Healer/Buffer Support Caster Builds in DnD 5e

by Brandon Gregory

Support casters can be vital in a party, sometimes making the difference between a total party kill and a victory. Small parties don’t necessarily need a dedicated support character, but every party will be stronger with some support features. But support is a varied role. Some classes have amazing healing spells but can struggle to buff their teammates, while some classes have amazing buffs but virtually no healing spells. Balancing healing and buffing with the needs of your team can take some planning.

Please note that, while I’ve included half-casters in the charts below, they get spells much later than full-casters. Half-casters can fill in as support casters but usually won’t be as effective as full-casters purely due to their slower spell progression. That said, each of the three half-caster classes has some good support features.

Also note that, while a class may not have a lot of support features, they may have a subclass that does. Those will be noted in the sections below. Most of this will be a comparison of classes, though, not subclasses.

Healing vs Buffing

The support role includes two different responsibilities: healing and buffing. Both are important, but a support character doesn’t necessarily have to be great at both of these things; in fact, many of these builds skew heavily toward one or the other.

Healer-casters are a mainstay in just about every type of RPG, whether tabletop or video game, and it’s a pretty easy concept to wrap your mind around. Anyone who grew up playing Final Fantasy games or other JRPGs knows you should always have a white mage in the party.

Healing in Dungeons and Dragons has different goals than in most video games, though. Generally, healing to keep up with damage is extremely difficult and not recommended. A character with 1 HP is just as effective as a character with full health, so keeping party members topped off in health just means you’re going to run out of spell slots faster. Instead, healing should be used in quick bursts, either getting people up after they’ve fallen or given when a party member gets really low. In-between battles, characters can recover some health using short rests, so there’s not even really a need to heal fully between battles (unless you’re not taking short rests). So building a character that’s dedicated 100% to healing is usually a bad idea. That’s why the main healing classes (Bard, Cleric, and Druid) all have other things they’re good at.

If you’re looking for a complete breakdown of how well each healing subclass performs, RPGBOT has a great write-up in their Healbot Olympics. The writers there go into a level of detail that’s beyond the scope of this article, so if you want hard numbers on what the best healers are, that’s where you find it.

Buffers can be just as important to a party as healers and can make the whole party stronger. For buffer-casters, there’s a bit more variety in builds, as many classes with no significant healing get amazing buffs for the party. That means that the healer and the buffer don’t have to be the same character. For instance, a Wizard can take some great buffs, leaving the Cleric free to pick some good damage spells along with their healing spells.

Healing Spell Options by Class

Buffing Spell Options by Class

Support Caster Class Breakdown: Full-Casters

Full-casters are going to be the best at what they do, and just about every full-caster class gets some support features, but some are much better at it than others. The spell lists above are a major consideration, but some classes also have core features that help support the party as well. Some classes have access to support options, but it doesn’t really fit with the core playstyle of the class. For each full-caster class, I’ve rated their ability as healers and buffers, as well as a role fit, which measures how easily the class can slip into a support role.

Bard

This might be surprising looking at the lists of spells above, but Bards are probably the best overall support class. Their healing trails behind that of Clerics and Druids, and their number of buff spells comes in pretty low (number 6 out of 9). So why the high score? Bards have a lot of great core features geared toward support. Bardic Inspiration, available at level 1, is a great buff for just about any party member, and many of the subclasses have abilities that further play into that support role. Bards are the quintessential jacks of all trades and are good at a lot of things, but their support skills are top-notch.

Healing ability: 4

Buffing ability: 5

Role fit: 5

Cleric

Clerics are the quintessential healing class, but they offer much more—they’re probably in the top 3 classes for damage as well, coming in 3rd on my list of Blaster Casters. It might seem weird for an order of holy priests to be so good at killing things, but Clerics are geared for combat. Their buffing abilities might not be as great as some other classes, but they have a surprising number of buff spells on their core spell list. If you like the idea of a support character that can do a lot of damage as well, Cleric may be your best bet. If you just want to be the best healer possible, subclasses like the Life Domain or Grave Domain are strong competitors.

Healing ability: 5

Buffing ability: 3

Role fit: 5

Druid

Druids are a weird mix of control, support, and utility, but they can make excellent support characters when needed. Some of the subclasses grant even more healing features, with the Circle of Dreams subclass granting some free healing outside of spells and the Circle of the Shepherd being the best group healer in the game. They have some good options for buffing allies too, including several spells that aren’t available to other full-casters. Where Druids can struggle is that they just have so many options available to them that it can be hard to prioritize just one thing. Druids can make good support casters, but they’re great at a lot of other things too, so you’ll have to balance the opportunity cost of spending your turn healing someone.

Healing ability: 4

Buffing ability: 4

Role fit: 4

Wizard

Wizards aren’t commonly thought of as a support class—mainly because they have few options for healing—but they do have some excellent buff spells, including some that aren’t available to higher-ranking classes on this list. Wizards are great with damage, control, and utility, giving them unmatched versatility, and picking some buffing spells fits naturally into their role as the magic powerhouse of the team. Their lack of any real support options can make it hard for them to cover that part of the support role, however.

