Dark.Revenant
2020-09-04, 03:14 AM
A General Analysis of Spellcasting, by Class
Preface
I'm going to start off by talking about each class individually as they pertain to three categories: Spellcasting Versatility, Spellcasting Endurance, and Spellcasting Quality. Then, in the end, I'll summarize the scores and explain the meta-design niche that each class holds. Note that extreme spell-multiplying spells like Simulacrum are explored separately and aren't factored into the base scores.
Spellcasting Versatility is a mostly-objective measurement based on a simple pair of questions: How many spells do you know/prepare, and how large is your spell list? The result is averaged over 20 levels. There is a lot of nuance here—domain spells are preselected, so they don't offer a ton of versatility; you can't simply learn N arbitrary spells from your whole list (for example, a 3rd level Sorcerer can only know two 2nd-level spells—the others must be 1st-level); each successive spell known/prepared shrinks the pool for the remaining spells known/prepared; etc.
The ability to prepare spells daily from a larger list is factored in by comparing the number of spells you can prepare to the size of the full list (or spellbook) using a square root scale (rather than a linear scale, which I think would overvalue certain classes like the cleric and druid). The full equation is rather complicated.
By this metric, rituals and domain spells (and other preset spells) are de-emphasized, while large lists and more spells known/prepared are emphasized.
Spellcasting Endurance is a fairly-objective measurement based on, for the most part, total spells over an "average" adventuring day (a 2/3 chance of having any short rests, an average of 2 short rests total, and an average of 6 encounters of various types), indexed by spell point conversion and averaged over 20 levels. For at-will spells, it is generally assumed that the spell will be used once per encounter (six times per day), although more situational spells like many of the warlock's Eldritch Invocations are considered to be used two to four times per day. Cantrips are ignored.
Rituals are a more complicated matter, based on the assumption that the limiting factor for rituals is time and relevance, rather than being an infinite resource. In general, the average worth of the available rituals is scaled by the total number of available rituals at a square root rate, if the class always has their known rituals available (wizard and tomelock). The rate is 1/4-exponential (square root is 1/2-exponential) if the class casts rituals from their list of prepared spells, and the rate is 1/8-exponential if the class can only cast rituals if took it as a spell known.
By this metric, more and better slots, slot recovery, at-will spells, and high-quality ritual casting are emphasized.
Spellcasting Quality is a fairly-subjective measurement based on the average rating of each of a class's spell slots, averaged over 20 levels. The rating of spell slots is subjective, but uses spell points for the baseline, default score. Features that offer a significant bump in quality (like domain spells and Magical Secrets) are factored in for the particular spell levels they affect. Only the top 18 highest-quality spells are included for the average, on the assumption that a six-encounter adventuring day with three-round encounters will make the minor spell slots available after the 18th less meaningful.
At-will spells are only factored in when they improve the average quality; they can't reduce the score. This means cantrips and rituals are ignored; they'd usually have no effect on the score.
Classes
Rubric
Gold: Off the charts (5.4 and higher]
Sky Blue: Top-tier (4.4 to 5.6)
Blue: Superior (3.4 to 4.6)
Black: Average (2.4 to 3.6)
Purple: Inferior (1.4 to 2.6)
Red: Bottom-tier (1.0 to 1.6)
Artificer
Spellcasting Versatility
There is an inherent truth that a half caster's spell list will fall well short of a full caster's; they gain access to new spell levels more slowly, and are limited to 5th-level spells at the high end. Combine this with fewer spell preparations per day, and you get an uphill battle to keep up with traditional magic-users. The paladin has powerful martial abilities to cover for the lack of variety, but the artificer is intended to rely more on its spellcasting.
Fortunately, the artificer scores miraculously well here. This mostly has to do with the unusually large spell list the artificer is working with—handily beating the ranger and paladin—but being able to prepare spells each long rest really magnifies the day-to-day versatility of the class. It's hard to overstate the significance of unlimited spell preparation; it makes an enormous difference, especially for the artificer, which would be languishing with a Red score without it.
Spellcasting Endurance
The artificer also does well (for a half caster) for endurance, which is important because the artificer relies on spells more than the other half casters. It doesn't really match up with any full caster for longevity, but ritual casting and the Spell-Storing Item feature go a long way towards extending an artificer's usefulness during a long adventuring day. I'm ignoring Replicate Magic Item in this score because most of the items don't grant spells, and many of those that do have a roll of the dice to determine how many charges are regained.
Spellcasting Quality
Half casters in general suffer in terms of spell quality, mainly because they simply can't cast spells at the same level as full casters. Generally speaking, an average 3rd-level spell is better than even a very good 2nd-level spell within the same role, and the same applies to the other spell level gaps as well. That said, the artificer fares better than the other half casters because its spell list is essentially a tailored mix of the wizard's and cleric's lists, and the subclass bonus spells are quite good. The artificer is genuinely capable of pretending to be a full caster, potentially throwing around full-size blasts, potent buffs, and useful battlefield control spells. Just don't expect to hold a candle to a real wizard.
Bard
Spellcasting Versatility
The standard bard lands smack-dab in the middle of the pack when it comes to the overall versatility of its spells. Despite being a "spells-known" caster, the bard has a pretty big spell list (bigger than the Cleric's), which counts for a lot. The main factor here, though, is the standout feature, Magical Secrets. The additional spells known from Magical Secrets—with an immense pool of possible spells—carry the bard's versatility score much higher than it otherwise deserves. Without it, the bard would be merely purple: specialized, but not particularly flexible. When choosing those six bonus spells, players must be particularly careful to make them count; a bard simply isn't as flexible or effective otherwise.
Spellcasting Versatility (Lore)
The lore bard straddles the line between black and blue solely because of the Additional Magical Secrets feature. The impact is so high because it comes online earlier than the standard Magical Secrets feature. This is huge. Normally, a bard's spellcasting versatility lags behind the sorcerer's before suddenly shooting ahead at 10th level, but the lore bard does it at 6th level instead. For many campaigns, this makes the difference between having bonus spells during the meat and potatoes of the adventure and not having them until the very end.
Spellcasting Endurance
A bog standard full caster earns a black rating for endurance. What makes the bard better than that? Ritual casting. Even when you're locked to just the spells you know, ritual casting offers a way to cast spells without using spell slots; this is a big deal for staying fresh throughout the day. There's a practical limit to this, however, since the bard needs to dedicate a precious spell known to the privilege of having a ritual-capable spell. Still, I think this gives the bard just enough to qualify for a blue rating.
Becomes sky blue if the bard chooses Simulacrum as a Magical Secret at 14th level; doubled spell slots is busted.
Spellcasting Quality
The bard is an interesting case. One one hand, the bard's spell list is just "okay" to begin with. It has everything: buffs, debuffs, battlefield control, damage, healing, mobility, and utility…but the actual quality of the spells in each category is inconsistent. Generally speaking, any other full caster will be able to surpass the bard in whichever niche the bard chooses for itself, but the bard will never be incompetent at anything it gives any effort at trying to do. This "jack of all trades, master of none" approach certainly fits the theme of the bard, but it has a cheat code: Magical Secrets. The simple ability to pick from any list naturally makes the six-to-eight Magical Secrets spells far more potent in the right build, allowing the bard to mix traits and spells in ways no other caster can manage. In short, by 10th level, a bard does indeed get to be the "master" of a few things after all.
