Are there viable 3+ class builds?

[Wasp]

Hi everyone

there sometimes seems to be a desire in players to create unique characters by multi-classing as much as possible (and I am as guilty of that charge as anyone) even though it doesn't really make sense to stockpile classes as you stifle your progress. But... Are there any combos of 3 classes or more that you think are actually viable from a game mechanics point of view? Or: Are there elements like level ranges where a combo of 3+ classes doesn't hurt as much?

Just curious what you guys think...

Cheers!

[Spacehamster]

Hi everyone

there sometimes seems to be a desire in players to create unique characters by multi-classing as much as possible (and I am as guilty of that charge as anyone) even though it doesn't really make sense to stockpile classes as you stifle your progress. But... Are there any combos of 3 classes or more that you think are actually viable from a game mechanics point of view? Or: Are there elements like level ranges where a combo of 3+ classes doesn't hurt as much?

Just curious what you guys think...

Cheers!

12 champion/battlemaster 4 assassin 4 gloom stalker is viable from get go, 6 fighter ——> 4 assassin ——> 4 gloom stalker and then back to fighter

Edit: toss out 1 level assassin for 1 level war cleric also works great for a 4 class build

[Nifft]

Off the top of my head...

Warlock 3 / Paladin 2 / Sorcerer ++

[Naanomi]

I played a Warlock/Sorcerer/Fighter/Rogue that worked very well... the build specifics would be different with XGtE than when I played it though

[Phoenix042]

Short answer: Yes, absolutely. Warlock / Sorc / Bard is very strong, for example.

Long answer: Many types of progression can exist in this game; the trick is that most classes have higher level features that synergize with their earlier ones (like a fighters 3rd attack making action surge better, or a paladin's divine smite being amplified by the accuracy buffs from devotion, conquest, or vengeance oaths channel divinity options).

The trick to multiclassing well is to look for features that don't just help you, but affect your other features. For example, if you've already got spell slots and strong spells, multiclassing into a class that can augment those slots or let you do something new and powerful with them can work very well.

Similarly, if you've got very high-damage attacks already, multiclassing into a class that can help you occasionally make more of them or make them more accurate can really stack up some serious bonuses.

A few quick examples of builds that progress pretty naturally, are strong all the way through, and involve levels in three or more classes:

Warlock 2 / Bard 5 / Sorc 13 is highly playable and very fun, dominating social gameplay and buffing allies like no other, all while blasting like a true metamagic empowered warlock.

Monk 2 / Barbarian 6 / Fighter 12

You get 3 attacks from fighter, reckless attack and rage and immunity to charm and fear from barbarian, and you get tons of mobility between barbarian and monk.

Finally, I really like this unique interaction:
Assassin rogue 3, War Cleric 2, Gloom Stalker x
This gets you a high-damage sniper attack on a build that has lots of attacks to make, and a solid way to guarantee a hit when you need to (channel divinity).



And as a side note:
Those three builds? Those are the exact builds being played by the PC's in one of my games. I can attest to their ludicrous, ruthless effectiveness. The way that the sorlockard can boost the sniper and bruiser's accuracy while dishing tons of damage herself, and the raw number of clever tools and combos I've seen them pull off... It's been a constant effort for me to keep up with what they can do as a team. The sniper always has bless up, the bardlockerer has always got cutting words at the tip of her tongue, and the Monkbarier is always in the backlines, messing up faces with GWM (she also has mobile).

They're all 13th level right now, and the way that the base stuff scales by character level is making it absolutely easy for them to wreck face right now. Proficiency is +5, spell slots like an 11th level caster (for the Warcerard), and gloom stalker features on a sharpshooter assassin with spells and channel divinity is freaking scary.

I recently pit them up against my interpretation of Ra, God of the Sun. He'd fallen to a shadow of his former self (the desert was a wasteland now, full of undead and little else), but he was still an estimated CR 14 threat for them at level 12, and I might have underestimated Ra's rating actually (I gave him a bunch of legendary stuff and lair powers too).

