Rank the level 20 feats

[Whit]

Each subclass of a class has a lvl 20 ability
Which ones are good and which ones are not.

[ProsecutorGodot]

Are you referring to subclass capstone abilities? Not every subclass has one at level 20. Wizard's, for example, give their final subclass ability at level 14. It would be hard to compare them between eachother at a relative power level because the level ranges are fairly large between some. I believe Paladin are the only ones with their level 20 abilities tied directly to their subclass, all of them pretty good.

If you mean level 20 base class abilities; Artificer, Barbarian, Cleric, Druid and Wizard have good ones. The rest are "decent", typically being a quick way for the class to regain their expended resources, Sorcerer's probably having the worst version of this. Ranger's however have a pretty terrible one, very little redeeming it other than "it's a very small amount of extra damage sometimes".

[micahaphone]

If we're talking any "you get this at level 20" ability, clerics get a 100% chance to call on their god. technically DM dependent, but as long as you're asking for something that's roughly within your god's wheelhouse, you get god power. It's like Wish, but without the drawbacks and a 1 week cooldown.

[Darc_Vader]

Under the assumption you mean in general what a class gets at 20 then:

Spoiler: Artificer - Soul of Artifice

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A potential +6 to all saves on top of up to 6 charges of what is essentially a slightly worse Relentless Endurance. One of the largest defensive boosts you could ask for out of a feature.
Rank: A+ -> A

Spoiler: Barbarian - Primal Champion

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One of the only ways to break the stat cap without magic items. A +2 to basically everything you want to do, including the (admittedly slim) potential to get your ac up to 24 with a mundane shield and an additional 40hp.
Edit: also unlimited Rages means you can freely use those as out of combat strength check boosters without worrying about wasting the rage, Very potent on Zealots who become near unkillable in combat
Rank: A

Spoiler: Bard - Superior Inspiration

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You already get all of your inspirations back on a short rest, and one use isn’t a lot.
Rank: D

Spoiler: Cleric - Divine Intervention Improvement

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Busted as all get out, somewhat limited by the 7 day cooldown. Still arguably the strongest level 20 feature.
Edit: Actually quite situational, and the range of potential effects is hugely variable, not actually sure this is consistently rankable since so much of it is in the hands of the DM
Rank: S -> ?

Spoiler: Druid - Archdruid

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Virtually unlimited hp pool and also permanent subtle spell. The only level 20 ability I might rank over Cleric’s, since you will be using these constantly.
Edit: Significantly more powerful on Moon Druids, but still quite good on other subclasses
Rank: A

Spoiler: Fighter - Extra Attack 3

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Similar to Barbarian, a solid boost to what you’re likely going to be doing. Slightly worse in that it only affects combat.
Rank: B

Spoiler: Monk - Perfect Self

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Better than Bard, since you get 4 uses of Stunning Strike/Flurry of Blows/etc compared to Bard’s 1, and Monks can burn through their Ki very quickly if they want to.
Rank: C

Spoiler: Paladin - Oath Feature

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Much harder to rank since it’s not just one feature, but all the transformations are generally good.
Rank: B+ (somewhere between B and A depending on Subclass)

Spoiler: Ranger - Foe Slayer

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...Bad, it’s just bad. Adding your Wis mod to a)the Attack OR Damage roll, b)ONCE a turn, c)only on your own turn, so no boosting opportunity attacks, d)only on our favoured foes. You could remove all of those restrictions and it still would fall short of most other level 20 abilities.
Rank: F

Spoiler: Rogue - Stroke of Luck

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Kind of limited, since you only get 1 a rest, but the ability is very helpful for those crucial, can’t afford to fail checks. Probably better off saving it for those over a missed attack roll, but with the damage an attack from a rogue can do it’s not a bad option.
Rank: B

Spoiler: Sorcerer - Sorcerous Restoration

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Similar to Monks; it’s a long rest resource recharging on a short rest, compared to a short rest regenning on initiative, but it doesn’t require you to be right out. You also aren’t likely to get as much out of 4sp as a Monk would out of 4 ki.
Rank: C

