Dungeons and Dragons Best Barbarian Path Tier List

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The Barbarian is a relatively simple class to play in Dungeons & Dragons. While Fighters are more adaptable and strategic, Barbarians are all about dealing massive damage. They might struggle with skills, social situations, long-range combat, or when facing magical defenses, but their Rage ability, Reckless Attack, and potential for incredibly high Strength and Constitution (reaching 24 at level 20) make them exceptionally good at close-quarters combat. It’s easy to see why popular Barbarian characters like Karlach, Grog, and Yasha are so well-loved.

Similar to other character classes in Dungeons & Dragons, Barbarians select a special Path at level three. This choice significantly changes how they play, typically by altering their Rage ability. While all Barbarians are strong in combat, some Paths are more effective than others.

When creating this list, we focused on how well something performs on both offense and defense, how easily its full potential can be unlocked, the helpful skills it offers, how adaptable it is, and how effectively it addresses key vulnerabilities.

S-Tier: Incredible Paths With Mighty Offense and Flexible Defense

  • Storm Herald
  • Wild Heart
  • Zealot

The Storm Herald subclass in Dungeons & Dragons has become significantly stronger thanks to recent changes revealed in Unearthed Arcana. It’s moved from being a solid choice to one of the best options available. The new Path system allows players to switch between Desert, Sea, and Tundra forms with each Rage, and all three have been improved. This lets players customize their Storm Aura to fit the fight. At level 6, they gain resistance to fire, lightning, or cold damage based on their chosen Path, and at level 10, they can extend that protection to their allies. While there might be some final tweaks before it’s officially released, if the final version resembles the current Unearthed Arcana, the Storm Herald is expected to remain a top-tier subclass.

As a Barbarian player, I’m really excited about how the Wild Heart is shaping up, even with the updates coming in 2024! They’ve definitely toned down the Bear Totem – it doesn’t give resistance to quite as much damage anymore. But honestly, the changes to the Eagle Totem and the other options make everything feel useful, depending on what you’re facing. What really makes this version better than the old Totem Warrior, though, is the flexibility. We’re not locked into one choice anymore! Now, every time I Rage, I can pick a new Rage and Power of the Wilds, and swap out my Aspect of the Wilds each Long Rest. It’s way more adaptable and opens up so many cool build possibilities.

The Zealot Barbarian Path might be the strongest choice in Dungeons & Dragons. Its Divine Fury ability consistently adds significant damage at all levels, and a recent update in the 2024 rules gives them even more staying power with a self-healing feature. While they aren’t quite as indestructible at level 14 as they used to be, their new ultimate ability, Rage of the Gods, is a fantastic upgrade, offering flight, resistance to damage, and even the power to protect allies from death. Zealots aren’t particularly skilled outside of combat, but during a fight, they excel as both attackers, defenders, and support for their team.

A-Tier: Powerful Subclasses With Solid Abilities

  • Berserker
  • Spiritual Guardian
  • World Tree

Before the latest rules update, the Berserker Barbarian subclass in Dungeons & Dragons was considered fairly weak, likely ranking in the B or C tiers. However, recent improvements have boosted its power significantly, now placing it firmly in the A tier. The biggest change is the removal of the exhausting Frenzy mechanic, replaced with a simpler system that adds extra damage dice that increase as the character levels up—and these dice deal even more damage on a critical hit, making the Berserker the most damage-focused Barbarian option. Additionally, a key ability, Retaliation, now becomes available earlier, allowing for consistent three-attack turns. The Mindless Rage feature also provides useful protection against being charmed or frightened, addressing some of the class’s previous vulnerabilities. While the Intimidating Presence ability received a buff, its effectiveness is limited as many creatures become immune to being frightened at higher levels.