They've got some good synergy going, and their builds are fun and satisfying to play.

[CTurbo]

I've played a Champion 5/Hunter 3/Assassin 5 before and he was an AMAZING archer

Wood Elf with the privilege of decently rolled stats. Don't remember EXACTLY what the stats were but I started with a 20 Dex and a 16 Con

First 5 levels were Fighter, Archery Fighting Style, Champion, Sharpshooter at Fighter 4
Next 3 levels were Ranger, Defense Style, Hunter-Horde Breaker, Humanoid Favored Enemy, only used Hunter's Mark spell.
Next 5 levels were Rogue, Assassin, Mobile Feat at Rogue 4

Ended there but had a +2 Longbow and Bracers of Archery. Would have continued Rogue until 20 had we kept going.

Pretty much any Combination of Fighter/Ranger/Rogue would be great.


You also can't go wrong with any 3 of the 4 Charisma classes. They all work so well together. I'd actually like to have a build using all 4 of them.


I'd like to play a Cleric/Ranger with a small Monk dip for Unarmored Defense. Maybe Monk 2/Ranger 5/Cleric 13
Literally any Cleric Domain, but Nature being the obvious choice. Any Ranger subclass too, even Beastmaster, but Hunter probably. I wouldn't worry about feats, just maxing Dex and Wis. Ok MAYBE Res(Con).


I think an EKnight Fighter/Arcane Trickster/Bladesinger Wizard combo would be really good too.

[nickl_2000]

Hexblade 6/ Battlemaster 4/ Rogue Scout ++. A charisma based archer who has a crazy to hit chance, good utility, great action economy, can hex, and can drop some serious damage every round.

[Appleheart]

Yeah, level 3 Hexblade Warlock, level 3 Swashbuckler Rogue, level 6 anything Paladin.

Use Cha to attack and damage, for initiative, and for all saving throws.

Because why use any stats other than Cha? :D

[Willie the Duck]

As a general rule, the high-level spells and high-level single-class benefits of all kinds are really powerful, and multiclassing keeps those out of your grasp. So it is tempting to say "well, the best thing about being a hexblade warlock only takes 3 levels, and the best part of bard happens by 5, add 6 levels of paladin and I still have enough time to get a sorcerer up to..." and that will be a pile of neat components that really don't play on the same field as a straight "single class, level16+." On the other hand, it's entirely possible that you and maybe your entire group prefer that style of high level play. If everyone is on board, then go right ahead!

That also is only talking about high level play. At mid-levels, cherry picking the best of a bunch of classes is pretty good.

Is your goal just to combine as many classes as possible, or to make a conceptual 3-way hybrid (something like the AD&D-era 'fighter-mage-thief')? For that character, a Arcane Trickster/Edritch Knight/few levels of wizard (or not) might be right up your ally.

[darknite]

I'm working on a Rogue (Swashbuckler) 8 / Barbarian (Totem) 8 / Fighter (Champion) 4 that's been a lot of fun.

[KeilFX]

Multiclassing is tricky, but can be fun; I'm a relatively new player, but Legacy players have explained to me that 5th Edition plays well across the board. I love multiclassing 2, 3 and sometimes even 4 classes (right now I'm playing a lvl2 Spores Druid that will end up dipping into Monk, Paladin and Ranger).

I find that a good idea for the build is to ask yourself "what do I want this character to do at lvl5? Lvl10? Lvl15? Lvl20?" If you're running a melee class, the first 5 levels are usually pretty easy (get ASI > Extra Attack a.s.a.p), with casting classes being a little trickier.

Usually, i find that the *singular most busted feature* of any given class is there lvl20 capstone ability (Druid's get unlimited wildshape)... But the bread and butter reside in the first 2-5 levels of each class. Fighter and Rogue are great 2 level dips, because you get so much from them.

