Tier Rankings

Often, it is useful to categorize options by their relative usefulness. For this, we use a letter grading system that goes from through , with added as the highest rank for outstanding choices.

As usual, do not let the perceived power level of an option stop you from building the character that you want to play. Flavor and roleplaying is rarely covered by these coarse rankings.

In general, these are the criteria for the different tiers:

• Dominant. Extremely powerful in a multitude of situations, possibly to the point of making other options irrelevant. It is worth jumping through hoops to acquire this option.
• Excellent. This option does well on its own in a multitude of situations, or has powerful synergies with other good options. This is the upper bound for the power level we are aiming for when designing new options.
• Good. This option will do well, but it might be necessary to pick certain other choices that synergize particularily well with this one for it to rival the higher-ranked options.
• Competitive. An option with few synergies or that rarely comes into play. There might be one or two other options that can make this choice work well.
• Poor. Few to no synergies with other options, or the situations where it is useful are too rare. If you take this option you should have a plan for how to use it.
• Bad. This choice will not contribute meaningfully in most circumstances. Avoid this option if at all possible.
• Horrible. Actively harmful option that will make the game worse for you (and possibly the entire table) if you choose it. This is a very rare tier, but it exists.

It is important to remember that these rankings only exist in context. A choice might be for one build, but at best for another.

Choices that are continually ranked or and below are in the running for an adjustment. This could be simply adjusting the numbers, or a complete redesign. An example of an option is the Twilight Cleric, whose Channel Divinity provides an amount of Temporary Hit Points that far exceeds its opportunity cost. On the other end of the spectrum, the Way of the Four Elements Monk is at best due to the extreme limits on its features, making it a prime choice for a redesign.