Spoiler: Warlock - Eldritch Master

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Once a long rest you can cast a safer, more efficient Catnap that doesn’t let you spend hit dice. Would be much worse if by this point that wasn’t giving you back 4 5th level slots.
Rank: A -> B

Spoiler: Wizard - Signature Spells

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2 extra prepared slots and 2 free (limited) 3rd level spells every short rest. I actually didn’t realize you got a cast/short rest until I read the ability again just now, so it’s actually a lot stronger than I thought. Still weaker than Spell Mastery, but still a good ability.
Rank: A -> B

Spoiler: Original Rankings

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S: Cleric, Druid
A+: Artificer
A: Barbarian, Warlock, Wizard
B+: Paladin
B: Fighter, Rogue
C: Monk, Sorcerer
D: Bard
F: Ranger

Updated Ranking:
A: Artificer, Barbarian, Druid
B+: Paladin
B: Fighter, Rogue, Warlock, Wizard
C: Monk, Sorcerer
D: Bard
F: Ranger

Other: Cleric

Side question: does anyone else find it strange that every class but one gets a base class feature at 20? Why break the trend for Paladin and Paladin only?

[Nidgit]

Overall Rankings:
S: Cleric, Druid
A+: Artificer
A: Barbarian, Warlock, Wizard
B+: Paladin
B: Fighter, Rogue
C: Monk, Sorcerer
D: Bard
F: Ranger


Side question: does anyone else find it strange that every class but one gets a base class feature at 20? Why break the trend for Paladin and Paladin only?

I mostly agree with this, but for a few points:
Cleric's capstone is kind of difficult to rate, due to its infrequency. It's fairly balanced due to the time restriction, but it also means you'll get to use it maybe once in a character's play.

The Druid's capstone is incredible for Moon Druid's, but it's merely quite good for non-Moon Druid's who get much less benefit from Wildshape. Permanent Subtle Spell and unlimited Wildshaping are still excellent but they lose a lot of their combat utility compared to Moon Druid.

I think I'd rate the Wizard capstone as a B and Warlock as B-. As you alluded to, unlimited castings of one 1st and 2nd level spell are great for defense whereas 3rd level spells have more limited applications. 3rd level damage spells aren't worth a lot at 20th level, you typically have better things to be concentrating on than something like Haste or Hypnotic Pattern, and a 3rd level Counterspell has a pretty decent chance of being foiled. It's not quite as good as it looks at first glance.

As for the Warlock, taking a minute to regain spell slots still means it's an out-of-combat ability. It frees up your limited spellcasting for maybe one combat, but very few groups have more than two combats per short rest. Not bad by any means, but not nearly as broadly useful as the Barbarian's capstone.

As for the unique Paladin capstones, I have no idea why they're the only ones with subclass-specific capstones. It's something I'd definitely like to see more of though, particularly for classes that don't get Tier 4 subclass abilities, like the Ranger or Warlock.

[Amechra]

Darc_Vader, you missed something in your (otherwise comprehensive) look at class capstones. Namely, Barbarians get unlimited daily uses of Rage at 20th level in addition to getting +4 to Str and Con.

[Eldariel]

Druid feature is certainly worth noting in that a Moon Druid gets completely disproportionate benefits from it compared to every other kind (though it's good for everyone), since it builds upon a class feature heavily changed by the subclass. That's about the only case where the subclass makes a significant difference in the capstone aside from Pally though.

Darc_Vader, you missed something in your (otherwise comprehensive) look at class capstones. Namely, Barbarians get unlimited daily uses of Rage at 20th level in addition to getting +4 to Str and Con.

Yeah, that's worth noting with subclasses that affect Rage, especially Zealot.

[Composer99]

Dunno if they really count, but honourable mention to the 7th level spell slot that bards, clerics, druids, sorcerers, and wizards get.

[Yakk]

Ranger being favored foe only is the big suck.

Without it, it is 60%-80% as good as fighter extra attack. (At 18 wis, it is 20% chance per attack to turn a miss into a hit; with 3 attacks (XBE or DW), that is a 40%-50% chance of an extra hit. Fighters extra attack is a hit% chance of a hit. 60-80 because sometimes rangers get 2 attacks not 3, and hit chances over 50% are common at level 20).

