before switching away from the class.

If you’re building a new character and planning to multiclass at some point,I encourage you to explore the section below now. Starting with a level in aclass changes your character a great deal, and even if you never take anotherlevel in that class a 1st-level class dip can be a great build choice.

Artificer

Artificers are a great class dip for many spellcasting classes both becauseof their unique rules for multiclassing, access to medium armor and shields,and because they get proficiency in Constitution saving throws, not to mentiona number of fantastic class features which essentially any character canuse.

1. Magical Tinkering, Spellcasting: MagicalTinkering doesn’t do much, but the Artificer’s spellcasting includes a lotof options from the Wizard’s spell list, and notably you get to roundArtificer levels up when you calculate your effective level for determiningyour spell slots. The Artificer gets ritual casting, and they get access tohealing spells like Cure Wounds and Healing Word, so for spellcasters likethe wizard a single level offers a lot to like.
2. Infuse Item, 2 Infused Items: Infuse Itemis really good, but unless you make it to level 6 the options are verylimited. However, staple options like Enhanced Arcane Focus, EnhancedDefense, and Replicate Magic Item offer enough options that you can easilyfind 2 options to use to good effect. For help, see myArtificer Handbook.
3. Artificer Specialist, The Right Tool for the Job: The benefits of your Artificer Specialist vary. The Right Tool for theJob is situational, but can be useful for a class that’s so good withtools.
4. Ability Score Increase: Every class getsan Ability Score Increase at 4th level, and if you already took three levelsin the class it’s often very tempting to take one more just to get theASI.
5. Artificer Specialist feature: Varies.
6. Tool Expertise, 3 Infused Items: ToolExpertise is neat, but you’re probably here for the additional Infused Itemand the additional Infusion options.

Armorer

Tempting for the Arcane Trickster, but otherwise the Battle Smith is a betterclass dip for “gish” builds. It’s easy to think “I just want good armor” andlook at the Armorer, but unless you’re going to use the specific benefits ofthe armor it’s not worth the class dip compared to anything else that gets youheavy armor proficiency.

3. Tools of the Trade, Armorer Spells, Arcane Armor, Armor Model: The armor is why you’re here. The Defender armor is good for front-linebuilds, while Infiltrator Armor is very tempting for the Rogue because youget persistent Advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks and you can use theLightning Launcher to deliver Sneak Attack. However, it doesn’t address theMAD issues for the Arcane Trickster like the Battle Smith does, which makesit a hard choice.
5. Extra Attack: Arcane tricksters mightdecide that 2 more levels to get Extra Attack is worth the cost, but I wouldthink long and hard about how desperate you are to make a second attackcompared to what you give up, especially since Booming Blade is anoption.

Alchemist

Nothing good enough to justify the opportunity cost of multiclassing.

3. Tool Proficiency, Alchemist Spells, Experimental Elixir: The spells are nothing new to the Artificer’s spell list. ExperimentalElixir is a neat way to turn your 1st-level spell slots into some neweffects, but it’s not good enough to justify multiclassing for threelevels.
5. Alchemical Savant: A nice bonus tocommon damage spells and to healing spells, but compared to taking morelevels in a class with full spellcasting (sorcerer, wizard, etc.) it’s notworth the levels.

Artillerist

Three levels to get an Arcane Cannon can be a powerful asset, even if youdon’t have a lot of Intelligence to throw around. Arcane Cannon is thatgood.

3. Tool Proficiency, Artillerist Spells, Eldritch Cannon: The spells are nothing new to the Artificer’s spell list. You’re here forEldritch Cannon. Even if your Intelligence is mediocre, the Protector optionis still spectacular. If you’re built around Intelligence, the Flamethrowerand Force Ballista options both work fine even with only three levels inartificer. Even the Wizard might find Eldritch Cannon a better use of a1st-level spell slot than most spells. If you don’t want to pour spell slotsinto replacing cannons, leave yours out of combat and it’s still effectivelycasting False Life on your whole party before every encounter.
5. Arcane Firearm: Tempting, but for a fullspellcaster this isn’t good enough to justify giving up two levels of yourmain class’s spellcasting and the additional spell level which itgrants.

Battle Smith

Battle Ready is the primary reason to multiclass into Battle Smith. It’s aninteresting option for Intelligence-based arcane/martial subclasses (arcanetrickster, etc.), but it won’t always fix your MAD problems, and you need toconsider if giving up 3 to 4 levels in your primary class and postponing yourclass’s high-level class features is worth having a better Intelligence bonusto back up your spells without sacrificing your attack bonus.

3. Tool Proficiency, Battle Smith Spells, Battle Ready, Steel Defender: There are two notable things here: Battle Ready and Steel Defender.Battle Ready is tempting for arcane tricksters, eldritch knights, andbladesingers who all typically need to balance their ability scores betweeneither Strength or Dexterity and Intelligence. However, your Steel Defenderis much less useful since its hit points are calculated based on yourartificer class level.
5. Extra Attack: Arcane tricksters mightdecide that 2 more levels to get Extra Attack is worth the cost, but I wouldthink long and hard about how desperate you are to make a second attackcompared to what you give up, especially since Booming Blade is anoption.

Barbarian

The Barbarian is a tempting class dip for martial characters or for otherclasses which want to improve their martial capabilities beyond what theirclass offers on its own. However, it can also be a difficult option becausethere are so few boring levels in the class so it’s hard to pick a breakpoint.

1. Rage, Unarmored Defense, 2 Rages: Twogreat reasons to take a barbarian dip. Unarmored Defense is a great optionfor many martial builds, though it won’t exceed the AC from armor untilyou’ve acquired several Ability Score Increases. One level only gets Ragetwice per day, but when you need help with Strength checks or you just needa little extra damage it’s still a great combat buff.
2. Reckless Attack, Danger Sense: RecklessAttack is a great offensive option, but other classes may not be durableenough to risk constantly granting Advantage to hit them. Many rogues eyeReckless Attack, but remember that it only works with melee attack rollsusing Strength. Danger Sense is similarly tempting if you combine it withthe Rogue’s Evasion, granting you near immunity to many AOE damage effects.Danger Sense is less useful for other classes, but AOE damage is still verycommon so it’s still very useful.
3. Primal Path, 3 Rages, Primal Knowledge (Optional): Varies by Primal Path. You also gain a 3rd rage per day at thislevel.
4. Ability Score Increase: Every class getsan Ability Score Increase at 4th level, and if you already took three levelsin the class it’s often very tempting to take one more just to get theASI.
5. Extra Attack, Fast Movement: Extra Attackis a central feature of most martial classes, but by this level you shouldprobably think about making barbarian your primary class. Fast Movement isnice, too, and most marti classes don’t grant anything except Extra Attackat 5th level.
6. Path Feature, 4 Rages: Varies by PrimalPath. You also gain a 4th rage per day.

Path of the Ancestral Guardian

3. Ancestral Protectors: One of very few“taunt” mechanics in the game, this is a great way to force enemies to focuson you in combat. You also get 3 rages per day at this level, so you canemploy this several times throughout the day.
6. Spirit Shield (2d6): This is good, butit’s not good enough to justify multiclassing 6 levels.

Path of the Battlerager

The AC lost when you compare Half Plate to Spiked Armor is likely not worththe Bonus Action attack which you get in return. If you’re desperate for anadditional way to spend your Bonus Action, consider a level of Monk forMartial Arts or try two-weapon fighting.

3. Battlerager Armor: Battlerager Armor is badmedium armor. It gets you a Bonus Action attack which sounds tempting, butif you want to use a two-handed weapon with a Bonus Action attack, take onemore level and get Polearm Master with the level 4 Ability ScoreImprovement.
6. Reckless Abandon: Up to 5 temporary hitpoints every round when you decide to use Reckless Attack. This is a nicepad to your hit points, but it’s nowhere near good enough to take 6 levelsof barbarian to get it.

Path of the Beast

An excellent subclass on its own, but a dismal multiclass dip.

3. Form of the Beast: Good buffs to yourrage, but unless you abandon your manufactured weapons in favor of thenatural weapons you’re basically ignoring the benefits. At just three ragesper day, you need to be comfortable fighting with your manufactured weaponsand consider Rage an occasional combat buff, so it’s hard to build yourselfaround using claws or whatever a few times per day.
6. Bestial Soul: Absolutely not good enough tojustify 6 levels. Take a few levels in something that can cast spells andyou can handle these problems magically.

Path of the Berserker

Frenzy is the most likely reason why you might consider Path of theBerserker, but you’re unlikely to use it more than once per day, and if you douse it you’re going to regret it for the rest of the day, so you’re spending 3levels to get a class feature that you’re going to regret using.

3. Frenzy: Frenzy is a hard choice for theBarbarian because Exhaustion can be a serious problem due to its increasingeffects as you add levels of Exhaustion. As your number of rages per dayincreases, the temptation to take on more and more levels of exhaustiongrows, and since exhaustion only wears off one level per long rest, it canbe a multi-day endeavor to recover from a few uses of Frenzy. But if youonly go a few levels into barbarian and only have 2 or 3 rages per day,Frenzy is much less of a problem since it’s so much harder to rack up levelsof exhaustion. If you just need a good combat buff once or twice a day,Frenzy is a viable option so long as you can handle having 1 or 2 levels ofexhaustion afterward. But if you just need a once per day combat buff, 3levels in barbarian is a terrible way to get it.
6. Mindless Rage: Charm and Fear effects arecommon and they’re great ways to take a martial character out of a fightsince martial characters typically have poor mental saves. But I don’t thinkit’s good enough to go this far into the Barbarian to get it.

Path of the Giant

Path of the Giant is a lot of fun, but Giant’s Havoc can be replaced by casting Enlarge/Reduce, so this isn’t a great class dip when you could just take one level of wizard.

3. Giant’s Power: Basicaly just for flavor.
3. Giant’s Havoc: Both good buffs while raging.
6. Elemental Cleaver: A good damage boost and the ability to change damage type, but not tactically impactful enough for a class dip this deep.

Path of the Storm Herald

Storm Aura is too dependent on barbarian class level to make it viable for amulticlassed character.

3. Storm Aura: This is a really great classfeature, but the effects scale with barbarian class level so unless you’re asingle-class barbarian the effects will gradually become less and lessappealing as you gain levels.
6. Storm Soul: Basically just damageresistance to one damage type. Not worth the levels.

Path of the Totem Warrior

Three levels of Path of the Totem Warrior gets you the first totem ability,which adds a powerful additional effect to your Rage.

3. Spirit Seeker / Totem Spirit: SpiritSeeker is very situational, but that’s not why you’re here. Totem Spiritadds an additional effect to your rage, and with 3 rages per day that can bea big tactical option. Generally people will go for Bear for the additionaldamage resistances, but in a party with other melee allies don’t overlookWolf.
6. Aspect of the Beast: These abilities arealmost entire “flavor” abilities with very little substance.

Path of the Zealot

Path of the Zealot is already a niche option for death-prone players, andmulticlassing into it doesn’t make it better.

3. Divine Fury, Warrior of the Gods: DivineFury is too dependent on class level, and Warrior of the Gods is onlyappealing if you die frequently and don’t like building replacementcharacters.
6. Fanatical Focus: Great, but less usefulsince you’re not going to continue to get additional rages per day.

Path of Wild Magic

3. Magic Awareness, Wild Surge: MagicAwareness’s uses per day scale with your Proficiency Bonus, and Wild Surgeis a great (though unpredictable) buff to Rage which works on anyone whowould use Rage effectively.
6. Bolstering Magic: The benefits are good,but not worth a 6 level dip. The bonus to attacks can be matched by effectslike Bless or Guidance, and you’ll restore at most 6 spell slots if you gothat route. If you instead took 3 levels of Cleric you would get 6 spellslots and you could cast Bless among numerous other benefits.

Bard

A tempting option for any Charisma-based character, especially spellcasters,the Bard’s unique mix of spellcasting, skill mastery, and support featuresmakes them a great way to broaden your skillset without a big levelinvestment. Bard subclasses are diverse, offering numerous ways to improvevarious capabilities depending on what you want from your class dip.

Even for non-Charisma characters, the Bard has a lot to offer between extraproficiencies, spellcasting (including ritual casting), and numerous powerfullow-level class features, many of which use your Bonus Action or work outsideof combat so they won’t conflict with most of your other class features.

1. Spellcasting, Bardic Inspiration (d6): Ifyou have decent Charisma, a single level of bard gets you quite a bit. Lightarmor (great for sorcerers), proficiency in any one skill and an instrument,plus some staple bard features.

   Bardic Inspiration is just incredibly useful, and even if you neverimprove the die, increasing your Charisma will add more uses so it’s agreat option for other Charisma-based spellcasters like paladins,sorcerers, and warlocks, as well other characters who might have highCharisma like some rogues.

   The Bard’s spellcasting at 1st level isn’t going to be stunninglypowerful, but it includes some great healing and support options likeHealing Word and Heroism, and you do get ritual casting with the handfulof bard spells that you learn.

2. Jack of All Trades, Song of Rest (d6), Magical Inspiration(Optional): Song of rest is always nice, but beyond low levels the extra d6 willquickly feel like an insignificant addition to other healing during a ShortRest. It’s like sprinkles on top of a big bowl of ice cream: It looks niceand it feels nice, but it’s not really doing much at that point.

   Jack of All Trades is why you’re really here. Ironically, it’s moreuseful with skills if you have fewer skill proficiencies so it’s a greatoption for multiclassed characters who didn’t start as a bard or rogue,but its benefits don’t stop with skills. I’ve found a long list of othercases where it applies and they’re listed on myBard Handbook.

3. Bard College, Expertise: The benefits ofyour bard college will vary by college. Expertise is useful on nearly everycharacter, and you get to pick two proficiencies. If you’re not sure,Perception is always a good choice.
4. Ability Score Increase, Bardic Versatility (Optional): Every class gets an Ability Score Increase at 4th level, and if youalready took three levels in the class it’s often very tempting to take onemore just to get the ASI.
5. Bardic Inspiration (d8), Font of Inspiration: If you’ve been enjoying Bardic Inspiration, this is a great level. Notonly does the die size increase, but your pool of dice resets on Short Restsso you can get as many as three times your Charisma Modifier per day(assuming that you’re using the Adventuring Day rules).
6. Countercharm, Bard College Feature:Countercharm is very situational, so you’re taking this level for yoursubclass feature.

College of Creation

If you’re exploring the bard for Bardic Inspiration, College of Creation isthe best choice. Going to level 5 for Font of Inspiration will make Mote ofPotential extremely effective, even without advancing your Bardic Inspirationdie’s size past d8.