[Amdy_vill]

Hi everyone

there sometimes seems to be a desire in players to create unique characters by multi-classing as much as possible (and I am as guilty of that charge as anyone) even though it doesn't really make sense to stockpile classes as you stifle your progress. But... Are there any combos of 3 classes or more that you think are actually viable from a game mechanics point of view? Or: Are there elements like level ranges where a combo of 3+ classes doesn't hurt as much?

Just curious what you guys think...

Cheers!

1 warlock 3 sorcerer 9 paladin 2 barbaric 3 monk 2 rouge or 3 sorcerer 12 paladin 5 barbarian

[Grear Bylls]

One of my favorite builds that i feature in my guide is the 11 Barbarian, 5 Swords Bard, and 4 Devotion Paladin. Plenty of ways to add on extra damage. Alternatively, go Barb 8, Sword 5, Paly 4, and Champion 3 for an expanded Crit range.

[ImproperJustice]

Lemme see:

We have an Undead Slayer:
Ranger (Hunter): 3 / Paladin (Vengence): 3 / Cleric (Light)

His stats are a little thin for now, but he gets some solid physical attacks backed by Hunter’s Mark or Divine Favor (Uses hand crossbow, sword and Horde Breaker), and smites.
Can blast with magic, he can do stealthy stuff, and the PC gets a lot of enjoyment out of the character.
Since he took HM from Paladin, he uses Zephyr strike to cross the battlefield in a hurry or get out of trouble, or upcasts Hail of thorns for burst damage from his crossbow.

[Rolero]

I have a build for a Monk/Ranger/Rogue

Basically, Way of the Shadow 6 / Gloom Stalker 3 / Assasin 3. In other words, a ninja.

The progression would depend on what level you start the campaign and the needs of the group. Starting with Ranger can be quite solid (good hp, skills, low level abilities), follow with monk and end up with rogue.

In its final form is an excellent character to pick up high value targets. You have amazing movility, great stealth options and a good nova on the first round you attack = 3 attacks + 2 unarmed strikes + sneak attack, and the first strike is an automatic critical if the target is unaware = 2d8+4d6+bonuses+poisoned weapon. With max Dex you can add +2d8+2d6+20+other bonuses (dueling, magic weapons, etc) if every attack hits (and since you will be attacking with advantage you should). And the only resources you have spent is 1 ki point. You can spend 1 more adding a stunning strike to the combo, potentially disabling the target the next round.

Good thing about this build is that only needs decent Dex and Wis, is good at all levels and has great sinergy between its classes.

If the campaign go to higher levels, getting a 4th level in Rogue and Ranger should be a priority to grab extra ASI (which is the drawback of this build as it is) Then a 5th level in Rogue never hurts to get an extra sneak attack dice and Uncanny dodge, and finish with monk all the way, ending up with Monk 11/Ranger 4/Rogue 5. If you can live without the ASI, just upgrade your monk to make Diamond Soul your capstone.

The race can be anything that gives Dex and Wis (Aarakocra and Wood Elf are top choices) and, of course, you can never go wrong with variant human picking up a feat.

And speaking of feats, the sentinel+magekiller combo is superb with this build to get in a stunning strike when they try to flee from your surprise assault, giving you the chance to finish the job.

[Wasp]

Wow, that's very interesting! Thanks, everyone! I had no idea! Especially the Warlock 2 / Bard 5 / Sorc 13 is very inspiring!

Man, do I hope this thread continues this way!

[DrowPiratRobrts]

I really want to play a Goliath Barb 1/Bard 1/Cleric 1/Druid 1/Fighter 1/ Monk 1/Paladin 1/Ranger 1/Rogue 1/Sorcerer 1/Warlock 1/Wizard 1.

I have a hunch that this is much more viable than any of us want to imagine. It would take someone very skilled to manage your action economy, but it could be legendary!

Side note: Has anyone played this?