Becomes sky blue if the bard chooses Simulacrum as a Magical Secret at 14th level; doubled spellcasting per round is busted.
Cleric
Spellcasting Versatility
It should be no surprise that the cleric scores well for versatility. We could talk about domains, but honestly, domain spells don't make that much of an impact in my versatility scoring metric. What makes an impact is simply that the cleric has a big 'ol spell list that the player can pick and choose from every day. While something like a bard can be flexible if built just right, the cleric just is flexible without even trying. Cleric in general is just a super forgiving class, and the ability to just whip out an adventure-solving spell with a morning's prayers is just too good to be overlooked. There isn't a single "spells known" class whose spells can solve as many problems as the cleric's spells.
Spellcasting Versatility
The added versatility of wizard spells added to the tail end of this subclass are useful, but they're not enough to change the rating.
Becomes sky blue if the cleric chooses Simulacrum as a bonus spell at 17th level; doubled spell preparation is busted.
Spellcasting Endurance
The cleric is a full caster with the ability to cast any prepared spell as a ritual. This more-or-less translates to a blue endurance rating because it's relatively easy to pick up a set of rituals tailored to the challenges you're expecting to encounter. Rituals are essentially free spells, so this makes a big difference.
Becomes sky blue if the cleric has the Arcana subclass and chooses Simulacrum as a bonus spell at 17th level; doubled spell slots is busted.
Spellcasting Quality
The cleric's spell list is a roller-coaster. It starts strong with the 1st-and-2nd-level spells, hits a peak with 3rd-level spells, and has a strong list of 5th-level spells. Everything after that, though, is a bit disappointing compared to the great stuff that comes before. Still, the cleric retains a potent combination of healing, damage, and utility (with secondary focus on buffing and debuffing) throughout its career. A wide selection of domains allows further customization of the cleric's spell list, potentially including top-tier spells like Faerie Fire, Suggestion, Fireball, Polymorph, Animate Objects, and many others.
Spellcasting Quality (Arcana)
The arcana subclass gains access to wizard spells at tier 4, which allow for some truly busted spells like Contingency, Simulacrum, and Wish. The additional power is enough for this subclass to bump up in rating.
Becomes sky blue if the arcana cleric chooses Simulacrum as a bonus spell at 17th level; doubled spellcasting per round is busted.
Druid
Spellcasting Versatility
The druid is spoiled for choice. Only a wizard can possibly entertain the kind of daily memorization strife a druid faces, and even then the wizard must expend a mountain of resources under a very generous DM to get to that point. A well-prepared druid can trivialize encounters and bypass exploration challenges, heal and destroy, tank and skirmish, and completely rebuild itself for the next day of adventuring. The wizard's spell list might be larger, but the wizard's spellbook often holds a tiny fraction of that list. The druid's entire repertoire is on tap every morning.
Spellcasting Endurance
Like the cleric, the druid is a full caster with the ability to cast any prepared spell as a ritual. The druid's list of rituals is marginally weaker than the cleric's, but not by enough to impact the rating.
Spellcasting Quality
The druid's spell list is a double-edged sword: filled with extraordinary control, summoning, debuffing, and lockdown spells…that all require concentration. The druid essentially gets to choose one really good spell to focus on, to the detriment of casting nearly anything else. This is why Moonbeam and Call Lightning makes sense for a druid: you're not exactly going to be doing much else with you action except casting cantrips. At least moon druids get to cheat the system by having something else to do while they're concentrating on whatever spell they chose for the battle.
Spellcasting Quality (Land)
None of the land spells are precisely "game-changers", but they can be potent enough to make a real difference. Standouts include Lightning Bolt and Cone of Cold for fire-and-forget blasts; Blindness/Deafness, Slow, and Stinking Cloud for potent debuffs; Silence and Web for control; and (Greater) Invisibility, Mirror Image, Misty Step, and Haste for expanded movement options and potent buffs. Combine with the additional higher-level slots allowable with Natural Recovery, and it's enough to make a well-built land druid quite a bit more effective during day-to-day adventuring over their vanilla-flavored counterparts.
Fighter (Eldritch Knight)
Spellcasting Versatility
The eldritch knight slightly edges out a red score, largely because of the four free-choice wizard spells known. The wizard abjuration and evocation lists are fairly extensive, and the handful of free-choice spells really make an impact. But…it's still a "spells known" subclass with a small spell list (compared to full casters and half casters). You can't really solve problems with magic the same way even a warlock can. At least you're still a fighter.
Spellcasting Endurance
One-third-casting with no rituals makes a red endurance rating. It should be fairly obvious why: the eldritch knight can't even hope to keep up with a higher-order caster. Spell slots must be strictly rationed in order to keep strong throughout an adventuring day.
Spellcasting Quality
The eldritch knight's best tricks are Haste and Fireball when the wizard is playing with Wishes. That would be bad enough by itself, but for some insane reason, the eldritch knight is mostly limited to abjuration and evocation spells. While a fighter can certainly enjoy AOE blasts, they come so late that they're practically past the point of relevancy by the time any of the eldritch knight's precious spell resources can be diverted thusly. Meanwhile, any full caster of the same level can toss out blasts on the level of Fireball like candy.
This subclass would have been much better served by having access to transmutation spells rather than evocation spells. The eldritch knight's saving grace is the fact that Shield and Absorb Elements are first-level abjuration spells; for an optimized EK, these two spells are mandatory.
Monk (Way of the Four Elements)
Spellcasting Versatility
Oh dear. We've hit rock bottom. As far as spell versatility is concerned, you're better off picking a different subclass and taking the Magic Initiate feat. The four elements monk is extremely strapped for choice; at 20th level, you've got a smaller "spell list" than a 3rd-level eldritch knight's. It's truly astonishing.
Spellcasting Endurance
Four elements monks, if they give up their ability to use Ki on just about anything else, are actually capable of spamming spells fairly efficiently. It's generally unwise to try this, but an all-in monk caster will hold out better than a paladin or a ranger throughout an adventuring day. If you try to use Ki on your actual class features, however, you can expect a full red spellcasting endurance rating for your trouble.
Spellcasting Quality
The four elements monk's score is only this "high" because it is capable of spamming fairly decent spells, especially once it reaches tier 3. Sometimes, quantity is a quality all its own. In fact, tier 3+ performance is pretty much the saving grace of the four elements monk; being able to dump extra Ki into effective blasts like Fireball or control effects like Wall of Stone does make a difference in a battle.
If you don't end up with 0 Ki when you finish a short rest, that means you could have spent more Ki in the battles that came earlier…and the four elements monk is straight up the best subclass for getting rid of a lot of Ki in a short amount of time. That said, if your priority for Ki expenditure is your class features (like Stunning Strike), this score is closer to red.
Paladin
Spellcasting Versatility
Paladins can freely prepare spells every day. That's basically the only thing keeping them ahead of warlocks. Aside from the ability to refresh spells with some prayers in the morning, there isn't a lot to say about the paladin's spell list—it's the smallest list that still earns its own name in the index. A paladin can occasionally think outside the box with magic, but let's be honest; you're probably smiting most of the time.
