The Barbarian is a popular martial class in Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition, a firm favourite of players new and long-term. It distinguishes itself from the Fighter through its Rage and a focus on extreme durability over all else.

Unlike many other D&D 5e classes, the Barbarian only gets a certain amount of power from its base features. In particular, its raw damage potential is heavily dependent on subclass. So too is any utility or tanking capacity beyond ‘being tough and having Reckless Attack.’

To get the most out of your character, it’s important to choose from the best Barbarian subclasses in D&D 5e. Fortunately, the class’s archetypes are so broad and wide-ranging that there’s something for almost anyone – and it’s not like many of the weaker subclasses are unusable.

Path of the Giant is a Raw Combat Powerhouse

Path of the Giant is the newest Barbarian subclass in D&D 5e, found in Bigby Presents: Glory of Giants. Unlike many other Barbarian subclasses, the Path of the Giant offers almost nothing in terms of utility or further durability.

Instead, the Path of the Giant is one of the best D&D 5e Barbarian subclasses for raw damage. It also has the unique feature of being every bit as effective at range as it is up close.

At first, the Path of the Giant Barbarian only becomes slightly better with thrown weapons, as well as growing Large while raging.

Its sixth-level Elemental Cleaver feature is when it starts to stand out as a top-tier Barbarian subclass in D&D 5e. It grants an extra d6 damage to attacks with one weapon, changes its damage to one of the elemental types, and gives any weapon the ability to be thrown up to 20 feet (or 60 feet with disadvantage) and then return to the Barbarian’s hand.

From sixth-level onwards, the D&D 5e Path of the Giant Barbarian is an enormous, battlefield-blocking combatant who can throw a flaming greatsword at their enemies twice per turn for excellent damage. Many of these benefits still apply to melee – with added reach and vast size letting a character strike almost anywhere.

The Path of the Giant Barbarian does also get combat utility. As a bonus action, it can throw one creature up to thirty feet. On allies, this is a damage-free way to transport them, invaluable in many different circumstances. On enemies, this is a way to make them take falling damage (and ideally throw them into some environmental hazard).

Level 14 arguably pushes the Path of the Giant to the single best Barbarian subclass in D&D 5e by giving attacks an extra 2d6 damage total. With an ally who can cast Enlarge/Reduce, it also lets a Barbarian become Gargantuan and match even a Tarrasque in size.

Path of the Totem Warrior Gives Modular Value

Path of the Totem Warrior isn’t just a powerful Barbarian subclass in D&D 5e. It’s also one of the most customisable character types in the game.

At most subclass feature levels, the D&D 5e Path of the Totem Warrior gets to choose from five different options, each representing a different animal. The game encourages you to be consistent, but there nothing to stop a player mixing and matching to their heart’s content.

The Bear Totem encourages tanking and the Wolf Totem often empowers allies, making them the most popular choices for the Path of the Totem Warrior Barbarian in D&D 5e.

However, the subclass is so good because of how customisable it is. You can take the near-total damage resistances of the Bear or the advantage for allies of the Wolf, and mix them with the Tiger’s skill proficiencies and the Eagle’s limited flight.

Almost endless combinations are available, depending on what sort of campaign you’re in. Path of the Totem Warrior is often the best D&D 5e Barbarian subclass for utility, wilderness exploration, shrugging off harm, or whatever combination of these traits you want.

It also provides some more general utility outside of its Totem Spirit. Spirit Seeker and Spirit Walker both provide some ritual spells – far outside the D&D 5e Barbarian’s usual wheelhouse. These won’t always be invaluable, but it’s still excellent to get some specialist features that aren’t about killing.

Path of the Beast Has No Poor Choices

The Path of the Beast is another of the best Barbarian subclasses in D&D 5e for players who like customisation. However, it has one significant standout: none of its choices are permanent.

Almost every one of D&D 5e Path of the Beast Barbarian’s features has more than one mode. However, the player chooses which one per rage, per short rest, or simply whenever they use them. You can adjust yourself to fit almost any situation.

Form of the Beast starts the Path of the Beast Barbarian out strong with three good choices. Bite’s self-heal is limited, but every point healed effectively counts as two with the right damage resistances. Claws maximise Rage Damage Bonus with extra attacks while keeping the bonus action free. The Tail is more of a utility choice that gives Reach and bonus Armour Class. All can be used with a shield.

Aside from the required magical damage, Bestial Soul mostly contains flavourful abilities. However, these still provide plenty of utility if you choose the right one. If you choose the wrong one, it’s only a short rest to solve the problem.

The D&D 5e Beast Barbarian can just do 2d12 bonus damage on attacks at higher levels. Alternatively, it can force enemies to attack each other. Aside from entertainment value and bonus damage, this is a fantastic way to waste enemy reactions.

Aside from its excellent physical capabilities, the Path of the Beast is one of the best D&D 5e Barbarian subclasses for party support. A d6 extra damage to allies per turn may not seem like much, but it adds up. This is especially true after you increase your Constitution modifier to prodigious amounts.

Path of the Ancestral Guardian is Among the Game’s Best Tanks

The Path of the Ancestral Guardian is an unusual D&D 5e Barbarian subclass in that it has almost no bonus damage features. It remains as dangerous as the average Barbarian. Instead, it is one of the best tank subclasses in all of D&D 5e.

Ancestral Protectors effectively shuts down one enemy per turn from harming your allies. When you hit your first creature per turn, it gets disadvantage to attack anyone but you. Even better, any other target has Resistance to that damage.

Even on a human level, very few D&D 5e DMs want to spend an attack being unlikely to hit and dealing poor damage if they do. Most Barbarian subclasses in D&D 5e are merely durable. The Ancestral Guardian gets a good way to put that Durability to work.

Aside from that, it’s also the best Barbarian subclass in D&D 5e for party support. Spirit Shield has no per-day limits on its use and can soak up a vast amount of damage. At high levels, it can also deal an extra 4d6 damage per turn to enemies who insist on harming your allies.

The Ancestral Guardian Barbarian in D&D 5e won’t be the best damage dealer. However, it will prevent or reduce several times that difference in damage, potentially saving more fragile party members from death many times over.

On top of that, it gets some reasonable utility spellcasting in Consult the Spirits. It’s not something a Cleric or Wizard can’t replicate, but still stands out in a utility-strapped class.

There’s another entertaining way to build a D&D 5e Ancestral Guardian Barbarian. Use the Mobile feat or a Swashbuckler subclass (or a bow and arrow) to hit enemies and move away. The result is a debuffer that weakens enemy attacks rather than taking hits for the team. It’s gimmicky but very entertaining.

These have been the four best Barbarian subclasses in D&D 5e. Few of the other options are bad, but these stand head-and-shoulders above the rest in power, utility, or tanking ability.

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For more tips on building D&D 5e Barbarians, check out ‘The Best Barbarian Races and Lineages in D&D 5e‘.

If you want to check out more martial subclasses, then ‘The Best Fighter Subclasses in D&D 5e‘ is probably for you.