[MaxWilson]

Shepherd Druid is a pretty decent class from low level that scales to high level, with major two weak points: bad AC, and no good at-will attacks. It's logical to combine it with a class like Arcane Archer or Warlock that has good at-will attacks without concentration. You can get an AC boost from mage armor and shields.

Therefore, Shepherd Druid 7, Diviner 2-3, Sharpshooter Arcane Archer 11 is appealing, but in terms of builds I'm actually tempted to play, I'd go for Shepherd Druid 11, Celestial Warlock 5, Divine Soul 3 [Extended Spell, Quicken Spell; Mage Armor, Shield, Aid, Warding Bond], Life Cleric 1. You only get 3 ASIs, but you get Agonizing Repelling Eldritch Spear, Planar Binding VIII, Conjure Fey VIII (e.g. can Planar Bind Tyrannosaur spirits that have built-in magic weapon attacks), easy access to swarms of magical-weapons wolves/etc. via Conjure Animals V that you can hide behind while spamming Quickened Agonizing Repelling Eldritch Spear. And on top of that, you can heal 490420 HP per Extended Healing Spirit spell you cast without even abusing the "multiple heals per round" cheese factor. It's just a straight-up 5d6+7 healing per round for 20 rounds in a row.

Plus, you get access to nifty first-level cleric spells like Sanctuary (bonus action, no-concentration), Bless, and Command.

Edit: corrected my Healing Spirit math.

[Aaron Underhand]

Hexblade makes things so much easier...

I'm very tempted by Hexblade 3 Paladin 6 and then sorcerer or bard 11

I also like the look of Knowledge cleric 2, hexblade 3, then sorcerer or bard 15

And then there is the standard human 14,11,14,14,14,14 War cleric 4, Wizard 8 (divination), Paladin 8 - 5 ASI still, so could end up: 16,11,16,16,16,16, and lots of ways to boost your hit probability...

[2D8HP]

I think a Fighter 1/Paladin 2/Ranger 2, so 3 Fighting Style's at 5th level would be cool, go Champion to 10th level, and there is a 4th Fighting Style.

Not too shabby!

[Citan]

Hi everyone

there sometimes seems to be a desire in players to create unique characters by multi-classing as much as possible (and I am as guilty of that charge as anyone) even though it doesn't really make sense to stockpile classes as you stifle your progress. But... Are there any combos of 3 classes or more that you think are actually viable from a game mechanics point of view? Or: Are there elements like level ranges where a combo of 3+ classes doesn't hurt as much?

Just curious what you guys think...

Cheers!
Hi!

Well, from guts, I'd say any kind of three class combinations would actually be viable and efficient provided you don't pick such that would make you depend on more than two stats (although even then it could still work, just requiring more carefulness about building).

Ex: EK / AT / any caster.
Mostly any combination between Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Cleric, Druid (caveat: Moon brings more restriction) and Monk (caveat: is level-hungry, multiclass-friendliness also varies wildly between archetypes).
Mostly any combination between any of the CHA-classes.
Even a Barbarian / Warlock / Fighter could work very well.

In fact, the only combinations I'd see really not working (at least when theorycrafting on point-buy / standard array assumption) would be Paladin + Monk (well, even that could work, but a great pain to build) or Barbarian + Sorcerer + Wizard (too emphasis on magic when rage blocks it), this kind of things...

EDIT: Seems you'd be interested in precise examples... I'll come back later to provide some ;) but now is night time ^^

[Phoenix042]

Is your goal just to combine as many classes as possible, or to make a conceptual 3-way hybrid (something like the AD&D-era 'fighter-mage-thief')? For that character, a Arcane Trickster/Edritch Knight/few levels of wizard (or not) might be right up your ally.

I really like this style of thinking when making a character; I rarely answer the question of "how did I get my features" with a single answer.

For example, I have a character who was born to a blood-line of battle-raging warriors on the fringes of society, but spent her teen years in a monastery where she was taught to temper her fury with unrelenting mental and physical discipline.

Born with the wrath of a battlerager in her heart, she sharpened her mind and body into well-disciplined tool under her absolute control.

