D&D Best Bard Subclass (All Bard Subclasses From Weakest To Strongest)

Updated:

11 Dec 2023

8. College of Spirits

Who doesn’t love a good ghost story? Bards from the College of Spirits know the best spooky tales and they come straight from the mouths of the spirits themselves. This is a unique subclass, but accessing their skills sometimes feels like using a randomizer.
Strengths: The variety of Spirit Tales available makes for surprise and interesting outcomes in combat. Being granted a new, temporary spell after a Spirit Session is definitely helpful, it can be used to pick up skills that the party is currently lacking.

Choose the College of Spirits if …

You’d like to gain the ability to talk to ghosts and spirits. They will tell you a story, but you can’t control which story they’re going to tell. You must roll in order to determine this. Not knowing what the outcome will be can certainly cause some anxiety in many players, but for those of you that appreciate a little surprise, it’s actually kinda fun.
At level six, during a long or short rest, you can channel spirits for insights. At the end of the ritual, you will temporarily learn a new spell of your choice from any class. Make sure to pick wisely, because the spell won’t be with you forever.
If you thought not being able to pick the tale you want was frustrating, you’re in luck once you hit level fourteen. Instead of rolling once, you get to roll twice and from those options you’ll be able to pick which story best suits the situation.

College of Spirits Details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/bard:spirits

7. College of Whispers

The College of Whispers, also known as the College of Mean Girls is the subclass you’ll want to choose if you prefer to destroy someone’s mental wellbeing as opposed to anything physical. They are great for gathering information and crushing the confidence of anyone they don’t like.
Strengths: They can take on the appearance of another, as well as gain any information that target may have.This is a highly valuable skill that no other bard subclass has. Those in the College of Whispers might not be the best in combat, but they can certainly support their team using a variety of different techniques.

Choose the College of Whispers if…

You’d like your weapons not only to cause physical damage, but psychic damage too. If you’re able to keep your bard alive and continue to level up, the psychic damage inflicted will increase as you hit certain level milestones.
This type of bard may be near useless in a dungeon or combat setting, but allow them to talk or perform in a public space for at least one minute, they can cause all sorts of havoc. A simple one minute conversation, about anything, can instantly become terrifying. Then at level fourteen, you’ll be able to convince anyone that you know their most damning or embarrassing secret. To keep you from telling the world, they'll basically do whatever it is you want them to. This is especially fun to do with other members of your party if you want to be extra annoying.
Ever accidentally (or purposely) kill someone in your campaign only to realize you didn’t get some important information from them? A level six bard from the College of Whispers will fix that -- sort of. They can’t bring the dead back to life, but they can steal the shadow of the dead person. This not only allows them to take on their appearance, but they’ll also have access to any memories or information the dead NPC may have.

College of Whispers details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/bard:whispers

6. College of Creation

Bards of the College of Creation know how to bring life into the world around them, including inanimate objects. They understand the ancient tales of creation better than those in any other college and are highly intelligent. They are best suited for a support role and if their skills are utilized correctly, they can be highly valued in any party.

Strengths: This is another bard subclass with most of its skills focusing on support. They have the ability to create non magical objects. They can also animate an object, which is not only fun, but can be used as an ally in battle situations.

Choose the College of Creation if…

You’d like to adapt the skills that come with learning the Song of Creation. This song will give you two skills. One is to create a mote that follows around a creature or party member who can then use one of your bardic inspirations. This will provide them an extra buffer for ability throws, attack throws, or saving throws.
The Song of Creation can also be used to create any non magical item, and you can only have one item created this way at a time. The size of the item you can create increases with certain level milestones.
If a bard from the College of Creation is lonely and has reached level six, they can bring to life an non magical object -- which can be quite horrifying. For one hour, this animated object will be your buddy and can even be used in battle.

College of Creation Details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/bard:creation

5. Collage of Swords

Songs and poems aren’t the only skills bards in the College of Swords can use, but they also have sword and knife skills that other bards aren’t interested in. The College of Swords is basically the Walmart brand version of the College of Valor, which it shares similar abilities with but with fewer options.
Strengths: These bards have quick reflexes and their versatile nature means not only can they act as support but they can participate in battles as well. With the use of their blade flourish ability, they gain an increase in their already elevated levels of speed.

Choose the College of Swords if...

You want to gain proficiency with medium armor and a scimitar. This will make you less floppy than other bards. You can also adapt a fighting style, either dueling or two weapon fighting. At level six, you’ll gain the ability to attack twice.
Once per turn, you’ll be able to use one of three blade flourishes. A defensive flourish, a slashing flourish, or a mobile flourish if you want to push your target back five feet.
Up until level fourteen, bardic inspiration is used for the flourishing ability but now it no longer will. Instead of using bardic inspiration, you can use a d6 instead.

