Even now, the Sorcerer is the black sheep of Dungeons & Dragons Fifth Edition spellcasters. It’s still immensely powerful in the right hands (being a D&D 5e spellcaster), but it struggles in ways most of its ilk don’t.

The D&D 5e Sorcerer’s drawbacks are well-known. Its spell selection is sharply limited, pigeon-holing individual Sorcerers into specific roles with little flexibility. Furthermore, Metamagic has to pull double duty on replenishing spell slots and enhancing their magic- something most Wizards can manage with different resource pools.

On top of that, no D&D 5e class has subclasses as imbalanced as the Sorcerer’s. The designers responded to complaints with overloaded subclasses in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything – without adjusting the more reasonable choices in older books.

As a result, your choice of D&D 5e Sorcerer subclass matters more than for any other class in the game. You can make a perfectly functional character with any, but the cream of the crop are far and away the best.

Clockwork Soul Fixes the Sorcerer’s Problems

Sorcerers suffer from their low spells known and a surprisingly limited spell list. As a D&D 5e Sorcerer subclass in Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything, the Clockwork Soul tackles both problems with a vengeance.

Unlike earlier subclasses, it comes with a bonus list of ten additional spells from the Sorcerer spell list and others. This almost doubles the D&D 5e Sorcerer’s spells known with a respectable selection of defensive and supportive spells.

Even better, these choices are not fixed. On a level-up, the player can replace D&D 5e Clockwork Soul Sorcerer bonus spells. Their replacement isn’t even limited by class, with the Wizard, Sorcerer, and Warlock spell lists all available – but limited to Transmutation or Abjuration spells.

This is far more variety than most Sorcerer subclasses in D&D 5e get, even with the limitations. Combined with Metamagic, the result is a spellcaster that combines both specialisation and versatility, rather than being straitjacketed by twelve spells at 11th level (at which point, most Wizards are choosing between sixteen spells per day).

On top of that, the D&D 5e Clockwork Soul Sorcerer stacks reliable, enjoyable, and powerful class features. Restore Balance cancels out advantage or disadvantage on any d20 roll you can see proficiency bonus times per day.

Want to shut down an enemy’s Magic Resistance so an ally’s spell can land? Restore Balance. Desperately need an exhausted party member to succeed on an ability check? Restore Balance. Trying to protect an unconscious ally from melee attacks? Believe it or not, also Restore Balance.

Bastion of Law is a less impressive D&D 5e Sorcerer subclass feature, but it’s far from useless. 1d8 damage reduction per Sorcery Point spent on the ward is a poor trade-off, but it’s a rare way to reduce damage. Use it on Concentrating allies or those with other means of damage reduction for best effect.

Trance of Order effectively makes a D&D 5e Sorcerer unable to fail Concentration checks. With a minimum of ten on the roll, plus Proficiency, it eventually takes over thirty points of damage minimum to even risk it.

While Clockwork Cavalcade’s flavour is a little wonky, it’s a powerful support effect that, particularly in terms of healing, is very rare for the Sorcerer in D&D 5e.

Ultimately, the Clockwork Soul’s subclass features – other than its spell list – might pale compared to standouts in other classes. However, they add up to a more than satisfying whole that is boosted by how much freedom and value it adds to the base Sorcerer class.

Divine Soul Has Unparalleled Flexibility – At a Price

The Divine Soul is the only one of D&D 5e‘s best Sorcerer subclasses that doesn’t come from Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything. It lacks the immense quality-of-life features that are standard in that book, most notably an oversized number of spells known.

D&D 5e Divine Soul Sorcerers have to make do with a tiny spell selection, getting a grand total of one bonus spell. Worse, they have to make so many more difficult choices because they have two spell lists to choose from.

Uniquely among any subclass, the Divine Soul D&D 5e Sorcerer subclass can take any number of spells they like from both the Sorcerer and Cleric spell lists. This is a ridiculous boost that unlocks any number of powerful builds.