Then, as her adventures progressed, a deeper purpose began to surface within her. A calling to serve the cause of light, and with it, a slew of features passed down from her most ancient ancestors, powers that lend her a sense of divine purpose in the eternal struggle against darkness.

Natural fury, perfect discipline, and an ancient, holy purpose in her blood.

So what's her build?

She's a seventh level battlemaster fighter.

Her disciplined focus allows her to shrug off her own weariness with a moment's focus (second wind), her inner rage manifests as a carefully controlled adrenaline rush, a flurry of fast, decisive action (action surge), and her holy ancestry fuels her blade of justice when she needs it most (superiority dice).

She gets her features from three sources, none of which have anything to do with the words "fighter, soldier, guard, training, knight" or any other tropes that people typically associate with fighters.

I chose a suite of features that matched my concept, and those features happened to all come from the same few pages of the player's handbook.

[Kane0]

I’m fond of Eldritch Knight/Warlock/Rogue, using war magic to get a full power EB plus sneak attack bow shot. Hexblade reduces the MAD.

[Princess]

There are many ways to make great characters with 3 or more classes, but the biggest caveats are that the main spellcasters get a lot out of higher level spells, and the more complicated something is the more carefully you should plan.

Another example that works that I don't think anyone else has mentioned: Ranger 5 (Monster Slayer) / Rogue 5 (Scout)/ Cleric 2 (War) / + 8 rogue levels =>

You do more damage than most rangers or fighters from sneak attack, you are less likely to miss out on sneak attacks than other rogues from the ranger's extra attack, hunter's mark and the Monster Slayer +1d6 ability help when you can't get sneak attacks at all, and war cleric means you can now using healing word to save the party healer, add radiant damage to attacks with divine favor if the enemy is vulnerable to that, and use channel divinity to turn a miss into a hit, plus a few extra bonus action attacks a day if you are fighting at range and can't use two weapon fighting.

It's very hard to come up with a combination like that helpful to wizards, though, because so much of being a wizard is a race to higher level spells and more magical options

[MeeposFire]

I’m fond of Eldritch Knight/Warlock/Rogue, using war magic to get a full power EB plus sneak attack bow shot. Hexblade reduces the MAD.

That was what I was going to suggest. To take it even further you can either take a SCAG cantrip like booming blade if forced into melee or you can take the crossbow expert feat which will allow you to attack in melee with your ranged attacks with no problems.

[Kaliayev]

Paladin 5+/Hexblade Warlock 5+/Whispers Bard 5

You can dish out a ridiculous amount of damage when you hit a creature. The warlock and bard "smites" recharge on a short rest.

[jas61292]

If you truly mean viable, and not optimal, then absolutely. In fact, unless you are intentionally picking things that clash with each other (ie Paladin / Monk / Wizard) you can make just about any combination viable. Excluding the multiclassing requirements, most casters can safely ignore their casting stat if they are using utility and buff spells, so grabbing a few levels of one for those things can easily work. And non casters for the most part can all work together.

While I wouldn't recommend some combinations, most can definitely work. A rogue/fighter/sorcerer or a ranger/wizard/cleric can both be made to work. It may take a bit more work, but unless your party has different people specializing in all the things that you are, you will hardly find yourself useless.

[Wasp]

So what for example would be the advantage of a Warlock 2 / Bard 5 / Sorc 13 over just a bard with a two level Warlock dip?

[Naanomi]

So what for example would be the advantage of a Warlock 2 / Bard 5 / Sorc 13 over just a bard with a two level Warlock dip?
Subtle spell opens up a ton of social opportunities, and quickened Eldritch Blast is a substantial damage option

[Spiritchaser]

Yeah, level 3 Hexblade Warlock, level 3 Swashbuckler Rogue, level 6 anything Paladin.

Use Cha to attack and damage, for initiative, and for all saving throws.

Because why use any stats other than Cha? :D

You need one of those dragon masks too then...