All Of The D&D 5e Proficiencies, Ranked By How Useful They Are (2025)

Every Fifth Edition character has their own unique ways of interacting with the game world through their features, spellcasting, and more. However, skills are something all D&D characters share in common. D&D 5e has 18 skills that all characters can use when the situation requires it.

However, not all the skills in D&D 5e are made equal. Some are almost ubiquitous, leaving a party lacking them helpless in many situations. Others are far more situational, sometimes not coming up once in an entire campaign. Among D&D 5e's many skills, some are much more important to gain proficiency in than the rest.

Updated onAugust 13th, 2024 by Louis Kemner: This list of the best D&D skill proficiencies has been updated with even more information for players' reference.

18 The Medicine Skill Can Help Keep the Party Alive

Medicine Might Be Made Redundant by Clerics and Healing Potions

Best Classes/Roles For the Skill:

• Ranger
• Cleric
• Buff/support/healer

Medicine sounds important for a dangerous career like adventuring. However, the D&D 5e Medicine skill cannot restore hit points to an ally through an ability check. Its only reliable use comes from stabilizing unconscious allies at 0 hit points so the character doesn't have to start making risky death saving throws. In other corner cases, preventing a party member's death can prevent something much worse, such as the character turning to dust or becoming a zombie under a monster's control.

Unfortunately, there are many other abilities that can handle all that in D&D 5e. A single hit point of healing not only prevents death-saving throws but also gets an ally back in the fight, such as from the fan-favorite Healing Word spell. The Medicine Kit item bypasses the need for an ability check altogether to stabilize allies. Even with its added use of recognizing illnesses or injuries, Medicine lacks any pivotal impact in D&D 5e, so it definitely ranks last among all the player character skills. Just having a decent cleric makes this skill pointless, and certain potions do the same.

17 Nature Helps Players Know What's What In The Wilds

This Skill Can Also Be Useful for Identifying Mysterious Flora & Fauna

Best Classes/Roles For the Nature Skill:

• Ranger
• Druid

Nature can genuinely pay off in the right situations in D&D 5e. It reflects a character's knowledge of the natural world, from animals to plants to weather patterns and more. However, this knowledge becomes much less pressing as a D&D campaign goes on and the power scale increases. Animals and plants might be pivotal to low-level D&D 5e adventures. However, characters will likely pivot to fighting undead, fiends, humanoids, and other unnatural creatures before long.

Nature also doesn't affect navigation, one of the few things players might reliably need to know about the outside world throughout a campaign. Nature can be used alongside the hands-on Survival skill to get some reference, such as knowing which mushrooms are poisonous vs those that are safe to eat. Characters might also use Nature to recognize the cries of a distant animal and prepare accordingly. If they hear the angry, territorial howl of a dangerous beast, it's time for the party to move.

16 Animal Handling Has Uses No Matter Where the Party Goes

From Calming Beasts to Training Them, Animal Handling Helps Build Relationships With Animals

Best Classes/Roles For the Animal Handling Skill:

• Ranger
• Druid

Animal Handling is another D&D 5e skill that becomes increasingly niche early on in a campaign. A party might genuinely need to calm an animal down rather than fight it when beginning adventuring. However, most parties quickly surpass mundane animals in their threat. After that point, Animal Handling is a much less necessary skill. Also, many of the monsters whom players face are actually semi-intelligent or fully intelligent beings, and Animal Handling doesn't work on them. In fact, monsters like spectators, minotaurs, and sea hags might be insulted if a party member attempts Animal Handling on them.

Players who want to tame animals will benefit from Animal Handling in D&D 5e. Similarly, it can help with mounted combat if the player has to keep their horse calm or execute an unusual maneuver. However, these are niche uses, with some archetypes getting pets without any roll needed and mounted combat being unavailable in most dungeons. This skill is a good way for rangers to shine, but unfortunately for them, Animal Handling is rarely relevant unless the players go out of their way to make it relevant.

