Quote Originally Posted by Skrum View Post
I will defend barb slightly by saying they're almost a "good" class. Like, give them some help in the saving throw dept (a bonus ASI at 6th wouldn't go amiss, considering the feat tax of GWM) and they might not be a top class but they'll at least be exactly what they're advertised as. Tough, hard to stop, and hit hard. Like, not optimal compared to a wizard or paladin or something, but they'll do what they're supposed to, at least through t2 (they still have scaling problems).

Monk and rogue can also be good, but it takes some working and game knowledge. Barb is much closer to being the newb friendly, out of the box basic character that still pulls their weight.
My barbarians are pretty stellar in tiers 1 and 2. Far from "almost" being a "good class", they excel and are usually tougher and hit harder than most.

I'm in a game now, tier 1, and my barbarian can one-shot some of the enemies, can one-shot tougher enemies on a crit, and resists a lot of damage. The casters are using cantrips and are rolling a single die. Sometimes they roll a 1 for damage. Many times the monsters make their saving throw just on the die roll, before even adding modifiers.

Some of these turns are brutal in how ineffective the casters are when they are trying to conserve their resources and rely on cantrips.

So I don't really see the "barbarians are at the bottom of the barrel" discussion, at least at the levels our games go to. In tier 2 we get Extra Attack, another ASI, and Initiative/Mobility boosts, plus your second subclass feature. Casters are catching up of course with level 3 and 4 spells, and more slots. But my barbarians have never felt "bottom of the pack".