Multiclass Miscibility Guide (2024)

Multiclass characters have some pretty big advantages over their single class brethren. The larger talent trees available to multiclass characters allow them to cherry pick the best abilities from both classes and makes it less likely to find a level where there are no good abilities to take. Additionally, a multiclass character will almost always have more resources to start combat with then a single class character. For example, a 20th level single class fighter has 13 Discipline to fight with. At 20th level, a multiclass fighter/paladin begins combat with 9 Discipline/9 Zeal, or a total point pool of 18. With self-empowerment that gap in combat ability becomes even more drastic.

In return for their resource advantage, multiclass characters have three drawbacks; lower power levels, slower power level progression and no access to level VIII or IX abilities. However, the missing power levels for characters can usually be made up with a combination of gear and specific abilities. As an example, multiclassing into a rogue for Sneak Attack will always add more damage on a weapon attack then the extra power levels granted by single classing. The slower power level progression can be negated by avoiding nonessential fights until level 10 or so when most multiclass builds start to bloom. For a detailed look at how power levels affect different abilities, check this thread: https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/99409-mechanics-power-level-compilation-thread/

Why multiclass Barbarian: powerful self-buffs, (Frenzy, Bloodlust, Blood Thirst), melee AoE (Carnage), Critical hit support (Barbaric Blow, Interrupting Blows).

What the Barbarian class is missing: accuracy for more crits, defenses, cheap healing, crowd control.

Subclasses: Berserkers multiclass incredibly well. Several abilities from other classes can completely negate the penalties of the improved Frenzy, and the extra penetration and armor is huge for any character. Corpse-Eater provides a situational heal and extra resources in a fight, but at the cost of damage uptime. Mage Slayer’s penalty is very difficult to build around and is not recommended, but I’m sure there’s a way to make it work.

Pairs poorly with: Most things can work. Melee characters like the health and cleave damage the class provides, while casters love Frenzy and Bloodlust to boost their skills. Ranged barbarians are harder to get working since Carnage doesn’t apply, but Frenzy/Bloodlust/Barbaric Smash are sometimes worth it.

Why multiclass Chanter: infinite resource class, Summons, spammable AoE Paralyze (Killers Froze Stiff), passive healing or tank stats.

What the Chanter class is missing: damage, penetration, accuracy (not a weakness if you focus on summons).

Subclasses: Troubadour is strictly better then a no subclass chanter. With tweaking, Troubadour allows the chanter to have two chants overlapping permanently, or use Brisk Recitation to spam summons faster than the Beckoner. Skald is great for a critical strike focused character, as the paralysis from Killers Froze Stiff makes it easy to get more criticals. After the nerfs in 1.2, Beckoner is a little weak because the Troubadour’s summons are both healthier and longer lasting. Beckoner does synergize well with “on Kill” weapon effects like Grave Calling, though.

Pairs poorly with: nothing! A Chanter multiclass either makes your damage dealer more tanky, or your utility character have even more utility.

Why multiclass Cipher: infinite resource class, charm/dominate spells, powerful buffs to allies (Pain Block, Ancestor’s Memory), penetration and weapon damage.

What the Cipher class is missing: defenses, damage during ramp-up time, action speed to cast frequently.

Subclasses: Soul Blade makes for a great melee option. Soul Annihilation is a consistent damage source, and the focus penalty can be fixed through talents or pairing with a class that adds extra damage. Ascendant also makes for a powerful multiclass, as the penalty to Cipher’s power level can be avoided by just casting spells from the other class until you reach max focus. Beguiler is best used as a single class character, where the focus refund works towards Cipher’s strong level VIII and IX abilities.

Pairs poorly with: most casters, because spells don’t generate Focus and don’t get empowered by Soul Whip. You can make this work with Wizards who can use summoned weapons and self-buffs to cap Focus easily.

Why multiclass Druid: Casting utility, Spiritshift, elemental penetration, healing.

What the Druid class is missing: defenses, spell accuracy.

Subclasses: Depending on the Druid subclass, a Druid multiclass is going to play very differently. With no penalty, Animist has a nice pool of druid spells, allowing you to focus on your other class and provide some baseline utility. Lifegiver makes healing through tough encounters a breeze, and pairs well with other utility classes. Fury druids can get huge boosts out of classes that can buff up the druid to take advantage of strong AoE damage spells. Shifter mixes well with classes that provide buffs that work during spiritshift, or provide extra penetration.

Pairs poorly with: other casters. There’s just not enough time to run through two casters spellbooks in a single combat. Also, worth mentioning that Druid’s level VIII and IX abilities are very powerful, and might be worth going single-class for.

Why multiclass Fighter: Defenses, Accuracy (Disciplined Barrage), Mob Stance, Unbending.

What the Fighter Class is missing: Penetration/Damage that doesn't cost Discipline, stuff to do when they run out of Discipline.

Subclasses: Devoted will fit nicely with any martial-focused character that is looking for extra penetration. Devoted also gain penetration to their unarmed attacks, so the penalty isn’t too severe. Black Jacket is only really useful for a gun focused multiclass, as you can skip reloading and just fire off 8 pistols to start the fight. Unbroken’s +1 armor rating can make a tanky character even stronger. Unfortunately, there’s no way to force the enemy AI to provoke a disengagement attack to make use of that sweet sweet +10 penetration.

Pairs poorly with: nothing. Fighter is a solid multiclass choice to make your character sturdier. Ranged fighters are a little weird because they can’t use many of the active abilities effectively, but even then, there are so many great passives to take that they end up working just fine. Most (but not all!) Fighter multiclasses will want to use the FIghter's discipline for accuracy and tankiness, so pairing him with extra damage is a good idea.