15 History Comes In Handy for Those Trying to Remember Important Events

Whether Cultural or Historical, the History Skill Has Many Uses

Best Classes/Roles For the History Skill:

• Wizard
• Artificer

History is another knowledge skill in D&D 5e that is more focused on humanoid societies and their past. History is useful for characters who want to know about the setting's background, especially when it might pertain to their ongoing adventures and campaigns. This can also be a fun way for a studious character like a wizard, artificer, or cleric to show off their academic chops for roleplay purposes.

However, History's downfall as a D&D 5e skill is that it risks being redundant. Most DMs will have a way to communicate vital exposition to the party, particularly when it concerns the campaign's past. History can still help a character learn more about a situation, spot flaws in another character's recounting, or remember helpful information that is non-essential. Nonetheless, a party will rarely be stuck without it. Most often, History will be useful in a homebrewed campaign or one-shot, since even experienced, lore-savvy players won't know the custom history of a unique setting.

14 The Religion Skill Makes Sense of Texts, Rituals and Information Regarding the Gods

Even When the Gods of a World are Distant, Religion Can Help Bring What Was Lost to Light

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Best Classes/Roles For the Religion Skill:

• Cleric
• Warlock

Religion is a more situational knowledge skill that might be invaluable or useless in a D&D 5e campaign. It concerns knowledge of the gods, typical religious rites, cults, secret societies, and more. This covers more ground than the name suggests. Religion isn't relevant in every D&D 5e campaign, however. Many stories concern the gods and their followers, or sinister cults lurking in the shadows. In those campaigns, Religion will more than pay for itself as a skill proficiency. However, it can be difficult for players to know how useful it will be before an adventure, story arc, or campaign starts.

If a character has proficiency with the Religion skill, such as a cleric, the player might feel bad if that roll never comes up. So, the DM may be generous and make a local religion or deity relevant to the plot. That's a good way to encourage cleric roleplay aside from the ever-present topic of healing. Paladins might also toy around with this skill to make them more than fighters who know how to smite.

13 The Performance Works for More Than Just Bards

Performance Could Be Anything from Playing an Instrument to Making a Good Impression

Best Classes/Roles For the Performance Skill:

• Bard
• Party's face

Charisma has many valuable skills in D&D 5e as the primary ability score concerning social situations. Performance is one of the least useful, if only for its limited scope. Performance indicates a character's ability to put on a show and delight people, whether it's music, dancing, oration, and more.

Performance has many uses for players willing to exploit it. It can make for an effective distraction, a way to win over NPCs, or simply a way to earn gold that has less risk attached. Nonetheless, Performance is a D&D 5e skill proficiency that makes players work to put it to use rather than being vital in its own right. If nothing else, Performance rolls may be made just to see how well the musically inclined bard can entertain a tavern's patrons, and see if they can earn some silver or gold coins for their troubles.

12 Arcana Is All About Studying And Remembering Magical Lore

The Arcana Skill Is Helpful In Identifying Magical Energies

Best Classes/Roles For the Arcana Skill:

• Wizard
• Sorcerer
• Warlock
• Artificer

Arcana's greater use than other D&D 5e knowledge skills comes from its broad scope. Arcana concerns magic, other planes of existence, rituals, magic artifacts, and more. In particular, it details knowledge of the multiverse's denizens and potential magical loot. Understandably, it's usually the Wizard class that will shine with this relatively niche skill, since Wizards care about arcane subjects for roleplay reasons, and they have a high INT score to match. Sorcerers and warlocks are still welcome to try it, though.

Some of these topics are likely to come up in any D&D 5e campaign. Notably, missing knowledge about Arcana can be dangerous, although it doesn't replicate the effects of a spell such as Detect Magic or Identify. Nonetheless, most parties will benefit from knowing how an arcane ritual or a demon works. This skill often comes up when the party finds unusual magical items, which will call for some combination of Arcana and Investigation to figure out. This might spare someone from attuning to a nasty cursed item, for example.

