At level six, Abjuration Wizards get the ability "Projected Ward," which allows them to spend points from their Arcane Ward to reduce the damage a nearby ally takes from an attack. At level 10, Abjuration Wizards get "Improved Abjuration," which allows them to increase the potency of their arcane ward when they take a short rest. After a short rest, their Arcane Ward's intensity is increased by an amount equal to their Wizard level. This can give them a decent amount of extra HP to work with when protecting themselves and their allies.
Players seeking out a particularly powerful helmet should take the time to fight Grym at the Adamantine Forge during Act 1 or Act 2, acquiring the Grymskull Helmet in the process. As the only Heavy Helm in the entire game, the Grymskull Helmet provides immunity to critical hits, resistance to fire damage, and the ability to cast Hunter's Mark once per long rest.
Players looking to strengthen their defenses further should instead grab the Bonespike set, consisting of the "Bonespike Helmet", "Bonespike Garb", "Bonespike Gloves", and "Bonespike Boots." These generate temporary hit points, boost AC, allow attacks to ignore physical resistances, and add a chance for raging to cause psychic damage to nearby foes.
Elemental Damage sets are also quite effective on a Giant Barbarian due to their Elemental Cleaver ability, with the Gloves of Belligerent Skies and/or Boots of Stormy Clamour being a particularly valuable option if you favor thunder or lightning damage. You could also equip Winter's Clutches, the Snowburst Ring, and/or the Coldbrim Hat to freeze your foes solid. Another option is to utilize the Thermoarcanic Gloves, Cinder Shoes, and Ring of Self Immolation in a heat setup, and throw on the Cindermoth Cloak to burn enemies that damage you.
The Circle of Stars Druid pairs very nicely with the Light Domain Cleric, taking advantage of Warding Flare to avoid incoming attacks and Radiance of the Dawn to fire off a Radiant Damage AOE. Mixing in two levels of Fighter for Action Surge and access to a wider range of weapons and armor is also a great option, allowing you to cast multiple spells in a single turn.
Insight is mostly useful for dialogues and telling NPC's true intentions, but doesn't come up terribly often. If you already have Insight covered by your background, opt for Arcane or History, whichever suits your character more.
Players will lose out on Arcane Recovery slots, but lose very few other benefits of both classes. Clerics rely on Wisdom to cast, however, which can lead to competition between Wisdom and samantha Beart Intelligence at every ability score improvement opportunity.
This subclass also immediately grants the Druid the Guidance Cantrip and the Guiding Bolt Spell. Guiding Bolt is always prepared, and the Druid can expend a special resource called "Star Maps" to cast it without using a spell slot. They initially receive two Star Maps per long rest. At fifth level, the Circle of Stars Druid gets an additional Star Map per long rest. At sixth level, they gain three "Cosmic Omens" per long rest. These can be spent to add 1d6 to their own attack rolls or saving throws, subtract 1d6 from an enemy's attack roll or saving throw, or add 1d6 to an ability check made by the Druid or an ally within 1.5m/5ft.
At level 5, the Oath of Ancients grants "Misty Step" and "Moonbeam" as additional prepared spells, allowing them to teleport as a bonus action and conjure a damaging beam from above that can be repositioned on later turns. Level 7 grants them the "Aura of Warding," causing them to take half-damage from spells and letting them extend that protection to any ally within 3m.
At Level 3, Oathbreakers gain two additional Channel Oath Abilities, Control Undead and Dreadful Aspect. Control Undead allows Oathbreakers to gain control over an undead creature, allowing them to gain a temporary ally if the creature fails a Wisdom Saving Throw. Dreadful Aspect allows them to create a pulse that frightens nearby enemies that fail a Wisdom Saving Throw. They also gain the spells "Hellish Rebuke" and " Inflict Wounds " as additional prepared spells, allowing them to counterattack with fire and deal necrotic damage at a distance.
Oath of Vengeance Paladins will break their oath if they take actions that show mercy for the wicked or go against the greater good. An example of this would be raiding the Emerald Grove alongside the Goblins during Act 1.
At Level 1, the best two Expertise choices are Stealth and Persuasion, as these play well into the Rogue's strengths in sneaky combat and dialogue checks. Later down the line, players can pick up Insight and Sleight of Hand at Level 6, though players who don't do much pickpocketing may find that Deception is a more useful skill to gain Expertise in here.
When it comes to multiclassing, the Evocation School benefits greatly from Sorcerer levels to gain access to Metamagic. Quickened Spells and Twin Spells can do wonders for damage output, while Silent Spell can allow spellcasting even when silenced. Distant Spell can also be helpful for striking enemies from well out of their range. As with many Wizard Subclasses, access to armor from Cleric or Fighter levels can also be very useful, with the former also offering access to a wider range of spells while the latter's Action Surge can help the Wizard unleash more spells in a turn.
