Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 JS20 Jan 23, 2015 1:41:12	Throughout the 4 decades of D&D, every new edition brings revamps to classes, etc. Which classes do you think are the top 3 most popular classes that get rolled by characters every time a new edition releases?   Ranger? Fighter? Cleric? Wizard?   Basically, if you could somehow take a census of all D&D players around the world, which three classes would top the "Favorite" lists of the most players?
#2 Shasarak Jan 23, 2015 1:48:45	Fighter and Wizard are the top.
#3 Zardnaar Jan 23, 2015 2:15:58	Fighter, Rogue/Thief and Cleric for us. Wizards are kinda rare.   Personal favourites are the Ranger and Druid.
#4 Zardnaar Jan 23, 2015 2:16:14	Fighter, Rogue/Thief and Cleric for us. Wizards are kinda rare.   Personal favourites are the Ranger and Druid.
#5 arderkrag Jan 23, 2015 3:28:46	Fighter and Wizard at the top, followed by thief...er...rogue.
#6 lawrencehoy Jan 23, 2015 3:47:10	Ranger, Psionicist, and Cavalier have always been my favorites.
#7 Vahnyu Jan 23, 2015 4:51:23	Monk, monk, and monk... peh, I wish.   Bard, Ranger, and Paladin, in no order.
#8 Kazadvorn Jan 23, 2015 5:51:41	In the distant past, the Wizard was the most popular character in the OD&D days. In many, if not most games that I played back in the 70's, fighters were rare... that role was most often filled by hired NPC men-at-arms. The Cleric had to be second... Fighter and Thief a distant third and fourth.   I think that in every edition with the exception of 4e, Classes that had SOME type of spellcasting ability were preferred over fully mundane classes. Most folks who wanted to play a 'fighter' would go with either a Paladin, for a melee type figher or a Ranger for a ranged fighter. Barbarians were also popular... more so than the standard Fighter.
#9 CCS Jan 23, 2015 8:36:21	Fighter & Wizard have to take the top two spots. After that it's probably the Cleric - if only because of the pervasive myth that you HAD to have a healer.
(Reply to #9) Ranthalan	CCS wrote:
#11 alienux Jan 23, 2015 9:45:00	Usually fighter and wizard with groups I've played with, although I always first roll up a rogue.
#12 Devils-Advocate Jan 23, 2015 10:17:21	I feel like there was a poll about exactly this during the playtest. IIRC, Wizard topped the charts with Fighter a close second, and everything else was pretty far behind. I think Cleric was next, but it may have been Rogue. Either way, those two were a distant third and fourth, and it was a close call between them. Past that I don't really remember.
#13 Rastapopoulos Jan 23, 2015 12:20:13	From my own experience and all the people I've played D&D with in these past 20+ years (which includes OD&D, 1e, 2e, 3e, 3.5, 5e and spin-offs and retroclones):   1- Fighter   That one is unarguable. It is the most played class by far and the one that seems to please players the most no matter what version of D&D. I would say around  50% to 60% of all D&D characters I've seen being played in my time were fighters. Everything else comes way far behind. But to pinpoint a second and third place anyway... I would say:   2- Thief / Rogue   3- Cleric
#14 Rastapopoulos Jan 23, 2015 12:23:46
#15 ankiyavon Jan 23, 2015 13:15:42	I mean, the only reason people really have different lists for this is because you said three instead of four. The top four most popular classes, across all players and all editions, are Fighter/Cleric/Wizard/Thief.  There are two reasons for this.   One, these are the iconic classes.  They are the simplest in concept and the easiest for new players to understand.    Two, these are possibly the only classes that appear in every single PHB.  If you're playing D&D, no matter which edition or with which books, you have access to the core four as options.  (They might be named Fighting Man and Magic-User, but they're still Fighter and Wizard.)
#16 Orethalion Jan 23, 2015 13:33:03	In my group, it goes fighter, cleric, wizard and then paladin.  Rogue pulls up the fifth spot.
#17 masterfat78 Jan 23, 2015 14:10:22	This has varied depending on the group I was DM/playing with. One group I played with in the late 90s/early 2000s was all about thieves/rogues. You couldnt get them to play mages at all. I never saw anyone play a druid until 3rd edition came around. I would usually play clerics or fighter/clerics in the old editions, although I do love a good gnome illusionist/rogue.
(Reply to #12) Ashrym	Devils-Advocate wrote:
#19 JS20 Jan 23, 2015 20:42:06	I'm a little surpirsed Ranger hasn't been mentioned very much, what with Lord of the Rings and Drizzt being so popular.
#20 Devils-Advocate Jan 23, 2015 21:01:00	Ashrym wrote:
(Reply to #20) Ashrym	Devils-Advocate wrote:
#22 BRJN Jan 26, 2015 19:20:56	I liked playing an Elf (the class, not the race).  You got to be a Fighter and a Magic-User both at once.   Yes I am THAT old.
#23 seti Jan 26, 2015 19:39:48	Arcane Archer Alchemist Artificer Pyromancer Blade Dancer Ninja Spell Thief Shadow Assassin Paladin Psionic Necromancer Warlord Battle Chief   No...wait...In general, it's gotta be fighter, wizard, rogue. At tables I've DMed it's been more like Rogue, Ranger, Sorcerer.   With Cleric being 4th, always.
#24 SirAntoine Apr 21, 2015 23:48:29	I mainly have a 2nd Edition background, and earlier, and the three most popular classes I've seen "aimed for" when rolling to get them would be:   1.  fighter, typically human or dwarf 2.  elf fighter/ wizard or elf character class in Basic 3.  half-elf fighter/ cleric/ wizard
#25 TenaciousJ Apr 22, 2015 7:23:53	I started in 3.5 and every game I played in or ran had a wizard.  There was usually a barbarian-ish type but the actual class combination was different each time due to 3.5's nature.  Martial artists were popular but again due to 3.5's nature, the monk levels were minimal to pull off the concept since straight monk was so lacking in useful features past low levels.
#26 Brock_Landers Apr 22, 2015 10:40:20	I hear it's the Fighter.
#27 arnwolf666 Apr 22, 2015 15:47:24	Fighter