A poll posted to the One DnD subreddit shows which DnD classes from the updated core rulebooks still need the most work, according to fans.
Specifically, it looks at the DnD classes that Wizards considers almost done. These are the player classes that have now moved to internal playtesting, and will no longer have their design changes shown to the public before the books come out some time in 2024.
According to the results of the poll, which has received over 800 votes from DnD playtest enthusiasts, the newest iteration of the 5e Bard needs the most design work. That’s followed by the Ranger 5e, and then the DnD Fighter – these classes have all received more than 150 votes each.
Apparently people aren’t too worried about the holy warrior class, though, as the DnD Paladin has just 27 votes.
From the comments, it seems fans are concerned that the previous version of the Bard was shown off before generic spell lists were done away with. Now class spell lists are back, and we’ve not seen how that applies to the Bard. Others complain that the class is too similar to the version from the 2014 Players Handbook.
Meanwhile, many fans feel the Ranger is lackluster or underdeveloped. Some say it lacks an identity, while others think its current identity is merely muddled.
As for the Fighter, there were a few comments on the poll suggesting that, despite the addition of weapon masteries, the martial class is still too simple, with not enough content at higher levels. However, just as many people seemed surprised to see it at third place on the poll. It seems to be quite a divisive class overall.
Of course, the findings from this poll need plenty of caveats, and should not be read uncritically. For instance, while the denizens of the r/OneDnD subreddit are likely to be particularly interested in the upcoming changes to Dungeons and Dragons 5e, they can’t be seen as a varied cross-section of the 5e fanbase.
Similarly, 800 respondents can’t speak for the millions of people who play DnD (though of course, Wizards itself is relying on a small portion of the fanbase in its playtesting process).
It’s also worth noting that the poll only included (by name) five classes the creator thought were the most likely choices, which obviously means we’re working from partial information here.
Most people chose ‘other’ – but we can’t read much into this. It’s quite likely many used this as the ‘not sure’ option and clicked it just wanting to skip through and see the results (that’s what we did, anyway.)
The new DnD books are coming out in 2024, and Wizards of the Coast has been sharing its fresh rules with fans over the course of a series of playtests since mid-2022. While the Fighter Brawler was scrapped, the company says most classes and subclasses had very positive feedback (including this previously unpopular Warlock subclass).
We’re now expecting to move on to Unearthed Arcana for the Dungeon Masters Guide and Monster Manual – hopefully including some of the 80 new DnD monsters the designers have told us to expect.