Why multiclass Monk: Stats (Duality of Mortal Presence), Action Speed (Swift Strikes), defensive toolkit.

What the Monk class is missing: healing.

Subclasses: Helwalkers are incredible to pair with damage dealers Giving any character +10 Might and +10 Int alone is enough to be a worthy multiclass. Casters especially like the Helwalker bonus because they don’t have access to as many damage modifiers as martial characters do. Having a plan for how your character is going to manage the damage penalty is crucial, however. Nalpazca is a strictly stronger version of the basic monk, as long as you are willing to spend a minimal amount of money on drugs. Shattered Pillars can chain cast Raised Torment to stun hordes of enemies, but might be better off as a single class character to spam Whispers of the Wind at PL IX.

Pairs poorly with: nothing. As with the Fighter, the monk has such a well-rounded toolkit that it can fit into any character build. Enduring Dance, Swift Flurry, and Duality of Mortal Presence are helpful for just about any character you could come up with.

Why multiclass Paladin: +18 all defenses passively is INSANE, Flames of Devotion, healing.

What the Paladin class is missing: AoE damage, Penetration with weapons.

Subclasses: All of the Paladin orders will work just fine, but Darcozzi Paladini is by far the weakest of the bunch. Shieldbearers of St. Elcga’s bonus can enable some pretty silly cheese, but since it was nerfed to only affect other party members its not quite as strong. Bleak Walkers, Goldpact Knights, and Kind Wayfarers are all powerful.

Pairs poorly with: nothing. Paladin is just solid all around, as evidenced by how many builds have /paladin on this forum. Generally speaking they do prefer to dual wield over using a two hander to get the full benefit of Flames of Devotion Full Attack, but they really do work with anything.

Why multiclass Priest: Party buffs, healing, elemental penetration.

What the Priest class is missing: Stuff to do when not casting, spell accuracy (Not a big deal depending on spell choices).

Subclasses: As there are no penalties to picking a Priest subclass, just think about what spell list would work best for the character you are attempting to build. For solo play, Skaen allows you to reset fights with Shadowing Beyond, and Wael gives some powerful defensive abilities. Magran and Berath both have elemental damage toolkits, while Eothas’ bonus spells focus on healing.

Pairs poorly with: other casters. There’s just not enough time to run through two casters spellbooks in a single combat. Priests are generally better off multiclassing then single classing though, as their level VIII and IX spells aren’t particularly great.

Why multiclass Ranger: Bonkers accuracy bonuses, powerful ranged passives, a cute pet.

What the Ranger class is missing: defenses, Penetration for ranged weapons, strong abilities.*

*Ranger is a great multiclass choice, but their active abilities are a little weak. Much of the time the best use of Bond is just spamming Accurate Wounding Shot.

Subclasses: Each of the Ranger’s subclasses have hard-to-mitigate drawbacks, so a no-subclass ranger works just fine and well. That being said, the Ghost Heart is the most universally useful; being immune to Bonded Grief and your pet being immune to engagement allows you to play more aggressively with the animal companion. It pairs well with Ciphers who can use their beam skills on the ghost heart pet in the backline. The Stalker is a great choice for a melee focused character, but it does restrict you into that playstyle so keep that in mind. Sharpshooters improve ranged builds significantly, especially since many ranged weapons tend to have lower penetration.

Pairs poorly with: Nothing. Because Rangers have somewhat poor active abilities to choose from in PL IV- PL VI, most multiclass Rangers tend to be split about 25% in the Ranger tree and 75% in the other class. That said, the 25% in Ranger is REALLY good; Stalker's Link, Accurate Wounding Shot, and the ranged passive package are powerful tools.

Why multiclass Rogue: damage, damage and more damage. In solo play, invisibility to reset fights is very useful.

What Rogue is missing: defenses, AoE damage, healing.

Subclasses: Assassin makes your character into a single-target wrecking ball. Since the Assassin bonus within stealth applies to ALL skills, they like characters with the biggest, baddest AoE abilities to annihilate a horde of enemies. After the 1.2 buffs, Trickster seems to be strictly better then a baseline rogue. Gaining Mirrored Image and Ryngrim’s Repulsive Visage helps significantly with the rogue’s survivability, and the 10% penalty to Sneak Attack is worth the tradeoff. Streetfighter is great for characters who want action speed or critical hits. Getting yourself flanked to activate the passive can be achieved by using the blunderbuss modal for ranged characters.

Pairs poorly with: Rogues can pair with anything; just be careful what damage modifiers you choose to take. Sneak Attack, Backstab, and Deathblows only apply to weapon attacks, while Deep Wounds, the Assassin passive and Streetfighter's action speed are all globally useful.

Why multiclass Wizard: Spell versatility, unique spellbooks, Elemental penetration.

What the Wizard class is missing: good passive abilities, accuracy, healing.

Subclasses: Wizard subclasses are generally not recommended. +2 Power Level with spells from one school is usually not worth the double whammy of losing TWO schools of magic and a 20% recovery time penalty to spells not in the favored school. The one exception to this rule is the Evoker, because double casting damage spells, even if somewhat unreliable, is incredibly powerful.

Pairs poorly with: other casters. There’s just not enough time to run through two casters spellbooks in a single combat. Also, worth noting that a few of the level VIII and IX spells are powerful enough that going for a single class Wizard might be worth it.

What’s great about a Wizard multiclass is that thanks to grimoires, its possible to put nearly all of your points into your other class and use grimoire switching to cast powerful spells. Wizards are flexible and can add AoE damage, powerful deflection buffs, or crowd control to any build.