Spellcasting Endurance
Half-casting with no rituals makes for a surprisingly low endurance rating. For a paladin, it's inadvisable to rely only on spellcasting to solve problems; you simply don't have enough spells throughout the day to spare.
Spellcasting Quality
The paladin's spells are…okay. There's good stuff to be found in the paladin spell list, the standouts being Bless, Command, Wrathful Smite, (Greater) Find Steed, Aura of Vitality, Crusader's Mantle, Death Ward, Banishing Smite, Circle of Power, Destructive Wave, and Holy Weapon. The majority of those come fairly late, however, and they're nearly all buffs; the typical paladin simply can't operate on the same level as proper casters in most scenarios.
The real "bite" of a paladin's spell list typically comes from the oath spells, which can be pretty dang good; some of the best ones are Armor of Agathys, Bane, Hold Person/Monster, Misty Step, Spiritual Weapon, Counterspell, Fear, Haste, Hypnotic Pattern, Spirit Guardians, Freedom of Movement, and Wall of Force. That said, there is real competition between smites and spellcasting, so in most cases even the best paladin spells wind up being situational.
Ranger
Spellcasting Versatility
I'm sorry to say it, but as far as spell versatility goes, the ranger is straight-up bad. The key here is that the ranger is a "spells known" class, but is starved for spells known—fewer than a one-third caster!!!—and has the small spell list typical of a half caster. When choosing spells for a ranger, you need to make hard choices and sacrifices just to build an effective character; there is precious little room for incidental problem-solving. It's a shame, really.
Spellcasting Endurance
As with the paladin, the ranger can't rely only on spellcasting to solve problems. This stings especially hard for the ranger, as coming up with solutions to out-of-combat challenges is part of the appeal of being a ranger.
Spellcasting Quality
The ranger's spell list is more diverse than the paladin's, but that's not much help when the ranger can't prepare new spells each morning. As a result, most rangers tend to take the same few standouts, like Goodberry, Hunter's Mark, Zephyr Strike, Pass Without Trace, Spike Growth, Conjure Animals, Lightning Arrow, Freedom of Movement, Guardian of Nature, Conjure Volley, Steel Wind Strike, and Swift Quiver. Certain subclasses gain extra tricks (Disguise Self, Misty Step, Fear, Haste, Banishment, Greater Invisibility, and Hold Monster are quite useful), as well.
With a reasonably effective mixture of direct damage, AOE damage, buffs, utility, and control spells, the ranger does a bit better than a paladin as a spellcaster, but unlike an artificer, an individual ranger cannot take all of those roles at the same time.
Rogue (Arcane Trickster)
Spellcasting Versatility
The arcane trickster falls just behind of the eldritch knight (it has a slightly smaller spell list), but otherwise everything I said about the eldritch knight applies here. The arcane trickster's spells are particularly well-suited to expanding a rogue's options; don't think that a low versatility score means that the subclass is bad. It just means that the arcane trickster is unlikely to be relying on its spells alone to deal with unexpected problems.
Spellcasting Endurance
Other than the eldritch knight, the arcane trickster fails to outlast any other caster. Both one-third casters are in the same boat, here. You really feel the "one-third" part of being a one-third caster when playing either of these subclasses.
Spellcasting Quality
The arcane trickster suffers from the fundamental flaw of being a one-third caster, but unlike the eldritch knight, this subclass actually boasts significant synergy with the allowed spell schools. Enchantment and especially Illusion spells are actually quite useful for most rogues, and standouts like Disguise Self, Invisibility, Mirror Image, Shadow Blade will remain reliable bread-and-butter tools for an arcane trickster throughout an entire campaign.
Sorcerer
Spellcasting Versatility
At first glance, this rating might make the sorcerer look like it's a reasonably versatile spellcaster. And, well, you'd be right. It's not quite on the level of a bard (and can't really touch a cleric), but it's certainly better off than the warlock. The problem is that spellcasting is all the sorcerer has. The theory is that Metamagic is supposed to effectively multiply the size of the sorcerer's arsenal, but in practice I just don't see that happening. Metamagic versions of spells are still essentially the same as the original spell, just with a specific improvement in some manner that you can apply a few times per day. I can't rightfully count that as improved "spell versatility", given the limited number of Metamagic options that can be picked from and the crucial resource they expend.
All told, the sorcerer is pretty good in whatever wheelhouse the player built it for, but you're really forced to agonize over spell choices; problem-solving as a sorcerer mostly comes down to having a really good hammer and trying to make all your problems look like nails.
Spellcasting Versatility (Divine Soul)
The divine soul has a huge spell list. It's far larger than the druid's, instead rivaling the wizard's full spell list. This alone makes the divine soul far more versatile than the sorcerer, even beating out the bard (but not the lore bard), simply because of the sheer scale of choices available for character builds. Esoteric combinations of control, damage, healing, buffing, debuffing, and subterfuge are possible, but the divine soul still suffers from having relatively few spells known. Ultimately, only a couple of those roles can be seriously pursued with a given character.
Spellcasting Endurance
If you're spending Sorcery Points on Metamagic (like a sane person), the sorcerer's endurance is nothing to write home about. You have the bog standard set of spell slots for a full caster and basically nothing beyond that. Granted, quite a few classes wish they had even that much to play around with. On the other hand, if you think Metamagic is lame and you dump all of your Sorcery Points into creating extra spell slots, the sorcerer manages a blue rating here.
Becomes blue (sky blue if converting Sorcery Points to spell slots) if the sorcerer takes the Wish spell to be able to cast the Simulacrum spell at 17th level; doubled spell slots is busted.
Spellcasting Quality
The sorcerer's spell list comes second place to the wizard's. Second place would normally be pretty darn good, but the sorcerer is strapped for spells known, making it quite difficult to benefit from situational spells and utility spells. As a whole, the sorcerer's pool of "actually useful" spells is quite a bit smaller than one might hope, and to make matters worse, many of the really good spells on the wizard list (like Contingency and Simulacrum) were left out of the sorcerer list. Metamagic isn't quite the magic bullet a sorcerer player is probably hoping for, either. Sure, it helps, but it doesn't really make up for the severely limited number of choices. Heck, many of the spells that would greatly benefit from Metamagic are suspiciously missing from the sorcerer list…
Special mention must be made for the strategy of spamming spells by converting Sorcery Points to spell slots. It's a lossy conversion and you'll lose access to Metamagic, which doesn't help the rating. On the other hand, using the Sorcery Points mechanic to consolidate lower level spell slots into higher level ones (while potentially leaving some left for Metamagic), the nova sorcerer's unique ability to just go ham with consecutive enhanced high level spells in one glorious display of power is enough to earn a sky blue-gold rating. Just make sure you'll get to take a long rest afterwards.
Becomes blue-sky blue (gold if going full nova) if the sorcerer takes the Wish spell to be able to cast the Simulacrum spell at 17th level; doubled spellcasting per round is busted.