3. Mote of Potential, Performance of Creation: Mote of Potential is a big improvement to Bardic Inspiration, so if youplan to use Bardic Inspiration frequently College of Creation becomes aneasy choice, but you’ll probably want to go to at least level 5 to get Fontof Inspiration. Performance of Creation is an interesting utility, and evenif you stop at level 3 60gp is enough to cover most of the items in thePlayer’s Handbook.
6. Animating Performance: The item’s statsare based heavily on your class level, so it’s not going to be useful as acombat pet. But you can still turn a cart or wagon into a flying car.

College of Eloquence

Literally everything you get is fantastic, and relying more on Charisma makesit progressively better. If you’re going for a bard dip and don’t know whatelse to take, College of Eloquence is a great choice.

3. Silver Tongue, Unsettling Words: This is agood level for any Face character, but it’s a great level for anyspellcaster. Sure, your Bardic Inspiration die is only a d6, but the averageroll on a d6 is 3.5 and Disadvantage works out to a penalty slightly worsethan -3, which means that you can impose a penalty which is on averagelarger than Disadvantage as Bonus Action, then follow it up with a spell asan Action.
6. Unfailing Inspiration, Universal Speech:Unfailing Inspiration is a major improvement to Bardic Inspiration, andUniversal Speech is fantastic on any Face character.

College of Glamour

Mantle of Inspiration is an interesting option if you multiclassed into bardbut don’t want to invest in Charisma and Face skills to make College ofEloquence’s features more appealing. Other than that, there’s very little hereworth having.

3. Mantle of Inspiration, Enthralling Performance: Mantle of Inspiration is an interesting tactical option, but I’ve alwaysfound Enthralling Performance to be very difficult to use.
6. Mantle of Majesty: Absolutely not worththis many levels.

College of Lore

If you need better Face skills, go for College of Eloquence. If you just wantmore skill proficiencies, College of Lore is a good choice.

3. Bonus Proficiencies, Cutting Words: Threemore skill proficiencies of your choice. Cutting Words offers a useful wayto apply Bardic Inspiration defensively without spending the Bonus Actionahead of time to give your ally an inspiration die.
6. Additional Magic Secrets: The point ofMagic Secrets is to enable the Bard to get access to other classes’ spellswithout multiclassing. If you’re taking 6 levels of bard to get 2 spellsfrom another class, why not just take levels in that class?

College of Spirits

The most likely reason to take College of Spirits is for Spirit Session, butspending the same number of levels in a different spellcasting class like theSorcerer will likely get you more useful magical options.

3. Tales from Beyond: Tales from Beyonddepends heavily on advancing your Bardic Inspiration die size, so it’s not agreat fit.
6. Spirit Session: This is a good feature,and the spell level advances based on your Proficiency Bonus so it workswell as a multiclass feature. However, it’s limited to Divination andNecromancy spells, and with the number of levels you’re investing to gethere you can learn a big pile of spells either from the Bard or from someother class that you could put 6 levels into.

College of Swords

This is a really hard choice. You’ll get better proficiencies from theFighter with better Fighting Style options, and the Battle Master Fighter’sSuperiority Dice offer considerably more tactical options with asimilarly-sized pool that recharges on a Short Rest right from 3rd level. Ifyou want spellcasting, other subclasses or even other classes offer betteroptions. If you need both martial proficiencies and spellcasting from oneclass, I’m not sure what your base class is. Maybe rogue? I could see anArcane Trickster build here, but it’s difficult to justify.

3. Bonus Proficiencies, Fighting Style, Blade Flourish: The proficiencies seem silly in the face of other multiclass options, butyou can use weapons as spellcasting focuses and you get a Fighting Style,both of which are appealing for characters looking to balance martialprowess and spellcasting. Blade flourish is thematically interesting, but iteats your Bardic Inspiration dice so it’s hard to recommend using it unlessyou go far enough to get Font of Inspiration.
6. Extra Attack: A level later than martialclasses on top of how long you may have postponed it to multiclass.

College of Valor

The only reasons I can think of to pursue College of Valor on a multiclassedcharacter are for the armor and shield proficiencies without giving up thespellcasting progression. If that’s all that you need, take a level ofcleric.

3. Bonus Proficiencies: If you’re alreadymulticlassing and you want medium armor and martial weapons, a level offighter is typically a better choice. However, fighter won’t advance yourspellcasting so in some builds this may make sense.
6. Extra Attack: Essential on any martialcharacter, but valor bards get it a level late and multiclassing into bardto get it this late seems incredibly unwise.

College of Whispers

Words of Terror is the best that College of Whispers can offer a multiclassedcharacter, and it’s not easy enough to use to justify.

Psychic Blades has an interesting place in novelty builds around “smite”mechanics, but on a build you actually plan to play it’s not worth the BardicInspiration die to activate it.

3. Psychic Blades, Words of Terror: PsychicBlades already isn’t a great ability and it’s very dependent on class level.Words of Terror is neat, but really hard to bring into play.
6. Mantle of Whispers: Not good enough tojustify this many levels. Just cast Disguise Self.

Cleric

Despite their role as the iconic divine spellcaster, the Cleric is aninteresting class dip for numerous classes. Despite the proficiencies gainedfrom multiclassing into cleric, you can use Divine Domain to get heavy armorproficiency with a single level, not to mention adding powerful low-levelcleric spells like Bless and Healing word to your spellcasting options.

Despite their excellent 1st-level and 2nd-level benefits, clerics haveseveral “dead levels” where you get nothing noteworthy except spellcastingadvancement, which can make it hard to justify going past low levels.

1. Spellcasting, Divine Domain: Clerics havea lot of really great 1st-level spells, and Divine Domain allows you tochoose from an unusually broad list of options since there are more DivineDomain options than any other type of subclass.
2. Channel Divinity (1/rest), Divine Domain Feature, Harness Divine Power(Optional): Turn Undead trivializes encounters with undead, and even if you never useChannel Divinity for anything else, take comfort knowing that a very commoncreature type is considerably less threatening.

   If you’re using the Optional Class Features, Harness Divine Power is agreat way to recover spell slots before a rest. The maximum level scaleswith your Proficiency Bonus, so it remains useful as you gain levels eventhough the number of times you can use it doesn’t improve.

4. Ability Score Increase, Cantrip Versatility (Optional): Every class gets an Ability Score Increase at 4th level, and if youalready took three levels in the class it’s often very tempting to take onemore just to get the ASI.
6. Channel Divinity (2/rest), Divine Domain Feature: Varies by subclass.

Arcana

Making wizard cantrips cleric spells also makes them Wisdom-based, which isfantastic for other Wisdom-based classes like the Druid, the Monk, andpotentially the Ranger.

1. Domain Spells, Arcane Initiate: If youwant wizard spells, multiclass into wizard. The only excuse I can think ofis that you want wizard cantrips but cleric leveled spells or that you wantwizard spells but you want to cast them using Wisdom. Maybe this isappealing for druids?
2. Channel Divinity: Arcane Abjuration:Situational. If it works, it can remove a single target from a fighttemporarily. But it only targets four creature types, so you can’t rely onit being useful, and unlike Turn Undead it’s single-target so it won’tsuddenly trivialize an encounter by making half of your enemies run awaywhile you kill the rest.
6. Spell Breaker: Provided that your otherlevels advance your spellcasting, you can upcast Healing Word at whateverlevel you need to remove a spell on an ally.

Death

Reaper is a nice addition for School of Necromancy wizards, but beyond that Isee very little reason why other classes would consider it.

1. Domain Spells, Bonus Proficiency, Reaper:Proficiency in martial weapons isn’t why you’re here. You’re here for Reaperso that you can hit two targets with Chill Touch and with Toll the Dead.
2. Channel Divinity: Touch of Death: Toodependent on class level.
6. Inescapable Destruction: Tempting, butif you want to be necrotic-damage base blaster you likely need to stick tocleric levels.

Forge

Great for a 1-level dip, but otherwise uninteresting.

1. Domain Spells, Bonus Proficiencies, Blessing of the Forge: Heavy armor proficiency and a free +1 armor/shield/weapon. If you’re notgoing any further than level 1, this is a really great choice.
2. Channel Divinity: Artisan’s Blessing: Verysituational.
6. Soul of the Forge: Not worth the levels.If you just want +1 AC take a level of fighter for Fighting Style. If youwant fire resistance, cast Absorb Elements.

Grave

Grave Domain is a good option for the Cleric, but it’s a hard choice for amulticlass build. It doesn’t offer anything that’s going to support amulticlass build, and while the features aren’t directly dependent on classlevel they generally improve by being a higher-level cleric and increasingyour Wisdom.

1. Domain Spells, Circle of Mortality, Eyes of the Grave: The healing benefit of Circle of Mortality is nice because the mostimportant time to heal an ally is when they’re at 0 hit points. Hit themwith Healing Word, and they’ll get a few more hit points than they usuallywould. This won’t be a big mathematical improvement, but it feels nice.Spare the Dying as a Bonus Action is neat, but rarely important since youshould be using Healing Word at that point. Eyes of the Grave is verysituational.
2. Channel Divinity: Path to the Grave: Youwant to follow this with the biggest single hit that your party can muster.This will be much better if you make it to 6 levels and can use it twice perrest, and unfortunately it’s very hard to capitalize on by yourself.
6. Sentinel at Death’s Door: Few buildswill have enough Wisdom to make this impactful.

Knowledge

The Knowledge Domain doesn’t give you anything which you couldn’t findelsewhere, and typically other options will have more to offer.

1. Domain Spells, Blessing of Knowledge:Proficiency and expertise in two knowledge skills. Neat, but not the sort ofimpactful new capability which justifies a class dip unless your entirebuild is about being good at knowledge skills.
2. Channel Divinity: Knowledge of the Ages:An interesting way to handle proficiencies which your party lacks, but ifyou’re multiclassing to get this feature you’ll get more from the Bard’sJack of All Trades.
6. Channel Divinity: Read Thoughts: Readinga creature’s thoughts and hitting them with Suggestion can be veryeffective, but it’s not worth 6 levels of cleric.

Life

The Life Domain is a frustrating multiclass option because it presents a paradox: it makes you better at casting healing spells, but that’s only meaningful if you cast lots of healing spells, and if you’re already casting lots of healing spells, why do you need to multiclass into cleric? There may be some builds like Divine Soul Sorcerer which can benefit from Life Domain’s features, but even then I’m not sure why you would bother to multiclass instead of just playing a Life Cleric.

If you do go this route, I wouldn’t go more than one level.

1. Domain Spells, Bonus Proficiency, Disciple of Life: Heavy armor is great, but Disciple of Life is only a meaningfulimprovement to healing spells if you cast a lot of them or if you havehealing spells which provide repeated healing like Healing Spirit or whichheal multiple creatures like Mass Healing Word. If your healing options comeentirely from a few levels of cleric, Disciple of Life won’t have ameaningful impact.
2. Channel Divinity: Preserve Life: While thisis a big pile of healing from the Cleric, it scales based on class level, soit’s not a good option for multiclassed characters.
6. Blessed Healer: Similar to Disciple oflife, this is much less useful unless your primary class has abundanthealing options to capitalize on the effects.

Light

The only reason to consider the Light Domain is Warding Flare, and aside fromclerics and druids no one has Wisdom high enough to justify it.

1. Domain Spells, Bonus Cantrip, Warding Flare: Warding Flare is a great defensive option, but the uses are limited andsince you get uses equal to your Wisdom modifier the characters most likelyto use this are Wisdom casters. Unfortunately, there are only two Wisdomcasters and clerics are half of them. So: is Warding Flare and access to1st-level cleric spells worth taking a level away from Druid? Maybe. Clericsget a lot of great spells at 1st level.
2. Channel Divinity: Radiance of the Dawn: Toosituational.
6. Improved Flare: Fantastic, but not worth 6levels.

Nature

The primary reason to pursue Nature is to get heavy armor and a druid cantripin one level. There are few other reasons to go this route.

1. Domain Spells, Acolyte of Nature, Bonus Proficiency: In a lot of cases, Acolyte of Nature is going to be used to getShillelagh. Turning your Wisdom into your attack stat means that you caneasily disregard Strength and focus on Wisdom so that you can be really goodat spellcasting and melee attacks at the same time. Combine that with heavyarmor and shields, and one level of Nature Cleric can turn a high-Wisdomcharacter into a martial threat.

   Unfortunately, there are few classes who can actually benefit from thatcombination. Druids already get Shillelagh and generally can’t use heavyarmor since it’s all metal. Monks can’t wear armor, so they need highDexterity anyway so Shillelagh is a waste of a Bonus Action in most cases.Rangers typically need high Dexterity to support Stealth, so heavy armorisn’t a great choice. The Ranger is probably the best use case for thisfeature, but if you’re going to build a heavily-armored,e high-Wisdomranger, you’re essentially building a worse nature cleric. You couldconsider Shillelagh for Polearm Master builds, but unless you’re going todepend on Wisdom it doesn’t add much.

2. Channel Divinity: Charm Animals and Plants:Too situational. Plant and animal creatures stop appearing around CR 12, andeven in the ranges where they exist, charming them doesn’t give you theability to speak to them.
6. Dampen Elements: Spectacular, especiallysince there’s no usage limitation beyond your Reaction, but almost certainlynot worth 6 levels.

Order

For a spellcaster taking a 1-level dip into cleric, Order Domain is afantastic choice. The Sorcerer’s Font of Magic feature can be easily abused toturn your high-level spell slots into 1st-level spell slots to power Voice ofAuthority, allowing you to repeatedly give your party’s most deadly weaponuser additional attacks at an alarmingly low resource cost. You also get heavyarmor, which is really nice on a squishy character like a sorcerer.

1. Domain Spells, Bonus Proficiencies, Voice of Authority: A truly spectacular level for support casters. Heavy armor is great, andVoice of Authority allows you to give your allies a free weapon attack whenyou target them with a spell (though only one ally gets the effect). Ifyou’re primarily a spellcaster, you’ll have enough spell slots to triggerthis repeatedly, and if you have allies who rely on small numbers of bigattacks (barbarians, rogues, etc.) an extra attack can provide a massiveamount of damage output. Look for inexpensive low-level spells which you canuse on your allies like Healing Word and Heroism. Abusing this ability willeat your 1st-level spell slots, so consider some levels in Sorcerer to getFont of Magic so that you can turn higher-level slots into cost-efficient1st-level spell slots.
2. Channel Divinity: Order’s Demand: If youhave sufficient Wisdom to back this up, it can be effective both in and outof combat. However, the duration is only until the end of your next turn soyou need to act quickly to capitalize on it.
6. Embodiment of the Law: Unless you’rebuilt around Wisdom (and very few characters are), you won’t be able to usethis frequently enough to justify this many levels.

