The Cleric in Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition maintains its status as one of the best classes in the game. While not as omnipotent as some earlier versions, the D&D 5e Cleric is a versatile and powerful base class and spellcaster.

Even better, the Cleric’s subclasses in D&D 5e aren’t as limited as other spellcasters like Wizards. They offer ten or more new spells, entire changes in playstyle, and powerful features indispensable to any party.

Even the worst Cleric options result in a thoroughly competent character. However, the best Cleric subclasses in D&D 5e add game-changing features onto a powerful chassis, creating a top-tier divine spellcaster and invaluable party member in most roles.

Even better, different D&D 5e Cleric builds excel in different areas, covering almost every aspect of the game. The class can flex into any role with the right choice of subclass – with many clear standouts for players who want the best Cleric in D&D 5e.

Forge Domain Is Almost Unbreakable

The Forge Domain isn’t the flashiest or most exciting Cleric subclass in D&D 5e. Most of its features revolve around physical resilience or utility over killing swathes of enemies or buffing the entire party at once.

This isn’t the same as being weak, however.

The D&D 5e Forge Domain Cleric’s practical, effective abilities make for an invaluable support character who enemies will find themselves struggling to kill.

At its most basic, the Forge Domain makes for a top-tier D&D 5e Cleric tank build. Heavy armour, a +1 bonus to Armor Class (that can become +2), Resistance (later Immunity) to Fire damage, and Resistance to non-magical Bludgeoning, Slashing, and Piercing make for a terrifyingly durable Cleric.

You can take on dragons, armies, and more without flinching. Add in powerful D&D 5e Cleric spells like Spirit Guardians or Bless, and enemies can choose to ignore you and let you cast with impunity, or waste their attacks on a tough character who can heal themselves.

This is reinforced by the D&D 5e Forge Cleric’s spell list. It combines ready utility in spells like Identify and Creation, with top-notch combat options like Wall of Fire and Animate Objects. It pushes the Cleric even further as a versatile, dangerous spellcaster.

Then there’s the D&D 5e Forge Domain Cleric’s utility. Blessing of the Forge may seem low-key. However, it means the party are never without magic weapons. It’s a +1 bonus to the party’s most dangerous combatant regardless of the loot available. Alternatively, it can boost a high-AC character to untouchable levels with a +1 Armor Class bonus. Every day.

Artisan’s Blessing is a more situational Cleric Channel Divinity in D&D 5e. However, it means the party never have to be without any metal goods they can afford – even in campaigns where plate armour might be scarce. Its stated ability to replicate things like keys can also more than pay for itself.

Your D&D 5e Cleric build will be lower-key in power with the Forge Domain. However, you’ll be an unbreakable party lynchpin with versatile magic, the perfect tools for tricky situations, and a ridiculous level of toughness.

Light Domain Vaporises Groups of Enemies

If there’s one weakness in the D&D 5e Cleric’s spell list (and there isn’t, really), it’s a lack of cheap area-of-effect damage options. The Cleric lags behind in fire-and-forget spells to blast foes with. Wizards and Sorcerers fare better in that department.

The Light Domain Cleric laughs at this restriction. Its bonus spell list is choice after choice of high-power, area-of-effect damage spells, coupled with some that branch out. Burning Hands is the best area-of-effect spell at lower levels, and then Fireball becomes one of D&D 5e‘s damage mainstays throughout much of the rest of the game.

Outside of raw damage – which is impressive – the D&D 5e Light Cleric’s spell list can branch out. Faerie Fire is invaluable against invisible foes and welcome advantage against anyone else. Wall of Fire is the perfect spell to break up the battlefield, reinforce a defensive line, or simply force enemies to burn to get close to the party.

Flame Strike is the only dud, and that’s purely because it’s Flame Strike.

It’s the damaging spell list that really makes the Light Domain one of the best Cleric subclasses in D&D 5e, but that’s not all it has going for it.

Warding Flare and Improved Flare are good choices if you’re not making regular use of your reaction. Saving yourself from attacks is good. Forcing rerolls against squishy allies like Wizards is well worth a limited-use feature. Make sure to save it for big hits from dangerous foes.

Potent Spellcasting cements Light Domain as the best D&D 5e Cleric subclass for spell damage. Devastate enemy groups with Fireball and then pick off the survivors with a boosted Toll the Dead.

Corona of Light’s action cost is expensive, but it’s worth it. Disadvantage on saving throws against Fire and Radiant spells (read: nearly all your damage spells) helps your damage skyrocket.

If you’re going up against Red Dragons or Devils, leave the Light Cleric at home. For most other campaigns, however, it’s a top-tier Cleric build for damage.

Life Domain Is D&D 5e’s Best Healer by Some Margin

Healing in D&D 5e is often a thankless job. No build can really compete with damage output (to prevent combat from stretching on forever), and it uses resources that could otherwise be spent killing bad guys.

The Life Domain Cleric is one of the few subclass options in D&D 5e that makes healing a worthwhile main focus, rather than a panic-button way to stop allies from dying.

Disciple of Life sounds excellent and plays even better. A minimum of three extra hit points on healing spells (often more like five or six) makes all the difference. It’s good on a Healing Word, sure, but it really shines with more lasting heals. Aura of Vitality effectively replaces a Short Rest when it restores an extra 30 hit points on top of 12d6.

Famously, the D&D 5e Life Doman Cleric can restore 40 hit points with Goodberry instead of 10. Exploits like that got “One roll of a healing spell” added to similar features later down the line.

Blessed Healer lets a Life Cleric restore their own hit points while healing other creatures – ideal for a combat medic who spends time on the front lines. Supreme Healer effectively breaks D&D 5e‘s damage economy at high levels by turbocharging everything the Cleric does.

