The Elven Ranger. The Dwarf Fighter. The Half-Orc Barbarian. The Halfling Rogue. Anyone who has played Dungeons & Dragons for long enough starts to see certain race/class combos come up time and again. But how popular are they really?
Now we know.
In August, Wizards of the Coast introduced D&D Beyond, a new online tool that compiles the game’s 5th Edition rules together in one place and allows users to easily create characters online. Best of all, much of the content is totally free, so lots of people have already signed up.
Lucky for us, Wizards of the Coast and Curse, the developer of D&D Beyond, decided to share their first month’s worth of data with FiveThirtyEight. They analyzed the race/class combos to see which are popular and which are rare. While many of the classic combos are indeed chosen frequently, there are a few surprises.
Humans are the most popular race by far, accounting for just over a quarter of all characters created on D&D Beyond, likely because of that sweet +1 to all ability scores Humans get in 5th Edition. Human Fighters make up almost 1/5 of that, or about 5% of all characters.
At the other end, the least popular race/class combo is the Aasimar Ranger, representing 0.06% of all characters. Not terribly shocking, since the Aasimar’s divine heritage makes them better suited for Paladins (0.43%) or Clerics (0.27%).
For long-time D&D players, the biggest revelation might be the popularity of the long-overlooked Half-Elf, who made up more than 10% of all characters, behind only Humans and Elves. Also of note: their most popular class combo is the Half-Elf Bard (1.8%), a good fit for the race’s +2 Charisma bonus.
The data shows some classic combos have fallen. The Rogue is now only the fourth most popular class for the infernal Tieflings, who now lean heavily toward Warlocks (2.2%) and Sorcerors (1.1%). Gnome Bards are far less popular than Gnome Wizards (Illusionists, perhaps?) (1.4%) and Rogues (0.6%). And that classic tank of yore, the Dwarf Fighter, is now a close second (2.0%) to the Cleric (2.2%).
On the other hand, some iconic combinations remain popular, including the Elf Ranger (3.1%), the Half-Orc Barbarian (1.7%), and the Halfling Rogue (1.8%). The more things change, the more they stay the same.
How does your favorite race/class combo stack up? Is it among the most popular, or is as rare as a Half-Orc Sorceror? Let us know in the comments!
Images: Wizards of the Coast
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