11 Survival Determines How Well Player Characters Navigate Their World

Getting Lost Is a Major Pitfall in D&D, but a High Survival Skill Can Keep That From Happening

Best Classes/Roles For the Survival Skill:

• Ranger
• Druid
• Scout

Survival's name can be misleading as to its effects. It specifically determines a character's aptitude for surviving in the wilderness. Survival dictates a character's ability to navigate, follow tracks, avoid natural hazards on their travels, and identify potential signs of danger in the wilderness. Players might think of Survival as serious-mode camping, from gathering fruits and nuts to eat all the way to starting a campfire without magic or dealing with a nasty rash inflicted by plants.

Survival is undeniably situational. It has much more limited use in an urban environment than in the wilderness. Even so, navigation and tracking are beneficial in most D&D 5e campaigns. Its more active and practical aspects help set it apart from similar skills like Nature in its usefulness. This is also one of those skills where the DM might go out of their way to make it relevant so the party's druid or ranger can do some fun roleplaying with their character.

Situationally the Acrobatics Skill Can Be Swapped Out with Athletics

Best Classes/Roles For the Acrobatics Skill:

• Rogue
• Monk
• Ranger

Acrobatics has some similarities to its Strength counterpart in D&D 5e, Athletics. However, it falls short in many areas. By the rules as written, Acrobatics cannot be used to climb or make impressive jumps. Instead, it is far more about a character keeping their balance in difficult situations or landing on their feet, which means it's all about Dexterity.

When Acrobatics comes into play, it is vital. Crossing a dangerous surface or recovering from a fall can save a D&D 5e character's life. It's also used to avoid being grappled or shoved, giving it direct combat utility. Nonetheless, it's a bit narrow in scope, which can catch many players off-guard. Not many settings call for Acrobatics skill rolls, though there are still some clear examples, such as a ranger character climbing a tree or a swashbuckler rogue swiftly climbing the rigging on a pirate ship.

9 Intimidation Can Be Used to Bend Others To the User's Will

Whether Against NPCs or Other Party Members, the Intimidation Skill Should Be Used Wisely

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Best Classes/Roles For the Intimidation Skill:

• Barbarian
• Warlock
• Party's face
• Rogues

Intimidation is one of many D&D 5e skills players use to get their way in a social situation. Intimidation covers much more overt means than many other social skills. It determines threats, displays of dominance, and other ways characters might use to unnerve NPCs into doing what they want. This flavorful skill is fairly useful if the party's Persuasion rolls aren't working, and is a fine way to make NPCs do what the party wants, so Intimidation ranks in the middle of all D&D skills.

Intimidation can get the same results as other social skills in D&D 5e. In some cases, it's the only way through a difficult encounter. However, it has more inherent consequences than others of its type. Characters who throw their weight around might anger the NPCs in question or even law enforcement, making this a high-risk, high-reward skill like the Deception skill. A player might use a personal approach to intimidation to try and get advantage, such as threatening to kill that NPC's family, whether or not they'd actually follow up on that threat. Notably, the half-orc character species innately has proficiency with the Intimidation skill.

8 Investigation Leads the Player Characters to That Which Might Be Hard to Find

Whether It's Information, Locations, or That Which Was Lost, Investigation Comes In Handy

Best Classes/Roles For the Investigation Skill:

• Wizard
• Ranger
• Rogue
• Scout

Investigation has some overlap with other D&D skills like Perception, especially when it comes to taking on gameplay scenarios like solving puzzles. However, it describes a much more active, hands-on approach to finding something. Investigation lets characters find hidden objects or doorways, sift through evidence or books for information, or find something out of place by poking around. In short, Perception means taking in the entire scene, while Investigation means looking for something in particular.

A lot of challenges that require Investigation can be solved differently by Perception or even through magical spells. Nonetheless, it never hurts to have a character who can find things. At its most basic, Investigation might help a D&D party find some hidden loot they'd have otherwise missed. Depending on the setting, the Investigation skill may overlap with skills like Nature and Arcana, so the DM must make a judgment call on which skill the player should roll. For example, trying to decode a puzzle based on arcane runes can be either Arcana or Investigation, or for a true challenge, the player must pass a check for each. Investigating things in the wild, meanwhile, overlaps with Nature.