Healing ability: 1

Buffing ability: 4

Role fit: 3

Sorcerer

Sorcerers are kind of like Wizard-light, having access to many of the same spells but with fewer spells known, no prepared spells, and fewer spell slots overall. This makes speccing a Sorcerer for a support role a difficult task, as that means making them less effective at some of the things they’re great at, like single-target damage and blasting. One notable exception is the Divine Soul subclass, which gives some significant healing abilities and access to some of the Cleric’s spell list. If your party needs both an AOE blaster and a healer, a Divine Soul Sorcerer might be what you’re looking for.

Healing ability: 1 (3 for Divine Soul)

Buffing ability: 2

Role fit: 1 (3 for Divine Soul)

Warlock

Poor Warlocks come in dead last on the support caster list, with few support options and few spell slots to use them. It’s not that Warlock is a bad class, it’s just that support is not a role they can fill well. One notable exception is the Celestial patron, which grants some good healing abilities, but buffing your allies is still difficult to do as a Warlock. For small parties that can’t have a dedicated support caster, though, a Celestial Warlock may be able to get the job done while still doing good ranged damage.

Healing ability: 1 (3 for Celestial)

Buffing ability: 1

Role fit: 1 (2 for Celestial)

Support Caster Class Breakdown: Half-Casters

Half-casters get their spells later than full-casters, but they also have higher survivability and good martial abilities that can make them good at other things as well. For small parties, a half-caster support might be all you need. For larger parties, a half-caster with support options can be an important backup for when your main support is overwhelmed. All three of the half-caster classes have some good support options and can fill in with this role. As with the full-casters above, I’m ranking them for healing ability, buffing ability, and role fit.

Artificer

Artificers are half-casters that try to capture the versatility of Wizards, and they do a pretty great job of it—they can cover a lot of roles, and their subclasses have very different abilities, allowing them even more versatility. The Alchemist subclass in particular can probably be a full support character if they have a little help with healing from another party member. What was surprising to me when putting together the charts above was that the Artificers have the highest number of buffing spells, outpacing Wizards and Clerics (tied for the second-highest). Though they get their spells later than full-casters, they still have a lot of options to help the party out.

Healing ability: 2 (3 for Alchemist)

Buffing ability: 4

Role fit: 4

Paladin

Paladins are known for the tremendous damage they can do with their smites, which is what they’ll use most of their spell slots on, but they have some core class features that can help out with healing. Their auras can also make the whole party stronger, giving them some good non-spell buffing options as well. The real value of a Paladin as a support is that their auras are passive abilities, so they don’t have to choose between damage and support. I’d hesitate to call a Paladin a full support character, but they do a great job as a backup or secondary support.

Healing ability: 2

Buffing ability: 3

Role fit: 3

Ranger

Rangers are the weakest support half-casters, but that doesn’t mean they’re without value. They get some good low-level healing spells, allowing them to get the healer back up if they fall in battle, and they have Pass Without Trace, which can make your party extremely stealthy. A Ranger should not be the only support character in your party, but don’t overlook their abilities.

Healing ability: 2

Buffing ability: 2

Role fit: 2

Best Feats for Support Casters

Resilient

If your support spells require concentration, being proficient in Constitution saves can be a huge benefit. Some classes, like the Sorcerer, are already proficient in Constitution saves, so check that first. But if your character is not, taking this feat can make it much easier to pass those concentration checks. Also, being good at Constitution saves, which are among the most common saves, can be useful for many other things.

War Caster

Similar to Resilient, the main draw here is getting better at passing concentration checks, but the two feats work differently. War Caster grants advantage on concentration checks while Resilient allows you to add your proficiency bonus. This makes War Caster a little more useful at lower levels before your proficiency bonus is high. Another benefit of War Caster is the ability to cast spells that have a somatic component (meaning you have to use your hands) while you’re holding a weapon or shield. Classes like Cleric or some Bard subclasses will find this useful, but some half-casters might find this helpful as well.

Magic Initiate

If you’re playing a character that needs some additional low-level healing or buffing options, the Magic Initiate feat is a good way to get them. It won’t make a full-fledged support character out of a character who’s not already decent at it, but it can fill in some of the gaps that your character may have.

Inspiring Leader

If your character has at least a decent Charisma score, this is a great way to use it to support the party with temporary hit points. Having your character give a rousing speech before each battle is not only great flavor; it’s a great way to give you and your party a major advantage heading into a tough fight.

About the Author

Brandon Gregory

Brandon Gregory is a web developer and writer in the Kansas City area. He's been playing TTRPGs since 2020 and is involved in the disability-related TTRPG podcast Tales from the Crips. He's into classic movies, mental health, and, of course, DnD. Also, he's in a band. One time, they rocked so hard it killed a man.