Dwarves are hardy creatures used to war and lawfulness, often becoming faithful Clerics, battle-crazed Barbarians, holy warrior Paladins, or tinkering Artificers.
Most Dwarves walk these paths, but are they indeed the right paths, and are these classes that fit better when playing a Dwarf?
Best Classes for Dwarves
5. Paladin
Primary Ability Scores – Charisma and Strength
Secondary Ability Score – Constitution
Spellcasting Ability – Charisma
Armor Proficiencies – Light, Medium, Heavy, Shields
Weapons Proficiencies – Simple, Martial
Why the Paladin?
Paladins are all about tanking damage, and both Mountain and Hill Dwarves give you an even greater edge.
Dwarves have innate durability, like their high Constitution (2) and Dwarven Resilience.
Recommended Subclasses
- Oath of Vengeance for offensive capability or support.
- Oath of Ancients for durability.
4. Ranger
Primary Ability Score – Dexterity
Secondary Ability Scores – Constitution, Wisdom
Spellcasting Ability – Wisdom
Armor Proficiencies – Light, Medium, Shields
Weapons Proficiencies – Simple, Martial
Why the Ranger?
Both Mountain and Hill Dwarves are excellent candidates if you’re looking to become a Ranger.
Playing as a Hill Dwarf allows you to increase all your most crucial ability scores, and depending on how you build it, you can become effective in melee or at range. Your increased HP will also complement the low AC compared to the Paladin or Fighter classes.
The Mountain Dwarf could also be used for a Strength-based build if you wished, but most of the features, like the armor proficiencies, are already available to you as a Ranger, so you’ll perform the best as a Hill Dwarf.
Recommended Subclasses
- Beast Master gives you a pet and has a lot of versatility.
- Monster Slayer has both damage output and durability.
3. Druid
Primary Ability Score – Wisdom
Secondary Ability Scores – Constitution, Dexterity
Spellcasting Ability – Wisdom
Armor Proficiencies – Light, Medium, Shields (Druids won’t use shields or wear armor made from metal)
Weapons Proficiencies – Spears, Slings, Sickles, Scimitars, Quarterstaffs, Maces, Javelins, Darts, Daggers, Clubs
Why the Druid?
Hill Dwarves make perfect Druids, having increased HP, Wisdom (1), and Constitution (2).
Traditionally, Druids have terrible durability and often find themselves in melee due to their wide range of abilities. Playing as a standard or a Hill Dwarf fixes this issue and lets you survive longer than most Druids ever could.
You should also consider that you’ll have Dwarven Resilience, giving you advantage on saves against Poison and resistance against Poison, which is one of the most used damage types in D&D 5e.
Recommended Subclasses
- Circle of the Moon for damage output and durability.
- Circle of the Shepherd for support.
2. Barbarian
Primary Ability Score – Strength
Secondary Ability Scores – Constitution, Dexterity to a lesser extent
Armor Proficiencies – Light, Medium, Shields
Weapons Proficiencies – Simple, Martial
Why the Barbarian?
Mountain Dwarf Barbarians not only have increased Strength (2) and Constitution (2), but they also allow you to start with insane base ability scores (15 STR, 15 CON, 14 DEX).
That means once you get to the 4th level, you’ll be able to get your Constitution and Strength up to 18, which will probably make you the strongest in your party if you aren’t already.
Barbarians are already quite durable, so you’ll only benefit from having Dwarven Resilience, and Fast Movement will take care of your slower base walking speed.
Recommended Subclasses
- Berserker Path for its damage and its hot-headed Dwarven playstyle (it’s a pity that this subclass isn’t that good)
- Totem Warrior Path is for unrivaled customization and versatility.
1. Cleric
Primary Ability Score – Wisdom
Secondary Ability Scores – Constitution
Spellcasting Ability – Wisdom
Armor Proficiencies – Light, Medium, Shields
Weapons Proficiencies – Simple
Why the Cleric?
Dwarf Clerics thrive because Dwarves are so naturally durable, often having the difficult role of playing both Defender and Healer.
You could further improve your Dwarf by choosing the Hill subrace and obtaining a Wisdom (1) increase, making it the best subrace for a Cleric to take.
Recommended Subclasses
- Forge Domain for durability, offense, and spellcasting focus.
- Life Domain for a support or healer playstyle.
Final Thoughts
The information mentioned above gives any player who wants to pick up a Dwarf the optimal classes.
The difficult part falls with you, as you’ll have to take this class and build a character capable of dominating any game you play!