A Divine Soul Sorcerer is one of D&D 5e‘s best healer builds and buffers due to divine and arcane options that no other class can combine. However, the unique possibilities also suit damage, utility, debuffs, and far more. You can focus on any bit of magic you like with a totality no other character can match.

The other Divine Soul Sorcerer subclass features in D&D 5e also pull their weight. Favored by the Gods lets you maintain Concentration, hit with a high-cost spell attack, or avoid horrific spells even when the d20 turns against you.

Empowered Healing might be wasted for characters with few healing spells, but the fact it’s basically a Metamagic that can work on allies’ spells is well worth paying attention to.

Angelic Form is a fantastic D&D 5e Sorcerer subclass feature. It’s free flight, with no drawbacks or limitations. It takes a bonus action to manifest, but there’s no cost to doing so at the beginning of the day and having your wings forever. Flight is an excellent ability, and still a game-changer when you get it free fourteen levels in.

Unearthly Recovery is somewhat limited, but not to unusable levels. Unless you get blasted from almost full to unconscious in a single turn, you’ll find time to use it. The action cost to heal can bite – but less so when you remember that Quicken Spell exists.

Overall, the Divine Soul Sorcerer is one of the best D&D 5e Sorcerer subclasses for its unparalleled potential. It can’t do as much at once as its other competitors for the best Sorcerer build, but nothing in the game can match it in the areas a player wants to excel at.

Aberrant Mind Goes from Strength to Strength

With most classes, there’s some debate as to whether there’s a single subclass that is the very best. With the D&D 5e Sorcerer, that debate doesn’t exist. Few people can deny the sheer strength of the Aberrant Mind Sorcerer.

Obviously, it carries forward Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything‘s habit of ramping up spells known. It gives eleven bonus spells. The list is impressive, with a focus on battlefield control and utility spells like Dissonant Whispers, Hunger of Hadar, Sending, and Telekinesis.

Again, the D&D 5e Clockwork Soul Sorcerer has the option to replace them with limited choices from the Sorcerer, Warlock, or Wizard spell lists. Its options of Divination or Enchantment aren’t necessarily better than the Clockwork Soul’s, but they open up different doors.

On top of that, the 6th-level Psionic Spells feature cements the Aberrant Soul as the best D&D 5e Sorcerer subclass for spellcasting, something you’d expect the entire class to be good at. You can cast the bonus spells using Sorcery Points instead of spell slots (at a much better rate than replenishing spell slots). If you do, they lose Verbal, Somatic, or (non-consumed) Material components, becoming impossible to Counterspell.

Telepathic Speech is absurd utility for a first-level feature. Even if it can only target one creature at a time, it gives a silent way to communicate at (potentially great) distance. It also has no limits on its use besides the one-creature limit.

Revelation in Flesh, aside from its awesome and horrific name, is a flexible bonus action transformation that any D&D 5e Sorcerer subclass would want the benefits of. Seeing invisible creatures and flying are its most reliable options, but they all have their uses.

Warping Implosion and Psychic Defenses stand out as the D&D 5e Aberrant Mind Sorcerer subclass’s least powerful features. Even then, they’re far from weak. Advantage on saving throws against common conditions, Resistance to Psychic damage, and the ability to teleport while blasting nearby creatures are all ideal in the right circumstances.

Psionic Spells is the feature that cements the Aberrant Mind as the best D&D 5e Sorcerer subclass. However, it’s far from its only virtue. Every single feature has its time and place to shine, with many of them emphasising flexibility or reliability. Oh, and you can cast more spells, from a bigger list, more often and in a harder-to-stop way. Every other Sorcerer build in D&D 5e struggles to compete.

These have been the three D&D 5e Sorcerer subclasses that stand head-and-shoulders above the rest as the best. You can make a perfectly viable character with any subclass, but these three give you a better starting point.

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If you’re committed to creating the best D&D 5e Sorcerer build, then ‘The Best Sorcerer Races in D&D 5e‘ is for you.

Alternatively, those with more results-oriented character-building goals might prefer ‘How to Deal the Most Damage with Every DnD 5e Class‘.