D&D: Five Subclasses All About Doling Out The Damage
Sometimes you just want to deal a bunch of damage to your enemies and not have to worry about much else. These subclasses are for you!
In D&D, there are plenty of different ways to play a character. You might be all about being a leader on the battlefield. Or perhaps about inspiring your allies and protecting them with magical blessings. Sometimes, though, you just want to be the one doing big damage and hitting things real hard.
That’s a totally valid way to want to play. And if you want to do that, here are five subclasses that make doing lots of damage one of their main focuses.
Berserker Barbarian
Perhaps the most obvious one here is the Berserker Barbarian. It even says in the subclass description that this is for Barbarians who “direct their Rage primarily toward violence.” And it doesn’t even take long for the focus on doing big damage to come online. As soon as a character gets the subclass, they start doing a pool of extra d6s (that only goes up) whenever they first hit an enemy on their turn.
But even at higher levels, they continue to unlock new ways to do damage. Including making a Reaction attack against anyone who damages the Berserker from melee range. Potent stuff on top of being a Barbarian to begin with.
Light Domain Cleric
Clerics aren’t necessarily known for being centered around dealing out damage. But the Light Domain Cleric proves that looks can be deceiving. That’s because this is better thought of as the “Fireball Cleric.” Most of their bonus spells center around dealing damage. Including, and especially, Fireball.
But they also gain access to things like Scorching Ray, Burning Hands, Wall of Fire, and Flame Strike. And that’s not even counting the Light Cleric’s special ability, which includes a dazzling area of effect attack you can trigger whenever you Channel Divinity.
Battlemaster Fighter
Fighters are a class that, as a whole, is all about dealing out damage, and usually via melee attack. But as far as the subclasses go, if there is one class that emphasizes the damage output (at least right now) it is the Battlemaster. Sure, the Eldritch Knight gives Fighters a lot of utility (and wiggle room with True Strike), but the Battlemaster is all about learning combat tricks that give them an edge on attacks, adding extra damage (anywhere from a d8-d12) and doing an extra effect.
And if a Battlemaster Fighter goes nova, they can do a different maneuver with each effect, really rocketing up their damage. Especially effective when combined with an Action Surge. Though the Battlemaster will probably want to take a Short Rest after doing that.
Draconic Sorcery Sorcerer
A Sorcerer with the Draconic Sorcery origin is surprisingly well suited to damage – at least of the elemental kind. They are a perfect choice for players wanting to be an “ice guy” or “fire guy” or the like, since the draconic magic flowing through the Sorcerer’s blood makes them especially potent when it comes to dishing out one specific type of elemental damage.
It helps that the Draconic Sorcery option also gives them a little more maneuverability and resilience, so they can keep doling out the damage without worrying as much about being downed.
Evoker Wizard
Alright the Light Cleric is one thing. But true magical mayhem belongs to the Evoker Wizard. While a Wizard is versatile and can theoretically focus on anything, an Evocation Wizard focuses on spells that damage their enemies.
On top of that, they gain abilities that let them increase the damage of their cantrips, or better still, do maximum damage with a spell by overchanneling it. It’s hard to imagine an Evoker Wizard doing anything besides heaps of damage with their magic.
What magic items make your character feel invincible?
