Players return to Pillars of Eternity 2 once again acting as the Watcher but up against the fierce God of Light Eothas. There are multiple factions seeking to take advantage of the chaos and the player is faced with tough choices and intense battles to decide the fate of it all in this RPG most gamers might have missed out on.
Which class you choose to adopt is an important decision as it gives you access to unique abilities and spells necessary for taking down opponents and keeping your team alive. Obviously any class if capable of beating the game, but there are some that have significant advantages over the others and some that pose a bit more of a challenge for players to take on.
11 Priest
Priests can be considered the worst class in the game because they are the hardest to wield. For the first seven levels you are subjected to weak abilities and mediocre spells. But even after you start tapping into more powerful options on level eight you will struggle to fulfill your most important role, party healer and buffer.
Once again, it’s viable if you want to beat the game, but you’ll have an uphill battle in the beginning and your abilities will be pretty underwhelming for most of the game.
10 Ranger
Rangers aren’t that great when it comes to damage dealing which is odd considering that’s the role they’re meant to fulfill. You’ll feel a bit of tug of war going on as your abilities lean towards offense and strangely defense, leaving you stuck in the middle and limited in fulfilling either task.
The pets can be helpful, but they can also be incredibly annoying and feel like a liability at times. Honestly it’s best if you leave Maia to fulfill this role and choose another class.
9 Cipher
Ciphers rank low because they are one of the hardest classes to master. Ring Leader is undoubtably a powerful spell and Recall Agony can deal with many bosses, but you’ll spend most of the game trying to figure out this class's quirky playstyle.
For the average player it’s best to utilize something simpler and leave Cipher for someone really willing to learn its ins and outs. It’s only strong if you absolutely know what you’re doing and enjoy crowd control and is incredibly weak if you can’t get the hang of it which will be the case for most players.
8 Druid
Druids are a little better at healing than Priests, but they suffer from horrific casting times for nearly every spell. You’ll be suffering constant interruptions and even when an insect spell gets through you’ll be left feeling like the hassle wasn’t worth it. This class feels poorly built for the game’s battle system.
There are better spellcasting classes with shorter casting times and Chanters make better healers/buffers anyway. It’s a jack-of-all trades that’s stretched too thin trying to fill multiple roles.
7 Paladin
When it comes to solo-classing Paladin’s are rather lackluster. Even multiclassing they act as meat shields with a lot of passives and not much to do other than take the hits and deal out whatever damage they can while their teammates get the job done.
It’s not a bad class and the reason they don’t rank lower is that Flames of Devotion is a strong ability. If you want something flashy and exciting then you shouldn’t be a Paladin, but if you have the personality type that doesn’t mind the passive role of keeping the enemy aggroed on you while you wait for teammates to take them out then go for it.
6 Fighter
Fighter is your middle of the road class that’s not particularly amazing at anything, but its not bad either. This is a very beginner friendly class as it’s simple to pick up and straight forward to play as. It’s also very handy for multiclassing as it’s strength's pair well with nearly every other class with very little downside.
Pick this class if you want to give yourself some extra durability or teeth, but the only reason you should solo class is if you’re starting out or want something simple.
5 Barbarian
Barbarian feels like a class that should be an AOE damage dealer, but it doesn’t really fulfill that role until you get Heart of Fury. It has some strong passives and a lot of buffs and abilities that make it a great single target hitter though.
The reason it ranks lower is that it lacks true AOE and crowd control, but it ranks higher for being great at dealing with troublesome or spongy targets.
4 Rogue
As a solo class Rogues are the best at single target damage and have great passives that complement their abilities to subdue and put down single opponent’s quickly. But for most of the game you’ll feel like Rogues were meant to be multiclassed which is why they don’t rank higher.
Multiclassing makes them very powerful and their abilities complement other classes well.
3 Chanter
Chanters are easily the best support class in the game thanks to infinite casting, strong buffs for the party, and powerful healing abilities. After playing this class you’ll wonder why you ever bothered with Priest or Druid.
It's also complemented by decent offensive spells that can serve you well when the party is buffed and healed and you’re left with nothing else to do. Honestly the main reason you pick this class aside from the support role is for the awesome summons.
2 Monk
Monks were much more powerful before the recent patches, but even then they rank high thanks to strong abilities and powerful buffs to damage. This class is meant to be in the thick of things and gets stronger as the battle gets more chaotic.
If you want a melee fighter that can wade into battle and come out stronger pick this class. Solo classing or multiclassing doesn’t matter as it does both very well.
1 Wizard
This is arguably the strongest class in the game right now and is primed for nerfs in upcoming patches so enjoy it while you can. It ranks number one thanks to a variety of spells that can have you deal incredible damage, control the flow of battle, or even step in as a temporary tank now and then.
Evoker subclass makes you the best damage dealer in the game and multiclassing with anything makes this already strong class even stronger. The only thing a wizard can’t do is heal allies, but when you’re raining hellfire on your enemies and obliterating entire squads it hardly matters.