7 Sleight Of Hand Can Be Used For More Than Picking Pockets And Locks

It's a Worthwhile Skill for Anyone Who Needs Nimble Fingers for their Craft

Best Classes/Roles For the Sleight of Hand Skill:

• Rogue
• Bard

Sleight of Hand refers to underhand methods requiring physical subtlety. Stealth covers staying out of sight, while Sleight of Hand is doing things unseen despite the presence of witnesses. Sleight of Hand lets a player stow or steal something, pick NPCs' pockets, or even plant something on another character. Sleight of Hand may also involve cheating at a game of chance in a gambling den, something a wily rogue or bard is bound to try at some point.

Sleight of Hand also has more general uses. It might cover a character doing something risky or fast with their hands, such as reaching into a mechanism. Its broad coverage makes it useful to have for a more underhand party member. However, more lawful characters might struggle to justify using Sleight of Hand skills in D&D 5e, so this skill is most often used by rogues with sticky fingers. The rogue's other party members might help out, such as causing a diversion to distract an otherwise alert target so the rogue can slip their hands right into the target's coin purse.

6 The Athletics Skill Determines How Well Characters Perform Certain Tasks

Athletics Covers Everything from Running and Jumping to Swimming and Feats of Strength

Best Classes/Roles For the Athletics Skill:

• Barbarian
• Fighter
• Paladin

Athletics is the only skill in D&D 5e to use Strength, meaning it's often the best skill for martial classes like barbarian and fighter. Athletics governs a character's ability to climb, jump, sprint, swim, and other feats of physical exertion that are based on physical stamina and endurance. That's what sets it apart from the agility-based Acrobatics skill.

A D&D party will struggle to climb difficult surfaces, brave treacherous seas, or make near-impossible jumps without at least one character with Athletics. It's also invaluable for melee fighters who want to grapple or shove their opponents. Athletics is a rare skill with direct combat use, helping elevate it over many others.

The Insight Skill Allows the Player to "Read the Room"

Best Classes/Roles For the Insight Skill:

• Bard
• Rogue
• Monk
• Party's face

Insight is one of the few social skills in D&D 5e that does not typically use Charisma. It doesn't refer to imposing one's force of personality on others. Instead, Insight is reading and being receptive to others. It's not an automatic lie detector, but it can read a person's emotions, confidence, social dynamics, and other invaluable things to know in a social situation. Insight might also help a player realize if the NPC they're speaking to is trying to subtly imply something, making it a "read between the lines" skill to use.

All the Charisma in the world won't help a player if they have no idea how their words are being received. Insight is a vital skill for most social interactions in D&D 5e. It might not come into play as often as skills like Persuasion, but catching a cunning lie at the right time can save the entire party from danger. Or, a player might make an Insight roll to realize the NPC they're speaking to is hiding their true emotions, such as anger or fear. Getting an insight into that may lead to entirely new dialogue options.

4 Deception Isn't Just About Telling Lies, but Convincing Others

Whether Lying or Witholding Information, Deception is An Important Skill No Matter the Party's Alignment

Best Classes/Roles For the Deception Skill:

• Bard
• Rogue
• Warlock
• Party's face

Even though D&D 5e parties are usually heroic and fighting for good, that doesn't mean they can't be unscrupulous. Deception dictates characters' attempts to conceal information, mislead other NPCs, or even outright lie to others. An evil player character might often use this skill to trick NPCs into doing something foolish or con them out of their gold or magic items, which can lead to some entertaining gameplay where antiheroes are the star.

Deception is useful in almost any D&D 5e campaign, with potential for most social situations. Its only stumbling block comes from being slightly too situational. The players might not want to lie to certain NPCs, or they might only be able to get through with the truth. Players should also remember that if their Deception roll fails, the NPC they're speaking to will likely be furious that they were lied to, which may lead to dire consequences. That makes Deception more of an all-or-nothing roll than most skills, but even so, it has serious potential, so it ranks among the game's best skills, no matter the risks involved.

