Dungeons & Dragons is first and foremost a social game, requiring numerous people in order to play. As fun as it may be to build one’s character around dealing as much damage as humanly possible, the co-operative nature of D&D can make the presence of helpful, support characters quite vital. Support characters come in all shapes and sizes and can help one’s party in a wide variety of ways.
While nearly every class has access to at least one subclass that can offer support to a party to some extent, there are definitely classes that lend themselves more naturally to a supportive role. So today, we’re going to examine the classes of D&D’s fifth edition and see which classes are the best geared towards being a support character.
Updated August 2, 2021 by Paul DiSalvo: Support in D&D comes in all shapes and sizes. While many immediately think of healing when it comes to playing a support character in an RPG, support can come in a wide variety of forms such as offensive buffs or the ability to provide much-needed bulk to frailer party members. As the classes of D&D are incredibly varied, each offering different forms of utility, it should be no surprise that classes are capable of offering support to a party in a myriad of forms.
14 Support Feats
No matter what class a player happens to be playing, a character using even the most offense-focused build can gain supportive utility through the use of feats. Some of the most notable support feats are Medic, Inspiring Leader, and Magic Initiate. While Medic allows a character to offer medical attention to other creatures as an action, stabilizing and healing them in the process, Inspiring Leader allows a character to provide their party with temporary HP by giving an uplifting speech. Additionally, as the Magic Initiate Feat allows a character of any class to gain a first-level spell and two cantrips from another class’s spell list, it can be used to gain the likes of Spare the Dying, Cure Wounds, Healing Word, and even Goodberry. If you ever feel like your character isn’t helping out their party members enough, feats are always an easy way to gain access to some form of support.
13 Rogue
Rogues are often known as the most stealthy class in D&D, utilizing their great combination of skills, bonus actions via Cunning Action, and damage through their sneak attack bonuses.
However, some Rogue Subclasses can offer a great deal of additional support utility to their party. Most notably, the Mastermind subclass allows a given rogue to use the help action as a bonus action. This is an incredibly underrated feature allows one’s ally to make their attack roll at advantage, greatly helping a fighter, paladin, or barbarian’s chances of dealing heavy damage and landing key hits in battle.
12 Fighter
While fighters are primarily known for their offensive prowess, with the right builds, they can offer support utility as they fight on the front lines. Fighters can offer different types of support depending on the character’s subclass. While Banneret fighters can heal allies with their rallying cry and help allies with saving throws using its Bulwark ability, Battle Masters can allow allies to make additional attacks using the Commander’s Strike maneuver. Who said that all fighters could do was deal damage?
11 Blood Hunter
While not an official class, the popular Blood Hunter class was created by Critical Roll DM, Matt Mercer and is supported and available on D&D Beyond. An offensive class with magical utility and skills, Blood Hunters can help mitigate threats against their allies via Blood Curses that cause a variety of harmful effects. Additionally, Bloodhunters of the Order of the Profane Soul that chooses to have a Celestial Patron even get access to a small number of healing spells, allowing them to patch up allies in battle. This provides them to serve unique roles in a party, debuffing, healing, and dealing melee damage all at once!
10 Wizard
Wizards are one of the most iconic magical classes in D&D, and have access to numerous subclasses that can assist the rest of one’s party. One such subclass, wizards of the school of Abjuration specialize in wards and are capable of utilizing their magic to prevent damage for their allies. Similarly, wizards of the school of Transmutation are capable of creating transmuter’s stones. These stones can be used to gain numerous benefits such as darkvision or resistances to certain types of damage.
9 Warlock
Though Warlocks are often more associated with offensive magics than support magic, they still have the capability of providing outstanding support to one’s party.
Most notably, the Warlock’s Celestial Patron subclass instantly provides the class with noteworthy support utility. Not only does a Warlock of this subclass gain spells such as Cure Wounds, Revivify, and Greater Restoration, but it gains the Healing Light ability that allows a warlock to heal allies as a bonus action!
8 Ranger
Rangers are a class that can provide numerous unique supportive elements to a party. While the supportive capabilities of numerous classes are limited to healing potential, Rangers supply benefits such as the Natural Explorer ability, that allows a party to travel through the wilderness with ease. Additionally, rangers are able to learn numerous excellent support spells such as cure wounds, goodberry, enhance ability, and even revivify.
7 Monk
That’s right, you read that correctly. As of the release of Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, Monks have become a stellar option for support builds. This is entirely due to the addition of the subclass of the Way of Mercy.
These monks, reminiscent of plague doctors, gain access to a plethora of support abilities that allow them to use their ki points to benefit allies. These monks are capable or using their ki points to heal allies, cure status effects, and at high enough levels, even raise the dead!
6 Sorcerer
Like Monk and Warlock, Sorcerer’s spot on this list in part due to its access to a specific subclass. In the sorcerer’s case, the Divine Soul subclass is an excellent option for spellcaster’s looking to fill a supportive role in a party. Not only does this subclass provide healing spells, but it gains access to the phenomenal Empowered Healing ability. This ability allows an ally to reroll any dice rolled as the result of a healing spell, regardless of who cast the spell, allowing more health to be gained consistently in a party.
5 Artificer
Recently included in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, the newly minted Artificer class has the potential to help a party. Most notably, the alchemist subclass is capable of creating experimental elixirs. These elixirs can offer a wide range of effects to the other members of one’s party when consumed. Effects can vary from increased armor class, to increased movement, to even the ability to fly! Paired together with a heavily support-based spell list, and you have a truly great support class on your hands.
4 Druid
Druids are among the more flexible magic users in D&D, capable of using their support-oriented spell list to assist the party, or deal damage with abilities like wild shape. While all druids have access to many useful support spells that rival even the iconic Cleric, Druids of the Circle of Dreams gain access to the ability, Balm of the Summer Court, which functions quite similarly to a Celestial Warlock’s healing light!
3 Bard
While not as focused on healing as other classes on this list, the Bard class offers support in numerous other ways. Most notably, Bards can utilize their Bardic Inspiration to assist their allies with nearly any type of roll. Regardless of a bard’s subclass, they are also capable of healing allies in a short rest, and can even provide advantage on saves against being charmed.
2 Paladin
Paladins are often regarded as the protectors of a party, capable of dishing out damage while keeping their allies alive. While this class is capable of inflicting major damage through its use of the Smite ability, paladins are also well suited to healing allies. Their lay on hands ability supplies them with a set pool of HP that they can distribute to their allies, allowing one to heal with precision and avoid dice rolling. As if this weren’t enough, Paladins can automatically help improve their allies saving throws by simply being close to them!
1 Cleric
No class in D&D is as synonymous with the support role as the Cleric. While the Cleric Class is home to numerous distinct subclasses that can provide them with utility such as damage-dealing potential or out of combat proficiencies, they are first and foremost a support class. Clerics automatically have access to the game’s premier healing and revival spells, from Mass Cure Wounds to True Resurrection.