[Chronos]

I think that there's a tendency to inflate the power of the cleric's divine intervention. Yes, the intervention can be almost anything... but the cleric doesn't choose what it is, and it says that the effect of a cleric spell is about right. So it lets you do something that you could have done yourself, anyway. It's still valuable, in that it gives you the right spell for the situation, even if you hadn't prepared it, and it's in addition to your regular allotment of spells. But it's not a guaranteed win-button like some seem to treat it as.

[Naanomi]

I think that there's a tendency to inflate the power of the cleric's divine intervention. Yes, the intervention can be almost anything... but the cleric doesn't choose what it is, and it says that the effect of a cleric spell is about right. So it lets you do something that you could have done yourself, anyway. It's still valuable, in that it gives you the right spell for the situation, even if you hadn't prepared it, and it's in addition to your regular allotment of spells. But it's not a guaranteed win-button like some seem to treat it as.

I agree, at many tables it is basically just a Wish spell... now, a 9th level spell and spell slot to cast it in once a week is good, but not campaign shattering

[KorvinStarmast]

Re: Rank the level 20 feats

They are class features, not feats. Words have some specific meanings within the context of this edition of the game. Could you pleae edit your title to match what those are: The level 20 features, or, easier to say, the Capstone Features? Thanks.
(The topic itself is an interesting one, to be sure, if one believes that their character may get to level 20).

Overall Rankings:
Side question: does anyone else find it strange that every class but one gets a base class feature at 20? Why break the trend for Paladin and Paladin only?

Mostly concur with your summary.

Namely, Barbarians get unlimited daily uses of Rage at 20th level in addition to getting +4 to Str and Con.

heh, yeah, that's handy.

Ranger being favored foe only is the big suck.

Yeah.

I agree, at many tables it is basically just a Wish spell... now, a 9th level spell and spell slot to cast it in once a week is good, but not campaign shattering

It's still pretty great.

[heavyfuel]

I agree, at many tables it is basically just a Wish spell... now, a 9th level spell and spell slot to cast it in once a week is good, but not campaign shattering

Only it doesn't cost you your 9th level slot. A Wizard can cast a single Wish per day, which locks them out of other powerful spells such as Gate. The Cleric can "cast" their "Wish" AND their 9th level spell of choice.

It's effectively "Once per week you can have two 9th level spell slots" which is truly amazing for when push comes to shove (which I assume is the situation you're at when you reach level 20)

[Misterwhisper]

The Cleric capstone needs to be much more defined.

Things I have personally seen "Intervention" used for by the DM:

- Get back all spell slots of level 1-5
- Full heal for the group
- Gave the whole group the effect of getting a short rest.
- Get back their 9th level spell slot
- The army they were leading all gained magic weapons (This was done on the saturday before something similar happened on GoT the next night, very funny)
- The God themself shows up to help in the fight for a few rounds.
- The next enemy to make a save, auto fails.

It is just all over the place. Some versions can just straight up end a whole major encounter, others are just kind of ok.

[Darc_Vader]

I mostly agree with this, but for a few points:
Cleric's capstone is kind of difficult to rate, due to its infrequency. It's fairly balanced due to the time restriction, but it also means you'll get to use it maybe once in a character's play.

(+everyone else, it would just be a bit excessive to quote everyone)
It has a high potential, but I think you're all pretty much right in that it's rather inconsistent and hard to know how powerful a use of this feature could be. By RAW it can range anywhere from a 1st level Healing Word up to a True Resurrection

I think I'd rate the Wizard capstone as a B and Warlock as B-. As you alluded to, unlimited castings of one 1st and 2nd level spell are great for defense whereas 3rd level spells have more limited applications. 3rd level damage spells aren't worth a lot at 20th level, you typically have better things to be concentrating on than something like Haste or Hypnotic Pattern, and a 3rd level Counterspell has a pretty decent chance of being foiled. It's not quite as good as it looks at first glance.