No other healer build in D&D 5e can come close to matching the Life Domain Cleric in sheer hit points output. Its spell list is unfortunately Cleric-heavy, but few parties will complain about always having access to Bless and Mass Cure Wounds.

Heavy armour and Divine Strike help keep the Life Domain Cleric combat-viable on top of all that. It’s a middling combatant, sure, but the best Cleric subclass in D&D 5e for helping your allies live to fight another day.

Order Domain Gets Better with the Right Party Composition

The Order Domain Cleric subclass in D&D 5e takes an unusual approach to support. It’s clearly meant to bolster the party, rather than work as a one-man unit. However, its features focus on helping the party destroy enemies with attacks, rather than providing healing or defensive buffs.

Voice of Authority is the signature ability of a D&D 5e Cleric of the Order Domain. When they cast a levelled spell on an ally, that creature can make a weapon attack with their reaction. If they cast on multiple allies, they choose one to strike.

This is good with pretty much any D&D 5e party. Nobody is going to complain about more attacks. However, it excels with allies who can do ridiculous damage with a single strike or those with rider effects on hits. Rogues, Paladins, Barbarians, Wild Shaped D&D 5e Moon Druids, and Battle Master Fighters are an Order Domain Cleric’s best friend.

This isn’t difficult to land in melee, given how much of D&D 5e combat is up-close and ugly. It also works with ranged attacks, assuming the ally is properly equipped.

The Order Domain Cleric also bolsters allies’ attacks through its Order’s Wrath feature. Its Divine Strike gains a unique buff that makes the target take 2d8 extra damage from the next attack that hits. This happens every turn, which strangely encourages a Cleric build with no martial weapon proficiencies to fight without spells.

Even with this slightly strange tendency, there are other reasons to play an Order Cleric in D&D 5e. It turns Enchantment spells into bonus actions, letting you juggle attacks and cantrips with spells like Bless, Command and Hold Person.

You will rarely take centre stage with an Order Domain Cleric build. However, few D&D 5e Cleric subclasses boost your allies to devastate foes half as well.

Twilight Domain Trivialises Most Damage

The Twilight Domain Cleric in D&D 5e is one of two Cleric subclasses that makes most DMs shiver. While its reputation largely comes from one specific ability, it would be stellar even without it.

From the off, the D&D 5e Twilight Cleric gets a good spell list, martial weapons and heavy armour, souped-up Darkvision (to a ridiculous degree) the entire party can share, and at-will advantage on Initiative for you and allies.

It’s a grab-bag of strange features, particularly for a vaguely supportive subclass. However, its Channel Divinity reinforces its focus and brings it into true infamy as one of D&D 5e‘s most overpowered builds.

Twilight Sanctuary, the D&D 5e Twilight Domain Cleric’s Channel Divinity, is truly awe-inspiring. For a minute, the Cleric can grant every ally within 30 feet a vast number of temporary hit points, or relief from the Frightened or Charmed Conditions.

Every turn. With no Concentration. And no spell slots spent.

Twilight Sanctuary makes it near-impossible to leave lasting damage on a party member without every enemy focusing fire. Even then, it’s a ridiculous durability buff. On the off-chance enemies use status effects, it shuts two of the most prevalent down as well.

There’s almost no way to shut Twilight Sanctuary off short of downing the Cleric. And, as it’s a Channel Divinity, it eventually makes the entire party near-unkillable three times per short rest.

It gives half-cover at the highest levels, and that’s just insult to injury.

The Twilight Cleric’s other notable feature is on-demand flight several times per day in dark or dim light. Fortunately, this only applies to underground, outside at night, reasonable shade, and any dungeon the party might poke their noses into.

Peace Domain Risks Being Too Overpowered

The Peace Domain Cleric isn’t as up-front OP as the D&D 5e Twilight Cleric. It doesn’t have a showy, DM-despairing ability that overtly trivialises many parts of the game. Instead, the D&D 5e Peace Cleric is OP in much more subtle ways.

Emboldening Bond appears to be reasonable as a class feature, even when later levels boost it further. However, it’s enough to make any experienced DM blanch.

Apart from anything else, it lets you break D&D 5e‘s maths with low-level spells. Flat bonuses are deliberately limited by Bounded Accuracy. Layering Emboldening Bond with Bless is a vast bonus to attack rolls and saving throws that makes it very, very difficult to fail.

Protective Bond eventually lets the entire party spread damage among themselves as long as they remain close by. Although it doesn’t negate damage like the Twilight Cleric, it effectively makes it impossible to down an individual member of a well-organised party without putting them all at death’s door.

A particularly canny party can abuse Protective Bond, particularly when Expansive Bond boosts the range. Suddenly, anyone can teleport to another party member with very minimal cost, just by having that party member punch themselves in the face.

This is a cheesy way to use this D&D 5e Cleric ability, yes, but the wording is lax enough to allow it. Most other abilities, particularly those that include teleporting, have far more strict limitations.

In case it was too reasonable, the Peace Domain Cleric can also heal the entire party for better-than-Cure-Wounds at the cost of a Channel Divinity (so, three times per short rest).

The fact it lacks heavy armour is only the saving grace. Even then, it’s easy to see why people consider the D&D 5e Peace Domain Cleric overpowered alongside the Twilight Domain.

These have been six of the best Cleric subclasses in D&D 5e, ranging from solid Cleric builds to terrifyingly powerful force multipliers for the party. Whatever you want to do, do it in style with one of these options.

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‘The Best Cleric Races in D&D 5e‘ helps you make your Cleric build even more powerful.

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