Peace

I recommend banning Peace Domain. We go into detail on why in our Cleric Subclasses Breakdown, and I detail both my problems with the subclass and some changes which would make Peace Domain less problematic.

If you do allow Peace Domain, a 1-level dip for Emboldening Bond is the mostpowerful single-class dip in the game. To those of you thinking “but whatabout Hexblade?”: Hexblade is one powerful character. Emboldening Bond makesthe whole party overpowered.

1. Implement of Peace, Emboldening Bond:Implement of Peace is one skill. Emboldening Bond is perhaps the single mostpowerful 1-level class dip in the game. It progresses based on ProficiencyBonus and requires absolutely nothing related to the Cleric (ChannelDivinity, Wisdom, spell slots, etc.). It has no usage limitations and a10-minute duration. It stacks with Bless for +2d4 to attacks and saves,trivializing combat in the vast majority of scenarios. Throw in Guidance forability checks, and basically nothing will ever be hard again.
2. Channel Divinity: Balm of Peace: Greaton a low-level single-class cleric, but for a class dip it may not beespecially impactful. It’s a great way to spend Channel Divinity if you havenothing else to do with it, and it can be a great way to save dying allies,but hopefully you can use Healing Word to solve that problem.
6. Protective Bond: Use this to distributedamage among the party “round robin” style to ensure that no one takes moredamage than they can handle. This both prevents allies from dying andmaximizes the efficiency of your party’s healing resources.

Tempest

Another option where you get heavy armor but need good Wisdom to makeeffective use of everything you get. Blasters might enjoy Channel Divinity:Destructive Wrath to boost lightning/thunder damage spells, but one use perday may not be worth two levels.

1. Bonus Proficiencies, Wrath of the Storm:Martial weapons and heavy armor can do a lot to add martial capabilities toyour build, but Wrath of the Storm needs high Wisdom to make it workmeaningfully. If druids could use metal armor this would be great, but it’shard to think of other builds which would make this work.
2. Channel Divinity: Destructive Wrath:Other classes including the Bard, the Druid, the Sorcerer, and the Wizardall have access to spells which deal lightning or thunder damage. Stormsorcery sorcerers might find this especially tempting, and if you takeMetamagic (Transmuted Spell), you can turn spells into lightning damage andthen maximize their damage.
6. Thunderbolt Strike: Interesting, but notworth 6 levels. If you’re really into Destructive Wrath you might want thesecond use of Channel Divinity, but 4 more levels in your primary class willalmost certainly be more effective.

Trickery

This would be an interesting option for a rogue or a similarly stealthycharacter looking to add some support capabilities and some magicaloptions.

1. Blessing of the Trickster: A great wayto solve the challenge of noisy allies, but if you’re taking a level ofcleric to keep your allies from ruining your Stealth checks you should spendmore time thinking about your tactics rather than spending a level just forthis ability.
2. Channel Divinity: Invoke Duplicity: Thisis a fun, deceptive option but the ability to cast spells through theduplicate is a difficult prospect unless you already have enoughspellcasting to make it an interesting option.
6. Channel Divinity: Cloak of Shadows:Definitely not worth 6 levels.

Twilight

An excellent class dip, and all the good stuff comes in the first two levels.If your party likes to fight in the dark or likes ambushing enemies, this is agreat option. But don’t look this over just because your party isn’t sneaky.Twilight Sanctuary is a powerful defensive buff that will benefit anyparty.

1. Eyes of Night, Vigilant Blessing: Crazylong range on Darkvision, and you can share it with your party withoutspending a 2nd-level spell slot to cast Darkvision. Fantastic in a partywhich likes to fight at night or underground. Vigilant Blessing is a reallyfun buff, especially with an assassin rogue or an area control caster in theparty.
2. Channel Divinity: Twilight Sanctuary: Anabsolutely spectacular defensive buff. Even if you never got beyond 2ndlevel, using this twice per short rest is enough to cover roughly two ofevery three encounters. The temporary hit points scale with your clericlevel, but 1d6+2 temporary hit points per round is still a ton ofprotection. I recommend some fixes to Twilight Sanctuary (it’s absurdlypowerful) in ourCleric Subclasses Breakdownwhich I still recommend using for multiclass characters. The Charm/Fearremoval doesn’t care about your cleric level, and 1d6+2 is still a ton ofprotection.
6. Steps of Night: Good but not worth thelevels. Get an item or learn to cast Fly or Air Walk.

War

If you want a quick dip into cleric to pick up better proficiencies, WarDomain is the best way to do it for martial characters. War Priest is a greatoption even if you only have the required 13 Wisdom to multiclass into cleric,so the extra that you get on top of the proficiencies will still feelsatisfying even if your Wisdom isn’t great.

1. Bonus Proficiencies, War Priest: Martialweapons, heavy armor, and an extra attack a few times per day. If you needthe extra proficiencies, this is probably your best way to get it across anyclass. War Priest’s usage count is Wisdom-based, but if you already havegood uses for your Bonus Action you should think of this as an occasionalboost to your damage output rather than a tactical option which you can relyupon constantly. The fact that it’s just a normal attack means that even ifyour Wisdom is awful the attack is still useful so you’re still gettingsomething meaningful out of the ability.
2. Channel Divinity: Guided Strike: Thiscan be really great if you only get one high-damage attack each round, butwith only one use of Channel Divinity per short rest it’s not a bigimprovement to your capabilities.
6. Channel Divinity: War God’s Blessing:You’ll have two uses of Channel Divinity, but you’re still more likely tosave this for yourself so this isn’t a big improvement.

Druid

Druids are a difficult choice as a multiclass option. Their class featuresare often heavily dependent on class level, and even one level in the classdisallows metal armor so anything more protective than studded leather is offlimits.

1. Druidic, Spellcasting: This is a terriblelevel. Druid spellcasting is fine, but Druidic is very situational so you’rebasically just getting the spellcasting. Access to some Druid-exclusivespells like Shillelagh and Goodberry is nice, but rarely worth a level whenyou can get them from Magic Initiate.
2. Wild Shape, Druidic Circle, Wild Companion (Optional): Wild Shape is a really neat ability with some interesting utilityoptions, but it’s not a good combat option if you’re just dipping intodruid, and you need to invest a lot of levels to enable swim speeds andeventually fly speeds.

   If you’re using the Optional Class Features, Wild Companion offers easyaccess to a disposable familiar, as well as a meaningful way to spend yourWild Shape usage pool if you don’t take a subclass that can use it to goodeffect.

4. Ability Score Increase, Cantrip Versatility (Optional): Every class gets an Ability Score Increase at 4th level, and if youalready took three levels in the class it’s often very tempting to take onemore just to get the ASI.
6. Druidic Circle Feature: Varies.

Circle of Dreams

Nothing worth multiclassing to get.

2. Balm of the Summer Court: Entirelydependent on class level. Similar in many ways to Healing Word, but withoutthe scaling pool of dice this won’t be useful compared to spells.
6. Hearth of Moonlight and Shadow: There are anumber of comparable solutions: Rope Trick, Tiny Hunt, Magnificent Mansion.This is not unique or powerful enough to justify multiclassing.

Circle of Spores

If you have nothing better to do with your Reaction and you’re frequently inmelee, Halo of Spores is tempting. But it’s not a ton of damage on its own,and you can’t rely on Symbiotic Entity since the pool of temporary hit pointsis so small.

2. Circle Spells, Halo of Spores, Symbiotic Entity: Halo of Spores appears to scale with character level rather than classlevel, but it’s not clear if that’s intentional and I can’t find any sageadvice, errata, or tweets on the subject. If it is dependent on characterlevel, it’s a small, but consistent and reliable source of damage output.However, it’s also poison damage (which is commonly resisted) and the10-foot range is dangerous unless you’re built for melee.

   Symbiotic Entity is heavily dependent on class level. Your pool oftemporary hit points is 4 times your druid class level, and symbioticentity ends when those hit points go away. Unless you’re using a rangedweapon, you’re in melee drawing attacks and Symbiotic Entity could falloff at any point. Since activating Symbiotic Entity is an Action, it’sunlikely that you’ll activate it again during the same fight.

6. Fungal Infestation: This ability isn’tgreat on a single-class druid, and multiclassing doesn’t make it anybetter.

Circle of Stars

Only interesting for clerics, and I don’t know if it’s good enough to delayyour spellcasting by 2 levels.

2. Star Map, Starry Form: Very tempting fora cleric, you get some free spells and Starry Form turns your two Wild Shapeuses per short rest into a powerful and versatile buff. The bonuses areWisdom-based so it all works great for the Cleric. Archer for damage output,chalice when you desperately need healing, and dragon when you need tomaintain Concentration. Unfortunately other classes won’t gain much fromthis. Ranges might give Stary Form (Archer) a look, but it doesn’t work withHunter’s Mark so your Bonus Action is better spent elsewhere.
6. Cosmic Omen: School of Divination’s Portentfeature is better, works twice, and only takes 2 levels.

Circle of the Land

Circle of the Land is great at being a single-class druid focused onspellcasting. If you’re multiclassing into Druid, that’s not you.

2. Bonus Cantrip, Natural Recovery: Anothercantrip isn’t a huge boon if you’re multiclassing intro druid, and NaturalRecovery is hugely dependent on class level.
6. Land’s Stride: Too situational.

Circle of the Moon

Circle of the Moon is all about Wild Shape, and Wild Shape isextremely dependent on levels, so it’s a terrible option formulticlassing.

2. Combat Wild Shape, Circle Forms: Wild Shapeis not a combat option for characters taking a class dip.
6. Primal Strike: You should not invest thismany levels to still be bad at using Wild Shape in combat.

Circle of the Shepherd

Spirit Totem is the most likely reason you would pursue Circle of theShepherd, but a lot of its benefits are lost because they’re dependent onclass level. Mighty Summoner is hard to justify, and if you want to play asummoner a single-class Circle of the Shepherd Druid is likely your bestchoice.

2. Speech of the Woods, Spirit Totem:Speech of the Woods is neat, but Speak with Animals is a 1st-level spell.Spirit Totem is neat, but Hawk Spirit is the only option that’s notdependent on your class level, it only lasts one minute, and it only worksonce per short rest.
6. Mighty Summoner: This is great forplayers who enjoy summon spells, but if you’re taking 6 levels away fromyour primary class you’re giving up access to higher-level summoning spells.You might be able to upcast your lower-level summon spells, but if you’rebuilt around summon spells why not just play a druid?

Circle of Wildfire

Great as a single class, but the Wildfire Spirit is extremely frail unlessyou’re advancing as a druid to expand its hit points.

2. Circle Spells, Summon Wildfire Spirit: Ifyou want the spells, play a light domain cleric. The Wildfire Spirit is toodependent on class level to be useful for a class dip.
6. Enhanced Bond: Good for single-classbuilds, but not for a class dip.

Fighter

Heavy armor, shields, and Constitution saves make the Fighter a temptingfirst level for spellcaster builds, and Fighting Style and Action Surge arepopular for nearly any character. Fighter subclasses get excellent benefits at3rd level, too. You can frequently find something fancier from other classes,but the Fighter is still an easy option to complement many builds.

1. Fighting Style, Second Wind: FightingStyle and the fighter’s proficiencies are a great reason to take a level offighter, but generally you want to make that your first level so that youget heavy armor proficiency. Still, other martial classes which are alreadyhappy with their armor proficiencies will enjoy Fighting Style even if theyalready have one.
2. Action Surge (1/rest): The ability totake a second action and do something like casting a second spell in yourfirst turn in combat offers a lot of really great tactical options. But it’sonly once per rest, and you need to weigh one additional Action one tothree times per day (assuming that you use the Adventuring Day rules) andyou need to weigh the ability to sometimes do an extra thingagainst abilities which might let you do something more effective. Forexample: is access to spells two levels higher better or worse than beingable to cast an extra spell a few times per day? Sometimes the answer is “itdepends” and you’ll need to figure out that balance.
3. Martial Archetype: Varies.
4. Ability Score Increase, Martial Versatility (Optional): Every class gets an Ability Score Increase at 4th level, and if youalready took three levels in the class it’s often very tempting to take onemore just to get the ASI.
5. Extra Attack: Standard for most martialclasses at this level. Fighters eventually get more attacks than anyoneelse, but that doesn’t happen until 11th level.
6. Ability Score Increase: Fighters get moreAbility Score Increases than any other class. This is the first “extra” thatyou get, making it a great time to take a feat.

Arcane Archer

Potentially tempting for rangers and rogues built for archery, but otherwisenot worth the levels. Go for Battle Master instead.

3. Arcane Archer Lore, Arcane Shot (2 options): Arcane Archer Lore is neat, but particularly important. Arcane Shot iswhy you’re here. On a character build arount archery (such as a ranger orrogue) Arcane Shot can be tempting. You never get more than 2 uses per Shortor Long Rest anyway, and the damage on the shots doesn’t scale until 18thlevel so all that you’re giving up is additional options to use your paltry2 shots. Grab Grasping Arrow because it’s insanely good and maybe BurstingArrow because it’s good for tightly-packed groups, but avoid everything elseunless you have the Intelligence to keep your save DC really high.

Battle Master

If you have a martial character and want to do something more exciting than just swinging your weapon, this is a great addition. Combat Superiority adds numerous excellent tactical options which allow you to do interesting things in combat without giving up your attacks.

3. Combat Superiority, Student of War:Student of War is basically a throw-away. Combat Superiority is why peoplepick the Battle Master. The initial benefits give you 4 dice and 3maneuvers, giving you some exciting tactical options for any martialcharacter. You can also take the Martial Adept feat to expand this a bitwithout additional fighter levels. Keep in mind that while 4 dice can feellike a lot, they recharge on a Short or Long Rest, so you’ll need toconserve them between fights rather than burning through them all in oneturn.

Cavalier

You’re here for Unwavering Mark, and you don’t get to use it enough tojustify three levels.

3. Bonus Proficiency, Born to the Saddle, Unwavering Mark: Three levels for a skill proficiency, the ability to be slighter betterat getting into and out of a saddle, and Unwavering Mark which provides anattack as a Bonus Action with a damage bonus dependent on your class level.This might be interesting on a paladin that really enjoys Find Steed or on acharacter with Fighting Style (Protection), but even then it’s not great.You don’t get to use Unwavering Mark enough to make it exciting, and that’sthe best part of this class dip.