As for the Warlock, taking a minute to regain spell slots still means it's an out-of-combat ability. It frees up your limited spellcasting for maybe one combat, but very few groups have more than two combats per short rest. Not bad by any means, but not nearly as broadly useful as the Barbarian's capstone.

I think in the case of Wizards, I might just be overrating how much better it is than I originally thought it was due to the short rest thing. There are still some 3rds that not having to prepare is useful (Fly comes to mind immediately), but you're right that most of the concentration spells are less valuable at that level. Warlocks I just overlooked that it's once a long rest when actually ranking it

Darc_Vader, you missed something in your (otherwise comprehensive) look at class capstones. Namely, Barbarians get unlimited daily uses of Rage at 20th level in addition to getting +4 to Str and Con.

Yeah, I definitely missed that, that'll teach me to only look at the 'features' column.

Druid feature is certainly worth noting in that a Moon Druid gets completely disproportionate benefits from it compared to every other kind (though it's good for everyone), since it builds upon a class feature heavily changed by the subclass. That's about the only case where the subclass makes a significant difference in the capstone aside from Pally though.

The Druid's capstone is incredible for Moon Druid's, but it's merely quite good for non-Moon Druid's who get much less benefit from Wildshape. Permanent Subtle Spell and unlimited Wildshaping are still excellent but they lose a lot of their combat utility compared to Moon Druid.

Definitely a fair assessment; I'd still argue that it's good enough for S though. Unlimited at-will non-concentration flight is pretty good.

As for the unique Paladin capstones, I have no idea why they're the only ones with subclass-specific capstones. It's something I'd definitely like to see more of though, particularly for classes that don't get Tier 4 subclass abilities, like the Ranger or Warlock.

You could literally just staple on a 20th level feature to Ranger subclasses without even touching Foe Slayer and it would probably be fine.

Edit: updated original post

[Yakk]

You could literally just staple on a 20th level feature to Ranger subclasses without even touching Foe Slayer and it would probably be fine.

Or class feature variants ranger: their level 1 feature lets them mark wis mod creatures per day as their foe.

But really, try this:

You gain a +wis bonus to attack rolls and damage rolls against your favored enemies.

That isn't OP, and points out how bad the existing feature is.

[Wizard_Lizard]

Also note on divine intervention, technically it depends on which god your cleric is under. e.g, Bahamut could probably accomplish a bit more than say.. Laogzhed.
Had a bad experience where a character was captured underground and a divine intervention from Pelor couldn't get them back. Because.. drow have antimagic fields and super good godproof defences and it's lolth's domain?

[micahaphone]

Also note on divine intervention, technically it depends on which god your cleric is under. e.g, Bahamut could probably accomplish a bit more than say.. Laogzhed.
Had a bad experience where a character was captured underground and a divine intervention from Pelor couldn't get them back. Because.. drow have antimagic fields and super good godproof defences and it's lolth's domain?

I really wanna hear that DM explain why your clerical magic worked at all in the underdark then.


I think Divine Intervention is stronger than Wish, but you need to suit your request to match your diety. Don't ask a Life god to smite a whole army, maybe ask them to grant all your allies incredible regeneration. Tempest domain? Oh, it's smitin' time

[LudicSavant]

My ranking would probably look something like:

S: Artificer, Moon Druid
A: Warlock, Druid, Fighter, Wizard, Barbarian
A or B: Paladin (depends on subclass), Cleric (depends on DM)
C: Rogue
D: Sorcerer, Monk
E: Bard, Ranger

[Wizard_Lizard]

I really wanna hear that DM explain why your clerical magic worked at all in the underdark then.


I think Divine Intervention is stronger than Wish, but you need to suit your request to match your diety. Don't ask a Life god to smite a whole army, maybe ask them to grant all your allies incredible regeneration. Tempest domain? Oh, it's smitin' time

Hah I was the dead player. This was online and I’m 90% certain the dm had it out for my pc. The cleric didn’t actually go into the underdark but that would’ve been interesting. It’s fine now tho... after over half a year real time the dm finally let my pc stop being continuously tortured and he died. Therefore allowing his clone spell to come into play and I got them back.