Quote Originally Posted by Dark.Revenant View Post
WORST

Bard: College of Valor
This college might be mechanically sound for a generalist support caster, but it's not good at doing what it should be doing: making you a valorous martial combatant. Your damage is pathetic, you have hardly any spells that assist with melee in any way, you become really MAD... and you have to juggle instruments, shields, and weapons! Now that I think about it, that last part is actually on-theme for a bard...
It's not particularly MAD unless you're trying to maximize both weapon and magic at the same time, when most Valor bards will likely just leave their attacking Stat (DEX) at 16. Keep in mind that Valor doesn't necessarily mandate you play in melee. Ranged Valor Bards are fairly common.

Also even with just a 14 or 16 in DEX, Weapon Attacks are 100% a large boost for Bard's at-will damage output for Tiers I and II, which is one of the Bard's biggest flaws. Even if you ignore using weapons altogether Medium Armor + Shields is a god damned enormous boost to survivability, and Combat Inspiration is criminally underrated. It makes your inspiration far more versatile in the hands of your allies, since they can use it to raise their Attack or Damage Roll as part of an attack or their AC in reaction to an attack.


Quote Originally Posted by Dark.Revenant View Post
Cleric: Grave Domain
This is definitely the worst-written subclass in the otherwise very strong list of subclasses that clerics have access to. Between the awful domain spell list, the awkward abilities, and the dissociative failure of game design that is Sentinel at Death's Door, this is a clear loser to me.
I don't necessarily disagree with this assessment (although I'd argue Trickery Domain fails harder at capturing it's fantasy), could you explain what you mean by "dissociative failure of game design" that is Sentinel at Death's Door? The damage prevention it affords can be gamechanging.

Also, I don't know what's awkward about their abilities unless you play in a very low-lethality campaign where you never get to use features such as Circle of Mortality.

Quote Originally Posted by Dark.Revenant View Post
Druid: Circle of the Land
People always compare Moon to Land to show why Moon is so good. It's the other way around: Moon is there to make Land look bad. Why? You've nothing exceptional to do with your bonus action and your subclass features after 2nd level are uninspired, situational, or just plain awful. The other subclasses give you cool features that you'll use all the time, making Land feel totally left-out.
Land has the most lackluster features but it's plum the BEST pure spellcaster druid. Natural Recovery is just amazing and the expanded spell lists that don't require preparation massively improves the Druid's versatility with how many spells they have available and access to new, amazing spells such as Haste, Lightning Bolt, Invisibility / Greater Invisibility, Mirror Image, Misty Step, etc.

Their class features are lackluster, but not useless. Their level 6 feature actually has great synergy with two of the druid's absolute best spells, Plant Growth and Spike Growth. As for bonus actions, Druid's don't necessarily need MORE to do with their bonus action with great spells that make use of it such as Healing Word, Flaming Sphere, Dust Devil, Gust of Wind, Heat Metal, etc.

Quote Originally Posted by Dark.Revenant View Post
Sorcerer: Draconic Bloodline
Reasonably effective, but boring. None of your features until 14th level are at all dynamic or interesting, no matter how mechanically useful they are. And I'd argue they're not even that mechanically useful. Have you seen the crazy **** the other sorcerers can do by 6th level?! People like this subclass purely because it has the word "Dragon" in it. Here's a hint: you can be a dragon-blooded sorcerer of any of the other, more interesting subclasses.
Draconic Sorcerers get Free Mage Armor and their sixth level feature is a fantastic boost to damage output. A +4-5 to damage rolls is often a 20% damage boost for spells, and Fire Sorcerers (or other damage types if your DM is flexible) have the best at-will damage of any sorcerer with boosted Fire Bolt, Fireball and Wall of Fire. Lighting Draconic are also solid with Shocking Grasp, Lighting Bolt, Stormy Sphere, etc.

I think the claim people only like this subclass because it has the word "Dragon" in it disingenuous. It is mechanically solid and flavorful, and you don't need to spend Sorcery Points to make use of their features.