Champion

The Champion is somewhat bland since the improvements it provides are purelymathematical, but scoring twice as many critical hits can be a huge increasein your damage output, especially if you have a class feature which addsadditional effects or damage to critical hits.

3. Improved Critical: Critical hits arereally nice for martial characters, and since this doesn’t require theattack to hit normally it also guarantees a hit on a roll of 19 or 20.Barbarians with brutal critical, Paladins with divine smite, rogues withSneak Attack, and warlocks with Eldritch Smite can all benefit immenselyfrom more frequent critical hits, and if you can get Advantage on attacksyou have a significant change to score a critical hit on any givenattack.

Echo Knight

Manifest Echo is insanely powerful. Honestly Unleash Incarnation on top of itis unnecessary. If Unleash Incarnation were removed from the subclass, thiswould still be blue because Manifest Echo isjust that incredible.

3. Manifest Echo, Unleash Incarnation:Manifest Echo is incredibly powerful. Unleash Incarnation is great, too, butManifest Echo is just insanely good and incredibly easy to abuse. Avoid anyoptions that rely on your Bonus Action because almost anything else that youcould possibly do is going to be less important than doing something withyour echo.

Eldritch Knight

The Eldritch Knight already does the job of removing the need to build amulticlassed fighter/wizard (though there are still great fighter/wizardbuilds), and bringing it into a multiclass build is typically a bad idea.However, if you’re adding Eldritch Knight to a spellcaster build, it willprogress your spellcasting (though very slowly) and access to wizard cantripscan offer some tempting offensive options like Booming Blade for otherspellcasters who normally don’t get those options.

3. Spellcasting, Weapon Bond: Eldritch Knightspellcasting is basically just worse wizard spellcasting. Weapon Bond isneat, but it’s not good enough to spend levels to get it.

Psi Warrior

The Psi Warrior’s capabilities are partially tied to your Proficiency Bonusso you still advance them as you gain levels in other classes, but the effectswhich you can produce with just three fighter levels aren’t amazing.

3. Psionic Power: While the die size won’tscale unless you take more levels, the number of psionic energy dice you getare tied to your Proficiency Bonus so you’ll still get more dice as you gainlevels. The benefits are good, but not worth taking levels to get them.

Purple Dragon Knight / Banneret

Rallying Cry is neat, but too dependent on class level.

3. Rallying Cry: Depends on your fighter classlevel. If you want a tiny bit of healing, take a level of Life Cleric.

Rune Knight

The Rune Knight’s runes offer an interesting decision point, and the effectsare generally very good. Because of the variety of effects available, avariety of characters may benefit from various combinations of runes.

3. Bonus Proficiencies, Rune Carver: RuneCarver is why you’re here. You get just two runes from the four withoutlevel requirements. Each rune provides an active effect and a passiveeffect, and both can be useful for various characters.
   • Cloud: Great for rogues and otherdeceitful characters due to the passive skill bonuses, but the activeeffect works for literally anyone.
   • Fire: The passive effect will rarelymatter, but the active effect is a great offensive option for anymartial character. Enemies that don’t use Strength to attack typicallyhave poor Strength saves, so even with a mediocre DC you can often findenemies who are vulnerable to this.
   • Frost: It’s difficult to think of acharacter who could easily benefit from both skill bonuses while alsomaking good use of the active effect.
   • Stone: Excellent on any character,especially if you don’t already have Darkvision. The active effect is asave-or-suck effect used as a Reaction.

Samurai

If you just want easy Advantage, there are easier ways to get it.

3. Bonus Proficiency, Fighting Spirit (5 temp. hp): Advantage on all attacks for one turn three times per long rest plus atiny amount of temporary hit points. Maybe interesting when combined withAction Surge and really big attacks from a class that relies on numerousattacks, but if you just want easy Advantage take two levels of barbarianfor Reckless Attack. You can use this with more weapons than RecklessAttack, which may be enough to justify it. You also get a skill, but that’snot why you’re here.

Monk

Monks are the most MAD class in the game, dependent on three ability scoresto survive their role as an almost exclusively melee striker. This lack ofbuild flexibility makes them challenging on their own, and bringing thosechallenges into a multiclass build is hard to do effectively. You can’t weararmor or use a shield or you lose many of your monk class features, and thatalone mandates a lot about your build. Still, classes which have overlappingability score requirements can find a lot of benefits from levels in monk.

1. Unarmored Defense, Martial Arts: Dexterityand Wisdom are a great combination of ability scores, useful for a varietyof builds. Clerics, druids, rangers, rogues, and even some fighters andpaladins can be built with high enough Dexterity and Wisdom to make theMonk’s Unarmored Defense viable enough to replace armor. If you can handlethat build choice, you’re rewarded with AC that can go as high as 20 withouta single item or spell. Martial Arts adds offensive capabilities, too. Ifyou don’t rely heavily on your Bonus Action already you can easilycapitalize on the additional attack to add a lot of additional damage.
2. Ki, Unarmored Movement, Dedicated Weapon (Optional): Ki is great, but you only get a number of points equal to your monk levelso there is a huge incentive to take more monk levels. Unarmored Movement isgreat for a class that’s as close to melee-only as you can get.

   Dedicated Weapon probably doesn’t matter much, but it can open up someoptions like using a rapier or whip for a Monk/Rogue.

3. Monastic Tradition, Deflect Missiles, Ki-Fueled Attack (Optional): The benefits of your Monastic Tradition vary, but Deflect Missiles isalmoste never useful unless you face an abundance of humanoid enemies.

   Ki-Fueled Attack only matters for subclasses which spend their action andsome Ki to do something like casting a spell. Multiclass characters maynot need to worry about doing that since you’ll have so little Ki tospend.

4. Ability Score Increase, Slow Fall, Quickened Healing (Optional): An Ability Score Increase is always welcome, but Slow Fall almost nevermatters and it’s redundant with Feather Fall.
5. Extra Attack, Stunning Strike, Focused Aim (Optional): Extra Attack is great, and Stunning Strike is a spectacular debuff if youhave the Wisdom to keep the DC high.

   If you’re using the Optional Class Features, Focused Aim is a powerful(though expensive) way to use your Ki to rescue important attacks likeattacks with leveled spells.

6. Ki-Empowered Strikes, Monastic Tradition Feature: If you’ve come to rely heavily upon your additional attack from MartialArts, treating the attacks as magical means that you can handle foes withresistance to damage from non-magical attacks. Normally that requires amagic weapon or a spell or something like that.

Way of Mercy

Too dependent on consuming Ki points.

3. Implements of Mercy, Hand of Healing, Hand of Harm: Two skills and two new ways to spend your tiny pool of Ki. The skillsaren’t good enough to justify three levels of monk, and you don’t haveenough Ki to make Hand of Healing and Hand of Harm impactful.
6. Physician’s Touch: This essentially addsLesser Restoration to your Hand of healing and a Poisoned condition to yourHand of Harm. If you’ve made it to level 6 you have enough Ki that theseadditions might be meaningful, but if you just want Lesser Restoration youcould have taken cleric levels.

Way of Shadow

Way of Shadow is a tempting option for characters built for stealth,especially if you don’t have Darkvision already.

3. Shadow Arts: While you don’t have much Kito work with, many of the listed spells have long durations so you can get alot out of your limited pool of Ki.
6. Shadow Step: Shadows and dim light areabundant almost everywhere except outside during the day, and the fact thatyou can use this without a usage limitation means that it can be a go-totactical option. Rogues will find this especially appealing as an easy way toget Advantage in order to deliver Sneak Attack.

Way of the Astral Self

If you want to dip into monk to get better at martial stuff, Way of theAstral Self is the way to do it (even though Way of the Open Hand is thelow-magic martial monk). Arms of the Astral Self provide a Ki-efficient way toimprove your unarmed combat capabilities which works great for any characterwith the Wisdom to take advantage.

3. Arms of the Astral Self: Because theduration on the arms is 10 minutes and you get your Ki back on a Short orLong Rest, you can reasonably afford to use the arms in every fight withoutprogressing beyond level 3. That makes this a good class dip for characterswho can make use of it effectively, but the difficulty is finding a classthat can do so.

   The most obvious choices are the Cleric and the Druid. Monk is already aninteresting class dip for those classes because of the Wisdom synergy, andMonk is a popular class dip for Circle of the Moon druids to raise theirAC while using Wild Shape (see myPractical Guide to Wild Shape). Much like a spell, the arms would persist after you activate WildShape, so you could run around as a squirrel with floating magic arms andpunch things with them.

   You might also be able to make this work for a fighter exploring FightingStyle (Unarmed Fighting). Using Wisdom for your Strength checks makes iteasy to build around Wisdom and still use grappling to benefit from thebonus grapple damage. You could still hang out in heavy armor and ashield, too, though you give up on Martial Arts. Of course, at that pointit may be easier to play a monk and take Fighting Initiate to get FightingStyle (Unarmed Fighting).

6. Visage of the Astral Self: The bonuses areall neat, but can be replicated by spells. Darkvision will fix a lack ofDarkvision, Enhance Ability will cover the skill stuff, and the speech stuffcan be handled with Message and Thaumaturgy. You may be better served by 3levels of cleric.

Way of the Ascendant Dragon

The features work reasonably well for single-class monks, but depend too heavily on advancing your Martial Arts die and on growing your Ki pool.

3. Dragon Disciple: The reroll on Intimidation/Persusasion is neat, but you care about Charisma-based skills you’ll get more from Eloquence Bard.
3. Breath of the Dragon: Too dependent on advancing your Martial Arts die.
6. Wings Unfurled: Too limited. If you want flight, learn to cast Fly.

Way of the Drunken Master

Too dependent on Ki to make it viable for a multiclass dip.

3. Bonus Proficiencies, Drunken Technique:Drunken Technique means never choosing between Flurry of Blows and Disengageagain, but with 3 Ki Points per Short or Long Rest it’s not a bigimprovement.
6. Tipsy Sway: Both effects are onlysituationally useful, but by this level you have 6 ki points per Short orLong Rest so you can actually afford to use Redirect Attack frequently.

Way of the Four Elements

Way of the Four elements is all about turning Ki into spells. Multiclasscharacters don’t have enough Ki to make that viable.

3. Disciple of the Elements: You won’t haveenough Ki to make this good.
6. Additional Elemental Discipline: If you’vegone this far you’ve made a terrible mistake.

Way of the Kensei

The only reasons I can think of to explore Wai of the Kensei is for eitherthe +2 AC from Agile Parry or because you want to get a d10 melee weapon andattack using Dexterity instead of Strength. But you can get similar functionsfrom other places, and the damage difference between a rapier at 1d8 and alongsword in two hands at 1d10 is not worth three levels unless you’re alsoadding Great Weapon Master to the mix.

3. Path of the Kensei (2 weapons): KenseiWeapons allows you to attack with several non-Finesse weapons usingDexterity instead of Strength, and use Martial Arts on top of that. Youcould use a longsword two-handed to get a d10 damage die, which is the bestthat the Monk can get. Unfortunately, Agile Parry requires that you make anunarmed strike as part of the Attack action, so until you get Extra Attackyour weapon is basically just a pointy decoration. Agile Parry is reallygood, but the fact that you’re forced to use the Martial Arts damage of a3rd-level monk to get it means that you’re giving up the reason you’reprobably here. If you just want +2 AC, grab a shield. Kensei’s Shot is alsohere, but the extra d4 damage is meant to make you feel better about givingup the extra Bonus Action attack from Martial Arts/Flurry of Blows, andthat’s less important on a multiclass character.
6. One with the Blade, Path of the Kensei (3 weapons): By this level you should have ample access to magic weapons either viapermanent magic items or spells like Magic Weapon. Adding a 3rd KenseiWeapon is probably useless.

Way of the Long Death

If you want temporary hit points, there are better options than Touch ofDeath. Hour of Reaping is really good, but it’s not worth 6 levels on its ownso you’ll do best if you were primarily here for other monk features.

3. Touch of Death: Neat, but depends onyour class level. It’s not totally worthless if you go no further into monk,but I wouldn’t take 3 levels just to get this.
6. Hour of Reaping: An absolutely stellarcrowd control effect if you have the wisdom to back it up. Potentially veryuseful for classes with strictly limited resources between rests. But

Way of the Open Hand

Way of the Open Hand is great for single-class monks, but for multiclasscharacters it’s just not a good option since you won’t have the abundance ofKi to make Open Hand Technique a meaningful part of your tactical options.

3. Open Hand Technique: While this is a greatoption for a monk with abundant Ki, multiclassing makes it a difficultprospect.
6. Wholeness of Body: Absolutely not worth 6levels.

Way of the Sun Soul

Sun Soul adds a little bit of the Light Domain Cleric to the Monk. If youwant to be a cleric, go take a level of cleric instead.

3. Radiant Sun Bolt: Take a level of clericand learn Sacred Flame.
6. Searing Arc Strike: This already isn’t afantastic ability, and the fact that you’ll have comparably poor Ki justmakes it worse.

Paladin

The Paladin has a lot to offer other Charisma-based classes like the Sorcererand the Warlock. The Paladin’s excellent durability and offensive martialcapabilities are great, especially with a bigger pool of spell slots behindit.

1. Divine Sense, Lay on Hands: Divine Senseis very situational, and Lay on Hands is heavily dependent on class level.You can use it to remove diseases/poisons, but doing so costs an entireclass level worth of points so you’re not going to do it often. ThePaladin’s initial proficiencies are comparable to the Fighters, but unlessyou plan to take a second level of paladin the Fighter is typically a betterchoice.
2. Divine Smite, Fighting Style, Spellcasting: Two levels of paladin can turn the Sorcerer and the Warlock into seriousmartial threats. Divine Smite with an abundant pool of spell slots behind itis a terrifying pile of damage output, especially if you can score criticalhits with some frequency. Fighting Style is great on any character,especially martial ones, and the Paladin’s spellcasting includes severalexcellent options even among the 1st-level spells.

   If you’re a Charisma-based spellcaster like a sorcerer or warlockmulticlassing into paladin and you’re using the Optional Class Features,consider Fighting Style (Blessed Warrior) to get some Charisma-based Charisma lericspells like Guidance and Word of Radiance.

3. Divine Health, Sacred Oath: DivineHealth is situationally useful. The benefits of your Sacred Oath vary, butsince every oath gets Channel Divinity at this level, you’re getting apowerful ability that you can use once per Short or Long Rest.
4. Ability Score Increase: Every class getsan Ability Score Increase at 4th level, and if you already took three levelsin the class it’s often very tempting to take one more just to get theASI.
5. Extra Attack: Standard for most martialclasses, and an essential boost to most martial characters’ damageoutput.
6. Aura of Protection: Possibly the best buffto saving throws in the game. If you have the Charisma to back it up, you’resuddenly much more durable.

Oath of Conquest

None of this will really define your build, but this is a good set of optionsfor a Sorcadin.

3. Channel Divinity: Conquering Presence and Guided Strike, OathSpells: Guided Strike is a great option if you’re using Great Weapon Master orSharpshooter. Conquering presence is decent crowd control. The new spellsalso include Armor of Agathys, which is spectacular on front-line martialcharacters.

Oath of Devotion

Sacred Weapon is a very tempting option for both Sorcadins and Hexadins.Adding your Charisma to your attack rolls (especially if you’re a Hexadin andyou already do that) is a significant mathematical improvement to your damageoutput.

If you have feats like Great Weapon Master or Sharpshooter, Sacred Weaponwill offset much of the attack penalty and significantly increase yourexpected damage output, allowing you to perform 1-minute surges of incredibleweapon damage output.

3. Channel Divinity: Sacred Weapon and Turn the Unholy, Oath Spells: Sacred Weapon is a huge mathematical boost to your attack rolls. Rememberthat Advantage is worth roughly +3.25 on attacks, so if you have a +3Charimsa modifier or better you’re getting roughly the same thing. Plus,unlike Oath of Vengeance’s Vow of Enmity, the attack bonus applies toeverything you attack rather than to a single target. Plus, you can addAdvantage on top of that to make it nearly impossible for you to miss. Turnthe Unholy is fine for handling groups of fiends and undead. However, youneed the Charisma to make it viable so it’s not as easy for multiclasscharacters to use as Oath of Vengence’s Vow of Enmity.

Oath of Glory

A solid option for most Strength-based martial builds, especially if you liketo Grapple or Shove.

3. Channel Divinity: Peerless Athlete and Inspiring Smite, Oath Spells: Heroism is a good buff, especially if you can reliably pass the saves tomaintain Concentration. Peerless Athlete is great for characters that liketo Grapple or Shove. Rage is easier if all that you want is occasional helpwith Strength (Athletics), but Rage is also limited to a number of ragesper Long Rest which scales very slowly, while Channel Divinity works twiceper Short Rest, so there’s room to say that this is better. Inspiring Smiteis dependent on class level, but the base of 2d8 is very generous already,especially if you put it all on a single creature.

Oath of Redemption

Emissary of Peace is great for face characters, and Rebuke the violent is agreat combat option. Overall a good option, but not so great that it willdefine your build.

3. Channel Divinity: Emissary of Peace and Rebuke the Violent, OathSpells: Emissary of Peace provides a significant bonus to Charisma (Persuasion),which is a rare non-combat use of Channel Divinity. Rebuke the Violent is agreat way to respond to enemy critical hits. Neither option islevel-dependent.

Oath of the Ancients

If you want nature-based crowd control, try some druid levels.

3. Channel Divinity: Nature’s Wrath and Turn the Faithless, Oath Spells: Nature’s Wrath is a decent single-target crowd control option, and Turnthe Faithless is good for crowds of the affected creature types, butNature’s Wrath allows repeated saves and Turn the Faithless works on foeswhich aren’t abundant in most campaigns. Between the two abilities you don’thave an easy go-to option in any given encounter, so you may go longstretches where you get little or nofor benefit from having this ability.

Oath of the Crown

Nothing new here which couldn’t be found elsewhere in a better form.

3. Channel Divinity: Champion Challenge and Turn the Tide, Oath Spells: Champion Challenge is great, but redundant with Compelled Duel which isalready on the Paladin’s spell list. Turn the Tide is basically Mass HealingWord, but it only affects creatures that hear you and if you want healinglike that you can get better options from the Cleric and the Druid.

Oath of the Watchers

Two good Channel Divinity options if you have the Charisma to make themwork.

3. Channel Divinity: Watcher’s Will is anamazing defensive option for your allies, providing broad protection againstmental effects for a brief period. In combat against enemies which use sucheffects (spellcasters, enemies with charm or fear effects, mind flayers,etc.) these defenses can dramatically change the outcome of an encounter.The number of creatures affected is equal to your Charisma modifier, so thisbenefit works best on Charisma-based characters like bards and sorcerers.Abjure the Extraplanar is an AOE solution to creatures which you cantypically target with Banishment. You’ll still need to actually kill them,but causing part of an encounter to run away for a full minute makes it easyto kill whatever doesn’t flee, then clean up the rest later.

Oath of Vengeance

Vow of Enmity is why you’re here, and while it’s great you can get easyAdvantage from Reckless Attack, and Oath of Devotion’s Sacred Weapon is moremathematically effective if you’re increasing your Charisma. This isn’t a badoption, there are just better options with similar effects.

3. Channel Divinity: Abjure Enemy and Vow of Enmity: Abjure Enemy is hard to use since it’s easy to resist and many of thebest targets for it will be immune to it since immunity to fear is commonamong fiends and undead. But Oath of Enmity is pretty good since you can useit against anything.

Oathbreaker

If you want to control undead, you’re probably either a Cleric or a School ofNecromancy Wizard. In either case, you can rely on spells instead of ChannelDivinity both for handling undead and for making enemies Frightened. These arefine options for the Paladin, but for a multiclass dip they’re hard tojustify.

3. Channel Divinity: Control Undead, Dreadful Aspect, Oath Spells: The spells aren’t great for a typical paladin, but they’re more useful ifyou have full spellcasting. Control Undead is nice, but full spellcasterscan typically do the same thing more effectively. Dreadful Aspect is decentcrowd control, but again spellcasters can do the same thing much better.

Ranger

A single level in the Ranger gets you the same proficiencies as multiclassinginto the Fighter, plus an additional skill proficiency. But that’s generallynot what people multiclass into the Ranger for. Generally if you’re takingranger levels you’re going 2 levels for Fighting Style and Spellcasting orthree levels for a subclass. However, you can get similar benefits from otherclasses like the Fighter or the Rogue, so the Ranger is rarely a go-tomulticlass option.

1. Favored Enemy or Favored Foe (Optional), Natural Explorer or DeftExplorer(Optional): The Optional Class Features are a huge improvement for the Ranger’s firstlevel. Favored Foe is similar in function to Hunter’s Mark (though not asgood) and the uses per day scale with Proficiency Bonus. Deft Explorer isExpertise in one skill and two free languages, which helps close the skillgap between the Ranger and the Rogue. If you’re not using the Optional ClassFeatures, don’t stop at one level in ranger.
2. Fighting Style, Spellcasting: FightingStyle is always welcome, but most of the Ranger’s low-level spellcastingisn’t great. Hunter’s Mark is interesting, especially for builds which makenumerous attacks, but there are few other remarkable options.
3. Primeval Awareness or Primal Awareness(Optional), Ranger Archetype: Primeval Awareness is hard to use. The benefits of your ranger archetypewill vary.

   If you’re using the Optional Class Features, Primal Awareness isn’t a bigimprovement over Primeval Awareness because you’re not going to advancefar into the Ranger to benefit from the additional spells.

4. Ability Score Increase, Martial Versatility (Optional): Every class gets an Ability Score Increase at 4th level, and if youalready took three levels in the class it’s often very tempting to take onemore just to get the ASI.
5. Extra Attack: Standard for most martialclasses, and an essential boost to most martial characters’ damageoutput.

Beastmaster

The Beastmaster is already a bad archetype, and your companion’s hit pointsdepend on your class level so multiclassing into Beastmaster is a profoundlypoor choice.

3. Ranger’s Companion: Bad and too dependenton ranger class level.

Fey Wanderer

An interesting choice for high-Wisdom characters who want to play a Face. Clerics and Druids are the most likely choices, but characters with high scores in both Wisdom and Charisma can achieve truly incredible bonuses with their Face skills.

3. Dreadful Strikes, Fey Wanderer Magic, Otherworldly Glamour: Dreadful strikes is a small but occasionally effective damage boost, butsince it only applies once per turn per creature, if you have Extra Attackyou’ll want to spread your attacks around. Otherworldly Glamour is probablywhy you’re here. The extra skill is nice, and adding Wisdom to your Charismachecks allows a high-Wisdom character to easily function as a Face. Thebonus applies to all Charisma checks, so spellcasters like the Bard will alsobe able to use the bonus on things like Charisma checks made withCounterspell and Dispel Magic. However, generally characters will care moreabout using the bonus with skills. While the bonus is nice, a level of Rogueto get Expertise is much less costly unless you already wanted the benefitsof ranger levels.

Gloom Stalker

Fantastic for any character planning to spend a great deal of time fightingin the dark or in places where artificial light is necessary.

3. Gloom Stalker Magic, Dread Ambusher, Umbral Sight: This is a truly stellar level. Dread Ambusher is great for any martialcharacter, but Umbral Sight is just absolutely incomparable. If your partyis fine with working in the dark (warlocks with Devil’s Sight are yourfriend), Umbral Sight is a massive tactical advantage. Even if your partycan’t manage to fight in darkness, you can still hide just outside of therange of light sources and fight from afar very effectively.

Horizon Walker

Nothing that you need to have. Planar Warrior is probably why you’re here,but if you just want extra damage Hunter with Colossus Slayer adds just asmuch damage without eating your Bonus Action.

3. Horizon Walker Magic, Detect Portal, Planar Warrior (1d8): Detect Portal is very situational. Planar Warrior’s damage isn’t muchbetter than Hunter’s Mark, but converting your damage to force damage makesit nearly impossible to resist which may be appealing.

Hunter

Hunter’s Prey offers options which work for a variety of builds and inseveral different scenarios, so it’s a good option for nearly any martialcharacter.

3. Hunter’s Prey: Enough options that almostany martial build will benefit, and the effects never scale so you geteverything you need at 3rd level.

Monster Slayer

Nothing truly stunning here, but it’s a solid set of options for an ambushpredator like a ranger/rogue multiclass build.

3. Monster Slayer Magic, Hunter’s Sense, Slayer’s Prey: Hunter’s Sense is neat, but you’ll need to sneak up on the creature ifyou don’t want to spend an Action in combat staring at it. Slayer’s Prey isbasically Hunter’s Mark for free once per Short Rest, and they stack. If youare very stealthy and very good at sneaking up on enemies, you can giveyourself a huge advantage before combat starts.

Swarmkeeper

The benefits aren’t exactly bad, but I can’t figure out a way to use themeffectively on anyone except the Ranger.

3. Gathered Swarm, Swarmkeeper Magic: Theon-hit effects from Gathered Swarm are interesting, but it’s hard to thinkof a build that will use them consistently. Maybe a monk? Or a fighter withhigh Wisdom? Even then, the benefits aren’t good enough to justify thelevels. The Fighter and the Monk both have subclasses that can produceeffects that solve the same problems, so there’s little incentive tomulticlass to get Gathered Swarm. Swarmkeeper Magic adds Misty Step to theRanger’s spellcasting, but you need 5 levels to get there and if you wantteleportation a full caster will work much better.

Rogue

The Rogue’s first three levels are fantastic for a number of reasons. Roguesget more skill/tool proficiencies at 1st level than any other class, andExpertise on top of that benefits a wide range of characters. Sneak Attack isdependent on class level, which makes it hard for multiclass characters, butno one is going to complain about a few extra d6’s of damage every turn eventhough it’s not as much as a single-class rogue might get.

1. Expertise, Sneak Attack, Thieves’ Cant:Even though multiclassing into rogue only gets you one proficiency, youstill get Expertise in two things. Sneak Attack can be hard since it’s sodependent on scaling with class level, but even without a ton of SneakAttack damage a few dice can still be a notable addition to your damageoutput. Thieves’ Cant is neat but rarely important.
2. Cunning Action: Versatile and reliable,many other classes can benefit from the tactical options offered by CunningAction.
3. Roguish Archetype, Steady Aim (Optional):The benefits of your subclass vary.

   If you’re using the Optional Class Features, Steady Aim is excellent.It’s intended to solve the issue of ranged rogues attacking when theydon’t have a conveniently-positioned ally, but it’s great for anyonerelying on a single attack. Spellcasters who like spell attacks (ignoringEldritch Blast and Scorching Ray) will find this an easy substitute forTrue Strike.

4. Ability Score Increase: Every class getsan Ability Score Increase at 4th level, and if you already took three levelsin the class it’s often very tempting to take one more just to get theASI.
5. Uncanny Dodge: Useful on literally anycharacter, this can protect you from ta huge amount of damage over yourcharacter’s career.
6. Expertise: You probably already coveredyour favorite proficiencies, but more Expertise is never bad.

Arcane Trickster

If you just want wizard spellcasting, there are much better optionselsewhere.

3. Mage Hand Legerdemain, Spellcasting: MageHand Legerdemain is neat, but not very impactful for multiclassing. Thespellcasting is basically just worse wizard spellcasting so generally ifthat’s what you want you’ll do better with a level of Arcana Domain Clericor Wizard.

Assassin

Perfect for any ambush predator build. Pile on things like the Bugbear’sSurprise Attack, spells like Hunter’s Mark, effects like Divine Smite orEldritch Smite, Brutal Critical. Whatever you’ve got that makes for bigcritical hits.

3. Bonus Proficiencies, Assassinate: Theadditional proficiencies are nice, but they’re not why you’re here.Assassinate is a great tactical option even without a lot of Sneak Attackdamage. If you have additional abilities like the Barbarian’s BrutalCritical, the Paladin’s Divine Smite, or the Warlock’s Eldritch Smite youcan use Assassinate to start damage with a huge pile of damage.

Assassinate’s easy access to advantage and to possible critical hits (surprsise is really hard) is a huge force multiplier, allowing already high-damage builds to reach truly absurd amounts of damage output.

Inquisitive

Not a great choice for multiclass builds.

3. Ear for Deceit, Eye for Detail, Insightful Fighting: Ear for Deceit and Eye for Detail are only situationally useful, andInsightful Fighting is only meaningful if you have a lot of Sneak Attackdamage, which you won’t because you’re multiclassing.

Mastermind

There are better ways to get all of the benefits of the Mastermind.

3. Master of Intrigue, Master of Tactics:Master of Tactics is neat, but if your party just needs someone to providethe Help action in combat a familiar will suffice. Master of Intrigue is funfor a campaign that’s heavy on roleplaying, but if you just want more toolproficiencies you can get them more easily from your background or fromfeats.

Phantom

Too dependent on advancing your Sneak Attack damage.

3. Whispers of the Dead, Wails From the Grave:Whispers of the Dead is one skill or tool, and Wails From the Grave willdeal a miniscule amount of damage.

Scout

Mechanically interesting for ranged combat builds, and thematicallyinteresting for ranger/rogue multiclass builds.

3. Skirmisher, Survivalist: Skirmisher is agood option for ranged combatants of all kinds. Survivalist is Expertise intwo more skills, which is always welcome even if Survival is only rarelyuseful.

Soulknife

A safe, effective choice, but it doesn’t do anything that’s going to defineyour character. If you’re dipping into rogue for the core class features butdon’t need a specific subclass, this is a great addition to nearly anycharacter.

3. Psionic Power: Your pool of dice growswith your Proficiency Bonus, so it will grow as you gain levels. Thebenefits of both effects are good, if you never improve your die size, andPsi-Bolstered Knack only consumes the die if you succeed so you can rollyour d6 for every applicable ability check without risk of wasting adie.

Swashbuckler

A great option for any melee build.

3. Fancy Footwork, Rakish Audacity: FancyFootwork is the ultimate hit-and-run ability, and Rakish Audacity makesSneak Attack an easy option for any melee build, not to mention the bonus toInitiative. This is a great level for any melee build.

Thief

Fast Hands is neat, but it’s hard to use.

3. Fast Hands: The primary appeal of FastHands is the ability to use items as a Bonus Action. Unfortunately, the listof items which work with Fast Hands is short so if you go this route youneed to really know what you’re doing with it.

Sorcerer

The Sorcerer’s spellcasting offers a lot of great options for multiclasscharacters. Not only do you get more cantrips than most classes and access toseveral fantastic 1st-level options, but as you gain level Font of Magic andMetamagic offer a ton of utility to any spellcaster.

1. Spellcasting, Sorcerous Origin: Sorcererspellcasting is fine, and includes a lot of staple defensive options likeAbsorb Elements and Shield, both of which are 1st-level spells that work atany character level so if you’re not going far into Sorcerer you’ll stillget quite a bit from one level of spellcasting. Sorcerers also get morecantrips than most spellcasters, including great multiclass options likeGreen-Flame Blade, and they get their subclass at first level so you have alot of flexibility even with a 1-level class dip.
2. Font of Magic: Font of Magic is great, andit works for any class that depends on casting spells. Font of Magic doesn’tcare where the spell slots come from, so even if you’re feeding it PactMagic spell slots, you can still generate Sorcery Points. However, I haven’tseen confirmation that you can use Sorcery Points to generate Pact Magicspell slots, so I think that’s not allowed.
3. Metamagic: Metamagic is one of the bestreasons to multiclass into the Sorcerer. Even warlocks can benefitsignificantly, especially if you use your sorcerer spell slots for nothingbut sorcery points.
4. Ability Score Increase, Sorcerous Versatility (Optional): Every class gets an Ability Score Increase at 4th level, and if youalready took three levels in the class it’s often very tempting to take onemore just to get the ASI.
5. Magical Guidance (Optional): If you’reusing the Optional Class Features, Magical Guidance provides an easy rerollmechanic for ability checks. It’s not something that’s so good that youshould multiclass to get it, but if you’re already here it’s a great way tospend a Sorcery Point.
6. Sorcerous Origin Feature: Varies.

Aberrant Mind

A great primary class/subclass, but as a multiclass dip it’s notimpactful.

1. Psionic Spells, Telepathic Speech: PsionicSpells is huge for the Sorcerer because it expands your tiny pool of spellsknown. The problem you’ll face is that as a multiclass character your poolof spells known is less of a problem since
6. Psionic Sorcery, Psychic Defenses: YourSorcery Points won’t continue to scale because you’re not staying asorcerer, so Psionic Sorcery is minimally useful. Psychic Defenses is good,but if you want those benefits you can get them from your race instead ofcommitting six levels to get them.

Clockwork Soul

Without advancing as a sorcerer, you lose what makes the Clockwork Soulpowerful. The only thing that really justifies a class dip is Restore Balance,and it’s just not impactful enough to make this worthwhile.

1. Clockwork Magic, Restore Balance:Restore Balance is a welcome addition to parties which frequently findthemselves on the wrong side of Advantage. You can use it to mitigate thingslike Reckless Attack, making it a useful support option. But Clockwork Magicisn’t useful if you’re not committing to a lot of sorcerer levels, andRestore Balance isn’t good enough to justify the class dip.
6. Bastion of Law: Eats too many SorceryPoints.

Divine Soul

Want access to the cleric spell list and the sorcerer spell list at the same time? This is how you get it. Favored of the Gods is just an incredible bonus on top of the already exceptionally good spellcasting benefits.

1. Divine Magic, Favored by the Gods: DivineMagic offers access to the cleric spell list, meaning that you can getoptions like Guidance and Booming Blade in the same place. Staple optionslike Bless are great additions to the Sorcerer’s already great spell list.There are enough good options here that don’t rely on your spellcastingability that you can easily use up all of your limited spells known withouttouching Charisma even once. Favored of the Gods is a great backup optionfor import saving throws, and it’s useful on literally any character.
6. Empowered Healing: Take a level of LifeDomain Cleric instead. Disciple of Life is much better.

Draconic Bloodline

1. Dragon Ancestor, Draconic Resilience:13+Dex AC. The AC will exceed any light armor without spending a spell sloton Mage Armor. You also get one extra hit point per sorcerer level, puttingyour hit points in line with classes with d8 hit points, which can help formelee builds dipping into sorcerer.
6. Elemental Affinity: If you’re building ablaster, this can be a huge damage boost. You can also spend a Sorcery Pointto get damage resistance based on your Dragon Ancestor for an hour, which isa great trade.

Shadow Magic

Everything that Shadow Magic grants is great, and aside from Hound of IllOmen you don’t even need to be primarily a spellcaster to enjoy thebenefits.

1. Eyes of the Dark, Strength of the Grave: Agreat way to get permanent Darkvision if your race doesn’t already get it.Strength of the Grave is neat and might save your life, but it’s unreliableunless you’re good at Charisma saving throws.
3. Eyes of the Dark (darkness): Mostsorcerers don’t get another feature at third level. Eyes of the Dark allowsyou to create an area of darkness which you can see in, but no one else can(short of warlocks with Devil’s Sight and creatures with similar abilities).It’s similar in many ways to Shadow of Moil.
6. Hound of Ill Omen: Spectacular for anyspellcaster, especially if you like save-or-suck spells.

Storm Sorcery

Tempestuous Magic is great for spellcasters afraid to be dragged into melee,but that’s really the only thing of interest here so you won’t feel bad aboutstopping short of 6th level.

1. Wind Speaker, Tempestuous Magic:Tempestuous magic allows you to quickly and safely move out of melee range,which is tempting for many spellcasters. Wind Speaker is neat, but onlysituationally useful.
6. Heart of the Storm, Storm Guide: Heart ofthe Storm is dependent on class level, and Storm Guide is almost entirelyfor flavor.

Wild Magic

Tides of Chaos can be very powerful, but introducing Wild Magic to your game can quickly turn a sensible, enjoyable game into a crazy, unpredictable game where fireballs suddenly go off while you’re eating lunch in town.

1. Tides of Chaos, Wild Magic Surge: WildMagic Surge is the go-to way to add bits of randomness and chaos to yourgame. But Wild Magic Surge only occurs if you cast a sorcerer spell.Conversely, Tides of Chaos allows you to give yourself Advantage at leastonce per day whenever you need it, which is hard to pass up. Your DM canthrow a Wild Magic Surge at you any time after that to reset Tides of Chaos,so if you signed up for some extra chaos your DM gets to throw it at youwhenever they want.
6. Bend Luck: Expensive, but very powerful.Unfortunately you’ll have a small pool of Sorcery Points so it may be hardto spend the Sorcery Points to power this.

Warlock

A spectacular class dip for any martial character that can feasibly be builtaround Charisma. Pact Magic is difficult to combine with regular Spellcasting,but it’s not impossible to do, and the fact that Pact Magic stops advancing at10th level makes multiclassing a tantalizing option for warlocks.

1. Otherworldly Patron, Pact Magic: OneWarlock spell slot, even though it recharges on a Short or Long Rest, is notgoing to be impactful. Unless you plan to take more warlock levels, you’relikely here for the Otherworldly Patron features.
2. Eldritch Invocations (2): There are anumber of excellent and diverse Eldritch Invocation options so it’s easy tofind something useful for nearly any character, and if you take more warlocklevels you can retrain your invocations. You also get a second spell slot atthis level, which is great if you’ve got features like Divinite Smite whichyou can use to turn spell slots into bursts of damage.
3. Pact Boon: The Pact Boon options have alot to offer, and you can retrain one of your invocations to take advantageof your choice of Pact Boon. For example: If you took Pact of the Blade, youcould retrain an Invocation into Improved Pact Weapon to get easy access toa magic weapon with a +1 attack/damage bonus. If you took Pact of the Tome,you could retrain your 2nd-level invocation to get Book of Ancient Secretsand get some ritual casting without spending a feat.

   Pact of the Tome has some additional utility for Charisma-basedspellcasters like the Bard and the Sorcerer. You get access to cantripsfrom any class, and since they become Warlock spells they’reCharisma-based. Shillelagh is obsolete due to the Hexblade, but spellslike Sacred Flame, Vicious Mockery, and Word of Radiance, are greatoptions for warlocks to borrow.

4. Ability Score Increase, Eldritch Versatility (Optional): Every class gets an Ability Score Increase at 4th level, and if youalready took three levels in the class it’s often very tempting to take onemore just to get the ASI.
5. Eldritch Invocation (1): You already havetwo invocations, and it’s hard to think of builds where a third will addmuch. You can take something like Thirsting Blade to effectively replaceExtra Attack, but I’m not sure if that’s a great option on a multiclasscharacter.
6. Otherworldly Patron Feature: Varies.

The Archfey

The Archfey is a hard choice for multiclassing. Adding Faerie Fire to yourwarlock spell list may be the best you can get from a class dip into theArchfey.

1. Fey Presence: An interesting option formelee builds since you’ll often have enemies in melee with you, but the10-foot cube AOE raises some annoying mechanical questions since it coversat most half of each 5-foot space adjacent to you. The short durationdoesn’t help either.
6. Misty Escape: A great way to get out ofmelee in a hurry, and it’s not dependent on class level or Charisma oranything.

The Celestial

Other classes offer similar but more effective options.

1. Expanded Spell List, Bonus Cantrips, Healing Light: There’s little reason to consider this over levels in the Cleric orDivine Soul Sorcerer. Healing Light is too dependent on class level, and thetiny number of cleric spells aren’t meaningful enough to justify this overother subclass options.
6. Radiant Soul: Neat, but not worth 6levels.

The Fathomless

A solid 1-level dip, especially in an aquatic campaign.

1. Tentacle of the Deeps, Gift of the Sea:If you’re playing in an aquatic campaign and you’re dead set on playinganything except an aquatic race, Gift of the Sea is one of the easier waysto solve the issues of breathing and swimming. Regardless of the location ofyour campaign, Tentacle of the Deeps is an easy combat summon that works forany character who doesn’t have a good use for their Bonus Action. The usesper day scale with your Proficiency Bonus, which makes it an easy option fora class dip.
6. Oceanic Soul, Guardian Coil: If you wantcold resistance, cast a spell or play a race that gets it. If you want tospeak to creatures with swim speeds, play a triton. Guardian Coul is great,but not worth six levels.

The Fiend

The Fiend’s features are great, but the spellcasting won’t add much sincemuch of it is AOE damage that’s intended to benefit from your increasing spellslot level.

1. Dark One’s Blessing: Dungeons and Dragonsis a game that involves a lot of reducing enemies to 0 hit points, so forthe vast majority of characters this offers an easy way to get temporary hitpoints, especially on high-damage characters.
6. Dark One’s Own Luck: d10 is an averageroll of 5.5, which is a massive bonus in 5e. This can easily turn afailed save into a successful one. But if you’re here for this, considerlevels in bard instead for Bardic Inspiration.

The Genie

A great choice if you want core warlock features but don’t need somethingfrom a subclass, the Genie offers more decision points than other warlocksubclasses so you can easily tailor what you get to your tastes.

1. Genie’s Vessel: The Genie’s Wrath effectof your vessel is a nice damage boost for classes which rely on attacks butdon’t need something fancy like Hex Warrior. It scales with your ProficiencyBonus, so it’s great for class dips. Rogues who want other warlock stufflike Devil’s Sight may find this option appealing.
6. Elemental Gift: Permanent damageresistance is nice, and the flight is absolutely fantastic.

The Great Old One

The Great Old One is primarily about spellcasting, so multiclassing doesn’tmake this a good choice.

1. Awakened Mind: Great for a Facecharacter or for characters hoping to avoid notice while communicating, butI don’t think it’s good enough to multiclass to get it.
6. Entropic Ward: Great for front-linemartial builds, especially if you benefit a lot from Advantage like roguesdo. But it only works once per Short or Long Rest so it’s not a tacticaloption which you can rely on constantly.

The Hexblade

So effective that it single-handedly reset the character optimization meta. A1-level dip into Hexblade can dramatically improve bards, paladins, andpotentially even sorcerers.

1. Expanded Spell List, Hexblade’s Curse, Hex Warrior: Hexblade’s Curse works based on your Proficiency Bonus, so it remainseffective and powerful at any character level. Hex Warrior gives you mediumarmor, shields, martial weapons, and you can use one weapon to fight withyour Charisma modifier in place of Strength or Dexterity, solving the MADproblem for bards, paladins, and sorcerers who want to fight withweapons.
6. Accursed Specter: Nowhere near good enoughto even consider 6 levels.

The Undead

An excellent option for a single-level class dip for martial characters, but the Undead needs to compete for space with the Hexblade. Hexblade can solve MAD issues for bards, paladins, and sorcerers looking to be effective with both weapons and spells, and while Form of Dread is good it doesn’t solve a fundamental challenge built into your class.

Characters looking to add Eldritch Blast+Agonizing Blast as an easy offensive option might enjoy the Undead, but again Hexblade may be a more effective option for that build because Hex Warrior adds a damage boost to your attacks.

The most likely characters to dip into the Undead are conquest paladins,non-charisma-based martial characters like fighters and monks who can makenumerous attacks to reliably trigger Form of Dread’s fear effect, and playerssick of multiclassing into hexblade.