3 Stealth Is Vital For Circumventing Deadly Threats

It's Also An Important Factor In Keeping Hidden From Prying Eyes

Best Classes/Roles For the Stealth Skill:

• Rogue
• Scout
• Ranger

D&D parties don't have to face all obstacles head-on. They can charge headfirst into danger with no need of what's ahead, but many prefer to take a more subtle approach. Stealth helps characters remain unseen or unheard as they move about, or hide from NPCs searching for them. Often, a D&D adventurer party will send their stealthiest character, such as a rogue, to sneak in or out of a place alone, where a clumsy paladin in loud metal armor won't disrupt them. But if the group must sneak behind a scary monster's back, the group must hope that their least stealthy member won't give them away, creating tension. Situations like that usually call for utility spells like Pass Without Trace.

In general, the Stealth skill has its uses for infiltration, escape, scouting, ambushing, and more. Most D&D 5e parties will attempt to sneak their way through a situation before resorting to a full-on fight. Low stealth will almost always come back to haunt a player eventually. It's even integral to certain classes' typical play style, such as .

2 The Persuasion Skill Is Essential to Swaying Others to One's Way of Thinking

Whether Trying to Stop a War or Convince Someone to Start One, Persuasion is a Necessity

Best Classes/Roles For the Persuasion Skill:

• Bard
• Warlock
• Sorcerer
• Party's face

Persuasion is one of D&D 5e's most self-explanatory skills. It covers any attempt a character makes to get a character to do what they want, usually with some carefully chosen words. The implication is that a character using the Persuasion skill isn't being too forceful or threatening, because that falls under the Intimidation skill. Instead, Persuasion is more about emotional appeals, persuasive logic, or using sheer charisma to sway someone.

Almost all vital social interaction in D&D 5e has the players attempting to get something from NPCs. Persuasion is the most ubiquitous way to achieve this. It won't cover every social situation, but it will almost certainly come up time and time again in every single campaign. Party members can use Persuasion for a variety of things, from haggling item prices in a shop to imploring the town guards to not arrest them after making a ruckus late at night. Also, while the DM may unlock an NPC's cooperation from a single passed Persuasion roll, the DM can up the ante by having the NPC ask the players for more evidence or backup from other NPCs before a passed Persuasion roll pays off.

1 Perception Ensures the Players are Aware of What's Happening Around Them

The Strength of This Skill Lies In Keen Senses and Situational and Spacial Awareness

Best Classes/Roles For the Perception Skill:

• Ranger
• Rogue
• Cleric
• Scout

Perception covers any time the player characters in D&D 5e are looking to see or otherwise sense something that doesn't involve hands-on Investigation. Perception can use sight, sound, smell, or even taste to discern what is happening around the party without zeroing in on a specific item of interest, which is what sets Perception apart from the likes of Investigation. In short, Perception means the player character will stop to take in the entire scene, and if there's something to perceive, it will stand out to them.

Almost every D&D 5e adventure will call for Perception at least once. Perception stops the party from being surprised, warns them of danger ahead, helps them spot visual details in front of them, and any number of other uses. Characters need to know what's going on to respond to it, and Perception is by far the most common way to do that, so the Perception skill ranks as the game's most important one of all. Even when the monsters know what they're doing, such as a squad of goblins using stealth to stalk and ambush the party, Perception can foil that monster squad's plans.

Dungeons and Dragons

A fantasy roleplaying tabletop game designed for adventure-seekers, the original incarnation of Dungeons & Dragons was created by Gary Gygax in 1974.

Franchise

Dungeons & Dragons

Original Release Date

January 26, 1974

Publisher

Wizards of the Coast , TSR Inc.

Designer

E. Gary Gygax , Dave Arneson

Player Count

4-8 Players Recommended

Age Recommendation

12+

Length per Game

3 hours +

Expansions

Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition , Dungeons & Dragons 3rd Edition , Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition , Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition