Solasta: Crown of the Magister is one of the best interpretations of fifth Edition on the market right now. This is partially because it’s the only fully released interpretation, and partially because it’s really darn good. Jumping into Solasta can be a bit of a daunting prospect, however.
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In Solasta, you are expected to make not one, not two, but four characters. This is before you get any real tutorial as well. If you don’t know how CRPGs work, then this can be beyond overwhelming. Even something as simple as picking a class can cause a fair amount of anxiety. So we thought we’d rank them to give you a hand.
Updated on August 4, 2023, by Rebecca Timberlake: When games like Solasta add new character classes, it gives you more options to play with, as well as a better variety of style and technique. If you've struggled at all with any of the existing classes, you may find you mesh well with one of the new ones from the Inner Strength DLC, or you may find you prefer one of the three to a previous favorite in the game.
12 Fighter
No class in Solasta is bad per se, but some are worse than others. Unfortunately, the classic Fighter pulled the short straw in this regard. What the Fighter brings to the table is mostly average. He is fairly hard to kill, he does alright damage, and his unique features are fine. None of this screams 'must take', however.
The thing is, other classes do what the Fighter does, and they do it better. Much better in fact. The Barbarian does more damage, the Paladin is tankier (and also does more damage…), and the Cleric supports the team from the front. You are better off picking literally anything else. We don’t want to say they suck, but they are certainly vacuum adjacent.
11 Druid
Druids are the quintessential jack-of-all-trades class. They can do just about everything, but everything they do is done elsewhere but better. This might seem like a knock — and that’s because it is in a way — but the Druid can fill any role. They are the perfect slot-filler. Thing is, there are only four slots — you don’t need a slot filler when your party's so small.
If you want to bring a druid, then you will want to focus on the class' access to powerful crowd control. Early-game spells like Entangle and Spike Growth can be incredibly effective at locking locations down. The potential of a pet and shapechanging is nice too. The lack of damage does hurt the class a bit, and a Cleric does what the Druid does, but better.
10 Barbarian
The Barbarian is a great class that is simply outdone by other, better classes. If you want a big, angry, burly warrior, then the Barbarian is great. They do everything you want them to do — at least in the early game. Unfortunately, the early game doesn’t last that long, and the Barbarian does fall off.
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This is partially due to other classes just out-scaling it in every conceivable way, but also due to the Barbarian's focus on HP. Having high HP is only good when you don’t have the equipment and levels to avoid damage altogether. The Barbarian struggles to avoid damage and opts to instead soak it. This is a resource sink at best, and a corpse at worst.
9 *Bard
The Bard class brings high intelligence and dexterity to the table, but not enough to make the weapons and skills they have worth making them your party's focus in Solasta. They have some knowledge of spells that can be cast, but most of this relies on their ability to control and manipulate others' thoughts. Bards use weaker, simplistic weapons, so this is another area where they can be found lacking.
Where the Bard excels is as support. In the way the Barbarian is a hulking force to be reckoned with, the Bard is the intellectual equivalent. They inspire those around them, and use this to create a die for a creature to use to change the course of an action, for example. Still, this isn't going to make or break you in a fight.
8 Rogue
Veterans of the genre will be shocked to see the Rogue so low. Rogues are almost always a must-take. Their utility is too good to ignore, and most teams will fall apart without one skulking around doing all the dirty work. This is not the case in Solasta.
Solasta is very much centered on combat, and all those cool utility abilities the Rogue has, tend to not get used. That being said, the Rogue isn’t bad. Far from it. Using Sneak Attacks and a bow, the Rogue can deal great damage and they are very mobile to boot. You can’t go wrong with a Rogue, but you can certainly do slightly better.
7 Warlock
Warlocks are extremely powerful, but limited in their use. When they use their magic in battle, they attack at full power, but once it's been used, they are spent for the remainder of the battle. This means you'll want to reserve them for critical damage, either when you're needing to even the playing field or when you're trying to finish out the fight.
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That said, having limited magic to wield doesn't detract from the importance of having the Warlock on your team. The skills and weapons they have at their disposal are superior to, say, that of the Fighter or Druid because they are working with much more refined and honed skills.
6 Ranger
Another jack-of-all-trades kind of character, the Ranger tends to be a more martial-focused Druid. They can cast spells, they can bring pets along, and they can fight in melee or at a range. They are just all-around great guys. The difference between a Ranger and a Druid, however, is that the Ranger can pull their weight compared to the competition.
The Ranger deals excellent damage, without gimmicks, and at a distance. That’s it. When it comes to ranged martial prowess, you can’t get any better. They are even nimble when on the move, so they can relocate and mess around with kiting if you need them to. It's an all-round excellent class.
5 Sorcerer
Sorcerers are Wizards but without as many hoops to jump through. The lack of hoops makes them more capable of immense feats of power, but the trade-off is a lack of versatility. You take a Sorcerer to nuke and not much else. They do that job perfectly, however.
There are only two arcane casters in the game, and honestly, they are interchangeable for the most part. The Sorcerer is for players who want a bit more damage and don’t want to deal with the Vancian magic system that is employed on their competitor. Bring them along and have a blast. Literally.
4 Paladin
Paladins are the go-to melee class. Nothing compares to these guys. The existence of the Paladin invalidates both the Fighter and the Barbarian. The Paladin does everything those classes do, but does it so much better. Paladins are almost a must-take class.
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These guys are tanky. Really tanky. You throw them forward, and they will hold the line until the inevitable heat death of the universe sweeps in and ends time itself. They can also deal staggering amounts of damage thanks to their unique abilities. Every party needs a tank, and that means every party should consider a Paladin.
3 Monk
When you think of Monks, you likely aren't going to conjure a mental image of a martial artist with high-power attacks and fierce fists. However, that's exactly what Solasta offers in their Monk. All about dexterity and swift moves, the Monk is going to be an absolute powerhouse on your team.
While they use simple weapons, the strength in their hands more than makes up for the weakness of their sword. When your Monk doesn't have armor, their armor class goes up by ten based on their dexterity modifiers, giving them built-in stamina regardless of how you've built them. Monks also have supernatural abilities that are enhanced by their Insight and strong meditative mind.
2 Wizard
The Wizard is the premiere arcane magic-user. Wizards take a little while to get rolling — noticeably longer than a Sorcerer for example — but, once they get some momentum, they are unstoppable. Their unique way of learning and managing spells makes them awkward to use at first, but, given enough time, they pay out.
A Wizard can be everything to everyone at any time. They have the solution to every problem. They can deal incredible amounts of single target or AOE damage, they can crowd control, they can buff, and more. They can swap their spells around easily, and they tend to be walking gods. If you don’t take an arcane user, you feel it. The party feels off. That’s the impact of the Wizard.
1 Cleric
Cleric is easily the best class in the game. Solasta has a limited selection of classes compared to most CRPGs, and this means there is a limited selection of healers. You either take a Druid, or you take a Cleric. As you can probably tell by the positioning of the Cleric, this is the one you want.
The Cleric is a beast of a supporting character. They are more than capable of holding the line, duking it out in a scrap, supporting their team with magic, and messing with the enemy. There are many jack-of-all-trade characters in Solasta, but only the Cleric can claim to be the master of all. Kit them out as a front-line battle Cleric, support them with a Paladin, Ranger, and Wizard, and you’ve got a fantastic team able to tackle any encounter.
Next:Solasta: Crown Of The Magister Vs. Baldur's Gate 3 - Which Is Better?