1. Form of Dread: In its initial form, Formof Dread is a decent combat buff which works for any class, and adds apowerful and effective status debuff on top of any attacks which a charactermight make. This is a great option for martial characters, especially thosewith numerous attacks (fights, monks) and those who are unusually accurate(Archery fighting style or easy access to Advantage). However, since thesave DC for the fear effect uses your warlock spellcasting DC, low Charismamay make it unreliable.

   If you have other features which capitalize on the Frightened condition,such as the Oath of Conquest Paladin’s Aura of Conquest, this is afantastically easy way to trigger those features. The number of uses perday is tied to your Proficiency Bonus, so a single level in warlock getsyou a lot of usage.

6. Touch of the Grave: The damage boost iswhat you’re likely here for, and it’s not worth this many levels. Acharacter using a greataxe might enjoy the additional damage die, but othersources of additional damage are likely less costly.

The Undying

Almost nothing worth having, and what little there is can be found elsewhere.Consider the Grave Domain Cleric instead.

1. Expanded Spell List, Among the Dead: Ifyou’re worried about undead, take cleric levels.
6. Defy Death: There are a number of better andlower-level class features which will protect you from falling to zero hitpoints, but even in the absence of those features this isn’t good enough tojustify six levels.

Wizard

Wizards have numerous “dead levels” where they get nothing except a new spelllevel. While that’s fine for single-class wizards, it’s not great formulticlassed characters. Typically you’ll go no further than 2nd level onceyou get the initial subclass features.

1. Arcane Recovery, Spellcasting: Wizardspellcasting is really good, and includes ritual casting and a ton of1st-level rituals including crucial options like Detect Magic. ArcaneRecovery is very level-dependent, so you’re unlikely to get anything beyondan extra 1st-level spell slot.
2. Arcane Tradition: Varies.
3. Cantrip Formulas: The ability to changeyour wizard cantrips daily can be a great way to tailor your capabilities toexpected challenges. However, if you’re multiclassing into wizard you likelyhave specific spells in mind that you want to take so you may not find thisuseful.

Bladesinging

For the Arcane Trickster Rogue, the Artificer, and the Eldritch Knight,Bladesong is a tempting prize. Unfortunately it’s not useful for other classessince nearly all characters dump Intelligence.

2. Training in War and Song, Bladesong:You’re here for Bladesong. Pile Intelligence on top of all of your importantmartial combat stats, and add it to your saves for Concentration so that youcan maintain other powerful buffs. However, it limits you to light armor soit’s only useful for Dex/Int builds.

Chronurgy Magic

Not actually bad, but School of Divination is better.

2. Chronal Shift, Temporal Awareness:Chronal Shift is a less-reliable version of School of Divination’s Portent.Temporal Awareness is great for the Wizard, but other classes either won’thave enough Intelligence to make it useful or they’ll go forbladesinging.

Graviturgy Magic

Being able to replace the only ability with a spell is a good indication thatthis isn’t a good multiclass option.

2. Adjust Density: Tempting you have an allywho likes to Grapple or Shove, but you could also cast Enlarge/Reduce andtake a better subclass.

Order of Scribes

Order of Scribes is good at being a wizard, but the features do nearlynothing that works beyond your wizard spells.

2. Wizardly Quill, Awakened Spellbook: Thebenefits of both features only matter for wizard spells.

School of Abjuration

Too dependent on class level and wizard spells.

2. Arcane Ward: This is a great ability butit’s totally dependent on both your class level and on casting wizardspells, both of which are difficult prospects for a multiclassed character.You’ll likely never get more than 7 hit points in the ward, and casting1st-level spells will only add 2 to the ward. Probably your best choice isto to turn all of your spell slots into Shield and Absorb Elements, butthat’s a very unsatisfying use of the feature, especially since you get just2 hp each time.

School of Conjuration

Not worth the levels.

2. Minor Conjuration: This is a greatability, but it’s not worth multiclassing into wizard just to get it.

School of Divination

Literally always good.

2. Portent: This is a spectacular ability onany character.

School of Enchantment

Hard to use, but maybe effective on a close-range caster build?

2. Hypnotic Gaze: This is hard for manycharacters to use because you need to get within 5 ft. of the target andspend successive Actions to hold the target’s gaze, effectively trading yourown Action to negate the target’s ability to act. That can be useful in somesituations, but it’s a dangerous gamble if you’re not built for melee andyou try to use this in combat. With the exception of Eldritch Knights andArcane Tricksters, I don’t see much use for this for other classes.

School of Evocation

The Sorcerer and the Wizard generally make the best Blasters, and theSorcerer gets comparable metamagic. Maybe the Artillerist Artificer could usethis?

2. Sculpt Spell: Helpful for blasters, butgiving up two levels may be hard compared to advancing your class two morelevels and getting higher-level spells is usually more effective.

School of Illusion

The only possible use case I can think of is the Arcane Trickster if you wantmore wizard spellcasting, but if that’s what you’re doing there are bettersubclass options for you. Bladesinging and School of Enchantment may both bebetter.

2. Improved Minor Illusion: 2 levels to be alittle better at one cantrip. Not worth it.

School of Necromancy

Tempting for a high-damage offensive spellcaster, but not defining oressential in any build.

2. Grim Harvest: This is tempting becauseit applies to non-wizard spells, so if you’re using offensive spells fromanother class this can be a good way to keep your hit points up. Giving upaccess to higher-level spells to get this may be a hard trade, but if you’regetting by on staple options like Fireball and Spirit Guardians which scalewell with spell level you can get a lot out of this.

School of Transmutation

Nothing worth the levels.

2. Minor Alchemy: Very versatile, but it’s notpowerful enough to justify multiclassing.

War Magic

This is objectively fantastic, but it’s hard to find a build that will wantit. The obvious answers are the Arcane Trickster Rogue, the BattlesmithArtificer, and the Eldritch Knight Fighter. But those are the exact samecharacters that line up well for Bladesinging, and Bladesinging tends to getmore attention.

But there are still some standout builds where War Magic shines. Bladesinging only works in light or no armor, and it only works for 1-minute bursts, after which if you’re not also a good spellcaster you’re pretty useless.

By comparison, War Magic works as long as you have your Reaction so you can negate attacks and shrug off saving throws all day long. The bonuses won’t be as big as those from Bladesong once your Intelligence hits +5, but the fact that you can use them constantly may be worthwhile. Bladesinging also doesn’t give you an Initiative bonus.

2. Arcane Deflection, Tactical Wit: +2 AC asa Reaction isn’t quite as good as Shield, but it’s still really good. +4 toa saving throw as a Reaction is absolutely unbelievable. Sure, you can’tcast non-cantrips on your next turn, but for many multiclass characters thatdoesn’t matter even slightly. Tactical Wit is a great Initiative bonus,too.

Example Quick Multiclass Builds

All the stuff above was… well, it was a lot. I get it. Character optimization can be complicated, and those complications increase exponentially when you bring multiclassing into the equation. This section details several examples of multiclass options which appeal to specific classes.

If you already know the class that you want to focus on (your “primary class”) but want to explore multiclassing, this section offers several go-to multiclass options for each class which you can pick up without a ton of trouble and without adding a lot of complication to your build.

Artificer Example Builds

Fighter (Any) 1 / Artificer (Any) X: Starting with a levelin fighter gets you heavy armor without giving up proficiency in Constitutionsaves. For artificer subclasses which don’t already get heavy armorproficiency, this can be a significant boost to your AC and can reduce theneed for Dexterity so that you can focus on other ability scores. However, ifyou don’t meet the Strength requirement you’ll face a persistent and annoyingspeed penalty.

Rogue (Thief) 3 / Artificer (Any) X: Do you like items? Ofcourse you do! On top of Expertise, three levels in rogue (thief) can get youFast Hands, allowing you to take the Use an Object action as a BonusAction.

Wizard (Bladesinging) 2 / Artificer (Battlesmith) X: Bladesong is a fantastic buff for an Intelligence-based character, and the Battlesmith is an Intelligence-based front-line character so the combination is pretty obvious. Between Battle Ready and Bladesong you’re adding Intelligence to many of your most important stats so you can focus on Intelligence almost exclusively. However, Bladesong limits you to light or no armor, so you’ll need to invest heavily in Dexterity.

Barbarian Example Builds

Fighter (Champion) 3 / Barbarian (Any) X: Improved Criticalsynergizes with Brutal Critical very well. Add in the Half-Orc’s SavageAttacks and grab a greataxe, and your critical hits will be frequent anddevastating. With Reckless Attack and Improved Critical, your odds of rollinga critical hit are 19% (nearly 1 in 5).

Rogue (Assassin) 3 / Barbarian (Any) X: Similar to the Fighter (Champion) above, the Assassin’s Assassinate feature synergizes with Brutal Critical very well. However, you trade the Champion’s sustainably high critical hit output for guaranteed critical hits against surprised creatures. If you go this route, don’t neglect your Dexterity, look for other ways to improve your Initiative rolls, and learn to capitalize on Stealth to surprise your enemies.

Full Example Builds:

• Totembreaker: Scourge of Nature: Barbarian/paladin multiclass build. Divine smite isn’t a spell.

Bard Example Builds

Sorcerer (Any) 1, 2, or 3 / Bard (Any) X: Sorcerers getproficiency in Constitution saving throws (crucial for Concentration) and getmelee cantrips like Booming Blade which aren’t normally available to the Bardwithout spending powerful resources like Magical Secrets. The overlap inspellcasting ability means that the spells gained from sorcerer levels willremain effective as you advance. Two levels gets you Font of Magic whichdoesn’t care where the spell slots come from, and three levels gets youMetamagic which similarly doesn’t care whether you’re casting sorcerer spellsor not.

Warlock (Hexblade) 1, 2, or 3 / Bard (Any) X: Hexblade significantly simplifies a lot of the Bard’s deficiencies in melee combat. Access to medium armor and shields removes the need to pursue College of Valor, and cantrips like Booming Blade will close the damage gap between single attacks and Extra Attack.

Get 14 Dexterity, a suit of half plate, and a shield and you’ll have 19 AC and you can focus on your Charisma and improve both your martial capabilities and your spellcasting at the same time. A second Warlock Level gets you invocations, and a third can get you both Pact of the Blade and Improved Pact Weapon. However, that second or third level means trading some spellcasting for more martial capabilities, so you need to decide what balance you want to strike with your character.

Wizard (School of Divination or Chronurgy Magic) 2 / Bard (College of Eloquence) X: Seize control of the outcome of rolls! Wizard offers access to either Portent or Chronal Shift depending on which of the two schools you pick, allowing you to change the outcome of two rolls per day.

The remainder of your levels go into bard primarily for Bardic Inspiration.Your number of uses of Bardic Inspiration are Charisma-based, so you want thisto be a high-Charisma build and limit your wizard spells to spells which don’tdepend on your spellcasting modifier (absorb elements, shield, and utilityoptions are all good choices).

To go even further, add Halfling for the Lucky racial trait, and consider theBountiful Luck feat. You can add the Lucky feat regardless of your race, too.However, that’s two feats which puts off Ability Score Increases for a longtime, and between that and being a full spell level behind on your bardspellcasting you’ll need to avoid offensive spells and spells which depend onyour spellcasting ability modifier as much as possible.

You can add a level of Wild Magic Sorcerer to gain Tides of Chaos, but that only applies to yourself and adding a third class adds a lot of complexity to your character (especially your spell list) for little benefit.

Full Example Builds:

• Bardadin: The Portable Punching Bag: Bard/paladin “bardadin” multiclass build. Instead of a smite bot, this build abuses Armor of Agathys to turn yourself and your steed into a roving nuisance built around automatic damage.
• Bardadin: The Whispering Vengeance: Bard/paladin “bardadin” multiclass build. Combines Divine Smite, Psychic Blades, and a deep pool of spell slots for high-damage crit smites.

Cleric Example Builds

Fighter 1 or 2 / Cleric (Any) X: Starting with Fighter gets you proficiency in Constitution saves, which is a huge help with Concentration checks. It also gets you heavy armor if your domain doesn’t provide it and a Fighting Style.

Two levels gets you Action Surge, allowing you to do things like casting two spells in the same turn without running into the limitation on Bonus Action spells. Action Surge only works once per Short or Long Rest, but it’s still noteworthy. You might go to three levels for a subclass, but that’s uncommon.

Monk (Any) 1 / Cleric (Any) X: Unarmored Defense and Martial Arts are interesting options for clerics that don’t get heavy armor proficiency. Grab a monk weapon and focus on Dexterity and Wisdom, and many domains which offer a version of Divine Strike can be considerably more effective in melee. The second attack from Martial Arts will be redundant for War Domain, but other domains like Grave Domain or Light Domain gain a reliable way to make more than one weapon attack per turn.

Unarmored Defense also allows you to hit 20 AC (though this requires quite a few Ability Score Increases) without using armor or a shield, which means that you can keep a hand free to perform spellcasting components without rely on War Caster or juggling your weapon.

Paladin (Any) 2, 5, or 6 / Cleric (Any) X: Two levels of paladin offers Divine Smite, which combined with the cleric’s better spell progression (and therefore larger pool of spell slots) offers more smites and generally better martial options for the Cleric. You won’t get proficiency with Constitution saves like you would with a Fighter class dip, but If you can manage 6 levels Aura of Protection can help compensate or you can take Resilient.

Unfortunately, this build can be very MAD since paladins are already MAD and you’re adding a Wisdom requirement. Most likely, you’ll have better results attempting the same build with a Divine Soul Sorcerer.

Rogue (Any) 1, 2, or 3 / Cleric (Trickery) X: The Trickery cleric makes sense in a stealthy party, but lacks the core proficiencies brought by a rogue, and doesn’t have access to finesse weapons better than a dagger. If you want to replace a rogue with a trickery cleric, starting with a level of rogue gets you all of the rogue’s proficiencies and a splash of Sneak Attack damage.

Two levels gets you Cunning Action so you’ve always got a good use for your Bonus Action without pouring spell slots into Spiritual Weapon, and three levels gets you a bit more Sneak Attack and a subclass. Personally I would go for Arcane Trickster for the spellcasting or Mastermind for Master of Tactics to complement the cleric’s support capabilities.

Full Example Builds:

• Tetragrammaton Cleric Build Guide – Cleric/Fighter/Ranger. Guns but also martial arts but also guns (uses Kobold Press’s Tome of Heroes)

Druid Example Builds

Barbarian (Any) 1, 2, or 3 / Druid (Circle of the Moon) X: Rage and Unarmored Defense are both appealing for Circle of the Moon because they both work while in Wild Shape. Reckless Attack does, too, but it’s a big gamble since Wild Shape provides such a small pool of hit points before you’re knocked out of Wild Shape. And, while Unarmored Defense does work in Wild Shape it doesn’t necessarily work very well. We go into the math in our Practical Guide to Wild Shape.

