Which D&D 5e class scales hardest from level 1 to 20 in BattleCast?

Barbarian had the largest level 1 to level 20 gain in the monster-ladder benchmark, rising from a 7.0 score at level 1 to 99.7 at level 20.

Which D&D 5e class was strongest at level 20 in the simulation?

Barbarian finished first at level 20 with a 99.7 power score and 18 of 18 encounters at 80%+ win rate. Sorcerer, Fighter, Warlock, and Rogue followed.

How was the D&D class power score calculated?

Power Score is 100 times the challenge-weighted average win rate across an 18-encounter monster ladder. Harder encounters count more than easy encounters.

Is this a D&D 5e campaign class ranking?

No. The article is a combat benchmark using BattleCast 2024 class models, fixed builds, smart tactics, and one fresh fight at a time. Campaign utility, spell preparation, magic items, subclasses, and player creativity can change the answer.

2026-06-20 by Bartosz Jedrzejewski

D&D 5e Class Power Curve: Who Scales Hardest from Level 1 to 20?

D&D 5e class power curve tested from level 1 to 20: 12 classes, 504K simulations, monster ladder scores, PvP side data, and scaling analysis.