With Dungeons & Dragons looking to step forward into its sixth edition in the next few years, there are a few key features to the existing game that could do with an update. One place to start, especially for the combat intensive players, would be to take a look at the Barbarian class and its features to improve the experience in the next major update.
As the class stands in 5E, Barbarians boast large health pools and can use their rage to dish out massive amounts of damage through multiple attacks on their turns. This can make Barbarians a top asset in a Dungeons & Dragons party, as they are able to take on roles as both a tank and the frontline DPS.
How Dungeons & Dragons Already Balances the Barbarian
The key to the balance on a Barbarian comes from their use of the rage feature, which can both make attacks more damaging as well as protect the character from certain types of damage. It lets the Barbarian rush into the middle of a fight against Dungeons & Dragons' strongest creatures and survive a volley of strikes while also killing everything in front of them. However, movement is limited, and this rage can't be maintained forever without causing lasting damage to the character that requires rests between bouts of combat.
In addition to the limited number of uses of rage up to 20th level, there are several features like Reckless Attack and Fast Movement that puts the Barbarian at additional risk of being hit in order to move and attack more effectively in combat. While this makes D&D 5E's Barbarian a powerful class to choose, these characters are often at consistent risk of receiving a certain amount of damage in each round. Considering that taking damage can also help a Barbarian maintain their rage, that risk also has its own benefit for keeping the character's attack and defenses up.
Improving the Barbarian Outside of Rage
While the balances go a long way towards making an enraged Barbarian more complex than just a wall of muscle that beats up enemies, there is definitely a correct way to approach combat. This means that the second initiative is rolled, and the Barbarian starts their turn, the first thing any player is going to do is immediately burst into rage. Aside from the limited uses between rests, there's no benefit lost by going into a rage, and only benefits gained by entering this specific state across any D&D combat encounter.
So, the best way that Wizards of the Coast can go about rebalancing Barbarians in Dungeons & Dragons 6E is to make them more competent fighters outside the rage. In this case, leaning in the opposite direction could give Barbarians a variety of new options in combat, specifically sacrificing the ability to do damage in order to improve defenses. Essentially, a Barbarian keeping their mind clear could lead them to better dodge and block attacks at the cost of making it more difficult to land their own attacks, staying in fights longer against more enemies without needing to be healed.
A Balanced Self-Heal For 6E Barbarians
One thing that makes party composition so difficult is making sure that there's always someone in any group who wants to take on a class like D&D's Cleric or Paladin that can act as the party's healer. While there are plenty of classes that have access to some sort of heal outside the main "healer" spellcasters, physical combat fighters are often left with relying on other sources like potions and help from party members. However, there is a way that Barbarians can be given the ability to self-heal that not only could add to their sets of risks and rewards, but stack with higher level features to completely transform them into full tanks by 15th level.
Essentially, if Barbarians were able to use an action to recover a portion of the health lost since their last turn, they could stay in the fight longer, eating up attacks while the rest of their party continues to fight. At early levels, this would mean that a Barbarian would need to be hit in order to maintain their rage, and the damage resistances that go along with it, but at 15th level they could keep this going even if a round goes without them getting hit. This would allow a Barbarian to act as a consistent tank for damage, and make this class more receptive to first-time Dungeons & Dragons players.
Dungeons and Dragons 5E is available now.