Monk (Any) 1, 2, or 3 / Druid (Circle of the Moon) X: Martial Arts works while using Wild Shape, as does the Monk’s Unarmored Defense. So long as your Wisdom is sufficiently high, you can improve the AC of many forms, though not all of them. We go into the math in our Practical Guide to Wild Shape. And, while Martial Arts does work in Wild Shape you need to take the Attack action and make an attack an “unarmed strike”.

Animals’ natural weapon attacks are not unarmed strikes, so they don’t count. That means that you may be punching and kicking in favor of biting and clawing. 2 levels get you Ki and Unarmored Movement, both of which work in Wild Shape (and Unarmored Movements applies to your new form’s movement speeds). 3 levels gets you a subclass, but by this point you’re setting yourself really far behind on Wild Shape so the drawbacks are arguably offsetting the benefits of the class dip.

Monk (Any) 1 / Druid (Circle of Spores) X: I know, two monk/druid builds seems redundant, but this is a really great combo that I can’t ignore. Circle of Spores is difficult to optimize and it has a bunch of mechanical challenges. Druids have terrible AC and bad martial options, and while Symbiotic Entity helps compensate for both there’s a ton of room for improvement. Unarmored Defense is a great option for the Circle of Spores Druid. Max out Dexterity and Wisdom and you can hit 20 AC without spells or a shield (though that will obviously take a while).

ou can use Dexterity to fight with either a spear or a staff, removing the need for Shillelagh which is typically difficult for spores druids to forgo. Martial Arts offers an additional attack, allowing you to apply your bonus poison damage more frequently on top of the extra damage output from making twice as many attacks as a druid normally can. You don’t need to go further into the Monk than level 1, which makes this an exceptionally powerful class dip.

Fighter Example Builds

Barbarian (Any) 1, 2, or 3 / Fighter (Any) X: Rage is a really tempting buff, but it only works if you’re not in heavy armor. Unarmored Defense is similarly great, but maxing out the AC requires a ton of Ability Score Increases. The Fighter gets more Ability Score Increases than any other class, which presents an opportunity to get your Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution all up to 20 for an AC of 20 totally naked.

If you start with 16 Strength, 14 Dexterity, and 16 Constitution you can hit 20 in each if you take only one level of barbarian then go straight fighter after that. But more likely you’re exploring barbarian for more than just the ability to fight unarmored, in which case options like Reckless Attack are extremely appealing for fighters.

Rogue (Any) 2 / Fighter (Any) X: 2 levels of rogue gets youa lot of skills and Cunning Action, which provides a powerful usage for yourBonus Action on a class with very few built-in Bonus Action options. Thiscombines well with the Polearm Master+Sentinel combo because if enemies manageto get adjacent to you you can use Cunning Action to Withdraw safely thenforce your enemies to charge into your reach again to get close enough toattack you.

Ranger 2 / Paladin 2 / Fighter (Champion) 10+: Do you like Fighting Style? Here’s how you get 4 of them. It’s neat, but it’s a bad build.

Full Example Builds:

• Oversized Weapons Handbook: Fighter/Warlock. What is the biggest weapon you could possibly swing?
• Tetragrammaton Cleric Build Guide – Cleric/Fighter/Ranger. Guns but also martial arts but also guns (uses Kobold Press’s Tome of Heroes)

Monk Example Builds

Barbarian (Any) 1 or 2 / Monk (Any) X: The two version of Unarmored Defense don’t stack, but if you’re not reliant on Wisdom for save DCs or anything like that, the Barbarian’s version of Unarmored Defense may actually be better than the Monk’s. De-emphasizing Wisdom means that you can instead focus on Constitution, thereby raising the Monk’s relatively poor hit points compared to more durable from-lint martial classes.

Two levels gets you Reckless Attack, which is a hard gamble for the Monk with d8 hit dice and low AC (until you gain enough ability score increases to raise it), but Advantage on 3-4 attacks (Extra Attack and Flurry of Blows) can yield a lot of damage output if you use it as an occasional damage boost rather than running Reckless Attack constantly like many barbarians do.

Rogue (Any) 1 / Monk (Any) X: Starting with a level in rogueadds a bunch of additional skills to the Monk. Monks are typically somewherebetween a fighter-equivalent and rogue-equivalent, but since they don’t havethe durability to replace a fighter they’re typically filling the spacenormally filled by a rogue. Starting with a level in rogue offers betterskills and expertise, and if you want to enjoy the 1d6 of Sneak Attack damageyou can use a dagger or a short sword. I wouldn’t go past level 1 sinceUncanny Dodge is so redundant with the options provided by Ki.

Paladin Example Builds

Sorcerer (Any) 1 or 2 / Paladin (Any) X: Similar to the Warlock, the Sorcerer offers additional spellcasting options to the Paladin, and the multiclass is popular enough that it’s affectionately nicknamed the “Sorcadin”. On top of the extra spell slots, sorcerers get access to great spells like Booming Blade which can be powerful assets for martial characters.

Two levels gets you Font of Magic, which allows you to convert your spell slots into Sorcery Points and back, and it’s a common tactic to turn your spell slots into a pile of 1st-level slots because 1st-level slots have the best conversion rate from spell slot to Divine Smite damage dice. Personally I like a Draconic Bloodline Sorcerer with a Dexterity-based build; you can still hit 20 AC thanks to Draconic Resilience and there’s no additional tracking beyond the spells.

Warlock (Hexblade) 1, 2, or 3 / Paladin (Any) X: Warlock/Paladin builds have been popular since 5e’s release. The promise of recharging spell slots on a Short Rest in conjunction with Divine Smite is hard to pass up. This combination was affectionately nicknamed the “Lockadin”, but gave way immediately to the “Hexadin” the moment that Hexblades were published.

The ability to use Charisma for attack and damage with weapons made the Paladin considerably less MAD, so they could emphasize both their martial capabilities and their magical abilities by increasing the same ability score. If you go this route, there are good break points at levels 1, 2, and 3. Level 2 gets a second spell slot and an invocation, and level 3 gets you 2nd-level spells for bigger smites and you get Pact Boon.

Barbarian (Any) 1, 2, or 3 / Paladin (Any) X: Rage won’t work in heavy armor, so if you want Rage you’ll need to manage medium armor which will make the Paladin even more MAD than they already are. Still, if you can manage it both Rage and Reckless Attack are great on the Paladin.

Full Example Builds:

• Bardadin: The Whispering Vengeance – DnD 5e: Bard/paladin “bardadin” multiclass build. Combines Divine Smite, Psychic Blades, and a deep pool of spell slots for high-damage crit smites.
• Hexadin: Suffer Not the Witch-Knight to Live: Hexblade/paladin “hexadin” multiclass build. Combines the Paladin’s durability with the high damage output of the Hexblade Warlock.
• Sorcadin: Smite Like Clockwork: Sorcerer/paladin “sorcadin” multiclass build. Relies on Font of Magic to melt spell slots into smiting on every attack.
• Totembreaker: Scourge of Nature: Barbarian/paladin multiclass build. Divine smite isn’t a spell.

Ranger Example Builds

Druid (Any) 1 / Ranger (Any) X: The Druid’s spellcasting isvery similar to the Ranger’s, but they get cantrips and several 1st-levelspell options like Healing Word which the Ranger doesn’t. Grab Shillelagh andyou can build a high-Wisdom ranger and still work great in melee. Of course,you’ll need to give up metal armor so you’ll still need high Dexterity, andyou can get access to the spells you want by taking Magic Initiate.

Fighter (Any) 1 / Ranger (Any) X: If you want to build a Strength-based ranger, this is the way to do it. Starting with the Fighter gets you heavy armor, a Fighting Style, and proficiency in Constitution saves so that you can maintain Concentration more easily with spells like Hunter’s Mark and Guardian of Nature. This one-level class dip shifts the Ranger from a Rogue-equivalent to a high-damage Fighter-equivalent, allowing you to easily stand on the front lines to protect your allies. Since you get two Fighting Styles, consider making your second either Defense for the AC or Protection to keep your allies safe.

Rogue (Any) 1, 2, or 3 / Ranger (Any) X: Rogue dips have been a favorite for rangers since at least 3rd edition. While rangers attempt to walk a line between the Druid, the Fighter, and Rogue, they’re typically filling the role in a party typically covered by the Rogue. Rogues get better skill/tool proficiencies at first level, not to mention Expertise, so starting with a single level offers a great deal of extra non-combat options. You give up medium armor, but most rangers stick to light armor anyway.

Two levels gets you Cunning Action, which is great but may conflict with the Ranger’s spellcasting or with two-weapon fighting. Three levels gets you a subclass, but none of them offer anything that adds a lot to the ranger. Cantrips from Arcane Trickster could be neat, though.

Full Example Builds:

• Tetragrammaton Cleric Build Guide – Cleric/Fighter/Ranger. Guns but also martial arts but also guns (uses Kobold Press’s Tome of Heroes)

Rogue Example Builds

Barbarian (Any) 2 / Rogue (Any) X: Reckless Attack is an easy source of Advantage, which is a really convenient way for the Rogue to use Sneak Attack. It’s high-risk, but fortunately you’ll get Uncanny Dodge to help reduce some of the damage you would take. It’s also easy to overlook Unarmored Defense for the Rogue, but it’s a surprisingly great option.

Rogues normally max out at 17 AC (short of spells and magic items) because light armor maxes out at 12+Dex. You can hit 12+Dex AC with the Barbarian’s Unarmored Defense and 14 Constitution, which is easily achievable as early as first level. Rogues also get an extra Ability Score Increase, so hitting 20 Dexterity and 20 Constitution is not only possible, it’s easy and it’s probably a good idea. That gets you 20 AC totally unequipped.

Rogue (Any) 6 / Bard (College of Eloquence) 10 / ?: As muchExpertise as possible! you get Expertise in 4 things from Rogue, and 4 thingsfrom Bard, and College of Eloquence lets you treat rolls of 9 or below onCharisma (Deception) and Charisma (Persuasion) as a 10, similar to the Rogue’sReliable Talent feature, but we can’t get Reliable Talent without giving upthe Bard’s second round of Expertise of 10th level. Unfortunately, you maystruggle with anything except skills.

Rogue (Any) 1 / Bard (Any) 2 / Rogue X: A more realistic version of the above build, you give up just 2 levels of rogue for an extra skill proficiency, Expertise in two more things, and the magnificent Jack of All Trades. You don’t get to say “I have Expertise in 8 things”, but you’re actually a decent rogue which is probably more important. You’ll want a bit of Charisma to fuel your limited spellcasting and Bardic Inspiration, but don’t go crazy since your rogue levels are doing most of the work here.

Full Example Builds:

• Hexbuckler of the Astral Seas: Rogue/Warlock. A Peter Pan-inspired swashbuckler.

Sorcerer Example Builds

Fighter (Any) 1, 2, or 3 / Sorcerer (Any) X: Heavy armor and proficiency in Constitution saves. 2 levels gets you Action Surge, which makes Quicken Spell somewhat redundant so you can pursue other Metamagic options. Three levels gets you a subclass, which offers several interesting options.

Personally I recommend the Eldritch Knight. You get a few more cantrips and some additional known spells, which is a big addition since the Sorcerer knows so few. However, since the spellcasting from Eldritch Knight is Intelligence-based, stick to spells which don’t require spell attacks or saving throws, like Booming Blade, Absorb Elements, Shield, and other defensive or utility options.

Paladin (Any) 2, 5, or 6 / Sorcerer (Any) X: The “Sorcadin” build isn’t always primarily a paladin. Just as the Sorcerer offers the Paladin additional spellcasting, the Paladin offers the Sorcerer extra durability. If you want to be better with weapons, you might go all the way to 5th level in paladin for Extra Attack, or you might go to 6 for Aura of Protection.

However, that’s a lot of spellcasting to give up, and sorcerers get proficiency in Constitution saves so it’s hard to give that up for heavy armor. The big gain here is Divine Smite which can pile on top of Booming Blade or Green-Flame Blade for big melee hits at a low spell slot cost. If you just want heavy armor, consider the Fighter Instead.

Warlock 2 or 3 / Sorcerer: Font of Magic doesn’t care that warlock spell slots come from Pact Magic rather than from Spellcasting, and Eldritch Blast with Agonizing Blast is a powerful offensive option. 2 levels gets you Agonizing Blast and 2 spell slots, and three levels gets those spell slots up to level 2 so that they’re worth more Sorcery Points.

Warlock Example Builds

Sorcerer (Any) 3 / Warlock (Any) X: Quicken Spell is reallytempting with Eldritch Blast. Casting it twice in a single turn is a huge pileof damage, especially if you already have Hex and/or Hexblade’s Curserunning.

Fighter (Any) 1 / Warlock (Any) X: Starting with a level of fighter gets you heavy armor and proficiency in Constitution saving throws, which are crucial for maintaining Concentration. This is probably most effective for the Hexblade, but it’s a tempting option for any warlock. The addition of Fighting Style is also very helpful regardless of your choice of weaponry.

Full Example Builds:

• Hexadin: Suffer Not the Witch-Knight to Live: Hexblade/paladin “hexadin” multiclass build. Combines the Paladin’s durability with the high damage output of the Hexblade Warlock.
• Hexbuckler of the Astral Seas: Rogue/Warlock. A Peter Pan-inspired swashbuckler.
• Oversized Weapons Handbook: Fighter/Warlock. What is the biggest weapon you could possibly swing?

Wizard Example Builds

Artificer (Any) 1, 2, or 3 / Wizard (Any) X: Artificersstart with proficiency in Constitution saving throws, medium armor, andshields. That’s a big increase in durability for any wizard. Bladesingers haveespecially good synergy with the Battlesmith, and the combination works sowell that you can favor either side of the class split and still be veryeffective depending on whether you want more spellcasting or more InfusedItems.

Fighter (Any) 1 or 2 / Wizard (Any) X: Similar to theArtificer, the Fighter offers heavy armor and shields. However, the betterarmor and Fighting Style come at the cost of a level of spellcasting sothere’s some cost/benefit analysis to be done.

Sorcerer (Any) 3 / Wizard (Any) X: All the versatility ofMetamagic combined with the versatility of the Wizard’s spellbook. You give uphigher-level spells known, but you still get full spell slot advancement. Ifyou dump Charisma (and you probably should) you can still use your sorcererspellcasting for utility spells and staple defensive options like AbsorbElements and Shield which remain effective at every level but normally presenta tax on your limited number of prepared spells.