I’ve been digging into the latest Unearthed Arcana, and the Path of the Ancestral Guardian – now called the Path of the Spiritual Guardian – has seen some interesting tweaks. They’ve dialed back some of its defensive power, but given it a new offensive edge to make up for it. The biggest change, though, is Vengeful Spirits. Now, if you roll really well on an attack, you can get an extra attack in each turn – seriously boosting your damage output. They also improved Spirit Shield’s defenses, so while this Barbarian can still be a fantastic tank, it can now actually hit almost as hard as those builds focused purely on damage. It’s a really nice balance that makes this path much more versatile.

The Path of the World Tree is a new Barbarian option in the 2024 D&D Player’s Handbook. While raging, it lets you give allies temporary health with Vitality of the Tree and control the battlefield using Branches of the Tree and Battering Roots. At level 14, it gains a quick teleport ability similar to Misty Step while raging, plus a longer-range teleport for the whole group, making it surprisingly mobile at higher levels. The main weakness holding it back from being top-tier is that it doesn’t offer any direct damage boosts.

B-Tier: Solid Choices That Are Missing Something

  • Giant
  • Juggernaut

The Path of the Giant is a Barbarian subclass that’s comparable to the Rune Knight Fighter in Dungeons & Dragons, but it doesn’t quite measure up in power. While it allows Barbarians to grow to Large or Huge sizes using Giant’s Havoc, many of its abilities focus on enhancing thrown weapons. This addresses a common Barbarian weakness, and features like Elemental Cleaver and Mighty Impel offer some extra damage and a unique attack option, the subclass feels spread too thin to be competitive with more powerful options available at higher levels.

The Path of the Juggernaut is unique because it doesn’t come from official Dungeons & Dragons sources; it originated in the Critical Role campaign setting book, Tal’dorei Campaign Setting Reborn. Inspired by the X-Men villain of the same name, this subclass focuses on becoming an incredibly powerful and unmovable force. Abilities like Thunderous Blows and Hurricane Strike push enemies around, while Spirit of the Mountain, Resolute Stance, and Unstoppable make the character very difficult to control – they’re resistant to being Grappled, Stunned, Paralyzed, Frightened, knocked Prone, or moved against their will. However, the Juggernaut can struggle against certain enemies due to a limited damage bonus (which only applies to Constructs) and its strong focus on defense.

C-Tier: Great Options That Fall Off At Higher Levels

  • Beast
  • Wild Magic

The Path of the Beast is a great Barbarian option if you want to play a character like a werewolf or other shapeshifter, allowing them to use powerful natural attacks like bites and claws. This path provides significant benefits to damage, movement, and team support, and can even make enemies attack each other. However, like the Soulknife Rogue, many of its abilities only work when the Barbarian isn’t using magic weapons. This can be a major drawback at higher levels, restricting their choices and potential.

The Wild Magic Barbarian is a great choice for players who enjoy the unpredictable nature of the Wild Magic Sorcerer, but prefer a more combat-focused playstyle. Its defining feature is the Wild Surge, which triggers random effects while the Barbarian is Raging. While these surges become more manageable at higher levels, the effects themselves don’t become more powerful, so they lose impact in later stages of the game. The Bolstering Magic ability, which can restore spell slots or provide buffs, is useful, but ultimately isn’t strong enough to make the subclass truly stand out.

D-Tier: One Of the Worst Subclasses In D&D History

Image via Wizards of the Coast
  • Battlerager

The Sword Coast Adventure’s Guide is often considered the weakest of all Dungeons & Dragons sourcebooks, largely because its character subclasses aren’t well-balanced. And within that book, the Battlerager Barbarian is widely seen as the absolute worst – possibly the worst subclass in the entire game.

The Battlerager Path centers around using Spiked Armor as a weapon, but this approach is surprisingly weak. While the armor grants an extra attack, it deals very little damage, even with a grapple. The benefits gained at higher levels – a small amount of temporary health, the ability to dash as a bonus action, and a weak final ability that deals minimal damage – don’t compensate for the major drawback: the reliance on ineffective armor prevents Barbarians from using Unarmored Defense, a key part of their defense. Unless you’re looking for a difficult challenge, it’s best for Barbarians to avoid this Path.

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2026-02-01 14:07