D&D in 2020 now includes a whole roster of classes that players can choose from, in stark contrast to the first editions of D&D. That said, in this article, we are going to show you the D&D classes that are most popular, and more. Note that all of the data we gathered for this guide is from a series of development updates videos from the folks at D&D Beyond.
The Most Popular D&D Main Classes Picked In 2020
First up on the list is the most popular D&D sub and main classes.
Fighter
Fighters take the spot as being the most popular main class in 2020, with 13% of all players selecting them. Its position as the most popular class is most likely due to the fact that fighter has been one of the main character classes in the tabletop title since the first edition of D&D. As a side note, this result has also spilled over into the games based on D&D. According to player data from Baldur’s Gate 3, they generally pick Fighters as well. People sure like playing as Fighters don’t they? It honestly should be that surprising as it’s a class that is easy to play and is favored by new players for its basic combat systems. In terms of subclasses, players who played fighter picked Champion the most, probably for its improved critical and additional fighting style.
Rogue
Second up and fast approaching is the Rogue class, with 11% of players selecting this class. Its place is not surprising, because like with the Fighter class, it has also been in D&D since the beginning. Also, who doesn’t love a dashing Rogue who steals literally everything that is not nailed down? Now for subclasses, the most popular out of all of them have been in the following categories; Sorcerer, Bard, and Ranger. The first place for subclasses is a tie between both the Sorcerer’s Draconic Bloodline and the Bard’s College of Lore, with both classes scoring a 59% selection rate. In third place, we have the Ranger’s Hunter subclass securing its spot with 58%. It’s very intriguing to see what players are choosing the most in D&D, and it speaks volumes to the appeal of these said classes. Let’s now move on to what D&D fans have been picking for feats and backgrounds in 2020.
The Most Popular D&D Feats And Backgrounds Picked In 2020
According to the data, people love having characters with the Warcaster feat, or a background as a Spy/Criminal. The Criminal/Spy selection part is not surprising as we already learned people love picking Thieves, following Fighters. The Warcaster, however, is an interesting choice and is most likely picked because it allows Mage users to cast spells in the midst of combat.
The Most Popular Party Composition Players Picked In 2020
In the final part of our article we will go over what players chose the most for four types of party compositions; parties of three, four, five, and six.
Starting off with the first two, if you check the image above, you will see for the first and second slots under party of three, the following compositions below made the top slots.
Cleric, Fighter, Rager 0.52 Barbarian, Cleric, Rouge 0.51
These results are interesting, as it is your “classic” party comp of a Fighter, Healer, and Magic-user. Then under party of four, this carries over to take up both the second and first slots.
Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Sorcerer Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard
Once again, players seem to favor the classic party compositions of old with both the four and three-party slots. Keep reading as you will soon find out that the more members a party has, the more likely it is to include newer class types. This trend is especially evident when we get to parties that consist of five or six characters. See the image below for the relevant data. For both the top slots of parties of five and six, we see the same classic Fighter, Healer, and Magic-user being present with additional classes such as Warlock and Paladin. It’s also worth pointing out that people seem to like Barbarian in category six as it’s picked as the first-class four times in a row. Overall, the data from D&D Beyond is very interesting and sheds light on what players are enjoying playing as in 2020. Who knows how this data will change in the upcoming years. Will the Fighter class maintain its position as the most popular? Will a new class overthrow it? Time will only tell, and luckily the fine folks over at D&D Beyond release this data once a year, so in a few months we will have some new data to show you.
