Stonewards does not publish class stats, so nothing here is a measured DPS ranking. This table is built from three checkable signals instead: which way the studio moved each dwarf across Hotfix 0.1.3 to 0.1.8, the live global achievement unlock rate for each class, and the recurring themes in the Steam discussion forum. Where those three disagree, the note says so.
S Tier
Name
Role
Why
Archer
Ranged DPS - unlockable (52.1% of players)
The only class the studio has reduced damage on: Hotfix 0.1.6 slightly cut both the ranged attack and the charged attack. Forum threads still treat the Archer as the damage benchmark other classes are measured against. A nerf plus that reputation is the strongest available evidence of a top pick.
Artificer
Bomber / mining engine - unlockable (11.1%)
Bombs destroy blocks, and since Hotfix 0.1.7 they roll for a Gold Coin on each block destroyed instead of one coin per explosion. That makes the Artificer the fastest gold engine in the game, which is also why 0.1.4 and 0.1.7 spent four separate bug fixes on bomb drops. The rarest unlock at 11.1%, so most parties never see one.
A Tier
Name
Role
Why
Healer
Support - unlockable (41.2%)
Buffed three patches running: 0.1.6 added Projectile Bonus support, 0.1.7 widened the healing projectile's collision, gave it a small AoE and explicitly let Healers shoot their own feet to self-heal, and 0.1.8 fixed Staff rarity not applying to healing. The 0.1.7 note also confirms a Healer can top up the Hunter's Companion.
Miner
Starter - digging and economy
One of the two dwarves you start with, and the class the digging phase is built around. Hotfix 0.1.7 rebalanced gold from digging upward so that mining 'should now reward noticeably more Gold and feel fairer compared to combat' - a direct buff to the Miner's whole reason to exist.
B Tier
Name
Role
Why
Warrior
Starter - frontline melee
The other starting dwarf, and the one with the least patch-note churn: no Warrior-specific balance change appears in 0.1.3 through 0.1.8. Dependable rather than exciting - the melee Frozen Tome (an 85.3% unlock) is the upgrade most Warrior runs are built on.
Hunter
Pet DPS - unlockable (52.4%)
The most-buffed class in Early Access and still the most argued about. 0.1.4 raised the Companion's attack and health, 0.1.7 made it faster and longer-ranged, scaled its Poison and Fire damage to the player's attack damage, and made it healable at the Fireplace and by the Healer. A live forum thread is still titled 'Hunter feeling underwhelming' - four buffs in, the community has not settled.
Mage
Caster - unlockable (25.7%)
0.1.6 added Projectile Bonus support, 0.1.7 improved Fireball collision, 0.1.8 fixed Staff rarity not affecting Mage damage - three fixes to make the Mage land hits it was already supposed to land. Forum sentiment ('the Mage feels pointless') has not caught up with the 0.1.8 staff fix, so this ranking may be stale by the September update.
C Tier
Name
Role
Why
Rogue
Melee skirmisher - unlockable (20.8%)
The one class with an open forum thread asking for its removal, and no balance change of its own in any of the six hotfixes. Treat the C purely as 'the studio has not touched it and players are loud about it' - there is no published stat line to argue with either way.