College of Swords Details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/bard:swords

4. College of Glamor

If you have created an ugly bard, then this is the college you should join. Or if you have a beautiful bard, they will just get more and more stunning as they gain levels. The fey lend their powers to those from the College of Glamor but the lended skills are more useful for social situations rather than battle.
Strengths: If you know your campaign is going to be more roleplay heavy than dungeon heavy, this one of the best subclasses to choose. They can use their beauty to charm just about anyone in any situation and dish out Commands that benefit them.

Choose the College of Glamour if...

If you want the added power of the fey to charm others by using their blessings to make yourself beautiful. Pretty privilege really has its perks.
Watching a performance from a bard of the College of Glamor can be a dangerous choice. All it takes is a one minute show and a failed wisdom saving throw to convince everyone that’s listening to become your number one fan. They’ll do just about anything for you -- even fight and die for you but only if they are already willing to do so beforehand.
Mantle of Majesty and Unbreakable Majesty are two skills that come with the choice of this college. Mantle of Majesty is a skill from the fey that, when used, will charm others to want to serve you. You’ll also get the gift of using a Command as a bonus action for every turn. Don’t want your enemies messing up your beautiful face, even if it’s created by fey magic? With Unbreakable Majesty, you will redirect attacks from enemies away from you. Gotta keep that hair looking nice somehow,

College of Glamour Details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/bard:glamour

3. College of Eloquence

If you want your bard to be a cult leader, this is the college to join. They may not be great at fighting, but with their boosted skills in speech and persuasion, they’re able to convince others to do their dirty work for them.
Strengths: With the Silver Tongue skill and the Universal Language Skill, a major strength from the College of Eloquence is being able to persuade and deceive just about anyone, and in any language. Using their gift of speech, they can keep party members inspired even in tough battles.

Choose the College of Eloquence if...

You never want to roll less than a ten on Deception or Persuasion with your Silver Tongue skill. Roll a one, a three, a six? Well, no worries, it automatically becomes a ten.
This bard can influence a target with Unsettling Words into believing they’re incapable of doing something they’re usually good at. Using a sword? Running? Spellcasting? Reading? If the target doesn’t make the right rolls, they’ll suddenly feel uneasy about their skills.
At level six, Universal Language becomes available, this gives the ability to speak and understand any language for the duration of an hour. No matter the language barriers, you’ll be able to convince just about anyone to join your cult.
These bards can keep their party inspired by level fourteen with their Infectious Inspiration skill. This inspiration can be highly useful for rolls, throws, or checks for an advantage. With this skill, it’s obvious that this cult leader truly cares about their members.

College of Eloquence Details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/bard:eloquence

2. College of Lore

Joining the College of Lore is an excellent choice for those who want to excel in spell casting and gaining proficiency points at early levels. Due to their ability to learn a variety of different spells they are a highly valued member to any party.
Strengths: This subclass can do just about anything, their versatility is unmatchable. They are not only good for playing a support role but any other role as well. They can easily master most skills and push the party through harrowing situations.

Choose the College of Lore if...

You wish to use the skill the Cutting Words and gain three proficiency points to use on any skill. At level six, you can gain two added spells from any class.
A level four bard from the College of Lore will have a thick list of spells compared to other bards from other colleges. This is when Additional Magical Secrets can be obtained and this allows you to pick two additional spells that don’t have to be from the bard list. If you’re wanting your bard to have a few more spells that can cause physical, psychic, necrotic, basically any type of damage, now is the time to pick them.
Those from the College of Lore can relax a little more than others when it comes to ability checks. At level fourteen, these bards can use their bardic inspiration to add to the roll which can possibly save them from a grievous situation. They can also use their bardic inspiration to subtract from the saving throw made by an enemy.

College of Lore Details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/bard:lore

1. College of Valor

If you want a bard that can set someone on fire for one turn then stab them through the eyes the next, the College of Valor is your best choice. Not all, in fact most, bards aren’t suited for battle, but those from the College of Valor are. They can even give their bardic inspiration to other party members in need.
Strengths: Bards from the College of Valor are excellently balanced in physical skills and spellcasting skills. They can share their bardic inspiration with other party members which can come in handy in stressful situations. Their ability to strike twice in battle situations is a highly valued strength that not many of the other bard subclasses can perform.

Choose the College of Valor if...

You want to be a bard that is exceptional at both spellcasting and physical fighting. You gain bonus proficiencies in armors, shields, and weapons that are usually not available to other bards..
Sometimes it’s nice to watch your party members struggle in a battle, other times, it is not. If you’re in a situation where one of your teammates needs some extra help, you can give them your bardic inspiration. This can be used to add to their weapon damage or they use it to buff up their AC.
You ever want to smack an enemy twice? Of course you do. At level six, a bard from the College of Valor can gain the ability to attack twice. At level fourteen, you can use spellcasting and battle magic as one act. You can even make one weapon attack as a bonus action but only if you cast a bard spell.

College of Valor Details: http://dnd5e.wikidot.com/bard:valor