Spellcasting Quality (Divine Soul)
The divine soul's wider spell list includes several spells that greatly increase efficiency, and many of them work better with Metamagic than the standard sorcerer's spells, bumping the rating up. It should be mentioned that a spam-strategy divine soul drops to blue and a nova-strategy divine soul earns sky blue-gold.
Becomes sky blue (gold if going full nova) if the divine soul takes the Wish spell to be able to cast the Simulacrum spell at 17th level; doubled spellcasting per round is busted.
Warlock
Spellcasting Versatility
The warlock has a shockingly small spell list for a caster with access to 9th-level magic. The subclasses' expanded spell lists help, but it doesn't really make up the difference. The mechanics behind Mystic Arcanum don't help matters, since you have no freedom with regards to the level of spell you can pick or cast, so warlocks actually fall even further behind on spell versatility at tier 3 and beyond.
The only other way to add spells to a standard warlock's repertoire is a small handful of Eldritch Invocations that grant access to specific spells…helpful, but not quite enough to justify a higher rating. All told, warlocks are meant to make creative use of a limited set of tools, which they're good at doing because they can recover slots quickly and can acquire at-will versions of certain spells.
Spellcasting Endurance
While the warlock definitely has low points and high points throughout an adventuring career, on the whole they earn an average endurance rating. That's even if they ignore all the endurance-boosting Eldritch Invocations. The crux of the matter is the short rest spell recovery method. Yes, if you're doing ten minute adventuring days, the warlock won't find much endurance in combat, but I'd argue even in that case that the warlock can still spam their spells out of combat with impunity. On the whole, a proactive warlock player will get about three uses of each spell slot per long rest, on average, on adventuring days where endurance matters. This puts the warlock (with its base abilities) on par with the sorcerer's endurance.
Spellcasting Endurance (Book of Ancient Secrets)
For this rating, I'm assuming you get a steady source of new rituals every so often (using the pace described in the wizard's "scroll loot" section). I'll say it again: ritual casting is really good. Having a buffet of free 10-minute spells to use throughout the day will solve a lot of problems when adventuring.
A warlock with a stingy DM who doesn't offer rituals (or a tiny trickle) still earns a black-blue endurance rating, since those two rituals are likely to be strategically chosen to be the most advantageous to the warlock. If you somehow manage to get every ritual in the game, the rating changes to sky blue (yes, really).
Spellcasting Endurance (all at-will Eldritch Invocations)
There are quite a few at-will spells in the Warlock list. If you took all of them, even ignoring Book of Ancient Secrets, you'd wind up with top-class spellcasting endurance as a direct result. In practical scenarios, you won't actually take all of them, but even just a few would be enough for gold if combined with the hefty benefit of Book of Ancient Secrets ritual casting.
Spellcasting Quality
Where the warlock lacks (spellcasting) versatility and potentially lacks endurance, it certainly makes up for with pure quality. Up to 5th-level spells, every warlock spell is automatically cranked as high as it can go. The ability to be almost carefree with high-level spells would normally be an overwhelming advantage, but the warlock is held back from perfection by being forced to use a fairly limited spell list.
Some creativity is required to make the best use of two-to-four spell slots per short rest, and (nearly) anything that could potentially abuse the system is excluded. Standouts that scale with level include Armor of Agathys, Hellish Rebuke, Hex, Hold Person/Monster, Invisibility, Fly, Banishment, and Synaptic Static. Subclasses offer more variety, potentially changing the class's spellcasting dynamic entirely, but the expanded options still cost valuable spells known.
Wizard
Spellcasting Versatility (bare minimum)
The wizard has the largest spell list in the game and the ability to prepare spells every day, but there is a catch: the spellbook. A baseline wizard is essentially a hybrid "spells known" class that learns a relatively generous 44 spells, but can only prepare 25 of them at any given time (other than rituals, which are always available but don't really contribute enough to change the rating). Because of this, even a paladin has more spells to choose from on a day-to-day basis, significantly lessening the impact of the wizard's ability to memorize new spells every morning. All is not lost, however; even with an uncooperative DM, the wizard is second only to the druid in terms of day-to-day versatility. There are so many excellent spells to choose from that the restriction almost doesn't matter.
Spellcasting Versatility (scroll loot)
A wizard whose party randomly rolls for loot following the DMG guidelines, assuming that the wizard's player is able to ask the DM for a specific spell to be on the scroll (of a level between 1 and the highest the wizard can cast), scores a bit higher. All told, it's about 15 new spells added to the spellbook over the course of a 20-level adventure. Honestly, this is basically the least I would expect from a DM; wizard players generally want to find, purchase, and research new spells; random loot tables are just about the stingiest way of doing it. Even this relatively paltry amount is enough to push the wizard's versatility into sky blue territory, setting the scale.
Becomes sky blue-gold if the wizard takes the Simulacrum spell at 13th level; doubled spell preparation is busted.
Spellcasting Versatility (reasonable DM)
A DM (your mileage may vary) who offers more-or-less unrestricted access to new spells (such as looting other mages' spellbooks, going to an arcane library, etc.) pushes the wizard into crazy town. With all the benefits of a gigantic spell list and, ultimately, none of the spellbook's downsides, a truly well-equipped wizard is absolutely unbeatable when it comes to spellcasting versatility. Just about any problem that can be solved with magic will be solved by magic if the wizard has anything to say about it.
Spellcasting Endurance
Between Arcane Recovery and the eventual-but-potent Spell Mastery and Signature Spell features, the wizard is well-equipped to cast throughout the day. But then come the rituals. The wizard has the best ritual casting feature in the game (short of a particularly well-equipped tomelock), freeing the wizard of the need to actually prepare any of those juicy rituals. In practice, this means that a wizard can often get great mileage out of completely resource-free casting; the wide repertoire of rituals and instant access to the correct ones for any given situation will keep you going long after your slots run dry. For this reason, the wizard sets the bar for a sky blue rating.
Becomes gold+ if the wizard takes the Simulacrum spell at 13th level; doubled spell slots is busted.
Spellcasting Quality
The wizard has the best spell list in the game, and certainly isn't screwing around when it comes to putting those spells to use. A well-built, well-played wizard is a terrifying force to reckon with, thanks in no small part to top-tier spells like Find Familiar, Grease, Shield, Thunderwave, Flaming Sphere, (Greater) Invisibility, Levitate, Misty Step, Suggestion, Counterspell, Fear, Fireball, Fly, Haste, Hypnotic Pattern, Phantom Steed, Slow, Banishment, Dimension Door, Fire Shield, Polymorph, Animate Objects, Bigby's Hand, Wall of Force, Contingency, Globe of Invulnerability, Mass Suggestion, Forcecage, Plane Shift, Reverse Gravity, Simulacrum, Maze, Meteor Swarm, True Polymorph, and Wish.
Moreso than any other class in the game, there are vanishingly few things a wizard can't do with magic. There is a reason the wizard has the reputation of being the "ultimate spellcaster." In terms of traditional spellcasting, the wizard is simply unmatched; you need shenanigans like spamming high level spells or poaching the Simulacrum spell to skew the rating system enough to reach the wizard's level. The wizard easily sets the bar for a sky blue rating in this category.
Becomes gold if the wizard takes the Simulacrum spell at 13th level; doubled spellcasting per round is busted.
Preface
I'm going to start off by talking about each class individually as they pertain to three categories: Spellcasting Versatility, Spellcasting Endurance, and Spellcasting Quality. Then, in the end, I'll summarize the scores and explain the meta-design niche that each class holds. Note that extreme spell-multiplying spells like Simulacrum are explored separately and aren't factored into the base scores.
Spellcasting Versatility is a mostly-objective measurement based on a simple pair of questions: How many spells do you know/prepare, and how large is your spell list? The result is averaged over 20 levels. There is a lot of nuance here—domain spells are preselected, so they don't offer a ton of versatility; you can't simply learn N arbitrary spells from your whole list (for example, a 3rd level Sorcerer can only know two 2nd-level spells—the others must be 1st-level); each successive spell known/prepared shrinks the pool for the remaining spells known/prepared; etc.
The ability to prepare spells daily from a larger list is factored in by comparing the number of spells you can prepare to the size of the full list (or spellbook) using a square root scale (rather than a linear scale, which I think would overvalue certain classes like the cleric and druid). The full equation is rather complicated.
By this metric, rituals and domain spells (and other preset spells) are de-emphasized, while large lists and more spells known/prepared are emphasized.
Spellcasting Endurance is a fairly-objective measurement based on, for the most part, total spells over an "average" adventuring day (a 2/3 chance of having any short rests, an average of 2 short rests total, and an average of 6 encounters of various types), indexed by spell point conversion and averaged over 20 levels. For at-will spells, it is generally assumed that the spell will be used once per encounter (six times per day), although more situational spells like many of the warlock's Eldritch Invocations are considered to be used two to four times per day. Cantrips are ignored.
Rituals are a more complicated matter, based on the assumption that the limiting factor for rituals is time and relevance, rather than being an infinite resource. In general, the average worth of the available rituals is scaled by the total number of available rituals at a square root rate, if the class always has their known rituals available (wizard and tomelock). The rate is 1/4-exponential (square root is 1/2-exponential) if the class casts rituals from their list of prepared spells, and the rate is 1/8-exponential if the class can only cast rituals if took it as a spell known.
By this metric, more and better slots, slot recovery, at-will spells, and high-quality ritual casting are emphasized.
Spellcasting Quality is a fairly-subjective measurement based on the average rating of each of a class's spell slots, averaged over 20 levels. The rating of spell slots is subjective, but uses spell points for the baseline, default score. Features that offer a significant bump in quality (like domain spells and Magical Secrets) are factored in for the particular spell levels they affect. Only the top 18 highest-quality spells are included for the average, on the assumption that a six-encounter adventuring day with three-round encounters will make the minor spell slots available after the 18th less meaningful.
At-will spells are only factored in when they improve the average quality; they can't reduce the score. This means cantrips and rituals are ignored; they'd usually have no effect on the score.
Classes
Rubric
Gold: Off the charts (5.4 and higher]
Sky Blue: Top-tier (4.4 to 5.6)
Blue: Superior (3.4 to 4.6)
Black: Average (2.4 to 3.6)
Purple: Inferior (1.4 to 2.6)
Red: Bottom-tier (1.0 to 1.6)
Artificer
Spellcasting Versatility
There is an inherent truth that a half caster's spell list will fall well short of a full caster's; they gain access to new spell levels more slowly, and are limited to 5th-level spells at the high end. Combine this with fewer spell preparations per day, and you get an uphill battle to keep up with traditional magic-users. The paladin has powerful martial abilities to cover for the lack of variety, but the artificer is intended to rely more on its spellcasting.
Fortunately, the artificer scores miraculously well here. This mostly has to do with the unusually large spell list the artificer is working with—handily beating the ranger and paladin—but being able to prepare spells each long rest really magnifies the day-to-day versatility of the class. It's hard to overstate the significance of unlimited spell preparation; it makes an enormous difference, especially for the artificer, which would be languishing with a Red score without it.
Spellcasting Endurance
The artificer also does well (for a half caster) for endurance, which is important because the artificer relies on spells more than the other half casters. It doesn't really match up with any full caster for longevity, but ritual casting and the Spell-Storing Item feature go a long way towards extending an artificer's usefulness during a long adventuring day. I'm ignoring Replicate Magic Item in this score because most of the items don't grant spells, and many of those that do have a roll of the dice to determine how many charges are regained.
Spellcasting Quality
Half casters in general suffer in terms of spell quality, mainly because they simply can't cast spells at the same level as full casters. Generally speaking, an average 3rd-level spell is better than even a very good 2nd-level spell within the same role, and the same applies to the other spell level gaps as well. That said, the artificer fares better than the other half casters because its spell list is essentially a tailored mix of the wizard's and cleric's lists, and the subclass bonus spells are quite good. The artificer is genuinely capable of pretending to be a full caster, potentially throwing around full-size blasts, potent buffs, and useful battlefield control spells. Just don't expect to hold a candle to a real wizard.
Bard
Spellcasting Versatility
The standard bard lands smack-dab in the middle of the pack when it comes to the overall versatility of its spells. Despite being a "spells-known" caster, the bard has a pretty big spell list (bigger than the Cleric's), which counts for a lot. The main factor here, though, is the standout feature, Magical Secrets. The additional spells known from Magical Secrets—with an immense pool of possible spells—carry the bard's versatility score much higher than it otherwise deserves. Without it, the bard would be merely purple: specialized, but not particularly flexible. When choosing those six bonus spells, players must be particularly careful to make them count; a bard simply isn't as flexible or effective otherwise.
Spellcasting Versatility (Lore)
The lore bard straddles the line between black and blue solely because of the Additional Magical Secrets feature. The impact is so high because it comes online earlier than the standard Magical Secrets feature. This is huge. Normally, a bard's spellcasting versatility lags behind the sorcerer's before suddenly shooting ahead at 10th level, but the lore bard does it at 6th level instead. For many campaigns, this makes the difference between having bonus spells during the meat and potatoes of the adventure and not having them until the very end.
Spellcasting Endurance
A bog standard full caster earns a black rating for endurance. What makes the bard better than that? Ritual casting. Even when you're locked to just the spells you know, ritual casting offers a way to cast spells without using spell slots; this is a big deal for staying fresh throughout the day. There's a practical limit to this, however, since the bard needs to dedicate a precious spell known to the privilege of having a ritual-capable spell. Still, I think this gives the bard just enough to qualify for a blue rating.
Becomes sky blue if the bard chooses Simulacrum as a Magical Secret at 14th level; doubled spell slots is busted.
Spellcasting Quality
The bard is an interesting case. One one hand, the bard's spell list is just "okay" to begin with. It has everything: buffs, debuffs, battlefield control, damage, healing, mobility, and utility…but the actual quality of the spells in each category is inconsistent. Generally speaking, any other full caster will be able to surpass the bard in whichever niche the bard chooses for itself, but the bard will never be incompetent at anything it gives any effort at trying to do. This "jack of all trades, master of none" approach certainly fits the theme of the bard, but it has a cheat code: Magical Secrets. The simple ability to pick from any list naturally makes the six-to-eight Magical Secrets spells far more potent in the right build, allowing the bard to mix traits and spells in ways no other caster can manage. In short, by 10th level, a bard does indeed get to be the "master" of a few things after all.
Becomes sky blue if the bard chooses Simulacrum as a Magical Secret at 14th level; doubled spellcasting per round is busted.
Cleric
Spellcasting Versatility
It should be no surprise that the cleric scores well for versatility. We could talk about domains, but honestly, domain spells don't make that much of an impact in my versatility scoring metric. What makes an impact is simply that the cleric has a big 'ol spell list that the player can pick and choose from every day. While something like a bard can be flexible if built just right, the cleric just is flexible without even trying. Cleric in general is just a super forgiving class, and the ability to just whip out an adventure-solving spell with a morning's prayers is just too good to be overlooked. There isn't a single "spells known" class whose spells can solve as many problems as the cleric's spells.
Spellcasting Versatility
The added versatility of wizard spells added to the tail end of this subclass are useful, but they're not enough to change the rating.
Becomes sky blue if the cleric chooses Simulacrum as a bonus spell at 17th level; doubled spell preparation is busted.
Spellcasting Endurance
The cleric is a full caster with the ability to cast any prepared spell as a ritual. This more-or-less translates to a blue endurance rating because it's relatively easy to pick up a set of rituals tailored to the challenges you're expecting to encounter. Rituals are essentially free spells, so this makes a big difference.
Becomes sky blue if the cleric has the Arcana subclass and chooses Simulacrum as a bonus spell at 17th level; doubled spell slots is busted.
Spellcasting Quality
The cleric's spell list is a roller-coaster. It starts strong with the 1st-and-2nd-level spells, hits a peak with 3rd-level spells, and has a strong list of 5th-level spells. Everything after that, though, is a bit disappointing compared to the great stuff that comes before. Still, the cleric retains a potent combination of healing, damage, and utility (with secondary focus on buffing and debuffing) throughout its career. A wide selection of domains allows further customization of the cleric's spell list, potentially including top-tier spells like Faerie Fire, Suggestion, Fireball, Polymorph, Animate Objects, and many others.
Spellcasting Quality (Arcana)
The arcana subclass gains access to wizard spells at tier 4, which allow for some truly busted spells like Contingency, Simulacrum, and Wish. The additional power is enough for this subclass to bump up in rating.
Becomes sky blue if the arcana cleric chooses Simulacrum as a bonus spell at 17th level; doubled spellcasting per round is busted.
Druid
Spellcasting Versatility
The druid is spoiled for choice. Only a wizard can possibly entertain the kind of daily memorization strife a druid faces, and even then the wizard must expend a mountain of resources under a very generous DM to get to that point. A well-prepared druid can trivialize encounters and bypass exploration challenges, heal and destroy, tank and skirmish, and completely rebuild itself for the next day of adventuring. The wizard's spell list might be larger, but the wizard's spellbook often holds a tiny fraction of that list. The druid's entire repertoire is on tap every morning.
Spellcasting Endurance
Like the cleric, the druid is a full caster with the ability to cast any prepared spell as a ritual. The druid's list of rituals is marginally weaker than the cleric's, but not by enough to impact the rating.
Spellcasting Quality
The druid's spell list is a double-edged sword: filled with extraordinary control, summoning, debuffing, and lockdown spells…that all require concentration. The druid essentially gets to choose one really good spell to focus on, to the detriment of casting nearly anything else. This is why Moonbeam and Call Lightning makes sense for a druid: you're not exactly going to be doing much else with you action except casting cantrips. At least moon druids get to cheat the system by having something else to do while they're concentrating on whatever spell they chose for the battle.
Spellcasting Quality (Land)
None of the land spells are precisely "game-changers", but they can be potent enough to make a real difference. Standouts include Lightning Bolt and Cone of Cold for fire-and-forget blasts; Blindness/Deafness, Slow, and Stinking Cloud for potent debuffs; Silence and Web for control; and (Greater) Invisibility, Mirror Image, Misty Step, and Haste for expanded movement options and potent buffs. Combine with the additional higher-level slots allowable with Natural Recovery, and it's enough to make a well-built land druid quite a bit more effective during day-to-day adventuring over their vanilla-flavored counterparts.
Fighter (Eldritch Knight)
Spellcasting Versatility
The eldritch knight slightly edges out a red score, largely because of the four free-choice wizard spells known. The wizard abjuration and evocation lists are fairly extensive, and the handful of free-choice spells really make an impact. But…it's still a "spells known" subclass with a small spell list (compared to full casters and half casters). You can't really solve problems with magic the same way even a warlock can. At least you're still a fighter.
Spellcasting Endurance
One-third-casting with no rituals makes a red endurance rating. It should be fairly obvious why: the eldritch knight can't even hope to keep up with a higher-order caster. Spell slots must be strictly rationed in order to keep strong throughout an adventuring day.
Spellcasting Quality
The eldritch knight's best tricks are Haste and Fireball when the wizard is playing with Wishes. That would be bad enough by itself, but for some insane reason, the eldritch knight is mostly limited to abjuration and evocation spells. While a fighter can certainly enjoy AOE blasts, they come so late that they're practically past the point of relevancy by the time any of the eldritch knight's precious spell resources can be diverted thusly. Meanwhile, any full caster of the same level can toss out blasts on the level of Fireball like candy.
This subclass would have been much better served by having access to transmutation spells rather than evocation spells. The eldritch knight's saving grace is the fact that Shield and Absorb Elements are first-level abjuration spells; for an optimized EK, these two spells are mandatory.
Monk (Way of the Four Elements)
Spellcasting Versatility
Oh dear. We've hit rock bottom. As far as spell versatility is concerned, you're better off picking a different subclass and taking the Magic Initiate feat. The four elements monk is extremely strapped for choice; at 20th level, you've got a smaller "spell list" than a 3rd-level eldritch knight's. It's truly astonishing.
Spellcasting Endurance
Four elements monks, if they give up their ability to use Ki on just about anything else, are actually capable of spamming spells fairly efficiently. It's generally unwise to try this, but an all-in monk caster will hold out better than a paladin or a ranger throughout an adventuring day. If you try to use Ki on your actual class features, however, you can expect a full red spellcasting endurance rating for your trouble.
Spellcasting Quality
The four elements monk's score is only this "high" because it is capable of spamming fairly decent spells, especially once it reaches tier 3. Sometimes, quantity is a quality all its own. In fact, tier 3+ performance is pretty much the saving grace of the four elements monk; being able to dump extra Ki into effective blasts like Fireball or control effects like Wall of Stone does make a difference in a battle.
If you don't end up with 0 Ki when you finish a short rest, that means you could have spent more Ki in the battles that came earlier…and the four elements monk is straight up the best subclass for getting rid of a lot of Ki in a short amount of time. That said, if your priority for Ki expenditure is your class features (like Stunning Strike), this score is closer to red.
Paladin
Spellcasting Versatility
Paladins can freely prepare spells every day. That's basically the only thing keeping them ahead of warlocks. Aside from the ability to refresh spells with some prayers in the morning, there isn't a lot to say about the paladin's spell list—it's the smallest list that still earns its own name in the index. A paladin can occasionally think outside the box with magic, but let's be honest; you're probably smiting most of the time.
Spellcasting Endurance
Half-casting with no rituals makes for a surprisingly low endurance rating. For a paladin, it's inadvisable to rely only on spellcasting to solve problems; you simply don't have enough spells throughout the day to spare.
Spellcasting Quality
The paladin's spells are…okay. There's good stuff to be found in the paladin spell list, the standouts being Bless, Command, Wrathful Smite, (Greater) Find Steed, Aura of Vitality, Crusader's Mantle, Death Ward, Banishing Smite, Circle of Power, Destructive Wave, and Holy Weapon. The majority of those come fairly late, however, and they're nearly all buffs; the typical paladin simply can't operate on the same level as proper casters in most scenarios.
The real "bite" of a paladin's spell list typically comes from the oath spells, which can be pretty dang good; some of the best ones are Armor of Agathys, Bane, Hold Person/Monster, Misty Step, Spiritual Weapon, Counterspell, Fear, Haste, Hypnotic Pattern, Spirit Guardians, Freedom of Movement, and Wall of Force. That said, there is real competition between smites and spellcasting, so in most cases even the best paladin spells wind up being situational.
Ranger
Spellcasting Versatility
I'm sorry to say it, but as far as spell versatility goes, the ranger is straight-up bad. The key here is that the ranger is a "spells known" class, but is starved for spells known—fewer than a one-third caster!!!—and has the small spell list typical of a half caster. When choosing spells for a ranger, you need to make hard choices and sacrifices just to build an effective character; there is precious little room for incidental problem-solving. It's a shame, really.
Spellcasting Endurance
As with the paladin, the ranger can't rely only on spellcasting to solve problems. This stings especially hard for the ranger, as coming up with solutions to out-of-combat challenges is part of the appeal of being a ranger.
Spellcasting Quality
The ranger's spell list is more diverse than the paladin's, but that's not much help when the ranger can't prepare new spells each morning. As a result, most rangers tend to take the same few standouts, like Goodberry, Hunter's Mark, Zephyr Strike, Pass Without Trace, Spike Growth, Conjure Animals, Lightning Arrow, Freedom of Movement, Guardian of Nature, Conjure Volley, Steel Wind Strike, and Swift Quiver. Certain subclasses gain extra tricks (Disguise Self, Misty Step, Fear, Haste, Banishment, Greater Invisibility, and Hold Monster are quite useful), as well.
With a reasonably effective mixture of direct damage, AOE damage, buffs, utility, and control spells, the ranger does a bit better than a paladin as a spellcaster, but unlike an artificer, an individual ranger cannot take all of those roles at the same time.
Rogue (Arcane Trickster)
Spellcasting Versatility
The arcane trickster falls just behind of the eldritch knight (it has a slightly smaller spell list), but otherwise everything I said about the eldritch knight applies here. The arcane trickster's spells are particularly well-suited to expanding a rogue's options; don't think that a low versatility score means that the subclass is bad. It just means that the arcane trickster is unlikely to be relying on its spells alone to deal with unexpected problems.
Spellcasting Endurance
Other than the eldritch knight, the arcane trickster fails to outlast any other caster. Both one-third casters are in the same boat, here. You really feel the "one-third" part of being a one-third caster when playing either of these subclasses.
Spellcasting Quality
The arcane trickster suffers from the fundamental flaw of being a one-third caster, but unlike the eldritch knight, this subclass actually boasts significant synergy with the allowed spell schools. Enchantment and especially Illusion spells are actually quite useful for most rogues, and standouts like Disguise Self, Invisibility, Mirror Image, Shadow Blade will remain reliable bread-and-butter tools for an arcane trickster throughout an entire campaign.
Sorcerer
Spellcasting Versatility
At first glance, this rating might make the sorcerer look like it's a reasonably versatile spellcaster. And, well, you'd be right. It's not quite on the level of a bard (and can't really touch a cleric), but it's certainly better off than the warlock. The problem is that spellcasting is all the sorcerer has. The theory is that Metamagic is supposed to effectively multiply the size of the sorcerer's arsenal, but in practice I just don't see that happening. Metamagic versions of spells are still essentially the same as the original spell, just with a specific improvement in some manner that you can apply a few times per day. I can't rightfully count that as improved "spell versatility", given the limited number of Metamagic options that can be picked from and the crucial resource they expend.
All told, the sorcerer is pretty good in whatever wheelhouse the player built it for, but you're really forced to agonize over spell choices; problem-solving as a sorcerer mostly comes down to having a really good hammer and trying to make all your problems look like nails.
Spellcasting Versatility (Divine Soul)
The divine soul has a huge spell list. It's far larger than the druid's, instead rivaling the wizard's full spell list. This alone makes the divine soul far more versatile than the sorcerer, even beating out the bard (but not the lore bard), simply because of the sheer scale of choices available for character builds. Esoteric combinations of control, damage, healing, buffing, debuffing, and subterfuge are possible, but the divine soul still suffers from having relatively few spells known. Ultimately, only a couple of those roles can be seriously pursued with a given character.
Spellcasting Endurance
If you're spending Sorcery Points on Metamagic (like a sane person), the sorcerer's endurance is nothing to write home about. You have the bog standard set of spell slots for a full caster and basically nothing beyond that. Granted, quite a few classes wish they had even that much to play around with. On the other hand, if you think Metamagic is lame and you dump all of your Sorcery Points into creating extra spell slots, the sorcerer manages a blue rating here.
Becomes blue (sky blue if converting Sorcery Points to spell slots) if the sorcerer takes the Wish spell to be able to cast the Simulacrum spell at 17th level; doubled spell slots is busted.
Spellcasting Quality
The sorcerer's spell list comes second place to the wizard's. Second place would normally be pretty darn good, but the sorcerer is strapped for spells known, making it quite difficult to benefit from situational spells and utility spells. As a whole, the sorcerer's pool of "actually useful" spells is quite a bit smaller than one might hope, and to make matters worse, many of the really good spells on the wizard list (like Contingency and Simulacrum) were left out of the sorcerer list. Metamagic isn't quite the magic bullet a sorcerer player is probably hoping for, either. Sure, it helps, but it doesn't really make up for the severely limited number of choices. Heck, many of the spells that would greatly benefit from Metamagic are suspiciously missing from the sorcerer list…
Special mention must be made for the strategy of spamming spells by converting Sorcery Points to spell slots. It's a lossy conversion and you'll lose access to Metamagic, which doesn't help the rating. On the other hand, using the Sorcery Points mechanic to consolidate lower level spell slots into higher level ones (while potentially leaving some left for Metamagic), the nova sorcerer's unique ability to just go ham with consecutive enhanced high level spells in one glorious display of power is enough to earn a sky blue-gold rating. Just make sure you'll get to take a long rest afterwards.
Becomes blue-sky blue (gold if going full nova) if the sorcerer takes the Wish spell to be able to cast the Simulacrum spell at 17th level; doubled spellcasting per round is busted.
Spellcasting Quality (Divine Soul)
The divine soul's wider spell list includes several spells that greatly increase efficiency, and many of them work better with Metamagic than the standard sorcerer's spells, bumping the rating up. It should be mentioned that a spam-strategy divine soul drops to blue and a nova-strategy divine soul earns sky blue-gold.
Becomes sky blue (gold if going full nova) if the divine soul takes the Wish spell to be able to cast the Simulacrum spell at 17th level; doubled spellcasting per round is busted.
Warlock
Spellcasting Versatility
The warlock has a shockingly small spell list for a caster with access to 9th-level magic. The subclasses' expanded spell lists help, but it doesn't really make up the difference. The mechanics behind Mystic Arcanum don't help matters, since you have no freedom with regards to the level of spell you can pick or cast, so warlocks actually fall even further behind on spell versatility at tier 3 and beyond.
The only other way to add spells to a standard warlock's repertoire is a small handful of Eldritch Invocations that grant access to specific spells…helpful, but not quite enough to justify a higher rating. All told, warlocks are meant to make creative use of a limited set of tools, which they're good at doing because they can recover slots quickly and can acquire at-will versions of certain spells.
Spellcasting Endurance
While the warlock definitely has low points and high points throughout an adventuring career, on the whole they earn an average endurance rating. That's even if they ignore all the endurance-boosting Eldritch Invocations. The crux of the matter is the short rest spell recovery method. Yes, if you're doing ten minute adventuring days, the warlock won't find much endurance in combat, but I'd argue even in that case that the warlock can still spam their spells out of combat with impunity. On the whole, a proactive warlock player will get about three uses of each spell slot per long rest, on average, on adventuring days where endurance matters. This puts the warlock (with its base abilities) on par with the sorcerer's endurance.
Spellcasting Endurance (Book of Ancient Secrets)
For this rating, I'm assuming you get a steady source of new rituals every so often (using the pace described in the wizard's "scroll loot" section). I'll say it again: ritual casting is really good. Having a buffet of free 10-minute spells to use throughout the day will solve a lot of problems when adventuring.
A warlock with a stingy DM who doesn't offer rituals (or a tiny trickle) still earns a black-blue endurance rating, since those two rituals are likely to be strategically chosen to be the most advantageous to the warlock. If you somehow manage to get every ritual in the game, the rating changes to sky blue (yes, really).
Spellcasting Endurance (all at-will Eldritch Invocations)
There are quite a few at-will spells in the Warlock list. If you took all of them, even ignoring Book of Ancient Secrets, you'd wind up with top-class spellcasting endurance as a direct result. In practical scenarios, you won't actually take all of them, but even just a few would be enough for gold if combined with the hefty benefit of Book of Ancient Secrets ritual casting.
Spellcasting Quality
Where the warlock lacks (spellcasting) versatility and potentially lacks endurance, it certainly makes up for with pure quality. Up to 5th-level spells, every warlock spell is automatically cranked as high as it can go. The ability to be almost carefree with high-level spells would normally be an overwhelming advantage, but the warlock is held back from perfection by being forced to use a fairly limited spell list.
Some creativity is required to make the best use of two-to-four spell slots per short rest, and (nearly) anything that could potentially abuse the system is excluded. Standouts that scale with level include Armor of Agathys, Hellish Rebuke, Hex, Hold Person/Monster, Invisibility, Fly, Banishment, and Synaptic Static. Subclasses offer more variety, potentially changing the class's spellcasting dynamic entirely, but the expanded options still cost valuable spells known.
Wizard
Spellcasting Versatility (bare minimum)
The wizard has the largest spell list in the game and the ability to prepare spells every day, but there is a catch: the spellbook. A baseline wizard is essentially a hybrid "spells known" class that learns a relatively generous 44 spells, but can only prepare 25 of them at any given time (other than rituals, which are always available but don't really contribute enough to change the rating). Because of this, even a paladin has more spells to choose from on a day-to-day basis, significantly lessening the impact of the wizard's ability to memorize new spells every morning. All is not lost, however; even with an uncooperative DM, the wizard is second only to the druid in terms of day-to-day versatility. There are so many excellent spells to choose from that the restriction almost doesn't matter.
Spellcasting Versatility (scroll loot)
A wizard whose party randomly rolls for loot following the DMG guidelines, assuming that the wizard's player is able to ask the DM for a specific spell to be on the scroll (of a level between 1 and the highest the wizard can cast), scores a bit higher. All told, it's about 15 new spells added to the spellbook over the course of a 20-level adventure. Honestly, this is basically the least I would expect from a DM; wizard players generally want to find, purchase, and research new spells; random loot tables are just about the stingiest way of doing it. Even this relatively paltry amount is enough to push the wizard's versatility into sky blue territory, setting the scale.
Becomes sky blue-gold if the wizard takes the Simulacrum spell at 13th level; doubled spell preparation is busted.
Spellcasting Versatility (reasonable DM)
A DM (your mileage may vary) who offers more-or-less unrestricted access to new spells (such as looting other mages' spellbooks, going to an arcane library, etc.) pushes the wizard into crazy town. With all the benefits of a gigantic spell list and, ultimately, none of the spellbook's downsides, a truly well-equipped wizard is absolutely unbeatable when it comes to spellcasting versatility. Just about any problem that can be solved with magic will be solved by magic if the wizard has anything to say about it.
Spellcasting Endurance
Between Arcane Recovery and the eventual-but-potent Spell Mastery and Signature Spell features, the wizard is well-equipped to cast throughout the day. But then come the rituals. The wizard has the best ritual casting feature in the game (short of a particularly well-equipped tomelock), freeing the wizard of the need to actually prepare any of those juicy rituals. In practice, this means that a wizard can often get great mileage out of completely resource-free casting; the wide repertoire of rituals and instant access to the correct ones for any given situation will keep you going long after your slots run dry. For this reason, the wizard sets the bar for a sky blue rating.
Becomes gold+ if the wizard takes the Simulacrum spell at 13th level; doubled spell slots is busted.
Spellcasting Quality
The wizard has the best spell list in the game, and certainly isn't screwing around when it comes to putting those spells to use. A well-built, well-played wizard is a terrifying force to reckon with, thanks in no small part to top-tier spells like Find Familiar, Grease, Shield, Thunderwave, Flaming Sphere, (Greater) Invisibility, Levitate, Misty Step, Suggestion, Counterspell, Fear, Fireball, Fly, Haste, Hypnotic Pattern, Phantom Steed, Slow, Banishment, Dimension Door, Fire Shield, Polymorph, Animate Objects, Bigby's Hand, Wall of Force, Contingency, Globe of Invulnerability, Mass Suggestion, Forcecage, Plane Shift, Reverse Gravity, Simulacrum, Maze, Meteor Swarm, True Polymorph, and Wish.
Moreso than any other class in the game, there are vanishingly few things a wizard can't do with magic. There is a reason the wizard has the reputation of being the "ultimate spellcaster." In terms of traditional spellcasting, the wizard is simply unmatched; you need shenanigans like spamming high level spells or poaching the Simulacrum spell to skew the rating system enough to reach the wizard's level. The wizard easily sets the bar for a sky blue rating in this category.
Becomes gold if the wizard takes the Simulacrum spell at 13th level; doubled spellcasting per round is busted.